Video Discription |
Song : Baabul mora naihar chooto hi jaaye..
Film : Street Singer,1937,
Singer : K L Saigal,
Lyrics written by : Nawab Wajid Ali Shah,the king of Awadh
Music Director :R C Boral,
Cast :K.L. Saigal ,Kanan Devi ,Boken Chatto ,Rekha Jagdish Sethi ,Vikram Kapoor ,Shabbir ,A.H. Shore Chamanlal,Vaid ,Shyam Laha, Abdul Rehman ,Vrij Paul, Ramkumari,Rani .
Director : Phani Mujamdar,
New Theater's Presentation,
Lyrics :-
babul moraa naihar chooto hi jaaye
baabul moraa naihar chooto jaaye
mora naihar chooto hi jaaye
chaar kahaar mile
mori doliya sajaawen
mora apna begaana chooto jaaye
mora naihar aa
chooto hi jaaye
angana to parbat bhaya
aur dehri bhayi bidesh
ye ghar baabul aapno
main chali piya ke desh
baabul mora naihar chooto jaaye
mora naihar chooto hi jaaye..
Live recording with picturization :-
Although playback recording was very much in vogue at the time, K.L. Saigal (who sang for himself) convinced director Phani Majumdar that the song 'Babul mora...' should be recorded live while it was being filmed. So Saigal sang on the streets with the entire orchestra playing as the song was being filmed for the movie.
Storyline :-
The film's story tells of two childhood friends, Bhulwa (Saigal) and Manju (Kanan Devi), who grow up to become street singers in Calcutta. Bhulwa dreams of becoming a stage star but it is Manju who succeeds. At the height of her fame Manju almost forgets Bhulwa until at the end - in an obviously symbolic landscape (literally showing a boat washed ashore in a storm) the two are united. Written by Sujit R. Varma
"Street Singer" (1937) is one of the earliest Hindi movie after movies started talking in 1931. This movie had K L Saigal, Kanan Devi, Jagdish Sethi, Bikram Kapoor, Nirman, Satya Mukherji etc. This movie was produced by New Theatre of Calcutta and it was directed by Phani Majumdar.
Street Singer (1938) is a landmark creation from New Theatres, Calcutta. Directed by the legendary Phani Majumdar, the star cast of this movie includes KL Saigal, Kaanan Devi. Bikram Kapoor, Subeer, Jagdeesh, Boken Chatto, Chamanlal, Abdul Rehman, Ram Kumari, Nirmal Bannerjee etc. The movie has as many as thirteen songs. The lyrics are created by Aarzoo Lucknowi, and the music composition is by another legend, RC Boral. Four of the more famous and familiar songs are already discussed on this blog, including the inimitable "Baabul Moraa Naihar Chhooto Hi Jaaye". This song is a duet sung by Saigal Saab and Kaanan Devi.
The theme of this movie is a poignant story about two childhood friends, who are musically inclined, and grow up as a pair of street singers in the city of Calcutta. Kaanan Devi plays the role of Manju, a young lady with a very sonorous voice. Saigal Saab plays the role of Bhulwaa, the one with a deep understanding of music, who is a mentor and guru to Manju. Bhulwaa creates and both of them sing on the streets. The duo are noticed by a theatre owner, and they get a chance to play on the stage. As fortune would have it, it is Manju who gets the limelight and the attention. Bhulwaa slowly fades from the scene as Manju is loving the popularity and her moments in the sun, basking to her heart's pleasure. Bhulwaa's dreams are broken, and there is a distancing between the two. Manju almost becomes unmindful of their childhood association, and the mentoring and music lessons she got from Bhulwaa, that have made her what she is today. Bhulwaa leaves with his broken harmonium (and that is when the famous 'Baabul Moraa' song is played). But the separation and distance brings out the actual feelings the two have always had for each other, as an undercurrent to the childhood friendship. And the two are united once again at the end in very dramatic circumstances -- the final scenes show a boat being washed ashore in a storm, symbolizing the ship of their association, weathering the stormy seas of this material world, and yet finding the safety of the shores of love and affection.
This song starts with the two friends in their childhood, and the first part of the song is actually sung by other child artists whose names are no longer available. Very soon the picturization transitions to the time when the two friends are now grown up. They now go about in the streets, singing for making a living. Most of the movie, one can see Bhulwaa with the harmonium, an association that he nurtures with lot of emotion and love, and does not want to part with it. In the song 'Baabul Moraa', he is turned away, and his harmonium is broken, and yet he carries it, although it cannot play anymore..Sudhir |