My Favourites: Romantic Duets

Once I got on to the romantic bandwagon, I decided to plunge headlong into romance during the month of February. I have already posted two lists of romantic songs, both solos and duets, featuring Shammi Kapoor who, for a generation, personified romance on screen. But he was scarcely the only one. The history of Hindi films is replete with love stories; but, even if the films were not particularly focused on love, romance was still an integral part of their narratives. So, indeed, was music. And thank heavens for that!

My only criterion for this post, as with the earlier ones, is that the songs must ooze romance. They must be songs that make your knees go weak, make you swoon, and leave you melting in a puddle of emotion. I eschewed songs that were teasing or playful (that led me to drop Sun sun sun sun zaalima); or songs that, while romantic, were not directed solely at each other (out went Dum bhar jo udhar munh phere) or ones that either complained (Abhi na jao chhodkar) or apologized (Accha ji main haari chalo). I was looking for songs where the couple were pledging their love for each other; love that was both celebratory and confident, just sheer love for each other, expressed in verse. So, ten songs, ten films, ten different romantic pairings to end this month.
 
Dilip Kumar-Vyjayanthimala
Dil tadap-tadapke keh raha hai
Madhumati (1958)
Singers: Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Salil Choudhury
Lyrics: Shailendra

When Madhumati (Vyjayanthimala) falls in love with her ‘babu’ (Dilip Kumar), the romance between them is touchingly tender. It seems like the hillsides with tall pines stretching towards the skies, the mountain streams, and the jungles beyond all celebrate their love. So when Anand reaches their rendezvous and his ‘Madhu’ hasn’t yet arrived, he sings of how his heart aches at her absence and begs her to come.
Tu nahin to ye bahaar kya bahaar hai
Gul nahin khile ke tera intezaar hai… he sings. Spring is not Spring without her; even the flowers are awaiting her presence before they bloom.
The rougish smile on Dilip Kumar’s face, Vyjayanthimala’s rustic beauty, the lovely cinematography that showcases nature at her finest, and Salil Choudhury’s enchanting melody… this is truly romance at its finest.
 
My absolute favourite romantic duet picturised on Dilip Kumar has to be Nain mile nain hue baanwre from Tarana, composed by Anil Biswas, followed by Dil mein sama gaye sajan from Sangdil, composed by the maverick music director, Sajjad Hussain. But since I’m trying not to repeat pairings and Madhubala makes an appearance in yet another duet that I absolutely love, I decided to go with this beautiful, romantic melody composed by Salilda.   

Shammi Kapoor-Sharmila Tagore
Ishaaron ishaaron mein dil lene wale
Kashmir ki Kali (1962)
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi
Music: OP Nayyar
Lyrics: SH Bihari 

Mere dil ko tum bhaa gaye/Meri kya thhi is mein khata (You appealed to my heart, how is that my fault?) he sings. His love story is no different from that of Ranjha’s or Qais’s. But, while she has lost her heart to him, she cautions him against declaring his love so openly. But he’s unrepentant. She is incomparable, he admits, but she must admire his keen eye as well; after all, he’s chosen her, the one bloom that is the garden’s pride. It’s a sweetly romantic song, with Shammi at his romantic best, a shyly smiling Sharmila, the swirling mists, and OPN’s wonderful melody distils romance to its purest form.
 
My other favourite duet from this film is Deewana hua badal which I listed under my favourite Shammi Kapoor duets.

Raj Kapoor-Mala Sinha
Masti bhari hai sama
Parvarish (1958)
Singers: Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Dattaram
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri

Raj Kapoor-Nargis is the pair that comes to mind when you think of the great romantic pairings of the golden age. However, their songs have made an appearance on my lists several times over. So, instead, I picked this lovely song composed by Dattaram for an unusual film.
Bheegi hawaaon mein aisi fizaaon mein
Hosh mujhe hai kahaan…
Manna Dey’s voice rings pure and true as he and Lata capture that elusive whiff of romance – its joy, its passion, its innocence and its playfulness. The chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha is also crackling and adds a hint of sensuousness to this romantic melody by ace musician Dattaram.

