Tango

Aar-Paar starring Guru Dutt, Shyama, Shakila and Johnny Walker

It is about some vintage shots of Bombay and its Hillman taxis, some popular locales that create nostalgia unparalleled as you crave for those wonderful times when outdoor shots did not have members of the audience craning to enter the frame, when music was supreme and truly melodious, and films truly entertaining!

When you have Mohammad Rafi, Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum crooning to the lilting tunes of a master composer like O.P. Nayyar, do you really need notable names for the film to be a success? “Aar-Paar” belonged to that category. It rode strongly on the strength of its unforgettable music and it hardly mattered that the movie was produced and directed by the legendary Guru Dutt. It would have been a hit anyway, thanks to O. P. Nayyar!

The Hindi film industry has produced some grand musicals over the years, movies where the singers and composers have been accorded the stage to demonstrate their art in its purest form. It was portrayed dramatically in 1954, a year that saw Naushad creating classical magic in “Baiju Bawra” and O. P. Nayyar dishing out some sensational stuff which drew inspiration from western music.

Guru Dutt did not have an arresting script but he knew where to dig for success. It lay in hiring O. P. Nayyar, who came up with the first big hit of his film career. “Aar-Paar” was an out and out O. P. Nayyar movie. The eight songs that marked this superb comedy topped the charts during their times and have remained evergreen even today when cacophony means hit music. The remix devils have not spared this movie too. Watch the original “Elo Mai Haari Piya” (Guru Dutt at the wheel and Shyama wooing him) and the pelvic swinging remix to know the difference between sublime and its crass imitation.

Some movies do not qualify to merit awards but “Aar-Paar” was different. It got no award but won countless hearts with its music. The performances by all the artists were flawless even as O. P. Nayyar displayed his range, so strikingly captured in the vigorous “Sun Sun Sun Zaalima” (Rafi-Geeta Dutt) and then later in the sad version of the same song… “Jaa Jaa Jaa Jaa Bewafa” by Geeta Dutt.

Shamshad Begum launches the musical journey with a stunning “Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar” and Geeta Dutt joins in with “Babuji Dheere Chalna”….The music lover in you has just about warmed up. There is “Elo Mai Haari Piya” to keep you engaged, followed by “Hoon Abhi Mein Jawan”….Two songs in succession are a treat – “Mohabbat Karlo Jee Bharlo” (by Rafi) and a duet by Rafi and Geeta Dutt (“Arre Na Na Na Na Tauba Tauba”).

A simple plot was put to test by some uncomplicated acting. Kalu (Guru Dutt) is released from jail for a driving offence and finds a job at a garage. He falls in love with Nikki (Shyama), the daughter of the garage owner (Jagdish Sethi) but soon loses his job for the latter disapproves of the affair. Desperate to impress his prospective father-in-law, Kalu unsuspectingly ends up driving a taxi for a small time don (Bir Sakuja). The movie ends on a happy note when Kalu unites with Nikki after helping the police bust the gang.

Guru Dutt’s is controlled in a light-hearted role of a taxi driver. The beautiful Shyama and the gorgeous Shakila, who plays a dancer’s part with perfection, have two songs each. And then there is Johnny Walker, with a trademark Rafi song reserved for him, and a teenaged Jagdeep providing some light moments.

But the movie is about none of them. It is about Majrooh Sultanpuri’s lyrics and O. P. Nayyar’s tunes; and of course, Rafi and Geeta Dutt. You just cannot press the fast forward button for any of the songs and therein rests the beauty of “Aar-Paar”. You can watch it solely for its music.