The Man Who Loved Too Much - My Thoughts on Devdas (1956)

Today I wish to speak of a film that often leaves me speechless…. The love that’s depicted, the pain that’s shown, the sufferings that are immersed in that film never made me gutsy enough to understand it or to see it without feeling the pain or the suffering myself….. The film was Devdas and I consider it the greatest of all films made by Bimal Roy other than maybe Bandini. In fact, I would rank it among the top 50 films in Hindi Cinema ever….

On love, the sound of love brings pleasure to the face of every man. Its resonant tones are said to be the perfect remedy to a depressed soul. Many a great poet and writer has extolled the virtues of love and called it divine, heavenly and attributed miracles to the feeling of love. It has been called the harbinger of happiness, the messenger of good times and the reason for celebrations. But sadly and unfortunately like all good things, anything taken in excess is harmful; even something as divine as love.

It’s strange but if love has the power to turn a beast into a human being, it also has the power to put a total end to all things humane. If love has been the ambassador for peace, it has also been the cause for war. Love if requited, can be a boon as sweet as ambrosia, but if unrequited, can also be as poisonous as cyanide and can take one to imminent doom.

You know what, I have always had this ongoing feud with my friends on love. Why? Simply because I could not understand love.

I often thought and thought hard of what it meant to be in love…. Why people loved and what was the need for that love? Why would someone gladly accept the deepest pains and the most depressing of all frustrations for the sake of someone else? Why would the love for someone who would never be able to reciprocate your love make you be ready to destroy yourself completely to the altar of that love?

The question was universal – the answer surprisingly was not! It’s subjective and differs from person to person but one thing remains constant as a great poet once has said:

Ye Ishq Nahin Aasaan; Bas Itna Samajh Lijiye
Ek Aag Ka Dariya Hai Aur Doob Ke Jaana Hai!

I have always laughed on love; maybe because it never crossed my paths and when it did, often in the end I would find out that it was never meant to be. Somehow I was always immune of that feeling … maybe because I always felt that it’s better to be loved and lost and than to have loved and lost. And what stops one from moving on? Why should someone not move on? Why should one stay back in eternity for the sake of someone who could not due to many reasons not stay back and be with you?

To be frank, initially, I hated the characterization of Devdas and felt it to be the most depressing and hopeless character created ever. I considered him to be nothing but a loser – a hopeless one and I was not prepared to accept it.

How could someone love so deeply that he could destroy his self for the sake of that person and still be so ruthless to that love? How could one accept the love of one would could die for his love but run away from her at the time when she needed him the most? Isn’t this love nothing but a ploy? Isn’t it only a mask on the face of a calculating, ruthless and cruel man? I did feel so but somehow the pain of the heart makes it so difficult for us to accept that facet; the way the man destroyed himself makes us feel that “No, that was not his intention”……. However much I may dislike Devdas, somewhere I am drawn close to him…..

Devdas is not any ordinary man but somewhere that man exists within me, within you and within everyone who has ever loved anyone even if that love was for a very short period… even a day; but the greatness and the sadness of that tragic hero lies in his being able to stay true to that moment.

Devdas deals with the effects of an unrequited love on a person not strong enough to confront it or move on in life. Never before and never after has a hero’s role been depicted as darkly and with so much of a defeatist attitude. The character of Devdas is loosely modeled on the Grecian tragedy heroes who suffer on account of destiny and therein lies the vulnerability of the character. Unlike the Shakespearean heroes, Devdas is not a creation of his own errors but suffers since he fails to connect to a changing milieu. On a superficial level, Devdas may appear to be the story of a loser, a man who lost in love and could never accept that he had lost. But actually, it’s the story of every man who has failed in some attempt and refused to give it another shot for the fear of an encore. But strangely enough, though he suffered and suffered alone, to some extent he himself was a reason for that suffering; not because he could not love enough but because he could never rebel enough. What stopped Devdas from rebelling? His love and that was the greatness of his love…..

Indeed the women in his life were stronger than him, indeed they were more independent than him; indeed they could move on, while Devdas stood transfixed in his immutability but what finally makes him strong and his love pure is the fact that he stayed on….. he could have accepted the single-minded devotion of Chandramukhi but would that have been love or would that have been a compromise…. To the simple mind of a loser…. It was better to love and die loving than to compromise on his love….

The great Majrooh once said:

Jo Unki Tamanna Hai, Barbaad Ho Jaa
Ae Dil Mohabbat Unse Nibha De
Marte Hain Yunh Marne Waale Jahaan Mein
Unhe Tu Raah-E-Mohabbat Sikha De

And to no one does it apply more than to Devdas……

The film is based on a novel written by the great Sarat Chandra and like all other works of the great writer, his success lies in creating a character that not only envelops us in a blanket of empathy but also reminds us about some incidents of a past better forgotten.

