And the Beauty Queen is...

The crowning of Manushi Chhillar as Miss World has brought back the memories of 1994, when Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai hit the international scene with Miss World and Miss Universe in the same year. The beautiful ladies inspired a whole generation of young girls to pursue the Beauty Pageant scene seriously.

However, the saga of crowning Beauty Queens internationally dates back to 1951.The oldest such pageant is Miss World which began in that year. It was only in 1966 that an Asian could win the crown and it was Reita Faria, a medical student. She was offered films but declined and pursued her career as a doctor.

There are four major beauty pageants internationally, for women. These are Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth.   In the country, too Miss India was being crowned since 1947. Barring a few years , the contest has been held regularly. Traditionally the Miss India Winner was sent to Miss Universe and the runner up was sent to Miss World. However,  since 2013 
 a separate pageant Miss Diva  has been held to send delegates to Miss Universe and the Miss India winner will represent India at Miss World annually. Miss Asia pageant started in 1965 and Indian contestants have won this challenge too, apart from the big two.


Many of these beautiful ladies have acted in Hindi films. it will be worthwhile to recount various  Beauty Queens, who made a mark in Bollywood.

The Forties
Pramila ( Esther Victoria Abraham) was the 1947 Miss India who had a film career from 1935  to 1961.She was last seen, at the age of 89, in the Marathi film Thaang in 2006, just before her death. The song presented is from her film Basant ( 1942), which had, incidentally a nine - year old child artiste who grew up to become Madhubala, the uncrowned Beauty Queen of Hindi cinema !

The Fifties

 In 1952, two contests were held and the winners were  Indrani Rehman and Nutan. 
Indrani participated in Miss World , but could not win it. She devoted herself to dance and did not pursue a film career, Nutan excelled at acting and had a great track record and is known to be one of the most expressive actresses, ever. She won the maximum number of Filmfare awards. Her portrayal of complex characters is  unmatched.  This is a song from one of her early films Shabab.

Then in 1953 Peace Kanwal was crowned Miss India , but India's challenge was withdrawn in Miss Universe that year.The very next year Leela Naidu won Miss India, but there was no participation in the international representation. Peace Kanwal acted with talat Mehmood in the film Dil-e-Nadaan , whose songs were very popular.

Fleur Ezekiel was the 1959 winner of Miss India , who was the first one to represent the country in Miss Universe, but could not win. She also did not make hindi films   her career.

The Sixties

 The  contestant representing India in Miss World 1965 was Persis Khambata. Though she was unplaced in the final title, she did win Miss Photogenic.She debuted in K.A.Abbas's Bambai Raat Ki Baahon Mein in 1967 and was featured in the title song.  However, she earned fame in Hollywood as part of the crew in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, for which she went bald. She became one of the early artistes to cross over to Hollywood.

The SeventiesThe first ever Femina Miss India title-holder to win an international pageant  was the 70s icon Zeenat Aman. She was crowned Femina Miss India Asia Pacific and went on to win Miss Asia Pacific 1970 held  in Philippines. She had a resounding film career and was the style icon, a deviation form the usual "sati-savitri"  image of hindi film heroine. 

The organisers of beauty contests are often accused of objectifying women. Probably that's why , they include in their schedule  a segment where the participants answer a question to show that the whole thing is about "beauty with brains". it is difficult to understand how far that is acceptable to discerning audience, but this is the current trend. 

Zeenat Aman proved that she had enough acumen to survive in Hindi films and get popular, acting with big banners for  a long time.

There were other 70s winners, too appearing hindi films, but with far less success than Zeenat Aman. In 1971 Prema Narayan was Miss India and in 1978 Kalpana Iyer won the crown, both getting supporting roles in Hindi films, never to be considered the leading ladies.

The 1976 Miss India, Naina Balsavar did not compete in the Miss World pageant that year due to the presence of South African candidates , in line with the apartheid policy of the country. She acted in a film Raakh, some 13 years later.The runner up Nafisa Ali did act in the films but intermittently.

In 1979, Swaroop Sampat  won the Miss India contest and  was our representative in Miss Universe that year. She subsequently joined hindi films and also did TV serials such as Ye Jo Hai Zindagi on DD. 

The Eighties 

The 80s saw five Miss Indias taking up a film career. Sangeeta Bijlani , in 1980 and Sonu Walia in 1985 had a lukewarm popularity in films ( though she did a lot of films: 20 releases in 1991!) and were known more for off-screen activities. Sangeeta married Azharuddin ( the film-cricket nexus is another theme altogether !).
Sonu Walia won Filmfare Supporting Actress award, too but as a lead heroine , her chances were restricted. Sahila Chaddha , in 1983, was even less successful as an actress.


