N Datta-Rafi: When they meet it is GOLD

13 December 2020

Guest article by Hans Jakhar as a tribute to N Datta (12 December 1927 – 30 December 1987) on his 93rd birth anniversary with his songs for Rafi

(You can’t get a more passionate fan of Asha Bhosle than Hans Jakhar, and she was the principle female playback singer for Ravi. Therefore, he was the most natural choice to write on her best songs for Ravi in the series of tributes on him last year. The discussions on that post led to N Datta for whom Asha Bhosle was even a more predominant singer. Hans again became the natural choice for writing on her anniversary this year with her best songs composed by N Datta.

A most welcome bonus was that he offered to write on N Datta’s songs for Rafi. This was the classic case of one thing leading to another, but he became terribly busy with his personal affairs. It was very kind of him to, nevertheless, squeeze time for this post, though we have overshot N Datta’s 93rd birth anniversary by a day.

Readers are aware that Hans never does anything half-heartedly. This post too bears his exhaustive research, and you get not only an excellent selection of songs, but also an overall perspective on N Datta’s rise and fall, and despite that, his great talent in composing some everlasting songs.

Let us pay a tribute to the unlucky genius N Datta with his songs for another genius Rafi, on his 93rd birth anniversary. Thank you Hans for you efforts. – AK) 

N Datta-RafiLast year in the series on Ravi, I wrote on Ravi-Asha Bhole and Ravi-Shakeel Badayuni. In my second post, Mumbaikar8 commented that she would have liked me to write on Ravi-Rafi. By that time both of Ravi-Rafi posts had already been written by AK. I am sure every reader on SOY knows that not only AK’s write-ups and song selection are exemplary, but also the song descriptions. I am sure Mumbaikar8 agrees with me on that and the reason for her wish was due to the fact that she wanted to see a write up from the perspective of a Rafi fan. AK also agrees to the difference of perspectives and because of that he asked me to write on N Datta-Asha Bhosle, though he has already written a number of great posts on her. This time I requested him to allow me to write on N Datta-Rafi to which he kindly agreed.

On my last post on N Datta and Asha Bhosle, Mr S Joseph who is a regular and thoughtful commenter, suggested that it would have been better if my post included mention of instruments used by N Datta. I am thankful to him for this as I have tried to get into this matter from that perspective, as well as given more active thought to the use of instruments. I have discovered some things which I never gave a thought. I will make a mention about this at the right place. Similarly, Venkataramanji made a mention of the probability of cliques which worked against some talented people in our Hindi Film Music (HFM) circles as a reason for what happened to N Datta. I have taken into account these two suggestions in assessing N Datta’s career in this post.

There is one fact which was mentioned by Mr Keshwani in his article, I mentioned in my last post, which would explain some aspects of his music. As per N Datta’s son there was a big peepal tree near their ancestral house. There used to be a mehfil of singing every Thursday, which was regularly attended by N Datta. He also learned harmonium there. He was also fond of watching natak/nautanki of travelling drama groups of Kolhapur and Ratnagiri. These childhood memories impacted his music later. His songs have a healthy share of fun songs. The selection of songs would make this point clear. But, it would be a mistake to think that this was the only hue in his music. He composed many great poignant songs too. He composed a lot of quality qawwalis, which would be a surprise for a Goan to do. Readers would also find that instead of the expected abundance of western instruments, his orchestra had the mix of all kinds of instruments including sitar, flute, dholak etc. His use of dholak was almost like his Punjabi counterparts. It should be kept in mind that he gave music first for a Punjabi film in 1950 itself. One thing which I noticed is that he used tabla less than the dholak. In western instruments he relied heavily on accordion. But, he has this ability to efficiently and effectively use other instruments like clarinet, saxophone, drums, castanets etc. I have read somewhere that he had mastery of many instruments.

Now I move on to N Datta-Rafi. In the last post I talked about the importance of the year 1955 for Asha Bhosle. The same can be said about Rafi too. I will explain it a bit. The year 1949 is known in HFM for the rise of Lata Mangeshkar. But, in the same year Rafi also reached a peak, leaving behind all opposition. In male category, he was far far above the rest of the field, in that year, much more dominant than Lata was in the female field. He sang 117 songs out of which 45 were solos. The second best was Chitalkar with 31 songs. Mukesh who had been the only one close to him in the previous years had 29 songs. Mukesh and Durrani with 8 solos were a far second in solos. In the next few years, he kept a constant progress, but the peak of 1949 eluded him because of some reasons. Though Naushad kept him as a sole male voice after giving Talat Mahmood a break in Babul, some factors worked against him. Mumbaikar8 has more than once mentioned the fact that very few composers gave him solos for lead actors in early 50s. I don’t wholly agree with this proposition, but she is right to some extent.

In my view there were some factors. Husnlal-Bhagatram faded as suddenly as their meteoric rise. Hansraj Behl settled for Punjabi films. Shyam Sunder died. Vinod too faded away soon. Some from the Punjab school moved to Pakistan. C Ramchandra, after initially being pro-Rafi, deserted him under Lata Mangeshkar’s influence. All these had contributed to about 75% of Rafi’s peak in 1949. Anil Biswas was dead against Rafi and both he and Lata influenced a few composers in the same direction. But, it would be a mistake to think that no other frontline composer was for him. Chitragupta was the one who never deserted him once he got in association with him and the same is true of Madan Mohan. But they were both themselves very unstable in their careers. In 1954, besides Amar and Shabaab, the success of O P Nayyar’s Aar Paar and Chitragupta’s Tulsidas came as a boon to Rafi. Shankar-Jaikishan, too, started veering towards Rafi with Pooja. In such a situation the year 1955, became the new peak for Rafi with Ravi and N Datta joining the Rafi bandwagon in a big way.

These circumstances I have mentioned in such detail to show how important N Datta, despite being a fresher, was to Rafi. In his first year he shot 4 straight hits out of 4 songs he composed for Rafi in Milap and Marine Drive. Then in the next year after giving three equally good solos in the devotional Dashehra, he brought up the eternal classic ‘Maine chand aur sitaron ki tamanna ki thi‘, just the mention of which brings to mind the trio of Sahir, Datta and Rafi, in the same way as ‘Swapna jhare phool se‘ makes us remember Neeraj, Roshan and Rafi. In 1957 he gave us that super Rock n roll ‘Laal laal gaal’, the children title song from ‘Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke‘, and ‘Kya kya na sitam tujhpe hue mehlon ki rani‘ in the mythological story Mohini – the tune of which he used again to create another classic ‘Tu hindu banega na musalman banega‘. Such variety in the first three years was a rare occurrence. Then he moved on to BR Films and gave his all in creating the great music in all of them. In addition to the solos, he composed equally fantastic duets. The list of songs appended to this write up will bring out the greatness of this combo.

So that was a very short summary of N Datta’s association with Rafi. And what Rafi did for N Datta! Besides the fact that he rendered all these gems in his inimitable voice and style and with the flourish which was only his legacy, he did the same magic he was doing in company with all composers, big or small. And what was that? Rafi’s level of rendition was such that he inspired not only the composers but also his co-singers. Even lyricist knew that if he wrote the best, the song would be remembered for times to come. He could sing anything, whether it was ghazal, qawwali, sad song, happy one, romantic, high pitch, low pitch, soft, classic, for the hero, for the comedian, for any other small actor or as background with equal perfection. This quality of rendition raised the level of composing. At practical level, it showed in the performances of the composers. Of the three stalwarts of 40s, Naushad, Anil Biswas and CR, the former used him and maintained his number one position. The other two, not only failed to challenge Naushad, but fell quickly from their high position. The excessive use of Lata did not help much most of the composers, because, they sidelined Rafi and she was not only not as versatile, but also chose which song and for whom to sing. OPN dislodged the stalwart Naushad from the top, mostly on the vocals of Rafi, and with the two other Asha-musketeers proved that it was possible to succeed without Lata, if Rafi was there.

