hamkalaam

jaag dard-e-ishq jaag

2011-11-27T14:14:00.003+05:30

Hafeez Jalandhari wrote:
jaag soz-e-ishq jaag, jaag soz-e-ishq jaag
toone aaNkh band kee, kaa_enaat so gayee
husn KHudpasand kee din se raat ho gayee
zard paR gayaa suhaag, jaag soz-e-ishq jaag

Here it is in Malka Pukhraj's voice.

Rajinder Krishen changed the word "soz" to "dard" and wrote the mukhRaa for Anarkali (1953) as "Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag"

kyaa huaa ik baat par barsoN ka yaaraanaa gayaa

2011-10-27T19:20:00.000+05:30

Majrooh Sultanpuri's song in Teri Kasam (1982) inspired by Khatir Ghaznavi's (1925-2008) Ghazal

go zaraa sii baat par barsoN ke yaaraane ga_e
lekin itnaa to huaa kuchh log pahchaane ga_e

maiN ise shohrat kahuuN yaa apnii rusvaa_i kahuuN
mujh se pahle us galii meN mere afsaane ga_e

yuuN to wo merii rag-e-jaaN se bhii the nazdiik tar
aaNsuoN kii dhund meN lekin na pahchaane ga_e

vahshateN kuchh is tarah apnaa muqaddar ho gayiiN
ham jahaaN pahuNche hamaare saath viiraane ga_e

ab bhii un yaadoN kii Kushbuu zahen meN mahfuuz hai
baaraha ham jin se gulzaaroN ko mahkaane ga_e

kyaa qayaamat hai ki Kaatir kushta-e-shab bhi the ham
jab hui subah to mujrim hum hi gardaane ga_e

here is a rendition in Mehdi Hasan's voice

man re tuu kaahe na dhiir dhare

2011-07-19T16:52:00.000+05:30

"man re tuu kaahe na dhiir dhare" is an exceptional song.
Great rendition by Rafi, wonderful tune by Roshan and lovely poetry by Sahir make this song an all time great. In its January 26, 2006 issue the Outlook Magazine carried out a survey on the 20 Best Hindi Songs Ever, where "Outlook asked 30 leading composers, lyricists and singers to name their all-time favourite Hindi film songs" and this one emerged on top. Earlier Lata Mangeshkar had sung this song in her album "Shraddhanjali" as a tribute.

One of the verses in this song is:

is jiivan kii cha.Dhatii Dhalatii
dhuup ko kisane baa.ndhaa
ra.ng pe kisane pahare Daale
ruup ko kisane baa.ndhaa
kaahe ye jatan kare

This verse echoes two misras of a nazm "bint e lamhaat" written a year earlier by Akhtar ul Imaan.

bhalaa kisii ne kabhii raNg-o-buu ko pakRa hai
shafaq ko qaid meN rakkhaa, sabaa ko baNd kiyaa

Here is the whole nazm:
bint-e-lamhaat

tumhaare lahje meN jo ye garmii-o-halaavat hai
ise bhalaa saa ko_ii naam do wafaa kii jagah
GHaniim-e-nuur kaa hamlaa kaho andheroN par
dayaar-e-dard meN aamad kaho masiihaa kii
ravaaN davaaN hu_e KHushbu ke qaafile har suu
KHalaa-e-subah meN guuNjii saher kii shahnaa_ii
ye aik kohraa saa, ye dhundh sii jo chhaa_ii hai
is iltihaab meN is surmagiiN ujaale meN
sivaa tumhaare mujhe kuchh nazar nahiiN aataa
hayaat naam hai yaadoN kaa talKH aur shiiriiN
bhalaa kisii ne kabhii raNg-o-buu ko pakRaa hai
shafaq ko qaid meN rakkhaa, sabaa ko baNd kiyaa
har aik lamha gurezaaN hai jaise dushman hai
na tum milogii na maiN, ham bhii donoN lamhe haiN
vo lamhe jaa ke jo vaapas kabhee nahiiN aate.

23 May, 1963

maine rakha hai mohabbat

2011-07-01T13:17:00.001+05:30

In 1952 Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote the Ghazal
raNg pairaahan kaa KHusbuu zulf lahraane kaa naam
mausam-e-gul hai tumhaare baam par aane kaa naam

which had the following lines

mujhse kahte haiN chaman waale GHariibaan-e-chaman
tum koii achchhaa saa rakh lo apne viiraane kaa naam

Javed Anwar recycled the second lines of this verse as
tum bhii kuchh achchhaa saa rakh lo apne diiwaane kaa naam in a song for Shabnam (1964)

Dar na muhabbat kar le/do lafzoN kii hai

2011-06-22T16:56:00.000+05:30

Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote the following song for Andaz (1949)

duniyaa faanii tuu bhii faanii
letaa jaa ulfat kii nishaanii
do lafazo.n kii ek kahaanii
ek mohabbat ek javaanii
yaad ise tuu kar le\- 2
Dar naa mohabbat kar le\- 2

In The Great Gambler (1979) thirty years later Anand Bakhshi used it as:
do lafzoN kii hai dil kii kahaanii
yaa hai muhabbat yaa hai jawaanii

nagarii merii kab tak yuu.nhii barabaad rahegii

2011-04-12T00:49:00.000+05:30

har shaam hu_ii sub'ha ko ek Kwaab-e-faraamosh
duniyaa yahii duniyaa hai to kyaa yaad rahegii

Josh Malihabadi used a misra for a song of "Man Ki Jeet"
nagarii merii kab tak yuu.nhii barabaad rahegii
duniyaa yahii duniyaa hai to kyaa yaad rahegii

kisne chilaman se maaraa

2011-04-07T17:07:00.001+05:30

Saher Bhopali {Siraj Mir Khan} 1857-1918 wrote

siine me.n dil hai dil me.n daaG, daaGo.n me.n soz-o-saaz-e-ishq,
parda ba parda hai pinhaa.n parda nashee.n kaa raaz-e-ishq

baa.ndh ke saf ho.n sab khaRe, teG ke saath sar jhuke
aaj to qatlgaah me.n dhuum se ho namaaz-e-ishq

farsh-e-zamii.n pe mustafaa, arsh-e-barii.n pe kibriyaa
pahu.nchaa kahaa.n se kahaa.n silsila-e-daraaz-e-ishq

Majrooh Sultanpuri used the first sher as an antara in the song "kisne chilaman se maaraa nazaaraa mujhe" from Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962)

dil ek mandir hai

2011-01-23T15:53:00.005+05:30

jaane waale kabhii nahiiN aate
jaane waale kii yaad aatii hai.

Thus starts the title song of "Dil Ek Mandir' by Hasrat Jaipuri. The couplet above was written by Sikandar Ali Wajd.

kuchh log mohabbat karke

2010-12-12T21:06:00.005+05:30

Ameer Minai wrote these famous lines:

qariib hai yaaro roz-e-mahshar, chhupegaa kushtoN kaa KHuun kyuuNkar
jo chup rahegi zubaan-e-KHanjar, lahuu pukaaregaa aastiiN kaa

The same idea was expressed by Anand Bakshi in 'kuchh log mohabbat karke" from the film Lava (1985) as :

chup rahe zubaan-e-KHanjar, chhuptaa nahiiN ye ilzaam
letaa hai lahuu kaa qatra qatra qaatil kaa naam

mai.n terii nazar kaa suroor hoo.N / woh jo ham me.n tum me.n qaraar thaa

2010-08-04T12:05:00.001+05:30

The Ghazal bearing the following opening couplet can be said to be The Best Known Ghazal from Momin Khan Momin's deewaan:

woh jo ham me.n tum me.n qaraar thaa, tumhe.n yaad ho ke na yaad ho
wahii yaa'ni waa'da nibaah kaa, tumhe.n yaad ho ke na yaad ho

In fact, the rhyme-anchor (a.k.a radeef) 'tumhe.n yaad ho ke na yaad ho' is arguably one of the two Most Famous radeef in the entire history of Urdu poetry, the other being 'aahista aahista'.

