(Part – III) Anil Biswas – The Maestro

Our battle against covid-19 continues as the cases in India and in Maharashtra increase day by day. It’s a difficult time. But united we stand. Let’s all take precautions, follow safety measures and support the nation.

We all need a bit of cheering up. A distraction from the stress. I hope to do that today in the third part of the series on Anil Biswas’s career. I’m focusing on the years 1951- 55.

The last half of the 1940s was very successful and Anil da had a lot of melodious songs to his credit. The success story continued for the initial four years, but later he had to face difficulties. He separated from his wife, Ashalata in 1954. He had to struggle a lot in the forthcoming years. He faced financial problems, the rumours about the end of his creativity were too much for him. He was surrounded by worries and problems. He tried various things to solve his financial problems, including running a canteen at Mehboob Studios. I’ll elaborate it later of course.

Let’s start the year wise journey. As I said in the previous part as well, Lata Mangeshkar was his first choice, though he tried balancing the songs between Lata Mangeshkar and Meena Kapoor.

1951 –

The year was very melodious. My all time favorites Tarana and Aaram were released in the year, and the most difficult part was to choose songs from these films. The songs from both the movies were Anil da’s favourites too.

Madhubala and Dilip Kumar starrer Tarana was a musical hit of the year and it was studded with beautiful songs. The film was directed by Ram Daryani, who gave a chance to Anil da in his early days at the Eastern Arts. But now he badly needed a hit and Tarana was his last hope. Anil da also composed excellent songs, perhaps his career best.
Some of the songs have already featured on my blog.
Lata Mangeshkar and Talat were his choices for the main lead and he offered a duet to Sandhya Mukherjee.

Seene Mein Sulagate Hai Armaan – Tarana (1951) Lata Mangeshkar & Talat / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
For me, it is the most beautiful song. The lyricist has also added a great pathos in his lyrics which is further boosted by the singers. Talat’s soft and expressive voice sounds just wonderful.

Ek Main Hoon Ek Meri Bekasi – Tarana (1951) Talat / Lyrics – Kaif Irfani
I’ll repeat myself, the song helped Dilip Kumar build his image of tragedy king. A brilliant performance by Talat.

D D Kashyap directed, Madhubala, Dev Anand starrer Aaram was also full of excellent songs. Talat himself appeared in a song sung by him, Shukriya Ae Pyar Tera.
Some of the songs have already made an appearance on the blog, so I’ll choose,

Balma Ja Ja Ja – Aaram (1951) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
For me it’s the best song from the movie. Even though it is picturised on a supporting actress / insignificant character in the movie. What an excellent composition! Fast paced dance number, with beautiful tabla pieces in the interludes. The song also highlights the devotion of Anil da. Let the song be insignificant, it has to be excellent.
The dancer has been recognized as Kamla by a few uploaders on YouTube, while others call her Leonor Maria. Knowledgeable readers can help me identify her.

Mil Mil Ke Bichhad Gaye Nain – Aaram (1951) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Rajendra Krishan
It’s a very good example of counter melody. Anil da uses saxophone for the purpose. Soulful songs were a strong point always in Anil da’s career. And if the singer is Lata Mangeshkar, it has to be wonderful.

Badi Bahu was Variety Picture’s next release. Nimmi and Shekhar starrer film was directed by S Bhagat. Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh were the main singers, and Rajkumari got to sing a couple of songs too. Anil da also offered a song to Surinder Kaur.

Badli Teri Nazar To – Badi Bahu (1951) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
I think it is the most popular and well known song. It’s a fabulous Ghazal, very well sung and has good lyrics.

Pyar Ki Raah Par Kya – Badi Bahu (1951) Lata Mangeshkar & Mukesh / Lyrics – P N Rangeen
A fast paced song, with energetic rhythm. The change in rhythm and tempo sounds interesting. And the tune gives no time to think or take breath. It’s something different than the routine songs of the era. For this reason, I chose it over ‘Kahe Nainon Mein Kajra Bharo’ which is perhaps a more popular and well known duet.

D D Kashyap directed, Dev Anand and Suraiya starrer ‘Do Sitare’ doesn’t seem to be much popular. Though Suraiya had more songs than Lata Mangeshkar, the latter’s solos appear more attractive. Meena Kapoor was also offered a song.

Suraiya’s solo, ‘Mere Dil Ki Dhadkan Mein’ has excellent use of Jaltarang, which makes it delightful.

