The Unhappy Bride / Groom Songs

Posted on Trivia – The Spice of Life on 01/08/2023

One of the best times for a song in a movie is when there is a marriage. The father is shedding tears making it the perfect time for a vidai geet. Then, there are the bride’s sahelis who are pulling her leg and giving her all kinds of advice during the various functions organized around the marriage such as mehendi and sangeet. The bride herself is very happy and is secretly enjoying all the attention, looking resplendent in all the finery.

But, when the marriage is against the wishes of the bride-to-be, more often than not because she is in love with some other gentleman, then is the time for the kind of songs that this post attempts to list. It is the lady’s lover who feels betrayed or helpless and thus sings in order to pour his heart out as she listens with a broken heart; the other scenario is where she herself sings melancholically; the third case is where there is a song in the background which voices the feelings of the bride.

The way our movies have been made, it is more often the bride who is shown in a song of this kind rather than the groom. We come across more unhappy brides singing; the unhappy grooms are few and far between. Many of the tragic love stories with star crossed lovers such as Lalila Majnu which were portrayed on celluloid had such songs. The lady would agree to the wishes of her parents and marry someone else on the condition that her lover’s life is spared. Sometimes, her lover would be unaware of this trade off and would sing a song accusing her of betrayal even as she left for her husband’s house. In other cases, while unhappily leaving in a palanquin(doli) for her in-laws place, she would sing melancholically in private. The lyrics of these songs too are rather heart -rending.

So here is the list of songs with heartbroken brides. Occasionally, there is a groom who is crestfallen at having to marry someone against his wishes.

1) Guzraa Hua Zamaana – Shirin Farhad (1956) – Tanvir Naqvi – S.Mohinder – Lata Mangeshkar. This is perhaps the most sublime composition of S.Mohinder. Madhubala, the heroine who featured in this song, also loved the way the song was composed and sung. In the song Madhubala, who is playing the role of the heartbroken Princess Shirin, decides to sacrifice her love to save her lover Farhad’s life. She gets married against her wishes. The grand cavalcade of camels accompanies Shirin who is sitting in the palanquin and voicing her feelings in this song. She equates her baraat (bridal procession) to her janazaa (funeral procession). The video version below also has the vocal prelude, which is omitted in many versions.

Bhool jaana meri wafaon ko
Bakhsh dena meri khataon ko
...Nikla mera janaaza meri baraat bankar
acchha hua jo tumne dekha na yeh nazaara

2) Gaye Ja Geet Milan Ke – Mela (1948) – Shakeel Badayuni – Naushad – Mukesh. This is a song that features in the movie at a juncture when Nargis is moving out of her maternal home after her marriage with a man who is not of her choice. Her lover – Dilip Kumar – who had gone to buy jewellery for the marriage does not return in time; due to societal pressure and a conspiracy hatched by the villain of the piece (Jeevan) she is compelled to marry another man. As her bridal procession moves out with her sitting in her doli devastated after circumstances have ruined her life completely, she hears her lover Dilip Kumar’s song. Dilip is returning home for his marriage thinking all is well. As their paths somewhat cross, Dilip Kumar is singing about the bride setting off for her groom’s house, perhaps inspired by the bridal procession that he sees, unaware of the fact that it is Nargis who is the bride who is setting off. The lines of the song are rather prophetic:-

lut na jaaye jeewan kaa deraa
mujhko hai ye gham
ham akele,
ye jag luteraa
bichhden na milke ham
bigde naseeb na banke
ye din jeewan ke
sajan ghar jaanaa hai

3) Rang Aur Noor Ki Baraat Kise – Ghazal (1964) – Sahir Ludhianvi – Madan Mohan – Md. Rafi. This is a ghazal sung by Sunil Dutt at the climax. Sunil Dutt is singing on the occasion of the marriage of his lover – Meena Kumari – to Rehmaan. He feels betrayed that Meena Kumari has refused to marry him. Meena Kumari, dressed as a bride, is drenched in tears as she has her own reasons for not marrying Sunil Dutt. Sunil Dutt comes up with hard hitting lyrics. The ending of the movie though is very humorous and must be watched to laugh heartily.

Surkh jode ki tab-o-taab mubaarak ho tujhe
teri aankhon ka nayaa khwaab mubaarak ho tujhe
main yeh khwaahish ye khayaalaat kise pesh karoon
ye muraadon ki haseen raat kise pesh karoon

4) Yaadon Mein Woh Sapnon Mein Hain – Swami (1977) – Amit Khanna – Rajesh Roshan – Kishore Kumar. Swami is another of Basu Chatterjee’s gems. It shows how there is a change of heart because of the patience of the spouse who is not the first choice of the wife. Shabana Azmi marries Girish Karnad unwillingly; in the marriage song which is played in the background, one can make out how she is just going through the motions lost in the thoughts of her lover. Kishore Kumar sings soulfully. This movie is also known for the thumri sung by Yesudas – Ka Karun Sajni – which also deals with the turmoil of the bride, who is not happy with her marriage.