In the film Jahan Ara (1964), lyricist Rajinder Krishan used a radeef that is almost identical to Momin's:

mai.n terii nazar kaa suroor hoo.N, tujhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho
tere paas rahake bhii door hoo.N, tujhe yaad ho ke na yaad ho

The song was beautifully composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Talat Mahmood

There is also a lesser known tandem version of the same lyric with a different tune sung by Lata Mangeshkar, which appears at the beginning of the song "jab jab tumhe.n bhulaayaa, tum aur yaad aaye" (Lata + Asha duet):

If you were able to endure that entire mujra song, allow us to reward you with a fantastic rendition of Momin's Ghazal by the Pakistani singer Nayyara Noor; it's a pure joy to behold:

charaaG dil ka jalaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

2010-02-03T00:38:00.007+05:30

Firaq Gorakhpuri's exquisite Ghazal was an inspiration for a great filmi Ghazal written by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

sukuut-e-shaam miTaao bahut a.ndheraa hai
suKan kii sham'a jalaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

dayaar-e-Gam me.n dil-e-beqaraar chhuuT gayaa
sambhal ke Dhuu.nDhane jaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

ye raat vo ke suujhe jahaa.n na haath ko haath
Kayaalo duur na jaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

laTo.n ko chehare pe Daale vo so rahaa hai kahii.n
ziyaa-e-ruKh ko churaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

havaa_e.n niim shabii ho.n ki chaadar-e-a.njum
naqaab ruK se uThaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

shab-e-siyaah me.n gum ho ga_ii hai raah-e-hayaat
qadam sambhal ke uThaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

guzashtaa ahd kii yaado.n ko phir karo taazaa
bujhe charaaG jalaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

thii ek uchaTatii hu_ii nii.nd zi.ndagii usakii
'Firaq' ko na jagaao bahut a.ndheraa hai

For the film Chiraag(1960) Majrooh Sultanpuri used the same refrain - bahut a.ndhera hai.

ibn-e-batuuta baGal meN juutaa

2010-01-25T20:44:00.005+05:30

Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena had written a poem for children:

ibn-e-batuuta pahen ke juutaa, nikal paRe tuufaan meN
thoRii havaa naak meN ghus ga_ii thoRee ghus kaan meN
kabhii naak ko kabhii kaan ko malte ibn-e-batuuta
isii biich meN nikal paRaa unke paaNv kaa juutaa
uRte uRte juutaa unkaa jaa pahuNchaa jaapaan meN
ibn-e-batuutaa khaRe rah gaye mochii kii dukaan meN

Gulzar wrote ibn-e-batuutaa baGal meN juutaa in Ishqiya (2010)

mai.n dil kii dil me.n rakhtaa huu.n

2009-11-15T18:09:00.005+05:30

There was a film named "Sanam Teri Kasam" which was released in 2009. No, we are not talking about the "Sanam Teri Kasam" (1982) which had Kamal Hassan and Reena Roy. This one had Saif Ali Khan, Pooja Bhatt and Atul Agnihotri. Its not just the title of the film which is old, the whole film is. It was made in 1995, but wasn't released. It was called "Sambandh" in those days. No, not the 1969 "Sambandh". Anyway, this one had a song sung by Kumar Sanu and Pankaj Udhas, which went:

mai.n dil ki dil me.n rakhtaa huu.n bas ye hii meraa dosh hai
jisme.n jitnaa pyaar hai utnaa vo Kaamosh hai.

Sameer was the lyricist. An older poet had written something like this:

kah rahaa hai josh-e-dariyaa se samandar kaa sukuut
jisme.n jitnaa zarf hai utnaa vo Kaamosh hai

If you know the name of the original poet, please tell us.

Listen to the song!

merii ghaaghrii me.n/mere lahe.nge me.n ghu.nghruu/mere pairo.n me.n ghu,nghruu

2009-10-15T19:19:00.006+05:30

merii ghaaghrii me.n ghu.nghru lawaa de written by Prem Dhawan for Sawan (1959)

A year later ghaaghrii becomes lahe.nga and lawa becomes lagaa in the mukhRaa
mere lahe.nge me.n ghu.Ngharuu lagaa de From Basant (1960) written by Qamar Jalalabadi

The last one became the most popular of the three, in Sangharsh (1968) the hero is singing the song, so instead of the lahengaa, the ghu.nghruus are on the feet.Shakeel Badayuni wrote the song.

mere pairo.n me.n ghu.Ngharuu ba.nDhaa de to phir

ham aur tum aur ye samaaN

2009-10-15T12:30:00.005+05:30

So, what are the chances that the beginning of a song sung by the same singer and picturised on the same actor would be the same?

In 1959 Usha Khanna debuted as an Music Director for Dil Deke Dekho. The shooting was nearly complete when Shammi Kapoor heard Usha humming a tune. He liked it so much that asked it to be included in the film. The result was "ham aur tum aur ye samaa.n kyaa nashaa nashaa sa hai" by Majrooh.

The next year Shankar Jaikishen looked beyond Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri for the first time and got Rajinder Krishen to write for College Girl. Perhaps Rajinder Krishen too liked the 1959 song as much as Shammi Kapoor, for he added "lovely lovely lovely" to ham aur tum aur ye samaa.n!

Of course both Shailendra and Hasrat were livid with SJ for going to another lyricist. A miffed Shailendra wrote "chhoTii sii ye duniyaa pahchaane raaste hain tum kahee.n to miloge, kabhii to miloge, to puuchhe.nge haal." Which was later tuned by SJ for Rangoli!

diiwaanaa aadamii ko banaatii haiN roTiyaaN

2009-09-11T12:51:00.000+05:30

Nazeer Akbarabadi (1740-1830) wrote extensively. roTiyaaN is a famous nazm of his:

