Month: February 2020

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – February 2020

Welcome to February 2020 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

The first post that we take celebrates the Republic Day of India. Shri N Venkatraman pays the tribute through ‘Vandya Vande Mataram’: The story of a Song Perennial.

Anand Math is the anti-establishment film to watch and learn from – Madhavi Pothukuchi – While the nature of the actual rebellion is disputed — some historians say it was an all-Hindu uprising, while some say it was simply an anti-imperialist movement, and still others dispute its authenticity — the film and the book show it as an all-Hindu, anti-imperialist, nationalist movement.

Happy Valentine’s Day! has been celebrated on the HFM Weblog world too with Hindi Film Songs, albeit from the post-2000 years.

We pick up other tributes and memories:

Returning to “Hum Dekhenge” (and a Happy Upcoming Birthday to Faiz Ahmed Faiz!) – Noor Jehan performed “Mujh Se Pehli Si Muhabbat” in defiance of a ban of Faiz by one military ruler of Pakistan – Muhammad Ayub Khan – and Iqbal Bano performed “Hum Dkehenge” in defiance of a ban by another – the notorious Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

Mehfil celebrates ‘C Ramchandra’ Month! is carried forward with C Ramchandra – 60s & 70s and Marathi songs by C Ramchandra

The Masters: OP Nayyar – Here is a song remembered in the post – Dekho jadoo bhare more nain – Aasmaan (1952) – Geeta Dutt – Lyrics Prem Dhawan

OP Nayyar’s music turned Howrah Bridge from a movie to a whole mood – Madhavi Pothukuchi – Lyricist Qamar Jalalabadi ascended to the height of his career with the lyrics. They were playful, fun, and enticing and went with the mood Nayyar was intending to set with the music.

Savere Ka Suraj – An Invaluable Art Piece – OPN and Kishore Kumar, deliver a composition which was absolutely classical by theory and amazingly melodious in terms of output. Here is a tune which is having disjointed structure.

Shailendra Sharma @ Golden Era of Bollywood has posted following memorial tribute posts:

Arth may have been based on Mahesh Bhatt’s life, but Jagjit Singh played a starring role – Samira Sood – Arth was the first movie for which Jagjit Singh and his wife, Chitra, composed the music together, and he sang every song in it. It is, perhaps, the best movie by which to remember him in the week of his birth anniversary.

In our Manna Dey birth centenary series, after Manna Dey and his contemporary lead actors, we have taken up Manna Dey’s Comedy Songs. February, 2020 episode covers Manna Dey- Mehmood combination songs till 1966 starting with Manna Dey’s songs for Mehmood in the January 2020 episode from the beginning of Mehmood’s acting career, till Ziddi (1964)

Madhubala and K Asif’s grandeur is what makes Mughal-e-Azam an epic – Madhavi Pothukuchi – A film with one of the highest production costs and the biggest collections, Mughal-e-Azam’s success can be put down to Madhubala’s grace and beauty.

February 2020  episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs takes up Part 1 of Talat Mahmood duets with Geeta Dutt. In our series on Talat Mahmood’s rare duets, we have covered –

2017: Some of the Talat Mahmood Duets receding from the memory

2018:  Talat Mahmood’s Duet Combinations with Rare Co-singers

2019: Talat Mahmood Duets with Mubarak Begum and Madhubala Jhaveri

We will now take up the articles on other subjects:

How Sridevi gave Yash Chopra’s career a fresh lease of life with Chandni – Sridevi – The Eternal Screen Goddess, by author and screenwriter Satyarth Nayak, charts the actress’s five-decade-long journey from a child star to India’s First Female Superstar.

Film Songs Based on Classical Ragas (13) – An afternoon with ragas: Bhimpalasi and her Sisters – I have picked up  are some of the less known songs based on this raag from Shri Subodh Agarwal’s’ comeback post.

FFSI Initiates Campaign to Save the Ancestral Houses of Ray, Ghatak and Sen – Buoyed by the human chains formed in Rajsahi, Dhaka and Toronto to demand restoration of the decaying ancestral houses of the legendary filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen, the FFSI has decided to initiate an international campaign.

