Chhaayaageet #194 - "I want to keep that word in the song."
In a matter of only three years, the actress has established herself as a force to reckon with, and that too, despite having only acted in four films in three years.
She was discovered by a legendary filmmaker. He had seen her perform a dance sequence in a song in her first Telugu film. She featured in it only for the song. She did not have a role as such. But that had been enough to leave him impressed.
The youngest of four sisters, she had been learning Bharatanatyam as a child. Her dream was to become a doctor, but her father passed away while she was still in her teens. Considering the emotional and financial circumstances of the family, and her mother's illness, she had to abandon that goal, and accept movie offers that called for her dancing abilities.
Watching her in her first Telugu film, the filmmaker had marveled at her moves and ability to carry herself. She was a natural on the screen. He had immediately told his assistant to cast her. That song in her first Telugu film had been her passport into the world of Hindi cinema.
Three years and four films later she is now in high demand. An accomplished dancer and an actress with high emotivity and sensitivity in her performance shall not be denied. The filmmaker and the veteran music composer also like her a lot.
One day her phone rings. It is the music composer on the other side.
"Can you come to the studio? I want you to sing a song," he requests.
What a strange request! She is taken aback. She is not a singer by any stretch of imagination.
"But, Dada, I am not a singer," she reveals.
"I know. I just want to hear the beats of the song," he clarifies.
She makes time for the veteran composer and arrives at his studio. He asks her to sing that same Telugu song.
Even though it has been five years since that first Telugu film, she knows the song by heart. She starts to sing it.
The composer is listening with his eyes closed. Not too far into the song, he stops her, and asks her to sing the last couple of lines again. She does so.
Again.
Again.
He opens his eyes. He has found the tune for the song he is trying to compose the tune for. But what is that word in Telugu? Is it someone's name? That's what it sounds like.
He asks her to sing again. He likes the sound of that word.
He turns to the lyricist saying, "I want to keep that word in the song."
SD Burman composed the music and song Dekhne Mein Bhola Hai for the film Bombai Ka Babu (1960), directed by Raj Khosla, starring Dev Anand and Suchitra Sen. The song is sung by Asha Bhosle.
It was Guru Dutt who had discovered Waheeda Rehman in her Telugu debut film, Rojulu Marayi (1955). Waheeda had featured in one song in the film, Eruvaaka Sagaroranno Chinnanna, which impressed Guru Dutt. SD Burman da took a liking to the word Chinnanna and retained it in the Hindi song. Watch Waheeda's debut song performance.
Guru Dutt asked Raj Khosla to cast Waheeda Rehman in CID (1956), and after that she starred in the landmark film Pyaasa (1957), 12 O'Clock (1958), Solva Saal (1958) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959).
Dev Anand's and Suchitra Sen's pairing in Bombai Ka Babu was a rare casting. Dev Anand masquerades as Suchitra Sen's long lost brother in the film, but falls in love with her. Suchitra Sen was a renowned and top Bengali film actress before she featured in her first Hindi film Devdas (1955) with Dilip Kumar and Vyajayanthimala.
Music: SD Burman
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
*ing: Suchitra Sen, Dev Anand
Director: Raj Khosla
Film: Bombai Ka Babu (1960)