571. Rafi's Philosophical Song: Yeh duniya yeh duniya haay hamaari yeh duniya...

Movie: YAHUDI (1958)
Lyrics: Shailendra
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Main Movie-Hall in Mumbai where first released: Super Cinema.

Who said that nothing is permanent?  Somethings  never change:  Poverty, Suffering of the Masses, Tyranny and Oppression, Death and Diseases,   in one form or the other,  that damn every epoch in history!


Rafi Sahaab’s thunderous lament: Yeh Duniya, Yeh Duniya...
Roman Transliteration/English Translation of the original Urdu-Hindi Lyrics:


yeh duniya, yeh duniya,
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD,


haay hamaaree  yeh duniya,
ALAS! THIS WORLD OF OURS


shaitaano.n kee bastee hai,
‘TIS A DWELLING FOR SATANS


yahaa.n zindagee sastee hai,
LIFE COMES CHEAP HERE,


yeh duniya, yeh duniya,
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD,


haay hamaaree  yeh duniya,
ALAS! THIS WORLD OF OURS


shaitaano.n kee bastee hai,
‘TIS A DWELLING FOR SATANS


yahaa.n zindagee sastee hai,
LIFE COMES CHEAP HERE,


yeh duniya~~~, yeh duniya….
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD...


damm lene ko saaya hai talwaaro.n ka,
THERE’S THE SWORDS’ SHADE FOR BREATHING SPACE,


so jaane ko bistar hai angaaro.n ka,
FOR SLEEPING THERE’S THE BEDDING OF EMBERS,


qadam choom tu sar ke andhe peero.n ke,
KISS THE FEET OF THE SENILE FOOLS,


karnaa ho toh sijdaah kar deewaaro.n ka,
PROSTRATE BEFORE THE WALLS IF YOU HAVE TO,


arre, karnaa ho toh sijdah kar deewaaro.n ka!
YEAH! PROSTRATE BEFORE THE WALLS, IF YOU HAVE TO,


yeh duniya, yeh duniya,
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD,


haay hamaaree  yeh duniya,
ALAS! THIS WORLD OF OURS


har zaalim ek hastee  hai,
EVERY ENTITY IS A TYRANT,


mazhab zulm parastee  hai,
DEVOTION TO TYRANNY IS THE CREED,


yeh duniya~~~, yeh duniya...
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD...


raaj yeh Dar ka, maut hai yahaa.n kee raanee,
‘TIS THE REIGN OF TERROR AND DEATH IS ITS QUEEN,


qadam-qadam pe zor-zulm kee man-maanee,
AT EVERY STEP THERE’S WILFUL OPRESSION AND CRUELTY,


bhook yahaa.n kee fasl saal bhar phaltee  hai,
HARVEST OF HUNGER IS REAPED ALL THE YEAR ROUND,


log yahaa.n peete hai.n aankho,n ka paanee,
HERE THE PEOPLE DRINK WATER OF THE EYES,


arre, log yahaa.n peete hain aankho.n ka paanee,
YEAH!  HERE THE PEOPLE DRINK WATER OF THE EYES,


yeh duniya, yeh duniya,
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD,


haay hamaaree  yeh duniya,
ALAS! THIS WORLD OF OURS


harsu aag barastee hai,
RAINS FIRE IN EVERY DIRECTION,


pyaasee rooh tarastee hai,
THE THIRSTY SOUL YEARNS,


yeh duniya~~~, yeh duniya,
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD...