The 1981 runner up Meenakshi Seshadri, however, had a fairly successful tenure as a mainstream heroine. Her performances have been critically acclaimed, apart from being commercially successfully, too.

The beauty queen to have really hit the jackpot was Juhi Chawla, the Miss India Universe 1984. Though her debut film Sultanat was not remarkable, she made a comeback in the 90s with better roles and made hit pairs with all heroes of 90s. She graduated into supporting roles with ease and is considered an accomplished actress, apart from turning a producer with Shah Rukh Khan.

And so, we come to the Nineties, the happening era of Beauty Queens. Before the duo of Sen & Rai hit the headlines, we had Madhu Sapre ( 1992) and Namrata Shirodhkar ( 1993) being crowned Miss India , but had no  international recognition. Both joined films and had short lived careers, since they were relying solely on the beauty queen charisma but lacking histrionics. Pooja Batra , the 1993 Miss India International also had a brief film career.

Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai were crowned Miss India and first runner up, respectively. That is why Sen went on to Miss Universe and Rai to Miss World. The double whammy of both Indians topping the contest inspired a lot of girls back home to follow the footsteps. Both entered films and Rai was the more popular one, also being chosen for the Pink Panther series in Hollywood.  

The 90s continued to churn out Miss Worlds and Miss Universes who were Indians.

Diana Hayden  won the Femina Miss India contest in 1997 and was crowned Miss World 1997.  

In 1999, India had a double delight again, as Yukta Mookhey won Miss World and Gul Panag was in the top 10 of Miss Universe. Both joined Hindi films and were successful in varying degrees. While Mookhey debuted in Pyaasa ( 2002), Panag had Dhoop ( 2003) as her first film.

The new millennium saw more success for Indians in the beauty pageants. A triple triumph was in store ! 

Lara Dutta got the Miss Universe 2000  tiara becoming only the second woman from India   to be crowned with the title. She has been the last one, too. At the same time Priyanka Chopra was the winner of the Miss World   2000  pageant and Diya Mirza won the Miss Asia -pacific. The only time a country had won all three in the same year was Australia in 1972. Priyanka has been a prolific performer, having acted and sung in films. She has also been part of international series Quantico.

In the last few years there have been fewer beauty queens taking up a film career. Those who took up the challenge found it difficult and had fewer films than earlier aspirants.

Gayatri Joshi, the 2000 Miss India International had a solitary Swades to her name.Miss India 2001 Celina Jaitely was the 4th Runner Up in Miss Universe that year. In 2003, Neha Dhupia was placed in top 10 in Miss Universe. Tanushree Dutta in 2004 was placed top 10 is Miss Universe and Sayali Bhagat, the same year was Miss India World, both getting into films. Puja Gupta, the Miss India in 2007 won Miss Universe that year and Esha Gupta was the Miss India International. Simran Kaur Mundi , the 2008 Miss India also got into films with Jo Hum Chaahein ( 2011).

Interestingly, while the first Indian  to win Miss World was Reita Faria in 1966, the first Indian to win Mister World was  Rohit Khandelwal in 2016, a full 50 years later !

One doesn't know if Manushi Chhillar will become a heroine or not, but if she does, she has a stiff challenge to scale the heights which some of her predecessors have done.

  Leaving you with a song of Urvashi Rautela, the Miss India 2013, from the 2017 film Kaabil, which says it all:

सारा ज़माना , हसीनों का दीवाना  !

  

सपने में मिलती है ...

The recent brouhaha over the yet-to-release film on a Rajput queen over supposedly a dream sequence between the actors who are real-life lovers is threatening to usurp all headlines. Even without the release of the film, its popularity ( or notoriety , perhaps ?) is going north very rapidly. 

Only when and if the film is released, one will know if , indeed , there was a fantasy scene/song or not. 

Till that happens, it is a good time to remember the Dream Sequences picturised in Hindi cinema down the years. There have been umpteen songs in dreams of characters on the screen.The songs are of all genres: romance, comedy and pathos and this has to be seen to be believed , literally !  

It is generally felt that the Awara ( 1954) twin song in a dream sequence was the first one to hit the screens. However, there have been earlier such sequences also, as the research reveals. 

Raj Kapoor and Nargis did have the first dream duet of Hindi film, but it was for the film Jaan Pehchaan ( 1950), sung by Talat Mehmood and Geeta Dutt. The song depicts them in a  glittering, out-of-the-world setting to sing how much they love each other !

Then there was the song from the film  Albela ( 1951). With this film, Bhagwan single-handedly gave established banners producing ambitious projects such as Awara, Baazi and Deedar,  a run for their money, thanks to the foot-tapping music of the film by C.Ramchandra. The song having a dream sequence was picturised on Bhagwan and Geeta Bali fantasising that there is a big room with windows on the position of clock, hence the lyrics.

