My Favourites: Stage Performances

I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms. I seem to have wandered off far away from Hindi films and film songs, even though I spent half my nights listening to a playlist of songs over and over and over again, almost obsessively. In that playlist are songs that range from the sublime to the ridiculous, from the melodious to the musically-challenged - they all appeal to me in different ways for different reasons.

And so, I cast about for a theme; I have been accused of being very fastidious about my themes, of being so particular about their definition that my readers are scared to post their choices for fear I will reject them. Hmm... methinks the lad doth protest too much. 

I'm fascinated by the stage. Once mankind moved from being hunter-gatherers, every culture and civilisation has had its own version of the performing arts - Greek and Roman theatre, Commedia dell'arte, Renaissance fare, Restoration spectacular, Sanskrit theatre... the list is endless. 

When film became the norm, the early directors used many familiar elements from theatre - song and dance, drama and melodrama, tragedy and comedy; only the platform changed, the act remained the same. As film progressed beyond the trappings of theatre, though, in Indian cinema at least, we continued to hold on to our songs and dances. Situations were once cleverly crafted to include song; and in reverse, songs were meticulously composed to be part of a theatre-within-a-film. 

So. Today's theme is performances on stage. Much to a certain reader's chagrin, I shall now set down my  parameters for this theme - it has to be on stage; not a fair ground performance, or a nightclub (which has a stage of sorts), or a roadside act. It cannot just be a singer (or singers) standing on stage singing a song. (That took out one of my perennial favourites Mere mehboob tujhe.) I wanted a performance - a dance drama, a dance competition, something that involved those on stage actually moving instead of standing there holding a mike and looking for all the world like stuffed frogs. I didn't want it to be a dream sequence (that took Paanch rupaiyya barah aana out of the running). 

So, with all my restrictions for myself, without much ado, and in no particular order, here are my favourites.

1. Woh ik nigaah kya mili 

Half-Ticket (1962)

Music: Salil Choudhary

Lyrics: Shailendra
Singers: Kishore Kumar, 
Lata Mangeshkar

This is probably the stage song to end all stage songs. Kishore Kumar, on the run from Pran, who is chasing after him to regain a diamond he placed in the 'lad's' pocket, literally tumbles into a stage show, and begs the dancer (Helen) to help him. Of course, he asks for help in verse. And Helen, quick on the uptake, responds, also in verse, absorbing him into her act.  Watch this for some inspired lunacy that Kishore Kumar brings on stage. Pran joins in, in disguise. Hear it for Lata's mastery of the notes and pitch. Salilda, confident of Lata's ability to soar into the high notes without losing her perfect pitch, made Lata trill in almost-operatic frequency. She sounds like a bird on the high notes,and you have to listen carefully to distinguish where her voice ends and the flute begins. Helen does not miss a step, Lata does not miss a note, and Pran ends up being tied up to a stage prop while Kishore goes along his merry way. 

2. Gore gore o banke chhore 

Samadhi / 1950

Music: C Ramchandra

Lyrics: Rajinder Krishen

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, 

Amirbai Karnataki 

College functions allow Hindi films to insert a song even if there is really no situation to fit it into. In Samadhi, Nalni Jaywant and Kuldeep Kaur perform a flirtatious conversational number, with an appreciative Ashok Kumar in the audience. I like that they have the deeper-voiced Amirbai Karnataki giving playback for Kuldip Kaur, who is the 'male' on stage. Because while Amirbai's voice is definitely female, it still has a touch of bass, which makes it perfect for a female-disguised-as-a-male - that everyone knows is a female-disguised-as-a-male. C Ramchandra is credited with bringing 'western' influences into Hindi film music; while that is not strictly true, he did use a lot of western rhythms in his compositions.

3. Main Bengali chokra 

Raagini (1958)

Music: OP Nayyar

Lyrics: Qamar Jalalabadi

Singers: Kishore Kumar, 
Asha Bhosle

This was a song that was tailor made for Kishore Kumar. He got to clown around, being chased by the woman (for a change, the heroine takes the initiative) importuning him to return her love, all the while singing a lovely song that is humorous as well as romantic. Padmini is the revelation here, matching Kishore's comic timing with elan, even as she dances up a classical storm. The song had its stereotypes well in place - with both Kishore and Padmini dressed in the overtly traditional costumes (it was also funny because Kishore was Bengali chokra while Padmini was a Madrasi chokri (even though she was a Keralite by birth, she and her sisters were brought up in erstwhile Madras. I'm pretty sure she would identify strongly as a Madrasi chokri.) It may not be politically correct, but it was pretty funny all the same, and OP Nayyar's composition hit all the right notes, while Qamar Jalalabadi had a blast with the lyrics. Especially when Kishore tells her Sach poochho to mere dil mein pyaar illai-illai (To tell you the truth, there is no love in my heart) and she replies: O Bengali, meraa ho jaa kahti hai Miss Pillai (Please be mine, o Bengali, begs Miss Pillai.) 

4. Shola jo bhadke

Albela (1952)

Music: C Ramchandra

Lyrics: Rajinder Krishen

Singers: Chitalkar, 
Lata Mangeshkar
I love the beats in Shola jo bhadke. It is such an infectious number, and Geeta Bali brings a joyousness to her movements that find its complement in Bhagwan's signature step. As stage entertainers (in the film), it is strange that there are only two stage numbers (out of 12 songs) - this one, and Bholi surat dil ke khote. Lata Mangeshkar was the sole female voice; Mohammed Rafi stepped in for two duets while C Ramchandra's alter ego Chitalkar sang the rest. Inspired and encouraged by Raj Kapoor, Bhagwan decided to write, produce, direct and act in his own film. He had directed a string of low-budget movies before this, but this was his first production. None of the top actresses he approached agreed to act in his film once it was known he was the hero, and in later interviews, he would express his gratitude towards Geeta Bali for agreeing at once, even though she knew she was not the first choice. Far better known for its lovely songs which ranged from 'western' tunes to Indian folk songs, and a mix of Indian and western instruments in its orchestration, Albela was the third highest grosser of the time.
 

