At one time, we had Benazir Bhutto as the PM of Pakistan. She belonged to PPP (People’s Party of Pakistan). But, considering the frequency with which she became pregnant, people thought of PPP as the Permanently Pregnant Prime minister.
Song #1
Roop tera mastana
Likewise, in Hindi movies, we had Sharmila Tagore. She had a surfeit of Y-chromosomes in her. Whether with the hero or with the villain, she would lose no time in becoming pregnant. The rest of the story and songs then revolved around her child. Aradhana and Amar Prem are just two examples.
Roop tera mastana led to her pregnancy in 1969 Shakti Samanta superhit movie Aradhana (worship) with Rajesh Khanna. He was IAF officer, Arun Varma and she was Vandana. They take shelter from heavy rain. Rain or no rain, it was easy to light a fire within and without.
This song was penned by Anand Bakshi, composed by SD Burman, and sung by Kishore Kumar. “Kersi Lord played the accordion, Homi Mullan played the duggi, Manohari Singh played the saxophone and Buji Lord played the vibraphone.”
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए[Verse 1]
रात नशीली, मस्त समाँ है
आज नशे में सारा जहाँ है
रात नशीली, मस्त समाँ है
आज नशे में सारा जहाँ है[Chorus]
हाय, शराबी मौसम बहकाए
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए[Verse 2]
आँखों से आँखें मिलती हैं ऐसे
बेचैन हो के तूफ़ाँ में जैसे
आँखों से आँखें मिलती हैं ऐसे
बेचैन हो के तूफ़ाँ में जैसे[Chorus]
मौज कोई साहिल से टकराए
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई हमसे ना हो जाए
रोक रहा है हमको ज़माना
दूर ही रहना, पास ना आना
रोक रहा है हमको ज़माना
दूर ही रहना, पास ना आना[Outro]
कैसे मगर कोई दिल को समझाए?
रूप तेरा मस्ताना, प्यार मेरा दीवाना
भूल कोई, हमसे ना…
Song #2
Chanda hai tu mera suraj hai tu
It was a “bhool” by both of them. More so because he died in a plane crash and she found herself as an unwedded mother. A son was born and named Suraj. But in this song, she thought of him as both her sun and moon. It was sung by Lata Mangeshkar for her:
“चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू
ओ मेरी आँखों का तारा है तू
जीती हूँ मैं बस तुझे देखकर
इस टूटे दिल का सहारा है तू
तू खेले खेल कई, मेरा खिलोना है तू
जिससे बँधी हर आशा मेरी
मेरा वो सपना सलोना है तू
नन्हां सा है, कितना सुंदर है तू
छोटा सा है, कितना प्यारा है तू
चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू…
मुन्ने तू खुश है बड़ा, तेरे गुड्डे की शादी है आज
मैं वारी रे, मैं बलिहारी रे
घूँघट में गुड़िया को आती है लाज
यूँ ही कभी होगी शादी तेरी
दूल्हा बनेगा कुंवारा है तू
चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू…
पुरवई वन में उड़े, पंछी चमन में उड़े
राम करे कभी हो के बड़ा
तू बन के बादल गगन में उड़े
जो भी तुझे देखे वो ये कहे
किस माँ का ऐसा दुलारा है तू
चंदा है तू, मेरा सूरज है तू.”
Please click on ‘Watch on YouTube’ to see the video:
Song #3
Bada natkhat hai re Krishan Kanhaiya
In Hindi movies, once you achieve success with a good formula, you don’t let go of it. AB, for example, continued being an angry young man well past his middle age. Similarly, three years after Aradhana, Shakti Samanta, again, thought of making another superhit movie with La Tagore and Rajesh Khanna: Amar Prem.
In this movie, Sharmila Tagore didn’t give birth to her child, but adopted him from an abusive stepmother of the boy. The movie tried to bring out, among other things, that a golden hearted prostitute or courtesan (in the movie Samanta actually blurred this image) is still better than a stepmother who ill treats her child.
