Remembering Naushad on his birthday.

Remembering Naushad on his birthday.

The audience of film music in India remember dignified composer Naushad on his birthday on 25th December, 2009. He was a genius composer and shaped Indian film music with his classical gharana in the 40s from where it just grew with variety and innovation.

Naushad is remembered for his brilliant tunes over a period of 50 years down the memory lane. In the 40s, he composed music in many films including Anmol Ghari, but he stormed bollywood with romantic songs in Dulari, including “suhani raat dhal chuki” sung by Rafi, all the songs of Andaz, where he composed Rafi’s songs for Raj Kapoor and Mukesh’s songs for Dilip Kumar.

In the 50s, Naushad’s composition in Baiju Bawra made the listeners speechless. He won filmfare award for the best composer for his brilliant classical presentation in songs like “wo duniya ke rakhwale”, “man tarapata”, “tu gangi ki mauj”, etc., sung by Rafi and Lata. Rafi’s range was used to perfection and from that time the Rafi Naushad combination provided gems after gems. The different ragas and their timings were explained by Naushad in the film. Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari gave able lips in the songs composed by Naushad. Songs of Uran Khatula, like “wo dur ke musafir” sung by Rafi for Dilip Kumar also shook bollywood in the mid-50s.

In the 60s Naushad was unstoppable. His composition in Kohinoor for Rafi titled “madhuban me radhika nachere” and “do sitaron ka zameen” picturised on Dilip Kumar displayed the brilliance of Hindustani ragas. Naushad’s composition in Rajender Kumar’s Mere Mehboob, Naushad displayed the ghazal culture of Lucknow and Aligarh. The songs “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam”, “ai husn zara jag”, etc. sung by Rafi and picturised on Rajender Kumar was per se excellent. Naushad composed light songs in Mughal-i-azam for Lata including “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat ke nandlal”, and again composed thumri sung by Bare Ghulam Ali Khan in the same film.

Naushad also composed Bhojpuri music for Dilip Kumar in the film Ganga Jumna. The songs “nain lar jaihe” sung by Rafi was one of the examples of Naushad’s control of Bihari folk tune. Naushad was at his best in Dilip Kumar’s Leader. All the songs in the film sung by Rafi and Lata flabbergasted the listeners, including “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “teri husn ki kya tareef karun”, “mujhe duniya walon”, etc. Naushad was excellent in Dilip Kumar’s Ram Aur Shyam. All the songs sung by Rafi and Lata in the film including “aye hai baharen dekho”, “yeh raat dulhan bangayi”, “mai hoon saki”, etc.

Critics consider Dil Diya Dard Liya as one of the best creations of Naushad. All the songs in the film became superhit including Rafi’s “dilruba maine tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”. Naushad Rafi and Dilip Kumar continued with their level of excellence in the film Aadmi, with Rafi’s songs like “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, “aaj purani rahon se”, etc. Besides, Naushad composed excellent music in Rajender Kumar’s Palki, Saathi, Ganwar, etc. Rafi’s hit songs in those films included “dil-e-betaab ko seene se lagana hoga” sung with Suman Kalyanpur.

Naushad faded away from film music in the 70s, causing huge loss to the film industry. The classical gharana related to thumris, kajris, ghazals, etc., faded away with Naushad. Music became popular, but lost its class. Naushad received Dadasahab Phalke for his excellent contribution to bollywood music. His songs and the films should be preserved and restored.

Rafi's soft number composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

Rafi’s soft numbers composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

Mohammad Rafi was the virtual ruler of world of playback singing in the 60s. As far as his combination with Shankar Jaikishan is concerned, generally the loud numbers gather popularity due to the pomp and grandeur of those songs.

For example Rafi’s song “chahe koi mujhe jungle kahen” in Junglee, picturised on Shammi Kapoor, “kaun hai jo sapno me aya” in Jhuk Gaya Aasman picturised on Rajender Kumar, “jiya ho jiya ho jiya kuch bol do” in Jab Par Kisi Se Hota Hai, picturised on Dev Anand, “Japan, Love in Tokyo”, in Love in Tokyo, picturised on Joy Mukherjee, “april fool banaya, in April Fool picturised on Biswajeet , etc., were the most popular songs of those films. Shankar Jaikishan’s innovative orchestrations were involved with all these songs.

