WAQT NE KIYA KYA HASEEN SITAM

WAQT NE KIYA KYA HASEEN SITAM

Whenever I walk down Deodhar Road in Matunga Mumbai I get a lump in my throat. It was here that the Padukone’s lived and it was this family that gave to Indian cinema one of its greatest directors .Guru Dutt will always be remembered for the range of films he made from the pure fun like ‘Mr. and Mrs 55’ to the poignant ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’. It was the latter film that I recalled last weekend as the singer on the Music Academy Chennai stage evocatively sang ‘Waqt ne kiya’. Dressed in black and with a stark white light flashed on her she took me back to that song where Guru Dutt sits on a chair in a dimly lit stage –totally immersed in the tragedy he faces as a protoganist. In what in my opinion is one of Hindi cinema’s finest song picturisations Dutt left thus song and movie as a hallmark of excellence for generations of directors to try and emulate .

WAQT NE KIYA KYA HASEEN SITAM

‘ Black and White’ is a concept pioneered by Milind Oak and his troupe from Pune in an effort to present on screen and stage the golden era of Hindi cinema with rare melodies that have stood the test of time.

On screen the original songs were shown and on stage the singer sings to the movement of the lips of say Dev Sahab or Waheeda Rehman.

The stage is minimally lit and stark in keeping with the overarching theme-black and white.

The evening started with ‘Woh bhoooli dastaan’ as if asking whether that era of melody will ‘ phir aayegi’!

‘Aaja re pardesi’ followed soon what with its haunting music that can enrapture us a full five decades after it was first aired. ‘Man dole’ sent me rocking to its rocking tune and ‘Suhana safar’ sent me further on a ‘safar’ of melody. The influence of Punjabi music via O.P.Nayyar was evident in ‘Udi jab jab zulfein’ from ‘Naya Daur’.A contrast form the tone of the earlier songs. ‘Ye ratein ye mausam’ from ‘Dilli ka Thug’ can never fail to send me to the Marina beach in that magic moment when the sun sets and the moon is just about visible. And the wind caresses your face. Hemant Kumar can never be forgotten for singing melodies in a manner only he can with ‘Na tum hume jaane’ .Again a haunting song ‘Naina barse’ the kind of song that put the director among the best picturisers of songs, others being Guru Dutt and Goldie. If the lake meets the river and the latter meets the sea whom does the sea meet?That question was asked by the poet in ‘Taal mile nadi ke jal mein’ a song that has a dreamy touch to it in the form of a chorus. V Shantaram was honoured with the song ‘Ay malik tere bande hum’.

The inimitable Kishore Kumar was well remembered with songs like ‘Hum hain rahi pyaar ke’ and ‘Maana janab ne pukara nahin’ among others. ‘Aise to na dekho’was Rafi’s romantic number that can only be called a gem that no lover can forget. Geeta Dutt is a rare singer whom many tend to forget.Her brief career cut short by tragedy may be responsible for her not getting the recognition she deserves.She was honoured that evening with another song ‘Babuji dheere chalna’ that has a hint of the naughty which she reveled in. Comedians Johhny Walker and Bhagvan were recalled with ‘Sar jo tera chakraye ‘and ‘Shola jo bhadke’. Any talk of Guru Dutt and Hemant Kumar will be incomplete without ‘Jaane who kaise log the jinke’ that sad song from ‘Pyasa’. Raj Kapoor came alive on the screen with ‘Kisi ke muskurahaton’ from ‘Awara’.Rahul told us that Raj Kapoor started his film career as a clapper boy in Kedar Sharma’s unit!

Try listening to this song from ‘Dil Ek Mandir’ again-‘ruk ja raat thahar ja re chanda’ and in particular listen to Lata sing ‘Raat chandni ki nagari mein’—this is divine indeed. Is there a ‘nagari’ where one can sit in the company of the moon away from the lunatics that inhabit this world ?

I just can’t decide if the Kishore Kumar song ‘Thandi hawa ye chandni’ is a fun song or a serious one. Though the singer Kishore also acts the song with a flourish all his own, the song by itself is a melodious tribute to a beautiful valley. Vamps and item girls were honoured with songs like ‘Mera naam chin chin’ and ‘Paan khayen saiyan hamaar’-that was the idea of fun those days nothing raunchy or with double meaning. Who can ignore Shammi Kapoor He was duly honoured with ‘Tumne muhjhe dekha’ and ‘Baar baar dekho’.

The surprise song –just when I was telling myself Oh have they forgotten C.Ramachandra –then came about. The female singer-among the best I have heard in a long time, sang ‘YE ZINDAGI USIKI HAI’ from ‘Anarkali.’ Just to tell us that the 1945 to 1968 era was by and large a black and white era but not wholly so ,the song ‘Pyaar kiya to darna kya’ was rendered .Truly a brilliant presentation with an original touch .It was a well researched programme. No wonder this concert has been staged 203 times all over the world with Chennai bagging 6 of them

ALVIDA ALVIDA ALVIDA

K.R.RAVI

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