This, too, was penned by Anand Bakshi and composed not by SD Burman, but by his son, RD Burman. Once again, Lata Mangeshkar sang it:
बड़ा नटखट है रे कृष्ण कन्हैया
का करे यशोदा मैय्या
ढूंढें री अखियाँ उसे चहू ओर
जाने कहाँ छुप गया नंदकिशोर
उड़ गया जैसे पुरवय्या
आ तोहे मैं गले से लगा लूं
लागे ना किसी की नज़र, मन में छूपा लूं
धूप जगत है रे ममता है छैय्या
मेरे जीवन का तू एक ही सपना
जो कोई देखे तोहे समझे वो अपना
सब का है प्यार बंसी बजय्या
Song #4
Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai
In comparison, you would have, in Hindi movies, expectant mothers who would go to any length to get a child and visit mandirs and sing bhahans and songs. But, gods won’t favour her (Jaise khele chanda badal mein, khelega woh mere aangan mein). However, one chance and fleeting encounter with the villain and, “Main tumhare bachche ki maa banane wali hoon.”
This conditioning of mind brought about by Hindi films became so strong that many women preferred villains in order to have their desire fulfilled of becoming mothers. One such villain even went about calling himself a saint (Bapu Asaram), but later was jailed for exploiting this desire in women.
In the movie Rustom e Sohrab, the most curious case of a woman wanting a child through a man was immortalised in this song: “Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai…”
“The film has Suraiya as the heroine (in the role of Shehzadi Tehmina) and Prithviraj Kapoor (in the role of Rustom Zabuli) as the hero. The story is based on the legendary poem of Rostam and Sohrab by Persian poet Ferdowsi. Prem Nath plays the role of Sohrab, Rustam’s son and Mumtaz plays the role of Shahroo, Sohrab’s love.
It was the last film of Suraiya, after which she gave up acting and singing altogether. In the film, she sang her swan song “Ye kaisi ajab dastan ho gayi hai”, which is regarded as one of her hit film songs.”
The lyrics of the song were by Qamar Jalalabadi and music by Sajjad Hussain (of Sangdil song Yeh hawa yeh raat yeh chandni fame):
(ये कैसी अजब दास्ताँ हो गई है
छुपाते छुपाते बयाँ हो गई है) – २
ये कैसी…
ये दिल का धड़कना, ये नज़रों का झुकना
जिगर में जलन सी ये साँसों का रुकना
ख़ुदा जाने क्या दास्ताँ हो गई है
छुपाते छुपाते बयाँ हो गई है
ये कैसी….
बुझा दो बुझा दो, बुझा दो सितारों की शम्में बुझा दो
छुपा दो छुपा दो, छुपा दो हसीं चाँद को भी छुपा दो
यहाँ रौशनी महमाँ हो गई है
आअ~
ये कैसी….
इलाही ये तूफ़ान है किस बला का
कि हाथों से छुटा है दामन हया का
(ख़ुदा की क़सम आज दिल कह रहा है) – २
कि लुट जाऊँ मैं नाम लेकर वफ़ा का
तमन्ना तड़प कर जवाँ हो गई है
आआ~
ये कैसी….
छुपाते छुपाते…..
Song #5
Aur kuchh der thehar, aur kuchh der na jaa
Rajesh Khanna, a hero (and not a villain), got the maximum women pregnant in movies. That’s because his debut movie had this song Aur kuchh der thehar with Indrani Mukherjee, resulting in her pregnancy, and the entire movie thereafter revolved around this accidental child and the Aakhri Khat (the title of the movie) she wrote to him before dying.
Kaifi Azmi penned these beautiful lyrics, which were composed by Khaiyyam and sung by Mohammad Rafi.
I am giving you here the song sung by me:
Song #6
Tumhi ho mata pita tumhi ho
This is from the 1962 AVM (AV Meiyappan) production Main Chup Rahungi directed by A Bhim Singh. The title of the movie was derived from the heroine, Meena Kumari, becoming accidentally pregnant and delivering a boy baby, but unable to reveal the name of the father.
Meena Kumari’s accidental child sings one of the best known bhajans in Hindi movies, “Tumhi ho mata pita tumhi ho, Tumhi ho bandhu sakha tumhi ho.”
The lyrics were penned by Rajendra Krishan and composed by Chitragupt. The song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar:
तुम्हीं हो माता, पिता तुम्हीं हो।
तुम्हीं हो बंधु, सखा तुम्हीं हो॥
तुम्हीं हो साथी, तुम्हीं सहारे।
कोई न अपना सिवा तुम्हारे॥
तुम्हीं हो नैया, तुम्हीं खेवैया।
तुम्हीं हो बंधु, सखा तुम्ही हो॥
जो खिल सके न वो फूल हम हैं।
तुम्हारे चरणों की धूल हम हैं॥
दया की दृष्टि सदा ही रखना।
तुम्हीं हो बंधु, सखा तुम्हीं हो॥
Song #7
Tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi
The 1973 Manmohan Desai movie, Aa Gale Lag Jaa was shot at my home station, Shimla. The easily pregnant actress, Sharmila Tagore stars in this movie. Out to Kufri with Shashi Kapoor, they roller-skate in snow and then he meets with accident. She is a medical student and she has learnt that a patient heading towards hypothermia (caused by extreme cold, as in Titanic) can be saved by giving him or her body heat. Naturally, whilst giving him body heat, she becomes pregnant. When she delivers the child, she is told that he was still born. The movie, thereafter, revolves around this song that resulted in her pregnancy and later Shashi Kapoor sings to their son.
Such recurring songs of the movie are best penned by Sahir Ludhianvi (eg, in the movie Ghazal: Rang aur noor ki baraat kise pesh karun). Here, too. This was composed by RD Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar as solo and later by Kishore Kumar and Sushma Shareshth as a duet:
(सुषमा श्रेष्ठ संस्करण)
तेरा मुझसे है पहले का नाता कोई
यूँ ही नहीं दिल लुभाता कोई
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
देखो अभी खोना नहीं, कभी जुदा होना नहीं
अबके यूँ ही मिले रहेंगे दोनो
वादा रहा ये इस शाम का
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
वादे गये बातें गईं, जागी जागी रातें गईं
चाह जिसे मिला नहीं, तो भी कोई गिला नहीं
अपना तो क्या जिये मरे चाहे कुछ हो
तुझको तो जीना रास आ गया
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
(किशोर कुमार संस्करण)
तेरा मुझसे है पहले का नाता कोई
यूँ ही नहीं दिल लुभाता कोई
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
धुआँ धुआँ था वो समा, यहाँ वहाँ जाने कहाँ
तू और मैं कहीं मिले थे पहले, देखा तुझे तो दिल ने कहा
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
तू भी रही मेरे लिये, मैं भी रहा तेरे लिये
पहले भी मैं तुझे बाँहोंमे लेके, घूमा किया और झूमा किया
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
देखो अभी खोना नहीं, कभी जुदा होना नहीं
अबके यूँ ही मिले रहेंगे दोनो
वादा रहा ये इस शाम का
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
वादे गये बातें गईं, जागी जागी रातें गईं
चाह जिसे मिला नहीं, तो भी कोई गिला नहीं
अपना तो क्या जिये मरे चाहे कुछ हो
तुझको तो जीना रास आ गया
जाने तू या जाने ना, माने तू या माने ना
Here is my own rendition of this Kishore Kumar song:
One last thing:
They say the genes are normally passed on to the children. But, in Hindi movies, these accidental children (through the villain or otherwise), invariably, became ideal citizens. One more reason for women to want an accidental child.
There is any number of songs from these scenarios of unwanted or accidental pregnancies. I have given you only representative songs, here.
I am fond of Mohammad Rafi; indeed, so fond of him that I consider him the best, the most accomplished, and most versatile singer that the world ever produced. A few years ago, when I started to learn singing at a very late stage in my life (I am 72 years old now and I started to learn singing only about three to four years ago), I realised that there is no better singer to learn from than Rafi saheb. Such is the aura of his singing that if an ordinary, amateur, and untrained singer like me can sing at about five percent of his ability, I can start patting myself on the back. Rafi saheb was the A to Z of good singing. When a great contemporary, Manna Dey, was asked to rank Rafi as a singer, Manna Dey’s prompt and thought provoking response was, “I rank Mohammad Rafi as #1 to #10.” By this, he obviously meant that all other singers were and are ten ranks below.
The 1961 movie Bada Aadmi was a Raj Kaushal movie starring Sheikh Mukhtar and Vijaya Choudhary both of whom act in the song, too.
