#467

       Song:    chhum chhum chali piya ki gali
                main sapne naye sajaake
                kaisa jaadu kar gaye saajan
                in nainan mein aake...

       Film:    Ek Saal (1957)
       Singer:  Lata Mangeshkar
       Music:   Ravi
       Lyrics:  Ravi(?)
       *ing:    Madhubala, Ashok Kumar
 

I was just watching this movie yesterday, hence the interjection in the
originally promised Lata-CR compilation posts. I shall get back to them
soon.

Oftentimes HMV tends to get hung up on specific songs in a soundtrack,
and other equally good, even better tracks get sidetracked (pun
unintended... maybe intended, actually). Ek Saal is one such - Talat's
rendition of the Lata-Talat tandem 'sub kuchh lutaake hosh mein' is the
only song that has made its way into various EMI compilations (and more
recently, the Hemant-Lata duet 'ulajh gaye do naina'). It is a
beautiful song, of course, but so are the others in this movie -
Asha's 'tuu jiye hazaaron saal gori', Lata solos like 'chale bhi
aao', 'sub kuchh lutaake..', etc. and of course, today's selection.

This is one of those straight-line tunes, very simple, very melodious
and very true to the words. It exudes joy and celebration. Which is
exactly what is going on on-screen in this song; a jubilant Madhubala
merrily dancing in the garden to this upbeat tune, as she goes...

    rut hai bahaar kii, solaa singaar kii
    kaanon mein more shehnaaii baaje pyaar kii
    duniya se rakhuun kaise preet chhupaake
    chhum chhum chali piya ki gali...

There is a morbid side to it, though... since what she is celebrating
does not really exist. This is a rather sad movie, come to think of it;
one that demarcates characters very sharply into black and white - an
innocent, loving and terminally ill girl on one side, contrasted with a
scheming, money-minded, heartless Machiavellian crook who is being paid
to 'love' her. That people like Ashok Kumar's character may exist in
the world is a scary thought.

Aside, for those who may be interested, HMV recently released a Ravi
Golden Collection (of course, featuring Talat's 'sub kuchh lutaa ke'
from this movie). Not a bad compilation.

..Hrishi