This article is in appreciation of the song Ho Sake Toh Dil Ke Badale sung by Rafi Sahab for Aladdin And The Wonderful Lamp. © mohdrafi.com.

Imagine how wonderful it would be to be able to change your destiny, to rise above the rest and do the impossible. That is exactly how Aladdin must have felt. Most people are not even aware of the movie Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp. It was made in 1952 and stars Meena Kumari as the beautiful princess and Mahipal as the legendary Aladdin.

Created 55 years ago, this movie has managed to capture the old world charm of this fable. One song, in particular, really does the trick-it is titled Ho Sake Toh Dil Ke Badale… it is picturized in the castle when Aladdin and his sidekick sneak into the palace and spend an enchanting time professing their love for their respective dream girls. They weave a fantasy and cocoon themselves in the fabulous paradise they create for themselves. The song transports you to another place- where there are no worries, no differences and no barriers- only love and joy.

The characters are in a very pivotal spot in this song. Aladdin, as well as his sidekick, are trying to express their love for the princess and her confidante respectively. As expected, though they are equally attracted to them, the women don’t admit it as readily and feign ignorance and disinterest. Doing this, they give us a song which we can enjoy and sigh at. The lead pair is more emotionally inclined whereas the sidekicks provide the humorous angle in love and the light hearted banter that comes with the package.

The lyricist- Ramesh Pandey has been a part of this Utopia and has put the emotions of two people, newly fallen in love, into words. Aladdin’s trusted friend and helper is the one who starts the whole process of getting his woman to agree to his love. The way he implores her to accept him, the words are fabulous.

Then we see Aladdin (Mahipal) and the beautiful princess (Meena Kumari) in an enchanted balcony and he is singing about her gaze, which can drench a man in a rain of passion. She, being aware of her mystical beauty, counters his advances. The song further elaborates his frustration of not having the woman of his dreams and the mood subtly changes to her coming around to finally admit that she is as enamored as him. The lyrics are apt and compelling- with romance as well as humor, which is provided by the second lead pair.

Music and lyrics are the same side of the same coin and one is incomplete without the other. Here, the music created by S.N . Tripathi blends into complete synchrony with the lyrics. It has an Arabic feel to it, which adds to the character of the film and strengthens this fairytale. Like the lyrics, it flows from being intense to being light hearted.

The singers- Mohd Rafi and Shamshad Begum give excellent performances as the voice of the lead pair- cajoling, shying and admitting at the right time. These two professionals have given some wonderful treasures to the film industry and this is one of them. Asha Bhosle and Chitragupt too have done an amazing part, cleverly balancing the song to make it light hearted.

In all, it is a titillating song and helps those still to experience love by giving them a preview and those who already have, great nostalgia.

This blog was published on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 8:26 am and Last modified on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 2:41 pm and is filed under Video Songs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.