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folk songs vs Mainstream cinema
The most unconventional song in “laga chunari me daag” is “ehe thaiya motiya heraail ho raama”(this is the spot where I lost my pearl) . Though Shantanu and Swanand had tried their best to revive a most popular form of music of UP & Bihar, I felt that something is missing in the song. first thing I felt that this is a “chaiti” not “thumri” so it should be sang with the same energy and enthusiasm that the form of the song demands. “Chaiti” is a festival folk which in villages used to sing in the time of reaping of their grains. It has different moods depend on the situations for example, the villagers used to sing in two groups and counters each other’s comments. The other situation is when a woman misses her husband or a remembers her maayka. Obviously a sad situation but the fragrance of festival overcomes it and song becomes a little lighter. If we hear the same “chaiti” which was sung by Mukesh in the movie “Godaan” we could feel the difference. Ravishankar’s classical strength and the mood of the song has come out so nicely in the song that we can feel the culture inherited into the song. I am not questioning Rekha’s ability. She is absolutely a fresh air in our music industry and the team must have much knowledge of music than me. But the “ras” which I get while hearing the original Chaiti’s by Manoj Tiwari or Bharat Sharma is somehow missing in this version. Now another form is “Bideshiya”. we have seen a part of this in “Hazaaro Khwahishe aisi” in the song “Piya gaile calcuttwa” which I think Sanjay Upadhyaay has sung. It’s not the style of bideshiya in which the song came out.The movie has another brilliant thumri. “Gadar” has also a humming thumri. The song “namak Ishqa ka” I feel is very artificial song. Though I liked the style and mood with which Rekha sung it. it’s awesome. In the similar manner the rajasthani folk “kesariya baalma” has used many a times in our hindi cinema including recent one “Dor” but I don’t think that it has ever come close to the mood with which the Rajasthan’s local orchestra artists sings it. Bihar’s folk singer Sharda Sinha has sung twice(as far as I know) in our mainstream cinema.First in “maine Pyaar kiya” & the other was “Hum Aapke hai kaun”. The song “kahe tose sajna” is used beautifully in “maine pyaar kiya”. It’s an absolutely brilliant song.
The other folk song which is missing in our hindi mainstream cinema is Punjab’s folk “heer”. It’s very rarely used and if used never conceived it . The North east music is also remains untouched. The songs of “Raincoat” were obviously not folk but classical. The film has a nice Sohar (song that used to sing in the time of birth of child). There are enormous kinds of Indian folk and classical songs which has not been given importance in our film industry. Shabha Mudgal has found some precious songs which were written in the pre independence era. but it’s only a pinch of sand. With such a vast variety of culture and music available we are yet to reach those songs, but with Shantanu and Swananad we could hope for some brilliant songs to come out.
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@hg….”hille le” is a great poetry written by Gorakh pande…you should read other writings of gorakh pande..u will feel the fire within..peoples in UP sings the songs of gorakh pande…one of the song is “samajwad aayi ho babua..samajwaad dhire dhire aayi..(Socialism will come..socialism will come….)….kadhiya le aayi samjawaad (when will it come)….parso le aayi ki barso le aayi..(will it come tommorow or after several years..) basically…it’s a sattirical..Indian Ocean guyz can do the magic..
i loved “ninbuda ninbuda” from Hum Dil Dechuke Sanam, “Mudiya tu bach ke rhae” from BOOM! i guess both of them are folk songs
I love clasical music. I love the tracks of Khoya khoya.. and looking forward for more such tracks. We need more good indian classical songs… system of a down etc bands are attracting todays youngsters than Indian music.. because they are not being manufactured any more.. or the manufacturing is really less. Thanx to Shantanu.. we can look forward to more..
@Giri…why we need to compare always. i think rekha has done a brilliant job n m still in ehi thaiyya mode……N HKA’s ay sajni re aye sajni is by swanand kirkire n not by sanjay upadhyay. Also,the songs of ranicoat works for me n big time…akele hum nadiya kinare, piya tora kiasa abhimaan, mathura nagarpti…shubha is terrific in all those songs n that wedding song…hamari galiyyan…they have d rite mood n takes me back to my childhoon days. also hamari galiyaan…is fol. isnt it ? dont knwo where is music composer debyjyoti mishra??
heard some of those pre-indepndnce songs that shubha and her husband anees pradhan hav figured out n done…folk n otherwise…ndtv recently did a sexy sepcial episode with them. let me chcek for the video online.
Also, the band agnee has done great work with some of kabir’s dohas in their recent album….my favourtie…kabira jab paida hua to jag hansa hum roye…aisi karni kar chalo hum hanse jag roye….
