#460

        Song:    wo unka muskuraana, sharmaana, chale jaana
                 yuun baat hai zaraa si, par ban gaya afsaana

        Film:    Sangram (1950)
        Singer:  Arun Kumar
        Music:   C Ramchandra
        Lyrics:  Vrajendra Gaur
        *ing:    Ashok Kumar, Nalini Jaywant

Speaking of Arun Kumar singing for Ashok Kumar (in one of my earlier
posts), another lovely song came to mind... this gentle, romantic
statement from CR in one of his earliest soundtracks. 'Sangram' is a
rather bleak, filme-noire style movie, dotted with some intimate
romantic sequences with this memorable star pair, but eventually
spiralling into an irreversibly doomed climax. However, it is a
memorable soundtrack, with songs like "din aaye pyaare pyaare barsaat
ke" (Lata), "ulfat ke jaadu ka dil mein asar hai" (CR/Lata), etc.

The soft, comforting ring in Arun Kumar's voice makes most of his songs
very soothing to listen to (except the intentionally boisterous ones
like Jhoola's delightful 'main to dilli se dulhan laaya re'). This is a
very enjoyable sequence in the movie; the re-kindling of an old flame,
the first proclamation of feelings, harbinger of a promising romantic
future. That it does not quite end the ideal way is unfortunate.

The antaraas of this song are slow-paced and deliberate - and they tie
back in very nicely to the central melodic theme of the song:

wo bekhabar thhe, madhosh thhe, gaafil thhe (sung slowly)
ab hosh jo aaya to dil hi hua deewaana (picks up on the main rhythm)
yuun baat hai zaraa si par ban gaya afsaana...

Nothing unusual in this arrangement of course, but very pleasant to
listen to (and watch, I might add, though Nalini Jaywant goes a bit
overboard with the 'sharmaana'. The visuals DO contribute positively to
the overall 'musical experience'). A nice, nicely picturized song.