The Awara picturisation is , obviously, is a masterpiece, a twin song etched forever in the memories of those who have watched it. The song shows why Raj Kapoor  was called The Showman.
The two-song, three act sequence is a depiction of Earth, Hell and Heaven through symbolic representation. Columns joined by a sloping cornice for Earth, a raging monster with pointed ers for Hell and a towering Shiva statue for heaven.  While "tere bina aag ye chandni represents Earth, ' mujhko ye narak na chaahiye...mujhko chaahiye bahaar' indicates Hell and the second song, with its mellifluous notes and the ghar aaya mera pardesi represents Heaven.  The visuals, the choreography and the expressions are all in sync with the "Earth-Hell-Heaven triptych. The sequence is a metaphor of life.
 The song is something to be experienced !

The Fifties had a few other gems too. The slow waltz-like song from Parchhaeen ( 1952), featuring V.Shantaram and Sandhya was a song of this category. The song from Aji Bas Shukriya ( 1958) showed Johny Walker and Geeta bali dreaming of a big house and praying to God to give it to them. Raj Tilak ( 1958) showed  Gemini Ganesan being spell bound by Vyjantimala's dance in a fantasy song.  

The film Durgesh Nandini ( 1956) had this  beautiful 'fantasy' song featuring Pradeep Kumar and Bina rai , Kahaan le chalo ho, bataa do musafir.., remembered to this date.

 One of the most hilarious situations was conceived in the film Jaagte Raho, in which an inebriated Motilal fantasises about a young lady on seeing the impoverished Raj Kapoor and lo and behold...there is  Sumitra Devi dancing and beckoning him, singing and dancing !

The mention of   1950s can not be completed without the Pyaasa ( 1957)  dream sequence which transforms a radical  poet to a suited-booted gentleman with a lovely lady in his arms. Guru Dutt had the knack of picturising songs in a manner that the art component of his work was beautifully complemented with the commercially viable elements.

The Sixties started with a different kind of dream song in the film Pyase Panchhi ( 1961). Mehmood is on stage with a co-actor , but just as he sees her, he dreams of the his lady love Ameeta and the two sing a duet. The audience sees an extra but for Mehmood , it is none other than Ameeta !
Dil Tera Deewana ( 1962) had Shammi Kapoor imagining himself to be with Mala Sinha singing Jaane wafa jaane jahaan, but nothing extra-ordinary. Similarly , in Aao Pyar karein ( 1964), Joy Mukherji dreams he is Romeo and Anthony to saira's Juliet and Cleopetra.

In 1963, Ragini and Shashi Kapoor think of themselves as Queeen and King amidst giant- sized musical instruments to sing Tera naam, mera naam, indicating it to be a fantasy.

Till the early 60s, the directors used to convey the concepts through dream/fantasy sequences and by use of elaborate sets, managed to awe the audience, keeping in mind that the song/dance routine is in sync with the picturisation. 

The song which was an exceptional dream sequence was in Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne ( 1964) , the V.Shantaram magnum opus in which Rajshri and Jeetendra are in an ethereal world. 

One of the most poignant songs was the Dak Ghar ( 1966) song in which a terminally-ill child, confined to his room, played by Master Sachin,  imagines that he is roaming around the world in a dream song !

The comedy angles of dream sequences were taken forward by I.S.Johar in his films Johar Mehmood in Goa ( 1965) and Johar in Bombay ( 1967). While the Teen Bahuraaniyaan ( 1968)  song featuring Rajendranath and Shashikala was of the comedy/romance type.

In 1969, Jeetendra featured in two dream sequences ( probably he has the record of being in most dream sequences, an indication of his acting calibre !), one in the film Anmol Moti, with Babita  and the other in Jigri Dost. The picturisation of the Anmol Moti ( 1969) song was better with a beautiful Asha Bhonsle solo to go with it.

 The Jeetenda-Mumtaz song was more popular, though.

That song was Raat suhaani jaag rahi hai, in which after a nightmarish beginning ,Jeetendra drops to the dreamland to find Mumtaz in a water-logged area ( the director's hint at wet dreams !). The picturisation mars the melody completely, regretfully.

                                  

So, on to the Seventies. The picturisation of the song had started to decline in 60s, as stated earlier.The quality of film makers had changed and conception of dream sequences was not everyone's cup of tea.
Three songs come to mind immediately, as we recollect the songs of early 70s. 

In the film Ishq par Zor Nahin ( 1970) , a beautiful song on Sadhana and Dharmendra was picturised as if they were finding themselves a dream. Apart from studio-made "natural" tress and mountains there was nothing in pictuisation. In fact, the song was much better in audio.

