Old Indian Movies, Songs and Actors

I have been reading about old (primarily 1950s and 1960s) Hindi, Tamil movies and written about it earlier (http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2010/10/some-old-hindi-movie-songs-and-their.html). I found some interesting things. A lot of songs borrowed their tunes from songs in other Indian languages.

Two songs, both from old Hindi movies, come to mind. Both are so sweet that you could get diabetes listening to them and they have the same tune. And both have Mukesh in them. The first is "Aye Sanam Jis Ne Tujhe" in the movie Deewaana (1967, MD: Shankar Jaikishan) and the other one is "Tum Mujhe Bhool Bhi Jaao" (1959, MD: N Dutta) a duet. Sudha Malhotra's voice in the latter song is absolutely smashing.

Quite a few songs sung by Kishore Kumar in Hindi were remade in Bengali. (A reader commented that it was the Bengali version that came first and Hindi was the copy.)
For example, the song "Aakash Keno Daake" is a twin of the more famous "Yeh Shaam Mastaani" from Kati Patang.

Another example is the song "E Ki Holo" in Bengali sung by Kishore which is a twin of the song "Yeh Kya Hua" from Amar Prem made in 1971 with music by RD Burman.

The song Nilavo Aval Irulo sung by TMS and P Susheela from the movie Arunagiri Naathar (1964, MD: TR Pappa) is a complete copy of the song Tasveer Teri Dil Mein sung by Rafi and Lata from the Hindi movie Maya (1961, MD: Salil Choudhry).

Lata's lovely song set to tune by Salil in the Hindi movie Maya "Ja Re Ud Ja Re Panchhi" was sung again ("Ja Ja Re Ure Paakhi") by her in Bengali with the same music director.

Salil again created a Hindi/Bengali duet with "Dhitaang Dhitaang Bole" sung by Lata in the Hindi movie Awaaz and in Bengali by Hemant Kumar. He did the same with 2 Lata songs from the Hindi movie Paraakh (1960). O Sajna Barkha  Bahar Aayi is there in Bengali as Na Jeyo Na while Yeh Bansi Kyun Gaaye Mujhe Yun Sataaye as Baashi Keno Gaaye. Both Hindi and Bengali versions of the Parakh songs are beautiful. Incidentally the movie Paraakh was not remade in Bengali. Only the songs mentioned were sung in Bengali.

"Anand Ashram" is a movie produced in Hindi and Bengali with the same name and the same cast (Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore). The song "Saara Pyaar Tumhaara Meine Baandh" in Hindi and "Aamaar Sapno Tumi" in Bengali are identical, both sung by Asha and Kishore.

This is a good link on songs copied from Bengali to Hindi. Here is another one.

Today (30th Sep 2015) I heard this song "Kaadhaliththaal Kutramenna" sung by Swarnalatha in a Tamil dubbed version of the song Pyaar Kiya Tho Darna Kya sung by Lata in the movie Mughal E Aazam (1960, MD: Naushad). While the rendering in Tamil was good, I couldn't digest a gem being duplicated.

The song En Ennam Inippatheno sung by Jikki in the movie Thirumanam (1958, MD: Subbiah Naidu) is copied from the melodious Aye Dil Mujhe Bata De Tu Kis Pe sung by Geeta Dutt in Bhaai Bhaai (1956, MD: Madan Mohan). Apparently the movie Thirumanam is a remake of Bhaai Bhaai.

The song Porule Illaarku Thollaya sung by Bhagavathi TS from Paraasakthi (1952, MD: R Sudarsanam) is copied from Milte Hi Aankhen Dil Hua Diwaana Kisi Ka sung by Shamshad Begum and Talat from the movie Baabul (1950, MD: Naushad). A titbit about this song sequence - it has a whole lot of Muslim persona. Actors were Dilip Kumar, Munawar Sultana, lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni; names of singers and music director have already been mentioned. Parasakthi was the first movie of Sivaji Ganesan.

The song "Ek Din Paakhi Ure" by Kishore in Bengali reminds me of a bet that I had with a friend (and won). This song is copied from the Hindi song "Tum Bin Jaoon Kahaan" from the movie "Pyaar Ka Mousam" with music by RD Burman. My friend said that the song "Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahan" was sung by Rafi. I said Kishore sang it, I knew the Bengali version sung by Kishore and I knew he had sung it in Hindi as well. Now my friend was in a fix. She was confident that the song in Hindi was sung by Rafi. I framed the terms of the bet. That the song was sung by Kishore (and I didn't insist that it was not sung by Rafi, I pulled a fast one there). She insisted that it was sung ONLY by Rafi and NOT by Kishore. Later I pointed out the Kishore song to her, she in turn pointed out the Rafi version to me. I pointed out to her the terms of the bet. We haven't spoken since that day.

