Rajinder Krishan — Hum Kuchh Nahi Kehte (Part 1)

Introduction

Rajinder Krishan

When agreeing to write my thoughts down about Rajinder Krishan the lyricist I didn’t take into account one simple factor. How does one find appropriate words to praise the words of another? Especially one as dynamic in quality of work as Rajinder Krishan has been. Isn’t it a little like expressing one’s admiration of a painter through a painting of one’s own? Or composing a melody to praise a composer whose work you admire? Will my effort even come close to doing justice? Well, it shouldn’t be for lack of trying at least! So here goes my tribute to lyricist Rajinder Krishan (RK), easily one among the most prolific lyricists of the ’50s and the ’60s.

The world of gardening teaches one a lot about life. There are some plants that grow their best in the shade of larger ones; others are vines and will cling to sturdier ones for support and grow to their best life, sometimes to the point of smothering what used to be the sturdier plant. And sometimes even a slightly smaller tree growing in the shadow of much larger trees has to pay the price by being overshadowed by them.

Humans mimic this behaviour. While there have been many who achieved success while growing in the shade of the stalwarts, there are others whose growth was probably stunted due to their presence. This happens in every walk of life, including the entertainment business.  Among the lyricists, the ’50s and the ’60s were charged by the poetry of the 3 S’s — Shakeel Badayuni, Shailendra and Sahir Ludhianvi — with that talented maverick, Majrooh Sultanpuri, and others like Hasrat Jaipuri, Kaifi Azmi etc. And somewhere in all of the poetry being written, where comfortable partnerships with composers, and special creative niches were being built around him, Rajinder Krishan found his own space in which to flourish. A fact that should not be ignored. It couldn’t have been easy to be pitted against talent such as was reigning during that time and still being able to create a foothold in the industry without much support. Not only did this tree make its way in whatever space it found, but it also flourished by way of producing quality lyrics for all sorts of situations in all kinds of films to leave behind a rich, fragrant legacy for us to enjoy. Dare I suggest, partially fueled by the talent that surrounded him — because excellence does tend to breed excellence — and partially fueled by the need to create his own place under the sun, something he seemed to have done without any doubt at all!

Rajinder Krishan remained active for almost four decades, but for the purposes of this essay, we will focus on his most productive period, a span of 25 years, from 1948-1973.

Rajinder Krishan was a jack of all trades, having dabbled in Dialogue writing, Story and Screenplay writing as well as being a lyricist, but he started his career with a small acting role in Jhande Khan’s Shahanshah Akbar in 1943 where he played the role of a pundit. The film bombed so badly that he decided acting was not for him, switching over to writing. I’m sure his millions of fans are thankful for that decision!

Even though Rajinder Krishan worked with a diverse group of composers, singers, directors, and story writers and has a large portfolio as a lyricist, he seems to have no defining characteristics to his poetry. A Shailendra or a Sahir song can be recognized even by the untrained; for that matter even Shakeel and Majrooh, but Rajinder Krishan is like that consummate actor who morphs him or herself for each role until the actor disappears and the character emerges. Is this the reason the lyrics of Rajinder Krishan frequently get a response like, “Oh, wow! Is this RK?”

In the following, do watch out for various moods from his pen, written for various composers.

Rajinder Krishan, Laxmikant, Qateel Shifai and others (Pic: Bollywood Direct/Twitter)

The Beginning

Rajinder Krishan arrived on the lyrical scene in Bombay’s cinema world in the ‘40s with Janta (1947) and received his first recognition with Tere naino ne chori kiya (Pyar Ki Jeet/1948/Suraiya/Husnlal-Bhagatram) and his non-film Suno suno aye duniyawaalo Baapu ki ye amar kahaani (Husnlal-Bhagatram/Rafi/1948). What is commendable is that he worked perhaps for less than 10 films between 1947-1949 but some of those songs still endure after more than 6 decades!

Pyar Ki Jeet (Husnlal-Bhagatram/1948), Badi Bahen (Husnlal-Bhagatram/1949), Lahore (Shyam Sunder/1949) and possibly the most popular of them all, Patanga, his first with C Ramchandra in 1949 with no less than 10 songs! Songs like Mere piya gaye Rangoon (C Ramchandra and Shamshad Begum) which achieved cult status during its time, and a second lilting duet by the same singers, O dilwaalon dil ka lagaana achcha hai, par kabhi-kabhi.

