SCRIPTING THROUGH SONGS - SAGA OF HINDI CINEMA

SCRIPTING   THROUGH   SONGS    -  SAGA    OF   HINDI   CINEMA 

      The story of Hindi Cinema is the story of its songs. Truly; our colourful, mosaic culture of rhythm and melody is captivated in reams of celluloid  through last century. Even when the films were silent the live orchestra played to give sound to the songs at Opera House ,Mumbai.  With the advent of  ‘Talkies’ the singing stars rose to the fore, the playback technology came later. K L Sehgal, Surrayya, Noor Jahan were the singing stars. Even  Ashok Kumar had to sing with Devika Rani in the 1936, landmark Bombay Talkies film ‘Achut Kanya’-“ mein ban ki chiriya ban ban bolun re…”

   For many years and even till  the last decade we remembered films through their songs, whilst discussing and appreciating them. The stars were discussed through the songs they sang on screen.  Yes; Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand were individually     discussed for their distinct dialogue delivery too.  However, the films of Raj Kapoor are remembered  through the music of Shankar Jaikishan, Shailendra/Hasrat Jaipuri, Mukesh and Lata Mangeskar;though it is another thing that Raj Kapoor himself was a gifted musician and each of his song bears his personality. Aawara  ( Aawara hoon ya gardish mein hoon aasman ka tara hoon ),  Barsat ( Barsat mein hum se mile tum sajan tum se mile hum Barsat mein ),  Shree 420( mera joota hai Japani ye patloon englishtani sar pe lal topi rusi phir bhi dil hai Hindustani ),  Jis Desh mein Ganga Behti hai ( hoton pe sachyi rahti hai jahan dil mein safai rehti hai …),  Sangam ( bol radha bol sangam hoga ki nahi , mera man ki Ganga aur tere man ti jamuna ka bol Radha bol…). Similarly, the music of Naushad and Lyrics of Shakeel Badayuni made the films of Dilip Kumar famous.

    Once, Devanand told a journalist that the biggest contribution of his banner ‘Navketan’ to the filmgoers are the songs, about 300-400 of his various films. He was right  ; starting from “dukhi man mere sun mera kahna…” ( Funtoosh ), “jayen to jayen kahan” ( taxi driver ), “teri duniyan mein jine se to betar hai ki mar jayen” ( house no 44 ),” tadbir se bigri hui taqdir banale”(baazi),”hum hain rahi pyar ke hum se kuch na bolia”( nau do gyaraha ),” gata rahe mera dil” ( guide ),” khoya khoya chand khulaaasman” ( kala baazar ) “hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chalegaye “( kala paani)” mein jindagi ka saaath nibha ta chala gaya”( Hum Dono), “Aasma ke niche hum aaj aapne peeche “( jewel thief ) and many more.

      
     It was only from the late fifties that the directors got a grip of the medium and got used to the technology of Cinema , but still the music directors , lyricists and singers had their sway and were definitely superior artists than the writers and directors of that time. The reason was that music as an art form and later cinema music was well established and wide spread and also understood. The cinema goers understood cinema better through songs and story being unfolded through songs compared to the other dramatic aspects. Further; the intellectual level of the song writers such as Sahir Ludhyanvi, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakil Badayuni was of a much refined level, with a sense of social commitment, which reflected in their songs. Dialogue writing was still maturing. The directors had not exploited the full personality of this potent modern medium. It was not that there was shortage of good dialogue writers ; Rajender Singh Bedi, Kamal Amrohi, Akhtar Mirza, Shahid Latif and Vijay Anand were excellent writers, but they were rendered to the shadows by the enormity of music.

   
    However; all  the top directors such as Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy , Guru Dutt Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand  not only gave priority to songs but were masters in song picturization and they made landmark films with strong story and captivating dramatic situation, they understood the value of songs in Hindi Cinema and used them effectively as part of the narrative. The songs were essential turning points in the script .The Indian audience could relate to this style/form as it was brought up in singing drama tradition ( Ram lila, nautanki, tamasha )and therefore  we remember the films through songs :Pyasa ( yeh mehlon ye takhton ye tazon ki duniya), Mother India ( basti basti dware dware dhoondu mein sawariyan …), Ganga Jamuna ( nain lar jayen re manuva man kasak huabe kari ) .