Kishore's lovely melody "Pyaar Deewaana Hota Hai" from Kati Patang (1970, MD: RD Burman) was remade in Bengali as "Aaj Gun Gun Kunje Aamaar" in the Bengali movie Rajkumari. While the leads in the Hindi movie were Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh, the Bengali movie had Uttam Kumar and Tanuja. The Hindi version was sung by Kishore while the Bengali version was sung by Asha. I wonder how good Tanuja's Bengali is or was, being married into a Bengali family.

Couple of weeks back I was listening to a Tamil song from the movie Vaazhkai (1949, MD: R Sudarsanam) in which Vyjayanthimala made her debut. Vyjayanthimala was only 16 or 17 at that time. The song "Enni Enni Paarkum Manam" in this movie sung by MS Rajeshwari is identical to the tune of "Chup Chup Khade Ho Tho" sung by Lata in the movie Badi Behen, music by Husnlal Bhagatram. Both movies were released in the same year 1949. I don't know which version is the original and which copied the tune.

The song Neeli Neeli Akhiyon Mein sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur in the movie Naag Mohini (1963, MD: Sardar Malik) seems to have the same tune as the beautiful song Zara Si Baat Pyaar Ki sung by the same pair Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur in Salaam Memsaab (1961, MD: Ravi) - not the complete song but one small part.

I was listening to this nice song O Saami Aiya Swaami Ayya Avoji Swaamy sung by MLV in the movie Or Iravu (1951, MD: Sudarsanam R). This has been copied from the song Gore Gore O Baanke Chhore sung by Ameerbai Karnataki and Lata in the movie Samaadhi (1950, MD: C Ramchandra). This song is apparently copied from an English song Chico Chico by Edmundo Ros.
When I heard the Tamil version sung by MLV I was sure there was another song in Hindi with the same tune and I couldn't figure it out. I gave the details to a friend of mine and explained that I knew there was an original version but I was unable to find it. In her innocence she just googled and gave me the Hindi version. Well, I never... As I explained to my friend I never Google to find the original. Identifying, that a song has another copy, is done by me just by hearing a song. Identificatiin of the other song, perhaps the original, is also done by me, without Googling for the song I heard and seeing whether it was copied. By Googling, this post about identifying songs copied from other songs is no more a result of my effort. I might just as well Google for songs copied from Hindi to Tamil. I might get a bunch of links, some of which may be like my post which list the original song and the copied song. I could take those links and copy the stuff from those links. What kind of a post would that be? 

The Tamil movie Vaazhkai was remade in Hindi in 1951 as Bahaar with Vyjayanthimala in the lead role. Bahaar was her first movie in Hindi. I found more details on Vaazhkai and about a song copied from the Hindi movie Khidki (1948, MD: C Ramachandra) here.

A song which interested me was "Kalyaana Oorvalam Varum" sung by Jikki from the movie Avan. The tune is same as that of the lovely song "Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat" sung by Lata from Aah. A funny thing is that both Avan and Aah were released in 1953, had music by Shankar Jaikishan and the actors were Raj Kapoor and Nargis Dutt. When I came across this bit of information today my head spun. Shankar Jaishan and Raj Kapoor and Nargis in Tamil? Wow. I would assume that the Hindi version was made first and remade in Tamil in the same year. I read an article later, which confirms that the Tamil movie Avan was dubbed from the Hindi version.

A very interesting song is Iru Maangani Pol sung by SPB and Jayalalitha (yes, our CM!!!) from the movie Vairam (1974, MD: TR Pappa) which is a copy of Kuch Kehta Hai Yeh Saawan sung by Lata and Rafi from Mera Gaaon Mera Desh (1971, MD: Laxmikant Pyarelal). Both songs are very nice. And JJ's voice is very nice. I never thought of her voice until I listened to this song. The Hindi movie is in color while the Tamil movie made few years later was still in black and white.

