This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, 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 other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
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Today’s song is from a C grade Costume film Shahi Mehman (1955).
The film was produced by J.P.Saini and T.N.Dhar. It was directed by an expert of such films, namely Balwant Bhatt. The 9 songs from this film were written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Anjum Jaipuri and Hasrat Jaipuri. The music was provided by Bipin-Babul. The singers were Mohd. Rafi, Shamshad Begum and Asha Bhosle. The cast of this film included Shyama, Ranjan, Johnny Walker, Shammi, Rajni and others.
In the days when C grade action/ Costume films were made in large numbers, few actors featured prominently as the ” Hero” of such films. Master Bhagwan, Baburao Pehelwan, Kamran, Daljit and Ranjan were some names that come to mind offhand.
Ranjan was one actor who was very different from other action heroes. While there were very few highly educated heroes in social films in that period, Ranjan became a highly educated, versatile and multifaceted actor for Action films. He was not only an actor, but also an editor of a magazine, a Dancer, writer, Fencing expert of the Olympic standard, a Fellow of New York University, a public speaker and much much more. His Biodate is very inspiring. let us take a look at it……RANJAN – An artiste of countless arts ! In the early times of the Film Industry, very few educated people used to join here. That is why Graduates or Postgraduates used to flaunt their degrees with pride- like Moti, B.A.-the lyricist ( though he was actually M.A.), or Kavi Pradeep’s pseudo name- Miss Kamal B.A. or even singer actor Surendra as B.A., LL.B. etc.etc.
After reading about this artiste, you will wonder if any such multi-talented person ever lived here ?
A highly qualified person and that too in an unrelated subject joining films was a wonder then. Thus, a young man with an unlikely name for a Hero, like RAMNARAYAN VENKATRAMAN SARMA Alias actor RANJAN was a novelty. Ranjan was born in Madras on 2-3-1918 in an orthodox Brahmin family.
He was an expert in playing Violin. He was a qualified dancer in Kathak,Kathakali and Bharat Natyam. He was an expert driver, swimmer and a swordsman of Olympic standards. He graduated in physics.After M.Sc. He did his Doctorate too. Ranjan knew 12 Indian and 4 foreign languages. He edited a Dance and Drama Magazine and wrote several books on it. He earned a Fellowship of New York University.
Ranjan learnt and became an A grade flyer. He was the first to buy a Rolls Royce car and a Tiger Moth Aircraft, in the Indian film industry ( later Motilal also owned an aircraft). He was a good painter and a Trained magician. He became Magician’s Association president for Bombay. P C Sorcar was All India president then. He was often invited by European and American Universities for lectures. Ranjan owned two big Hotels also. Ranjan was a good shooter. He played Cricket and Soccer frequently. Ranjan was a regular singer on Madras A.I.R..
In his first Tamil film, his Heroine was Vasundhara Devi- mother of Vyjayanthimala. Ranjan entered Hindi films through his blockbuster film ” Chandralekha-48 “. He did 58 Hindi films in the 50s and 60s. He was a script writer also.He wrote the story and screenplay of the film Munimji-55. He was a choreographer also. In the 50s decade the quartet of Raj, Dev, Dilip and Ashok kumar was ruling Hindi industry. Ranjan was not given any importance here. He was not even invited for the Golden jubilee of Talkie film celebrations in Bombay. He lived in his bungalow in Chembur Union park.
He was spotted by a Tamil Producer, when he was standing in a Bus queue and he made his Debut in the film ” Ashok Kumar “-1941. After a few films in Tamil and Telugu, he got the role of SHASHANK in the Magnum Opus film Chandralekha in 1948. The Drum dance and his fencing were the two attractions in the film. The final sword fighting is considered the Longest ever Fencing fight in films till today ! The film was a Hit and Ranjan became typecast in Action films. Ranjan was a very poor actor, but his Fencing skills were marvellous.
In 1949, came ” NISHAN “, based on the Hollywood film ” The Corsican brothers’-one good and one bad. It was a story of twins. The audience liked a scene from the film which showed that there were marks on one brother’s back if the other one was whipped ! The film, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, was a hit everywhere mainly for its fencing scenes. In ‘Mangala’ opposite Bhanumathi, he was the villain and the Hero too.
He was invited by New York University for a Fellowship, but Vasan did not leave him, so after Mangala-1950, as soon as the contract was over, Ranjan came to Bombay.