  
    Two examples I shall present for better appreciation. Take Guru Dutt’s Pyasa; the movie begins with the recitation of Urdu couplets in background establishing the identity of the protagonist and setting the mood , Guru Dutt happens to see Mala Sinha and there is a flash back song “hum aapki aankhon mein is dil ko basa dein to” conveying their relationship and setting up a meeting. Waheda Rehman  who plays the prostitute is introduced through the famous song,” jane kya tune kahi jane kya mane suni baat kuch ban hi gayi..”,  they meet in strange circumstances when Guru Dutt rescues her from the police stating that she was his wife. The song” jaane who kaise log the jinko pyar ko pyar mila”, which Guru Dutt sings in the company of the established poets sets the conflict and suspicion in the mind of Mala Sinha’s husband Rehman. The song “jinhe naaz hai hind par wo kahan hein…” is set in a red light area with young breast feeding mother being engaged in flesh trade and poverty stricken people all over, this builds up the climax. The climax song is immortal , when Guru Dutt reappears after being declared dead and there is an assembly to honour him and his works being Presided by Rehman and others, the light is  from behind and  he has spread his arms reminding of ‘crucification’;” ye mehlon ye takhton.. ye tazon ki duniya..”.Finally Gurudutt walks against the sunset holding the hand of Waheeda Rehman and the song, “aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo janam safal ho jaye “playing in the  background. So we see that the songs were  not only beautifully picturised but were  so intelligently placed  so that they are enmeshed with the story and effect is  cathartic  whilst the audience rise from their seats with a lump in their throat  reminiscing the title song. Guru Dutt  directed  all the songs of his films  which he produced himself , even those such as ‘Chowdhivin ka Chand’ and ‘Sahib Bivi aur Ghulam’ which were directed by M Sadiq and AbrarAlvi respectively.

    Guide. This Vijay Anand classic was ahead of its time when made in 1966, it was a risky proposition dealing with the subject of adultery. The songs are hummed to this day and are structured to tell the story. It  is an irony that the film won seven filmfare awards ,but was not awarded the music trophy, which went to Shankar Jaikishan for Suraj. The film opens with The S D Burman song, “ yahan kaun hai tera musafir jayega kahan..”, during this time the casting is shown and Dev’s journey from jail to a village where he  finally settles as priest is covered. The movie moves in flash back  and the first twist is marked with the song of Waheeda when she breaks free of her impotent husband, “ katon se kheench ke ye anchal tor ke bandhan pehni payal… aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai aaj phir marne ka irada hai…”. Dev, the Raju guide and Waheeda the estranged wife Rozy fall in love and  Dev convinces her of his love ,” tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain yo jahan bhi lejayen hum sung hein…”. Dev brings Rozy home there is problem of her being accepted and continue with her dancing but Dev insists to bring her to stage and she not only dances but becomes famous , the song “piya tose naina lage re…”. There is strain in relationship as Dev gambles and makes money on her success, he misses her when drunk and sings ,’din dhal jaye par raat na jaye tu tau na aye teri yaad sataye, din dhal…”, this is a turning point. Dev is charged for forgery  and is to be jailed, prior to that he wants to meet Rozy ,  the police Inspector is his friend and obliges. At this juncture there are two songs one after the other and narrate the story forward. One is by Waheeda implicating Dev and the second by Dev implicating Waheeda, it is a unique  sequence and unforgettable .  Lata sings,”  mose chal kiye jye haye re haye re sayyan  beiman mose chal kiye jye….”, on completion Dev sings in Rafi’s voice, “ kya se kya ho gaya bewafa tere pyar mein chaha kya kya mila bewafa tere pyar mein…” Finally the film returns , to village where Dev has commenced his fast for rains and people are converging to see the result, Waheeda too joins and then there is this song by S D Burman,” allaha megh de pani de chaye dede tu Rama megh de…”  representing the anxiety and agony of the situation. We see here that the lovely songs of Shailendra have been utilized very sensibly by the genius Vijay Anand.

     
  It was only in the seventies with the advent of Salim and Javed combination that script writing and dialogue delivery gained importance . The rise of Amitabh Bachhan and his strong and rich voice gave further fillip to performance . He was perhaps the first star who was recognized for his rendition of dialogues, after Dilip Kumar and ‘Sholay’  was a landmark film whose dialogues are famous till date. Prior to that to some extent ’Mughal- e -Azam’ was known for the dialogues of Prthiviraj Kapoor.

In the present century many changes have come in structuring  film from dramatic dialogues we moved to realistic and relevant dialogues, the greatness of music diminished. More background songs were being sung. But music never lost its importance , even now when cinema is more spectacular and special effects is a new dimension, the love of Indians for music has kept the film makers on toes. This is confirmed by the fact that still very few songless films are made. Those who attempt too are forced by distributers to reconsider and inject at least a background score to make the film popular.

   
   Songs are like the   umbilical   cord to which Cinema shall remain tied for ever in India.