But if SJ’s softer numbers are looked at they provided gems for Rafi during the 50s and 60s. In Shammi Kapoor’s Junglee, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” was a masterpiece where Rafi’s romantic presentation can take anyone to a different world. In Rajender Kumar’s Humrahi, “mujhko aapne gale lagalo” was a brilliant song where Rafi’s andaz was as outstanding as that of Mubarak Begum. Aye Milan Ki Bela had evergreen gems embedded in them. All the soft numbers of Rafi like “tum khamseen ho”, “to bura maan gaye”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum” created everlasting appeal in the minds of the youth of the 60s.

SJ matured into the country most glamourous western composers by mid-60s. Rafi’s brilliant voice was complimented by superlative utilization of western instruments in most of the songs of SJ during that period. In Biswajeet’s April Fool Rafi’s presentation of “aa gale lag ja” showed him to be a Hollywood singer whose rendition had Western andaz. In Joy Mukherjee’s Love In Tokyo, Rafi presented the seductive andaz in the song “aaja re aa zara aa” which can put anyone to sleep. Rafi’s ghazal andaz in the same film “o mere shahe khuba” had equally everlasting appeal.

In Rajender Kumar’s Zindagi, “pehele milethe sapno me” showed Rafi’s effortlessness in rendering romantic songs. All the songs of Rajender Kumar’s Aman were brilliant. Especially “surahidar garden koel si hi awaz”, and “aaj ki raat” had Rafi’s powerful level of intonation to back up SJ’s romantic andaz. Besides the orchestration had Japanese flavor.

In Shammi Kapoor’s Professor, “awaz deke hume tum bulayo” created the tempo for the film. All the duets in that film created sensation including “mai chali mai chali”. Rafi complimented Lata in most of the duets backed by SJ’s effective use of sexaphone. In Shammi Kapoor’s An Evening in Paris, Rafi’s measured number in the duet song “raat ke humsafar” probably had the most intoxicating appeal in the entire film as against the loud numbers like “aasmaan se aya farishta”.

Rajender Kumar’s musical blockbuster Aarzoo, probably had Rafi at his best. If “aye nargisi mastana” showed Rafi’s effortlessness, “aji hum se bachkar” showed Rafi’s classical control, where as “chalke tere aankho sharab aur ziada” showed Rafi’s brilliant ghazal andaz. Rafi was at his best in Rajender Kumar’s Suraj as well. All the songs in the film had grand appeal. Probably the songs “kaise samjhayun” and “baharon phool barsayo” received the viewers’ attention. But “gustaqi maaf” and “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe” were more melodious.

Shammi Kapoor’s Brahmchari had the theme music “mai gayun tum so jayo”. The song had been played a number of times by Shankar Jaikishan once too slowly while the other at a faster pace. Rafi was equally romantic in both the songs. Besides “dil ke jharoke me” was an experiment of SJ asking Rafi to sing at a high note which he did in style. In Shammi Kapoor’s Raj Kumar “tumne kisi ki jaan ko jate hue dekha hai” and “yeh rangbirangee duniya me” Rafi’s romantic rendition appealed to the masses.

In Dharmender’s Pyar Hi Pyar, Rafi showed the ghazal andaz in the song “dekha hai teri aankho me pyar hi pyar beshumar”. In Jeetender’s Mere Huzoor, Rafi’s song “rukh se zara naqab, uta do mere huzur” expressed the shy delivery of the hero. In Raj Kumar’s Lal Patthar “unke khayal aye to” showed Rafi’s royal andaz or probably the badshahi andaz in delivering as the characters were related to Indian history of kings.

In Dev Anand’s Pyar Muhobbat, “dil ki awaz khuda khair Karen” had an enchanting appeal. Again Rafi’s seductive andaz in Manoj Kumar’s Gumnaam in “jane chaman shola badan” entertained the viewers and listeners. Rafi presented the songs in Uttam Kumar’s Choti Si Mulakat also with stylish westernized manner. Viewers can also cherish Rafi’s song “tum hi tum ho” in Raj Kapoor’s Ek Dil Sau Afsane picturised on Raj Kapoor. “Khuda bhi aasman se” in Rajender Kumar’s Dharti is still unforgettable even today. The list of SJ’s soft numbers for Rafi can go on.

