Ten of my favourite ‘male pianist’ songs

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Some time back, I received a request from a blog reader and long-ago professor of mine: would I do a post on songs sung at pianos? Hindi cinema, back in the good old days, invariably had a song at a piano per film, often more. I had to inform my ex-prof: I had already compiled, some time back, a post on piano songs: specifically, women pianists. But this gave me an idea: how about a post on male pianists? After all, there has been no shortage of songs picturised on men sitting at pianos.

Male pianist

Therefore, this post, of ten ‘male pianist’ songs that I like – for various reasons, of which one is always that I like the music and the rendition of the song, though in some cases, there’s the added bonus of good picturisation too. As always, each song is from a pre-70s film that I’ve seen. I have, however, imposed a few more restrictions on myself to make the compilation of this post a little more challenging:

(a) No two songs are picturised on the same actor
(b) All songs are solos, or – at the most – a solo with a chorus; and
(c) In all songs, the person at the piano is the one singing (this is why I’ve excluded gems like Tu jahaan-jahaan chalega, Mujhe tum mil gaye humdum, Main khushnaseeb hoon, and the female version of Yoon toh humne laakh haseen dekhe hain)

Here we go, then, in no particular order:

1. Kisi patthar ki moorat se (Humraaz, 1967; Sunil Dutt): When I was thinking of men playing pianos in Hindi films, the one face that kept popping up in my memory was that of Sunil Dutt: accompanying Sadhana as she sang the title song in Mera Saaya; singing Chalo ek baar phir se in Gumraah; and this song. I have always liked the songs of Humraaz a lot, and this one is a particular favourite. It’s the most popular setting for a piano song: a party, in which the hero serenades the woman he’s in love with. She is still nursing a broken heart, but his assertions that he will melt this ‘patthar ki moorat’ (and doesn’t Vimmi do a very good impersonation of a stone statue?!) do seem to have some effect. Lovely music and rendition, and Sunil Dutt is a sight for sore eyes.

Kisi patthar ki moorat se, from Humraaz
2. Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat (Teen Deviyaan, 1965; Dev Anand): Dev Anand features in two of my favourite playing-a-piano-at-a-party songs: Koi sone ke dilwaala, from Maya; and this one. Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat has a slight edge over Koi sone ke dilwaala for me, simply because the picturisation is better (for one, in the Maya song, Dev Anand is badly seated, so his legs, sticking out below the piano, look odd enough to distract me from the song itself). Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat has great music; it’s beautifully sung (I especially love the opening, just with Kishore’s voice and no instruments), and the picturisation is loads of fun – a party, like the Humraaz one, but one where everybody joins in in the song.

Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat, from Teen Deviyaan
3. Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara (Anhonee, 1952; Raj Kapoor): Another party song with a man at a piano. This time, it’s Raj Kapoor, lip-synching (unusually) to the voice of Talat Mahmood. This is, again, a romantic song, but unlike Kisi patthar ki moorat se – which addresses one particular individual, and is sung wholly for her – or Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat, which addresses an amorphous dream woman – Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara is more an expression of the singer’s own love for romance, his desire to be desired: and it has the desired effect – it intrigues a beautiful woman to sit up and listen.

Besides the fact that the song is lovely, I find it interesting that at the start of the song, the first few notes played on the piano do seem to be played correctly by Raj Kapoor – did he learn them especially for this song, or did he actually know how to play the piano?

Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara, from Anhonee
4. Pyaar deewaana hota hai (Kati Patang, 1970; Rajesh Khanna): Yet another song set in a party, with the hero at a piano (and, in a change from the usual, accompanied by other musicians, too). I always think of Pyaar deewaana hota hai as a Yeh shaam mastaani, but in an indoor setting: the hero tries to entice the heroine, knowing full well that his love for her is by no means one-sided, and unable to understand why she insists on keeping her distance. In this song, he has a little more success: she is initially embarrassed and awkward, but the way her eyes light up shows that she is, indeed, attracted. Wonderful song, though I wish the rather garishly dressed people around the piano (not to mention the fat, intrusive candle on top of it!) had been dispensed with.

Pyaar deewaana hota hai, from Kati Patang
5. Manzil wohi hai pyaar ki (Kathputli, 1957; Balraj Sahni): Finally, a change: not a piano being played at a party. Manzil wohi hai pyaar ki, sung in Subir Sen’s beautiful but underrated voice and picturised on one of my absolute favourite actors, Balraj Sahni. Manzil wohi hai pyaar ki can be a highly deceptive song, because the entire piece – lyrics and much of the picturisation (unless you note the people going past, on various errands, towards the end of the song) – tends to convey the impression that this is a romantic song: a lover sitting at a piano and singing to his beloved who dances around and gives him loving looks. It couldn’t be further from the truth: in Kathputli, Vyjyantimala is paired with Jawahar Kaul, and Balraj Sahni plays a theatre director to her dancer. No romance there, just a business relationship. You wouldn’t think it to watch this song. But what a lovely song, nevertheless.

Manzil wohi hai pyaar ki, from Kathputli
6. Tum bin jaaoon kahaan (Pyaar ka Mausam, 1969; Shashi Kapoor): Just about anybody with an interest in the Hindi film music of the 1960s knows that this film featured two versions – both excellent – of a wonderfully romantic song, Tum bin jaaoon kahaan. The first, with Bharat Bhushan lip-syncing to Kishore Kumar’s voice, came pretty much at the start of the film. The second, longer version, sung by Rafi for Shashi Kapoor, was later.

Most people tend to forget that there’s a third version – a sad one, of despair because a love is being throttled. And it’s a piano song. A party song, but one with a difference, because the camera keeps moving from the scene of the party to another nearby room where the half-deranged mother (Nirupa Roy, who else?) of a long-lost son suddenly remembers.

Tum bin jaaoon kahaan, from Pyaar ka Mausam
7. Aaj ki raat mere dil ki salaami le le (Ram aur Shyam, 1967; Dilip Kumar): Somewhat similar in tone to Tum bin jaaoon kahaan – set at a party, but also a farewell from a man to the woman he loves – is this song. The words are lovely (though I must make a somewhat embarrassing confession: as a child, the only ‘salaami’ I knew of was the Italian sausage, so the lyrics puzzled me a bit); the music is wonderful, Rafi sings it with emotion – and Dilip Kumar, though not looking quite as debonair as he was in an earlier piano song (Jhoom-jhoomke nacho aaj, from Andaaz, nearly two decades earlier), conveys a lot of feeling without looking melodramatic.