‘Shin shinaki Boobla Boo’-1952 saw him with Rehana but as a Romantic Hero, he was worse than Bharat Bhushan or Pradeep Kumar !
He acted in Sindbad the sailor, Baghi, Shahenshah, Kafila, Baghdad, Baap Beti, Nishan Danka and a host of B and C grade films, many of them dubbed or remakes of southern films. He was known for only Fencing. But he never became famous like Stewart Granger in ” Scaramouche” for his fencing. In the 50s he acted in 23 films, in 60s he did 18 films and in the 70s his tally was 17 films. A total of 58 films in Hindi.
After Sword fighting became obsolete he shifted to writing. The story of the film MUNIMJI-55 was written by him. After a few years in the south he was seen again in ‘Chor chor’-74 and ‘Chaitali’-76. Ram Balram – 80 was his last film.
He married a Muslim girl and she converted to Hinduism taking the name of Laxmi. Ranjan wrote 12 books on Dancing and music.
He shifted to the USA to live with his son, but died on 12-9-1983,in New Jersey-USA,due to Heart attack. He was so much forgotten that even the news of his death was not published in India.
Film Shahi mehman-(1955) was a Costume film. The story of this film was…..
Alamgir, the Emperor of the Kingdom of Aayyaz, was a lover of beauty. He was mad after beautiful girls. He married a beautiful girl Rukhsana. She knew that when a new girl would come, she would be killed. In a short time Alamgir wanted to marry Hasina, daughter of the Amir of Mehran. Rukhsana plans to kill her, with the help of her brother Hasan.
Hasan attacks Haseena, who is coming to the Capital in a procession., Same time, a gang of dacoits led by Jaanbaz, attacks the procession, looting everything and runs away with Haseena. Hasan is terrified and goes back and reports that he killed Hasina. When Jaanbaz learns that Haseena is the bride of Alamgir, he takes her to the king . The king thanks him and makes him a state guest (Shahi Mehman). Seeing her there, Rukhsana and Hasan again plan to kill her but everytime Jaanbaz saves her. Finally, they fall in love, sing songs and do all that the director tells them to do.
Rukhsana shows their romance to Alamgir. Enraged, the king arrests Jaanbaz and Haseena to kill them. Meanwhile Rukhsana falls from her palace terrace and dies accidentally. her brother Hasan revolts against Alamgir. With the help of Jaanbaz and his gang, they attack the castle. There is a sword fight in which Alamgir and Hasan die. Jaanbaz becomes the King and marries Haseena. All, including the audience in the theatre, are happy and return to their respective houses !
One of the cast of this film is Shammi -who was known popularly as Shammi Aunty in later years. Nargis Rabadi (24 April 1929 – 6 March 2018), better known by her stage name Shammi, was an actress who appeared in over two hundred Hindi films. Shammi remained a sought-after actress with filmmakers when it came to goofy and comic roles, especially in the period 1949–1969 and later from 1980–2002. Her famous films as supporting actress included Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Half Ticket, Halaku, Samaj Ko Badal Dalo, Khuda Gawah, Coolie No. 1, Gopi Kishan and Hum Saath Saath Hain and films with Rajesh Khanna like The Train, Aanchal, Kudrat, Red Rose, Awara Baap and Swarg. She had been a leading actress playing main female lead or second female lead in Hindi films between 1949–1955 as well. Later, from 1986 till 1998, she appeared in many popular television serials such as Dekh Bhai Dekh, Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Shriman Shrimati, Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh and Filmi Chakkar. Shammi was married to film producer and director Sultan Ahmed for seven years, before they were divorced. Shammi is the younger sister of fashion designer Mani Rabadi.
Nargis was born on 26-4-1929 in Bombay. Her father was a priest in an agyari (Parsi fire temple) and died when she was around three years old. After her father’s death, her mother used to cook food at all the religious functions organized by the Parsi community to earn money. Nargis had an elder sister Mani Rabadi, who was a fashion designer and worked extensively with many actresses as their dress designer in Hindi films between 1967 and 1994. Her mother’s younger sister lived with her. They stayed in Tata Blocks in Parel, South Mumbai in 1930–47 period. Her sister joined Johnson and Johnson as a secretary after completing her secondary school education.