badal rahee hai roz badaltee jaayegee,
‘TIS CHANGING, EVERY DAY IT’LL GO ON CHANGING,


badal rahee hai roz badaltee jaayegee,
‘TIS CHANGING, EVERY DAY IT’LL GO ON CHANGING,


duniya karwaT legee chakkar khaayegee,
THE WORLD WILL CHANGE SIDES AND COME FULL CIRCLE,


lekin hamm mazloom ghareebo.n kee qismat,
BUT THE FATE OF OURS - THE POOR AND OPPRESSED,


kabhee naa hasne degee sadaa rulaayegee,
WILL NEVER LET US LAUGH, BUT WILL ALWAYS MAKE US CRY,


arre, kabhee naa hasne degee sadaa rulaayegee,
YEAH! WILL NEVER LET US LAUGH, BUT WILL ALWAYS MAKE US CRY,


yeh duniya, yeh duniya,
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD,


haay hamaaree  yeh duniya,
ALAS! THIS WORLD OF OURS


badd-haalo.n  pe ha.nstee hai,
MOCKS THE DOWN-TRODDEN,


laachaaro.n ko Dastee hai,
STINGS THE HELPLESS,


yeh duniya~~~, yeh duniya.
THIS WORLD, THIS WORLD.


NASIR
lyrics

translation

When Dilip Kumar Refused the Role in Sohrab Modi's Remake of Pukar - 1.

                                                               Dilip Kumar turns 86.


WHEN DILIP KUMAR REFUSED THE ROLE IN SOHRAB MODI’S REMAKE OF PUKAR – Part 1.

A news item in “Mumbai Mirror” of April 1, 2009 took me down the memory lane. The article mentioned that Muzaffar Ali, who had made the Rekha starrer, “Umrao Jaan”, in 1981 was now casting for another historical, “Noor Jahan Jahangir”. G.P. Sippy, too, had made a forgettable movie sometimes in mid-Fifties, entitled ADL-E-JAHANGIR, starring Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumar in the lead roles.

Now, how many know that the role of Jahangir was refused by Dilip Kumar when veteran Sohrab Modi came to discuss the roles for the remake of his 1939 classic PUKAR? Not many, I’m sure. There’s no discussion about it in print either in the press or the internet as far as I know. But before elaborating our main story, let’s first discuss briefly, what is generally known about the roles refused by Dilip Kumar or about his movies that never saw the light of the day!

Yes, it is common knowledge that the Original On-Screen Legend of the Indian Film Industry, Dilip Kumar, had refused the main role in the blockbuster movies such as PYAASA (1957), MOTHER INDIA (1957), and SANGAM (1964). It is also known that much earlier in the Fifties, his films JANWAR with Suraiya , and SHIKWA with Nutan, did not take off. In fact, Sajjad Hussein had even composed some songs with Talat Mehmood for SHIKWA. Some scenes of this 1954 movie can be seen in FILM HI FILM which was a very interesting commentary on the Hindi movies and the movie buffs. In JANWAR, it was Suraiya who opted out on the ground that “Yusuf continued to act even after the Director said, ‘Cut’!” NAYA DIN NAYI RAAT was initially offered to him but he just settled for a commentary in that movie, with Sanjeev Kumar playing the nine roles in the film. It also appears that Dilip Kumar was the first choice for the award-winning role of Anari (1958) but at his instance, Hrishikesh Mukherjee passed on the script to Raj Kapoor who, as the former felt, would be the right person to do such a role. As for the role of Vijay in PYAASA, Dilip Kumar refused it on the ground that it was just an extension of his own award-winning role in DEVDAS (1955). For Raj Kapoor’s SANGAM, again Dilip Kumar was the first choice and Raj Kapoor gave him complete freedom to choose either his or Rajendra Kumar’s roles. However, no amount of blandishment by Raj Kapoor could convince Dilip Kumar to accept either of the roles. The role of Gopal was eventually played by Rajendra Kumar – zooming his career to all-time high.