jab aadamii ke peT me.n aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
phuulii nahii.n badan me.n samaaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
aa.Nkhe.n parii_ruKho.n se la.Daatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
siine uupar bhii haath chalaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
jitane maze hai.n sab ye dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii se jis kaa naak talak peT hai bharaa
karataa phire hai kyaa vo uchhal kuud jaa ba jaa
diivaar phaa.Nd kar ko_ii koThaa uchhal gayaa
ThaaThTha ha.Nsii sharaab sanam saaqii is sivaa
sau sau tarah kii dhuum machaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
jis jaa pe haa.NDii chuulhaa tavaa aur tanuur hai
Khaaliq kii qudarato.n kaa usii jaa zahuur hai
chuulhe ke aage aa.Nch jo jalatii huzuur hai
jitane hai.n nuur sab me.n yahii Kaas nuur hai
is nuur ke sabab nazar aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
aave tave tanuur kaa jis jaa zabaa.N pe naam
yaa chakkii chuulhe kaa jahaaN gulzaar ho tamaam
vaaN sar jhukaa ke kiijiye DanDavat aur salaam
is vaaste ke Kaas ye roTii ke hai.n muqaam
pahale inhiiN makaanoN meN aatii haiN roTiyaaN
in roTiyoN ke nuur se sab dil haiN puur puur
aaTaa nahii.n hai chhalanii se chhan chhan gire hai nuur
pe.Daa har ek us kaa hai barfii-o-motii chuur
har_giz kisii tarah na bujhe peT kaa tanuur
is aag ko magar ye bujhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
puuchhaa kisii ne ye kisii kaamil faqiir se
ye mehr-o-maah haq ne banaaye hai.n kaahe ke
vo sun ke bolaa baabaa Khudaa tujh ko Khair de
ham to na chaa.Nd samajhe na suuraj hai.n jaanate
baabaa hame.n to ye nazar aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
phir puuchhaa us ne kahiye ye hai dil kaa nuur kyaa
is ke mushaahide me.n hai khulataa zahuur kyaa
vo bolaa sun ke teraa gayaa hai sha_uur kyaa
kashf-ul-quluub aur ye kashf-ul-qubuur kyaa
jitane hai.n kashf sab ye dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii jab aa_ii peT me.n sau qand ghul gaye
gul_zaar phuule aa.Nkho.n me.n aur aish tul gaye
do tar nivaale peT me.n jab aa ke dhul gaye
chaudaa tabaq ke jitane the sab bhed khul gaye
ye kashf ye kamaal dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii na peT me.n ho to phir kuchh jatan na ho
mele kii sair Khvaahish-e-baaG-o-chaman na ho
bhuuke Gariib dil kii Khudaa se lagan na ho
sach hai kahaa kisii ne ke bhuuke bhajan na ho
allaah kii bhii yaad dilaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
ab jin ke aage maal_puye bhar ke thaal hai.n
puurii bhagat unhii.n kii vo saahab ke laal hai.n
aur jin ke aage rauGanii aur shiir_maal hai
aarif vohii hai.n aur vohii saahab kamaal hai.n
pakii pakaa_ii ab jinhe.n aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
kapa.De kisii ke laal hai.n roTii ke vaaste
lambe kisii ke baal hai.n roTii ke vaaste
baa.Ndhe ko_ii rumaal hai rotii ke vaaste
sab kashf aur kamaal hai.n rotii ke vaaste
jitane hai.n ruup sab ye dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii se naache piyaadaa qavaayad dikhaa dikhaa
asavaar naache gho.De ko kaavaa lagaa lagaa
ghungharuu ko baa.Ndhe paik bhii phirataa hai naachataa
aur is ke sivaa Gaur se dekho to jaa ba jaa
sau sau tarah ke naach dikhaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
duniyaa me.n ab badii na kahii.n aur niko_ii hai
na dushmanii va dostii na tund kho_ii hai
ko_ii kisii kaa aur kisii kaa na ko_ii hai
sab ko_ii hai usii kaa ke jis haath Do_ii hai
naukar nafar Gulaam banaatii hai.n roTiyaa.N
roTii kaa ab azal se hamaaraa to hai Khamiir
ruukhii bhii roTii haq me.n hamaare hai shahad-o-shiir
yaa patalii hove moTii Khamiirii ho yaa katiir
gehuu.N ju_aar baajare kii jaisii ho 'Nazeer'
ham ko sab tarah kii Khush aatii hai.n roTiyaa.N

Majrooh Sultanpuri reworked this as diwaanaa aadamii ko banaatii hain roTiyaan for Kali Topi Lal Rumal (1959)

dekhaa na haay re sochaa na

2009-08-17T13:05:00.002+05:30

ab to ghabraa ke ye kahte haiN k mar jaa_eNge
mar k bhii chain na paayaa to kidhar jaa_eNge

Wrote the Poet Laureate of the last Mughal, Bahadur Shah Zafar - Ibrahim Zauq

Now hear an antara of "dekhaa na haay re sochaa na" in Bombay To Goa (1972), written by Rajinder Krishan:

"miT jaa_eNge mar jaayeNge, kaam koii kar jaa_eNge
mar ke bhii chain na mile, to jaa_eNge yaaro kahaaN"

raahii manvaa dukh kii chintaa

2009-08-04T00:38:00.007+05:30

Listen to Fani Badayuni's Ghazal:

goyaa nahii.n taGHaaful-o-tamkii.n me.n ko_ii farq
itnii bhii aadmii ko umiid-e-karam na ho

GHam bhii guzashtanii hai KHushii bhii guzashtanii
kar GHam ko iKHtiyaar ke guzre to GHam na ho.

manzuur har navishta-e-taqdiir hai mujhe
lekin vo jis me.n harf-e-tamanna raqam na ho

har lamha-e-hayaat hai begaana-e-hayaat
faanii hayaat se hii ibaarat adam na ho.

Majrooh expressed the same thought as the second she'r at the beginning of raahii manvaa dukh kii chintaa kyuu.n sataatii hai in Dosti (1964)

yeh 'ishq naheeN aasaaN, faTaak!

2009-07-17T07:14:00.014+05:30

Gulzar has never made a secret of the high esteem in which he holds Ghalib. Time and again he has chosen to use entire verses of Ghalib's, with and without modification, in his film as well as non-film poetry. But this time he's spun a yarn around a couplet by one of Urdu poetry's other famous masters: Jigar Moradabadi.

yeh 'ishq nahii.n aasaa.N, bas itnaa samajh leeje
ik aag kaa daryaa hai, aur Doob ke jaanaa hai

Here's what Gulzar has done with (or should we say "done to"?) this couplet in Kaminey (2009) --

yeh 'ishq nahii.n aasaa.N, ajii AIDS kaa Khatraa hai
patwaar pahan jaanaa, yeh aag kaa daryaa hai

Of course, Gulzar is not pretending to do serious poetry here. Rather, he has set out to write "nonsense verse" using the highly popular Jigar couplet as basis, and I must say he has passed with flying colours! ;-) The 'lateral thinking' reference to AIDS is funny enough, but don't ignore the use of patwaar (rudder) to convey ... ruBBer (nirodh)! The tune by Vishal Bhardwaj, and the very apt vocals by Sukhwinder Singh and Kailash Kher are no less successful.

chaahe lag jaayen hathkadiyaan

2009-07-17T03:34:00.002+05:30

I was listening to the rollicking Rafi-Asha duet 'nazroN ke teer maare kas-kas-kas' from the film Do Ustaad (1959) recently, when I noticed the following lyrics by Qamar Jalalabadi (listen to Rafi's second stanza, starting about 3:00 into the clip):

jaan-e-jahaa.N! bolo chalii ho kahaa.N leke naino.n me.n ye phuljha.Diyaa.N
tum pe maroo.Nga gorii, pyaar mai.n karoo.Nga gorii, chaahe lage.n hathka.Diyaa.N

Whattasong, na'eeN? Rafi and Asha sound like they're having the time of their life singing this song -- as much fun, if not more, than Madhubala and Raj Kapoor are portaying on screen! Those were the days *sigh*!

Anyway ... the phrase "chaahe lage.n hathka.Diyaa.N" sounded way too familiar, like I had heard it somewhere else, but I just couldn't place it. I coincidentally happened to be chatting online with Asad at the same time, so I asked him if he could recall any song with that phrase in it. He immediately replied, "yes, 'ab chaahe maaN rooThe yaa baabaa'", written by Sahir Ludhiyanvi for the film Daag (1973). Sure enough, at the end of the first stanza, these words appear:

ab chaahe kaa.NTe mile.n yaa kaliyaa.N, yaaraa mai.nne to haa.N kar lii
ab chaahe lag jaaye.n hath-ka.Diyaa.N, mai.nne terii baa.Nh paka.D lii
mai.nne tujh pe neeyat dhar lii, maine ha.Nskar haamii bhar lii
ho yaarii chhooTe naa, TooTe naa, haa.N kar lii so kar lii
ab chaahe maa.N rooThe yaa baabaa ...

