Thread by @Paperclip_In

Songs in Bollywood movies inspired from elsewhere aren’t something unheard of. But a song created from three different songs almost 50 years ago that continues to charm us even today is quite a feat. A thread. 1/10

‘Ek Chatur Naar Karke Shringar’ is probably the most loved reel battle of all time in Bollywood. Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar, 2 stalwarts from that bygone era, battled it out on screen that still brings out the same humor created for an audience more than 50 years ago. 2/10

The rendition was composed by R. D. Burman as a combination of Carnatic and Hindustani music. Dey being a more trained classical singer, was chosen to sing the Carnatic part while Kishore sang the Hindustani counterpart. 3/10

From Rajendra Krishan’s lyrical genius to Burman’s timeless composition, to Mehmood, Kishore, and Sunil Dutt’s humorous presentation - this song had it all and yet it wasn’t an original creation, but a puzzle perfected with bits and pieces taken from elsewhere by Kishore. 4/10

The alap of the song ‘Ek Chatur Naar Karke Shringar’ was originally inspired by Kishore’s elder brother Ashok Kumar. Ashok who played the lead role in Gyan Mukherjee’s ‘Jhoola’ (1941), had sung the song in his own voice. 5/10

27 years later, Kishore asked Rajendra Krishan to create an extended version of the old song with polished lyrics that would disgorge humor. However, the result wasn’t as satisfactory as intended. 6/10

One of the missing pieces came from an even older song. This time it was from Jayant Desai’s ‘Sant Tulsidas’ (1939). The tune used in the song ‘Ban Chale Raam Raghuraai’ was adapted into the part of ‘Are Dekhi Teri Chaturai’ in Padosan. 7/10

The final bit came from Shaheed Latif’s ‘Ziddi’ (1948). Kishore himself made his debut as a playback singer in the movie. However, he used a song that was sung by his duet partner from the movie, Lata Mangeshkar. 8/10

The tune used in ‘Chanda Re Jaa Re Jaa Re’ turned out to be the missing piece of the puzzle. Together with Rajendra Krishan and R. D. Burman, Kishore improvised the tune and made it fit into ‘Kala Re Jaa Re Jaa Re, Are Nale Mein Jake Tu Munh Dhoke Aa’. 9/10

One might criticize the effort that went in to create this timeless classic song. However, what can’t be ignored was Kishore’s vision to render the perfect result that was, is, and forever will be the benchmark of a humorous song. 10/10

Source: Vittal, Balaji and Bhattacharjee, Anirudha. R. D. Burman -The Man, The Music. (HarperCollins)

Image attribute: Poster for Padosan From IMDB

Video attributes:

Original Ek Chatur Naar Kar Kar Singaar (by Ashok Kumar in Jhoola) by SunahareGeet


Sant Tulsidas 1939: Ban chale raam raghuraai aur sang jaanki maayi by Shalin Bhatt

chanda re jaa re jaa re by mastkalandr