Geeta Dutt - Musical Association with Various Composers

(1930 - 1972)

Khemchand Prakash

Khemchand Prakash (1907-1950) (or Khem ji, as he is fondly called by music lovers) was one of the greatest music composers in Hindi film industry. He belonged to Sujangarh (Rajasthan). He made his debut in 1939 and was soon signed up by the prestigious Ranjit Film Studio. He had few peers in 1940s, one of the best decades for Indian film music. The most popular score of Khemchand Prakash came in the form of music for the film Mahal (1949) with Lata singing "Aayega aanewala" .

Geeta Dutt sang for him as early as 1947 for the film Gaaon. It was a patriotic duet with established singer Mukesh (“Watan ki maati haath mein lekar”). After three years, Khem ji composed music for Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrer Jaan Pehchan. All the female songs of this film were sung by Geeta Dutt and each of those six songs is a masterpiece on its own.

The most popular song from Jaan Pehchan is a dream sequence duet with velvet voice Talat Mahmood. “Arman bhare dil ki lagan tere liye hain” is a charming and soft romantic duet, probably one of Geeta’s top ten duets.

Lyricist Shakeel Badayuni has imaginatively woven the names of the leading actors in the song :

Geeta : Kyon pyar ki duniya mein na ho Raj Hamara
Kyon na ho Raj Hamara

Talat : Hain dil ko teri Nargis i aankhon ka saharaa
Teri aankhon ka saharaa..

Geeta had already become the voice of Nargis by 1950 (with success of films like Darogaji and Jogan). In the song “Pardesi se lag gayi preet re”, one can feel that it is Nargis who is singing! This is the best song of the album and is a must listen. The sincerity in Geeta’s voice in the song “Aaoge na saajan aaoge na, kismat ko meri banaoge naa” can be felt even some time after listening to this beauty. Clearly Jaan Pehchan had the best of Geeta before Baazi happened.

The famous playback singer Manna Dey completed the music score of his few films after the untimely death of Khemchand Prakash in 1951. Geeta sang another five songs for Shri Ganesh Janma (1951). The Shiv Bhakti song “Shivshankar daya karo dukh haro” was a regular on Radio Ceylone on the “Bhoole Bisare Geet” program.

In spite of just one (extremely melodious) major album (Jaan Pehchan), Khem ji’s music has a great bonding with the voice of young Geeta Dutt.

List of songs sung by Geeta Dutt

Please note that this list may not be complete

Year	Song	Film	Co-Singer
1947	Watan ki maati haath mein lekar maathe tilak laga le	Gaon	Mukesh
1950	Aaoge na saajan aaoge na saajan	Jaan Pahechan	-
1950	Armaan bhare dil ki lagan tere liye hai	Jaan Pahechan	Talat Mahmood
1950	Dil mein ek hasrat	Jaan Pahechan	-
1950	Pardesi se lag gayi preet re	Jaan Pahechan	-
1950	Duniya muhabbat karne na degi	Jaan Pahechan	-
1950	Mera jiya ghabraaye tere chhote se gaaon mein	Bijli	-
1950	Naina milaake dil chheena	Jaan Pahechan	-
1951	Bhilanath re naiyya paar laganewaale	Shri Ganesh Janma	Manna Dey
1951	He laxminath aaj meri laaj bachao	Shri Ganesh Janma	-
1951	Mere bholenath mere bhole bhole nath	Shri Ganesh Janma	-
1951	O deepak ke sang jalta patang	Shri Ganesh Janma	-
1951	Shivshankar daya karo dukh haro	Shri Ganesh Janma	-

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