In our journey in the Time Machine to yearwise review of the best songs of a year, we now enter what is the single most important year in the history of film music. The evolution of Hindi film music can be seen as gradual changes, shaken with major tectonic shifts once in a while. One such tremor happened in 1969 with Aradhana which marked the resurgence of a new Kishore Kumar who became the voice of every hero. It also led to a new kind of sound and musical style which would herald the decline of erstwhile doyens like Naushad, C Ramchandra, OP Nayyar and Shankar-Jaikishan, leaving only SD Burman with his fresh sound unscathed, and emergence of RD Burman as the industry standard. Compared to this, 1949 was a Tsunami. Lata Mangeshkar who had an inconspicuous debut a couple of years earlier, and was gradually being noticed in 1948, burst forth on the scene in 1949 as the would-be defining voice of female playback singing, and marking the beginning of the end of the old courtesan/ theatrical style singing of the vintage singers. Shankar-Jaikishan with their very first film Barsaat shook the music scene with a different kind of orchestration and musical style which was easy on ears. At a very young age they would break into the rarefied world of top music directors and would stay there for two decades.
Naushad and C Ramchandra were two titans vying of for supremacy. S-J’s mentors and the first duo of Hindi films Husnlal-Bhagatram were near their top. Earlier era stalwarts like Khemchand Praksh and Anil Biswas also gave some of their landmark songs in the year. There were several others such as Shyam Sundar, Ghulam Mohammad etc who gave everlasting songs. I consider 1949 not only as the most important watershed in the history of film music, but also the year which gave the largest number of all-time great songs for Lata Mangehskar and some other singers.
Musical landmarks
When they did Barsaat Shankar was 27 and Jaikishan barely 20. At that age, one is awed by the towering giants. But they show supreme confidence in breaking a new ground with orchestration which bore no similarity to anything hitherto known. This was the most prolific year for Naushad with Andaz, Chandni Raat, Dillagi and Dulari, all with outstanding music. These films show an interesting passing of the baton from Shamshad Begum to Lata Mangeshkar. Never before or later he gave music for as many films. C Ramchandra is even more prolific in numbers. His films, too, in the year show a similar transition from the Vintage to the would-be Gold Standard Lata Mangeshkar. We have discussed this in detail earlier in Patanga where this phenomenon is seen most prominently. The Master’s Master Khemchand Prakash writes history with Ayega anewala in Mahal. This film, too, has equally significant presence of the vintage era female singers like Zohrabai Ambalewali and Rajkumari. Badi Bahan was one of the biggest hits of the year on the strength of Husnlal-Bhagatram’s music. This film has some of the career-best songs of Suraiya. HB had a good number of films in the year with more outstanding songs by his favourite singers Suraiya, Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.
Other important musical compositions
Khemchand Prakash shows his immense diversity with Rimjhim which has Kishore Kumar’s Jagmag karta in KL Saigal style and some great Shamshad Begum songs such as Na tum aye na neend ayi. In Sawan Aya Re he gave Amirbai Karnataki’s mellifluous Main to gawan chali hun kaahe bole papiha and Khan Mastana’s one of the career best Khushi ki aas rahi dil ko aur khushi na mili.
The Roll of Honour of great songs and music directors does not end here. Lata Mangehskar’s dominance in the year would not be complete without Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale (Bazaar) and Baharein phir bhi ayengi (Lahore) by Shyam Sundar and Haye chanda gaye pardes (Chakori) by Hansraj Bahal. These Punjab-school stalwarts had some more everlasting songs, such as Hansraj Bahal’s in Karwat and Raat Ki Rani. Who can forget Vinod’s La ra lappa la ra rappa. Sunehre Din by Gyan Dutt had some absolutely mesmerizing songs by Shamshad Begum (Thandi thandi hawa jo aye), Mukesh (Baharon ne jise chheda hai) and a duet by the two (Maine dekhi jag ki reet meet sab jhoothe pad gaye). One can go on endlessly but we can let it rest here, and take it up in greater detail when we come to category-wise Wrap Ups.
And, lastly, who can forget the Mukesh-Lata duet Ye duniya hai yahan dil ka lagana kisko ata hai by the Unlucky Genius Ghulam Mohammad from Shair. In a display of his diversity he composes some outstanding songs for Rafi (and Lata Mangeshkar) in Paras.