Dilip Kumar as Devdas stamps his name on the role. One cannot imagine any other actor in that role and that is the hallmark of the performance. To put it succinctly, Dilip is Devdas and Devdas is Dilip. Never has any character been so closely identified with an actor and that is the thespian’s greatest achievement, no, not even Anarkali!

The tragedy king has scaled new heights of emotions with his performance in his movie and his ‘death’ scene is a three-course instruction in acting to wannabe actors. Watching him drunk, moving down the streets of Calcutta (Kolkata), trying to remember and simultaneously erase the memories of his old paramour and you will understand why there cannot be any who can challenge his performance as Devdas.

One another scene, which deserves special mention, is the scene, wherein he’s trying to meet Paro for one last time before he dies. The agony of a person hopelessly lost in love is to be seen to be believed. No doubt, he penetrates your psyche and makes you feel his frustration, agony and misery all the way to the end. The pain that he exudes when he states in his imitable style : “Woh Shaadi Ki Raah Pe Chali Gayi; Main Barbaadi Ki Raah Pe Chala Gaya”…. And I can feel a silent tear dropping from my eyes for a grief that I can understand and feel with the deepest of passions….. the pain and suffering is all there, the hurt is all there but also is the fact that the man is determined to punish his own self to the extents possible….

When Devdas says “Kaun Kambakht Bhoolne Ke Liye Peeta Hai; Main To Iss Liye Peeta Hoon Ki Mujhe Yaad Rahe” – one can feel the extent of his love, the sacrifice he’s ready to make, his weakness at not being able to break the age-old caste and community taboos but his resolve and determination to punish his own self with death for that weakness – and therein lies the love of Devdas – Trampled by caste and community considerations but exalted by the depth of it’s purity and the destruction it brings on himself….. yet another scene that one cannot forget is one wherein Devdas loses his cool and hits Paro with his fishing line in such a manner that it mars her beauty. One has to see that one scene to understand the pain of the actor.

Suchitra Sen as Paro performs her role with a quiet dignity. In the role of a woman, who sacrifices her love at the altar of her family and who in a moment of misguided vengeance throws away her love only to repent later, Suchitra is mindblowing. This was a role that had several severe contradictions and to perform the role as well as to ensure that the audience reciprocated its feelings was no small task but Suchitra handles the same with complete finesse. The scene where she tries to force Devdas into eloping with her and again the scene where she tries to reprimand him on his drinking habits are a classic case of intuitive acting. Suchitra was always a big name in Bengali cinema and it’s unfortunate that despite such a brilliant tour-de-force performance she failed to create for herself a niche in Hindi Cinema. One scene that I can never forget in the movie and that shows the truth of their love is when in a symbolic gesture of emotional duress, after hearing of Devdas death, she sprints to the wall to catch a last glance of the dying man only to be stopped by the custodians of the Samaj in the form of a closing door. Therein lies her tragedy…. To love but not to be able to accept it and therein lies her side of the suffering; to have everything and still be with nothing.

Of course she is arrogant, of course she is egoistic but she is still a woman and more than anything a woman who can love……

Vyjayanthimala as Chandramukhi, the courtesan with a heart of gold is absolutely divine. The role of Chandramukhi is a difficult one to perform since the hero’s, as well as the author’s fascination with Paro hardly gives the role, the forum to put across its feelings in a firm and convincing manner. The actress however seems unfazed by this handicap and astonishingly manages to steal the thunder from the author-backed role of Paro. Her’s is a role of a woman pining away in silence for a man - enamoured irreversibly with another woman, who cannot be achieved - but still refusing to accept her loss to that shadow. A role, later apprised by many actresses in later movies, it’s noteworthy that none could bring to their performance the purity and nobility of character that transcends a love to divine proportions and which is the hallmark of Vyjayanthimala’s performance. When she sings : Jisse Tu Qubool Kar Le” you can feel the frustration of the woman who loves and is still unable to prove her love…. Superb performance

Motilal as Chunnilal, a drunkard friend of Devdas plays his role with his characteristic flamboyance. Watching this vintage performance from this great actor, one is well aware of the adage that ‘old wine always tastes better’. To his credit, the actor manages to turn a seemingly inconsequential side role to a performance-de-tour and this is his finest hour. Not many would concur with the statement that Devdas was as much a creation of Chunnilal’s whims and fancies as was he a creation of Paro’s betrayal, but that is the truth of the matter. The role required a certain degree of carefree behaviour, which could enlighten the deep recesses of the hero’s traumatic psyche and at the same time attract him to his doom. Motilal delivered it with élan. A little overstatement in a loud role such as his would have been enough to kill the role and the movie but the veteran manages to portray his role to the perfect decimal.