On the other hand careers of highly talented composers like SJ and Roshan showed that placing too much reliance on Lata and ignoring or under-using Rafi was bound to fail. When both of them started using Rafi on a large scale, their level of composition gained new heights. SJ eventually hit the top after Rafi became their mainstay. Take the case of SDB, about whose talent, there is hardly any disagreement. His level hit the skies after Rafi’s entry into his scheme of things. The level of his compositions during the period of 1957 to 1965, when he used Rafi on a large scale, as compared to his earlier or later compositions shows the importance of Rafi. LP, KA and RDB who dominated the 70s scene established themselves with the help of Rafi. The most sublime of Usha Khanna’s compositions – the lone lady in the contemporary battle – belong to Rafi.

I can talk about Rafi endlessly, but, I have to stop somewhere. Here I give some stats. Rafi had 102 songs with N Datta out of which 49 were solos. Of the 53 duets, he had 24 MF duets with Asha Bhosle, 10 with Geeta Dutt, 6 with Lata Mangeshkar, 5 with Suman Kalyanpur and one each with Usha Khanna, Hemlata and Sulakhshna Pandit. He had two duets with Balbir and three triads in all of which Asha was also there, the other singers being Balbir, Sudha Malhotra and Kamal Barot.

One of N Datta’s achievements was that he produced immensely famous and iconic songs in films which failed miserably at the box office. One such song I would mention is ‘’Meri tasveer lekar kya karoge‘ from Kala Samundar. I never met a person who knew anything about this movie, but this song was almost daily heard on radio in normal programs as well as farmaish programs. Some of these songs I have selected and I am sure the very knowledgeable friends would be able to identity a number of others. I have no doubt that Rafi was the reason for that. He did the same for absolutely unknown and unsung composers. If we sum up this combo in one line, it would perhaps be correct to say that N Datta gave Rafi some of his all-time classic and iconic songs and Rafi was instrumental in helping N Datta in gaining the identity and a place in HFM circles.

In my last post on N Datta, I added lesser use of Rafi in the latter part of his career to the unfortunate instance of his heart attack as a reason of his decline. The reduction in number of Rafi songs was accentuated by the fact that he at the same time stopped using Lata also. Venkataramanji added to it the presence of some clique, to which I agreed and also mentioned his habit of discussing in parties his new tunes. The biggest impact on his psyche, post the heart attack, was BR Chopra – for whom he put everything on stake, even neglecting composition in some of the other films – deserting him. I would discuss his relationship with BR Chopra in detail in N Datta-Sahir post. Another reason might be his association with his lyricists.

I am one of those who believe the lyrics have an equal part to play in the quality of the song. Most of the friends would at least partly agree with me. When we have a look at his lyricists, we find that he used a large number of them in proportion to number of his songs. The only lyricist whom he used regularly was Sahir Ludhiyanvi who accounted for about one third of his songs. He used, in all, 30 lyricists for his 332 songs. Of these 15 were used for just one film and 8 of them were given just one song. 7 lyricists he used in 2 films and 4 in 3 films. Of the remaining 4 he used Sahir in 16 films (108 songs), Jan Nisar Akhtar in 6 (35 songs), Anand Bakshi in 7 (33 songs) and Asad Bhopali in 4 (18 songs). It will be seen there is just one frontline lyricist he used with regularity. He came in touch with other frontline lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri and Rajendra Krishna, but failed to sustain the association for a longer period. Majrooh wrote for him songs like ‘Laal laal gaal jaan ke hain laagu‘ and ‘Dil ki tamanna thi masti men‘ and Rajendra Krishna wrote songs like ‘Tera aana bhi dhokha tha‘, ‘Ankhen tumhari hon sapne hamare hon‘ and ‘Paas na howe jinke roti’.

Whatever be the reasons for the ups and downs of his career, the fact remains that he dished out some of the most mesmerising songs, and that too in a stiff competition from long-established and talented and upcoming composers in an era which is undisputedly the golden era of Hindi hilms.

And now I present the fruits of my selection, which was the hardest part, because I had to leave out some of my most favourite songs. Whenever, I make a selection, I try to give the best songs and also the variety as far as possible. The songs which include the combo’s duets are given in chronological order.

1. Bachna zara ye zamana hai bura (with Geeta Dutt) – Milaap – 1955 – lyrics Sahir Ludhianvi

This is a pure fun song and the first N Datta gave to Rafi. Datta was very fond of fun songs and there were a number of them in his career. I have chosen this not only because it is hisg first song for Rafi, but it is a very special song. This is clearly a picnic song; Dev Anand is blind-folded and is moving around aimlessly throughout the song. Rafi sings for Johnny Walker. Though the orchestra is simple, the rhythm and picturisation makes it special. Sahir’s lyrics are interesting. Geeta Dutt’s part is in normal style in both antaras. Look for how she brings out ‘zara‘ and ‘bura‘ with emphasis making them ‘zarrra‘ and ‘burrra‘. But Rafi’s antara is special, where Sahir takes a couple of words from the earlier part and weaves it beautifully into the next, culminating in a connected series. This song shows perfect understanding between lyricist and composer. I am giving here the Rafi antara.

चुपके चुपके नैन लड़ाना,
नैन लड़ाकर दिल को लुभाना,
दिल को लुभाकर पास बुलाना,
पास बुलाकर खुद घबराना,
खुद घबराकर आँख चुराना,
आँख चुराकर दिल को जलाना,
दिल को जलाकर होश भुलाना,
होश भुलाकर मजनू बनाना,
इन लैलाओं का है खेल पुराना.

2. Ab wo karam karen ke sitam (solo) – Marine Drive – 1955 – Sahir

Ajit played the right hand man of the villain KN Singh, so he was supposed to be a strongman from which he transformed into a villain in later films. But, the soft looks of the heroine Beena Rai turned around his whole life. He lip-syncs here a soft song in which he has resigned his fate to his lady love. Rafi had three songs in the film. ‘Bata ae aasman wale tere bande kidhar jayen‘ (on Johny Walker), was a solo qawwali with chorus support and another fun duet with Asha ‘Mohabbat yun bhi hoti hai, tabiyat yun bhi aati hai’. It would be futile to repeat that he excelled in each genre, but this song became a classic. To borrow Manek Premchand’s words for describing the orchestra “Datta asked Goody Servai to play his accordion here and set the song in a 6-beat dadra loop, the dholak played with a ring worn on one of the fingers to create periodically cracking sound”. In Punjab, Haryana and adjacent areas they use dholak with a spoon to hit it with the same effect. It can be seen in the Lata classic ‘Jogi hum to lut gaye tere pyar mein‘ from Shaheed.

3. Mere malik ki dukaan pe hai sabka khaata re (solo) – Dashehra – 1955 – Pradeep

This all solo film had three Rafi songs, which were all very nice and also with the same theme of devotion. Any of them could have been selected. The fourth male solo was sung by Pradeep himself. In the film circles it is said that he suggested the song tune where he was the singer, for which reason he had a spat with OPN in Sambandh. Mostly he selected one song for himself. SDB and Pradeep – one a composer and the other lyricist – have sung a few songs in films. The common thing is that both had unique voice and singing style and most of their songs became all time classics. Pradeep’s ‘Doosron ka dukhda door karne wale‘ is so well-known that those who do not know either the film or the composer remember the song.

4. Maine chand aur sitaron ki tamanna ki thi (solo) – Chandrakanta – 1956 – Sahir Ludhiyanavi

This masterpiece is one of the songs, which is the identity of the film for which it was constructed. This is a song I would like to listen in Arvinder Sharmaji’s style – only audio (that is the only option because there is no video available) with eyes closed. This song was in two parts and was favourite to be played in radio days. One could easily cross the whole colony while listening to it from the sound coming from house windows. This is a film which I have longed to see only for this song. Though I am not good at identifying instruments, I was aware there was sitar in it along with the dholak, but from Manek Premchand’s account I came to know that N Datta used two sitars with the result that this song became one of those where there is exemplary use of sitar. Besides the composition, the excellent word play of Sahir and above all, the magical voice and rendition by Rafi, all combine to make it a classic, which not even those who are not too fond of Rafi can ignore. There is a particular word in the last antara  उमण्डते which has been used in place of the normally used उमड़ते, which has given that part of the song a special effect.