"What a terrible way to reinterpret Qamar's phrase," I thought, "Sahir has really hit the dumps here!"

But that wasn't it, I felt; this wasn't the song I was thinking of. I could visualize "my" song having nok-jho.nk (playful teasing amongst lovers)-type lyrics, with the girl saying, "meraa peechha chho.Do" and the guy teasing her with "no way! (chaahe lag jaaye.n hath-ka.Diyaa.N)" ...

And then I remembered it! Sahir himself had used this phrase previously, in Naya Daur (1957), coincidentally a duet again, composed by OP Nayyar again, with one of the singers being Asha again: reshmi salwar kurta jaali kaa has these words at the beginning of the first stanza:

jab jab tujh ko dekhuu.N, mere dil me.n chhuTe.n phul-jha.Diyaa.N
karuu.Ngaa teraa piichhaa chaahe lag jaaye.n hath-ka.Diyaa.N

Now look again at Qamar's lyrics from Do Ustad, and the similarity is unmistakable. The phrase is repeated almost in its entirety, right down to the rhyming words!

And then compare Sahir to himself and see what a crappy job he did of reusing his own words in 1973. What a difference 15 years can make! *sigh*

'ishq par zor nahii.n, satrangi re!

2009-07-16T02:32:00.000+05:30

It should come as no surprise that in our blog's unscientific ranking, Mirza Ghalib is the poet who has "inspired" the most number of film lyricists.

We recently posted about a film song that was inspired by the Ghalib Ghazal:

nukta.cheeN hai, Gham-e-dil us ko sunaaye na bane
kyaa bane baat jahaaN baat banaaye na bane

The same Ghazal also contains this famous couplet:

'ishq par zor naheeN, hai yeh woh aatish 'Ghalib'
ke lagaaye na lage aur bujhaaye na bane

Fans and fanatics of A R Rahman's music, Gulzar's lyrics and Sonu Nigam's singing will recognize this couplet as having been used as-is in the film Dil Se (1998):

We have also previously noted that the lyrics of another song also refer to the same couplet.

phir tumhaarii yaad aa_ii, ai sanam

2009-07-12T05:04:00.010+05:30

Hakim Momin Khan 'Momin' has created a timeless classic of a Ghazal which goes like this:

asar usko zara naheeN hotaa
ranj raahat.fazaa naheeN hotaa
... ... ...
... ... ...
haal-e-dil yaar ko likhooN kyoN.kar
haath dil se judaa naheeN hotaa

kyoN.kar means 'how', 'in what manner', etc. In other words, kaise. Qamar Jalalabadi, writing what I consider to be The Finest multi-singer song ever composed for a Hindi film, used this sh'er almost as-is, but for the trivial changing of kyoN.kar to kaise. Look for the couplet in this superlative Sajjad Hussain song from Rustom Sohrab (1963) sung by Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey aur saathi --

Note that this 'Momin' Ghazal is the same one which contains the following incredibly beautiful couplet which 'Ghalib' reportedly said he would be willing to exchange his entire deewaan for.

tum mere paas hote ho goya
jab koi doosra naheeN hotaa

Regular readers of this blog will recall that we have covered this song previously in another post.

yuuN na rah-rahkar hameN tarsaaiye

2009-07-11T22:30:00.007+05:30

Master Madan is known as a child prodigy of astonishing skill who possessed Ghazal-singing abilities. He sang this Saghar Nizami Ghazal in 1935:

yuu.N na rah-rahkar hame.n tarsaaiye
aaiye, bas aaiye, aa jaaiye

Bollywood lyricist Sameer copied Saghar Nizami's words verbatim for this "item song" from film Lajja (2001) sung by Anuradha Sriram and tuned by Anu Malik. What a shocking interpretation of a serious-minded couplet!

rafta rafta woh meri hasti ka saamaaN ho gaye

2009-07-11T21:02:00.010+05:30

Some times songs have to take many incarnations before the original version gets due credit! Here's an example of one such song.

One of Mehdi Hassan's most famous Ghazals is this one:

rafta rafta woh meri hasti kaa saamaaN ho gaye
pehle jaaN, phir jaan-e-jaaN, phir jaan-e-janaaN ho gaye

Quite a few are aware that this was originally a film song written by Tasleem Fazli for the Pakistani film Zeenat (1975). The tune was composed by Nashaad.

Fazli's lyrics are quite good for a film song --

rafta rafta woh meri hasti kaa saamaaN ho gaye
pahle jaaN, phir jaan-e-jaaN, phir jaan-e-jaanaaN ho gaye

din-ba-din ba.Dhti gayeeN us husn ki ra'anaaiyaaN
pahle gul, phir gulbadan, phir gul-ba-damaaN ho gaye

aap to nazdeek se nazdeek-tar aate gaye
pahle dil, phir dilrubaa, phir dil ke mehmaaN ho gaye

pyaar jab hadd se ba.Dhaa saare takalluf miT gaye
aap se phir tum hue phir tuu kaa unwaaN ho gaye

A full two decades after Tasleem Fazli's song came out, during which Mehdi Hassan had sung it in many live concerts and recordings, Bollywood lyricist Sameer came up with a song for the film Baazi (1995) with shockingly similar and grossly sub-par lyrics. The music was by Anu Malik for the voices of Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam:

dheere dheere aap mere dil ke mehmaaN ho gaye

The less said about these words, the better. Fortunately, the Sameer song renewed buzz around Mehdi Hassan's Ghazal and the latter became popular once again. Good for the "original" version, right?

WRONG! Because Tasleem Fazli's version isn't the original version. Almost a whole decade before that, Qamar Jalalabadi wrote a Ghazal with almost the same words for a(n Indian) movie titled Ham Kahan Ja Rahe Hain (1966), with music by Basant Prakash. Compare this Ghazal to Tasleem Fazli's (above). Do you think we can chalk the similarity down to mere coincidence? :)

rafta rafta woh hamaare dil ke armaaN ho gaye
pahle jaaN, phir jaan-e-jaaN, phir jaan-e-jaanaaN ho gaye

rafta rafta woh meri taskeeN kaa saamaaN ho gaye
pahle dil, phir dilrubaa, phir dil ke mehmaaN ho gaye

rafta rafta unki aaNkhoN kaa nasha ba.Dhne lagaa
pahle mai, phir mai-kada, phir mai kaa toofaaN ho gaye

rafta rafta husn nikharaa aur nikhartaa hi gayaa
pahle gul, phir gulbadan, phir gul-ba-daamaaN ho gaye

This song was sung by Mahendra Kapoor and Asha.

Oh, by the way, Taslim Fazli's last couplet is also similar to a sh'er of Dagh Dehlavi's:

ranj ki jab guftaguu hone lagi
aap se tum, tum se tuu hone lagi

In spite of being the original, the Qamar Jalalabadi song continues to be very rare and practically unknown. isko kahte haiN qismat!

We hope at least now we can give credit where it is due.

ashko.n ne jo bha.Dakaaii / saawan jo agan lagaae

2009-07-11T19:12:00.008+05:30

Remember this song?

Of course you do. 'chi.ngaarii koii bha.Dake' is considered one of Anand Bakshi's best writings and is often cited as a profound piece of poetry. Profound probably it is. Original it is not.

