This article is written by Raja, 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.
Amongst various phases that we go through in life, childhood, though the earliest of our conscious phases, usually manages to imprint some memories in our brain that seem to be indelible right through our life. We might forget what we had for lunch earlier today but we remember a seemingly inconsequential event that occurred when we were ten!
For many people, these childhood memories include films and music that they were exposed to at that time. Years later, they recall (usually) fondly these films and this music – often associating them with childhood events. Success or otherwise of these films or music is immaterial – what matters is that they were part of the person’s growing up years.
For me, those years would be, say, from 1969 – 1981.
In 1981, things changed in my life – and probably changed me too a bit. I remember Love Story, Rocky and Ek Duuje Ke Liye being released in 1981. All of these films turned out to be huge hits – and their songs were a rage on radio every day. I listened to them – but could not muster any interest in the films themselves. A bunch of new actors for the Hindi film industry – all heavily promoted – and here I was, totally indifferent. Yes, for me, personally, 1981 marked the end of an era.
The start of the era was probably 1969. I have a few memories of pre-1969 but they are rather hazy , so I will not set the marker for before this year. I do remember 1969 though – Aradhana’s popularity is a clear memory though at that time I did not know it was 1969. Another clear memory is the death of President Zakir Hussain and it being declared a school holiday. Later I realized it was 1969.
I remember seeing an issue of Madhuri magazine in 1970. In our family we did not subscribe to film magazines but our neighbour did. I happened to be at their place and chanced on the magazine. The main story was about the top three heroines of the time, with their pictures.
They were Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh and Waheeda Rehman.
I remember this as if it were yesterday.
Of course these were the big names at that particular moment, especially after Aradhana and Kati Patang for Sharmila and Asha respectively. I’d guess Waheeda would have in the top 3 for much of the 60s, and even in 1970, she produced an outstanding performance in Khamoshi.
But I reckon, if a similar top-3 had been produced 2-3 years later, a different name might have made it to the list.
Mumtaz.
Today is Mumtaz’s birthday (or birth anniversary as some prefer to refer to the day).
So this post is dedicated to her, as we, in this blog, wish her a very happy birthday.
Personally, I’d like to thank Mumtaz (or Mumu as she is fondly called by her fans) for many of my fond childhood film memories.
“Dekho dekho dekho, bioscope dekho…Dilli ka Qutub Minar dekho, Bambai sheher ki bahaar dekho, ye Agre ka hai Taj Mahal, ghar baithe saara sansaar dekho”.
This was Mumu in Dushman (1971). Even as she was singing this song on screen (Lata’s playback), a little boy was enthralled. That was me. ? This song got stuck in my head.
“Sun champa sun taara, koi jeeta koi haara”.
Mumu in Apna Desh (1972). Another song that enthralled me at the time and got stuck in my head.
During that period (1970-1975), I saw a number of Mumtaz movies. She was at the top of her career at the time and was extremely popular amongst the masses.
It is well-known that she and Rajesh Khanna enjoyed a terrific chemistry on screen. Many of their films became hits, many of them had songs featuring both of them, which are popular to this day. Songs like “chhup gaye saare nazaare” and “ye reshmi zulfein” (Do Raaste), “yunh hi tum mujh se baat karti ho” (Sacha Jhootha), “maine dekha tune dekha…dushman dushman jo doston se pyara hai” (Dushman), “kajra lagaa ke” and “duniya mein logon ko” (Apna Desh), “gore rang pe na itna gumaan kar” (Roti), “karvatein badalte rahen” and “jai jai Shiv Shankar” (Aap Ki Kasam) and “prem kahani mein” (Prem Kahani).
I saw all these movies during that 1970-75 period. And loved the Rajesh-Mumu pairing. But apart from these films, I also saw other Mumu films like Pardesi, Ek Nari Ek Brahmachari, Apradh, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Tere Mere Sapne, Tangewala, Mela, Loafer and many more.
Yes, during that period, with the possible exception of Hema Malini, I don’t think I saw as many movies of any heroine as I saw of Mumtaz.
So to me, just like Rajesh Khanna was very much part of my early growing up years, so was Mumtaz.
Only later I got to know that it had not always been like this for Mumtaz.
I’d first known her when she’d already stepped into the big league. But well before that, she’d had many years of working her way up the ladder. She started when very young – for example, she can be seen in the famous “pankh hoti to ud aati re” sequence (Sehra-1963). Already by this time, she’d been acting for a few years. And this, for somebody, born in 1947.
