The golden age of films in India was from 1944 to the 1960s. Music was an integral part of the films and was in the earlier time very Indian classical, influenced by the ragas and rhythms of taal. But by the 1950s and 60s, the western influence was growing in leaps and bounds in the music of Indian films. Before 1990, plagiarism of film stories and film music was done with impunity but now there are copyright controls in these matters. I enjoy the music of the fifties and sixties both in the western and the Indian film settings. Some of the few songs swiped by the Indian cinema that I was able to gather are the following:
1. A movie called C.I.D. in 1956 had a lovely song - "Ae dil hai mushkil hai jeena yahan....yeh hai Bombay meri jaan" sung by Johnny Walker in the movie. The music is by O.P. Nayyar and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Click here to watch.
This song has been swiped from the American western folk ballad "Oh my darling, Clementine" credited to Percy Montrose in 1884 or to Barker Bradford. "My Darling Clementine" was a 1946 western film which got its title from the theme song. Click to watch here.
2. Dil Deke Dekho - In 1959, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri and with music composed by Usha Khanna, her debut, had this song 'Kaun yeh aayaa mehfil mein" picturized on Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh. Click here to watch.
This song was swiped from a song written, recorded and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957 called "Diana" which was inspired by his school friend and it made number one in both USA and UK. Click to watch here.
3. Bhoot Bangla was a film made by Mehmood in 1965 with a song called "Aao Twist Karein" with music composed by Rahul Dev Burman and lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. Click to watch here.
This song was taken straight almost 'as it is' from "Let's Twist Again" which was written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and sung to be one of the biggest hit singles of 1961 by Chubby Checker. Click to watch here.
4. Gumnaam was a thriller made in 1965 starring Nanda and Manoj Kumar which had a song "Gumnaam Hai Koi" composed by Shankar Jaikishen with lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. Click to watch here.
Charade was a film made in 1963 with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn whose theme was composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and received the Academy Award for the Best Original Song. Click to watch here.
5. Jhuk Gaya Aasman was a 1968 film with the song "Kaun hai jo Sapnon mein Aayaa", picturized on Rajendra Kumar which had Saira Banu as the female lead and music composed by Shankar Jaikihen and lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. Click to watch here.
This song was taken from Elvis Presley's song with words and music by Don Robertson called "Marguerita" and was part of the album called 'Fun in Acapulco' in 1963. Click to watch here.
These were all well loved songs in those times and even if the Hindi songs were plagiarized, they had a uniqueness of their own and brought much pleasure to the Indian audiences as did the originals to the western audiences. Today's Hindi film music is multicultural and in fact there is a genre in world music called Indi Pop, a fusion of British and Indian music; also Bhangra Pop - a fusion of pop and Punjabi Bhangra rhythms; and also the Raaga Blues which is a fusion of Indian traditional raagas and Blues.
Music brings joy to all, across world boundaries!
1. A movie called C.I.D. in 1956 had a lovely song - "Ae dil hai mushkil hai jeena yahan....yeh hai Bombay meri jaan" sung by Johnny Walker in the movie. The music is by O.P. Nayyar and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Click here to watch.
This song has been swiped from the American western folk ballad "Oh my darling, Clementine" credited to Percy Montrose in 1884 or to Barker Bradford. "My Darling Clementine" was a 1946 western film which got its title from the theme song. Click to watch here.
2. Dil Deke Dekho - In 1959, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri and with music composed by Usha Khanna, her debut, had this song 'Kaun yeh aayaa mehfil mein" picturized on Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh. Click here to watch.
This song was swiped from a song written, recorded and made famous by Paul Anka in 1957 called "Diana" which was inspired by his school friend and it made number one in both USA and UK. Click to watch here.
3. Bhoot Bangla was a film made by Mehmood in 1965 with a song called "Aao Twist Karein" with music composed by Rahul Dev Burman and lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. Click to watch here.
This song was taken straight almost 'as it is' from "Let's Twist Again" which was written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and sung to be one of the biggest hit singles of 1961 by Chubby Checker. Click to watch here.
4. Gumnaam was a thriller made in 1965 starring Nanda and Manoj Kumar which had a song "Gumnaam Hai Koi" composed by Shankar Jaikishen with lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. Click to watch here.
Charade was a film made in 1963 with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn whose theme was composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and received the Academy Award for the Best Original Song. Click to watch here.
5. Jhuk Gaya Aasman was a 1968 film with the song "Kaun hai jo Sapnon mein Aayaa", picturized on Rajendra Kumar which had Saira Banu as the female lead and music composed by Shankar Jaikihen and lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. Click to watch here.
This song was taken from Elvis Presley's song with words and music by Don Robertson called "Marguerita" and was part of the album called 'Fun in Acapulco' in 1963. Click to watch here.
These were all well loved songs in those times and even if the Hindi songs were plagiarized, they had a uniqueness of their own and brought much pleasure to the Indian audiences as did the originals to the western audiences. Today's Hindi film music is multicultural and in fact there is a genre in world music called Indi Pop, a fusion of British and Indian music; also Bhangra Pop - a fusion of pop and Punjabi Bhangra rhythms; and also the Raaga Blues which is a fusion of Indian traditional raagas and Blues.
Music brings joy to all, across world boundaries!
