In order to start this review on a relatively perfect note, let me borrow the following quote.
How could an Angel break my heart?
Why didn't he catch my falling star?
I wish I didn't wish so hard.
Maybe I wished our love apart.
1. Koi yeh kaise bataye ki woh tanha kyun hain?
Woh jo apna tha wohi aur kisika kyun hain?
Yehi duniya hain to aisi yeh duniya kyun hain?
Yehi hota hain hai to aakhir yehi hota kyun hain?
M: Arth
S: Jagjith Singh
L: Kaifi Azmi
I'm no fan of Mahesh Bhatt for putting his personal life(and of those associated with him) on celluloid, but I must pay this song from his movie'Arth' it's due. It is picturised on Raj kiran and Shabana Azmi. Interestingly, singer Jagjith Singh's voice suits on-screen singer Raj kiran
so perfectly that its easy to just imagine that he is actually singing it. The reason I have this in my list is the fact that the song flows like sheer poetry. Please look at the following.
Dil barbaad se nikla nahi ab tak koi
Ek lute ghar pe diya karta hai dastak koi
Aas jo tut gayi hain phir se banaataa kyun hain?
Who has been able to come out of a state of complete despair caused by a broken heart? Expecting anything from such a person(love wise) is like knocking on the front door of an uninhabited house that is in ruins. And anyway, when hope is completely gone, why is it being remade?
2. Chingari koi bhadke to saawan use bujhaaye
Saawan jo aag lagaaye use kaun bujhaaye?
M: Amar Prem
S: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Mu by R.D.Burman
L: Anand Bakshi
If mysticity and philosophy go hand in hand with India, Why should India's very own Bollywood be left behind on philosophical ponderings? Here's one song that proves that bollywood is(was?) not left behind. Rough translation goes as follows:
"If sparks flares up, then the monsoon(rain) will extinguish it,
But if the monsoon itself starts up a fire, who will extinguish it?"
It is a deeply moving song about how things, if gone wrong can still be corrected by certain factors. But if things go wrong with all factors being right, then there simply is no resolution to the problems.
3. Dil ke armaan aansuon mein beh gaye
Hum wafa karke bhi tanha reh gaye
M: Nikaah
S: Salma Agha
Mu by: Ravi
L: Hasan Kamaal
"The desires and aspirations of my heart flowed away with my tears. Inspite of being faithful I have been left to my loneliness."
I read somewhere that originally the music director for the film, Ravi did not want Salma Agha to be the singer for this song. But the director B.R.Chopra was adamant that he wants Salma to sing this song(note that she also played the main protaganist in the movie) and look how soulful this song turned out to be. That strange state of mind where hope lets you endure a lot of hardships caused by your loved one is so wonderfully portrayed by the following https://lyrics.
Shayad unka aakhri ho yeh sitam
Shayad unka aakhri ho yeh sitam
Har sitam yeh soch kar hum seh gaye
"May be this is his last tyranny. This is what I thought when I tolerated each of his torments."
i.e. She coped with each one of the pains inflicted by him by hoping it would be the last.
4. Main to ek khwaab hoon
Is khwaab se tu pyaar na kar
Pyaar ho jaaye to
Phir us pyaar ka izhaar na kar
M: Himalay Ki God Mein
S: Mukesh
L: Qamar Jalalabadi
Some people lie to the one they love so as to make the beloved fall in love with them. Then there are those who lie to the very person they love the most so that their lover can atleast remain happy. Read on. The translation of the song goes thus. "I'm but a dream, don't fall in love with me. And if you do fall in love with this dream, don't express your love."
And then he says,
Apne haathon mein
Hawaaon ko Garaftaar na kar.
"Don't capture the air in your hands." He's talking about the memories or the past that they had together which he knows she will keep in her heart forever. But he does not want her to lead life in such a way harboring painful memories and so he compares their past to air(or nothingness).
"You may deceive yourself by thinking that you have it captured in your fist, but when you open your fist there is nothing in it." This is just my interpretation please correct me if I'm wrong.
One more:
Bhool ja jaane de
Takdeer se takraar na kar
"Forget it, let it go, don't clash with destiny."
5.Tu jo nahin hain to kuch bhi nahin hain
Yeh maana ki mehfil jawaan hain haseen hain
M: Woh Lamhe
S: Glenn John
Mu by Pritam
L by Sayeed Qadri
"Without you there is nothing. Although I admit that the party is beautiful."
These lyrics written by Sayeed Qadri don't fail to touch your heart. Especially when Glen John so flawlessly sings it. If the love of one's life were no longer with them, one would find the entire universe to be a vast, cold and empty space. In such a state, no soul would be able to enjoy a party or have fun however beautifully set the stage might be.
The following is my favorite in this song.
"Aankhon mein teri soorat basi hain
Teri hi tarah tera gham bhi haseen hain."
"Your face resides in my eyes and just like you, your pain is beautiful too." Ah! The beauty of this song.
6. Maine dil se kaha dhoond laana khushi
Na samajh laaya gum to yeh gum hi sahi
M: Rog
S: KK
Mu by M. M. Kreem, Gaudi, Music Mushrooms
L by Neelesh Mishra, Sayeed Quadri, Gaudi
This one is sung by a lonely guy describing his heart.
"I asked my heart to search and bring love, it misunderstood and instead brought me sorrow, so, let me make do with that."
Bechara kaha jaanta hain Khalish hain yeh kya khala hain
Shahar bhar ki khushi se Yeh dard mera bhala hain
Jashn yeh raas na aaya Mazaa to bas gum mein aaya hain
"The poor heart doesn't know what this pain is. This sorrow of mine is better than a city full of joy." He later goes on to add that happiness as such never suited him and he always had fun with sorrow.
Is this what they call "optimism in pessimism?"
Other mentionables include:
"Zindagi Ne Zindagi Bhar Gham Diye" from "The Train, "
"Tumhe zindagi ke ujaale mubarak andhere humen aaj raas aa gaye hain" from Gulzar's album "Mera Kuch Saaman"(I don't know the original film that featured this number),
"Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa to nahin" *from the film "Aandhi"(this is actually one of my favorites but didn't elaborate on it because I'm sure it features in most peoples' lists),
"Ek Woh Bhi Diwali Thi" from the film "Nazrana" and many more.
I'm a big tragic song lover and this list is by no means "THE" list for sad numbers. I tried to include a few tracks that I guessed would not be on everybody's'favorite songs' list. I regret not being able to include more because of the word limit.
Please let me know what you think of this list.
Ciao.
Note: In the context of this review M stands for "Movie, " S for "Singer(s), " Mu for "Music" and L for "Lyrics."
