Chhaayaageet #242 - "Aisa koi shabd nahin hai."
There is no word like this.
The filmmaker is a reputed name in the world of animation films. He has directed several animation shorts and ad films. In 1974, animation in Indian cinema is a novelty. He has won National Awards for his animation shorts. His award winning short films are a staple on Doordarshan.
A script comes across his eyes for a mainstream live action film. He is so taken over by it that he decides to direct and produce it himself. A veteran music composer is signed to compose the songs and music. A veteran writer for lyrics and screenplay is also part of this project. With so much talent and no egos whatsoever, it is only natural that the quality of work is of the highest order.
One particular day the composer is in Delhi to attend a music concert hosted by a businessman who is an aficionado of music. A young lady from Bangladesh is enthralling the audience with her singing. The composer likes the texture of her voice. It is very different from that of the two sisters who rule the playback singing scene in Bombay. He decides to enlist her as the female playback singer.
In due course, the songs are written and composed. The team has gathered in the studio to record a duet. As the rehearsals take place, the assistant director, AD as they are known, an opinionated lady, takes objection to one word.
“Yeh koi shabd nahin hai,” she stops the rehearsal abruptly with her strong voice. This is not a word.
The objectionable word is a creative liberty taken by the veteran lyricist to fit the tune’s meter. So what if it is not a word?
The lyricist doesn’t budge. He doesn’t want to change it just to please the grammatical sensitivities of the assistant director. The filmmaker, hero, heroine, musicians, and the singers look at the AD and the lyricist as they go back and forth on that one word.
“Logon ko kaise samjhega ye shabd?”, the AD asks. How will the people know what this word means?
“Samajh jayenge,” the lyricist replies. They will.
It’s a stalemate. The rehearsal has come to a standstill. It doesn’t look like this will resolve any time soon.
Suddenly the hero has a spark. He suggests, “Kyon na hum is gaane mein aisa karein ki, hero aur heroine ek dusre ko sawal jawab karein is shabd ko lekar?” Why don’t we show the hero and heroine having a conversation about this word in the song?
Everyone is intrigued by this idea. They explore it further. This might just work. The conversational tone acknowledges the word not being a word and play with the creative liberty.
The filmmaker likes this idea so much that he decides to incorporate a similar interrogatory tone in the second stanza.
Runa Laila and Bhupinder Singh sing the song Do Deewane Shaher Mein in Gharaonda (1977), music by Jaidev, lyrics by Gulzar, and Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab in lead roles. The film is directed and produced by Bhim Sain Khurana. Gharaonda is the story of a common man’s struggle to become a home owner in a sprawling metropolis.
The AD, Sushila Kamat, objected to the use of the word “asmaani”, which Gulzar had used to fit the meter. She and Amol Palekar frequently butted heads on various topics during the making of the film.
Amol Palekar plays a character with villainous shades after light-hearted and comedic roles in films such as Rajnigandha (1974), Chhotisi Baat (1975), and Chitchor (1976). However, the real villain of Gharaonda is the city of Mumbai, which is beautifully depicted in the film by Bhim Sain.
Bhim Sain is known as the Father of Indian animation. His animation short, Ek Anek Aur Ekta, won him the second National Award in 1974.
Jaidev heard Runa Laila in a music concert in Delhi and decided to have her sing the songs of Gharaonda. While Runa Laila had sung the title song in Kalyanji Anandji’s Ek Se Badhkar Ek (1976), it was her singing in Gharaonda that put her on the map for Indian music lovers. Besides this duet, she also sang the solo, Tumhein Ho Na Ho, another delightful composition by Jaidev and lyrics by Naqsh Lyallpuri.
Jaidev’s compositions always prioritized the lyrics of the song. His compositions were immensely hummable and ensured that the words got their due respect and were able to reach the audience.
Gulzar won his first Filmfare Award as Best Lyricist for the song Do Deewane Shaher Mein. Dr. Shriram Lagoo won the Filmfare for Best Supporting Actor. The film was also nominated for Best Film, Best Director (Bhim Sain), Best Story (Shankar Shesh), and Best Actress (Zarina Wahab).
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: Jaidev
Singers: Runa Laila, Bhupinder Singh
*ing: Amol Palekar, Zarina Wahab
Director: Bhim Sain Khurana
Film: Gharaonda (1977)