Saawan Songs: Saawan Ki Raaton Mein

Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar turns 85 today. We celebrate the day with a lovely duet from "Prem Patra" (1962). This is one of the lesser known films produced and directed by Bimal Roy. It is an emotional drama with several twists and turns. Shashi Kapoor and Sadhana played the lead roles.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: Salil Chowdhury

Saawan Songs: O Balam Kesariya

A lovely duet from "Bhairavi" (1996) today. Ashwini Bhave, Sridhar and Manohar Singh played the lead in this drama. The story is about a pretty village woman with a golden voice.

Singers: Kavita Krishnamurthy, Udit Narayan
Lyrics: Amit Khanna
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Saawan Songs: Aayi Saawan Rut Aayi

A happy duet from a mostly sad film "Mela" (1948) today. Starring Dilip Kumar and Nargis, this is a weepy drama. Some other songs from this film are Gaye jaa geet milan ke, Ye Zindagi ke mele, Mohan ki muraliya baaje, Pardes balam tum jaaoge and Main bhanwra tu hai phool.

Singers: Shamshad Begum, Naushad
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
Music: Naushad

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ko Aane Do

Here is a song from "Saawan Ko Aane Do" (1979). The film is a typical Rajshri offering with a simple story and good music. Featuring Arun Govil, Zarina Wahab, Amrish Puri and Rita Bhaduri in lead roles, it is made in a rural setting. It was shot in Lucknow and its surroundings. Arun Govil went on to play Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan on the telly. The video quality of this clip is rather poor. I could not find a better one. 

Singers: Jaspal Singh, Kalyani Mitra
Lyrics: Gauhar Kanpuri
Music: Raj Kamal

Saawan Songs: Yeh Pehli Ghataa Saawan Ki

A playful song from "Maa Baap" (1960) today. Rajendra Kumar and Kamini Kadam play the lead in this family drama. This song seems to have been shot in the Vrindavan Gardens near Mysore.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan
Music: Chitragupt

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ka Mahina Pawan Kare Sor

Think of saawan songs in Hindi films and one of the first songs that comes to mind is the one being posted today. This has indeed been a very popular duet across generations. It appears here as the 50th song in the current theme of Saawan Songs, and as the 250th entry on this blog.

"Milan" (1967) is a remake of a Telugu film, Mooga Manasulu. Starring Sunil Dutt and Nutan, it is one of the early films based on the idea of reincarnation. The film is remembered not only for its star lead pair, but also for its evergreen music. Enjoy this super hit number!

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ka Mahina

A peppy dance number from "Hulchul" (1995) today. It is an action/romance film starring Vinod Khanna, Ajay Devgn and Kajol. Looks like this is a popular title for a film. At least two more films were made with the same title, one in 1951 and another in 2004. The older one was directed by K. Asif and the newer one by Priyadarshan. The middle one that features today's song is written and directed by Anees Bazmee.

Singers: Alisha Chinoy, Vinod Rathod
Lyrics: M. G. Hashmat
Music: Anu Malik

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ke Din Aaye Re

"Sikandar" (1941) was an ambitious project. It is a historical epic set in 326 BC. It starred Prithviraj Kapoor in the role of Alexander the Great. Sohrab Modi played the Indian king Puru, also known as Porus in Greece. The female lead Sheela is credited as the singer of this song. There are other voices too, but they are not credited. The expressions on the actors' faces and their body language is interesting, reflecting the style of those days.

Singer: Sheela
Lyrics: Pandit Sudarshan
Music: Mir Sahib, Rafiq Ghaznavi

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ki Pari

Here is a forgotten duet from a forgotten film "Murder On Highway" (1970). It featured Sohrab Modi, Sayeeda Khan and Sujit Kumar in lead roles.The film is a thriller, but details are not available.

Singers: Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Asad Bhopali
Music: C. Arjun

Saawan Songs: Aaye Re Din saawan Ke

"Gaban" (1966) is based on Munshi Premchand's novel of the same name. It featured Sunil Dutt and Sadhana in the lead roles. A happy song from this film. The visuals are rural scenes with people engaged in their day-to-day activities. Yet, they convey a lot of happiness. And their simplicity is not only noticeable, but also very likeable.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Shailendra
Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Saawan Songs: Saawan Ke Baadalon Ki

After a sequence of several solos in this space, here is a duet from "Paappi Devataa" (1995) today. Yes, that is how the title of the film is spelt in its posters! It starred Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Madhuri Dixit and Jayaprada.

