ANDAAZ- E - BAYAAN

ANDAAZ – E – BAYAAN

Mirza Ghalib the famous 19^th century Persian/urdu poet of India had the following to say regarding his poetry :

Hain aur bhee Duniya Mein Sukhanwar Bahut Achche

Kahte hain ki ‘Ghalib’ ka hai ‘Andaaz-e-Bayaan’ aur

( there are many good poets in the world, but it is said that the manner of expression of ‘Ghalib’ is different /unique)

Despite the self praise, indeed it is ‘Andaaz-e-Bayaan’ which is the root of the creative work . The manner of expression, style, composition, perspective, angle, approach, combination of words, formation of sentences, a certain newness is what matters. This of course does not imply lack of ideology and substance, for it is assumed that a writer/poet will speak for the society and its conflicts as Premchand aptly said in his address to the newly formed ‘Progressive writers’ association in the year 1935 that a writer has to be progressive because he cannot be otherwise.

A few days past I was reading a book on Al Pachino. It was an interview of his in many sittings. What struck me was his views /perspective on various subjects—Shakespeare, other artistes . When we read the interview of such stars the intent is to extract information on them which is not visible in cinema. However this interview was so very different and displayed his depth as a thinker . A thinking actor truly. It is not surprising that Larry King rates his interview with Al Pachino to be the best among the many he took during his stint.

Premchand stands out in the realm of manner and matter. Simple and brutally honest account. An ordinary reader may not decipher but after reading his biography by his son it emerges that the famous novelist, short story writer, editor of journal and newspaper could come out so honestly as all the struggles and conflicts which he depicted in writing he encountered in his personal life. His deep and sincere commitment to society provided him with a consciousness and courage in his short stories and novels. There was much to invent but it was an extension of the reality which he had seen. What makes these writers /artistes unique is their perception. They see the world from an angle which we readers/viewers are unable to perceive ourselves but marvel the same, and concur with their representation. We have seen it in the paintings of Picasso and Hussain in the plays of Shakespeare and Ibsen and in the performance of Brando and Amitabh. We cannot perceive their portrayal but we acknowledge it.

Amrita Pritam’s biography ‘Rasidi ticket’ gives us an insight to her life and ideology. It is filled with many happenings in her life , meetings with other artistes etc. As she expresses her opinion on the subject of ‘relationships’ her ‘ANDAAZ-E-BAYAAN’ is revealed to us which is distinct. Her honesty grips us. Her narration of the various incidents in her life is striking. Similar honesty and boldness I saw in the autobiography of Harvanshrai Bachhan.

These writers were true to their convictions and interpreted those circumstances in a manner so different than us. But when we read them we realize; yes; indeed this is the way it is. Why it did not strike us ? yes. It is true. These remarkable qualities in possession of the artistes makes them different and therefore---- ‘Andaaz-e-bayaan’.

Sadat Hassan Manto’s short stories are brilliantly written. He knows the art of compressing many incidents and images in a few sentences; yet making it interesting. Plenty of action occurs within a few hundred words. All his stories are from day to day life. Shocking and stark. He was charged for obscenity on four occasions during his short life of 43 years . Truth was obscene during the turbulent times he wrote. We were struggling for independence. The cleft created between Hindus and Muslims had deepened and lead to widespread atrocities and violence by both sides. He remained neutral in his narration of his stories of that phase. Probably the best story writer of that era claimed by both to be theirs. His stories reveal the ugly side of both the communities. He also wrote sketches on the hindi film personalities of the pre independence era through which the reader gets a ‘unique’ look of the developing film industry. I marvel his ‘Anddaz-e-Bayyan’.

MERIT AND MARKETING

MERIT AND MARKETING

Maya is what ‘seems’ but ‘exists not’ and ‘marketing’ is the technique which creates this illusion. This marketing technique when applied to human world creates imbalances where ‘true merit’ suffers as proponents of ‘Maya’ wean away the ‘truth’.

