The thirty-sixth song in this series.
Woh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye….
This song is from the 1963 Babubhai Mistri movie Parasmani (Gold making stone). The movie starred Mahipal and Geetanjali. The story of the movie was written by Pandit Madhur (a lyricist in his own right, he wrote lyrics for Banphool (1945), Tulsidas (1954), Prabhu Ki Maya (1955), Lalkar (1956), Harishchandra (1958) and Chandrasena (1959) and Vishwanath Pande. Asad Bhopali penned four of the six songs in the movie. All were composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
Before we take up anything else about the movie, we should take up the music duo of Laxmikant Pyarelal who ruled the Hindi films music world from 1963 to 1998. Even though they had worked with several music directors earlier both separately and together, Parasmani was the debut movie of Laxmikant Pyarelal as Music Directror.
Laxmikant Pyarelal started off with 1963 movie Parasmani and they made such popular songs for their very first movie that these are fondly remembered even today:
| 1. | “Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra” | Asad Bhopali | Lata Mangeshkar, Kamal Barot | 3:40 |
| 2. | “Mere Dil Mein Halki Si” | Asad Bhopali | Lata Mangeshkar | 4:56 |
| 3. | “Ooi Maa Ooi Maa Yeh Kya Ho Gaya” | Asad Bhopali | Lata Mangeshkar | 3:24 |
| 4. | “Salamat Raho Salamat Raho” | Indeevar | Mohammad Rafi | 5:57 |
| 5. | “Woh Jab Yaad Aaye” | Asad Bhopali | Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar | 4:43 |
| 6. | “Chori Chori Jo Tumse Mili” | Faruk Kaiser | Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar | 4:01 |
The duo that started off so outstandingly well in their very first movie had indeed great future ahead for them. They received their first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the 1964 Satyen Bose movie Dosti. Dosti was only their sixth movie (they did a total of 635 movies between 1963 to 1998) after Parasmani (1963), Harishchandra Taramati (1963), Sati Savitri (1964), Sant Gyaneshwar (1964) and Mr X in Bombay (1964). All these movies too had excellent and memorable songs; eg, Main ek nanha sa main ek chhota sa bachcha hoon and Suraj re jalte rehna from Harishchandra Taramati; Tum gagan ke chandrama ho main dhara ki dhool hoon, Jeevan dor tumhi sang bandhi, Sakhi ri pi ka naam naam na poochho, and Itni jaldi kya hai gori saajan ke sang jaane ki from Sati Savitri; Jaago re prabhat aaya, Jyot se jyot jalaate chalo, and Ek do teen chaar bhaiya bano hoshiyar from Sant Gyaneshwar; Mere mehboob qyaamat hogi, Khoobsurat haseena jaan-e-jaan jaan-e-mann, Chali re chali re gori paniya bharan ko, and Julmi hamaare saanwariya ho Raam from Mr X In Bombay.
Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar was born on the day of Laxmi Pujan, Dipawali on 3 November 1937. Probably, because of the day of his birth, his parents named him Laxmikant, after the goddess Laxmi.
Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 3 September 1940) is the son of a renowned trumpeter Pandit Ramprasad Sharma (popularly known as Babaji), who taught him the basics of music. He started learning violin at the age of 8 and practised it 8 to 12 hours daily. He learnt to play violin from a Goan musician named Anthony Gonsalves. The song “My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves” from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony is regarded as a tribute to Mr. Gonsalves (the movie had music by Laxmikant–Pyarelal). Presently, he is amongst the leading violinists in the country. The violin notes that he played for Ek pyar ka nagma hai are amongst his memorable renditions.
Laxmikant was a great fan of Shankar Jaikishan and initially L-P’s music sounded like that of S-J. However, their meteoric rise spelt the end of not just S-J Era but the era of so many other MDs such as Naushad, Madan Mohan, SD Burman, Roshan, C Ramchandra and OP Nayyar. Of course, some of the credit was shared by RD Burman and Kalyanji Anandji.
