This movie was made in 1960 and did try to convey a message then, albeit a romantic one. But its message is timeless in the sense that women always lost their heart to good poetry, if not to the poets themselves. Even today, good romantic poetry still makes a young lady’s heart flutter and her knees wobble.
Police and poets don’t mix well. This may sound like a horrible cliché, but, it serves its purpose. The Police Commissioner, an old man who is too deeply influenced by the practical side to life, has no time for abstract stuff such as poetry. The latter is an young dreamer who has little time for the boring daily chores of life. But, this young man is not just any ordinary dreamer; he is one of the most skillful when it comes to weaving verses, especially, spontaneous or of the extempore kind.
In a strict, regimental household is born a beautiful flower who fails to inherit the rather laudable qualities of her father, the commissioner of police(KN Singh). But flowers exude a romantic fragrance and so does this lovely creature. She is in awe of a certain Aman Hyderabadi whose beautiful and soul stirring compositions have made a deep impact on her young impressionable mind. The young lady(Madhubala in the role of Shabnam) is so bedazzled by the writings of Aman that she even manages to get hold of his divan(book of odes) which she always has by her bedside.
Aman Hyderabadi(Bharat Bhushan) is a young struggling poet which is not uncommon in today’s work a day world. To save on expenses he stays as a paying guest in the house of Qawwal Mubarak Ali of Gulbarga. The Qawwal has two daughters Shama(Shyama) and Shabab(Ratna Bhushan). Shama is the silent burning candle so beautifully epitomized in Urdu romantic poetry as “Shama aur parwana”(flame and the moth) whereas Shabab, meaning youth, is an incorrigible flirt.
Those were the days of Muqabla-e-qawwali where groups sit opposite on a stage to test their skills in stringing verses and sing them in a befitting manner before a knowledgeable and appreciative audience. Needless to say, the winner makes a name for himself and the loser sulks and goes away to live and fight another day. Mubarak Ali’s group had lost to Daulat Khan’s group when they last challenged each other, and now Mubarak Ali must win this time round to recapture his lost position as the leading qawwal. He tries to enlist the support of Aman.
Meanwhile, Aman’s search for a more reliable livelihood brings him to his native city of Hyderabad where he gets an opportunity to render his ghazals on All India Radio. Looking for inspiration, a chance stroll in the night literally proves to be a ‘watershed’ in his career as well as life. A sudden unseasonal storm forces him to take refuge in a blacksmith’s workshop’s open ante room which provides protection from the driving rain. He is soon joined by a respectable young lady, drenched to the skin, who was also caught unawares by the sudden cloudburst. The poor thing maintains a safe distance but a sudden lightning followed by a resounding thunderclap makes her jump in fear and tug at his chest. For a brief moment their eyes meet and then she moves away and walks off(not knowing she just hugged her idol) despite the unrelenting rain leaving the young poet in a fresh bout of contemplation.
If Aman was looking for what little inspiration he could get before his first rendition on AIR, this chance meeting with a drenched to the skin young lady proves to be an outright overdose of inspiration. Next day, Aman is at AIR falling upon his nocturnal experience of the rainy night to weave a song of infinitely lovely lyrics…
“Zindagi bhar nahi bhulegi woh barsaat ki raat, ek anjaan hasina se mulaquat ki raat…”
Needless to say, the'anjaan hasina' is also listening to this song live over the radio. As the lyrics unfold describing his experience about the unexpected meeting, Shabnam realizes that it was indeed her idol that she accidentally met that “barsaat ki raat.” Mixed emotions take hold of her as she is happy having met him but sad that it had to be under such pressing circumstances which prevented her from recognizing him. As for Aman, the song itself conveys that he has fallen like a'raindrop' for this drenched beauty.
Fate conspires once again to bring these two strangers together at a function where Aman manages to recognize the beautiful heart stealer. Invited to grace the function with his voice, Aman seizes the opportunity to send out his “feelers” disguised as a song in…
*“Main ne shayad tumhein pehle bhi kahin dekha hai
ajanabee si ho, magar ghair nahin lagtee ho
wahum se bhi jo ho naazuk woh yakheen lagtee ho
hai ye phool sa chehra, ye ghanerein zulfein
*mere sheron se bhi tum mujhko haseen lagtee ho
Thus begins Aman’s pursuit of love without the knowledge that Shama is pining for him. What unfolds before us is the story of love requited(in the case of Aman and Shabnam) and un-requited(in the case of Shama). But woven into this is also the story of the qawwals and their obsession to win at any cost.
The tour de force of the film, however, is the back to back qawalis which remain unparalleled even to this day. It’s a treat to watch them in the film or just listen to them on the radio… the lyrics are just too good…
*“Na toh karvan ki talaash hai na toh humsafar ki talaash hai,
*mere shauq-e-khaana kharaab ko, teri rehguzar ki talaash hai…”
and
*“Ye ishq ishq hai ishq ishq, ye ishq ishq hai ishq
jaansoz ki haalat ko jaansoz hi samjhega,
main shama se kahta hoon mehfil se nahin,
kyon ki… ye ishq ishq hai ishq ishq…”*
These two qawwalis bring out the true essence and philosophy of love.
Why I liked the movie:
This movie honestly depicts the life and times of “Muslims of the Deccan” of the sixties and their love for romantic qawwalis, without any attempt at typifying them.
Madhubala is a cut above all and does justice to her role as Shabnam. Bharat Bhushan as Aman Hyderabadi does a fair job. He does suit to this genre. Ratna Bhushan and Shyama also do an excellent job.
However, it’s the music that stands out in this film. Music Director Roshan(Roshan Lal Nagrath, grandfather of Hrithik Roshan) rose to dizzy heights after composing music for this film and his effort shows as every song and qawwali is an inspiring gem,
This film boasts of many playback singers roped in especially to render the difficult qawalis: Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra, Mohamed Rafi, Manna Dey, S. D. Batish, Shankar Shamboo, Balbir, Suman Kalyanpur, and Kamal Barot.
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi is in his elements with some outstanding and uncanny observations on love that make for soul stirring https://lyrics.
If you are curious to know who won the muqabla-e-qawwali, and who won and who lost in love… do watch this movie.
mbfarookh