Debut
Roshan debuted with Kedar Sharma’s Neki Aur Bedi which bombed. But as we wold see it has some great songs. The grandest debut was of Shankar Jaikishan with Barsaat. Raj Kapoor had met them in Prithvi Theatres where they were employed as orchestra musicians. RK found them more suited to his vision of music than Ram Ganguli, the Prithvi old-timer, who had composed for his debut production Aag in which Shankar Jaikishan were assistants to him. What a landmark film Barsaat turned out to be. With all the songs becoming superhit, it was also the launch pad of many successful careers. Nimmi born Nawab Banu, daughter of the yesteryear actor-singer, Waheedan Bai, had her debut in Barsaat, and also got her screen name. She fulfilled her ambition of buying a Cadillac from her first movie. Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri as lyricists too debuted with Barsaat. The two lyricsists and the duo S-J alongwith Mukesh, as the voice of Raj Kapoor, would have a long association, making RK Films a hallmark of musical excellence. Ramanand Sagar as the writer of story, screenplay and dialogues was another remarkable debut with this film.
Khayyam debuted as independent music director with Parda under the name Sharmaji. It would take him about four years to start giving music under his name Khayam. OP Nayyar started his entry in Bombay film world with Kaneez for which he gave background music.
Mubarak Begum acted and sang for the first time in Aaiye. We have heard her debut song Mohe aane lagi angadayi, sung in a very conspicuous her idol Suraiya’s style. Sudha Malhotra started her singing career with The Last Message (Chal raha swaraj ka jhagda). It is now established that her claim of the doyen Anil Biswas having introduced her in Arzoo (1950) with Mila gaye nain is wrong.
That brings me to another famous break given by Anil Biswas in Arzoo – Talat Mahmood with the iconic Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal. We know that Talat had a long career with geets and ghazals on AIR/ HMV records, followed by acting and singing in Calcutta under the name Tapan Kumar. Not counting Samapti made by Uma Productions Calcutta, Talat has sung in at least two Bombay based films in 1949 – Rakhi and Swayam Siddha. Therefore, which was his first Hindi film song in Bombay? Are we going to see another Sudha Malhotra discovery?
Lyricists Asad Bhopali with Duniya, SH Bihari with Laadli and Anjum Jaipuri with Shaukeen also began their career in 1949.
Fact file and Trivia
Ayega anewala record mentioned ‘Kamini’ as the singer – the screen name of Madhubala. When the song became a rage, and hundreds of letters poured to know the name of the real singer, radio producers contacted HMV, and Lata Mangeshkar was mentioned on the radio. Since then it became a practice to mention the playback singer’s name. Barsaat became the first film when the film credits mentioned the name of playback singer. This source mentions that Kamal Amrohi wrote the opening lines Khamoh hai zamana and Nakhshab wrote the rest of the lyrics, but the whole song is credited to the latter. It further mentions that Kamal Amrohi wrote the opening lines of Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko and Arzoo Lakhanvi wrote the rest, but this too is credited to Nakhshab Jarachavi. How this song was recorded is described by Lata Mangeshkar in an interview to Javed Akhtar here. Iraan Ki Ek Raat was the last movie directed by the legendary PC Barua, a New Theatres stalwart, famous for Devdas (1935).
As we have seen, several legends are associated with Barsaat. Here is another. It had a scene of Raj Kapoor playing the violin to a lovelorn Nargis leaning on his arms. This was adapted as the iconic logo for RK films. Here is the logo and the scene in inset.
In Dillagi, both Shyam (hero) and Shyam Kumar (negative character) acted. Songs picturised on Shyam were actually sung by Shyam Kumar, but many sources mention just Shyam as the singer, which creates an erroneous impression that actually Shyam himself was the singer; whereas the fact is that Shyam never sang any songs. Shyman Kumar had also acted in some films as a hero. He was also a playback singer, but it seems he never sang for himself. If you are confused you have to blame Arunji. We were so blissful in our ignorance until he started clarifying same name confusions.
Censorship was introduced in India by an Act of Parliament.
Comedian VH Desai, who had a funny and irritating role as a busybody in Andaaz, died of heart attack in the year.