Last month ‘Dabang’ made history by opening to a thunderous response and eclipsed the record set by ‘ The Three Idiots’ . Salman Khan the notorious Super Star was in the forefront of all News Channels resurrected after the debacle of his film ‘Veer’. There was one more person who created history last month; the wrestler Susheel Kumar won the world wrestling medal in his weight. He was the first Indian to do so and had won a bronze medal at the last Olympics. In a country where wrestling is a way of life and ‘Hanuman’ is worshipped and inspires the many youth in remote rural ‘Akharas’ this ‘Glory’ was truly representative of our merit as a Nation. But since marketing is the mode to make mediocrity thrive it was Salman the notorious Super Star who basked in the glory and applause while ‘Susheel’ searched for attention between the Sports minister Mr M. S. Gill and his Guru Satpal. Was not Susheel the true ‘Dabang’?

Marketing overshadows ‘merit’ and curbs the merits of merit to flower. It is a deception legalised by the ill usage of ‘ freedom of expression’ by the corporate institutions. This is visible in many areas--- politics ( rise of Rahul Gandhi), private sector ( creation of Dhiru Bhai Ambani as Karmyogi!),religion ( Osho cult and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living) etc. It directs all noble ideas toward money making. It is materialism at its best and is representative of westernism where creation of ‘wealth’ is the prime purpose of existence.

Cinema utilizes the marketing methods to the fullest. Many meritorious films do not get the response they truly deserve from the public and many sub- standard films reach the winning post by way of marketing. The technology has helped to make many prints at reasonable cost and therefore movies are released in large number of cinema halls and the Multiplexes have multiple shows in the same complex so that the ‘harvest is reaped’ before the shortcomings are revealed.

A film like ‘Sholay’ has earned its place in history of Cinema on merit as not only as the film of the ‘Millenium’ but also the highest grosser film, but it took many months for it to achieve this feat as in those times the print cost was high and therefore films were released in few halls and made profits after long runs , Silver and Golden Jubilee was the norm of the day. People were carriers of information and not the paid TV channels, the audience was not enticed by the Blitzkrig of media. Other films such as ‘Mother India’, ‘Mughal-e-azam’, ‘Sangam’ and ‘Awaara’ were blockbusters on only merit. Nowdays, films break records on the promotion it gets even if the content is disappointing. The true test of a Great film is its longevity; it should be able to attract the next generation. Do films such as ‘Gazini’ or ‘Dabang’ posses that charm and value to merit attention of the next generation?

There is a distinct difference between ‘publicity’ and the ‘marketing’ of today though publicity may appear to be part of greater marketing. Publicity is a necessary part prior to the film being presented, audience are required to be informed, earlier it was done by way of posters, radio and trailers in Cinema halls and by loudspeakers and even drumbeats and remained within reasonable limits. In present times the ‘ marketing techniques’ are ingenious but deceptive as they hide the truth and weaknesses. All means at hand are exploited , the media is choked and even the news channel are roped in for support. After the wide criticism ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna’ received for promoting adultery it requisitioned Prominent News channel for ‘Panel discussions’ in order to drum support for the film .It is evident from the profile and practice of the perpetrators of marketing that they are influenced only by the promotion of wealth and employ all means and guile to progress it. It is the wealth oriented culture which drives marketing to extreme limits. It is a cruel and cunning culture where ‘merit’ is set aside. Shri Amir Khan has perfected the Art of such marketing and despite his talent he remains so insecure that he applies all means to the fullest. We can be sure of the fact that he is no leader of the downtrodden but a crafty filmmaker with a corporate mind who offers service only for media consumption displaying sympathy for special children and toward Farmers’ cause.

Therefore there should be some norms which should be set by the filmmakers’ associations to restrict the monopoly of the corporate world who have entered the territory of Art and Culture to multiply their wealth . The number of days a film is permitted to promote similar to the code of conduct of ‘Election Commissioner’ should be laid down, also the number of prints and cinema halls be regulated. This will bring healthy competition , protect small and talented and moreover independent cinema makers and will see that that attention is on ‘script’ and not on the ‘shell’.

