Bhupen Hazarika’s Record-Breaking Song ‘Dil Hoom Hoom Kare’ From Rudaali Had No Takers Initially
Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, known for his baritone voice and poetic lyrics, was celebrated for his folk music compositions. He created outstanding music for Rudaali, a film that initially struggled but later thrived. The song "Dil Hoom Hoom Kare" was particularly impactful. In the latest Lehren podcast, Hazarika discusses the song's controversy and record-breaking success.
Transcript
00:00gumsum gumsum nishayi maan ke dhagon se bun bun kar chadar nili layi
00:17bimur tamur nikha tijen mauna tar khutare boan
00:26akhani nila sadar
00:46Yeah, as I was telling, why people buy these pops, pops or whatever, I don't know, pop,
01:02so-called popular, some people call it not very refined, some people call it vulgar,
01:10some people, you see, I was in a trap in during Rudali, Rudali nobody took, you see, big big
01:22companies didn't take, because one song on some part of costume of a girl and another
01:34song related to bed, you see, sleeping bed of a couple were going so fast that very with
01:48lot of fear and apprehension, Dil Hum Hum Kare was put in the competition and it brought
02:00six crores of rupees, you see, six crores of rupees.
02:07And it was sung by Lata, Ashaji Lata, myself also one, which I never thought will be in
02:17the picture. So, some very important paper, Marathi paper wrote that why this is running,
02:29along with blouse and bed, why this is sold so much? An important writer on music, after
02:40his research, he has written that Bhupen Hazarika's, this album, Rudali's album came like
02:51light breeze. The blouses and the beds, you see, I have not been able to eat it up. Who
03:02have bought it? Six crore rupee, ka record kisne liya? Then this writer wrote that they
03:12are children from 18 to 22, whom I always say ke khali Engreji gaana gaate ho tum log,
03:18khali pop song gaate ho. They have bought it, because their parents have not bought
03:23it. Dil Hum Hum Kare, or Samay Odhire Chalo, or Dola, you see, Maula. So, he said that
03:33we, good composers, if we are good, then we must give to this younger generation something
03:41of our country also. We can be modern, in an Indian way, with respect to the soil of
03:48India. We can be Indian, you know. A Marathi tune, if I take and make it universal, I mean,
03:56it is a creditable thing. Don't forget your mother, when you make nude creations. Just,
04:05you see, all these great modern singers like Bing Crosby's and Nat King Cole's, Harry
04:11Belafonte's, have always been inspired by their folk songs, you see. And we, if we
04:18do not take classical ragas and raginis, which I have given in Rudali, all are in different
04:25ragas. Jyoti Murti Mitva, the rain song, you see, I have given rain raga. So, we have,
04:39instead of, instead of criticizing the young generation from 18 to 22, of forgetting us,
04:47we have also forgotten how to make it. The music directors are responsible. The people
04:52who buy them are responsible. They also will have to give their explanation, why do they
05:02buy certain type of songs, and not take certain type of songs, you see. That is my, and I,
05:14I don't have any fanatic idea, eternal melody will be eternally there. Only little forms
05:27will come here, jumping around, and then, when, in America, I have seen, in front of
05:32Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and others, when those early fifties. But new rock and roll
05:43came. And it died in New York itself. But it has been accepted in Kolhapur and Bengal
05:54and Assam's hills. Yeh ho jata hai. But while making new music, I should not, we shouldn't
06:04forget the roots. Keep a little. It will be all right.
06:11Daman kahi gaana jo.
06:13Yeah, Daman's one song. Please sing.
06:20It is an abstract poetry.
06:22Bimur tamur nikha tigen, mona tar khutare bowan, akhane nila sadar.
06:36Abstract is my night, woven by the threads of silence.
06:47This black night has become a blue chaddar.
06:52Where I am getting? Sagar of Alingan. I am getting embraced. Embracing, I am embraced
07:08by many embraces, you know. Bimur to. In Hindi, Amitabh has done.
07:19Gumsum gumsum nisha aayi, maun ke dhaagon se bun bun kar, chadar nili laayi.
07:36Kaamay na ki. Etcetera. Another special
07:47thing that we have done, at least I have done, is to confront newer boys and girls
07:58with new musical thoughts, as well as electronic media, which is becoming almost human.
08:08In this album, I have been helped by a little organization named Imagic, with three great
08:15brains. One is Anirban, another is Namita, another is Vivek. He is from Kerala.
08:30Our Anirban is from Bhutan or Bengal. Then
08:39Namita is from Bombay. They have done wonders. And I have also felt that they have
08:55respected the tradition, because they have accepted all the traditional musical
09:01instruments that we need in Indian classical. That also is there. But only difference is,
09:08I have been singing since my childhood. I have been coming to Bombay for Ashmis,
09:13Bengali recordings. Since Meenu Katra's days, I have been coming. But musicians today
09:24are so busy that they get only few hours to make a thing. And those days were
09:34beautiful when Narvekar used to play the song violin for one hour, and then he was
09:41recorded first. And then Lataji comes. But here, in one day, these electronic musicians
09:54have, with great maturity, have made the new things also classical. That's what I have found.
10:04With whom I have worked, I don't know about others. But right now,
10:13I have worked with the new generation, with new thoughts and new expressions.