Aaj ki raat mere dil ki salaami le le, from Ram aur Shyam
8. Aapke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai (Bahaarein Phir Bhi Aayengi, 1966; Dharmendra): In another change from the piano-at-party theme, a piano played at a home. Dharmendra plays the young journalist who goes to meet, at her home, the woman who owns the newspaper he works for – and finds, when he gets there, that her younger sister is the girl he’s in love with. What he doesn’t realise is that the elder sister is in love with him – and when, at the request of the two women, he sits at the piano to sing a song, the song is accepted as an avowal of his love by both women.

I love the sheer romance of this song: the music and lyrics are meltingly beautiful, and the picturisation is perfect: Dharmendra, oh-so-handsome, Tanuja as pretty as ever, and Mala Sinha, lovely in that shyly demure way.

Aapke haseen rukh pe, from Bahaarein Phir Bhi Aayengi
9. Patthar ke sanam tujhe humne (Patthar ke Sanam, 1967; Manoj Kumar): Another song featuring a love triangle, of two women and one man. Manoj Kumar plays the man, in love with Waheeda Rehman’s simple village belle character, but also lusted after by her chic urban friend (played by a very attractive Mumtaz). Unlike Aapke haseen rukh pe, however, this isn’t a romantic song; it’s of a blighted romance, of a fidelity that has proven to be all a hoax. And, as Anu pointed out in one of her posts, everybody in Hindi films seems to crib about being duped or having their hearts broken in public. This is no different.

I like Manoj Kumar when it comes to some of his early (and non-patriotic) roles, but Patthar ke Sanam isn’t one of my favourites. This song, however, sounds absolutely lovely, and that is why it features on this list. Plus it has Mumtaz. Enough.

Patthar ke sanam tujhe humne, from Patthar ke Sanam
10. Agar sun le toh ek naghma (Ek Raaz, 1963; Kishore Kumar): And, to end the list, one of the very few piano songs in which you can see that the actor (as far as I can tell) actually does play the piano. And not merely at one point, but again and again. The scene is a familiar one: the heroine, the villain (not just leering at the heroine, but actually gloating, because his engagement to her has been announced); the hero, singing of his broken heart; and the rest of the people at the party, who are almost an audience for this drama being played out. A very melodious song, by the underappreciated Chitragupta.

Agar sun le toh ek naghma, from Ek Raaz
Someone in the cinema blogosphere had once commented that one of their relatives had married an American. This American bahu had seen her fair share of old Hindi films. When she went to her first party in India, she was very disappointed to discover that there was no piano and nobody to sing a song! But Hindi films remained full of pianos till well into the 1990s, though I rarely see them now except in period films.

Which songs would you add to this list?

187 thoughts on “Ten of my favourite ‘male pianist’ songs”

  1. Madhu, I’m so glad my insomnia kept me up to read this. :) What an absolutely golluptious list. (I was suffering withdrawal symptoms, woman!)

    Of course, Chalo ek baar phir se came to mind the minute I saw your post title. I love all the songs in your list (save the last one, which I’m hearing for the first time), but my particular favourites are Kisi patthar ki moorat se, Khwab hai tum ya. Aap ke haseen rukh, Main dil hoon ik armaan bhara, Manzil wohi hai pyar ki. Bliss. :)

    did he learn them especially for this song, or did he actually know how to play the piano?
    Raj Kapoor knew how to play the piano. According to Shankar-Jaikishen, he could play many instruments ‘by ear’ (including the flute, and just watch him handle the daff with ease in Dil ka haal suno dilwale) but he definitely knew how to play the harmonium, piano, accordion, tabla, and bulbul tarang. In fact, in an interview, Raj Kapoor had once said that his first ambition was to have been a music director.

    Now for my choices (apart from the ones that you have already listed:
    1. Kahan ho kahan mere jeevan sahare from Sangdil Talat Mehmood
    2. Ae jaan-e-jigar from Aaraam Talat Mehmood.
    3. Jhoom jhoom ke naacho aaj
    and
    4. Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe from Andaz Mukesh
    and this last.
    5. Ae husn zara jaag tujhe ishq jagaaye from Mere Mehboob Mohammed Rafi.

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    • “he definitely knew how to play the harmonium, piano, accordion, tabla, and bulbul tarang.”

      I am very impressed! Now I wish they’d actually shown more glimpses of him playing the piano than they did in Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara.

      I have to admit I am not particularly fond of Jhoom-jhoomke naacho aaj (the only song of Andaaz that I truly like is Uthaaye jaa unke sitam, though for the music and rendition, not the lyrics). And how could I forget Ae husn zara jaag tujhe…! I was wondering if there was a Rajendra Kumar piano song out there, and it never even occurred to me to go through the songs of Mere Mehboob. Thank you for reminding me of that. :-)

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  2. A fine list with some great actors at the piano. (My favorite on the list is Balraj Sahni in Kathputli.)

    Now, here’s a scene that I immediately thought about when I saw the theme of the list… The film is Anokhi Ada, and the man at the piano – singing for himself – is Surendra!

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    • Thank you, Richard! – And especially for adding an actor to the list. The more the merrier, even if he is Surendra, whom I don’t particularly care for. ;-) But it’s a nice song. I haven’t seen Anokhi Ada (mostly because of Surendra), but oh, what great songs that film has.

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  4. Lovely compilation, Madhulika. (Y)

    To this beautiful list, I would like to add these three songs:

    1. “Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi ban jaayein hum dono…” from Gumrah.

    Sunil Dutt looks smashing in this song! In fact, he has always looked smashing. And this song is so good!

    2. “Dil ke jharokhe mein tujh ko bithakar…” from Brahmachari.

    3. “Dost dost na raha…” from Sangam.

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    • Thank you, Hansda! Chalo ek baar phir se was (as I implied in my post) one of the first songs that occurred to me when I began compiling this list, but I’d used it in another post recently, and didn’t want to repeat songs, that’s why I dropped it from this list. :-)

      As for Dil ke jharokhe mein, yes. It was on my shortlist till the nth hour, until I remembered Agar sun le. The reason why – despite it being a Shammi Kapoor song – I don’t care for it is partly because the music doesn’t appeal too much to me, but more because when I was in school, someone spoilt this song for me by telling me a parody: Koode ke dibbe mein tujhko bithaakar/ jhaadoo ke ponchhe ki dulhan banaakar/Rakhoonga naali ke paas/ Mat ho meri jaan udaas! That was the end of it. I haven’t liked the song ever since. Sad, really.

      Dost dost na raha was on my shortlist too. Nice one!