Debjyoti is a gem yaar..dhoondh nikalo some da use….raincoat’s songs were inspired from meghdoot..and abhigyaan shakuntalam…
I could be of some help in giving Debjyoti’s number.
the songs by agnee….
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8-vUzgmN7p0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q16D8Pah7Bo&mode=related&search=
kabir ko padho…aur mazaa aayega….and compose the music urself..
thanx was looking for the link..for agnee
@Dipankarji,Very interesting and though full article.
One song of vimal roy bandini “ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul” is also classical example of Chaiti and one more song of movie Tesari kasam sung by mukesh “Sajnawa bairi ho gaye hamaar” is good example of Chaiti.
some songs of movie “Nadiya ke paar” was totally based on folk songs i.e “jab tak poore naa ho feere saat”.
Rabbi’s Bulla Ki Jana - includes a few punjabi folk song such as Jugni, Totia Mania..
Rajeshwari’s Lathe Di Chadar.
Kailash Kher’s Chhap Tilak.
@giri…kuch bhi likhat hai tu…padho aur khudh music compose karo…wah wah….ek violin teacher dhund raha hoon kab se…woh nahi mil raha hai philhaal to…
@shatrughan…yup yup…abousltly love those two songs…those who havent heard teh songs…here r the links…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=f8Lp2A9ErAc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2v8PnZX5KxE
@Phoenixnu,thanks for links.
Indian ocean song “Kandisa” is ultimate song to listen when you are drinking. :d
Manoj tiwari is like Kishore kumar for Bhojpuri songs and his some songs are directly taken from folk songs i.e “Gorki dikha ke mat bhejye sawarki ho”.
Dipankar ji aap teesari kasam ki “chalat Musafir moh liye lo ” ka zikr karna bhul gaye hai :)
@ shatru….love the song”ab ke baras” not only for the words..it’s more of it’s picturisation..the picturisation is inspired from Kabir’s doha
“chalti chakki dekhkar diya kabeera roya
do paatan ke beech me saabut bacha na koi”
nutan’s life has been crushed by her life and jail…her maayke and sasural…her life and the freedom movement..
in the song..nutan runs the chakki.
the antara goes like…ambua tale phir jhoole padnege..lautengi aangan me teri saawan ki thandi fuhaare
the movie has another beautiful song…o jaane waale ho sake to laut ke aana
sajanwa bairi ho gayl hamaar is inspired from mahua ghatwarin’s folk tale but not an original folk..the song is written and composed..only folk in the film is..chalat musafir…
nadiya ke paar’s song is also written ..it is not a folk but inspired by a vidaai song..the first half of the song is very lighter..like the lines..dilli door badi hai…
nadiya ke paar has a brilliant song..gunja re..in which a line comes…budhe bargad ki maati se shish dhar le…the original song is here the worship of bargad tree
@phenix…majaak nahi kar raha hoo..bengali to thode artistic hote bhi hai..try to karo..rare lyric main tumhe dunga…beleave me
@ hg…chaap tilak is from amir khusro’s poetry… i love rabbi for bulla ki jaana..it’s a bundelkhandi song…must have heard abt alha rudal
a good critique of modern cinema
The song “mere saajan hai us paar ” i think is also inspired from a folk song.but not confirm…
@shatrughan…i dont drink. but kandissa is all time favourite. even hille le. actually almost everything by indian ocean..ha ha ha.
there is group called bhoomi…they sing in bengali…its veerything from bengali folk……baul, bhatiyali,jhoomur n all that…m big fan of theirs…brillaint they r…
the song ‘mere angne me” is also a nice folk song
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Are we really talking about Folk music in the films? or only films Post 2K?
As far as Heer is concerned, almost every music director like Naushad, C. Ram Chandra, Hemant Kumar to Madan Mohan, SJ, LP to RD Burman have used Heer..
@ shatru….Manoj tiwari has also sung some brilliant sohar’s ..and Bharat sharma’s album “goriya chaand ke anjor ” and “gauna kara da ae parbhi ji “was a huge hit..Sharda sinha’s song…”le le aiyha ho piya sindoor bengal ke” was also a major hit
@Dipankarji…Sharda Sinha ke baare me mere ek patna ke dost ne bataya tha ki woh paan khaa ke gaana gaati hai aur sayad yahi reason hai ki uske songs unique hote hai. Aaj bhi bihar ke sab se bade festival “Chath” me Sharda Sinha ke hi cassettes sab se adhik bikte hai.
aur agar hum Banaras Gharana ki baat kare to Girija devi Indian classical vocal music me “living legend” hai.girija devi “Khyal” gayki ka master maana jaata hai aur woh thumri, tappa, tap-khyal, holi, chaiti, kajri,dadra me bhi paarangat hai.In fact, Girija Devi is one of the last surviving thumri experts of this century.
