Best songs of 1951: Wrap Up 1

Songs of Yore Award for the Best Male Playback Singer goes to?

As the readers of SoY are by now aware, the survey article on the best songs of a year is followed by category-wise Wrap Ups. I start with the first Wrap Up on the Best Male Playback Singer of the year. The series is now attracting progressively more and more extensive and intensive comments. I am greatly benefitted by all the comments on the survey article Best songs of 1951: And the winners are? I have tried to capture the sense of the House to come up with the best ten male solos and the best singer of the year.

I have to start with a Breaking News: Awara hun does not excite the erudite readers of SoY a great deal, and no one will lament – except perhaps with the exception of one – if it is consigned to the category of SSS songs (Songs that became a Surprise Sensation). Therefore, I am announcing up-front that I am not including it in the ten best songs of the year. Who is the solitary exception? Mahesh was the first off the block with a firm endorsement of Awara hun. This song did figure in some other comments too, but somewhat tentatively in the manner of ‘how can one leave out a landmark song like this?’.

There is another piece of what I consider a startling fact, which would need some time and deliberation to sink in. Venkataramanji gave statistics of different category of songs (which he self-mockingly described as ‘statistical blabbering’). I found the figures quite significant, and did my own trawling through the Hindi Film Geet Kosh. It turns out that of the songs (about 700) in which the singers have been credited (there are another about 150 songs whose singers are not known), the category-wise break-up is as follows:

Male solos:                                               11.35%
Female solos:                                          59.43%
Duets or more than two singers:        29.22%
TOTAL                                                   100.00%

If male solos are outnumbered by female solos by more than a factor of five, I consider it a highly interesting piece of information. There is a potential for such statistical analysis over the years, and interpret its meaning, but that is not the focus or the scope of this article at the moment.

If we take my list of 144/145 songs (counting a Twin song as two) as a proxy for ‘good’ songs, male solos account for 17% of good songs, which means male solos had a better success rate compared to the other category of songs. But more interesting is the relative ranking of the major singers based on their total number of songs and ‘good’ songs in the year. Borrowing from Venkatarmanji’s comment (#92), this is how they stand:

The percentage of ‘good’ or ‘hit’ or memorable songs of the major singers becomes an inverted pyramid compared to their total number of songs. And Mukesh becomes a big winner in this respect over his more prolific rival Rafi, who is also outdone by Talat Mahmood on this score. Subodh once mentioned to me that singers like Mukesh, Talat Mahmood and Hemant Kumar had their defined niche where they reigned supreme. This gave them an advantage over Rafi in the sense of creating big impact with small number of songs. Since Rafi did everything, it is difficult to identify his niche. Essentially, the chart above gives statistical evidence of what was known anecdotally.

First cut

With apologies to those who are by now thoroughly bored with this ‘statistical blabbering’, I now move to the songs. I run down the list and compile the most memorable male solos, singer-wise, without ranking.

Mukesh
1.  Ae jaan-e-jigar dil mein samaane aa ja
2.  Hum tujhse mohabbat kar ke sanam
3.  Kismat bigadi duniya badli
4. Main rahi bhatakanewala hun
5. Tara toote duniya dekhe
6.  Dil tujhe diya tha rakhne ko

Talat Mahmood
7.  Shukriya ae pyaar tera shukriya
8.  Meri yaad mein tum na aansoo bahana
9.  Aa teri tasweer bana lun
10.  Ek main hun ek meri

Mohammad Rafi
11.  Hue hum jinke liye barbaad
12. Meri kahani bhulnewale

GM Durrani
13.  Hazaaron khwahishein aisi ki

Kishore Kumar
14.  Mere labon pe dekho aaj bhi taraane hain

CH Atma
15.  Roun main saagar ke kinaare
16.  Dil beqaraar hai mera dil beqaraar hai

The above list makes it very clear, as the readers have also commented, that the most important and dominant singers of the year were Mukesh and Talat Mahmood. If any good songs are still left out, they are most likely to be of these two singers. Therefore, it would not be entirely wrong if the best ten is taken from their songs. But, in such cases of dominance (as in the case of Lata Mangeshkar in female singers), I have taken special care to include ‘other’ singers. All the other singers – Mohammad Rafi, GM Durrani, Kishore Kumar and CH Atma – figure in some list or the other of different readers. Here it is ironical that Rafi should be mentioned among ‘others’, but that was the situation in the late 40s to early 50s.

