December is Here

..and so is the cold. Some interesting 'haps' (as opposed to apps- I still can't figure those out) in the last few days.

Attended an audition for the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" as an observer in the selection process, on campus. A colleague is going to stage the play. Reminded me of the Telugu film "Ashta Chamma" which was loosely based on the play, produced by a friend a few years ago.

The raw energy that a play (even in audition time) brings, and the sheer fun of the words Oscar Wilde had in this one, are infectious. Enjoyed the process thoroughly. Almost everyone who auditioned were talented, and might have fit into the play, if only the cast of characters were larger! Naseeruddin Shah says in his recent autobiography that he and his friends used to perform plays sometimes to an audience of ten or twenty. I can see why!

I do think we ought to make dramatics compulsory, if anything needs to be compulsory. In fact, faculty may also benefit from doing something like this. We may learn to shed some inhibitions, and stop being single-track in pursuit of knowledge in a routine way. And of course, learn to have fun.

On a somber note, Deven Varma passed away. The current generation may not have seen much of him, but he was a nice actor, who I remember singing "Mummy, o mummy, tu kab saas banegi?" among other things. He was laughter-inducing, even with facial expressions, even when he did not say a word. Good acting talent, never loud or vulgar. His best role may have been in Angoor, a double role with the 'double' Sanjeev Kumar.

Sing-song Comedians

Singing songs is the preserve of heroes, heroines, and vamps (an endangered species today) - right? Wrong. The comedians do it too. And some have had superhit songs to their credit.

Deven Varma sang Mummy o Mummy, Tu kab saas banegi? in one of his memorable roles.

Johny Walker sang several, including Jangal mein mor naacha kisi ne na dekha, and Sar jo tera chakraye, ya dil dooba jaye.

I recently discovered a song sung by Rajendranath, which goes, Aye haseeno, tumne sadiyon, aashiq ko tadpaaya, .....Meri lottery lag jaane waali hai.

Mehmood sang in Gumnaam, Hum kaale hain to kya hua dilwaale hain, and it became a raging hit. He also sang with Kishore Kumar in Padosan, one of the all-time hits, Ek chatur naar, badi hoshiyaar...

Mehmood also did a Charlie Chaplin act in a movie called Aulad starring Jeetendra and sang a fun song, Jodi hammari, bane na kaise jaani, hum to hain angrezi, tum ladki hindustani, with Aruna Irani. I loved it when I first saw it in the early seventies.

Other instances of non-comic character artistes singing are also known. For example, dad Bharat Bhushan singing the best song in Pyar Ka Mausam - the Kishore Kumar version of Tum bin jaoon kahan. Shashi Kapoor later sings the Mohd. Rafi version, which is not a patch on the first.