This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
‘. . . given a chance, I’d choose to be an actress all over again.’ Closing words in an interview that she gave ten years before she passed away in 2000. She is the recipient of the very first Filmfare award for best female supporting role – she won it for her portrayal of a young fisherwoman, Mohnia, in the film ‘Baadban’ (1954).
Remembering Usha Kiran, on the anniversary of her birth today (22nd April).
Her debut in films is best described by herself, in the interview. I briefly quote the following passages.
Coming from a very simple middle-class Maharashtrian Brahmin family, I was the second of five children. My father was an extremely ambitious man. He wanted us children to do great things for the family. That was the reason he pushed my elder sister and me towards the theatre. In the beginning, I hated it and was reluctant to even do simple stage shows. All I wanted was to marry, have a few kids and settle into oblivion. But destiny had other things in store for me. During a stage performance at the now Excelsior Theatre, the great Udayshankar spotted me. He hauled me off to Madras with my father, where I was to play a big part in his feature film Kalpana. My father was thrilled, even though it was such a small role.
Once in Madras however, catastrophe took place. I was thrown out of the film and sent packing back to Bombay. It was just a misunderstanding, coupled with Udayji’s mercurial temperament and my militant naiveté. For a dance sequence, I had to wear a transparent Manipuri costume. Since I was conscious of it, I wore a white slip underneath. Mrs. Uday Shankar asked me to remove it for the shot, since it would have looked very awkward. I didn’t pay heed to it. So later, Udayji noticed it and bellowed at his wife for not taking care of the costumes. She in turn screamed at me. After that incident, I used to hang around the set with a permanent sulky expression. This used to get on Udayji’s nerves and one day he bellowed once again. ‘Don’t you know how to smile?’ I in turn, replied hotly, ‘No! You teach me how to smile! ‘ And that was the end. In retrospect, I would still credit him with shaping my inherent talent, more than any one else. He is an education in acting and dancing for any actress.
(You can read the complete interview on Cineplot here .)
But after this ‘Kalpana’ debacle, she came into her own with a string of memorable performances in significant films like ‘Daagh’ (1952), ‘Patita’ (1953), ‘Dost’ and ‘Baadban’ in 1954, ‘Adhikar’ (also 1954), ‘Musafir’ (1957), ‘Kabuliwala’ (1961), and more.
I have selected this song from the film ‘Adhikar’. This is one of the earliest films that I recall seeing as a child on Doordarshan. Of course the thing that stuck to my mind is the ‘Tikdambaazi’ song that is sung and performed on screen by Kishore Kumar. The storyline of this film revolves around the rights and empowerment of women. Shekhar (Kishore Kumar) is a young widower with a baby daughter. Shekhar stays in Bombay on account of his work, and the child stays with her maternal grandparents. He meets Usha (Usha Kiran), the two fall in love, and get married. All this while, Shekhar has not told the truth about his past to her. When it is revealed, she is broken hearted and angry, and leaves Shekhar. Twists of events brings together the baby daughter and Usha, who accepts her and takes her into her home as her daughter. Usha and Shekhar meet again, Usha agrees to return to her matrimonial home, and makes Shekhar accept that ‘her’ daughter will stay with them. Shekhar grudgingly accepts, not recognizing his own daughter, whom he has not seen for some years.
As the daily life progresses, Shekhar becomes more and more intolerant of Usha’s ‘daughter’. One day the two fight again, and Usha insists that she be accorded the same right and recognition as Shekhar had expected – i.e. his insistence that Usha should accept his daughter as their child. Shekhar refuses, Usha storms out of the house, leaving the child behind. There is a keepsake necklace with photos of Shekar’s earlier family, which she leaves with the child. Shekhar expends his anger on the child, hits her and throws her out of the house. Then he discovers the necklace that has fallen on the floor in all this exchange. Realization dawns, and he rushes out to retrieve both his new wife and the child. And uppity tale of idealism, that is somewhat feeble in the ending moments – that Shekhar accepts the child only after coming to know that it is his own child. Not too convincing.
