तेरा नाम लिया……

200th post on the blog

It’s a big achievement for me to present my 200th post on the blog and I am proud to achieve this landmark. I thank the readers and of course my family for their constant support and encouragement. And to celebrate the occasion I’m going to present a song list based on a different theme.

I think the title of the post needs a little bit of explanation. Though Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name?”, a name has an importance, especially when we talk about proper nouns, which include names of persons, cities etc.

There are few songs from Hindi films that actually mention a person’s name. I mean obviously there are songs that mention the names of cities or popular towns of India. There are devotional songs mentioning various names of God. But there are very few songs that mention the names of the characters of the movie. I know a few songs do mention the character’s name, but in those songs the character himself or herself sings their own name. For example, Mera Naam Raju Gharana Anam or Naam Mera Nimmo Mukam Ludhiana etc etc. I’m Not talking about these songs.

There are really very few songs from Hindi films, when someone calls the other character by his/her name in a song. For example, Anup Kumar called Kishore Kumar, ‘Mannu, Tera Hua Ab Mera Kya Hoga’ in a song from Chalti Ka Naam Gadi. Mannu stands for Manmohan, the character played by Kishore Kumar.

But I thought let’s make it a bit harder so I have restricted myself to the Hindi film songs, where the name of the character is mentioned in the mukhda of the song. Hence the above mentioned song from CKNG doesn’t qualify for today’s post. And, so doesn’t the song in the following screenshot

In all the songs, the name is संबोधनात्मक, that is actually addressing the person. The addressed person may or may not be present at the scenes. That was quite an interesting exercise for me. I had to dig deep into the memory bank . But once switched on, I could recollect the songs relatively easily. Have your brain wheels started churning? Wasn’t that fun?

The songs on my list are in chronological order. I haven’t set a timeline for the songs. Let’s compare our lists ..

1. Saranga Teri Yaad Mein – Saranga (1959) Mukesh / Sardar Malik – Bharat Vyas
I’ll open the list with the song filled with pathos. A heartbroken Sudesh Kumar badly misses Saranga (Jayashree Gadkar) and pours his heart out. He remembers his rendezvous with her under the mango tree. And what delicate emotions penned by Bharat Vyas! Absolutely marvelous song. I’m sure you must have thought of this one.

2. Pyar Ka Mara Hoon Main Julie – Private Secretary (1962) Rafi & Manna Dey / Dilip Dholakia – Prem Dhawan
Though not popular, it was the first song that I could think of for the list. It’s picturised on Raja Gosavi, Mohan Choti and Neelam. Raja Gosavi is teaching Mohan Choti how to impress and confess his love to Julie. It was Neelam’s debut film in Hindi. Manna Dey sings for Raja Gosavi while Rafi sings for Mohan Choti. It’s quite fun to watch. But I don’t think Mohan Choti would have succeeded in impressing Julie.

3. Baar Baar Din Yeh Aaye – Farz (1967) Rafi & Chorus / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi
It’s an extremely popular birthday song and I couldn’t miss it. I like it mainly for Rafi’s energetic rendition. Babita plays a character called Sunita and Jitendra sings on her birthday. The chorus backed song is pleasant to listen to.

4. Meri Pyari Bindu – Padosan (1968) Kishore Kumar / R D Burman – Rajendra Krishan
I wasn’t sure about including this song. As I had decided to include the songs where the character’s name is mentioned in the mukhda, I was a bit skeptical. According to me, the song has no typical mukhda-antara structure. If it can be considered to have two verses, there is no typical mukhda. And it’s such an iconic song and a favourite too.

5. Kaun Hai Jo Sapnon Mein Aaya – Jhuk Gaya Aasman (1969) Rafi / Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat Jaipuri
Another popular song by Rafi. Though it’s an inspired song, it’s pleasant to listen to. Rajendra Kumar mentions the name Priya, which is the name of the character played by Saira Banu.

6. Main Kahin Kavi Na Ban Jaaun – Pyar Hi Pyar (1969) Rafi / Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat Jaipuri
Yet another popular song of Rafi, composed by Shankar Jaikishan. It must have been talked about during its release for being picturised in an elevator. The elevator seems to have malfunctioned and got stuck at a place. Dharmendra teases Vyjayanti Mala and openly announces his love for her. Though I’m not much fond of it, it’s nevertheless an apt song for the theme. Here’s the link for its video.