@ pavan….plz let us know few of those songs..i couldnot understand heer but love to hear them..plz mail me if u can provide some songs..
I dont know for some reason i never liked indian ocean, some people like their style, some their rawness and some their voice but i never found it nice.
theres another song which is originally written by aamir khusro and has been used in a lesser known film called chori chori starring ajay devgan and rani mukherjee and directed by milan luthria (taxi no. 9211). the song is “maiyya mere babul ko bhejo ri ke saawan aaya, saawan aaya”. sajid wajid redid the music using rustic voices and it works like magic.
aamir khusro’s lines “Zihal-e-muskin, makun baranjish ki taab-e-hizra bechara dil hai” has also been used by gulzar in JP dutta’s ghulami too. and the song works here too.
I think its quite intresting to have the traces of folk music and lyrics in the mainstream Indian music.
The original Amir khusro song was :
zehaal e miskiin makun tagaaful
duraaye nainaa banaaye batiyaan
ki taab e hijraan na daaram ai jaan
na lehu kaahe lagaaye chhatiyaan
chuun shamm e sozaan, chuun zarraa hairaan
hameshaa giriyaan, ba-ishq aan maah
na niind nainaa, na ang chainaa
na aap hii aaven, na bhejen patiyaan
yakaayak az dil basad farebam
bawurd e chashamash qaraar o taskiin
kise padii hai jo jaa sunaaye
pyaare pii ko hamaarii batiyaan
shabaan e hijraan daraaz chuun zulf
varoz e wasalash chuun umr kotaah
sakhii piyaa ko jo main na dekhuun
to kaise kaatuun andheri ratiyaan
there is no similarity betwn this and ghulami song as Gulzar has changed the lyrics..and don’t know how it might be composed originally..
mujaffar ali has composed a different version of this song in his album..”husn e jana”
yes obviously gulzar has changed the lyrics but I mean it still finds it roots in this khusro song only.
Hey Boss,
I’ve been quite underground so to say on PFC as i thought i was quite content to see the various interplays between but this post made me break my resolve. U know the kind of resolve of not judging anything and all…but this post got me!!!Boss…get out of your music today sleeve covers and if u can’t….please dont post them here! I think vishal bhardwaj knows the difference between a thumri, chaiti and a kajri…!Its all about making it accesible and believe me…the thumris that we speak of as classics were treated as vulgar songs not a long time back!This is the film music genre man!…apppreciate the gems that come and the hard work that goes in getting them through…and yes the clasical music scene of India is littered with gems…just skim through and you’ll be amazed!
Cheers!
Cheers!
Dipu what does this fall under???
“atlari ki kitlari…muso lini lini….lini lini lini…..areee mussuve ne sadhuve ko mari missile se aaisa jo dank mara….dhumpa..dhumpa….dhumpa…dha!!!!!ara rara..rara…rara..ra”
:-?
@Dipankar
Some of the Heer Songs used in Hindi Films…
Madan Mohan :
Doli Chadhte heer (Heer Ranjha -Lata + many)
C Ramchandra :
Soyi huee hai anarkali,ae baad.e.sabaa (Anarkali - Hemant Kumar)
Roshan :
Lo apna jahaan (Dooj Ka Chand - Asa Singh Mastana)
Shankar Jaikishan :
Sadqe Heer Tujh Pe (Mera Naam Joker - Rafi)
Laxmi-Pyare :
Uth Neend se jaag mirzia (Pratigya - Rafi-Lata)
RD Burman :
Heer (Jaliyanwala Bagh - Bhupinder)
Anil Biswas, S Mohinder too composed Heers but cant recall instances
Recently Khamosh Paani too had a Heer song.. Also Abida Parvin and Jagjeet Singh too had sung Heer in recent times
There are some more names skipping from mind..
Pavan
If i’m not mistaken, Bhumroo Bhumroo from Mission Kashmir is a Kashmiri folk too….
[...] An interesting post on PFC [...]
What a wonderful and passionate post Dipankar! As an aside, while not strictly speaking folk I liked the whiff of a more traditional scent that was imparted to the song “Eye Gori” in Delhi Heights, and I have a great weakness for it…
BTw, “Bulla Ki Jaana” is not a Bundelkhandi song, but it’s the Punjabi verses of Baba Bhulle Shah set to music….Rabbi is fabulous here…
Another “semi-classical” favorite is “Saiyyan chorho mori baiyyan” from Zubeida.
