Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet ( Book Preview by Niilesh A Raje )

"Jo Waada Kiya Woh Nibhaana Padega"

(What has been promised ought to be honoured)

by : Niilesh A Raje

Author	Akshay Manwani
Publisher	HarperCollins
Pages	304
Price	Rs 399/-
ISBN	9789350297339

“Jo Waada Kiya Woh Nibhaana Padega, Roke Zamaana Chaahe Roke Khudaayee, Tumako Aana Padega” (What has been promised in the matters of the heart ought to be honoured . . . You will have to come to meet me) a lovely number from the movie “Taj Mahal” (1963 release) has been soothing the ears of the music lover’s even today post five decades of its release. This song of everlasting romance became so popular then and is even today that it fetched the renowned Urdu poet, songwriter and Hindi lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi his first Filmfare Award as the “Best Lyricist”.

The newly released book Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet by Akshay Manwani HarperCollins Publication is an exhaustive biography that traces the poet’s rich life from his troubled childhood and his equally troubled love relationships and then his rise as one of the pre-eminent personalities of the Progressive Writers Movement and as a lyricist through the golden era of Hindi film music.

Author Akshay Manwani turned to freelance writing after a brief career in the corporate world. His writings on popular Indian culture have appeared in The Caravan, Business Standard, Man's World and Mumbai Mirror. His attempt to profile the life and work of Sahir Ludhianvi stems from the belief that much needs to be done to preserve the legacy of unsung legends. It is also his way of saying thank you to the poet-lyricist who gave him immeasurable joy through his songs. Akshay lives in Mumbai with his wife and daughter.

Born on 8^th March (International Women's Day) Sahir Ludhianvi captivated the hearts of several women during his life time through the power of written words. Sahir fell in love several times and always wrote poems as a tribute to his love. Sahir remained a bachelor all his life.

Sahir (meaning magician) as the name suggests he was truly a magician of words who spent over 30 years of his life associated with Bollywood, wrote over 680 songs for over 100 movies. It is said that while Sahir's heart was more concerned for others, he apparently never paid enough attention to his own life. He believed in the beauty of relations to him those who strike relations for life in his opinion were relations of a higher disposition.

The journey of this legend is covered in the book spread across 14 chapters. One of the chapter’s in this book talks about an often repeated phrase spoken by Sahir Ludhianvi. While any discussions took place between Sahir and Hameed Akhtar directing towards Sahir’s future these words were most heard off, “Bada Songwriter Banoonga” (I will become a prominent songwriter). Sahir’s aplomb in these words were more attributed to his belief in his songwriting skills rather than keeping it restricted to just his dream.

An interesting anecdote is seen in one of the chapters which speaks of “New Peaks, New Associations”. Sahir was known for his exalted ego and when his popularity was at its peak came his temperamental attitude which started rubbing people the wrong way witnessing his relations collapse with industry stalwarts like S. D. Burman as is also seen happening with many in real life for keeping their bloated ego.

Once a film maker said in presence of Sahir and Lata Mangeshkar,“Sahib saab, agar Lata ki awaaz na ho toh aapke geet bejaan hai!”From that point onwards Sahir insisted that Lata would not sing any of his songs while taking up a film. On one hand no one could afford to ignore Lata Mangeshkar while on the other hand no one could even disregard Sahir.

After reading the various defining moments in the life and times of Sahir Ludhianvi in this book one thing is evident that in spite of coming out of the woods of the broken heart Sahir never lingered with one issue for long. Having given the poetic form to the particular episode in his life he felt he had fulfilled his objective. Experience enriched his life so much that Sahir’s poetry was always filled with emotions reflecting his experiences or romantic associations. The chapter “Finding Love in the Shadow of Oedipus” speaks of this.

The author has made detailed efforts to cover the “List of Film Songs”, “Select Bibliography” and “Index of Poems and Film Songs”.