In 1942, Johnson and Johnson manufactured tablets and Nargis was employed in the packing department. Her job was to collect the tablets that were not sealed in the tablet case, and had fallen off from the machine. She had to put them into big bottles which would go to hospitals for free distribution to patients. She was paid Rs 100 per month for doing this job.
Nargis got into films by chance. A family friend Chinuu Mama was working with filmmaker Mehboob Khan. Chinuu was very friendly with actor and producer Sheikh Mukhtar. At that time, Mukhtar was looking for an actress for the second lead, in a film he was to start with Begum Para as the main female lead. Chinnu Mama asked Nargis whether she would like to join films and asked her to meet Sheikh Mukhtar in the studios the next day. Mukhtar was concerned about her Hindi-speaking skills as she was a Parsi. Nargis immediately told a worried Sheikh that she would be talking with him in Hindi itself, and that he should point out any flaw if he was able to find any. Sheikh Mukhtar was quite shocked, but was impressed. The next day, she was called to Mahalaxmi studios for her screen test for a film. She was advised by director Tara Harish to change her name to “Shammi” as there was another actress named Nargis in the industry. Her monthly salary was Rs 500. She was asked to sign a three-year contract with a condition that she couldn’t work outside without their permission. She was just 18 when she signed her first film, Ustad Pedro, in January 1949. Ustad Pedro had Sheikh Mukhtar opposite Begum Para and Mukri as the comedian and it was directed by Tara Harish and this Begum Para-Sheikh Mukhtar starrer was a hit film at the box office in 1949.
She had to attend the studio every day and practice acting even when she had no shoot. Shammi had to read dialogues of other films and Harish, the film’s director, taught her a lot of things since he was an actor himself. Harish was directing another film, called Malhar. Shammi was given the main lead in that film. Since the director was the same, Shammi was allowed to work outside the Sheikh Mukthar banner. She got good reviews for Malhar. Malhar’s music was a super-hit and Malhar made Shammi a famous star. Shammi was financially stable now, so they shifted to Bandra. During the shooting of Malhar, she met Nargis Dutt through Jaddan bai, who was the mother of Nargis Dutt. They became good friends. After that meeting, Dutt would frequently call Shammi to her house in Marine Drive. Dutt was her best friend and later, because of their friendship she got a supporting role in the film Miss India. She quoted in an interview “Nargis was the first actor to be paid Rs 1 lakh; even Dilip Kumar did not get that kind of money then. It was the talk of the industry. Actors like me who did supporting roles would get anything around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.”
Her third film was with Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, called Sangdil; it was released late in 1952 and was only a moderate success. Since Sangdil was unpopular with the audience, she did not get work for seven months. Shammi used to play the main lead or second lead in films from 1949 to 1952, but after Sangdil, she started taking whatever work came to her and took a few films with vamp roles. She quoted in an interview: “Many people scolded me when I did that but I was clear in my mind that I had to work. Sitting at home would not help me since I was the breadwinner of the family.” She got roles as the leading heroine opposite heroes such as Mahipal, Manhar Desai and Karan Dewan. After the release of K. Asif’s hit film Musafirkhana, she was flooded with similar roles. Her role opposite comedian Johnny Walker was appreciated in this film.
Some of her successful movies as supporting actress in this period were Ilzam (1954), Pehli Jhalak (1955), Bandish (1955), Azaad (1955), Halaku (1956), Son of Sinbad (1955), Raj Tilak (1958), Khazanchi (1958), Ghar Sansar (1958), Aakhri Dao (1958), Kangan (1959), Bhai-Bahen (1959) and Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960). The rest of her films released from 1952 to 1960 were deemed as commercial failures. In the period 1962 to 1970, her comedy and vamp roles made an impact in successful films such as Half Ticket, Ishaara, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Preet Na Jane Reet, Aamne – Saamne, Upkar, Ittefaq, Sajan, Doli, Raja Saab and The Train.
Shammi became pregnant two times, but both times she miscarried, and therefore she and Sultan Ahmed did not have any children. This had an adverse effect on their marriage, which lasted for seven years. During that period, the couple had bought a house and her husband wanted to put the house in her name, but Shammi was of the opinion that since her sister-in-law was not doing anything, Ahmed should put the house in his sister’s name. Ahmed’s brother in law’s family resided with them. Sultan’s brother’s wife was uneducated, so Shammi took care of the child. Shammi admitted the child to a school in Shimla. Due to some differences, she broke up with her husband in 1980. She walked out of the house without any cash in hand, and left without her car too. She had the old house where she stayed with her mother in Bandra, so she shifted there. Nargis Dutt was upset when Shammi separated from her husband. Dutt helped Shammi get a role in The Burning Train within 8 days after Shammi had left her house. Her friend Rajesh Khanna helped her get small roles in films with him in the lead from 1980 such as Red Rose (film), Aanchal, Kudrat, Awara Baap and Swarg. These films again got her noticed as a supporting actress and hence revived her career.
