Songs, the real stars of Hindi films

Ever since Wazir Mohammed Khan sang ‘De de khuda ke naam pe pyaare’ in Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara (1931), the Hindi film song has served a variety of functions. From espousing the cause of nationalism (‘Door haton, door hathon aye duniyaawaalon Hindustan humaara hai’, Kismet, 1943) to promoting the cause of brotherhood (‘Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega’ , Dhool Ka Phool, 1959) to articulating the mood of the new youth (‘Dum maro dum’, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, 1971), the Hindi film song has worked towards different ends with changing times.

One other aspect of the Hindi film song is its role in determining the fortunes of a film. As Javed Akhtar comments in the upcoming episode of The Golden Years: 1950-1975, which features the songs of Hindi films from 1962, “Indeed, it is the songs that make a good film a great film. There can be no doubt in that.” Through the history of popular Hindi cinema, there are several instances of films whose commercial success has skyrocketed purely on account of its soundtrack.

But the Hindi film song is also the ideal lens to look back at the legacy of yesteryear film stars. Each time there is a retrospective on actors such as Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Nargis or Waheeda Rehman, it is the Hindi film song that puts their careers in perspective. Take the actor Joy Mukerji. Any effort to document the actor’s career in the film industry will certainly feature songs from Love in Simla (1960), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Love in Tokyo (1966) and Shagird (1967).

Another film of Mukerji’s, which had great music and which released in 1962, was the Raj Khosla-directed Ek Musafir Ek Haseena. The film was produced by Mukerji’s father, Shashadhar Mukerji and paired Joy with his Love in Simla co-star, Sadhana. Today, both actors are no longer with us, but every time we hear ‘Aap yoonhi agar humse miltey rahey’ or ‘Bahut shukriya, badi meherbaani’, we are reminded of both their careers. In fact, another song ‘Main pyaar ka raahi hoon’, which was recorded but not included in the film, continues to remain popular among people from that generation.

Another fine actress, who died relatively early, and whose memory is commemorated by revisiting her film songs is Meena Kumari. Although she rose to stardom in Vijay Bhatt’s Baiju Bawra (1952), it was only a decade later in 1962 that Kumari found iconic status for her role as Chhoti Bahu in Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. All the songs from the film are eternal classics whether it be the enchanting ‘Bhanwara bada nadaan haye’ picturised on Waheeda Rehman or the delightful ‘Piya aiso jiya mein samaaye gayo re’ which featured Kumari. But the defining song for Kumari in this film is the tragic ‘Na jao saiyaan chhudaake baiyyan’. Although the film was directed by Abrar Alvi, the song’s picturization bears Guru Dutt’s touch all the way through in terms of the shot-taking and how well it is lit.

Aarti was another film from 1962 which featured Kumari. Aarti had the popular songs ‘Kabhi toh milegi, kahin toh milegi’ and ‘Ab kya misaal doon main tumhaarey shabaab ki’. Javed Akhtar makes an insightful observation about the latter song which had the hero sing paens of the heroine’s beauty. He termed such a song a ‘saraapa’ and explained it as, “Saraapa is a song or kind of poetry which is in praise of beauty, from head to toe, like ‘Chaudhvin ka chaand ho ya aaftaab ho’”. The film also had the song ‘Aapney yaad dilaaya toh mujhe yaad aaya’, which was an offshoot of the first line of a couplet by the poet Shad Arfi. The second line of the couplet, ‘Aap aaye toh khayaal-e-dil-e-nashaad aaya’ was used by the lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi for a song in Gumrah (1963).

Gumrah’s heroine was Mala Sinha and 1962 was a very successful year for the actress. Whether it was Hariyaali Aur Raasta, the film that brought Manoj Kumar into the spotlight, or Anpadh, where she acted opposite a very young Dharmendra, or Dil Tera Deewana, where the reigning star of the box-office Shammi Kapoor was paired with her, a number of Sinha’s best films released in that year. The songs in all three films were huge hits. Be it the Lata-Mukesh duet ‘Ibteda-e-ishq mein hum’ (Hariyaali Aur Raasta) or the Lata solo ‘Aap ki nazron ne samjha’ or the Mohammed Rafi-Lata duet ‘Dil tera deewana hai sanam’, the songs were integral to the success of each of these films. 

You can catch the next episode ofThe Golden Years: 1950-1975 with Javed Akhtar this Sunday at 8 pm to know more about the many good Hindi film songs from 1962.