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      • LOL!!!!

        Madhulika, that parody is famous! Whenever I hear Dil ke jharokhe mein…, the Koode ke dibbe mein parody starts playing in my mind. :D

        I had one more piano song in my mind. Har dil jo pyar karega… from Sangam. I checked the song on YouTube. Turned out, it was Vyjayanthimala playing the piano!

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  5. A lovely list of wonderful songs……Shashi Kapoor had many other wonderful piano songs as well. Two of them are Waqt karta jo wafaa from Dil ne pukara and Chale the saath milkar from Haseena maan jayegi. About Aaj ki raat mere from Ram aur Shyam, I was impressed with what I would call the languid, easy flowing style of Naushad’s compositions. The actor and singer seem have lots of time as they go through the song with a sort of ‘lazy lilt’. Perhaps Naushad developed this slow, unhurried style of songs to go well with Dilip Kumar’s dialogue delivery – slow, measured and unhurried, but always impactful.

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    • Great Shashi Kapoor-at-piano songs suggested! Thanks a lot for that – I especially love Waqt karta jo wafa, though since I haven’t seen the film (or even watched the video of the song before this) I didn’t know it was picturised at a piano. I think as far as Chale thhe saath milkar is concerned, I’d probably forgotten about it being at a piano – even though I’ve seen Haseena Maan Jaayegi – because he doesn’t continuously sit at the piano throughout the song.

      Very insightful observation about Naushad’s compositions for Dilip Kumar. Though I think that was perhaps more to do with the sort of character Dilip Kumar played in the film? For example, in Aan, the songs are rather more peppy (I’m specifically thinking of Dil mein chhupaake pyaar ka).

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  6. One can imagine Kishore Kumar knowing how to play a piano. He was a music director also, after all.

    I remember watching an episode of Koffee with Karan where all Kapoor siblings were invited, Rishi, Randhir, their sister and I think Rajiv also. I remember their sister talking about how they had a piano in their house and the kids, along with Anil Kapoor, would play out some filmi scene there. If they had a piano at home, maybe Raj Kapoor knew how to play it. He was very interested in Music, we know.

    As far as a proper fun ‘party’ song goes, its hard to beat ‘Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat’. Its a huge lot of fun.

    Here is a lovely song where Ajit shows how not to play a piano :D

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    • Hehe. Yes, I watched a little bit of Main khushnaseeb hoon when I was linking to it in the post, and was wincing when I saw how Ajit ‘plays’ the piano. :-D

      That’s an interesting anecdote about the Kapoors and the piano. Talking of which, here’s a Rishi Kapoor song that I really love, which has him at the piano: Jeevan ke din chhote sahi, from Bade Dilwaala:

      And yes, I can well imagine that this man knows how to play the piano. He’s certainly not banging away at the keys in that Ajit-style hammy way!

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  7. Impeccable list as usual and such lovely comments.

    Just using this an excuse to plug in one of my favourite songs. Pak films were terrible, but they had absolutely top singers, poets, in some of their films.

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  8. This is a great list – songs with the hero banging away at the piano (in a most fake manner, usually) were very common in the 50s and 60s. One song I’d like to add is “Koi sone ke dil wala ….” from Maya, in which Dev Anand looks very glum indeed. The point is that earlier there were distinct sounds of distinct musical instruments – piano, harmonium, mouth-organ, shehnai etc. – in the songs, while today’s songs generally rely heavily on synthesisers for their sound.

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    • Thank you! And yes, Koi sone ke dilwaala, as I mentioned in the post, was on my shortlist, but I dropped it in favour of Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat, mainly because I don’t like the picturisation of the former – Dev Anand looks somewhat awkward in it. But the song is a lovely one nevertheless, and I’m more than glad to embed it in here:

      You are so very right about being able to hear actual musical instruments in old songs – that’s what makes them so special. I was telling someone the other day that there are very few songs from the 50s and 60s (if any) that I downright dislike – if a song wasn’t great, at least it wasn’t terrible, either. Not something I’d say for most songs from the 80s onward, and I think a lot of it, particularly in recent years, must be laid at the doorstep of this artificial synthesizer style of music. There are still memorable songs, but the number of them has dipped so drastically…

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      • One more thing I have observed – at the risk of over-generalizing – is that in many of the male piano songs, the hero is depicted as having been hurt in love (betrayed may be too strong a word) – and in the typical refined hero fashion of those days, he expresses his hurt not through violence or crude aggression but by singing (and a little pounding of the piano keys), while the heroine, accompanied by the hero’s rival in love (Pran in many cases), looks on with a kind of guilty look on her face.

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        • Yes, that seems to be quite the norm: expressing hurt or betrayal or even just unhappiness at being left without his beloved (which is the case in most of the songs, because the woman in question is in love with the hero, and he knows it). While on the topic, here’s another song of utter anguish, played at a piano, though in solitude rather than in a party: Yeh raat suhaani raat nahin, from Dil-e-Naadaan.

          It was on my long list, but since – as a song – I don’t particularly find it memorable, I dropped it.

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    • Another film I’ve seen, but I’d forgotten about Kaisi haseen aaj. It’s not one of my favourite songs: the music isn’t bad, but I think Mahendra Kapoor goes a little too shrill for my liking. Rafi is more restrained.

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      • Dustedoff,
        I have come to this blog at least five times before with a piano song, to see my song being uploaded by somebody, this time I am not going back before complimenting you for coming up with yet another topic that gives ample scope for all of us to add songs, though this time I am exhausted good topic and very good songs by you and you followers, as you are not very happy with Mahendra Kapoor in Kaise haseen aaj baharon ki raat hai I am giving you an option of Rafi Talat version.

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  10. Love the post and the songs! I think it was a great idea for you to give us all these wonderful songs sung by men at the piano.

    Here are some of my favorites:
    Ajab hai dastaan teri aye zindagi … from Shararat:

    I had no idea for the longest time that it was Rafi singing for Kishore Kumar, though I have been listening to this song since my childhood. It was only when I saw a video that I realized it.

    Tu kahe agar … from Andaz:

    Aapke haseen rukh pe … is an all time favorite, of course! How could I have resisted it when there is such a young Dharmendra, crooning in Rafi’s voice?

    Agar sun le toh ek … reminds me of some other song, but I just cannot figure out which one. Is there another song in that movie with a similar tune?

    As all the songs are so good, it looks like I will have to find some time soon to sit and listen to them, one by one. The next hospital stay should work.

