Guest article by Shalan Lal [The title is adapted from Hasrat Jaipuri’s lyrics in the film ‘Shararat’ (1959)]

(From Krishna teasing the gopis to Kishore Kumar, Shammi Kapoor and other heroes teasing heroines in the films, chhed chhad has been an integral part of our culture.  You would expect from the title that the post would contain a brief write up and some chhed chhad songs.  But as the readers have seen Shalan Lal in her Aviary of Songs, she infuses even the most commonplace subject with deep knowledge of literature, arts and music. In her second guest article for SoY, she similarly explores the origin of teasing and myths related to the pastime of harmless leg-pulling across cultures, and also presents some of the best Hindi film songs in the genre. Thank you, Shalan. – AK)

The SoY posts bring attentions to certain aspects of music, songs, themes and music makers etc. So I laboured to see if there was any mileage in the genre called Chhed chhad songs in the SoY. I found that it was yet an uncovered territory and I could add some interesting material about it.

Both Indian and Western cultures have very rich heritage and their own theories in literature, arts, theatre, music, dance and films. European arts, philosophies, music theatre etc. mainly originated in Greece, then the Romans absorbed them and later on Italy developed them further. In respect of comedic art in the theatre, Italy’s Commedia dell’artè has influenced European theatre. The Commedia dell’artè is theatre of Chhed chhad. India has some folk theatres like Nautanki of UP and Tamasha of Maharastra similar to the Commedia dell’artè. The idea of the clowns and clowning all originated from this rich art form. The clowns in the early Hollywood’s silent films evolved from the tradition of the Commedia dell’artè! There is a good documentary film called, When the Comedy was the King, on the old silent Hollywood comics.

The early clowns like Key Stone Cops, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel Hardy, Bud Abbot and Lou Costello etc. provided a very rich treasure of comic and teasing songs and dialogues. Later, comedians like Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Danny Kaye added to this treasure by their own art.

There is also an independent and influential form called Burlesque. Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of the serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or irreverent mockery. C.Ramchandra was master of musical burlesque. His films Khidki, Shehnai, Patanga and Sargam are rich with musical funs. Later the film Padosan (1968) with music by RD Burman had more fun in this style.

In America, from 18^th century onwards two theatre arts called Vaudeville and Variety Theatre developed. Both had stationary and travelling companies. Stationary companies had their proper buildings in big cities, mostly in the East Coast of North America. The travelling companies were small and moved from place to place. These companies had variety of shows, songs, sketches, dances and acrobatic etc. All acts were light, intended to make people laugh and entertain. So comic situations and comic songs dominated the shows. The remnants of the performances of the travelling company are seen in the American Westerns. Doris Day’s songs in the comic Western Calamity Jane (1953) are burlesque of the Western songs and themes.

In Britain, the theatre called Music Hall was rich with all fun, gaiety, merriment. This came to India during the Victorian time and settled in Bombay and Calcutta. Bombay had many theatres presenting Music Hall style’s funs and feature length musical plays. The Marathi Music theatre evolved out of this tradition. During the Indian Independence movement there appeared what was called “Mela”, a theatrelette. The Mela was a short playacting with sketches, dances songs etc. This Marathi Mela, a theatrical art, gave Hindi films two good artistes like Shashikala and Shanta Apte. In Calcutta, too, comic art developed in the form called Review or Reviews. Calcutta Review became very famous in England and Europe. It was a satirical form and its contents were of the lifestyle of the East-Indiamen. The form called “Oh Calcutta!” was very bawdy, and the East-Indiamen enjoyed it. Indians were allowed in later half of the 19^th century to visit these shows.

Some Marathi scholars advocate that the Marathi Musicals came out of Kannad’s Yaksh-Gaan. But the first Marathi play, probably called Sita Swayanwar, with songs and music acted out by all men, was presented in some Princely Court with special guests from the English ruling class who were fond of watching their musicals in Bombay. Marathi plays Sharada and Sanshay Kallol show both burlesque and Music Hall influence. Tamasha plays added sharpness to humour and bawdiness as well around the end of the Peshwa Rule in Poona. Women actors started acting Marathi plays probably in the thirties. The first film Raja Harishchadra had all men actors who also did female parts.

