RMIM Archive Article "195".


From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian

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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Year in Hindi Films
#         1948 (Part 1): Kishore and Asha
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# Posted by: Surjit  Singh,  dussh@ttacs.ttu.edu
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1948 Part A: ASHA and KISHOR To get information about these two giants of the Hindi movie playback scene, get article numbers 11 and 12 for Asha and article numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10 for Kishor. The articles can be obtained by sending e-mail to pkohli@cc.gatech.edu with the subject rmim article n, where n is the article number. To get the list of articles, send the subject rmim article list. Asha has sung the largest number of songs (about 7595 until 1994) for Hindi movies, and, she has said in interviews that she also sang the largest number of songs for Marathi movies. The definitive reference book "svaraashaa" on Asha may be obtained from Mrs. Vasanti Nerurkar, 2/15 Kailash Parwat, Gilbert Hill Andheri, Bombay, 400058 India. Phone number is 022-624-3587. This 400 page book, has the first lines, music directors, lyricists, other singers, movie, year of release of all her Hindi movie songs, and also has about 40 pages of pictures. In addition, it has many valuable lists. I have ordered but not received my copy yet. She sang her first line in a chorus, "saavan aaya (3) re", from chunariyaa (1948), MD Hans Raj Bahal and lyricist Mulk Raj Bhakhari. She sang only the words, "bahanaa khush ho ke sagan manaaye". The other singers were Zohraa and Giitaa. Her first solo was, "hai.n mauj me.n apane begaane" in the movie raat kii raanii (1949), MD bahal and lyrics aarzuu lakhahnavii. The first song of Asha that I have heard is from baavare nayan (1950), a duet with rafii written by Kedar Sharma, MD Roshan. The duet is, "muhabbat ke maaro.n kaa haal ye duniyaa me.n hota hai". In this Platinum Decade (1941-50), she sang just 51 songs. Some other female singers and their numbers for this decade are: Zoharaabaaii - 1229 Lata - 383 Geeta - 340 She will surpass all female singers in the next Golden Decade and in every decade after that. Kishor started his playback singing career with the solo, "marane kii duaaye.n kyo.n maa.nguu.N" and a duet with Lata, "ye kaun aayaa re" for Dev in the movie ziddii (1948), MD Khemchandra Prakash and lyricist Professor Jazbii for the solo and prem dhavan for the duet. The movie was directed by shaahid latiif, also well-known as a story and a dialog writer. Latiif was born on June 11, 1913 in Chandausi, UP; graduated from Aligarh Muslim University; joined Bombay Talkies in 1940. He collaborated on the scripts of jhuulaa (1941), basant (1942) and, qismat (1943). He directed movies like aarzuu (1950), buzdil (1951), sone ki chi.Diyaa (1958), bahaare.n phir bhii aaye.ngii (1966). His wife was the noted Urdu writer Ismat Chugtai. The ziddi duet was Kishor's first duet with Lata, they will sing 320 more duets. Kishor was not mentioned in the credits, but he played a gardener, who made several witty remarks to the audience. Once he helps Dev get out of a ditch and speaks to him. The ziddi songs are the only two songs he sang in 1948. In 1949, he sang 3, in 1950, 10, for a total of 15 songs in the Platinum Decade. Asha and Kishor sang their first duet, "ek, do, tiin, chaar, baaGo.n me.n aayii bahaar", from the movie muqaddar (1950), MD James Singh, lyricist bharat vyaas. I "downloaded" it from Radio Ceylon in 1976 or so. It is quite good and reminds one of their mastii - bhare duets in the Golden Decade. Here are excerpts from my favorite interview of Kishor that appeared in India Today of May 15, 1985. It was given to Sumit Mitra and happened when he announced his retirement from show- biz. At that time, he was 56, had had two heart attacks, four marriages, an unending string of playback hits, charging about Rs. 35,000 for one movie song. IT: Which of the following are you first - director, actor, singer? KK: Actor. I am an actor who sings off the screen for another actor. ... IT: But if you'are constantly acting as a singer, don't you think that you run the risk of losing a consistent singing style? KK: Who cares for singing styles in films really. K. L. Saigal had the best style, but today's audiences will not accept the unreality of a ceremomnial piece of music every now and then. We playback singers develop a lot of vanity. We tend to think of ourselves as singers independent of the script. IT: Aren't you handicapped by not being a trained musician? KK: Very little. I have a good memory, and that helps. ... IT: Is it not abhorrent that songs should be an integral part of Indian commercial cinema ... ? KK: Who am I to object to songs? It is my livelyhood. But its responsibility lies with the filmmakers who, after 50 years of sound film, have not been able to give cinema an identity of its own. ...they'll put the blame on the audience. But the film-goers have been conditioned to expect a boy and a girl to burst into song when they meet. When a man and a woman roll over each other on velvet grass in Kashmir valley, you expect them to make love - not sing in the voices of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. IT: People here talk of your aloofness towards other singers - like the late Rafi, and Lata Mangeshkar. KK: That is utterly baseless. I had great regard for Rafi, a singer of rare calibre. Lata is the goddess of singing; she fully knows about my admiration for her. I think what is more frequently criticised is not my attitude to colleagues but my attitude to singing for films. Playback singing is fun and good money. But it's not a big art really; only the film and record people glorify it with all those gold and silver discs given to singers. I wish I could take all of them to the goldsmith and draw the metal out. IT: Has Indian playback singing any future? KK: Commercially, yes. Artistically, no. You don't expect music to be brilliant when the films are so bad. Actually, the B-grade movies that are doing good business now cater to an audience which wants a lot of noise to fill the soundtrack and a lot of feminine flesh to fill the optical track. Jeetendra, Sridevi ... what kind of music do you expect with these ingredients? The industry is full of shopkeepers who'are out to make money - not art. IT: Who is the best music director you worked with? KK: S. D. Burman. I owe everything to him. IT: And the worst? KK: I'll tell you after I reach Khandwa (his hometown where he wants to retire.) ------------------------------- The second part of 1948 - A Year in Hindi Movies will posted soon. Posted by Surjit Singh, a diehard movie fan(atic), period.
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian