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Great Musical Collaborations: Shankar Jaikishan & Hasrat Jaipuri
In the first part of the series that features great musical collaborations in Indian Film Industry, we bring you the team that dominated the entire Hindi Film Industry for more than two decades. The magical team of commercial geniuses comprising the most successful and celebrated music composers of classic era of Hindi cinema – Shankar Jaikishan and the celebrated lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri.
Iqbal Husain, initially worked as a bus conductor before being spotted and recommended by Prithviraj Kapoor, got his first break in the form of lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri through Raj Kapoor’s 1949 movie Barsaat which also marked the successful association with Shankar Jaikishan.
Barring few projects this team worked exclusively with Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor. They continued working together for more than two decades and majority of the songs by Hasrat Jaipuri, approximately 90%, were in association with Shankar Jaikishan.
Over the years they had a major share of hits in the industry, creating everlasting and immortal melodies,garnering 8 Filmfare Awards collectively.
It is practically impossible to list even 10% of their work in this article. Hence this article will focus on few of the award winning songs by the composers-lyricist along with a few interesting facts.
1. Jiya Bekarar Hai – Barsaat (1949)
This 1949 movie Barsaat marked the debut of Hasrat Jaipuri as a lyricist and Shankar Jaikishan as music composers. The song is sung by Lata Mangeshkar and features Nimmi. The video can be watched here.
2. Ye Mera Prem Patra – Sangam (1964)
Hasrat Jaipuri wrote this poem when he was 20 years old for his love interest Radha. It was his first love letter for her. He was never sure throughout his lifetime if the poetic letter was delivered to her. Nothing materialised and he came to Mumbai where Raj Kapoor liked his poem and featured it in his blockbuster Sangam. This romantic song went on to become a powerful ballad of the era and featured Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. It is interesting to note that the character name of Vyjayanthimala in the movie was Radha. The romantic song is sung by Mohd. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.
The video can be watched here.
3. Baharo Phool Barsao – Suraj (1966)
Hasrat Jaipuri won his first Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist, while Shankar Jaikishan won the
Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the movie Suraj. Mohd Rafi won his fourth Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer for this song. The song features Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. The video can be watched here.
4. Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana – Andaaz (1971) .
Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana is a song from the Hindi film Andaz. Sung by Kishore Kumar, this song gained popularity instantly. and Hasrat Jaipuri won his second Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist. The happy version of the song features Rajesh Khanna. The video can be watched here.
5.Badan Pe Sitare – Prince (1969)
A superhit song featuring Shammi Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala, was penned down by Hasrat Jaipuri during an outing in USA with Shankar Jaikishan and Shailendra. It was during a dance show that Hasrat Jaipuri used these lines to comment on a lady wearing shiny costumes and accessories. What happened next is history. The song has vocals by Mohd. Rafi, who was the first choice and often used for Shammi Kapoor songs. The video can be watched here.
6.Teri Pyari Pyari Soorat Ko – Sasural (1961)
Mohd. Rafi received a Filmfare Award for Best Playback singer in this song. The song features Rajendra Kumar and South Indian actress Saroja Devi. Hasrat Jaipuri initially wrote the words describing the innocence on the face of his newly born son Akhtar. The video can be watched here.
7. Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandni – Chori Chori (1956)
The song features the most iconic and celebrated screen pair of yesteryears – Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Written by Hasrat Jaipuri along with Shailendra, this song became very popular. Shankar Jaikishan won their first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. The song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey.
The video can be watched here.
8. Woh Chand Khila Woh Tare – Anari (1959)
Shankar Jaikishan won their second Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Anari. This song penned by Hasrat Jaipuri features Raj Kapoor and Nutan. The song was sung by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar.
The video can be watched here.
9. Aye Gulbadan – Professor (1962)
The song featured newcomer Kalpana along with Shammi Kapoor. Shankar Jaikishan bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the fourth time. Hasrat Jaipuri and Mohd. Rafi, both were nominated on their respective categories. The video can be watched here.
10. Aajkal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche – Brahmachari (1968)
The smash hit was sung by the incomparable duo of Mohammed Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur. Featuring Shammi Kapoor and Mumtaz, the song became popular not only for its catchy tune and dance moves but also for the form fitting Saree introduced in the video. Shankar Jaikishan bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the sixth time.
The video can be watched here.
11. Sheesha-E-Dil Itna Na Uchhalo – Dil Apana Aur Preet Parai (1960)
Shankar Jaikishan received their third Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. The happy song shot across the sea shore features Meena Kumari. The song is sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The video can be watched here.
It is definitely not an easy task to choose and list the best songs from a collection of decades of hits. We hope you enjoyed the award winning collection of songs.