Dinesh Shailendra Narrates Story Behind The Anari Song – Shailendra was woken up… He went out…. As soon as RK saw him, he jumped out of the car and rushed to embrace Shailendra….. RK muttered ” Mainey abhi Anari ka gaana sunaa…. jeeyo mere Pushkin…” !.. Years later, it will be discovered that Shailendra has, in this song, actually predicted the pattern his life will follow…. This song is one that we all identify with at certain times in our lives…It has been quoted in the Indian Parliament by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and incidentally, even in the Pakistan Parliament by Nawaz Sharif !!!

Film Songs From Firmament – songs which were not picturised on any actor, but they still played an important role in either conveying a message to the actors on the screen, or just depicting the situation on the screen for the viewers.

Cinemaazi: Chronicling Indian Film Heritage and Its Unscripted Stories – Cinemaazi, an initiative to chronicle, archive, curate, preserve and exhibit the mammoth cinema heritage of India, by far the world’s biggest and most varied film industry, was launched in New Delhi on January 31.

On Nandita Das’s Manto & I – A single, very particular voice runs through this coffee-table book by Nandita Das, the voice of a reader, writer and director who became deeply interested in Saadat Hasan Manto and eventually realised her dream of making a film about him. An earlier post about Manto the film is here.

We end the post with a few songs of Mohammad Rafi, each one of which basically has a link with the topics discussed in the present post, we have picked up:

Na Tajshahi, Na Badshahi – Shirin Farhad (1956) – S Mohinder – Tanvir Naqvi

Duniya Kya Hai – Sarhad (1960) – C Ramchandra – Majrooh Sutanpuri

Pani Hota To Doob Hi Jaate – Mian Bibi Razi (1960) – with Kamla Sista – S D Burman – Shailendra

Wah Wah Re Teri Chaal – Do Dilon Ki Dastan (1967) – O P Nayyar – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan)

I look forward to your inputs to enrich the contents of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Disclaimer: This monthly series of posts is my best-effort-based compilation of posts on Hindi film songs that I normally visit regularly. As I record my sincere thanks to all the original creators of these posts, any other posts that I have nor covered herein shows my lack of awareness of existence of such posts and is by no means any disrespect to their work. The copyrights to the posts, images and video clips remain the properties of the original creators.

 

Quality Management Articles and Blogs – February 2020

Welcome to February 2020 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

For the year 2020, we have chosen the core subject of Revisiting Basic Quality Concepts w.r.t. the sustained success of the organization We picked up

We will now take up the second dimension of the subject – The Sustained Success of Organization.

The concept of sustainable organization can keep dynamically evolving if the four fundamental questions that Sam Palimsano, former CEO of IBM has sop pointedly raised[1] –

  • Why would someone work for you?
  • Why would someone invest their money with you?
  • Why would someone spend their money with you—what is unique about you?
  • Why would society allow you to operate in their region?

In  few basic steps, The Voyage of Sustained Success (for Businesses) maps the path to the sustained success –

In The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, authors Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp share what the four most important predictors of success are[2].

  • Self-Awareness
  • Learning Agility
  • Communication
  • Influence

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies – James C Collins and Jerry L Porras – uncovers timeless fundamentals that enable organizations to endure and thrive. These are[3]:

  • Make the company the ultimate product – seeing products and market opportunities as vehicles for building a great company, not the other way around.
  • Build your company around a core ideology (core values and a sense of purpose beyond just making money) – A deeply held core ideology gives a company both a strong sense of identity and a thread of continuity that holds the organization together in the face of change.
  • Build a cult-like culture – around the core ideology If someone does not accept that ideology, then he/she does not belong to that culture, howsoever valuable he / she may be.
  • Home grow your management – as great companies grow up, we see continuity and order in management tenure and succession. Insiders preserve the core values, understanding them on a gut level in a way that outsiders usually cannot. Yet insiders can also be change agents, building on the core values while moving the company in exciting new directions.
  • Stimulate progress through BHAGs (Big Hairy Animal Goals), experimentation and continuous improvement – need to counterbalance its fixed core ideology with a relentless drive for progress. While core ideology provides continuity, stability, and cohesion, the drive for progress promotes change, improvement, innovation, and renewal.
  • Embrace ‘The Genius of The And’ – Truly visionary company embraces both ends of a continuum: continuity and change, conservatism and progressiveness, stability and revolution, predictability and chaos, heritage and renewal, fundamentals and And, and, and.