The song Aasaiya Kobama sung by TMS and P Susheela in the movie Iru Vallavargal (1966, MD: Veda) is a good copy of the song Din Saara Guzaara Tore Angna sung by Lata and Rafi from the movie Junglee (1961, MD: Shankar Jaikishen). 

The song Naan Vanangum Theivame sung by PB Srinivas and P Susheela in the movie Amma Enge (1964, MD: Veda) is a complete copy of the song Nain Tumhaare Mazedaar from Junglee (1961, MD:  Shankar Jaikishan).

The song Nanathale Kannam Minna Minna sung by TMS and P Susheela in the Tamil movie CID Shankar (1970, MD: Veda) is copied from the Hindi song Dil Pukare Aa sung by Lata and Rafi in Jewel Thief (1967, MD: SD Burman). Except for the fact that the heroes in both the movies (Jaishankar and Dev Anand) both are detectives, I am not sure if there is anything else common to the two movies. The Tamil song has of course unabashedly copied the Hindi tune.

The song Radhaiyin Nenjame Kannanukku Sondhame sung by P Susheela in the movie Kanimuthhu Paappa (1972, MD: Raju KV) is copied from the beautiful Hindi song Aaj Madhosh Hua Jaaye Re sung by Kishore and Lata from the movie Sharmilee (1971, MD: SD Burman). The Tamil song pales in comparison to the Shashi Kapoor and Rakhee version in Hindi.

Today I was listening to Tum Hi Ho Maata Tum Hi Pita Ho sung by Lata in the movie Mein Chup Rahoongi (1962, MD: Chitragupta). It happened that I had pissed off a friend and she said she won't talk to me and "Mein Chup Rahoongi" (meaning "I will be silent"). I knew there was a movie by the name Mein Chup Rahoongi and I searched for it and found that the MD was Chitragupta about whom I was chatting with my friend earlier. That he was from Bihar and he is the father of Anand, Milind who are music directors in Bollywood. When I saw the video of Tum Hi Ho Mata and a little boy singing I was reminded of Ammavum Neeye sung by MS Rajeswari in the Tamil movie Kalaththur Kannamma (1960, MD: Sudarsanam R). The little boy in the Tamil movie is Kamal Hassan. Then I learned that Mein Chup Rahoongi was a remake of Kalaththur Kannamma. 

I was categorizing my song collection and I had finished Hindi songs and just started on Tamil songs. I heard the song Inge Meesai Ulla Ambalai sung by TV Rathinam and Jamuna Rani from the movie Aaravalli (1957, MD: G Ramanathan). The tune seemed very familiar and I was fairly sure it was copied from Hind and I could vaguely remember that the song had Zulf in it. Then I got it. Now the surprising this is that the song Ude Jab Jab Zulphen Teri sung by Rafi and Asha from Naya Daur (1957, MD: OP Nayyar) has the same tune as the Tamil song. I am in a fix. I do not know which song is the original and which the copy. While checking the month of release of the movies I found that Aravalli was released in Oct 1957 while Naya Daur was released couple of months earlier on Independence Day. Now the dates being so close to each other I am unable to say for certain who copied from whom or whether both copied from yet another source. 

The song "O Haseena Zulfon Waali" sung by Asha in the film "Teesri Manzil" with music by RD Burman in 1966 has inspired the song "Kaathal Pothume" sung by TMS and LR Easwari in the 1967 movie "Kaathaliththaal Pothuma" whose music was by KV Mahadevan. 

The song Kaaththu Irunthene Naane from the movie Konjum Kumari (1963, MD: Veda) is copied completely from the song Bujh Mera Naam Kya Re sung by Shamshad Begum in the movie CID (1956, MD: OP Nayyar).

Naan Vanangum Theivame sung by PB Srinivas and P Susheela from the movie Amma Enge (1964, MD: Veda) is copied from the Hindi song Nain Tumhaare Mazedaar sung by Mukesh and Asha in the movie Junglee (1961, MD: Shankar Jaikishan).

