Suwarna Sundari ----> Anjali Devi
Afzal A. Khan
For most filmgoers, memories of Anjali Devi remain etched with
her image as Suwarna Sundari --- gorgeously bedecked and dancing
on twinkling feet. The film ran for weeks and weeks and her large
cut-outs ensnared the moviefans to throng the theatres for months.
The "Kuhu-kuhu" song is still a favourite with many people and
is one of the few composed in the raagmala style, the various
stanzas depicting the changing environs through the medium of
Sohni, Bahar, Jaunpuri and Yaman.
It is unfortunate that her contribution to Hindi cinema is
confined to a few films only, "LaRki", "Devta" and "Suwarna
Sundari". There may have been a couple more but I can't
recall them offhand. She also produced a Hindi film in the
early sixties, probably "Pooja ke Phool". Somehow I had
managed to see a few of her Telugu films of which I can recall
only "Kumkuma Bharani" and perhaps "Mahatmadu". She always
impressed me as a most accomplished and "complete" actress.
She could do light roles and was equally good at the heavy
stuff. Besides, she was an excellent dancer. Later, she
switched to character roles. Amongst Hindi film heroines of
that period, only Waheeda Rehman can fit in this category.
Nutan was a great actress, but her dancing abilities were
minimal. Meena Kumari was way too fat and, eventually a
ghastly shadow of her original self when doing character roles.
Vyjayanthimala never deigned to do the latter type of roles.
In the early sixties (perhaps 1964) there was an occasion when
I found myself seated next to this couple in Bombay's Eros
Cinema (Anjali Devi and her husband Adi Narayana Rao). If
one goes by features alone, Rao was a most unattractive guy
but was undoubtedly a musical genius. I hope it would be
possible for some of our friends from the South to furnish
a few of his compositions from Telugu films. Anjali Devi was
absolutely dark. But today I remember her only as the Swarna
Sundari.
Another memory of hers that I cherish is that she sang on the
screen two of the finest Bhairavi compositions it has been
my pleasure to hear : the first is the immortal Geeta Roy
melody from "LaRki" -- "BaaT chalat nayi chunri", and the
second is the simply divine "Kaise aaooN Jamuna ke teer"
from "Devta".
Afzal
Srinivas Ganti
>Afzal A. Khan <il_...@yahoo.com> wrote
>I hope it would be possible for some of our friends from the South to
furnish
> a few of his compositions from Telugu films.
Some notable scores by Adi Narayana Rao are
Anarkali 1955
Runanubandham 1960
Satisakkubayi 1965
Bhaktatukaram 1973
More about the songs in these movies later.
sg.
Kamesh
"Afzal A. Khan" <il_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3D7F8C83...@yahoo.com...
> It is unfortunate that her contribution to Hindi cinema is
> confined to a few films only, "LaRki", "Devta" and "Suwarna
> Sundari". There may have been a couple more but I can't
IIRC Suwarna Sundari was dubbed in Hindi or was it a remake ? I remember
having seen the dubbed version on Doordarshan, ages ago and I couldnt
believe I was watching ANR mouthing off dialogues in Hindi.
PS: The song piluvakuraaa....is the only one I remember even now.
Kamesh
Sreenivas Paruchuri
some years ago. But couldn't find it in GOOGLE search.
--------------------
http://simt.unl.ac.uk/~tfs/units/adi.html
Adinarayana Rao (1915-1991)
Adinarayana Rao was born in 1915 in Kakinada (some sources place his
year
of birth in 1918, in Vijayawada). He was introduced to the stage at a
very
young age of six, playing the role of "naarada" in the play: "Savitri"
under Rajarajeswari Naatya Mandali's baton. He went on to study
classical
music under Patrayani Sitarama Sastry, a prominent personolity of those
days, in Saluru, a major center for music in the early decades of this
century. Later he completed his matriculation from Kakinada. At age 12,
with an impressive talent to play many instruments, and literary
interests,
he started working as a music composer and a play writer.
He was highly popular in Kakinada theatre circles and was affectionately
called "abbaayi gaaru", a name which he retained even after entering
films.
