Nalini Jaywant is one of those actresses about whom I’ve changed my opinion over the course of my watching of her films. I remember, as a child (which includes my early teens, which was a peak period when it came to Hindi film viewing), not especially liking her. I was a callow youngster, and as shallow as I was callow. To me women like Madhubala or Meena Kumari were the ultimate in beauty: Nalini Jaywant, with her heavy-lidded eyes and her pouting mouth, didn’t strike me as beautiful. Also, even if I put aside the purely superficial aspect of her looks, there was the fact that I didn’t think her a good actress. I found her voice affected and thin, nothing to write home about.
Thank goodness I grew up. Grew up, widened my horizons, and realized that there are different kinds of beauty. Realized, too, that one shouldn’t pass judgment on the worth of an actor without having watched a wide-ish spectrum of their work. Nalini Jaywant, when I had watched Munimji, seemed just another effervescent filmi female, no more than arm candy; it was through Shikast and Kaala Paani, through Hum Sab Chor Hain and Railway Platform (and many more), that I discovered just how versatile she could be. Goofy, flirtatious, tragic, long-suffering, feisty… Nalini Jaywant aced so many roles, brought so many of her characters vividly to life.
Today is the birth centenary of this actress (who, by the way, came to be regarded as India’s first ‘pin-up girl’, after her photographs—by the famous American photographer James Burke—appeared in Life magazine). Nalini was born on February 18, 1926 in Bombay.
In celebration, ten of my favourite songs to which she’s lip-synced. Some of these are solos, some duets; but the main criterion I have based this selection on is that Nalini Jaywant’s character should be shown singing at least part of the song. As always, these songs are all from pre-1970s Hindi films that I’ve seen. Also, no two songs are from the same film (believe me, not an easy thing to do in this case: some of her films had a lot of great songs)!
Without further ado, the list. This is in no particular order.
1. Najar laagi raja tore bangle par (Kaala Paani, 1958): Given that Kaala Paani’s Kishori is arguably my favourite role of Nalini Jaywant’s (one, in fact, which won her a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress), it makes sense to begin this list with Najar laagi raja tore bangle par. While Kishori appears briefly in the film before this, it is this song that fully introduces her. A tawaif, a woman whose profession revolves around flirting with men—and that is what this song is all about. Asha’s voice is teasing yet sultry, and Nalini Jaywant’s face echoes that: this is an accomplished siren at work. But see, occasionally, the flash in her eyes, the annoyance at the way this strange new guest dismisses her song.
2. Ek nazar bas ek nazar (Munimji, 1955): Nalini Jaywant starred opposite Dev Anand in several films, of which Munimji is probably the best-known. This one had all the makings of the typical Subodh Mukherjee film: disguises, a daaku leading a double life, a romance, mother-son-foster son angst, and more. Total paisa vasool. SD Burman’s excellent music played a major part in making Munimji the hit that it was, with Nalini Jaywant lip-syncing to several songs, both multiple singer (Dil ki umangein hain jawaan) as well as solo (Aankh khulte hi tum chhup gaye ho kahaan; Ghaayal hiraniya main ban-ban doloon, and the female version of Jeevan ke safar mein raahi among them). One of my favourite songs of hers from this film is this oft-overlooked one, an unusual song in that the woman is the flirtatious one here. She is doing the wooing and teasing that Hindi cinema back then generally reserved for the men.
3. Thandi hawaayein lehraake aayein (Naujawaan, 1951): By the time Munimji was released, SD Burman was a well-established name in the world of Hindi film music. But it was this iconic song, sung by Lata and picturized on Nalini Jaywant, that had been one of his early hits. A song, too, that inspired many other songs, by other composers, over the years: Tera dil kahaan hai, Rahein na rahein hum, Saagar kinaare dil yeh pukaare, and Humein raaston ki zaroorat nahin hai among them.
And how lovely Nalini Jaywant is here, the epitome of starry-eyed dreaminess. A young woman yearning for the man she’s fallen head over heels in love with, and whom she imagines coming to her on this beautiful night. I love that this is one of those rare songs in Hindi cinema where somebody singing at night actually wakes up everybody in the house with their singing!
4. Gagan jhanjhana raha (Naastik, 1954): One of Nalini Jaywant’s best-known films, Naastik is probably remembered most for its cynical Kavi Pradeep song Dekh tere sansaar ki haalat kya ho gayi bhagwaan. But my favourite song from the film is a very different one, one of those rare male-female duets that isn’t a romantic song. Nalini Jaywant’s character, a devout woman who has fallen in love with the eponymous naastik or atheist (played by Ajit) is trying to row across the river to take care of her beloved, who has been injured in a fall. An angel (or divine messenger, or whatever) warns her, because a storm is coming; but she pays no heed—and ends up caught in the storm. What ensues is this superb song, a wonderful duet between Lata and Hemant.
5. Har baat hai bigdi hui bhagwaan bana do (Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan, 1957): Dekh tere sansaar ki haalat was not just the most popular song of Naastik; a phrase from it—kitna badal gaya insaan—became the title of another film that starred Nalini Jaywant and Ajit. Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan was very different from the often angsty, often regressive Naastik: this one, an adaptation of the much-loved Hollywood film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, had Ajit playing a boorish, rather wild character who lives in the jungle with his six brothers. When he falls in love and marries a feisty woman (Nalini Jaywant) while on a trip to civilization, his bride comes to her new home to find just what she’s let herself in for. Things are so bad, her brothers-in-law so barbaric, that the poor girl can find no help but God. A rather sweet bhajan in a film that was fairly entertaining.
6. Gore-gore o baanke chhore (Samadhi, 1950): From one of Nalini Jaywant’s early films, in which she acted as a British spy who falls in love with an officer of the INA comes this song, a classic from C Ramachandra. Heavily inspired from Chico Chico from Puerto Rico, but jazzed up and made that much better, Gore-gore o baanke chhore has Nalini Jaywant and Kuldeep Kaur (who played sisters in Samadhi) performing along with a troupe for an audience of INA soldiers. Nalini is so pretty here, so charming and lovely. And the song, of course, is a smasher: infectious and utterly memorable.
7. Kaare badra tu na jaa na jaa (Shikast, 1953): Shikast was a film I first watched when I was a child, far too young to really understand (or appreciate) it. The one element of it that remained in my memory for many years after was the crescent-shaped scar that Nalini Jaywant’s character bore through much of the film, a scar which becomes a critical part of her identity, even.
I am surprised, actually, that I did not remember this song from that first viewing of the film. It’s a beautiful song, both in terms of the music and rendition, as well as the visual beauty of it. The lowering clouds, the pools of water in the fields beyond. Nalini Jaywant’s shawl billowing in the breeze, the loveliness of her even when she’s without much makeup.
8. Lo pyaar ki ho gayi jeet balam hum tere ho gaye (Jaadoo, 1951): Jaadoo was an unusual film for Hindi cinema, a story set (according to its director, AR Kardar) in no particular place, but actually very reminiscent of Spain. Loosely based on Bizet’s opera Carmen, Jaadoo had Nalini Jaywant playing a fiery, wild girl named Sundari who falls in love with a soldier—with eventually tragic consequences for both of them. The film had some good music by Naushad, and this song is my favourite: Sundari woos her Pritam, telling him all that he means to her.
9. Beimaan baalma maan bhi jaa (Hum Sab Chor Hain, 1956): Having directed Nalini Jaywant in the angsty and melodramatic Naastik, IS Johar then went on to make another film with her: a film that couldn’t have been more different from Naastik. Hum Sab Chor Hain starred Nalini in a double role, as two dramatically different twin sisters, one the sweet and demure Kamla, the other the madcap Bimla, who just seems to go from one scrape to another—but is immensely resourceful, feisty, and has a never-say-die attitude that I really loved. Here, trying to mollify the man she needs help from, she sings a song that ends up getting her thrown out of his house. This is one film you should watch for Nalini Jaywant: what a performance.
10. Chaand maddham hai (Railway Platform, 1955): To end the list, a beautiful song that I was a little torn about. From Sunil Dutt’s debut film, Chaand maddham hai was probably picturized on Nalini Jaywant: there doesn’t seem to be any clear yes or no about this. Whether it was ever picturized, or picturized and then later deleted: I couldn’t figure it out.