To help her recover from the losses, Rajesh Khanna, who was producing television series then, helped Shammi get a few shows to produce on Doordarshan. She was getting paid well for her roles in the films and in television serials and she started saving money. From her very first movie, she never went asking for work—the work came to her through some close friend. Her performances in serials such as Dekh Bhai Dekh, Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Shriman Shrimati, Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh and Filmi Chakkar were appreciated. She was very much in demand from 1990 to 2000, appearing in many successful films such as Coolie No 1, Hum, Mardon Wali Baat, Gurudev, Gopi Kishan, Hum Saath-Saath Hain and Imtihaan. Her portrayal of the role of a drug addict in Mahesh Bhatt’s Lahu Ke Do Rang had stunned the audience. Movie offers, however, stopped coming to her after 2002 since she was aging. She was rarely approached for roles from 2008 to 2011. In all, Shammi acted in 222 films, directed 1 film (Pighalta Aasman-87) and sang 2 songs in 2 films.
She made a comeback with Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi in 2013; as Bela Sehgal, the director, wanted her to do it because it was the role of a Parsi woman. She died in her sleep on 6 March 2018, from natural causes at the age of 88. ( Thanks for some information from Wikipedia, bollywood news.com, Chand Raat- book by Babu Moshai,muVyz and my notes.)
Today’s song is a duet sung by Asha Bhosle and Mohd. Rafi. This is the 3rd song of this film on this Blog.
Audio (good quality but shorter)
Audio (poor quality but longer)
Song- Teer chala ke zaalim jaana naa(Shaahi Mehmaan)(1955) Singers-Asha Bhonsle, Rafi, Lyrics-Anjum Jaipuri, MD-Bipin Babul
Lyrics(Provided by Prakashchandra)
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naa aa
o zaalim jaanaa naa aa
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naa aa
aisaa khayaal dil mein ae
laanaa naa laanaa naa aa
hho laanaa naaa aaa aa aaa
ho zaalim jaanaa naa aa
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naaa aaan aa
chaand sitaarey ae
jhooom rahey hain
chaand sitaarey ae
jhooom rahey hain ae
raat ka daaman choom rahey hain aen
raat ka daaman choom rahey hain
pyaar ki nazren kehtee hain aey aen ae
pyar ki nazren ae kehtee hain
is mehfil se jaanaa naa
teer chalaa ke zaalim jaanaa naa
ho zaalim jaanaa naa
aisaa khayaal dil mein laanaa naa aan
laanaa naa aaaa
hho laanaaa naaaa
ho zaalim jaanaa naa aan
teer chalaa ke zaalim jaanaa naaa aaa
zulfein zanjeer teree
dil mein tasveer teree
zulfein zanjeer teree
dil mein tasveer teree
itnaa na ??? zaalim
ithnaa naa ??? zaalim
tu hai taqdeer meree
tu..oo hai taqdeer meree
dar pe kisee ke jaanaa naa aaaa
hho jaanaa naa aaa
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naa aaa
hho zaalim jaanaa naa aaa
aisaa khayaal dil mein laanaa naa aaa
laanaa naa aaaa
hho laanaaa na aa
o zaalim jaanaa naa aa
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naaa aaa aa
phool saa chehraa aankh(?) gulaabeee ee
phool saa chehraa aankh(?) gulaabeee ee
ho jaaye ae duniyaa na sharaabee ee ee
ho jaaye ae duniyaa na sharaabee ee
tujhko qasam hai ae meree wafaa kee ee
tujhko qasam hai ae meree wafaa kee
dil pe gham barsaanaa naa
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naa aa
o zaalim jaanaa naa aaa
aisaa khayaal dil mein laanaa naa aa
laanaa naa aaaa
hho laanaaa naaaa
ho zaalim jaanaa naa aan
teer chalaake zaalim jaanaa naaa aa aa