Mehmood and had a catwalk in the heaven, it appeared while singing Jogi O Jogi (a great composition  wasted in the situation, I feel ) in Lakhon Mein Ek, a 1971 release.  The same year, there was a Biswajit-Leena Chandavarkar song in Main Sundar Hoon, the only collaboration of Shankar Jaikishan with Anand Bakshi. The songs were cheesy, yet popular. yes, the public tastes were-a-changing, too.

The unique song was , however, in Dhadkan ( 1972 ) where director Devendra Goel imagined how advertisements could be picturised, by making a medley of such jingles in a visual forms in the dreams of Sanjay Khan. have a look at the  pioneering effort !

  Jeetendra made a comeback in a double power in Bidaii 1974 and Dildaar ( later in 1977). Both songs depicted the lead pair as royalty, ( Knave and Queen of Hearts, if you please) a theme    already done to death. The visuals are out of card board sets and the romedy was firmly entrenched by now: no more soft romantic swaying on clouds. The lyrics and music also took a nosedive and sitting through the dream sequences became a nightmare for the audiences !

The dream sequence which was a delight without having glaring colours and blazing lights was the middle-of-the-road cinema's version of a dream sequence in Chhoti Si Baat ( 1976).  A middle class hero will copy the larger than life star in his fantasy, as was shown in the song featuring Amol Palekar ( as Dharmendra ) and Vidya Sinha ( as Hema Malini ) !

The same year, i.e.1976, Shammi kapoor directed a fantasy film with himself as Genie and Rajesh Khanna and Sulakshana Pandit as the beneficiaries  of his supreme powers. The film had a couple of fantasy songs, none being fantastic. However, the Rafi- Lata song (Naghma hamara  )was a tad better than the Kishore -Lata competing song, Bemausam Bahaar ke. 

Hera Pheri ( 1976) had a dream song Mujhe pyar mein khat  on Sulakshana pandit and Vinod Khanna making it a normal romantic song, just in imagination. Dildaar in 1977 again had Jeetendra, this time with , playing King/Queen  and riding buggy in Main raja tu rani, the lyrics not leaving anything to imagination. Other directors were also contributing in decline of the quality of songs of this genre. Agar ( 1977) shows Amol Palekar imagining his wife Zarina Wahab romancing Vijayendra and this is in form of a song. In Dream Girl, Hema imagines the third-world kids touring Disneyland in their imagination !

However, in the period film Laila Majnu, one year earlier, a beautiful dream sequence was shown with Rishi and Ranjeeta, having good music ( Madan Mohan) and fine visuals 

Golmaal in 1979 had a comic song sapne mein dekha sapna , which was fine as the film was an out and out comedy. Similarly  1980 film Khoobsoorat's Kayda tod ke dekho ek din was acceptable, as it was just a spoof all round. Chashme Baddoor (1981) had comic dream/fantasy songs as Rakesh Bedi gives his own parodies of old songs, with Deepti naval as his lady-love , in his imagination !

The charm of dream sequences was waning off and director were using them for skin show   to entice audiences to the empty halls in 80s. many films had so-called dream sequences which were an excuse for showing anything that could not fit in the storyline. 

Sargam had a number of duets, though the female character was mute and therefore, they have be termed as imagined or dreamt sequences, another manifestation of the category. Saaheb ( 1985)  had a  song in which Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh discover themselves was refreshing , to an extent. Meenakshi Seshadri and Anil Kapoor had one such song in Meri Jung ( 1985).  Mera Jawab, released  same year,  had Jackie Shroff in a dream sequence, but the sour icing on the rotting cake was the flashback through the eyes  of Jackie Shroff's pet dog in Teri Meharbaaniyaan ( 1986). 

With the fine genre of dream sequences touching its nadir, I shudder to document the sequences which followed these abominable stunts, though there have been many.

I think we'll leave it here !

















































































 

 

आज का दिन है तुम्हारे नाम

The last week everyone remembered where they were on November 8, one year ago. That was an eventful day in the history of India due to demonitisation. Just as everyone remembers where they were at the time of Indira Gandhi's death, everyone recollects what they were doing when the PM announced "notebandi".
This year, on many TV channels, the anniversary of the event was mentioned, some berating it and some celebrating !

This birthday of an event is at par with the special annual days that we all celebrate: birthdays and anniversaries. So it is a good time to recollect the Birthday Songs of Bollywood !