The film, after all, has two major female characters, one (the heroine) played by Nalini Jaywant, the second a spoiled princess portrayed by Sheila Ramani. Sheila Ramani’s character makes a play for Sunil Dutt’s, so ostensibly this song could have been hers; but I personally feel that there’s a sincerity to it, a depth of feeling that the princess lacks.
Anyhow, most people seem to regard this as a Nalini Jaywant song, so I’m going along with that. An exquisite song, beautifully composed by Madan Mohan and just as beautifully rendered by Lata. I wish we could have seen this.
Which songs would you have added to this list? Please share!
Dustedoff 
Hi Dusted Off,
I have to admit that I have flip-flopped about Nalini Jaywant as well during and after my teenage years.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Nalini Jaywant was known to be quite flirtatious in real life as well.
I remember reading that she had an intense affair with Ashok Kumar at one time, however, she was carrying on another affair in parallel (not sure with who).
When Ashok Kumar found out, he was heartbroken and broke up with her.
In terms of acting, it was only after watching Shikast, Kala Paani, Naastik and the other good movies you mentioned that I changed my opinion of her as well.
But one thing is undeniable – the songs of all her movies are very good.
It is probably fair to say that Lata Mangeshkar gave her the greatest hits.
I loved all the songs you have selected.
I, personally, like a couple of different songs from the same movies.
Here are a couple of my alternate selections from her best movies:
From Jadoo, I really like nadan mohabbat walon ke arman badalte rehte hain
From Shikast, I like the duet jab jab phool khile tujhe yaad kiya humne
One more movie I would like to mention is Anokha Pyar co-starring Dilip Kumar and Nargis with Nalini Jaywant.
This movie has over a dozen songs, and each one is a gem (albeit some of the songs are multiple versions).
Music composed by Anil Biswas.
Side note: this movie has probably one of Lata Mangeshkar’s all-time best songs:
mere liye woh gham-e-intezar
Beautiful lyrics by Zia Sarhadi
Interestingly, the movie version of this song was sung by Meena Kapoor, while the pre-release record version is by Lata Mangeshkar.
The link above is the Lata version.
Anyway, this song was picturized on Nargis, not Nalini Jaywant.
For Nalini Jaywant, I would pick:
Jeevan Sapna Toot Gaya
One more thing I would like to bring up – Nalini Jaywant has sung several songs, presumably lip syncing to herself.
Unfortunately, hardly any videos exist of those songs, so I couldn’t verify this right now.
Maybe I need to do some more research on this.
But the songs are quite good.
Here are a couple that you may (or not) like:
Manzil Pe Pahunchna Ab Dushwar hamara (Chingari)
Dekh Gagan Mein Kaali Ghata Kya Kehti Hai (Muqadar)
hum se mil ke gaye hen hamare piya (Chakori)
I hope you like these.
Cheers,
Pratick
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Thank you for these, Pratick. I really liked Mere liye woh – I hadn’t heard this one before. Just goes to show what an immense sea of goodness old Hindi film music is: there is always something ‘new’ to discover which is absolutely mind-blowingly good.
Yes, I knew that Nalini Jaywant had sung some songs too. Abhik Majumdar, in this post, had discussed her singing. Towards the end of the blog post:
https://madhulikaliddle.com/2015/11/04/top-ten-songs-sung-by-actors-themselves-or-by-singers-appearing-onscreen-guest-post-by-abhik/
I loved the songs of hers that you’ve posted. Personally I think her voice and her tunefulness are pretty good – I wonder why she never became more known for her singing. To me she sounds like she could have been another Suraiya.
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I wonder why she never became more known for her singing.
Most likely because of the phenomenon known as Lata Mangeshkar.
Once Lata cleaned up her Urdu pronunciation (thanks to Dilip Kumar), and her range control (thanks to Anil Biswas), there really was no other.
Most of Nalini Jaywant songs I have heard (I am aware of about a dozen or so) are from mid 1940s to about 1952 (albeit the beautiful song from Chingari I posted above is ~ 1955).
Well, that was the beginning of the Lata era.
I think Nalini Jaywant was a better singer than say Nutan, although I believe Nutan sang only about 3 – 4 songs so it’s not enough of a baseline to compare with.