SONGS OF INTEGRATION

SONGS OF INTEGRATION

After many years I visited Vizag ( Visakhapatnam ) recently. My friends, those who had stayed in that city were in praise of its rapid progress and development. It was hailed as the ‘Goa of the east’ during the NTR era.

As my vehicle moved toward the city from the Airport the Telugu film posters drew my attention and I slipped into the past reminiscing of my tenure in the city in 1983 when large number of ‘Hindi’ cinema was screened and ‘Telugu’ cinema was emerging. People saw Hindi films as probably they had no option. However when I returned to the city in 1989/90 the ‘Telugu’ cinema had taken over along with the NTR wave. Hindi cinema was hardly available and was pushed to the fringes. On this occasion too I noticed that the hoardings of cinema were dominated by Telugu stars. When I explored the city further I noticed that all the advertisements, notices and signboards were either in English or Telugu, Hindi was not traceable nor any film posters were visible, though my driver spoke to me in Hindi. Therefore there was wide spread development and also the regional culture was in upswing along with the Ganesh festival and many pandals were decorated and immersions at the prescribed dates were occurring. One remarkable aspect of Vizag has been its adoption of other cultures. Durga pooja too is celebrated with devotion and zeal befitting the occasion; a culture imbibed from the adjoining states of Orissa and West Bengal. Ganesh, of course popularised by Tilak in Maharashtra and celebrated with gusto has made impact on Telugu culture by the reach of Television.

As is customary a few of my friends invited me to dinner at a prominent sea side Hotel. After some time my host asked me if I was interested in listening to the ‘live music’ by one ‘Babu’, so as not to displease my friend I agreed and we moved to an open space near to the sea in the Hotel premises where Babu ,with a cap on was singing Hindi film songs. His songs were not of recent times but of the sixties and seventies- Hemant Kumar, Mohamad Rafi and Kishore Kumar. He played some of our requests too and the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves including some children, I wondered as to how many of those were ‘Hindi speaking’. The next day the organisers of the conference held a ‘Dinner party’ in another sea side Hotel, there too one ‘David’ was singularly enthralling the guests with his fine selection of Hindi film songs mostly of the ‘Golden era’.

On my return to my Hotel room I was thinking that a fortnight in September is devoted to the promotion of Hindi in Government Offices. The National language is relegated to such a status that it requires such ‘steroids’ for sustenance and even then most participate to register attendance , in real terms it has not helped in usage of the Language.

Real promotion of the ‘Hindustani Zuban’ is being made by the songs of Hindi films specially from the old era when ‘emotion’ was of value. They sure were ‘songs of Integration’ ; of Hearts.

CULTURE AND CINEMA

CULTURE AND CINEMA

Any form of Art be it painting, dance, music or Cinema is rooted to a culture; though it may be an attempt to escape from it. However it does not necessary imply that since it is linked to a culture it lacks universal appeal. Culture remains a backdrop against which it operates. Though ‘Fine Arts’ is a field which has a universal appeal as these are appreciated more through our senses than our mind. Expressions of Art which are conveyed through people as medium are more popular and yet more rooted to a ‘ geographical location’. My reference is to Cinema and Theatre which are more people oriented than the other expressions . These are also collective expressions unlike painting and music which are largely individual . Cultural exchanges among Nations also takes place between popular Art as it involves people.

