As a meticulous curator, dedicated researcher and an occasional author, Harish 
Raghuvanshi is not an unknown name to the loyal Hindi Film Music followers. He has painstakingly collected a vast treasure of huge, and highly valuable, data relating to the film history. But he remains zero error perfectionist at the core when it comes to sharing any information to others. As a result, he has been very frugal when it comes to publish his work in the print media.
His one such work of immense value was a book, Inhe Na Bhulana, published 
in Gujarati in 2003. It is a compendium of crisp career notes of 35 film personalities of the early golden period of the Hindi Films, who had had carved a niche in their days, but not much has been authoritatively documented about their work. The book is now out of print for many years.
To the good fortune of the documented Hindi Film history, Sunderdas Vishandas Gohrani has undertaken the task of translating Harish Raguvanshi’s original Gujarati work into Hindi. Sunderdas Gohrani’s Hindi translation id now published as Inhe Na Bhulana (इन्हें न भुलाना).
In the history of 106+ years, there is a vast number of people who have been directly associated with the Hindi films on, and off, the screen. Most of these people, while being highly dedicated to their respective profession, certainly not very commercial in their overall outlook. Discussions of the film personalities normally remained confined to private discussions in parties and clubs. As a result, many of the most noted aspects of even the-then-well-known personalities did not last long once these persons went inactive.
Barring a few, the 35 film personalities that Harish Raghuvanshi has chosen in the book, do not belong to the miniscule minority of well-documented on-screen personalities. But, each of the person discussed does have a well-defined place, known and etched into the minds of their fans. Harish Raguvanshi presents such details in very lucid style, with his known zero-error-accuracy.
Here is the list of the film personalities discussed in the book:
| प्रेम अदीब; रुपहले पर्देके राम
Prem Adib: Ram of our silver screen |
निगार सुल्ताना: पिन अप गर्ल
Nigar Sultana: Pin Up Girl |
| श्याम: रंगीन तबीअतका जाम
Shyam: Peg of a colorful life |
कुलदीप कौर: क़ातिल नज़रकी कटार
Kuldeep Kaur: Dagger of deadly gaze |
| कन्हैयालाल: मदर इण्डियाका अकेला ‘सुखालाल‘
Kanhaiyalal : The only “Sukhalal of ‘Mother India’ |
नसीम बानो : ‘परी-चेहरा‘
Nasim Bano: ‘Fairy-face’ |
| मज़्हर खान: पुलिस विभाग से रुपहले पर्दे तक
Mazhar Khan : From police force to silver screen |
लीला मेहता: स्लीवलेस ब्लाउज़ वाला रोल ठुकराने वाली
Leela Mehta : Rejected a sleeveless bloused role |
| नूर मुहम्मद: चार्ली पलट तेरा ध्यान किधर है
Noor Muhammad Charlie : Where is your inverted attention |
शक़ीळा: बाबूजी धीरे चलना
Shakeela : Babuji Dheere Chalana |
| मास्टर निसार: अब वो मुक़दर नहीं रहा…
Master Nissar : When that destiny |
दुलारी: साढे पांच दस्गक का फ़िमी सफर
Dulari: A film journey of 5 ½ decades |
| पी. जयराज : ऐतिहासुक पात्रोंके रुपमें इतिहासमें स्थान बनाने वाले
P. Jairaj: Created a place in the history through historical characters |
क़मर जलालाबादी: इक दिलके टुकडे हज़ार हुए
Qamar Jalalabadi: Ik Dil Ke Tukade Hzar Hue |
| कृष्णकान्त उर्फ के.के.: चिरवृध्द अभिनेता
Krishnakant a.k.a. K.K.: Eternally old actor |
भरत व्यास: तुम गगनके चन्द्रमा हो
Bharat Vyas : Tum Gagan Ke Chandrama Ho |
| रंजन: ‘तलवारबाज़ के रुपमें मान्य प्रतिभाशाली
Ranjan: The recognized talent in the form of swordsmanship |
खुमार बाराबंकवी: तस्वीर बनाता हूं
Khumar Barabankvi: Tasveer Banata Hun |
| महीपाल: फिल्ममें गीत लीखनेवाळे एकमात्र ‘राम‘
Mahipal: Only ‘Ram’ to pen lyrics for films |
पं. नरेन्द्र शर्मा: ज्योति कलश छलके
Pt. Narendra Sharma: Jyoti Kalash Chhalake |
| नासिर ख़ान: ट्रेजॅडी-किंगका भाई होनेकी ट्रेजेडी
Nasir Khan : Tragedy of being the brother of tragedy-king |
