Sahir Ludhianvi

Sahir Ludhianvi

Sahir Ludhianvi

For me - he is one of the best Hindi Film Lyricist - almost close to being the best - if not for the 2 flawed songs [according to me].

I am aware that it will be blasphemous, to criticize this great person, who has given me immense pleasure with his prolific, realistic and  romantic songs.

I am amazed at his repertoire - how imaginatively romantic  one can get - when one hears the song = 'Raat bhi hai kuch bheegi bheegi' from Muze Jeene Do -1963. Look at the lines - Tum aao to ankhen khole, soyi hui payal ki chham chham. Can you imagine ever for the ubiquitous anklets adorned by Indian women to go to sleep and then be awaken by the subtle noise of someone lovable coming in the vicinity. Fantastic, simply fantastic. Cannot think of a more thrilling ode to the lover.

Continuing in the same vein, the  mirth and joy accompanying the rituals of  marriage == Maang mein bharle rang sakhiri, aanchal bharle taare, milan riitu aa gayi,; jaayegi tu un sang sakhiri, jo  tohe laage pyare - the ultimate consummation of marriage, with the beloved. Each and every word in the song - raising it to the pivotal climax.



And then again switching gears in the same movie getting philosophical, ruing the fact about the brief life of a child due to the circumstances surrounding his birth. The child's mother, wailing 'Tere bachpan ko jawani ki dua deti hoon, aur dua deke pareshan si ho jaati hoon'. Not a word out of place, taut emotions. And the third stanza - Bediyan leke lapakta hua kanoon ka haath, tere maa-baap se jab  tuzko mili ye saughat. Each and every line of the lyric fills you with apprehension, the worst sense of foreboding, fear of unknown danger, lurking in the garb of the law.

The great Sahir at play here. All the songs of this movie are so beautifully tuned by Jaidev - the master underrated craftsman.

Going further back a few years to Pyasa [1957], we see the same thing - his switching from Romantic mood to light masti to philosophical to melancholy with equal ease....

Hum aap ki bahon mein - while romancing Mala Sinha, to a woman submitting herself 'Aaj sajan mohe aang laga lo', switching to a very light song like 'Sar jo tera chakraye' without ever loosing the momentum. Then again turning seriously critical in - '"ये कूचे, ये नीलामघर दिलकशी के, ये लुटते हुए कारवां ज़िंदगी के, कहाँ है कहाँ है मुहाफ़िज़ खुदी के? जिन्हें नाज़ है हिंद पर,वो कहाँ हैं?" or subtly agonizing over unrequited love in 'Jaane wo kaise log the jinko pyar se pyar mila'; till the climax song of the movie 'ye mahlo, ye takhto, ye taajo ki duniya, ye inasaa ke dushman samaajo ki duniyaa'. Sachinda doing justice  to Sahir's words or Sahir complimenting S D Burman's tunes with appropriate words.

These are just two movies out of the many Sahir penned songs. Unless one sits down to write a book on Sahir's lyrics, it is difficult to put his entire career in a blog. Such a humongous task cannot be achieved or attempted by an ordinary person like me.

However to be very honest, I cannot end this without mentioning 2 songs, penned by this great man, the few lines of  which rankle me no end.

1. Naya Daur [1957] - fantastic music - great lyrics - almost all but 1 line --- Mang ke saath tumhara - such a popular romantic song, setting the tone of the romance of the lead pair and the 4th line in the first stanza 'Aas mili armaan mila === Jeene ka saman mila'. What's happening - a person of Sahir's calibre using a word like 'Saman', which ordinarily denotes luggage. This word 'Samaan' to me is out of sync with the greatness of Sahir.

2. Devdas [1955] - Bimal Roy's classic and according to me the best of the 3 movies by the same name [1935, 1955 and 2002]. Everything high calibre in this movie - Direction - Acting - Music - Lyrics except 2 lines in the most beautifully written song of the movie == 'Jise tu kabul karle, wo ada kahan se laon, tere dil ko jo lubhaye, wo sada kahan se laon'. The first stanza, 2nd line - Meri umr ba-h ga-i hai meri ansuo mein dhalke. First hear and see how Lata has to stretch the word ba-h and gayi to adjust the meter of the song. Secondly I think 'umr' dhalti hai, not bahti hai and aanso bahte hai and not dhalte hai. So appropriately this line should have been -- 'meri umr dhal gayi hai, meri ansuo mein bah ke'. Sing along and watch the ease with which this line jells with the song.

I am sorry Sahir saab. This is in no way an attempt to undermine or demean your fantastic achievement. Cannot even imagine it.

You will always be great for me.

Dilip Apte