Understanding and appreciation of Art requires a mind which is free of prejudice as well as suppression. Our generation watched English Cinema and Theatre not only for entertainment but also under the compulsion of the ‘cultural imperialism’ which was the result of colonialism. It is true that we hardly understood the ‘dialogues’ and the setting too was alien to us . Be it the Westerns depicting gunfights in the bars with liquor bottles and furniture breaking whilst the actors muttered something incomprehensible to us , but we posed to have understood and enjoyed it under the colonial burden. The romantic interludes between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton too was away from our reality though subconsciously we were enamoured of the explicit love making scenes and revealing attire as the same was unavailable amidst our environment . However despite the complexity of our response , we were fascinated by the drama and spectacle and did feel the universal emotion and themes of Roman Holiday, Benhur, The ten Commandments and the many silent movies of Charlie Chaplin era. The conflicts presented in these Cinema were universal and transcended cultural barriers. Over the years owing to the impact of television the urban masses too have been drawn to the Hollywood science fiction , adventure and action thrillers. The flatness of the world has helped in enhancing understanding.

However the purpose of my writing this article was not to explore for justification for invasion of western culture in cinema but to highlight the importance and relevance of ‘culture’ in cinema and how it affects our very appreciation of the medium in general and understanding of performance of characters in particular. Often we rave about performance of great actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pachino, Robert de Nero, Richard Burton and very many. We participate in animated discussions about their roles and in our zest to emphasise or to make a point we rate them on higher pedestal than our Indian actors. But, is it really true? Or we are according superiority of performance to superiority of technology ? How competent we are to be so assertively declare the western performance paramount ? As said earlier, each performance is rooted to a ‘culture’ which has a geographical and historical context. Therefore those who are familiar with that culture are better equipped to understand and be critical of that performance. However in most cases we are affected by the ‘dominance’ of the alien culture and cover our ignorance or lack of comprehension by according appreciation and offering exaggerated praise. There is undisputed opinion about the greatness of Marlon Brando for his performance in ‘A Street car named desire’, ‘ on the waterfront’, ‘Julies Caesar’ and finally culminating ‘The Godfather’. He underplayed his role ,spoke little, even when oratory was expected such as in his role as Mark Anthony in Julies Caesar but he delivered his speech in a casual manner without much formal trappings of the Roman period. But it appears quite strange for us to be in the forefront of the critical appreciation when our understanding of the mannerism, language, dressing style is limited. We are so blinded by the standards of ‘western acting expressions’ that we tend to overlook our ‘local’ talent as much of it remains unnoticed. We should accord the same seriousness in understanding the acting of our legends such as Moti Lal, Balraj Sahni , Ashok Kumar and others as we do to foreign actors and judge them by our ‘cultural’ standards rather than looking for ‘western’ style in them and feeling unsatisfied.

Ironically in a heterogeneous society of ours the ‘dominant’ or the ‘ruling’ class sets the cultural standards and despite remarkable performances of Artistes depicting rural culture/small town milieu the urban elite sets the parameters of critical appreciation.

END GAME

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END GAME

     As in chess so in life the ‘end game’ matters the most; all is well that ends well ! You may not live well, but must die well! ( in peace! ) The good taste must linger on! The end is indeed important; though few care for it, busy as they are to make the ends meet! The philosophy of beginning, middle and end is applicable to so many aspects of life, in addition to life itself ! In our early days we were taught that an ‘essay’ has three parts: introduction, main body and the conclusion. After initiating the topic it is expected that the core issue will be discussed in the main body and finally in the conclusion the issues discussed are reemphasised to make an impact, the reader is expected to form an opinion on the basis of the complete work , but relies on the last  sentences and its impact.

    In fact ‘the end’ is the sum total of life. Few cases would only be there who have led a steady-straight life, ' copy book' style . Life is like the oceanic tide - 'ebb and flow' ; as the moon phase controls the tides it controls the human life;' waxing and waning'; yet few pass out of the night with ‘full moon’ glowing peacefully. Usually many infirmities and inadequacies strike us as we enter old age; illness of body and mind, lack of love of partner ( companionship)or attention of children and therefore the gains of youth and manhood seem waste. Of what avail is the sweetest fruit if it does not ripen well !Eeven though it may have flowered and taken perfect shape on the most prosperous tree! But if we achieve solace of mind and heart on own or through help the life spent is successful, but then the Indian view on after life gives chance to all those who do not make to the post ! It is not ‘nirvana’ that most seek though, but all wish to board the train to eternity with confirmed booking !!