In The Idea of Ideas, Bob Galvin, former CEO of Motorola, wrote: “Change unto itself is essential. But, taken alone: it is limited. Yes, renewal is change. It calls for ‘do differently.’ It is willing to replace and redo. But it also cherishes the proven basics.”

Here’s a rapid-fire summary of Jim Collins’ famous first book, ‘Built to Last’ – How to Create Sustained Success” :

The linkage of the Sustained Success with the first part dimension of our present series – The Basic Concepts of Quality – is ISO 9004: 2018 – Quality management — Quality of an organization — Guidance to achieve sustained success.

ISO 9004 addresses the needs and expectations of all relevant interested parties and provides guidance for the systematic and continual improvement of the organization’s overall performance. This standard focuses on an organization’s sustained success, which is achieved if an organization[4]:

  • Meets the needs and expectations of its customers.
  • Has a balanced consideration of the needs of all its interested parties.
  • Effectively manages all its processes.
  • Is aware of its environment.
  • Learns.
  • Improves and/or innovates.

We will take up these basic concepts and see how they can be of help in the pursuit of the Sustained Success (of the organization).

[N.B. – Detailed note on The Sustained Success of an Organization can be read / downloaded by clicking on the hyper link.]

We will now turn to our regular sections:

In the series the Organizational Culture, we have attempted to look at ‘Organizational Culture – What It IS Not?’. We have briefly lined up differences of the Organizational Culture with terms – Organizational climate[5], organizational environment[6], employee engagement[7], national culture[8], societal culture[9], corporate culture[10], organizational context[11] etc. – which are used as synonyms in the common parlance

We now watch ASQ TV, wherein we look at a few relevant videos:

  1. The Standards Check In – A check in on the status of general standards revisions, plus new standards being published in 2020.

Jim L. Smith’s Jim’s Gems posting for January, 2020 is:

  1. Quality Responsibility – Just who is responsible for quality? – Quality is not a grass roots methodology. Dr. W. Edwards Deming, a noted quality guru, said, “Quality starts in the boardroom.”… Dr. Feigenbaum’s “Quality is everybody’s job,” has been taken out of context because his message is purposely incomplete. What many don’t realize is that Feigenbaum intended his concept to be about establishing accountability for quality. Because quality is everybody’s job, it may become nobody’s job! The idea is that quality must be actively managed and have visibility at the highest levels of management…According to former U.S. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, “Responsibility is a unique concept; it can only reside within a single individual. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may disclaim it, but you cannot divest yourself of it. Even if you do not recognize it or admit its presence, you cannot escape it. If the responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else.”
  2. Discovery – Just because working through the obstacle might be a challenge doesn’t mean it’s impossible. If you’re serious and committed, you’ll find a way, to absolutely make it happen…You were born to discover your own unique way through life’s endless possibilities. Your rewards for your efforts await, so what’s stopping you.

I look forward to your views / comments / inputs to further enrich the subjects of Basics of Quality and Organizational Culture and their role in Creating and Maintaining Sustained Success.

Note: The images depicted here above are through courtesy of respective websites who have the copyrights for the respective images.

[1] A New Definition of Sustainable Success – Rick Miller

[2] The 4 Great Predictors of Sustained Success – J D Meier

[3] Building Companies to Last  – James C Collins

[4] ISO 9004: Managing for the Sustained Success of an Organization

[5] Difference between Organisation Climate and Organisation Culture

[6] What is an Organizational Environment? – Definition & Theory

[7] Improving Company Culture Is Not About Providing Free Snacks

[8] National Cultures, Organizational Cultures, and the Role of Management

[9] Organizational Culture and Societal Culture

[10] Is There a Difference Between Organizational & Corporate Culture?

[11] Organizational Context = Culture

The Organizational Culture – What It Is Not?

In our series on Organizational Culture, we took a pip at What Organizational Culture is. Presently, we will see What it is not?

What Company Culture IS NOT?[1]

  • Secret Santa gift exchanges
  • Karaoke nights
  • Bean bag chairs
  • Nerf gun fights
  • Catered lunches
  • Cruises with your co-workers
  • Mashed potato sculpting contests judged by your auditors at Deloitte (yes, we really did this at Moz, and it was totally fun)

Those are fun things people who work together might have or do. They may be indicative of a certain type of workplace environment. They may even stem from the culture that’s been created. But, they are NOT company culture.

Presently, we will briefly see what is the subtle, but essential, difference between organizational culture and similar phrase which are colloquially used as synonyms.