Again the song Aha Aha Indru from the movie Ethirigal Jaakkirathhai (1967, MD: Veda) is a complete copy of the song Aa Ja Aa Ja Mein Hoon Pyaar Tera sung by Asha in the movie Teesri Manzil (1965, MD: OP Nayyar)

In my list of songs copied from Hindi to Tamil, a good number had Veda as the Tamil music director. See also this: http://tamilcopies.blogspot.in/2011/10/veda-copied-songs.html

One of the songs I love is "Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya" sung by Rafi and Asha in the movie Phaagun (1958, MD: OP Nayyar). It's a very melodious song. The song "Chinnan Chiru .. Cheena Karkande" by SC Krishnan and Bhanumathy in the Tamil movie "Alibabavum 40 Thirudargal" (1956, MD: S Dakshinamurthy) has the same tune as the OP Nayyar song. Now the interesting thing is that the Tamil movie was made in 1956 and Phaagun was made in 1958. Today, Oct 23rd 2016, I realized one more thing. The Tamil song itself is a copy of the song Chalo Chalo Chale Hum sung by Rafi and Shamshad Begum in the movie Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1954, MD: SN Tripathi). Interesting to see OP Nayyar take a tune off another song. Or am I mistaken? Isn't Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya not like the other two songs? While the Alibaba songs in Hindi and Tamil are identical, the OP Nayyar song is more melodious than either of the other two earlier songs from the Alibaba movies.

The song "Naina Barse" sung by Lata from the Hindi movie "Wo Kaun Thi" with music by Madan Mohan in the year 1964 is identical to "Naane Varuven" by P Susheela in the Tamil movie "Yaar Nee" (1966, MD: Veda). I prefer the Lata version to the Susheela one. Another pair from the same movie is "Lag Ja Gale" sung by Lata and Susheela's "Ponmeni Thazhuvaamal Penn Inbam". Both are lovely songs. The interesting thing about the Ponmeni song is that this is perhaps the only song/scene where Jayalilatha is cute and kinda slim. Another song pair from this movie is Jo Hum Ne Dastaan by Lata and Susheela's En Vethanayil. Both songs are quite similar. Sadhana is far better looking than Jayalalitha. The song Paarvai Ondre Pothume sung by TMS and LR Easwari is also copied from the same Hindi movie - from the song Shokh Nazar Ki Bijiliyan Dil Pe Mere Giraaye Ja sung by Rafi and Asha. Needless to say, the Hindi version is..... Veda seems to have found a lot of inspiration in Hindi songs.

The next song pair is "En Sinthai Noyum" sung by Jikki from the Tamil movie Cauveri (1955, MD: G Ramanathan) and Lata's "Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hai" from the movie Anarkali (1953, MD: C Ramchandra). Both the versions are nice. As usual I prefer the original tune by C Ramchandra.

The PB Srinivas - P Susheela song "Intha Maanilaththai" from "Kalyaanikku Kalyaanam" in the year 1959 with music by Viswanathan Ramamurthy has the same tune as the Rafi-Lata duet "Zara Saamne Tho Aao Chaliye" from the 1957 SN Tripathi's movie "Janam Janam Ke Phere". 

The song "Bachpan Ke Din Bhula Na Dena" by Shamshad Begum and Lata from the 1951 Hindi movie Deedar with music by Naushad was copied as "O Chinnan Chiru Malarai" sung by LR Easwari and P Susheela in the 1963 Tamil movie "Neengaatha Ninaivu" by KV Mahadevan.

The melodious song "Brindaaban Ka Krishna Kanhaiyaa" sung by Rafi - Lata in "Miss Mary" (1957, MD: Hemant Kumar) is a copy of the song "Brindavanamum Nanthakumaranum" sung by AM Raja and Jikki in the Tamil movie Missiamma (1955, MD: S Rajeswara Rao). Both versions are lovely. In this case I think the movie itself was remade from Tamil. The film was also probably made in Telugu with the same name. I believe the Telugu version was the original one. The song "Raavoyi Chandaamaamaa" in the Telugu version and the song "Vaaraayo Vennilaave" in the Tamil version are identical and both are sung by AM Raja and P Leela. Apparently the parent of all these movies is a Bengali play "Manmoyee Girls School" by Yotish Banerjee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missamma). Hmm, quite a lot of cross pollination there.

There were a couple of songs in the Tamil movie the Tamil movie "Vallavanukku Vallavan" (1965, MD: Veda) that were copied from Hindi. The first is the Rafi song "Sau Baar Janam Lenge" from the 1963 movie "Ustadon Ke Ustad" by Chitragupta and the copied Tamil song was "Or Aayiram Paarvayile" sung by TMS. 
The other song is Manam Ennum Medai from Vallavanukku Vallavan sung by TMS, P Susheela which was copied from Sau Saal Pehle Mujhe Tum Se sung by Rafi and Lata in the movie Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961, MD: Shankar Jaikishan). The original Hindi version is more melodious.
Today I was listening to an old Qawwaali song Paaradi Kanne Konjam Paithiyam Aanathu Nenjam sung by P Susheela from the same Tamil movie. I liked the tune and then realized it was copied from Milte Hi Nazar Tum Se - Shakeela Banu Bhopali's Qawwaali sung by Asha in Ustaadon Ke Ustaad (1963, MD: Ravi). Both songs are lovely. Surprising to find a Qawwaali song in Tamil!