7. Piya Tu Ab To Aaja – Caravan (1971) Asha Bhosle & R D Burman / R D Burman – Majrooh
I was about to miss the song, when my wife asked me about this one. I cross checked the name of Helen’s character in the movie. It was obviously Monica. It’s one of the most popular songs of the movie. It’s a club song, a genre dominated by Helen for nearly a couple of decades. The dancer lip syncing to Pancham da’s voice was Chinu Rajput. The song still maintains its popularity.

8. Dil Kya Karen Jab Kisi Se – Julie (1975) Kishore Kumar / Rajesh Roshan – Anand Bakshi
A timeless classic romantic song! It’s picturised on Laxmi and Vikram Makandar. The film had a couple of songs mentioning the heroine’s name. But the magic of this Kishore Kumar song is endless. Simple words woven in an impressive tune, sung wonderfully by Kishore Kumar.

9. Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja – Disco Dancer (1982) Parvati Khan / Bappi Lahiri – Anjaan
I won’t call it one of my favourites. But I’ve heard it a lot of times in my childhood and hence I still remember it. And perhaps it’s one of the few songs that mention the name of a male character. There are only a couple of such songs in my list and this is the first one. Click here for the video.

10. O Maria O Maria – Sagar (1985) Asha Bhosle, S P Balasubramaniam & Chorus / R D Burman – Javed Akhtar
Though all the songs from Sagar are popular till date, this song, though focusing on supporting characters of the movie, remains equally popular. Kiran Vairale was a popular supporting actress of her times and she plays Maria, Mona’s (Dimple Kapadia) best friend. Mona and Raja (Kamal Haasan) sing the song on the wedding day, making it a hard day for Johnny (who is he?). In all an enjoyable fun song and a perfect fit for today’s list.

11. Chandni O Meri Chandni – Chandni (1989) Jolly Mukherjee & Sridevi / Shiv Hari – Anand Bakshi
A song where the character’s name is mentioned by both herself and another character of the movie. The song became an instant hit as Sridevi sang it herself. If I remember correctly it was Sridevi’s first movie when she dubbed her dialogues herself. And she directly sang a song too. I’m sure it’s a favourite with the majority of us.

12. Kya Dharti Kya Aasman – Deedar (1992) Udit Narayan / Anand Milind – Sameer
I remembered this song as it was quite popular during the release of the movie. Akshay Kumar is smitten by Karishma Kapoor’s looks, whom he meets in a party. Obsessed by the desire to find her out, he hires a helicopter and begins the search calling her out loudly as he does so. Her name is Sapna.

13. Roja Janeman – Roja (1992) S P Balasubramaniam & Chitra / A R Rahman – P K Mishra
The film was a spectacular hit in the entire nation and the songs became popular. When Arvind Swami is kidnapped by the militants, he misses his newly wed wife, Madhoo (Roja). He thinks of her all the time and helplessly calls for her name. The song and the beautiful aalaps by Chitra went viral throughout the country. The tune and the aalaps were even copied in a Hindi film song. Does anyone remember the song? Please tell me in your comments.

14. Aye Shivani Tu Lagti Hain Nani – Khoobsurat (1999) / Sanjay Dutt & Shraddha Pandit / Jatin Lalit – Sanjay Chhel
After Rangeela, it was Urmila Matondkar’s good role. She played Shivani, a demure, shy girl, who thought of herself as unlucky. Sanjay Dutt transformed her into a confident girl. In the process, she had to learn to smile and enjoy life. And this song was one of Sanjay Dutt’s initial steps to the goal. The song is fun to watch.

15. Aslam Bhai Aslam Bhai – Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega (2001) Sonu Nigam & Chorus / Vishal Bhardwaj – Pratik Joseph
And to end the list, I have chosen a comedy song. Johnny Lever played Aslam Bhai and the movie was full of comedy scenes of Aslam Bhai. The film was appreciated mainly for his performance. Enjoy the song. And just listen to how Sonu Nigam modulated his voice in the song.

And, I end my list here. I’m sure you must have enjoyed the list. The theme just sparkled in my brain out of the blue and I followed it.
There are a few songs from the 80s, 90s and 2000s, which I’ve left out. I skipped a few iconic songs as well to limit the number of songs on my list. I encourage the readers to add songs of their choice fitting the theme.
I wouldn’t have achieved a milestone of 200th post without your support and your wishes. Thank you, I’m grateful.

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.