Organizational Culture vs. Organizational Climate

Organisation climate reflects current atmosphere of the organisation in which the employees work. It provides opportunities to perform jobs according to the skills and a reward system which serves as motivators for employees. Organisation climate evolves according to needs of the organisation to adapt to the internal and external environment…Organisation climate focuses on current work practices of the organisation. These practices are defined within the values and norms of the organisation. However, the values and norms are defined by organisation culture…Organisation culture, on the other hand, reflects the atmosphere of the organisation which has evolved over a number of years…An organisation earns goodwill and reputation through its culture. It gives a feel of the organisation itself…A company known for its quality represents its culture and employer-employee relations in the company represents its climate.[2]

Organizational Culture vs. Organizational Environment

Organizational environments are composed of forces or institutions surrounding an organization that affect performance, operations, and resources. It includes all of the elements that exist outside of the organization’s boundaries and have the potential to affect a portion or all of the organization. Examples include government regulatory agencies, competitors, customers, suppliers, and pressure from the public. To manage the organization effectively, managers need to properly understand the environment.[3]

Organizational Culture vs. Employee Engagement.

In their minds, the term company culture is synonymous with free food, foosball tables, and other workplace perks deemed to improve the employee experience, increase satisfaction, and drive greater commitment to the company. Although there are widely recognized drivers of engagement that are independent of strategy or industry, the cultural drivers of success differ widely from company to company. The same behavior can drive success at one company while hampering success at another (see exhibit).

The key to unlocking performance via organizational culture is to align company culture to business priorities. This requires the selection of a “critical few” behaviors that enable the desired business outcomes. When these behaviors are coupled with structural and process changes that support them, the entirety of these changes have an impact on the employee experience. Using culture to drive performance thus requires emphasizing elements of the employee experience compatible with desired business outcomes and downplaying non-compatible elements. Whether the elements of the employee experience that drive performance also drive increased engagement is of secondary importance. Employee engagement should be regarded as a by-product of culture evolution efforts rather than a tangible goal of them.[4]

Organizational Culture vs. National Culture

National and organizational cultures are quite different phenomena: national cultures belong to anthropology, organizational cultures to sociology. Management can never change a national culture, it can only understand and use it. It can create and sometimes change an organizational culture. The concept of culture does not apply at the level of individuals. Individuals have personalities, only partly influenced by the culture in which they grew up…national culture differences are rooted in values learned before age 10; children learn them from parents who also acquired them before age ten, so they are quite stable and take generations to be changed….Organizational cultures are rooted in practices learned on the job, and they can change much faster.[5]

The Organizational Culture vs. Societal Culture

Whereas organizational culture refers to the norms, shared values, and expectations that determine the governing of a certain organization, societal culture defines the norms, expectations, and shared values of a society or a group of people living in a particular place governing them. For any given organization to run well, there organizational culture, societal culture and the leadership style must be in harmony.[6]

The Organizational Culture vs. Corporate Culture

In the simplest terms, corporate culture relates the for-profit organizations where ownership and executives are legally separated. Corporate cultures tend to emphasize ways of operating and functioning that lead to optimum profit. Different businesses and industries embody different cultural bents to meet strategies that work for them. For example, companies in industries like information technology and creative marketing often have cultures that emphasize employee freedom and creativity. Meanwhile, the banking industry tends toward more serious and structured cultures in part because financial institutions must keep strict controls and follow detailed protocols to comply with regulations.

As against this, non-profit corporate cultures may emphasize personal and social values more than efficiency and profitability.[7]

Organizational Culture vs. Organizational Context

The difference between Organizational culture and the organizational context is illustrated n=by using the metaphor of a house. The “roof” and the “foundation” can be understood as the organizational context. The ‘foundation’ is from where the organization has “come from” – the solid purpose for being, the mission, the core values, the key standards, value propositions and roles and rules of engagement.  The roof is where organization intends to “go to” – the vision pulling us toward the desired future, the goals, the objectives and priorities. And the middle of the house represents the organizational content – the human beings who are collaborating and communicating and coordinating with each other… and are doing so in a way that’s guided by the foundation and in service to the roof. The content is driven by the culture.[8]

[1] Let’s be clear; these things ARE NOT company culture: – Rand Fishkin

[2] Difference between Organisation Climate and Organisation Culture

[3] What is an Organizational Environment? – Definition & Theory

[4] Improving Company Culture Is Not About Providing Free Snacks

[5] National Cultures, Organizational Cultures, and the Role of Management

[6] Organizational Culture and Societal Culture

[7] Is There a Difference Between Organizational & Corporate Culture?