Some way or the other SJ’s relationship with Rafi never got predominance due to erroneous interpretation of Shankar Jaikishan over the years by the media. Just because SJ were associated with Showman Raj Kapoor in almost 20 films, so the entire focus went to Mukesh and Manna Dey’s songs composed by SJ. But if the rest of SJ’s creations in almost 170 films are analysed it will be seen that Rafi had sung almost 800 songs for SJ, which include more than 20 films of Shammi Kapoor, 10 films of Rajender Kumar, 7 films of Dev Anand, 3 films of Dilip Kumar, to name a few. The films and the songs should be revisited.

Happy birthday to Saira Banu.

Happy birthday to Saira Banu.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Saira Banu on 13th August, 2009. She used to be called beauty-queen of the 60s. Acting was there in her blood with her mother Nasim Banu doing well in many films in the 40s.

Saira Banu started her career with the film Junglee opposite Shammi Kapoor in 1961. The brilliant music of Shankar Jaikishan given in the film and exotic locations of Jammu and Kashmir flabbergasted the audience in the early 60s. All the songs in the film were super hit including “suku suku”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “Kashmir ki kali hun mai”, to name a few.

Saira Banu went on to give hit after hit with Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee as well. With Biswajeet her film April Fool became super hit. The songs of SJ again created storm including “april fool banaya”, “aa gale lag jaa”, etc. With Joy Mukherjee Saira Banu’s film Shagird stormed box-office in 1967. All the songs of Rafi and Lata were hits including “dil vil pyar vyar”, “woh hai zara khafa khafa”, “o bare miya diwane”, “duniya mehfil hai”, etc.

Saira Banu’s combination with Rajender Kumar was well accepted by the audience. All the three films opposite Jubilee Kumar including Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Aman and Jhuk Gaya Aasman became super hit. The songs of all those films composed by SJ again struck box-office. Prominent songs included “o priya kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “tum khamseen ho”, “kahan chal diye”, “surahidar garden”, etc. Saira Banu balanced the powerful performance of Rajender Kumar in those films.

After marrying Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu acted in a number of films opposite him including Sagina, Gopi and Bairaag, most of which did well in the box-office. Her films with Raj Kapoor titled Diwana and Dev Anand titled Par Muhabbat did good business mainly due to hit music of Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of those films including “ai sanam jisne tujhe chaand si surat di hai”, “dil ki awaz khuda khair Karen” still remain the landmarks of Indian film music. Even Saira Banu’s comedy films like Parosan opposite Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood did brilliant business.

From the mid-70s Saira Banu faded away from the industry before acting in films opposite Big B like Zameer and Hera Pheri. The viewers expect her to contribute in bollywood films in character roles again.

The nation remembers Rafi on his death anniversary.

The nation remembers Rafi on his death anniversary.

The nation remembers Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary on 31st july, 2009. It was a very painful experience for most of the music lovers of India and abroad to recollect the experience of 31st July, 1980. 29 years had passed since his death and yet time could not heal the wound inflicted in the hearts of numerous music lovers of the country.

He is still alive in the hearts of millions of Indians with his 26000 songs. He had given expression to almost all the leading stars of bollywood and also the poets and composers of the golden age. He had created such an invaluable treasure of songs most of which can be termed as masterpieces, that the listeners can cherish his work for ever.

Admirers of Naushad can hear Rafi’s “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan”, “man tarpat”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”, “ek shahenshahne banwake haseen tajmahal” thousand times, admirers of Shankar Jaikishan search Rafi in “o mere shahekhuba”, “chalke teri ankhose”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, etc., admirers of Roshan find peace in Rafi’s “jo wada kiya ho”, “dil jo na keh saka”, “ab kya misaal doon”, “man re”, etc., admirers of Madan Mohan hear “tumhari zulfonki saye me”, “aap ke pehlu me”, “baad muddat key eh ghari aye”, etc., again and again. Besides Rafi had galvanized the fortunes of Laxmikant Pyarellal, OP Nayyar, SD Burman, Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman and many other composers of the 50s, 60s, 70s. Articles after articles can be devoted to Rafi’s combination with the musical giants.

