On Record
Sachin-Dev Meloduo
Some Choicest Flowers
by Raju Bharatan
A compilation of Navketan Hits was released in 1969 to commemorate 20 years of the film company. The songs in this LP were hand-picked by SD Burman himself. This article by Raju Bharatan is a review of that selection.
(Circa 1969, Filmfare)
S.D. Burman (Left) with Dev Anand
If there is one composer of the old guard who blends bubble with the spirit of youth it is Sachin Dev Burman. At 64 Dada, as we know him, still brings to his creations an impish teenage twinkle. One has to only hear snappy lilts from Talaash, Aradhana, Jyoti and Prem Pujari to discern how spryly he is in tune with the jet age. Such crisp numbers of this duet king as Palkon ke peeche se (Talaash), Kora Kagaz tha yeh man mera (Aradhana) and Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye phoolon ka shabab ( Prem Pujari) prove that Dada has discovered in his art, the secret of eternal youth.
And now this elder composer has "plucked for us from the Garden of Navketan some choicest flowers whose fragrance is still fresh". These blossoms of Burman come to us on a special LP issued by the Gramophone Co. to mark the 20th anniversary of Navketan, the House of Hits .
Navketan LP
Ideally the disc should have been made up of a song each from the twelve films Dada has done for Navketan but, where the LP carries three songs from Guide and there is not one number from Afsar with which began the Burman-Dev Anand link ----- A link so aptly spotlighted in Dada's name : Sachin-Dev! Between those Afsar evergreens Manmor hua matwala and Naina diwaane ek nahin maane my pick would have been Manmor as representative of Suraiya at her sweetest.
From Baazi Dev's lilting follow-up to Afsar, Dada picks's Geeta's Tadbeer se bigdu hui, so infectious in it's gay cadence. In the process he has had to bypass such Geeta delights as Suno gajar kya gaaye, Yeh kaun aaya ke, Dekh ke akeli mohe and Aaj ki raat piya .
From Taxi Driver where Dada first revealed his facet for jazzing it up the LP features the Talat's soulful Jaaye to jaaye kahan, the song that fetched Burman his only Filmfare award. As a quality composition Dada has preffered it to such lively lilts as Dil se milakar dil, Jeene do aur jiyo, Dil jale to jale, and Yeh meri zindagi .
The resonance of Hemanta Kumar bought rare distinction to Teri Duniya mein, Dada's selection from House No 44. However no less wistful in it's own way was Lata's Phaili hui hain sapno ki baahen. Liltingly lovely too were Chup hai dharti and Peeche peeche aa kar .
Dukhi man mere is the offering from Funtoosh – a choice with which I for one am none too happy. For, apart from being a played out wail by now, the song tends to jar when Kishore scales the kisi ke aage rona roye tract. To relieve the monotony of familiarity if nothing else, Dada could have picked instead the thrilling Asha-Kishore duet Wo dekhen to unki inayat, with it's quaint Haiya ho Haiya refrain.
New Dimension
With Nau Do Gyarah Vijay Anand came on the screen to lend Dada's creations a new dimension. Dada's choice of the Aakhon mein kya ji duet from this film, in preference to Kali ke roop mein and Aaja Panchhi Akela hai, is apt enough. But it seems a pity that one of Kishore's best songs for him hum hain rahi pyar ke, should have been left out. For my part, however, I would have plumped for that ever-sweet, Dhalti jaaye chundariya hamari ho raam , as one of Asha's finest for Burman.
Hum Bekhudi Mein from Kala Paani was such a stand-out composition, with Rafi attaining a new depth of feeling that few will quarrel with Dada for putting it on the anniversary record. After all the next best numbers from the film, Dil laga ke and Nazar laagi raja , both rank way behind.
If it is Hum Bekhudi Mein at one extreme, at the other end it has to be Khoya Khoya Chaand from Kala Bazaar in the case of the Burman-Rafi combine, so that this selection will find humming approval. Once again, however it seems hard lines that the choice of Khoya khoya chaand should have to be at the expense of Apni to har aah (with it's cute adaptation of the bhajan motif to the romantic ditty), Rimjhim ke tarane leke aaye barsaat (a shower of melody to make even old hearts feel young) and sach hue sapne tere (with it's Burmanesque effect of chiki chiki chik cha cha chai )
No song from Tere Ghar ke Saame finds a place on the disc, probably because Dada did this film when he was none too well. Still Dekho rootha na karo, sun le tu dil ki sada and tu kahan yeh bata had each a pleasing lilt. With Tere Ghar ke Saamne thus ignored, Dada one feels could have done likewise with Jewel Thief, from which his pick is Asha's Raat akeli hai. If at all any song from Jewel Thief merited recognition, it was surely Lata-Rafi's Dil Pukare aa re aa re aa re .
While Kishore's Phoolon ke rang se from Prem Pujari is an excellent choice, three numbers from Guide would seem one too many, even if this film marked a new peak of achievement for Dada. The Guide songs featured on the LP are Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, Wahan kaun hai tera and Gaata rahe mera dil . The last-named, as a duet set in Burman's now well-patented style, could have made way for Piya tose naina laage re – an audio visual treat, the way Vijay Anand filmed it on Waheeda Rehman. More arrestingly than any other number, Piya tose proves that Dada's compositional lustre remains undimmed after 20 years of Navketan melody.
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