The chhed chhad, i.e. teasing each other has roots in the ancient Indian culture. In Indian aesthetics, one of the Nav-Rasas (nine emotions) is Haasya (laughter), which is provided by the Vidushak (clowns) in Sanskrit drama. These clowns daringly make fun of the heroes like in the Charudutt and Abhigyan Shaakuntalam. Some examples of humour in our epics are: In Ramayan, Ravan falling down while trying to lift the Shiva’s bow; waking Kumbhakarn by playing drums sitting in his ears; In Mahabharat, Duryodhan and other Kauravas tripping and stumbling in the Pandav’s newly built Maya Sabha (Illusion Palace). This could be the original chhed chhad.

In the Puranas, Shri Krishna was famous for making fun of the Gopis (the milkmaids) which has spawned several classical songs and dance abhinaya, one of the most famous being Mohe pangaht pe Nandlal chhed gayo re. Marathi Tamasha skits also played around Krishna’s teasing aspect and often descended into bawdiness in stripping the Gopis.

The stories of Badshah and Birbal are cheeky and funny, having gentle chhed chhad between them. The stories of Sheikhchilli are nonsensically funny with some chhed chhad in there. The stories of Baital Pachishi between the King Vikrmaditya and Baital, who is half demon and half human, are again battle of wits. The tradition of leg pulling stories of Jamai Raja i.e. (the son in law) are most popular all over India. All these are captured in the line, “Dekha babu chhed ka maza”

Within the Indian family structure, parents doing some leg pulling of their children, or the siblings engaging in chhed chhad is not uncommon.

The Chhed chhad songs or the sketches are sub-division of a general term called Comedy. Indian and Hindi films appeared as response to an American Film. Dada Saab Phalke saw an American silent film called Birth of Christ in one of the Hotels in Bombay at the beginning of 1910. His father was a Professor of Sanskrit at the famous Wilson College. His family came from Tryambakeshvar which is the origin of the Godavari river. His ancestors were traditional temple story-tellers.

Phalke wanted to put Hindu stories on the films as it was the time for revival of the Indian culture and most people wanted to take pride in the past of India. This kind of pre-occupation is still seen today in Indian politics and art. The first film Phalke made was Raja Harishchandra. The film had plenty of opportunities for comic and chhed chhad scenes at the instigation of the arch Chhed chhadist, Narad Muni. With this debut in the very first feature film, comic scenes became part of the most of the silent films, and later, in the talkies, too.

I start the Chhed chhad songs with a film made by Prabhat called Aadmi in 1939 both in Hindi and Marathi. The interesting thing about Prabhat is that many times they made simultaneous films in Marathi, Hindi and Tamil to reach a larger audience. The original Marathi film would be translated into Hindi by Hindi experts with dialogues and lyrics. These were not verbal translation but artistic translations.

Aadmi was Shantaram’s interpretation of the German film Blue Angel. Just before the making of the film, Shantaram went to Germany to learn the colour film technique and as a result Prabhat had the credit of making the first coloured film in India called Sairandhri (1933). But the only copy of the film was burned down in the laboratory. So Kisaan Kanya (1937) made by the Imperial Film Company got the honour of being the first full coloured film of India.

When Shantaram was in Germany he saw the famous film Blue Angel and its effect on the audience. Later on, Shantaam made many films with some residue of the Blue Angel in them. Aadami was a film noir. This film was built around the life of a common policeman known by the belt-brass-buckle number 255. In his pursuit of crime, the 255 arrived at a red district in Bombay and listened to a song Ab kisliye kal ki baat which was in many Indian languages as the singer prostitute had customers who spoke many different languages. He fell for her, and took her home, but didn’t know how to tell his mother about his girl friend. His little sister realized this and did some chhed chhad and his leg pulling. The role of the little sister was acted out by a sweet-voiced girl called Manju who was about eleven years old and she sang and danced and made faces at her brother.

1. Film Aadmi (1939), Music by Master Krishna Rao, Lyric by Munshi Aziz, Singer Manju

Main jaan gayi, jaan gayi tumhare man ki baat

Manju did a lot of acting and singing in many films later on. After seeing her talent in the film Aadmi, Shataram bounded her with a contract. She could not act or sing in films outside Prabhat. She had to fight to get release from the contract. A lot of work in Bombay was waiting for her. Some say the films that Suraiya got from Naushad were going to be offered to her by the producers and directors due to the immense popularity of the film Aadmi.