L-P have won seven Filmfare Awards, two short of Shankar Jaikishan and three short of AR Rehman who has won it a record ten times. They are, of course, nominated for a record 25 times.
The lyricist who worked with Laxmikant Pyarelal the most was Anand Bakshi whose songs featured in as many as 220 of their movies.
Asad Bhopali, the lyricist of this song was born as Asadullah Khan on 10 Jul 1921 in Bhopal.
Asad Bhopali wrote two songs for Fazli Brothers’ Duniya (1949): Rona hai to chupke chupke (sung by Mohammad Rafi) and Armaan lute, dil toot gaya (sung by Suraiyya). The next year, he wrote songs for a couple of films; these songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum. Bhopali’s big break was BR Chopra’s Afsana (1951), for which he wrote 5 songs.
He received his only Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist very late for the 1989 movie Maine Pyar Kiya’s song: Dil deewana bin sajna ke maane na.
The song Woh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye made him very popular. After Parasmani, L-P and Asad Bhopali were together for another ten movies: Mr. X In Bombay (1964; with such delightful songs as: Mere mehboob qayamat hogi, Zulmi hamare saanwariya ho Ram, Chali re chali re gori paniya bharan ko, and Khubsoorat hasina); Aaya Toofan (1964; Hum pyaar kiye jaayenge koi rok sake to rok le); Shreeman Funtoosh (1965; he wrote only one song. The others were penned by Anand Bakshi); Lootera (1965); Hum Sab Ustaad Hain (1965; Ajnabi tum jaane pehchane se lagte ho, Pyar bantate chalo); Boxer (1965; Khudaya khudaya mohabbat na hoti); Naag Mandir (1966; Ek manzil ek safar hai hamara aap ka); Chhaila Babu (1967; Tre pyar ne mujhe gham diya); Nirdosh (1973; Tujhe khanjar se kya maru ek nazar hai kafi); and Ranbhoomi (1991; Pee ke Shankar ji ki booti).
As I said in the beginning, this song is from the 1963 Babubhai Mistri movie Parasmani. Lets look at the story penned by Pandit Madhur and Babubhai Mistri to see how this song came about in the movie:
The actor Mahipal plays Paras in the movie from whom the title is derived. Son of a Senapati, he is lost at sea when his ship passes through a cyclone. He is found and brought up by a villager and because of his genes becomes an accomplished swordsman and singer.
One day, he encounters the princess ( Rajkumari played by Gitanjali) and falls in love with her. His fame as a singer soon reaches the palace, and the Emperor summons him to sing for him. Pleased with his singing, the Emperor asks him for a wish, and Paras asks for the hand of his daughter. Enraged, the Emperor decides to punish Paras, but Paras escapes.
Appearing defeated, the Emperor asks Paras to seek a rare gem called a Parasmani, because he is under a curse that as soon as his daughter marries, it will be the last day for the Emperor. If Paras can find the Parasmani, the life of the Emperor can be saved. Only then can Paras marry the princess. Paras agrees to this and leaves on the search with his sister and brother.
Paras receives clues from various places and is directed to a cave. From this point, the film that is black and white earlier becomes Eastman Color. Fighting various magical creatures and volcanic lava, Paras meets the Sorceress Mayanagri (Jeevan Kala), who falls in love with the brave Paras. Taking him in confidence, she shows him her real self, which is an old woman. The Sorceress shows him the Parasmani, which Paras gains after killing a giant spider-like creature. Soon the old sorceress also meets her end. Paras and his siblings fly back to their kingdom where, after some crucial fights, he meets his father, Senapati, and is married to the princess.
The song comes about when the lovers are separated.
Laxmikant Pyarelal composed the song in Raag Kalyan, Tal Kaherava.
Raag Kalyan is the basic raag of Kalyan thaat, which is also known as Raag Yaman (from the Mughal period onwards). It is a Sampooran (all seven swars; ie, heptatonic) raaga with Madhyam being teevra and rest all swar being shuddha, which is normally to be played during the first prahar of the night (6 PM to 9 PM).
