The Micro View of Songs of 1943 – The Duets – MY Top Duet Songs

The first observation that comes up after the Micro Review of the Duets is that number of duets is large for the year 1943 than the normal. This is corroborated the statistics provided in the overview post of SoY – Duets occupy a 31.44% (172 out of total 547 songs) share of the total songs for which the singers are identified in HFGK.

However, out of these 172 duet songs I have been able to capture only 60 odd songs in the Micro View and SoY has taken note of 27 duets in the Memorable Songs of 1943. This makes it just half of the total population, too less for any meaningful objective study! Moreover, of the 60 duets in the Micro View, two male singers have 8 (Arun Kumar) and 6 (G M Durrani) with two or three other singers having more than one duets. That would leave almost a third of the duets with only by any given pair of singers.

With so larger proportion of one duet per pair, our practice of covering such single songs in the list of the songs that I liked during the first listening would make the list too long, and yet so incomplete. So, I will dispense with this practice for the year.

The rest of the songs that I have chosen here again have my own subjective choice, thereby rendering the entire list as being too inadequate and subjective to be classifies ‘Top Duets’ for year. So, to order some semblance to the content of the present list, I have heavily drawn from the songs included in Special Songs and Best Ten Duets of 1943 from Best songs of 1943: Wrap Up 3

Here are MY choices of duets of 1943, in the alphabetical order of name of te film-

GM Durrani, Sitara – Gori Baanke Nayan Se Chalaaye Jadua – Aabroo (1943) – ‘Hasrat’ Lakhanav – Govind Ram

Anjali and Motilal – Kaanton sa chubhata jata hai – Aage Kadam (1943) – Kailash Matwala – Master Madhav Lal and RC Pal

Master Amritlal, Leela Pawar – Ho Mat Piyo More Chhaila Tambaku Re – Aage Kadam (1943) – Kailash Matwala- Madholal Master and RC Pal

G M Durrani, Kaushalya – NainoN Mein NainaN Dinho Daal, O Baanke Nainawale – Angoori – Ram Murti – Ghulam Mustafa (G.M.) Durrani

Vishnupant Pagnis, Kaushalya – Jo Hum Bhale Bure Ho Tere – Bhakta Raj – D N Madhok – C Ramchandara

Ishwarlal, Kaushlya – Do Bol Mohabbatwale Koi Bolo ….  – Chirag – D N Madhok – Khemchand Prakash

Arun Kumar (Mukherjee), Suraiya – Bistar bichha diya hai tere ghar ke saamne – Hamari Baat (1943) – Wali Saheb – Anil Biswas

Arunkumar,  Amirbai Karnataki –  Hum Aisi Kismet Ko Kya Kahein Haye, Jo Ek Din Hansaaye Ek Din Rulaaye – Kismet (1943) – Pradeep – Anil Biswas

Chitalkar and Parul Ghosh – More Raja Ki Oonchi Atariya – Muskurahat (1943) – IC Kapoor – C Ramchandra

Paresh Banerjee and Rajkumari – Dhuein Ki Gaadi Udaye Liya Jaaye – Nai Kahani (1943) – Wali Saheb – Shyam Sundar

Paresh Banerjee and Rajkumari –  Manmandir  Mein Aye Baalam – Nai Kahani (1943) – Wali Saheb – Shyam Sundar

Parul Ghosh, Sitara – Fasle Bahar Gaae Ja Dil Mein Gam Rulae Ja– Najma – Anjum Pilibhiti – Rafiq Gazanavi  B A

S N Tripathi, Rajkumari – Panghat Par Paani Bharane – Panghat – Ramesh Gupta – S N Tripathi

Rafique Ghazanvi, Menka, Chorus – Panchhi Ud Chala Apne Desh, ….  – Prithvi Vallabh – Pt. Sudarshan – Rafique Ghazanvi

Kishore Sahu, Pratima Dasgupta – Niraali Duniya Hamari – Raja – Rammurti – Khan Mastana

Saraswati Rane and Amirbai Karnataki – Aao Ri Suhagan Nari Mangal Gaao Ri – Ram Rajya (1943)- Ramesh Gupta – Shankar Rao Vyas

Kamal Dasgupta and Anima Dasgupta – Saawan mein boondan ki jhalar daali – Rani (1943) – Pt. Madhur- Kamal Dasgupta

Noor Mohammad Charlie, Suraiya – Udate Panchhi Kaun Unako Bataye– Sanjog- D N Madhok – Naushad Ali

Jayshree and Zohrabai Ambalewali – Chaand sa nanha aye phoolon sa khil khil jaaye –Shakuntala (1943)- Ratan Piya – Vasant Desai

Khan Mastana, Zohrabai Amabalewali – Suahaani Suhaani Ho Gayi Suhaani, Sajan Apani Zindgani Ho Gayi Suhaani – Talaash  – A. Karim – Khan Mastana

Asit Baran and Binota Roy(?) – Jeevan Hai Bekaar Bina Tumhare – Wapas (1943) – Pt. Bhushan – RC Boral

Asit Baran and Indrani (?) – Bhool Na Jana Aaj Ki Baatein – Wapas (1943)- Munshi Zakir Hussain – music RC Boral

SoY, in Best songs of 1943: Wrap Up 3,  states that three duets – More Baalapan Ke Saathi Bhul Jaiyo Na – happy and sad versions – (Tansen, K L Saigal, Khursheed – Music – Khemchand Prakash); Dheere Dheere Aa Re Badal Dheere Dheere Aa (Kismet – Arun Kumar (Ashok Kumar), Amirbai Karanatki – Music: Anil Biswas) and Bharat Ke Ek Sannari Ki Katha Sunate Hai (Ram Rajya – Yashwant Bua Joshi and Yaswant Nikam – Music: Shankar Rao Vyas) have stood the test of times and are till so well  remembered even today. I, personally endorse the statement.