Motilal was one of the finest actors of his time and there is no doubt that all the greats wanted to appear with him and test their mettle against each other at least once…. The final meeting with Devdas on the train is a superb scene and shows how a moment’s indiscreet comment can make one destroy his own self completely

S D Burman appears in fine mettle in the movie. The way he has used the rich sonorous tilt of Talat Mehmood in “Mitwa” is commendable. Talat Mehmood was one of the best voices in the Hindi film industry of the 50s and this song is the final ultimate zenith of collaboration between these two versatile geniuses. Hear this song in silence – and you will feel the pain of a broken heart enter your realms with the flow of the sound just like the flow of water on the sands. There was never and there will never be a more deeper song of anguish and pain of unrequited love than this sublime song that’s more a cry of a lover’s heart than a song.

SD follows up with another Lata gem “Jise Tu Qubool Karle”, one of the best songs on frustration in love. The way this song has been created and then filmed speaks volumes of the genius of the great filmmaker. The staggering walk of Devdas, the following gaze of Chandramukhi and the subtle but deep presence of Paro in the background of our minds renders this song with a powerful imagery of it’s own. Just like the way Radha kept looking for Krishna in the woods after his departure, this song speaks volumes for the love of Chandramukhi for Devdas and the love of Devdas for Paro

The powerful imagination of that deep Radha-Krishna love is further accentuated with the Geeta Dutt song “ Aan Milo, Aan Milo, Shyam Saanwaare…. Aan Milo” which subtly suggests the purity of Devdas love by comparing it with the greatest love ever – that of Radha from Krishna….

Bimal Roy, the greatest director of Hindi Cinema impresses yet again with a movie as dark as life and as deep as an ocean. None could have envisaged the depths of the book or portrayed it so truthfully on screen, without compromising the premise of the novel and therein lies the greatness and richness of the director. Each and every scene in the movie is a lyrical representation of love and loss and the stamp of the director is evident in even the slightest gesture of the protagonists. One of his major achievements in the movie is his effective delineation of the roles played by Suchitra and Vyjayanthimala, in such a manner that both appear as full blooded individuals in their own right.. His success can be judged from the fact that 50 years down the line and after many more Devdas’ his Devdas still remains the definitive, classic and purist choice of the author’s interpretation on screen. In an era when love was worshipped and nobody had the guts to portray its seamier side, when happy endings were the norm and not the exception, where optimism was the norm, it was one man who stood and turned conventional wisdom on his head and in the process created history. This movie is the hallmark of a genius director and the perfect culmination of his association with the legendary Dilip Kumar.

One cannot end this review without appreciating Hrishikesh Mukherjee for his deft editing…. The way in which he creates the image of a psychic telepathy is just too much…. For once the love that could not be requited shows itself stronger than all the other considerations of caste, creed and community that were always stronger in reality and effective in killing off the love that was……

An advice to all: Before ditching or after getting ditched, watch this movie. It may not get you back your love but it may save you from creating another Devdas.

Movie-E-Azam - My Thoughts on Mughal-E-Azam (1960)

Some movies are meant to be seen for the script, some for the performances, some for the production values, some for the music and still some for the director’s ability to transcend all inertia and present a dream; however there are some which transcend all limits and become a benchmark for the successive generations of filmmakers. In other words, it no longer remains just another film, it becomes a classic …. A case for study, a watershed for the future. Sometimes it becomes the signature tune of an era gone by and the zenith of a style that people look back to when they speak of the finest hour of Cinema. Truly and obviously, such films are hard to find – only one in a thousand can reach this pinnacle of excellence wherein it becomes the point which defines a style.

One of the few great movies that have managed such a great but rare feat is Mughal-E-Azam, an extravaganza which is a case study for all those inclined to believe that film making is all about camera angles and opulent costumes, all about cinematography and 50 crore budgets; a film that can be so different from what all formulae speak and yet be so simple to actually become a formula in itself.

A movie that speaks volumes about the perseverance and dedication of one man to a dream that held true inspite of severe setbacks, Mughal-E-Azam is a full three course lunch, a sumptuous feast for the eyes and an epic in motion. I would not do justice to the movie if I do not call it a watershed in the history of Indian Cinema.

In simple terms, Mughal-E-Azam narrates the story of a powerful but lovable Emperor Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor) caught between his love for his duty as an emperor and his love for his son and the dilemma he finds himself in when these two loves move on a course destined to put them on loggerheads with each other.

Yet, on another level, Mughal-E-Azam is also the story of two star-crossed lovers (Salim and Anarkali) caught in the whirlpool of social, political and cultural norms that are but a foreboding of the imminent doom in their love story. The pain of the love is matched only by the depth of the love and to the credit of the Director, the pain is so-well etched in the movie right from the acceptance of the love to the final doom, that you think there could not have been another end to this tragedy, although your heart begs for another end, another dream, another hope. Sadly, love has no such qualms and it accepts it’s realities with a silence more powerful than the speech of a million cannons.