"Veedhi Gaayakulu", "Black Market", "Vasanta sena" were some of his
plays.
Starting his career at Burmah Shell Amateurs Troupe, he blossomed in to
a big artist at the well-known, now almost forgotten, Young Mens Happy
Club,
which had given famous artistes like Gandikota Jagannatham, S.V. Ranga
Rao,
Relangi Venkata Ramayya, Anjali Devi to Telugu Cinema/stage. It was here
that he met his future wife, Anjali, who was under his tutelage and
later
went on to become a leading actress of the Indian silver screen.
His first attempt to join the film field was in 1941. Chittur V.
Nagayya,
the legendary actor, director and music composer was ruling the Telugu
film field supreme with his compositions in films like "vandEmaataram"
(1939), "sumangaLi" (1940), "dEvata" (1941). Highly influenced and
mesmerized by his music, Adinarayana Rao wanted to work under the
maestro.
He was introduced to Nagayya by film star A. S. Giri (of sumangaLi
fame).
He was asked to come after 1-2 months, but somehow he did n't go to
Madras
and remained away from film field till mid-40s.
The following composition by him written for the play: "Veedhi
Gaayakulu"
in 1944, shows his admiration and respect for Nagayya:
naagayya naTanalO naaNyamerungaka
#Saigal# naTanakai sambhramEla .........
It is in veteran film maker B V Ramanandam's, "varudhini" (1946) he got
his
first break in films. The oppurtunity came through S.V. Ranga Rao,
nephew
of Ramanandam and a YMHC member (incidentally this was the debut film
for
Rangarao too). Although he was initially assigned to write lyrics and
compose music, professional differences led to the abrupt ending of the
project after recording just two songs, and he returned to Kakinada.
Later he worked for a couple of films writing lyrics and/or composing
music,
which include C. Pullayya's (another native of Kakinada), the highly
successful, "Gollabhama" (1947, co-MD: Dinakara Rao), in which Anjali
made
her debut. The songs/verses from Gollabhama are a real delight to hear;
chandamaama andamaina, priyatamaa!, bhoopati jampitin, valapu teniyalu,
etc. They are in my opinion ahead of their time in terms of pace
(can be compared to the ones from 60s! It would be of great interest to
me
to know, who composed which song).
Its through "palleToori pilla" (1950), a film based on Sheridon's play:
"Pijjaro", he became a full-fledged music director, thanks to his friend
B A Subba Rao, who was making his directorial debut and went on to make
a highly successful career. His adaptation of Spanish tunes - "dheera
kampanaa" - with superb orchestration, and usage of Telugu folk melodies
set new trends. Songs like: chiTapaTa chinukula duppaTi taDisenu,
Saanta vanTi pilla lEdOyi (young Pithapuram Nageswara Rao singing this
beautifully) were treats to music lovers. His next venture; "tilOttama"
(1951) was a disappointment. Its music reached very few people since it
was neither a commercial success at box-office nor were the songs
released
on records.
In 1949 he founded "Aswini Pictures" with Akkineni Nageswara Rao and
makeup
artist K. Gopala Rao, producing "maayalamaari" (1951, Tamil:
Mayakkaari).
Though it ran for 100 days, the music was only a moderate success.
So was "annadaata" (1954), made on the same banner. He wrote some lyrics
for "palletoori pilla" and "annadaata" too. "annadaata" also heralded
the
beginning of the successful team with himself, ANR & Anjali (in lead
cast)
and Director Vedantam Raghavayya, which continued unbroken for more than
a decade.
In 1951 he separated from Aswini banner and founded his own production
house; "Anjali Pictures" making "paradESi" (1953, Tamil: Poongottai,
with songs like: pilichindi kaluva puvvu - jikki, nEnenduku raavaali -
Jikki, Pithapuram, etc.) under the direction of L. V. Prasad. The
superb compositions in big budget "anaarkali" (1955) and "suvarNna
sundari
(1957) that followed under this banner brought him tremendous
recognition.
