Three names I go by:-PraveenPaviPappu Three screen I would like to have:-Simba_the KingtechnoshockerAashiq Three physical things I like about myself:-My eyesMy lips (and the beauty spot near it)My fingers Three physical things I dont like …
A feel good quiz by cerulean_dreams your name is… your eyes are deep and mysterious your hair is elegant your smile draws others towards you your body is envied by many your hugs make others …
3 long months… I even missed the 2nd year Burrday celebrations of my blogspace! My reader community has been disappointed with me… and I don’t know if what I may say, will be construed as …
It is so unfair that you had to be taken away so soon! It seems so sudden and unexpected that I still am struggling to come to terms with the fact that you won’t be making movies anymore! They anyways have not numbered many, but whatever you made has stayed in my heart for decades!
Nora Ephron
I have to confess to you candidly that I watched “When Harry Met Sally..” when I was in my high school! It was played late in the night and I had to sit real close to the TV so my parents wouldn’t discover that I was watching a late night movie! And I swear, I had to stuff the edge of the blanket into my mouth to keep myself from laughing! You made me fall head over heels in love with Meg Ryan (or was it the character of Sally??)!
When I watched “Sleepless In Seattle“, I was convinced that you are not just any writer, but a magician with words. You knew how to give letters the power that could moisten even a dry eye! You did not merely put words into the script or your characters, you had mastered the style of weaving a life – one that many would’ve dreamt of! That movie did give me sleepless nights! You also gave me my initial ‘myths’ of romance! Ofcourse you had your share of heart break too! It’s not easy being cheated upon! But yet, your movies never extinguished the hope! I have lived by that hope! 🙂
I was jumping with excitement when I heard about your comeback with “You’ve Got Mail!” Tell you what? It was everything I expected it to be, and more. Oh! Nora!! It was the best you could’ve ever given me! From my favorite species of dog, to my favorite songs and locales, you had filled the movie with everything that would keep me in love with it even after more than a decade! You gave me the hope to dream of love! I have lost the count on the number of times I’ve watched that movie. Studying in US, struggling with my research and dealing with a demanding Professor wasn’t easy! Everytime I felt dejected or lost, on the verge of giving up, and struggling to stop the flow of those decapatitating thoughts, I found solace in your movie. All I had to do was put it on the player, and sink into the couch, wrapping a warm blanket around me. And before long, there was a feeling that everything would be ok! Every mp3 player I owned, every single model of the smart phones I bought, have the OSTs of “You’ve Got Mail” in them. You made it so perfect for me! Sure, it was dreamy! If only love could be tailor made or soul mates would always meet! But the beauty of your creations lay in the fact that you made it all seem so possible and so real! The words your characters used on the screen, were the words I had groped for, searched for in my moments of need! The void, the helplessness, the hope and happiness, it was all related! Infact I felt I owned them!
I always did have a grouse though – that you never made a good movie with Meryl. She is a diva. Isn’t she? And then came “Julie & Julia”. I love cooking! There was just no way I could’ve missed this movie. I didn’t! I still have it with me. The fourth movie of yours in my collection!! Every movie of yours have spoken to me, related to me and formed a part of me.
But I never thanked you for any of these! Nyah! I guess it never really mattered! Isn’t that how we usually treat our friends or loved ones? We don’t thank them! Not that we don’t care! Hell!! No! But we delude ourselves to believing that what we have is forever! I never for once thought of a day, when I’d wake up to find out that you wouldn’t be making movies anymore!! I guess its too late now, even for a thanks! I feel like such a jerk! Would it’ve mattered to you? Possibly not!
But you know what? If it weren’t for your movies, I cannot think of an alternative, that would’ve made me smile during all those years in US. So much so, that my friends and room mates were tired of me playing “You’ve Got Mail!” 🙂 I owe those wonderful memories to you! Tonight I shall watch “You’ve Got Mail” once more. And I shall be thinking about you and those days. Even if its late, I don’t want to miss thanking you. So thank you my dear friend! You are being missed… rather badly.
A Note of thanks: My first professional stint in India was with Cognizant Technology Solutions. One of the most memorable aspects of CTS was Channel One- An online blogging forum. It provided me the window of opportunity to interact with several of them, and thus forge some of the most precious connections that I cherish to this day. After quitting CTS, I had almost given up on ever getting those posts back, till recently, my knight in shining armour – Ravi Bhagavatula (Or as I would like to dearly call him, the only worthy RCB) took the enormous effort of sending me the posts. I shall forever be indebted for this gesture and I dedicate these series of posts that I am reproducing here, to Ravi. I have ofcourse taken the liberty of editing some of them, having gained some more knowledge about the matters presented, but if not for Ravi, these may have never found a space here.