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    • Thank you, Lalitha! You’ve added some lovely songs. My father, too, when I mentioned this post to him, mentioned Tu kahe agar. And the person who had put in the request for this post in the first place had mentioned a ‘Rafi singing playback for Kishore’ piano song when he wrote to me, but he didn’t say which one it was. I did know that Rafi has sung playback for Kishore in several songs (I can’t fathom the reason for that!), and I even knew that Ajab hai daastaan teri was one of the songs. I haven’t seen Shararat, but have seen the song before – but forgot that it was filmed at a piano. Thanks for that, in particular; I love the song.

      I can’t tell which other song Agar sun le might resemble. The other songs in Ek Raaz are very different.

      P.S. Are you unwell? Or someone close to you? :-( You mention an impending hospital stay – I do hope and pray all is well, or gets well quickly.

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      • Madhu, some of the songs were sung by Rafi because MDs didn’t feel Kishore could sing their compositions; I wager that most were because Kishore was so busy (acting and singing) that he didn’t have the dates to spare, so they approached Rafi.

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        • Hmm. That’s interesting. Much as I love Rafi, I do think Kishore was an extremely accomplished singer as well. Just as an example, I can easily see him singing Ajab hai daastaan. So I do suppose your conjecture about the actual reason might be right. Beats me, though, as to why Kishore would allow it, really – I mean, it stands to reason: if I were acting and I was a singer as well, I would rather not have someone sing playback for me. Of course, he was very busy at a particular stage in his career during the early 60s or so, so I can imagine…

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          • Lovely post.
            Kishore da came into the industry to be a singer. But kept taking acting roles to survive and sometimes sing his own songs. It was Sachin Dev Burman da who kept faith in his singing and gave him playback songs. The rest thought he could only be a comedian and sing comedy and yodelling songs.

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      • I am okay, but my sister, who lives with me, is undergoing chemo, radiation, the works. She had to be in the hospital last week for a minor procedure, and will be undergoing surgery to remove part of her jaw later. Thanks for asking and for the prayers – some days, that is all that gets me through the day.

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        • My very sincerest wishes for your sister, Lalitha. I do hope she gets better soon. And wishes for you and for the rest of your family, too – I know how harrowing it can be for a family to see someone dear in so much pain. Will continue praying for her and for all of you.

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    • You’re right about it being Apne Hue Paraaye. I’ve seen the movie in bits and pieces – it was shown on Doordarshan back in the 80s or 90s I think, and on a day when the electricity kept coming and going, so my memories of the movie and its songs are very sketchy. Koi bulaaye aur koi aaye, for instance, I had no recollection of. Beautiful song, very nice indeed. Thanks for that.

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  14. My favourite song from your list is the Kishore Kumar one, absolutely wonderful. The other one is from Anand but I guess it does not fit into the time frame of your blog

    Another one is from Door Ka Raahi also a post 1970 film. The only problem with this one is that I would rather hear it than watch it, because imagine Kishor Kumar is silently watching Ashok Kumar singing in his own (Kishore’s) voice. I found it odd.

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    • Thank you for posting Maine tere liye hi, Shilpi! This one was on my shortlist (and Anand is one of the early 70s films I make an exception for, on this blog – there’s something about it that is very reminiscent of the 60s, to me). And this is a lovely song. Actually, I love all the songs of that film.

      This is the first time I’m actually seeing the picturisation of Beqaraar dil tu gaaye jaa. Yes, it does seem very odd – almost disjointed – to see Kishore Kumar sitting and watching Ashok Kumar sing in Kishore’s voice. Something creepy, there. Have you seen the film? (The song, itself, is lovely).

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  15. I’ve been away from this blog for too long (just from commenting though). DO, I envy you your theme choices – very creative. This one is a superb theme. Hindi cinema is rich with possibilities for this one. There is a comment earlier about an American woman who was disappointed to not see a piano in every Indian household. LOL.

    My absolute favorite song in this theme is the one from “Aaram”. Anil Biswas has created a wonderful piano prelude to the song, among the best in Hindi cinema IMO (as an aside, t is hard to reconcile the young Premath in this scene with the actor in “Bobby” a few decades later).

    On a different note, is there a version of “Beqaraar dil tu gaaye jaa” with Kishore singing it for himself in the film? I have a vague recollection of seeing that on Chitrahar. But may be confusing the brothers.

    But this theme has also resulted in some TERRIBLE picturizations where people have randomly banged there fingers up and down the keys in directions completely related to the tune. Or the songs sometimes really do not have a core piano component to them at all. One song where I hated the picturization was the female version of “O saathi re” – since it is not quite in keeping with this theme, I will not include the link. But you can look it up on youtube.

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    • Thanks, sangeetbhakt! I’m glad you enjoyed the list. :-)

      What superb use of the piano Anil Biswas makes in Ae jaan-e-jigar. Those opening notes – and the interludes – are absolutely lovely. It’s been ages since I’ve heard this song (and, to be truthful, I’d never really paid too much attention to the orchestration of the music the few times I’ve heard this song before). Wonderful song, though.

      I haven’t seen Door ka Raahi, so have no idea if there’s a Kishore-singing-for-himself version of Beqaraar dil tu gaaye jaa. A cursory search on Youtube only shows up what seems to be the Ashok Kumar version.

      Talking of actors banging away at the keys: oh, yes. I and a couple of friends were bemoaning this fact on Facebook too, and someone pointed out that barring Dilip Kumar in Madhuban mein Radhika naache re and Bhupinder in Rut jawaan jawaan almost nobody onscreen ever seems to put in the effort to actually learn how to play even a rudimentary section of the notes on a musical instrument, to even make the effort to look slightly realistic.

      And yes, the piano component not even being part of the song is unforgiveable – and so irritating!

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  17. Here is a song which will technically not fir into the scope of the post – piano playing has been made secondary in the song, and that too by a friend, and not the by the hero who actually lipsings the song.
    The opening interlude is so much foot-tapping, Vyjayantimala dancing her heart out so vividly, the songs is set to a few very prominently happy notes of piano, and yet the hero goes on to pour out his sorrow… the heroine keeps on with her fast-paced dance and the friend keeps smiling while playing the piano.
    This can happen in our films only…
    The song is Ae Dil Pyar Ki Manzil – Aas Ka Pachi –

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    • Yes, this is a such a lovely song in Mukesh’s inimitable voice that it deserves to be included even if it is not the hero playing the piano.