Volumes can be written on these two great musicals. Though a couple of
tunes were partly based on Ramachandra Chitalkar's tunes from Hindi
version
of "Anarkaali" (1953) rest showed his enormous creative talents. The
song
"raajasekharaa nee pai moju teera leduraa" still lingers on every one's
tongue. So are: kalise nelaraaju kaluva chelini - Ghantasala, Jikki,
sOjaa raajakumari - A. M. Rajah.
Suvarna Sundari was the high point in his career. It was a blockbuster
hit
running to full houses at all the places it was released for over 6
months.
Described as the "Bible to box-office laws" by film critics, it showed
the
way to later day "formula" filmmakers. It had all the elements, in
proper
dosage, to attract all sections of film goers. "piluvakuraa alugakuraa,
haayihaayigaa aamani saage, bommalammaa bommalu, Eraa manapaaTi
dheerulevvaruraa" remain ever-green hits. The raagamaalika set to four
Hindusthani Ragas made him very popular and won him many awards and
recognition all over India! Some critics unfairly accused him of
plagiarising "piluvakuraa" and "haayi haayigaa" tunes from Vasant
Desai's
_milan hon kaise_ ("Dhuaan" 1953) and Anil Biswas's _ritu aaya, ritu
jaaya_ ("Hamdard" 1953) respectively. But there is very little truth in
that. No one can deny the creative prowess in his works.
Riding high on the success, he embarked on his second Hindi production:
"Phoolon Ki Sej" (1964), based on Gulshan Nanda's novel: "andheri
biran",
with big starring. It turned out to be his last hindi film. This film
virtually lead the couple to ruins, losing whatever they earned over 17
years.
It was a major setback especially at a time when Anjali was considering
her
retirement from the films after acting in 100 films. Even melodious
songs
like: aa tu jaraa dil mein (Lata, Mukhesh), abhin jaa rasiya (Lata,
Manna),
pyar ko madhur madhur (Asha, Rafi), taronki aankhon ka (Lata) could not
stop the disaster.
It took nearly a decade for the next 'big' hit from Adinarayanarao's
house; "bhakta tukaram" (1973), portraiting the life-story of
saint-composer
Tukaram. This is yet another gem from the master with memorable songs
like:
ghanaa ghana sundaraa - Ghantasala, poojaku vELaayeraa - P. Susila,
unnaavaa asalunnaavaa - Ghantasala, sari sari vagalu telisera - P.Susila
etc.
"alluuri seetaraama raaju" (1974), the life-story of revolutionary
freedom-fighter, followed soon, making his name well-known to the next
generation of Telugus, gaining fame to both the producer/actor Krishna
and Adinarayana rao himself. The whole audience waited along with the
heroine for seetaramaraju while she was singing "vastaaDu naa rOju"
(P. Susila). SriSri's "telugu veera levaraa deeksha booni saagaraa" was
immortalised by his tune and has become a classic patriotic song.
He never worked for any other production houses in the later period,
except for film actor Krishna's productions.
His creation "mahaakavi kshEtrayy" (1978) is a testimony to his quest
for
perfection and authenticity. He travelled through the coastal districts
of Andhra Pradesh, along with well known Telugu poet, historian and
film-writer Arudra, interviewing several dEvadaasis, who have been
singing
kshEtrayya padam-s for centuries. Unfortunately such thorough fieldwork,
and compositions like: ashTa vidha naayika varNana, Sreepati sutu
baariki
(Ramakrishna), chedero naa saamiki (swapna sundari, famous danseuse)
could
not guarantee the film's commercial success.
Certainly we can not forget his other films like; "adutta vittu penn"
(1959, Tamil, with P B Sreenivas's solo "Vaadaada malar"),
"Runaanubandham"
(1960, "andamain baava aavu paala kova", "nindu punnami nela"),
"swarNa manjari" (1962, madhuramaina guru deevana - Nagayya, P. Susila,
raavE naa praNaya roopiNi - Ghantasala), "satee sakkubayi" (1966,
ranga rangaa rangayanandi - Ghantasala). The last one was also dubbed
in to Marathi as "sakhu ali pandarpura" (1969), winning critical
acclaims
in Maharashtra too. "ammakOsam" (1971), "agni pareeksha" (1970,
(konDapai ninDugaa koluvunna maa talli kanakadurga - Ghantasala),
"kalyaaNa manDapam" (1971), "pedda koDuku" (1973), "kannavaari yillu"
(1978) are his other films.