“Arrey O! Babu moshay….!” is an addressing that not many Indians are unfamiliar of. The movie is Anand. The director – Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
In an era of film making where a hotch potch of branded tag wears, phoren shooting, and flashy numbers with the whole family dancing and prancing around in picture perfect sync is essential for a movie to be a blockbuster hit, one cannot but miss the simple, refreshing and rejuvenating movies that were churned out with magical perfection by the school of Hrishida. His movie was devoid of all the glitz and glamour, much closer to the common man and his life. They did not need complexly intertwined affairs of an ultra-modern, filthy-rich-guy-who-flies-home-in-helicopter-family, but captured the hearts of millions by focusing only on the simple psychology of the mundane man, whose only concern was to live a simple and satisfied life.
Be it Anand (played amazingly by Rajesh Khanna) or Ram Prasad (Amol Palekar in Golmaal) or Amit (Amitabh Bachan in Abhimaan), each of these characters were in turn a facet of human psychology! As gravely as he could direct the story of “Abhimaan“, so also, with the fervor of a jester, he wove – “Golmaal” that even to this day, has the viewer in splits. The influence of P G Wodehouse and Shakespearean comedies were rather evident in some of his movies. Nevertheless it had a characteristic Hrishida’s touch, that so ingeniously made them endearing to millions of his fans all over the nation. The havoc caused in a marriage by the ego of a person was superbly captured in “Abhimaan”, where the key roles were essayed by Amitabh Bachan and Jaya Bhaduri (who was incidentally brought to the filmdom by Hrishikesh Mukherjee himself through the movie Guddi). He deftly showcased the talents of the both the protagonists making it absolutely realistic. To this day, the silence of Jaya in the movie after having lost her new born, is heart wrenching.
“Anand” on the other hand was amongst the movies of the Millenium. Rarely has a movie been made that would melt even the most stone hearted person to tears, even after decades of its production. Tears well up in the eyes of any viewer as he watches Rajesh Khanna fight for his breathe, trying to snatch a few moments of life, so he can meet his Babu Moshay. The angst of Amitabh as the doctor desperately trying to save the life of a person, who was so much in love with life is unforgettable! It established his role as an actor par excellence in the Hindi filmdom. The story was infact written by Hrishikesh Mukherjee himself, associating the character of Anand with Mr. Raj Kapoor (who always addressed Hrishi da as Babu Moshay!).
Coming to some facts and figures, Hrishikesh Mukherjee started his career as a camera man and went on to essay the roles of an editor, assistant director and eventually director. Trained under Bimal Roy, he had the opportunity to work on milestone movies such as Devdas, Do bigha Zameen, Madhumathi, etc, till he decided to venture out as a director from the movie Musafir which received a rather damp response. Not to be undone he unleashed Anari (casting Raj Kapoor and Nutan) which was a run away success, heralding the arrival of a master film maker. What followed was a plethora of box office hits including Sanjh Aur Savera(with Gurudutt), Anupama, Satyakam, Anand, Guddi, Buddha Mil Gaya, Bawarchi, Abhimaan, Mili, Chupke Chupke, Golmaal, Khoobsoorat, Jhoothi, Namak Haraam and finally Jhooth Bole Kauva Kaate.
He is credited with giving path breaking ventures and roles for the then upcoming actors thus helping them establish a foot hold in Bollywood for the years to come. Apart from introducing talents such as Jaya Bacchan, he groomed several others including Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachan, Amol Palekar, and Rekha. He never adorned his actresses with flashy glitzes but showcased them in their true, natural, raw beauty, that instantly enamored the viewer. The stories were devoid of bloodshed, violence, and were never far fetched. He even directed a few TV serials, noteworthy among which is Talaash (it had casted Moushumi Chatterjee, bringing her back to the tinsel world after a long break) & Hum Hindustani.
The one feature that made me an all time fan of Hrishida was Music. All of his movies gave a huge prominence to music, even to the extent of having one of the main protagonists in them inclined towards music. And needless to say, songs from his movies have still sustained their magic even after decades of their making. To list but a few of ‘em:
Woh chand khila woh taare hanse (from Anari – Nutan is but a diva in this song!)