Raag Kalyan or Yaman is a fundamental raag and often the first raag taught to students of classical music.
Kalyan or Yaman is a very popular raag for composing Hindi movies’ songs. Following songs, as examples, have been composed in this raag:
|
1. |
Khuda Nigahbaan Ho Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein |
Mughal-E-Azam Zindagi Parvarish Chitralekha Sandhya Lal Pathar Anurodh Aandhi Meera Thodi Si Bewafai Pakeezah Mrigtrishna Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam Kinara Parichaye Kinara Pakeezah Manavta Ganga Ki Leherein Junglee Kinare Kinare Aapki Parchhaiyan Papa Kehte Hain Suwarn SundariKabhi Kabhi Dil Hi To Hai Teesri Kasam Ek Baar Muskura Do Aapas Ki Baat Khamoshi Sunehere Kadam Pakeezah Shokhiyan Mamta Parasmani Bhajan Tansen Mirza Galib Babar |
Lata K L Saigal Mukesh Rafi Sulakshana Asha, Manna Dey Kishore Lata, Kishore Vani Jayram Kishore, Lata Lata Rafi Geeta Dutt Bhupendra, Lata Bhupendra Kishore Lata Lata Asha Rafi Manna Dey Rafi Udit Narayan Rafi, LataMukesh, Lata Asha Asha Kishore Kishore Kishore Lata Lata Lata Lata, Hemant Lata, Rafi Mukesh K L Saigal Suraiya Sudha Malhotra |
Please enjoy a composition of Laxmikant Pyarelal in Raag Kalyan or Yaman, Tal Kaherava on the lyrics of Asad Bhopali this unforgettable song sung by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar for Mahipal and Gitanjali in the 1963 Babubhai Mistri movie Parasmani: Woh jab yaad aaye bahut yaad aaye…..
वो जब याद आए बहुत याद आए
ग़म-ए-ज़िंदगी के अंधेरे में हमने
चिराग-ए-मुहब्बत जलाए बुझाए
आहटें जाग उठीं रास्ते हंस दिये
थामकर दिल उठे हम किसी के लिये
कई बार ऐसा भी धोखा हुआ है
चले आ रहे हैं वो नज़रें झुकाए
दिल सुलगने लगा अश्क़ बहने लगे
जाने क्या-क्या हमें लोग कहने लगे
मगर रोते-रोते हंसी आ गई है
ख़यालों में आके वो जब मुस्कुराए
वो जुदा क्या हुए ज़िंदगी खो गई
शम्मा जलती रही रोशनी खो गई
बहुत कोशिशें कीं मगर दिल न बहला
कई साज़ छेड़े कई गीत गाए
Laxmikant Pyarelal’s song for their debut movie is not counted merely among their good songs; it is considered one of their great numbers and here is what makes it so memorable:
Firstly, their composition and music arrangement is so good that you feel the pain of the separated lovers. It starts with an alaap from Lata Mangeshkar followed by silence when Rajkumari imagines Paras and vice-versa and then the music hits you like waves breaking against shore rocks. And then you hear the deep sonorous voice of Mohammad Rafi singing Woh jab yaad aaye…
At this stage, I must also bring out that there are many people (including me) who praise the duets of Mukesh with Lata or Hemant Kumar with Lata. However, if you recall the duets of Rafi with Lata (such as Mere Mehboob number Yaad mein teri jaag jaag ke ham, and this number) you would find sheer magic.
The lyrics and notes match perfectly and even though the song is in three stanzas, the strong tugs at your own emotions never cease. It must easily be the most liked Yaad song of all times.
The song has some compelling interludes and the silences before the music takes over (for example after Rafi sings the mukhada) add to its overall appeal.
Being in Raag Kalyan it is also relatively easy to sing; as easy as another great number in the same raag composed by Duttaram, penned by Hasrat Jaipuri and sung by Mukesh: Aansu bhari hain ye jeevan ki raahen.
I hope you enjoyed it too.
Please await the next song in the series.
