RMIM Archive Article "57".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Lata & Noorjehan - Parallel Lines Meet
# Part 4 - The last 40 years
#
# Posted by: vishk@cup.hp.com (Vish Krishnan)
# Author: vishk@cup.hp.com (Vish Krishnan)
#
Lata and Noor Jehan - Parallel Lines Meet
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Part 4 - The last 40 years
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After the passing of Ghulam Haider, Noor Jehan was, in a way,
temporarily orphaned. The new front of music makers was still
regrouping. She would star in around 10 more movies between 1955
and 1963. I wonder if any of her Pakistani movies of that age
(PATEY KHAN, LAKHT-E-JIGAR, QAIDI, INTEZAAR, NOORAN, CHHOO MAN-
TAR, ANARKALI, PARDESAN, NEEND, KOEL, GHALIB, BAJI) made it big.
I have lost track of Noor Jehan's movies following 1963. Did she
even do any?
The Pakistani music scene of the '50s was dominated by the old
stalwarts - first Master Haider, and later, Rashid Attre, Chishti
and Khurshid Anwar. The research is still on, and it may take a
couple of years to collect all this data.
For now, I wll ramble on just a bit about Noor Jehan's post-
Partition work.
Rashid Attre's classic song "Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Meh-
boob Na Maang" is from QAIDI, a mid-'50s movie. To this day, I
think of this song as Noor Jehan's best. There is at least one
other Rashid Attre song I remember, another smashing classic.
Set in a loose Bageshri framework, Noor Jehan sings:
Lat Uljhi Suljha Re Baalam, Main Na Lagaaongi Haath Re
Chaand Se Mukhde Ko Naagin Zulfen, Chaahe Dasein Saari
Raat Re I will never tire of it.
Another master classicist was Khurshid Anwar, who did very few
pre-Partition movies for Bombay cinema (notable are NISHANA, an
Ashok Kumar-Madhubala-Geeta Bali starrer of 1950, and SINGAAR,
and 1949 musical treat starring Madhubala and Suraiyya). From the
'50s, I recall 3 Noor Jehan songsby Khurshid Anwar, and they are
all cast in a classical mould. The Miyan Ki Todi rendition of
"Jis Din Se Piya Dil Le Gaye, Dukh De Gaye" perhaps does not
match up to our standards of virus-free and domesticated classi-
cal singing, but it has its place. And to top it, the
Jaijaiwanti song "Dil Ka Diya Jalaaya Toone" is a must-have. And
then in a style that almost completely describes the latter-day
Noor Jehan, she sings Khurshid Anwar's wonderful Tilak Shyam com-
position
Saagar Roye, Leheren Shor Machaayen,
Yaad Piya Ki Aaye, Naina Bhar Aaye
There was also this nostalgic treat from G.A. Chishti's LAKHT-E-
JIGAR ("Chanda Re Chanda Mere Daaman Ko Thaam Re"). Hazrat
Chishti, in his pre-47 days was a colleague of Pandit Amarnath,
and for a while, had the charge of Khaiyyaam's tutorship.
In a weak nostalic moment, Noor Jehan put in a half-song for Bom-
bay. The time was 1955. OP Nayyar, a giant personality then as
he is now, was in trouble with the music directors' association.
The movie was MUSAFIRKHANA, and it starred Shyama and Karan
Diwan. For Rafi, the MUSAFIRKHANA duet
Jhoote Zamaane Bhar Ke,
Jadu Kaisa Daar Gaye Mo Pe, Neechi Nazar Kar Ke
must have been a replay of the JUGNU dream all over again. In
his own words, he owed his first big popular break to JUGNU and
its protagonists.
One wonders why Noor Jehan did that crazy thing, just a bit ap-
pearance. My guess is the Panchholi connection. Mr. Dalsukh M.
Panchholi who gave Noor Jehan her first real movie also provided
OP with his first full assignment in his own AASMAAN, may have
brought Noor Jehan over for one last time. For OP, it came at a
time when he needed all the support he could get. He would nev-
er forget that gesture. Panchholi himself died in 1959, four
years after what I think was Noor Jehan's last Bombay song. He
had just turned 50.