A few illustrations from the life of the imminent figures of the past should suffice here to clarify my view: Shah Jahan the 17^th century Moghal Emperor was married to the beautiful Mumtaj Mahal ( Arjumand) and sired 14 children; in those times this was one way to show your love! The Empress died in the battle field whilst delivering their last child. In her memory and to convey to the world her beauty and his love of her he built the famous Taj Mahal – the symbol of beauty. He is known to be the biggest builder of that era and Lal Quila, Juma Masjid are credited to him,but he died a broken man as his son Auranzeb captured him and put him in the Agra Fort in caged condition , he died in very old age and for his living he had to teach children ‘Quran’. He was defeated in the ‘end game’. We know the story of King Lear as dramatzsed by Shakespeare: King with three lovely daughters who deceived himself with some bad decisions. Nehru led a life of challenges and glory, he was the man truly loved by the masses. He would have preferred to die in a satisfied manner handing the baton to the generation next; but that was not to be: the Chinese betrayal shattered him , his image also suffered setback and he died a very sad man; the debacle curtailed his life span.

    The aspect of ‘end game’ could  be discerned in the field of literature and Art. Sahir Ludhiyanvi the famous Urdu poet who wrote successfully for films was of known leftist leanings, the people remember him for the last few lines he wrote on Taj “ik Shahenshah ne daulat ka sahara lekar hum garibon ki mohabbat ka uraya hai mazak” (The emperor has mocked on the poor on the strength of his wealth). The famous American Poet Robert Frost is known from the last four lines of his poem ‘Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening’:

"The woods are lovely dark and deep

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep".

     Cinema is the place where this theory is well defined. Many a famous Director fail at the end ; so often we have witnessed the audience walking out of the cinema as the film  reaches the climax. The ending has a tremendous impact on the feedback which is given by the audience and often decides the fate of the film at Box office. Directors ‘unfold’ the plot well but when the time comes to ‘fold’ the plot and reach the end they falter , in most cases it is evident that the script is weak and not much attention is given to the foundation and therefore they reap what they have sown. Imminent filmmakers such as Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan,  Guru Dutt ,Vijay Anand balanced the plot in such a manner that the end was uplifting, the audience experienced catharsis ( purgation of emotion). The last scene of ‘Pyasa’ where Guru Dutt denounces the world and the flimsy fame and walks into the sunset  holding the hand of Waheeda Rehman is imprinted in the minds of the public; that is the way we would like to retreat to our cocoon with our loved one , far from the material world. The ending of ‘Guide’ as filmed by Vijay Anand is different from the book; the book shows that ‘Raju Guide’ dies in the end after many days of fasting for the rains but in the film it finally rains on the hills and the villagers are overjoyed as Raju passes away . This ending is very rejuvenating as it depicts that Raju has finally purified himself, sort of redeemed himself and the effect is tremendous.

   The end of Mahabharata the longest epic poem is with the Pandavas handing over their kingdom to Parikshit the son of Abhimanu and proceeding to the Himalayas to die one after the other, only the truthful Yudhisthir the eldest of them is sent a chariot to be taken to the higher abode. After achieving name , fame , glory, kingdom and victory in the war of ‘principles’ and restoring their honour it was the most appropriate ‘end’ for the Pandavas as well as for the poem; in harmony with the theory of renunciation and temporariness of material happiness. It remains the bestseller to this day.

   The Indian concept of the four phases of life- brahmacharya( student age), grihasta ( married life), vanprastha( life in forest) and sanyas( renunciation) teach us to lead a balanced and satisfactory life giving adequate attention and emphasis to each phase . Hardly few attain the concept envisaged by our sages. Though even in such times their seems hope of turnaround.