The biography is indeed motivating and sets the reader’s thinking that in spite of so much mental turmoil and bitter experiences in his personal life it did not make Sahir a bitter person. Rather, it transformed his mind to look beyond his personal life. His phrases were simple but always left a profound impact on the minds of the readers. To sum it up in his own words, “Jo mil gaya usi ko muqaddar samajh liya, Jo kho gaya main usko bhulaata chala gaya, Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya”.

Nosstalgiaaa ~ June 2013

Parveen Babi : The Lonely Star

by: Niilesh A Raje

As our Indian Film Industry celebrates the historic and most glorious moment - 100 Years of Indian Cinema (1913-2013) I take this opportunity to share this piece on The Rise and Fall of Actress Parveen Babi who gave her significant contribution during her times to the industry. She was often cited as one of the most beautiful actresses to have ever appeared in Indian Cinema whose dressing sense was totally westernized at a time when other actress adhered to the regional style.

 

Grace and Glamour

 

 

She completed her Master of Arts in English Literature from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. Parveen Babi was one of the first Indians to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine. It would not have been easy for many to imagine a lady with marble like complexion Parveen Babi smoking Dunhill cigarettes in the 70’s who was often compared with actress Zeenat Aman due to the common image she shared for both being glamorous as well as sex symbol.

 

 

She was known to be very meticulous about her career and had a very efficient management system. She lived life all on her own and was self-dependent. She never interfered with anyone's work and was concerned only with her business.

 

 

Parveen Babi was the 2nd highest paid Hindi actress along with Reena Roy from 1976-80 and the 3rd highest paid Hindi actress along-with Jaya Prada from 1981-83. She was considered to be one of the most successful actresses of her era, along with Hema Malini, Rekha, Zeenat Aman,Jaya Bhaduri, Reena Roy and Raakhee.

 

 

Most remembered for her glamorous roles alongside in blockbusters like Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewar, Namak Halaal, Kaalia and Shaan.

 

 

Personal Side

 

 

The Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant at the Taj, those days, was quite famous for pork delicacies and every time she got a break from shooting, she would rush off to the Golden Dragon to eat pork.

 

She never married but had relationships with many married men including director Mahesh Bhatt, actor Kabir Bedi, Danny Denzongpa and her co-stars of her films. She was always insecure of losing her men.

 

 

The Fear

 

 

Parveen Babi was the same superstar, who once epitomized the bold and the beautiful was reportedly being handcuffed and carried by four policemen from the John F Kennedy International airport in New York to a mental hospital as she refused to go through the customary checks after being uncontrollably hysterical. She had to be kept in a general ward with thirty other mentally disturbed patients.

 

She feared people and never had trust in them not even her doctors. Anybody who suggested her to see a psychiatrist would became her enemy even her mother. If her car started breaking down she felt that someone had deliberately tampered with it. She later even refused to allow anyone xerox her documents fearing that they would be lost and stolen.

 

With passage of time her health detoriated due to her diabetic condition and was confined to wheelchair at home as she had gangrene on her foot. Parveen Babi got fame and success both left her totally despondent and dejected. Rightly said, It is Lonely At The Top and Parveen Babi witnessed it all. Good work done by her in her films can't be forgotten.

 

 

 

Shoot Location : St Pancras Railway Station London, England

by: Niilesh A Raje

About the location :

St Pancras railway station, known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is the railway station terminus known for its Victorian Architecture.

Movie shot at this location :

 

Challa song from Jab Tak Hai Jaan
 

Geeta Dutt : The Ethereal Voice

 

by:  Rajesh Subramanian

 

 

 

Geeta Dutt’s voice had a mesmerizing effect. Her songs continue to enthrall listeners even forty years after her death

 

When she rendered ‘Thandi hawa kali ghata’, you could feel the cool breeze caressing your ears. Her nectarous ‘Nanhi pari sone chali’ is undoubtedly the best lullaby in Hindi cinema and when she sang the haunting ‘Koi door se awaaz de’, you definitely get goose bumps. Geeta Dutt or Geeta Roy was endowed with that intrinsic vocal quality that she glided through the tune. Whatever sang appealed to our auditory senses. Film and music critic Subhash K Jha, aptly defined, "Geta Dutt's voice conveys the sweetness of honey and the pain of the bee sting."