To the credit of the film, both stories move on parallel tracks and still maintain their essence; whilst complementing each other like multi-layered layers of the same crust.

Prithviraj Kapoor is simply brilliant in his performance as Emperor Akbar. The booming voice, the towering personality and the intense anguish in his eyes speak volumes. One has to just see his confident walk and his deep gaze, the silent stare in which he holds his son and the feeling of anguish in his voice when he speaks of his unfortunate circumstances to his wife. Who could do it better than the true Mughal of Indian Cinema – Prithviraj Kapoor! Some of his scenes are so strong that one can feel the quiver in the air when he calls on to Man Singh or when he chides his son and heir for his inclination towards love.

Mughal-E-Azam was a fitting culmination to a career that began as Sikandar and ended figuratively with Akbar. Although Prithviraj continued performing and performing well till his death in 1972, Mughal-E-Azam marked the zenith of his career. Some of the best scenes in this movie show him in a brilliant confrontation with one of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema ever – Dilip Kumar. Incidentally, this movie boasts of some of the greatest confrontation scenes in the history of Hindi cinema, some of them have passed themselves into the popular lore of moviedom.

if Prithviraj, the icon of the progressive 40s, could be so strong and powerful, would he not be matched with the greatest actor ever to grace Indian Cinema? Dilip Kumar shows why he is not the type to be relegated to the back-benches ever. His performance is the performance of a Prince, of a Lover, of a Warrior and of a human… and on each of these fronts Dilip delivers!

As the only son of Akbar and the Crown Prince of Mughal India, Dilip Kumar delivers an impeccable and regal performance and as is expected of him lives the role upto the expectations and beyond it too. As Shehzaada Salim, his performance shows the fearlessness of a warrior, the cold arrogance of a prince who considers all within his realm – classically embodied in the scene wherein he removes the message from the lotus and then just throws the lotus away without a look or a glance, his deep love for Anarkali, the frustration of a loser, his eyes show the disdain in which he holds the law and the spirit of rebellion so well characterized by the blood of youth. In fact, if today you look at his performance in the movie, you find that in this performance he predates the Angry Young Man that was to take the Hindi film industry by storm 15 years later. Watching him perform, one cannot but feel the sheer power of performance. No doubt, he’s considered by many critics to be the greatest actor to grace the Indian film screen.

A prince is not supposed to care for any except for his own wishes, a warrior is not supposed to accept humiliating conditions and a lover is not expected to let go of his beloved but to fight till the last end – not an easy combination but you need to see him perform to understand what performance is all about.

Ajit as Durjan Singh is a classic act. Ajit was already firmly ensconced in the film industry when this role was offered to him. Many would have balked at the suggestion of being a part of a movie that had stalwarts like Dilip and Prithviraj but Ajit not only holds his own but is also strongly remembered for his portrayal of a loyal friend and a great warrior. Ajit brings to Durjan the sublime ego and proud chivalry of a Rajput chieftain and the dialogue delivery of “Ek Rajput apni jaan haarta hai, apna vachan nahin harta” is simply a lesson for all who think a booming voice is all that makes a dialogue a success. Till date, the portrayal of Ajit stands as the ultimate portrayal of Rajput Chivalry…

Durga Khote as Empress Jodha Bai lives the role with characteristic élan. She is simply brilliant in the portrayal of a woman caught between a husband and a son and who also has to discharge her duties as an Empress in the face of emotional anguish. This happens to be one of her most brilliant roles and she does complete justice to the role. Some of her confrontation scenes with Dilip (her son) and Prithviraj (her husband) are sheer magic. Look for the scene in which she has two back-to-back confrontations with the father and the son; never was the pain of the mother more beautifully carved!

Kumar as the sculptor is extra-ordinary and plays the role of a revolutionary of the middle ages to perfection. His robes maybe that of a Nestorian monk but his style is anything but that of a monk. When he speaks, he cuts to the argument and his statements are indeed the more revolutionary ones.

Nigar Sultana as Bahaar is the perfect vamp; the one who would do anything to destroy the love of Salim and Anarkali. In her characteristic style of underplay, she performs her role of the jealous courtesan with utmost aplomb. Look at the way she betrays the lovers to the winds and then is cunning enough to recede in the shadows while watching the drama unfold…… I am sure villainy was never better enacted – I remember Shakespeare stating “Heaven Hath no fury like a woman Scorned”

The confrontation scene between the two in the beginning gives a glimpse of the great confrontations between all the lead actors that keep appearing in the movie at a brilliant regularity and each confrontation is a beauty in itself.

Murad as Raja Mansingh, Jiloo as Anarkali’s mother Jiloo Bai, Sheela Delaya as Suraiya also do justice to their roles, especially Jiloo who plays a commoner and a doomed mother to perfection. I would have loved to see a scene between Murad and Prithviraj post the death of Ajit (Murad as Raja Man Singh plays his father in the movie) but then such is the film that everything falls in place and you do not regret any.