Back in 1957, Qamar Jalalabadi wrote 'jab raat nahii.n kaTatii' for Hansraj Behl's 'Changez Khan'. Fourteen years later, Anand Bakshi borrowed one specific thought from this song and more generally the pattern (x causes y, then z helps; but if z causes it, who does) and came up with the famous 'Amar Prem' song.

Here are the specific lines:

Qamar says:
jo aag lagii dil me.n, ashko.n ne bujhaaii hai,
ashko.n ne jo bha.Dakaaii aag, wo kaise bujhegii

Anand Bakshi wrote:
chi.ngaarii koii bha.Dake, to saavan use bujhaaye
saavan jo agan lagaaye, use kaun bujhaaye

'jab raat nahii.n kaTatii's video can be seen at YouTube (embedding is disabled). It was composed by Hansraj Behl and sung ever so hauntingly by Lata M. Go on, listen to it. It's every bit worth the extra click.

[Thanks Asad for inviting me to be a part of this blog. It is one of my favorites and I hope I will be able to add to this unique documentation of HFM's lyrical influences.]

rasm-e-ulfat kisii suurat se nibhaaye na bane

2009-07-11T04:00:00.012+05:30

The following Ghazal of Mirza Ghalib's is wildly popular and has been sung by many singers --

nuktacheeN hai, Gham-e-dil usko sunaaye na bane
kyaa bane baat jahaaN baat banaaye na bane

maiN bulaataa to hooN usko magar ay jazba-e-dil
us pe ban jaaye kuchh aisi ke bin aaye na bane
... ... ... ...
'ishq par zor naheeN hai yeh woh aatish 'Ghalib'
ke lagaaye na lage aur bujhaaye na bane

Jigar Moradabadi also has a Ghazal that follows the same metric structure (a.k.a behr), but has a slightly different rhyming pattern (a.k.a radeef-qaafiya). This Ghazal has been sung, among others, by Jagjit Singh. The matl'a of this Ghazal is --

daastaan-e-Gham-e-dil unko sunaayi na gayi
baat big.Di thi kuchh aisi ke banaayi na gayi
... ... ...
'ishq par kuchh na chalaa deeda-e-tar kaa jaaduu
is ne woh aag lagaayi ke bujhaayi na gayi

Lyricists Shams Lucknowi and Anjum Pilibhiti appear to have married the second line of Jigar's matl'a with Ghalib's radeef-qaafiya pattern and come up with the words of this lovely Shamshad Begum song from the film Humayun (1945), tuned by the master tunesmith Ghulam Haider.

rasm-e-ulfat kisi soorat se nibhaaye na bane
baat kuchh big.Di hai aisi ke banaaye na bane

husn majboor idhar 'ishq pareeshaan udhar
aisaa kuchh uljhaa hai daaman ke chhu.Daaye na bane

meraa ghar jal gayaa majboor haiN dunyaa waale
hai yeh woh aag jo paani se bujhaaye na bane

kyaa karooN, kyaa na karooN, donoN tarah mushkil hai
aap jaaye na bane, unko bulaaye na bane

Observe how Shams and Anjum have used Ghalib's "bulaana aur na jaanaa" imagery in the final couplet. Note also the familiar metaphor of "aag lagnaa aur bujhaa na paanaa" that is used in all three Ghazals.

As a bonus, here's a rendition of the Jigar Moradabadi Ghazal by an unknown artiste we found on YouTube. The lad had a very pleasant voice, whoever he is. If you know his name, be sure and let us know, please!

o kaalii Topii waale zaraa/o laal dupaTTe waalii teraa

2009-07-01T21:48:00.004+05:30

Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote "o kaalii Topii waale zaraa naam to bataa" in Kali Topi Lal Rumal(1959)

Indivar copied the phrase but managed to massacre the grammar in "o laal dupaTTe waalii teraa naam to bataa" in Aankhen(1993)

jaate ho to jaao/aa_e haiN duur se

2009-06-18T02:34:00.003+05:30

In "Jaate ho to jaao par jaaoge kahaaN" from Milap (1955) written by Sahir, the first antara is the same as the mukhRa used by Majrooh in Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)

na aadamii kaa ko_ii bharosaa

2009-06-04T02:12:00.000+05:30

na aadamii kaa ko_ii bharosaa written by Shakeel Badayuni for Aadmi (1968), had the following lines

na husn meN ab vo dilkashii hai na ishq meN ab vo zindagii hai
jidhar nigaaheN uThaa ke dekho sitam hai dhoka hai beruKii hai

which echoes this sher of Iqbal from one of his Ghazals

na vo ishq meN raheeN garmiyaan na vo husn meN raheeN shoKiyaaN
na vo Gazanavii meN taRap rahii na vo Kam hai zulf-e-ayaaz meN

tum jiyo hazaaroN saal saal ke din hoN pachaas hazaar

2009-05-04T23:31:00.000+05:30

Mirza Ghalib prayed for Bahadur Shah Zafar's long life when he wrote

tum salaamat raho hazaar baras
har baras ke hoN din pachaas hazaar

Majrooh rewrote it as tum jiyo hazaaroN saal, saal ke din hoN pachaas hazaar in Sujata (1959)

amiya halaahal madbhare shyaam shvet ratnaar

2009-04-18T17:07:00.000+05:30

Rasleen wrote
amiya halaahal madbhare shyaam shwet ratnaar
jiyat marat jhuki jhuki parat jehi chitwat ik baar

a mixture of sanskrit and khaRii bolii and then translated it in faarsii as well.

sawaadash sam hayaa aab-e-baqaa hamsar ma-e-ahmar
bamurdam ziistam beKHud shudam zaaN nargis-e-maste

The former found its way in Rani Roopmati (1959)

jhanan jhanan jhan baaje paayaliya

muhabbat raNg laa_egii/nazar se phuul chunatii hai/saraktii jaa_e hai ruK se

2009-03-19T18:59:00.000+05:30

In 1981 two films came with a similar song. Hasrat Jaipuri wrote muhabbat raNg laa_egii janaab aahista aahista for Poonam

and Nida Fazli wrote nazar se phuul chunatii hai nazar aahista aahista

one year later the Ghazal attributed to Amir Minai was used in Deedaar-e-Yaar (1982)with a slight modification. In the verse

wo bedardii se sar kaaTeN amiir aur maiN kahuuN un se
huzuur aahistaa aahistaa janaab aahistaa aahistaa

amiir was replaced by meraa

*Some scholars say that this Gazal is erroneously attributed to Ameer Minai

nain dwaar se man meN/khaike paan banaaras waalaa

2009-03-18T01:08:00.006+05:30

Javed Akhtar added a couple of stanzas to "khaike paan banaaraswaalaa" for Don (2006)

which was written by Anjaan for the original Don (1978)

Interestingly, in one of the stanzas of the 2006 song Shah Rukh says "wo nain dwaar se man meN aake tan mein jwaalaa jagaatii hai" which is strikingly similar to a song written by Prem Dhawan for the 1959 film Sawan. The mukhRaa of the song is
"nain dwaar se man meN vo aake tan meN aag lagaa_e"

unakii pahalii nazar kyaa asar

2009-03-15T17:59:00.003+05:30

Hasrat Jaipuri wrote "unaki pahalii nazar kyaa asar kar gaii" for April Fool (1964) The second misra of the mukhRaa is taken from a Gazal of Josh Malsianai

dil ko kal tak to chain haasil thaa
aaj kyaa ho gayaa, Khudaa jaane

baat rindii ki mujh ko aatii hai
paarsaa'ii ki paarsaa jaane

baada-noshoN ka hashr kyaa hogaa?
mujh balaa-nosh ki balaa jaane

dillagii ne dii hawaa

2009-03-11T23:06:00.004+05:30

Anand Bakshi's song in Dostana (1980)
"dillagii ne dii hawaa thoRaa saa dhuaa.n uThaa"

used the matla of a Jaleel Manikpuri (1866-1946) Ghazal as two separate misras.

dekhaa jo husn-e-yaar tabiiyat machal gayii
aankhoN ka thaa qusuur chhurii dil pe chal gayii

ham tum mile na the to judaaii ka thaa malaal
ab yeh malaal hai ke tamannaa nikal gayii

saaqii teri sharaab jo shiishe meN thii paRii
saaGar meN aake aur bhii saaNche meN Dhal gayii

dushman se phir gayii nigah-e-yaar shukr hai
ek phaaNs thii ke dil se hamaare nikal gayii

piine se kar chukaa tha maiN taubaa magar Jaleel
baadal ka raNg dekh ke niiyyat badal gayii.

