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No! Wait a moment. Don’t judge this post by its title. The purpose of many a lives (and posts) is to make others look better. You ask for example? Ok, Tusshar Kapoor! My Wheel of Time posts serve the same purpose. Just as you are letting off some steam on the Roshans in one post and damning YRF in another, here comes this post which you can conveniently ignore. But you shouldn’t. Read it to understand how a post shouldn’t take itself too seriously or how to write a pedantic post. The purpose of all this is to let ordinary readers know that into each life some rain should fall. And they also serve who wait and bore. So, readership be damned, I have a greater purpose in life (God made me for a purpose et al) which is to dispense such wisdom to all of you. Here we go, again!!

1952, more than any other year in the first 5 years of our independence, represented the coming of age of India as a nation. India held its first General Elections, an exercise so phenomenally complex that many of us now can even scarce comprehend. Universal adult franchise as a notion wasn’t established at that time even in the ‘mature’ democracies like the USA and here was a nation with illiteracy rates hovering above 60% daring to provide every citizen a real opportunity to elect its own destiny. The cynical may question the efficacy of the whole set-up six decades later but no one can deny that democracy and the steadfast adherence to its principles remain one of independent India’s finest achievements.

1952 also was the year of another significant achievement for India which would serve as a harbinger of things to come. Between Feb 6 – 10 of this year, India won its first cricket test match playing against England at Chennai. Cricket and movies would eventually become the opium of masses and the lines would start blurring between the two as we all have seen since. Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy, which plays out a large part of its story in 1952, has a beautiful section on the Calcutta test played during that series. It captured the essence of India in that year. Respectful of the colonial masters but starting to assert its own identity. And the Chennai test was the culmination of this conflicting emotion with Vinoo Mankad taking 12 for about hundred odd runs while Polly Kaka (Umrigar) scored an elegant century to inflict an innings defeat on the visiting team. Umrigar would firmly establish himself as the most prolific of Indian batsmen (how we have lost the great Parsi cricketing tradition in Bombay) till a man named Sunil Gavaskar appeared on scene while Vinoo would be rated as the best Indian all-rounder till Kapil Dev showed a thing or two about all round capabilities in late 70s.

So how did that other national obsession fare in the year 1952? Well, it could almost be considered as the year when Hindi cinema firmly established itself as the index of popular choices in India. This led to events which would have far-reaching consequences like the start of Binaca Geetmala from Ceylon Radio Station with Ameen Sayani as the host. That show has been single handedly responsible for the pre-eminence of music in Hindi cinema. The year saw the triumvirate of Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand continue with their dominance while others like Bharat Bhushan did make a mark with performances in historicals like Baiju Bawra and Anand Math. Talat had a fantastic year but it was clear that Rafi was emerging as a versatile powerhouse who would soon sweep out everything in its way. Among female playback singers, it was Lata all the way.

The year saw some big blockbusters where music played a huge role. Naushad with a penchant for huge orchestration had two of his biggest commercial successes with Baiju Bawra and Aan. Aan was set on an epic scale with Dilip Kumar starring opposite Nadira (whose later claim to fame would be the famous vamp number Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh from Shree 420). While Maan Mere Ehsaan, Lagi Tanman Mein, Tujhe Kho Diya Humne Paa Leneke Baad were the popular numbers, my favorite track is Dil Mein Chhupa Ke Pyar Ka Toofan which has Rafi in his melodious best and Dilip Kumar shedding his intense and brooding image for a more frolicsome fare. Baiju Bawra, of course, went on to become one of the greatest soundtracks in Hindi cinema ever and established Rafi as streets ahead of competition in terms of range and variety. Each song from this soundtrack is a masterpiece starting from the devotional Man Tarpat Hai and O Duniya Ke Rakhwale to the poignant Tu Ganga Ki Mauj.

While Rafi was busy with the above, Talat had his greatest year. That tremulous silken voice might have become the default for male playback singing had not the Rafi onslaught stemmed it. It is an embarrassment of riches for Talat fans starting from Main Dil Hoon Ek Armaan Bhara (Anhonee, Roshan, Nargis in a double role with Raj Kapoor), Tum Ko Fursat Ho (Bewafa, AR Quereshi aka Allah Rakha Khan or father of Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, the movie had Ashok Kumar and Raj Kapoor in their only screen appearance together), Main Pagal Mera Manwa Pagal and Mera Qarar Leja (both from Ashiana of Madan Mohan; another Nargis and Raj Kapoor starrer), Aye Mere Dil Kahin ( Daag, Shankar Jaikishen), Mohabbat Mein Kashish Hogi (Khoobsurat, Madan Mohan) and the entire soundtrack of C Ramchandra’s Parchhayaian with songs like Woh Zalim Pyar Kya Jaane and Kya Dil Ka Lagana Bhool Gaye and the little known Kise Maloom Tha from another CR composed film Saqi. Talat had hit a purple patch that year.

