This article is written by Raja, 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.
In the last few weeks, I’ve been watching some old Hindi films on Youtube. These are films which I’ve been wanting to watch for a long time, but somehow (mainly due to time constraints), I never managed to get around to watching.
I started with Munimji (1955) – which I’d last watched on Doordarshan in May 1978 when I’d visited my aunt in Delhi. This also happened to be the first film I ever watched on TV, because till I visited Delhi that time, I’d never seen a TV in my life.
I’d completely forgotten the storyline, so it was worth re-visiting.
I followed it up with Sharaabi (1964) – which I found somewhat “dragging on”. Besides, this film gets an award from me for the most ridiculous ending I’ve ever seen in a Hindi film. But most of its songs are pretty good – the saving grace of the film.
Then Poonam Ki Raat (1965) – a film with a lot of potential that doesn’t deliver on it. Also, by Salil Chaudhary standards, the music, except for the odd song, was a bit of a letdown.
I followed this up with Jaal (1952) – a film I quite liked. Uncomplicated story, lovely songs, Guru Dutt direction – and I do like Geeta Bali anyway. And Dev Anand too.
So what is common between all these movies?
They have all been YIPPEEED on this blog. That means, all their songs have already been covered on this blog.
The reason this is relevant is that everytime I choose a film to watch, one of the first things I do is, check this blog. To see if there are any songs of the film still to be posted. If so, I feel I can bridge the gap – with not just the song but also knowledge of its context in the film. Always nice to be able to do do so.
None of these films gave me that opportunity.
But then I saw Naqli Nawab (1962). And it has only 4 songs posted so far on this blog, with 3 yet to be posted.
So I thought, great, I need to start bridging the gap and moving this towards YIPPEEE status. Ergo, this post.
First, about the film.
I absolutely loved the film. As it is, I am a sucker for Muslim socials. I can watch any Muslim social without even caring about the cast. Just the Urdu (the “mohtarma” and “qibla”), the sets, the dresses (achkan, shararas and all that) – that is enough for me. Throw in a mushaira or qawwali – and I’ll melt within seconds. For once, the storyline becomes less important ( otherwise this is usually my No.1 criterion for liking or not liking a film).
Naqli Nawab ticks all these boxes. It has a mushaira AND a qawwali (not yet posted on the blog, by the way). And a few doses of Urdu (though for me, it’s always a case of “ye dil maange more”). When Manoj Kumar says “Parvardigaar, mujhe taufeeq de”, I smiled. (And kicked myself for not having taken Urdu lessons).
Apart from all this, the other big reasons I liked this film are:
1) The storyline. It’s a light plot, no heavy-duty melodrama that one often sees in Muslim socials. So just good entertainment, happy ending and all that.
2) There’s a high degree of “goodness” in the characters. Yes, there are baddies too – but that’s to have SOME sort of plot. But even the baddies aren’t really bad – they’re just weak. (I remember liking Bimal Roy’s Prem Patra for this very reason. Lot of “goodness”).
3) A fast-paced film. This is surprising because those were the times when films would drag on. With a Comic Side Plot (CSP) featuring say, a Mehmood-Shobha Khote or Rajendranath. This film stays focussed on its storyline and keeps moving. Things happen fast.
4) Shakila, Manoj Kumar and Ashok Kumar.
I’ve seen a few films of Shakila (top of head: CID, Shreeman Satyawaadi, China Town) and have always liked her. She is just gorgeous in this film.
Manoj Kumar is also pretty good – not just handsome but also acts well, especially as the street ruffian / pickpocket. In fact, I’ve always liked Manoj Kumar in his B/W days, before he got into “Mr.Bharat” mode (let’s say, pre-Upkaar). After that, his long preachy dialogues could be a pain at times.
Ashok Kumar – no need to say anything about him. As usual, terrific to watch.
Besides these, there are Maruti, Shammi, Mirza Musharraf and KN Singh. All actors I like. In fact, Maruti impressed me quite a bit in this film. I’ve seen him in many so-called B-films – he deserves to be better-known.
5) The songs. They really deserve to be better-known too. They are composed by Babul – who I know nothing about. Hopefully a knowledgeable reader will provide more info on him. I just got a hint of Roshan in his composition style – or maybe I am imagining it.
So, all in all, several reasons to enjoy the film. The last 20 minutes become somewhat melodramatic (and a bit unrealistic) – as in many Hindi films. But even this isn’t so much that it becomes unbearable. Overall, the film was a pleasant watch for me, especially because I started with no expectations at all.
I must emphasise that these are purely my views. Tastes differ – so others might not find this quite as watchable as I did. Am not sure how the film fared at the box-office – maybe somebody can enlighten us on this?
Ok, moving onto the song for today.
It’s by Asha Bhosle. The situation is this. Shakila is Ashok Kumar’s sister. She is madly in love with a poor Manoj Kumar who is actually staying in their haveli (Ashok is a Nawab), but has decided to stay away from her because he owes Ashok Kumar bigtime and “khandaan pe kalank nahin lagne doonga” logic. The catch is, he hasn’t ever seen her face. To entice him, she goes over to her saheli’s place (Shammi’s place) and somehow manages to bring him over there. He doesn’t know this is Ashok’s sister – so he engages with her, starts up a conversation, and asks her to sing a song.
This is that song. I quite like it – the picturisation, showing how crazy in love Shakila is, is quite sweet. The lyrics reflect it too.
By the way, what is the musical instrument Shammi is playing?
Song-Ham jispe hain fidaa (Naqli Nawaab)(1962) Singer-Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, MD-Baabul
Lyrics
Aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
Hum jispe hain fida
wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Dil jispe mar mita
wo kahin
Aap to hain
Wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Hum jispe hain fidaaa aa aa
Raaton ko jisne humko jagaaya
wo kaun hai
Ulfat pe
jisko reham na aaya
wo kaun hai ae
Raaton ko jisne humko jagaaya
wo kaun hai
Ulfat pe
jisko reham na aaya
wo kaun hai
Ae jaan-e-muddah wo kahin aap to nahin
Wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Hum jispe hain fidaaa aa
Chilman ke peechhe machle
koi beqaraar dil
Pehloo se
ud ke jaaye
haaye ae
Pehloo se
ud ke jaaye kidhar
baar baar dil
Chilman ke peechhe machle
koi beqaraar dil
Pehloo se ud ke jaaye kidhar
baar baar dil
Ye jiska ho gaya
wo kahin aap to nahin
Wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Hum jispe hain fidaaa aa
Aankhen wo tauba tauba
bahut hi shareer hain
Allah re
Haaye ae
Allah re
Nazren unki mohabbat ke teer hain aen
Aankhen wo tauba tauba
bahut hi shareer hain
Allah re nazren unki mohabbat ke teer hain
Tadpaaye jo sadaa wo kahin aap to nahin
Wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Hum jispe hain fida
wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Wo kahin
Aap to nahin
Hum jispe hain fidaaaaaa