Shantaram also contract-bounded the great Kashmiri actor Chandramohan, did not give him work and released him just for the film Shaheed (1948) as the father of Dilip Kumar. Poor actor died heart-broken. His real feelings came out when he walked in the funeral of Dilip Kumar’s character.

In America, this cruel game was played by many owners of the companies who were called Film Masters. Metro Goldwyn’s Louis B. Mayer contract-bounded Judy Garland, the star of Wizard of Oz (1939) and the winner of special Academy award as the Child Actor. They did not allow her to grow and the company doctors gave her drug injections, and used spring bodices to keep her chest flat like a little girl. Eventually when she was released from her contract she was just a wreck from drug addiction. Her biography The Other Side of the Rainbow was a pun on her most famous song Somewhere over the Rainbow, describing her painful life far removed from that of the glamour of Hollywood.

Alfred Hitchcock won many Academy Awards and eventually was knighted by the Queen Elizabeth. He contract-bounded Tippy Hedren, the heroine of the famous film Birds. When she was released from her contract she was too old to act in any film. This is the real and cruel world of filmy powerful persons.

This film Aadmi was sub-titled as “Life is for Living”. As per Shantaram’s biography, he made this film to create positive spirit among young men, especially to counter the fascination for Devdas-type character in the wake of enormously successful New Theatres film Devdas (1935).

By the time of Rattan, Manju was sixteen years old, and she did well in the small role of thesister she played. Her song Angadaai teri hai bahana, saaf kah do humein ki jana became very popular. Breaking the chronological order, I present this song as the second song in the post. AK has done a comprehensive post on Rattan.

2. Film Rattan 1944, Music: Naushad, Lyric: Dina Nath Madhok, Singer: Manju

Angadaai teri hai bahana, saaf kah do humein ki jana jana

Just a few lines from this song.

अंगड़ाई तेरी है बहाना
साफ़ कह दो हमें कि जाना, जाना

तेरी उठती जवानी पुकारे
तेरा यौवन किसी को ललकारे
दिल की धक-धक
दिल की धक-धक ये कह रही है
चोरी-चोरी बलम ज़रा आना

She sang another song from Rattan, Jhoote hain sab sapane suhane, a serious and sad song. She also sang in the chorus songs of the film. Her singing career was set to flourish but Karan Diwan fell for her and married her. Karan’s mother forbade her from singing in the films. She accepted the domesticity and gave birth to three daughters and two sons.

As we are on the theme of Shantaram and Marathi films influencing Hindi films in their translations, my third song will be from the film Brahmchaari (1938). This film was made by the cousin of Shanataram, named Vinayak, who in his days was as famous as the former. His elder brother Bhalji also was a very famous film maker whose film Valkimi (1946) gave acting break to Raj Kapoor as Narad Muni. Prithviraj Kapoor acted as Valmiki in the film. The release of the film was delayed by two years.

The story of Brahmchari was written by the famous Marathi stage writer PK Atrè who wrote many record-breaking plays. He was one of the vanguards of the Reformists’ movement in the society and heavily criticised religious norms of the then society. Brahmchari was about a young college student who came under the influence of a Hindu RSS party’s powerful and persuasive lecturer who looked for recruits among the students to tell them it was sinful and wastage to give oneself to a life of indulgences. The life’s real message according to this lecturer was “Be a celibate. Celibacy is life’s force and loss of semen is death.” This statement was a very popular political tool of many Hindu revivalists at that time.

So Vinayak, in his character of the impressionable young man, took an oath that all life he would stay celibate and would work to improve the state of the Indian people. But in that town in which Vinayak lived, there was a young daughter of a Zamindar who was a forerunner of modernity and a progressive college student who fell for him. The third song is how she seduces this celibate with her chhed chaad. The scene of the song is an imagined river Yamuna/Jamuna which in fact was a pond in the Prabhat Studio. She was wearing a bikini and she was halfway in the water. In the same river Vinayak was taking his morning holy bath. He hurriedly came out after seeing her in the water but kept looking at her as his natural instincts were awakened. She sang:

3. Brahmchaari 1938, Music: Dada Chandekar, Lyric: Pt. Indra based on Atrè’s original Song, Singer/Actor: Meenakshi.

Jamuna jal khelun khel Kanhaiya

Both the film and its bathing scene became a storming success. It was the first time that an actress was shown in a lady’s swimming suit. Revealing more and hiding little was the joyful criticism by many reviewers. Here is she in her swimming suit.  (The picture is courtesy Wikipedia)

The film took the essentials of the Hindu Sangah philosophy in its dialogues and sketches and made satirical attacks. As a result the Sangh volunteers with their staff attacked Atrè one evening when he was going to speak before an audience at the Ferguson College in Poona. I wonder are the things better now? Are the writers, artists, and the researcher scholars, reformists etc. free to express their views freely without fear?