Tujhe jeevan ki dor se (Asli-Naqli starring Dev Anand)
Bole re papeehara (Guddi – Vani Jayaram won a National Award for best female play back singer for this song!)
Kuch dil ne kaha (Anupama – Lata Mangeshkar’s voice is absolutely haunting)
Hum ko mann ki shakti dena (Guddi- cannot forget Jaya sneaking into the prayer hall, and saintly singing the song!:) )
Zindagi kaisi he paheli haaye (Anand sung amazingly by Manna Dey)
Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye (Anand – sung by Mukesh)
Teri bindiya re (Abhimaan – sung by Mohd. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar)
Lute koyi mann ka nagar (Abhimaan)
Piya bina piya bina ratiyaan (Abhimaan sung by Lata Mangeshkar)
Raat kali ek khwaab mein aayi (Buddha mil gaya)
Bhali bhali si ek soorat bhala sa ek naam (Buddha mil gaya)
Ab ke sajan saawan mein aag lagegi (Chupke chupke sung by Lata Mangeshkar)
Chupke chupke chal ri purwaiya (Chupke Chupke)
Badi sooni sooni hai (Mili)
Aanewala pal jaanewala hai (Golmaal – Kishore Kumar’s amazing rendition pictured on Amol Palekar)
Sun sun sun didi tere liye (Khoobsoorat – One of Asha Bhonsle’s best songs, absolutely chirpy and uplifting, its wonderful the way, she has given a very personalized touch, pictured equally superbly on Rekha)
Piya banwari .. Piya banwari (also from Khoobsoorat)
The list is as the cliche would go, endless, and I could go on and on about the songs and his direction, and the stories of the movies. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was awarded with the much deserved Dadasaheb Phalke Award, in 1999. After setting a niche for himself, one that shall remain unsurpassed by anyone, he passed away in the year 2006.
For a long time now, I had not penned anything remotely poetic. I have often envied the capability of some who are so welled with emotions and expressiveness that compositions flow effortlessly from them. I am in comparison, rather emotionally challenged. But then there are times when some sequence in a movie, or a memory that tears itself from the abyss and surfaces, brings along with it a torrential downpour, that floods through your being and translates to words. In the past couple of days, it happened so that the guarded gates were destroyed, and the vault broken into. And here’s what materialized.
P.S: For those who are hindi-challenged (like me! I terribly mix up the genders!) I have also attempted a poor translation in English. Its not a literal translation though, but more or less conveys the essence of what’s written in Hindi.
yeh shaam aakhir aati kyon hai?
bina tere parchaayi ke dastak deti kyon hai?
har aahat bhee ab mazaak karne lagi hai,
tarsti nazron ko ye dhoka deti kyon hai?
tere aane ki ummeed se saans chalti rehti hai
Jhoothi tasalli se ye nigahen bharti kyon hai?
in aankhon ki sookhi zameen jo sulagti rehti hai
tere naam pe ye nazar barasti kyon hai?
yoon toh kai is dil ki zameen pe chale hain
tere nishaan ke liye phir bhi tarasti kyon hai?
dil ke afsaane lafz-e-sher se bayaan hoti nahin
mere seene se ye ghazal nikalti kyon hai?
——————————————*****——————–
Why does the dusk arrive so?
Why does it knock bereft of your shadows?
Every whisper seems to mock at me
Why do they fool my eager eyes so?
Every breathe heaves with the hope of your arrival
Why does the eye moisten for this false hope?
The barren lands of my vision are burning nigh
Why do they only rain in your name?
This heart has been treaded by many feet
Why does it yet search for your prints?
The travails of this heart a poem can’t convey
Why does the heart still try to sing?
January 7th, 1993 – there was a furore at the Writer’s Bloc in (the then) Calcutta. Dipali Basak, a deaf-dumb girl was allegedly raped by a CPI(M) leader. Ms. Mamata Banerjee had brought the girl along with her and demanded a meeting with the then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu. After making them wait for many hours, and finding no signs of her leaving, the police were asked to evacuate Mamata from the building. Mamata was unceremoniously dragged down the stairs of Writer’s Bloc. On 20th May, 2011, she entered the same building, as the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, the lady who vanquished the “Goliath” of the Left Rule. For Ms. Mamata Banerjee it has indeed been a long journey, but just an year into the new rule, and not much seems to have changed in Bengal. Whether the state moved from the pan to the proverbial fire is to be seen in the coming years. But if the trend of current affairs in the administration of West Bengal is to be believed, the mirage of a good administration may have yet again led the people astray.