 

 

 

 

Born in Faridpur, East Bengal to a wealthy zamindar, Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri was one of the ten children. After the family shifted to Bombay composer Hanuman Prasad accidentally heard the 12 year old Geeta singing and decided to fine tune her budding talent. In 1946, she got her first break in the mythological film Bhakta Prahlad followed by Raseeli and Nai Maa. However, it was under S D Burman’s baton that her singing matured. Her innate talent was judiciously explored by Dada Burman in songs like Mera sundar sapna beet gaya (Do Bhai ), Tadbir se bigdi hui taqdeer (Baazi ),  Aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo (Pyaasa ), Aan milo aan milo (Devdas) and Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam (Kagaz Ke Phool). It was during the recordings of Baazi that she met the upcoming director Guru Dutt and their romance blossomed. It was during this phase that she rendered a spectrum of superlative songs like Babuji dheere chalna, Hoon abhie mein jawan, Yeh lo main haari piya, Sun sun zalima, Jata kahan hai diwane, Jaane kahan mera jigar, Mera naam chin chin, Ae dil hai mushkil, Kaisa jadoo balam with such vivacious verve and velvety swiftness that she created a melodious wave. The sex appeal in her voice and the ease with which she gave a western feel was a commendable feat. If she lent her vocals for S D Burman and O P Nayyar’s classic compositions then there were scores by other composers like Ae dil mujhe bata de (Madan Mohan), Na jaao saiyaan and Piya aiso jiya mein (Hemant Kumar), Mujhe jaan nah kaho meri jaan (Kanu Roy) and Khayalon mein kisi ki (Roshan) that became immensely popular.

By 1957, Geeta and Guru Dutt’s domestic scenario had turned ugly with their marriage running into rough weather. The genius director’s close association with actress Waheeda Rehman led to frequent arguments between the couple and finally their marital relation cracked. It had a drastic effect on Geeta Dutt’s career. She started neglecting her daily riyaz and soon word spread in the industry that she was not easily available for recordings or rehearsals. Music directors who once gave her regular work started distancing themselves once they found alternative singers. This was also the phase when she found solace in alcohol. On October 10^th1964, Guru Dutt died. It was reported that the cause of death was accidental due to an overdose of sleeping pills in his drink. However, the actual reason of his death remains a mystery till date. Geeta was shattered and suffered a nervous breakdown. By the time she recovered she found herself in a financial mayhem. Recording assignments had dwindled drastically. She started doing stage shows. Even acted in a Bengali film Badhu Bharan and recorded a durga pooja album. While her health deteriorated rapidly her dependence on liquor seemed insatiable. On 20^th July 1972, she died of cirrhosis of liver. Her last melodious offering to her fans was from Anubhav in which she sang the captivating ‘Koi Chupke Se Aake’ and ‘Mujhe Jaan Na Kaho meri jaan’

 

She could infuse life and emotion into any composition. Her unique ability to be both sensual yet sensitive gave Geeta Dutt’s voice that extra zing which none of the other crooners had.

 

Film Quiz

Q1. Who directed Dastak starring Sanjeev Kumar and Rehana Sultan?

Q2. Name the editor of Manmohan Desai’s Coolie (1983)?

Q3. Name the film featuring Dharmendra and Hema Malini directed by Basu Chatterjee in 1978?

Q4. Who composed the songs of Tapasya released in the year 1976?

Q5. Who sang the duet ‘Saiyyan bina ghar soona’ from Aangan Ki Kali along with Lata Mangeshkar?

 

 

Voice of the readers is their very own platform for giving feedback or suggestions. 

You can reach us (Rajesh Subramanian and Niilesh A Raje) @   Nosstalgiaaa@gmail.com

The June 2013 Edition