5. Ji chahta hai aaj kahin door jaiye (with Asha Bhosle) – Chandrakanta – Sahir Ludhiyanavi

Sahir was one who had more complaints than compliments for the society for obvious reasons. The Rafi song could be said to have some autobiographical element. In the same way the present duet also Sahir is probably showing his longing to be far from the society into the nature. He has written a lot of songs describing natural love settings, which have become legends. N Datta’s portfolio may contain less number of absolute romantic songs, but when he composed them, they were special. This duet is one such song. Rafi is known to sing the same lines in a different manner each time they are repeated. I would request readers to listen to the mukhda carefully. The  second line of the mukhda is ‘ Duniya pukarti rahe wapas na aaiye‘. This as well as the first line is sung twice by Rafi in the start. When he sings ‘na aaiye‘ a second time, he stretches the ‘naa’ a little more so that both the ‘naa’ and ‘aa’ of aaiye merge and still manages ‘aa’ of aaiye clearly audible. Such mixing and clear diction was the hallmark of his singing. Yes, he could do anything.

6. Laal laal gaal jaan ke hain laaguo (solo) – Mr. X – 1957 – Majrooh Sultanpuri

This is another song like ‘Maine chand aur sitaron ki‘ which became identity of the film. It was not that the film did not have other good songs. Asha Bhosle’s ‘Kitna haseen hai jahan‘ was fondly remembered by our two stalwarts Bhatiaji and Mumbaikar8. ‘Sadke teri chaal ke‘ is a greatly popular duet from the film. The song was a Rock n roll in which Rafi just excelled to the great tune and arrangement of instruments of Datta, with fitting lyrics from Majrooh Sultanpuri. This was Majrooh’s first song for N Datta who used 4 lyricists for 7 songs in this film. This song had a Rock n roll competition with C Ramchandra’s ‘Eena meena deeka‘ which had the advantage of a hit film and also came late in the year, which offered CR the opportunity to improve. The later song was also the special field of Kishore Kumar. But, Rafi was unstoppable and despite the film not drawing much crowds, the song came third after his own ‘Zara samne to aao chhaliye‘ and ‘Sar jo tera chakraye‘ in the Binaca Geetmala.

7. Aaj kyun hamse parda hai (with Balbir) – Sadhna – 1958 – Sahir

Of N Datta’s three films in this year Sadhna had without any doubt the greatest impact, not only musicwise, but also as a fillip to his career with his association with BR Films. This is a song which could be called a ‘googly’ if we use the cricket term. In the mujra songs, it is the dancing girl who entertains her fans with song and dance. But, here the fans are singing the song to invite her, who is torn between her hopes of becoming a housewife and the reality of being a tawaif, because she has been introduced by Sunil Dutt to her mother as a fake bahu. N Datta’s class as composer of great qawwalis has hardly been discussed. He has produced a number of great ones and in my reckoning should rank as No. 2 behind the great Roshan. Sahir and Rafi were again his mainstays for this genre. Rafi and Balbir’s coordination is wonderful and the words can never be a problem when Sahir is the lyricist.

8. Nashe mein hum nashe mein tum (with Suman Kalyanpur) – Black Cat – 1959 – Jan Nisar Akhtar

Jan Nisar Akhtar’s association with N Datta started this year with two films. The other was Mr John. This song was picturised as a club song on Johnny Walker and the club dancer. With Balraj Sahni in the lead role, with his aversion to singing songs, Johnny Walker had a field day with a solo and two duets. If somebody listens to the song as audio, he can never imagine it as a club song, but a proper romantic song between hero and heroine.

9. Beta dar mat dar mat dar mat (solo) – Bhai Behan – 1959 – Sahir Ludhiyanavi

Could anyone imagine Sahir would coming up with such lyrics:

नाचो डिंग डिंग डिंग डिंग डारा
गाओ तारा रा रा रा रा
बोलो गिटमिट गिटमिट गिटमिट
लेलो हमसे ख़ुशी का परमिट

10. Daman mein daag laga baithe (solo) – Dhool Ka Phool – 1959 – Sahir Ludhiyanavi

This is one of the classic songs which I can hear again and again. This is a background song on behalf of the heroine. Sahir has beautifully woven the words in such a way that it links the earlier song ‘Tere pyar ka aasra chahta hoon‘ and the song to come ‘Tu mere pyar ka phool hai‘ with this song. These three songs are the essence of the story of the film. Rafi’s singing is just out of the world. Listen to the words in each antara, which he sings three times each in three different pitches and three different ways. The words to look for are, ‘Uthte hi nazar jhuk jayegi‘, ‘Toofan ke hawale karke hamein‘ and ‘Dukh de ke hamein jeevan bhar ka’.

11. Humein raste mein chhede kyun (with Asha) – Dr Shaitan – 1960 – Jan Nisar Akhtar

This is another fun song which was hallmark of N Datta’s career. The lyrics use ‘Bambaiya’ words like ‘firela‘, ‘piyela‘ etc. This was quite a popular song in its time. So many songs becoming popular despite the film’s failure was another of N Datta’s achievements.

12. Mere dilbar mujhpar khafa na ho (solo) – Dharmaputra – 1961 – Sahir Ludhiyanavi

This song has taken N Datta soaring high in my esteem. This is in my opinion, without any doubt, the best solo qawwali of Hindi films. Not even the Rafi solo part in ‘Na to caravan ki talash hai’ can beat it. I was torn endlessly whether to use it here or in Sahir’s post to come, but in the end decided to use it here, because more credit should go to N Datta. Everything, from lyrics, composition, singing and picturisation is perfect. First picturisation. The setting is an occasion for celebration, where a mujra dancer would come and there would also be a qawwali, the only difference being here they go side by side. Shashikala is a wonderful actress and she has shown why with her adas sitting, when the main performer of qawwali Balam – of the Manna Dey part in ‘Na to caravan ki talash hai‘ fame – sings the mukhda or antara. In the interludes she stands up and shows her dancing skills. About Rafi I would only say that he was the qawwali king, despite Manna Dey, and here has come up with a stellar performance. N Datta produced a master tune, with a great use of harmonium, which comes quite near the use of this instrument by Naushad in the Babul-Talat classic ‘Husnwalon ko na dil do‘. Sahir has surpassed himself in bringing out unique lyrics where he was at liberty to write whatever he wanted. But, he stuck to the occasion perfectly from start till end. I give one antara here. Has anyone written such lyrics:

कहूं क्यूंके दुनिया रक़ीब है
मेरा अपना दिल ही अजीब है
न ये दुश्मन है ना हबीब है
मैं कभी न इसको समझ सका
कभी अपनों से भी हुआ ख़फ़ा
कभी बेगानों से बहल गया

13.Dil ki tamanna thi masti mein (solo) – Gyarah Hazar Ladkiyan – 1962 – Majrooh Sultanpuri

I think this song would always find the playlists of not only Rafi fans, but others too. Such a soft rendition of the great lyrics of which Majrooh Sultanpuri must have been proud. N Datta made good use of flute in between. This is also another film which bombed at the box office, but, Datta’s music lived forever, with other songs like ‘Mere mehboob mere sath hi‘ (Kaifi Azmi), ‘Gham gaya to gham na kar’ and ‘Sab log jighar wo hain’ – both by Asha Bhosle. I have given two links for the song. One has video and the other is audio version with the middle antara chopped off to bring it under 3 minutes. We used to listen only two antaras on radio as in audio version. As the old radio buffs know, this has been the case with so many songs, with antaras chopped off.

