**Sadabahar Geet Thread#1** ||Invitees only|| - Page 57

Originally posted by: DelusionsOfNeha

Wishing you all a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi🤗🥳

https://youtu.be/obcGROrsEC4

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi friends. 🤗

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV8WIzEHD-E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0W8Wh-8UCg

What a melody....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROPIDnr8cJM

https://youtu.be/WkErlBw-8_k

Gore gore o banke chhore kabhi meri gali aaya karo

Such a cute, frivolous and lovely song! 🤗

I love that song.. sooo beautiful!! The scenes even

This is going to be a two-in-one tribute. Even more apt, because the two artistes in question collaborated together to make some wonderfully memorable songs!

26 Sept is Dev Anand's birthday.

It's also the death anniversary of one of our most unique playback voices - Hemant Kumar.

Hemantda - what can I say about him? His voice is honey and silk, seductive and smooth. You only have to listen to 'Ye nayan dare dare' or 'Ye raat ye chandni' to know this is true. His voice is also filled with pathos and yearning. 'Jaane woh kaise log the' or 'Tum pukarlo' will prove this. His voice also has a carefree, romantic quality, full of teasing and 'masti'. You know this when you hear 'Hai apna dil toh awara' or 'Beqaraaar karke hume'. And then you hear a patriotic song such as 'Vande Mataram' or 'Insaaf ki dagar pe' and your heart's filled with pride for your nation. How does one voice imbue so many qualities that it can make you smile, swoon, contemplate or move you to tears? It does when that voice belongs to Hemant Kumar Mukherjee.

My earliest memory of Hemantda songs - even before I knew they were sung by him - were Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag from Anarkali and Chandan ka palna from Shabab, thanks to my dad's obsession with these two soundtracks that would play almost everyday in my home. At the time I thought him to be a somber, solemn kind of playback singer until my feeble brain finally connected him to songs like 'Dil ki umangein hain jawan' and 'Hai apna dil toh awara' and I was like .. Whaaaaat? and Ohhhkay!!😆

Hemantda was born in Varanasi on June 16, 1920. His family later moved to Kolkata. In his early years, Hemantda dabbled in literature, writing short stories. It was later, after his 12th grade, when he began to pursue engineering that he found his interest in music taking over. He quit studies to pursue a musical career full-time. He recorded his first song for All India Radio in 1935. He was an avid fan of singer-composer Punkaj Mullick and was often referred to as 'Chhoto Punkaj'. He had revealed in an interview that he received classical music training from a pupil of Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, Phanibhushan Gangopadhyay. But it was a short stint, because of Ustad's untimely death. His main interest was in Rabindra sangeet and even today he's recognized as one of the most famous proponents of the genre.

His first film song was for the Bengali Film, Nimai Sanyas in 1941. He also composed and sang several non-film songs during this time in Bengali. His first Hindi song was for the film Iraada (1944).

In the mid 1940s, his association with Salil Chowdhary, who called his the 'Voice of God', began and he recorded a song 'Ganyer Badhu' which became popular. His first Hindi film as a composer was Anand Math (1952) and the song 'Vande Mataram' by both him and Lata is popular even today. He composed music for some films in the 1950s such as Shart, Miss Mary, Champakali - his biggest hit being 'Nagin'.

He gained more prominence as composer in the 60s with soundtracks such as Bees Saal Baad, Kohra, Anupama, Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam and Khamoshi. His voice was truly special. Asha Bhosle is said to have loved it so much that she named her son after him- Hemant.

His career as playback singer flourished all through the 50s and 60s. Those days, heroes had a distinct preference for a playback voice and Hemantda, unfortunately, did not fit in with any hero's personality. This is where Dev Anand came in. Dev, unlike other heroes of his time, did not have a preference. Of course, a majority of his songs in the 50s and 60s were sung by Rafi and later by Kishore, and I, personally, prefer Rafi over any other singer for Dev, but Dev's exuberant and charming personality on screen was such that it could be represented by any singer. And Hemantda did that wonderfully.

Which brings us to Part 2 of my tribute: Dev Anand.

Ahh- Dev! My adolescent crush! ❤️Against all odds, logic and reason! Against the tide of popular culture! Despite being mocked, teased and sneered at by peers. Despite the fact that there was Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachan, Dharmendra and their like to swoon over, and that every woman/girl in those times did. My rebellious teenage heart continued to beat for Dev and Shammi. ❤️

By the time I was in college, I had watched all of his movies - even the forgettable ones from the 1950s.