Raj and Mala also made a very believable pair in Phir Subhah Hogi, and Phir na keeje meri gustakh nigaahi ka gila is a perennial favourite. However, I dropped that song since it was picturised as a dream sequence.

Dev Anand-Nutan
Chupke se mile pyaase pyaase
Manzil (1960)
Singers: Mohammed Rafi, Geeta Dutt
Music: SD Burman
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

 

Dev Anand, like Shammi Kapoor, has had great success in depicting romance in films, even if he wasn’t always playing a romantic hero. Dev’s romantic pairings have been most successful, in my opinion, when he was paired opposite Waheeda Rehman, or, as here, with Nutan. Among their very successful films is this oft-overlooked film where Dev plays an aspiring singer. And this song, a sublime combination of poetry and melody, begins with a recitation before segueing into a song.
Thandi hawa ka shor hai
Ya pyaar ka sangeet hai
Chitwan teri ik saaz hai
Dhadkan meri ik geet hai
Madham madham madham…
Geeta’s and Rafi’s voice separate and meld with such effortless ease. On screen, Dev and Nutan showcase their easy camaraderie, their quiet affection, the palpable love between them. The softness of the melody complements the effect of the cool breezes blowing through the room, adding to the magic of the night. 

Chaand jaane kahaan kho gaya
Main chup rahoongi (1962)
Singers: Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Chitragupt
Lyrics: Rajinder Krishan

Sunil Dutt had a very earnest presence in the movies, but seldom was he characterised as a romantic hero. Despite that, the actor had several romantic duets to his credit.In Main Chup Rahoongi, two duets could have made the cut – Koi bataa de dil hai kahaan and this one, a quieter melody that speaks of a deep love between two people.
The comparison of a woman's beauty to that of the moon is one of the most common tropes in literature and poetry. Here, Kamal (Sunil Dutt) wonders where the moon has vanished; perhaps his beloved shouldn't have unveiled her face. Gayatri (Meena Kumari), not to be outdone, claims that perhaps Kamal shouldn't have smiled; the moonlight pales in comparison. So much in love are they that these lyrics don’t seem overwrought. There is an innocence here that admits to being starry-eyed due to the magic of love –
Pyaar kitna jawaan raat kitni haseen
Aaj chalte huye tham gayi hai zameen
Aankh taare jhapakne lagi
Aisi ulfat ka jaadu jagaana na tha
Chaand jaane kahaan kho gaya…

Interestingly, the mukhda of this song mimics that of Aaj mausam ki masti mein gaaye pawan from Benarasi Thug, which is similar in tune to Ek chameli ke mandve tale from Cha Cha Cha (both composed by Iqbal Quereshi.) Benarasi Thug and Main Chhup Rahoongi were both released in 1962. (Cha Cha Cha was released in 1964.) So did Chitragupt find inspiration in Iqbal Quereshi's composition, or was it vice versa? Or were both composers inspired by an older composition? 

Joy Mukherjee-Sadhana
Aap yunhi agar humse milte rahe
Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962)
Singers: Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
Music: OP Nayyar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

For a romantic song, it appears it is not necessary that the couple are in love; they need to just be on the verge of it.
Aap yunhi agar humse milte rahe
Dekhiye ek din pyaar ho jaayega...
If she continues to meet him, he says, be warned that soon, they may fall in love. 
When Ajay (Joy Mukherjee) loses his memory while on a mission in Kashmir. However, he had earlier rescued Asha (Sadhana), who has been left to her own devices by her cowardly groom and his father (Kamal Kapoor). She, in turn, nurses an injured Ajay and they decide to travel together to Srinagar where Asha hopes they will be able to help Ajay recover his memory. In the meantime, Ajay is falling in love with Asha and she, while attracted to him, keeps him at arm's length due to the fact that she's a married woman. And given that Abdullah (Master Aziz), her little companion, is always telling her how Ajay needs her, she falls in line with the pretence and keeps things light between them, alternately teasing Ajay and being the voice of reason.