प्रेम धवन: गीत, संगीत और नृत्यकी त्रिवेणी
Prem Dhawan: Three-way confluence of song, music and dance |
| याकूब: रहे नाम अल्लाह का
Yaqub: God’s name shall prevail |
मास्टर फिदा हसैन बने ‘प्रेम शंकर नरसी‘
Master Phida Hussain becomes ‘Prem Shankar Narasi’ |
| गोप; मेरे पिया गये रंगून
Gop: Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon |
माधुलाल मास्टर: संगीतके नींवके पत्थर परन्तु संयोगो के समक्ष कठपूतली
Babulal Master: Corner stone of music, but puppet against circumstances |
| करण दीवान: चाक्लेटी हीरो
Karan Diwan: Chocolate hero |
वी. बलसारा: सात दशकका स्वर-संसार
V. Balsara: Seven decades of world of notes |
| जयन्त: गब्बर सिंह के पिता
Jayant: Father of Gabbar Sinh |
अल्ला रखा अर्थात तबला
Alla Rakha means Tabla |
| वास्ती: एक याद किसीकी आती रही
Vasti: A continuing memory of someone |
द्वारकादास सम्पत: मूक फिल्मों का गुजराती मान्धाता
Dwarkadas Sampat: Towering Gujarati personality of silent films |
| डी बीलीमोरिया: र्रुपहले सलीमकी सुनहरी सफलता
D Bilimoria: Silvery success of sliver-screen Salim |
मोहनलाल दवे: हिन्दी फिल्मोंकी पटकथा के गुजराती पितामह
Mohanlal Dave – Grandfather of Hindi film screenplays |
| ई. बीलीमोरिया डोर कीपर से हीरो
E. Bilimoria: From door-keeper to hero |
|
Of the 35 career-sketches presented in the book, 18 sketches are of the actors, 6 those of actresses, 5 those of lyricists, 1 character actor, 3 music directors, 1 producer and 1 screenplay writer.
Each career-sketch is highly informative and is packed with all important details, including birth date, birth place, death date etc. too. And yet, none of the article becomes a drab documentary record. Each sketch is very concise. The title of each sketch has quite a pithy subtitled adjective, which creates a full picture of the concerned personality in the mind of the reader. The simple, fluent writing style of the author makes reading of the book as much interesting as it make rewarding. The Hindi translation of such a unique style must have been a major challenge for the translator, Sunderdas Gohrani. But we must give full credit to him – the Hindi text never appears clichéd or contrived.
For the generation who have seen the films of (even some of) these artists, the book is a nostalgic trip. To the new, and the future, generations, the book will be torch that will shed the light on the type of pioneering work that generation of the film personalities have done to help create one of the most productive film industries of the world. For the researchers and the historians, the book will be an invaluable source of authentic references.
Once you read this book there is bound to be a deep urge to look out for more works of Shri Harish Raghuvanshi. Fortunately, there appears a ray of light at the end of tunnel – all efforts are being made to get his all-time classic, Mukesh Geet Kosh, and Gujarati Film Geet Kosh reprinted. His 103 articles on the contribution of the Gujarati community in Hindi cinema is also under advanced stage of getting printed under the title Hindi Cinema Gujarati Mahima.
How one would wish that along with Inhe Na Bhulana as well as these potential reprints be available for online purchase, and ideally in the digital formats.
However till that becomes a reality, these publications (and of course the Hid Film Geet Kosh volumes of Har Mandir Sinh ‘Hamraza’ and his coauthored with Harish Raghuvanshi book on K L Saigal, Jab Dil Ji Toot Gaya) can be purchased from the publisher:
Mrs. Satider Kaur,
H.I.G-545, Ratan Lala Nagar, Kanpur 208 022, India ║ Mobile / Whatsapp No. – +91 9415485281 ║ E-mail: hamraaz18@yahoo.com
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Inhe Na Bhulan | Pages 155 | September, 2018 | Price – Rs. 300.00
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Email Contacts:
Harish Raghuvanshi: harishnr51@gmail.com
Sunderdas Vishandas Gohrani: sundergohrani@yahoo.co.in
The world is too small? or Is it? 