   Life will end one day. But the day must end peacefully as we recede into the night to attend to another day, and each day will count to make our ‘end game’!!

SHAILENDRA SAHIR SHAKEEL

SHAILENDRA - SAAHIR - SHAKEEL


My grudge is that our ‘Geetkars’ have not received that respect and recognition which they deserve by the nation who have regaled to their songs generation after generation.
Shailendra, Saahir Ludhiyanvi and Shakeel Badayuni were not only ‘geetkaars’ of hindi cinema who reigned the cinema scene from forties to early seventies ( though Sahir made songs till early eighties) but were true poets of superior standard. Their poetry has withstood the test of time as when we listen to them we not only acknowledge their poetic depth but are saddened with the standards of present times where there is only ‘sound’ but no ‘soul’.
Shakespeare wrote his plays hurriedly borrowing from the various Italian stories and history to meet the deadlines of the theatre owners. In many instances the play was performed the very day or next. It is to the credit of that genius that we do not notice any casualness in his work and today it is the foundation of English Literature and the Bard’s relevance to English speaking culture is the same as what Mahabharat and Ramayan are to Indian culture. But, whilst he was writing those plays he could have never imagined that his works would conquer many continents. After all who decides if a person deserves to be categorised as an artist/poet or a mere craftsman/geetkaar? It is the public ( Aawaam) , the people the masses who saw and heard Shakespeare made him a legend. Similarly our ‘geetkars’ ( lyricists who have given so much of joy and emotional tonic to the people that they deserve a higher status.

In my assessment the poets( Shayers/geetkaars) who wrote for Cinema in the 40s/50s/60s were of high calibre and their talent was even superior to that of many film makers for whom they composed songs. We are fortunate that they were compelled to write for cinema in order to survive economically otherwise we would have been deprived of ‘poetry’ of ‘high seriousness’. Cannot we make out from the songs that are played on TV sometimes that the visual display does not match the audio creation. The words used are very simple of everyday usage so that the common man could understand and relate to them. The vast movie goers also understood the ‘subtext’ of such songs as they had experienced it all, suffered depravity, poverty, rejection etc.