On the other hand Rafi had raised the standard of playback singing in the golden age which had become a benchmark which is difficult reach but can be followed by singers of the present day. Rafi had given different types of expressions for Dilip Kumar (madhuban me radhika, aaj purani rahon par), Shammi Kapoor (akele akele, diwana hua badal), Rajender Kumar (mere mehboob tujhe, o priya), Johnny Walker (ay dil mushkil, jangal me mor nacha), Pradeep Kumar (dil jo na keh saka, hum intezar karenge), Guru Dutt (chaudavi ka chand, yeh mahalon), Biswajeet (pukarta chala hoon mai, a gale lag ja) Bharat Bhushan (zindagi bhar nahi, kisiki yaad me), Joy Mukherjee (bahut shukriya, japan love in tokyo, Dharmender (naja kabhi ab na ja, gair tum bhula na doge), Jeetender (dhal gaya din, baar baar din yeh aye) and others. Rafi’s combination with these evergreen stars had been glorified and is still being revisited.

In respect of Rafi lovers all across the world, there is one big challenge to unearth many unheard songs including Rafi’s private albums. A number of songs sung in the regional languages had been preserved, including Bengali songs like songs of Nazrul Islam. Songs like “alga korogo khopar badhon”, “pakhitar buke”, “ekhono biday bolona”, “tomar nil dopati chok”, “e jibone mor”, amused the Bengali audience as well.

The playback singers of the present age like Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and others pay immense respect to Mohammad Rafi and still consider him as the legend of legends in the field of music. Sonu Nigam in the program Mohammad Rafi resurrected tried to sing Rafi’s classics in Europe. The listeners realized that the singing of versatile singer Sonu Nigam even could not match Rafi’s level of excellence and as such most of his songs can challenge the leading singers of India and Pakistan even today. With change in demands of music at this present moment with pop, rap, western collections becoming prevalent, Rafi is probably the only legend of the 50s, 60s, and 70s whose songs had still remained young.

The listeners should revisit the songs of Rafi and restore the creations to pay homage to the noble soul who departed the music -lovers 29 years ago.

Remembering Rajender Kumar on his birthday.

Remembering Rajender Kumar on his birthday.

The viewers remember Jubilee Kumar Rajender Kumar on his birthday on 20th July, 2009. He had died few years back and his viewers all over India and outside India had mourned the death of the legendary romantic actor.

From 1963 to 1966, all his films celebrated silver jubilees. From that time he became Jubilee Kumar. His films were designed in the same lines as that of Dilip Kumar, and he was successful in getting appreciation of the refined viewers of the country. Right from Goonj Uthi Shehnai, he acted in roles which were sacrificing nature and most of the roles touched the hearts of the viewers. He was sublime in Mere Mehboob and Aarzoo opposite Sadhna, Dil Ek Mandir, Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan, opposite Meena Kumari. He acted in many films opposite Vaijayantimala and most of them ended up becoming superhit films, including Zindagi, Sangam, Aas Ka Panchi, Ganwar, Suraj, Saathi, to name a few.

Rajender Kumar acted in superhit films opposite Saira Banu as well including Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Aman, etc. Rajender Kumar’s films were also remembered by the audience for their everlasting music composed by Shankar Jaikishan and Naushad. SJ’s music in the film Ayee Milan Ki Bela, with Rafi’s songs like “mai pyar ka diwana”, “aha aye Milan ki bela”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, “tum khamseen ho” became invaluable hits. SJ’s music in the film Suraj was equally impressive with Rafi’s songs like “chehere pe giri zulfein”, “kaise samjhayun”, “baharon phool barsao”, storming bollywood in the mid-60s.

Naushad gave his career’s best music in the film Mere Mehboob. All the songs sung by Rafi and Lata including “mere mehboob tujhe”, “ai husn zara jag tujhe”, “tumse izhaar – e – haal”, etc., astonishing listeners in India and abroad. Also the songs of Palki, like “dil –e –betaab ko seene se lagana hoga”, showed the high quality of ghazals which were given adequate expression by Rafi.

Rajender Kumar never received any filmfare award for his performance, but the viewers in India and abroad acknowledged his creditable performance in most of the films. His films should be revisited.

Death anniversary of Shankar.

Death anniversary of Shankar.