In one of her rare associations with Naushad, Geeta Roy sings Tu mera chand main teri chandni towards the end of Dillagi.
LIST OF MEMORABLE SONGS
Aaiye: Lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi, Music Shaukat Haidari (Nashad)
1. Mohe aane lagi angadayi – Mubarak Begum
Amar Kahani: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
2. Khushiyon ka zamana beet gaya – Suraiya
Andaz: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music Naushad
3. Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe – Mukesh
4. Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar – Mukesh
5. Koi mere dil mein khushi ban ke aya – Lata Mangeshkar
6. Toote na dil toote na – Mukesh
7. Jhoom jhoom ke nacho aaj – Mukesh
8. Yun to aapas mein bigadate hain khafa hote hain – Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar
9. Uthaye ja unke sitam – Lata Mangeshkar
Badi Bahan: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Rajendra Krishna, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
10. Chup chup khade ho zaroor koi baat hai – Premlata and Lata Mangeshkar
11. Wo paas rahein ya door rahein – Suraiya
12. Chale jana nahi nain mila ke – Lata Mangeshkar
13. Jo dil mein khushi ban ke aye – Lata Mangeshkar
14. Tum mujhko bhool jaao – Lata Mangeshkar
15. Likhanewale ne likh di meri taqdeer mein barbadi – Suraiya
16. Mohabbat ke dhokhe mein koi na aaye – Rafi
17. Bigadi bananewale – Suraiya
Baalam: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
18. Duniyawalo mujhe bataao kya hai sachcha pyar – Rafi and SD Batish/ Lata Mangeshkar and Suraiya
Barsaat – Music Shankar Jaikishan
19. Hawa mein udata jaaye – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Ramesh Bakshi)
20. Jiya beqaraar hai – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
21. Barsaat mein humse mile tum sajan tumse mile hum – Lata Mangeshkar – lyrics Shailendra
22. Mujhe kisi se pyar ho gaya – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Jalal Malihabadi)
23. Meri aankhon mein bas gaya koi re – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
24.Tirchhi nazar hai patli kamar hai – Mukesh & Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Shailendra)
25. Main zindagi mei hardam rota hi raha hun – Rafi (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
26. Ab mera kaun sahara – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
27. Chhod gaye baalam mujhe haaye akela chhod gaye – Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar (lyricsHasrat Jaipuri)
28. Bichhade huye pardesi ek bar to aana tu – Lata Mangeshkar (lyricsHasrat Jaipuri)
Bazaar: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Music Shyam Sundar
29. Ram qasam main ghunghat ke pat na kholun re – Rajkumari and Satish Batra
30. Chhalla de ja nishani teri meharbani – Shamshad Begum, Rafi and SD Batish
31. Ae mohabbat unse milne ka bahana ban gaya – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
32. Zara sun lo hum apne pyar ka afsana kahte hain – Lata Mangeshkar and Rajkumari
33. Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale – Lata Mangeshkar
34. Apni nazar se door wo unki nazar se door hum – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
35. Bhoolnewale ye duniya… Ae dil unko yaad na karna – Lata Mangeshkar
Chakori: Lyrics Mulk Raj Bhakhri, Music Hans Raj Bahal
36. Haye chanda gaye pardes – Lata Mangeshkar
Chandni Raat: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Naushad
37. Aankh mili dil chala gaya – Shamshad Begum
38. Chheen ke dil kyun pher li aankhen – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
39. Kaise baje dil ka sitar – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
40. Khabar kya thi ki gham khana padega – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
41. Do din ki khushi raas na ayi mere jee ko – Shamshad Begum
