As I started traversing back from the 1950s to the 40s in the year-wise review of film songs, I mentioned that we are entering the era of more unknown than the unknown. This is best exemplified by the year 1946: Out of 153 films in the year, nothing is known about five films, whether its actors, Song titles, what to speak if its singers etc. It is a huge number of films in a year, overtaken only in a few years in the entire history of talkie films starting from 1931. Of the over 1270 known song-titles, mothing is known about singers of about 740 songs, i.e. about 52% of all the songs. My list of MEMORABLE SONGS in any year has been generally well over 100, but in the year 1946, I could not stretch it beyond 76. Even in this list many songs would appear to be unfamiliar and unheard. That makes the exercise of the year-wise review more challenging as well as interesting.

Musical landmarks

In this year of the unknown, some films stand out as milestones in many respects, including their Music. Looking at the list below, Anmol Ghadi happens to figure at the top, but it is also the top film of the year with its stellar star cast of Surendra, Noorjehan and Suraiya, three great actor-singers of our films. Naushad had another priceless moment with Shahjehan, which happened to have the greatest icon among the actor-singers, KL Saigal. Thanks to Naushad’s own stature, and his penchant for savvy marketing, many legends grew around Saigal’s songs in the film, such as the story, most probably apocryphal, that Jab dil hi toot gaya hum je eke karenge was played during his funeral procession, or that in a blind testing Naushad demonstrated to Saigal that he could sing better without being under the influence of alcohol, upon which Saigal rued, “How I wish you had met me earlier, but now it is too late, I have so long believed that I could not sing unless intoxicated by heavy drinking.” There was another film of KL Saigal in the year – Omar Khaiyam, whose music was composed by Lal Mohammad.

C Ramchandra was now emerging as the main rival of Naushad, and his songs in Safar, such as Kabhi yaad kar ke gali paar kar ke became roaringly popular. The senior stalwart, Anil Biswas, gave some nice songs in Milan in the voice of his sister, Parul Ghosh. Shama had some great songs composed by the doyen of the Punjab School, Ghulam Haider (not to confuse with Ghulam Mohammad-composed ‘Shama’ (1961), which, too, had a number of absolutely outstanding songs.)

As I said, this can be viewed as the year of the Unknown; yet, if you go down the list below you will find many songs we have known for ages, such Mukesh-Hameeda Bano duet Ja parwane ja from Rajputani (music Bulo C Rani), Surendra-Suraiya duet Teri nazar mein main rahun, meri nazar mein tu from 1857 (music Sajjad Husaain) etc.

Debut

The year was significant for many debuts. SD Burman started his career as a music director in Hindi films with Shikari and Eight Days. These films happened to be the first for at least two more artistes. Kishore Kumar had a bit role in Shikari and he was one the voices in the chorus song Rangeela re, jawani mein sata ke kahan gaya ye, whose principal singer was Parul Ghosh (with Arun Kumar Mukherjee). Meena Kapoor had her first singing assignment in Eight Days with the song Kisi se meri preet lagi ab main kya karun.

Other singers to have their first song in the year were Geeta Roy (Bhakt Prahlad) and Shankar Dasgupta (Milan). With Milan, Abhi Bhattacharya began his acting career.

Other music directors to make their debut in the year were Sudhir Phadke with the film Gokul, Ram Ganguly with Maharana Pratap, Chitragupta with Lady Robinhood; and Mohammad Shafi with Haqdaar. Hansraj Bahal had his first independent assignment as music director with the film Pujari. My list of MEMRABLE SONGS includes a song from this film as well as a couple of songs from another movie Gwalan. Not a mean achievement on debut.

The lyricists to debut in the year were Indivar in Double Face, Majrooh Sultanpuri and Khumar Barabanqavi in Shahjehan, and Prem Dhavan and Ali Sardar Jafri in Dharti Ke Lal.

Many actors, too, started their career in the year. Among the debutants the most famous is Dev Anand with the film Hum Ek Hain. This film became the launchpad for many new talents. It had Dev Anand’s first heroine, Kamla Kotnis. Besides, Rehman and Rehana, too, stared their acting career with this film. PL Santoshi was already a lyricist, he began his career as a director with Hum Ek Hain. Other films with multiple new entrants were Neecha Nagar which was the vehicle for the entry of Chetan Anand (as director), and Uma Anand and Kamini Kaushal (as actors); and Dharti Ke Lal, for Ravi Shankar (as music director), KA Abbas (as director), and Balraj Sahni and Damyanti Sahni (as actors).

