Thursday 10 January 2019

10 favourite Rabindrasangeet in Movies

Bengalis are often asked why are they obsessed with Rabindrasangeet or Tagore Songs. Many find Tagore songs melancholic and of a typical pattern. However the lyrics he wrote speaks of every possible emotions humans experience and hence its popularity never wanes. Tagore mixed Ragas, folk tunes and English music to make something new....he was the original Fusion maker ....Shyam Benegal once told in an Interview on Film music to Outlook magazine in 2006 that Bengali film makers are lucky to have Tagore songs since it blends so nicely to buttress cinematic moments. He particularly spoke highly of Ghatak and Ray using Rabindrasangeet in cinema.

I grew up in 1980's and 90's Calcutta where some Rabindrasangeet in films made me hear again and again. I hereby make a list of 10 though it is not a comprehensive list. I tried to include the old and the new, the past and the recent. However a list like this cannot be complete.I urge my readers to add more in the comments section below.


1) Charano Dhorite Diogo Amare from Dadar Kirti

This one is my all time favorite sung by mellifluous Hemanta Mukherjee in a Tarun Majumdar film based on Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay novella. Except Piano there is no background music in this song and the ups and downs of notes by tenor of Hemanta is unbelievably heart rendering. It is still immensely popular.



2) Je Rat e Mor Duar Guli from Meghe Dhaka Tara

One of the classics of World Cinema by Ritwick Ghatak, this movie has a Rabindrasangeet which cannot be more apt to display the suffering of the female protagonist Neeta. The sounds of lashing reverberates with her pain. Ray being my personal favorite, grudgingly I accept that Ghatak was much better in choosing Rabindrasangeet used in his films.




3) Tumi Rab e Nirobe in Kuheli

This is another of my favorites where  sugar sweet voice of Lata Mangeshkar pitches in after a long passage by Hemanta Mukherjee....the handsome Biswajeet plays a piano and Sandhya Roy joins him....a song to celebrate togetherness and romance



4) Momo Chitte Niti Nritye ( Instrumental) in Charulata

The beginning of Charulata has an instrumental version of Momo Chitte composed by Ray and being an exiled Calcuttan I always yearn for home the moment I hear this lovely tune. Nothing essays the lonely housewife more than this music.




5) Aji Jharer Rat e Tomar Abhisar in The Last Lear

Rashid Khan singing this in a classical style was a scoop by Rituparno Ghosh in the end of this film when the title card begins to roll. It was a treat for me despite many criticized the style of singing Rabindrasangeet not fitting into the usual method.



6) Amar Bichar tumi Karo in Bicharak


One of the best examples of music in cinema where the dilemma and moral pangs  of a judge is submitted to the hands of the Lord for  final justice and deliverance. Brilliantly sung by Hemanta Mukherjee starring Uttam Kumar.

7) Sajani Sajani Radhika lo in Chokher Bali

As Aiswarya Rai gets ready for a meeting with her lover , you can feel her urge for a rendezvous.I could not obtain the video from Youtube, however I recollect vividly the song in Chokher Bali.many will remember too.


8) Mayabono Biharini in Bedroom

This was an iconoclastic fusion of rock and Rabindrasangeet which delighted me...the freshness , the spunk of Somlata Acharya Chaudhuri made me fall in love with her voice.



9) Diner Seshe Ghumer Deshe in Mukti

My grandfather, a famous surgeon of his time operated on Pankaj Mallik's daughter saving her from an amputation and the legendary Pankaj Mallik sang this to him in return and hence my personal favorite. This was also a Tagore poem set into music by Pankaj Mallik and Tagore, pleasantly surprised , allowed him to use it for a Pramathesh Barua film, Mukti.



10) Majhe Majhe Tobo Dekha pai in Island

This is sung by Ritu Guha in Island, a Paul Cox film. Paul Cox was an Australian who used this song in his film. However there is no Youtube video. I recall seeing this in Calcutta in 1996 and it beaitfully captures the wait of a lady in love with a man who is coming home in a ship. The lyrics weaved into the cinematic moment of pangs of loneliness of a lover. I add a link below for my readers to read about Paul Cox and Ritu Guha.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Film-Journalists-Association-pays-tribute-to-Paul-Cox/articleshow/53005765.cms

Making Film music is not an easy job. Sergei Eisenstein recruited the famous classical musician Prokofiev to put music in his films. Film has moments when music speak the language of cinema and Rabindrasangeet fits in nicely to portray the cinematic moments and evokes the emotions of the viewers in sync with the characters. I am aware this list did not include many songs and list like this can never be complete. I tried my best to cull my favorite ones, I know my readers can add many more which can be interesting additions to this blog. I welcome you all to add your favorite one with your feelings written along with it. Please write in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you.

Thank you. 

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