Earlier, in Pyaasa (1957), Guru Dutt too had used Jaleel Manakpuri's verse
jab ham chale.n to saayaa bhii apnaa na saath de
jab tum chalo zamiin chale aasmaa.n chale
jab ham ruke.n to saath ruke shaam-e-bekasii
jab tum ruko bahaar ruke chaa.ndanii ruke

aa.Nkh khulate hii tum/dhiire dhiire machal

2009-01-26T03:19:00.004+05:30

In Munimji(1955) the following song by Sahir
"aa.Nkh khulate hii tum chhup gaye ho kahaa.N
had this antara

"abhii saa.Nso.n kii Kushbuu havaao.n me.n hai
abhii qadamo.n kii aahaT fazaao.n me.n hai"

Eleven years later Kaifi Azmi wrote
"dhiire dhiire machal ae dil-e-beqaraar ko_ii aataa hai"

which had the following antara
"usake daaman kii Kushabuu havaao.n me.n hai
usake qadamo.n kii aahaT fazaao.n me.n hai"

pattaa pattaa buuTaa buuTaa

2009-01-16T00:51:00.007+05:30

One of Mir Taqi Mir's most famous Gazal is "pattaa pattaa buuTaa buuTaa haal hamaaraa jaane hai, jaane na jaane gul hii na jaane baaG to saaraa jaane hai" Majrooh used this sher as the mukhRaa of a song in Ek Nazar(1972)

Mir's Ghazal:

patta patta, buuTa buuTa, haal hamaaraa jaane hai,
jaane na jaane gul hi na jaane, baaGH to saaraa jaane hai.

aage us mutakabbar ke ham KHuda KHuda kiya karte haiN,
kab maujuud Khuda ko woh maGHrur KHud-aara jaane hai.

aashiq saa to saada koii aur na hoga duniyaa meN,
jii ke ziaaN ko ishq meN uske apna waara jaane hai.

chaaraa garii biimari-e-dil ki rasm-e-shahr-e-husn nahiiN,
varna dilbar-e-naadaaN bhii is dard kaa chaara jaane hai.

mehr-o-wafa-o-lutf-o-inaayat, ek se waaqif in meN nahin,
aur to sab kuchh tanz-o-kinaaya, ramz-o-ishaara jaane hai.

aashiq to murdah hai hamesha jii uThta hai dekhe use,
yaar ke aa jaane ko yakaayak umr dobaara jaane hai.

tishna-e-khuuN hai apna kitna, Mir bhi naadaan, talKHi-kash,
damdaar aab-e-teGH ko uske aab-e-gawara jaane hai.

zamaane ko dikhaanaa hai

2009-01-09T02:31:00.005+05:30

Jigar Muradabadi wrote a Ghazal in which one of the couplets is:
kyaa husn ne samjha hai kyaa ishq ne jaanaa hai
ham Kaak nashiino.n kii Thokar me.n zamaanaa hai.

All Nasir Husain films used to begin with this sh'er.

Majrooh Sultanpuri used it in the beginning of the title song/qawwaali of Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981):

By the way, there is another very famous couplet in the same Ghazal:
yeh 'ishq nahii.n aasaa.N, bas itnaa samajh leeje
ik aag kaa daryaa hai, aur Doob ke jaanaa hai

Do you remember any song that uses this couplet?

haule haule se hawaa lagtii hai

2009-01-09T01:53:00.009+05:30

Jaideep Sahni wrote the following antara in the song "haule haule se hawaa lagtii hai" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008):kyaa kah ke gayaa thaa shaayar vo sayaanaa, aag kaa dariyaa Duub ke jaanaa.

The "sayaanaa" shaayar was of course Jigar Muradabadi who wrote:
ye ishq nahii.n aasaa.n bas itnaa samajh leeje
ek aag kaa dariyaa hai aur Duub ke jaanaa hai.

chhalke terii aa.nkho.n se sharaab aur zyaada

2008-11-30T23:42:00.007+05:30

Majaz Lakhnavi wrote

barbaad tamannaa pe ataab aur zyaadaa
haa.n merii mohabbat kaa javaab aur zyaadaa

ro_e.n na abhii ahal-e-nazar haal pe mere
honaa hai abhii mujh ko Karaab aur zyaadaa

aavaaraa-o-majanuu.n hii pe mauquuf nahii.n kuchh
milane hai.n abhii mujh ko Kitaab aur zyaadaa

uThe.nge abhii aur bhii tuufaa.n mere dil se
dekhuu.ngaa abhii ishq ke Kaab aur zyaadaa

Tapakegaa lahuu aur mere diidaa-e-tar se
dhaRakegaa dil-e-Kaanaa Karaab aur zyaadaa

ai mutrib-e-bebaak ko_ii aur bhii naGamaa
ai saaqii-e-fayyaaz sharaab aur zyaadaa

For the film Arzoo (1965) Hasrat Jaipuri wrote:

chhalke teri aa.nkho.n se sharaab aur zyaadaa

One misra is practically unchanged in the song:
dhaRake hai dil-e-Kaanaa Karaab aur zyaadaa.

more jobanaa ka dekho ubhaar/ek laRakii ko dekhaa to

2008-06-25T06:44:00.011+05:30

Josh Malihabadi penned this song for the film Man Ki Jeet (1945)

more jobana ka dekho ubhaar
paapii jobana ka dekho ubhaar

jaise naddii kii mauj
jaise turko.n kii fauj
jaise sulage se bam
jaise baalak udham
jaise koyal pukaar

jaise hirnii kulel
jaise tuufaan mel
jaise bha.nware kii jhuum
jaise saawan kii dhuum
jaise gaatii phuaar

jaise saagar pe bhor
jaise uRataa chakor
jaise gendavaa khile
jaise laTTuu hile
jaise gaddar anaar

more jobana ka dekho ubhaar
paapii jobana ka dekho ubhaar

Javed Akhtar penned this for 1942 A Love Story (1993).

ek laRakii ko dekha to aisa lagaa
ek laRakii ko dekhaa to aisaa lagaa.

jaise khilataa gulaab
jaise shaayar ka Kwaab
jaise ujali kiran
jaise ban mein hiran
jaise chaa.ndani raat
jaise narmii ki baat
jaise ma.ndir me.n ho ek jalta diya

ek laRakii ko dekhaa to aisaa lagaa

jaise subhaa ka ruup
jaise sardii kii dhuup
jaise biinaa kii taan
jaise ra.ngo.n ki jaan
jaise bal khaa_e bel
jaise laharo.n ka khel
jaise Kushbuu liye aaye ThanDii havaa

ek laRakii ko dekhaa to aisaa lagaa

jaise naachata mor
jaise resham kii dor
jaise pariyo.n ka raag
jaise sa.ndal ki aag
jaise solah si.ngaar
jaise ras ki phuaar
jaise aahista aahista baRhata nashaa

This is what Film India commented with a 'literal' translation ...

