Posted on Trivia -The Spice of Life on 03/02/2024
A lot has been written about Hindi songs that were recorded but never made the final cut. O.P.Nayyar perhaps has the most number of such musical gems that did not find a place in the films that they were made for.
One O.P.Nayyar song which falls in this category that needs to be put in perspective is from the film Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962). The song is Main Pyaar Ka Raahi Hun – penned by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan; the playback singers were Md.Rafi and Asha Bhosle. This is a beautiful duet set to Raag Kirwani where the lady love is unsure about whether her lover will really walk the talk. The lack of commitment unsettles her. The song is evergreen. It is played very frequently on radio channels. The mesmerizing voices of the singers and the wonderful tune of the song leave the listener asking for more. Only the audio version of this song is available. Did you ever wonder why?
But before I dwell on that I must focus on the trivia associated with the song which simultaneously highlights the idiosyncrasies as well as the genius of O.P.Nayyar. O.P.Nayyar was a stickler for time and since the percussionists did not arrive on time, he decided to record this song without any percussion instruments (like the tabla & dholak). This is why the song can boast of being one where there is only melody and no rhythm. This is unique only to this song (in the film) because all the other songs have rhythm used generously. In fact, the dholak is even sported in one of the songs – Bahut Shukriya, Badi Meherbani. This still does not explain why the song was not a part of the film. In order to understand this, one needs to focus on the lyrics as they are sung.
Main pyaar kaa raahee hoon
teri zulf ke saaye mein
kuchh der thehar jaaun
tum ek musaafir ho
kab chhodke chal dogey
ye sochke ghabaraaun
main pyaar kaa raahee hoon
tere bin jee lage na akele
ho sake to mujhe saath le le
naazneen tu nahin jaa sakegee
chhodkar zindagee ke jhamele
naazneen....
naazneen tu nahin jaa sakegee
chhodkar zindagee ke jhamele
jab bhi chhaaye ghataa
yaad karnaa zaraa
saat rangon ki hoon kahaani
main pyaar kaa raahee hoon
...
pyaar ki bijliyaan muskuraayen
dekhiye aap par gir na jaayen
dil kahe dekhtaa hi rahoon main
saamne baithkar ye adaayen
haay
dil kahe
dil kahe dekhtaa hi rahoon main
saamne baithakar ye adaayen
na main hoon naazneen
na main hoon mahjabeen
aap hi ki nazar hai deewaani
main pyaar kaa raahee hoon
...
Anyone who listens to lyrics of songs intently, will surely find something amiss here. The highlighted lyrics above sung by Asha show that these have been interchanged while singing. As a result of this, in the antaras, there is no link between Rafi’s lines and those of Asha. How the lines got mixed up and who was responsible for the slipup is not clear. Moreover, no one noticed this gaffe till the song was to be picturized. But by then it was too late as the film had to be released. Thus, the song could not make it to the film. This is one of the best duets of O.P.Nayyar which still rules our hearts so much so that not many have noticed it and even if we have, the slipup is just too insignificant when compared to the genius and talent of all those associated with it. This kind of trivia only gives us another reason to enjoy the song. The official reason for the axing of the song was the inordinate length of the movie.
Fortunately, because of the technological advancement in editing, both the versions of the first antara – the original mixed-up one and the corrected one using modern technology – are now available on YouTube. The corrected one helps to build the connect between the lines of Rafi and Asha. All in all, this is a wonderful romantic duet which is extremely popular.
Disclaimer
anitamultitasker.wordpress.com, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube/ Daily Motion and other platforms only to make the post audio-visual. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.
Trivia 
Yeah!
I knew about it.
But still reading the post was interesting.
Anup
🙂
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Thanks for reading and finding the post interesting, Anupji!
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Anita,
This is a wonderful story. You have posted the original video with mixed up stanzas. I wish they had included it, no one would have noticed anything amiss. Or they could have reshot that scene.
I was an admirer of Vinod Dua from his DD days. He and Prannay Roy introduced the science of Psephology in India. Later I came across Vinod Dua-Chinna (Dr Padmavati) Dua’s singing talent, courtesy YouTube. One of the songs they have sung is this song (the correct version). Sad their lives were cut short early.
AK
<b>Main pyar ka rahi hun</b> by Vinod Dua and Dr Padmavati Dua
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AKji, thanks for finding the trivia interesting. Actually, this song was never shot. The YouTube video is very deftly done. The visuals are of another song of the movie – Aap Yun Hi Agar Humse.
As regards Vinod Dua, I also remember his show Parakh on DD which like Surabhi used to come up with very interesting stories on culture and society. The couple was extremely talented.
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