One of the earliest song picturised on the occasion of a birthday was, befittingly,  for none other than that of Emperor Akbar ! The 1945 film Humayun had this celebratory song on the birth of Humayun's son. The song was written by Pandit Madhur.

ho chand chamaka andhere me aaj hai
ho mere raaja kaa jangal me raaj hai

Another song of the 40s which comes to mind is the Andaz song. A modern day birthday party for the special "apple of the eye" , with a huge cake,  well-to-do guests and a doting parents : the stuff that birthday parties were made of !
Majrooh Sultanpuri penned the delightful ditty which is so hummable.

da dir dara dir dara da dir dara 
da dir dara dir dara da dir dara 
meri ladali re meri ladali ri bani hai
taaron ki tu raani taaron ki tu raani

The Fifties had their share of birthday songs. One of the more obvious ones was from the film Anand Bhawan ( 1952) which goes Nanhe Munne Raja ki saalgirah aayi re, written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. Also, there was the  title song from Ram Janam ( 1951), written by Saraswati Kumar Deepak in the film Hua raam ka janm.
Then there was the Prem Dhawan song in Aasmaan ( 1952),  PomPom baaja bole, which has reportedly given us the signature tune of a radio programme  loved by all of us , the original hit parade Binaca Geetmala ! 

In 1957, there was a song written by  Prem Dhawan for the film Ek Saal. The occasion was the birthday of the character played by Madhubala, who looks stunning , as always. The lyrics of the song were Tum jiyo hazaaron saal gori. The song could not gain much popularity. As you would have guessed, the lyrics had to be tweaked , a couple of years later, to appeal to public.

In the same year there was  an RK Films' production , which did not have Raj Kapoor in it !
This was the film  Ab Dilli Door Nahin was an exception to the rule. It was a childrens' film produced by Raj Kapoor, showing the travails of a kid goes to Delhi to meet Pandit Nehru for his help in having his innocent father out of jail !
The birthday song , picturised in flashback, was written by Hasrat Jaipuri.

jiyo lal mere tum lakhon baras tum pe 
maiyya nisaar kahe baba ka pyar

Writing a birthday song for a situation in a hindi film appears to be a simple task, but it is not. This is so because the repetitive nature of wishes force the lyricist to give something "out-of-the-box" or unique for the listeners to remember it for a long time. That is why , this time the focus is on the wordsmiths who have penned these beautiful, memorable songs.

As mentioned earlier, the song which made history was similar to Ek Saal song. The wishful linking of years ( Thousands)  to the number of days in a year ( 50,000)  made the "mukhda" complete for the song-lovers and this became such a cult song tat it is considered still the best wish  for the birthday person...

This eternal song was from Sujata ( 1959)  with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

tum jiyo hazaron saal, saal ke din hon pachaas hazaar ! 




The Sixties had a whole lot of birthday songs. Birthdays of heroines of the films were a natural situation for a song, whether by the hero or the friends of the special one. Also, the celebration of birthdays of children by having a party was the in thing at that time, leading to many such songs. 

The birthday party song in Door Ki Awaz 1964 is one of the most remembered song, more than 50 years later. Shakeel  Badayuni came up with lyrics which became popular with both kids and adults !

ham bhi agar bachche hote
ham bhi agar bachche hote
naam hamara hota gablu bablu
khane ko milte laddu
aur duniya kahti
 happy birthday to you 

happy birthday to you 

 On the more emotional side was the Tumhen aur kya doon main dil ke sivaay, tum ko hamari umar lag jaye solo by in Aayi Milan Ki Bela, also in 1964. Written by Hasrat Jaipuri, this was one of the rare serious birthday songs.   

Every decade has a song which becomes the representative of its genre. If in 40s , it was Andaz song and in the 50s it was the one from Sujata, in the 60s , there was a song which broke all records to become numero uno in this genre for years to come.

The song wishing birthday to Suneeta became a rage because simply replacing Sunita with Sangeeta or even by Sudhir , you can wish the special day to anyone in the style of Indian James Bond aka Jeetendra in Farz ( 1967) . The song ( also including a variant of the phrase  "jiyo hazaaron saal"  phrase )was written by Anand Bakshi, who showed why he is considered the lyricist of a common man ! 

Baar baar din ye aaye, baar baar dil ye gaaye
tu jiye hazaaron saal, ye meri hai aarazu 
happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you    

happy birthday to suneeta, happy birthday to you 

Amongst the host of songs in this period, those which were outstanding  were Qamar Jalalabadi's Badhai ho badhai janamdin ki from Mera Munna ( 1967), Majrooh's   Janam Din aaya from baharon ki manzil ( 1968) and  Munne mere aa from Abhilasha ( 1968), Anand Bakshi's Tumhi se shuru from Mera Dost (1968) and Prem Dhawan's O Nanhe se farishte from Ek Phool Do Maali. (1969).