Before I proceed further, let me mention SSW’s choice, which is somewhat of an outlier:

1.  Aa teri tasweer bana lun  – Talat Mahmood – Naadan
2.  Hazaron khwahishein aisi – GM Durani – Ghayal
3.  Ek main hun ek meri – Talat Mahmood – Tarana
4.  Kismat bigadi – Mukesh – Afsana

I presume his choice is in order of merit. While he includes two songs of Talat Mahmood, he leaves out his most memorable and admired song of the year – Meri yaad mein tum na aansoo bahana. Similarly, in case of Mukesh the most highly commended song is Ae jaan-e-jigar dil mein samane aa ja, followed by either Dum bhar to udhar munh phere or any of his solos from Malhar. Music is a matter of personal choice, and on top of it, SSW is an acknowledged expert. But if I harmonise the choice of the House, the top songs in the best ten look very different.

Other comments more or less reflect a common denominator of Talat Mahmood and Mukesh, with almost the same songs figuring at the top.

Starting from ‘other’ songs, a Rafi solo from Deedaar must be taken. Hue hum jinke liye barbaad is a more common choice, and it is my preference too. CH Atma has been mentioned by almost everyone, it is a toss-up between the two songs. Roun main saagar ke kinare, saagar hansee udaaye wins for its superior lyrics, and deeply evocative mood (Mumbaikar 8, you should be happy now). I would like to take only one of GM Durrani/Kishore Kumar so that I include a fair number of Talat and Mukesh to reflect their outstanding songs. Mere labon pe dekho aaj bhi taraane hain is a more popular song, but SoY readers go beyond merely ‘popular’. Hazaaron khwahishein aisi has been mentioned by several readers, and I include it also for its vintage value, which takes us back to the style of the 40s.

After taking in three ‘other’ singers, I am left with room for seven songs of Mukesh and Talat Mahmood. The world famous Nobel Prize-winner economist, Kenneth Arrow, demonstrated long ago that it was impossible to formulate social preference based on individual choices, which satisfy any set of given logical conditions. The final ten I am presenting now (with ranking) is a best effort at harmonization, and it might also embody my own preferences.

Final ten

1. Meri yaad mein tum na ansoo bahana by Talat Mahmood from Madhosh, lyrics Raja Menhdi Ali Khan

If ever there was a song I had no doubt about that it should take the pride of place as number 1 song of the year, it is Talat Mahmood’s Meri yaad mein aansoo bahana. I can visualise most readers cheering me loudly. Arunji has been very clear too, and he gave only one choice – for this song. You hear the plaintive and sweet strains of Bhimpalasi (or Jaunpuri?, experts to confirm), a most beautiful Raga, on the sitar as the sad hero (an unknown actor) watches, from behind the trees, Meena Kumari (his beloved?) going away on the tonga with the wrong guy (yet another unknown actor). Since the video is not of a very good quality, I am linking its audio here.

2. Ae jaan-ejigar dil mein samaane aa ja by Mukesh from Aaraam, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Anil Biswas

Talat Mahmood and Mukesh were the two pole stars of 1951. Many readers have put Ae jaan-e-jigar dil mein samaane aa ja as their number one choice. It is a worthy rival to Meri yaad mein. After Andaaz (1949), a piano song in Mukesh’s voice was the ultimate in depicting the tensions in the love triangle. Premnath’s feverish strokes on the keyboard shows things are not going well between him and Madhubala. Dev Anand appears nonchalant and is engrossed with his painting on the easel. The quiet confidence seems to come from the knowledge that he is the preferred choice of the lady. But the Venus, Madhubala is not giving anything away with her non-committal smile.

3. Hum tujhse mohabbat karke sanam by Mukesh from Aawara, lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar Jaikishan

Aawara is a great movie as much for its social message of nature versus nurture (as well as poor versus rich) as for its gorgeous music. While Aawara hun became an international rage, musically the pathos-filled Hum tujhse mohabbat karke sanam seems to be superior.

4. Dil tujhe diya tha rakhane ko tune dil ko jalakar rakh diya by Mukesh from Malhaar, lyrics Kaif Irfani, music Roshan

Mesmerising music in a B grade film – it can’t get any better than this. Each song of Malhaar is a masterpiece, to be savoured in tranquility. Roshan is at his magical best with Mukesh again after Baawre Nain, which came a year earlier. Since Arjun is mentioned as the hero of the film, I presume the song is picturised on him. Who is this Arjun? For answers to all such questions we have to turn to the Living Encyclopedia, Arunji, who commented in my post on the forgotten music director, C Arjun (they are different persons): “This (Malhar) Arjun first debuted in Naujawan-1951, in the role of Premnath’s friend. His second film was Malhar, as a hero. He later acted in Daku Ki Ladki (1954) as a second Hero with Shaikh Mukhtar. After a hiatus of a few years, he appeared in Jungle Ki Beti and Maut Ki Ghati in 198, with Rajani as his co-star. Further he acted in Kanwarlal (1988) also.”