Lata Mangeshkar sang a couple of songs,
Meri Aasmani Ghodi
And,
Idhar Kho Gaya Ya Udhar

1952 –

The year saw only one release, Do Raha. It is said that the songs were first recorded in Rafi’s voice. But Anil Biswas didn’t find his voice doing full justice to the songs. So he re-recorded the songs with Talat. Talat’s soulful voice and his signature quiver added the exact effect Anil Biswas expected.
The film has some of the songs by Sahir in his early days. The songs were popular, but Sahir and Anil Biswas didn’t work together often. In addition to Talat’s songs, the film had a couple of songs by Lata Mangeshkar and a duet by Meena Kapoor and Shankar Dasgupta. But among all these serious songs, Anil da sang a light hearted qawwali with Shamshad Begum, ‘Hum Ko Na Jane Kya Samajhe’
I think it’s quite a pleasant surprise. It’s fun, and Shamshad adds a charm with her expressions.

Let’s listen to a couple of songs from Doraha.

Tera Khayal Dil Se – Doraha (1952) Talat / Lyrics – Sahir
The songs from Doraha would be one of the best songs by Talat Mahmood. The quiver essentially adds a boost to the pathos. I must also add, ‘Mohabbat Tark Ki Maine’ though the song is remembered more for Sahir’s lyrics and Talat’s touchy rendition.

Toot Gayi Patwar – Doraha (1952) Shankar Dasgupta / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
I heard the song for the first time, and thought it to be good. Unlike Surendra, Shankar Dasgupta continued to sing for Anil Biswas in the 1950s as well. Though the songs were for other characters and not very popular.

1953 –

It was another successful and melodious year for Anil da. Though all the films were not successful commercially, the songs were popular. He had six releases in the year.

According to the book, ‘Ritu Aaye Ritu Jaye’ by Sharad Dutt, there’s a story behind the film, Mehmaan. Anil Biswas’s Variety Pictures wasn’t doing well at all. Anil Biswas didn’t actually want to continue with it. At the time, Ramanand Sagar offered partnership in a new company. Anil da had enough of film production, he was not in a mood to take another risk. But Ashalata Biswas accepted the offer, and ‘Sagar Art Concerns’ was founded. She also wanted Anil da work for free for the first production. To avoid unnecessary argument, Anil da agreed and composed for the movie, which was Mehmaan.

Aankhon Mein Chitchor Samaye – Mehmaan (1953) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – P N Rangeen
Anil Biswas has used Bengali bhajan rhythm for the song. We can actually make it out quite clearly. Anil da had used a similar tune in few other songs as well. The film has a number of good songs, but I chose the known one. Meena Kapoor and Manna Dey also had their share in the film.

Husna Bhi Hai Udas Udas – Fareb (1953) Kishore Kumar / Lyrics – Majrooh
Kishore Kumar was the hero in the film and he was more known for his yodeling and light hearted songs. But Anil Biswas took it up as a challenge as he was aware of Kishore Kumar’s potential. He insisted for him, and got the song recorded in his voice. The song was a surprise for those who thought that Kishore Kumar wouldn’t be able to sing a song with a serious mood.
Years later (in 70s-80s) during a stage show, a fan approached Kishore Kumar and requested the song from Fareb. Kishore Kumar wasn’t prepared for it and he clearly told so. But he also promised the fan that he would sing it next time as it needs rehearsals. The fan attended the next concert and Kishore Kumar sang the song for him.

Aa Mohabbat Ki Basti – Fareb (1953) Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar / Lyrics – Majrooh
I always find the song similar to their first duet from Ziddi (1948). The tunes are not similar of course, but I think the theme is similar. Rich hero and poor heroine. Both are of course my favourites.

The film Humdard was also Variety Picture’s movie. It was based on a story of a blind singer and obviously Anil da had scope for adding a variety of songs. And he actually did a wonderful job. The film had songs of different genres and Manna Dey was his choice for Shekhar, the main lead. Till then Manna Dey wasn’t a regular singer in his team and used to sing songs of supporting characters.
Anil Biswas offered him songs of the main lead, and Manna Dey portrayed his talent very well singing five songs. The film wasn’t commercially successful and all the songs couldn’t reach common man. The film has a number of good to excellent songs rendered by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar and Geeta Dutt. But I would choose,

Ritu Aaye Ritu Jaye Sakhi Ri – Humdard (1953) Lata Mangeshkar & Manna Dey / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
A masterpiece indeed. The song is based on four classical raagas. Shekhar is teaching his disciple, Nimmi. It’s a pure pleasure. Actually I was going to add the video, but I found the song split into two songs, but with good audio quality. In the video however all the four verses appear in a single song.