But the song which really brings out the joy and laughter of a birthday was this Ram aur Shyam ( 1968) song. Incidentally, this Shakeel Badayuni song did not mention the birthday aspect in the lyrics and it was the director who supplemented the birthday situation with this song! 

aayi hain bahaaren mite zulm-o-sitam
pyar ka zamana aaya dur huye gham
raam ki leela rang laayi aha ha
shyam ne bansi bajayi aha ha ha

The Seventies continued the joie de vivre of the 60s with songs like   Mere lal aaj tera from Subah o shaam and taare kitne neel gagan mein taare from Aap Aaye bahaar aayi. The song which had a Rajesh Khanna playing  a cameo as  Gangaram phoolwala was also a birthday song from Anuraag
( 1972) . At the height of his popularity, Rajesh Khanna had a character written for him in this film and even when this was not part of the story, which was about a cancer-stricken young boy, the birthday song by Anand Bakshi justified the cameo. 

raam kare babua hamaar phulwa ko hamri umar lagi jaaye
patajhad aaye, basantritu jaaye
ho jaaye,  champa chameli muskaaye 

Despite the random sad/romantic song like Anand Bakshi's Koi Nazrana lekar aaya  from Aan Milo Sajna , the birthday song continued to be happy songs like Hasrat's happy birthday to you Pinky from Aaj ki taaza khabar, Rajinder Krishan's Teri umar ki phulwari mein from Rakhwala and Ramesh Pant's  Jeena to hai usi ka , a qawwali from Adhikaar on the occasion of a birthday. 


Two more songs in 70s stand out. The first one is a short recitation  in the film Naina ( 1973), written beautifully by Hasrat Jaipuri  and sung on screen by Shashi Kapoor. The cake is there, glasses of liquor are also present and the song ends with the birthday boy extinguishing the candle !

kya jaane kami kis cheez ki mai
har cheez me paata rehta hu
khush hoke banata hu duniya
ghabra ke mitata rehta hoon
har saal janamdin mera to
kuch dost manaya karte hai
har saal mai apne hisse ka 
ek saal ka gawaanta rehta hoon

The second song is the one which celebrates the birthday of mother. The Indeevar song was a refreshing change in  the film Sajan Bina Suhagan ( 1978)

apna sab ko roop dikhaun,  jab eeshwar ke man me aaya
tab na usne tujhko banaya,  tujh mein apna roop sajaya
ab tera maan,  janamdin aaya
happy birthday o mamma dear mamma
happy birthday to you

The 80s was a period when the general quality of film music was undergoing a change for the worse and so it was not a surprise that the birthday songs were but a shadow of the earlier ones. There were songs like Majrooh's Chhalkao jhoom ke paimana khushi ka from Phir Wohi Raat ( 1980), M.G.Hashmat's Zor se bajao from Paisa ye Paisa ( 1985), Ravindra Jain's Happy birthday to you from Lallu Ram ( 1985), Ramesh Pant's Aaj apni darling ka aaya janamdin  from Duty ( 1986)  and Anjaan's Baaje badhai more angna from Maa Beti ( 1986).

But the song which relives the childhood was the Anand bakshi's song in which Jeetendra congratulates himself on his birthday, amidst the animals ....Happy Birthday to me from Jyoti ( 1981)

chidiya choon choon  karti hai, tote taali bajate hai
ye sab mere saathi hai, milkar shor machate hai
ki bolche,  bolche ki, 
happy birthday to me

The Nineties was bereft of such songs,  save a couple  of them from Shadyantra  and Ye aag kab bujhegi ( both by Ravindra Jain ) and Prem Deewane ( Anand Bakshi ). The turn of the millenium was also no different. The mood had changed from piano on a birthday party to DJ  and the emotional content has also dwindled. There were songs in various films in the last 25 years  such as Kya Yehi Pyar Hai ( Jalees Rashid) , Bhoot Uncle ( Baba Sehgal) , Dillliwali Zaalim Girlfriend ( Alfaaz) , Kill Dil ( Gulzar) , Kismat Love Paisa Dilli ( Santokh Singh ) and Krantiveer ( Sameer) . However, none of the songs is a patch on the past. 

Leaving you with the latest birthday song from the film Ishq Forever (2016), whose lyricist is Sameer. 

1.  
2. Happy Birthday - Bhoot Unkle 2006, Tarannum Malik,
3. Chhote Tera Birthday Aaya - Krantiveer 2010, Anushka Manchanda, Mika Singh, 
4. Happy Birthday To You Mr Pedro - Amit Kumar, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik,
5. 
   
6. z
7. Tujhe Dekh Kar Jeeta - 

ये कश्मीर है, ये कश्मीर है ...