Another charming classic of its times, Namaste, namaste, pehle to ho gayi namaste-namaste, phir pyar ho gaya hanste-hanste (C Ramchandra, Rafi, Mohantara and Shamshad Begum), and, Bolo ji dil loge to kya-kya doge, possibly the first Rafi-Rajinder Krishan duet with Shamshad Begum are from the same film.

Tere nainon ne chori kiya (Pyar Ki Jeet, 1948) Husnlal-Bhagatram / Suraiya)

Even at this early time in his career, Rajinder Krishan had no trouble being eloquent, having written poetry for many years before joining the film industry. Consider his poetry in the following songs from Patanga (1949):

The use of words to create the perfect image in this one:
Gore-gore mukhde pe gesu jo chhaa gaye
Chandni raat mein baadal kahaan se aa gaye…
Gesu hatey to wohi chandni raat thi
Chhup gaye baadal pehle-si baat thi
Chanda nikal aaya, taare sharma gaye, gore-gore mukhde pe…
(Shamshad Begum for Cuckoo on screen)

Or expressing sentiments in another winner:
Kabhi khamosh ho jaana, kabhi fariyaad kar lena
Magar us bewafa ko chupke-chupke yaad kar lena…
Judaai mein kisi ki do hi baatein achchi lagti hain
Mili rone se jab fursat to unko yaad kar lena…
(Lata for Nigar Sultana onscreen)

And by far the best among the lot, a female duet by Shamshad Begum and Lata, showcasing a young Rajinder Krishan’s use of language for a philosophical analysis of love:
Pyaar ke jahaan ki niraali sarkar hai
Muhabbat ke thaane mein dil havaldaar hai, ji dil jamaadar hai
Anokhi kachehri hai ye anokha kanoon hai
Muhabbat ki arzi ka naya mazmuun hai (Mazmuun is an essay, topic, subject matter)
Aankhon ka daak-khaana ho, nazron ka taar hai, muhabbat ke thaane mein dil…
Of course, the words ‘daak-khaana’ and ‘taar’, as well as ‘jamaadar’ for a constable, are now obsolete, but at the time the message in this was pretty clear.

Pyar ke jahaan ki niraali sarkaar hai (Patanga, 1949) C Ramchandra / Shamshad Begum, Lata Mangeshkar)

This very successful musical score was the first of many popular C Ramchandra-Rajinder Krishan offerings to the public. In fact, C Ramchandra and Madan Mohan were the 2 composers Rajinder Krishan worked the most with. More on them later.

While reading an article on him, I came across this sentence: “Rajinder Krishan worked with several composers but he gave his best to C Ramchandra and Madan Mohan.” I do differ. He may have worked less with other composers in quantity, but quality? Well, you should be the judge here.

In the third category of partnerships are composers that he hardly worked with, but what gems he wrote even for these. A case in point being his work with Anil Biswas in only 2 films, one of these being Aaram (1951).

Rafi (left) and Rajinder Krishan (far right) (Pic: Rajesh Duggal)

Composers He Worked Less With

So, let’s start with the work he did with music directors he did little work with (mentioned alphabetically), and see for yourself if he compromised on quality. Due to space restrictions, if only the mukhda of each song is mentioned with the name(s) of singer(s), the hope is that the readers will take the time to hear them fully to enjoy and marvel at the choice and use of language and imagery as well as get a glimpse of the person that wrote these. Many of these songs stayed popular for decades, and music lovers of old songs hum them with affection even today. For paucity of space, only one film per composer has been chosen though they may have more than one that deserves a closer look and may have become huge, either at the box office or in people’s hearts.

It is completely fair to think that some of the songs mentioned in this essay are more popular for their vocals or composition, but let’s not overlook the lyrics. Sometimes simplicity stuns, as in a fair amount of Rajinder Krishan’s poetry, if we will just pay attention to it.

ANIL BISWAS – Aaram (1951)

A small acorn holds within itself the greatness of an oak. Likewise, the score of this one film is enough to gauge the talent of both these gents – Anil Biswas and Rajinder Krishan!