Meenakshi became very successful on the stage and in films as well. Years later, her granddaughter Shilpa Shirodkar, too, became famous in Hindi films and she, too, appeared in a swimming suit in a film. Meenakshi scene in the water became popular. Kidar Sharma’s film Chitralekha (1941) with the actress Mehtab went further and he showed Mehatab nude in the water. The film based on the famous Hindi novel Chitralekha by Bhagawati Charan Verma discussed the question “What is sin?” This film was a roaring success in audience rating and money earning.

Something similar happened in Hollywood as well. The actress Esther Williams appeared in the Bathing Beauty (1944). Here Bollywood led the trend. The women in water and out of the water in bikini suit or naked became exciting trend in the film making business. The lanky Ursula Andres in two-piece bikini in Dr No (1962) created sensation.

As a result of the daring scene of Meenakshi in the swimming suit, Bombay’s most popular Mafatlal Swimming Pool started women’s swimming classes in a progressive atmosphere. Later on, in the fifties, there appeared another swimming pool called Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Swimming Pool. This was better and inter-collegiate competitions were held here. Shubha Khote appeared in Inter-Collegiate Competitions. This swimming pool was the location for the famous song Thandi hawa kali ghata, aa hi gayi jhoom ke picturised on Madhubala and others in swimming suits in the film Mr and Mrs 55. This pool had regular classes and provision for women swimmers in the afternoon. It is ironical that Gandhi in his schooldays hated games and labelled them as British and his name was given to the most progressive swimming pool.

Raj Kapoor was much criticised for putting his heroines either in water or bringing them out from the water with their wet clothes clinging to their body. His song for Padmini rising from the waterfall and provocatively singing O maine pyar kiya, kya zulm kiya is as erotic as the long kiss of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the film From Here to Eternity (1953).

Later on in its dying days Bombay Talkies made a film called Sangram in which Nalini Jaywant wore a bikini and swam in the river water joined by Ashok Kumar. This film was very much criticised for its “noirness” and for glorifying the criminal. But chhed chhad of the scantily-dressed Nalini and Ashok became popular. The music was by C.Ramchandra.

The Bombay Talkies in Bombay of the thirties developed their peculiar brand of chhed chhad songs or situations in their generally light films. Much is said by AK in his post on Mumtaj Ali, and in the post Pancchi. Here is the song from Sangram for this delightful theme.

4. Film Sangram (1950), Music: C.Ramchandra, Lyric: Brajendra Gaud, Singers: Chitalkar and Lata Mangeshkar

Ulfat ke jaadu ka dil mein asar hai, aadha idhar hai, aadha udhar hai

Whenever this song was played on our winding gramophone, my nutty uncle would say “Ye kyaa lagaya hai aadha idhar, aadha udhar?” This was a pointed remark about C.Ramchandra’s obsession for the use of “Aadhaa” in many songs, like Aadhaa hai chandrama raat aadhi.

In the same year, C.Ramchandra created a sensation in the music world with Sargam.

5. Sargam 1950, Music C.Ramchandra, Lyric by Pt. Santoshi, Singers: Lata and Chitalkar

Buddha hai ghoda, laal hai lagaam

A few lines from this song.

चि : हा आ
अरे बूढ़ा है घोड़ा, लाल है लगाम
ल : ओ बूढ़ा है घोड़ा, लाल है लगाम
कैसी ये जोड़ी मिलाई मेरे
दो : राम
कैसी ये जोड़ी मिलाई मेरे राम –३

This is a string puppets show manipulated by the actors Raj Kapoor and Rehana. The large family of a late famous singer are in difficult circumstances. So Uncle David has arranged with a marriage company to send a young rich man to marry Rehana. But the company manager after seeing the photo of Rehana decided to marry her and came to see the girl. He was very old. So the whole song was to make fun of the old man and his desire to marry a young girl. The song is a parody and burlesque as well. C.Ramchandra did very well for this film, so much so that when he got a new bungalow in a very posh part of Bombay he named it “Sargam”.

