Hindi-Urdu songs: 1935
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Contents |
History
1935 Playback singing begins Raychander Boral arguably started the system of playback singing with the song Main khush hona chãhooñ, khush ho na sakooñ for the film Dhoop Chhaon/ Bhagyachakra. The singers were Parul Ghosh, Suprova Sarkar and Harimati.
According to another school, Anil Biswas was India’s first playback singer and the song was Jeevan hai ek kahãni, duniya bhi ek kahani from the film Mahageet (1937).
Therefore, the Geet Kosh was sought out for clues. It, too, gives RC Boral/ Dhoop Chhaon credit for the introduction of playback singing. And how did the idea occur? In the film, Main khush hona was sung as a group song, a chorus, performed on a stage by a theatrical troupe. Playback singing made sense in a chorus. After the first two lines of Main khush hona..., singer Ahi Sanyal came in as a ‘bad singer’ and sang a verse from Aaj méré ghar Mohan aayo, which was also a full-fledged song elsewhere in the film. However, the entire song was shot all over again. This time K.C. Dey sang instead of Ahi Sanyal and after the first lines of Main khush hoon he first sang the first two lines of Teri gathri mein lãgã chor, another independent song from the film, before singing a verse from Aaj méré ghar Mohan aayo.
Then, what about the claim of Jeevan hai ek kahãni from Mahageet? The Geet Kosh informs us that it was the first film made in Bombay to have playback singing. The song was not released on a gramophone disc. (Dhoop Chhaon had been made by New Theatres in Calcutta.)
Fifteen significant Hindi-Urdu songs from 1935
Song |
Film |
Music |
Lyrics |
Singer(s) |
Bãlam aayé baso moré man meiñ (Raag Siñdhûrã/ Taal Keherwã) |
Devdas |
Timir Baran |
Kedar Sharma |
K.L. Saigal |
Chhooté asîr to badla hua zamana tha |
Devdas |
Timir Baran |
Kedar Sharma |
K.L. Saigal |
Dukh ke ab din beetat naaheeñ (Raag Dés/ Taal Dãdrã) |
Devdas |
Timir Baran |
Kedar Sharma |
K.L. Saigal |
Mat bhool musafir |
Devdas |
Kedar Sharma |
Timir Baran |
KC Dey |
Kuchh bhi nahiñ bharosa, duniya hai aanî-jaani |
Dharam ki Devi @ Suhag ki Raat |
Anil Biswas |
Gauri Shankar Lal ‘Akhtar’ |
Anil Biswas |
Baba man ki aankhein khol |
Dhoop Chhaon |
RC Boral |
Pt Sudarshan |
KC Dey |
Main khush hona chãhooñ, khush ho na sakooñ, jab tak hai tera |
Dhoop Chhaon |
RC Boral |
Pt Sudarshan |
Parul Ghosh, Suprova Sarkar, Harimati |
Tere pûjan ko, Bhagwan, bana hai mandir ãlishãn |
Bharat ki Beti |
Anl Biswas |
? |
Ratanbai |
Meré prem ki naiya |
Dhoop Chhaon |
RC Boral |
Pt Sudarshan |
Uma Devi, Pahari Sanyal |
Prem kahani sakhi |
Dhoop Chhaon |
R. C. Boral |
A.Sudarshan |
Uma Devi |
Teri gathri mein lãgã chor musafir jaag zarã |
Dhoop Chhaon |
Raychander Boral, Pankaj Mullick |
Pt. Sudarshan |
K.C. Dey |
Aaj méré ghar Mohan aayo, janam-janam ké sañkat tãré |
Dhoop Chhaon (@ Bhagya Chakra) |
Raychander Boral, Pankaj Mullick |
Pt. Sudarshan |
KC Dey |
Andhe ki lãthi tû hi hai (Dil ké phapholé jal uthé) |
Dhoop Chhaon (@ Bhagya Chakra) |
Raychander Boral, Pankaj Mullick |
Pt. Sudarshan |
KC Dey (in tt film)/ K.L Saigal (on certain discs) |
(Instrumental music) (Raag Gaud Sarang) |
Javani ki Hawa |
Saraswati Devi |
--- |
--- |
Yeh kooch ke waqt kaisi ãwãz dil ké kãnoñ mein aa rahi hai? |
Karwan e Hayat |
Mihir Kiran Bhattacherjee |
M.K.Bhattacharya |
Pahari Sanyal |
How these particular songs were chosen
India’s first—and Hindi-Urdu music’s only durable—hit parade began in 1954. Its creator, Binaca Geet Mala, issued annual lists for 1952 and 1953 as well. However, songs had been introduced in Hindi-Urdu films as early as in 1931, indeed, with India’s first talking film.