Nirupa Roy (with Amar Raj) and Geeta Bali (with Badnaami) began their acting career in the year and went on to win laurels later.

Fact file and Trivia

Chaah barbaad karegi humein maaloom na tha (Shahjahan; KL Saigal) – lyricist mentioned on records is Majrooh Sultanpuri, but Khumar Barabanqavi claimed he wrote it. Lata Mangeshkar had bit roles in Jeevan Yatra and Subhadra (both composed by Vasant Desai), in which she sang three songs, which went unnoticed. Those who were around those days would have scarcely believed that in three years this girl would come as a Tsunami demolishing the establish singers and emerge as the standard voice for the heroine.

Among the ocean of debut this year, one was quite intriguing. So far we knew that Uma Devi’s first song was in Dard (1947), Afsana likh rahi hun dil-e-beqaraar ka, composed by Naushad. Some sources mention that she debuted as a singer in the film Wamiq Azra in 1946, with the song Haye do dil milte milte rah gaye. If this is confirmed by experts, our conventional knowledge and HFGK information would have to be revised.

Ashok Kumar sang some songs in the film Uttara Abhimanyu, in which he was not there. He apparently gave playback for Shahu Modak.

Mehboob Khan ‘borrowed’ Naushad from AR Kardar for Anmol Ghadi. This term may sound odd, but those days artistes were contracted with the studios on fixed monthly salary. The contract also forbade working elsewhere.

