Guest article by Subodh Agrawal

(I have often mentioned that duets, though far less in number than solo songs, present a fascinating variety of music. One variety is on account of the lesser known female singers getting a chance to sing with major playback singers like Rafi and Mukesh, and we are richer for that because we get some absolutely fabulous songs minus the Mangeshkar sisters. The other and, perhaps more interesting, variety is on account of the experimentation the music directors do in composition. On this blog there has been detailed discussion on a number of occasions about the duets in which one singer just hums, or has only a few words or just a couple of lines to sing. I developed a Duet Balance Index for analysing this kind of asymmetry in my post titled ‘Some thoughts on mathematical-taxonomic analysis of Hindi films and songs’. That dealt with what may be called ‘airtime asymmetry’. Another interesting asymmetry is ‘tune asymmetry’.

In this guest article, Subodh Agrawal takes a look at such asymmetric duets. I am sure readers will welcome his taking a break from classical songs. Thank you Subodh for another interesting and ‘different’ article. – AK) –

I am taking a break from classical songs in films to write on this topic, which arose from a discussion on AK’s post on duets of Talat and Asha. Duets are common in Hindi film Music. I don’t have the encyclopaedic knowledge of Mr Vaishnav, Mr Bhatia or Mr Venkataraman to do a detailed analysis, but my hunch is that male-female duets would account for about one third of all songs.

Most duets are, so to say, symmetric – in the sense that the two voices follow broadly the same rhythm and tune. There are a few, however, in which the two diverge but still complement each other. In some of the songs one of the singers plays a supportive role only. I have been able to locate the following songs fitting this criterion. I am sure the readers will come up with many more. I have tried to exclude songs in which the voices follow the same tune even for a part of the song – thus excluding beautiful songs like ‘Chaandni raatein pyar ki baaten’ and ‘Jaag dard-e ishq jaag.’ I have also excluded songs in which one singer appears just for a second or two – for example ‘Na samjhe wo anadi hai.’ For once I am going to be as tough in my selection as Anu Warrier!

1. Jai jagdish hare from Anandmath (1952) by Hemant Kumar and Geeta Dutt, music Hemant Kumar, lyrics Dashavatara Stotram from Gita Govind by Jaidev

As a child I often heard my parents talk of this song in glowing terms. It confused me, as I found nothing great in the popular aarti ‘Om jai jagdish hare’. Around the age of twelve or so, I managed to hear it on the radio – the reception was faint but it left an impression on me. I acquired my first record player as a post-grad student, and one of the first records I purchased was the EP ‘Devotional Songs from Films’ containing this one with three others – I don’t recall the other three. Today, in the age of YouTube, this gem is always available to us. I love the way Geeta Dutt’s voice fades in and out synchronously with Hemant Kumar’s interludes. Hemant’s deep rich voice is ideal for recitation of Sanskrit shlokas:

2. Mere jeevan mein aya hai kaun from Pyase Nain (1954) by Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle, music S K Paal, lyrics Wahid Qureshi:

This song was a discovery for me in the comments of Hans on AK’s post on duets Talat and Asha (Comment no. 32). AK commented on the asymmetric nature of this song, triggering the train of thought leading to this post. Asha doesn’t sing any words, she gives voice accompaniment – much in the manner of an instrumentalist supporting a singer. She’s done the same in three more songs in this list. Hemant Kumar has given similar support to her sister in the next song.

3. Peechhe peechhe aa kar from House No. 44 (1955) by Lata Mangeshkar and Hemant Kumar, music SD Burman, lyrics Sahir Ludhianvi

Whenever I think of Dev Anand the image that flashes on my mind’s screen is of a song featuring him. His films are remembered mostly for the songs. He was the quintessential lover boy of that age and he is very much in his element here. Hemant kumar’s interjections fit the playful mood perfectly:

4. Mere ae dil bata from Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955) by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, music by Vasant Desai, lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

Is this song a duet or a solo with a couple of interludes in a different voice? Anyway, it fits well in this list. Manna Dey comes in briefly towards the end:

5. Ja to se nahin bolun kanhaiya from Parivar (1956) by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, music Salil Chowdhary, lyrics Shailendra