The viewers of bollywood films mourn the death anniversary of Shankar, the legendary composer on 26th April, 2009, whose combination with Jaikishan had created musical masterpieces during the 40s, 50s and 60s. The combination started working together in Raj Kapoor’s film Barsaat in 1949, and after that they never looked back. They created trends, broke the conventional style of music, experimented in every level of music, gave music in the films of all the leading actors and actresses of 50s and 60s.

As the name of Shankar Jaikishan was always used together due to their dominance in bollywood music in the 50s and 60s, individually their individual capabilities were not discussed in details. Music historians had reiterated after the death of the magical duo that Shankar had contributed the most in the classical songs while Jaikishan was more instrumental in the westernized tunes and orchestrations. Further Shankar’s most of the compositions were associated with lyricist Shailendra and Jaikishan’s creations were mostly associated with Shankar.

Some of the unforgettable classical tunes of SJ include “sur na saje kya gayun mai” sung by Manna Dey in the film Basant Bahar picturised on Bharat Bhushan, “ajahu na aye balma” sung by Rafi in the film Saanjh Aur Sawera picturised on Mehmood, “aji ruth kar ab kahan jayiega” sung by Lata and Rafi in the film Aarzoo picturised on Sadhna and Rajender Kumar, “o mere shahe khuba” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Love In Tokyo, picturised on Joy Mukherjee and Sadhna, etc.

Besides a huge number of compositions of SJ included folk songs involving the smell of the soil from where they had originated. Those songs included “ramaiya vasta maiya” in the film Shree 420, sung by Rafi, Lata and Mukesh picturised on Raj Kapoor and Nargis, “chalat musafir” in the film Teesri Kasam, sung by Manna Dey picturised on Raj Kapoor, “aa ab laut chale” sung by Mukesh, Lata and picturised on Raj Kapoor and Padmini, etc.

Music lovers lament the death of Shankar and the disintegration of the SJ team in the 60s, because they had contributed in the films of Raj Kapoor, Rajender Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Dharmender, Jeetender, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar, etc., which includes almost the entire industry. So viewers of different tastes enjoyed the composition of SJ in those films. It is very sad that during the last 15 years, the media had underrated SJ and tried to project RD Burman as the greatest phenomenon of the century. He was a definitely a brilliant composer but his contribution cannot be equated with the dynamic composition of SJ. Shankar’s contributions should be preserved and restored.

Rafi's greatest success with Rajender Kumar, Shankar Jaikishan and Naushad

Rafi’s greatest success with Rajender Kumar, Shankar Jaikishan and Naushad.

Rafi had a dream run in the 60s, mainly in the films of Jubilee Kumar, Rajender Kumar for more than a number of reasons. Firstly Rajender Kumar acted in the production and direction of biggest banners of bollywood in the 60s. Secondly from 1963 to 1966, all his films ended up in silver jubilee showing his immense popularity and strong presence in the box-office. Shankar Jaikishan was equated with God in the early 60s and the main reason of the box-office success of Jubillee Kumar’s films was the superlative music given to him by both SJ and Naushad.

In the film Ayee Milan Ki Bela, all the songs of SJ, picturised on Rajender Kumar and sung by Rafi became super hit The immortal songs include “mai pyar ka diwana”, “aha aye Milan ki bela”, “tum khamseen ho”, “to bura maan gaye”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”. Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu’s online chemistry in the film helped in the success of the film.

SJ’s composition in the film Aarzoo, Humrahi and Sasural for Rajender Kumar and Rafi were equally rich. The brilliant songs include “chalke teri aankhose”, “ae nargisi mastana”, “aji ruth kar ab”, “yeh aansoo meri dil ki zubaan hai”, “teri pyari pyari surat ko”, "mujhko apne gale lagalo", to mention a few. Sadhna complimented the powerful performance of Rajender Kumar in Aarzoo.

The brilliant combination of Rafi, SJ and Rajender Kumar, continued in the film Dil Ek Mandir and Jhuk Gaya Aasman. Prominent songs include “yaad na jaye”, “jahan koi nahi”, “dil ek mandir hai”, “o priya kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “kahan chal diye”, to mention a few. SJ Rafi and Rajender Kumar continued in the film Aman, where songs like “surahidar garden koel si hi awaz” still mesmerizes the listeners.