The film has a total of eight songs. Of these, two songs are the same, in that it is the same song “Ek Dharti Hai Ek Hai Gagan”, that appears twice in the film. The Geet Kosh lists the two versions being sung by Meena Kapoor and Asha Bhosle. However, checking the film itself, it seems to be clear that on both occasions in the film, the song is in the voice of Meena Kapoor. Whatever that decision may be, it brings this song to this blog, as the final song of this film. ‘Adhikar’ now joins the list of films with all songs posted.
The music for the film is by Avinash Vyas. The lyrics of the seven (eight) songs are shared between Raja Mehandi Ali Khan, Saraswati Kumar (Deepak), Neelkanth Tiwari, Prem Dhawan. This song is from the pen of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The singing voice is that of Asha Bhosle. On screen, the song is performed by Usha Kiran.
A lovely mellifluous song, with words that have a hidden meaning that Usha is trying to communicate to Shekhar, but the gentleman is in a huff, and refuses to listen between the lines. A delightful performance by Usha Kiran.
View, listen and enjoy.
Song – Zindagi Haseen Hai Zindagi Se Pyaar Kar (Adhikar) (1954) Singer – Asha Bhosle, Lyrics – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, MD – Avinash Vyas
Lyrics
zindagi haseen hai
ye zindagi haseen hai
zindagi se pyaar kar
main hoon teri zindagi
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
zindagi haseen hai
ye zindagi haseen hai
zindagi se pyaar kar
main hoon teri zindagi
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
kitni haseen hai dekh le
ujde chamn ki ye kali
kitni haseen hai dekh le
ujde chamn ki ye kali
mere chaman mein aa khili
tere chaman ki ye kali
chaahti hoon main isey
tu bhi isko pyaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
zindagi haseen hai
ye zindagi haseen hai
zindagi se pyaar kar
main hoon teri zindagi
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
tu to mere saajan ki
chhoti si tasveer hai
tu aankhon ki roshni
tu meri taqdeer hai
preet meri baar baar
kehti hai pukar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
zindagi haseen hai
ye zindagi haseen hai
zindagi se pyaar kar
main hoon teri zindagi
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
main ne tumhaare pyaar ko
aaj aazmaa liya
hans ke ik raaz ko
seene mein chhipa liya
tum na galey lagaa sakey
maine galey lagaa liya
tum na galey lagaa sakey
maine galey lagaa liya
meri jeet ho gayi
aaj tumse haar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
zindagi haseen hai
ye zindagi haseen hai
zindagi se pyaar kar
main hoon teri zindagi
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
zindagi haseen hai
ye zindagi haseen hai
zindagi se pyaar kar
main hoon teri zindagi
mujh pe aitbaar kar
mujh pe aitbaar kar
——————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
——————————————
ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ये ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ज़िंदगी से प्यार कर
मैं हूँ तेरी ज़िंदगी
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ये ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ज़िंदगी से प्यार कर
मैं हूँ तेरी ज़िंदगी
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
कितनी हसीं है देख ले
उजड़े चमन की ये काली
कितनी हसीं है देख ले
उजड़े चमन की ये काली
मेरे चमन में आ खिली
तेरे चमन की ये कली
चाहती हूँ मैं इसे
तू भी इसको प्यार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ये ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ज़िंदगी से प्यार कर
मैं हूँ तेरी ज़िंदगी
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
तू तो मेरे साजन की
छोटी सी तस्वीर है
तू आँखों की रोशनी
तू मेरी तक़दीर है
प्रीत मेरी बार बार
कहती है पुकार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ये ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ज़िंदगी से प्यार कर
मैं हूँ तेरी ज़िंदगी
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मैंने तुम्हारे प्यार को
आज आज़मा लिया
हस के इक राज़ को
सीने में छिपा लिया
तुम ना गले लगा सके
मैंने गले लगा लिया
तुम ना गले लगा सके
मैंने गले लगा लिया
मेरी जीत हो गई
आज तुमसे हार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ये ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ज़िंदगी से प्यार कर
मैं हूँ तेरी ज़िंदगी
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ये ज़िंदगी हसीन है
ज़िंदगी से प्यार कर
मैं हूँ तेरी ज़िंदगी
मुझ पे एतबार कर
मुझ पे एतबार कर
