Tumsa nahin dekha

Yun toh humne lakh haseen dekhe hain
Tumsa nahin dekha
Ho, tumsa nahin dekha
Yun toh humne lakh haseen dekhe hain
Tumsa nahin dekha
Ho, tumsa nahin dekha

Uff ye nazar, uff yeh ada
Uff ye nazar, uff yeh ada
Kaun na ab hoga fida
Zulfein hain ya badaliyaan
Aankhe hain ya bijliyaan
Jaane kiss kiss ki aayegi kaza

Yun toh humne lakh haseen dekhe hain
Tumsa nahin dekha

Tum bhi haseen, rut bhi haseen
Aaj yeh dil bas mein nahin
Tum bhi haseen, rut bhi haseen
Aaj yeh dil bas mein nahin
Raastein khaamosh hain,
Dhadkane madhosh hain
Piye bin aaj humein chadha hain nasha

Yun toh humne lakh haseen dekhe hain
Tumsa nahin dekha
Ho, tumsa nahin dekha

Tum na agar bologe sanam
Tum na agar bologe sanam
Mar toh nahin jayenge hum
Kya pari ya hoor ho
Itne kyun magroor ho
Maan ke toh dekho kabhi kissi ka kaha

Yun toh humne lakh haseen dekhe hain
Tumsa nahin dekha
Ho, tumsa nahin dekha
Yun toh humne lakh haseen dekhe hain
Tumsa nahin dekha
Ho, tumsa nahin dekha

Movie: Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)
Director: Nasir Hussain
Singer: Mohammed Rafi
Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music Composer: O P Nayyar

Covid prevails and journeys derail. So, we’ve turned to travel (loosely interpreted) songs for the last quarter of the year. For me, September is all about the carts, horse- or bullock-drawn, that were once ubiquitous in Hindi cinema. And does it get peppier than this?! A charming lead pair and a just as adorable tangewallah whose real name I haven’t been able to figure out. The hero’s is not the kind of admiration one might appreciate from someone in real life, but this is a delightfully memorable song made all the more so by Mohammed Rafi. And of course, music by that tanga-maestro, OP Nayyar. This movie has some wonderfully hummable songs.

This song features Ameeta who seems to fit all the Bollywood standards of beauty but had an unfortunately short and relatively unremarkable career in the industry. In fact, this movie was to center her and the publicity focused on her, but it was Shammi Kapoor who benefited, becoming popular seemingly overnight. Apparently, a movie she did opposite Rajendra Kumar proved, similarly, to be his launchpad to fame while she languished largely unappreciated. Her daughter also had a blink-and-you-miss-it career in Bollywood. Different people, different journeys, so many ways to travel, so many destinations. ~ R