But the film belongs to Madhubala. The Venus of Hindi Cinema shows why she will never be forgotten. So strong is her presence that had Madhubala been introduced with this movie to the Indian industry and promptly decided never to act again, the legacy would have lived on. Never has an actress before or after her captured the essence of deep loss and hopeless love with a quiver the way Madhubala does it in Mughal-E-Azam. If you wish to see performance, look at those eyes welled up with tears; they signify the pain of loss, the anguish of separation, the depth of love and the simmering desire – had she successfully shown only one of these, she would have become a legend but then geniuses are not satisfied with a token performance but with an all-round exhibition of their talents and capabilities; so it was with Madhubala. Each and every scene speaks each and every emotion; the understanding of her fate, the truth of her love, the depth of her silence, the fearlessness of true love and the resignation to fate. All in one sweep of the eye. One can only look in deep wonder when she tells Akbar “Ye Kaneez Shahenshah Akbar Ko Apna Khoon Maaf Karti Hai”

Simply mindblowing. One has to see her emotions when she is spending her last night with her lover while fully aware that tomorrow morning will see her dead – can any beat the emotion of her face in that one scene!

To summarize, Madhubala is Anarkali and Anarkali is Madhubala. She performs with earnestness and a passion, which is unequalled and unsurpassed by many and even today she is the definitive Anarkali.

Naushad’s baton and Shakeel Badayuni’s lyrics are a combination to die for. The music of Mughal-E-Azam is sheer delight. If Baiju Bawra was Naushad’s contribution to the Mohammed Rafi phenomenon, Mughal-E-Azam is Naushad’s ode to the songstress of India – Lata Mangeshkar.

Each and every song in the movie is a soft caress of love and emotions and who could do it better than Lata Mangeshkar. Whether it’s the deep romanticism of ‘Mohe Panghat Pe”, the anguish of “Mohabbat Ki Jhooti Kahani Pe Roye”, the pathos of “Bekas Pe Karam Kijiye”, the tearful farewell of “Khuda Nigahebaan Ho Tumhaara” or the philosophy of “Jab Raat Hai Aisi Matwaali”, each and every mood is captured.

And then who can forget the anthem of love, “Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya”; still considered one of the best expressions of youth rebellion in Hindi cinema. In every mood Lata comes up trumps.

As if this was not enough, Naushad composes one of the greatest quawwali ever sung and uses the unrivalled and unchallengeable voices of Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar to bring that one quawwali to cult status. “Teri Mehfil Mein Kismat Aazmaakar Hum Bhi Dekhenge” is a celebration of the best female duet ever with love and lust competing with each other in a style that’s imitable and unbelievable.

Can Mohammed Rafi then be behind. In the only song he gets in the movie, Naushad makes his respect for the maestro obvious. Rafi leads a 100 man orchestra and 100 man chorus to perfection as he puts in clear contrast that immortality and invincibility of Love. “Zindabad, Zindabad” is not only an assertion of love, it is the celebration of love; the celebration of the greatest emotion ever.

A discussion on the songs would by itself take more than a thousand pages.

But the man who deserves the greatest of our applause is K Asif- the man whose ambition and ruthless perseverance led to one of the finest hours of Indian Cinema. Everything about the movie is splendour personified and it required a talent of his calibre to carry it with a dignity unequalled by any other movie. The attention to detail, the setting up of brilliant sets, the most sensual scene ever picturised in India (without a slight hint of physical or sexual involvement), the greatest battle scene ever picturised and the perfect blend of script, direction and performance such that none of these overshadow the other but complement each other is a silent salute to the genius of a man who made it possible. But more than all this, what will be remembered when the dust has settled and all have gone to roost is the dream that a man saw, the vision of a director that allowed him to continue unflinched in face of so much tragedy, amid so many role changes ,so many deaths and still create a masterpiece that remains as a silent reminder of the power of a dream

Truly this is no ordinary movie – this is a dream and more than that this is a Movie.

All in all, a movie to live by… … A movie to die for… A Classic… A Legend. … A Movie.

On Lux Junoon Dikha De - a strange contest

Sometimes, though very rarely, I do get some time on hand and so it was today... like a silver lining on dark clouds, my strange illness gave me a surprise chance today to be just myself - to watch TV, to rummage through incessant channels, to play remote footsie and to see those so-called 'reality' shows .... (I find most of them completely unreal; the participants mostly immature but then as my friend is wont to say ... Art imitates Reality.. maybe we all are quite unreal in our expectations and behaviours..... at times - melodramatic like our movies!)

What interested and surprised me a lot today was a program called 'Lux Junoon Dikha De' or something with a nomenclature of something to that effect.

