Songs to Remember - III

Sometimes there are nights that are very different from the others.... some nights are more lonelier, some nights more painful.... And for every night that's different, Hindi Cinema has a gem of a song. Today I will speak of a night that's pregnant with frustration and pain and loneliness and a gnawing realization that dares to spill open a heart.

From the film, Ram Aur Shyam (1967), this was one of the few last Naushad gems that would enthral you. Undoubtedly Naushad is a giant among Hindi film composers, in fact he is more than a giant - he's a colossus and some would say a demi-God for his compositions - and indeed he fits the bill but this is one of the songs taken from the fag end of his composing career and you can still feel the magic of Naushad in what is a definitive song on a man's depressed circumstance.

As expected, the gem is in the voice of the great Mohammed Rafi - who else could bring the sublime divine to a collection of words? Only one man - Mohammed Rafi

The song begins with a beautiful incantation - The singer in his inimitable and strong taan extols the virtue of the night that has become kind of different from the others - This may also be so because of the fact that today, the singer himself is going through a very difficult situation in his own life - this is a night that he feared for all his night but finally the night has come and the singer, being the Man he is, has to take stock of the situation.

Ye Raat Jaise Dulhan Ban Gayee Charaagon Se
Karungaa Ujaalaa Main Dil Ke Daagon Se

The singer can feel the joy in the air - that the night that's different has become like a bride by the playful luminosity of the small candles that burn in the wind. As if seized with the emotion in the wind, the lover (only those who can love can sing) and understanding the enormity of the night on his simple heart, he says that today he will also spread light in the environment, even though it may be the cost of his own heart

Aaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki Salaami Le Le
Kal Teri Bazm Se Deewaana Chalaa Jaayegaa
Shammaa Rah Jaayegi Parwaana Chalaa Jaayegaa

And then having stated the inevitable, he finally asks the night that has brought so much grief and pain to his heart to 'please' accept his regards - He knows that the night is not happy with him - that his emotional outbursts have hurt the night irreversibly and so he tells the night to bear with him for some time more - and then he puts the pain of his heart in his words - The Candle (the beloved) will burn forever but the moth (The Lover) will finally take a bow

Listen to Rafi as he puts the pain in the last two lines - the way he emphasizes on 'Kal' and then on the way he lets the last line go softly

Teri Mehfil, Tere Jalwe Ho Mubaarak Tujh Ko
Teri Ulfat Se Nahi Aaj Bhi Inkaar Mujhe
Tera Maykhaana Salaamat Rahe Ae Jaana-E-Wafaa
Muskurakar Tu Zara Dekh Le Ek Baar Mujhe
Phir Tere Pyaar Ka Mastaana Chalaa Jaayegaa

Only a lover who has loved truly and deeply knows the pain inherent in the words that have been used. No lover who knows what he's talking can ever say that the beloved has hurt him. Here too, the lover still loves and respects the beloved and wishes that her splendour and beauty may not go undiminished - He knows that the one he loved still is worth all the love that he has for her in his deeply-aching heart. He wants her happiness to remain forever and even as he leaves, there's nothing he would want more than to see her smile at him just that once.

The smile of the beloved has it's own value - what does a lover want more from life than the fact that his beloved is happy and is smiling - What can be greater than that happiness; what can be more sought after then that great moment?

Main Ne Chahaa Ke Bataa Doon Main Haqeeqat Apnee
Tu Ne Lekin Naa Mera Raaz-E-Mohabbat Samajha
Mere Uljhan, Mere Halaat Yahaan Tak Pahunche
Teri Aankhon Ne Mere Pyaar Ko Bhi Nafarat Samajha
Ab Teri Raah Se Beganaa Chalaa Jaayegaa

And now, he slowly delves into his own frustrations - into his own pains, into his own grief - Imagine a lover who is being hated by the beloved for whatever maybe the reasons - Imagine a lover who is unable to explain the sanctity of his love to the one he loves the most - Imagine a lover who has failed in the eyes of the one whom he loved - Worse still imagine a lover who has 'fallen' in the eyes of the one he loves!