5) Main Jagoo Saari Rain – Bahu Rani (1963) – Sahir Ludhianvi – C Ramchandra – Lata Mangeshkar. In this song is a bride who is taken aback after finding out on the night of their wedding that the groom is a simpleton. Mala Sinha is rather heartbroken and distraught. But as is the case in many a movie of this kind, she begins to understand the injustice meted out to her husband for he has been turned into a simpleton because of ill-treatment. She fights the family and all the evil doers and turns her husband into a confident and worldly wise man. Guru Dutt acts very well as the bhola bhaala husband.

Pheeki pad gayi chaand ki jyoti
dhundhle ho gaye deep gagan ke
so gayin sundar sej ki kaliyaan
so gaye khilte bhaag dulhan ke
khulkar ro len nain
sajan tum so jaao
main jaagoon saari rain
sajan tum so jaao

6) Sakhi Ri Likh De Piya ka Naam – Saaranga (1960) – Bharat Vyas – Sardar Malik – Suman Kalyanpur. Saaranga is yet another tragic love story where the heroine (Jayshree Gadkar) is compelled to marry another man though she is in love with Sadavriksh. When she sees no way of uniting with her lover, before she is dressed up as a bride, she consumes poison. As her sahelis are dressing her up, she asks them to write the name of her piya (in this case Sadavriksh and not her husband to be!?). She dies soon after the song is over without getting married.

Tu kyaa jaane
 janam janam ka
mujhko pyaar nibhaanaa
ho laal chunariyaa odh sakhi re
aaj sajan ghar jaanaa
...
raah kathin hai
 samay hai thodaa
door piyaa ka gaaon
sakhi ri
 likh de piyaa kaa naam

7) Zinda Hun Is Tarah Ki – Aag (1948) – Behzad Lucknowi – Ram Ganguly – Mukesh. This movie is difficult to sit through. I remember watching bits and pieces of it on television. This song sung by Mukesh is all about the pain that comes with separation. There is Kamini Kaushal who is dressed as a bride and is shedding tears helplessly as Raj Kapoor is sitting under a tree in the night singing about his travails and lamenting the fact of being perpetually unfortunate. The music by Ram Ganguly is delightful.

8) Hota Raha Yun Hi Agar Anjaam – Malhaar (1951) – Indeevar – Roshan – Mukesh. Sung by an anguished lover upon his beloved getting married against her wishes to another man, this song is indeed moving. Shammi, who plays the bride, is defenceless. She marries against her wishes and is torn by conflict. The hero sets fire to his own house, it appears, as his lover gets married.

Sindoor ki laali hai kisi ke suhaag mein
jeete jee jal rahaa hai koi gham ki aag mein
is ke siwaa hogaa bhi kyaa anjaam wafaa kaa
legaa na zamaane mein koi naam wafaa kaa

9) Chal Diya Carvaan – Laila Majnu (1953) – Shakeel Badayuni – Ghulam Mohammad – Talat Mahmood. This melancholic song from another tragic love story is almost similar to the song from Shirin Farhaad above. Laila’s bridal procession with a cavalcade of camels has set off to her husband’s place. She is sitting in the doli feeling forlorn. An emotionally tormented Majnu is in tow and is singing this song which Laila hears and all she can do is feel all the more miserable. Laila, as in other tragic love stories, has married against her wishes. A very young Nutan plays Laila, with Shammi Kapoor a newcomer then playing the role of Majnu. It is rather difficult to imagine Shammi Kapoor as the tragic hero! In yet another song, which is a duet, are the following lines.[ I did not include this song as Nutan is not dressed as a bride though the lyrics are more apt].

...Aag mein phoolon kii duniyaa ne meraa tan rakh diyaa
ek murde ko sajaakar naam dulhan rakh diyaa
bol maalik ye tamaashaa tujhse kyun dekhaa gayaa
aasmaanwaale teri duniyaa se jee ghabraa gayaa

10) Neela Aasmaan So Gaya – Silsila (1981) – Javed Akhtar – Shiv Hari – Lata Mangeshkar. The title of my post says ‘Unhappy bride / groom songs‘. It was rather challenging to find a song where the groom is marrying against his wishes. But finally I zeroed in on this song from Silsila where everyone is unhappy – the bride, the groom and the groom’s lover. As Rekha sings in anguish when she learns that her lover is marrying someone else, Jaya Bacchan and Amitabh Bacchan are getting married. Both of them – the bride and the groom – look dejected and troubled. The marriage is only a compromise to save the honour of the family and support Jaya when she is going through a tough phase.

This brings me to the end of a list which is full of songs of heartbreak. But writing this post was a learning experience as I looked up many songs with marriage scenes and actually got a flavour of the way weddings and the concomitant rituals are performed in India and elsewhere. I would be happy if readers could add more songs – especially where the groom is shown as being unhappy. Why is the focus only on the bride?

Disclaimer

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