Girl Shining

Girl Shining

The Fog has lifted but the gloom remains, what would make this girl shine?

Metaphorically speaking.

Peroxide, obviously.

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Nn angry young inspector has just discovered he has fallen for a spunky girl who earns her livelihood sharpening knives. It is not the kind of love that needs flowers or words. The two just look at each other and stare out of the window -- their feeling of ardour expressed in the music and lyrics of two street singers performing in the neighbourhood

It is not an easy song to write. And few could have captured the mood of the delicate moment better than Gulshan Bawra who wrote, Deewane hain deewanon ko no ghar chahiye, na dar chahiye, mohabbat bhari ik nazar chahiye, nazar chahiye (film: Zanjeer, 1973).

That Bawra, who passed away at the age of 72 on Friday after a heart attack in Mumbai, himself performs as the reed slim singer in the song only adds to the moment.

In a career that spanned over four decades but with an oeuvre of only 250 odd songs, Gulshan Bawra's simple lyrics and easy poetic eye helped several Bollywood directors illustrate their larger cinematic vision in a three-minute song.

Anyone who grew up in the 1960s knows that Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle, ugle heere moti, mere desh ki dharti (film: Upkar, 1967) wasn't just a song; it was almost like India's mission statement. By the time, Manoj Kumar's movie was released, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was dead. But his slogan, Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, had outlived him. Bawra's words encapsulated that 70mm national imagination evocatively to win both hearts and awards.

For someone who reportedly witnessed his parents being killed before his own eyes during Partition, Bawra's songs seldom betrayed those childhood scars. On the contrary, they are filled with the eagerness of life, especially when he paired up with RD Burman; Bawra's words being the perfect foil to the composer's zestful rhythms.

That's what made him suitable for those zany Rishi Kapoor entertainers such as Rafoo Chakkar, Khel Khel Mein and Jhoota Kahin Ka. Songs like Khullam khulla pyar karenge (Khel Khel Mein) or Barah baje ki suiyon jaise hum dono mil jayein (film: Jhoota Khain Ka) capture the carefree abandon of youth.

Before that Bawra wrote many songs for Kalyanji-Anandji including the broken-heart track Chandi ki deewar na todi (film: Viswas, 1969) and the fine male-bonding number, Yaari hai imaan mera, yaar meri zindagi (film: Zanjeer, 1973), also Binaca Geet Mala's No 1 song of the year.

Another Amitabh Bachchan movie, Satte Pe Satta (1982), allowed him to showcase the upside of his funk. The title track, Dukki pe dukki ho, yah satte pe satta, gaur se dekha jaye to bas hai patte pe patta, koi farak nahi albatta, neatly summarises the spirit of that madcap movie.

Even in Kamal Haasan's Sanam Teri Kasam (1982), Bawra was in top form. Every song in the Kamal Haasan and Reena Roy -- what a strange pair! -- flick was a superhit, especially the title track, Jaana o meri jaana (exquisitely rendered by composer R D) and Jaan-e-jaan Nisha, sung by Asha Bhonsle.

Indeed, Bawra had one of the finest success ratios among all lyricists. Going through the list of his songs -- his first hit came in Satta Bazaar (1959), Tumhe yaad hoga kabhi hum miley the -- one discovers that almost every second song penned by him is a hit. That includes tracks like Humain aur jeene ki chaahat na hoti (film: Agar Tum Na Hote, 1983). Even in flops like Lal Bangla (Chand ko kya maloom chahta hai use koi chakor, 1966) and Nishaan (Lehron ki tarah yaadein, 1982), the songs are so good you feel sorry they aren't part of a better movie.

That in itself is a shining tribute to the man who arrived in Mumbai to work as a postal clerk. Instead, he kept delivering a fabulous bouquet of songs till the music died.

Gems you might have missed

** Film: Raaz. Song: Dil sambhale sambhalta nahin aaj to (singer: Mukesh-Suman Kalyanpur)

** Film: Lal Bangla. Song: Roothe ho sanam to phir kya hai, humko bhi manana aata hai (singer: Suman Kalyanpur)

** Film: Dil Deewana. Song: Sunita, main tere pyaar ke geet gaane laga hoon (singer: Kishore Kumar)

** Film: Nishan. Song: Lehron ki tarah yaadein (singer: Kishore Kumar)

** Film: Khel Khel Mein. Song: Aaye lo pyaar ke din aye (singer: Kishore-Asha)

** Film: Yeh Wada Raha. Song: Aesa kabhi hua nahi (singer; Kishore Kumar)

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