[8] Organizational Context = Culture

Fading Memories….Unforgettable Songs: February 2020

Talat Mahmood duets with Geeta Dutt [1]

Talat Mahmood (Born: 24 February 1924, Lucknow) was as handsome as his voice was soft spoken. Before physically shifting to (the then ) Bombay in 1949, he had already made his presence felt in Calcutta During his Calcutta career, Talat Mahmood gave playbacks and played minor roles in Hindi and Bengali films. His first disc was cut by HMV in 1941, the song was Sab Din Ek Saman Nahin Tha, Ban Jaoonga Kya  Se Kya Main, Iska To Kuchh Dhyan Nahin Tha

To commemorate the birthday of Talat Mahmood we have commenced a series of annual articles on this plat form, wherein we bring up Talat Mahmood’s Rare Duets. We have covered –

2017: Some of the Talat Mahmood Duets receding from the memory

2018:  Talat Mahmood’s Duet Combinations with Rare Co-singers

2019: Talat Mahmood Duets with Mubarak Begum and Madhubala Jhaveri

Presently, we will take up Talat Mahmood’s Duets with Geeta Dutt.

Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930. Faridpur) was an accomplished singer who has left her deep imprint over film and non-films songs over several Indian languages, with her mellifluous, vivacious voice. She got her first break in Bhakta Prahlad (1946), when Pt. Hanuman Prasad gave her two lines to sing in two songs – Ab Jaani Re Pahchani Re and Suno Suno Binati Hamri Prabhu Ji Bhool Hui Mujhse Bhaari. However, the very next year she shot to big league with Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya (Do Bhai, Music: S  D Burman; Lyrics: Raja Mehandi Ali Khan).

Talat Mahmood had his first big box office success in Ae Dil Mujhe Aisi Jagah Le Chal (Arzoo, 1950, Music: Anil Biswas; Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri). In between his busy film and radio schedules, Talat Mahmood also used to travel over India for his singing concerts. Geeta Dutt would also accompany him in many such concerts. Both had excellent professional rapport.

However, the number of their duets are, relatively, few in numbers.  With a silken voice quality of Talat Mahmood and Geeta Dutt’s wide range in low as well as high scales, it is no surprise that their duets left listeners with an ethereal trance. However, the inherent difference I their individual singing styles resulted in, relatively, fewer number of their duets.

Armaan Bhare Dil Ki Lagan Ter Liye Hai – Jaan Pahechan (1950) – Khemchand Prakash – Shakeel Badayuni

There could not have been a better opening to the Talat Mahmood’s duets with Geeta Dutt. The song, very rightly, sets up, and deservedly so, very high expectations for the duets of this pair.

Ham Hai Tere Diwane…Kisse Hai Ye Purane, Agar Tu Bura Na Mane – Shabistabn (1951) – with Chitalkar – C Ramchandra – Qamar Jalalabadi

The second pearl from our jackpot is also such a sweet, known, duet. Only when you closely look at the vide, you get the feeling that song indeed is a teasing song, but the actors , and so too Talat, would be too chivalrous, to cross the gentleman-border-line, even in such romantic situations.

Hai Ye Mausam-e-bahar, Sun Jawani Ki Pukar – Shabistan (1951) – Madan Mohan – Qamar Jalalabadi

The films had two music directors recording four songs each.

Relatively, this would be ranked as less known one duets. The song is classic example of higher pitched Geeta Dutt vocal matching the lower scales of Talat in a perfect harmony.

Chitalkar sings the first line for some distant singer, which prompts Shyam to take up the main song in Talat Mahmood’s voice.

Kaho Ek Bar Mujhe Tumse Pyar.. Mujhe Tumse Pyar – Shabistabn (1951) –C Ramchandra – Qamar Jalalabadi

C Ramchandra sets the different scale ranges of the two singers to a romantic mood.

The song seems to have one more video link. I am not sure whether it is the second version in the film.

