On 4/30/2021 2:24 PM, Zoya wrote:
>
>> However, I think you had (previously) posted a more or
>> less complete list of all participants in our Newsgroup,
>> including a great many who no longer grace our NG.
>
>> Is munaasibat se maiN aap ki KHidmat-e-'aali men ek
>> filmi gaane ka Havaala dene ki jur'at kar raha hooN.
>>
>> ****************
>
> aadaab Afzal sahib,
>
> As I was reading your message, a few things came to mind. Just wanted to jot them down before I lose my thoughts.
>
>> In 1968, a film was released in India. Its title was
>> "Saathi". It starred Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar.
>> Music was provided by Naestro Naushad Ali Saheb.
>
> I think I watched the movie "Saathi" on TV once. I remember it also starred Simi Garewal, who still looks amazing after all this years.
>
>> Arguably, it was the last movie for which Naushad had
>> composed the music. To be sure, there was a further
>> movie later on, starring Govinda, but its songs were
>> a sort of re-hash of his original songs that had figured
>> in his previous movies.
>
> Afzal sahib, do you remember the name of this Govinda movie? Just curious. Incidentally, I recall that some of composer Madan Mohan's unused tunes were provided by his son Sanjeev Kohli for use in the Yash Chopra movie 'Veer Zara'.
>
>> ****************
>
>> "Saathi" had a song based on the classical raag Bhairavi :
>>
>> MaiN to pyaar se tere piya maaNg sajaauNgi
>> Tere aNg'na yeh saari 'umariya bitaauNgi
>
> The one song from this movie that I have always personally liked is sung by Mukesh:
>
> "husn-e-jaanaaN idhar aa".
>
>> ****************
>
>> But the film had another song which wold seem quite appropriate
>> for our purpose --- that is, about those ALUPers who have since
>> bid "al'vida'" to our NG. :
>
> I guess I am in my she'r-o-naghmaa mood! However, please allow me to point out a couple of 'vazn' issues before I move on to the asha'ar that this song reminded me of.
>
>> Yeh Hayaat to maut* ki hai Dagar -----> *yeh Hayaat-o-maut .....
>> Koi KHaak men, koi KHaak par
>
>> Hai mujhe bhi GHam kisi yaar ka
>> Ke looTa* nagar mire pyaar ka ----> *ke luTaa nagar.......
>>
>> Use bhool ja, use bhool ja
>>
>> Lyrics were penned by MajrooH Sultanpuri.
>
>> Afzal
>
> Afzal sahib, this song immediately made me think of one of the more popular ghazals written by the eminent poet, my friend Amjad Islam Amjad sahib.
>
> bilkul yahii radiif hai. maiN is vaqt sirf ghazal kaa matl'a aur ek she'r post kar rahii huuN, vaise yeh puurii ghazal hii bahut Khuub hai:
>
> kahaN aa ke rukne the raaste, kahaN moR thaa use bhuul jaa
> voh jo mil gayaa use yaad rakh, jo nahiiN milaa use bhuul jaa
>
> voh tire nasiib ki baarisheN kisi aur chhat pe baras gaiiN
> dil-e-be_Khabar miri baat sun, use bhuul jaa use bhuul jaa!
>
> And so it goes.......
> Great advice, but hard to follow.
>
> _______Zoya

Z. S.

{Warning : Long Rambling Post}

The name of the Govinda movie was, I think, "Teri Paayal
Mere Geet". His co-star was Meenakshi Seshadri. It was
released towards the end of 1993.

Mohammed Rafi had passed away in July 1980. So, it was
S.P. Balasubramanyam who gave his voice for Govinda.

Sadly, this gifted singer (who had sung numerous songs
for Salman Khan) died recently due to Covid.

****************

Actually, I had posted references to two movies (and one song
from each) with reference to the unexpressed or perhaps latent
sadness of our worthy friend Naseer Saheb about so many ex-ALUpers
who are no longer active in our NG. Quite possibly (and it is with
great sorrow that I am writing this), one or two may have passed
on. Maybe Mirza Fuzuli Saheb was one of them. Also, I wonder what
happened to Shri Anil Kala. He too has disappeared. I hope he is
safe and happy.

