SCRIPTING  THROUGH   SONGS  – SAGA OF   HINDI   CINEMA

The story of Hindi Cinema is the story of its songs. Truly; our colourful, mosaic culture of rhythm and melody is captivated in reams of celluloid  through last century and present .

    Even when the films were silent the ‘live orchestra’ played to give sound to the songs at Opera House ,Mumbai and other cinema theatres .  With the advent of  ‘Talkies’ the singing stars, music directors  and lyricists  rose to the fore, the ‘playback technology’ came later. K L Sehgal, Suraya, Noor Jahan were the singing stars. Even  Ashok Kumar had to sing with Devika Rani in the 1936, landmark Bombay Talkies film‘Achut Kanya’-“mein ban ki chiriya ban ban bolun re…”

  The popularity of Music Directors was as high as that of the stars of the film and so their names appeared prominently on the posters. Though now with ‘mobile phones’ the trend has changed but in the ‘golden old days’ most ardent film goers kept a diary where they would  write regularly the lyrics of the film songs.  The older generation   may recollect that at the end of the cinema thin booklets of film songs would be sold by the moving vendors at 25 paise or so . One had made it a habit to purchase the same, preserve and  to memorise the songs. Music remained a selling point till the advent of digital age,  prior to that music of the film was separately sold before the film to music companies which covered the major cost of film making . In this aspect Hindi cinema  was very different from European and world cinema.

    For many years and even till  the last decade we remembered films through their songs, whilst discussing and appreciating them. The stars were discussed through the songs they sang on screen because they lip-synched; now most songs are played on background.  .  Yes; Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor , Dev Anand , Raj Kumar and Amitabh Bachhan  were individually     discussed for their distinct dialogue delivery too. 

 Once, Devanand told a journalist that the biggest contribution to cinema of his banner ‘Navketan’ were  the songs. and it is indeed true. Recently there was ‘100 years of Dev Anand  celebration’ all over India and many of his films  were screened, I was not sure of the response when I saw ‘Guide’ , ‘CID’ and ‘Johny mera naam’ ; however to my utter joy the audience were happy to sing along when his songs appeared on screen , in fact during the casting title they were clapping  and most were young people. The list of Navketan hits is endless ; starting from “dukhi man mere sun mera kahna…” ( Funtoosh ), “jayen to jayen kahan” ( Taxi driver ), “teri duniyan mein jine se to betar hai ki mar jayen” ( house no 44 ),” tadbir se bigri hui taqdir banale”(Baazi),”hum hain rahi pyar ke hum se kuch na bolia”( Nau do gyaraha ),” gata rahe mera dil” ( Guide ),” khoya khoya chand khulaaasman” ( kala baazar ) “hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chalegaye “( kala paani)” mein jindagi ka saaath nibha ta chala gaya”( Hum Dono), “Aasma ke niche hum aaj aapne peeche “( jewel thief )and many more.

     It was only from the late fifties that the directors got a grip of the medium and got used to the technology of Cinema , but still the music directors , lyricists and singers had their sway as the public wanted more of it ,and were definitely superior artists than many of the writers and directors of that time. The reason was that music as an art form and later ‘cinema music’ was well established and wide spread and also well understood and popular and lasted for ever on radio and records and tapes; also through various local music groups which survived on them through local functions , marriages and ceremonies .  The cinema goers understood cinema better through songs and story being unfolded through songs compared to the other dramatic aspects. Further; the intellectual level of the song writers such as Sahir Ludhyanvi, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakil Badayuni was of a much refined level, with a sense of social commitment, which reflected in their songs. Dialogue writing was still maturing. The directors had not exploited the full personality of this potent modern medium.

 We may witness in the earlier cinema from late forties to mid sixties in many successful films that a beautiful song of cinema which sounded so good and imaginative was amateurishly  picturised on screen . The first super hit of the forties was 1943 Ashok Kumar – Shanti Mumtaz starrer ‘Kismet  produced by Bombay Talkies. It ran for 110 weeks in ‘Roxy cinema’ Kolkata ; however the picturization of popular songs was ordinary  notable among were “ Aaj Himalaya ki choti se Humne ye  pukara hai , door hato o Duniya walon Hindustan hamara hai” composed by Narendra Sharma it is a stage song. Similarly was Ashok Kumar’s romantic rendition “ Mera bulbul so raha hai”  .It was because the directors were compelled to add numerous songs as that was the demand of the  time    but were unable to do justice in picturisation in that there was no movement ,no action .