Regarding her potentially becoming like Suraiya, umm, that’s a long shot for me, LOL.
I have always considered Suraiya as Lata’s true equal, if ever there was one.
She had the same range of voice, melody, and versatility that Lata did.
From singing the gazals of Mirza Ghalib with absolute perfect enunciation, to heavenly duets with Mohd. Rafi & Talat Mahmood, to singing light-hearted comedy like Kabhi Na Bigde Kisi Ki Motor (more on this song in a bit).
But tell me if any of the following are not pure nectar from heaven:
Door Hote Nahin Jo Dil Mein
Beqarar Hai Koi
I would say Suraiya was a class above Nalini Jaywant.
Another artist comparable to Suraiya is perhaps Kanan Devi.
Like Suraiya, Kanan Devi was very beautiful (almost a haunting beauty), and had a great singing voice and technical perfection.
For e.g. the songs from Jawab and Street Singer are par excellence, even though she did have the same accent issue as Meena Kapoor and Sandhya Mukherjee.
Finally, coming back to that Motor song from Moti Mahal, this has got to be one of only a handful of songs that refer to real life Bollywood actors, singers or celebrities, including to oneself, in this case.
I gotta think how many of such songs might be out there…I can also think of Tin kanastar peet peet kar, which refers to K.L. Saigal.
There is 1 more song in Dekh Kabira Roya that refers to Manna Dey and Talat Mahmood.
Anyway, I digress…I think Nalini Jaywant should have sung a few more songs every now and then…I think we lost something there.
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No, no. I am not comparing Nalini Jaywant to Suraiya at all. Merely stating that just as Suraiya was a singing star (Noorjehan was another one), Nalini Jaywant may also have been, given that she could sing well enough, and of course she was pretty well-known as an actress. Not the one-off singer, like (say) Dilip Kumar or even Nutan, who sang too few songs to really count.
Suraiya, of course, is in a class by herself. Among my other favourite songs of hers are the ones from Mirza Ghalib, as well as Yeh kaisi ajab daastaan ho gayi hai. Lovely.
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Oh drats…I knew I messed something up in my previous post.
It kept gnawing at the back of my mind and then it struck me.
My side note above mentions a different song than the one I was thinking of.
I mentioned mere liye woh gham-e-intezar however, the one I was really thinking of was:
ek dil ka lagana baki tha
Mere Liye was penned by Behzad Lakhnavi, while Ek Dil Ka Lagana is the one by Zia Sarhadi, which is the song I was thinking of.
My only excuse is that it was still too early in the morning for me (7:00 am) and I hadn’t had my jolt of java yet, LOL.
But there are a lot of other similarities between these two songs – both picturized on Nargis and both songs have two different versions – the movie version sung by Meena Kapoor whereas the pre-release record version by Lata Mangeshkar.
Now, I like Meena Kapoor but with all due respect, the Lata versions are far superior in terms of rendition.
Lata’s immaculate pronunciation clearly shines relative to Meena Kapoor’s Bengali accents, similar to Geeta Dutt and Sandhya Mukherjee.
And it is Ek Dil Ka Lagana which I rate as one of Lata Mangeshkar’s all time best songs, although Mere Liye Woh would be in the top drawer as well.
Many years ago, while debating music with a good friend, we decided to make a list of 5 best songs by Lata Mangeshkar and 5 by Mohd. Rafi.
Just 5 so that we could be super selective and eclectic, LOL.
I remember that I had put Ek Dil Ka Lagana on that list of 5.
But here is what I really wanted to mention in my previous post:
A Nalini Jaywant song that I really like:
Haye Jiya Roye Piya Nahi Aaye (Milan)
The reason I thought of this was because this was on my list of 5.
Can you believe the beautiful composition by Hansraj Behl and the absolutely flawless, impeccable singing by Lata Mangeshkar?
Even at such high pitch, not a single note is off.
There are a couple more Nalini Jaywant songs that are floating around somewhere in the back of my mind.
I will post them later, once this post makes it through.
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Ah. :-) Ek dil ka lagaana is also beautiful – thank you for that. These are the sort of songs that really showcase what Lata was capable of in her heyday. The control over her voice is mind-boggling.
