We cannot imagine an Indian movie produced in any vernacular of India without songs. During the Golden Period of Bollywood, songs played a very important role in the success of films. Even Art films jumped onto the bandwagon.
If I concentrate on Bollywood, many film directors were bringing their own different and unique ideas to picturize a song, especially romantic ones.
In my observation I found that hundreds of songs were filmed on “different modes of transport” viz: motor vehicles, marine vessels (boats) such as Clippers, Dhows.
Horse carts (Tangas), Ox-driven carts.
Characters riding and singing on horseback, also on camels. A couple of directors captured songs with elephants! In this race, even the donkeys have played their part!
Trains and ships were made available for films to shoot a song, as were rickshaws. So much so that the directors didn’t spare Construction Cranes, small Aircraft, and even Helicopters!
In these contests how could a Bollywood Director leave behind Gondola and Shikara!!
Bicycles, motor bikes, passenger and school buses, so on and so forth. All mentioned units of transport were used to film songs by those innovative directors. In my knowledge the only vehicles left were a bulldozer and cable car. A director may have filmed these too, but not any of which I am aware.
However I don’t put all directors in one basket.
A famous director, whom I won’t name directly, is an exception.
He mostly comprehended on scenic backgrounds. After he had covered most of the scenic sites within India, he concentrated on foreign landscapes and would take his crew to places like Switzerland for just for part of a song. In one of his movies he captured the Tulips of Netherlands. He was the only director, I believe, who hardly used the mentioned mode of transportation in his songs. However during his assistance assignments couple of his songs were filmed on a Tanga and bicycle.
On the contrary another Director was very fond of filming using all modes of transportation.
In his movies he used the Tanga (1957), a crane (1959), a Truck, a convertible, and a Shikara in 3 different songs of one film (1963). He also then made his hero hang off a flying Helicopter (1967) while singing a song. He filmed his hero singing while rowing a canoe (1971), on a boat(1972) and while cruising on an Italian Gondola with his fiancée. (1979)
I remember one South Indian film director who made his comedian sing a song with a chimpanzee. (1955)
Another famous and renowned director of his time, in his 1957 classic film, made a poor and unlettered hero sit on a donkey while singing.
Another very popular director whose films were all successes at the box office, in his 1961 b/w movie came up with a unique idea. He used two modes of transportation for a song. He made his hero sit on the top of a car while being driven alongside a train, singing to impress his girlfriend who was in the train.
Wow! It turned out a hit song but the impact of viewing it on the silver screen proved to be magical.
The previously mentioned director, who also used multiple modes of transport, treasured this idea and 9 years later in 1970 in a colour movie he picturised a song similar to the above 1961 b/w movie. This one song brought about a revolution in the Bollywood industry. It gave new life to an almost forgotten singer and gave birth to a new superstar.
Another popular director had a different idea. Many songs have been filmed inside the compartments of a train, but none had been captured inside the engine. An engine driver and his assistant singing on a moving train proved to be very enjoyable for the viewers.
In the early sixties when colour was introduced, many directors started shooting their films or just songs on foreign lands. A few covered Europe and a few went to the East (Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and even as far as New Zealand)
This other director, the father of a popular actress, had a patriotic idea and filmed a song on the grounds of the Great Taj Mahal, not in daylight but at night with the shadows of a full moon. This proved to be a delight for many of those who had never dreamed to see this, one of the seven wonders of the world, under moonlight.
In one 1973 film another director showed his hero piloting and singing on a small aircraft while wooing his dream girl.
Yah! before I forget… Another director also captured a song where by a disabled character of his 1980 movie was singing a song on a manual hand driven cart.
Among all these picturizations of songs based on different modes of transformation and communication, my vote goes to a director who way back in 1949 introduced a song, not on a moving mode of communication but a stationary one. He made his characters sing a song together while they were far apart. Viewers were amazed on the picturization of the song. In 1952 another Director followed the suit, and eight years later in 1960, a six time Filmfare award winner director used the same technique.
In 1964 the same form was used by a different director and 29 years later in 2003 another young director, the son of a retired famous director used the same method. Only this time the twosome weren’t young love birds, but an elderly married couple.
By now you must have gathered what that mode of communication was.
Yes… a telephone.
I assume you may have guessed the names of the directors, but if anyone needs any hints, the names are below, in random order.
Ravi Chopra
Shakti Samant
S S Vasan
Nasir Hussein
Subhash Ghai
Ram Mukherjee
Bimal Roy
Khwaja Ahamed Abbas
Mehboob Khan
H S Rawail
Yash Chopra
Pramod Chakravati
Ramesh Sippy
Hats off to all those innovative directors and technicians of Indian Film Industry.
The link below will take you to watch the maiden 1949 telephonic filmy song. It is widely watched video on YouTube.
This 2nd link is related to the former:
This was truly an unforgettable golden era of music in Bollywood.
Happy viewing and listening.
A K Bagha.