    However; all  the top directors such as Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy , Guru Dutt Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand  not only gave priority to songs but were masters in song picturization and they made landmark films with strong story and captivating dramatic situation, they understood the value of songs in Hindi Cinema and used them effectively as part of the narrative. The songs were essential turning points in the script .The Indian audience could relate to this style/form as it was brought up in singing drama tradition ( Ram lila, nautanki, tamasha )and therefore  we remember the films through songs : ‘Pyasa’ ( yeh mehlon ye takhton ye tazon ki duniya), ‘Mother India’ ( basti basti dware dware dhoondu mein sawariyan …), ‘Ganga Jamuna’ ( nain lar jayen re manuva man kasak huabe kari ) .

   Raj Kapoor rose to be a ‘showman’ as he picturised dance sequences so powerfully that the song and dance stayed with the audience for a long time – “Ghar aaye mera pardesi aas bujhi  mere akhiyan ki”  of ‘Aawara’ is a very long song with a surreal part which was something new , after the success it was expected that Raj Kapoor will present similar soul stirring   songs and he never disappointed- “ dil ka haal sune dil wala, chotisi baat na mirch masala” and “ Ramayya vasta vaiya ramaya vasta vaiya maine dil tuzhko diya” both from Shri 420. “ hai aag hamare sine main hum aag se khelte aate hain ..” of ‘Jis desh main Ganga behti hai’ and many more.

Vijay Anand was known for his unique and distinct song picturizations which remain popular  among the young even today . The most romantic song of the ‘Golden Era’ was picturised by Vijay Anand in ‘Hum-Dono’ on Devanand and Sadhna-“ Abhi na jao chod kar ked il abhi bhara nahin” and the famous performance of Dev Anand wherein he is totally immersed in this song   in the film Kala Bazaar “ khoya Khoya chand Khula Aasmaan ankhon me sari raat jayegi tum ko bhi kaise neend ayegi” where Dev dances alone under the moonlit night on hills and slopes and by the lake with Waheeda sitting at a distance listening ; Dev was attempting  to express his feelings and trying to convey his feelings to her and she stays amused. Vijay Anand’s penchant for making his songs remembered for their  originality is visible in 1970 film ‘Johny mera naam ‘ in the song “pal bhar ke liye koi hamen pyar karle , jhoota hi sahi”  in which as Devanand woos Hema Malini numerous windows one by one emerge . Though ‘Blackmail’ starring Dharmendra and Rakhee was not a big success but its songs are remembered and the song “ pal pal dil ke paas tum rehti ho” in which as Rakhee is immersed reading a sheaf of love letters imagining Dharmendra to be there in various situations and attire adds newness and intense romanticism.The music , the performance of actors , the lyrics  , the situation  makes such songs immortal.   The lyrics take a flight with the performance of actors to make these a collective creations. Bimal Roy knew the placement of songs in his films and how to inspire musicians and lyricists to give their best . The songs of Madhumati are  remembered    still –“ dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai abhija” penned by Shailendra and composed by Salil Chowdhary .  The climax song of ‘Bandini ‘ sung by Sachin Dev Burman was so haunting and captivating –“ mere sajan hain us paar main man maar hun si paar , le chal majhi ..” .

The innate sense of ‘song picturization’ could be sensed in Guru Dutt from the 1952 film ‘Jaal’ in which he directed Devanand and Gita Bali –“ Ye raat ye Chandni phir kahan sun ja dil ki daastaan”; the seaside setting, moonlit night, a cottage on the beach and Dev strumming guitar and Geeta Dutt is in raptures. He had a great sense of music and dance and was a trained dancer under Uday Shankar before he joined films . His strength was his song picturization which could  be discerned in his films such as – ‘Pyasa, Kagaj ke phool. Sahib bivi aur Gulam and chaudhivin ka chand’. After the failure of ‘Kagaz ke Phool’ he did not direct ‘Sahib Bivi aur Ghulam’ and ‘Chowdhivin ka Chand’ but he picturised all the songs himself . If we remove the songs from these films they would be hollow. Remember  -“ bhanwara bada nadan hai, bagiyan ka mehman hai” picturised on Waheeda Rehman and Guru Dutt and the immortal “ Chaudhivin ka Chand Ho ya  aftab ho”.

