Waqt Karta Jo Wafa

The fact that Pianoman chose his ex flame's engagement announcement day to profess his hidden love for her, is one of the strange mysteries of this universe never solved. Often chided into singing a sensational swan song by the girl's now able and handsome/ sneering evil suitor, Pianoman let go the tumultous typhoons raging inside his heart and unleashed the fury of his festering wounds, leaving the august couple to stand frozen at his altar, speechless and shocked. 

Many conjectures and a laborous, topsy turvy climax later, many wrongs are finally righted and sanity prevails. But not before Pianoman had done with this stellar performance on which always the middle reels of the movie were hinged. 

Ladies in cinema halls remembered all their past real and imagined lovers, jilted lovers went into sullen contemplation and husbands who had eventually got the lovely ladies couldn't care less and invariably went out to get a drag or soft drink.

But awesome threesome this- two goodlooking dudes Sanjay Khan and Shashi Kapoor and the very charming Rajshree, she of the sparkling eyes and lovely mouth set on a pretty dusky face. Vintage Indeevar and Kalyanji Anandji song and I am discovering that Mukesh did an amazing number of piano songs.

Jhoom Jhoom Ke Nacho Aaj

God forbid if you met the Pianoman at an engagement celebration. Well, he always got invited and got to play at the pre nuptial celebrations of his unrequited love or love gone awry. 

It was at such dos that Pianoman was in his element- wry to the core and oozing with double entendres. He sang of wishing happiness to the lucky couple but his words emerged like a double edged sword, slashing hearts and creating quite a lot of confusion and commotion in the mind of his once lady love. 

Pianoman made sure that he wrecked the couple's most important day with his seemingly detached delivery of good wishes! ;-))

Love the lead in the movie,  the only movie where Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar appeared together. Dilip Kumar could be so convincing in his misery without ever overdoing it. Raj Kapoor though more flamboyant, is brilliant in the part where he is getting irritated with Nargis's moroseness. The lithe and vibrant Cuckoo dances and enthralls with her moves. This was a classic movie and no doubt it needed a piano to complete the setting. Music by Naushad and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, vocals by Mukesh yet again.

Aaya Hai Mujhe Phir Yaad

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! And when the Pianoman sat singing eloquent about his childhood days, he made sure you drifted into bitter-sweet nostalgia, you swooned with sentiment and were overwhelmed with memories of vanilla scented cakes baked by mom with no fancy recipe book or measuring instruments but a mother's handful of unadulterated love.

You were forced to feel again that special waft of comfort from her saree pallu, the smiles that lit up your day as you returned home from a hectic day at school, the secrets she almost always was privy to, that even your father couldn't share, whether you told her or not, including your first crush, your first sneaky date, your first brush with telling a lie and the protectuve armour she gave you when dad was too angry or mad at you but she instinctively knew that whatever silly things you did in your rebellious teenage years, you would always grow out of it to become a theek thaak, nice, lovable, grown up person.

Remember she gave up many of her own dreams to create these special memories of childhood for you. Do call up your mom today wherever she is or better still go meet her.:-) Lovely song by Roshan and Anand Bakshi and stars one of my favs Dharmendra. For all his comic timing, he could also emote rather well in such emotional songs. But must admit this song has all possible musical instruments playing such as sitar, flute, sarangi but no real piano but he plays on so convincingly!!

Jinhe Hum Bhoolna Chahein

Seated at his grand piano, the pianoman delved into the deepest recesses of his heart, spinning out emotions and sentiments long buried in the sands of time. His litanies could move mountains and melt statues or statuesque maidens into a mass of tears. 

Ladies in movies hall matinee shows cried buckets full at the exalted melodrama, coming back for more, with bigger more absorbent, lace handkerchiefs and then after the show went out to quickly buy that same shade of off-white saree the heroine wore and extra long lash waterproof mascara. 

Yes, Mukesh's sad songs held audiences in thrall for long. Tragedies all over the world have worked for their cathartic properties, making one empathise with the protagonist and also feel this strong, colossal grief, always followed by a sense of relief and calm. Sadly the lead pair in this song could make you cry anyway with the lack of histrionic ability but Rehman, that thespian chracter actor is imposing with his regal presence. He could emote just with his eyes. The song connects with its powerful melody composed by Anil Biswas and and words by Prem Dhawan, of course rendered impeccably by Mukesh. The lyrics state a universal truth- It is those that we want to forget desperately, who stay in our memories and torment us....

Dost Dost Na Raha

Yet all piano songs in Hindi movies are not all about song and dance. Have you heard the legend of the Pianoman in Hindi movies? For him the piano is not a musical instrument but a veritable post, a picket hoisted on a higher ground from which he fires bazookas of betrayal ridden angst, he launches salvos of sarcasm one after the other. BOOM BOOM BOOM, they emerge from his piano and could injure the most thick skinned of people.

The pianoman is a legend for he is backed with the conviction of his belief, of being wronged by people, often close friends and lovers. Music is his weapon and words his nemesis. Watch out guys, I bring you some immortal pianoman songs. Not for the faint hearted, I warn you. Some of them of course have been parodied to death, as this one. But hey listen, the original is still as moving and lethal as ever!!!

Immortal Mukesh song written by Hasrat Jaipuri, put to music by Shankar Jaikishan and executed pretty convincingly by the sly-eyed Raj Kapoor, the intense Rajendra Kumar and the doe eyed damsel in distress, Vyjayanthimala.

Ae Husn Zara Jaag Tujhe Ishq Bulaye

Piano was often used in Hindi film songs for a grand luxurious effect. The instrument lends itself well to western classical symphonies. There is something about the size and stature of a piano that it envisions a setting larger than life.The piano has always been a crucial instrument in Western classical music, jazz, film, television, and most other complex western musical genres. A large number of composers are proficient pianists—and because the piano keyboard offers an easy means of complex melodic and harmonic interplay—the piano is often used as a tool for composition.

At the time of its origin around the year 1700, the piano was a speculative invention, produced by the well-paid craftsman and inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori for his wealthy patron Ferdinando de Medici, Grand Prince of Florence. As such, it was an extremely expensive item. For some time after its invention, the piano was largely owned by royalty (e.g. the kings of Portugal and Prussia.

Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the middle class of Europe and North America increased in both numbers and prosperity. This increase produced a corresponding rise in the domestic importance of the piano, as ever more families became able to afford pianos and piano instruction. The piano also became common in public institutions, such as schools, hotels, and public houses. As elements of the Western middle class lifestyle gradually spread to other nations, the piano became common in these nations as well, for example in Japan.

To understand the rise of the piano among the middle class, it is helpful to remember that before mechanical and electronic reproduction, music was in fact performed on a daily basis by ordinary people. With rising prosperity, the many families that could now afford pianos and music adapted their home-grown musical abilities to the new instrument, and the piano became a major source of music in the home.The piano's status in the home remained secure until technology made possible the enjoyment of music in passive form.

Thus in Hindi movies too, the piano was used to depict a golden era of grandeur and musical expression prevalent in cultured homes of the sub-continent for a long while. I myself remember in my grandparents' home, if not a piano, there certainly existed a sitar, a guitar, a tanpura, a tabla and a harmonium leading to many musical soirees. This Naushad composition written by Shakeel Badayuni, for instance, sung by Mohd Rafi transports one to a genteel time and place full of romance and rhapsody. Sadhana is enthralled by the hero, Rajendra Kumar's piano playing, rousing her from a sleep of innocence and oblivion to an awakening of desire and longing.

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