C.Ramchandra displayed his forte for comic and chhed chhad songs that became landmark in the Songs of Yore since 40s. AK has done a post on his Patanga (1949). Khidki (1948) and Shehnai (1947) had songs that brought down the theatre with laughter with audience singing and joining the actors on the screen. The sale of the records of these two films surpassed the sale of the records of other musicians of the decade. Let me present a song from Shehnai which established C Ramchandra as the king of chhed chhad songs and burlesque. The rip-roaring riotous tune of Ana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday made people go crazy in the year of independence

6. Shehnai 1947: Music by C.Ramchandra, Singers: Meena Kapoor and Chitalkar

Ana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday

A few lines from this song.

चि: आना मेरी जान, मेरी जान, Sunday के Sunday
आना मेरी जान, मेरी जान, Sunday के Sunday
चि: I love you
मी: भाग यहाँ से दूर
चि: I love you
मी: भाग यहाँ से दूर
चि: तुझे पैरिस दिखाऊँ, तुझे लन्दन घुमाऊँ
तुझे ब्रैन्डी पिलाऊँ, व्हिस्की पिलाऊँ
और खिलाऊँ
खिलाऊँ मुर्गी के, मुर्गी के, अण्डे, अण्डे
आना मेरी जान, मेरी जान, Sunday के Sunday

Towards the end of the 40s C.Ramchandra’s crown of comic songs was shaken by a promising young man named Vinod. There is a good post on Vinod by AK which contains very informative discussion in the comment section.  For my theme I have chosen one of his songs from his most famous film in this genre, Ek Thi Ladki (1949).

7. Ek Thi Ladki (1948), Music by Vinod, Lyric by Aziz Kashmiri, Singers: Lata, Rafi, GM Durani and chorus.

Lara lappa, lara lappa, lai rakhada

लारा लप्पा लारा लप्पा लाई रखदा -३
अडीडप्प अडीडप्प लाई रखदा
हो… देकर झूठे लारे -२
(लारा लप्पा लारा लप्पा लाई रखदा
अडीडप्प अडीडप्प लाई रखदा) –२

A few lines form this song.

This song outshone in popularity the other pretty songs in the film. From this time for a while Lata Mangeshkar was called “Lara Lappa Girl” without knowing her all round supremacy which came to be known in later years leading to her getting the highest civilian award of India, Bharat Ratna.

Now I look at the chhed chhad songs of the Big Three. Beginning from the mid-forties Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand started making their presence felt and by the end of forties they started getting the most important roles in the tinsel town with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand also setting up their own studios. From 50s onwards for about two decades they became the central Trinity of Hindi films.

So I looked at the films of Dilip Kumar first to see if he had any chhed chhad Songs. His main fame is as the Tragedy King. His screen roles started affecting him in real life compelling him to seek psychiatric treatment in London. His doctor advised him to do light-hearted comedy roles as therapy. This saw him doing films like Aazaad (1955), Kohinoor (1960), Leader (1964) and later Ram Aur Shyam (1967). But you see his comic side in his earlier films, too. Jugnu (1947) for most part is a pure chhed chhad film – the kind we came to see in the 60s led by Shammi Kapoor. You can clearly see Dilip Kumar’s flair for the comic in the film as precursor of his later comic roles. The following song comes after Dilip Kumar has distracted Noorjehan and her friends on a picnic by faking a suicide attempt, letting his friends run away with the girls’ food. An interesting trivia about the song is the screen appearance of Mohammad Rafi (from 0.59), as one of the gang of boys. Rafi had such bit several roles in several films around that period. Dilip Kumar appears very briefly though.

8. Jugnu (1947), Music by Firoz Nizami, Lyric by Shakeel Badayuni, Singers: Rafi and others

Wo apni yaad dilaae ko

The remaining two of the Big Triad Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor have mines of chhed chhad songs and also acting skills and presence on the screen to present them well.

Many of the early films of Dev Anad in the fifties had light touch within the story line and darkness of criminal laces around the films. The films gave primacy to songs and their presentation in the films. Dev Anand started loosening himself from Baazi (1951) onwards. His earlier acting was stilted, self-conscious and camera-conscious. Baazi was a noir film made from many famous influences of the Hollywood films. This film onwards, in almost every film there were songs picturised on Dev Anand which could be described as chhed chhad. From a large number of such songs I present the quintessential chhed chhad song.

