{"id":4055,"date":"2018-02-14T00:41:21","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T19:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=4055"},"modified":"2018-06-14T17:21:15","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T11:51:15","slug":"barsat-ki-raat-part-1-a-musical-romance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/barsat-ki-raat-part-1-a-musical-romance\/","title":{"rendered":"Barsat Ki Raat Part 1: A Musical Romance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Peeyush Sharma’s essay on Bharat Bhushan<\/a><\/span> prompted me to think about this actor whom a lot of people have either ignored or passed by. Some of us, of course, have been appreciative of him, while others have been staunch fans. One of the things that stood out for me in that essay was the fact that this gentleman-actor was a great reader. That was enough information for me to be intrigued. And to re-watch a movie that has been a fascination for me since childhood. Now, for different reasons.<\/p>\n

Barsat ki Raat<\/em>, released in 1960, became a staple of Doordarshan during the airstrikes and ‘blackout’ days of the 1971 war, short though this war was. We were one of the few families to have a television in our neighborhood. Many families came to our home during those days to be together, to watch TV and not worry, for a few hours, about which of our relatives would not make it back from the battlefront – it seemed as if every family had at least one representative in the Armed Forces then.<\/p>\n

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Barsat Ki Raat<\/em> (Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP) that had 4 songs, 2 on each side. Angel Records Label \u200e\u2013 released by The Gramophone Company Of India Ltd.
Pic: discogs<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Like everything does, the war got over. But it left some of us with distinct memories and outcomes that shaped our futures. A few of those memories also had to do with the non-stop movies that we saw on the one TV channel there was. The songs we finally saw (as opposed to just hearing them on Vividh Bharati). Oh my! What a treat that was in the midst of so much real-life drama.<\/p>\n

For weeks and months afterwards our group would take any opportunity to dress up in our mothers’ clothes, and organize ‘qawwalii’ competitions, as I recall Barsat ki Raat<\/em>\u00a0being my introduction to this amazing genre of Hindi film music. And that’s how I have remembered Barsat ki Raat<\/em>\u00a0always – the qawwali movie. The story of the movie and everything else about it has remained a vague grey area in my mind.<\/p>\n

A few days ago I revisited the movie with better-seeing, better-perceiving, adult eyes. The editor and writer in me was pleased as punch to note that the story was well-written and the screenplay was linear and logical. There were no loose ends. No one and nothing forgotten. I was impressed, until I saw the credits of the movie.<\/p>\n

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She is not in “your” room “upstairs”, but in “hers”, “downstairs”<\/p><\/div>\n

Screenplay by PL Santoshi (who is also the Director) and\u2026 Bharat Bhushan. Bharat Bhushan? Really? Wow! That surprised me.<\/p>\n

The story (by Rafi Ajmeri) is, perhaps, a little predictable and not very exciting by modern standards. But the treatment of it by the screenplay writers and the director delights a linear thinker like me. Through the movie I appreciated how little threads were tied up – details, that sometimes escape even the most experienced directors or are sacrificed at the editing table, were dealt with in the most elegant fashion.<\/p>\n

For instance, when Madhubala runs away from home to be with Bharat Bhushan you may wonder how this went down with the audiences in the ’60s. But a small interchange between Bharat Bhushan and the landlord where they live when he asks where Shabnam (Madhubala) is and the landlord replies that she is not in “your” room “upstairs”, but in “hers”, “downstairs”, clarifies any doubts you may have had about these lovers taking the plunge or living in sin.<\/p>\n

There is another scene that ends in Bharat Bhushan taking a sip from a cup of tea in his hands, only to dissolve into the next scene which starts with Madhubala with a cup of tea in her hand.<\/p>\n

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Not to forget Dinu Lohar, the ironsmith, whose shop becomes the lovers’ meeting place. He is given a past and logic for helping out these two, as well. And the detail that made such an impression, a movie called ‘Barsat ki Raat<\/em>‘ starts off with rain showers and a song about rain, and ends with both, too – as if to impress upon the viewer that it is in the small details that big memories are made. I don’t know about you, but details like this make my little brain light up with a-ha! moments. The writer in me appreciated the little things that wove together to make the big story.<\/p>\n

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Shabab (Ratna- incidentally, this is Bharat Bhushan’s real wife), is pretty and talented<\/p><\/div>\n

When the film starts, first Shabab goes to invite Amaan saheb, the music is frothy and chanchal <\/em>but when Shama goes next, the music is serene and sober. Roshan has thus introduced the sisters, effectively, personalities intact.<\/span><\/p>\n

The names of the 3 important women in the movie – Shabab (Ratna- incidentally, this is Bharat Bhushan’s real wife), who is pretty and talented and a great support to her elder sister, as well as a little\u00a0sassy. Shama (Shyama), the candle whose fate it is to burn- in love; and Shabnam (Madhubala) the gorgeous leading lady who is soft and delicate as dew. Incidentally, Bharat Bhushan’s pseudonym in the movie is Kamal. Flowers and dew do go together!<\/p>\n

For all intents and purposes, the movie could be split in two – A Musical Romance, and the Qawwali Movie. Let’s look closer at each part that constitutes this winsome whole.<\/p>\n

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The way the story is directed, it deals with the main story, the romance, the trials and tribulations of the romantic pair in the first three-quarters of the movie, with the hint of the qawwallis to come in the very first scene itself!<\/p>\n

The reference to qawwali comes right in the beginning.\u00a0 Mubarak Ali and his daughters are known as qawwali performers right from the start of the film, originating from Gulbarga. Even that detail has been mentioned. When Amaan saheb turns Shabab away he says, \u201cghar jaa ke qawwali ga<\/em>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last quarter of the movie is nothing but qawwali competitions, thereby giving the story a continuity and a focus that may have got scattered had the director tried to present both the stories at once. But even in its predictability the story never gets boring, thanks, in part to the performances and in a huge part to the music of the film! An extraordinary album by Roshan with breathtaking poetry by Sahir, this movie boasts 11 songs. Twelve, if the main qawwali were to be treated as 2, as the recording company treated it.<\/p>\n

Look at the vast spread of talent this musical score exhibits. It starts off with a classical Gaud Malhar, a composition that Roshan re-used after 9 years. He composed Garjat barsat bheejat aye lo<\/em> for Malhar in 1951, sung by Lata. He uses the same composition to start off this musical with Suman Kalyanpur and Kamal Barot singing Garjat barsat saawan aayo re\/ laayo na sang mein humre bichhade balamwa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sahir writes, Rimjhim rimjhim meha barse, tarape jiyarava meen samaan.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What a comparison! Even though rimjhim jhim meha barse, <\/em>yet meen (fish) ka tarapana<\/em>, excellent!<\/span><\/p>\n

Garjat barsat saawan aayo re<\/em> – Suman Kalyanpur, Kamal Barot and Lata<\/h2>\n