I didn't know Naushad had composed music for Tamil films. I heard the song "Kanavu Kanda Kaathal" sung by Susheela in the 1961 Tamil movie Akbar having the same tune as "Mohabbat Ki Jhooti" sung by Lata in Mughal E Azam (1960, MD: Naushad). I found that Naushad composed the music for the Tamil movie Akbar. Further details on song pairs from these two movies are in http://www.sukravathanee.org/forum1/viewtopic.php?f=168&t=8685&start=105.

The Asha song "Aaj Koi Pyaar Se" from Saawan Ki Ghata (1966, MD: OP Nayyar) and "Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye Humdum" by Lata from "Love in Tokyo" (1966, MD: Shankar Jaikshan) seem to have a similar tune. The latter tune from "Love in Tokyo" is much more catchy.

The movie "Dil Ek Mandir" (1963, MD: Shakar Jaikishan was a remake of the Tamil movie "Nenjil Or Aalayam" (1962 , MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). Songs in both versions were great, though I am not sure if any song was copied from Tamil to Hindi. Even the movie title is an almost exact translation.

Similarly the Hindi movie "Mein Bhi Ladki Hoon" (Dharmendra, Meena Kumari, 1964, MD: Chitragupta) was a remake of the Tamil movie "Naanum Oru Penn" (husband and wife pair SS Rajendran, Vijayakumari in the lead roles, 1963, MD: Vedpal Verma). The film title in Hindi is an exact translation of the Tamil title. The song Chanda Se Hoga Wo Pyaara sung by PB Srinivas, Lata in Mein Bhi Ladki Hoon is a copy of the Tamil song Poo Pola Poo Pola (by TMS, P Susheela) in the movie Naanum Oru Penn. PB Srinivas's accent and voice fits into Hindi much better than those of other south indian singers like SPB or Yesudas. If I hadn't known it was PB Srinivas, would I have thought it was Talat? Again the song Krishna O Kaale Krishna rendered by Lata in this movie is a copy of Kanna Karumai Nira Kanna by P Susheela. The Tamil version is lovelier than the Lata version. Is it that I don't like copies and I adore the original?

The superb dance (Padmini, Vyjayanthimala) song Kannum Kannum Kalanthu from the Tamil movie Vanjikkottai Vaaliban and Aa Ja Tho Aa Ja sung by Lata (and Asha?) in the movie Raj Tilak were both from the year 1958 and music by C Ramchandra. I am not sure whether the Tamil movie was made first or the Hindi one, but I am inclined to think it was the Tamil one.

Now we come to the song Kannum Kannum Pesiyathum Unnaal Andro. This was sung by TMS and P Susheela in the movie Kai Raasi (1970, MD: Govardanam R). This was copied from the much more melodious song Zara Saamne Tho Aao Chaliye sung by, who else but Rafi and Lata in the movie Janam Ke Phere (1957, MD: SN Tripathi). The interesting thing is the 13 year difference between the original and the copy which is higher than the usual 2-5 years.

Recently I listened to this song "Mayakkum Maalai Pozhudhe" sung by AM Raja and P Susheela in the movie Kulebagaavali (1955, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy) and I was trying to get more information about the song when I came across this post where the author mentions mentions the original Naushad song which the Tamil song copied.

Today (Nov 23rd 2014) I was watching the Tamil movie Kalyana Parisu (1959, MD: AM Raja). The title tune sounded very familiar and then I realized that the tune is very similar to that of the song Mera Salaam Le Ja from the movie Uran Khatola (1955, MD: Naushad).

The Hindi movie Victoria No. 203 (1972, MD: Kalyanji Anandji) was remade in Tamil as Vairam (1974, MD: TR Pappa) with Jaishankar and Jayalalitha. The song Thaana Kidaichchthaiya sung by SPB and Kovai Sounthrarajan is an exact copy of the song Do Bechare Jeena Sahare sung by Kishore and Mahendra Kapoor. The song Iru Maangani Pol sung by Jayalalitha and SPB in Vairam was copied from the Hindi song Kuch Kehta Hai Yeh Saawan sung by Lata and Rafi in the movie Mera Gaaon Mera Desh (1971, MD: Laxmikant Pyarelal). The Hindi versions of the songs sound much better.

Yesterday (21st Apr 2015) I watched the video of the song Indru Vantha Sonthama sung by TMS and P Susheela in the movie Chitrangi (1964, MD: Veda). I immediately recognized this tune and started the search for the original Hindi tune. I made a few assumptions. (a) It was sung by Lata in Hindi. (b) It was a duet and Kishore didn't sing it. (c) The Hindi version must have been produced between 1958 and 1963. (d) It must be rated N or above (4 8 or 16) in my rating scale. I searched in my list of songs for a long time and couldn't locate it. Then I remembered that the Hindi version had the word "preet" and then I started searching all songs with that word and without using any filters. In 2 minutes I found the original song: Yeh Nayi Nayi Preet Hai Tu Hi Tho Mera Preet Hai sung by Talat and Lata in the movie Pocket Maar (1956, MD: Madan Mohan). Hmm. The year was 1956. Veda went back 8 years and "stole" a tune. Another interesting thing about the Tamil song is that the latter part of the song is copied from yet another Hindi tune. The 2nd song's tune is not as good as the tune in the 1st part which was described above. The 2nd tune is copied from the Hindi song Na Tum Hume Jaano sung by Hemant and Suman Kalyanpur in the movie Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962, MD: SD Burman). At least this movie was only 2 years older than the 1964 Tamil movie as I had guessed. I am very surprised that this song had derived from 2 parents. Strange.

The lovely song Thesulavuthe Manaalane from the movie Manaalane Mangayin Baagyam (1957, MD: Adi Narayana Rao P) sung by Ghantasala, P Susheela is a copy of the song Kuhu Kuhu Bole Koyaliya sung by Rafi and Lata in the Hindi movie Suvarna Sundari (1957, MD: Adi Narayana Rao P). The music is unbelievable, especially in the Hindi version - mesmerizing. I was watching a talent program on Star Vijay channel today when a boy rendered the Tamil version of the song pretty well. I am fairly sure the Tamil version was the first one and the Hindi version copied the Tamil one. I can't imagine a Hindi movie with a south Indian MD, hero and heroine - this could only have been possible if it was remade.

The song Konji Konji Pesa sung by P Susheela from the movie Kaithi Kannaayiram (1960, MD: KV Mahaevan) was copied from the song Meethhi Meethhi Baaton Se sung by Lata in the Hindi movie Qaidi No 911 (1959, MD: N Dutta). Both the songs are nice and the first line means the same in both versions. An interesting thing is that the Tamil movie was apparently a remake of Qaidi No 911. 

Now we come to an interesting song: Kanavu Kaanum sung by Yesudas in the movie Neengal Kettavai (1984, MD: Ilaiyaraja) is a copy of the song Kasme Vaade Pyaar Wafa sung by Manna De in Upkaar (1967, Kalyanji Anandji). Since I don't focus on songs from 1970s and later, this is the first time I have caught Ilaiyaraja at it.

Updated on 8-Apr-2016
I listened to this song today on radio: Engal Veettu Thanga Theril sung by SPB and P Susheela from the movie Arunodayam (1971, MD: KV Mahadevan). I think this is copied from Gunguna Rahe Hain sung by Kishore and  Lata in the movie Araadhana (1969, MD: SD Burman). I have a lot of respect for KV Mahadevan. But this song in Arunodayam was....I  am shaking my head. 

Now most of the songs that kinda took their inspiration from another song typically copied the tune but not the lyrics. But here are 2 strange songs Eena Meena Deeka sung by TMS and P Susheela (two separate songs) from the movie Athisaya Penn (1959, MD: Govardanam R) copied the catchy first line from the movie Asha (1957, MD: C Ramchandra). As per the Tamil movie's wiki entry, it is a remake of the Hindi movie. Maybe that explains.

Now we have 2 songs with similar tunes, both from Tamil movies. The song Kalyaana Naal Paarkkalaama sung by TMS in the movie Parakkum Paavai (1966, MD: MS Viswanathan) and the song Kan Pona Pokkile sung again by TMS in the movie Panam Padaiththvan (1965, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy) are very similar. Though I like the earlier song KanKpona Pokkilee much more. 
I was reading about RD Burman. And I came across his tendency to copy western songs here. Quite disturbing...

