लग जा गले …… पर अभी नहीं
Embrace me,
but not now, please!
ABC formula
Sometime
ago, upon reading my blog on astrology (https://pkdash-author.blogspot.com/2023/05/star-trekking-in-shaka-samvat-1945.html),
a friend observed: Sure-success formula to enthral your audience in India is to
talk about ABC – Astrology, Bollywood, and Cricket. Despite the ongoing World
Cup Cricket which is drawing record number of eyeballs, here is my blog on
Bollywood in deference to alphabetical order of suggested themes.
The blog is
about the iconic song Lag Jaa Gale, but before discussing the song, I
must say a few words about two towering talents of Bollywood – Lata Mangeshkar
and Sadhana Shivdasani, and about the film Woh Kaun Thi (1964).
Lata Mangeshkar: meri awaaz
hi pehchan hai
Lata
Mangeshkar was born on 28 September, 1929 at Indore. Upon her demise in 2022,
MP government observed for this ‘Daughter of Madhya Pradesh’ a two-day state
mourning, and announced setting up of a music academy, and a museum in her honour
at Indore. Her statue would also be installed at Indore.
Lata Ji, the
adorable Koel of India, was conferred Dada Saheb Phalke award in recognition of
her remarkable contribution to music and film, and Bharat Ratna, India’s highest
civilian honour. She recorded her first song in 1942 at the age of 13 and her
last song - Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki- in 2019 as a tribute to the Indian Army
and the nation. A phenomenal singing career of eight decades during which she
recorded more than 30000 songs in 36 Indian languages! No other singer in the
world has recorded as many songs!
In an
interview in 2021, Lata Ji acknowledged that Gulzar’s poignant words meri
awaaz hi pehchan hai from the song ‘Naam Gum Jaayega’ aptly described her
musical journey and identity.
Sadhana Shivdasani
Sadhana’s
distinctive hairstyle in Love In Simla (1960) became a rage and came to
be known as "Sadhana Cut". In the sixties and seventies, many girls sported
Sadhana cut, just as after Aradhana (1969) most young men adopted Rajesh
Khanna hair-style, and after Bobby (1973) most adolescent girls would be
seen in a Bobby-print frock, though not as short as Dimple’s.
Sadhana was
the lead heroine in several hits, superhits, and blockbusters including Mere
Mehboob (1963), Woh Kaun Thi (1964), Rajkumar (1964), Arzoo
(1965), and Waqt (1965).
Woh Kaun Thi
Woh Kaun Thi, a Black & White film, was a thriller,
the first of Raj Khosla’s mystery trilogy to be followed by Mera Saaya (remember the hit-song - jhoomka gira re?), and
Anita which became so popular that Sadhana was also named the ‘mystery girl.’
Nargis in Anhonee
(1952) was the first Bollywood heroine to play a double role, Sadhana in Woh
Kaun Thi was possibly the second. Hema Malini’s Seeta aur Geeta, Sri
Devi’s Chaalbaaz, etc. would come later.
This performance
opposite Manoj Kumar (Harikishan Giri Goswami, graduate of Hindu College!)
earned Sadhana her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress.
Helen and Twist
If you remember Helen (Helen Ann Richardson Khan) for her quintessential cabaret
item number Piya Tu Ab Toh Aja (Caravan:1971), you would be delighted to watch a
very different Helen and her elegant ‘Twist’ in this film.
Some claim that ‘Twist’ originated in Congo and came to America via
slavery. This dance form favoured by the youth became a sensation in America in
the early sixties despite some critics dubbing it as too provocative. How quick
Bollywood was to adapt this energetic and seductive dance form. A chirpy, ebullient dance number: Tiki Riki Tiki Riki Thakori by Mohd
Rafi and Asha Bhonsle has been filmed on Helen and Manoj Kumar performing a charming duet. How lissom
Helen was and how elegantly she dressed!
When did I first watch this movie?
Possibly in 1972, as guest of a classmate at University College of Engineering,
Burla (now Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology) under the open sky, for the college had no auditorium. Or was
it at the ramshackle Prakash Talkies, Burla, a suffocating gas-chamber of bidi
fume, and floor liberally coloured with paan spit?
But the film was enchanting, and the laboured ‘explanation’ at the end did
nothing to eliminate the spooky thrill created since the beginning till the end
of the film.
Watching a mystery-movie twice?
Is it possible to watch a mystery-movie a second time? You are free to your
own opinion, but I just did that. First time was to unravel the mystery, the
second time, after five decades, was to relish the spooky thrill even when there
was no mystery.
Lag Ja Gale
While naina
barse was the opening song and was repeated several times in the film to
create an aura of mystery around the heroine; Lag Jaa Gale, played only
once, became hugely popular.
Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha are unlikely to have watched this film, and would be unaware of the context. The song was written, composed, sung, and used in the film as a siren song as per the demand of the plot. However, the song transcended its limited context and as years went by came to be known as the signature song for love, longing, and loss. About YOLO. Live, Love, and savour the moment, for who knows the future, now you are here, next you are no more.
This classic song by Lata Mangeshkar was written by Raja Mehndi Ali Khan, and the music was composed by Madan Mohan Kohli.
Link for the
song (Source: Ultra Bollywood):
https://youtu.be/TFr6G5zveS8?si=A6e7VgmggZwXLyLQ
Sadhana’s enigmatic,
enticing performance deftly balancing seductiveness with the sinister, certainly
contributed to the all-time popularity of this song. A critic raved about her
"intriguing Mona Lisa-like smile".
In Indian
musicology, a song or geet becomes fulfilled only when it becomes sangeet –
song accompanied by music and dance!
Writing a
tribute in The Guardian for Lata Ji after her demise in 2022, Saima Mir listed
her top ten Lata songs of which Lag Jaa Gale was No. 1! Saima, you are a
kindred soul, and our tastes in music are similar!
If you have
ever been in love, savoured the exquisite beauty and fragrance of that delicate
flower, and suffered the unbearable agony of its transitoriness; you must also
be a fan of this golden song.
Why write about Lag Jaa Gale?
Why, indeed, write about a song from a 1964 film that I watched in 1972? A little
‘mystery’ there.
Last
evening, a little before going to bed, I opened Amazon Music app on my phone
and requested Alexa to play this iconic song. The hauntingly melodious song began playing
but stopped midway with the screen displaying ‘No internet.’ Maybe, my internet
provider decided that it was 10 PM and time for me to go to bed. Like a good
boy, I went to bed after disabling wi-fi in my phone’s setting coz I had read
somewhere that wi-fi in bedroom could disturb sleep.
I woke up
startled by the lilting siren song. It was 12.20AM! I silently cursed Alexa,
paused the song, and went back to sleep. Thank God, spouse was not woken up by
the song. She would have demanded an explanation about why I was playing that
song at midnight.
I woke up at
4 AM as usual, connected my phone to the charger, and read something while
sipping green-leaf tea without milk or sugar. Lag Ja Gale … my phone began
wailing plaintively again – at 4.17 AM. Strange, who’s playing this prank on me
– Amazon Music, Alexa, or my phone?
But how could
my phone play the song when I had disabled wi-fi? Did Amazon Music, at Alexa’s
behest, download my favourite song so as not to disappoint me next when I asked
for it? Or, was Alexa just doing her job, having noted that I had not had the
pleasure of listening to the full song last night, she was just being helpful!
I plan to
probe further to unravel the mystery.
***
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Prof. P.M.Nayak
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