My top ten...Gender Reversal in songs

The second issue of  My Top Ten is here...

In the last edition , sometime in June this year, the topic was the tweaking of lyrics by the creator himself to give a new song. Actually, it was a double whammy since for each lyricist there were two songs.

This time the focus is on the aspect of creation of a song: lyrically, musically and visually !

Solo songs have been a part and parcel of Hindi film music. There have been tandem songs ( two different singers singing the same/similar solos), playback songs ( actor on screen lip-syncing the singer, who is off-screen)  and background songs ( singer sings to a visual of actor, who is not lip-syncing).

This week we take stock of songs in which the innovative combination in a background song is attempted: the gender of the actor and singer is different !

One of the earliest songs in this super-genre must be the Talat Mehmood song sung for Bahar 1949, exhorting the heroine to fight the difficult circumstances. An inspirational song , sung in his velvet voice and soft style, the song is as soothing as it is melodious. On second thoughts, I feel that it was easy then, since the movie-watching audiences were discerning and such sensitive portrayal must have appealed to them, rather than appearing odd.

                                       

One of the most endearing films to have been made was Bandini by Bimal Roy. Each song in the score was a gem and the picturisation of all the songs was breath-taking. This song   is sung by Mukesh and  features Nutan on the screen.   Her yearning is so well expressed by the male voice, that  one does not miss the vocals of  Lata or Asha.
S.D.Burman and Bimal Roy were masters of their fields and therefore this song is plausible even when there is a gender reversal.

Next in line is a beautiful Hemant Kumar song  on Waheeda Rehman.
 The 1969 film Khamoshi is considered a classic and so are its songs. There was  the mesmerising Kishore solo.  Then there was the  song which had   Lata's ethereal rendition and  Gulzar's out-of-the-world lyrics ( "aankhon ki mehakti khushboo").

Topping the score is  the composer's background song   ( in a class by itself), which shows  Waheeda Rehman  getting emotionally torn, which is  being  aptly expressed in the lyrics.   Hemant Kumar's voice does the rest !

The next song is again picturised on Waheeda Rehman, but the male singer is Kishore Kumar. Kishore, in the early 70s , was rising phenomenally and reaching one peak after the other. He had started to sing for heroes other than himself and Dev sahab, once he had sung for Rajesh Khanna.

Such was his demand that most  composers and almost all heroes wanted him to be their playback voice. His mentor S.D.Burman considered him competent for this background song in the film Zindagi Zindagi ( 1970), while Waheeda Rehman goes through trials and tribulations. 

R.D.Burman, it appears, took off from where his father left, as far as background songs are concerned.  He got the support of his directors, too. In Amar Prem ( 1972) , Lata Mangeshkar's background song on a young Vinod Mehra , which was the slower version of the popular songs.

This gender reversal was where the female voice conveyed the feeling of  déjà vu by the protagonist. The rare occurrence of a female singer and male actor combination ! 

In a unique instance of its kind, father S.D.Burman sang under the baton of son R.D.Burman in Amar Prem . Interestingly, in the same year, the son sang under the direction of father in Ye Gulistan Hamara.

The Amar Prem song, with credits being rolled and a displaced Sharmila Tagore commencing
 her tale of woe. The audience were primed through the song, which is a gem, of course.
No one can do it, like Dada Burman. 

In 1974, Kishore Kumar again conveyed the loneliness and futility of protagonist Jaya Bhaduri's life in the title song of Kora Kagaz. The song was a liked by both classes and masses and it was the most popular song that year, going by Binaca Geetmala Annual hit parade, the only such programme those days. These days, however, the Youtube views and like/dislike is a better barometer !
Going by the internet,  views of the title song of  Kora Kagaz are  half   of Jai Jai Shiv Shankar ( Aap Ki Kasam)  , the song which had to be content with second spot !

Coming back to Kora Kagaz, the song is immortal, for which M.G.Hashmat, its lyricist will be remembered always, if not for any other song. The gender reversal, of course, is perfect.

Hema Malini, we all know, is a great dancer, apart from being a competent actress. It is therefore, surprising when we hear a male voice giving the background supplement to the visual treat on the screen. This happened in the film Mrig Trishna 1975, when Mohammed Rafi's vocals  complemented Hema Malini's " mudras" , making this one of a kind.

The 80s were more action-oriented and therefore, emotional songs ( that too, of the background variety)were difficult to come by. The quality of music was also on the decline and one really did not expect the directors to take up an experimental song.
 Kudos , therefore, to director B.S. Thapa to have allowed this Mahendra Kapoor song on Reena Roy. The allusion to Seeta indicates the life and times of the protagonist

The last song in this anthology is from a film of the 90s. The voice of Jagjit Singh on the hapless, but  expressive Kajol,  says it all. The loss of a loved one is emoted by both the male singer and female actor , making it an unforgettable song.

And a good one to end the episode with.