To explain further - it's a musical show with a format that interestingly shows a competition between three different diverse schools of Music - Sufi, Lok Sangeet and Hindi Film Music..... very interesting, very novel, but in my opinion..... very foolish!

I firmly believe that Film Music is a genre in itself; that it's unique though it's true that it is not born of it's own different tradition. At it's best it is a melodious synthesis of different strands and strings of world music; at it's worst a cacophony of noises that has it's own roots; in other words it's not a so much of a style in itself as it is a comendium of all ....

Film Music is a collage, a meeting point, a 'Sangam' of so many diverse strands of music..... so many different styles, so many different snatches, so many different roots - it's like an ocean that has obtained it's sustenance from so many different sources - to ask it to compete with it's own roots is ridiculous and childish. All these different strands, whether Indian or foreign, whether classical or non-classical, whether folk or non-folk, whether urban or rural have all contributed to making this great edifice and so it is somewhat immature to ask it to compete with two of the strands that make it..

Admittedly Sufi and Lok do not enjoy a great influence in today's Western-influenced world, but still they do have their pockets of influence.. Quawwali, a form of Sufi music, still sells like hot cakes in and around Dargahs and as far as Lok Sangeet is concerned, you need to only visit Bombay during the Navratri festival.... the truth is that the heart of India still listens to sufi and folk but there is no doubt that the progeny is streets ahead in terms of popularity.

If popularization of Lok Sangeet and Sufi is the avowed mission of the program, then I have no issues with it.... In fact, I would be the first to support such a noble cause - not because I am one of those fascist Indian only pseudo-intellectuals who refuses to see beyond itself but because I believe that Indian music has it's own charm, a charm that cannot be replicated and bettered.... of course I respect and appreciate both the Western and the other strands of local music but maybe I think we do have our own beauty.

However, both Sufi traditions and Indian folk music are too rich and original to be compared to film music, which has it's own identity - one that reflects the sources but stands on it's own! Like the Indian Ocean that receives tributes from both the Ganga and the Brahmaputra (through the Bay of Bengal) and the Indus and the Cauvery(from the Arabian Sea) but still maintains it's own distinct fervour.

One of the main reasons why I think both the musicians and singers of the Industry are more versatile and talented than the ones practising their own art is to look at the sheer volumes and differences (the variety) in their throughput!

To quote an example, Mohammed Rafi is equally divine as he modulates his sonorous 'Voice of God' for different purposes ... whether it be the soulful Bhajans of Baiju Bawra (1953) set to pure Hindustani Classical music by the great Naushad or the Quawwalis of Roshan in Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) set to Sufi influences .... whether he uses his skillful playful throw of sound in rock and roll for Shammi Kapoor in Shankar-Jaikishen's 'An Evening in Paris' (1968) or whether he uses it to deep effect for the great Madan Mohan singing a soulful and deeply tragic Persian invention - the ghazal for 'Sangdil' (1952) ........ as if this is not enough one only has to listen to him in Gunga Jamuna (1961) as he weaves his way through a tune from Bhojpuri folk music; there is even a rap song before rap became popular in Love in Simla (1960) and of course who can forget those songs of anguish from Pyaasa (1957) or those songs of love from Guide (1966); the songs of philosphy acquire a new meaning in his voice like the ones set to N Dutta's labour of love 'Hum Dono' (1961).... Just too Good!

And why only Rafi Sahab, look at any of the masters, haven't they proven themselves in different genres while remaining within the ambit of Film Music - doesn't it show the respect that film music has for all the varied genres of musical virtuosity! And at the same time, doesn't it speak volumes for the talent and capabilities of the Singers Fraternity of India!

Similarly a film like Amar Akbar Anthony can have a Bhajan (Shirdi Wale Sai Baba) and a Quawalli (Parda Hai Parda); it can have a pseudo-rap like the starting strands of 'My Name is Anthony Golsalves' and a pure romantic song like 'Dekhke Tumko Dil Dola Hai' .... it can even have a snatch of a Bombay Street Eunuch effect like 'Tayyab Ali; Pyaar Ke Dushman Hai Hai" - how then do you classify this album?

Or any of the great ones - the examples will go on increasing - a silent proof of the resilience of Indian Film Music - we have appropriated everything in this Indian Ocean of Melody and so my personal apathy to comparisons of the different musics of India

But then this is just my opinion.... nothing else

Songs to Remember - 1

Have you ever tried walking on a hot sunny day on a burning beach on naked feet.... gone near the shore and seen small waves rushing forward like lovable puppies to meet you, to engulf you, play with you and then suddenly realizing that they cannot be with you and then slowly reluctantly moving away from you back to that great mystery from where they arise, leaving back memories of that sweet sensation that you felt when they were around you

The Pain that one feels in Love is also similar to that tinge that one feels and often it's very tough to portray the exact feeling of such a pain.... either they depict the frustration of the Pain or the suffering of the Pain... however there is one song that portrays the feeling of Separation and the inevitable process of trying to reconcile a bleeding heart with the inevitability of reality.

