Men Singing Praises of their beloved

When I was very little, it was hard to escape the radio.  If we did not have the radio on, some obliging neighbour always had theirs on, and at a volume high enough for the whole mohalla to hear.  AIR started at 6 AM with this tune and Vande Mataram



The first song of the day was invariably by KL Saigal, as a tribute to that matchless singer.  Hence I will also start my list of (mostly) solo songs by men praising the beauty of their beloved with a song by K L Saigal.


1. Your two naughty eyes are wrecking havoc on me



If men don't know this already, they might as well commit harakiri.  The way to unlock the door to a girl's heart is flattery.  Why do women dress well?  Why does the cosmetics industry thrive? Why are the papers full of adverts for anything from losing pounds to losing wrinkles?  Take some tips from the following (and one preceeding) songs and learn how to  praise your lady love.


2. How can I find a similie for your beauty?




Yummy yummy Dev and Asha lavish praises on each other.  This is the only duet I have on my list, but I HAD to sneak Dev in.  He's my favorite.
3. These Eyes! Uff yumma



This song was such a rage at one time.  The simple and direct lyrics are very effective.

4. May no one cast an evil eye on your pretty face

Sadhna was so beautiful, so comely, so elegant.  No wonder Rajendra Kumar was all over her... in this song.

5. Oh queen of flowers, Oh empress of spring!


The next two songs have the best serenader in the history of Indian Cinema, Shammi Kapoor.  Like an aasman se bheja hua farishta, he lavishes praise on Kashmir ki Kali Sharmila in the next two songs.  I could not possibly have left either of these out of this list.

6. By God, your pretty face.


7. Your face is bright like the moon:


My favorite glamour girl - Babita - preens while Bishwajeet prances all around her singing this divine song.  It seems like he is praising her make-up more than the girl's beauty, maybe he was trying to pick up tips.  Ankhon me qayamat ke kajal, hoton pe ghazab ki laali hai. (your kohl is deadly, your lipstick is awesome red).  The song is from the movie Kismet.

8. Your kohl is deadly, your lipstick is awesome red.


In Dharti, Rajendra Kumar again tries to cosy up with his girl (Waheeda) by saying she is prettier than an angel and even God is awestruck by her beauty.  (Thanks Raja for correcting me on this)

9. Even God wonders who created my beloved when he peeps down from the skies:


Oh I love this song, and always found Rajshree very sexy.  Biswajeet singing for a dripping Rajshree in Shehnai.

10. Don't let the pearls of water in your hair scatter:



This is the superhit song that made Rajesh and Mumtaz India's sweethearts.

11.  These silken tresses, these syrupy eyes - they are what we all live for.


Back to Babita who soaks in a lotus pond while Jeetendra sings cautiously by the edge.

12. Oh dear, your fair body is like a blooming rose:


Sanjeev Kumar romances Nazima in this uber favorite song of mine.

13.  Oh your smile! Its like a ray of sunshine in the dark:


Shammi again in a b/w song, look at his face when he says 'bemisal'.  He puts so much feeling into this song.

14.  Oh you life of Spring, your beauty is matchless:



Rajesh again, chasing  Nanda all over the park.  I am guessing the children were away at school.  I can listen to this song anytime.

15. When I saw your rosy eyes, my heart was intoxicated

Talash - 1969

The movie came out in 1969, the IMDB informs me. My cousins were crazy about movies and I remember a lot of excitement among them for this movie. It was supposed to be uber stylish, lots of lavish sets and songs and such good stuff.

On Diwali, I was flipping channels and came across the movie airing on SAB, and stayed to watch. I had missed a few reels but could recall the scenes. The movie had opened with Sulochana doing the 'kapde see see' stuff. All Bollywood movies of the late 60s and early 70s started with a widowed mother sitting by a sewing machine and talking about having raised their kids by stitching clothes, and living in genteel poverty. Cut- and Rajendra Kumar (Raju) is a fresh graduate - BA mind you. Before you double up with laughter, BA in those days was equivalent to an MBA from IIMA. He is snapped up by Balraj Sahni for his 'Industries', right off the campus. Suddenly things are looking up and the young fellow is off to the snow capped hills (where?where?) to celebrate his newfound success with OP Ralhan as Lachchu. Err.. if the 'young' men look too old to be fresh-out-of-college-students, we are to turn a blind eye. After all, Rajendra Kumar was Jubilee Kumar and OP Ralhan was the producer/director/writer of the movie.