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    • I have long wanted to watch Aas ka Panchhi, mainly because I like its title song so much. And now this – what a lovely song! True, technically it wouldn’t fit my criteria, but readers are encouraged to add any songs that come anywhere close to the theme in their comments. So this one is more than welcome, especially since it is such a great song. Thank you! (By the way, would you know who the actor is who’s ‘playing’ the piano? Looks a little like Jawahar Kaul, but isn’t him).

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  18. Another beautiful song with accompaniment on the piano was sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Araam(Devanand, Madhubala, Premnath–1951) was “Man men kisi ki preet basale”. It proved immensely popular and has been an all-time fafourite

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    • Thank you, Papa! I found the song on Youtube:

      It’s a lovely song. Looks like Aaraam was one of those films that had multiple songs on pianos – someone else suggested Ae jaan-e-jigar, which is also picturised with Premnath at the piano.

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      • Such a beautiful song. Anil Biswas really uses the piano magnificently in this song. One thing to note is that Premnath really moves his hands in the right direction. As the notes go higher, his hands move the right direction, and when the notes are fortissimo (I think that is the term), his hands seem to imply it. Considering they never actually focus on his hands, that is pretty impressive. Wonder if Premnath played the piano in real life.

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        • I noticed that too, and was impressed. Premnath doesn’t strike me as the Dilip Kumar kind, so extremely devoted to his art that he would actually have learnt to play the notes just so that the picturisation of the song would look right, so I’m guessing that he perhaps knew at least the rudiments of actually playing the piano. Not unlikely, perhaps, since he came from a very well-off and highly respected family: his father (I’ve forgotten what his name was; my father will remember) was a Diwan, and a high-ranking police officer in Madhya Pradesh during the time of the British.

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      • Thanks for uploading this rare gem. One can just keep gazing at Madhubala’s beauty – it diverts attention from the excellent music of Anil Biswas

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  19. Madhulika, fab post. Just one point, though. The song ‘Tum bin jaaon kahaan’ is rendered four and not three times in the film. And this second time, when Bharat Bhushan sings it is important, because that is how Shashi Kapoor learns of the song. He is somewhere on the highway with his friend Ram Avtaar in the film when he hears this song sung by a now-aged Bharat Bhushan. he is drawn to the tune but at the same time he doesn’t know the song (He says also, “Baba yeh gaana maine pehla kabhi nahin suna.”). On hearing Bhushan sing it, he is familiarised with the song and then uses it on two different instances – these you refer to – in the film. It’s an interesting case of visual logic applied by the filmmaker :)
    Here is a youtube link to the same: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FRvcF0qaW4

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    • You’re very right, Akshay. Of course there’s that version, too. It tends to slip my memory because it’s so short – I tend to think of it as just a little snippet of the first version.

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  20. Men at piano!
    Very good theme!
    “Kisi patthar ki moorat se (Humraaz, 1967; Sunil Dutt)”. Good song, bad singer! That is the same reason, why I don’t like Gumraah songs as well. :(

    “Khwaab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat”: Lovely, lovely, lovely! Very beautiful song! Absolutely fantastic!
    “I especially love the opening, just with Kishore’s voice and no instruments”
    Agree, agree! And lovely camerawork!

    “Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara”
    I keep on foregtting that this was filmed on RK. Everytime I listen to this song, I’ve Dilip in front of my eyes. Raj Kapoor supposedly contributed a lot to the music of his films, so I think, he must have known at least the basics of piano playing thing.

    “I always think of Pyaar deewaana hota hai as a Yeh shaam mastaani, but in an indoor setting”
    Me too! They are like twin songs.

    ” Manzil wohi hai pyaar ki”
    Absolutely dreamy and Balraj on top of it. They don’t get better!

    “Tum bin jaaoon kahaan”
    Yeah, hardly anybody knows of this third version! Good, that you unearthed! I love all the three!

    “the only ‘salaami’ I knew of was the Italian sausage”
    ROTFL!
    I didn’t know what a sausage was in India, except that Enid Blyton’s characters ate a lot of it.
    When I saw the Italian salami, I was like “that is a big salami”!

    “Aapke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai”
    *sigh*
    romantic song par excellence!

    “Patthar ke sanam tujhe humne”
    There used to be a time, when I used to like this song a lot. Now it is somewhere between like and indifferent.

    “Agar sun le toh ek naghma”
    Totally new for me. Sort of sweet.

    Being late for the party, I haven’t got any songs to contribute,w hich others have not covered.

    “Koode ke dibbe mein tujhko bithaakar/ jhaadoo ke ponchhe ki dulhan banaakar/Rakhoonga naali ke paas/ Mat ho meri jaan udaas”
    We sang it as “kachre ke dabbe me tujhko bithaakar/ patre ke dhakan uspar lagaakar/Rakhoonga kutte ke paas/ Mat ho meri jaan udaas”
    One can hear the bambaiyya difference! But like the song all the same.

    Had fun going through the list and reader’s contributions!
    Thank you!

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    • Thank you, Harvey – both for the appreciation, and for that alternate parody of Dil ke jharokhe mein! LOL. :-D So sad, no, that I – such a Shammi Kapoor fan – should not be able to include a single one of his songs in this post, and should even end up making fun of the one piano song I know of in which he appears. I wish someone would post another Shammi piano song (if there are any).

      P.S. Salami was about the only sausage I was familiar with as a kid, because that – an Indian version, not the authentic Italian – used to be available even back then in larger cities like Delhi or Calcutta. I remember one classmate of mine who used to bring salami sandwiches to school almost every single day!

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    • *slaps forehead*

      And I’ve even seen Shola aur Shabnam (didn’t like it at all, so perhaps that has something to do with it)… and I’d completely forgotten that there was a piano version of Jeet hi lenge baazi hum-tum with Dharmendra at the piano. Lovely song, one of the very few redeeming features of an otherwise forgettable film.

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      • I remember reading something on the web (which means of course it must be gospel truth) that the heroine of Shola aur Shabnam (Tarla) was veteran character actress Dina Pathak’s sister. Does anybody know if that is indeed true?

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    • No, Geet gaata hoon main gungunaata hoon main hasn’t been posted before! I have, technically, watched Laal Patthar, but I saw it when I was a child and have absolutely no recollection of the film. Didn’t even remember that it had this song, even though the song itself is so very well-known.

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    • Humein aur jeene ki chaahat na hoti was another huge hit in its time, wasn’t it? I remember hearing it on radio all the time, once upon a time… never saw the film, so didn’t know it was a piano song.