Through the 1960s, Mumtaz worked as a heroine in B-movies (notably with Dara Singh, who was one of her favourite co-stars at the time and encouraged her a lot during that period).
When she wasn’t playing B-movie heroine, she was playing the secondary actress role in A movies – often wanting the hero, but not getting him, as in Aadmi Aur Insaan and Patthar Ke Sanam. Through the sixties, she could be seen in well-known films but not as the main heroine – films like Khandan, Sawan Ki Ghata, Humraaz, Brahmachari and Mere Sanam come to mind.
With V. Shantaram’s Boond Jo Ban Gaye Moti (1967) opposite Jeetendra and Ram Aur Shyam (1967) opposite Dilip Kumar, she made the transition to a different league – that of a lead actress in a non-B film.
Ram Aur Shyam (1967) became a huge hit. It had Dilip Kumar in a double role – one was paired opposite Waheeda Rehman, the other opposite Mumtaz. And though Waheeda Rehman had more screen time, Mumtaz had her moments too, with the popular “o baalam tere pyar ki thandi aag mein jalte jalte” picturised on her and Dilip Kumar.
From then on, things began looking up for her. Do Raaste (1969) was again a big hit. And for Khilona (1970) she even won a Filmfare award. After that, the lead roles began coming her way fairly comfortably. Once you are seen as a saleable star, producers line up at your doorstep.
So it was indeed quite a journey for Mumtaz. From being a starlet to becoming a star. It is to her credit that she persevered all the way. Some people (like Rajesh Khanna) achieve stardom very early in their careers – others have to work for years for it.
Mumtaz enjoyed her stardom years in the early 70s. But then, just when she was still very much on top, she got married and left the film industry in the mid-70s. She wrapped up her remaining assignments and settled abroad with her businessman husband. It was a Hindi film industry version of a Bjorn Borg retirement. ?
Anyway, now onto today’s song.
The song for today is from Khandan (1965).
The film was one of the biggest grossers of the year and its music became very popular. Ravi won a Filmfare Award for it, as did Sunil Dutt for his acting. While the heroine is Nutan, Mumtaz stars in the film as second lead opposite Sudesh Kumar, who plays Sunil Dutt’s brother.
The role Mumtaz plays is actually a negative one, where she and her brother, Pran, try to win over Sudesh Kumar and break his family, with the help of Lalita Pawar, who is the matriarch of the family.
It is a fun song that allows us to see Mumtaz dancing in her typical 1960s “western” style, reminiscent of her in “O meri maina” from Pyar Kiye Jaa. That Sudesh Kumar doesn’t seem to quite match up to Mumtaz in the dance, doesn’t detract from the fun of the song.
I hope you enjoy this song too – ao dance karein.
And once again, we wish Mumtaz a very happy birthday.
Song-Aa dance karein (Khaandaan)(1965) Singers-Asha Bhonsle, Rafi, Lyrics-Rajinder Krishan, MD-Ravi
Both
Lyrics
Aa dance karein
aa dance karein
thhoda romance karein
nazar nazar mein hua hai sauda
tere mere dil ka
O aa dance karein
thhoda romance karein
nazar nazar mein hua hai sauda
tere mere dil ka
aa aa
aa dance karein
pheeki hai zindagaani
dum bhar mein ho suhaani
thhodi si meherbaani
kar do honey
pheeki hai zindagani
dum bhar mein ho suhaani
thhodi si meherbaani
kar do honey
raahi hoon door ka main
banda huzoor ka main
zulfon ki chaahta hoon
chhaaon ghani
dil hai mera bhi
O sanam tera pyaasa
a haa ha ha
aa dance karein
aa dance karein
thhoda romance karein
nazar nazar mein hua hai sauda
tere mere dil ka
haaye
aa dance karein
La la la
La la la
La la la la la la la laa
mausam hai aashiqui ka
masti ka bekhudi ka
phir kyun na zindagi ka
aaye mazaa
mausam hai aashiqui ka
masti ka bekhudi ka
phir kyun na zindagi ka
aaye mazaa
thhukra ke ye zamaana
kar le kahin thhikaana
apna to hai iraada
tera hai kya
dil hai mera bhi
O sanam tera pyaasa
haa
aa dance karein
thhoda romance karein
nazar nazar mein hua hai sauda
tere mere dil ka
aaa
aa dance karein
