The Hindi Film Song is a powerful tool to move the story forward, to aid the narrative, and a
large part of that responsibility lies with the lyricist. The lyrics, along with
the composition, capture the mood of the situation – the pathos of a tragedy,
the magic of a romance, the anguish of a soldier’s mother, the playfulness of a
lover’s tiff. Simple words, delicately woven by the hands of a master craftsman,
set to soulful tunes, sung with emotion and picturised with a feel for the
situation have created moments of magic that have endured time and cultural
influences.
Few years ago I had started a column Dil Dhoondta Hai to reminisce about such
masterpieces and relive those magic moments from the myriad and prolific world
of Bollywood music. Inexplicably there was a gap in recent years. But hope to restart the journey with the beautiful songs of Taj Mahal where an epic romance meets sublime music and soulful lyrics to create an everlasting experience. Read the summary and do listen to the songs to experience an era and its emotions.
Movie: Taj Mahal (1963)
Director: M Sadiq
Music: Roshan
Lyricist: Sahir Ludhiyanvi
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Confrontations are the hallmark of drama and Bollywood
has often used the song as an effective medium to accentuate it. The drama only
gets more intense and the conflict larger than life when the setting is the
royal court of the Mughal Emperor and the issue is love and lineage; the
Emperor, angry yet restrained by his royal status and that God-like obsession
to be just under all circumstance, the queen, not burdened by such compulsions
letting her hatred show openly, the arrogant young prince very much in love and
finally the subject of all confrontation, the prince’s beloved; poised, vulnerable
and excruciatingly beautiful. What makes the drama so romantic is the seeming
foolhardiness of its lead protagonist – a young woman standing up to an Empire
on the sheer belief of her love.
Naushad (Mughal-E-Azam) and Roshan (Taj Mahal)
both used the song very effectively to portray this confrontation, yet their style
was contrasting. While Naushad used the high pitched ‘Jab Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya?’ with its echo and the ‘sheesh mahal’ glass
effect building up to a high crescendo, Roshan used a more restrained and sublime
style for ‘Jurm-e-ulfat pe hume log saaza
dete hain’ to essentially convey the same message. Incidentally both the
songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar and would easily feature in her top 50.
The difference in style was probably necessitated
by the different social status of its protagonist; while Anarkali of
Mughal-E-Azam, was the daughter of a courtesan, Arjumand Banu (Beena Rai) of
Taj Mahal is the daughter of the wazir
and the niece of the queen herself. Prince Khurram (Pradip Kumar – later to be
titled Shah Jahan in the movie after a victorious war in the Deccan) falls in
love with her, but the scheming queen Noorjehan (Veena) is keen to get her
daughter from her first marriage, Laadli Bano (Jabeen Jaleel) married to the
prince so that she can continue to hold her power over the empire.
So Noorjehan invites Arjumand to stay at the
palace only to put her under house arrest and keep a close watch on her
movements. But the clever Arjumand manages to break free and uses the birthday
party of Laadli Bano for a public defiance of the queen.
Dignified and composed like a royal heiress
should be; the entire song is rendered by Arjumand sitting, emoting only by her
face except for the closing salvo, the potency of Jurm-e-ulfat comes from its powerful
lyrics. Sahir’s pen is scathing like a sword as it explores the various
elements of defiance:
The mocking impudence of the opening stanza
Jurm-E-Ulfat
Pe Hamen Log Sazaa Dete Hain
Kaise
naadaan Hain, Sholon Ko Hawaa Dete Hain
The total commitment to Love
Hum se
diwane kahin tark-e-wafa karte hain (tark karna is to forsake)
Jaan jaaye
ke rahe, baat nibha Dete hain
And the complete disregard for consequences
Hume ne
Dil de bhi diya, ahad-e-vafaa le bhi liya (ahad – pledge)
Aap ab
Shouk se de den jo sazaa Dete hain
It is only here that Arjumand gives herself the
liberty of a gesture opening the hands as if in a welcome. What can a queen do
against a lover lost so completely to love?
The greatness of Taj Mahal as an album lies in
the fact that each of its compositions is a soulful mix of music (Roshan),
poetry (Sahir Ludhiyanvi) and flawless rendition (predominantly Rafi and Lata.)
Take the Prince’s lament on having to make do
with only a photograph of his beloved:
jo baat
tujh mein hai, teri tasweer mein nahee…
rangon
mein tera aks dhalaa, too naa dhal sakee
saanson
kee aanch jism kee khushaboo naa dhal sakee
tujh mein
jo loch hai, meri tahareer mein nahee (loch – flexibility, lachak; tahreer – script)
The romantic jugal-bandi between the royal
lovers
Paaon choo
lene do phoolon ko inaayat hogi
Varna
humko hi nahin inko bhi shikayat hogi
The trademark Roshan qawwali composition
Chandi ka
badan sone ki nazar us par yeh nazaakat kya kahiye, eji kya kahyie
Kis kis pe
tumhari nazroon ne dhayi hai qayamat kya kahiye, eji kya kahiye
Or that very popular ode to love: Jo vaada kiya wo nibhana padega
The brilliance of Sahir lay in the fact that he
could be equally potent whether in romance, drama or social issues. His Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko mardon ne ise
bazaar diya (Sadhana, 1958) or Jinhe
naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hai (Pyasa, 1957) are probably Bollyowood’s
strongest comment on gender bias and female exploitation.