Mamata’s political career that began under the auspices of Congress has had a chequered pattern. Her fire-brand personality catapulted her to the helm of the Congress party in West Bengal. Always wont to speak her mind bluntly, Ms. Mamata Banerjee was equally eloquent in her forms of protest to drive the matter across. When Sri Jayaprakash Narayan visited West Bengal to rally against Mrs. Indira Gandhi, it was Mamata who laid herself down on the path of his cavalcade, blocking the car. And on this day, she still continues to block every progressive move initiated by the Government – from the Railway Budget to FDI to digitization of the cable TV network. The sole purpose of her life was to see the downfall of the Left front in Bengal, and whenever the incumbent party at the centre was not game for this, she proved to be quite a thorn in the foot. After falling out of the Congress party, and floating her own Trinamool Congress, she entered into an alliance with the BJP led NDA. Even there her spanner tactics continued till she fell out of the alliance in the wake of the Tehelka scam. After suffering an embarassing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections of 2004, she returned to the fold of NDA, only to abandon it again in favor of her erstwhile parent party – Congress. In these years she had already been under various portfolios – Sports, Railways and Coal too. Her maverick attitude, lacking finesse especially needed in a field such as politics had been evident all through her career. Be it dragging the SP MP by holding his collar for opposing the Women’s Reservation Bill (its really my favorite and I totally support her actions!! 😉 ) or hurling her resignation papers at the speaker, she has often seemed attention mongering. With frequent blackmail tactics of resigning or withdrawing support, she had proved a bane for the NDA and is proving to be one for the UPA.
The Left Front played itself into a corner when it brought matters to a boil at Singur and Nandigram. Mamata seized the opportunity and nailed the final nail to the Left Front’s coffin, thus ending a rule spanning over 3 decades. There is no doubt a lot of respect that I give for her simple living that marks her personality, but I am not sure if an attitude ridden by vindictive mentality can really provide an efficient administration. Needless to say, within a year of coming to power, she has practically blamed every crime and corruption on the Left Front, or sought to give an angle of conspiracy to malign her administration.
Politics is a powerful weapon of change but in the wrong hands, it has always turned into a WMD, especially when coupled with a vengeance. Sadly that has been the order of Indian politics in many of the primary states. Of the many, may be Mamata has enough reasons to be smelling a conspiracy theory. The Left Front has always been at the forefront of crying foul over every administrative failure – right from American underhandedness to aliens from outer space. The quickness with which they were wont to object to any reforms by the Union Government and their handling of the local matters, got them booted out in both of their strong factions – Bengal and Kerala. And where CPM was not wanted, Mamata made her presence, and that was the window she opted for in UPA too. But has her role been any different at the Centre than that of CPM? While CPM saw a capitalistic conspiracy, Mamata’s misplaced Ma, Maati, Manus has left a dent on any reforms needed for the Indian economy. Politics makes strange bed fellows, and it has always remained a love-me-hate-me relationships between the so called “allies”. The Railway budget was a crucial factor in improving an industry that has long suffered. Agreed that a blanket increase may have cost the poorer sections of the society, but certainly a dialogue could’ve been called for, and the budget terms negotiated. But Mamata’s behavior in unilaterally recalling Dinesh Trivedi, causing a major embarassment to the ruling coalition is a shameful act. It reeks of autocratic behavior and is most offensive to a democratic setup. If sycophancy is celebrated, there can be no greater tragedy needed in the present India which is crying for socio-economic and spiritual reforms all over the country. Even the movements of Anna Hazare has sadly fallen short of meeting this. The argument that every major National Party prefers sycophants and their drama is no argument in her defense. A political or social change can never be brought by being the same as everyone else. And this is again the reason why Ms Mamata Banerjee’s tenure till now in West Bengal is also a cause for concern.