Songs were also  used as a device to compress time , to simplify a complex situation or to introduce a character or even to relate the theme of the film . Raj Kapoor – “ Mera Naam Raju Gharana Anaam behti he Ganga wahan mera Dhaam” ( Jis desh main Gamga beti hai).  Dilip Kumar-“ Insaaf ki Dagar pe Bacchon dikhao chal ke, ye desh hai tumhara Neta tumhi ho kal ke” ( Ganga Jamuna). Dev Anand- “ main Zindagi ka saath nibha ta chala gaya, har fikr ko dhuen main mila ta chala gaya” ( Hum-Dono); Hum hain rahi pyar ke hum se kuch na boliye, jo bhi pyar se mila hum usi ke holiye( Nau do Gyarah). Amitabh Bachhan –“ rote hue jate  hain sab hansta hua jo jayega , wo Muquaddar ka Sikandar jane man kehlayega” ( Muquddar ka Sikandar).

The primacy of music could be judged from the fact that most Stars and Film makers had their team from which they wavered very little because they were so safe and secure with their talent. Raj Kapoor’s voice was Mukesh and song writers Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri and music by Shakar Jaikishan . Almost all  of  Dilip Kumar’s songs have been sung by Mohammad Rafi and music was  by Naushad and lyrics by Shakeel– Mughal -e -Azam , Ganga Jamuna , Amar , Andaz  . Dev Anand had his strong foundation in Sachin Dev Burman and songs by most top lyricist which gives his songs variety. Dev Anand and Vijay Anand films have lyrics by Sahir ( Taxi Driver/Fantoosh/House No 44,Baazi and Hum Dono), Shailendra( Kala Baazar, Guide) , Majrooh Sultanpuri ( Nau do gyarah, Kala Paani, Jewel Thief) Hasrat Jaipuri ( Tere Ghar ke Samne , Jab Pyar kisi se Hota hai)  . Mukesh  also sang for Manoj Kumar. Mohamad Rafi sang for Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor , Rajendra Kumar; he also sang for Dev Anand though the common perception was that Kishore Kumar was Dev’s voice . When new stars  were to be launched much attention was accorded as to who would sing for them.  Rajesh Khanna’s voice was Kishore Kumar after the super hit ‘Aaradhna’ which made Kishore supreme and slowed  the popularity and  assignments of Rafi . Rishi Kapoor’s launch   also was boon for  ‘Shailendra Singh’ who sang for ‘Bobby’ as Raj Sahab wanted a new voice for his son.

The dependence and centrality of songs in films was so strong that it is believed  that many films were made just on the bases of songs and the story was woven and written around them to give them a structure . The famous film of Shammi Kapoor ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’  was made on the basis of songs – the music director O P Nayyar  along with lyricist S H Bihari approached Shammi Kapoor and played a set of songs  out of which he selected seven  and the story was written based on the songs. Similarly the famous film of Mahesh Bhatt ‘Aashiqui’ which starred  Anu Agarwal and Rahul Roy and was a super hit on the basis of its songs was made on the basis of a collection of songs composed by Nadeem Shrawan and written Sameer and others.

The famous film maker Shashadhar Mukerjee of ‘Filmistan Studio’  who gave us numerous successful films such as –‘Munimji’, ‘Paying Guest’ , ‘ Junglee’ , ‘Shagird’ firmly believed in the essentiality of songs and music and therefore his stories were very weak but the popular and robust music facilitated success. Recently in a TV programme Randhir Kapoor narrated that once his father Raj Kapoor asked him to arrange a music sitting with music director  Ravindra Jain   in his house and after the session made him  pay an initial amount to the musician . Thereafter he went away with the musician to his Loni Farm house near Pune and returned after two weeks and announced that he had the script  of ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ ready – the script and songs worked concurrently ; perhaps the script was shaped along songs !