I think you haven’t given enough credit to songs like “Namak Ishq Ka”, which in a sense have to “serve two masters”, i.e. not only the folk tradition but also the tradition of Hindi film music (which cannot be slighted)…
What a great read! Thanks, Dipankar Giri. One of my favorite folk-inspired songs in hindi films is “aaye sajna hamar” from Taksaal. I’m not sure what folk genre it belongs to, perhaps UP “bidaai” songs, but it’s absolutely wonderful. Music was by the late genius, Roshan.
A very good post by Dipankar.
Very interesting read.
Bullah Ki Jana is work of Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah. Rabbi Shergill sang this passionately. Recently Amit Paul performed this on Indian Idol stage too.
@ saurabh..If you read my post carefully I never depriciate any of the songs that came out through our mainstream cinema..I just did not liked few of them in the form they came out.It’s not for Vishal(i never took his name) or rekha, there is a general misconception about the thumri genre and chaiti. I don’t agree that thumri as ever presented as a vulgar song in indian cinema. The dance items that you are talking about is not thumri. we have a thumri in “gadar” “hazaaro khwahishe aisi” in their best form. “namak ishq ka ” is not a thumri.My point is only that a large number of folk music genre is remain untouched be it..kajri, chaiti, pachra,purabiya, bideshiya, chaita, nirgun, birha, or sohar…If u gets a chance to hear any of these in it’s original form i m sure u will enjoy them best…
@ vasan..it’s a folk song but it is written.. the original folks are always those which were never written..just a process of adding lyrics into the song while singing and it’s become a song….
@ pavan..thanx a lot..will try to find more.. yeas..abida jagjeet and begum akhtar also has sung some heer…i m going to search them…
@ maruramu..bumro bumro is also written especially for the film..like dhol baaje..from (hddcs)…
@ Shalini…ya it’s a bidaai song…babul mora naihar chooto hi jaaye..sung by bade ghulam ali khan is another gem..there were many more vidaai songs..but there is a different genre like the song..ankhiya bhaile laale laal..eko nind soye da balam ji…(eyes are going red..let me sleep once)the other one is..”tumhe jaana hai pi ke nagariya” but our hindi cinema rarely uses them. They usually go for artificia lyrix.
thanx qalander and lovehifi
“beti sutiya jaani” and “paati laai ke” are wonderful vidaai songs …and one of the song they used in new “umrao jaan” is terrific……”agle janam mujhe bitiya na kijau..bitiya jo keejau to bitiyaa ke bhaag na dijau..(don’t make a girl at next birth )…the other one is from Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit queen “bhejo to bhejo babul. marzi ho thaari..saawan me bulaiyoh jaroor…” (send me as ur wish but call me on sawan)
“agle janam mujhe bitiya na kijau..bitiya jo keejau to bitiyaa ke bhaag na dijau.”
Well Initially the song was used in Shaym Babu’s Hari Bhari.. What is more interesting is that there too it was sung by Richa Sharma (it was one of her first few films with Taal).. Btw the title of this song is taken from a book of Qurratulain Haider..
pavan this song is also in a movie “chausar” directed by sagar sarhadi which is yet to be released and has a wonderful picturisation
Hey Dipankar…totally agree with u…even my post was abt the same…when you adapt a folk song or thumri or for that matter even a qawwali which are best when listened in their pure, unadultared form,there is bound to be some disappiontment for purists or people like us who appreciate things in their original form. I just wanted to say that some makers tend to be patronising and may even go overboard in making the music “accesible” and hence we tend to dont appreciate them as we have heard the same songs in all their original glory..!
i liked the song. i always liked rekha bhardwaj. even the song ‘ek woh din bhi the’ from chachi 420. anyways nice article n nice comments by pfc folks. now whats the take on ‘more baanke saaiyaan’ by aarti ankalikar(tikekar) from the movie Dil Dosti Etc!!
again straying away from the topic.. i thot Pradip sarkar/shantanu moitra fucked up the title track ‘laaga chunari mein daag’ by adding those jhankar beats!! i wud not have minded a remix version of the song but they just have one song n they totally screwed it up! all shubha mudgal needs is to be left alone or mebbe some soft music in the background!!
Alterego, i also thnk so. Sarkar/shantanu/swanand fuckd the music compltly ths time. Leave shubha just alone. Xcept hum to all songs are average. 2 songs are folk. What is their contribution?