42. Chhaya meri ummmeed ki duniya mein andhera – Shamshad Begum
43. Sainya se bichhud gayi ho more Ram – Amirbai Karnataki and Sadat Khan
44. Dil ho unhe mubarak jo dil ko dhoondte hain – Rafi
Char Din: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Shyam Sundar
45. Haseenon ki adayein bhi..Haye ye bhoi sooratwale – Rafi, SD Batish & Rajkumari/ Iqbal, Zohra Ambalewali/ Lata Mangeshkar
Dada: Music Nashad (Shaukat Dehalvi)
46. Tera kisi se pyar that u wo zamana bhool ja – Mukesh and Surinder Kaur (lyrics Shevan Rizvi)
Dillagi: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Naushad
47. Murliwale murli baja – Suraiya
48. Meri pyari patang – Uma Devi and Shamshad Begum
49. Tu mera chand main teri chandni – Shyam Kumar and Suraiya
50. Tera khayal dil se bhulaya na jayega – Suraiya
51. Is duniya mein ae dilwalo dil ka lagana khel nahi – Rafi
52. Char din ki chandini phir andheri raat hai – Suraiya
53. Nirala mohabbat ka dastoor dekha – Suraiya
54. Tere kooche mein armanon ki duniya le ke aya hun – Rafi
55. Zalim zamana mujho tumse chhuda raha hai – Shyam Kumar and Suraiya
Dulari: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Naushad
56. Ae dil tujhe qasam hai tu himmat na harna – Lata Mangeshkar
57. Aankhon mein aa ja dil mein sama ja – Lata Mangeshkar
58. Na wo humse juda honge na ulfat dil se niklegi – Lata Mangeshkar
59. Mohabbat hamari zamana hamara – Lata Mangeshkar
60. Raat rageeli mast nazaare – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
61. Mil mil ke gayenge ho – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
62. Suhani raat dhal chuki – Rafi
63. Chandni ayi ban ke pyar – Shamshad Begum
64. Na bol pi pi more angana – Shamshad Begum
Duniya: Music C Ramchandra
65. Is waade ka matlab kya samjhun – Rafi
66. Arman lute dil toot gaya – Suraiya
67. Kismet ke likhe ko mita na sake – Rafi and Suraiya
68. Rona hai to ro chupke chupke – Rafi
Ek Thi Ladki: Lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, Music Vinod
69. Lara lappa lara lappa – Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi and Durrani
70. Ghat kari matwari ghir ayi rasiya re – Zeenat Begum
71. Ab haal-e-dil ya haal-e-jigar kuchh na poochhiye – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
72. Mere dil ke tadapane ka tamasha dekhnewale – Lata Mangeshkar
Jal Tarang: Music Huslal-Bhagatram
73. Zara tumne dekha to pyar ho gaya – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Kaif Irfani)
Jeet: Lyrics Prem Dhawan, Music Anil Biswas (and Shyam Babu Pathak)
74. Chahe kitni kathin dagar ho – Shankar Dasgupta and Suraiya
75. Tum meet mere tum pran mere – Suraiya
76. Mast pawan hai chanchal dhara – Lata Mangeshkar
77. Kuchh phool khile armanon ke – Suraiya
78. Tum man ki peeda kya samjho – Suraiya
Kamal: Music SD Burman
79. Meri kashti ko mohabbat ka kinara mil gaya – Geeta Roy (lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan)
Kaneez: Music Ghulam Haider
80. Tum kya jano mere mathe ki bindiya ka mol – GM Durrani and Shamshad Begum (lyrics Shatir Ghazanavi)
81. Salaam-e-mohabbat ka matlab bata do – Zeenat Begum (lyrics Hasrat Lakhanavi)
Karwat: Music Hans Raj Bahal
82. Nigahein milane ko ji chahta hai – Paro Devi/Satish (lyrics Saifuddin Saif)
Laadli: Music Anil Biswas
83. Aankhen kah gayin dil ki baat – SD Batish (lyrics Dr Safdar Aah)
84. Tumhare bulane ko ji chahta hai – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Bahzad Lakhanavi)
Lahore: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music Shyam Sundar
85. Duniya hamare pyar ki yunhi jawan rahe – Karan Dewan and Lata Mangeshkar
86. Nazar se door janewale….Baharein phir bhi ayengi – Lata Mangeshkar
Lekh: Music Krishna Dayal
87. Badra ki chhaon tale nanhi nanhi bundiya – Mukesh and Suraiya (lyrics Qamar Jalalabdi)
88. Seene pe mere barq gira kar chale gaye – Suraiya (lyrics AN Khanna)
