Some time back, there was an interesting discussion between Ashok Kumar Tyagi and Hans about the story of Devdas and as to why Sanjay Leela Bhansali took so much liberties with it. I doubt if they realised that it was the centenary year of the publication of Sarat Chandra’s eponymous novel. Such coincidences have often happened on SoY. When I was planning to celebrate 2014 as the centenary year of Anil Biswas, his daughter Shikha Biswas Vohra happened to visit SoY, and on my request, she wrote the inaugural article of the series on him. Last year, a new visitor RS Ramaswamy visited some old posts and commented about MS Subbulakshmi. It happened to be her centenary year, and N Venkataraman wrote an excellent tribute to her.
Book/Film Reviews
Naushad’s Priceless Moment: ‘Anmol Ghadi’
Wishing Merry Christmas to all with a tribute to Naushad, Rafi and Noorjehan
I heralded 2015 with Naushad’s Crown Jewel, Rattan (1944), and decided to celebrate the year as The Year of Naushad. I cannot think of a better way to conclude the year than to remember his next Priceless Moment in his career, Anmol Ghadi, which came two years later. A blockbuster of its times, it is the only movie which links Naushad with two other greats together – his would-be most favourite male singer, Rafi, and the reigning actor-singer of the era, Noorjehan. Naushad, Rafi and Noorjehan are also linked in an incredibly eerie way – Rafi was born on 24 December (1924), Noorjehan’s death anniversary falls on December 23 (2000) and Naushad’s birth anniversary falls on December 25 (1919). If you believe Raju Bharatan, Naushad was actually born on December 24, but he chose December 25 as his ‘official’ birthday for better optics (Naushdanama). Had the shared birth anniversaries something to do with Naushad, later, firmly settling for Rafi even after tasting great success with Mukesh and Talat Mahmood? And the contra-anniversaries, with the fact that Anmol Ghadi remained Naushad’s first and the last work with Noorjehan? Though the film links the three greats, ironically Rafi did not have a duet with Noorjehan – with Surendra being the singing star of the film, there was no occasion for such a duet (though they would have a duet a year later in Jugnu – Yahan badla wafa ka bewafaai ke siwa kya hai – but that was composed by Firoz Nizami, who was also among those who migrated to Pakistan along with Noorjehan).
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Raju Bharatan’s ‘Naushadnama’
Book Review as a tribute to Naushad on his 9th death anniversary (25 December 1919-5 May 2006)
Naushadnama
By Raju Bharatan
Hay House India (2013)
pp. 341
The most important thing about Raju Bharatan’s Naushadnama is that it is Raju Bharatan’s Naushadnama. Which means, if you are familiar with his writings, that there is a good deal of Raju Bharatan in the book, besides its principal character, Naushad. And as you expect from him, he is not only an observer and chronicler of Naushad, he was also his trusted friend and confidante, as he was of C Ramchandra, Anil Biswas, Shankar-Jaikishan, SD Burman, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangehskar, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and all the major characters that appear in the book. The blurb on the book modestly describes him as “widely recognized as the last word on Hindi film music in India – as the only one physically there ‘on the scene’, through the decades, when music sittings and song recordings took place”.
The Master of Musical Comedies C Ramchandra and his ‘Patanga’ (1949)
A tribute on C Ramchandra’s birth anniversary January 12 (12 Jan 1918-5 Jan 1982)
In my simplified history of Hindi film music, when I move from RC Boral-Pankaj Mullick to Anil Biswas to Naushad, it would be quite unfair if I miss C Ramchandra. The Great Maratha (in the sense of one belonging to Maharashtra) was the most worthy rival of the Great Mughal, almost all the way, until Lata Mangeshkar deserted him, and his music floundered. He had no Plan B. But what a spectacle it was when it lasted! If Naushad had Mughal-e-Azam, CR had Anarkali. When Naushad swore by classical music, CR would create lilting classical based songs like Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag, Ye zindagi usi ki hai, Radha na bole na bole na bole re, Jab dil ko sataawe gham, without making a song or dance about it. When Naushad prided on his folk roots, CR would create Shehnai (Hamare angana aaj baaje baaje shehnai) and Nadiya Ke Paar (More raja ho le chal nadiya ke paar).
The Jewel in the Crown of Naushad: ‘Rattan’ (1944)
SoY celebrates 2015 as the Year of Naushad in the 75th Anniversary Year of his debut
If I were to write the history of Hindi film music, it would go as follows. Once upon a time there were RC Boral and Pankaj Mullick. Then came Anil Biswas. He was followed by Naushad, who in a few years reached a pinnacle which his peers could only envy and aspire to attain. He became the Greatest Mughal of Movie Music, who withstood palace intrigues and all overt and covert attempts to dethrone him, and straddled like a colossus for about 25 years.
A ‘serious’ review of Sangam (1964) in its Golden Jubilee Year
Raj Kapoor overturns Bollywood triangle to convey profound social messages
Reviewing a film is not a joke unless you are Madhu, Anu or Memsaab Greta. Then, why am I venturing into a field in which I have no expertise, and why Sangam?
Review of a Bollywood blockbuster like Sangam suffers from both the ends. At one end are the highbrow intellectuals, who have breakfast with Fellini, lunch with Kurosawa, dinner with Vittorio de Sica and tea, off and on, with Satyajit Ray. At best they would grudgingly acknowledge Bimal Roy and Do Bigha Zameen. They would trash Sangam as the usual worthless, escapist fare with songs and dances and a lot of melodrama. At the other end are the rest, people like you and me, who go to see what it offers, and come back ga-ga over its grand star cast, high drama, tense love triangle, wonderful foreign locales and great music. Both the set of reviewers miss some very profound social messages strewn in the film, which would be obvious if you watch it with a little more than casual interest.
Well Done Abba: Mainstreaming of the ‘Muslim’ in Hindi films
You would be hard put to recall a mainstream film whose hero bore the name Salim, Javed or Asghar – unless it was a ‘Muslim’ film. You might think of the student-poet Anwar (Rajendra Kumar in Mere Mehboob, 1963) plaintively singing Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam in the college farewell function, which was actually addressed to the mysterious beauty whom he had accidentally bumped into, and caught only a fleeting glimpse of, clad as she was in burqa. He could not forget that suhana manzar, and ever since he had been looking for her in har raah har mehfil with all consuming yearning to have her deedar once again in life. Lest you miss the point, the campus would be Aligarh Muslim University. Regulation Johnny Walker could be there to provide comic relief to the brooding hero and help resolve the mystery at crucial moments.