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P.S. on May 8: I have changed my mind. My favorite song on the previous post is now “More Saiyanj Utrenge Paar…”
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All posts for the month April, 2012
Tom’s new movie channel is up and running, and the first film that I watched there was quite a treat for me: the ten-hanky atmospheric tragic-love weep fest, Babul. In using the word “atmospheric,” I admit that I have been influenced by an interesting review at Cineplot, which describes “atmospheric lighting, especially during night scenes, creating hauntingly beautiful effects suggestive of German expressionism.” The cinematographer is Fali Mistry, whom Cineplot points out “was the guru of V. K. Murthy, Guru Dutt’s brilliant cinematographer.” And some readers might notice that I have commented on Mistry’s work just recently, while writing about Uran Khatola, where it is even more striking.
I have seen three films now with the specific combination of Fali Mistry, S.U. Sunny (the director), Dilip Kumar, and Naushad: Mela, Uran Khatola, and now Babul. And I can see a lot of similarities among these tragedies. However, I did not find Mela to be quite as compelling or well put together as the other two (though I understand that it is legendary, maybe because it was the first of these films, made in 1948), and it doesn’t contain quite the same amount (or intensity) of dark fantasy. Uran Khatola and Babul are similar in that regard, especially in the spectacular death (and going to heaven) scenes. Uran Khatola has much more fantasy to it overall, and sometimes I think I might I prefer Uran Khatola, because it has a few more original ingredients in the plot and setting. But Babul gets the edge in a couple of other ways, and I have to say that I was more moved by this film. In fact, I think that it should prove irresistible to anyone who likes to plunge into multi-hanky tragic love tales.
Babul probably gets that emotional edge because of the acting. I admit that I don’t consider myself to be a connoisseur of acting, and when it comes to Indian films, I don’t really concentrate as much on the acting as some people (partly because I am so often carried away with the music and/or the dance). However, even I am able to notice the superb acting in Babul. Of course, the main superb actor in this tragedy is Dilip Kumar. He is utterly believable and sometimes quite emotionally provocative in the role of the visiting stranger (i.e., the new postmaster) caught up in a triangle with a rich woman and a poor woman. The plot doesn’t sound like much (especially in terms of originality) and it isn’t. And there is a part of the film, when it gets deeply into the melodrama of the triangle, that could have turned awful if it hadn’t been done by more-than-competent actors. But Dilip seems, actually, to perform above his role.
Nargis does as a good a job as ever; she is a convincing actress, and she works out nicely in the role of the somewhat naive, poor village girl. (And I have to admit that, much as I like Nimmi, I was kind of glad we had Nargis doing this role instead.) Then there is Munawar Sulatana, who is great in this film! Her role as the rich woman (daughter of the zamindar) is interesting, too. At first, I expected her to be a villain, but instead, she turned out to be a very sympathetic as well as interestingly complicated. And Munawar was able to convey the different sides of this character very well. In fact, I was more impressed by her in Babul than by Nargis.
In addition to the acting and cinematography/atmosphere, there is a third major element in Babul that stands out, and that is the gorgeous music by Naushad! This composer simply amazes me, again and again. Some day, I will be able to get together the musical vocabulary to describe exactly why his soundtracks are so perfect. And just coincidentally, I have been listening to the soundtrack of Babul very frequently during the past couple of months. So, I have to say that the music in this film did not surprise me, because I already knew that I loved it.
If I were to do the more “traditional” kind of movie writeup with plot summary, etc., I don’t think I could this film justice. (Not that I am doing it full justice with this rather scattered and rushed writeup either, but anyway…) That’s because, just to reiterate, the plot in this movie is nothing to speak of. But I will grant that the sudden tragedy at the end was something I hadn’t quite seen before (though something somewhat similar happened in Mela), and it was sufficiently shocking. It was also foreshadowed nicely, especially in a dream scene. (By the way, in Babul, we get further proof – albeit briefly – that Awara did not contain the first Hindi film dream sequence.) But if you find yourself wondering why you have immensely enjoyed this movie (and crying certainly can be a form of enjoyment, especially when watching movies), then don’t look for the answer in the plot; look at the other, great things.