In Taj Mahal, he uses the hapless beloved
waiting for her prince to return from a bloody battle to comment on the
futility of war and the vanity of the male ego. Khuda-e-bartar teri zameen par zameen ke khatir yeh jang kyon hai
isn’t the most popular number of the film but is remarkable for its universal
message. The questions are searching:
zamin bhi teri, hain ham bhi tere, ye milkiyat kaa sawaal kyaa
hai? (milkiyat – possession)
or
jinhe
talab hai jahaan bhar ki, unhi kaa dil itnaa tang kyoN hai? (talab – thirst, desire)
The appeal is philosophical and utopian
jinhe
ataa ki hai tu ne taaqat, unhe hidaayat ki roshni de (hidaayat – wisdom)
Taj Mahal is an epic love story. Roshan and
Sahir provide it a melody and depth that resonates its purity and longing more
than its grandeur.
Shah Jahan would have certainly approved of it.
Jurm-E-Ulfat Pe Hamen Log Sazaa Dete Hain - 2
Kaise naadaan Hain, Sholon Ko Havaa Dete Hain
Kaise naadaan Hain
Hamase Diwaane Kahiin Tar Ke Vafaa Karate Hain - 2
Jaan Jaaye Ki Rahe Baat nibhaa Dete Hain
Jaan Jaaye
Aap Daulat Ke Taraazuu Main Dilon Ko Taulen - 2
Ham Mohabbat Se Mohabbat Ka Silaa Dete Hain
Ham Mohabbat Se
Takt Kya Chiiz Hai Aur Laal-O-Javaahar Kya Hai - 2
Ishq Vale To Khudaa_ii Bhi Luta Dete Hain
Ishq Vaale
Hamane Dil De Bhi Diyaa Ehad-E-Vafaa Le Bhi Liyaa - 2
Aap Ab Shokh Se Deden Jo Sazaa Dete Hain
Jurm-E-Ulfat Pe Hamen Log Sazaa Dete Hain
Kaise naadaan Hain, Sholon Ko Havaa Dete Hain
Kaise naadaan Hain
Hamase Diwaane Kahiin Tar Ke Vafaa Karate Hain - 2
Jaan Jaaye Ki Rahe Baat nibhaa Dete Hain
Jaan Jaaye
Aap Daulat Ke Taraazuu Main Dilon Ko Taulen - 2
Ham Mohabbat Se Mohabbat Ka Silaa Dete Hain
Ham Mohabbat Se
Takt Kya Chiiz Hai Aur Laal-O-Javaahar Kya Hai - 2
Ishq Vale To Khudaa_ii Bhi Luta Dete Hain
Ishq Vaale
Hamane Dil De Bhi Diyaa Ehad-E-Vafaa Le Bhi Liyaa - 2
Aap Ab Shokh Se Deden Jo Sazaa Dete Hain
Jurm-E-Ulfat Pe Hamen Log Sazaa Dete Hain
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
har ek fatah-o-zafar ke
daaman pe Khoon-e-insaaN kaa rang kyoN hai
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
zamin bhi teri, hain ham
bhi tere, ye milkiyat kaa savaal kyaa hai
ye qatl-o-KhooN kaa
rivaaz kyoN hai, ye rasm-e-jang-o-jadaal kyaa hai
jinhe talab hai jahaan
bhar ki, unhi kaa dil itnaa tang kyoN hai
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
Ghareeb maaNo shareef
behnoN ko amn-o-izzat ki zindagi de
jinhe ataa ki hai tu ne
taaqat, unhe hidaayat ki roshni de
saroN mein kibr-o-Ghuroor
kyoN hain, diloN ke sheeshe pe jang kyoN hai
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
Khazaa ke raste pe
jaanevaaloN ko bach ke aane ki raah denaa
diloN ke gulshan ujaD na
jaaye, muhabbatoN ko panaah denaa
jahaaN mein jashn-e-vafaa
ke badle, ye jashn-e-teer-o-tafang kyoN hai
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
har ek fatah-o-zafar ke
daaman pe Khoon-e-insaaN kaa rang kyoN hai
khudaa-e-bartar teri
zamin par, zamin ki khaatir ye jang kyoN hai
Glossary:
Khudaa-e-bartar = O
superior God, fatah-o-zafar = victories and triumph, jaNg-o-jadaal = fights and
battles, talab = thirst, need, amn-o-izzat = peace and respect, ataa = blessed
(given by the grace of God, a blessing), kibr-o-Gharoor = pride (kibr = pride,
eminence, similar meanings for Gharoor as well), qazaa = destiny, fate, divine decree,
jashn-e-teer-o-tufaNg = celebrations with bows and guns
