A song worth revisiting

So what makes a song, a movie, a play or a book memorable? I think it’s the impact with which it is able to convey its message. While a movie or a book has the advantage of length on their side, a song is perhaps the most difficult of all because the duration is usually no more than a couple of minutes. So when a song leaves an indelible mark on it’s audience it is all the more laudable.

For generations of movie goers “ Jab Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya” from Mughal-E-Azam remains an all time favorite. No one can forget Madhubala’s defiant stature, Prithvi Raj Kapoor’s blazing eyes and the glass set of Sheesh Mahal, put up at a huge cost just for this one song and not to forget that this was the only sequence in the movie which was shot in Technicolor- again at a huge cost to the already beleaguered producers. The sheer expense of this song tells us that to the makers, this song lay at the very heart of the film.

After seeing the movie there is no denying that the expense and the effort are absolutely worth it. Madhubala is magnificent in the song. She misses no chance of conveying the message- while the powers that be, can have a public victory by killing the love between a prince and a chamber maid, privately it is love alone that will triumph. “Parda nahin jab koi khuda se, bandon se parda karna kya”she sings with an almost militaristic stand and we all nod with her. And here the Director K Asif adds a masterful touch by showing the only time in the film when Akbar is forced to bow his head and acknowledge the win of his opponent.

The camera and editing too are used masterfully in the song. Throughout the sequence we are taken from person to person showing the different reactions of the members of the Royal family. Prince Salim played by Dilip Kumar wears a cautiously proud expression as his lover dares to defy the King in such a public setting. Jodha Bai, the loving mother and proud queen is amazed at the cheek of a chamber maid who can challenge her might husband and King Akbar, outraged and yet helpless sits on his throne seething in the fire of his own ego.

Most people of the previous generation know the lyrics of this song by heart. It is both tragic and victorious at the same time. Anarkali has the courage to show the King that his victory his hollow but as a maiden she can not help but mourn the loss of a love she feels so deeply. So where there is the “Parda nahin jab koi khuda se, bandon se parda karna kya” there is also the “Unki tamanna dil mein rahegi, shamma issi mehfil mein rahegi” that conveys her pain.
In this song the combination of choreography, setting, lyrics and music and creates a masterpiece that should be studied by all film-makers to see why a song sequence is an integral part of hindi cinema and how it can be used masterfully to move the storyline forward and wow the audience.