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The Many Moods of Raj Kapoor
I have celebrated
Raj Kapoor in songs before; his aptitude for playing various musical instruments, for instance, or his collaboration with his ‘soul’, or with Mohammed Rafi, and even unlikely voices lending him playback. But no matter who
lent him their voice, he looked like he was singing; he could also emote the
emotions expressed by the lyrics, while doing so. That’s the mark of a great
song-actor.
To continue to
celebrate the man, the actor, the director, a song list that follows the ‘Many
Moods’ theme that I began with Meena Kumari. As always, the only criterion is that
he lip-syncs the song on-screen.
The challenge was
to find songs that didn’t appear on other ‘RK songs’ lists, so I had to drop
favourites like Dil ka haal suno dilwale and Kisi ki muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar… But I finally curated a [very subjective] list of ten Raj
Kapoor songs that reflect ten different moods.
Carefree
Awara
hoon
Awara (1951)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music:
Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics:
Shailendra
An iconic song,
Awara hoon presented Raj Kapoor’s best known alter-ego – the tramp,
modelled after his idol, Charlie Chaplin. He’s awara, a vagabond. He has
no home, and no one to love him, but none of that matter. He’s free from all
entanglements, and as happy as a lark. And despite all that the world has
thrown at him, he hasn’t forgotten to smile.
Aabaad nahin
barbaad sahi
Gaata hoon
khushi ke geet magar
Zakhmon se
bhara seena hai mera
Hansti hai magar ye mast nazar
Singer:
Mukesh
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics:
Shahryar
A lilting,
happy melody about a man in love with all that life has to offer. This is one
of Mukesh’s ‘happy songs’ and the lilt in his voice is complemented by Raj’s
appearance on screen. He’s a man who’s singing his cares away; nothing matters
when he’s out in the open, wandering who knows where.
Chala gar
safar ko koi besahaara
Toh main ho liya sang liye ektaara
Gaata hua kuchh bhulaata hua
Main aashiq hoon bahaaron ka
Nazaaron ka fizaaon ka ishaaron ka
Main mastaana musaafir hoon
Jawaan dharti ke anjaane kinaaron ka
The lyrics reflect
the character’s playfulness while Mukesh and Raj Kapoor express the joie de
vivre of the music in both voice and expression.
Romantic
(1956)
Singer: Manna
Dey
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics:
Shailendra
Mukesh may have
been Raj Kapoor’s soul, but Manna has been equally effective in lending his
voice to the actor. This song is a particular favourite of mine, with its hint
of suppressed passions and an exhortation to seize the moment.
Chaand ki
bahki nazar, kah rahi hai pyaar kar
Zindagi hai ik safar kaun jaane kal kidhar
It is also
poignantly bittersweet given that this would be the last time Nargis would
appear opposite Raj Kapoor, except for a cameo in Jagte Raho.
Aaja sanam madhur
chandni mein hum is the
only duet on this list. And that is because unlike Dev Anand or his brother,
Shammi Kapoor, Raj rarely, if ever, serenaded his heroines. He had never
positioned himself as a romantic hero and most of his romantic songs were, like
Dilip Kumar’s, duets.
Philosophical
Sajan re jhoot mat bolo
Teesri
Kasam (1966)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music:
Shankar Jaikishan
Lyrics:
Shailendra
Teesri Kasam was the story of a bullock cart driver and
his chance acquaintance with an itinerant dancer. Shailendra was known for the
simplicity of his lyrics which could express profound truths, and in Sajan
re jhoot mat bolo, he expresses the philosophy of this simple, rustic man –
do good to others and good things will happen to you; do bad things and you
will reap what you sow. All accounts will be squared on earth, and when you
finally meet your maker, whether you are rich or poor doesn’t matter.
Tumhaare
mahal chaubaare
Yahin rah jaayenge saare
Akad kis
baat ki pyaare
Ye sar phir bhi jhukaana hai
It’s a stark
reminder that greed and ambition may pay off for a while but when we die, we
take nothing with us.
Heartbroken
Main paagal mera manwa paagal
Ashiana (1952)
Singer:
Talat Mahmood
Music: Madan
Mohan
Lyrics:
Rajinder Krishan
Both Talat Mahmood
and Madan Mohan could distil melancholy into its purest essence and nowhere is
it more evident than in this achingly beautiful song. Music and melody become
one, even as the character mourns his madness – his ‘deewanapan’. What does
the world know, or understand of his madness? Only someone who has loved and
lost can understand the depth of his deewangi. For it’s not just his
love but he, too, who teeters on the edge of insanity.
Kahe ye duniya main deewana din ko dekhoon sapne
Deewaani duniya kya jaane ye sapne hain apne
Ghaayal man ki hansi udaaye ye duniya ki reet re
Aasmaan
pe hain Khuda aur zameen pe hum
Subah Hogi (1958)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music:
Khayyam
Lyrics:
Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir was responsible for
getting Khayyam onboard the film, and Khayyam vindicated the former’s trust in
him. Adapted from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the film chronicled
the journey of Ram, a poor law student, who unwittingly commits a murder. In
this song, a ‘party song’ (that occurs before the murder), he mocks a God who
allows atrocities to happen unchecked.
Aasmaan pe
hai Khuda aur zameen pe hum
Aaj kal woh is
taraf dekhta hai kam… he
rues, even as he admits that there aren’t enough Gods to check on the
burgeoning population. A song that’s still relevant to this day.
