This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
The strongest image that remains in the mind is that of the film director Sinha Saab, a bedraggled man in tattered garments, with ruffled grey hair and white beard, a leathery skin on face lined with wrinkles that appeared much before time – a young person who aged too rapidly for his years. With help of a walking stick, he climbs down from the shadows of the scaffolding where he has perched himself, watching the action on the floor below – the same floor where once, not too long ago, he was the ringmaster, and everyone bowed to him. Not anymore. Today, he is a ‘has been’, who lost his touch of Midas, and the same world that once clamored to him, has quickly forgotten and relegated him, literally, to the garbage heap.
With difficulty, he negotiates the narrow ladders that lead down from the scaffolding to the studio floor. Once there, he shuffles to the chair, his chair, in the days of glory; the chair with the word ‘Director’ written across its back. He sits. And then he is immobile, never to get up again, never to wake up.
When the crowd of workers return after lunch, everyone is shocked to see this grimy old man, sitting motionless in the director’s chair. Everyone is known to him, but today no one recognizes him, now that he is gone. None, save one light-boy, who remembers and recognizes his earliest benefactor – Sinha Saab.
The power of these images and these sequences now have a cult following, not only in India but worldwide. Remembering Guru Dutt on his seventy seventh anniversary. (9th July)
Vasant Kumar Shivshankar Padukone spent a good part of his childhood in Bhowanipore, Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by the local culture, so much so that he adopted the name Guru Dutt – the name that lasted for, or rather outlasted, his lifetime. His first employment was with Lever Brothers, as a telephone operator in their factory near Calcutta – a plebian job that would not hold him for long. Then his uncle got him introduced into Prabhat Studios in Poona, where he was hired as, yes, a choreographer. That he would quickly graduate to being an actor and even an assistant director, was a logical follow up for his creative energies.
The image of the rebel, that is strong in his seminal works – ‘Pyaasa’ (1957) and ‘Kaaghaz Ki Phool’ (1959) depicts probably the inner anguish and conflict of his being, a painful cry that arises from the inner depths, seeking an expression, to be heard, to be what he wanted to be – to be free from the entrapments of his own creativity and versatility. ‘Pyaasa’ was a success, but the audiences did not warm up well to ‘Kaaghaz Ke Phool’, and so his mind saw the irony and the contradictions of existence. And maybe then, he let go. He had come in from the stream of ‘Aar Paar’ (1954), ‘Mr & Mrs 55’ (1955) and ‘CID’ (1956), to present to the world his heart and his emotions. But then after these two searing portrayals of human reality, he returned back into the fold with ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’ (1960), ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’ (1962), ‘Sautela Bhai’ (1962), ‘Bahurani’ (1963) et al.
From being a suave newspaper reporter (’12 O’Clock’ and ‘Mr and Mrs 55’) and a street smart car mechanic (‘Aar Paar’), he would be the poet (‘Pyaasa’) and the creative film maker (‘Kaaghaz Ke Phool’), but then he would also be the very rural village bumpkin (‘Bharosa’), a mentally retarded adult person (‘Bahurani’), a small time draftsman who fumbles when facing a lady (‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’), and a friend of friends in the most traditional milieu (‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’).
His passing away left many unanswered questions. Was that the salvation he was seeking? We don’t know. But we do know that the film and music lovers lost an intensely creative and a versatile genius, much before his time – God only knows what could have been, had he survived that deadly combination of sleeping pills and liquor.
With the word ‘choreographer’ in mind (his first assignment with Prabhat Studios at the start of his career), I present this lilting dance song from the 1963 film ‘Bharosa’. Guru Dutt takes to the screen with Asha Parekh in a group dance happening as part of a village fair. Quick reference to artists – lyrics are by Rajendra Krishan, music direction is by Ravi, and the singing voices are Rafi Sb and Asha Bhosle supported by chorus. So we now know that he could dance as well, maybe not as well as Asha Parekh, but who is comparing.😉
This is Guru Dutt, four years after he laid his ‘Paper Flowers’ – ‘Kaaghaz Ke Phool’ to rest. I do not believe it was a suicide.
Song – Kaahe Itna Gumaan Chhoriye Ye Mela Do Din Ka (Bharosa) (1963) Singer – Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Lyrics – Rajinder Krishan, MD – Ravi
Male Chorus
Female Chorus
Lyrics
kaahe itna gumaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
kaahe itna gumaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
legi kitnon ki jaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
kaahe itna gumaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
kaahe karta hai pyaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
kaahe karta hai pyaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
ja ja do din ka chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
kaahe karta hai pyaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
kaahe itna gumaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
o zara sun sun
arre ja ja ja
o zara sun sun
arre ja ja ja
chal thumak thumak
zara thumak thumak
aaa aaa aaa aaa aaaaaa aaa
chal thumak thumak
zara thumak thumak
aaa aaa aaa aaa aaaaaa aaa
o zara sun sun
arre ja ja ja
o zara sun sun
arre ja ja ja
teri khaatir khol ke rakha hai dil ka darwaaja
painyaan hum nahin padne waale
marzi hai to aa ja
badaa aaya dildaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
badaa aaya dildaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
ja ja do din ka chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
kaahe karta hai pyaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
kaahe itna gumaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
dekh zara ye kaali kaali zulfon ki zanjeeren
bandhi hui hain in mein
tere jaison ki taqdeeren
achhaa
waah waah
kya samjhe
dekh zara ye kaali kaali zulfon ki zanjeeren
bandhi hui hain in mein
tere jaison ki taqdeeren
lut jaayega jahaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
lut jaayega jahaan chhoriye
ye mela do din ka
kaahe karta hai pyaar chhoruaa
ye mela do din ka
———————————-
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————–
काहे इतना गुमान छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे इतना गुमान छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
लेगी कितनों की जान छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे इतना गुमान छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे करता है प्यार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे करता है प्यार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
जा जा दो दिन का छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे करता है प्यार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
ओ ज़रा सुन सुन
अररे जा जा जा
ओ ज़रा सुन सुन
अररे जा जा जा
चल ठुमक ठुमक
ज़रा ठुमक ठुमक
आs आs आs आs आssss आss
चल ठुमक ठुमक
ज़रा ठुमक ठुमक
आs आs आs आs आssss आss
ओ ज़रा सुन सुन
अररे जा जा जा
ओ ज़रा सुन सुन
अररे जा जा जा
तेरी खातिर खोल के रखा है दिल का दरवाजा
पईयां हम नहीं पड़ने वाले
मर्ज़ी है तो आ जा
बड़ा आया दिलदार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
बड़ा आया दिलदार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
जा जा दो दिन का छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे करता है प्यार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे इतना गुमान छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
देख ज़रा ये काली काली ज़ुल्फों की ज़ंजीरें
बंधी हुई हैं इन में
तेरे जैसों की तक़दीरें
अच्छा
वाह वाह
क्या समझे
देख ज़रा ये काली काली ज़ुल्फों की ज़ंजीरें
बंधी हुई हैं इन में
तेरे जैसों की तक़दीरें
लुट जाएगा जहां छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
लुट जाएगा जहां छोरिए
ये मेला दो दिन का
काहे करता है प्यार छोरुआ
ये मेला दो दिन का