Which were the most popular Hindi-Urdu songs between 1931 and 1951? The internationally accepted way of finding out is to go through contemporary as well as later articles to see which songs were mentioned (‘cited’) most often.
Indpaedia’s volunteers spent almost 21 man-months combing through all sources that mentioned songs from the years not covered by Binaca Geet Mala. Around one-third of this time was spent sifting through and analysing fifteen sources that covered the period 1931-53. These included YouTube playlists, three encylopaedias of Hindi-Urdu songs and a scholarly history of Hindi-Urdu film music. Because very few songs were mentioned ‘often,’ the volunteers noted down every song that was mentioned at all. Less than half a dozen songs were omitted because they did not exist either on Saregama’s website, the Geet Kosh, YouTube or Hindi Geet Mala. Every song was cross-checked with at least one of these sites.
For more details please see Hindi-Urdu songs: methodology.
Annual lists for the years 1931-51 have been arranged in the alphabetical order, because no one knows the order of their popularity. However, this can be done.
The Indpaedia community will be grateful if some volunteer(s) check out on YouTube the songs mentioned on this page and rank them according to the number of times each song has been played. (Most, but not all, of these songs are on YouTube.) This contribution will be gratefully acknowledged in the volunteer’s name.
Raags in songs
Few film songs that have a root in Indian classical music remain faithful to a raag throughout their length. Indpaedia volunteers have sometimes mentioned raags even when there is merely a hint of that raag in a song. (‘Raag’ is frequently spelt ‘raga,’ while ‘taal’ is also spelt ‘tal.’)
Wherever a taal has been mentioned, it is the one verified by ChandraKantha.com, and sometimes the raags, too.
See also
For lists of popular songs
If the song that you are looking for has not been listed under one particular year, please look up the next year’s charts as well. This is especially true of Binaca/ Cibaca’s annual charts, which would put songs released in the last months of a year in the following year’s charts.
Hindi-Urdu songs: An introduction <> Hindi-Urdu songs: methodology <> Hindi-Urdu songs: sources and abbreviations <> Hindi-Urdu songs, 1931-49: years not known
Hindi-Urdu songs: 1931 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1932 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1933 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1934
Hindi-Urdu songs: 1935 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1936 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1937 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1938 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1939
Hindi-Urdu songs: 1940 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1941 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1942 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1943 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1944
Hindi-Urdu songs: 1945 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1946 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1947 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1948 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1949
Hindi-Urdu songs: 1950 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1951 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1952 Binaca Geet Mala: History and trivia Binaca Geet Mala 1953: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1954: greatest hits
Binaca Geet Mala 1955: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1956: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1957: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1958: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1959: greatest hits
Binaca Geet Mala 1960: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1961: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1962: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1963: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1964: greatest hits
Binaca Geet Mala 1965: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1966: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1967: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1968: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1969: greatest hits
Binaca Geet Mala 1970: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1971: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1972: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1973: greatest hits Binaca Geet Mala 1974: greatest hits
Binaca Geet Mala 1975: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1976: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1977: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1978: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1979: annual list
Binaca Geet Mala 1980: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1981: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1982: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1983: annual list Binaca Geet Mala 1984: annual list
Binaca Geet Mala 1985: annual list Cibaca Geet Mala 1986: annual list Cibaca Geet Mala 1987: annual list Cibaca Geet Mala 1988: annual list Cibaca Sangeet Mala 1989: annual list
Cibaca Sangeet Mala 1990: annual list Cibaca Geet Mala 1991: annual list Cibaca Geet Mala 1992: annual list Cibaca Geet Mala 1993: annual list Hindi-Urdu songs: 1994
Hindi-Urdu songs: 1995 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1996 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1997 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1998 Hindi-Urdu songs: 1999
Hindi-Urdu songs: 2000 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2001 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2002 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2003 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2004
Hindi-Urdu songs: 2005 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2006 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2007 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2008 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2009
Hindi-Urdu songs: 2010 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2011 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2012 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2013 Hindi-Urdu songs: 2014
For lists of popular Hindi-Urdu films
Indpaedia has lists of the highest grossing films of all individual years (and some decades) from Hindi-Urdu films: 1940 to the present.
Records for the 1930s are non-existent but you may still want to read:
Hindi-Urdu films: 1931 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1932 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1938 <>Hindi-Urdu films: 1939
Below are sample links, one from each decade. Links to all individual years (and some decades) will be found at the bottom of every page in the Hindi-Urdu films series.
Hindi-Urdu films: 1941 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1950 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1968 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1977 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1986 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 1995 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 2004 <> Hindi-Urdu films: 2013 <>