FilmIndia commented :

Hazrat Josh Malihabadi who is considered to be the best rebel poet of
the nation. He has clearly prostituted his mighty pen in writing those
filthy lines. It must have been for money. Because it is difficult to
believe that a poet of Josh's eminence could have so radically changed
his ideals of poetry for our people. ... If Josh continues his present
career in film writing with songs like this, he should drop that
Hazrat that is fixed to his name. He doesn't deserve that even today,
with that filthy song broadcast to the world.

More Joban Ka Dekho Ubhaar
(Come look at the giddy blossom of my youthful breasts)
Paapi Joban Ka Dekho Ubhaar
(Come look at the bloom of my sinning breasts)
Jaise Nadi Ki Mauj, Jaise Turkon Ki Fauj
(My breasts are like the ripples on a river bed
My breasts are as militant as Turkish soldiers)
Jaise Sulage Se Bum, Jaise Balak Udham
(My breasts are like impregnated bombs
My breasts are like impudent kids)
Jaise Koyal Pukaare - More
(My breasts are like the call of the cuckoo)
Jaise Hirni Kulel, Jaise Toofan Mail
(My breasts are gambol like little deers
My breasts have the speed of Toofan Mail)
Jaise Bhanware Ki Joom, Jaise Sawan Ki Dhoom
(My breasts are like the whirl of butterflies
My breasts are like the storm of monsoon)
Jaise Gaati Phoohaar - More
(My breasts sing the music of early rain drops)
Jaise Sagar Pe Bhor, Jaise Udtaa Chakor
(My breasts herald the dawn on the horizon
My breasts are like fire eating birds of the skies)
Jaise Gendva Khilem Jaise Latto Hile
(My breasts are like marigolds in blossom
My breasts are dizzy like toy tops)
Jaise Gadhdhar Anaar - More
(My breasts are like half ripe pomegranates)
More Joban Ka Dekho Ubhaar
(Come look at the giddy blossom of my youthful breasts)
Paapi Joban Ka Dekho Ubhaar
(Come look at the bloom of my sinning breasts)

o mere shaah-e-Kuubaa.n

2008-06-11T04:08:00.003+05:30

Hakim Momin Khan Momin wrote "tum mere paas hote ho goyaa, jab ko_ii duusaraa nahii.n hotaa". Mirza Ghalib famously remarked, "Give this sher to me and take my whole diiwaan".

Hasrat Jaipuri's song in "Love in Tokyo" (1966), o mere shaah-e-Kuubaa.n is clearly inspired by Momin's Ghazal

jab bhii jii chaahe na_ii duniyaa basaa lete hai.n log

2008-06-11T03:43:00.005+05:30

Qateel Shifai wrote jab bhii chaahe.n ek na_ii suurat banaa lete hai.n log, ek chehre pe ka_ii chehre lagaa lete hai.n log

Sahir Ludhiyanvi changed it slightly for "Dagh" (1973) as "jab bhii jii chaahe na_ii duniyaa basaa lete hai.n log, ek chehre pe ka_ii chere lagaa lete hai.n log

aaKirii giit muhabbat kaa sunaa luuN to chaluuN

2008-05-29T01:08:00.005+05:30

Moin Ahsan Jazbi wrote the nazm "apanii so_ii hu_ii duniyaa ko jagaa luu.n to chaluu.n"
apni soii hui duniaa ko jagaa luuN to chaluuN
apne GhamKhane meN ek dhuum machaa lunn to chaluuN
aur ek jaam-e-ma’e talKh chaRha luuN to chaluuN
abhi chaltaa huuN zara khud ko sambhaaluuN to chaluuN

jaane kab pii thii abhi tak hai Gham-e-ma’e ka Khumaar
dhundhlaa dhundhlaa sa nazar aata hai jahaan-e-bedaar
aaNdhiyaaN chaltii haiN duniyaa huii jaati hai Ghubaar
aaNkh to mal luuN zara hosh meN aa luuN to chaluuN

voh meraa sahar voh ejaaz kahaaN hai laana
merii khoii huii aavaaz kahaaN hai laana
voh mera TuuTaa hua saaz kahaaN hai laana
ek zaraa giit bhi is saaz pe gaa luuN to chaluuN

maiN thakaa haaraa tha itne meN jo aaye baadal
kisii matvaale ne chupke se baRhaa di botal
uf voh rangiiN pur-asraar khayaaloN ke mahal
aise do-chaar mahal aur bana luuN to chaluuN

merii aaNkhoN meN abhi tak hai mohabbat ka Guruur
mere honToN ko abhii tak hai sadaaqat ka Guruur
mere maathe pe abhii tak hai sharaafat ka Guruur
aise vahmoN se Kud ko nikaaluuN to chaluuN

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan wrote a similar song for Neela Akash (1965)
aaKirii giit muhabbat kaa sunaa luuN to chaluuN

Thahari_e hosh meN/dil-e-naadaaN ko sambhaaluuN

2008-05-04T18:27:00.008+05:30

Majrooh wrote "Thahari_e hosh me.n aa luu.n to chale jaai_egaa, aap ko dil me.n biThaa luu.n to chale jaai_egaa for the film Mohabbat Isko Kahte Hain (1965).

Kaifi Azmi wrote
dil-e-naadaa.n ko sa.nbhaaluu.n to chale jaai_gaa,
ek zaraa hosh me.n aa luu.n to chale jaai_egaa for Farar (1965).

Both films were released in the same year, and both songs were tuned exquisitely- the former by Khayyam and the latter by Hemant Kumar.

ham haal-e-dil sunaa_e.nge/aa aa bhii jaa

2008-03-06T00:38:00.012+05:30

rahegaa ishq meraa Kaak me.n milaa ke mujhe
hu_e.n hai.n ibtedaa me.n ranj intehaa ke mujhe

Shailendra wrote this for Madhumati (1958) as an antaraa in the song
"ham haal-e-dil sunaa_e.nge suni_e ki na suni_e.

though the relevant verse was not retained in the movie, the complete audio version was released

Later Shailendra used it as a prelude to "aa aa bhii jaa" in Teesri Kasam (966)

ye terii saadgii ye teraa baa.nkpan/sonaa nahii.n naa sahii

2008-02-05T15:28:00.006+05:30

Mir Vazeer Ali Saba (1793-1855 C.E.)wrote:
tirchhii nazro.n se na dekho aashiq-e-dilgiir ko
kaise tiirandaaz ho siidhaa to kar lo tiir ko

Javed Anwar used this she'r in the song
"ye terii saadgii ye teraa baa.nkpan"
tirchhii nazro.n se na dekho aashiq-e-dilgiir ko
kaise tiirandaaz ho siidhaa to kar lo tiir ko
and added
vo gayaa dil meraa alvidaa alvidaa

in the film Shabnam (1964)