And yes, Haaye jiya roye is another fabulous song.
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Sorry to flood your post, Dusted Off, but here are the other Nalini Jaywant songs I was thinking of:
Kaja hai meri duniya lutne wale (Naubahar)
Dil Kisi Ki Yaad Me Barbad Hai (Ek Nazar)
The video is grainy, but there are better, audio-only versions on YouTube
Aa ke ab aata nahin dil ko (Mehbooba)
Bad video, but it is a very good song.
Please listen to this audio-only version
I could go on and on, but I should probably stop here, LOL.
Thanks for reviving these memories, Dusted Off.
P.S. is there a way I can get off the moderated list?
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Do feel free to go on! I may not listen to all the songs all through right now, but will do over the next couple of days. So far, enjoying everything that I’ve listened to, thank you.
There is no ‘moderated’ list. Typically, once I have approved the first comment I receive from a particular e-mail ID, all subsequent comments from that ID will be automatically approved. What happens sometimes is that if even a regular commenter posts a comment with lots of links in it, WordPress’s (very over-zealous at times!) spam blocker sends it into moderation. Happens frequently when commenting on song lists, because of the links to songs. But invariably, I see the comment and approve it. If you see that I haven’t approved a comment for a couple of days, it may have gone into the spam folder (WordPress sometimes does that too), so please send me – through my Contact Me page – a note, and I will have a look. Thanks for bearing with WordPress!
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This list looks great! I will have to delve into it in more detail later. But right now, I am eager to mention a few things about your number one selection – and by the way, I love your description of the scene (including what you noticed in Nalini’s expressions, etc.).
“Nazar Lagi Raja Tore Bangle Par” was a very old, real standard among tawaifs. I saw that the song was credited in the film to S.D. Burman and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpur, but like a lot of film songs, it was just an embellishment of an older song (much older in this case). I have actually seen/heard the song attributed to Bahadur Shah Zafar. It was once performed by Begum Akhtar and also by her protege Zarina Begum, whom I have written about in two blog posts (which I also turned into an article for an online journal that no longer exists) and mentioned in my most recent post, too (which is a review of a documentary about tawaifs).
If you don’t mind my plugging an old blog post here :) , this is a link to the post where I wrote specifically about this song:
https://roughinhere.wordpress.com/2017/12/05/nazar-lagi-raja-tore-bangle-par-and-zarina-begum/
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Thank you, Richard! And yes, I did know that Najar laagi raja had been sung earlier by others, but didn’t know who. Your post is fascinating, and also rather sad, actually…
On a lighter note, many years ago my husband and I had gone on a weekend trip to a heritage hotel in Uttar Pradesh. Around a bonfire at the hotel that night, a small troupe of singers and dancers from a nearby village had performed, and the one song that had stood out for me was Najar laagi raja. At that time, I had been amused that – so many years after Kaala Paani – the song was still remembered here, in the countryside. When I discovered, much later, how old the song really was, I began to wonder where the villagers had actually learnt it.
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You’re welcome, Madhu. And thank you for the good word about my post. (Yes the story of Zarina Begum is quite sad.)
That story about you and your husband finding the villagers singing “Nazar Lagi Raja…” is interesting, too. (They could have had it passed down to them from another place while also knowing about the version in Kala Pani… If only you had known at the time that there were other versions, maybe you could have asked them. :) )
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I wasn’t aware of the history behind Nazar Lagi Raja – thanks for that, Richard & Dusted Off.
That rendition by Zarina Begum in that You Tube clip was mesmerizing.
I would speculate that the attribution of the lyrics to Sahir Ludhianvi could be because he re-wrote some of the stanzas or parts of them for the movie.
I have noticed several other classical and traditional lyrics / music mis-attributed to Bollywood lyricists and composers.
One of the most famous movie Qawwalis of all time – yeh ishq ishq hai is credited to Sahir as well.
However, the opening lines:
na to karvaan ki talash hai
na to hamsafar ki talash hai
mere shauq-e-khana kharab ko
teri rehguzar ki talash hai
is a classical Sufi poem, dating back a couple of centuries.