Only one who has gone through this torture knows what it feels like - only one who has been through it, knows what it feels like

Imagine being forced to walk out from the paths of the one you love, like a stranger and one will understand the pathos and the pain

Tu Mera Saath Na De Raah-E-Mohabbat Mein Sanam
Chalte Chalte Main Kisee Raah Pe Mud Jaaoongaa
Kahkashaan, Chaand, Sitaaren, Tere Chumenge Kadam
Tere Raste Ki Main Ek Dhool Hoon, Ud Jaaoongaa
Saath Mere Meraa Afsanaa Chalaa Jaayegaa

Strangely, and as is expected, within his heart he still pines for that love but finally coming to the inevitability of the situation, he comforts, more himself than anyone else that he will be able to move on - he knows he cannot still he tries to comfort himself, knowing well within himself that the loss is all his and the beloved, being as lovable as she is, she will easily be better-off without him in his life..... He knows the condition of his broken-heart but he also knows that a broken heart is sometimes better than breaking someone else's heart - especially if that someone happens to be the one you love

These are among songs to die for; these are songs to live by.

I hope everyone learns this fact well that one's own heart is never as important as the one that is the cynosure of one's heart

Love in Cinema - My Thoughts on Kaaghaz Ke Phool (1959)

What does Man want most in life? What does Man work for? What is Man's biggest desire? What is the thing that makes Man's life a better life and what is it the lack of which destroys Man's life?

Man is Man only due to love - the only thing that Man desires is Appreciation for Self and Love for his heart - The greatest successes in life and the biggest treasures of riches in this world cannot take away Man from what he wants the most - Love and a sense of belonging. And often this is what Man fails to get in a lifetime - he may get a family but not familiarity, he may get a spouse but not satisfaction, he may live but not know what life is all about and he may spend his entire life living a life of compromise thinking that it's love that sustains him when the reality is that it's not love that sustains him but his mind that forces him to see love even in mundane acts of human consideration - since the heart and the mind have to justify their existence even the untruth is often dressed as truth and accepted as one

Nothing destroys Man and his life more than the knowledge of the fact that what he considers as love is nothing but a feeling of compromise and worse days are ahead in case he find love but due to social sanctions is forced to disown it.

Sometimes all that one wants from life is a second chance - and sometimes all that life will not give you is a second chance!

One keeps pleading and requesting, begging for that elusive chance to set things corrected but Life looks at him and then looks through him and the doomed, unfortunate Man slowly but surely drowns in the sea of his own frustrations and sorrows, defeated and devastated, not let down by the struggle of life but the cruelty of life that decides the fate of Man on a single throw of the dice - a dice that's often loaded against Man right from inception.

This is not an imaginary statement. Often in life, we see merit becoming an also-ran in the race of life and mediocrity emerging as the surprise winner. How many times have we seen Man being destroyed due to a single throw of the dice? As a poet remarked about the power of fate over reality of life:

Zamaane Ne Dekhe Jawaan Kaise Kaise
Zameen Kha Gayee Aasmaan Kaise Kaise

But what do you say about someone whose own decisions, his own acts of omission and commission become a cause of his troubles, sorrows and frustrations. What do you say about someone who in a moment of emotional innocence destroys his life forever and should now forever be at the receiving end of a torturous fate - one that has been the gift of one wrong step. So aptly is it said for a man of that wretched circumstance:

Ek Qadam Galat Uttha Tha Zauq-E-Yaar Mein
Zindagi Tamam Umr Humein Dhoondhti Rahi

Kaaghaz Ke Phool talks about such errors in life that became a millstone in the life and times of people. A classic, this movie which was among the first to delve deep into the cinema world is the first film to speak about lost moments, an erroneous judgement and the destruction of many lives at the altar of one error.

It is a movie that talks about the life of two individuals who have emerged bigger than life and who have found out that they are the only life for each other but still are forced to destroy their own life because they do not have the power or I would say the guts to take life in their own hands and change it the way they want it to change. Indeed, in a way the loss is a result of their own silence and refusal to stand up and change their fortune but it's only the few who can change the fortunes - the brave, lucky few whereas the others are the ones who are changed by the future itself.

After Pyaasa, Guru Dutt delivers another masterpiece of a performance. As Suresh Sinha, the director whose personal and professional lives come together to create a mess for him and his career and most importantly his life, Guru Dutt delivers a tour-de-performance. His fall from the epitome of success to his final destination - death - is all a story of a man's lost battle against fate and Guru shows admirable constraint while allowing for the character's fall into oblivion. This was a performance that could have failed and failed totally but Guru proves that such complex characterizations do not deter an actor of his calibre.