Kashmir is a place which is always in the news. However, these days , the state is in news for the wrong reasons. For the last so many years, the state has been in  focus, being a political football. The land which was said to be an integral part of the country has appeared to be a  baggage that came with independence. The conflict has taken the life of so many brave-hearts and still the solution does not seem to be in sight. 

This week, 70 years ago we lost Major Somnath Sharma in the battle of Badgaon in Kashmir. Major Sharma was the first recipient of Param Vir Chakra.

Naturally, such a scenic place  is ideal for shooting films and there have been many films shot either partially or substantially. There have been songs shot in the locales of Kashmir , while the rest of the film is based on some other area. 

A recollection of such films is worth the effort. So, here it is....

Interestingly, the first film which  must have had Kashmir as the backdrop was titled Kashmir Ki Kali, released in 1946. A film of the same name, 18  years later, was hugely popular . More about that in a while.
The 1946 film had Master Vitthal , Kavita Devi and Mehrunnisa as the star cast.  Very little information is available on the Net regarding  the solitary  film directed by Jagannath Dhar.

 However, in 1949, in the film Ek Thi Ladki , there was a song picturised on a shikara, one of the earliest such songs. Have a look at this song...

One of the first films to have explored Kashmir was Barsaat , released in 1949. The story was about two friends with opposite personality traits  and the love stories weaved around them in the valleys of Kashmir. The film was a superhit, as was its music. 

Independence happened in 1947 and we saw a hostile neighbour  occupying part of Kashmir. The Hindi film industry promptly made a film Kashmir Hamara Hai ( 1950), proclaiming our rightful custody. But the conflict zone had an impact on the film industry and the  50s were deprived of outdoor shooting there.

Another film called Kashmir got released next year. The patriotic fervour was emphatic in the words of Sarshar Sailani, composed by Hansraj Behl. The film starred Kamal Kapoor, Veena  and Nirupa Roy. The song reflects the mood of the nation with regard to Kashmir.

uth ae watan ke naujawaan,  aaya hai waqt-e- imtihaan
tere watan ke darmiyan ek zaalimon  ka karwaan 

Within a decade the mood changed from nationalistic to romantic as the directors discovered that Kashmir is the place for expressing love to the special person, while sliding down the snowy slopes screaming Yahoo....we had Junglee ( 1961) !

Shot extensively in Kashmir, the film was a big musical hit. Saira Banu was just 17 and her hero was Shammi Kapoor. The interesting trivia is that initially the role of the hero was  offered to  Jagdeep !

The next film to have capitalised on Kashmir was the Kashmir Ki Kali of 1964, starring Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore.Nearly half of the film was shot in Kashmir, when it was at irs prettiest : the snow, the mountains and Mughal Gardens in Srinagar. Shot on breath-taking locales, this was also a big musical blockbuster, the music and the scenes intermingling into one homogenous audio-visual delight !  

The lake, the shikaras and the carefree songs established  Kashmir as the chosen place for romance.

 Close on the heels of his elder brother, Shashi kapoor wood Nanda in the 1965 film Jab Jab Phool Khile in Kashmir. Playing the role of a Kashmiri boatman who falls in love with a rich tourist, this film scaled unprecedented heights thanks to its storyline, acting and music.

The Sixties had a whole lot of songs picturised in Kashmir, whether the story was set in Kashmir or not. Apart form the songs of Junglee and Kashmir Ki Kali, other songs which come to mind ( a lot may have been missed) are : Tumse achchha kaun hai, lakhon hain nigaah mein, mujhe dekh kar aapka muskurana, pukarta chala hoon main, ae nargis-e-mastana, har chehra yahaan chand  and many, many more, but it will take up the whole lot of space for enumerating them !

In 1966 I.S.Johar sought to turn focus back on the "unfinished business of Partition" by making a film Johar in Kashmir. A love triangle in the backdrop of Kashmir would have been a great film, had the cast been more saleable. However, Johar and Sonia Sahni were no match for the commercial stars of the times. The patriotic angle of the disputed territory was, however, a takeaway since the fluffy romantic films preceding this one had made us lose sight of reality. 

The 70s had its own share of musical films shot in Kashmir. The stories may not be revolving around the State, but some songs shot increased the value  of the film. 

In Bobby ( 1973), some scenes were shot in the astounding Gulmarg.   There is a scene shot in a hut here which later became famous as Bobby Hut. 

Aap Ki Kasam ( 1974) ,  starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz was shot in the charming locale of Gulmarg. The chartbuster   “Jai Jai Shiv Shankar” was one of the high points of the film and Kashmir. 

