What I Learnt From Hindi Films

Life is song and dance- if you don't appreciate these, you have not lived (Osho has said much the same thing somewhere).

Good music can take you through bad times..try it. Zindagi ek safar hai suhaana..

Happy endings are possible

(particularly with good editing, because then you decide the ending).

The cops cannot solve all your problems- you have to make an effort too. Same with God!

Looking good can make you feel good..even others looking good on screen, when you know they have used make-up.

Philosophy is easier to disseminate through a well-made film, than through other means- zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin, babu moshaay! (film Anand, circa 1970).

Corollary to the above- through good songs as well. Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makaam, woh phir nahin aate, or Aanewala pal, jaanewala hai, ho sake to isme zindagi guzaro, pal jo yeh jaanewala hai. Or, Zindagi ittefaq hai (from Aadmi aur Insaan)

Ravi- Tribute to his Music

Aye meri zohra jabeen, tujhe maloom nahi, tu abhi tak hai haseen aur main jawaan... was a lovely song, full of zest, from Waqt, a film by B.R. Chopra. Hamraaz and Gumraah too had some excellent songs composed by Ravi. Neele gagan ke tale, tum agar saath dene ka waada karo and Na muh chupaake jiyo aur na sar jhukake jiyo, ghamon ka daur bhi aae to muskura ke jiyo (could be the inspiration for the HDFC Life ad tagline sar uthake jiyo?) from Humraaz, and Chalo ek baar phir se, ajnabi ban jaayein hum dono from Gumraah rank among the best in my book.

I don't know if it was by design or otherwise that Mahendra Kapoor figures in many of his songs. 'Zohra jabeen', of course, was sung by Manna Dey.

He was not mentioned among the greats of Hindi film music, but was superb when he did compose, as is evident from the list above, even if not complete. If you need any more proof, Chaudhvin ka chaand and its title song should do the trick. I also found on looking up his biography that he had scored music for Aankhen, the Dharmendra- Mala Sinha starrer that had some good songs, particularly the lilting "Milti hai zindagi mein mohabbat kabhi kabhi" by Lata Mangeshkar. Also my favourite song from Aadmi aur Insaan was his composition- "Zindagi ittefaq hai..."- how true. Maut bhi. We'll remember you as long as we are around.