Manmohan Krishna:
Ye zindagi hai yo-yo, ye zindagi hai yo-yo
Yo-yo ki beqaraari hissa hai zindagi ka
Yo-yo ki gardishon mein qissa hai zindagi ka
Gardish bagair jeena, jeena nahi hai pyaare
Gardish mein hi mazaa hai, ye keh rahi hai yo-yo…

Talat:
Shukriya aye pyar tera shukriya
Dil ko kitna khoobsurat gham diya, shukriya…

Shukriya aye pyar tera shukriya (Aaram, 1951) Anil Biswas / Talat Mahmood)

HANSRAJ BEHL —Sikander-e-Azam (1965)

Does anything need to be said about this? I remember it almost as an anthem!
Jahaan daal-daal par sone ki chidiya karti hai basera
Vo Bharat desh hai mera…

Jahan daal daal par (Sikandar-e-Azam, 1965) Hansraj Behl / Mohd Rafi)

N DATTA – Mere Arman Mere Sapne (1963)

The most popular song from this movie was undoubtedly the duet by Asha and Rafi, Aankhen hamari hon, sapne tumhare hon, but that wasn’t the only one where Rajinder Krishan shone.
Consider these:

Rafi:
Duniya mein aaya hai to phool khilaaye ja
Aansu kisi ke le ke, khushiyan lutaaye ja

Asha:
Un se pehchan hui jaati hai, raah aasaan hui jaati hai…
Meri raaton ki seher laaya hai
Der se aaya magar aaya hai
Saath apne vo nazar laaya hai
Jo meri jaan hui jaati hai, raah aasaan hui jaati hai…

Aankhen hamari hon, sapne tumhare hon (Mere Arman Mere Sapne , 1963) N Datta / Asha Bhosle and Mohd Rafi)

RD BURMAN – Padosan (1968)

No words will do justice to the mad geniuses at play here. The musical score was nothing short of a benchmark for comic songs. The synergy between the lyrics, vocals and music remains unparalleled in what was essentially a slapstick comedy. Even though RD Burman’s music holds many hearts captive here, as do the singing talents at play, try as I might, I cannot single out just one song to highlight Rajinder Krishan here. Whether it was the iconic Mere saamne waali khidki mein…with its

Barsaat bhi aa kar chali gayi, baadal bhi garaj kar baras gaye
Par uski ek jhalak ko hum, aye husn ke maalik, taras gaye
Kab pyas bujhegi aankhon ki, din-raat ye dukhda rehta hai…

Or the honey-dipped,

Sharm aati hai magar aaj ye kehna hoga,
Ab hummen aapke qadmon hi mein rehna hoga…
Aap ke pyar ka beemar hamaara dil hai
Aap ke gham ka kharidaar hamaara dil hai
Aap ko apna koi dard na sehna hoga…

The Lata-sung Bhai battoor, bhai battoor, ab jayenge kitni door is at a different level of vanity (and one does wonder about the origins of that word, ‘battoor’) but sung so sweetly that it doesn’t irk. The inimitable female duet, Main chali, main chali, with this imagery about youth, is quite a masterpiece:

Lata & Asha:
Kahin aankh na mili, kahin dil na lagaa, to pyar ka zamaana kis kaam aaya
To ye rut, ye hawa, kaho sochegi kya, jo kisi ka na hothon pe naam aaya…

But what made Padosan the blockbuster it became was its sense of comedy. And for that reason, here is the song of choice from this film, composed, filmed and sung equally brilliantly:

Mere bhole balam, mere pyare-re balam
Mera jeevan tere bina, O mere piya, hai vo diya
Ke jis mein tel na ho…

(Kishore Kumar)

Meri pyari Bindu (Padosan , 1968) RD Burman / Kishore Kumar and Sunil Dutt)

SAJJAD – Sangdil (1952)

Rajinder Krishan even worked with a composer, reputed to be a tough taskmaster, who has only 14 films to his credit, albeit musically rich ones. Rajinder Krishan penned the lyrics to Sangdil (1952). Talk about richness of thought!