Shailendra started his career with Raj Kapoor’s ‘Barssat’ and thereafter never looked back. During his lifetime he was rated the best. He formed a formidable team with Raj Kapoor, Shankar Jaikishen, Hasrat Jaipuri,Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. Apart from the R K Banner he gave memorable songs with S D Burman and Salil Chaudhary for Dev Anand ,Bimal Roy films. Who can ever forget the music of Barsaat, Awaara, Shree 420, Sangam, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Teesri Kasam, Anari, Madhumati, Bandini , Parakh, Guide, Kala Bazaar ……. The list is endless. I will not dwell here on the songs he wrote for that will require a separate dedicated space but it is sufficient to mention that the lyrics he wrote formed an integral part of the film.His songs added character to the film--- what is ‘Guide’ without “ gata rahe mera dil…”? Can we think of ‘Sangam’ without “ dost dost na raha” ? or ‘Madhumati’ without “ suhana safar ye mausam hansi..”, ‘Teesri Kasam’ devoid of “ sajan re jhoot mat bolo”?. The inherent simplicity with depth of meaning is the most endearing quality of his songs.
I wonder as what was the status of our ‘Bhakti’ poets during their lifetime? Tulsidas, Kabir, Rahim, Surdas,Raskhan, Tukaram etc because they created in popular voice and not in the language of the ruling class. They have been made famous not by the imminent scholars of Universities or by the ruling class of that era but by the common folks to whom they have provided spiritual sustenance; a source of survival! Deep in the Indian villages in ‘choupals’ such poets are remembered for they wrote for the masses. Are Shailendra-Sahir- Shakeel less important in their literary substance to Sumitra Nandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma, Harvansh Rai Bachhan or Maithalisharan Gupt? I do not think so . Or their folly for writing for films is so unpardonable that they will be denied their true status?
. Sahir could be categorised as a revolutionary poet. He used words which few could imagine or had courage to write at that time—‘Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko mardon ne uce bazaar diya’( Sadhna), ‘ye mahlon ye thakton ye tazon ki duniya’( Pyasa). His poetry appealed particularly to the youth who were frustrated with the unemployment post independence and the failure of the leaders who had promised a progressive India. Sahir’s romantic poetry is as famous and appealing as his songs on social subjects ,and his language was the fine balance between Hindi and Urdu- a true Hindustani ‘zuban’ . He was a very successful ‘geetkaar’ and produced many immortal songs with ‘Roshan’ ( Chitrelekha, Taj Mahal, Barsaat ki Raat ), ‘Ravi’( Sadhna, Waqt, Gumrah, Hamraaj), ‘Khayyam’( Kabhi Kabhi, Woh Subha Kabhi To Ayegi) and with Sachin Dev Burman (Jaal, Devdas, Munimji ,House no 44,Taxi Driver,Pyasa, Baazi)and even his son R D Burman( Aa gale lagja). Nav Ketan films of Dev Anand should be indebted to him for providing immortality to their music—
‘ jayen to jayen kahan samjhe ga kaun yahan ( Taxi Driver), ‘dukhi man mere sun mera kahna jahan nahi chaina wahan nahi rehna’ ( Funtoosh), ‘tadbir se bigdi hui taqdeer bana je kismet me bharosa ha to ye dav laga le ( Baazi) ‘ mein zindagi ka saath nibha ta chala gaya har fikr ko dhuan me ura ta chala gaya’ ( Hum Dono). However he composed lyrics for most of the films of B R Chopra and fo Yash Chopra right upto ‘Kala Patthar’, though he touched his peak with Guru Dutt’s ‘Pyasa’ in which Guru Dutt himself played the role of poet ‘Vijay’.His romantic songs are rated as one of the finest and are hummed even to this day—‘ abhi na jao chod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin’ ( Hum Dono), ‘jane kya tune kahi jane kya maine kahi bat kuch ban hi gayi’ ( Pyasa),’’ mere dil mein aaj kya hei tu kahe to mein bata dun’( Daag),’chalo ik bar phir se ajnabi ban jayen hum dono’( Gumrah), ‘aye meri zohrazanbi tujhe maloom nahin tu abhi tak he hansi aur mein jawan’( Waqt ), ‘zindagi bhar nahi bhulegi ye barsaat ki raa( Barsaat ki raat). Sahir’s lyrics fo Kedar Sharma’s ‘Chitrelekha’ and in particular the Rafi song ‘ man re tu kahi na dhir dhare o nirmohi moh na jane jin ka moh kare’ stands tallest among songs of all eras probably a notch higher than his more popular philosophical song ‘mein zindagi saath nibha ta chala gaya har fikr ko dhuen me ura ta chala gaya’ of ‘Humdono’. Some of the very good songs of Sahir would have been even more popular had they been sung by Rafi instead of Mahendra Kapoor who was regular with Ravi , but an ordinary singer
Shakeel did most of his work with with Naushad, it is ironical that he received the three filmfare awards for songs composed with Ravi ‘ Bharonsa’ and ‘chaudhivin ka chand’ and Hemant Kumar composed ‘kahin deep jale kahin dil’ for ‘bees saal baad’. His poetry has more urdu words but he was at ease with the rural tongue and created compositions for ‘Baiju bawra’, ‘Mother India’ and ‘Ganga Jamuna’ which were soaked in rural soil. It is to his credit that he provided lyrics to wide ranging themes --a historical ‘Mugal e-azam’ a romantic film such as ‘Mera Mehboob’, a typical eastern UP song for ‘Ganga Jamuna’- ‘nein lar jahiyen to manwa ma khatak hoebe kari’. The depth of his understanding of Hindustani culture, knowledge of various north Indian dialects such as Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Braj could be ascertained from the songs he wrote relating to Hindu mythology and ethos to which the masses connect: ‘mohe panghat pen and lal ched gayo re’- ‘Mughal-e-azam’, ‘tu ganga ki mauj mein jamuna ka dhara ho rahega milan’-‘ Baiju Bawra’,’man tadpat hari darshan ko aaj’- ‘Biju Bawra’ are some examples. I think he was as good as Sahir in his love songs epitomized in ‘Mere Mehboob’- ‘mere mehboob tuzhe meri mohabbat ki kasam’ and longing for love ‘koi door se awaaz de chale aao’, from ‘Sahib Bivi aur Ghulam’ and finally the song which will never be forgotten as long as there exists women and beauty—‘Chaudhivin ka chand ho ya aftab ho job hi ho khuda ki kasam la jawab ho’.
It is not the elite ruling class who accord status of ‘poet’ to a person, but it is the people in the streets in a democracy, who do not even need literacy certificate to understand and enjoy the sound of music created by these poets. We need not conduct any opinion poll for we can fathom the popularity of such poets from far as their songs and sounds are heard in the nook and corner of our cities, towns and even villages. Their songs supply love songs to young and old alike and remain submerged in our consciousness even if we forget the film. The ‘Antakshari’ programme is testimony to their popularity, and perhaps the only original Indian live tv programme
It is my firm belief that very soon the poetry of Shailendra-Sahir-Shakeel will be taught in colleges and Universities imparting lessons on Indian Cinema. Their status as ‘Poets’ of serious stuff will soar and they will attain what they deserved , even though posthumously