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    • Ah, someone on my Facebook circle of friends also pointed out Aaya hai mujhe yaad phir from Devar as being an early Dharmendra-at-a-piano song. She’d mentioned it in response to someone else who said that Dharmendra was one of those (many) actors who ended up banging away at pianos, looking completely unreal. For someone who was guilty of that, he seems to have had a lot of piano songs picturised on him…

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  25. and this ..that vimmi and rehman, but who is the young man? and yes a lot of bollywood piano songs seem to be about men with broken hearts ! and a triangle ..

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    • Jinhein hum bhoolna chaahein is a nice song, but sadly the picturisation leaves something to be desired. Rehman is good as always, but Vimmi is – well, as usual – not my cup of tea. And the young man at the piano (I don’t know who he is, either) doesn’t really float my boat, either.

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    • Not surprisingly (since I have watched all of one Pakistani film, ever), I hadn’t ever come across Neer bharan kaise jaaoon. What a lovely song, and beautifully rendered. I like the fusion of classical Hindustani (subcontinental?) style and Western classical instrument.

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      • yes, isn’t it :-) i wanted to put more songs that were from a later date..but couldn’t think of too many ( bade dilwale and agar tum na hote being the two) so therefore this was the only one i could think of…perhaps it is a comment on the changing idioms of hindi cinema that the leading men, (or women) don’t have the brief to sit in one place and sync a song ! they have to be up and about if not frenetically dancing !
        but would be great if someone can come up with some more…

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        • I can think of a couple of songs from relatively recent Hindi films where there are pianos, but the fact that the two films in question are both period films bears out your comment about the ‘changing idioms of Hindi cinema’ (I would also add perhaps that pianos aren’t really seen much in real life India any more, either: I have only ever seen one in anybody’s home, and that lady actually was a piano teacher).

          Anyway, on to the songs. There’s Yeh nigaahein from Khoya Khoya Chaand:

          And then there’s Piyu bole piya bole from Parineeta:

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    • No, it hasn’t been suggested! I should’ve remembered that one. But my mind keeps blanking out many of the details of Ek Phool Do Maali, even though some of its songs weren’t bad. I’m not too fond of O nanhe se farishte, partly because I found the child irritating.

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  29. Absolute stunners… Piano in isolation is a very powerful instrument & can emerge as a leader in an orchestra just like the Drums. My mind also goes off to.. Dil ki aawaz bhi sun (Joy Mukherjee)- Humsaya, Dilke jharoke mein (Shammi Kapoor) – Bhramachari & Geet gaata hun mein (Vinod Mehra) – Lal Pathaar . These are keeping the restrictions in mind. Having a great liking for the piano I have all the Brian Silas collections…. having him heard live as well…. & finally listening to all these gems on a BOSE home multiple audio system sipping Chivas Regal…..Oh!! out of the world

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    • Was Dil ki aawaaz bhi sun picturised at a piano? It’s been ages since I saw the film, so don’t remember if there were multiple versions of the song but one version that I’ve just watched – Joy Mukherji singing to Sharmila – doesn’t feature a piano. Was there another version?

      Brian Silas is excellent – a real favourite with my parents. I have heard comparatively little of his work, but have really liked all that I’ve heard.

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  30. Hi,
    My all time favorite piano song is from movie `Mukti` *ing:- Sashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Vidya Sinha, Bindiya Goswami . Music: RD Burman, Singer Mukesh.
    Good Movie. Sashi Kapoor sings on the piano.
    Thank you
    Anvar

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    • Thank you for this! At first (before Mukesh’s voice started), I couldn’t remember how the song went. Then, of course, I recognized it immediately – Suhaani chaandni raatein used to be very familiar once upon a time. I haven’t heard it in years, though, and I’ve never seen the movie.

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  31. Since nobody has mentioned this song in their comments, I might as well plug it in, too. Sidharth Bhatia mentioned it on my Facebook timeline when I put this post there. Dil ne pyaar kiya hai ek bewafa se, from Shararat:

    Same old bemoaning-unfaithful-beloved-in-public. Biswajeet looks a mess, but it’s a good song, I think.

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    • Yes, Madhuban khushboo deta hai is nice too. The piano trend did continue fairly long into the 70s, didn’t it? I remember a number of songs from that decade – much more than from the years that followed, at least – which had songs picturised at pianos.

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        • Quite a few of them in the previous comments – like Geet gaata hoon main, Main tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune and Jeevan ke din chhote sahi. Even the (very short) Pran version of Jeevan ke din chhote sahi is at a piano:

          Then (even though it’s a woman, not a man, at the piano), there’s Dil toh hai dil, dil ka aitbaar:

          Don’t specifically remember any others now, but I seem to remember other songs with Rajesh Khanna at the piano – and perhaps Shashi Kapoor, too?

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  36. I love old movie songs and also blogs about Hindi movies and stumbled upon this blog only recently. You do have the gift of writing in an interesting way. After reading the article and the replies, I would like to mention one more “piano” song to add to a database. The song is “Main Khushnaseeb Hoo Mujhko Kisi Ka Pyar Mila”, which was sung by Mukesh in the movie “Tower House”. The actor was Ajit. I liked the song but not the way it was picturised. It was clear that the actor was not even showing a semblance of playing. He was just moving the hands every which way.
    In the same movie, there is another song featuring the piano. But there is a twist. This song, “Dil ko lakh sambhala ji”, is sung by Lata (picturised on Shakila) whereas the piano is being played by Ajit.

    In my view, in most movies, the directors did not strive for authenticity in these matters at all. Synchronisation of movements in group dances, is another area where I feel that the director or dance director was not too fussy about.

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    • Thank you for the appreciation!

      I have mentioned Main khushnaseeb hoon in the post, but hadn’t realised there was a solo version – I remembered only the version which I’ve linked to, a duet with Mukesh and Lata, with Ajit at the piano. I specifically mentioned it in the post as a song I wasn’t including because it wasn’t a male solo. Although there are a lot of comments and I wouldn’t expect you to trawl through them all, several of us have discussed Ajit’s ludicrous ‘playing of the piano’ too. :-)

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  37. Nice topic, Madhu. I love #2,3,4,8 and 10 from your list. Here’s a man at the piano song from Do Badan that I don’t think has been mentioned yet. Used to like it once upon a time:

    Just remembered another one – Tu hai bharmai to from Tu nahi aur sahi:

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    • Thank you, Shalini! Considering I have seen Do Badan, I’m feeling a little embarrassed that I didn’t remember Bhari duniya mein aakhir dil ko – nice song, too, and probably one which I might have included in my list if I’d remembered it. I don’t recall ever having come across Tu hai bharmai toh before.