Whether it is the uplifting, gratifying Talat-Lata duet Dil mein sama gaye sajan with this,

Pehle koi khushi na thi, dil ki kali khili na thi
Teer-e-nazar chalaa na tha, zindagi zindagi na thi
Tere qadam ki aahatein ban gayein muskuraahaten
Mera jahaan basaa diya…

Or that absolute killer of a song sung by Talat!

Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni
Teri har adaa pe nisaar hai
Mujhe kyun na ho teri aarzoo, teri justaju mein bahaar hai…
Tujhe kya khabar hai, O bekhabar
Teri ik nazar mein hai kya asar
Jo gazab mein aaye to qahr hai, jo ho meherbaan vo qarar hai…

Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni (Sangdil , 1952) Sajjad Husain / Talat Mahmood)

SALIL CHOWDHARY – Chhaya (1961)

“He chose to keep his lyrics catchy and simple, in keeping with the demands of the situation. Set to music, they invariably became classics”, is what a writer wrote of Rajinder Krishan on the internet, and correctly too.

It’s tough to choose one film to highlight here. Whether it was Itna na mujh se tu pyar badha/ Talat/ Talat & Lata/ Chhaya (1961), Ek samay par do barsaaten/ Manna Dey/ Jhoola (1962) or Prempatra (1962) with Ye mere andhere ujaale na hote (Talat & Lata), Rajinder Krishan wrote some remarkable poetry! But the shortest song among all these – a do-teenya or mermaid as it is called, sung by Talat, is what walked off with the prize in the end:

Aansoo samajh ke kyun mujhe aankh se tumne gira diya
Moti kisi ke pyar ka mitti mein kyun mila diya…
Meri khataa muaaf main bhoole se aa gaya yahaan
Varna mujhe bhi hai khabar mera nahi hai ye jahaan
Doob chalaa tha neend mein, achcha kiya jagaa diya…

Aansoo samajh ke kyun mujhe (Chhaya , 1961) Salil Chowdhury / Talat Mahmood)

SD BURMAN – Sazaa (1951)

Rajinder Krishan worked with both father and son, though a little more with the son. In the 50s Dada Burman and Rajinder Krishan partnered in a few films, all of which have the early Dada Burman touch. Their most popular project together might have been Bahar (1951), the film that launched Vyjayanthimala into Hindi films; having said that, perhaps their most melodious project was Sazaa (1951), whether it was sad or happy songs. Aaja aaja tera intezaar hai (Lata & Talat), Hum pyar ki baazi haare, balamwa chale gaye (Lata), the female duet O roop nagar ke saudagar (Pramodini Desai & Lata), Ho gayi re teri ho gayi (Lata), and Sandhya Mukherjee’s Ye baat koi samjhaaye re kyun aaj nazar sharmaaye re.

Of course, this Hemant Kumar-Sandhya Mukherjee duet with, what appear to be unintelligible first 2 lines sung by the chorus, used as a refrain through the song made its way to the heart much faster than the others – probably because of those two unusual lines of lyrics added by Dada Burman. Here is the explanation of these two lines: “The song had the popular Bengali idiom, Nakay mukhe chun kali (an expression for a blackened face). Dada added this fun line to the romantic lyrics.”

That being established, do consider what RK brings to this ditty:
O Chaand, musafir raat ke, kyun suney hamaare baatein?
Tuney to dekhi hongi aisi kitni hi raatein
Chhup ja re, ja chhup ja, teri minnat sau-sau baar karein, aa gup-chup, gup-chup pyar karein…

Followed by the thought that they would have to hide their love for each other as long as the moon was watching them!

Chhupna hai to jaldi chhup ja, ja-ja-ja-ja-jaaa, raat hai thodi baaki
Pyaase reh na jaayen dono, main aur mera saathi
Chhup ja re jaa chhup ja, yun kab take hum taqraar karein
Teri minnat sau-sau baar karein, aa gup-chup, gup-chup pyar karein…

Aa gupchup gupchup pyar karein (Sazaa , 1951) SD Burman / Sandhya Mukherjee, Hemant Kumar)

SHYAM SUNDER – Lahore (1949)