Two examples I shall present for better appreciation of songs in cinema and how they were scripted. .  Guru Dutt’s ‘Pyasa’  it is a story of a poet, who has a romantic relationship during college with a girl who is now married to a rich man . He is unemployed and drifts from his family but develops a relationship with a prostitute who sings his songs . He remains disillusioned and  is believed  to be dead under a train. His works are published after his supposed death and he becomes famous . However he decides to leave all name and fame and walk away  with his lover  rejecting the world  The movie begins with the recitation of  ‘Urdu couplets’ in background establishing the identity of the protagonist and setting the mood , there is college function in which the poet is booed because he recites sad poetry. Guru Dutt happens to see Mala Sinha and there is a flash back song “hum aapki aankhon mein is dil ko basa dein to” conveying their relationship and setting up of a meeting. Waheda Rehman  who plays the prostitute is introduced through the famous song,” jane kya tune kahi jane kya mane suni baat kuch ban hi gayi..”,  they meet in strange circumstances when Guru Dutt rescues her from the police stating that she was his wife. The song “jaane wo kaise log the jinko pyar ko pyar mila”, which Guru Dutt sings in the company of the established poets sets the conflict and suspicion in the mind of Mala Sinha’s husband Rehman. The song “jinhe naaz hai hind par wo kahan hein…” is set in a red light area with young breast feeding mother being engaged in flesh trade and poverty stricken people all over, this builds up the climax. The climax song is immortal , when Guru Dutt reappears after being declared dead and there is an assembly to honour him and his works being Presided by Rehman and others, the light is  from behind and  Guru Dutt has spread his arms reminding of ‘Crucification’; he sings the immortal signature song  “ye mehlon ye takhton.. ye tazon ki duniya.. ye Insan ke Dushman Samajon ki duniya .. Ye  Duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai”. There is chaos : Finally Gurudutt escapes and walks out against the sunset holding the hand of Waheeda Rehman and the song, “aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo janam safal ho jaye” playing in the  background. So we see that the songs were  not only beautifully picturised but were  so intelligently placed  so that they were enmeshed with the story and effect is  cathartic  whilst the audience rise from their seats with a lump in their throat  reminiscing the title song.

Guide. This Vijay Anand  directed classic was ahead of its time when made in 1966 based  on the Novel By R K Narayan –‘The Guide’. it was a risky proposition dealing with the subject of adultery. The songs are hummed to this day and are structured to tell the story. It is a story of Raju guide who is a smooth talker and famous guide based in Jaipur. He comes in contact with Marco and his wife played by Waheeda Rehman . Marco ( Kishore Sahu ) neglects his wife who is a good dancer . Raju seduces her and she leaves Marco and starts to live with Raju who promotes her to a dancing sensation . With fame money flows and Raju falters . He is imprisoned for forgery . When he comes out of the jail he decides to lead life in anonymity but villagers consider him to be a Sadhu and he continues to live in the village temple. There is draught and he is compelled to fast for rains. Finally rains arrive but he dies and redeems himself. It  is an irony that the film won seven filmfare awards ,but was not awarded the music trophy, which S D Burman deserved . The film opens with The S D Burman sung  song in background, “ yahan kaun hai tera musafir jayega kahan..”, during this time the casting is shown and Dev’s journey from jail to a village where he  finally settles as priest is covered. The movie moves in flash back  and the first twist is marked with the song of Waheeda when she breaks free of her impotent husband, “ katon se kheench ke ye anchal tor ke bandhan pehni payal… aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai aaj phir marne ka irada hai…”. Dev, the Raju guide and Waheeda the estranged wife Rozy fall in love, but Rozy has doubts  and  Dev convinces her of his love , “tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain yo jahan bhi lejayen hum sung hein…”. Dev brings Rozy home there is problem of her being accepted and continue with her dancing but Dev insists to bring her to stage and she not only dances but becomes famous , the song “piya tose naina lage re jane kya ho ab aage re” is played in many situations as she  continues to rise the popularity ladder. There is strain in relationship as Dev gambles and makes money on her success, he misses her when drunk and sings ,  “din dhal jaye par raat na jaye tu to na aye teri yaad sataye, din dhal…”; this is a turning point. Dev is charged for forgery  and is to be jailed, prior to that he wants to meet Rozy ,  the police Inspector is his friend and obliges. At this juncture there are two songs one after the other and narrate the story forward. One is by Waheeda implicating Dev and the second by Dev implicating Waheeda, it is a unique  sequence and unforgettable .  Lata sings, “mose chal kiye jye haye re haye re saiyyan  beiman mose chal kiye jaye….”, on completion Dev sings in Rafi’s voice, “ kya se kya ho gaya bewafa tere pyar mein chaha kya kya mila bewafa tere pyar mein…” Finally the film returns , to village where Dev has commenced his fast for rains and people are converging to see the result, Waheeda too joins and then there is this song by S D Burman, “allaha megh de pani de chaye dede tu Rama megh de…”  representing the anxiety and agony of the situation. We see here that the lovely songs of Shailendra have been utilized very sensibly by the genius Vijay Anand.