Rafi, Rajender Kumar and SJ created history even in the film Suraj. The songs “kaise samjhayun”, “chehere pe giri zulfein”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, “baharon phool barsao” had become immortal over the years. Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala’s screen presence were as majestic as the voice of Rafi and the quality of music of Shankar Jaikishan. The other films where the magic combination of Rafi, Rajender Kumar and Shankar Jaikishan made people speechless include Zindagi and Sangam, with the prominent songs being “pehle milethe sapno me” and “meherban likhoon”.

A big section of music lovers agree that had Jaikishan not died in 1971, Rafi’s dominance in bollywood music not suffered at all. In fact SJ’s tunes were brilliant and were specifically catered towards the likings of common mass. They were not that technical which could not reach the audience. Besides SJ gave tunes in around 10 films per years all along the 50s and 60s, the era when Rafi was unbeatable. RD Burman’s domination in the 70s would have got very strong resistence had Jaikishan survived few years more. The immortal lyrics of Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri also ended with the sad expiry of Jaikishan in 1971.
In the case of Naushad, his gharana was so classically oriented, that his composition for an actor had changed the destiny of the actor. Although Naushad and Rafi’s combination was associated mainly with respect to Tragedy King Dilip Kumar, he preserved a huge treasure of music for Rajender Kumar as well.

Mere Mehboob, stands out as probably one of the greatest creations of Naushad ever in the history of bollywood music. All the songs of Rafi for Rajender Kumar, including “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam”, “tumse izhaar-e-haal kar baithe”, “ai husn zara jag tujhe ishq jagaye” had revealed the royal elite culture of Aligarh and Lucknow in the form of shayri and ghazals. Rajender Kumar and Sadhna were at their best in the film.

Naushad and Rafi were sublime in Rajender Kumar’s film Palki. The song “dil-e-betaab ko sine se lagana hoga” shows the class of Naushad. Although Naushad utilized Rafi to perfection in Rajender Kumar’s Ganwar, he used Mukesh in major songs of the film Saathi due to pressure of the producer and director.

Rafi and Rajender Kumar were blessed with the immortal creations of Shankar Jaikishan and Naushad in the 60s and the films and the songs should be preserved as rich assets of the nation which can be cherished for generations after generations.

Saira Banu in the 60s.

Saira Banu in the 60s.

Saira Banu is still considered to be one of the beauty-queens of the 60s. Bollywood films had very serious competition in that era. In respect of major actresses, different types of skills were exhibited in bollywood films in those days, including the classical dancing skills displayed by Vaijayantimala, Rajashree, Padmini, Asha Parekh and others, the versatile acting skills displayed by Meena Kumari, Wahida Rehman, the modernized performances displayed by Mumtaz, and others, to name a few.

In that era, Saira Banu came up with her distinct style and identity. Her carefree attitude in films and supreme screen-presence created a special interest among producers and directors to cast her opposite leading stars of bollywood. She started her career in style with the film Junglee opposite Shammi Kapoor. The excellent music of Shankar Jaikishan created added attraction for viewers with Rafi and Lata’s songs like “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, etc.

Saira Banu formed a fantastic pair with Jubilee Kumar Rajender Kumar in the 60s. All their films ended up with silver jubilees. The films Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Aman and Jhuk Gaya Aasman, had fantastic locations, beautiful music and romantic stories. Most of the songs of these films composed by Shankar Jaikishan became landmarks in Indian musical history. The successful songs of Rafi and Lata include “aha aye milan ki bela”, “tum khamseen ho”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, “o priya, kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “kahan chal diye”, “surahidar garden”, “to bura maan gaye”, to name a few. Saira Banu gave excellent lips in the respective songs in these films.

In 1967, Saira Banu acted opposite Raj Kapoor in the comedy film Diwana. Again Shankar Jaikishan’s songs for Mukesh mainly became extremely popular including “diwana mujhko log kahe”, “tumhare bhi jai jai”, “aye sanam jisne tujhe chaand sa surat di hai”, “pate ka baat kahega”, “humto jate apne gaon”, etc. Saira Banu played the role of a rich girl and adapted herself in the romantic role.

She was sublime opposite Joy Mukherjee in the film Shagird and Biswajeet in the film April Fool. Both these films had fantastic music of Shankar Jaikishan and Laxmikant Pyarellal and songs of Rafi and Lata including “woh hai zara, khafa khafa”, “a gale lag ja”, “april fool banaya”, etc.