5. Solah baras ki

Aag (1948)

Music: Ram Ganguly

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Singers: Mohammed Rafi, Shamshad Begum

I love the picturisation. Starting off with a pot swinging in midair (while a ghatam plays in the background), then moving to various  musical instruments (while they simultaneously play in the background) to the folk tune/dances and even the closeup shot of the graceful movements of a dancer's hands (whoever those hands belonged to do, definitely is a graceful dancer - the movements are fantastic), it is a wonderful stage song. Like Albela, the plot of Aag also hinged on the stage; only here, Raj Kapoor's Kewal is the director, not the performer. Ram Ganguly would not compose music for Raj Kapoor after this; from Barsaat, Shankar-Jaikishen would take over the music for every RK production until Bobby.

6. O yaar zulfonwale
Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962)
Music: OP Nayyar
Lyrics: Shewan Rizvi
Singers: Mohammed Rafi
Asha Bhosle 
Now this crosses into the 60s where the stage performances suddenly saw inexplicable costume changes without a pause in the song. However, this is a  lovely song in a film that boasted many wonderful melodies. Taking its chorus from the beginning of an Amir Khusrau Dehlvi couplet (Zabaan-e-yaare-man turki, wa man turki namidaanam) which he wrote in Persian, the song has three stanzas, each one depicting the lead pair as lovers in three different eras. Sadhana looked beautiful (she still can't dance, which makes me wonder how on earth she debuted as one of the background dancers in Barsaat!), Joy is handsome, the movie is half-baked, but do watch the film for the lead pair and the songs. The latter are, without exception, wonderful.

7. Mere piya gaye rangoon
Patanga (1949)
Music: C Ramchandra
Lyrics: Rajinder Krishen
Singers: Chitalkar, 
Shamshad Begum
Ever found yourself missing your beloved? In today's world of communication (and miscommunication), it seems so easy to be in touch 24 hours a day. Not so in the misty past (six decades or so ago would probably count as the misty past to today's wired generation), when a telephone was a luxury and international calls a rarity. Picturised on Gope and Nigar Sultana, Patanga boasted of a wonderful score by C Ramchandra who, as was his wont, also doubled as Chitalkar, the playback singer. Shamshad joins him in this song on stage, as two lovers bemoan their sadness at being apart, one in Rangoon, Burma, and the other in Dehradun, India. Rajinder Krishen upped its comic element with the  lyrics as each one explains just what their condition is in their beloved's absence. Examples verge from how he is celibate, to how he lives on whatever he gets, whether crumbs and leftovers (kha lete hai jo mil jaaye rookhi-sookhi baasi), how he's even forgotten how to wear trousers. While she explains that she's lost her appetite and wasted away for love of him. 

8. Piya tose naina laage re
Guide (1965)
Music: SD Burman
Lyrics: Shailendra
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
How can I have a post on stage performances and not include Waheeda Rehman? One of the finest actresses in Hindi cinema, and certainly one of its most graceful dancers, Guide was as much an ode to her beauty and prowess as a dancer as it was to Dev Anand's trip as the eponymous Raju Guide. This was a song where lyrics, music, vocals, and picturisation melded together to form a classic. I have always considered Vijay Anand one of the finest directors of song picturisation - he had a definite vision of how to place the song and where. In this song, which is actually a series of stage performances by Rosie, a dancer, the costume changes (a Maharashtrian navvari, a tribal sari, the ghagra choli, etc) not only made sense, but was made believable by the way the shots were edited.

9. Andaz mera mastana
Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960)
Music: Shankar-Jaikishen
Lyrics: Shailendra
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Picturised as a fundraiser for a hospital, the hospital staff puts on a stage show - Omar Khayyam. The premise is that the poet, in search of inspiration, finds his rubaai flitting across his mind. As he tries to capture those niggling thoughts and write them down, they take on a life of their own, and manifest themselves in the female form. Raj Kumar, a doctor, takes on the role of the poet, while Meena Kumari and her friends, all nurses, are both his muses and the culmination of their inspiration. Raj Kumar's new bride is in the audience, and she is an unwary witness to the performers' deeper feelings finding an outlet.

10. Daiyya yeh main kahan aa phansi
Caravan (1971)
Music: RD Burman
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Singer: Asha Bhosle 
A song that beats any Kishore Kumar performance for its sheer zaniness, Asha Parekh channels her inner comic to put on a 'dance' that is half lunacy and half magic. Watch the audience reaction when they first see a woman on stage dressed in an odd assortment of clothes, including a tasselled lampshade (that was inspired cruelty on Aruna Irani's (character's) part). It is definitely a downmarket audience, the 'stage' is a barn, and a brood of hens inexplicably appear on stage. A timid, and frankly nervous Asha begins by asking Daiyaan yeh main kahan aa phansi (What trouble have I landed in?), and is joined by Jeetendra doing calisthenics, Junior Mehmood clowning around, and the entourage of dancers as she pulls an egg out of a man's hat, manages not to step on the hens running madly around the stage, swings across the audience on a pillow tied to the rafters by a rope (don't ask!), and in short, saves the day, even as there is chaos all around. RD composed a crazy tune, one that Asha states was the most difficult song of her career. Listen to it carefully, and it is crazy - as crazy as the picturisation. And the other Asha was a really fine dancer. 

These are some of my favourites. What are yours?