5. Hue hum jinke liye barbaad by Mohammad Rafi from Deedaar, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

It is bad luck that this superlative Naushad-Rafi song had to come in a year crowded by Talat and Mukesh’s immortal songs. There are two other Rafi solos in the movie, all the songs have been mentioned by the readers, but this one, to my mind, is a clear winner because:

 (i)   An itinerant singer on the harmonium is visually one of the most appealing sights
(ii)   The tune of the harmonium in the interlude lingers in your memory.
(iii) Its lyrics best represent the theme of the movie – one of the lovers is consumed by the memories of his childhood sweetheart, whereas she is lost to him, and when he meets up, she can’t remember anything.

6. Ek main hun ek meri bekasi ki shaam hai by Talat Mahmood from Tarana, lyrics Kaif Irfani, music Anil Biswas

This song has to figure in ‘quintessential’ Talat Mahmood songs. While Naushad had discarded him, Anil Biswas consolidates the combination of the Tragedy King with The Velvet Voice in a blue mood. Dilip Kumar–Madhubala starrer Tarana was a high point of Anil Biswas’s music. It figures in most comments, and very high up.

7. Roun main saagar ke kinaare saagar hansi udaaye by CH Atma from Nageena, lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar Jaikishan

His voice was so much like KL Saigal that probably it was difficult for CH Atma to carve out a distinct niche for himself. But music lovers must have been very pleased to hear ‘Saigal’ four years after he was no more.

8. Hazaron khwaahishein aisi ki har khwaahish pe dum nikale by GM Durrani, from Ghayal, lyrics Ghalib, music Gyan Dutt

GM Durrani was the idol of Rafi, and one of the top singers in the 40s, so it is delightful to come across one of his most melodious songs. Many singers have sung this Ghalib’s ghazal, but it is GM Durrani’s that lingers in the memory. I had put it in the category of ‘special’ songs, which includes off-beat good songs that are not expected to make to the final list. But after going through the comments I am happy to include it in the top ten of the year.

9. Shukriya ae pyar tera shukriya by Talat Mahmood from Aaram, lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Anil Biswas

I mentioned the image of an itinerant singer with the harmonium. Another powerful image is of a ghazal singer with his harmonium – you think of Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hasan, and you immediately have a picture of the singer with his ‘baja’, performing to the audience’s ‘waah, waah’. Here is a unique song of Talat Mahmood singing for himself with a harmonium. He has been obviously invited to the mehfil, so I presume he played himself, i.e. the singer Talat in a cameo. Dil ko kitna khoobsoorat gham diya seems to touch a raw nerve in Premnath. His glum face, and his puffing away the cigarette, shows he finds nothing beautiful in his sadness. Link it with Ae jaan-e-jigar dil mein samaane aa ja (#2), it is clear he is not going to win the lady.

10. Kismat bigadi duniya badli phir kaun kisi ka hota hai by Mukesh from Afsana, lyrics Asad Bhopali, music Husnlal Bhagatram

For the remaining slot I would have taken Main raahi bhataknewala hun. We would have seen a dashing Premnath, on top of the world with his lady, Madhubala. That would have been a nice counterpoise to the morose Premnath in Aaram, but it seems Mukesh lovers prefer his melancholia. Kismat bigadi duniya badli is a very nice song though, and it gives another kind of balance to the list. Since SJ have already made an entry, it is good that we end with the first duo of Hindi films, who were also SJ’s mentor. The simple-hearted judge, Ashok Kumar, was shattered when he saw his ‘dear’ wife, Kuldip Kaur, and his ‘best’ friend Pran, having it behind his back. This atmospheric song in Mukesh’s voice perfectly reflects the inner turmoil of Ashok Kumar

To sum up:

Songs of Yore Award for the best Male Playback Singer of 1951 goes to Talat Mahmood

And the best song is Meri yaad mein tum na aansoo bahana.

This should normally be the end of this Wrap Up. But Mukesh is so dominant in the year that I wanted to split the award in two parts: Best Song for Meri yaad mein, and Best Singer for Mukesh. That would have looked very awkward, so I need to do something creative.

And, Mukesh is given Jury’s Special Honour.