#508
Song: keh rahi
hai raat andheri ye jahaan kuchh bhi nahiin
chaand suraj aur zameen-o-aasmaan kuchh bhi nahiin
Film: Hyderabad
Ki Nazneen (1952)
Singer: Talat Mahmood
Music: Vasant Desai
Lyrics: Noor Lucknowi
*ing: Nigar Sultana,
Wasti
Four years today (May 9) since Talat passed on. A few of his forgotten
contributions in remembrance.
I have had a rather strange affinity for this song ever since I
first
heard it. Probably because that's exactly what it is, a strange
song. It
has a weird, surreal, other-wordly quality to it- an unusual symmetric
tune, a choral backdrop that starts with the prelude and continues
throughout, and an extremely striking rhythmic base - resonant
and
echoing drums that enhance the mysterious aura of the song. Wonderful
rendition by Talat.
Then there's the words, a forlorn statement on the meaninglessness
of
everything. And the music infuses an ominous undertone to the whole
musical experience...
kuchh yahaan ke vaaste kar kuchh vahaan ke vaaste
intehaan ye intehaan hai aur yahaan kuchh bhi nahiin
I don't know, this may sound like a rather overwrought deconstruction
ofthe song, but it's just the way the song makes me feel I guess.
It
seems to take you somewhere, somehow, or even more, it draws you
into
its world. It's a masterful composition. I don't remember what
visuals
go with it in the movie, it's been a while since I saw it.
Songs from this movie have cropped up on several occasions on RMIM,
thrice before on ATMJH itself. This is one of Vasant Desai's gloriously
forgotten contributions to HFM - a modestly sized but truly enhanting
soundtrack of six beautiful songs, crowned by Raj Kumari's magnificent
'nazron men samaane se qaraar aa na sakega'. My other favorite
is Lata's
'jaao chamka subah ka sitaara', which is cast into a similarly
surreal
musical setting.
..Hrishi
Audio clip: 508.rm