Jaidev-Lata :Part 1
mand...@emirates.net.ae
Somebody was querying recently why there are 2 versions of
'Prabhu tero naam' in "Hum Dono',the other version mentioned was
'Allah tero naam'!! : -- ((
Well,these 2 are *separate* bhajans composed by Jaidev-to say the least!
And IMHO his & Lata's 2 very best!!So I begin my Lata-Jaidev article
with these 2 songs composed in 1961....
( Article which has raised enough furore even before being written!:-))
1)'Allah tero naam' is the more well-known & more popular bhajan from
'Hum Dono'.The composition is outwardly simple -set in 'Rupak' taal.
But if you listen carefully you immediately
realise the typical 'Jaidev complexity'.The tune
just goes on soaring higher& higher after beginning in the
lower octave.Especially fascinating is the way he merges
& separates the chorus from Lata's voice!
This is said to be Lata's own personal favourite.She even chose
to sing this song in the programme -'Mortal men,immortal melodies'
-on the occasion of Noorjahan's arrival in India after many years.
2)'Prabhu tero naam' scores higher in my personal favourites' list.
'Allah tero naam' is a sedate song whereas 'Prabhu tero naam'
has more intensity of emotions.It is an outright Jaidev composition.
His intricate,interwoven pattern of 'sur's leaves you spell-bound.
Just listen to the way he has made Lata sing
'Jeevan-dhan mil jaaye,mil jaaye'.
The second 'mil jaaye' variation gives you the idea about that
'something special' this extra-ordinary composer had!
(If somebody has not watched the movie,then he or she might think that
the whirring sound heard in between the lines is the recording error.
In fact this is the sound of the war-planes hovering in the sky
- an effective backdrop in the film for this bhajan!)
Sahir has penned both these bhajans imaculately.
3) ‘Har aas ashqbaar hai,har saans beqarar hai’ from ‘Kinare-kinare’
is an unusual Jaidev treat.A sad song set on a western,slow waltzy
rhythm.Sort of a song which haunts you forever.The intriguing use of
?electric organ or some similar sounding instrument in the back-ground
adds immensely to the innate beauty of this song.This instrument is heard
in almost all Lata-Jaidev songs of the earlier period.
‘Main jaanati hoon- bewafa Tu lautkar na aayega
Phirbhi na jaane kyun mujhe Terahi intezar hai’
The way Lata brings out the whole spectrum of emotions in these lines
is to be heard to be believed!
If you are finding some Sahir strains in the song,forget it.This song
had lyrics by someone called Nyay Sharma!
4) ‘Sulag uthi dilki lagi’ is another sad number from ‘Kinare-kinare’.
Jaidev has kept the tune simple throughout.Somehow I wasn’t
totally satisfied by Lata’s rendition.She sounds too high-pitched
& sometimes nasal. :---(
Another Lata-Jaidev song from this movie
‘Aaj achanak toot gaye kyoon man veenake taar’ is missing
from my collection.Lyrics sound interesting.Again it is-Nyay Sharma.
5) ‘Subahka intezar kaun kare’ from ‘Joruka bhai’ is one of the countless
2 faceted songs in Hindi films.Luckily I have both Talat & Lata versions.
Talat’s version was found on a HMV cassette titled ‘Romantic songs by
Talat Mahmood’(8THV-42742). This cassette features some of the
rare gems of Talat.The opening couplet , the mukhda & offcourse
the mood is different from Lata’s version.In fact Talat’s version is
the sad version.The mukhda is
‘Teri zulfonse pyar kaun kare Ab tera intezar kaun kare.’
Coming to the Lata version which is the romantic one.
It opens with a lilting couplet-
‘Surmai raat hai ,sitare hain
aaj dono hamare hain’.
And without any pause or breathing space suddenly the song begins.
What a song!Exquisitely melodious.This is a Jaidev tune composed in 1955
& penned by Sahir.
‘Le bhi lo humko apni baahonmein
aarzoo hai yehi nigahonmein,haye$$
Ilteja baar baar kaun kare
Subahka intezar kaun kare.’
Breathtakingly beautiful!& don’t forget to listen to the tabla in the
background.
I have never heard ‘Tu such bata mere jogi,balamse baat kab hogi’-the other
Lata
song from this movie.Wonder if this is a fast-tempo number.
6) ‘Raat bhi hai kuchh bheegi bheegi’ remains my favourite song in
Lata-Jaidev list.
’Mujhe jeene do’(1963) can be considered as one of the finest soundtracks
composed by Jaidev.
Initially I had the E.P.version of the song which didn’t have the stanza
‘Hoshmein thodi behoshi hai
Behoshimein hosh hai kam-kam
Tujhko paaneki koshishmein
Dono jahanse khoye gaye hum’.
This intoxicating stanza was there in the film.
Luckily HMV presented the full version of the song in its
‘Mujhe jeene do/Reshma aur Shera’ cassette combo.
This song has brilliant pace & passion.A sparkling song!
The innovative chorus-handling (Chhum-chhum,chhum-chhum)
by Jaidev once again shows his mastery over this medium.
7)’Tere bachpanko jawaniki duaa deti hoon’ from the same soundtrack
must count as one of the most moving songs depicting
maternal instincts-apart from the loris.
Yes, it is a slow & long song.But the the way Lata expresses the love &
concern of
a helpless mother for her child is exceptional & really touches your heart.