MEMORABLE SONGS

Anmol Ghadi: Lyrics Tanvir Naqvi; Music Naushad
1. Udankhatole pe ud jaaun – Zohrabai & Shamshad Begum
2. Tera khilona toota baalak – Rafi
3. Kyon yaad aa rahe hain guzare huye zamaane – Surendra
4. Aa ja meri barbaad mohabbat ke sahare – Noorjehan
5. Aawaz de kahan hai – Surendra & Noorjehan
6. Main dil mein dard basa laayi – Suraiya
7. Mere bachpan ke sathi muhe bhool na jana – Noorjehan
8. Man leta hai angadayi jeevan mein jawani chhayi – Suraiya
9. Jawan hai mohabbat haseen hai zamana – Norjehan
10. Socha tha kya kya ho gaya – Suraiya
11. Kya mil gaya Bhagwan tumhein dil ko dukkha ke – Noorjehan
12. Ab kaun hai mera kaho ab kaun hai mera – Surendra
Chehra: Lyrics IC Kapoor; Music MA Mukhtar
13. Kya jadu hai tere paas piya – Mukesh & Shamshad Begum
14. O prani kya soche kya hoye – Mukesh
Dev Kanya: Lyrics Rammmorti, Deepak, RC Pande; Music Shyam Sundar
15. Piya milan ko janewali samhal samhal ke chal – Amirbai Karnataki
Dhanwan: Music Shanti Kumar
16. Tere gham se mila raha hai mujhe har tarah ishara – Paro devi (lyrics Behzad Lakhanavi)
Dharti: Lyrics Pt. Indra; Music Bulo C rani
17. Phool kali kyun maari sajan mori oonchi atari – Hamida Bano
Dil: Music Zafar Khursheed
18. Likhi naseeb mein thokarein hain zamaane ki – Moti
19. Shor na karna gulshan mein – Moti & Noorjehan
Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahanai: Lyrics Diwan Sharar; Music Vasant Desai
20. Zindagi zindagi zindagi koi sapna nahin zindagi – Khan Mastana
21. Chit dole nit dole subah-sham Prabhuji – Jayshree
Eight Days: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi; Music SD Burman
22. Babu babu re, dil ko bachana – SD Burman, SL Puri
23. Ummeed bhara panchhi tha khoj raha sajani – SD Burman
24. Pahle na samjha pyar tha, samjha to tumhin chal diye – Amirbai Karnataki
25. Ek nayi kali sasural chali dubli si dulhan ban ke – Chitalkar & Suraiya
1857: Lyrics – Mohan Singh, Shevan Rizvi, Pt Ankur, Anjum Pilibhiti; Music Sajjad Hissain
26. Gham-e-ashiyana satayega kab tak – Suraiya
27. Teri nazar mein main rahun meri nazar mein tu – Surendra & Suraiya
28. Dilli tere kile par honge Nishan hamare – chorus
Gwalan: Lyrics – Pt. Indra; Music Hansraj Behl
29. Kis baat pe roothe ho, roothe ho meharban – Zohrabai Ambalewali
30. Lagat nazar tori chhalaiya more gore badan ko – Mukesh & Sushila Rani
Hum Ek Hain: Lyrics PL Santoshi; Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
31. Charkhiwale, O zara dheel de – Chorus
32. Ho nadiya kinaare mora gaaon re – Manik Verma
33. Meri ayin hain teen bhabhiyan – Airbai, Zohrabai & others
Humjoli: Lyrics Anjum Pilibhiti; Music Hafeez Khan
34. Phoolon mein nazar ye kaun aya – Noorjehan
Insaaf: Lyrics DN Madhok; Music HP das
35. Rookhi sookhi main kha lungi..Saawna mein garwa laga lungi, paas bula lo more Raja – Rafi & Hamida Bano
Keemat: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri; Music Naushad
36. Sagar mein uthi do nauzein – Amar & Amirbai Karnataki
37. Man pagle swapna dikhaye – Naseem Akhtar
38. Phoonk do aa ke Bhagwan apna jahan phoonk do –  Amirbai Karnataki
Krishna Leela: Lyrics Faiyyaz Hashmi; Music Kamal Dasgupta
39. Chanda door gagan mein bulaye – Kanan Devi
40. Man mein basa le Manmohan ko – Jagmohan
41. Tera ghar man mera sanwariya – Kanan Devi
Magadh Raj: Lyrics Pt. Indra; Music Bolo C Rani
42. Laakh karo chaturai, balam main haath na aaungi – Amirbai Karnataki
Maharana Pratap: Lyrics Swami Ramanand; Music Ram Ganguly
43. Hamari gali ana humse aankh milana – Khursheed
44. Ayi Diwali deeponwali gaaye sakhiyan – Khursheed
Mera Geet: Lyrics Ramesh Gupta; Music Shankar Rao Vyas
45. Priye ek baar man mandir mein rumjhum rumjhum karti ana – Manna dey
Milan: Lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi; Music Anil Biswas
46. Sunahi beriya beeti jaye – Parul Ghosh
47. Jisne bana di bansuri geet usi keg aye ja – Parul Ghosh
Nargis: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi; Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
48. Roti ankhon mein teri yaad liye jati hun – Amirbai Karnataki
49. Yah to bata mere khuda lut gaya mera pyar kyon – GM Durrani
Omar Khayyam: Lyrics Dr. Safdar ‘Aah’; Music Lal Mohammad
50. Allah-u Khayyam hai Allah wala matwala – KL Saigal/Suraiya
51. Hare bhare bagh ke phoolon pe reejha Khayyam – KL Saigal
Panditji: Music Khan Aziz
52. O sajni saawan ki kaali ghatayein dil ko tadpayein to kya karun – Unknown male singer & Shamshad Begum
Panihari: Music SN Tripathi
53. Solah singar sajaaungi – Shanta Apte
Phulwari: Lyrics Pt Indra; Music Hansraj Bahal
54. Oonchi haveli banwa do muneemji – Mohantara Talpade and Hameeda Bano
55. Chanda Mama ne amrood churaya re – Baby Anu
Pujari: Lyrics Wali Saheb; Music Hansraj Bahal
56. Nainon ki nagari mein aa ke chale jana na karke bahan – Feroz dastur & Amirbai Karnataki
Rajputani: Lyrics Pt. Indra; Music Bulo C Rani
57. Ja parwane ja kahin shama jal rahi hai – Mukesh & Hamida Bano
58. Aa parwanr aa, yahan shama jal rahi hai – Hamida Bano
Safar: Lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali; Music C Ramchandra
59. Kabhi chupke se ratiya mein ayiho Rajaji – Chitalkar & Shamshad Begum
60. Ab wo hamare ho gaye iqarar karein ya na karein – Rafi
61. Kabhi yaad kar ke gali paar kar ke – Chitalkar & Binapani Mukherjee
62. Kah ke bhi na aye tum ab chhupne lage tare – Rafi
Shahar Se Door: Lyrics DN Madhok; Music Pt. Amarnath
63. Lo phir yaad kisi ki ayi – Zeenat Begum
Shahjahan: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, Khumar Barabanqavi; Music Naushad
64. Mere sapnon ki Rani, Ruhi Ruhi – KL Saigal, Rafi & others
65. Jab usne gesu bikharaye baadal aya jhoom ke – Shamshad Begum
66. Gham diye mustakil kitna naazuk hai dil – KL Saigal
67. Jawani ke daaman ko rangeen bana le – Shamshad Begum
68. Kar lijiye chalkar meri jannat ka nazara – KL Saigal
69. Jab dil hi toot gaya hum ji ke kya kareinge – KL Saigal
70. Ae dil-e-beqaraar jhoom – KL Saigal
71. Chaah barbaad karegi humein maloom na tha – KL Saigal
Shama: Lyrics Shevan Rizvi, Shams Lakhanavi, Ehsan Rizvi, Shamim; Music Ghulam Haider
72. Dil thandhi hawa mein uda jaye re – Shamshad Begum & Hamida Bano
73. Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi – GM Durrani & Shamshad Begum/GM Durrani
74. Ek tera sahara, ik tera sahara – Shamshad Begum
Shikari: Lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali; Music SD Burman
75. Rangeela re, jawani mein sata ke kahan kahan gaya re – Paro Devi, Arunkumar Mukherjee, Kishore Kumar & chorus
76. Dol rahi naiya – Ashok Kumar & Paro/ Ashok Kumar
77. Har din hai naya har raat nirali hai – Ashok Kumar & Amirbai Karnataki
Uttara Abhimanyu: Lyrics Roopdas, Deepak
78. Laaj bhare in nainon mein adhik sudha bharo na – Ashok Kumar