After marrying Dilip Kumar Saira Banu acted in films opposite him like Sagina, Gopi, Bairaag, etc. Most of these films were made in 70s and by that Saira Banu was not that impressive as in the 60s.

Whenever the viewers recall their romantic experiences in 60s, the beauty-queens appearance in films like Pyar Mohabbat opposite Dev Anand, Parosan opposite Sunil Dutt, etc., still haunts them. The films should be preserved for those reasons.

Remembering Raj Kapoor

Remembering Raj Kapoor.

Raj Kapoor, the greatest showman of last millennium would have celebrated his 85th birthday had he been alive. He had created the larger than life image of bollywood stars to perfection over a period of 50 years. He started his career as a producer, director with the film Aag, in 1947, where his faced was burnt due to the outbreak of fire.

In Awara, in 1951, he worked with the theme that human beings are the products of the society where they are brought up, genetic background does not determine the only characteristic of human beings. He was born out of the wedlock of Prithviraj Kapoor and Lila Chiknis and yet was born and brought up in a slum. Prithviraj Kapoor was an advocate of repute whose wife was kidnapped by a dacoit played by KN Singh. As he thought the dacoit had touched his wife he threw his wife and child out of his house. So the unlawful surroundings of Raj Kapoor compelled him to be a thief who was ultimately defended by his girlfriend and advocate played by Nargis. The music of Shankar Jaikishan became trend-setter with Lata’ s songs “ghar aya mera pardesi”, Mukesh’s songs “awara hoon” creating an impact on Indian and Russian audience.

Raj Kapoor’s message to the society continued in the film Shree 420. When he tried to get a job with his honesty, he was refused by the employers. When he got involved in unlawful activities by showing his skills in the game of cards, he became rich. Nadira and others got impressed and he got prestige in the society. Again the music of Shankar Jaikishan became superhit with all the songs of Manna Dey, Mukesh, Rafi, Lata, Asha becoming super hits. The hit songs include “ramaiya vasta maiyya”, “ichaakdana”, “pyar hua ikraar hua hai”, “dil ka haal sune dilwala”, “mur murke na dekh mur murke”, “mera jota hai japani”, to name a few.

His films Anari and Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai again carried the social message like his earlier films. Anari was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai was directed by Radhu Karmakar. Raj Kapoor received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in both these films. He also contributed with other realistic films in the 50s like Boot Polish and Jagte Raho where his social message had enlightened the viewers.

With the advent of coloured films Raj Kapoor gave one of the biggest blockbusters of his career with the film Sangam in 1964. It was based on triangular love story between himself, Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala. The exotic locations of Switzerland, London and other places of Europe created a landmark in the history of bollywood films. The music of Shankar Jaikishan again stormed bollywood films with hit songs of Rafi, Lata and Mukesh including “yeh mera prem patra par kar”, “dost dost na raha”, “har dil jo pyar karega”, “o mehbooba”, to name a few.

The other notable films of Raj Kapoor as a hero included Sharda with Meena Kumari, Ek Dil Sau Afsana and Teesri Kasam with Wahida Rehman, Nazrana with Vaijayantimala, Diwana with Saira Banu, Around the World with Rajashree, Sapno Ka Saudagar with Hema Malini, Mera Naam Joker with Padmini, to name a few. Shankar Jaikishan’s powerful music contributed a lot in almost all these films. Raj Kapoor’s music always touched the souls of numerous Indians during the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s.

After Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor promoted his sons Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor. His film Bobby was related to teenage romance, Satyam Shivam Sundaram was related to social barriers related to the life a girl with a burnt face, Prem Rog was related to miseries of a widow in Indian society, Ram Teri Ganga Maili was related to the pollution in the minds of Indians across the country which more severe than the pollution of Holy river Ganges.

Raj Kapoor died in 1988, after receiving the highest award of Indian films, Dada Saheb Phalke. He could not complete his film Henna, which was completed by Randhir Kapoor. If Dilip Kumar had glorified bollywood films with his immortal performances over 60 years, then Raj Kapoor had shown the viewers how to dream and what does showmanship mean. His legacy had been carried forward by Rishi Kapoor for the next 20 years.