It's known to all that a frustrating and downward spiralling personal life can create havoc in the life and times of the most strongest and sturdiest of people but the manner in which Guru has performed his role is beyond comparison.

A man whose deep emotional attachment with a woman other than his 'legal' wife has not been reciprocated for the sake of social mores and rules, a man whose wife has become more of a cause of his personal destruction, a man who is unable to come to terms with the loss of love - this is what Suresh Sinha stands for and Suresh is not alone in this quest, there are many who stand like him and destroy themselves for the sake of a love that continues to evade them and refuses to accept them.


Waheeda Rehman as Shanti, the woman whose emotional and personal attachment to a 'married' man creates a destructive effect on her lover plays her part with brilliant restraint. The love and attachment between Suresh and Shanti is obvious; the care and respect they hold for each other natural; the emotions and the feelings true but it's her failure to commit that creates a cascading effect on the life of the one she loves, finally destroying him completely at the altar of frustration and anguish.

It would have been easier for one to destroy this feeling and make it uni-dimensional but Waheeda colours her character with a truth that cannot be forgotten; one does not hate her for her decisions since she is not guilty; she is only weak - her weakness may be a cause for the destruction for the other but she is not responsible for it. How can a victim and her actions be responsible even if they create a vacuum that engulfs and destroys another?

What pains us today is to observe that the love the two held for each other could be allowed to become a plaything of a society that never understood that's it primary function is to allow for human love and dignity and not to destroy love that is the cause of all happiness in this world.

Kaaghaz Ke Phool may appear to be a story of a successful director and his equally successful actress and the relationship they share and how it's impacted by the changing equations of the industry, where selfishness rules the roost but if all the trappings of the circumstances and the conditions be removed, at the heart of the story is a simple love story of two people who loved each other more than anything and yet could not commit their love leading to a life-long pain for one and the end of life for the other.

Like flowers made of paper, that have long life but no existence, so is it with people in the industry - they have emotions but have learnt to kill them; they have feelings but they learnt to smother them. They have a heart but they know that for them it's not more than a pump; it doesn't bleed; it doesn't cry - it's a heart of paper

Veena in her role as Bina, Suresh's wife is too uni-dimensional for comfort. One is unable to either sympathize with her or to understand her reasons for her attitude which borders lunacy at times. Her character-development is one of the weakest and I would say personally the only weak spot of an otherwise robust and strong script. Then it's possible that it was necessary to show the estrangement of the two in such decisive colours but it would have been great, if one was allowed access within her mind.

Johnny Walker is effective at times with his comic timing intact. However, there are times when you feel that the track is laboured and could have been done away with. Unlike Pyaasa, where Johnny Walker is a part and parcel of the film, except a few places where Johnny is instrumental in moving the movie ahead, the role that had a lot of promise is wasted.

The only thing that comes out of his characterization is that many a times, the voice of reason is often forced under the noise of tradition - so although Johnny approves of Guru and supports him; he himself often finds himself drowned under the force of opposition by his family and society alike. Bigger is his error, since a man who cannot stand for truth cannot stand for anything else. When life shall decide the final call of error and appreciation - it will be men and women like him who will be considered to have failed for they could have gone beyond the impossible and done the impossible but they would not; since their fear for their own self-esteem was often much higher than their love for the right things.

Baby Naaz has been given a responsible role, much beyond her age and performs it admirably. As a young child, who dreams of getting her parents together and is oblivious of the grim realities of adult life, Naaz as Pammi delivers an exceptional performance. Her's is a role that shows how young minds can be corrupted and mislead at the altar of social realities and as such, she performs her role with an earnestness that cannot be forgotten.

The music of the film can be described in one sentence as - the cry of an anguished heart from the depths of one's feelings. S D Burman as usual is brilliant and puts another claim to being the greatest of the greatest of the composers ever to put forth their wares in the market.

One often feels that the songs could have been better had the legendary Sahir - S D relationship continued and although Kaifi does give us a score of beautiful songs, the songs are not a notch above the songs of Pyaasa which to my mind alongwith Guide is among the top two musical scores of the industry.