(Video link)

(Audio link)

14. Chahe dekhen ghoor ke (with Asha Bhosle) – Sachche Moti – 1962 – Sahir Ludhiyanavi

With Johnny Walker in a joint lead role, one would expect – from lyrics as well as style of the song – that the song was picturised on him. But, here you find the Kathak and Bharatnatyam dancer and bhanja of Sitara Devi, Gopi Krishna, as the male performer with the grown up Naaz as female dancer. In this Bhangra style dance you can see glimpses of his classical dance. This was the umpteenth fun song composed by N Datta and as usual fitting lyrics as per the genre by Sahir, with the song rendered by both Rafi and Asha in great style.

15. Tera aana bhi dhokha tha (solo) – Mere Arman Mere Sapne – 1963 – Rajendra Krishna

How many times I have to write this. This song is again from a movie which flopped. Most of the songs of this movie are remembered till this day. This is one of the few sad songs I have selected here and shows the variety of Datta in each of them. Rafi’s rendition of this is as usual great. No video of the song is available.

16. Ankhein hamari hon sapne tumhare hon (with Asha) – Mere Arman Mere Sapne

This is a romantic song picturised on Aseem Kumar (seen in small roles in some films) and Naaz, which was greatly popular in the radio days. I think most of the friends would  remember this sweet duet.

17. Hum hain awara to kya hai (with Geeta Dutt) – Awara Abdulla – 1963 – Asad Bhopali

This is a long male-female qawwali with the usual chhed-chhad from a hit Dara Singh film. The surprise item is Dara Singh, who usually shunned songs, entering the song with gusto. Asad Bhopali has written good lyrics, though not near the level of Sahir. Again one of the fun songs, which was a cake-walk for Rafi. Geeta Dutt has sung very few qawwalis but has come up trumps here.

18. Na mano to koi shikayat nahin (with Suman Kalyanpur) – Ustad 420 – 1969 – Aziz Kashmiri

This song I had never heard before the internet era. I noticed this song, some years back when I was preparing a summary of N Datta’s career and I immediately fell in love with this. What a start to the song by Suman and both she and Rafi continue in a great vein throughout the song. The song is picturised on the unusual pair of Sudhir and Zeb Rehman, who appeared in some films by the name of Pritibala. The lyrics are by Aziz Kashmiri who had written some great songs for O P Nayyar. He has used some wonderful words, such as

‘Kiye hain jo is dil pe tumne sitam,
Lagaye hue hain kaleje se hum,
Sisitam ab uthane ki himmat nahin
.’

For the duets I have left out Rafi-Lata duets, which will be covered when her songs are discussed in this series. Even without that pair’s duets, there were so many high class duets that a number of quality duets had to be left out.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
The song audios/videos have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over these songs which vests in the respective owners, such as Saregama India Limited and others.

{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }

1 mumbaikar8 December 14, 2020 at 6:34 am

Hans,
You have read it right I wanted a Ravi Rafi write up from the perspective of Rafi fan.
I think I have been vindicated.
Heard Dr. shaitan song for first time enjoyed it. Bambaiya words firela and piyela were also Goan gift to Bombay.
Naya Raasta had a title song by Rafi that I think only Sahir was capable of saying. Brutal truth.
Apne andar zara jhaank mere watan (from movie Naya Raasta 1970)

https://youtu.be/haXD22_oh6U

“Let us pay a tribute to the unlucky genius N Datta”
“The Unforgotten And Unremembered Genius Jaidev”
One observation two music directors for whom adjectives “un” and “ genius ” used were assistants to SDB.

2 AK December 14, 2020 at 7:13 am

Mumbaikar8,
I am coming in because the quotes in your last para were my words. I hope you are not hinting at anything. The greatest unlucky genius was Ghulam Mohammad, who had been assistant to Naushad. There are counter examples too. Ravi is often mentioned in any discussion on N Datta. Ravi had a great luck, and he had been assistant to Hemant Kumar.

3 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 14, 2020 at 12:44 pm

Hans ji,

A thoroughly researched and well written post. MOHINI song was new to me.

Mumbaikar ji has mentioned the title song ( plays with the credits rolling) from NAYA RASTA.Yes, some heavy duty lyrics by Sahir.

I like two completely different solos of Rafi from the film.

The more popular one picturized on the hero Jeetendra:
Ponch kar ashq apne aankhon se…

The one that is my favorite..an unlikely Balraj Sahni doing a drunken act:
Maine pee sharab
Tune kya piya?

There is a Holi song, a duet with Asha.
I often come across a Rafi song…
Ishwar Allah tere naam..
supposedly from this movie. Probably not used?

4 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 14, 2020 at 1:44 pm

Hans ji,

You ask whether anyone could believe Sahir is capable of writing inane lyrics like
Nacho ding ding…

He also wrote:
Gapoochi Gapoochi gum gum
Kishki Kishki Kum Kum!

5 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 14, 2020 at 2:06 pm

DIDI, 1959.

Sahir.

Bachhon tum taqdeer ho
Kal ki Hindustan ki…

Asha Bhosle and chorus.

Humne suna tha ek hai Bharat..

Asha, Sudha Malhotra, chorus.

Since last year the second song is being circulated in the WhatsApp groups during Independence Day, Republic Day etc with the caption..
Where was this gem till now?

6 KB December 14, 2020 at 3:23 pm

This was a much awaited discussion topic and my congratulations for the excellent selection of songs ! However , I miss that Rafi number on Johnny Walker from Mr John – Beta Samhal ke chalna which I remember till today as one of the ideal and most impressive songs on Jonny Walker of all times!

7 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 14, 2020 at 5:43 pm

BA MA PhD
Ye Diplome ye degree….

BADNAM FARISHTEY, 1971.

Asad Bhopali.

The song is unique in being picturised on a dozen minor actors, all lipsyncing separately.

The movie was
Presented by
Rajesh Khanna
Sharmila Tagore…
Who, also were billed at the end of the titles as
Above All..
RK
ST.

Dharmendra did the opening commentary.

It was RK’s first flop after 17 consecutive hits from 1969. But, his and ST’s roles were more likely extended Special appearances.

8 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 14, 2020 at 5:46 pm

SADHNA

Sambhal ae dil
Tadapne se aur tadpane se kya hoga?
With Asha.

Interestingly, VyjayantiMala bagged the Filmfare best actress award for this movie while she was also nominated for MADHUMATI in the same year. Personally for me, the latter is her career best.

9 S Joseph December 14, 2020 at 6:12 pm

A nice tribute to a great MD of the golden era. A beautiful write up and a great selection of songs. Also , the writeup has over 5000 words . Several aspects have been analysed in this study. A good amount of statistics and related analysis . I agree that in this combo , perhaps Rafi helped N Datta establish in HFM circles because Rafi was a genius and also had a great standing even before N Datta made an entry . The role of lyricists in the success of a song has been rightly mentioned though I believe there could be many other reasons .

10 Mahesh December 14, 2020 at 6:32 pm

Hans ji,

Kudos for the efforts put in, in putting this together.
(wondering if my sentence and the position of comma is correct) 🙂

Something about song no 13 in this link below.

https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/recognition-often-eludes-composers-of-hit-tunes-882622.html

11 Rahul Bhagwanrao Muli December 14, 2020 at 7:01 pm

Hansji
Your articles always reflect your passionate love for the subject and it is backed by extensive research and relevant statistics. This one is no exception.
You have mentioned the song
” maine chand aur sitaro ki ” as a song one could listen all through the coloney. I had the same experience in my native town.
Dhadakane lagi dil ke taron ki duniya was another N Dutta song which was very regularly played on radio during those days though it is not relevant for this article.
During the course of surfing N Dutta songs in relation to earlier articles on SOY , I came across this rarity .
Mera naam hai Mr John – Naach Ghar – Sahir
https://youtu.be/RRuM7vjSIms
Pradeep ji it squarely fits into the inane lyrics category you have posted. Its video I could not get on you tube. But considering that Anoop Kumar is there in the film one may guess that it is filmed on him & Helen. Geeta dutt sounds so different here.
Another favorite of mine from an obscure film
Tere is pyar ka shukriya – Aag Aur Daag – SH Bihari
https://youtu.be/71jJw44BnqQ

12 ASHOK M VAISHNAV December 15, 2020 at 1:16 pm

Hansji,

What a treat – form N Dutta angle or or from Rafi angle.