Special songs

Here are some ‘Special songs’, not likely to feature in the awards, but have something unique about them.

1. Chidiya bole chu chu chu by Lata Mangeshkar from Jeevan Yatra (1946), music Vasant Desai

She debuted as a playback singer in 1947 in Aap Ki Sewa Mein. But we are aware she has been singing in bit acting roles prior to that. Here is one of her songs in the year which must have disappeared unnoticed.

2. Ansoo na gire naale na kiye by unknown singers from Alibaba (1946), lyrics unknown, music Damodar Sharma

This song is a copy of the iconic all-women qawwali Aahein na bhari shikawe na kiye from Zeenat (1945). This was posted by our encyclopedia Arunkumar Deshmukh on Atul Song A Day.

https://vimeo.com/259270549

3. Charkhiwale O zara dheel de (Chorus) from Hum Ek Hain, lyrics PL Santoshi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram

In this nice patang song the singers are uncredited, though there is one prominent female voice. Since this does not seem to be Zohrabai Ambalewali or Amirbai Karnataki, my guess is she could be Manik Verma who has sung some songs in the film. There have been some outstanding vintage kite songs; Nauhsad’s Meri pyari patang chali baadal ke sang (Dillagi, 1949) is a class by itself.

4. Rangeela re, jawani mein sata ke kahan kahan gaya re by Paro Devi, Arunkumar Mukherje, Kishore Kumar & chorus from Shikari, lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali, music SD Burman

Kishore Kumar’s first playback solo was Marne ki duayein kyun maangun from Ziddi (1948), composed by Khemchand Prakash. However, his actual debut on the screen in a small role was in Shikari in which he was also one of the voices in this song.

And the SoY Awards for various categories go to?

Some of the songs in the list of MEMORABLE SONGS would be instantly recalled, but as I mentioned in the beginning we are in the era of more unknown than unknown. It may require an effort on the part of the readers to hear unknown songs from the year, but this effort will be worthwhile. I place it before the knowledgeable readers for their comments and choices for the:

Best male solo

Best female solo

Best duet

And the

Best music director

Acknowledgements:
1. Surjit Sing’s site gives a very nice overview of the songs of 1946 in a two-part article.
2. Atul Song A Day
3. Hindi Film Geet Kosh
4. Hindi Film Sangeet: 75 Varshon Ka Safar by Anil Bhargav

Disclaimer:
The song videos have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog acknowledges that the copyright over these songs vests in the respective owners, such as Saregama India Limited and others.