Kaise Rokoge Aise Toofan Ko – Anand Math (1951) – Hemant Kumar – Shailendra

Geeta Bali seems to be in two moods – one to keep the English officer on a wild hunt, and the other not only to inform her fugitive freedom fighter informed about the chase but to also tease the shy love of the impending implosion of their feelings when they will meet.

Ye Pyar Ki Raatein Ye Aaj Ki Baatein – Baghdad (1952) – with G M Durrani – Bulo C Rani – Raja Mehandi Ali Khan

Talat and Geta Dutt rhyme in perfect foil in this romantic song. G M Durrani joins Geeta Dutt in the second and fourth stanza. Why the song will have been so composed?

Chori Chori Dil Mein Samaya – Kaafila (1952) – Husnlal Bhagatram – Moti B A

Geeta Dutt’s soft vocals dominate in the duet with Talat singing just a word or two in the mukhda…and also it can be seen clearly that the last antara of Talat is clearly done in a lower note, so as to fit in his range. Use of piano in the orchestration adds to the melody of the song.

Sham Suhani Nadi Ke Kinare – Nishan Danka (1952) – Basant Prakash – S H Bihari

The song is set to leisurely waltz tune. succeeding so well the mood of the song  that would come up in the minds of the two love birds strolling on a serene river front, the fading light of the setting sun. The serenity mood seems to interspersed with some quick teasing too.

Kahin Preet Se Bhara Koi Geet Ga Raha – Paatal Bhairavi (1952) – Ghantshala – Pt. Indra

Ghantsala (Venkateshwara Rao) is a legend composer and singer of Telegu cinema. Here he has so deftly blended Talat and Geeta Dutt’s voices into a sweet melody.
The original Telugu version of the film was the then roaring hit.

Aaj Ki Raat Bhag More Jaage, Dekhun Piya Mukha Chanda – Ratan Deep (1952) – Robin Banerjee – Vidyapati

This relatively very obscure song epitomizes contrasting vocal styles of Talat Mahmood and Geeta Deep. Talat opens mukhada in lower scale., then joins Geeta Dutt on higher scale in the stanzas.

The song is really very pleasant experience listen to.

Sun Lo Ek Kahani Sun Lo – Ratan Deep (1952) – Robin Banerjee – Mahendra Pran, Mathur

Robin Banerjee once again deftly uses the contrasting vocal styles of Talat Mahmood and Geeta Dutt.

Here is the Bengali version of the song, in Hemant (Kumar) Mukherjee and Supreeti Ghosh’s voices.

Both version show how music director has made subtle changes in the compositions to leverage the inherent vocal qualities of the singers.

Asides Trivia:

Ratnadeep is remake of original 1951 Bengali original version. The film had a Tamil version as well.

Abhi Bhattacharya debuted in Hindi cinema with this film.

We will continue with Talat Mahmood’s duets with Geeta Dutt in our next episode net year.

We will continue remembering Unforgettable Songs that seem to Fading away from our Memories every second Sunday of the month……..

Disclaimer: All images are sourced from net. All copyrights of the respective image remain with the original owner of the image.

Manna Dey’s Comedy Songs – Mehmood [2]

The 1st episode of Manna Dey’s comedy songs, we tracked development of Mehmood’s career, under the lens of Manna Dey’s voice as playback. S D Burman’s 1960 song Hato Kahe Ko Jhoothi Banao Batiyan did play major role in shaping Manna Dey’s career track on comedy songs, but Manna Dey virtually becoming Mehmood’s behind-the-screen voice appears to firm only by 1964. This impression will be further consolidated in our present episode, wherein we have only partially covered Manna Dey- Mehmood combination songs till 1966.

Incidentally, we carry forward trough in Manna Dey – Mehmood comedy songs under the baton of a particular music director, who has otherwise given some of the most notable Manna Dey songs – across different genres.

Kaisi Jhulmi Banayi Taine Nari Ke Mara Gaya Brahmchari – Chitralekha (1964) – Roshan – Sahir Ludhyanavi

Even if we do not consider Roshan’s two earlier Manna Dey comedy songs (that we plan to take up for detailed discussion in the subsequent episodes)  – Laaga Chunri Mein Daag and Phool Gendawa Na Maro – the song is an exceptional aberration from within other songs that Roshan – Sahir duo has so majestically composed for the film.