As for MOTHER INDIA, according to some sources, Dilip Kumar was keen to play the roles of both father and son (Birju) opposite Nargis in the movie. But since the pair of Nargis and Dilip Kumar had appeared in many romantic movies earlier such as MELA, ANOKHA PYAAR, ANDAZ, JOGAN, HULCHAL and DEEDAR, it was felt that the public would not accept them as mother and son. Indeed, Mehboob Khan had many an anxious moment when he learnt that Nargis immediately wanted to marry Sunil Dutt who had saved her life during the shooting of the famous fire scene. Knowing the pulse of Indian public, Mehboob Khan felt that if the marriage took place before the release of his dream project, MOTHER INDIA would never be accepted by the people since Sunil Dutt had played the role of Birju, the son of Nargis, in the movie. The marriage took place about five months after the release of MOTHER INDIA. In the meantime, the movie was released in October 1957 and was lauded both by the public and the critics. The premiere was attended by almost the entire film industry including Dilip Kumar, but Sunil Dutt did not attend the premiere show. I remember reading another story as a child, and that was probably in Baburao’s Film India, that Nargis was not keen on having Dilip Kumar in the role of Birju. She had bluntly told Mehboob Khan that in that case it would be better if he made “FATHER INDIA”. According to another story, since Dilip Kumar was later offered the role of father and not that of the wayward son, Birju, he turned down the offer. Of course, what he had lost in MOTHER INDIA, Dilip Kumar gained when he came back with vengeance in GANGA JAMUNA which was his own home production. Dilip Kumar’s role of Ganga who turns a dacoit by the quirk of fate, is the best among his best roles.

Again, the 20th Century Fox’ offer of THE RAINS CAME was also turned down by Dilip Kumar. He also turned down the second-lead role of Sherif Ali ibn el-Kharish in David Lean’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962). Regarding this role, it is worthwhile to mention here that the Empire Magazine had stated that the camera shot of the emergence of Ali from the desert is the Number One cinematic moment in the entire history of Cinema. If only Dilip Kumar had accepted the offer! Had he done that, he would have certainly added more flair and deeper meaning to the role, with all respects to Omar Sharif who ultimately landed with this role. But then, Dilip Kumar believes that: “In your own bazaar you enjoy a certain status. What’s the point in venturing out into the fields unknown where you’ve no say, no contact with the subject-matter...”

Mentioned below are the Dilip Kumar’s films that were shelved or  remained incomplete or were not released are:

K. Asif’s TAJ MAHAL, JANWAR and AAKHRI MUGHAL
Nasir Hussain’s ZABARDAST
R.C. Talwar’s BANK MANAGER
Rajinder Jain’s SHIKWAH

Also included in the above list are:
Allied Arts Production’s HAR SINGHAR - Director Mahesh Kol
CHANAKYA - Director: B.R. Chopra, Producer: Kishore Sharma
AAG KA DARIYA – Director Rajinder Singh, Director Premaliya
ASAR-THE IMPACT – Director: KuKu Kohli, Producer: Dinesh Patel
KALINGA – Director: Dilip Kumar

B.R. Chopra’s BAAGHBAAN was initially meant for Dilip Kumar but was delayed and the role ultimately went to Amitabh Bachchan in the next century. Then, much before SHAKTI (1982) happened, Eagle Films had signed Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan for their ambitious project which was to be directed by Yash Chopra. But there was no progress thereafter.

After his highly successful box office hits, KARMA, VIDHATA and SAUDAGAR, Subhash Ghai had Dilip Kumar in mind for his HOMELAND. Included in the lineup were the star-casts of Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan along with Preity Zinta. This project was finally shelved owing to the health problems of Shahrukh Khan and his inability to give dates even after a year when the revised dates did not suit Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta. The last we heard was that Subhash Ghai had replaced Shahrukh Khan with Akshay Khanna. Heaven knows what has happened next.

There was also some news sometime in 2007 that KALINGA would be revived but that’s about it.

Dilip Kumar, who is indubitably the greatest and most revered actor of the Bombay film Industry which is commonly known as Bollywood, has left his imprint of his style of acting not only on his generation, but also on the next three generations of actors. He has no regrets for declining those roles of the movies which have now become classics. According to him, an actor has to be convinced that he is making the right choice. Dilip Kumar has no special attachment with any of his films since he worked with “equal zest and dedication” in all his films. Indeed, so single-minded was Dilip Kumar in his devotion to acting, that he always had an edge over Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand or any other actor. As an actor, “he’s never reached the point of Nirvana”.


To be concluded.....

NASIR.

126. Translation of Sad Song of Rafi: Yeh Hasrat Thee...

Movie: Nausherwan-e-Adil (1957)
Music Director: C Ramchandra
Lyricist: Parvez Shamsi


Rafi sings of unfulfilled desires: Yeh Hasrat Thee ke Is Duniya Me.n.....

Roman transliteration/English translation of the original lyrics:



Yeh hasrat thee ke is duniyaa me.n bas doh kaam kar jaate,
IT WAS THE DESIRE THAT WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED JUST TWO JOBS IN THIS WORLD:

yeh hasrat thee, ke is duniyaa me.n bas doh kaam kar jaate
IT WAS THE DESIRE THAT WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED JUST TWO JOBS IN THIS WORLD:

tumhaaree yaad me.n jeete, tumhaare, Gham me.n mar jaate
TO HAVE LIVED IN YOUR MEMORY; TO HAVE DIED IN YOUR GRIEF.

yeh hasrat thee ke is duniyaa me.n bas doh kaam, kar jaate....
IT WAS THE DESIRE THAT WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED JUST TWO JOBS IN THIS WORLD.....


yeh duniyaa Doobtee toofaan aataa is qayaamat kaa,
THIS WORLD WOULD HAVE DROWNED, THE STORM OF SUCH MAGNITUDE WOULD HAVE COME,

AA~~~~.

yeh duniyaa Doobtee, toofaan aataa, is qayaamat kaa,
THIS WORLD WOULD HAVE DROWNED, THE STORM OF SUCH MAGNITUDE WOULD HAVE COME,

agar dam bhar ko aa.nkho.n me.n, meree aa.nsoo Teher jaate
IF FOR AN INSTANT THE TEARS HAD WELLED UP IN MY EYES.

agar dam bhar ko aa.nkho.n me.n, meree aa.nsoo Teher jaate
IF FOR AN INSTANT THE TEARS HAD WELLED UP IN MY EYES.

yeh hasrat thee, ke is duniyaa me.n bas doh kaam kar jaate
IT WAS THE DESIRE THAT WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED JUST TWO JOBS IN THIS WORLD:


tumhaaree yaad aa-aakar mere nashtar, chubhotee hai
THY MEMORY COMETH O'ER AND O'ER, PRICKING ME WITH A LANCET,

tumhaaree, yaad aa-aakar mere nashtar, chubhotee hai
THY MEMORY COMETH O'ER AND O'ER, PRICKING ME WITH A LANCET,

mere nashtar, chubhotee hai,
PRICKING ME WITH A LANCET,

wagarna dil ke saare zakhm itne din, me.n bhar jaate,
OTHERWISE ALL THE BOSOM'S WOUNDS WOULD HAVE HEALED DURING THESE DAYS.

wagarna dil ke saare zakhm itne din, me.n bhar jaate,
OTHERWISE ALL THE BOSOM'S WOUNDS WOULD HAVE HEALED DURING THESE DAYS.

yeh hasrat thee, ke is duniyaa me.n, bas doh kaam kar jaate
IT WAS THE DESIRE THAT WE’D ACCOMPLISHED JUST TWO JOBS IN THIS WORLD....


kahaa.n tak dukh uThaae.n
FOR HOW LONG SHOULD WE SUFFER THE GRIEF,

kahaa.n tak, dukh uThaae.n,
FOR HOW LONG SHOULD WE SUFFER THE GRIEF

teree furqat aur judaaee ke,
OF THY PARTING AND SEPARATION,

teree furqat aur judaaee ke,
OF THY PARTING AND SEPARATION,

agar marnaa hee thaa ek din, na kyu.n phir aaj mar jaate,
IF WE HAD TO DIE ONE DAY, WHY NOT DIE TODAY?

agar marnaa hee thaa ek din, na kyu.n phir aaj mar jaate
IF WE HAD TO DIE ONE DAY, WHY NOT DIE TODAY?

yeh hasrat thee , ke is duniyaa me.n bas doh kaam kar jaate.....
IT WAS THE DESIRE THAT WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED JUST TWO JOBS IN THIS WORLD....

NASIR.

In the Battle of Love, none but the Lovers are slain...
- Sufi Sarmad.