RMIM ke Bhaio aur Baheno,

Recently Abhay posted an excellent article on the great C. Ramachandra's music
in Anarkali. This made me think of the other Anarkali in Moghul-e-Azam, in
which the music was composed by my favourite MD, Naushad Sahab. Although I
wouldn't be able to copy Abhay's unique literary style (don't ask me my TOEFL
score :-), I'll try to follow the same pattern to list the songs in the same
sequence as the occur in the movie. Its been a while since I watched this
movie, so please bear with me if I commit any chronological errors.

               ****The other Anarkali: NAUSHAD'S MAGIC !****

I would like to begin with the same sentence which Abhay used in his post.
However, I'll merely substitute the name C.Ramachandra with Naushad!

Naushad is undoubtedly the king of melody in Hindi Film Music. And unlike
C.Ramachandra (in Abhay's opinion, definitely not mine!), he composed a wide
variety of tunes. One of his masterpieces is the the music of K.Asif magnum
opus Moghul-e-Azam. What made the tunes sound better was that they were filmed
on the ultimate beauty of Hindi films: Madhubala!

The melodious music of Moghul-e-Azam is apparent from the very beginning when
the titles are shown. Abhay, you should listen to the sitars here! Most of the
people must be familiar with the story, and hence I don't want to delve into
the details. The beauty of the music in this film lies not only in its songs,
but the background score as well. An good example of the background music is
the time when Prince Salim (not Kohli :-) returns to his mother after 10+
years at the front, where he was sent as a kid in order to "be all you can
be!"

We finally get to the first song after a remarkable scene in which Madhubala
poses as a marble statue, and is given the title of Anarkali. This song is in
celebration of the return of Salim to the royal palace.

1. "Mohe panghat pe nandlal cheR gayo re......"  The opening notes on the
flute before the song begins are... , well, music to the ears! What else could
they be :-) Naushad Sahab has used his classical music background to the
maximum to churn out such a tune. The interludes on the sitar are good as
well. Another talent of Naushad Sahab is to use the chorus almost like an
extra instrument to add to the song's melody. He does that very well in this
song.

2. "Teri mehfil me kismat aazmake hum bhi dekhenge......" I think this is the
second song in the movie which is a competition between Anarkali and her rival
Bahaar, and is equivalent to the present day Antakshri. Again this song is a
combination of good music and lyrics.

Mohabbat humne maana zindagi barbaad karti hai
Ye kya kam hai marne pe duniya yaad karti hai
Kisike ishq me duniya lutakar hum bhi dekhenge......

3. The mutual love which develops between Salim and Anarkali is noticed by her
younger sister who has the courage to sing the following song in front of the
prince himself. IMHO, this is the most melodious song of the movie, although
not the most popular. It has a certain "flow" about it and the stanzas go up
and down in a smooth fashion. Also, the almost-negligible pause between two
lines of a stanzas adds to the melody.

"Ai ishq ye sab duniyawale bekaar ki baaten karte hai
Paayal ke ghamon ka ilm nahin, jhankar ki baaten karte hain...."

4. Hume kaash tumse mohabbat na hoti
   Kahani humari haqeeqat na hoti

   I think this is the 4th song in the movie. It really is a very difficult
song to sing and only Lata could have done justice to it. The song is set to a
very high pitch and has been sung to perfection by Lata. Anarkali realizes
that falling in love with the prince is not the ideal thing to do for a palace
maid.

At this juncture, Akbar (brilliantly played by Prithviraj Kapoor) comes to
know about the Salim-Anarkali romance and catches them together. The
background music while Akbar approaches is superb. Anarkali tries to run away
upon hearing the announcement of his arrival, only to walk almost right into
him. She then turns back and runs towards Salim, and faints in his arms. This
scene is picturized very well and the expression on Dilip Kumar's face at this
time is a testimony to his prowell as a great actor.

5. Anarkali is imprisoned and sings the following song in the prison. Another
good combo of music and lyrics:

"Mohabbat ki jhooti kahani pe roe
 Badi chot khaee jawani pe roe...."

Khabar kya thi honton ko seena padega
Mohabbat chupake bhi jeena padega
Jie to magar zindagani pe roe.

6. Now comes the most popular song of the movie: the immortal "Pyaar kia to
darna kya...." This part of the movie was in colour (rest was B&W). Anarkali
is promised freedom on the condition that she will declare that she made Salim
fall in love with her only due to the selfish motive of becoming the queen.
This song is her answer to Akbar. This is one of those songs along which you
feel like snapping your fingers (chutki). Very pertinent lyrics too:

Aaj kahenge dil ka fasana, jaan bhi lele chahe zamana
Ishq me jeena ishq me marna, aur hume ab karna kya
Jab pyar kia to darna kya.......

7. Anarkali is imprisoned again, and a war is waged between Akbar and Salim
with Akbar naturally emerging victorious in the end. The following song is a
supplication by Anarkali in the prison. Its a song which touches your soul,
and is rated by Lata herself in her top ten! Another very difficult song to
sing:

Bekas pe karam kijie Sarkar-e-Madina
Gardish me hai taqdeer, bhanwar me hai safeena (= boat)

8. Salim is arrested and sentenced. A local sculptor leads a protest against
Akbar and sings this song, the sole Rafi song in the movie:

Wafa ki raah me, aashiq ki eid hoti hai
Khushi manao logo, mohabbat shaheed hoti hai

Zindabad, zindabad , ai mohabbat zindabad
Daulat ke zanjeeron se tu, rehti hai aabaad.

9. Salim's life is spared on the condition that Anarkali would lose hers, and
she agrees. However, she insists that she be allowed to become the "malaika"
for a day, since Salim had promised her. She is granted her wish and asked to
drug Salim at night so that she could be taken away without his knowledge. At
this juncture, Bahaar (Anarkali's rival) sings the foll. song on the night
before Anarkali is to be executed. Note the pertinent lyrics:

Jab raat hai itni matwali
Phir subah ka aalam kya hoga.....

10. The final song is a background song, while Anarkali drugs Salim. Again
Naushad Sahab's musics combines with Shakeel's lyrics to produce a gem. At
this time, Salim is unconscious, while Anarkali knows that she is going to die
the next day.

Khuda nigehbaan ho tumhara, dhadakte dil ka payaam lelo
Tumhari duniya se jaa rahe hain, utho hamara salaam lelo

My fav. stanza in this song:

Uthe janaza jo kal humara, kasam hai tum ko na dena kaandha
Na ho humari mohabbat ruswa, zara  mohabbat (?) se kaam lelo

Finally, it turns out that Anarkali does not die, but Salim is made to think
so. This was the other difference from the movie "Anarkali", the first
difference being that in Moghul-e-Azam, Anarkali was the one and only
Madhubala. Moghul-e-Azam was yet another Naushad movie in which ALL songs were
great!


Whew that did take a lot of time to type. Abhay, its all your fault 'cause it
was ur article which inspired me to post this one :-) But, I guess it was
worth it because it is a small tribute to my favourite music director: NAUSHAD
ALI.


Sami Mohammed (A Naushad fan)...... who vows not to post an aritlce parallel
                                      to that of Abhay :-)