#333

        Song:   Ek baat kahoon mere piya
                Sun le agar tu
                Jab dil mein nahin paap
                To phir soch na kar tu

        Film:   Amar (1954)
        Singer: Asha Bhosle
        Music:  Naushad
        Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
        *ing:   Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nimmi

One of those songs I can't sit still while  listening  to...   in
addition  to a lovely tune and great lyrics, this one has a truly
infectious rhythm. Picturized as a dance sequence on Nimmi,  this
melody  gets  somewhat lost in the aura of the many Lata beauties
that abound this soundtrack, but it leaves its mark !

The song comes at  a  rather  critical  juncture  in  the  movie,
minutes  before  the  big  turning  point-  the  sexual assault ;
probably one of the most sensitively  portrayed  rape  scenes  in
movie  history. Though the film was not a huge commercial success
because of the Dilip Kumar's negative character which the  public
wasn't ready for, the movie nevertheless is a masterpiece, a deft
handling of a bold theme way ahead of its times...   it  remained
one of Mehboob's favorites.

An interesting anecdote associated with this song - Madhubala was
often  prone  to  fits  of  uncontrollable  laughter on the sets,
sometimes  unprovoked,  and  totally  unintentional.  During  the
filming  of  this  dance sequence, Nimmi had some trouble getting
some steps  right,  which  triggered  off  a  laughing  spasm  in
Madhubala...  so  much  so  that  they  had  to call it a day and
complete the shot the next day. Though Nimmi was initially a  bit
offended  (with  good reason), Madhubala apologized, they patched
up quickly and laughed it off. Nigar  Sultana,  on  the  sets  of
Mughal-e-Azam,  however  was not as understanding as Nimmi when a
similar incident occurred, and  apparently  even  today,  decades
after   the  incident  with  Madhubala  long  gone,  she's  still
unforgiving.








Guest Author: Hrishi Dixit