When the police unraveled the rape case that happened at the Park Street, instead of commending the female officer – Damayanti Sen, she was transferred from her position because “it is the prerogative of my government to get the job done by someone who can perform in a better way“. Without even batting an eyelid, Mamata had cast aspersions on the rape victim and so did her indigenous minister, but when the police enquiry found otherwise, it ended up as an embarassment to the ‘Didi’. It is a surprise that this was the Mamata Banerjee who took up the cause of Dipali Basak. But then, maybe rape victims also turn out to be ploys in the hands of politicians to take on their adversaries? And the opposition was also put to blame in yet another rape case, allegedly of a CPM leader’s wife. Not to mention that the TMC members beat up an old scientist’s daughter and stripped her naked and left her bleeding on the road, while the police turned a blind eye to the whole incident. The same treatment was meted to another lady who opposed a hooch shop in the village (her husband was from CPM). If Mamata cries foul about the Center playing truant in the matters of NCTC and using the Central intelligence as its stooge, the state governments have not been any clean and it is evident in her handling of the state forces in West Bengal.
The dictatorial trends are not only limited to the state forces and their functions but it is appalling to realize that the government institutions can also be used to manipulate the general public. The dictum to abolish the English dailies from being used in the State libraries and controlling which newspaper is to be procured for public reading, betrays a sense of insecurity in the newly elected chief minister, not to mention the enraging arrest of the professors for circulating a cartoon strip on Mamata Banerjee! While some “commandments” are ridiculous (forbidding TMC members from marrying into CPM households, attending dinner parties or indulging in small talk with CPM members), her opposition to the FDI in retail sector, the sharing of Teesta waters with Bangladesh, Lokpal Bill and in the latest the digitization of cable TV network are grave portends to a set back that the nation as a whole will have to pay for. There is no single party in the present Indian political scenario that would not fit into the description or the outline that we see in case of Ms. Mamata Banerjee. The chronic illness that has gripped the political scenario currently is the fact that either a personality or a dynasty has gained predominance over the principles or ethics emphasized by the principal founders. The centralization of personality and its dominance has resulted in a lack of regional leadership amongst the central parties. This leads to exploitation on a National scale by petty regional parties much to the chagrin of an entire nation, as was evidenced by the 2G Scam.
What is particularly disappointing about Ms. Mamata Banerjee’s turn around is the hope that was on the high when she assumed her office. This was an opportunity that was handed over to her with great pomp and glory, a chance to give a new beginning to the people of Bengal, and set a precedence to other regional parties to gain eminence based on good governance. It may not be too late yet, but it certainly needs a lot of soul searching on her part. It takes more courage to accept one’s own shortcomings and bridge that gap, than to point fingers and follow the path hitherto taken by her adversaries. If she wants to carve a niche to herself as a statesperson, it would bode well to set her house in order and take strigent measures to combat the rowdy elements within and outside the party. Democracy can never function while clouded by the clout of a father figure, or a Big sister, breathing down the neck.
When I first thought of writing something about my favorite ghazals from the movies, the question that struck me was whether I indeed knew what a Ghazal was! If you are like me (which I find highly unprobable! I am yet to meet a person with a brain the size of a de-hydrated pea!), you’d assume that every song that is sung with a croaking voice that laments, or a crooning voice that sighs at the lover’s sight is a ghazal, or better still – any song sung by the ghazal maestros such as Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhaas, Ghulam Ali, Abida Parveen, Talat Aziz, et al would be a ghazal. As it is clearly evident, I am rather qualified to be an extra-terrestrial in a planet of MENSAns! And many would be interested to study my lack of things! 😛
Not withstanding the absence of nitties-gritties, I did the one thing am supremely good at – researching by surfing through the web! So if your jaws drop at the sheer brilliance of knowledge that flows from here on, rest assured you can be sure that it has its origins from the Cloud! For posterity, I shall even quote the sources, so if anything is not right, you know who to beat up, and for the accolades, I shall be plissed to accept chocolates and electronics! Muchas Muchas thunk you!
So coming back to the question of what qualifies a song as a ghazal…. before I get into it, if you are one of those weak hearted blokes (or blokees) who would faint the moment they realized that a lot of what they thought about ghazals was complete balderdash… I suggest you skip the below parts and directly move to the songs. It was a surprise for me that nearly 90% of the songs I thought were Ghazals didn’t qualify to be one!!!!!!!!! (OK! so it wasn’t such a big surprise for you! But I still stand by the number of !s)
A Ghazal is a form of poetry that comprises of a set of couplets.
Each of the couplets are in themselves rather independent and can be considered to be Shers. The length of each of these couplets should be the same.
The length may be short, medium or long, but whatever it is, they should be the same.
The concluding words on each of the Shers (or couplets) should be the same.
The word that comes before the concluding word across the Ghazal should always rhyme. For example in the 2nd line of the first sher in the ghazal if the word preceding the concluding word is “nazar”, in the subsequent couplet, the word preceding the concluding word (of the 2nd line) can be “agar”, “magar”, “khabar”, “upar”… well you get the idea.
The ghazal may or may not contain the pen name of the composer in its conclusion. The typical example that comes to mind are the compositions of Mirza Ghalib.
Also, the first para of the Ghazal must have the concluding word present in both its lines. For example consider the immortal song from Umrao Jaan – “dil cheez kya hai aap meri jaan lijiye, bas ek baar mera kaha maan lijiye”.
After understanding these bare essentials of Ghazals, I set out on the task of closely observing the songs that I had hitherto classified as Ghazals. And finally the remote corners of my brain started firing up with new realizations or Nirvaana experiences in Music. And so, my readers are now gonna bask in this radiance. Here are some of my favorite ghazal numbers. (Note: They are in no particular order of preference for me. I just love them all equally in different circumstances and situations. Some of them may not confirm to the rules in the strict sense, but they are still there..because… well… for the simple reason that I love them!! 😛 ). Also for aesthetics I’ve included the youtube links to view some of the songs! Yay!!
Dil Cheez Kya Hai: I don’t think there can be any other song so deserving of the opening honors. Umrao Jaan was path breaking for more than one reason, and music was definitely on the top! While Asha Bhonsle provided the voice, Rekha’s captivating eyes provided the visual aplomb that sent hearts racing! Dressed in red, she is art in motion! The composition was by Shahryr and music by Khayyam. The lyrics revel with tones of mild playfulness and wooing.
“Is anjuman mein aapko aana hai baar baar Deewaaro dar ko gor se pehchaan lijiye”
In the video, when Umrao takes her composition to a Maulvi, you can hear the references he makes to the structure (Matla – the beginning of para) and corrects it. Enjoy maadi 🙂
In aankhon ke masti ke: Again from Umrao Jaan. This movie had made a mark for itself amongst the Classics of Indian Cinema. Based on a novel by Mirza Ruswa on the life of a girl who is kidnapped and made into a courtesan, Umrao Jaan gave staunch music lovers a lifetime treat. Even the 2006 rehash pales in front of the brilliance of the original. Needless to say, no Aish can ever take on Rekha! The myriad expressions she effortlessly brings out in this song is only matched by the lyrical beauty of the composition. The words garnished with chaste Urdu, flowing from the magnificent Asha Bhonsle have left me stumbling to find words that can describe this masterpiece of Cinematic work. Two lines stand apart in this composition for their poetic grandeur:
“Ek sirf hum hi mai ko aankhon se pilaate hain Kehne ko toh duniya mein maikhaane hazaaron hain“
Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar: Mahesh Bhatt is a maverick. His movies used to stand out for their sheer quality in every aspect – acting, music, direction, screenplay and story. Alas! these days they still do but for the lack of the same factors. If there is one thing, history shall absolve him for the crap that is being dished out from his production these days, it is for the wonderful movies he gave earlier. This song is from the unforgettable – Arth. Jagjit Singh has rendered the voice for the composition by Kaifi Azmi, and music by Jagjit and Chitra Singh. For those familiar with the story line, this song speaks of the love that one of the characters – Raj Kiran has for the main protagonist female played by Shabana Azmi, who is already married. The song seeks assurance from the lover that there is atleast some semblance of Love that she feels for him.
“teri ummeed pe thukra raha hoon duniya ko tujhe bhi apne pe ye aitbaar hai ki nahin“
Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho: Watching Shabana fighting to hold back her tears and smile is enough to make any music lover fall for this song. The depth of expression in this particular song is marvelous and goes to show how simple words can yet have a profound impact. The song is about holding back the emotions and hiding the pain behind the dazzle of a smile. Check out these lines for instance:
“Ban jaayenge zeher peete peete yeh ashq jo peete jaa rahe ho“
On a side note it is rather sad that Raj Kiran on who the song has been picturized has been moved to oblivion and living in an asylum suffering from schizophrenia. I hope life treats him kindly atleast during his last days. Here’s the video:
Tum ko dekha toh yeh khayaal: I’ve often marveled at the way Bollywood has integrated many parallels into it simultaneously. It’s like a pot pourri! This gem of a song is from the movie “Saath Saath” starring Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval. During the 1980s while the ears were assaulted by poor copies of English numbers and Bappi Lahiri-gone-crazy-music, there were also non-commercial and low budgeted movies such as Saath Saath, Ijaazat, which brought a wave of fresh breeze like music with them. Saath Saath had amazing compositions in it from Javed Akhtar (ye tera ghar ye mera ghar.. being another one) and music by Kuldeep Singth.