IN WHOSE HONOUR?

IN WHOSE HONOUR ?

This week ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ will complete 800 weeks run at Maratha Mandir Cinema hall at Mumbai, it is a record for a hindi film in India. The story if we recollect is of ‘Raj’ and ‘Simran’ who meet during a European tour, initially dislike each other but fall in love. Simran’s traditional father wants her to marry the boy of his choice in India ( Punjab) and returns to his roots leaving his well established business in London. Raj follows her to India and despite the stiff opposition from her father wins her. The movie is a benchmark in the love stories genre . The present generation seems to relate to it in the same manner as our generation related to ‘Bobby’ in the seventies.
The reality is that in Democratic India ‘Honour Killings’ are on the rise. In last one year 326 ‘ honour killings’ have been reported , out of these 72% are related to couples who married outside their ‘caste’ , ‘community’. As the Nation prepares to counter the economic conflicts which the liberalization has created we are caught unaware with the ‘social churning’ stimulated by the internet, television and to an extent by ‘economic independence’ . The freedom of interaction and communication which exists has given new confidence to the new generation and by taking their own decision they are not only questioning the old values but are in fact undermining the existing ‘Authority’ of family and Village elders. But then the insecurity of parents and village elders is to such an extent that they feel no guilt or remorse in killing their kith and kin?
Democracy is dynamic , as it moves forward the established practices will be challenged. We have seen it in case of poll reforms, code of conduct etc where it was inconceivable to think that booth capturing, criminal record of candidates will ever be controlled, but gradually the things have changed. Similarly the society will have to accept this change that the young will not only think independently but will ‘feel’ independently too. The false sense of honour will have to shed, though parents will have their own plans and recommendations and in the matter of marriage even the most revered leaders have faulted , not many of us know that Pandit Nehru was not in favour of his daughter Indira marrying a Parsi Firoj Gandhi, he had desired that she should marry Mohan Kumar Manglam a promising left oriented leader, he even persuaded Bapu to influence Indira to change her mind. It is known that Bapu also counselled her but she was adamant. Therefore difference of understanding/ opinion/interest will always remain but a civilised society reacts differently. They do not kill or consider such steps as an affront to their honour. There may be break in relationship, complete distance from each other, removal from share of property but all within the socially accepted behaviour.
The visible social change is a healthy sign of a confident generation who intend to carve their own destiny even at the peril to their lives .