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  38. Madhuji,
    Thanks for yet another wonderful post. The selection of songs too was good. None of them were new to me, yet listening to them again was a pleasure. While listening to the songs I was thinking when Piano did come to India and from when it was used in Indian films. Maybe in future, you may do a write-up on the advent of Piano in the Indian musical scenario and its use in Indian Films. I feel it will be a fascinating subject.
    Coming back to the subject, Male-Piano-songs, most of my favorites, that I can recollect, have been posted by others. Let me try to add a few. You have set a few restrictions.
    (a) No two songs are picturised on the same actor.
    (b) All songs are solos, or – at the most – a solo with a chorus; and
    (c) In all songs, the person at the piano is the one singing
    I have tried to confine myself within the limits set by you, in presenting the first two songs. May not match the songs presented by you and others.

    Na Jaane Kahan Kho gaya who zamana by Mukesh, fillm Begaana (1963), lyrics Shailendra, music Sapan Jagmohan, Lip synched by Sailesh Kumar

    Jeevan Bhar dhoondha jisko by Mukesh, film Naadan (1971), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music, Shanker Jaikisan, lip synched by Navin Nischal

    This song too would have qualified. Only for one third period of the song the actor Sudesh Kumar is playing the piano and then he strolls around while singing. You did not say that the person singing the song should be at the piano for the entire duration of the song. But the spoiler comes towards the end, when Ashok Kumar is on the piano for a few seconds. No harm in listening to this song composed by Kalyanji.

    Naina hain jadoo bhare… by Mukesh, film Bedard Zamana Kya Jane (1959), lyrics Bharat Vyas,music Kalyanji Virji Shah, lip synched by Sudesh Kumar

    Here is final one in Talat’s Voice
    Dil matawaalaa laakh sambhaalaa by Talat Mahmood, film Bewafa (1952), lyrics Sarshar Sailani, music A R Qureshi

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    • Wah, Venkataramanji! And here I was thinking that between them, all my readers have more or less exhausted the songs possible, at least as far as fitting the constraints I placed were concerned. And you have come up with such lovely songs, and with ‘new’ actors, too. Thank you for that!

      As for the research on the piano in the Indian musical scenario and in films – yes, I would like to know about that too. I am not sure if I’m the one to do the research on something like that – perhaps AK (Songs of Yore)? Or someone more certain of their music than I am. I love good music, but my knowledge regarding the technicalities of it is woefully inadequate. I know I would not be able to do justice to it.

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  40. It seems that there were no mentions about Feroz at piano:) The song from Main Wohi Hoon (1966) is nice, Rafi is gorgeous as usually and Feroz obviously knew basics of piano playing.

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    • Thank you for this! I had wondered if there were any piano songs picturised on Feroze Khan, but mentally riffling through the films of his that I’ve seen, I couldn’t think of any. Bahut haseen ho bahut jawaan was new to me: lovely song, and yes, he does seem to know what he’s doing.

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      • Madhuji,

        This topic has turned out to be a voyage of discovery to me. I am hearing this song from Main Wahi Hoon for the first time. Feroz Khan looks very dashing. A pity that he didnt achieve greater success.

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      • Thanks to you for this post and for you blog in general! I don’t comment because of my very poor english but I have read all posts and have seen a lot of amazing films which were reviewed here. And by the way – Shammi played the piano at Mere Jaesi Haseena in Armaan (1981) – disaster remake of Casablanka with fantastic music score, but this was item-dance of two girls, not male solo:)

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        • I don’t think your English is very poor at all! And, if you do think so, you’re welcome to comment in Hindi – आखिर, अगर हिंदी फिल्मों के ब्लॉग पर हिंदी में नहीं लिख सकते, तो कहाँ लिखेंगे? :-)

          Thank you for mentioning that song from Armaan! I’d never come across it before.

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            • Oh, my mistake! I presumed. :-) But then, spaseeba for reading my blog. It always gives me great pleasure when somebody who’s not Indian appreciates Hindi cinema. I remember, when I was in school in the 1980s, we used to hear about how popular Hindi cinema – especially Raj Kapoor’s films – was in the USSR. (Of course, India also produced joint venture films along with the Soviet Union – Pardesi being the one I remember most vividly). Are they still popular? I do know that new Hindi films are released in the US and UK, but do you also get to see them in Russia?

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              • Yes, it’s true, Raj Kapoor was stunningly popular in USSR, partially because first two indian movies bought for wide distribution (Awaara and Shree 420) were his films. And partially because in 1950s songs were dubbed in rimes so people could sing it. There were even travesty version of these songs, I remeber the one of Ek, Do, Teen from Awaara (Raj Kapoor, look at these geese – about mad female fans:). In 70s Bobby and in 80s Dance Dance were also hugely popular. Now it is not so well-loved certainly, but there are a lot of people who still loves it. And there are some releases, but with limited distribution – I remember My name is Khan, Jab Tak Hai Naan and 3 idiots. May be there were something more but from modern indian films I prefer bengali and don’t watch in detail actual situation in the theatres:)

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                • Thank you for all that information! I hadn’t known that Raj Kapoor’s films had songs dubbed in rhyme – that must have made the songs really popular. :-)

                  I must admit I haven’t watched any new Bengali films, though of all the old Indian, non-Hindi films I’ve seen, Bengali films are the most in number.

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      • I may be wrong, but I think the close-up shot of the piano playing may not be Feroz at all. It could be a shot of the actual piano player in the orchestra :-) When they usually do those kind of close-up shots, it is typically because it is a double. Then again, it is possible that it was Feroz Khan himself, though I still feel that they would have shown a full shot of him if that was the case.
        It is a nice song though, and it is obvious that Kumkum is a dancer since she is able to carry of the scene with a lot of grace.

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  41. Looks like others have already beaten me to the 70’s piano male songs; and I find that I cannot find even a single addition :)
    I wonder if someone alreday posted

    Probably did
    But wait, while searching I found this 70’s piano Shashi —

    Maybe I have not lost my touch yet :)

    Great POST !!! I remember you had inserted this on my piano post,

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    • Okay, I have never seen Imtihaan (don’t think I’ve even heard of it), so didn’t know Is tarah aashiqui ka asar chhod jaaoonga had a piano in it. If I remember correctly, the title song in Yeh Dillagi had a piano too.