Mahal: Lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi, Music Khemchand Prakash
89. Khamosh hai zamana…Ayega anewala – Lata Mangeshkar
90. Chhun chhun ghungharwa baje..Ye raat phir na ayegi – Zohrabai Ambalewali and Rajkumari
91. Mushqil hai bahut mushqil – Lata Mangeshkar
92. Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko takrayein to achchha ho – Rajkumari
93. Ek teer chala dil pe laga haye mera dil – Rajkumari
94. Dil ne phir yaad kiya bewafa laut bhi aa – Lata Mangeshkar
Naach: Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
95. Chhaya saman suhana – Rafi and Suraiya (lyrics Kaif Irfani)
Namoona: Music C Ramchandra
96. Zulm tumhare sah na sake…Ek thes lagi – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi)
97. Tamtam se jhanko na Raniji – Shamshad Begum (lyrics PL Santoshi)
Neki Aur Badi: Lyrics Kidar Sharna, Music Roshan
98. Humein bhane lage dil lagane lage – Rajkumari
99. Kyon ji scent lagaya hai – Firoz Dastoor and Amirbai Karnataki
Nishan: Lyrics Pt Indra, Music Rajeshwar Rao, MD Parthasarathi and BK Kalla
100. Jaiyo jaiyo sipahiya bazaar – Shamshad Begum
101. More angana mein balma aaye main sharmayi – Shamshad Begum and Moti
102. Pardes na jaiyo mausam salona hai barsaat ka – Zohrabai Ambalewali and Moti
Paras: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Ghulam Mohammad
103. Dil le ke chhupnewale – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
104. Dil ki lagi ne humko deewana karke chhoda – Rafi
Parda: Music Sharmaji
105. Mere pyare sanam ki hai pyari gali – Asha Bhosle (lyrics Ramanand)
106. Miyanji chori chori mulaqat na karo – Zohrabai Ambalewali (Ramanand)
Patanga: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music C Ramchandra
107. Gore gore mukhade pe gesu jo chha gaye – Shamshad Begum
108. Duniya ko yare phool aur sitare – Shamshad Begum
109. Jisne is duniya mein…O dilwalo dil ka lagana achchha hai – Chitalkar and Shamshad Begum
110. Mere piya gaye Rangoon – Chitalakr and Shamshad Begum
111. Pyar ke jahan ki nirali sarkar hai – Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum
112. Namaste namaste pahle to ho gayi namaste Namaste – Chitalkar, Rafi, Shamshad Begum and Mohantara
113. Bolo ji dil loge to kya kya doge – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
114. Dil se bhula do tum humein – Lata Mangeshkar
115. Thukra ke janewale..O janewale tune armanon ki – Lata Mangeshkar
116. Mohabbat ki khushi…Kabhi khamosh ho jana – Lata Mangeshkar
Rakhi: Lyrics Sarshar Sailani, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
117. Teri gali se bahut..Dil par kisi ka teer-e-nazar kha ke rah gaye – Talat Mahmood
Raat Ki Rani: Music Hansraj Bahal
118. Duniya ki sabha pal chhin hi sahi – Geeat Roy (lyrics Rajendra Krishna)
119. Jin raaton mein neend ud jati hai – Rafi (lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi)
120. Sun to lo mera afsana – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics A Shah Shikarpuri)
Ram Vivah: Music Shankar Rao Vyas
121. Hey chandravadan chanda ki kiran – Rajkumari
Rimjhim: Music Khemchand Prakash
122. Jagmag jagmag karta nikla chand poonam ka pyara – Kishore Kumar (lyrics Bharat Vyas)
123. Na tum aye na neend ayi rumhari yaad hi ayi – Shamshad Begum (lyrics Bharat Vyas)
Sanwariya: Lyrics PL Santoshi, Music C Ramchandra
124. Dua denewale humein do duayein – Chitalkar and Lalita Deulkar
Sawan Aya Re: Music Khemchand Prakash
125. Main to chanda si gori naar – Shamshad Begum (lyrics ‘Gulshan’ Jalalabadi)
126. Pahne pili sari..Main to gawan chali hun – Amirbai Karnataki (lyrics Rammoorti Caturvedi)
127. Khushi ki aas rahi dil ko aur khushi na mili – Khan Mastana (lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi)
128. Ae dil na mujhe yaad dila yaadein purani – Rafi and Shamshad Begum (lyrics Bharat Vyas)
Shabnam: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Muisc SD Burman