  It was only in the seventies with the advent of Salim and Javed combination that script writing and dialogue delivery gained importance . The rise of Amitabh Bachhan and his strong and rich voice gave further fillip to performance . He was perhaps the first star who was recognized for his rendition of dialogues, after Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar .‘Sholay’  was a landmark film whose dialogues are famous till date. Prior to that to some extent ’Mughal- e -Azam’ was known for the dialogues of Prthiviraj Kapoor.

In the present century many changes have come in structuring  film from dramatic dialogues we moved to realistic and relevant dialogues, the greatness of music diminished. More background songs were being sung. But music never lost its importance , even now when cinema is more spectacular and special effects is a new dimension, the love of Indians for music has kept the film makers on toes. This is confirmed by the fact that still very few songless films are made. Those who attempt too are forced by distributers to reconsider and inject at least a background score to make the film popular.

The legendary filmmakers of Hindi cinema  were aware of their place in history and also of the longevity of their work . A film may fade into memory but songs remain active on digital platforms and You-tube , Sawan, Gaana etc . The original Indian competitive song programme ‘Antakshri’ ensures remembrance and longing specially among young who hum the same songs which their parents and grand parents did on account of the deep intrinsic quality of the songs to which they identify ; which have attained immortality outside  of the celluloid reels. Even though less audience see films in cinema halls but on the digital and Tv platforms it remains high in demand and the periodic sale of satellite rights is proof of its longevity, much of it is on account of their songs.  The Art films and films which do not have songs remain restricted in circulation and their viewership is confined to only Art house audience.   

Some filmmakers accord so much importance to their music that they compose their own music as they have better control . Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one  such filmmaker who makes his music . The iconic film maker Satyajit Ray took keen interest in music and his famous ‘Apu Trilogy’ ( Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Apur Sansar) had music by the famous sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar. In ‘Jalsaghar’ which had some classical vocal music based on the subject, another sitar maestro Ustaad Vilayat Khan gave music and in ‘Devi’ music was by the world famous ‘Sarod’ player Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. However he was not satisfied and later gave music himself for his films, mostly background music . Kishore Kumar sang for him in ‘Charulata’ and ‘Ghare Bahre’. Therefore even Satyajit Ray could not escape the pull of songs and dance in his films but it was part of the subject and story . In the only Hindi film he made ‘Shatraj Ke Khiladi’ there is a melodies ‘Thumri’  sung by Birju Maharaj on which the Kathak exponent Shaswati Sen danced .

 The pull and attraction of music among young is as strong as becoming an actor . A significant number of professionals after having graduated from reputed technical institutes  and performing well in Firms and companies  have left their secure jobs to pursue their inner call for music. There is no other proof of the attraction the music possesses still . Rise of talented and original lyricists such as Prasoon Joshi,   Irshad Kamil, Amitabh Bannerjee, Kausar Munir, Swanand Kirkire and Sayed Kadri gives hope and reassurance that cinema music may have reduced but it is living. The recent success of ‘Rocky aur Rani…’ is yet another indication of its survivability . Music directors such as Amit Trivedi and Anirudh Ramachandran also inspire hope . Regarding singers there is glut and difficult to choose from . Popularity of old film songs programmes dedicated to ‘R D Burman’/ ‘S D Burman’/ ‘Shankar Jaikishen’ / ‘Kalyanji Anandji’ continue to enthral .    Songs; are like the   ‘umbilical   cord’ to which Cinema shall remain tied for ever in India.