#323

        Song:   Daaro re rang daaro re rasiya
                Phagun ke din aaye re aaye re
        Film:   Jogan (1950)
        Singer: Geeta Roy, chorus
        Music:  Bulo C Rani
        Lyrics: Pandit Indra
        *ing:   Nargis, Dilip Kumar


This movie, in a nutshell, is a  Geeta  Roy  paradise.  It's  the
single  biggest assembly of Geeta beauties I've ever come across-
12 out of it's impressive count of 15 are in her  voice,  and  10
out  of these 12 are solos (the other two are with a chorus and a
'Male Voice' respectively, according to the CD  jacket).  Six  of
these  are  Meera  bhajans  (not surprising, since the movie *is*
about the legendary poet-saint), set beautifully to tune by  Bulo
C Rani, and it seems like Geeta was born to sing them. Every last
song in this Ranjit classic is a treasure- one could  well  spend
an entire month on ATMJH discussing nothing but this soundtrack.

I picked  one  of  her  non-solos  for  today's  ATJMH,  and  I'm
listening  to  the  tune as I write this. I first _saw_ this song
when I was visiting India 2 years ago, and have  been  trying  to
procure  it since- finally got it yesterday. An endearingly sweet
tune, steeped deeply in a classical base but with a very palpable
playfulness  about  it.  A very young Nargis and an equally young
voice of Geeta combine beautifully to multiply its appeal.

The singular male solo in the film -  the  soulfully  impassioned
'Sundarta  ke  sabhi  shikaari'  by  Talat Mehmood, is  worthy of
being counted among *his* best.

Rest assured, we'll be revisiting 'Jogan'periodically on  ATMJH.I
don't  want  to  just  fleetingly  mention  songs  that deserve a
dedicated post.



PS The inevitable query to the walking encyclopaedias on RMIM:
    Does Bulo C Rani have any other claim to fame ? I dont
   think I've seen any other songs by this talented MD.




Guest Author: Hrishi Dixit