Apart from his own compositions he left his imprint on the music field
indirectly too. Later highly successful music directors; Totakura
Venkata
Raju (a.k.a T V Raju), Satyam and Lakshmikant-Pyarelal duo (Phoolonki
Sej)
worked as his assistants.
An "unusual influence of Hindusthani classical music and Marathi Natya
Sangeet" on Telugu film music is attributed to him. Early Marathi
(and Parsi) touring drama troupes left their indelible mark on Telugu
stage by the end of 19th century. It is a no surprise since
Adinarayanarao
who followed the music styles keenly and heard the music of legendary
artists of Telugu stage like Tungala Chalapati Rao, K. Raghuramayya,
Jonnavittula Seshagiri Rao, C.S.R. Anjaneyulu, et al grasped these
styles as well.
His exposure to classical music and stage music from early years at
Saluru
and Vijayanagaram certainly helped him in better understanding of
Hindustani
music. Well known music critic V.A.K. Rangarao credits Adinrayana Rao
for
introducing Hindustani music in contemporary flavour and simplified
orchsetration, and thereby impressing both laymen audience as well
cognoscenti. It is this music that survives him enthralling all the
music
lovers.
-----------------
Regards,
Sreenivas
Ajit
In Tamil, the "kuhu kuhu bole koyaliyaan" was sung by Ghantasala and
PS.
In Telugu by Ghantasala and Jikki.
Who sang the telugu and tamil equivalents of that wonderful taraana
song - by LM and Sudha in the Hindi version?
Sreenivas Paruchuri <sre...@gmx.de> wrote in message news:<3D802ED0...@gmx.de>...
Afzal A. Khan
Sreenivas Paruchuri wrote:
>
> I remember having posted the following writeup on AdinaaraayaNa Rao here
> some years ago. But couldn't find it in GOOGLE search.
> --------------------
>
> http://simt.unl.ac.uk/~tfs/units/adi.html
>
> Adinarayana Rao (1915-1991)
(Article Deleted)
> Sreenivas
A great write-up. Now at least it will be a part of the
Archives.
The Hindi film produced by ANR/Anjali Devi was indeed
"PhooloN Ki Sej" and not "Pooja Ke Phool" as mentioned
erroneously in my original post. I think their visit
to Bombay in 1964 must have been in connection with the
release/promotion of this film. Unfortunately, that was
an era of Eastman Colour, Shankar Jaikishan and Shammi
Kapoor. How could a film made along traditional lines
succeed ?
Afzal
Ket...@att.net
> The Hindi film produced by ANR/Anjali Devi was indeed
> "PhooloN Ki Sej" and not "Pooja Ke Phool" as mentioned
> erroneously in my original post. I think their visit
> to Bombay in 1964 must have been in connection with the
> release/promotion of this film. Unfortunately, that was
> an era of Eastman Colour, Shankar Jaikishan and Shammi
> Kapoor. How could a film made along traditional lines
> succeed ?
Could you clarify on what you mean by the term: "film made along traditional
lines".
If you mean historical/mythological films, "Chitralekha" & "Taj Mahal" too were
made in the same era. They were successful. Maybe the composer DID make the
difference, for his ability to stand out from amongst the various ShammiK-SJ
offerings.
And let's not forget that S-J, too had their "Amrapali" & "Suraj".
Ketan
Afzal A. Khan
I think the term is self-explanatory. "Chitralekha"
does not go in my book as a great or even well-made
film. There was some awful miscasting. The only
saving grace was Roshan's memorable music. Whatever
"repeat" value the film had was, IMHO, due to its
music only. "Taj Mahal" did have a certain appeal
and, again, Roshan's music had a great deal to do
with it. I doubt whether "Chitralekha" can be called
a successful movie. "Taj Mahal" was certainly one.
It was not my purpose to denigrate S-J. BTW, I am a
great admirer of their earlier efforts, upto say
61-62 and occasionally thereafter. But just look at the
kind of "successful" movies that were released around
this period -- "Ayee Milan Ki Bela", "Janwar", "April
Fool", "RajKumar" etc. And contrast them with films
like "PhooloN Ki Sej" or "Kaise KahooN".
"Suraj" no doubt was a stupendous success. Music was its
strong point but it did have a story of sorts --- a kind of
precursor to the Salim-Javed formula of later years,
involving revenge and good triumphing over evil. "Amrapali",
OTOH, was a failure. It was set in an old pre-Christian era
and, naturally, one couldn't expect it to have the kind
of music "Janwar" or "April Fool" had. The music was
certainly excellent but it failed to save the film at the
box office. BTW, AFAIR, "Amrapali" had only six songs
while it was usual, even "mandatory", for films to have
eight songs around this time. Probably, even the prolific
MDs couldn't find sufficient situations to fit in additional
songs !
Afzal
Suresh
There is no need to get too apologetic - SJ deserve all the sneeze
that they get ;-)..
They were good composers ok - they could come up with something
special now and then - esp in the early 50s with films like
Aah,Daag,Patita,Rajhath etc. To call Suraj and Amrapali excellent
musicals is the heights. The latter was ok (CERTAINLY not EXCELLENT),
the former terrible.
And yes - "Chitralekha" was worth a see ONLY due to its music. So the
best thing to do is to pick up its soundtrack and remain happy (IMHO,
Meena Kumari and Pradeep were well and truly past their prime by
then).
As to Anjali Devi, one of her better roles was in the Tamil version of
"Padosan" - "Adutha veetu penn". It was a predecessor to "Padosan" (I
think the first version was in Bengali with Suchitra Sen and Uttam
KUmar) - and she plays the girl-next-door with aplomb.
Just in passing, I found the Tamil comedu to be TRULY sophisticated
comedy - I wonder why Hindi movie makers always resorted to the
slapstick as the only mode of comedy. Barring Guru Dutt's "Mr & Mrs
55" and a few Dev Anand movies, I cant recall any comedy which could
be termed "sophisticated"..
Suresh
Shalini Razdan
> > In article <3D80C009...@yahoo.com>, "Afzal says...
> >
> > > The Hindi film produced by ANR/Anjali Devi was indeed
> > > "PhooloN Ki Sej" and not "Pooja Ke Phool" as mentioned
> > > erroneously in my original post. I think their visit
> > > to Bombay in 1964 must have been in connection with the
> > > release/promotion of this film. Unfortunately, that was
> > > an era of Eastman Colour, Shankar Jaikishan and Shammi
> > > Kapoor. How could a film made along traditional lines
> > > succeed ?
> I think the term is self-explanatory.
I confess I'm still stumped by the phrase "a film made along traditional
lines," at least in the context of Phoolon Ki Sej. Phoolon ki Sej as a
movie had just as modern a set-up/plot etc. as Aiyee Milan Ki Bela, Janwar,
April Fool, etc. It is NOT a mythological/historical/period movie.
Moreover, musically speaking, PKS is IMO on par with with S-J movies like
Aiyee Milan Ki Bela, etc. With the exception of the
Lata-Manna duet "aa bhi jaa rasiya" the songs are undistinguished. Frankly,
this is not
a soundtrack I would hold up as an example of Adi Narayan Rao's musical
genius!
As far as Chitralekha is concerned, IMO it's a far, far better movie than
PKS in every way. It has an intriguing/unusual plot line(as opposed to the
standard misogynist/regressive story of PKS) and superlative performances by
it's three main leads. I'm not sure what you mean by saying that it was
miscast, but I do think Chtrialekha's casting goes together better than
Manoj Kumar and Vyjantimala in PKS!
Shalini
Srinivas Ganti
>For most filmgoers, memories of Anjali Devi remain etched with
>her image as Suwarna Sundari --- gorgeously bedecked and dancing
>on twinkling feet.
> It is unfortunate that her contribution to Hindi cinema is
>confined to a few films only, "LaRki", "Devta" and "Suwarna
>Sundari". There may have been a couple more but I can't
>recall them offhand.
Another Hindi movie in which she acted is Sati Savitri.
sg.