Kisko bheje
woh yahaan khaaq chhaan-ne
Is tamaam bheed ka haal jaan-ne
Aadmi hain anginat devta hain kam
It’s a slyly
humorous song. Phir Subah Hogi also had Sahir at his satirical best in Cheeno
Arab hamara in which he parodied Iqbal’s Sare jahaan se achha.
Inebriated
Ruk jaa o jaanewaali ruk jaa
Kanhaiya (1959)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music:
Kalyanji-Anandji
Lyrics:
Shailendra
While this may
sound like a romantic serenade, Ruk jaa o jaanewali ruk jaa is a ‘happy
drunk’ song. Kanhaiya (Raj Kapoor) is trying to catch a runaway bottle of
liquor, all the while imploring it to stop. A quasi-fable based on the myth of
a woman’s adoration of God, Kanhaiya is elevated by the acting – both Raj
Kapoor and Nutan bring a certain believability to their roles. While the film
does require a (huge) suspension of disbelief, especially when viewed through a
modern prism, the songs are one of Kalyanji-Anandji’s best scores.
Patriotic
Honthon pe sachhaii rahti hai
Jis Desh
Mein Ganga Behti hai
(1960)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics:
Shailendra
The lyrics
speak of an ideal India, in which we are loving and accepting of our differences;
where each life holds value, where greed does not triumph over common humanity.
Mehmaan jo
hamara hota hai woh jaan se pyara hota hai
Ziyada ki nahin laalach humko thode mein guzaara hota hai
Inspired by Vinoba
Bhave and Jaiprakash Narayan who appealed to dacoits to surrender, Jis Desh Mein
Ganga Behti Hai is the story of a simple (not simpleton) villager who is kidnapped
by dacoits who suspect him of being an undercover policeman. When he eventually
escapes and informs the police about their hideout, he’s appalled that the
police are as brutal as the criminals they chase.
Shailendra’s
lyrics, especially in the second (shorter) version of the song are still
relevant today, if only to show us how far we have come from the ideals that
were expressed more than six decades ago.
Hum kal kya
thhe hum aaj hain kya
Is ka hi nahin abhimaan humein
Jis raah pe aage badhna hai
Hai us ki bhi pehchaan humein
If only!
Pensive
Dost
dost na raha
Sangam (1964)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music:
Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics: Shailendra
This is a rare ‘bewafaii’
song that is not actually accusing the beloved of being unfaithful. Not yet,
anyway. He has returned unscathed from war and is just pleased to be with his
friend and girlfriend (whose responsibility he had entrusted to his friend
while he was away). He trusts them. But an army colleague had found out the
hard way that his friend, whom he had trusted, had married his beloved while he
was away. How could they do that, he wonders, even as Gopal (Rajendra Kumar),
lifting his glass to his lips, pauses in consternation, and Radha
(Vyjayanthimala) shrinks back in her seat. For after all, Sundar (Raj Kapoor) could
well be singing of her and Gopal… whom she’s been in love with all along.
Amaanatein main
pyaar ki gaya thha jisko saunp kar
Woh mere
dost tum hi thhe tumhi toh thhe
Gale lagiin
seham sham bhare gale se boltiin
Woh tum na
thhi toh kaun tha? Tumhi to thin
It’s a
foreboding of what will come, a tragedy that will destroy three lives due to
one man’s obsession and the other’s complicity.
The audio version has a third verse which is not there in the film.
Resignation
Sab kuch seekha humne
Anari (1959)
Singer:
Mukesh
Music:
Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics:
Shailendra
Asha (Nutan)
has persuaded Rajkumar (Raj Kapoor) that she’s a poor, working-class girl. Their
friendship deepens into love until one day, Rajkumar discovers that ‘Asha’ is,
in fact, Aarti, his wealthy employer’s niece. His world falling apart around
him, Rajkumar rues that he had
never been able to learn the duplicitous ways of the world; no wonder they call
him an ‘anaari’. There’s sadness there; there’s resignation and self-deprecatory humour that presents a façade of happiness that cracks a couple of times. Watch how myriad expressions flit across his face – the
hurt he hides behind a smile, the sadness at having been deceived, an acknowledgement
that he’s been a fool… watch also Nutan’s non-verbal reactions: together, they
form a masterclass in acting.
[The dancer in the song is Meena Fernandez.]
Shaam se
lekar roz sahar tak,
Tere liye
main har raat jali,
Maine toh
haye ye bhi na jaana
Kab din duba
kab raat dhali… wrote
Shailendra in Aashiq (1962). These lines could easily fit Raj Kapoor’s passion
for cinema – a passion for which he lived, and died. He had once told his
eldest son, Randhir Kapoor, “Whenever I die, take me to my studio for it
is possible that amidst the glitter of all the lights, I may get up again and
shout, “Action! Action!” ” That is how much he loved
cinema.
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| Pic: Courtesy – Ritu Nanda |
For being the
creative genius who inspired everyone around you to come up with their best
work; for taking risks for the sheer love of cinema; for the countless hours of
entertainment in darkened cinema halls; for every hour spent laughing and
crying and being angry at your on-screen characters; for the bonding with my
father over your films and your music; for teaching me to appreciate cinema, my
deepest gratitude.