Chitralekha (1964) is a very beautiful movie - everything about the movie is worth appreciation although sometimes I do feel that though Pradeep Kumar has done a great job, it would really be great to see someone like Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor essay that role... the depth that Dilip brings to his character or the pain that Raj can portray in his innocent eyes are an out of the world experience and this is what this movie needs in the second half. Pradeep is too much of a regal character to portray the pain. Ashok Kumar as usual shines in his role and Meena Kumari.... well... Meena Kumari is Meena Kumari.

I do not wish to review the film today... on the contrary today I wish to speak of this one song that comes close to studying the feeling of separation and so effortlessly conveys the inevitability of the situation and the frustration of the heart

The song begins such:

Man Re Tu Kaahe Naa Dheer Dhare
O Nirmohi Moh Naa Jaane Jinka Moh Kare
Man Re Tu Kaahe Naa Dheer Dhare

What a way to begin the song!.... the person is asking his heart, his consciousness,his soul, his pain to have patience and bear the pain of Separation. The protagonist - the man who has faced the loss of his beloved - is softly asking his own heart, the one that has born so much to stop being so impatient! He reasons out with the pain asking it to stop crying for the sake of the one whom it loves the most

Feel the way in which Mohammed Rafi in his sweet eternal 'Voice of God' voice pushes the pain across, the sweet caress of the voice as he caresses each sound as it leaves and you feel yourself getting submerged in a mother's caring bosom.... the hopelessness of the situation, the pain of loss, the anguish of frustration all building up against the fact that you have been left alone to fight a war you wanted to fight together

The music is soft and flows like the soft flow of water around a pebble in a stream making you feel the pain but not accentuate it

Sahir with his usual logic moves on....

Iss Jeevan Ki Chadhti Dhalti
Dhoop ko kis Ne Baandha
Rang Pe Kis Ne Pehre Daale
Roop Ko kis Ne Baandha
Kaahe Ye Jatan Kare

What a way to compare the inevitability of the Separation? The great poet that he is, Sahir tries to reason out with his heart comparing the inevitability of the loss to the changing seasons, the changing sunshine.. he tries to explain to his heart that colour cannot be hidden and beauty cannot be stopped... like the sunshine that shines over all the universe, both of them are for the world and cannot remain held by one hand.... so what, if the hand is the hand of Love!

To put the point across, just listen to Rafi put the stress on 'Kahe Ye Jatan Kare' ... the pain is obvious as is the desperate need to move beyond it.... one ends up feeling tired of the possessiveness that is a characteristic of all love....

Sahir and Rafi do not leave it at that.... they move further

Utna Hi Upkaar Samajh Lo Koi
Jitna Saath Nibhaa De
Janam Maran Ka Mel Hai Sapna
Ye Sapna Bisraa De
Koi Naa Sang Mare

Never has unconditional love been better portrayed... entire literatures will fail to prove the depth of these words.... Love is to be given, to be shared... and nothing is to be expected....

The heart is pained because it expects the beloved to understand the pain... to listen to it's needs.... but with this single stroke of truth, the heart is made aware of the fact that Love is not to be stopped... that it has to go.. that it's not to be held but to be released

And what should I say of Rafi.... generations of singers will pass before a voice that can reach the heart so effortlessly, so seamlessly again will resurface...

Listen to the way he uses his voice to point out 'Utna Hi Upkaar Samajh Lo' and then the way in which his voice bears down on the heart with the classic 'Koi Na Sang Mare'.... it's sheer magic in the making

The heart is forced to sit up and take notice... like the last handshake and the last kiss, it has been immortalized.... we have to live and live we shall .... for the sake of the love that we lost, if not for anything else....

And I am reminded of the sensation I felt when the last of the sands left me behind.... I remember, lifting my feet from the sand and found a deep gaping hole staring back at me - just like the one in my heart but surprisingly somehow it felt better. Much Better

Remembering the Goddess of Tragedy

31st March 1972

A red-letter day for Indian Cinema..... a day Indian Cinema would not forget it a hurry.

It was a day that opened up sunny and warm... and ended up with deep black clouds of pain and sadness, filled with tears of a lifetime, hanging on it's brows. The tears would not stop and why should they have stopped - the one they called the greatest tragedienne of Hindustani cinema had finally left the abode of Cinema for her new abode somewhere up there - in the skies....

Meena Kumari - the legendary Meena Kumari was no more.

Some said Talent was no more, others said Emotions were no more.... maybe those words were hyperbole but the truth was that the one who could so heartbreakingly define pain and love was no more.