I can't explain what drew me to him, but let me try.

He wasn't the greatest actor from that era; his peers like Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar were leagues ahead. He did not pack a punch (which actually wasn't a requirement those days); his efforts at hitting a bad guy looked more like an exercise in fly-swatting. 😆 And his efforts at dancing were laughably pathetic - whatever little dancing male stars those days had to do!

But what he had was oodles of charm, that none of his heroines from Madhubala to Mumtaz, or the countless female fans he had, could resist. Those on-screen blushes had to be real! ☺️ Just watch Madhubala lowering her eyes breathlessly when he flirts with her in Kala Pani, or Sadhna's telltale blushes when he smiles that crooked smile only for her in Hum Dono, or even Nutan's reluctant smile when he adorably apologizes for his transgressions in Tere Ghar ke saamne. The chemistry he shared with almost all his heroines just goes to show his image as the quintessential romantic hero was completely justified. How, then, was a gullible, starstruck teenager to be spared? 😆

Perhaps it was just that I was born in the wrong era - I'm told the women from those times went crazy for Dev and that he was forbidden to appear in public in a black suit because he could just be devastatingly lethal to the ladies if he did and provoke a Beatlemania-like riot. ☺️

Even now, after having outgrown that silly adolescent crush, I find it hard to resist his undeniable charm, his loose-limbed swagger, that endearing cocking of his head, or that crooked-toothed smile that lights up even the dull sepia screen like a million suns! ❤️

I think, for me, his appeal lay in not just his on-screen demeanour, but also his characters. He usually played smart, urban, suave, sophisticated characters, unlike his peers who often took up country bumpkin, rural roles (more because stories those days originated mainly in the villages). But can you picture Dev Anand playing a dhoti- clad Anpadh ganwaar? I think his personality wouldn't allow it.

Another reason was my Hollywood crush - Gregory Peck. It's well-documented that Dev Anand modelled himself on Peck since his lady love, Suraiya had openly professed her admiration for Peck. He wanted to impress her! He definitely impressed me! 😆

The most important reason for my DevMania - one that survived the travails of time - has got to be his songs. I can listen to (or watch) a Best of Dev Anand compilation for hours without coming across a song I hate or even dislike. Most of this is because of his association with the super-talented S.D. Burman, of course, but I also think the playback singers put in an extra something for Dev's songs. Rafi has never sounded as seductive as when he sang 'Hum bekhudi mein' or as contemplative as when he sang 'Kabhi khud pe'. Kishoreda only ever play-backed for Dev (other than himself) in the 50s and early 60s, and they created such wonderful songs together - 'Jeevan ke safar mein rahi', 'Mana janab ne pukara nahi', 'Hum hain rahi pyar ke', 'Dukhi mann mere'.

And I've mentioned this before - Hemantda and Dev's collaboration was Gold! Dev was the only A-list actor Hemantda sang for in the 50s and their songs are just brilliant. Hemantda has gone on record saying that singing for Dev was what enabled him to establish himself as a playback singer in Hindi cinema.

I'm going to save the meaty part 😆of my Dev tribute for his death anniversary, but here I'll just post 3 of my favourite Hemantda - Dev songs to start you guys off. Feel free to post Dev + Hemant, only Hemant or only Dev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GfUK9Urb6I

Ye raat, ye chandni phir kahan (Jaal). Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi, Music: S.D. Burman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHuSP_uvL4o

Teri duniya mein jeene se (House No. 44). Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi, Music: S.D. Burman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFa9nAq68Wk

Na tum hume jaano (Baat ek raat ki). Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music; S.D. Burman

These fantastic people🤗mumma I swear I'm born in wrong era😭

We need a time machine to go back😭

Some more songs (Hemantda for Dev duets)

And some more tags (see Dev + Hemantda tribute in previous post)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvwnvoUOa-Q

Yaad kiya dil ne (Patita) with Lata Mangeshkar, Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri, Music: Shankar Jaikishen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5rRt2jt5Aw

Dil ki umangein hain jawan (Munimji) with Geeta Dutt. Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi, Music: S.D. Burman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0o2D3XxBCg

Aa gupchup pyar karein (Sazaa) with Sandhya Mukherjee. Lyrics: Rajinder Kishen, Music: S.D. Burman

Lizzie thanks for tagging..of course Dev Saab has some amazing gems sung by Hemant Kumar ji but my absolute fav. Hemant da song has to be this..haunting, melodious, beautifully sung.love it❤️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gMhbWeo30o