Like the 60s, the Seveties also had a host of picturisations in the Valley and around, even when the narrative was not of kashmir.  Films such as Roti 1974, Aandhi 1975 , Bairaag 1976, Khoon Paseena 1977, Noorie 1979 and many others.

Kabhi Kabhie ( 1976), a Yash Chopra romantic story with an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bacchan, Raakhee, Shashi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu singh, amongst others.  The beauty of Kashmir blended with the storyline and the songs composed by Khayyam were icing on the cake !

Kashmir had a host of beautiful locations such as  Nishat Bagh, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Dal Lake and Char Chinar . The "heaven on earth" used to be a popular shooting location for Bollywood till the Seventies but the rise of terrorist strikes and the deteriorating law and order meant filmmakers stayed away from the Valley from 80s onwards, except for rare outings like Bemisaal ( 1982), Betaab ( 1983), Khamosh ( 1985) and Karma( 1986).

                                


                              
The 90s had Henna, the RK Films' offering directed by Randhir Kapoor showcasing the area in its splendour. The emphasis , however, was on the story of hero Rishi Kapoor going across-the border and meeting his lady-love Zeba Bakhtiar. The Vishal Bharadwaj's take on Punjab

Two of the best films made with the backdrop of Kashmir, both by Mani Ratnam. The first one, Roja in 1995 told the story of a happy couple travelling  to Kashmirand facing the militants, who abduct the husband. A brilliant sensitisation of the ground reality of the area, the film had great music.

Mani Ratnam's Dil Se in 1998 juxtaposed the terror-ridden Kashmir and its scenic grandeur with some great story-telling as a bonus and out -of-the-world music to top it all. Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta formed the star cast. Needless to say, the film was very well received. This song is shot at Pangong Lake in Leh. The one factor that makes this Lake so popular is the fact that it keeps changing colors. The song is , aptly worded, Satrangi re.. The seven stages of  love namely  
1. HAB ( Attraction)

2. UNS (Infatuation)
3. ISHQ (Love)
4. AQEEDAT (Reverence)
5. IBADAT (Worship)
6. JUNOON (Obsession)

7. MAUT (Death)
are shown in the song and the narrative of the film.

Year 2K  started off with Mission Kashmir, an action-thriller drama set against ominous Kashmir, focussing on the Children of the Valley. Insurgency, politics and religious bigotry were handled adeptly, showcasing the area extensively. Sanjay Dutt, Hritik Roshan and Preity Zinta were in the star cast.

 Hritik Roshan acted in another ;Kashmir' film Lakshya ( 2004), which showed the coming of age story of an individual against the backdrop of Kargil War. In fact, there have been a number of war films lately, shot in Kashmir. LOC Kargil ( 2003), Ab Tumhare hawale Watan Saathiyon  and Agnipankh (2004),Tango Charlie (2005) and Shaurya (2008) , to name a few.

Yahaan , released in 2005,   gave the chilling realisation that the days of hero singing and dancing in Kashmir were over.Kashmir today is all about fear and death. Torn between the terrorists, who want an independent Kashmir and Indian Army who look at them with suspicion, the Kashmiris are at crossroads. The romantic war drama film is a love-story about a Kashmiri girl and an Indian army officer in a violent Kashmir and what follows next.

A number of  films have been made either with Kashmir as the part of narrative or simply in the visual frames, in the last 10 years. Notable amongst them are Tahaan 2008 , which was a  heady mixture of terror and innocence, the story is about a young Kashmiri boy in search of his donkey. , Lamhaa 2010-- the story is about an army officer and his lady-love taking a look at the multi-layered turmoil in Kashmir, Rockstar ( 2011)-a musical shot in Kashmir which also had an 80 year old Shammi Kapoor acting with his grandson Ranbir,  , Jab Tak Hai Jaan ( 2012)- a   Shahrukh Khan starrer romantic film is about a bomb squad officer posted in Kashmir in search of his first love and   Ye jawani hai deewani (2013)-in which there are shots of   the scenic Gulmarg in Kashmir which it passes off as Manali !

The year 2014 saw three films depicting Kashmir, partially or substantially. One of them  was the Imtiaz Ali film Highway which included Kashmir's shots in the kidnap drama. Then there was Fitoor, a romantic drama based on Dickens’ Great Expectations.

 But the film totally devoted to Kashmir was Haider ( 2014)

The adaptation of Shakespearean drama Hamlet in the folds of Himalayas in Kashmir.the complicated familial ties, which find resonance in its equally complicated relation between India and Kashmir. 

Since  the story is fully set in Kashmir, the soundscape, language and the landscape has a typical Kashmiri flavour.

 The beauty of Kashmir is eternal and so is Love, they say!
Kashmir is going to be held synonymous with romance, love and beauty, despite the conflicts which are inherent to the land.