[Note, this post contains a couple of song clip reruns… But considering these are great dances, I’m sure nobody will mind.]
I’m noticing that at least a few old, classic Bollywood songs and movies prominently mentioned the then-capital of Bruma, Rangoon. I guess it’s because of Rangoon’s proximity to Calcutta, and its significance as a trading post (though mostly for criminal trading, at least judging by these plots). Anyway, it’s a curious town to see mentioned so often in these movies, and to figure so prominently in a few of my favorite songs.
The first time I heard mention of Rangoon in an Indian movie was when I saw Howrah Bridge. In that movie, the hero (Ashok Kumar) travels from Rangoon to Calcutta to pursue the mystery behind the death of his brother and recover a stolen family heirloom. The movie is really about Calcutta and its magnificent bridge, but there’s plenty of mention of Rangoon throughout, and the most famous dance is from a woman who really had traveled from Burma to India sometime back…
2. Adhi Raat Ke Baad did a bit of Howrah Bridge in reverse, with the Ashok Kumar character going to Rangoon. I can’t say much more about the details of the “suspense” plot in this movie, because I fell asleep in the middle and I have no desire to try to sit through it again. But it did contain some very nice dance scenes with Ragini…
3. And then there’s this song that’s been stuck in my head for weeks now, from a movie made in 1949. I don’t know how prominently Rangoon figures in Patanga, but the song “Mere Piya…” is about a telephone call being made to India by a man in Rangoon…
I should add that this is a very classic C. Ramchandra song, with C. Ramchandra doing some of the vocals (picturized on Gope) while the other (even more memorable) part of the song is being sung by Shamshad Begum (picturized on Nigar Sultana). And by the way, I found a translation of the lyrics on the site Hindi Lyrics. It’s not a perfect translation (e.g., probably where it says “your thoughts,” that should be “thoughts of you”?), but you can still get the gist of it… If you read the words that are apparently being said by the husband and look at what’s happening around him in the performance, it is pretty funny.
Hello, Dehradun of India?
I want to my speak to my wife, Renuka Devi
Yes, yes
My husband, oh, my husband has gone to Rangoon
Has telephoned from there
Your thoughts are tormenting me
Sets fire to my heart/mind
My husband has gone to Rangoon
Has telephoned from there
Your thoughts are tormenting me
Sets fire to my heart/mind
After leaving india,
I regretted a lot
I made a mistake by not bringing you along with me
I am in the streets of Burma and you are in Dehradun
Your memories are tormenting me
Keeps setting my mind on fire
My thirst and hunger are also lost
In my grief
I am half conscious because of the grief
Without you, my love, January and February have become May and June
Your thoughts are tormenting me
Sets my mind on fire
After separating from you, I have become a monk
I eat what ever I get, withered, dry or stale
I live my life by just wearing a luungi, have forgotten about pants
Your thoughts torment me so
Sets my heart/mind on fire
I’m sure there are other old Bollywood movies in which Rangoon received a lot of mention; I just can’t think of them off-hand. But I’ll be sure to add them to my list, maybe with another Bollywood Rangoon post somewhere down the road…