Barsaat ki Raat is a wonderful movie which you will enjoy and have an amazing musical education to the world of Qawwalis through it.
"Naa toh karvan ki talash hai,
Naa toh humsafar ki talash hai"
This evergreen Qawwali is the reason I watched the whole 1960 film Barsaat Ki Raat starring Bharat Bhushan and Madhubala with the beautiful songs voiced by Mohammed Rafi.
The whole Sufi vibe and the background of Qawwali competition brings this movie its character. In the middle of the film is a beautiful and simple love story combined with evergreen songs.
Qawwali is a type of Sufi devotional music where the Qawwals sing songs for the Allah, the one true God. They were usually performed at the Dargahs or resting places of Sufi saints but now they have spread and contests and performances are done. The Qawwali is performed in Mehfil-e-sama with the audience. The Qawwali don’t only have Arabic or Persian lyrics but a variety of local languages like Punjabi and Hindi. Sufism is credited with bringing religious reforms and bringing together all the religious people to worship the undivided god.
THE PLOT
The plot of the film is quite simple. The daughter of an inspector falls in love with a poor poet. What to note here is the women actually falls in love with the voice of the poet who is singing his creation on the radio. During a rainy night or Barsaat ki Raat afterwards there is a meet cute between the poet and the woman and it is love at first sight. Naturally, they are opposed by her father because the job of a poet is not profitable or permanent. The poet also writes for a Qawwali group who participates in competitions. One of the main vocalist is also in love with him but it is a one-sided love. The whole story comes together in the final qawalli showdown with my favourite scene of Naa toh Karwa Qawwali playing in full gusto.
Directed by P.L Santoshi, this film became the highest box office hit of 1960. Madhubala stars as shy and lovestruck Shabnam and Bharat Bhushan as confident Aman Hyderabadi, a poor poet who falls in love with the lady he met during a rainy night whilst he was searching for inspiration and Shyama as Shama, the lead vocalist of the Qawwali group who is in love with Aman. A fun trivia is this film was cowritten by Bharat Bhushan himself.
THE EVERGREEN MUSIC
This is one of Roshan's best music album with lyrics by the legend Sahir Ludhianvi. Usually in Bollywood films music is for fun or in the side but for this film music occupies a central position. The songs in this film are important for the story to move on. The song Barsaat ki Raat where Aman and Shabnam, meet for the first time is an ode to first love. The title song Barsaat ki Raat is beautifully sung by Mohammed Rafi whoses silky voice is a delight to the ears.
The following lines in Naa toh Karwa ki Talaash hai:
'Jab jab krishhn ki bansi baaji
Nikali raadhaa saj ke
Jaan ajaan kaa maan bhulaa
Ke lok laaj ko taj ke'
Meaning, when the sound of Krishna’s flute is played , beautiful Radha comes out in search of it without a care about the society or people. This is important as at this cue, Madhubala enters the Qawwali competition like Radha, when Bharat Bhushan is singing,without thinking about the people or her father who has decided to get her married to some other person. She has come just out of sheer love.
The movie beginning with Garjat Barsaat Sawan Aayo sets the whole movie in a beautiful rhythm.
Good music is desperately needed especially in a Bollywood film which are predominantly musicals. Music in itself soothes the ears and conveys a lyrical story to you, It sets off a film! There have been instances in Bollywood where because of the music film became a hit like the 1990 film Aashiqui whose plot according to me is not at all strong but the music is so good that it became a sleeper hit. Many times, the filmmakers release the music earlier for promotion so that people come to watch a film. In this film the music is so much needed for the plot to move ahead as its based in and around a Qawwali competition. Hats off to Roshan for creating the best soundtrack for this film which has given us such wonderful songs.
WHY SHOULD YOU WATCH THIS?
People often don't want to watch a black and white film because they feel it is not modern enough or will have the usual boring plot. I disagree with this notion and I believe that one should definitely watch old movie because they have a different flavor to it. Even though some of them may have simple plot or show something that one can't relate too but that is its beauty. One studies the history to learn about our heritage and the past. Movies provide you so much information regarding the social condition, the lifestyle and the language of that time. It provides you with mindblowing original music which you lack now in the times of very awful remixes.
Barsaat ki Raat is a wonderful movie which you will enjoy and have an amazing musical education to the world of Qawwalis through it. It is one of my favourite films and I know that you will enjoy it so check it out in your nearest DVD store or on Youtube.