And the SOY Award for the Best Duet of 1939 goes to?
After the Overview Post, Wrap Up 1 on Male Solos, and Wrap Up 2 on the Female Solos, now it is time for the Wrap Up 3 on the Duets. As the readers are aware, I am also concurrently doing the review of the best songs of 1956, which had two separate posts for female solos – one for Lata Mangeshkar, and the other for “Other Female Singers”, therefore, the corresponding number for the best duet in 1956 would be one up, i.e. Wrap Up 4.
The large data follow the same historical long-term average, but we have to contend with KL Saigal and Pankaj Mullick. They generally sang solos, and most of their songs are still remembered today. Therefore, the duets do not have the same recall value in 1939, and the number of duets in the year is only marginally more. Some great duets were also included in the Special Songs in the overview post. Let me start with the Readers’ comments.
Readers’ comments
Our scholar-in-residence N Venkataraman filled me in with correct historical details of the Second World War. Some readers did refer to lack of adequate knowledge or awareness of songs of the Vintage Era. To those readers I should say, I entirely agree with the sentiments, but I would seek some indulgence as I have been put on auto-pilot by the erstwhile regulars who have quietly slipped away since.
Venkataraman ji gives some interesting information about the film Brandy Ki Bottle, and commends some Special Songs. Such as the duet, Tujhe Bibbo kahun ya sulochana (Garib Ke Lal), which happens to be the first choice of Arunkumar Deshmukh. That means that in 1939 I have to be open to the idea of a song in the list of Special Songs to also include in the main list of best songs. Rahul Bhagwanro Muli gives us interesting information about Hindi-Marathi bilingual films, and how a song from the Marathi predecessor of Brandy Ki Bottle, a year earlier, had created a huge uproar in the moral gentry.
Raunak Joy added a song outside my long list, and that too at the very top: Mujhe tum bin jalsa suhaye na from Jawani Ki Reet. I know his admiration for the New Theatres and RC Boral. Some of us share his passion. But this is a pure chorus, with no identifiable or distinct two voices. Unfortunately, the pure chorus does not fit in any category. They are so few in number that I have not made a separate category for them. There are some more in his main list which are outside my list. I have heard them. Some are interesting, I have tried to fit them wherever I considered appropriate.
Special Songs
1. Main to aarti utarun Radheshyam ki re by Pradeep and Leela Chitnis from Kangan (1939), lyrics Pradeep music Saraswati Devi
Who does not know Main to aarti utaarun re jai jai Santoshi Mata from Jai Santoshi Ma. Kavi Pradeep again wrote this song in 1975 that set off a thousand temples dedicated to Santoshi Mata. For the first time I came to know that Santoshi Ma was an important deity in the pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses, Friday is dedicated for vrat for her. With all the hullaballoo around this film, I once got down to watch it. My memory is it was a very tacky film, but I am obviously not the right person to judge the film, because millions must have seen it, to make it the top-grosser of the year, beating films like Sholay. Please hear this originally written by Kavi Pradeep in his debut film Kangan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUtQ0-nXM_Y&list=RDKUtQ0-nXM_Y&start_radio=1
2. Buddhi ghodi laal lagaam, ye sabzpari main hun gulfaam, ji ji ji by Shyam Sundar and Lallu Bhai Nayak from Bijlee (1939), lyrics Sampat Lal Shrivastava ‘Anuj’
We get a fun duet, the singers are identified by the uploader. This may not be correct as one voice is clearly female whereas both the names are of females.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWuEG5cBa0w&list=RDjWuEG5cBa0w&start_radio=1
Best duets
1. Tujhe Bibbo kahun ki Sulochana by Mirza Musarraf and Kamla Karnataki from Garib Ke Lal (1939), music Sageer Asif
This is a very special song. It must be the earliest song in Hindi films referencing so many then-famous actors. I had included it in the Special Songs in the overview post. But this song is worthy of being included in the list of Best Ten in the year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3wSqdXRIYw&list=RDz3wSqdXRIYw&start_radio=1
2. Aao jhoola jhoolein Kanha Jamuna ke teer by Meenakshi Shirodkar and Vasant Eric from Brandy Ki Bottle (1939), lyrics Pt. Indra, music Datta Chandekar
Arunkumar Deshmukh has written a substantive post on this song on Atul Song A Day. It was a remake of a Marathi film, made a year earlier, namely Brandichi Batali, written and directed by the famous Marathi writer/playwright, PK Atre. Brandy Ki Bottle was produced and directed by Master Vinayak, who had a big role in supporting Lata Mangeshkar find her feet in Poona/Bombay upon her father’s death. Master Vinayak happened to be the father of Nanda. The singer Vasant Eric’s actual name was Vasant Jadhav. He sang all the sogs of Master Vinayak in Hindi and Marathi film, but the songs were credited to Master Vinayak.
