In 2018, I published a post on Piano songs from Hindi films. But the list had a few criteria and that wasn’t easy to fulfill. So the number of songs was less.
One of the criteria was, the singer of the song shouldn’t be playing the piano.
So after all these years, I thought of publishing a post of Piano songs from Hindi films with the singer of the song, playing the piano himself or herself. Then it came by the rule that it would be a series rather than a single post.
Regular readers of the blog wouldn’t be surprised I’m sure. But did I hear, “oh no! Yet another series!” Then my answer is “Yes of course!”
But as I could collect a lot of songs, I had to apply a filter, which was, the singer should be playing it throughout. While I was going to apply more stringent criteria, I decided to reserve those for the future posts.
So without a further ado, let’s hit the list. Today’s list is based on the Piano songs from the Hindi films of the 40s (1941 to 1950). Let it be a solo, a duet or otherwise. Most of the songs are female solos. And most of the prominent female singers are on the list with Suraiya topping the list with 3 songs. 8 songs out of 10 on the list are female solos. It seems in the 40s, the piano songs were mainly focusing on the lady.
During a conversation with AKji from SoY, he mentioned about Naushad being a good piano player himself. And why did I remember the conversation? Simple! There are 7 songs on today’s list composed by Naushad. No wonder I guess!
Enough of building curiosity and suspense. Let’s visit the list.
1. Tum Bina Kal Na Aave – Lagan (1941) Kanan Devi / Raichand Boral – D N Madhok
It could perhaps be the first piano song or at least one of the earliest piano songs in Hindi films. So I was more than happy to bend my rule and add it to the list. Kanan Devi sings the lyrics and the tune set by the character played by Saigal. And both the gents appear to enjoy the rendition. And of course it’s enjoyable. Kanan Devi plays the piano from the prelude upto the end of the first verse. And what a beautiful melody it is! Loved it! The tune has an unmistakable touch of Bengal in my opinion.
2. Aa More Sanware Saiyan – Sanjog (1943) Suraiya / Naushad – D N Madhok
It’s from one of those films when Suraiya hadn’t yet debuted as a singing actress and was offered playback assignments for a few films mainly for the actress Mehtab, who used to insist for Suraiya. Though Mehtab plays piano throughout the song, I was unable to identify piano sounds in the orchestration. But the sweet melody and the tune compelled me to add this one to the list. We can see Noor Mohammad Charlie making faces, trying to look annoyed. In all a very impressive melody.
3. Main Dil Mein Dard Basa Layi – Anmol Ghadi (1946) Suraiya / Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni
What a beautiful melody this is! I initially couldn’t identify piano sounds throughout the song, but a careful listen resolved the matter.
4. Jawan Hai Mohabbat – Anmol Ghadi (1946) Noorjahan / Naushad – Tanveer Naqvi
I think we can consider this song as one of the most popular piano songs of Hindi cinema. Noorjahan singing it while playing the piano makes it an audio-visual treat. However I was unable to identify piano sounds in the orchestration. As I said earlier, I’m not a technical music expert and it could entirely be a mistake on my part. Anyways, it’s one of my favourite Noorjahan solos.
5. Yeh Afsana Nahin Zalim – Dard (1947) Shamshad Begum / Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni
Dard had three female playback singers, Suraiya, Uma Devi and Shamshad Begum, with no male playback singer at all. While I am mainly inclined to solos by Uma Devi, this beautiful piano song lip-synched by Husna Banu is worth listening to. It seems however that it conveys to the viewers Munawwar Sultana’s feelings for the hero.
6. Bachpan Ki Yaad Dheere Dheere – Shaheed (1948) Lalita Deulkar / Ghulam Haider – Qamar Jalalabadi
Kamini Kaushal sings the songs when asked to play the piano and sing. Quite a popular and melodious song! One of the most popular songs of Lalita Deulkar. The piano and its sounds both are throughout the song.
7. Bade Bhole Bhale Hain – Anokhi Ada (1948) Surendra / Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni
I bend my rules again to incorporate this song picturised on the gorgeous Naseem Bano. She was indeed very beautiful. The last verse perhaps portrays Surendra’s dream and imagination, is without the piano. However, the lyrics in the praise of Naseem Bano are so apt that I immediately agreed to them.
8. Hum Aaj Kahin Dil Kho Baithe – Andaz (1949) Mukesh / Naushad – Majrooh
I mainly remember Andaz for its wonderful music and the fact that Mukesh, who later became the voice of Raj Kapoor, sang for Dilip Kumar while Rafi, who went on to be the voice of Dilip Kumar, sang for Raj Kapoor. Mukesh had four solos to his credit, three were retained in the movie, all picturised on Dilip Kumar, playing the piano. I went for the romantic solo, keeping the melancholic ones for other posts.
9. Yeh Mausam Aur Yeh Tanhai – Dastan (1950) Suraiya / Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni
I always remember this one for the enchanting piano pieces throughout the song and a very beautiful looking gorgeous Suraiya. Enjoy the song!
10. Tumhare Bulane Ko Jee – Ladli (1949) Lata Mangeshkar / Anil Biswas – Behzad Lukhnowi
And to end the list, here’s a beautiful composition by Anil Biswas. As the video of the song is not available (I think Ladli is a permanently lost movie), there’s no way to see if the singing lady is playing the piano or not or if she continues playing it till 5he end, I’ve benefit of doubt. It could really be so!
And what a mesmerizingly beautiful melody! The piano pieces in the interludes are different, not repeated.
Would you like to add a song in the timeline?
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Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs vests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.