Beautiful Duet Series
I started this series on my Facebook group Yaad Kiya Dil Ne on 23 Aug 20. Since then, many other members have put up these songs. Here, I shall be giving you one of my own, per day.
On 30 Jan 2021, I gave you Beautiful Duet #7 – Tasveer teri dil mein. So here, then, is the next one:
Rimjhim ke taraane leke aayi barsaat
Remembering Shailendra on His Birth Anniversary 30 Aug
Our Dedication to a Lyricist who
Always Dived Deep to find Pearls
This post, with a little modification, was also put up as ‘Shailendra Song of the Week #3 – Rimjhim Ke Taraane Leke Aayi Barsaat‘.
Anands All The way
The 1960 movie Kala Bazaar (Black Market) was produced by Dev Anand for Navketan Films and directed by his brother Vijay Anand. The film starred all three brothers: Dev Anand as the black-marketeer Raghuvir (mainly earning money through sale of movie tickets in black), Vijay Anand as Nandkumar Chattopadhayay – the original lover of Waheeda Rehman as Alka – who magnanimously gives up his love for Alka in favour of Raghuvir and Chetan Anand as advocate Desai who fights an interesting court battle for Raghuvir after he had given up his bad ways in order to woo Alka.
A reformed Raghuvir gets to keep all the money he made from Kala Bazaar including a house on Marine Drive where he started living with his hitherto impoverished mother Leela Chitnis and sister Nanda; a fact that won’t have been lost on public at large and Alka.
This was the second directorial venture of Vijay Anand after Nau Do Gyarah.
Bombay Especially in the Rains
This movie was made at a time when Bombay was Bombay and not Mumbai and Hindi films were referred to as Hindi films and not as Bollywood Films as if these cannot exist without being a poorer copy of Hollywood films.
One of Dev Anand’s early successes as Kala Bazaar operator was on the premier of Mother India in Maratha Mandir. Several stars made their appearance at the premier: include Dilip Kumar, Geeta Dutt, Guru Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Sohrab Modi, Mohammed Rafi, Nargis, Nadira and Nimmi. Others seen include, Kumkum, Mukri, Yakub, Naseem Banu and Kumari Naaz. The film also showed Liberty and Metro cinemas, very nostalgic for all of us who grew up in Bombay.
The song that I have chosen is near the end of the movie and shows Bombay during rains including the Marine Drive.
Shailendra and SD Burman
Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra were in the team of Shankar Jaikishan who were the ‘house-musicians’ for RK Films of Raj Kapoor. However, they wrote songs for other music directors too. This one is for Sachin Dev Burman who often said that his second name was the name of his favourite hero: Dev Anand; more often than not Dev Anand movies had music by SD Burman.
Shailendra and SD Burman paired together starting with 1951 movie Buzdil. We fondly recall their pairing for two iconic 1963 movies Bandini and Meri Surat Teri Aankhen. In Bandini they fell apart and hence in addition to Shailendra, SD Burman tried Sampooran Singh Kalra (Gulzar). And then of course Guide was released in 1965 with excellent songs by Shailendra including his trademark delving deep song: Wahan kaun hai tera mussafir jayega kahan?
Lyrics
I chose this song as the Shailendra Song of the Week because of Shailendra’s delightful skill at expressing the emotions of lovers during the rains.
In his very first movie for Raj Kapoor: Barsaat (I have still not found out why this 1949 movie was titled Barsaat by Raj Kapoor as Barsaat had nothing to do with the progress of the story. I have a feeling that the title of the movie stole from Shailendra’s song composed by Shankar Jaikishan: Barsaat mein hamse mile tum sajan).
In 1960 Bimal Roy movie Parakh he came up with the best rain song ever in Hindi movies: O sajana barkha bahaar aayi.
In 1955 movie Shree 420, no one can ever forget the lovers under the umbrella in Bombay rains: Raj Kapoor and Nargis singing Pyar hua iqraar hua.
And of course in 1965 Guide, he tugged at our emotions with his Din dhal jaaye song; viz:
Aisee rim-jhim aisee phuharen, aisee hee thee barsaat
Khud se juda aur jug se paraye, ham dono the sath
Phir se woh sawan ab kyon naa aaye, din dhal jaaye…
(some of the words that he had already used in this song):
Rim-jhim ke taraane leke aayi barasaat
Yaad aaye kisi se vo pahali mulaaqaat
Bheege tan man pade ras ki phuhaar
Pyaar ka sandesa laayi barkha bahaar
Main na bolun, main na bolun aankhen kare akhiyon se baat
Rim jhim ke taraane leke aayi barasaat
Sunake matavaale kaale baadalo kaa shor
Rum jhum ghum ghum naache man kaa mor
Sapano kaa saathi chal raha mere saath
Rim jhim ke taraane leke aayi barasaat
Jab milate ho tum to chhute hain dil ke taar
Milane ko tum se main kyon tha beqaraar
Rah jaati hai
Rah jaati hai kyon hontho tak aake dil ki baat
Rim jhim ke taraane leke aayi barasaat
Yaad aaye kisi se vo pahali mulaqaat
What do the Lyrics Signify?
Unlike Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat in which Barsaat lyrics don’t mean a thing, here, there is a chance meeting in the rain in Mumbai between Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman after she had already turned him down because of his Kala Bazaar ways. Later, when she regarded him as a reformed man, she was in love with Vijay Anand.
Hence, this song was the home-coming for the lovers; the drenching of their souls. One is reminded of Shree 420’s Ramaiya Vastavaiya, a home-coming for Raj Kapoor as Shree 420.
But, rim-jhim is gentle rain and Vijay Anand did it very gently through the meeting in the rain.
My Own Poetry
कुछ शोख़ हवा चली है सुहानी रात में I
और दस्तक दे रही हैं देहलीज़-ऐ-जज़्बात पे I
लगता है रो रहा है वह भी मेरे हालात पे I
कुछ और लौ बची है शमा-ए-हयात में I
हल चल सी मच गयी है कायनात में I
उधर उठ के देखता हूँ बात बात पे I
कुछ हकीकत तो होगी ख्याल-ए-करामात में I
Please Enjoy
All in all a heart-warming duet between Mohammad Rafi and Geeta Dutt put together by Shailendra and SD Burman.
Please enjoy: Rimjhim ke tarane leke aayi barsaat…
I hope you liked my choice of Beautiful Duet #8.
Please await Beautiful Duet #9- Tujhe jeevan ki dore se.