There among the hills, the hero finds amour. He runs into a village belle, Sharmila Tagore as Gauri and promptly falls for her. His 'sidekick' - OP Ralhan (Lachchu) also finds himself intrigued by Rita - a dancer. It is Helen, of course, and the audience heaves a sigh of relief, a few good cabaret numbers are in offing. So our lovesick birds sing a few songs and though our good hero would have made an honest woman of the girl immediately, he needs 'maa ka ashirwaad', another clever cliche to stretch the proceedings. He needs to go back, get MKA and return before the next pooranmashi. If he doesn't, the girl vows to throw herself off the cliff. They get engaged and sing another song - Juneli Raat ma.. which is a tribal song, and I had to avert my eyes each time RK appeared on screen in his sleeveless top (ugh) which is passed off as the traditional thing to wear for your engagement party.

Raju returns to Mumbai to find that his boss (Balraj Sahni) favors him immensely, despite him overstaying his leave. There had been some incident earlier about Raju returning the boss's purse after he had dropped it intentionally to test Raju's honesty. Now, honestly, which fool would keep a measly purse in exchange for a JOB? Raju finds himself elevated to a partner after he clinches a takeover bid for his boss. He gets an imported car and a big bungalow to live in. He also gets invited to the homecoming party for the boss's daughter.

It is Tan-tan-tan time as the perplexed Raju discovers that the boss's daughter, Madhu, is Sharmila in a brown wig with sea-green eyes that match Hrithik Roshan's. Herein lies the beauty of the film. It is a Romantic Mystery. Who is this girl? Is that girl from the hills with brown eyes and black hair the same girl? How is it possible? The hero stays for the party while a great song plays - a song that brings out the situation perfectly - Tere naina talaash karen jise wo hai tujhi me kahin deewane - sung by Manna Dey..

Raju rushes back to the hills to check out the girl again and finds Gauri blowing on the chullah. He stays a day and Gauri sings him this wonderful song - Aaayega re udke mera hans pardesi. Raju runs back to find Madhu where she was. Now comes a great track of love versus passion. Madhu woos him with her riches and glamor. She wears backless cholis, nighties with decolletage and gowns and drives fast cars and invites him into her bedroom and plays seductive numbers - Kitni akeli, kitni tanhaa si lagi, unse mil ke me aaj. Her father too showers his largesse on him.  Should Raju accept a life full of wealth and ease or give them up and keep his promise to the girl in the hills.

Alas, it was that time of the decade when movies had to be stretched to full 3 hours, melodrama had to be added in huge helpings, humour had to be pushed down the throats of the viewers. Hence we have to watch the parallel track of Lachchu, OP Ralhan, who hogs as much space as the hero, which is why I put 'sidekick' in quotes earlier - this guy is almost like a 2nd hero. Lachchu finds that wooing Rita has its complications, her father had murdered one of his mates and is being blackmailed by another. On top of that, Lachchu's father is a miserly fellow and wants him to marry a rich Parsi girl - Tuntun - (who looks lovely in a tight churidaar kurta and a bouffant). So the movie does not conclude until we have had the full dose of the dying mother, dhishum dhishum, car chases, missed planes and hero running after the heroine who is off to throw herself down a chasm.

I loved the movie for its simple story, compared to later potboilers when there had to be Great Villians, here the issue is really inside the hero, as he struggles with his conscience.

The songs are all good, the music was, after all, by Sachin Dev Burman. My top favorite is - Aaayega re udke mera hans pardesi.

The cabarets by Helen are scintillating - Mera Kya Sanam and Karle Pyaar karle. The indoor sets are definitely good, Balraj Sahni's office, the rich Sharmila's bedroom with its huge wardrobes and a large bed. The cars they drive are all top-down convertibles, which was a rage then. The outdoor shoots on the snow-capped hills are not too impressive, the scenes seem to have been shot in a single location.

Rajendra Kumar wears suits to hide his paunch. The actors then didn't think of their body as a temple. Balraj Sahni, with his slim physique, looks really natty. Though his acting skills are quite wasted here. Sharmila gets to wear some ethnic skirts for her tribal get up and glamorous sarees and maxis (ugh- I am glad we saw the end of this fashion) and nighties. Helen looks very pretty with her pout and bouffants and bows and wow legs.