For all that, a very romantic song, filled with the anticipation of being in love.  

Guru Dutt-Madhubala

Udhar tum haseen ho
Mr & Mrs 55 (1955)
Singers: Mohammed Rafi, Geeta Dutt
Music: OP Nayyar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Guru Dutt is not my idea of a romantic hero in the least. But here, in this song, there’s much to be said for the relationship of the two leads – Pritam (Guru Dutt), who is desperately trying to prove to Anita (a gorgeous Madhubala) that he’s not a cad and, Anita, who has just come to realize that her pretend husband, a man who she thinks married her for pecuniary reasons, is a good man. His slight diffidence, her shy acceptance, her welcoming mien, his increasing confidence…
Tarasta hoon main aise dildaar ko
Jo dil mein basaa le mere pyaar ko
Tere khwaab hain meri raaton pe chhaaye
Mere dil pe hain teri palkon ke saaye
Ke mere labon pe teri daastaan hai 
... all make for a very intense yet sweetly romantic number that still gives me goosebumps. 

Pradeep Kumar-Nargis
Zameen se aasmaan par
Adalat (1958)
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi
Music: Madan Mohan
Lyrics: Rajinder Krishan

Adalat is a film I like to call ‘The trials and tribulations of the Indian Woman’. It meandered to a morbid, tragic end with nothing to redeem it but Nargis’s performance and Madan Mohan’s stellar score. His ghazals from this film are justifiably famous but this song, filled with romance and promises of fidelity and support is as deserving of recognition.
Itna to dil ko yaqeen hai
Humein tum daga to na doge… (This, I believe, you will never let me down) she sings, basking in the security of his love. Little does she know, then, that the future holds a very different reality. 

Kishore Kumar-Nutan
Ye raatein ye mausam ye chanchal hawa
Dilli ka Thug (1958)
Singers: Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle
Music: Ravi
Lyrics: Shailendra

 

Kishore Kumar is also not one of the heroes whom one associates with romance, and Dilli ka Thug was a train wreck of a film until the last 45 minutes. But, Nutan and Kishore (who was very, very good in parts, and especially in this song) made us, at least in this song, invest in their relationship. Kishore’s expressions are sweet and sincere, and Nutan is radiantly lovely. Shailendra, of course, is past master at expressing complex emotions in the simplest of ways, and here, too, he is brilliant. Just listen to:
Sitaaron ki mehfil ne karke ishaara
Kaha ab to saara jahaan hai tumhaara
Muhabbat jawaan ho, khula aasmaan ho
Kare koyi dil aarzoo aur kya…

 

Sabita Chatterjee-Ashim Kumar

Jhir jhir jhir jhir badarwa barse
Parivar (1956)
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar
Music: Salil Chowdhury
Lyrics: Shailendra

Jhir jhir jhir jhir badarwa barse is not, at first, a song you would think of as a romantic number. But, listen carefully. Manju (Sabita Chatterjee) begins the song when she steps out into the veranda of her room and listens to the pitter-patter of the rain.
Jhir jhir jhir jhir badarwa barse
O kaare kaare,
Soye armaan jaage kayi toofaan jaage,
Maane na mann mora sajna bina…
And when her husband doesn’t – initially- pay attention, she goes on:
Tujhko hi aaj mera geet pukaare
Aajaake tohe meri preet pukaare… exhorting him to remember incidents from the past, the first time they met… Her husband, reclining inside the room and listening to her song, is induced to get up and join her. Without her, he says, even his dreams are false. The expression of love between a husband and wife is softly romantic, yet the undercurrents of a quiet passion infuse the sentiments.

 

A beautiful song from a sweet, realistic film.

 

What romantic duets would you choose? Add them in the comments below.