Majrooh Sultanpuri used the same she'r in the song
"sonaa nahii.n naa sahii, chaa.ndii nahii.n naa sahii"

and added

vo baRaa tez hai jo diiwaanaa hai meraa
huu.n usii kii shikaar jo nishaanaa hai meraa
to kholo zulfe.n inkii Kushbuu me.n mahak jaauu.n zaraa
gore tan kii chaa.Ndanii me.n phir chamak jaa_uu.N zaraa
chalo do pal ham ik duuje me.n kho jaaye.n is tarah
bahut din ke tarasate lab lipaT jaaye.n jis tarah
sajan sun-naa jaan-e-tamannaa
sajan sun-naa jaan-e-tamannaa tere liye
sonaa nahii.n naa sahii chaa.ndii nahii.n naa sahii

in the film One Two Ka Four (2001)

*Javed-Anwar were actually two people. Javed was the taKallus of Usha Khanna's father who wrote lyrics under the name of Manohar Khanna as well as ML Khanna, and Anwar in this duo was another lyricist who wrote separately as Rahil Gorakhpuri.

ibtidaa-e-ishq me.n ham saarii raat jaage

2008-02-04T21:45:00.002+05:30

Mir Taqi Mir's famous couplet:
ibtidaa-e-ishq hai rotaa hai kyaa
aage aage dekhi_e hotaa hai kyaa

was turned into a duet by Hasrat Jaipuri
ibtidaa-e-ishq me.n ham saarii raat jaage
allaah jaane kyaa hogaa aage...o maula jaane kyaa hogaa aage.
for Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962).

P.S. Though this she'r has gained popular currency in this form, Mir's diiwaan (compiled by Ali Sardar Jafri) records it in a slightly different form:

raah-e-duur-e-ishq se rotaa hai kyaa
aage aage dekhi_e hotaa hai kyaa

terii aa.nkho.n ke siwaa duniyaa me.n rakhaa kyaa hai

2008-01-30T00:34:00.006+05:30

"terii aa.kno.n ke sivaa duniyaa me.n rakhaa kyaa hai" is a line from Faiz Ahmad Faiz's nazm " mujh sii pahlii sii muhabbat merii mahbuub na maa.ng".
Raj Khosla, the director of the movie Chirag (1969) was a student of Faiz and wanted to use in a song in the film. Majrooh only relented after Faiz gave his wriiten permission to use this line as a mukhRhaa.

dil Dhuu.nDhtaa hai phir wahii

2008-01-30T00:32:00.003+05:30

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote:
jii Dhuu.nDtaa hai phir wahii fursat, ki raat din
baiThe rahe.n tasavvur-e-jaanaa.n kiye hu_e

Gulzar changed a word here a pause there and wrote a song around it for Mausam (1975)
dil Dhuu.nDhtaa hai phir wahii, fursat ke raat din
baiThe rahe tasavvur-e-jaanaa.n kiye huye

P.S. Gulzar wrote in an article in "Filmfare" that originally he had not changed "jii" to "dil", but the Music Director of the movie Madan Mohan showed him a copy of Ghalib's diiwaan which had "dil" instead of "jii" in the said Gazal!

hu_e ham jinke li_e barbaad

2008-01-30T00:27:00.003+05:30

Muztar Khairabadi wrote:
asiir-e-panja-e-ahd-e-shabaab kar ke mujhe
kahaa.n gayaa meraa bachpan Karaab kar ke mujhe

Shakeel Badayuni used it at the beginning of a song in Deedar (1951). The song was
hu_e ham jinke li_e barbaad vo hamko chaahe kare.n na yaad
jiivan bhar...jiivan bhar unkii yaad me.n ham gaa_e jaa_e.nge, gaa_e jaa_e.nge

ham bane tum bane

2008-01-30T00:18:00.003+05:30

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote: ishq par zor nahii.n hai ye vo aatish Gaalib jo lagaa_e na lage aur bujhaa_e na bane.
Anand Bakshi used it in his song
"ham bane tum bane ek duuje ke li_e...ishq par zor nahii.n Gaalib ne kahaa hai isii li_e" from the film Ek Dooje Ke Liye (1981). One of the rare occasions when a poet has been credited in the song itself!

chiin-o-arab hamaaraa

2008-01-30T00:12:00.001+05:30

Muhammad Iqbal wrote the nazm 'taraana-e-millii":
chiin-o-arab hamaaraa hindostaa.n hamaaraa
muslim hai.n ham watan hai saaraa jahaa.n hamaaraa

Sahir Ludhiyanvi parodied it for Phir Subah Hogi (1958) as:
chiin-o-arab hamaaraa hindostaa.n hamaaraa
rahne ko ghar nahii.n hai saaraa jahaa.n hamaaraa

a_e dil mujhe aisii jagah le chal

2008-01-30T00:05:00.003+05:30

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote

rahiye ab aisii jagah chal kar jahaa.n ko_ii na ho
hamsuKan ko_ii na ho aur hamzabaa.n ko_ii na ho

be dar-o-diiwaar saa ik ghar banaayaa chaahiye
ko_ii hamsaayaa na ho aur paasbaa.n ko_ii na ho

paRiye gar biimaar to ko_ii na ho biimaardaar
aur agar mar jaa_iye to nauhaKwa.n ko_ii na ho

Majrooh Sultanpuri turned it into a song for Arzoo (1950)

a_e dil mujhe aisii jagah le chal jahaan ko_ii na ho
apnaa paraayaa mehrbaa.n naamehrbaa.n ko_ii na ho

Incidentally four years later in Sohrab Modi's Film "Mirza Ghalib" (1954) his whole Ghazal was sung by Suraiya.

bhuule se muhabbat kar baiThaa

2008-01-29T23:59:00.004+05:30

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote

dil hii to hai na sa.ng-o-Kisht dard se bhar na aa_e kyu.n
ro_e.nge ham hazaar baar ko_ii hame.n sataa_e kyu.n

Sahir Ludhiyanvi turned the first part of the misra into a song of the same name Dil Hi To Hai (1963)
bhuule se muhabbat kar baiThaa naadaa.n thaa bechaaraa dil hii to hai
har dil se Kataa ho jaatii hai bigaRo na Kudaaraa dil hii to hai

baiThe hai.n rahguzar par

2008-01-29T23:54:00.002+05:30

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote:

da_ir nahii.n haram nahii.n dar nahii.n aastaa.n nahii.n
baiThe hai.n rahguzar pe ham Gair hame.n haTaa_e kyu.n?

Kaifi Azmi took the first half of the second misra and made that into a song for Chaalis Din/40 Days (1959)

baiThe hai.n rahguzar par dil kaa diyaa jalaa_e
shaayad vo dard samjhe shaayad vo lauT aaye.

zer-e-diiwaar khaRe hai.n/ daGaa daGaa va_ii

2008-01-25T20:52:00.007+05:30

Listen to Kaifi Azmi's

zer-e-diiwaar khaRe hai.n teraa kyaa lete hai.n
dekh lete hai.n tapish dil kii bujhaa lete hai.n

from Sakhi Hatim (1955) Music Director: A R Qureshi; Singer: Talat Mehmood.

and Majrooh Sultanpuri's following lines from the song
"daGaa daGaa va_ii va_ii va_ii" :

yuu.nhii raaho.n me.n khaRe hai.n teraa kyaa lete hai.n
dekh lete hai.n jalan dil kii miTaa lete hai.n

from Kaali Topi Lal Roomal (1959), Music Director: Chitragupt; Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Why Hamkalaam?

2008-01-25T20:29:00.002+05:30

Hamkalaam is an attempt to document the "inspirations" in Hindi/Hindustani/Urdu Film Song lyrics. These inspirations range from literary sources to older film lyrics.