Lata continued her rich vein with music directors crafting exquisite numbers for her from CR in Parchhaiyan with Katate Hain Dukh Mein, Ghulam Mohammed in Amber with Dil Deke Sanam and Tootegi Na Pyar Ki Dor, Sajjad in Sangdil with Woh To Chale Gaye, Anand Math (Vande Matram) and Jaal (Pighala Hai Sona).

Speaking of Jaal and Anand Math brings us to Hemant Kumar who was introduced into Hindi cinema as a full-time composer this year with the latter and made his mark in the former as a singer with Yeh Raat Yeh Chaandni. The other notable introduction to Hindi cinema was O.P. Nayyar who had composed a few songs in Kaneez in 1949 but the movie didn’t see the light of the day. Nayyar made his debut in Aasman (an average Nasir Khan, Shyama starrer) and his first recorded song was with Chandu (C.H.) Atma (who was possibly the best low note singer ever) titled Is Bewafa Jahan Mein.

All in all, though not in the same league as 1951, this year ran it quite close in terms of sheer quality.

Normally, I run out of breath after I cover one of these years to do justice (if any is needed) to the year chosen in the 90s. However, the year 1991 deserves more than an honorable mention in terms of music quality. While India was on brink of bankruptcy and had to pledge its gold reserves to the Bank of England, the musical riches weren’t in such dire straits. Let me go out on limb here and claim that 1991 was possibly the best year in Hindi film music in the last 25 years (from the time in 1984 when it started going all horribly wrong with Bappida and Jeetu doing all those mass PT tracks). QSQT had bucked the mindless violence trend in 1988 and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and Aashiqui (1990) continued it in the next couple of years. As some big budget action movies failed in late 80s, the success of Aashiqui almost made it inevitable that film-makers rethink their views on music. And this, possibly, led to the deluge that we witnessed in 1991.

Let me try and go through the year in chronological order from January on. You might wonder how I remember each of these films in such order. I guess having possibly watched most big releases of 1991 (over 100 or so) at least twice in that year itself gives me some assistance. Don’t ask how I fared at school that year.

The year started with Mun Mun Sen astride on a horse and Tariq Shah dragging the poor horse (weighed by the burden of La Sen) and singing Mohabbat Inayat Karam Dekhte Hain in Baharon Ki Manzil. The film also had that roadside dhaba favorite Kaali Teri Choti Hai. Within the next 2 months, we had Patthar Ke Phool (Ram Laxman, Raveena debut opposite Salman) which had Lata-SB duets Tumse Jo Dekhti Hi Pyaar Hua (with all Bombay street names) and Kabhi Tu Chhalia Lagta Hai, 100 Days (Sun Dilruba), Kurban (Ayesha Jhulka debut opposite Salman) which had Yeh Dharti Chand Sitaren, Hum (LP with all the shor sharaba – Jumma Chumma, Sanam Mere Sanam) and Saudagar (LP again with Ilu Ilu and the title track). BY the time we got into summer vacations, we had Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (too popular to list), Henna (Chitthiye, Aaja Re Mahi, Anaardana), Sanam Bewafa (Choori Mazaa Na Degi) and Saathi (Mohsin Khan and Aditya Pancholi with some goodtracks including Zindagi Ke Talaash Mein Hum). Then, Khilaaf (Aaja Sanam), First Love Letter (Bappida in some semblance of form), Saajan, Sadak and Love got into the act and the year ended up with Vishwatma (Saat Samundar), Phool Aur Kaante (Ajay Devgan debut) and Yash Chopra’s Lamhe (Yeh Lamhe, Kabhi Main Kahoon, Morni). All in all, 1991 was the year of Nadeem Shravan, Kumar Sanu, Anuradha Paudwal and T Series as they churned out one musical blockbuster after the other with or without Super Jhankaar Beats (an innovation that T Series should have patented which would have won them the Ig-noble Prize).

While all of the above do bring an occasional bout of nostalgia (especially Kaise Mizaz Aapke Hain from DHKMN), I would still reserve a special place for 3 of my favorite soundtracks of the year, namely, Lekin – a sublime Lata in Main Ek Sadi Se, Yaara Seeli Seeli, Suniyo Ji put to paces by Hridyanath, Daddy – Rajesh Roshan and lyricist Suraj Sanim creating magic along with Talat Aziz especially in my favorite track Kabhi Khwab Mein Ya Khayal Mein (not forgetting Aaina Mujhse and Sapno Ke Ghar Ki Hain) and Yaara Dildara (Jatin Lalit debut) – a cassette I picked up because it came along with Baaghi (which released in 1990). I was immediately hooked to Bin Tere Sanam (possibly the biggest remix song ever), Tum Hi Hamari Manzil and Woh Jo Kaha Tha Maine.

As I look back, I still think I have missed another twenty films in that year which had at least one song which stood out. It was that kind of year.