Whenever I hear ‘Tu mere saath rahega munne’(Trishul) or
‘Mere chanda,mere nanhe’(Aakhri khat)-both Lata-Khayyam songs-superb in
their own right,I always remember ‘Tere bachpanko’.They have formed
a strange trilogy in my mind.
8)’Mohe na yoon ghoor-ghoorkar dekho’ is a fast,folksy,peppy number
-again from ‘Mujhe jeene do’.Significant only beause it is an un-charted
territory as far as Lata-Jaidev association is concerned.
Pales in comparison to other Lata-Asha songs from this movie.
I would put this song only ahead of ‘Ab koi gulshan na ujde’ by Rafi
in ranking the songs of this sound-track.
This brings me to the conclusion of Part-1 of the Lata-Jaidev article in
which I have covered their songs before seventies.Hope to post their
songs after 1970 soon!
:Dr.Mandar.
.
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JJ
mand...@emirates.net.ae wrote in message
<6g3c6d$e14$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>
>3) ‘Har aas ashqbaar hai,har saans beqarar hai’ from ‘Kinare-kinare’
>is an unusual Jaidev treat.A sad song set on a western,slow waltzy
>rhythm.Sort of a song which haunts you forever.The intriguing use of
>?electric organ or some similar sounding instrument in the back-ground
>adds immensely to the innate beauty of this song.This instrument is heard
>in almost all Lata-Jaidev songs of the earlier period.
> ‘Main jaanati hoon- bewafa Tu lautkar na aayega
> Phirbhi na jaane kyun mujhe Terahi intezar hai’
>The way Lata brings out the whole spectrum of emotions in these lines
>is to be heard to be believed!
>If you are finding some Sahir strains in the song,forget it.This song
>had lyrics by someone called Nyay Sharma!
Jagjit Singh re-cycled this melody into:
Apko bhool jayen hum, itnay to bewafa nahin
Apsay kya gila karen, apsay kuch gila nahin.
sung poignantly in a live ghazal concert by Chitra Singh with beatuful flute
interludes and tabla.
One of those rare occasions when one can ignore the plagiarism - or was he
honoring Jaidev's work by reworking it - to appreciate the beauty of the
underlying melody.
Which leads me to Jaidev's own reworking of
Maata saraswati sharda - by Latabai in Alaap.
Years later I heard the same in Ustad Ali Akbar's "Legends" by Asha B.
You hear the hints of the same in Jaidev's Asha number:
Zehr deyta mujhe, koyi dava deyta hai,
Jo bhi milta hai mujhay...
By the way, they recently released a CD "Chand Grahan" - movie using
Jaidev's music from a formerly shelved movie into a recent movie. A couple
of exquisite Jaidev numbers like
Tumhi nay dil ko dil samjha nahin hai
by Mukesh.
Sorry, this posting has no particular point to make, apart from my
remembering random thoughts of Jaidev's melody.
Thanks for listening.
Chetan
In article <6g3c6d$e14$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, mand...@emirates.net.ae says...
>
>If you are finding some Sahir strains in the song,forget it.This song
>had lyrics by someone called Nyay Sharma!
Wasn't he the producer and writer of the film?
>
>This brings me to the conclusion of Part-1 of the Lata-Jaidev article in
>which I have covered their songs before seventies.Hope to post their
>songs after 1970 soon!
>:Dr.Mandar.
Good effort, Dr. Mandar. Please keep it up. Will look forward to
your next installment.
Let me just mention two important omissions in the pre-70s Lata songs
of Jaidev:
* Jaidev's third film 'Anjali' (1957) had a significant Lata solo,
interesting both in lyrics and composition:
kis kis ko deepak pyaar kare, jab laakh pata.nge jalte ho.n
kyo.N phool dhool me.n mil jaae, jab bha.nvre aahe.n bharte ho.n
Is she searching for an explanation of her beloved's indifference?
The lyrics are by Nyay Sharma. His writing, judging from the two films I
know, is fresh and sinewey, unlike a vanity lyricist who fancies
himself a poet and gets his way because he is the producer. I think
Chetan Anand directed and acted in the film. The song is available
in HMV's two-cassette homage to Jaidev.
* 'Sapna' (1969) had a Lata solo, with all the Jaidev elements: crystal-
clear enunciation, strong melody line, and interesting, but unobtrusive
orchestration.
jaane kitane baar hriday se mai.n ne use pukaaraa
The song that takes the cake in the film is, however, the one by Usha
Mangeshkar, as mentioned by Surajit recently:
saa.njh bhai, jhaa.njh bhed jiyaraa ke khole re
I think the film had an unfamiliar lyricist, VN Mangal.
Ashok
Anand Tiwari
In article <6gecjj$2...@news1.newsguy.com>, ADhar...@WorldBank.Org says...
>>had lyrics by someone called Nyay Sharma!
>
>
No information about this but i am surely intrigued by one thing. Who is
the author of this and the other post? The header says
"ADhar...@worldbank.org (Chetan)" !
and the post is signed "Ashok". In either case my guess (please do not jump and
come tearing down at me for making a guess :-)) is that it is Ashok ji.
In any case please rectify this otherwise it shall become difficult for us to
know who (Ashok ji or Chetan) is saying what. I do like quizzes but not ones
like these :-)
regards
Anand
>
>
>Ashok
>