Since the 1940s, history-based films have been a favourite of the masses. Over the years the Hindi filmmakers have brought alive the bygone historic period brilliantly on screen and succeeded in entertaining as well as generating patriotism through their films. For instance, the hit film Shaheed (1948) starring Dilip Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, Chander Mohan, etc. The super hit song of the film Wattan Ki Rah Mein Wattan Ke Naujawan Shaheed Ho…’ sung poignantly by Mohd Rafi and Khan Mastana became almost a national anthem.
Patriotism Pays Off: The Impact of Songs on Film Popularity
Similarly, filmmaker Hemen Gupta in the early 50s made the film Anand Math starring top actors like Prithviraj Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, Geeta Bali, Pradeep Kumar, and Ajit in the lead roles. The film was a biopic based on the 18th-century sage Satyanand, who played a pivotal role in the 1857 revolt against the British, which the British termed as Mutiny. The highlight of the film was the use of the National Song Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. The song was composed by popular Hindi film music director Hemant Kumar and sung soulfully by Lata Mangeshkar. Interestingly, in 2003, BBC World Service conducted a poll across 165 countries, and the song Vande Mataram won the 2nd position in the “World’s Top Ten” songs ofall time..
Iqbal’s powerful song “Saare Jahan se accha” resonated with the masses, leading to its inclusion in the 1959 movie Bhai Bahen. The film stars two famous childstars, Daisy Irani and Baby Naaz, playingg the role of Bhai Bahen. Instead of copying the song, the filmmaker just used Saare Jahan se accha… and rewrote new verses to suit the script of the film. The song’s impact was phenomenal, attracting audiences even without big stars to back it up. In the ’70s Dev Anand used the original track of Saare Jahan se Accha… in his film Yeh Gulistan Hamara (1972) starring Dev AAnand and Sharmila, Tagore, but the idea failed.
Another favourite patriotic song, Apni Azaadi Ko Hum Hargeez Mita Sakte NNahin… Shakeel Badayani penned the song for a national event, and its inclusion in Leader (1964) enhanced the film’s box office performance.
The Box Office Boost of Patriotic Songs in Indian Cinema
In fact, the popularity of patriotic numbers in the ’50s and ’60s was so passionate that even a ‘ B’ grade Dara Singh movie like Sikander–Azam (1965) did excellent business thanks to its Rafi‘s super hit patriotic song Jahan Daal Daal Pe Sone Ki Chidiya…
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