The '50s and early '60s of the Pakistan movie scene gave us a new
breed of musicians like Nazir Ali, Nazar Hussain, Mohammed Ali
Mannu, Niaz Ahmed, Mohsin Razaa, Salim Iqbal and on. They
worshipped that voice and they still do. One song I can never
forget is (and I have no idea as to the composer):
Nighaahen Milaa Kar Badal Jaane Waale,
Mujhe Tujh Se Koi Shikaayat Nahin Hai
Ye Duniya Badi Sangdil hai, Yahaan Par
Kisi Ko Kisi Se Mohabbat Nahin Hai
The lyrics of this song are catchy, apt and almost funny
(although the song does not mean to be). At one point, Noor
Jehan says
Karoon Khud Main Fariyaad Apni Zubaan Se
Girein Toot Kar Bijliyaan Aasmaan Se
Main Ashqon Mein Saare Jahaan Ko Bahaa Doon,
Magar Mujh Ko Rone Ki Aadat Nahin Hai
And then there is the world of Noor Jehan's Punjabi songs. O
what a treat it is! I really do not know if these songs are
from movies. But they are a lot of fun. In one song, Noor Jehan
sings:
Sannu Neher Waale Pul Te Bulaa Ke,
Te Kore Maahi Kitthe Reh Gayaa
Saddi Akkaan Vichho Nindraan Udaa Ke
Te Kore Maahi Kitthe Reh Gayaa
And in other beautiful rendition in Madhyamaad Sarang, she says:
Ja ja We, Tainu Dil Ditta, De Ditta, Alla Vaaste
The list goes on, but I will stop with two of my current favour-
ites:
Seyoni Mera Maahi Mere Paag (Bhaag) Jagaawan Aa Gayaa
Mainu Heer Banaawan Aa Gayaa and
Sun Vanjali Di Mithdi Taan Re,
Main Ta Ho Ho Gayi Qurbaan Re
Noor Jehan's musical output diminished after the mid-'60s. Some
time in the believe Noor Jehan has recorded a few pieces of that
serial. But other than that, she has been in semi-retirement for
a few years now.
The Mailika-E-Tarannum has released several ghazals on record in
the last 30 years. The Indian recording industry is gradually
bringing the gems over. Perhaps some day I will write an adden-
dum.
In the early '80s, upon invitation from Bombay's old fans, the
melody queen visited India for that grand concert where Lata met
her long-time friend in person. It had been a few years. People
who attended the evening came back with their eyes a bit teary
from the experience.
In the mid '80s, our very own Asha Bhonsle took a turn from her
usual R.D. Burman fare, and decided to experiment with the ghazal
for a while. Was it the Khaiyyaam influence of Umrao Jaan? Just
a guess. In any event, she released 3 albums. One was a joint
collection with A. Hariharan, the second was with Ghulam Ali
(Meeraj-E-Ghazal) and third one, titled KASHISH was a triibute to
Noor Jehan. In this collection, she sings some Noor Jehan origi-
nals.
I am tempted to suggest that Asha does really well in some songs.
My favourites from this album (as my favourites from the
corresponding Noor Jehan originals) are:
Nazar Hussain's
Gul Khile Chaand, Raat Yaad Aayi
Aap Ki Baat, Baat Yaad Aayi
and Mohsin Razaa's
Neeyat-E-Shauq Bhar Na Jaaye Kahin
Tu Bhi Dil Se Utar Na Jaaye Kahin
Epilogue
--------
It is in the context of this album that I make my last point of
this dissertation. Noor Jehans originals were all rendered in
the '60s and '70s. And they all have a sense of pristine and raw
quality about them. This is a different Noor Jehan we hear from
her days in Bombay. The Asha homage by contrast is highly nor-
malized, and I might suggest, tame.
I would hazard the suggestion that in 1947, Lata was trying to
get close to Noor Jehan's voice-control. In the next 20 years,
the two movie industries diverged in many ways, but one point is
relevant here. Lata's trainers, especially Anil Biswas and Khemc-
hand Prakash, wanted a domesticated, classicized, well-modulated
voice that would never stray into savage territory.
I don't believe anyone put Noor Jehan through that kind of scru-
tiny in the early '50s. She was the undisputable queen. They
wouldn't dare tell her what to do. On the other hand, Lata was
the great rookie of 1948.
By the early '60s, the contrast was stark. In 1947, when Noor
Jehan delighted us with "Tum Bhi Bhula Do, Hum Bhi Bhula Dein"
(JUGNU), it seemed as though Lata's ideal singer was right
there. But the germs of voice-demodulation were present. They
always are. In Lata's case, these were carefully checked and al-
most clinically removed by master surgeons like Anil Biswas. It
appears that in Noor Jehan's case, the demodulation went un-
checked, and grew almost wildly. The musical handling of the
words, the pronunciation, the control, and just the overall
delivery all too often added up to a certain raw-ness. Certainly
age had something to do with it. But there was also the environ-
ment.
In a Nazar Hussain-composed song from the '60s, Noor Jehan sings:
Kyoon Chhoda Tumne Saath Hamaara Jawaab Do
Khaamosh Kis Liye Ho, Khudaa-ra Jawaab Do
As she throws her voice out, the lines almost start to sound like
"Jawaab Dau", and "Khaamaush Kis Liye Hau".
Perhaps this is a feature, not a bug. And perhaps it was a
disservice to the Indian audience committed by Surgeon General
Anil Biswas and his distinguished colleagues of the late '40s
that forever rendered Lata (and Asha) incapable of this
pristine-ness. But what do I know? I grew up believing that the
Lata modulation was the best there was, and then I heard the
latter-day Noor Jehan BEFORE I heard the Noor Jehan of the '40s.
Maybe it was for the best. Lata and Asha have their place with
their masters and their proteges - as does Noor Jehan.
--
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian