Ten of my favourite workplace songs

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Several months back, as I was posting my housework songs list, I couldn’t help but think that there are a fair number of songs, too, of people going about singing as they do other work: paid work, not just the unpaid labour that is housework. Work done with the hands, especially—repetitive, monotonous work which requires little focus—is easily accompanied by a song. A workplace songs list seemed doable.

My original plan had been to restrict the songs in this list to those where the singer works as he/she sings. But then I realized that a few of my very favourite songs have people singing in their workplaces, though not necessarily working at the same time. While I have tried to ensure at least some of these songs have people working while singing, some are merely what the title of the post indicates: workplace songs. Whether you’re actually working, or taking a break while you sing a song.

As always, these songs are all from pre-1970s Hindi films that I’ve seen. They’re in no particular order, although my very favourite songs tend to cluster at the top of the list. Also, to make this a bit more challenging for myself (I love challenges!), no two workplaces here are the same.

Note: There is one type of work and workplace that I’ve steered clear of in these songs: they do not include songs by entertainers, because those are a dime a dozen. All the stage singers/dancers, street performers, floor show artistes etc are in their workplaces, and singing, but if I began including those, this list would never end. Also, I have not counted ‘I am selling this‘ or ‘This is what I do for a living‘ songs, since those have already been covered in other, more specific posts.

1. Ek ladki bheegi-bhaagi si (Chalti ka Naam Gaadi, 1958): Garage. On a rainy night, a beautiful woman, utterly soaked, pushes her broken-down car into a garage—and the mechanic who attends to it sings her a serenade. Kishore Kumar, as the madcap Mannu, is delightful here as both actor as well as singer. He does tinker about inside the open bonnet of the car, tightening this, loosening that, hitting at something, going off to a workbench to potter around with something else. I have no idea how realistic his ‘working’ is (and he takes out time to dance around a bit too) but the combination of song and work is perfect here. I love, also, that he uses some of his tools to create a musical accompaniment for his song.

2. Jaane kahaan mera jigar gaya ji (Mr & Mrs 55, 1955): Office. A newspaper publication office, to be precise. Jaane kahaan mera jigar gaya ji has been a favourite of mine from pretty much as far back as I can remember, and it’s a fine example of a song picturized in a workplace—though not while people are working (in most offices, work tends to be more cerebral than physical, so working while singing may not be very conducive to being productive).

I love this one. Johnny Walker and Yasmin are a joy to watch as they dance and sing and go through the whole nok-jhonk thing of teasing romance in an office space that’s currently bare because everybody has gone out to lunch. There’s a peon around, but that’s it.  The setting, with desks (some with typewriters), racks crowded with files, filing cabinets, and more, is very real, and the end is the icing on the cake: the two lovebirds crooning away under a desk while the staff, back from lunch, looks on with curiosity.

3. Mehnatkash insaan jaag utha (Insaan Jaag Utha, 1959): Dam Construction Site. And not just any unnamed dam, but one of India’s biggest: the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, no less. Insaan Jaag Utha had Sunil Dutt playing an ex-convict, a thief who returns to the place where he had once hidden stolen goods, only to find that it is now the site of the dam construction. Even as he falls in love (with a woman worker on the site) and reforms, the construction site becomes the setting for several songs. Yeh chanda Roos ka na yeh Jaapan ka and Jaanoon jaanoon ri kaahe are both centred round the romance that develops, but well before them comes the title song, with Madhubala and Minoo Mumtaz’s characters (along with a chorus in the form of their co-workers) singing about the value of the work they’re doing. A relatively rare instance of a workplace song in which the lyrics actually focus on the work. And yes, while the two leading ladies don’t seem to be doing much except swinging their taslaas around, there are moments when you see them passing things, or bending to empty the taslaa, etc.

4. Ik kali aur do pattiyaan (Raahi, 1952). Tea Plantation. Based on Mulk Raj Anand’s novel Two Leaves and a Bud, Raahi was set in the tea plantations of Assam, and depicted the oppression of plantation workers by the British planters who owned and managed the estates. Like Mehnatkash insaan jaag utha, this is another good example of a song that ties in very closely to the work being done: not only is the first line of the lyrics (drawn directly from the name of Anand’s novel) related to the work of tea-picking, the rest of the lyrics too talk about the fallout of the tea-pickers’ work: the pain, the exploitation, the suffering that is their plight.

5. Kabhi aar kabhi paar laaga teer-e-nazar (Aar Paar, 1954): Building Construction Site. Another construction site, and this one’s bang in the middle of the big bad city, Bombay. Kumkum, in a cameo, plays an unnamed woman who’s one of several working at a local construction site, ferrying bricks to and fro. Watching the romantic antics of two young people—played by Guru Dutt and Shyama—at street level, she sings of their emotions, even as she goes about her work. Not very much work happening here, though there is some amount of lifting and putting down (and hugging of bricks, if you take that into account).

6. Aayi nit nayi rut ki bahaar (Doctor, 1941): Laboratory. A somewhat unusual workplace, this: a medical laboratory. In Doctor, Jyoti Prakash plays a young man who completes his medical studies and begins to work in a laboratory. He falls in love with a woman (Bharati Devi), and his girlfriend comes visiting him at his office. This is a slightly more realistic depiction of a song in an office-like environment: the singing is done by someone who’s visiting, while the worker goes on with his work. He potters around with jars and test tubes and whatnot, obviously distracted, but not enough to actually join in the song.

7. Daali pe baithi thheen das chidiyaan (Deep Jalta Rahe, 1959): Classroom. A classroom too is a workplace for a teacher, and classrooms—both school and college ones—feature fairly prominently in Hindi cinema. Songs in classrooms are slightly less common, and even more infrequently encountered are songs which actually involve teaching (which would be more pertinent to the ‘workplace’ theme). Here, though, is a song that’s not just set in a classroom, but has a teacher using a song to teach her students basic maths. Some bit of Indian national history/geography also gets thrown into the mix, but that’s by the way.

8. Naiyya teri majhdhaar (Awara, 1951): Boat deck. Of course there are plenty of boat songs. They run the gamut from boats which are rowed (or sailed, whatever) by people for fun, people who sing as they go boating (see Jis gali mein tera ghar nah o baalma, or Ae chaand ki zebaayi, for instance) to songs sung by people on boats which are propelled by others (O maanjhi chal as a case in point). But there are also songs by boatmen, and this one—a classic featuring Premnath in a cameo—is one of my favourites. Incidentally, the other boatman is played, as far as I know, by the lyricist Shailendra. I could be wrong, though.

9. Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle (Upkaar, 1967): Fields. This is a workplace about which I’ve written before: farmers singing in fields is not so very uncommon an element. A lot of ‘farmer songs’, however, including several which are all about the land and the farmer’s deep connection with it, don’t actually show much in the way of sowing, tilling, weeding, harvesting, etc. Manoj Kumar’s Upkaar, while not one of my favourite films (it’s so jingoistic, I find it painful), did have a farmer as its protagonist, with a good chunk of the film set in farmlands. In what is probably the most famous song from Upkaar, Manoj Kumar doesn’t just wander through the fields, singing: he ploughs his fields, hurrying along behind the bullocks, in several sequences here.

10. Hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaaya hoga (Haqeeqat, 1964): Battlefield. From the fields to the battlefield, and a classic multiple singer song: Bhupinder (who also appears onscreen, singing playback for himself), Rafi, Talat and Manna Dey come together in a song of soldiers remembering the wives and girlfriends they’ve left behind. There are quite a few songs sung by soldiers, which (unless the soldier in on leave) might qualify—including Ab chaar dinon ki chhutti (Aas ka Panchhi) and Kabhi khud pe kabhi haalaat pe (Hum Dono), both set in a military camp; but songs sung by soldiers actually on the battlefield are relatively rare.

That, then, is my list. Can you suggest other workplace songs? If you can find workplaces other than the ones I’ve listed, that’ll be even more welcome!

70 thoughts on “Ten of my favourite workplace songs”

  2. Lovely list! Some songs that came to mind were:

    Geet gaya patharon ne and Tere khayalon mein hum from Geet Gaya Patharon Ne. Also from the same film, Aaiye padhariye – Jeetendra’s job, technically, but I love that Rajshree’s teaching him how to do it (:

    Tum pukaar lo from Khamoshi – I’m unsure if this would count, since Radha isn’t really visiting Dharmendra’s character in her capacity as a nurse (although he thinks so), but it does take place at her workplace

    The boat songs mentioned reminded me of another means of transport: carts drawn by horses or bullocks. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve made a list of those already, but mentioning some anyway:

    Sajan re jhoot mat bolo and Sajanva bairi ho gaye hamaar from Teesri Kasam (come to think of it, that film didn’t have many non-workplace songs, except Lali lali doliya and maybe Chalat musafir)

    Maang ke saath tumhara and Saathi haath badhaana from Naya Daur – the latter isn’t really a job, but they’re definitely working, so I suppose that would count?

    Jeevan se lambe hain bandhu from Aashirwad

    Just wondering, are there any plane songs? The closest thing I can think of is the one line of Gumnaam hai koi sung on the flight right at the end of the film, but no proper songs as such. It makes sense logistically, of course, given the carefulness (or lack thereof) most Hindi film heroes show while driving – imagine if Rajendra Kumar had been piloting a plane in Kaun hai jo sapnon mein aaya!

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    • Oh, nice! Lots of songs that work, and some, I will admit, that I am not quite sure about. Especially Tum pukaar lo – yes, he is in a mental hospital, but though it’s her workplace, she is neither singing nor working. One of my absolutely favourite songs, but I think that shouldn’t really qualify – the link is too tenuous.

      I also don’t think I have come across any aeroplane songs. A helicopter song, though, here in Bewaqoof; Tu mi piaci cara. He’s not a pilot, however, so this song doesn’t fit in this list. (The first part of the song is in a car, but then they move to a chopper).

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        • TBH I wonder if anybody who didn’t know the context could tell that this was in a mental asylum. If you see, all the songs I have selected have a picturisation that makes the workplace setting obvious, even if the singer isn’t shown doing much work (there may be people other than the singer at work). Here, while she is in a lab coat, the rest of the setting could be just any room, not necessarily a hospital of any kind.

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          • Good point. This is how stereotype our films are. A doctor has to be depicted in a white coat with a stethoscope hanging to establish his/her profession. As for a mental asylum, it may not need to display the typical medical equipment in all the rooms depending on the nature of the treatment. Well, cinematic liberty is another point in itself!

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            • Yes, of course there may not be anything very much in a mental asylum by way of equipment (especially in a patient’s room) to show that it is a hospital, but there is a certain look – clinical, spare, very functional – about hospital rooms, I think. The room they’re in looks a little too dingy and in-someone’s-home to resemble a hospital room. That was also my impression of Tum pukaar lo.

              Actually, I think hospitals are perhaps not very conducive to songs that actually showcase them as workplaces. There are several songs set in hospitals, but rarely (never?) does one see anyone actually doing very much by way of working… perhaps I should try and do a hospital songs list sometime!

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    • I was hoping someone would post Dhanno ki aankhon mein, Udayji. Thank you for that! And a special thanks, too, for Hato kaaheko jhoothi banaao batiyaan: I had been wondering if there were any shop songs, and couldn’t think of any.

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  4. Madhu, I am glad that you got to workplace songs, because it’s one of my favorite categories of songs in old Hindi films, too. I have found a number of construction-site songs to be particularly good, and you listed two of my favorites (plus, of course, there is the Naya Daur song that Vibhas Verma listed above).

    But my favorite construction site song (and the first song I thought about for this category) is Tane Tandane Bhai Tandane Tane” from Bindiya (1960).

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMma3G4k1AE

    There is also a teacher-with-children song that immediately popped into my mind (though it is not exactly inside a classroom), “Ichak Dana Bichak Dana” from Shree 420.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkq6bbjKAxg

    And there is one more workplace song that I thought about, but it might belong in a separate category, because the workplace is a prison. (Do we want to include prison labor?) From Bandini…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HmKHuj1qVc

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    • Richard, thank you for these songs: all three are wonderful. I have to admit I’d never seen Tane tandane before, though I’ve heard the song. Also, I have to confess that I’d never paid much attention to the lyrics of the song, but now that I’m listening to it, I can appreciate the firmly socialist tone to it. Very IPTA! :-)

      Prison labour certainly counts as work, I think. And what a lovely song O panchhi pyaare is.

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      • You’re welcome – and I am glad to see that you love these songs, too!

        Regarding “Tane Tandane”… Yes, I guess it is pretty socialist/IPTA – but that would be more of a surprise if it didn’t star Balraj Sahni :) . (BTW, I still generally need English subtitles… But I did see the lyrics in a subtitled DVD a while back, and English translations can be found online. I couldn’t find any subtitled versions in YouTube, though.)

        The fact that we get to see Balraj Sahni paired with Padmini is one thing that drew me to the song – and the film, though I saw it probably at least 15 years ago and don’t remember it too well. (But I do remember that that relationship ends up having more than its fair share or problems.)

        I really like the music, too – very catchy!

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  5. Nice post and a little difficult one. I had expected Lara lappa to be the first song on your list because of the picture. One song that comes to mind is Jor Lagaake Haiya Pair Jamake Haiya from Jaal ( 1951), although the lead pair are not really doing much. One is singing and the other gazing at her. The others however are pulling in their haul of fish .

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    • Thank you, Roma.

      The first screenshot on a songs list on my blog is always of a song that isn’t on the list but which – usually – was on the shortlist. For this list, Lara lappa and Jaane kahaan mera jigar were the two office songs I had to choose between, and I like the latter just that little bit more…

      Thank you for the Jaal song. I have seen this film ages ago, but had forgotten this song (though I remember several of the other songs). They may not be doing too much work, but there is some amount of pulling, and the space is definitely a workplace. A good fit for this list!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRxqHJrXvWI

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  6. There are several songs in Mother India, showing farm workers. Here is one – jundaria kat ti jaaye re, umaria ghat ti jaaye re. It is not the one I like the most, but it is good, and less heard.

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  7. kathwa ke naiya banaihe re malhwa from the 1948 film Nadiya ke par starring Dilip Kumar and Kamini Kaushal. I can vaguely remember several other songs featuring vegetable vendors, fruit sellers, chaat sellers or the like, but I do not know if they would count.

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    • Thank you for the Nadiya ke Paar song – I had seen the film ages ago, but had forgotten this one.

      “I can vaguely remember several other songs featuring vegetable vendors, fruit sellers, chaat sellers or the like, but I do not know if they would count.”

      No. :-) I have mentioned in the introduction to this post that I haven’t included those songs in this list, because I have separate lists for those. If you scroll to the last paragraph or so before Ek ladki bheegi-bhaagi si, you’ll see the links I’ve provided to two other lists, one for people selling things, another for people singing about what services they offer.

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  8. I would like to add a few more. Title song from the film Gyarah Hazaar ladkiyan – kaam ke dhun mein magan, and Chhoro kal ki baate from Hum Hindustani. Both show several types of workplaces and both in some ways reflect the hopeful, upbeat, forward looking outlook of a mostly newly free India. Also, Nayi zindagi se pyar karke dekh from Shikast. Not much farming going on, but I really love the song. In fact for many decades after I had watched Shikast originally on Doordarshan, this song was the only thing I remembered of it.

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    • These are, I think, very worthy tangential songs. Not one workplace, but several. And yes, very indicative of the upbeat energy of the post-Independence era.

      I had forgotten the Shikast song. Lovely – I wonder how I didn’t remember this one! It fits, and beautifully.

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  10. Very nice post as always expected from you Madhulikaji. The words in the 5th song should be ‘Kabhi aar’ and in the 10th song should be ‘Hoke majboor mujhe’. Besides, song no. 10 is actually a song of the soldiers on the retreat and not on the battlefield. Anyway, your opinion may be different.

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  11. Madhulika ji, what a great theme and list. Here are my suggestions sticking to the pre-70s timeline.

    1. Bhagwan sings O Betaji O Babuji in Albela (1951) while working in his workplace – a kitchen- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DPN72QhjH8&list=RD-DPN72QhjH8&start_radio=1
    2. Dharmendra and his staff sing on a dam construction site “Jaage ga insaan zamana dekhega” in Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969). – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wGfoJGWDhs&list=RD1wGfoJGWDhs&start_radio=1
    3. Dharmendra again in Tum Haseen Main Jawaan (1969), if a ship can be called a workplace. They naval staff is not exactly working as they are distracted due to the arrival of a baby. They seem to be engaged in ad-hoc baby sitting duties. :) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RP9POt4ZnY&list=RD0RP9POt4ZnY&start_radio=1

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  12. Delightful list! Loved every bit of it. A few suggestions:

    1. Ship: Munne ki Amma (Tu Haseen Main Jawan, 1970)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uYTxXAhCKg

    2. Recording Studio: E Gaane Projapoti (Deya Neya, 1963)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk3QzUBsAiM

    I know you’ve barred songs by entertainers. But here our hero’s not entertaining, at least not directly. He’s not even singing (or pretending to). In this song he’s playing music director getting a recording done. Pretty prosaic and workplace-like, no?

    3. Film Studio: Murali Bairan Bhayi (Solva Saal, 1958)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_d-sJl1V38

    The same reasoning applies here. Uma Devi aka Tuntun is not entertaining anyone, she’s only seeking an audition.

    4. Orphanage: Tu Pyar Ka Sagar Hai (Seema, 1955)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbHUz29sVnw

    If a school, why not an orphanage? I confess I’m not fan of the song, find it too weepy. But still, here goes.

    5. Pounding Grain in the House: Jaane Kahe Jiya Mora: (Godaan 1963)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrP6Agce97g

    I’d consider this very much a workplace song. Women were and are expected to put in much labour at home, including agricultural labour. So if men working in the fields is acceptable, maybe women processing grain in the house is too.

    6. Tourist Trail: Ek Thha Gul (Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmxvcR7AHvQ

    Well, Shashi Kapoor is at work here as tour guide / houseboat owner. Should this pass muster?

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    • Oh, very nice, Abhik! Except for one song, all fit, and well. :-) I wish I had thought of these ones (and thank you for the Solvaan Saal song: I was discussing this with another blogger the other day, that I recall having seen Tuntun singing – and beautifully too – onscreen well after she had stopped singing playback. I couldn’t recall which film it was, so you have inadvertently answered a question I had).

      The one song that doesn’t fit here is the one from Godaan: that’s a housework song, to accompany all the unpaid work done by people (mostly women, though some men as well) in their homes. I would think a Bawarchi song would fit, though, because in Bhor aayi gaya andhiyaara, Rajesh Khanna is doing housework, but he’s working for a living in this house:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9M-lcrgnw

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  13. Lovely list again, Madhu! So many great comments and suggestions too in the thread. I haven’t read all of them so maybe someone has mentioned “Sar jo tera chakraye’ which I think fits the theme. Head masseur is the work of course with the inimitable Johnny Walker, who finds a mention in your list with another one of my favourite songs.

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  14. It’s such an interesting topic only you could think of. :)

    And some lovely songs in the list. I particularly find the laboratory song very interesting. A song set in the lab. Hehe. Haven’t heard this song though.

    ‘Oh re taal mile nadi ke jal mein…’Can we consider Sanjeev Kumar’s tonga his work place?

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    • I am glad you enjoyed this! The song in the laboratory is from a very old film, and that too one of the more obscure songs from it, so I’m not surprised that you hadn’t heard it before. I found the setting quite fascinating too.

      I have forgotten if Sanjeev Kumar’s bail-gaadi in Anokhi Raat was his own, for his own use, or did he use it to ferry passengers (like Raj Kapoor’s character did in Teesri Kasam)? If the latter, then of course Oh re taal mile nadi ke jal mein fits.

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  15. When I read the title of the post, the first songs that came to mind were or lara lappa and jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji. My next thought was that all the dancers and singers are technically working too! So I’m glad you exempted them from the list, although I do find that a bit discriminatory. 😉

    Although I love ek ladki bheegi, I do find it a little irritating that the hero is teasing a woman who is clearly in need of help (even if she is in a foul mood).

    I love jaane kahan mera jigar. The picturisation of the song makes it a masterpiece. Guru Dutt was a master at filming songs. The staging reminds me somewhat of sun sun sun zalima and another song from Baaz that I can’t quite recollect at the moment. That also makes me wonder whether you’ve added any of sailor songs in this list. If I remember right, you had already made a separate list of that as songs sung on a ship.

    I tend to forget mehnatkash insaan jaag utha, even though it is quite a nice song. It reminds me of the song from Char Dil Char Raahen (1959), which is sung while they are building the road. Speaking of roads naturally leads me to saathi haath badhana from Naya Daur (1957).

    I see there’s another song from Aar Paar (1954). I absolutely love kabhi aar kabhi paar. It’s such a playful song and is rendered so beautifully by Shamshad Begum.

    aayi nit nayi rut ki bahaar from Doctor (1941) was new to me. Songs sung by doctors or nurses while they are at work must be quite rare. I wonder whether Dr. Kotnis ever sang while treating his patients or while brooding over a difficult case. Raaj Kumar and Meena Kumari certainly didn’t in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi. But I now see that this song is set in a laboratory rather than a hospital or dispensary.

    daali pe baithi thheen das chidiyaan from Deep Jalta Rahe (1959) is also new to me, but it reminded me of ichak dana beechak dana from Shree 420 (1955) and ek do teen from Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959).

    naiya teri majhdaar reminded me of your very first quiz, where you had asked which lyricist appears in this song.

    hoke majboor is such a soulful song. I love it. It’s such a rarity to have four outstanding male singers come together in a single song. I wonder if there are many other songs featuring four or more prominent male singers. The only one that comes to mind is humko tumse ho gaya hai pyaar from Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), although that one has only three male singers.

    Thank you for the list, dear Madhu. It entertained me through my train journey.

    I am wondering right now if watchmen have got the opportunity to sing in Hindi films? They do have lots of time at hand. Since I am in a train, dhanon ki aankhon me from Kitaab (1977) comes to my mind and that other song from Vidhaata featuring Shammi Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. And of course there are other means of transport which reminds me of duniya bananewale from Teesri Kasam (1966). Seeing forests out of train window I am wondering now if there are songs sung by wood-fellers while at work.
    If I remember anymore songs I will surely revisit.

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    • Pighla hai sona and jor laga ke from Jaal (1952) are also songs at working place. Here in particular for fisher-men and -women. Although in the former song, they are not shown working as such, but they surely not on a jolly boat ride but returning from work or so and in the latter song, all the characters are shown hauling the catch. One can also see the director of the film, Guru Dutt in a cameo, lip-synching to a few verses.

      The song awara hoon from Awara (1951) shows Raj Kapoor stealing so he is also at his working place, thus this songs fits in your “I AM THIS” song-list.

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      • Harvey, thank you for those wonderful, very interesting comments, and the songs you’ve suggested. Haan, bhai, I know it’s discriminatory to bar entertainers from this list, but if I didn’t do that, this list would never end. :-D

        Yes, I did do a post on ship-board songs, and that had plenty of sailors (or deckhands, or even performers dressed in nautical costume). If only RK singing Main hoon ek khalaasi had actually been a deckhand, that would have worked in this list too; alas, he’s only a performer, though he is board ship.

        I too have been wondering about hospital/clinic songs. There are some, but I don’t think any of them really show the hospital as a workplace – nobody doing proper work (Asha Parekh singing Tum mujhe yoon bhula na paaoge doesn’t count for this reason, as far as I am concerned). Not surprising, I guess, given that hospitals are too stressful for much singing to happen in the midst of medical care-giving.

        And yes, someone else also posted Jor lagaake from Jaal: totally works!

        Are you travelling on work, Harvey? Or on vacation?

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          • Oh, yes. Priests singing (a bhajan in a temple, perhaps?) would definitely qualify. I had thought of that too, but offhand all the bhajans sung in temples I could think of were sung by some dukhiyaari aurat, not the pandit. ;-)

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  17. So many posts to catch up on, Madhu! This is such an interesting counterpart to your post on ‘housework’ songs… and of course, Jaane kahaan mera jigar gaya ji was the first song that came to mind.

    Richard has already posted Ichak dana bichak dana, so what about this?

    Apni ada par main hoon fida from Teen Batti Chaar Rasta- Sandhya is a radio artiste and she’s recording a song.

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    • I am glad you were able to come by and read this, Anu! Thank you. Apni ada par main hoon fida would have worked, except that one of the caveats I had for this post (it’s mentioned in the introduction, just before the first song) was that songs sung by entertainers wouldn’t qualify – because what with all the singer-dancers, street performers, tawaifs etc in Hindi films, it would mean no end to the songs that would follow!

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      • Ah, yes. I saw that caveat, but assumed that because Sandhya is an A.I.R employee (and is shown going to the studio several times in the film) and this is her recording a song, it would work. But, hey, your definition of what fits and doesn’t fit is the key here. :)

        Perhaps this will fit better? Aamir Khan in Taare Zameen Par. He’s the new teacher, just appointed to the school, and he comes into the class, dressed as a clown – Bum bum bolehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ1NIIdHhXs

        And this, again from a film outside your timeline: Shah Rukh Khan in Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani – I’m the best

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        • Oh, goodness! Sorry, Anu. I had seen Teen Batti Chaar Raasta about 40 years back, I think, and had forgotten that she was supposed to be an AIR employee. In that case, of course, it counts. As do the songs from Taare Zameen Par and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. I have seen both these films, but had forgotten these songs (I feel especially bad about having forgotten the latter, because it’s a song I actually liked quite a bit once upon a time).

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  19. What a delightful post!

    I remember you mentioning about this one in a replay to one of the comments on household songs post.

    How about Ek hans ka joda from Lajwanti?

    and

    Wah ji wsh from Duplicate? A chef in kitchen?

    will be back if I remember more

    :-)

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    • Yes, both songs fit!(And a special thank you for the Duplicate song – that’s an unusual one. Not too many cooks working in kitchens sing songs). :-)

      Also, I think I was discussing with you on some post of yours about how I have seen Tuntun singing a few lines onscreen, long after she left off singing playback? In his comment, above, Abhik Majumdar has linked to one of these songs – from Solvaa Saal.

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    • I am glad you enjoyed this post. Thank you! I’m not sure about Yeh kaun chitrakaar hai (though it’s a song I like a lot). It’s not really within a classroom (or even an outdoor teaching space, like in Ichak daana bichak daana), so it wouldn’t work as a ‘workplace’ song. As a ‘people teaching others’ song, of course, it’s perfect.

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    • That’s a good addition to the list, Anitaji, even though he actually gets into the bus (and drives) only pretty late in the song! And I am looking forward to seeing your list, whenever you do get around to doing it.

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  22. Haathon ki chand lakeeron ka showed up while I was listening to music on YouTube today – it’s well outside your timeframe, but it’s definitely a workplace. The second part of this song wouldn’t qualify, since Shammi Kapoor’s character is a street singer at that point, but it’s a sweet scene, so I thought I might as well share that, too. (:

    Also outside your timeframe: Daakiya daak laaya. I haven’t watched the film, but from what Google tells me, Rajesh Khanna’s character is actually a postman.

    Two more songs from a (relatively) recent film: Qaafiraana and Namo namo. They wouldn’t strictly qualify – though the focus is on Sushant Singh Rajput’s character doing his job, he isn’t singing (no one is, technically) – but they’re nice songs, and it’s a job you don’t often see on screen

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    • Not all the songs I’ve listed actually have the worker in question singing (the lab worker in the Doctor song, for instance, is not the one doing the singing) so both songs from Kedarnath fit perfectly! And yes, an unusual occupation – though someone also posted Ek thha gul aur ek thhi bulbul, which I was reminded of when I saw Qaafiraana. :-)

      And I was hoping someone would post Haathon ki chand lakeeron ka and Daakiya daak laaya – both are good examples of the theme. Yes, Rajesh Khanna is a postman in that film.

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  23. Sorry about the many comments I’ve left – I didn’t want to make the last one too long. Sorry about the mess (:

    One of your comments above mentioned that most bhajans and temple songs were sung by dukhiyaaris rather than actual people who worked there. Would the songs of Jogan – Eri main toh prem deewani and Ghunghat ke pat khol – count? Nargis was staying at or near the temple and delivering sermons and singing there in her capacity as a jogan, but I’m not sure if it counts as a workplace…

    In a similar vein, I don’t know if Banwaari re would count: Waheeda Rehman is definitely more than just a visitor to the temple, but I don’t think she officially worked there.

    There’s at least one confirmed temple-as-a-workplace song, though: Aane hai toh aa. At about the 20-second mark, you can see the old priest who’s singing.

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    • Arre, there is absolutely no need to apologise for multiple comments! I like that, so thank you.

      Waheeda Rehman in Banwaari re wouldn’t count, because she doesn’t actually work at the temple. I haven’t seen Jogan, so I can’t say for sure about Nargis, but from what you write, it seems like the songs would qualify. And Aana hai toh aa is a very good example – thank you for that!

      Actually, your remembering that particular workplace reminded me of another. Qawwali-singers at a dargah would also qualify as workers, I think? In that case, Kaabe mein raho ya Kashi mein:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRqo1gsQ9qc

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      • Would cabaret singers count too, then? If I understand correctly, street singers are disqualified because there’s no “workplace” as such, but that wouldn’t apply to hotel employees like Rocky in Tumne mujhe dekha and O haseena zulfonwali, whatever Shammi Kapoor’s character was called in Dil Deke Dekho, or Helen in… a lot of songs.

        Would Vyjayanthimala’s songs in Amrapali be workplace songs too, then?

        Coincidentally, a qawwali (though an out-of-timeframe one) happened to play while I was typing this: Bhar do jholi meri from Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Kun faya kun, I think, would also count – Ranbir Kapoor doesn’t really work at the dargah, but the other singers do.

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        • The two qawwalis are perfect fits. :-) Thank you for those!

          As for cabaret singers/dancers: well, technically, they – as well as all other professional performers (including street singers, for whom the workplace might be considered the street) would work. Why I didn’t include them was because then the list would never end, there are simply so many songs sung by people who are singing and/or dancing for a living!

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  24. Wonderful post. Some of the songs were really new to me. For instance, I had never heard Tane Tandane Bhai Tandane Tane before and I liked it very much. I believe the songs below fit this theme:

    1. Ek Saathi Mera Bada Purana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0SvruMxq4g. I don’t like the audio of this video link and so posting again a better audio version of this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2wiVUONIwU
    2. BA, MA, PHD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx7OcxJWr8A

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