Another example – the lyrics of the song Aa Aa Bhi Ja, Raat Dhalne Lagi from Teesri Kasam are credited to Shailendra, but the opening couplet:
Rahega tera ishq barbaad karke mujhe
Huye hai ibtida mein ranj inteha ke mujhe
is by Dagh Dehlvi
huye ham jinake liye barbad from Deedar credited to Shakeel, but the opening lines are Muztar Khairabadi.
yahi arman lekar aaj apne ghar se hum nikle from Shabab credited to Shakeel, but the opening lines are by classical Urdu poet Zauq.
Dil Dhoondta Hai Phir Wohi from Mausam, credited to Gulzar, is a famous couplet by none other than Mirza Ghalib.
Gulzar did change the ji to dil and wrote the rest of the stanzas.
It seems our Bollywood lyricists and music directors have always followed the 3 Rs of environmentalism – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, LOL
-Pratick
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It seems our Bollywood lyricists and music directors have always followed the 3 Rs of environmentalism – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, LOL
Yes, indeed!
You might enjoy this post I did, many years ago:
https://madhulikaliddle.com/2014/04/15/ten-of-my-favourite-classic-poem-songs/
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Madhu, thank you for pointing out the pertinent post on this matter that you wrote close to a dozen years ago. Yes, that is all very interesting, too!
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Pratick, you are welcome. And thank you for going to my blog post and checking out the Zarina Begum clip. I agree that it is positively mesmerizing! (And by the way, please feel free to comment below that post, too, if you would like. :) )
And thank you for pointing out so many of those other songs that were “mis-attributed” – that is, consisting of an older song or poem for which the attributed lyricist merely added some stanzas or changed a few lines.
I like your “three Rs” point, too. Very amusing!
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I would add the song, “Roop Ki Dushman Papi Duniya Mare mohe Akhiya.” A song from 1951 film, Jaddo staring Shayam along with Nalini Jaywant. Very catchy street dance song.
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This is also a very good song, thank you – I’d forgotten about it. Very unlike Naushad, especially in the beginning. Jaadoo had another song that I like a lot, Le lo le lo do phooldaani le lo:
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Jadoo indeed had some very good songs.
It is a perfect example of why Naushad used to be so selective in composing music and, perhaps notoriously, took too long to finish composing the songs for a movie, which often used to irk the producers / directors.
Jadoo has one song, which I consider one of Mohammad Rafi’s top 5 all-time best.
It was on my list of top 5 that I mentioned in my post above.
Ek jhooth hai jis ka dunia ne
Video is grainy as expected, but the audio is fairly clear.
You got to listen to the original soundtrack recording for this one because a lot of the audio versions on You Tube are either the recordings from later years made for RPG, or live show recordings.
You can tell by the slight variations in the rendering of some of the phrases, such as when he sings:
pani si nazar, pathar sa jigar bedard tujhe pahchan gaye
ham pyar ki nagari me aakar dastoor yahan ke jaan gaye
This is the Mohd. Rafi that I love and worship, LOL
He always had a special something when he sang for Naushad, just like perhaps Lata had when singing for Anil Biswas and Madan Mohan.
Even after listening to this song over a million times in my lifetime, I still get goosebumps every time.
Fortunately, I had managed to find a HMV tape of the original soundtrack recording of the songs of this movie many years ago, when you could still find tapes.
I ended up converting it to MP3 a few years ago, which is what I listen to now.
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Uff. Rafi is something else. So good, this song! Thank you for that. :-)
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RAHI, by K A Abbas had some very good songs…Anil Biswas.
O janewale rahi…
Holi khele Nandlala… ( I think one of the earliest Holi songs in Hindi movies. )
Ek kali do pattiyan…
NJ in 3 different moods.
Ae ri main toh prem diwani… NAUBAHAR.
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Coincidentally enough, I just finished watching Raahi a day before Nalini Jaywant’s birth centenary. The music is indeed very good – several songs there that I liked a lot.
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I became a fan of her after watching her in the song “Ghayal hiraniyan” from Munimji. I read somewhere that Dilip Kumar considered her as one of the greatest actresses that he worked with. That’s quite a compliment!!
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That is indeed a real compliment, coming from Dilip Kumar! I think the only film starring both of them that I’ve seen is Shikast, and she is indeed excellent in that.
