Song : Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se Ajnabee Ban Jay Hum Dono
Movie
Singer : Mahendra Kapoor
Music Director : Ravi
Year: 1963
We begin with one of the most ‘wordiest’ songs from Bollywood. In 1963 BR Chopra made ‘Gumraah’, a social drama – like all BR movies – about marital infidelity. Mala Sinha loves Sunil Dutt but is forced to marry her widowed brother-in-law Ashok Kumar. Thus ensues a stirring drama of personal love and social responsibility. Ashok Kumar who was a master at essaying the unwitting lover – Bahu Begum, Aarti, Bheegi Raat – walked away with a National Award for the performance. Those were the days of the poet-lyricist and the lyrics for Gumraah were penned by the BR loyalist Sahir Ludhiyanvi, whose poetry so inspired younger brother Yash later that he built a whole movie around it – Kabhie Kabhie. There is an interesting anecdote about Sahir and another Gumraah number. Sahir was in love with a junior artiste, albeit one sided – makes one wonder whether it is the destiny of poets to be one sided lovers or vice-versa. The junior artist got engaged and invited Sahir for the wedding. It is rumored that as she left, Sahir picked up his pen and scribbled on the back of the invitation card: Aap aaye to khayal-e-dil-e-nashaad aaya Kitne bhoole hue zakhmo ka pata yaad aaya Your presence reminds the unhappy heart Of forgotten wounds from the past It went on to become another of Gumraah’s hit numbers. Two lines of poetry that conveyed more of the plot than any lengthy piece of dialogue could have. And if you thought Sahir was being masterful by conveying so much through so little, he did one better by giving the plot its direction with a single line: Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabee ban jaye hum dono The mukhdaa of a Hindi song traditionally comprises of a rhyming couplet (dil-e-nashaad aaya… yaad aaya), but this composition broke with tradition with almost a prose like statement. Generally the lyricist is provided with the composition to word it, but here it seems to be the other way around. Mahendra Kapoor, another of the BR loyalist sung it with enough grace to bag the Filmfare Award that year. Picture an elegant living room. Mala Sinha, the demure and dutiful Indian wife of the 60’s, standing besides her husband, the calm trying to contain the turmoil within, Ashok Kumar, graceful and knowingly unknowing and Sunil Dutt playing the piano with calm confidence as he sings: chalo ik baar phir se, ajanabii ban jaae.n ham dono dil navaazi – to bless (have mercy on) the heart na mai.n tumase koI ummiid rakhuu.n dil navaazii kii na tum merii taraf dekho galat a.ndaaz nazaro.n se na mere dil kii dha.Dakan la.Dakha.Daaye merii baato.n se na zaahir ho tumhaarii kashm-kash kaa raaz nazaro.n se chalo ik baar phir se … peshakadamii (pesh + kadam) – walk together (match steps), ham-raah – along, maajhii – past tumhe.n bhii koI ulajhan rokatii hai peshakadamii se mujhe bhii log kahate hai.n ki ye jalave paraae hai.n mere hamaraah bhii rusavaaiyaa.n hai.n mere maajhii kii – 2 tumhaare saath bhii guzarii huii raato.n ke saaye hai.n chalo ik baar phir se … taarruf – introduction, taalluk – relation taarruf rog ho jaaye to usako bhuulanaa behatar taalluk bojh ban jaaye to usako to.Danaa achchhaa vo afasaanaa jise a.njaam tak laanaa naa ho mumakin – 2 use ek khuubasuurat mo.D dekar chho.Danaa achchhaa chalo ik baar phir se … Could there have been a better conclusion for an affair that was destined to go nowhere.
