SAAWAN AND BIMAL ROY
So ; this year’s monsoon has been generally good .
The farmers are largely happy and Government is expecting a boom in agriculture
production. The stock market may register the impact and the RBI chief would
have something to cheer for a year!
However; the people have celebrated in song
and dance, in ritual and religion this season of hope, love and longing since
ages. We may be unique in the’ Pan – India’ celebration of ‘Saawan’ through
ages - music( various raags; malhar,megh etc) poetry ( Kalidas’s Meghdoot )
Drama( Aaashar ka ek Din ) Dance and
Cinema where it is represented in grand abundance. It is an emotional therapy,
it keeps our EQ ticking ,manifesting in various celebrations often unconsciously. Customs passed down from generations through DNA ! Many filmmakers
,song writers , singers and actors have contributed over the period to this
pool of ‘sentimental resource’ which we
often accept as routine/given.
Though Indian Cinema shows the various shades of the season in songs and scenes today I intend to talk of Bimal Roy the great
film maker who inspires us still. Bimal
Roy has made many landmark movies and given the film industry very many great
talents- Hrisikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar , Salil Chowdhry.. His cinema was rooted
in reality and yet was middle of the road. Simple, tender and progressive without any melodrama with strong story line.
He was perhaps one of the most awarded filmmakers ( 11 filmfare awards) both as
producer and director- ‘Do beegha Zameen’ , ‘Parinita’, ‘Biraj Bahu’,’Madhumati’,’Devdas’
‘ Sujata’, “Parakh’, ‘ Bandini’. His
body of work is immense and relevant
till date. Bimal da as he was fondly addressed gave much emphasis to music as is
evident in his films but he had this attachment to ‘Saawan’ ( the monsoon )
which he portrayed through songs. The various facets of ‘Saawan’, sung in
different style and setting.
Do beegha Zameen.
This 1953 film starred Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy. It
tells the story of a farmer who is compelled to leave his village to work in
Kolkata as a Rickshaw puller in order to
save his ‘do beegha Zameen’ ( small piece of land ) but returns in vain. However; there is this Jubilant Saawan song
which the peasants sing in joy at the approach of the monsoon , the song
uplifts them for a while from the drudgery of
life of belied expectations. “ haryala saawan dhol baja ta aaya , dhin tak tak man mein mor nacha ta aaya,
mitti mein jaan lagata aaya, dharti pehni
hai hari chunariya banke dulhaniya,…..ek aagan bujhi ek aagan lagi, man magan
huwa ek lagan lagi…..” . (Broadly
the song heralds the monsoon which arrives with the sound of the drums, and
enriches the soil , makes it fertile , the surrounding have become green akin
to a bride wearing a green sari. The heat of the earth has been quenched and
the passions have aroused. The mind is engrossed with this togetherness .) The song is written
by Shailendra and composed by Salil Chowdhry. Among the many things it talks of
the recurring theme of ‘Saawan’ ; fulfilment and arousing of passions.
Sujata. The film depicts the life of an
untouchable girl( Nutan ) who is brought up in a high caste family . She grows
into a beautiful girl along with the daughter( shasikala) of her adopted
parents. The conflict arises when the boy( Sunil Dutt ) who is to marry the
daughter falls in love with Sujata and is adamant to marry her . The ‘Saawan song‘ in this film depicts the latent desires
of Sujata which are aroused by the setting of the dark clouds. “ kali ghata chaye mora jiya larjaye, aise mein koi kahin mil jaye, tau kisi ka kya jaye re kya jaye,
kali……,hun mein kitni akeli woh ye jaante mere berang jeevan ko pehchante, mere haton ko thame hanse
aur hansaye,mera dukh bhulaye kisi ka
kya jaye, kali ghata.. ( the
dark clouds have set in and my heart is kindled , in such a time if I find love; how does It bother anyone?
Finding that how lonesome I am and how
colourless is my life, if someone holds my hand and makes me laugh and thus I
forget my sorrows; how does it bother anyone? ). The style is questioning and
taunting, at the end of each stanza she repeats the same line ; how does it
bother anyone? The dark clouds not only have provoked her natural desire for man but this docile untouchable has become
a sort of revolutionary! The song is written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, composed by
S D Burman and sung by Geeta Dutt.
Parakh.