I have one confusion though. An SOY regular Mr Muli says, the song is a watered-down version of its predecessor Yamuna jal khelun khel Kanhaiya from the Marathi film, Brahmachari. So which film is its predecessor? Brandichi Bottle or Bahmachari? But I like Aao jhoola jhoolein enormously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z14mC4uLuNc
3. Man paapi bhola kaun ise samjhaye by Sundara Bai, Shahu Moak, Shanta Hublikar from Aadmi (1939), lyrics Munshi Aziz, music Master Kirshnarao
We are lucky that Aadmi (1939) is one of the few films which still survives today. This is one of the best of V Shantaram-directed movies. The film also showcases the best from Marathi music. My memory is even though Vividh Bharti was located in Bombay, it was more partial to New Theatres songs. I like this song a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZWiQagPzfc&list=RDqZWiQagPzfc&start_radio=1
4. Radha Radha pyari Radha, Radha prem agadha by Ashok Kumar & Leela Chitnis from Kangan (1939), lyrics Pradeep, music Saraswati Devi
Ashok Kumar & Leela Chitnis sound quite musical. My favourite song. It was an inadvertent miss in my long list, but Raunak Joy has mentioned it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0PFaDMOXtA&list=RDN0PFaDMOXtA&start_radio=1
5. Duniya deewani by Sitara Devi, Kantilal & chorus from Nadi KInaare (1939), lyrics(?), music Gyan Dutt
This film had two lyricists PL Santoshi and DN Madhok, but which song was written by whom is not identified. This link too mentions both, but I don’t think they wrote jointly. I had thought it was a Sitara Devi special. But a male voice is clear and is identified, therefore we have to recognise as a duet by Sitara Devi, Katilal & chorus. One of the well-known early hits of Sitara Devi. I sound to me like a chorus song before a raucous audience. She revelled in these kind of songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3wqTw-uvXg
6. Madhur milan ka chitra banayein, prem ke ras se ras daalein by Surendra & Maya Banerjee from Comrades (1939), lyrics (?), Anil Biswas
In the upload you would find the names of three lyricists; only one would have written this song. But HFGK does not identify the lyricist. I think Jyoti was the leading lady of this film, having sung a few solos and a duet with Surendra who was the lead actor-singer in many films composed by Anil Biswas. A very good song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oM0dbsHXgo&list=RD_oM0dbsHXgo&start_radio=1
7. Aan base pardes sajan hum by Surendra & Jyoti from Comrades (1939), lyrics Dr Safdar ‘Aah’ Sitapuri, music Anil Biswas
Browsing soon lands me to this duet by the lead pair, composed by the doyen. Now the lyricist has been identified, but there is a catch. The upload still bears the name of Zia Sarhadi, but the description makes a correction that it is Dr Safdar ‘Aah’. You might have noticed another interesting feature: for some odd reason, there was a practice of giving bilingual Hindi-English names to a Hindi film. For example, this film was also known as ‘Jeevan Sathi’. Ek Hi Rasta was also known as “The Only Way”. ‘Nadi Kinare’ was also known as ‘On the River’ and so on. I have taken the name by which the film was more popularly known.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giGW4trrVeM&list=RDgiGW4trrVeM&start_radio=1
8. Mohe bachpan dila de udhar more raja by Rajkumari and Dada Chandekar from Brandy Ki Bottle (1939), lyrics Pt. Indra Chnadra, music Dada Chandekar
This is among the ‘singers unknown’ category of songs in HFGK. However, this uploader has identified the singer. For lack of any other evidence, I am going by the names given by the uploader. A nice folk style song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KH0Zv743U0&list=RD-KH0Zv743U0&start_radio=1
9. Chhalke chhalke ras ki gagariya bhaari, main matwari panihari by Anil Biswas & Waheedan Bai from Ek Hi Rasta (1939), lyrics P. Indra, music Anil Biswas
Anil Biswas in the late 30s was a doyen of film music. But though some songs through records survive most of the films, he composed for, are lost to the vagaries of time. Amog his songs, this one is quite pleasant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byl0Y7dPKec&list=RDbyl0Y7dPKec&start_radio=1
10. Mali, mali, mere man ki bagiya phooli by Vasanti & Vishnupant Phagnis from Sant Tulsidas (1939), lyrics PL Santoshi, music Gyan Dutt
This was an important saint film by Ranjit Movietone, when Gyan Dutt was their regular music director. Vishnupant Phagnis got fame in this film for living the role of Sant Tulsidas, and this exquisite song Ban chale Ram Raghurai. Who was this Vasanti? The only thing I can make out is that she was in the cast, and she belongs to the era of actors-singers. This is nice duet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCdscVZekig&list=RDLCdscVZekig&start_radio=1
In conlusion,
The SOY Award for the Best Duet of 1939 goes to Tujhe Bibbo kahun ya Sulochana by Miza Musarraf and Kamla Karnataki from Garib Ke Lal.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
The song links have been given from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest, and it does not claim or suggest, directly or indirectly, any copyright over these songs