Man Tarpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj…. O Duniya Ke Rakhwale….Tu Ganga Ki Mauj… Remember these melodious songs? Well, who can forget such timeless classic songs? They are immortal melodies that shall remain alive for generations to come. The songs mentioned above are from Baiju Bawra (1953), a movie which was such a super hit that it celebrated 100 weeks purely on the strength of its hit songs!!
Baiju Bawra Record-Breaking Run
The marvelous music was composed by Naushad, who had earlier established his name with musical super hit films like Rattan (1944), Anmol Ghadi (1946), Mela (1948), Andaz (1949) and Deedaar (1951). Since the film, Baiju Bawra was based on a theme of a classical singer Bajiu challenging to score over Tansen the royal singer in the kingdom Akbar. Hence Naushad insisted filmmaker Vijay Bhatt to use pure Hindustani Shastriya Sangeet (Indian Classical Music) to compose the songs of the films but Bhatt was reluctant.
Other film producers also cautioned him against Shastriya Sangeet. They warned him that Raga based songs lack mass appeal and it is impossible to compose popular tune based on Shastriya Sangeet Ragas. Financiers and distributors also backed out as they felt the film would be a commercial dud at box-office.
The Film That Refused to Fade
However, <a href=”https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/details-music-director/naushad”>Naushad was confident of his mastery in Shastriya Sangeet hence he made few sample tunes and won filmmaker Vijay Bhatt‘s heart. Though the tunes were based on Ragas but had a popular taste. Thus Bhatt</a> gave Naushad the freedom to compose all the songs on various Shastriya Sangeet Ragas.
Naushad was delighted and he did the impossible. All the songs based on Ragas proved super hit –Remember – Tu Ganga Ki Mauj… The film features soulful songs like “Duniya Ke Rakhwale…” (Raga Darbari) and “Door Koi Gaye…” (Raga Desh). Other notable tracks include “Mohe Bhool Gaye Sanwariya…” (Raga Bhairav and Kalingda), “Jhoole Mein Pawan Ki Aai Bahar…” (Raga Pilu), and “Man Tarpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj” (Raga Malkauns).soundtrack also features “Bachpan Ki Mohabbat…” and “Raga Bhairavi” adds a unique touch.(Based on Maand); Insaan Bano… (Raga Todi)
Naushad innovatively used Shastriya Sangeet Ragas in his songs. He also made history by getting two classical music giants to sing a climax song, a first in Hindi cinema. The two stalwarts of Shastriya Sangeet were Ustad Amir Khan and Pt. D.V. Paluskar, who sing the film’s engrossing Jugalbandi between Baiju and Tansen in the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Pandit VK Krishna Narayan composed “Aaj Gaavat Man Mero Jhoom Ke” in Raga Deshi, considered the first pure Shastriya Sangeet song in Indian cinema.
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