Posts Tagged ‘Grihasthi’

A fan’s tribute: Vol. 2

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Geeta Dutt

Song: Koi dil ko sambhalo mera dil chalaa
Film : Grihasthi (1963)
MD : Ravi
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
Singer: Geeta Roy Dutt

Geeta Dutt – the name evokes memories of an era of classical romance in Hindi cinema. When it was a soft melodious number, her voice glided through like “Thandi Hawaa”. When it was a mischievous number, it felt like the “Kaali Ghataa” had really broken up and the pitter patter of rain drops had “Aa Hee Gayee Jhoom Ke”. She had a remarkable repertoire and her voice spanned the entire gamut of human emotions, effectively and effortlessly.

Earlier this year, I had a chance to catch up on the 1965 Tamil movie “Motor Sundaram Pillai”, starring the thespian Sivaji Ganesan. The movie was a remake of the 1963 Hindi movie “Grihasti”, starring Ashok Kumar. What caught me by surprise was that the Geeta Dutt number “Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding Lala” (music composed by Ravi and lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni) was retained in the Tamil version in its entirety. I am not aware of too many instances where a full-length Hindi song featured in a Tamil movie (“Kaise Kahoon Kuchh Keh Na Sakoon” from the 1981 Tamil movie “Nandu” is another one that comes to mind).
Apart from this statistical rarity, what caught my attention was the contagious joi-de-vivre that Geeta Dutt brought to the song. The vibrancy of her singing could make even a leaden-footed non-dancer get a spring in his step. Her voice, flitting along with the “bhanwara” on his flight of fantasy, truly “kaanon mein ras ghole”. It leads to an exultation of the spirit, making “mera dil chala”. The song pulsates with her uninhibited phenomenal energy that comes through in a caressing understated manner.

This is my humble tribute to Geeta Dutt whose beautiful singing could open out a way for the imprisoned splendour within the listener to escape. The voice of Geeta Dutt may have been stilled but her music lives on for all eternity….

The film version (which is less than two minute long) is here

Acknowledgements:

We are extremely grateful to our dear friend Ambrish Sundaram ji for writing this article on our special request.