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Amazing research work has gone into creation of this post which is an apt tribute to the underrated actress. Most of the songs in this list have been listened to by me and I like them. This is also a new information for me that Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan is an adaptation of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as hitherto I have been under an impression that Satte Pe Satta (1982) only is the Bollywood adaptation of this movie. Coming to your posts is always a pleasure. Hearty compliments for this brilliant post Madhulikaji.
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Jitendraji, thank you so very much for your kind words. Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed this post. I think Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan stays closer to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers than Satte pe Satta does – the latter mixes in that crime/suspense angle with the look-alike and the Ranjeeta character etc, which basically adds more twists and complications to what is an otherwise simple story.
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Thank you for this post Madhuji. Enjoyed the post. Very interestingly if I would have planned a list, all these would have appeared on my list too, except from Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan. I wasn’t aware of this movie.
She was indeed a good actress, though I agree I had to watch many of her films to form an opinion.
Most of the songs I would have added are already there.
:-)
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Thank you for reading, Anupji. I am glad you enjoyed this post!
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Madhuji,
Thanks for this lovely post on Nalini Jaywant’s songs!
Nalini Jaywant indeed had some memorable songs. While I am not particularly fond of her, she had her fair share of movies where she shone. I see that almost all the songs I would have added have already ben mentioned.
Anita
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I am glad you liked this post, Anitaji. Thank you!
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Enjoyed reading your post, dear Madhu. A well-written tribute to one of the versatlile actresses of the golden age of Indian cinema on her birth centenary.
Happy birthday Nalini, wherever you are…
Your post reminded me of my 13-year old post on Nalini Jaywant‘s songs:
https://harveypam.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/nalini-jaywant/
It is amazing that of the 10 movies we have nine in common and of the songs five.
I think, your readers have covered most of her songs, which is good.
I am adding here a song, which is from her last movie as a heroine.
Gori itna bata tera lagta hai kya from Toofan Mein Pyar Kahan (1966)
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It is amazing that of the 10 movies we have nine in common and of the songs five.
Just goes to show how similar our tastes are, Harvey! :-) And you know what, I had a look at Anu’s post on Nalini Jaywant and discovered that our posts also overlapped quite a bit.
Gori itna bata is a song I’ve heard before (and liked) but hadn’t seen, so hadn’t realized it featured Nalini Jaywant. I wonder if the film was made earlier but released later – somehow the entire vibe (the music, Nalini Jaywant’s looks, etc) all echo an earlier period than the late 60s.
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I don’t know how I missed this post until now, Madhu! Talk about brain fog!
What a lovely collection of songs you have listed. My favourites are Nazar laage raaja tore bangle par, Thandi hawaayein and Kaare badra tu na ja.
This is one song from Sangram that I like very much: Din aaye pyaare pyaare barsaat ke
This song from Hum Sab Chor Hain is great fun: O Mr Banjo
And from Samadhi, I like this one: Abhi shaam aayegi
Like you, Nalini Jaywant never did come into my head as either beautiful or a great actress. Also, perhaps like with Kamini Kaushal, I’d seen her in too many melodramas to really like her.
It was when I watched [a sadly-butchered] Hum Sab Chor Hain that I really sat up and took notice of her. I mean, I’d liked her character in Kala Pani, but again, I felt like I wouldn’t really be watching a movie for Nalini Jaywant. But I did like her very much in Hum Sab Chor Hain. I do wish there was a good print of that film – the one I watched mixed up reels, had innumerable scenes that were missing/deleted, and was a mess that didn’t do justice to what must have originally been rollicking fun.
By the way, she was a trained classical singer.
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Anu, der aaye durust aaye, as they say! :-)
Thank you for the songs you’ve suggested. I am familiar with O Mr Banjo and Abhi shaam aayegi, and like both of them a lot. The Sangram song is one I had heard before, but had forgotten about (and your mentioning the film reminded me that I’d bookmarked the film to watch, and still haven’t gotten around to it). Must do that someday…
I loved Hum Sab Chor Hain! She was so good in that, and it was generally a very entertaining, fun film too. I was really annoyed at how the reels have got mixed up. You can figure out, eventually, what happens, but the entire experience is spoiled. :-(
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