Still the songs of this movie stand hands and shoulders above many others due to two timeless gems - one, among the greatest songs ever sung by Geeta Dutt and the other, one of the most beautiful and scintillating songs ever by the 'Voice of God' - Mohammed Rafi

The song that is the pick of the album has to be 'Bicchde Sabhi Bari Bari' by Mohammed Rafi - only Rafi can bring power to a song that is so depressing as this. Just catch the lyrics of the song and you will know what I mean:

Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari, Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari
Kya Leke Mile Ab Duniyaa Se, Aasoo Ke Siwaa Kuchh Paas Nahi
Yaa Phool Hi Phool Thhey Daaman Mein, Yaa Kaanton Kee Bhi Aas Nahi
Matlab Ki Duniyaa Hai Saari, Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari.....

This is a song that pains you utmost and on the top of it is Rafi and his lilting vocals that bring not only grief and anguish but also a sense of loss while listening to the song

And of course, you have Geeta and her inimitable song 'Waqt Ne Kiyaa Kya' to put pain in the minds of the painless, tears in the eyes of the tearless and anguish in the hearts of the heartless

Be-Qaraar Dil Iss Tarha Mile
Jis Tarah Kabhi Hum Judaa Naa Thhey
Tum Bhi Kho Gaye; Hum Bhi Kho Gaye
Ek Raah Par Chal Ke Do Qadam

What else can signify that pain, that heartache; that tear, that anguish more than these words - "Tum Bhi Kho Gaye, Hum Bhi Kho Gaye" - that's what love is all about - the feeling, the pain, the understanding and the song - just too good

Guru Dutt in his last official directorial effort is majestic as ever - however, the strains that his relationship with Waheeda were making on his relationship with Geeta can be felt in the movie - there are times when the pace slackens and there are distractions at times but on the whole, the direction is fabulous - the cinematography by V K Murthy is faultless and there are many gems of scenes that make you go wah-wah over the great director that Guru was, is and shall always remain

Do watch this movie - it is important for it deals with love in it's pristine nature. As Gulzar would say

Hum Ne Dekhi Hai Inn Aankhon Se Mehekti Khushboo
Haath Se Choo Ke Innhein Rishton Ka Ilzaam Na Do
Ek Ehsaas Hai Ye, Ruh Se Mehsoos Karo
Pyaar Ko Pyaar Hi Rehne Do; Koi Naam Na Do

A movie crafted in love; a movie made in love; a movie sculpted in love; And yes, it's true flowers of Paper exist forever but their life has no charm; their beauty no intoxication

The Father and The Son - My Thoughts on Shakti (1982)

Shakti is a special movie - one that is both the bridge that unites two different eras of Hindi Cinema and also a chasm that seperates one illustrious era from another; so in a way, Shakti is both the harbinger of new tidings from an era that's approaching and the last stand of the final glorious epoch of a golden era.

Although, it's true that the sparks of the coming era had started illuminating the horizons more than 9 years before this event with Zanjeer and Abhimaan in 1973 and the past would still give off illustrious sparks for 9 years more with Karma in 1986 and Saudagar in 1991, this is the moment that can be said to define the confluence point of the two distinct eras.

The first era was the era of the greatest actor ever to grace the screens of Indian Cinema - Dilip Kumar and the second era was the one dominated by the most able follower of the great Dilip Kumar - Amitabh Bachchan - and what was more interesting was to see these two peerless and matchless performers together in the role of an estranged father and son.

A father-son relationship is always special and different from all the other relationships in both the scope and nature of the relationship. It’s a relationship built on the edifice of mutual hopes and aspirations, aims and ambitions and bounded by awe and respect on one hand and hopes and ambitions on the other. The son is the legacy of the father;for the father is the clay that nurtures the mind of the son. The son, then by corollary is the final shape of the efforts of the father - where the father is the sculptor, the son is the statue - the Statue shines in the world as a reminder to the world of the art and talent of the father.

Like the Taj Mahal which is in spirit both a monument to the creator's desire and the sculptor's imagination, alongwith being the monument of love that it is, the son is also the stamp of eternity of a father's dreams and aspirations - or at least some part of what a father may rightly or wrongly believe. Who remembers the name of the sculptor? Hardly any. Who remembers the sculpture? Almost all

What can be then more amazing than to witness a son repudiate the philosophy of a father!