Dil Dhoondta hai phir wohi: Another case in point that substantiates what I said above – the movie is Mausam starring Sanjeev Kumar and Sharmila Tagore. The song has been sung by Bhupinder and Lata Mangeshkar, composed by the master – Gulzar saab and set to score by Salil Choudhry & Madan Mohan. Another amazing song from this movie is “Ruke Ruke se kadam” sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
Kisi Nazar Ko Tera Intezaar: This ghazal can never go unlisted no matter who would prepare the list. And here it is specially dedicated to Sushma! I know how crazily she is in love with this song and here’s the video for the song specially for her! the movie is Aitbaar and the song sung by Bhupinder, composed by Farukh Kaiser & Hasan Kamaal, and music by Bappi Lahiri-in-his-sane-mind.
Honton se choolo tum: There was a time when no Antyakshari would be complete without having sung this song. The moment the letter “ha” would come, we’d begin to croon this song and soon the chorus of everyone would join. From the movie, Prem Geet, the song is picturized on Raj Babbar and sung by Jagjit Singh who also composed the music. The ghazal was composed by Indivar.
Tere dar par sanam: Yet another amazing song from the Bhatt clan. Ofcourse cannot say much about the movie. With the wooden acting of the ever forgettable Rahul Roy, the songs were the only saving grace of this movie and this particular song has remained a haunting tune in my mind. The song has been sung by Kumar Sanu (one of the few numbers where his nasal singing isn’t really irritating) and music composed by Anu Malik, and the song was written by Qateel Shifayi.
Tum aaye toh aaya mujhe yaad: Another great movie, great song and great singing dished out by the Bhatt family. “Zakhm” was one of those rare comebacks that Mahesh Bhatt is famous for. Again, this song is dedicated to Sushma, she really really really adores this song. Pictured on Pooja bhatt, this song has been sung by Alka Yagnik, composed by Anand Bakshiji and the music by M.M.Kreem.
“ye naina bin kaajal tarse barah mahine baadal barse
suni rab ne meri faryaad gali mein aaj chand nikla”
Hosh waalon ko khabar kya: Though am not a really great fan of this particular number, it is nevertheless a great ghazal. The ghazal is from the movie “Sarfarosh” picturized on Aamir Khan and the diva Sonali Bendre. The ghazal has been sung by Jagjit Singh, composed by Nida Fazli and set to music by Jatin-Lalit duo.
So baccha logs, don’t run away. Yeh toh only trailer hai…. there’s more to come. I wanted to pool in the songs at random but somewhere midway decided to collect a few romantic ghazals and then some of the blues. Ofcourse, if there are any other suggestions that you feel I’ve unjustifiably left out, pliss to let me know. 🙂
As promised here are the links that shall give you more idea about Ghazals:
Indian Cinema is a field of parallels. We have at one end of the spectrum mediocrity splattered on the screen by the brigade of KJo and the pelvic thrusting oh-am-so-cool-Khan, and at another end, stalwart performers and directors who believe that their audience have sufficient grey matters within the skulls intact. Their movies do not mock but respect the dignity of relationships, they do not overkill on the emotion, but bring a whiff of freshness and celebrate the spirit of being human, in all its pitfalls and glories. This brigade, more often than not, has consisted of new faces and hidden talents, without the power of big banners or mega stars flaunting behind them and thankfully their movies go easy on the designer labels and main protagonists do not jump off helicopters for family ceremonies. Director Sanjoy Nag has indeed worked such a wonder through his movie – Memories in March. Though I had watched this movie last year, and had intended to write a review then, unfortunately my lethargy outsmarted me and it was put in the freeze, till recently when I happened to hear the soul stirring songs from this movie, and before long, here I am, penning my candid feelings about a movie that is a must dekko. (Statutory warning: Spoilers ahead!)