Here is one example of N Dutta’s preference for Rafi – In Dharmputra, Mahnedra Kapoor had major songs, but N Dutta has made room for a song by Rafi….A qawwali… presented in very refreshingly different style… Rafi, too, seems to enjoy the song as much, the way he has played with word ‘fisal’ in different manners every time it comes up in the song.

Mera Dilbar Mujhse Khafa Na Ho – Dharmaputra (1962) – Lyrics: Sahir

https://youtu.be/aoPU_uKVWjA

13 ASHOK M VAISHNAV December 15, 2020 at 1:29 pm

Mumbaikar8 #1 and AK #2

Let me join this fencing duel uninvited…

Two other assistants who did not floursh were Datta Ram and G S Kohli, who worked for Shankar Jaikishan and O P Nayyaar respectively.

One common thread that seems to be connecting all these is the fact thier ‘pricipals’ were already big-banner–A-grade music directors. So the assistants probably had search for alternative space – for formal or non-formal non-competitive clause- which would not come in direct competition with these erstwhile ‘seniors’…. and sure enough with perhaps no help from them.

Each case certainly will have their unique shades of luck and circumstances plus their own competence and commercial acumen,,,

Ravi was lucky and Hemant Kumar was NOT THAT Successful in Hindi films.

14 AK December 15, 2020 at 3:29 pm

Mahesh @10,
Thanks a lot on behalf of Hans for your appreciation. I am sure he would himself respond to the comments.

I read the article you have linked. I was surprised at some sweeping statements, such as, “Why do composers seldom, if ever, get recognition?” Some examples are good, but some completely off betraying superficial or borrowed familiarity with old HFM. Roshan – Man re tu kaahe na dheer dhare/ Karvaan guzar gaya gubar dekhte rahe/ Mile na phool to kaanton se dosti kar li; Tajmahal film songs; Jaidev – Hum Dono; Chitragupta – Jaag dil-e-diwana; Ravi – Ye wadiyan ye fizaayein bula rahin hain humein; Usha Khanna –Dil De Ke Dekho are bad examples to make the sweeping point. The lyricists do get a raw deal and get the lease credit among the creators of the songs. Some forgotten composers who composed a few immortal songs – say Dan Singh – is a different case. I cover tham in “Forgotten Composers, Unforgettable Melodies”.

Some information is entirely new. I didn’t know Jaidev composed all the songs of Umrao Jan. which Muzaffar Ali got redone by Khayyam. If he didn’t like the tunes and Khayyam created entirely new melodies, this is hardly an issue. The Producer is free to take such decisions. If Jaidev was not paid for his work, that is commercial dispute, breach of trust. I don’t think he is making that point. If Khayyam reused the same tunes, the primary credit should go to Jaidev. Can you make out what the author means.

Actual composer of Dil ki tamanna thi masti mein was not N Datta but his assistant Baburao Hindelkar? What is the author’s source? How does Hindelkar get recognition? The credit goes to the music director, not the assistant/arranger/musician. There would be chaos if we start crediting half the songs of Naushad to Ghulam Mohammad and so on.

15 AK December 15, 2020 at 4:17 pm

Ashokji,
There was something more. Ravi’s music is very different from Hemant Kumar. Datta Ram’s is very much a shadow of SJ. Ghulam Mohammad’s case is unique. His songs were superlative, but somehow big commercial success eluded him. He is my great favourite independent of Naushad.

16 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 15, 2020 at 5:09 pm

Found this fun Chikkoo selling song from RIKSHAWALA, 1960.

Rafi, Geeta Dutt, chorus.
Jan Nissar Akhtar.

Pandit ho ya Lala
Ya Gandhi topiwala
Jo bhi Chikkoo khaye kehlayega matwala…

The same Chikkoo eaten by Nargis, Nimmi and Madhubala !

And, the Marathi touch..
Aga Sakkoo, ghe Chikkoo…

17 Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty December 15, 2020 at 5:40 pm

HOLIDAY IN BOMBAY, 1963.

Anwar Faruqabadi, P L Satoshi.

1. Laanat hai aisi mohabbat se pyare
Dikhaye jo Majnu ko din mein hi tare…

On Rajendranath.

2. Ratnare matware rasnare kajrare nain tihare..

With S Balbir.

Rafi on Shashi Kapoor.

3. Ae Chand tu dena gawahi..

With Asha Bhosle.

18 Jawahar December 15, 2020 at 6:43 pm

Hans ji
What a treat. I had been eagerly awaiting an article on N Datta. And finally had the pleasure to read your detailed analysis and listen to the songs you selected. A treasure.
Mere Dilbar Mujh Par Khafa Na Ho is a real gem! And it’s a coincidence that I was just humming Dil Ki Tamanna Thi Masti Mein last week!
Thanks a lot!

19 Hans December 15, 2020 at 9:08 pm

AK,

Normally I dont believe in these formalities of thanking, because they are hardly necessary among friends. But for this post, I want to thank you for your support. I was really busy and on 2nd I promised to send it you and I would have tried to send it on that date even if I had to keep awake the whole night. But, your prompt advice not to worry made me relax, and I could send it in the form which I wished, though belatedly. I have grown a huge respect for the character of N Datta and I wanted a good tribute to him as well as my favourite Mohammad Rafi.

N Datta was born between the dates of birth of two giants of our films Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor who were born on 11th and 14th. So it is a great satisfaction that we could keep his DOB tribute between those two dates, though late by a day. I sent it around midnight on 12th and you perhaps literally burnt the midnight oil to get it posted before 24 hours passed. I know, besides reading such a long post, there is a lot of work to do for making it presentable. Thanks for that. I think you also have fallen in love with the unfortunate genius N Datta.

20 Hans December 15, 2020 at 10:08 pm

Mumbaikar8,

I was always willing to write on Rafi, but your nudging prompted me to ask for this post and I am happy I could fulfil your as well as other friends’ expectations. Thanks for the support.

I am surprised you are listening Dr Shaitan song for the first time. This song was quite frequently heard on radio. This is again a Datta speciality from an obscure film. Naya Raasta was a revival of Sahir-Datta combo and I kept this film for the upcoming post on this combo. I even left out ‘maine pee sharab’ after initially including it in the list. I agree with you that Sahir was the boldest among all lyricists. The subject of the film Naya Raasta needed such a song and he did not disappoint. He even included his nazm on Taj Mahal in the film Ghazal. I would write in detail on some known and unknown aspects of his writing from my viewpoint in that post.

Your point about Datta and Jaidev being chelas of SDB is quite correct. In fact, Mr Keshwani whose articles I mentioned in these posts likened SDB to a river in which Datta had a holy bath. In his own words.
दत्ता ने एक तरफ तो इस दरिया में डुबकियां लगा लगा कर अपने जिस्मो जां को संगीत के सारे तत्वों से तर कर लिया और दूसरी तरफ श्रद्धा से भर कर संगीत के अर्घ्य का अर्पण किया. N Datta kept in touch with SDB even after leaving him and sometimes arranged his orchestra for him, though the final word would always be his guru’s. One such song in my view is ‘sambhal ke ye duniya hai’ from Sitaron se Aage – 1958.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMtOF5OaVbc

On the other hand, Jaidev was reluctant to leave SDB and like Ravi continued to assist his guru even after making his independent debut with Joru Ka Bhai in 1955. He was made a proverbial ‘bali ka bakra’ for bringing back Lata in the Burman fold with a tripartite agreement between SDB, Jaidev and Navketan Films, under which he was to alternate with SDB for films from Navketan. Jaidev accused his guru of breaking this treaty and forcing Dev Anand to desert him.