****************

What I meant to convey to Naseer Saheb was simply that we should
make do with whoever is still participating in our NG. The two songs
from "AaKHri Daao" and "Saathi" were the "medium" through which this
humble message from me was conveyed.

****************

You have mentione Simi Grewal. I don't know why. Perhaps because
she too professes the Sikh faith.

She did star in the above film {"Saathi"} and also got the Filmfare
Award for the Best Supporting Actress. It was an author-backed role.
She got another Supporting Actress Award for "Do Badan", where Manoj
Kumar played the male lead. That too was an author-backed role.

I shall write a little more about her, a while later, in this post.

****************

This film "Saathi" had another actress in a minor role. Her filmi
name was Shabnam. She was the "discovery" of Music Director and
Producer Hemant Kumar. I believe her first film was "Faraar" which
was made in 1965. And Shabnam. as the leading lady, was paired
opposite a fine Bengali actor Anil Chatterjee in that film. The
latter is now no more.

This actress Shabnam had a quick fall from stardom and soon became
a non-entity.

She was originally from Hyderabad (Deccan). I believe her mother
was Muslim and her father was hindu. Her original name was
Khursheed Ramaiyyah. She was a medical student and was in her
third year of medical studies, when filmdom beckoned.

Next year, 1966, she was cast in another movie "Biwi Aur Makaan",
that was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and music was composed by
Hemant Kumar. Sadly, both these great film personalities are no
more.

****************

This film {"Biwi Aur Makan"} starred Biswajeet Chatterjee and Mehmood
along with Shabnam and Kalpana (who began her career opposite Shammi
Kapoor in "Professor", a 1962 film.

This film {"Biwi Aur Makaan"} had a very melodious song which was
penned, I think, by Gulzar :

Dabe laboN se kabhi jo hoi salaam le le

MaiN aasmaaN ki tarah se gooNjooN, jo naam le le

Excellent orchestration. Worth a listen.

****************

I don't know if this actress (Shabnam) is still around.
Kalpana, I think, is no more.

****************

And now, back to Simi Grewal........

I believe her first film was "Son of India" that was released
around December 1962. It was made by the late Mehboob Khan.

Earlier, he had made the colossal hit "Mother India" in 1957.
In the 1962 film, he cast his adopted son Sajid in the title role.
The film failed abysmally at the Box Office.

The film's leading lady was Kumkum. Music was provided by Syed
Naushad Ali Saheb. It had a fine song, again based on Raag
Bhairavi :

Diya na bujhe ri aaj hamaara
chale ri pawan --- sananan sanan
Thar thar kaaNpe jiya ra

The leading man was Kamaljeet whose first film, I think, was
"Shagoon". His co-star was Waheeda Rehman. Kamaljeet, I believe,
was also a Sikh. Waheeda Rehman eventually married him in 1974.
He passed away in 2000. They had two children. Waheeda Rehman
lives in Bengaluru these days. It was reported that, at the insist-
ence of WR, Kamaljeet converted to Islam and his new name was
perhaps Saleem. One doesn't really know.

****************

IIRC, Simi Grewal had also acted in this film "Shagoon".
Kamaljeet's name in the movie was perhaps Kishore.

****************

BTW, I had seen Simi at close quarters at some filmi function in
1965. IIRC, the function was on the occasion of the release of
a Dev Anand film "Teen Devian".

****************

Simi used to host a TV programme "Rendezvous", where she interviewed
personalities from different fields. I remember one such programme
where she had interviewed the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Jayalalitha.

****************

Simi had also acted in two films where there was considerable
controversy over certain 'bold' scenes.

One was an American film-maker Conrad Rooks' film "Siddhartha" ---
released in 1972.

The other was Satyajit Ray's film "Aranyer Din Ratri", released the
next year, 1973.

I had seen both these films when they were originally released.

But, today, if you see the two films, you may not, perhaps, be able
to see those 'bold' scenes. I think they have been completely
deleted from the two films.

Afzal