9. Paying Guest (1957), Music: S.D.Burman, Lyric: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Singers:Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar

Chhod do aanchal zamana kya kahega

Some taste of the lyric.

आ: छोड़ दो आंचल ज़माना क्या कहेगा
छोड़ दो आंचल ज़माना क्या कहेगा
क: (इन अदाओं का ज़माना भी है दीवाना
दीवाना क्या कहेगा ) – (२)
आ: छोड़ दो आंचल ज़माना क्या कहेगा

Now we turn to Raj Kapoor who had a natural inclination to comedy. Besides, he was very natural in serious roles, too. Well trained on the stage of Prithvi Theatres that had been visited by English actors and had co-travelled with the company called Shakespearewallah, RK absorbed the Commedia dell’artè which was visible in his acting as well as his direction.

In his first film Aag under RK banner he put two adults in babies’ bob-headgears in buggies. Their Aayas carry them in the park and leave them and get busy talking to each other. The adult babies sing a very funny and chhed chhad song.

10. Aag (1948), Music: Ram Ganguli, Lyric: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Singers: Shamshad Begum and Mukesh

Raat ko ji chamke taare, dekh balam mohe ankhiyaan maare

Some taste of the lyric.

श : रात को जी हाय रात को जी चमकें तारें
देख बलम मोहे अँखियाँ मारे जी मैं मर गई रामा
मु : रात को जी हाय रात को जी चमकें तारें
पहलू में दिल मेरा पाँव पसारे जी मैं का करूँ रामा

In its first run Aag failed at the Box Office but all the songs became popular and in its second run it was recognised as one of the great films of RK. After such a nice chhed chhad song in the very first RK Film, chhed chhad became a recurring theme in several of RK’s subsequent films.

Now last but not the least the three comedians in the Hindi films – Johnny Walker, Mehmood and Kishore Kumar – who literarily created storm of fun and teasing songs. They started appearing in the beginning of fifties and went on flourishing all through sixties and lingered on in the seventies when romantic films were giving way to action films with fights. There were others like Rajendra Nath, Dhumal etc.

Johnny Walker dropped in as a drunkard in the office of Guru Dutt and surprised Dutt with his drunkard act as he was a teetotaller. Then onwards he started appearing in small parts in the films of Guru Dutt starting with Baazi (1951). As he went along, his stature started growing bigger and bigger and eventually some films were made around him as the hero of the films. A real story of a small man going through the story of rags to riches!

Many Johnny Walker fans believe that he was an off-shoot from the art of the comic of Noor Mohammed Charlie. I think Johnny Walker was his own man with unique talents, though helped by the expert dialogue and song writers. He created a treasure of songs that became all time popular and unforgettable. I present this delightful Rafi-Geeta Dutt duet which is representative of Johnny Walker.

11. Mr and Mrs 55 (1955), Music: O.P.Naiyyar, Lyric: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Singers: Rafi and Geeta Dutt

Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji

जाने कहाँ मेरा जिगर गया जी
अभी अभी यहीं था किधर गया जी
किसी की अदाओं पे मर गया जी
बड़ी बड़ी अंखियों से डर गया जी

कहीं मारे डर के चूहा तो नहीं हो गया
कोने कोने देखा न जाने कहाँ खो गया
यहाँ उसे लाए काहे को बिना काम रे
जल्दी जल्दी ढूँढो के होने लगी शाम रे

There is a plenty of horse playing between Johnny and Yasmin under the tables in the empty office of a newspaper during the lunch hour. There is also wordplay between Yasmin and him about “What is lost? That which is I’m looking for.” It is a very enjoyable presentation straight from the Music Hall skits of the Victorian British.

Now I come to that clown of all clowns, so far appeared in the Hindi films, Mehmood! Mehmood became popular among small children and also among the adults as his comic antics delighted all kinds of audiences. He created a comedy that could be only compared to the comedy of Charles Chaplin in the Hindi filmdom.