21 Hans December 15, 2020 at 10:46 pm

Dr Shetty, @3

Thanks for your kind words. I would say the same thing as I said to Mumbaikar8 about Dr Shaitan song, but this one was a less heard song on radio. About Naya Rasta, this was a very nice effort as per the music department, but the film did not do too well despite Jitendra and Asha Parekh both being on a roll in those days. Perhaps the Director made it a bit more rhetorical than necessary. Balraj Sahni, despite being such a great actor, made a mess of the drunken role. I prefer its audio version.

22 AK December 15, 2020 at 11:11 pm

Hans,
I am happy that it turned out to your expectation. There is no question of my pushing a guest author if he is hard-pressed for time. I have long been a fan of N Datta. I think I have said it earlier, I think of him as Ravi plus, minus his luck.

23 ksbhatia December 16, 2020 at 12:39 am

Hans ji ;

I took some time to read your article again and again and could only sum up N. Dutta going great guns with every song he composed as a soldier or a fighter. It is difficult to compete with great guns / those composers who already established as run getters during that point of time. Dreams coming close to be true suddenly finds a sudden fate on way to success . Like many others I myself is very fond of such Music directors who , though not standing tall ….but gave excellent songs to remind his good work forever.

Your article is aptly titled ….when they meet its Gold. Look at that beautiful Lata’s song ….Mein tumhin se pochhti hun….wherein Rafi did really sprinkled gold with his flawless singing the before the song starts . The orchestra matches so well that one wish to hear again and again ….so soothing and no heavey noises of strings.

Main Tumhi se Puchhti Hoon…..Rafi Lata…Black Cat…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1lDsEpLwDI

24 R Vasudevan December 16, 2020 at 2:32 pm

A fine write up N Dutta was a super duper composer but did not get his due.

On 13 I add
GS Kohli was assistant to OPN but chose to remain with his master in spite of giving great songs in a limited films he did as an individual composer. Similarly Datta ram remained with his Masters S-J after composing music for some films. Had they left their masters surely they would have won more laurels and achieved greater heights. There
might have been some reason why they did cling to their gurus.

25 Hans December 16, 2020 at 7:31 pm

Dr Shetty,

I did not mean that these lyrics were meaningless. In fact, what I wanted to point out was that he conveyed his meaning through such word play. At the outset in the mukhda he uses phrases like ‘dar mat’ ‘aahen bhar mat’ ‘chinta kar mat’ and ‘yunhi mar mat’ which conveyed the wisdom shared by doctors to their patients through the phrase ‘avoid hurry, worry and curry’. The first antara with ‘tere paon ke neeche duniya, boot ki chhaon ke neeche duniya, tu hai rajaon ka raja, do din jag men mauj mana ja’ continues in the same vein meaning dont care for what duniya says and do whatever you like. In the second antara he brings the ‘kismat’ part, when he says in light vein ‘bhai log hain sach farmate, har kutte ke din hain aate, jisne aaj liya kal dega, tujhko man chaha fal dega’. The third antara, which I quoted also moves in the same direction, meaning nacho, gao, gapshap karo for being happy.

Phrases like ‘gapuchi gapuchi gam gam’ were sometimes added on the suggestions of composer or any other associated with the song. They are mostly not part of the song written by the lyricist. You would remember the words before ‘aa gup chup gup chup pyar karen’ used by SDB or the Khazana lines ‘babadi bubadi babadi bam’ used by CR.

26 Hans December 16, 2020 at 7:41 pm

Dr Shetty,

The last comment was meant for your comment no 4 and this one is for no 5.

Didi is a good film. The songs you mentioned were the type of rhetorical songs served to us in the aftermath of independence and partition. Sahir has written quite a number of such songs and also some satirical songs, as the situation demanded. Our society produced a few characters like Satyakam as a result of such rhetoric which we were fed in those days, while characters like Naren in the same film ruled.

The first song was quite popular and was a must a bunch of children songs were broadcast on radio. The second one was also occasionally heard.

27 Hans December 16, 2020 at 9:53 pm

Mr KB,

Thanks for the appreciation. I mentioned ‘bata ae aasman wale tere bande kidhar jayen’ and posted two solos and two duets picturised on Johny Walker. After so many songs your ‘dil mange more’ on JW means you are a die-hard fan of JW-Rafi combo. I am also in the same club. But this song would have produced the best effect in a video which was not available.

N Datta was in the frontline composers with OPN, followed by SDB and Ravi who were instrumental in making this legend of the combo of JW-Rafi a reality, which later every composer followed.

28 Hans December 16, 2020 at 10:35 pm

Dr Shetty, @ 7 & 8

From Badnam Farishte to Sadhana you remember all. I dont know how many flops or hits Rajesh Khanna gave before Badnam Farishte, but certainly there were a few flops out of them. I was quite into the know of films in that era, so I know some facts. I dont know from where you got the info of 17 straight hits. So far as Vyajayantimala is concerned, she gave a number of good performances in other films too and she was without doubt the most graceful dancer (out of heroines) of hindi films. ‘Sambhal ae dil’ is a great favourite of mine too.

29 Hans December 16, 2020 at 10:50 pm

Josephji,

I am happy you liked my analysis. Thanks for your kind words. Your observation on my last post has changed my outlook and I now observe the instruments more carefully. You are right that Rafi was well established by the time Datta came. In fact, in my view he was at the top from 1949 onwards. But, Datta’s contribution to Rafi’s repertoire was also great. I agree with you that there could be more reasons for the success of a song. But, one thing is sure that for great songs we need quality lyrics written as per the situation.

30 Hans December 17, 2020 at 1:22 pm

Mahesh,

Thanks for your kind response.

As for the article you posted, AK has given a fitting reply. In addition, I would say, so far as I know this Hindlekar was not even named in any of N Datta films as assistant. As AK said the writer does not know what he is saying. He starts with seeking recognition for lyricists and ends with the case of composers and in between seeks recognition for a small time musician for one of the classic songs. Tomorrow he may come and says Naushad composed half of the tunes as taught by a paanwala at the street’s corner. He says the singers are given all credit. He does not know that from the initial times the records, whether of film or non-film, contained the names of lyricist and composer and singer was not even named. Printing of singer’s name on records started in the late 40s.

In my view if a song is remembered by someone then it gives credit to everyone involved in creating that song. I know a number of persons who dont care to know even the singer’s name. They just enjoy the song. I am sure in India there lots and lots of such persons, otherwise T-series might not have been so successful.

I dont know who is knowledgeable in his dictionary. May be he thinks he is the only such person, like Gandhi thought himself as the only person capable of satyagraha or doing those experiments of truth. He does not even mention OPN in the forgotten composers as well as dozens and dozens of others who are daily remembered on SOY. I dont need to comment on his examples, which have already been commented on by AK. To me he seems to have no knowledge of film songs and has only gathered some names from somebody for the article because he has access to the slot in DH. Such articles reduce the credibility of these sites.

Two three years back I saw an article, the writer of which was bashing Ravi and Chitragupta in such a manner that I am sure if he had the power of Bheem and got hold of the necks of these two poor simple guys, he would have rubbed their heads in the Rajasthan desert. Last year, in my Ravi-Asha post there was a commenter Shalini, who called himself a fan of Asha and called Ravi as the most uninspiring composer ever and also posted one of his composition from 1980 film Sanjh Ki Bela with the following words:
“I leave with this characteristically uninspired composition by Ravi with a characteristically sparkling Asha.”

31 KB December 17, 2020 at 4:27 pm

Hans Ji,
Fully appreciate your comment #27. Without video it is difficult to visualize this song. I could see that the video of another song from Mujrim Zulf ke phande was played against this song. However, I could gather that Rafi has rendered about 143 songs for Johny Walker which is perhaps the highest number of songs he has rendered to any actor with the exception of Shammi Kapoor!