So Gayi Chandani – Akash (1953) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Satyendra Athaiya
The film had a total of six songs, equally distributed among three singers. Though the film wasn’t successful and the songs aren’t popular, I like this song a lot. It does create a perfect aura of a lonely evening, when one remembers someone special and misses him.

Bheegi Bheegi Raat Aayi – Akash (1953) Meena Kapoor / Lyrics – Satyendra Athaiya
In contrast to a lonely night portrayed in the earlier song, the song describes a beautiful night of confession of love. Starting with the beautiful pieces of piano, the song has a waltz like rhythm along with violins. The piano accompanies throughout the song with an interesting orchestration. Meena Kapoor in her sweet expressive voice does full justice, making it a delightful song.

Mukh Se Na Bolun – Jaliyanwala Bagh Ki Jyoti (1953) Lata Mangeshkar & Talat / Lyrics – Uddhav Kumar
The film wasn’t successful, though a couple of songs did stand the test of time. The mentioned duet is one of those. Unfortunately the audio quality is poor in most of the uploads.
The lady threatens her man of verbal abuse if he teases her. Her faux anger is just so apparent. Lata sings her part in fast pace and the lyrics are rhythmically rhyming making it a pleasure to listen to.

Ek Kali Do Pattiya – Rahi (1953) Hemant Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Kapoor & Chorus / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
K A Abbas directed, Rahi was based on a Hindi story by Mulkraj Anand. It was simultaneously made in English with the title, ‘Two Leaves and a Bud’ which is the original title of the story as well. Hence the song, ‘इक कली, दो पतियाँ’.
Anil Biswas wisely called for Hemant Kumar, who sang a couple of songs for the movie. Based on Bihari workers of Assamese tea plantations, the movie featured Dev Anand, Balraj Sahni and Nalini Jaywant. The mentioned song has two or more parts and I think it is used as a theme song of the movie, making appearances on several occasions. The song portrays the injustice of the tea plantation owners towards the workers and their rebellion against the owners. Prem Dhawan has penned the song keeping in mind the cultural background and the basic theme of the original story. In addition to the mentioned singers, there is an unknown male voice as well in the song.
The film also has a beautiful holi song, based on Assamese tribal dance and folk tune, sung by Ira Majumdar & Chorus. Anil da also composed a song based on a Punjabi folk tune, ‘Ek Pal Ruk Jana’, which is perhaps a well known song from the movie. Hemant Kumar also sang the Credits song (the one that’s played while the titles are rolling on screen) for the movie.

1954 –

Anil Biswas had four releases in 1954, and he also scored background music for the movie, Munna, directed by K A Abbas. The latter had no songs, and Anil Biswas took it as a challenge. He thought of doing something different, something novel. He decided to use a separate instrument for each character. Likewise he proposed Sitar for the mother’s character and Flute for the child’s character. The experiment was appreciated by the audience. Of course only a certain class of audience liked such intellectual ideas.

Variety Picture’s last film, Bajuband was released in 1954, but the songs were composed by Mohammad Shafi.

Anil Biswas married Ashalata in 1939 against his family’s wishes. They had four children. According to the book, ‘Ritu Aaye Ritu Jaye’ by Sharad Dutt, the married life wasn’t smooth. Their interests and liking were not similar. Finally they decided to separate. He gave away his two houses along with majority of the money he had. He formed a trust in the name of his wife and children. It was during the year 1954. But there are two stories about it. (Please also read Arunkumar Deshmukh ji’s comment)

But his other problems were not yet over. Before visiting those moments of tension, let’s get us something soothing. Yes! The songs from the movies of 1954.

Naaz was perhaps the first Hindi film to be shot outside India. I think some of the shooting took place in Cairo. The film of course had good songs and a couple of Lata solos are my favourites, (Arunkumar Deshmukh clarified that the first Hindi film shot abroad was a 1939 film, Africa In Hind, and not Naaz as is popularly believed, please refer to his comment)

Jhilmil Sitaron Ke Tale – Naaz (1954) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Satyendra Athaiya
A cheerful song, with a fast rhythm. Lata Mangeshkar sang five solos for the film. Though all of those are good, I chose a couple of songs with different moods.

Katati Hai Ab To Zindagi – Naaz (1954) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Satyendra Athaiya
The song sounds very pessimistic, might not be suitable for the current situation. The lady suffered a lot in love, she was cheated, abused and she sacrificed for love. But got nothing in return. She neither finds joy in blossoming flowers nor experiences sorrow in the fall.
But the way Lata Mangeshkar sings it, is wonderful. The lyrics are very beautiful, so is the rendition. The deep pathos and the feeling of losing everything is very well conveyed.