We see that a lot of ideas flowed from one language to another. While I knew of some Tamil movie actors (like Vyjayanthimala, Padmini, Saroja Devi) who had acted in Hindi in the 1950's and 60's, I came to know recently that there were a whole lot more: Anjali Devi, Savitri, L Vijayalakshmi, Jamuna, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, MGR.

What Asha, Lata and Rafi were to Hindi, LR Easwari, P Susheela and TMS were to Tamil, respectively. I think Suman Kalyanpur's voice is similar to that of Vani Jayaram both being soft high pitch voices. Listen to Suman in Mere Mehboob Na Ja in the movie Noor Mehal and to Vani singing Malligai En Mannan Mayangum in the movie Theerka Sumangali. And both of them couldn't handle the heavyweight Lata.

It's unfortunate that videos for old Tamil songs are harder to come by than those for Hindi ones. I guess this is because there are fewer Tamil speaking people. Both Hindi and Tamil songs were very melodious in the 1950's and 60's especially between 1958 and 1968. I would call this the golden decade. The quality of both deteriorated subsequently, this caused by RD Burman in Hindi and Ilaiyaraja in Tamil. Both were very talented as music directors, both sang as well but I wish they had refrained from singing. But they set a trend in music which caused music quality in the 80's to go down. This trend has roughly continued unabated. 

One has to listen to the songs in the movie Keezh Vaanam Chivakkum (1981, MD: MS Viswanathan) to see what the quality is. Was it really MS Viswanathan who was the music director? Yesterday (May 13, 2017) I listened to the song Nalam Ketka - Penn Partha Mappillaikku Kanneer Theriyavillai sung by P Susheela in the movie Kaaviya Thalaivi (1970, MD: MS Viswanathan). This one truly belongs to the Music Hall Of Horrors. Even Ooty Varai Uravu (1967, MD: MS Viswanathan) had some good music. Between 1965 (or probably from 1968) and 1970, MSV's music had aged 20 years and the quality was that of the 1980's and 90's. 

And finally we come to the question: What makes a song great? 
Is it the lyrics? the voices of the artistes? the music? I strongly believe it's the music. Of course a great voice does help. And then I kept thinking about the music directors (MD) who enthralled me. 
After listening to so much of Indian film songs I think I have finally nailed my preference in music to the following maestros (with their years of birth):

• OP Nayyar: 1926
• Shankar Jaikishan
• Shankar: 1922
• Jaikishan: 1929
• Ravi: 1926
• Madan Mohan: 1924

There must have been some magic in the 1920's or maybe their mothers were given some special music (magic) potion that such masters were born during that period.

I remember a scene from Fountainhead describing Roark. A man found that the architect who built all the houses which he found fascinating and beautiful while traveling across USA was the same person: Roark. And that is how I feel about these MD's above. The beautiful songs were their creations. That isn't to say that Salil or SD or C Ramchandra were no good. I love many of their songs too. It's just that I love the MD's I mentioned above more. And frankly I don't think the music of KV Mahadevan or Viswanathan Ramamurthy or G Ramanathan come close to the magic of those of the north Indian folks. 




Additional reading:

• My collection of 
• Piano and dance songs 
• Telephone, train, radio, car songs
• Horse songs
• A nice article same song sung by multiple artistes: https://newsstand.google.com/articles/CAIiEKaKQsGeRcbWpn7icteiy4EqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow5IjwCjCK688CML-9sQM
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/02/music-directors.html
• http://www.songsofyore.com/multiple-version-songs-15-in-the-realm-of-remakes-hindi-to-tamil/: Nice article on songs copied between Hindi and Tamil
• Added on May-5-2017 Interesting article: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-dna-of-a-song/article18304630.ece
• https://rsbaab.wordpress.com/
• https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.music.indian.misc/lANmaiMOmm0
• http://nilangshu.tripod.com/ektisur.htm
• http://madhulikaliddle.com/2010/02/06/ten-of-my-favourite-inspired-songs/
• A nice article on Naushad: https://herald.dawn.com/news/1154071
• https://itwofs.com/tamil-others.html
  
• https://sites.google.com/site/storewellclub/knowledge/hindi-songs-copied-or-influenced-from-some-other-song