This is perhaps one of the best songs composed by O.P. Nayyar for Geeta Dutt. Accordion plays a major part in setting the overall mood of the song and Geeta sings this song in her distinctive frothy style.

This song was picturized on Shakila. According to her,

“Guru Dutt used to explain things well to us artistes. He was very mild, and patient. But he’d get angry when he didn’t get what he wanted. Then he would be very picky. There was a scene in which I had to look down and then fling my head back. We had five or six retakes. He wanted me to look exactly the way he had imagined. He was particular about the way my hair fell. I didn’t have the chance to work with him again, but I did act in Raj Khosla’s C.I.D. which was produced by Guru Dutt.

The first day I worked with Guru Dutt for Aar Paar involved a song sequence. I went to the sets, a room with cardboard boxes lying everywhere. It looked like nothing. Everyone asked Guru Dutt how he could possibly film there. But he did. The song was, Houn abhi main jawan (I am still young) and how fantastically he picturized it.”

Guru Dutt and Shakila in Aar Paar (1954)

This is the only SOLO song sung by Shamshad Begum for Shanker-Jaikishan. Shanker Jaikishan used Shamshad’s voice only 3 times during their long careers. The reason for using her voice sparingly in their compositions is provided by Shamshad and her daughter Usha below…

“Shamshad Begum remembers the time she came in contact with Raj Kapoor. “He was unknown then. In fact, he introduced himself as Prithviraj Kapoor’s son. Raj was making a film and he wanted me to sing for it. I was very busy then. But out of respect for Prithviraj Kapoor, I agreed. I used to come home in the afternoon to rest. I told Raj to come to my house with his harmonium and tabla players — Shankar of Shankar Jaikishen fame and Ram Ganguly, the music director. I squeezed in the practice session during my rest time and went to the studio only for the recording.”

The film was the hugely successful and not to mention, the music was a super hit. In keeping with Shamshad Begum’s fate, Raj Kapoor also never looked back. “But gracious that he was, once after many years when he met us at my mother’s concert, he publicly said that it was she who made his life. He also said, ‘But I couldn’t do anything for her.’ He later privately admitted that it was not him who didn’t want her to sing but Jaikishen who was anti Shamshad Begum,” says Usha.”

This song is picturized on Cuckoo who was the numero uno dancer at that time (late 40s to mid 50s). Like the Helen-Asha combination later on, in many of these songs, Cuckoo’s screen `voice’ was Shamshad Begum. Together, they were responsible for some unforgettable hits including Mere ghoonghar wale baal (Pardes), Dar na mohabbat karle (Andaz), Piya piya piya piya hum aur tum (Naujawan) etc

Trivia: The record version of this song had an extra line “Sambhal kai khidki khol balamwa dekhey mera baap re” which was later censored out of the film version by Censor Board.

Deewana was perhaps Lollywood’s first ever horror film. It was made way back in 1964 and took its inspiration from the Invisible Man and The Spiral Staircase. Sabiha was cast in the role of an insomniac and the film despite starting off with a certain amount of promise soon deteriorated into an insufferable bore. The intriguing aspect of the film plot that involved the marauding psychotic invisible man was completely ignored while the audience was tortured by an uninteresting romantic plot involving Sabiha, Ejaz and Ilyas Kashmiri.

However, the film had some awesome songs composed by Bengali music director Muslehuddin. This particular ghost song sung by Noor Jehan and chorus and picturized on Nasreen (with Zurain in the frame) was the highlight of the film. This was perhaps the only film where Noor Jehan collaborated with Muslehuddin.

Publicity Still of Deewana (1964)

Publicity still of Deewana (1964) reading “Rubi (Nasreen) 2nd from left, met a fatal end soon after this joyful occasion. Who was responsible? No one could tell.

- by Ummer Siddique