Singers: Mohammed Aziz, Alka Yagnik
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Saawan Songs: Saawan Aawan Kah Gaye

The word saawan appears in today's song only once, but it is such a sweet number that I am tempted to include it in the ongoing theme. It is from "Kanhaiya" (1959), a family drama starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan. It tells the story of a village woman who is devoted to Lord Krishna, but the Kanhaiya in her life happens to be a good-for-nothing drunkard. Shankar Jaikishan have composed wonderful music for this film. Other songs are Ruk jaa o jaanewaali ruk ja, Ni baliye rut hai bahaar ki, O mere saanware salone piya, O Kanhaiya O Kanhaiya aaj aana khwaab mein, Kahaan hai kahaan hai Kanhaiya, Mujhe tumse kuchh bhee na chahiye and Yaad aayi aadhi raat ko.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Shailendra
Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Saawan Songs: Ab Ke Na Saawan Barase

Hema Malini features for the second consecutive day today in this lovely solo from "Kinara" (1977). Also, this happens to be the second song from this film to appear in this space. The first was Meethe Bol Bole in the Adornments theme.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: R. D. Burman

Saawan Songs: Aiso Paapi Saawan Aayo

A solo from "Patthar Aur Payal" (1974) today. This film is about a gang of bandits. Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, Ajit, Rajendra Nath, Iftekhar and Jayshree T. are part of the cast of this entertainer.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Varma Malik
Music: Kalyanji Anandji

Saawan Songs: Manbhaawan Saawan Aaya

Uma Devi Khatri who was more popular in Hindi films as comedienne Tun Tun started her career as a playback singer. She had to compete with her contemporaries Noor Jehan, Khursheed, Rajkumari and Zohrabai Ambalewali. One of her most popular numbers is Afsana likh rahi hoon from the 1947 film Dard. Later it became difficult for her to survive because of her old style of singing and limited range. Her mentor Naushad had noticed that she had a flair for comedy and suggested that she give a try to acting in films. That clicked for her, and Tun Tun was born.

Listen to a solo in her voice from "Chandralekha" (1948)-a fictional tale of two princes and a village dancer-today. It was a big budget film made first in Tamil and then in Hindi. The film made history as India's first nationwide hit. It was dubbed in several foreign languages and screened at Indian and international film festivals.

Singer: Uma Devi
Lyrics: Pandit Indra
Music: S. Rajeswara Rao

Saawan Songs: Aaya Aaya Re Aaya Re

Presenting a song from "Saawan Aaya Re" (1949) today. The title of the film couldn't have matched the current theme better! All three creators of this song, the singer, lyricist and composer appear for the first time in this space. Sometimes one stumbles upon some forgotten numbers while searching. This is one such.

Singer: Lalita Deulkar
Lyrics: Rammurti Chaturvedi
Music: Khemchand Prakash

Saawan Songs: Bechara Dil Kya Kare

It is Asha Bhosle's birthday today. To celebrate the day, here is a beautiful solo by her from "Khushboo" (1975). Based on a story by Saratchandra Chatterjee, this film featured Jeetendra and Hema Malini in lead roles; though it is Farida Jalal who sings this song on the screen.
 
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: R. D. Burman

Saawan Songs: Jhilmil Sitaron Ka Aangan Hoga

A very popular song from a very successful film "Jeevan Mrityu" (1970) today. This film marked Raakhee's entry in Hindi films. It is a remake of a Bengali film with the same name starring Uttam Kumar and Supriya Devi in lead roles. This song has two versions, a solo and a duet. The only other song in the film is Zamaane mein aji aise kai naadaan hote hain.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Saawan Songs: Kahe Jiya Ki Umang

Here is another solo by Lata Mangeshkar from "Ehsaan" (1954). The film featured Shammi Kapoor and Munawwar Sultana in lead roles. The sweetness of the song lies in its simplicity.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Kaif Irfani
Music: Madan Mohan

Saawan Songs: Lagi Aaj Saawan Ki Phir Wo Jhadi

Saawan is not always about song and dance. It is about melancholy too. As in today's song. It is from "Chandni" (1989). This is the second song to appear in this space from this film. The first one was Mere haathon mein posted in the Adornments theme.

Singers: Suresh Wadkar, Anupama Deshpande
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Shiv Hari

Saawan Songs: Aaj Maane Na Mora Jiya

Listen to another Lata Mangeshkar solo oozing with sweetness! This is from "Badal" (1951). Inspired by the legend of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, this film featured Madhubala, Premnath and Purnima. The dancer is this video clip is Purnima.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Shailendra
Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Saawan Songs: Beeta Hua Ek Saawan

A rare song today. This was composed for a film called "Shokhiyan" (1951). For some reason it did not feature in the film. Later it was used in a telefilm, "Pehla Qadam" (1980). A lovely song indeed, and Lata Mangeshkar's voice sounds so young!

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Kedar Sharma
Music: Jamal Sen

Saawan Songs: Ae Hawa Ye Bataa

"Ghazab" (1982) is a drama starring Dharmendra in double role and Rekha. It is a remake of Tamil film Kalyanaraman. Dharmendra portrayed a naive, semi-senile wealthy man in one of his roles in this family entertainer.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Saawan Songs: O Sajan Beet Na Jaaye Saawan

Presenting a duet from "Mardon Wali Baat" (1988) today. It is an action film starring Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, Jayaprada and Sanjay Dutt. Neither the film, nor its music seem to have made much impact. But this is quite a nice song!

Singers: Asha Bhosle, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Lyrics: Indeevar
Music: R. D. Burman