Haye Re Main To Prem Diwana Mera Dard Na Jaane Koi – Bedaag (1965) – Roshan – Shakeel Badayuni

Roshan now comes back with a tightly composed light, classical based tune. This time it is Shakeel Badayuni who has parodied the first line of a famous Meerbai bhajan Ae Ri Main To Prem Diwani, which Roshan has so melodiously composed as a Lata Mangeshkar solo in Nauabahar (1952)

Jaane Na Dunga Na Jaane Dunga  – Daadi Maa 1966 – with Asha Bhosle – Roshan – Majrooh Sultanpuri

Set to a very the then popular tonga rhythm genre, Roashan has once gain very skillfully deployed the semi-classical base tune while making room for comedy theatrics of the song. Shashikala who commenced her career in the heroine roles, and accepted well as vamp in the later part of her career, is seen here pairing with Mehmood in a comedy role.

Rehne Ko Ghar Do – Biwi Aur Makan (1966) – Hemant Kumar – Gulzar

Produced by Hemant Kumar and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Biwi aur Makaan centres round five young men, bosom buddies from their college days, who have vowed that they will stick together (which means living together) until each of them has a job and is independent. Mehmood, wielding his signature mannerisms, in a rustic youth role, is on the look out for a room for the five musketeers.

Duniya Mein Do Sayane, Ek Jhooth Hai Ek Sach   – Biwi Aur Makan (1966) – with Hemant Kuamr and Jayant Mukherjee – Hemant Kumar – Gulzar

Hemat Kumar has composed a very light mood song on a faster rhythm-based composition.

Hamare Hal Pe Reham Karo Ke Humse Aur Nahi Hota – Biwi Aur Makan (1966) – with Mukesh, Hemant Kumar  – Hemant Kumar – Gulzar

Two of the musketeers, masquerading as girls, vent their frustrations of playing this roles, to which the third one (Mehmood) cajoles in classical style, by lauding the roles of women in this world.

Anhoni Baat To Ho Gayi Hai – Biwi Aur Makan (1966) – with Joginder, Talat Mahmood, Mukesh – Hemant Kumar – Gulzar

One of the musketeers has now been stung by the arrow of Cupid. Two other friends excitedly try to make him understand the futility of such errands. The fourth one resorts to serious dialogue, with a biting tongue-in-cheek counselling.  Hemant Kumar and Gulzar have worked out a very innovative song for such a situation.

Dekhi Anadi Teri Preet Re – Biradari (1966) – Chitragupt – Prem Dhawan

Like many times in his valiant career, Chitragupt so forcefully holds the fort in an otherwise forgotten film. He has conjured up a very light classical composition which is made more lively by Manna Dey’s now well-experienced voice modulations for such songs.

Tum Jo So Ho Khuda To Nahi – Biradari (1966) – with Mohammad Rafi – Chitragupt – Prem Dhawan

The song is performed by Shashi Kapoor, Mehmood and Kanhaiyalal on the screen. But only two singers – Mohammad Rafi and Manna Dey – have been pressed in to playback the song. So what happens is that each of the three performers gets to lip sync both the singers. As we follow the performers on the screen and the singing voices in sequence, we can clearly make out that all three are singing lines by these two singers, by rotation.

Beta Jamure Ek Bat Kahega, Hanji, Kya Jhuth Kahega,  Naji – Biradari (1966) – with Mohammad Rafi – Chitragupt – Prem Dhawan

The song is set to a classical Monkey and his Guardian master roadshow. Songs of the roadshow genre songs bring in load of benign messages for the erring humanity.

Arara Arara Rang Do Sabhi Ko Ek Rang Mein – Biradari (1966) – with Mohamad Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur – Chitragupt – Prem Dhawan

This is not a comedy song. However the festival of colours, Holi, is always celebrated with loads of earthen pleasure. The song is a very playful presentation of that gay mood.

Jodi Hamari Jaamega Kaise Jaani – Aulad (1968) – with Asha Bhosle – Chitragupt – Majrooh Sultanpuri

Chitragupt, in very able company of very versatile Majrooh Sultanpuri, once again pumps life into a a very simple comedy situation – hero trying to be a westernized guy, heroine pulling towards her tadeonal culture. Manna Dey and Ashaa Bhosle also ably chip in.

Manna Dey – Mehmood combination have still some more songs in 1966 itself. But we shall take them up in the next episode along with later year songs, to conclude the Manna Dey – Mehmood comedy songs set.