32 Hans December 17, 2020 at 11:19 pm

Muliji,

In fact, I had not written anything meaningful in the past few years till last year’s post. Then I thought I have forgotten the art of writing, but the appreciation of friends has spurred me on. The other truth is that if my writing appears good it is because I have written on subjects close to my heart. But as Bhatiaji may say appreciation acts as nectar for worn out minds and fills them with fresh fragrance. So thanks for your praise.

This listening of song through colony actually happened to me though with another song. The song was ‘ye duniya ye mehfil mere kaam ki nahin’ from Heer Ranjha and I passed through the whole market of the town on way to college stadium for the evening cricket practice. Earlier when I was in school, the sounds used to come out of windows of houses which we passed on our way back from the school and we forgot the noon sun. I am sure Bhatiaji would say something on this situation.

Each song of Sadhana and Dhool Ka Phool was not only of a great quality but most of them were popular too. He put so much effort for BR Films that a few films like the one you mentioned – Naach Ghar – suffered. Still they have something in them as the song you posted suggests. I think you posted the Aag Aur Daag song earlier too. This is a really good song, but by this time Datta’s luck had totally forsaken him. Aag Aur Daag was not a total flop but was not so successful that would change his destiny.

33 Hans December 18, 2020 at 12:57 am

Vaishnavji, @ 12

Thanks for the kind words which mean a lot coming from a person like you who is not only a top guest author in SOY, but busy in regular research through his blog. Yes Datta and Ravi both made room for Rafi, even though BR Chopra favoured Mahendra Kapoor, who too responded brilliantly to the faith shown in his singing.

@ 13
I would agree with you, except that Hemant Kumar was quite successful in Hindi films and gave some great music, which should only be the criteria for success.

34 KB December 18, 2020 at 2:50 pm

N Dutta also supported Mahendra Kapoor in films like Dhool Ka Phool where he sang for the hero. Similarly , Ravi and OP (in some films ) also gave more songs to Mahendra Kapoor which were to go on the hero. But some other composers had only one song in a film rendered by Mahendra Kapoor which went on the hero. On the other hand we had composers like Dutta and OP who made Rafi to sing for multiple characters in the same film !

35 Hans December 18, 2020 at 6:42 pm

Dr Shetty, @ 16
If you collect all songs where Rafi is selling something, you will find he is the best salesman.

@17
Holiday in Bombay had a good score. Your first round of songs in every post are fun songs, which means you like them a lot. So N Datta must have pleased you quite a lot. Rajendranath was a comedian who had very few songs picturised on him. Both songs here on him are good fun. Picturisation of ‘ratnare matware rasware kajrare nainwa tihare’ in funny. When some some bystanders jealous of the song call others and police, the singers change tack and start singing ‘manhari tanhari raswari ati pyari bansari tihari’ and then again revert to the original song. This I would have included, but out of the two Rafi-Balbir songs one had already been selected. Same was the case with ‘ae chanda tu dena gawahi’, which was shortlisted but missed out in the final selection.

36 Hans December 18, 2020 at 6:51 pm

Jawaharji, @ 18

So you are another great fan of this combo. I am happy the songs and the info attached were to your liking. You are right about ‘mere dilbar mujhpar khafa na ho’. Anyone listening this song for the first time would fall in love, the case of love at first sight. ‘Dil ki tamanna thi’ though with a sad tinge, fits with any mood and has an intoxicating effect like so many other Rafi songs. The one coming to mind now is ‘jaag dil e dewana’.

37 Hans December 18, 2020 at 6:58 pm

AK, @ 22

In this case it is all because of you. I know your views about N Datta, but ‘fallen in love’ was in the context of him as a person and not as an artist. This has happened to me too during the course of preparing these posts. Another case is of Hemant Kumar, whom I rated very high as a singer and a composer, but the life circumstances and the struggles as brought out by Venkataramanji, took my love and respect for him to another plane.

38 Hans December 18, 2020 at 7:37 pm

Bhatiaji, @ 23

To me every word you write in every comment means much and I am sure a number of others agree with me. So your appreciation here is like ‘amrit’. You have hit the nail on its head. To come and compete with so many great guns in the field and make his own place – which he surely made – is no mean achievement. And the series on him is yet not finished. We would look at some more gems in the coming days.

As I was writing all the descriptions of songs or other notes, I was constantly looking through a side window in my mind for the title. Many things came through, but I settled for this one, because their relationship was very special. I am happy you liked the title.

Your comment on ‘main tumhin se poochti hoon perfectly showcases Datta’s greatness. He never infected soothing and serene tunes with heavy orchestra. That is why this category of his songs always impress us. I have found many great names doing this.

39 Hans December 18, 2020 at 7:43 pm

Vasudevanji, @ 24

Thanks for your appreciation. The relationship of OPN and GS Kohli was special. I have read that they were both hot headed but still somehow kept working with each other. I have also read that Kohli had a great memory and he could retrieve old music pieces in a jiffy.

40 Hans December 18, 2020 at 8:19 pm

Mr KB, @ 31

I am like you a great fan of JW-Rafi combo and at times have thought of writing on them. Once I made a list of more than 100 songs. If the number is 143 then he is likely to be having more than Shammi Kapoor too. Their relationship was so special that if Rafi was singing for the hero and a triad was filmed with JW, the hero and the heroine, then hero had to surrender Rafi’s voice to JW. ‘Is jahan ka pyar jhootha’ in Amar Deep and ‘hum bhi agar bachche hote’ in Door Ki Awaz are perfect examples.

@ 34
Though N Datta can not be credited for giving the initial break to MK in DKP, which goes to BR Films, but he soon developed a liking for MK and gave him many songs outside of BR Films. In Albela Mastana, Datta even used MK as playback singer for Kishore Kumar.

41 Canasya December 18, 2020 at 11:04 pm

Hans ji:

We have always known you as a Rafi fan without peer. But with this second post on N Dutta, I think he could not have got a better advocate, if he needed one. Here are Asha & Rafi singing ‘Kitna rangeen hai ye’ from an unreleased Guru Dutt-Sadhna starrer, Picnic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87t0_bQJ90&ab_channel=mastkalandr

42 ksbhatia December 19, 2020 at 12:08 am

Hans ji @ 38;

Every artist was first an amateur ….talent followed thereafter. Survival among the talented is still a talent one possesses. N. Dutta was talented and surely different from the successful music directors. A good listener always recognize ones ability to its core. N. Dutta was surely one person who undoubtedly scored better against all googlies .

Emotions always crops in when one has setback owing to health issues ….but survival again is an art. To keep the kitchen and household going nothing is left but to opt for opportunities that comes thru. This happens to Shankar too . After the demise of Jaikishan , Shankar went on giving music to B and C grade movies ….but not counting the success quotient which was very low. One can have tons of talent, but it won’t necessarily keep you fed.

In the comments section some songs are mentioned but links are missing . I am in for it and posting some songs that are coming my way…

Not able to open YT. Songs will follow …..

43 ksbhatia December 19, 2020 at 12:23 am

In continuation….

Sare Jahan Se Achha… MOHAMMAD RAFI , ASHA….Dharamputra (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJl2K9cGx2k

Bolo Dil Mera Machal Raha Kisliye …Rafi, Asha..Rikshawala….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-OR22OSl7E

Sachche Moti 1962 – Garaz Ho Toh Nakhre | Mohd Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jwlHxjn2kU

Mujhe Dekho Hoti Der Khade Kyon Mera Rasta Gher
Mohammad Rafi Lata Mangeshkar Film Mr. John (1959) Music N.Dutta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HUoH2m-2ek

to be contd..

44 KB December 19, 2020 at 3:01 pm

Good observation that the heroes Dev Anand and Joy Mukherji had to forego Rafi’s voice in the two films Amardeep and Door Ki Awaz! Further , I got a list to say that Rafi had rendered 180 songs for Shammi Kapoor and the only second hero to have his voice to the maximum was Johnny Walker with 143. All others came later. This is a fact!

