But, let’s start with the obvious.
written by Santoshi, and
directed by Devendra Mukherjee was a trainwreck of a film. It did well at the box
office though, leading to Dev and Madhubala signing more films together. Poonam
(Madhubala) is in love with Dr Anand (Dev), but is forced to marry a three-time
widower, old enough to be her father. If that weren’t enough, she’s greeted by
her new sister-in-law, who hands her a bottle of poison so she can die if and
when she wants. Yeah, don’t ask. So, while Santoshi’s script-writing skills are
highly suspect, he did well as the lyricist with
Teen Batti Char Rasta (1953)
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Shivram Krishna
As a film, Teen Batti Char Raasta was a pleasant
surprise, dealing with the stigma of being dark with both sensitivity and
feistiness. It boasted a heroine who was not just self-respecting but also very
comfortable in her own skin and valued her own worth. What made her even more
intriguing was that she was at ease standing up for herself. So, long before Jab
We Met’s Geet exclaimed, “Main apni favourite hoon!”, this film’s
Shyama sings this delightful ditty about how she’s crazy about her own grace.
Apni ada par main hoon fida
Koi chaahe ya na chaahe meri bala
That’s a great attitude to live by. But I love the verses about how physical
beauty isn’t (or shouldn’t be) the only criteria for choosing a life partner.
Chand pe mar kar haaye chakora
Aankhe apni phod raha
Roop ka diwana parvana
Aag se nata jod raha
Husn pe marnewale aakhir
Koi mara aur koi jala
Arre re re re main to gir gayi re
Post Box No: 999 (1958)
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Kalyanji Veerji Shah
Neend na mujhko aaye is probably the most popular
song from this rather obscure film, but I love this delightful ditty that has
Shakila playing pretend-drunk in the villain’s den. Of course, like all filmi
heroes and heroines who get drunk (or pretend-drunk) on screen, she can perfectly
articulate every word and sing in tune without dropping a note. Shakila plays
Neelima, who’s in love with Vikas (Sunil Dutt) and is helping him investigate a
murder that happened years ago so he can exonerate an innocent man.
Nadaan (1950)
Singer: Talat Mahmod
Music: Chic Chocolate
Dev Anand and Madhubala did nine films together but though
they looked good as a pair, they were never able to translate their pairing
into a successful one. Here, Dev, playing a forlorn lover, is painting a portrait
of his lover and singing:
Masti se jhoome teri ada
Kuchh apna pata na ho dil ka pata
Main tab tak hosh mein aa na sakoon
Jab tak na mile daaman se hawa
Antonio Xavier Vaz, a.k.a. Chic Chocolate debuted as a music
director with this film. One of Bombay’s best-known jazz musicians, with his
own band that played at the Taj Hotel in Bombay, Chic Chocolate moonlighted as
a musician and arranger for Hindi movies. He was an integral part of C
Ramchandra’s team.
Gun gun bole bhanwarwa
Milan (1947)
Singer: Parul Ghosh
Music: Anil Biswas
Milan was only Dilip Kumar’s third film and his first
with Bombay Talkies. But he was delightful here in his role as Ramesh, a man
who discovers that being a good guy who wants to do the right thing is not an easy
task. Hemnalini (Ranjana) is an equally good soul, educated, progressive and
supportive of Ramesh even when Fate conspires to paint him in a bad light.
Here, in one of the happier moments in the film, Hem is singing to herself as
she goes about her day.
Madhuvan se laaye sandesha bahaar ka
Taar jaaye mere pyaar ka
Veena baja ke
Baawri bana ke
Hamaari bagiya mein aaike ho bhanwra
Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke (1957)
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Suman Kalyanpur, Shamshad Begum, Usha
Mangeshkar
Music: Datta Naik
Another Santoshi directorial, this was a children’s film
that won him a National Award for Best Children’s Film that year. It was a
pretty decent film as such films go, and had its heart in the right place even
if it got a little heavy on the messaging. This is a fun song in the film as
Rajan (Romi) manages to evade his rich father’s (Murad) strict guardianship and
take part in a school play.
Milan (1958)
Singer: Geeta Dutt
Music: Hansraj Behl
This is a ‘new’ old song for me, one that I only discovered
while I was researching this post. It has become one of my favourite Geeta Dutt
numbers already. Her voice is at once teasing, seductive and altogether
delightful. Apart from learning that it is an Ajit-Nalini Jaywant- Helen-Daisy
Irani starrer, the Internet is woefully short of details about this film. Even
IMDB only lists the cast from which it has cavalierly dismissed Ajit.
I do love the song, however, and the lyrics that go:
Aise kya qasoor thhe
Jo aap door aaj thhe
Sochti hoon chup rahoon
Kahoon kahoon ya na kahoon
Aisa mauqa baar baar aayegaa kahaan
I’m assuming that this song was picturised on either Helen or Nishi.
Aji bade bade mahlon se woh ghar bhale
Apni Chhaya (1950)
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Chitalkar
Music: Hanuman Prasad
Apni Chhaaya was written and directed by PL Santoshi.
Not much is known about it other than that it was a ‘social’ film. This song,
while having a pleasant melody, bases its lyrics on the ‘Rich Bad, Poor Good’
principle. As can be ascertained by the fact that the lyrics excoriate money as
‘daulat ki boo’ and claim that the rich may have money but suffer from ‘lakhin
beemaariyaan’. It ends with this
verse:
O jee duniya se door kahin ambuwa tale
Chhoti hamaari madhhaiyya bane
Tum Radha bano
Hum Kanhaiyya banen
Jahaan preet ki paavan Jamuna bahe
Aur prem ki Mohan bansi baje
Ae jee bade bade mahlon se wo ghar bhale
Jin mein nanha sa preet ka deepak jale
Kaise jaaon main piya
Dulhan (1958)
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Music: Ravi
This must have been the only bright spot in a hideously
regressive film – a very pretty, sparkling Nirupa Roy and a dashing Raj Kumar
who are enjoying a bit of happiness. I usually steer clear of films that are
named after female relations – Bhabhi, Beti, Dulhan, Badi Didi… but if
you do want to know the story of this film, you can do no better than read Memsaab’s take on it. I cannot better it.
Aana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday
Shehnai (1947)
Singers: Chitalkar, Meena Kapoor
Music: C Ramchandra
Let me bookend this list with another C Ramchandra-PL
Santoshi collaboration. I first heard this song as a parody – the National Egg
Coordination Committee had an ad on television and its jingle was “Khana
meri jaan meri jaan murgi ke ande”. Picturised on Dulari and Mumtaz Ali,
the song had a village belle serenaded by an ‘English’ gentleman and Santoshi’s
zany lyrics were complemented by CR’s fusion of western and Indian tunes.
I love you
Bhag yahaan se tu
Tujhe Paris ghumaoon,
Tujhe London ghumaoon
Tujhe brandy pilaaoon
Tujhe whisky pilaaoon
Aur khilaaoon murgi ke
Murgi ke ande
Aana meri jaan meri jaan
Sunday ke Sunday
There’s a longer version of this song with Shamshad Begum joining in, as Rehana’s voice.
Shehnai was PL Santoshi’s debut directorial and earns
it place in history for being one of only two films to be released on August 15
1947. It also holds the distinction of
being the first hit film of independent India. [ Source: Yahoo India] Shehnai
was a light-hearted romantic comedy involving four sisters and their respective
suitors, and filled with mistaken identities and squabbling siblings. But of
course, the highlight of the film was the fabulous soundtrack.