The world sensed the pain of the separation and her last film - Pakeezah rocked to the top of charts - like a final farewell of a departing lover, like the final tears of an unforgettable affair, like the final words of an unwilling heart and then ....then... there was silence and the silence continues unabated.

But the fact remains - look into those deep eyes - they will tell - was there anyone who could look so heart-achingly beautiful with tears in her eyes, was there anyone who could translate grief into resonating and pulsating intonations of a dialogue delivered through tears?

No... there was only one Meena Kumari - there have been many other actresses - some good, some better but there could be no second Meena. She was one of a class and her death ended a sort of umbilical cord of the time when a look, a twitching of the eyes, a curling of a hair meant a lot.

What should I write about Meena? She is one who epitomized pain and made it look cathartic.... she made you feel that the pain you felt was nothing but a stoic reminder of how much you could bear - a silent reminder of your own inner strength and fortitude

I can just close my eyes and feel her shouting her frustration - the frustration of a deeply conservative Hindu wife of the early 20th century voicing her pain and anguish in measured tones to a shameless Rehman in one of the greatest classics of Hindustani Cinema, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam: Kyaa Kabhi Pee Hai Kissi Hindu Ghar Ki Bahu Ne Sharaab?

The words define the performance .... and of course as on cue, you have one of the best Geeta Dutt numbers to add pain to the feeling ....

Koi Door Se Aawaaz De, Chale Aao!

And then there is that one song that describes the feelings of sexual desire in so beautiful terms.... Again Geeta Dutt in her sweet velvety voice....

Piyaa Aiso Jiyaa Mein Samaayee Gayo Re
Ke Mai Tan Man Ki Suddh-Budhh Ganvaa Baitthi
Har Aahaat Pe Samjhoon Hoon Aai Gayo Raho
Jhat Ghungataa Mein Mukhdaa Chuppa Baitthi

And this was just one of her many powerful portrayals .... whether it was Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Pakeezah (1972), Daera (1953), Sharda (1957), Parineeta (1954), Phool Aur Pathar (1966) or Baiju Bawra (1953), Meena Kumari carried the film and the story on her strong shoulders - shoulders that would never droop nor would they tire।

It's testimony to her greatness that even though she had started doing character roles since the early 70s, till the end, roles were specifically written for her and even in supporting roles she often decided the flow of the film ..... a good example would be Mere Apne (1971) and Dushman (1971) where though she was not in the lead, she was definitely the soul of the movie.

It's sad that though both Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari were acknowledged masters of tragedy, they never matched each other in tragic roles - Meena rejected offers as strong as Mughal-E-Azam (1960) and Amar (1955) ..... (There is also a grapevine that insists she rejected the greatest film ever made in India - Mother India (1957) but that's another story)

The only time they came together for a tragic movie, the result was sheer magic - Zia Sarhady did the impossible when he managed to have both Meena and Dilip together for his path-breaking socio-tragic commentary on a falling dream of an independent India in Footpath (1957) - one should watch that movie to see sheer charisma unravel

Of course, on the way there were some of the greatest comedies ever - Kohinoor (1960) with Dilip Kumar, Miss Mary (1959) with Kishore Kumar that give credence to the fact that this tragedienne had great comic timing as well - and romance....?

Well..... who can forget the Dilip Kumar - Meena Kumari starrer Azaad? And that beautiful romantic duet sung by C Ramachandra and Lata Mangeshkar

Kitnaa Haseen Hai Mausam, Kitnaa Hasen Safar Hai
Saathi Hai Khoob-Soorat, Ye Mousam Ko Bhi Khabar Hai

Mind-blowing! That's magic....

About her relationship with Kamal Amrohi, I won't say a word - let it remain as it is - a story of two people who loved each other deeply but also were victims of an ego that refused to let go.... She was a great actress; he a great writer.... the irony was that in their togetherness they could have created magic together - the truth was that in their togetherness, they destroyed each other ......

As Gulzar said long after in a song in another landmark movie.....

Bahot Khoob-Soorat Hai Har Baat Lekin Agar Dil Bhi Hota! To Kya Baat Hoti
Likhi Jaati Phir Daastaan-E-Mohabbat, Ek Afsaane Jaise Shuruvaat Hoti

To no one does this signify more, than the most unfortunate marriage that ever was - the love was true ... but so was the ego

So here's to the great Meena Kumari - a modest self-effacing personality who being a good poet herself wrote the following lines for her own life-story

Tum Kyaa Karoge Sunakar Mujhse Meri Kahaani
Be-Lutf Zindagi Ke Qisse Hain Pheeke Pheeke

Meena will always be remembered and if there is someplace where she can hear me, let me tell her you are not forgotten neither was your life 'Be-lutf'.... it was anything but 'Be-lutf'

Tumko Naa Hum Bhool Paayenge.....

Lord Voldemort II