The film was made in 1963 and has story by Salil Chowdhary along with
the music. It is a unique film in that
the two principal characters are Motilal and Nazir Hussain which has ‘honesty’
as its theme. Sadhna is the heroine and
daughter of the post master ( Nazir Hussain ), the role of the post man is
played by Motilal in his easy going style. The ‘Saawan’ song in the film is
sung by Sadhna who is in love with a young school teacher. The only similarity
this song has with the ‘Sujata ‘song is that
both are sung by the heroine longing for love , however in ‘Parakh’,
Sadhna is much open and bolder as the song itself conveys; “ o sajna barkha bahar aayi ras ki phuhar layi ankhiyon
mein pyar layi o sajna, tumko pukare mere man ka papihara mithi mithi agni mein jale mora jiyera , o
sajna barkha… ( o love! the rainy season has arrived and has brought joyousness
and love in our eyes, my heart yearns for you and the sweet sweet
passion has aroused me. Unlike Nutan in Sujata here Sadhna is already in love
and she wants to be together with her lover as “mithi mithi agni mein jale mora jiyera”( the rains have aroused her passion ). Bimal
Roy has employed the’ Saawan’ settings
to convey the otherwise subdued feelings of his protagonists and perhaps
to convey that such desires are natural , though curbed and controlled by caste
and social circumstances. The song is sung by Lata Mangeskar, written by
Shailendra and composed by Salil Chowdhary. Some experts rate this song as one
of the great Lata numbers and of course the finest Saawan Song.
Prem Patra.
The film starred Shashi Kapoor
and Sadhna and was released in 1962. As the name suggests the film is woven
around a misunderstanding created over a love letter ( prem patra) . This song
is played in background whilst the rains sway the palms and brighten their life.
“
saawan ki raton mein aisa bhi hota hai,
rahi koi bhula hua toofan mein khoya hua raah pea a jata hai, aisa bhi hota
hai,… teri nazar se ise dekh loon mein
dil se tum ye mehsus karlo, toofan ye mere dil mein utha hai, chaho tum
ise apne daman mein bhar lo …”
( it happens during the rainy
nights that a traveller lost in storm
finds his way home … it happens… I can
see the season through your eyes if you feel it in your heart! The storm of
emotion that has arisen in my heart you may embrace ; if you desire ! ). This
is a duet in background conveying the
emotional state of Shashi Kapoor and
Sadhna. The theme is of reconciliation evoked by the rains ( rahi bhula hua ). Saawan unites lost
lovers! As Shashi is blind he says that he may see this season if she feels the
same . Further ; there is desire for physical intimacy ( apne daman mein bhar
lo ) ignited by the rains. The song is written by Gulzar ,composed by Salil
Chowdhary and sung by Lata and Rafi. It is not a very popular song as the film
did not do well but conveys the leanings of
Bimal Roy.
Bandini. This 1963 film was Bimal Roy’s last
big hit before he was struck by throat cancer at relatively early age of 55.
Bandini was a women oriented film like his many earlier -
Parinita, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata. Nutan played the role of
Kalyani who is a convict . The jail Doctor ( Dharmendra) falls in love
with her and she too responds. But there is conflict as she was married to a
revolutionary ( Ashok Kumar ) in young age. On her release she has to decide
between love and destiny! ( o re mazhi! mere sajan hein us par mein is
paar ). However the Saawan song is completely different here not only
among Bimal Roy’s earlier versions but among the wide ranging hindi film Saawan
songs. This song is sung by another female convict whilst grinding wheat as
part of labour in jail. Nutan is mainly shown in long shots at a distance along with
other female convicts. The camera stays most of the time on the singer but
occasionally pans Nutan and other inmates. It presents there longing for home
and normal life which is accentuated by the Saawan song . The festival of
‘Rakshabandhan’ falls during monsoon season ( August mostly ) and at this time
women visit their parents to tie rakhi to their brothers and thus meet
childhood friends . The song is extremely melancholic and haunting and invokes
memory of the lost home: ” Ab ke baras bhej Bhaiyya ko Babul, Saawan
mein lejo bulayere, lautein gi jab meri
bachpan ki Sakhiyan dejo sandesa bhijayere, ab ke baras…
, ambua talae phirse
jhule parenge –rimzhim parengi phuharen, lautengi tere angan mein Babul Saawan
ki thandi baharen, chalke nayan mora
kaske re jiyara bachpan ki jab yaad aye
re, ab ke baras….” ( o’ father this year do send
brother to fetch me during Saawan, when my playmates return home do send word
for me this year..Again the swing would be fixed to the mango tree as the rains
fall during season, the cool breeze shall return to your premises o’
father ; my eyes are moist as I long for
the childhood memories ). Many motifs of Saawan are mentioned in the song- the
swing, the ripening of mangoes, the meeting of plymates, the cool breeze it explores new perspective of the season. The song is
written by Shailendra, sung by Asha Bhosle and composed by S D Burman, but the
unmistakeable genius of Shailendra is stamped on it. His Knowledge of eastern
UP , Bihar folk dialect and songs comes into play here.
Thus Bimal Roy’s Saawan songs reveal the
various shades of the season – arousing of passions for physical intimacy among
otherwise conservative and docile youth. The return of the estranged lovers,
economic prosperity among farmers. Meeting with one’s parents and childhood
friends. It remains as the great season of hope and longing—economic, physical
and spiritual.
