‘Best Songs Of 1955 …..’ — One more gem @ songsofyore.com – Part 1 of 2

Shri AKji, www.songsofyore.com   thought of taking up a massive project of taking up a year wise survey of music of films of 1953-45 in reverse order and placing it for in-depth analysis, comments and suggestions by the readers. The year 1953 was first considered as The Year to commence the reverse countdown because the first Filmfare awards were given in 1954.

Well, let us not mar the beauty of the original post – Best songs of 1955: And the winners are!– by going into the lucid details of music of the films that caught the popular and critical acclaim, presentation of trivia, debuts, special songs, some new version songs and of course, the listing of some the songs that can fill the bill for the audacious SongsOfYore Awards for the year 1955, in the categories:

• Best Male Playback Singer
• Best Female Playback Singer
• Best Duet
• Best Music Direction

The post is so enchantingly written that it was difficult not to take up the studied task of submitting a view, veritably personal and , by no means with any pretence of authority. I have already submitted the views directly on the original blog post as a series of comments.

Presently, I would re-state them so that I have a more easy access to the post, comments by other enlightened participants and to commemorate my tribute to Songs of yore.com

Best Male Playback singer:

At the very bottom of my heart, I am no doubt a stout Rafi fan – particularly when a push comes to that eventual shove. But for that matter, I am [no perjury intended] equally strong follower of Manna Dey and Talat Mahmood. Of course, the Rafi songs in this 1955 list do not appear to be his unanimously Greats Ever, but they are by no means a disparaging competition here.

My Nominations for Best Male Playback Singer:

1. Talat      Mahmood  – Mitwa lagi re ye      kaisi anbujh aag   –   The other solo form      this film –      Kisko khabar thi kisko yakeen tha   –        Talat Mahmood – is perhaps having only one mood – deep melancholy, almost      a doused aag,      whereas this song has, as musical score, succeeded in capturing the mood      of pathos blended with a lurking anbujh      aag of faint hope of possibility of seeing the beloved one,      at least, once more, and that unfulfilled love of the      lifetime. There can be no questions for SD to have chosen Talat      for these numbers.
2. Manna      Dey  – Tu pyar ka sagar hai       –  Manna Dey is all sublime befitting the situation of the song – a      prayer – and still touches the heights of soft ‘bulandi’ to be able to      rouse the sunken human spirit of the targeted mentally unstable      Seema.  Even if we do allocate the      due credits to SJ – for the composition and Shailendra – for so touching      poetry, Manna Dey is still left with a huge credit to his own account as      singer- the emotional listeners would find a sagar of      emotions and the puritans can find gems of technical virtuosity in his      measured ascendancy of scale.
3. Rafi      – O door      ke musafir mujhko bhi sath le le  –  This is best      example of the type of songs which were possibly so composed because Rafi      was to render  it [and he would put      in his extra special efforts, too]or the type of songs the      composer preferred someone else to sing but had to ultimately invite Rafi,      as only Rafi could to justice to his composition in totality. This is one      of my personal favourites – among all songs as well as among Rafi songs.

[I have read somewhere that  Hemantda originally had thought of singing Hum Laaye Hain Kasti Sambhal ke – Jaagriti  himself, but had to ultimately fall back on the width of Rafi’s range of scale to enliven Utho Chhalang maar ke aakash ko chhoo lo.]

4. Rafi  – Kahan ja raha hai tu ai janewale       –  If someone calls back me passionately, I would have turned back      even before the first line was over and then would have raptly listened to      the rest of song and would have simply wept till my heart would have      emptied out.
5. Talat      Mahmood      – Teri zulfon se pyar kaun kare   –        Jaidev has composed this song that shade silkier in tone and a shade more      pathetic in mood than the competing Tasweer      banata hun tasweer nahi banti   from Baradari. And      possibly because of that extra, that Tasweer      banata hun tasweer nahi banti   enabled to be more      popular, because one can sing it that little easily.

In order to finally choose one among these FIVE personally equal favourites, I would choose an exotic measure – a stoke of chance cause, by which the singer appears only once in this list today. So let crown be the company to the song Tu pyar ka sagar hai  by Manna Dey..

Best Female Playback Singer:

It seems that by 1955, Lata Mangeshkar was enshrined as THE [female] singer of the Hind Cinema, as I screen  though the list of songs listed out in this post.SDB is no doubt one my preferred music directors, but that has no bearing on number of his Lata-songs dominating the appearance in this list today.  Trust me, each of the song is here on its own merit. So, I hereby present my top 5 female songs, which, in effect, translates into only 2 playback singers:

1. Lata      Mangeshkar  – Jise      tu qabool kar le   –  Well, I am no way      suited to comment why a composer has chosen the way the composition is      composed, SD’s choice of somewhat faster pace of this song may have caused      its own predicaments for the Director for creating the RIGHT situation and      the heroine to express emotions while performing such a dance. But, every      aspect of the song is just RIGHT. Another noteworthy feature of [both]      Lata songs in the film is that they stand up to two of the great solos of      Talat in the movie, in a movie which has essentially a male-character      dominant theme.
2. Lata      Mangeshkar  – Jogiya se preet kiye dukh      hoye        – Even if the music director Amarnath would have composed many more songs,      this one would have retained its unique charm – that of subdued wailing of      deep hurt of a lady feeling betrayed by that love which fails to penetrate      the ascetic veneer of her counterpart. Lata’s voice quality and her      standard throw of words suit like a T to the mood of the song. In fact,      this quality was soon to become her indelible signature over Hindi Film      Music.

I have since downloaded other Lata songs from the film. Surprisingly, none of the other song has the calibre of the song chosen here.

3. Lata Mangeshkar – Phaili hui hai sapnon      ki baahen OR Ghayal hiraniyan main ban ban dolun        – Almost a formula song! The movies with a very      light plot, hero and heroine sing a romantic solo each before declaration      of mutual love, then at least one romantic duet; villain would spoil the      game leading to a sad solo each from hero and heroine. SD and Lata easily      paired up a long list of such sad solos during the rest of 50s and 60s.

1. 4.    Geeta Dutt  – Preetam aan milo   –   OP, literally, conjures up C H Atma’s natural masculine pathos in Geeta’s ethereal voice. The original post has so well presented the nuances of this song.

5. Lata      Mangeshkar – Manmohna bade jhoothe  –  Perhaps one of      the quite underrated, whether in terms of technical virtuosity or in terms      of bringing out the best of Lata’s vocal cords, this song is in a way much      unlike that of SJ. There are noy many of SJ’s compositions where the duo      have successfully resisted fairly large orchestra to support an otherwise      an excellent tune.

Since I have exhausted the limit of 5 choices for the consideration, I will have to rest contended by listing  Ab to ji hone laga kisi ki surat ka samna by Shamshad Begum and Wo na ayenge palat ke  by Mubarak Begum as “Best Also Run’. Use of Mubarak Beguam by SDB is simply captivating. The original post has done full justice to the song, hence I may only add that Salil Chaudhary must also have been inspired from this one (!) to come up with an equally stunning ‘hum haal e dil sunaye ge  – Mubarak Begum  – film Madhumati 1958 :

I would unhesitatingly propose rendering of Jogiya se preet kiye dukh hoye  by Lata Mangeshkar to be the song that would crown her the Best Female playback singer for the year 1955 for SongsofYore awards.

 

[We would continue with this post in a Second Part, where we will look at  Best Duets and Best Music Direcor  nominations.]