The iconic Hindi film song in raga Hamsadhwani which figured in my first guest post on SoY. It is an adaptation of the famous ‘Vatapi ganapatim’ from Carnatic music composed by Muthuswami Dikshitar. Vatapi is the ancient name of Badami in north Karnataka, seat of the Chalukyas. The Vatapi Ganapati idol was taken from Badami to Uthrapathiswaraswamy temple near Tanjavur by Pallava rulers after defeating the Chalukyas in the seventh century:

6. Mera akele jiya kaise lage re piya from Inspector (1956) by Lata Mangeshkar and Hemant Kumar, music by Hemant Kumar, lyrics SH Bihari

Another song in which Hemant gives vocal support to Lata. Hemant’s voice suits humming better than most other singers. He knew it and used it often in songs composed by himse like ‘Yeh nayan dare dare’ and ‘Tum pukar lo’:

7. Ye hansta hua caravan zindagi ka from Ek Jhalak (1956) by Hemant Kumar and Asha Bhosle, music Hemant Kumar, lyrics SH Behari

Asha doesn’t quite sing in this song, but makes a few mocking remarks through the song, but for a few snatches in which she goes lyrical. It must be for these snatches that Hemant opted for her, otherwise the actress playing it on screen could have done it equally well. This song almost got disqualified because at the end Hemant and Asha follow the same tune for a few seconds. I have exercised my privilege as the author to allow this relaxation:

8. O nigahein mastana from Paying Guest (1957), by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle, music by SD Burman, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

The third song in this list in which Asha gives vocal support to the male singer. Dev Anand is again in his element as the lover boy. A discordant note, however, about Nutan. She is among my favourite actresses of her era, and one of the greatest of all time; yet she doesn’t quite fit this naughty and playful song. The sparkle in her eyes and the smile don’t feel spontaneous – as they do in songs of Madhubala, Geeta Bali or even Shyama:

9. Pyar par bas to nahin hai mera lekin phir bhi from Sone Ki Chidiya (1958) by Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle, music by OP Nayyar, lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi

One of the best songs of Talat Mahmood and Sahir Ludhianvi, with the singer’s gentle singing giving expression to the beautiful lyrics. Fourth song in this list where Asha plays a supporting role. The soft, contemplative mood of this song fits Nutan a lot better than the previous one:

10. Nain dwar se man mein wo aa ke from Sawan (1959) by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar, music Hansraj Bahal, lyrics Prem Dhawan

If I were to pick one song from this list as a representative, it would be this one. Mukesh’s voice acquires a sonorous gravity in the lower register and this has been exploited to the full by Hansraj Behl. To complement it he has let Lata’s voice fly freely to the upper octave. The combination works beautifully. For fans of multiple version songs the Lata solo version is appended to this video:

11. Main natkhat ek kali from Do Behnen (1959) by Lata and Mangeshkar(!), music by Vasant Desai, lyrics Pradeep

Ancient Rome had a complicated political system. At the top they had two Consuls elected for one year. In theory the two had equal powers, in practice it usually didn’t work that way. In 59 BC Julius Gaius Caesar and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus were elected as Consuls and Caesar dominated his partner to the extent that it is remembered as the Consulate of Julius and Caesar. That’s the inspiration for the title of this entry in the list.

Technically it is not a duet. But Lata switches from one tempo to the other so effortlessly that a listener who doesn’t already know would take it as a duet by two singers with similar voices. I wonder if the song was recorded as one, or as two separate ones which were later spliced together:

12. Zaban-e yaar man turqi from Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle, music OP Nayyar, lyrics Shevan Rizvi

Although the advent of films meant the decline of theatre, many films have used stage settings to carry forward their stories. There could be a post, maybe there is already one done by Madhu or Anu, on stage songs. OP Nayyar was the master of rhythm and in this song he uses variations in rhythm very effectively.

I have come across the line ‘Zaban-e yaar man turqi’ in some Sufi programs. Does someone know the original context in which it occurs?

13. Zindagi ittefaq hai from Aadmi aur Insaan (1969) by Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor, music Ravi, lyrics Sahir Ludhianvi

This song occurs in two versions – a female solo, and this one in which a moping Dharmendra provides a contrast to Mumtaz’s exuberance:

That’s all I could find without grossly violating my own criteria. Readers are invited to add their own. It strikes me that all songs in this list are very good, some of them being all time greats. Is it because composers put in extra effort in songs like these, or simply because it is easier to recall better songs. The forum is open now.