His poverty stricken life could be compared to the life of Badruddin who became Johnny Walker. Many people in the family to feed and no real income! He appeared as a child actor in Kismat (1943) of Bombay Talkies. He also appeared in the Dev Anand film C.I.D. (1956) in a small role of a thief who saw the murder. The same film had offered Johnny Walker a bigger role and a very good song as well. In Pyasa (1957), too, Mehmood had a small role and Johnny Walker had the bigger role and a very good song. However, Mehmood got the serious role of hero in the Chhote Nawab (1961) and Johnny Walker got a small role in it. This marked the end of Mehmood’s competition with Johnny Walker. In 1958, he appeared in the film Parvarish along with Raj Kapoor. Mehmood was so good in this film that it is said Raj Kapoor felt threatened and never agreed to work with him.

12. Do Phool (1973), Music: R.D.Burman, Lyric: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Singers: Mehmood and Asha Bhosle

Muttuko.dii kavaa.di ha.daa, aiyyo re pyaar mein jo naa karanaa chaaha

मुत्तुकोड़ी कवाड़िहड़ा मुत्तुकोड़ी कवाड़िहड़ा
अय्यो रे प्यार में जो ना करना चाहा
वो भी मुझे करना पड़ा …
कहता था चाहूँ तुझको जी से
तू तो घबराता है अभी से
चलने लग जा रे फिर दिखा दूं
धरती ऊपर है स्वर्ग नीचे
थोड़ा तो दुनिया से डर ले येंडेइ कर ले येंडेइ कर ले
ना माने बेदर्दी ऐय्योड़ा, मुत्तुकोड़ि …

Now Kishore Kumar! From Ziddi (1948) until his death in 1987 at the age of 58 is a journey of a film and music maker and the master of parody, burlesque, and comic and chhed chhad songs. At times it was difficult to differentiate between his reel comic world and his real world. He played practical jokes on his friends and enemies equally and hurt them. There are hundreds of stories about his being a joker in all packs. He reminds me the film Double Life (1947) acted superbly by Ronald Coleman as a Shakespearean actor who could not distinguish between Othello killing Desdemona on the stage and him killing another woman in real life. There are hundreds of stories that many artists do not make the difference between real life and acting life. A friend of mine always told me that her actor husband was always acting and it was difficult to live with him. She eventually divorced him and married another away from acting life. She is now much happier.

Kishore Kumar achieved enormous popularity as a comic actor-singer in the 50s reaching its climax in the comic classic film Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). His film roles were almost entirely about chhed chhad. It was probably he who gave rise to the song Dekha babu chhed ka maza in Shararat (1959). He did not sing the song, but dominated the film with his antics.

For Kishore Kumar I present this classic song from his film Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.

13. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Music: S.D.Burman, Lyric:Majrooh, Singer:Kishore Kumar

Ek ladki bhigi bhagi si, soti raaton mein jaagi si

इक लड़की भीगी-भागी सी
सोती रातों को जागी सी
मिली इक अजनबी से
कोई आगे न पीछे
तुम ही कहो ये कोई बात है
दिल ही दिल में जली जाती है
बिगड़ी बिगड़ी चली आती है
मचली मचली घर से निकली
पगली सी काली रात में
मिली इक अजनबी से
कोई आगे न पीछे
तुम ही कहो ये कोई बात है
इक लड़की …

I end this post with the King of parody, burlesque, chhed chhad and comic songs.

14. Padosan (1968), Music: R.D.Burman, Lyric: Rajendra Krishna, Singers: Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Mehmood

Ek chatur naar, kar ke singar, mere man ke dwaar mein ghusat jaat

एक चतुर नार कर के सिंगार
मेरे मन के द्वार ये घुसत जात
हम मरत जात, अरे हे हे हे
यक चतुर नार कर के सिंगार…
प रे स, स स स नि ध स
स रे स ध ध प
प ध स रे स
स रे ग ध प
यक चतुर नर कर के सिंगार…

Dekha Dosto Chhed Ka Maza

I would like to end this post by saying what I have given here is just a scratch of the iceberg of the comic and chhed chhad songs. Many other variants like “Sawal Jawab” are not attended to as their chhed chhad is slightly different. But we have to admire that within the span of three or four decades of the Hindi talking films the comic genre grew up tremendously. These films deserve respect and must not be ignored because these are funny, comical and not serious. Those who created it were serious artistes. Comic songs take double efforts to make them successful than serious classical dhuns. So my line is this:

हैं सबसे प्यारे-प्यारे वो गीत जिन्हें, हम छेड़्छाड़के सुर में गाते हैं……
पहलू में पराये दर्द बसाके, हँसना हँसाना सीख ज़रा
तू हँसना हँसाना सीख ज़रा ………