129. Ye duniya roop ki chor – Shamshad Begum
130. Mera dil tadpa ke kahan chala – Geeta Roy
131. Tu mahal mein rahnewali – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum
132. Dekho ayi pahli mohabbat ki raat – Shamshad Begum and chorus
133. Pyar mein tumne dhokha seekha – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum
134. Qismat mein bichhadna tha – Mukesh and Geeta Roy
135. Qadar meri na jani chhod ke janewale – Shamshad Begum
Shair: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Ghulam Mohammad
136. Tu door hai aankhon se – Lata Mangeshkar
137. Do bichhade huye dil aapas mein gaye mil – GM Durrani and Lata Mangehkar
138. Ye duniya hai yahan dil ka lagana kisko ata hai – Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar
Singaar: Music Khursheed Anwar
139. Dhadak dhadak tere bin mera jiyra sagri rain sataye re – Suraiya (lyrics DN Madhok)
140. Ari O mohe chhed gaya – Rajkumari and Pushpa Hans (lyrics DN Madhok)
141. Kaun samjhega..Din aane ked hang niraale hain – Surinder Kaur (lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi)
Sipahiya: Music C Ramchandra
142. Chahte ho gar..Ankhen ladana chhod do – Chitalkar (lyrics Rammoorti Chaturvedi)
143. Mere sipahiya hamari gali aiyo tumhe meri qasam – Chitalkar and Shamshad Begum (lyrics Raj Kunwar)
144. Hansi hansi na rahi aur khushi khushi na rahi – Lata Mangeshkar (Arzoo Lakahanavi)
145. Dard jaga ke thes laga ke chale gaye haye chale gaye – Lata Mangeshkar (Rammoorti Chaturvedi)
Sunehre Din: Music Gyan Dutt
146. Baharon ne jise chheda hai – Mukesh (lyrics Shevan Rizvi)
147. Lo ji sun lo tumse kahte hain – Mukesh and Surinder Kaur (lyrics DN Madhok)
148. Jiya ka diya piya tim tim – Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt (Shekhar)
149. Maine dekhi jag ki reet – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum (lyrics DN Madhok)
150. Tum sang ankhiyan mila ke – Surinder Kaur (lyrics DN Madhok)
151. Thandi thandi hawa jo aye koi chhoti si badariya ko – Shamshad Begum (DN Madhok)
Swayam Siddha: Lyrics Bhawani Prasad Mishra, Music Prafulla Kumar Chaudhary
152. Jo beet gaya so beet gaya – Talat Mahmood
Thes: Lyrics Kidar Sharma, Music Snehal Bhatkar
153. Hum bhi aseer-e-gham hain – Rajkumari
154. Baat to kuchh bhi nahi – Mukesh and Rafi
155. Bolo bolo sajan kuchh to bolo – Mukesh and Rajkumari
Zevarat: Lyrics Habib Sarhadi, Music Hansraj Bahal
156. Saajan ki ot leke – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
157. Chale aao chale aao mujhe tumse mohabbat hai – Lata Mangeshkar
Special songs
As the readers are aware, an important part of these reviews are ‘Special’ songs which would not fit in any conventional best list, yet they are unique in many respects, and they need to be specially remembered.
1. Ari O mohe chhed gaya by Rajkumar and Pushpa Hans from Singaar, lyrics DN Madhok, music Khursheed Anwar
This is a fabulous dance song in the tradition of O jaanewale baalamwa laut ke aa. Cuckoo is always charming. The male dancer has been identified in some YT links as the famous lyricist Prem Dhawan who also gave music for some well-known films such as Shaheed (1965).
2. Kaun samjhega..Din aane ke dhang niraale hain by Surinder Kaur from Singaar, lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi, music Khursheed Anwar
From the same film here is another dance, now by the leading lady. Therefore, you have a contrast from Cuckoo’s dance. Yet, the gorgeous voice of the doyenne from Punjab, Surinder Kaur, and delicate movements of the Venus Madhubala make it beautiful.
3. Ram qasam main ghunghat ke pat na kholun re by Rajkumari from Bazaar, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Shyam Sundar
We have seen Yaqub in drag earlier, dancing to Inhi logon ne in Aabroo (1943), composed by Govind Ram. He does a very cute drag act again, with Mishra (?).