As the poet, Sir Mohammed Iqbal declared once:

Baap Ka Ilm Naa Bete Ko Agar Azbar Ho,
To Pisar Qaabil-E-Meeraas-E-Pidar Kyoonkar Ho?

Every son looks up to his father with awe and respect and hopes to replicate in word and deed the example of his own father. The father is the first role model the son ever had and hence the faith and belief in him is complete and innocent. None is more unfortunate than the father who fails to keep his respect intact for than we have a son disillusioned, a father devastated and a home destroyed.

Equally, a father looks at a son as one who would carry forward his legacy, as someone who will realise those dreams and ambitions, which he could not …. One who will take his hand and proclaim to the world that he could have done a lot more than he could but could not due to reasons far beyond his powers. Nothing is more devastating than the sight of a father who carries in his heart the grief of a son lost due to death or any other reason. Indeed, there is no sight more painful than the pain of a young son on the old, frail shoulders of the father.....

What then, if the father and son are forced to move on lines, wherein destiny has nothing but confrontation for them and nothing else? What if both the father and the son are forced by life and destiny to confront each other for their own values and feelings rather than complement each other in their own ways? Indeed, one can understand the emotions and the frustrations of both the beings involved in this high-stakes, no gain drama - and of course the loser is often the woman caught between the two - the mother of one and the wife of another!

Unlike Hollywood, wherein a father-son relationship has been the plot behind many interesting classics, very few films in India have tried their hands at tacking this love-hate relationship. Shakti (1982) is one of the few films that have tackled this aspect of life beautifully. Shakti is the story of a father and a son caught in a cesspool of duty to the family and duty to the community, commitment to family and commitment to duty and above all the expression of love to a son and to an ideal.

It boasts of one of the greatest coups of Indian Cinema. For the first and last time, we have the greatest actors of Indian Cinema – Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan pitted against each other. Not surprisingly, since such great coups requires brilliant and inspired characterizations, strong and well-defined roles and a powerful script; sadly, the lack of such scripts is a lacuna that's deeply imbibed in the Hindi Film Industry

Look at the actors -

One – the King of Tragedy; other the Angry young Man. One – The Emperor of Acting; the other the Big B. The end result is a movie that stands heads and shoulders above all, in terms of performance quality. Where Amitabh scores with flamboyance, Dilip scores with understatement…. Where Amitabh performs with intensity, Dilip performs with depth and maturity.

Both of them complement each other completely in terms of loyalty and integrity to the character, making the confrontation all the more worthwhile. The matching of minds and understanding of each other’s requirements of both space and silence has been perfected to an art and it’s no surprise that both the actors appear to be in compete harmony with each other – something only possible with those actors who are comfortable with their art to a point of perfection and not insecure about their potential. It’s unfortunate that no other director ever had the guts to match these two perfect actors ever again on screen and no script-writer could think of a script to get these two titans together again.

Dilip Kumar as Ashwini Kumar towers over all with a performance that fetched him his 8^th Filmfare Best Actor Award (the highest number of Best Actor Awards in Hindi Cinema). The role of a father who has fallen in the eyes of his son, the role of a man whose redemption lies in his standing in the way of his own son’s aspirations and who is forced to save the very person who killed his wife asks for a lot more than what an average actor, nay person too, can deliver.

Dilip, the thespian proves why he is still considered as the greatest actor to ever perform on the Indian screen with a performance too scintillating to even comment. Although he stands out in each and every scene, among his best scenes are the ones in which he tries out to reason out the reasons behind his losing his son to his adversaries, the climax (Amitabh’s death scene) and the funeral scene. Each and every scene of this actor conveys the truth of the expression “ Still waters run deep”. Throughout, he is like an ocean waiting for a tsunami to be unleashed.

I still remember the pain and frustration inherent in the following lines of dialogue after losing his son forever to the hands of his opponents and the depth and anguish in the actor's eyes as he says it all:

Kucchh Log Aaye, Mere Bete Ke Boli Lagaai Aur Mere Bete Ko Meri Aankhon Ke Saamne Kharid Ke Le Gaye.... Aur Sujata Main Kucch Na Kar Saka

Only an actor of Dilip's calibre could have done the impossible - only an actor of his calibre could have said these lines while sitting in a chair and the camera not even facing him and still had the desired impact - only an actor of Dilip Kumar's calibre.