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  45. Finally I’ve been able to go through your list and the following contributions. Such a wonderful post. Your readers come up with real gems after you have provided the incentive with your own gems. The one from Ram aur Shyam is particularly a favourite with me. Read the joke about ‘salami’. LOL
    I was surprised – and pleased, that no one remembered this beautiful song from Mere Mehboob, unless I missed seeing it. You might think it’s because of Rajender Kumar. hahaha. He does look good sitting at the piano, and responding to Sadhana’s aadab from behind the chilman with a slight lowering of his eyes. I find that really romantic.

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    • Thank you, pacifist! I’m glad you liked this post. :-) And yes, people have added – I think – just about every other song with a man playing a piano there is in Hindi cinema! Including Ae husn zara jaag. I’ve forgotten who added it, but I remember it’s somewhere there, because when it was added, I said, “Oh! How could I have forgotten this?!” Because – even though it is Rajendra Kumar – I do think it’s a lovely song, and this is one film in which I thought he did manage to look good. And Sadhana… :-)

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  46. Oh. This means I have to find a song of my own. And I did. Equally exquisite and qualifies here ins spite of it being non hindi because you have reviewed Charulata here. :-)
    So I’m taking this liberty. Lovely song. Kishore Kumar’s voice dominates the piano which one can hear in between.

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  47. Great post Madhulika! I am so late to this party. It took me two days to go through some of the beautiful songs from your list and the additions made by others. From your list what I absolutely love are these (listed in the order you have them):

    Khwab ho tum ya koi haqueeqat and Koi Sone ke Dil wala
    Pyar Diwana Hota Hai
    Tum Bin Jaoon kahan
    Aaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki
    Aapke Haseen Rukh Pe
    Patthar Ke Sanam
    Agar Sun Le

    Dil Ke Jharoke is such a beautiful song but I know you had other reasons to not include it..

    Here’s one that I didn’t see discussed on this thread.

    I love this Rafi song but don’t agree with the visuals and also get confused about the mood of the song in which I hear poignancy but is surprised to see that it is a rather happy family song (Bharat Bhushan and Shalini – Movie Taqdeer, 1967 – Music Laxmi Pyare). I haven’t see this movie so I don’t know may be there is something I am missing that is behind the sadness in this song. I absolutely love this song though (another reason why I prefer to listen rather than watch songs).

    One song from DDLJ (1995) on SRK is sung well by Udit though the song may not qualify for multiple reasons, the primary being it starts out as if it’s going to be a soft Piano melody except it is not a piano song

    Enjoyed the songs discussed and re-discovered so many wonderful songs. Thank you for such quality content on your blog.

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    • Thank you, both for the appreciation as well as the songs you’ve contributed! Although I have seen DDLJ, I’d forgotten about Ruk jaa o dil deewaane. And as for Jab jab bahaar aayi, I haven’t seen the film, either (and I hadn’t seen the song before; only heard it). It is a wonderful song – hadn’t heard it for a while, so thank you for reminding me of it. :-)

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  48. I do wonder why you chose the song that you chose for Raj Kapoor and not the immortal song from Sangam, Dost Dost na Raha. The piano is an integral part of that song and its tune is haunting indeed. Great compilation and great posts. Enjoyed reading this.

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    • “I do wonder why you chose the song that you chose for Raj Kapoor and not the immortal song from Sangam, Dost Dost na Raha.”

      Nothing to wonder about, actually – this, after all, is a list of my favourite male pianist songs. And I don’t like Dost dost na raha. Glad you liked the list, though – thank you!

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  49. Hello, I have been reading your blog for last couple of months, and found them inspiring as well as a treasure trove. While gong through this post, I could not but stop posting this Piano song of Shammi Kapoor.

    There is a mention of the movie in the comments but with the wrong song. How can there be a remake of Casablanca with Sam not playing it again.. so here it is – a wonderful number lost in all those disco sounds:

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  50. Great collection of piano songs. Let me add two to the list

    – Kahaan ja raha hai from Seema with Balraj Sahni. I am not sure if the piano notes can be heard clearly in this one
    – Dil ka soona saaz taraan dhoondega from Ek Naari do roop with Shatrugan Sinha

    The Jab jab bahaar aayi song has two other versions with female pianists . Probably the only song to fit both your blogs ?

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  51. hello madhuji,

    what a nice post!
    as i haven’t seen much 50s 60s movies, this was a difficult theme for me!
    though while reading, i remembered some songs i have seen in chitrahar or rangoli in my school days!
    so i have no more songs to contribute in this post!
    and its too late too!
    but i nice theme

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  52. and hey!
    bahut pyar karte hai from sajan can also fit ur both piano themes!
    though not pre 1970s.
    its both versions have the respective actors playing the piano!
    as a school going child, i liked the songs of sajan very much mainly the female version for madhuri dixit of course!
    :-)

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  53. i saw the movie mainly for songs!
    and for madhuri.
    i also think the melodious songs re emerged in late 1980s say in 1988 when QSQT was released, and continued till 2000 or may b 2005.
    but after wards it was mainly noisy ……
    so 90s were good as compared to 80s!
    i was in 5th when, QSQT was released, i think Tezaab followed and so the melodious music………………………
    but i request u to watch sajan, it isnt bad………….
    and write review, it would b interesting to see, how u look at the film!
    :-)

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    • I can’t bear Sanjay Dutt – he was in this film, wasn’t he?

      “and write review, it would b interesting to see, how u look at the film!”

      I don’t review films from after 1970 – the only exceptions are for films like Pakeezah, which are on the cusp and evoke a strong feeling of the 60s, even if they were released in the 70s. In any case, I never review anything beyond 1972.

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    • Didn’t forget. This is a list of my favourites, and that song isn’t a favourite. I have explained the reason behind that to one of the other people who commented on this post:

      “As for Dil ke jharokhe mein, yes. It was on my shortlist till the nth hour, until I remembered Agar sun le. The reason why – despite it being a Shammi Kapoor song – I don’t care for it is partly because the music doesn’t appeal too much to me, but more because when I was in school, someone spoilt this song for me by telling me a parody: Koode ke dibbe mein tujhko bithaakar/ jhaadoo ke ponchhe ki dulhan banaakar/Rakhoonga naali ke paas/ Mat ho meri jaan udaas! That was the end of it. I haven’t liked the song ever since. Sad, really.”

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  57. As usual, I am quite late with this. But I found this song. I don’t think anyone has posted it yet. I absolutely love this song. It is one of the few Shamshad Begum songs that I like. Does this qualify ?

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  58. Dear I guess by not naming Sunny Castaleno from movie Mitti Me Sona 1960 * Pradeep kumar and Mala Sinha jee will be unjustified. O P Nayyar composed Poocho na hame hum unke liye kya kya nazrane laye hei.

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