4. Kyunji scent lagaya hai by Firoz Dastur and Amirbai Karnataki from Neki Aur Badi (1949), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Roshan
Roshan’s debut was a disaster. But now its songs are available on YT. This superb duet will linger with you for a long time. Amirbai was a leading singer of her time. Firoz Dastur, besides singing in films, was a renowned classical singer of Kirana gharana. His full-throated, melodious singing in the duet shows his professional training and years of riyaaz. No wonder Kidar Sharma saw Roshan’s talent and persisted with him in Bawre Nain next year. And the rest, as they say, is history.
5. Nigahein milane ko ji chahta hai by Paro Devi/Satish from Karwat (1949), lyrics Saifuddin ‘Saif’, music Hans Raj Bahal
A wonderful twin song. Its mukhda was later used in the famous qawwali in Dil Hi To Hai composed by Roshan. In an exception to my general theory the female version is better.
Female version
Male version
6. Duniyawalo mujhe bataao kya hai sachcha pyaar by Rafi-SD Batish/Lata-Suraiya from Baalam, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
While twin solos are very common, twin duets are extremely rare. The only other example of a double version duet with different sets of singers I know of is Jabse hum tum baharon mein from Main Shadi Karne Chala (1962), composed by Chitragupta – one version by Mukesh and Kamal Barot and the other by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur. You can enjoy both the versions here. A rare male-male and female-female Twin duet song came in this year. This was brought to our notice first by Mumbaikar8.
Male-male duet
Female-female duet
7. Haseenon ki adayein bhi..Haye ye bholi sooratwle dil ka lagana kya jane by Rafi, SD Batish & Rajkumari/ Iqbal, Zohra Ambalewali and Lata Mangeshkar
If you think a twin double was rare, this year saw an even rarer twin triad songs – one version sung by Rafi, SD Batish and Rajkumari, and another version by Iqbal, Zohrabai Ambalewali and Lata Mangehkar. Here is a combined link of this song. While HFGK lists it as two different songs as I have mentioned, there is some doubt whether it was a single song and whether there were six or more singers. In that case, too, it would be an exceptional song with so many distinct singers except the chorus.
8. Jaiyo jaiyo sipahiya bazaar by Shamshad Begum from Nishan, lyrics Pt Indra, music Rajeshwar Rao
If 1949 had some unique multiple version songs, it also had at least two multiple-language songs, both by Shamshad Begum. We have already seen one – Ye duniya roop ki chor from Shabnam while discussing Shamshad Begum’s songs by SD Burman. Here is another one from this fantasy-action thriller from South. P Bhanumati is as charming as Kamini Kaushal. A special attraction is SD Burman’s Rongila rongila rongila re in the Bengali part, which was later adapted by him as Aan milo aan milo Shyam saanwre for Devdas (1955).
9. Baat to kuchh bhi nahi by Mukesh and Rafi from Thes (1949), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Snehal Bhatkar
A Rafi-Mukesh duet is very rare. This one must be one of their earliest. A slow-paced soothing song.
10. Aankhen kah gayin dil ki baat by SD Batish from Laadli (1949), lyrics Safdar ‘Aah’, music Anil Biswas
Tumhare bulane ko dil chahta hai by Lata Mangeshkar from this film is one of her career best. This song overpowered other good songs from this film. A trained singer in classical music, SD Batish, however, is not among prominent playback singers. He is one of the voices in several well-know qawwalis and multiple-singer songs. The best I know of is Manmohan man mein ho tumhi with Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from Kaise Kahun (1964), composed by SD Burman. Here is a rare solo by him which bears the class of the maestro Anil Biswas.
Readers may be surprised that I have posted only ten special songs whereas in the overview of 1950 I had given fifteen. In 1949, even 30 would not suffice. I propose to post some special songs in each of the category-wise Wrap Ups. I stop here, and present it before the knowledgeable readers for their comments and nominations for:
And the winners are?
Best male playback singer
Best ‘other’ female playback singer
Best songs of Lata Mangeshkar
Best duets
Best music director
Acknowledgements:
1. Surjit Singh’s site has excellent two-part article on the songs of 1949.
http://films.hindi-movies-songs.com/articles/1949-1.html
http://films.hindi-movies-songs.com/articles/1949-2.html
2. Atul Song A Day
3. Hindi Film Geet Kosh
4. YouTube