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P.S. Tom’s individual song clips of the film are great, too, as you can see (though there are some skips now and then, which I’m sure he could do nothing about)… Certainly, it is wonderful to have such clear pictures and English subtitles! But I was disappointed that he didn’t also post the other versions of the song “Chhod Babul Ka Ghar,” and so the only clip we get shows little more than a minute of this beautiful song, in the happy version. Personally, I think the sad version is incredible. There might be a good reason why he didn’t post that version, because seeing it might be a big spoiler. Yet, it also shows a part of the film that is the most fantastic (in all senses of the word). So, here is a combination of all the versions that I have found (there are actually a few clips of this combination up on YouTube). Enjoy it if you want to watch it (have a good cry, etc.), but don’t say that I didn’t give you a SPOLIER ALERT!
Another Shamshad Begum Song from Koday Shah (how could I have left out the two-legged camel number?)
This one might actually be the best. How could I have left it out? I really like the singing and music in this song. Though the visuals are another matter. At first, I thought it was an ostrich jumping around on the stage, then I realized it was a two-legged camel.
And just by coincidence, tonight my YouTube “Subscriptions” queue included this nice audio version:
Today’s Shamshad Begum’s 93rd birthday. And yesterday I learned that it happened to be the (mostly) Punjabi holiday Vaisakhi. And I just happen to be greatly enjoying the songs from this Punjabi film from 1953, so…
P.S. The music director is Sardul Kwatra (who composed for many Punjabi films as well as the Hindi Suraiya film Goonj (1953)), and it appears that the star of this film is Shyama!
There are a lot of clips on YouTube right now from the film Nek Parveen (1946), which looks like a very nicely done Muslim social. The director is S.M. Yusuf, and the music director is the great Feroze Nizami. I would love to find this film somewhere (with subtitles!), and I like all of the scenes that I’ve seen, but for now, I thought I would pick out just two, showing piety and sin (so I gather).
For piety, the song is “Teri Jaat Pak Hai Aye,” which is a famous hamd (there is some nice info about this in a Facebook post by Cineplot). And the piety is most represented by a young Rehana (of all people), who is positively stunning here. The other actress who is “singing” (from the audience) is the one whom I like to refer to as “the other Ragini” (though actually, this was the first Ragini). The playback singer for both is Hamida Banu.
(You can also try this clip if you would like slightly better sound with a less clear picture.)
And here’s a scene that I guess would be sin – a very fun mujra. The main singer is Naseem Akhter, and at least judging by one credit that I saw, the male singer might be Feroze Nizami, himself. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to identify most of the people in this (yet), although I think I recognize Ulhas. The song is “Haye Zalim Tune Pee Hi.”
(And go here for an audio version that is slightly better, though scratchy.)
Ooh, I love this! It’s too bad the clips on YouTube don’t also include the scene a few seconds later, when Dilip’s character, now aged and decrepid, finally keels over and his spirit departs from his body to reunite with the vision of Nimmi dressed like a queen (and looking more beautiful than we’ve ever seen her), while she waits for him in a chariot in the clouds. I’ve seen endings like that before (quite a few, actually), but the ending to Uran Khatola is somehow beyond all of them.
P.S. Also credit director S.U. Sunny, art director V. Jadhav, and cinematographer Jal Mistry… This whole film has a truly magical look to it, not quite like anything I’ve seen before. And I enjoyed it much more than I ever expected.
(Thanks to Memsaab for this last one.)
Of course, there may be some overlap between this list and a list of bird songs, but this list isn’t about bird songs, it’s about a girl (or woman or lady, or to some fond of old British slang, bird) and her bird(s)… There are others I was looking for but couldn’t find, but I might add a few later…or, of course, other people might.