The viewers remember the greatest showman of bollywood on 14th December, the birthday of Raj Kapoor.

Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu

Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu.

Rajender Kumar, better known as Jubilee Kumar, had acted in memorable films in the 60s, ranging from Mere Mehboob, to Sangam, Aarzoo to Suraj, etc. During that span he had acted with all the leading actresses of bollywood films including Vaijayantimala, Sadhna, Meena Kumari, Wahida Rehman, etc. His combination with Saira Banu was well accepted by the viewers.

Most of their films became successful and did very good business during the 60s. Their film Ayee Milan Ki Bela was a romantic film with melodious songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The memorable songs sung by Rafi and Lata include “to bura man gaye”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, “aha aye Milan ki bela dekho aye”, “tum khamseen ho”, “mai pyar ka diwana”, to name a few. Dharmender got a supporting role in the form of brother of Rajender Kumar. He also did well in the film.

Their film Jhuk Gaya Aasman was based on reincarnation. Rajender Kumar met with an accident and took the place another person who had huge property. The other Rajender Kumar was subject to conspiracy Prem Chopra and others who were interested to take his property.

Music again played a notable role with Shankar Jaikishan providing westernized tunes for Rafi and Lata. The hit songs sung by Rafi and Lata included “o priya, kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “saccha hai ghar”, “kahan chal diye”, to mention a few. The popularity of Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu contributed a lot for the success of the film. Rajender Nath, the brother of Prem Nath did well as a relief character.

The film which was less known involving Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu, included Aman. The film was based on the victims of Second World War. Rajender Kumar was a doctor and went to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to treat the victims who got infected due to hurling of Atom Bomb during the Second World War. Rajender Kumar went there against the wishes of his father played by Balraj Sahani. There he met Saira Banu and got involved with her.

The film depicted the damage that caused in most parts of Japan including the population and their property. It was not a romantic film in that sense. But the music of Shankar Jaikishan again appreciated by the audience. The notable songs included “surahidar garden, koel si hi awaaz”, “aaj ki raat”, etc. Rajender Kumar died at the end of the film.

The films of Jubilee Kumar and Saira Banu should be restored for the next generation as their romantic pair provided entertaining performances in the 60s.

Rafi, Shankar Jaikishan and Rajender Kumar

Rafi, Shankar Jaikishan and Rajender Kumar.

Rafi had sung legendary songs for all the leading stars of bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Rajender Kumar had given lips in many sophisticated songs of Rafi. Major compositions wee that of Shankar Jaikishan who had contributed for the high class of music during the golden age of bollywood music.

Rafi’s songs in the film Aarzoo including “ai phoon ki rani”, “aji ruth kar ab”, “ai nargisi begana”, “chalke tere aankho se”, were composed by SJ bearing different musical gharana including ghazal, geet, light romantic song. The romantic pair of Rajender Kumar and Sadhna was accepted by the viewers of India.

In the film Suraj, SJ composed the songs for Rafi including “bharaon phool barsao”, “kaise samjhayoon”, “itna hai tujhse pyar hai mujhe”, etc, which were all successful and contributed for the success of the film. Lata and Asha also sung their songs very well in the film. Rajender Kumar was elegant in giving lips in the film.


In the film Ai Milan ki Bela, SJ’s composition for Rafi included hit songs like “aha ai Milan ki bela”, “to bura maan gaye”, “tum khamseen ho”, etc. All the songs were hit and the pair of Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu was well accepted by filmlovers. The songs in the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman, including “o priya, kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “kahan chal diye”, etc., were equally successful and the romantic pair of Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu stormed bollywood during that age.

SJ composed romantic songs for Rajender Kumar in the film Humrahi, including songs like “mujhko apne gale lagalo”, “yeh aasoon”, etc., which had the romantic andaz of Rafi. Rafi was elegant in the film Dil Ek Mandir as well, where Meena Kumari and Raj Kumar gave lifetime performances opposite Rajender Kumar, the songs “jahan koi nahi”, “dil ek mandir hai”, “yaad na jaye”, had not lost their appeal today.


SJ, Rafi and Rajender Kumar had a huge partnership in giving hit songs for over ten years and even songs like “meherbaan likhoon”, in the film Sangam, show the class of composition even after 40 years of creation. The songs and the films should be preserved for their aesthetic value.