45 AK December 19, 2020 at 9:49 pm

KB,
Am I misreading you?
‘Amardeep’ – Dekh humein awaaz na dena

‘Door Ki Awaaz’ – Husn se chaand bhi sharmaya hai

I think this is Rafi’s voice for the respective heroes.

46 Hans December 20, 2020 at 12:18 am

AK,

He was responding to my comment @ 40, where I mentioned ‘is jahan ka pyar jhootha’ and ‘hum bhi agar bachche hote’ from these films in which JW was given the voice of Rafi and hero was given Manna Dey, In the other songs of these films Rafi was singing for the hero.

47 AK December 20, 2020 at 3:34 pm

Hans,
Thanks for the clarification. But I would not take it unusual even if JW factor was not there. In Bluff Master Shammi Kapoor sang in many voices, for no particular reason. The music director decided which voice suited most for a particular song.

48 Hans December 20, 2020 at 10:34 pm

Canasya,

Mohammad Rafi is my top most favourite, but I am a fan of many others. The first comment I posted at SOY was in the post ‘Mukesh and his romance with dil’ where I defended him. I have to defend Rafi more because more people target him for other than musical reasons. This makes me appear more than a Rafi fan which some may translate as fanatic. I am a top Lata Mangeshkar fan, though I criticise her for her off-line activities. I am sure if I am made to sit with 100 Lata fans in a contest to jot down her songs, I would make a longer list in double quick time than at least 95 of them.

In the other point you made about being N Datta’s advocate, the best thing I liked is your statement “if he needed one”. Here I wholly agree with you. Any composer with the likes of which Datta has crafted should never need an advocate. His music, which was made in the most adverse circumstances, is his own advocate. But, us humans have a fickle memory and we at SOY are trying to jolt the memories of music lovers. Whenever I write my aim is to give the best side of that person. You must have noticed that there was difference of opinion between AK and Arvinder Sharma on one side and me on the other about Ravi and N Datta. I am without doubt a greater fan of Ravi than Datta, but this does not come in the way of my writing in the best way for Datta. I keep two such things separate. During the course of preparing these articles for Datta, I came across the difficulties experienced by him – which was not the case with Ravi. So I have also tried to tell how he could have been greater, if the course of events in his life was different.

I had already seen the song you posted on youtube. What a film that would have been if completed, with such a pair as this. Though the youtube link says the film’s year is 1964, I am sure this scene was filmed in Sadhana’s very early days.

49 Hans December 20, 2020 at 11:02 pm

Bhatiaji, @ 42

Well said. You are right talent can be seen even in one or two movies. My father was a great fan of Bimal Roy movies. About Madhumati’s music he said Salil Choudhary would be great even if he had not scored music in any other film. The same thing can be said about Jai Dev and Hum Dono. I am of the opinion, that despite his failures, he was never short of income, because he was an excellent musician.

@43
Three out of the four songs posted by you are fun songs and all of them are good songs. Every song posted here furthers the truth of the title. One has to work hard to search for a bad song from this combo.

50 Hans December 20, 2020 at 11:06 pm

Mr KB,

I think you are right about Shammi Kapoor having more songs than Johny Walker. Although I would like to look at this aspect closely, because many of JW songs have no video.

51 Hans December 20, 2020 at 11:10 pm

AK,

You have every right to your opinion. But, Bluff Master situation is not relevant here. In Both Amar Deep and Door Ki Awaj, Rafi had solos for JW and the hero, but at the time of triad, Rafi’s voice went to JW.

52 ksbhatia December 21, 2020 at 12:01 am

Hans Ji @49;

I fully endorse your views …but sometimes lightning strikes from no where and one is left alone where on struggle for existence starts . Perhaps N. dutta was victim of that unseen factor . There are two or three examples of music directors who gave their best in two three films and were never get noticed of the likes of Dhan Chand or lachhi ram .

Though this is out of way but necessarily to listen to Rafi Sahib magic created by unknown or less known music directors who produced gem of songs with beautiful kyrics ….

Koi Aata Hai Koi Jaata Hai Mohd Rafi Film Naya Kadam (1958) Music Shivram Narayanan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcUwrzYyEY8

Movie: Rut Rangeeli Aayee (1971)
Singer: Mohammed Rafi
Music: Ratandeep-Hemraaj
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s41LPtlUyc

When one listen to such songs …..without going on to read the details or links….. one can mistakenly refer it to Ravi , Jaidev or N.Dutta ‘s composition .

Again survival is the game to conquer the golden city called Bollywood .

53 ksbhatia December 21, 2020 at 12:28 am

Hans Ji ;

I think after Sahir….Jan Nisar Akhtar was the one who rolled some good songs for N. Dutta . Though some were based on western tunes but some were sort of semi classics too. Dilli ka Dada was one movie that had mix bag but were all enjoyable songs . Mohinder kapoor and Asha sang quite a number but one duet of Rafi with Usha Khanna had different flavor of the likes of Naushad’s number from Kohinoor…Jadugar katil hazir hai mera dil… . This comes only for sharp listeners .

Film: Dilli Ka Dada (1962)
Co Singer: Usha G
Music: N Datta
Lyrics: Jan Nisar Akhta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7CCJnjB860

54 KB December 22, 2020 at 2:56 pm

Then there were two songs we forgot from Miss Bombay(1957) by Rafi which can feature here : Le chala jidhar ye dil (solo ) and Din ho ya raat which was a duet with Suman Kalyanpur. Both were excellent songs to be discussed here!

55 ksbhatia December 22, 2020 at 11:37 pm

KB ji @54;

Music of Miss bombay is by Hansraj Behl . Le chala jidhar ye dil …..is unusual song …very catchy and very different from the one Hansraj Behl usually is known for.

56 Dr. Rajesh Deshpande December 23, 2020 at 12:12 am

Hansji,

An excellent analytical post, very well-written and backed by detailed research and clear statistics. A great tribute to both the stalwarts of HFM with a nice selection of songs!!

Your both posts on N Datta have provided an extensive insight into the life and career of this genius composer.

Here are songs from their lesser known films of the 60s:
Khakaan 1965 – Lyrics – AB
Jo baat honi hai wo baat hoke rahegi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD8EIH0QfW4

Ek Masoom 1969 – Lyrics – Farid Tonki
Ek wo bhi hain jinko muradein mili

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFpea0CsxtU

Poochh le dil se mere ho na agar – Rafi, Asha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNwzls3JYaI

57 Hans December 23, 2020 at 7:29 pm

Bhatiaji, @ 52

I think everyone here will agree that there were a number of composers who provided us with gems, and Rafi with his unique talent was always much more involved in such classic songs than others. The songs you posted just confirm that.

@53
I agree Jan Nisar Akhtar gave a number of good songs. There association started in 1959 and abruptly ended in 1962, after which we dont find any song. I dont know the reason. Was it Datta’s problems of insecurity after the attack or whether JN Akhtar himself was not interested in writing for Dara Singh type of films. Even in 1962, of the 4 films, he wrote lyrics for only 3 songs from Dilli K Dada, the remaining 4 songs of which were done by Sahir. This suggests some misunderstanding, because of the 4 films from 1960 and 61, Datta used JN Akhtar for all of them except Dharmaputra.

58 Hans December 23, 2020 at 8:05 pm

Dr Deshpande,

Thanks for your encouraging words. I mostly focus on the career of the artist, because, in most cases the circumstances of life are not researched properly and it is hard to find some credible information. Another reason is that in this age of internet all have equal reach to the available info. In N Datta’s case I related his life events which had a very vital impact on his career.

The Khakaan song is as good as most of the philosophical songs and once again confirms the special bond between these two. One of the links on the other film Ek Masoom, the songs you posted from, mentions it as unreleased film, but another shows the censor certificate. This may be one of the films which was approved by the censors, but was not released. So its songs went unnoticed. New lyricist Farid Tonki has written all 7 songs of which 4 are available. The songs posted by you are as usual good. Thanks.

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