I have tripped and fallen over a theme song of my very own! There are two reasons, no three many reasons why I cannot resist it:
The lyrics “Lo Memsaab Salaam, Salaam Memsaab Salaam”
Rafi sings it, and I love him; plus, he yodels!*
It’s from Reporter Raju which was made in 1962 (so it’s *almost* as old as I am)
The film is a Wadia Brothers production, and I love the Wadias
Even though Shammi isn’t in it, Feroz Khan does his level best to channel Shammi; and I can close my eyes and pretend it’s Shammi, since it is a very Shammi-like song (Shammi Shammi Shammi!)
It’s lively and fabulous (is there an Indian instrument that sounds like an accordion, or is it an actual accordion? either way, too much fun)
It’s short, like my attention span!
Here it is: “O Chale Ho Kahan Kaho” from Reporter Raju, sung by Rafi, music by S.S. Mohinder:
*Edited to add: My very reliable and informed friend Sunny has informed me that Kishore actually does the yodeling here for Rafi, which makes no material difference to it remaining my theme song, but good to know!
*Edited again to add more: Now more people are on board the it’s-Rafi-yodeling boat, see comments if you are interested! It’s still my theme song, no matter who yodels, even if it’s a Swiss farmer who was imported just for the task.
My social calendar for the past few days has been too busy for film watching, sadly. Although probably it’s good for me to get out and about occasionally so I don’t lose all my social skills.
Instead I’ve indulged in a little Photoshop-fun, greatly helped along by my friend Per-Christian’s fab cover art scans of his ginormous equally fab collection of Hindi film music albums. Thanks, PC!
My beloved Shammi is 77 today! Many happy returns of the day, and wishing him good health and happiness for another year!
Edited to add: Suhan sent me this link to a nice interview with him. She also informs me that it’s Helen’s birthday too! So janam din mubarek ho to you too, Helen!
This film is truly a Shammi showcase. He spends half of it disguised as an elderly professor, and very convincingly too, I might add. It’s one of his best films from an acting standpoint, and he is quite restrained throughout—although still irrepressibly irresistible and charming. Good performances from everyone else in the cast, lovely hit songs by Shankar Jaikishan and locations in beautiful Darjeeling are the juicy cherries on top of this bit of romantic fluff.
This thing called “collyrium” pops up in subtitles all the time. According to all the dictionaries I have looked through, it means eye salve or eye medication. Is that what it means in Hindi film subtitles too? Because that makes no sense here:
Carla left a comment here on MemsaabStory early on saying: “Helen is completely sui generis.” (I love learning new phrases, especially clever ones.) Paint It Pink puts Helen in proper perspective also in her blog’s mission statement. I have myself weighed in on the joys of Helen many times before, but I recently decided that I needed to devote some time to her again. I know there are one or two people out there who don’t care for her, but there are also one or two people out there who think Sarah Palin would make a fine VP (or P!). You know who you are, and you can go away from here (well, if it’s just a Helen thing you can stay :-) (sorry but the election is beginning to get on my last good nerve).
Ramsu issued me a challenge to post the soundtrack of my life’s events using only music from Shammi’s black and white movies. I have done my level best, but plizz to remember that 90 percent of my life (so far) had passed by before I discovered any Hindi movies, let alone dear Shammi. So I did cheat a little bit.
And if the lyrics don’t seem to fit the occasion, well, what do I know? I don’t speak Hindi. I have included links to YouTube videos where there is one! Update: I’ve added audio files where there’s no video available. Enjoy!
I can’t find words to describe this movie. Sublime? Magnificent? Classic, for sure. Fantastic romantic story; excellent debuts by “Filmalaya discoveries” Asha Parekh and music director Usha Khanna; and of course, my favorite actor of all time, Shammi Kapoor. I ask you, how can you not like a film whose credits begin with a little boy in his chaddis and a pair of wings and gladiator sandals taking aim at your heart? It’s also directed and written by Nasir Husain, who gave Shammi his first big hit with Tumsa Nahin Dekha. I’ve said it before: Nasir Husain=great entertainment.
It was such fun to watch it again! Not to mention that I ended up on the floor as a Shammi-induced puddle.
I fortuitously stumbled across this blog while looking for old film images: Papa Ajoba.
It is a fantastic site written by Anuja Ghosalkar, the granddaughter of Ram Tipnis (whom she calls Papa Ajoba, meaning father-grandfather in Marathi). She is chronicling his stories from years of working as a makeup artist in the film industry (he began working in the 1940s). There are also audio interviews with him posted (sadly for me in Marathi and Hindi, but some of you will understand) along with photos and some video. He has a phenomenal memory.
MemsaabStory 