Waris, starring Suraiya and Talat Mahmood is still quite popular among old Hindi film song lovers. The film had ek se badhkar ek songs and the song based on Ravindra Sangeet, ‘Rahi Matwale‘ maintains its charm in spite of being 66 years old. But for today’s list I have chosen the other couple of duets, which are equally melodious.

Door Hote Nahin Jo Dil Mein – Waris (1954) Suraiya & Talat / Lyrics – Majrooh
A beautiful Ghazal like composition, with excellent use of Sitar and Tabla. Just listen to the expressions of complete dedication in Suraiya’s voice. It’s full of लज्जा and समर्पण. I consider it one of the their best duets.

Ghar Tera Apna Ghar Lage – Waris (1954) Suraiya & Talat / Lyrics – Majrooh
A beautiful song with a good orchestration. Again Suraiya’s expressions are wonderful. We see her arranging the home in a neat and clean way, something that surprises Talat. When asked about it, she shyly confesses, It feels like her own home, and her heart has finally found the right path. The lyrics are so cute yet meaningful. I’m in love with the song.

Allah Bhi Hai Mallah Bhi Hai – Maan (1954) Lata Mangeshkar / Lyrics – Kaif Bhopali
I like the lyrics, and the tune and Lata’s rendition. It is said that the song was actually recorded for a movie, based on Anarkali. Some books mention that the film was Mughal e Azam, but the song was ultimately included in Maan, where it was picturised on a beggar. What a deep pathos! Just experience a short pause in the second verse, after the sentence, Kya Maut Ki Aamad Aamad Hai. I get goosebumps. I always wonder exactly which song to declare the best by Lata Mangeshkar sang for Anil da!
The film also had other memorable songs, like Dum Bhar Ka Tha Daur by Mukesh, Mere Pyar Mein Tujhe Kya Mila by Lata Mangeshkar and Main Kya Karoon by Meena Kapoor.

Babul Mora Naihar – Mahatma Kabir (1954) Manna Dey / Lyrics – Kabir
Anil da again chose Manna Dey for the movie. Though the movie is not well known and so are the songs, some of Kabir’s bhajans are set to tune in an adorable way. Saigal’s Babul Mora Naihar is an iconic song, but I had no idea about Manna Dey’s rendition. But he sings it with deeply felt expressions and does full justice. The chorus singing Ram Rahim, relentlessly in the background sounds wonderful too.
The film had more than ten songs, rendered by Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, Anil Biswas and Amirbai Karnataki. The latter sang her last song for Anil da, which was a duet with Asha Bhosle.

1955 –

Finally their divorce came through in 1954, but 1955 was painful and difficult period of his life.

Rumours were on that he was finished. It is said that Anil Biswas had to leave the film, Basant Bahar, when the producers told him about his falling career graph. Producers also threw the reason that his name is no more glamorous, no more in limelight, so distributors won’t take up their film.
To top it all, Shashdhar Mukherjee rejected his tunes for not being good.
It hurt him a lot. His confidence was at rock bottom.
He thought of doing something else for fulfilling the financial needs. Firstly he invested in the transport business on advice of Dr Safdar Aah. But it did not work at all. He somehow managed to sell the truck at a good price and recovered the money. Later he thought of running the canteen at Mehboob Studios. On his request, Mehboob agreed, but Anil da faced failure again. He was not a business oriented man.
Mehboob was hurt when Anil Biswas joined Bombay Talkies, and left him. So he didn’t offer Anil Biswas a film to support his falling career. Their friendship was once talked about in the industry, but when needed, Mehboob didn’t help him.

He had only one release that year, Faraar starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali. The film had a Goan backdrop and all the songs had a touch of Gaon folk tunes. The songs rendered by Geeta Dutt and performed on screen by Geeta Bali are good, though not great in my opinion. I’ll mention, Jee Bhar Ke Pyar as an example.

And I’m adding,

Aaya Aaya O Bambai Wala – Faraar (1955) Anil Biswas / Lyrics – Prem Dhawan
I’ve chosen a light hearted song picturised on a hawker on a train. He is promoting his business, describing the various items available with him for day to day usage.
That’s quite an interesting song, sung by Anil da himself. There’s no song by Anil da on the list and I didn’t particularly like the other songs. So the song was a perfect opportunity for me. Anil da has sung prose and the song together. The sentences are also sung in a fast pace.

Would you share your Anil Biswas favourites?

Disclaimer –
Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.