With only the 1949 released Lahore to their joint credit, Rajinder Krishan, that early on in his career, did not fall short! A duhaai sung by Manna Dey, Insaan ne insaan pe kya zulm kiya hai, is a raw expression of pain to a neglectful God, Awaaz de soye huye Bhagwaan, kahaan hai. The bleakness in Toote huye armaano ki ik duniya basaaye (Lata) is tangible with these words,

Ik qaid hai gham ki ye judaai ka zamaana
Aaja ke ye ghum mujh se kahin jeet na jaaye…

The powerlessness felt by all who were forced to part during the Partition, leaving beloveds, memories and lives behind is expressed in Wohi rota hua dil idhar bhi hai udhar bhi hai, musafir se khafa manzil idhar bhi hai udhar bhi hai. A love that is expressed in the only duet sung by Lata and Karan Deewan, Duniya hamaare pyar ki yun hi jawan rahe, Main bhi vahin rahun mera saajan jahaan rahe.

Lata sings the best of Rajinder Krishan’s poetry in this film for Nargis, with a pleading couplet to start off the song. Though I must admit I’m confused why the first antara is repeated as the third antara of the song. If any of the readers know, please do share in the comments.

Nazar se door jaanewaale, dil se door na karna
Meri aankhon ko rone par kahin majboor na karna…
Bahaaren phir bhi aayengi, magar hum-tum juda honge
Ghataayen phir bhi chhayengi, magar hum-tum juda honge…
Sandesa pyar ka laayegi saawan ki jawan raaten
Pawan jhoomegi, gaayegi, magar hum-tum juda honge…

Bahaaren phir bhi aayengi (Lahore , 1949) Shyam Sunder / Lata Mangeshkar)

SONIK OMI – Teen Chor  (1973)

One forgettable film with them, and Rajinder Krishan manages to leave a small footprint in this song:

Mann ke khazaane mein maaya hi maaya, jab bhi tu chaahe ise loot le…
Dikhaayi na de jo andhere mein taala
Tu jyoti lagan ki jalaa le
Agar haath kaanpe to Hari-naam lekar
Tu pooja ki chaabi lagaa le
Daraati hai kyun tujhe apni hi chhaaya
Tera hi dhan hai ye, nahi hai paraaya, jab bhi tu chaahe ise loot le…

Mann ke khazaane mein in Teen Chor

USHA KHANNA – Aao Pyar Karen (1964)

Perhaps their only work together (as internet sources aren’t too reliable on that score), but what a lilting score it turned out to be! Consider these — Ye jhuki-jhuki-jhuki nigahein teri by Rafi, the delicately beautiful Ik sunehri shaam thi by Lata, or the provocative Tamannao ko khilne dein, also by Lata, with what became a catchphrase, Agar hotthon pe pehre hain to aankhon ko zubaan kar len and the Rafi-sung, Dil ke aaine mein tasvir teri rehti hai — each song clearly the product of a poet used to choosing his words carefully, but masterfully!

Hear the back-and-forth in this duet shared below carefully and you will also marvel at his use of imagery. I, as a mere music lover, rate this album worthy in both Usha Khanna’s and Rajinder Krishan’s careers.

Tum akele to kabhi bag mein jaaya na karo
Aaj-kal phool bhi dilwaale hua karte hain
Koi qadmon se lipat baittha to phir, to phir kya hoga…

Tum akele to kabhi baag mein (Aao Pyar Karen , 1964) Usha Khanna / Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd Rafi)

For a man who penned Apni to ye aadat hai ke hum kuchh nahi kehte, Rajinder Krishan sure had a lot to say!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this essay which explores his work with six more composers he worked with – Chitragupt, Hemant Kumar, Husnlal-Bhagatram, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Ravi.

References:
Yesterday’s Melodies, Today’s Memories – Manek Premchand
Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman — HQ Chowdhury)
Rajinder Krishan: The Unsung Lyricist — Sharad Dutt, 12th Jan 2019
Rajinder Krishan — Cinemaazi
The Masters: Rajinder Krishan — Anuradha Warrier, 23rd Sept 2018

More Must Reads in Silhouette

Hasrat Jaipuri – The Eternal Romantic

Jan Nisar Akhtar – Of Romance and Hope

Waqt Ne Kiya – The Introspective Songs of Kaifi Azmi

Sahir Ludhianvi: The Rebel, The Lover