Amitabh Bachchan as the son (Vijay) shakes you out of your slumber. The anger and agony of a son, who has lost faith in his father is so powerfully conveyed that you cannot but marvel at the man behind the performance. Although, he scores in every scene, few of his outstanding scenes are the one where he’s trying to explain the reason behind his displeasure to his wife, the funeral scene and the final death scene. No lesser actor could have brought into broad relief the feeling of disenchantment as portrayed by this great actor. Right from the opening scene, where he kicks a can purposelessly on the streets, you know you are confronted not with a person but a boiling volcano with the tip intact.

There is a dialogue in the film wherein he's trying to explain his stand to his wife and the dialogues are just awesome

Mere Baap Ki Do Biwiyaan Hai .... Ek Meri Maa; Doosra Vardi ... Ek Ka Bata Main Hoon; Doosre Ka Kanoon ..... Mere Iss Sauteli Maa Aur Sautele Bhai Ne Meri Maa Ko Bandi Bana Diya Hai

The pain of a son who hates his father but cannot stop loving him too is not an easy one to perform and only Amitabh could be strong enough to take this burden on his shoulders. A great performance, undoubtedly.

Raakhee as the mother caught behind the father and son gives one of the best performances in her life. In a role that threatened to be destroyed or atleast marginalized due to two super-actors, Raakhee surprisingly not only manages to hold her own in front of both the thespians but also actually impresses with a performance as restrained as any and as eloquent as any.

Her most memorable scene is the one, where she tries to convince both son and husband of the futility of their antagonistic actions. The sense of authority in the scene wherein she comes to Amitabh and is trying to pack her bags, only to be ticked off and the bewilderment in her eyes is just unbelievable. No one thought that Raakhee could stand up to the twin titans of the Indian Marquee but Raakhee does not only stand, she stands tall. Unfortunately it took a long time for Indian Cinema to recognize the talented actress that Raakhee is and still she has hardly been utilized to her maximum potential.

Smita Patil as Vijay’s wife is commendable. Although, the director has failed to do justice to her calibre and employed her in a more subdued fashion, Smita is the perfect counterfoil to Amitabh’s intensity. Her restrained performance ensures that she is noted in a galaxy of actors, however the heart pines for more. Smita could have definitely been utilized more but for the fact that the film was more geared up to show the clash of the titans and I personally think she could have been utilized better.

Amrish Puri is all meanness personified whereas Kulbhushan Kharbanda is competent in his performance. Anil Kapoor impresses in his cameo, giving glimpses of the nascent future in his earnest performance while Ashok Kumar is as usual effervescent in his own style.

Salim-Javed come up trumps with yet another classic to their name. Although, the film may lack the intensity of Deewar, the success of Sholay or the depth of Trishul, what stands out in this movie is maturity. No other movie of recent times has displayed the same level of maturity in their scenes as Shakti. Their greatest success lies in creating a movie that could match Dilip's depth with Amitabh's fury; Dilip's maturity with Amitabh's rage; Dilip's intensity with Amitabh's pain; many have tried thereafter but none have succeeded. This is where the duo stand apart from their fraternity.

Ramesh Sippy impresses yet again with this beautiful movie on a father and a son. It was no mean task to manage a film with two towering personalities but to his credit, Ramesh has done a great job. In fact, this film has proved that Sholay was no flash in the pan and the director knows how to make a film worth its name in gold.

On a more cautious note, R D Burman disappoints. Although the film has a few hummable numbers, there is nothing to do justice to his calibre and his name. This is not to state that the music is bad but then with a talent like R D and a past record of hits like his, I refuse to accept any mediocre compositions from him. Nothing is expected from R D short of excellence and so when I see anything that's even a shade lighter, I feel that it could have been better. Having said that, I like the semi-ghazal "Humne Sanam Ko Khat Likha", ably sung by Asha and the Kishore - Lata duet "Jaane Kaise Kab Kahan Iqraar Ho Gaya"

In short, a movie for all who want to see a titanic explosion of performances on screen