Memories in March
Movie: Memories in March
Directed by: Sanjoy Nag
Written by: Rituparno Ghosh
Producers: Shrikant Mohta & Mahendra Soni
Star cast: Deepti Naval, Raima Sen, Rituparno Ghosh.
Official Site: http://www.venkateshfilms.com/microsite/memoriesinmarch/
Aarti Mishra’s (Deepti Naval) world is turned upside down as she learns of the death of her only son – Siddharth in an accident. A divorcee, she is crestfallen and arrives to Kolkata to face the most poignant moment of her life. As she begins the painful process of coming to terms with the reality, she is helped by her son’s colleague Shahana (Raima Sen). Aarti stays at her son’s apartment and relives the memories of her son, ardently missing his presence and feeling like a stranger in his apartment. When she visits his office to collect Siddharth’s personal belongings, she is stopped by the Manager, who politely informs that she’ll receive the belongings later at her residence. Intrigued and suspecting a foul play, she confronts the manager Arnab (Rituparno Ghosh) and Shahana only to realize that there was a facet of her son’s life that she was hitherto oblivious to – his sexual orientation. She breaks down on learning of his relationship with Arnab. The movie traverses through the warm memories the three protagonists of the movie – Arnab, Aarti and Shahana hold of their dear one, and how the tragedy of losing him, brings them close. They learn to come to terms with the loss, and accept life and move on, in the process forging a new relationship of trust and friendship between them. Just as in the movie, Siddharth remains in the minds of the viewers as just a voice, who acquaints himself to us through his voice and letters.
Memories in March, is a movie that is human in every sense of the word. Dealing with alternate sexuality and portraying the intricacies of its acceptance by a mother is no small task, especially of a mother who has to deal with not only her son’s death but also his orientation. But the movie excels in this attempt, but not glorifying the tragedy, but by
Rituparno & Deepti Naval
letting the characters accept the inevitable naturally. The confrontation between Arnab and Aarti, the guilt and the blame, each facet of coming to terms, has been brilliantly captured. The audience are not tortured by unwanted melodrama, but sensitized and gently led down the path of a natural process of grieving and healing. Several moments in the movie, such as Aarti and Arnab revisiting the site of accident, discussing Siddharth’s habits, or debating homosexuality and its righteousness are so natural in their development, that it only seems baffling that it is indeed part of a movie, and not a real life docu-drama. It is this simplicity that leaves an ever-lasting memory in the mind of the viewer, making this movie far superior in class and taste than many of the ‘commercial’ hogwash, with technological crap cast on the silver screen.
Deepti Naval is outstanding by her exemplary performance in this movie. Raima sen has great camera presence and ofcourse does justice to her supporting role. Rituparno Ghosh, probably not being a professional actor, stands out in an odd way. While he seems comfortable in some scenes, its the tragic parts of the movie that shows his acting skills to be wanting. While in general, the acting, screenplay and direction in the movie are deservedly noteworthy, it is the music that ultimately nails the movie permanently into a sensitive viewer’s heart. The songs are exquisite and hand picked to stir the strings of the soul and tune the heart to beat to the ebbs and rises of sorrow and joy that spread like a soothing ripple across the movie. Shubhomita who has lent her voice for the songs, is a name to reckon with. I am so smitten by the soulness of her songs that they’ve been endlessly played all night! Songs like “Mere lala aaj na jaiyo yamuna ke paar”, and “Badi Manaratha” bring to fore the pent up tears and yet, ring with dignity – like a lover silently suffering the pangs of separation, lest the histrionics may cast a double spell of more misery! The music by Debjyoti Mishra doesn’t overtake the singer but lends a helpful hand in the background. Listen to the songs, and I can vouch that somewhere in between, the breathing shall get shallow, and there is a heavy silence that fills the air. The viewer is also made to face those poignant memories and realize that healing is inevitable.
The characters of Aarti & Arnab are facets that live inside us. We own our relationships and our memories, treating them with an exquisitiveness that is felt to be our sole property. But unknown to us, or unacknowledged, the roots of human connectedness spreads far and wide. Friends, lovers, relatives, and us too, don various roles and spread across the horizon. None of us can ever assimilate all these memories, but we can certainly share them. This is the most personal aspect of ourselves that we can always give back to everyone who come to our lives – memories. If we can strive to keep those memories pleasant and happy, it may indeed make our temporary stay here, worthwhile. Memories in March, is a movie that is not only a must see, but a must have in every avid movie lover’s collection.
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