'AND EVERY STOLEN GLANCE' features actress ANJUMAN the 'QUEEN of the PUNJAB' with 'SUPERHERO' SULTAN RAHI...GUINESS BOOK of RECORDS WINNER for ACTOR with MOST FILMS at 660 [!] together in a SLOW BHANGRA love song with the VOICE of 'NIGHTINGALE of PAKISTAN' NOOR JEHAN.[Click 'Show More' for full analysis] 'VE GHALAT SARI AAKH DI' is from 1985 PUNJABI FILM 'AKBAR KHAN'...the name of the fictional CLAN LEADER of the story. The song is a LATER movie with a slightly different STYLE of MUSIC and PICTURISATION. The songs took on a slower feel that were less FRENETIC than ANJUMAN'S earlier PERFORMANCES like movies 'QAIDI' or 'KEEMAT'. This may have been for two reasons, firstly that the HINDI 'NEW WAVE' CINEMA with wild LAVISH and WILDLY CHOREOGRAPHED songs of BHAPPI LAHIRI were going 'out of fashion' after playing out for three years in INDIA. LAHORE interpreted that 'DINTARA DINTARA' style in their own way and of course created ART that was WONDERFUL and NEW on the PAKISTANI SCREEN and UNLIKE LAHIRI'S BRILLIANCE in BOMBAY! The second reason for the change was of course, ANJUMAN'S increasing WEIGHT which eventually destroyed her career along with so many other PAKISTANI ACTRESSES from ANJUMAN and MUMTAZ in the PUNJAB plus MUSSARRAT SHAHEEN and more recently SIDRA NOOR who were both replaced in PUSHTO CINEMA by SLIMMER YOUNGER ACTRESSES. In the case of ANJUMAN, which is a really tragic case, it may be said that HAD ANJUMAN striven to KEEP HER FIGURE, her career may have gone on another TEN or FIFTEEN YEARS. We just need to look at the example of SLENDER actress of both BANGLADESHI and PAKISTANI screen SHABNAM. SHABNAM controlled her weight and health and was a DELICATE and RESPECTED HEROINE of URDU CINEMA for THIRTY YEARS. I think many wished that ANJUMAN had done the same as she was a PHENOMENON and so LOVED. Her MARRIAGE and RETIREMENT caused so much DISAPPOINTMENT in the PUNJABI FILM AUDIENCES but ANJUMAN'S subsequent return after divorce to LAHORE saw her even HEAVIER and even her loyal fans SHUNNED her new films which caused many in production to be SHELVED or replacement of ANJUMAN by a different LIGHTER actress like REEMA. 'VE GHALAT SARI AAKH DI' The SONG is the last 'batch' of LAHORIE FILMI NUMBERS that had FULL ACCOUSTIC ORCHESTRA before CHEAP KEYBOARD replaced the COST of MUSICIANS. The CINEMA was beginning to FAIL in PAKISTAN due a flood of VHS machines and VHS films that some commentators indicated that ZIA-ul-HAQ preferred to keep the people 'at home' and 'off the streets' particularly at night sitting in CINEMAS and 'talking' and 'meeting'. The VHS was supposedly used as a CONTROL of the PUBLIC and a kind of VOLUNTARY 'house arrest' or 'curfew' according to a number of POLITICAL ARTICLES written about the GOVERNANCE of 1980s PAKISTAN. What the people were going to do at the CINEMAS apart from enjoy films seems unclear? But it is worth mentioning that the FEATURED CULT ACTOR in most of the films, SULTAN RAHI, did move towards POLITICS in the 1990s nearing his RETIREMENT. RAHI'S popularity among the people and the cinema-going public was so strong. Any stand for PRESIDENT or PRIME MINISTER would ASSURE SULTAN RAHI of INSTANT SUCCESS and the VOTES of MILLIONS of PAKISTANIS. SULTAN RAHI was STABBED to DEATH on an isolated road in his car in 1993. No person was ever prosecuted for the crime. The MEDIA insist that SULTAN RAHI'S murder was NEVER PROPERLY INVESTIGATED. The MOTIVE and PERPETRATORS of the MURDER of SULTAN RAHI remain SPECULATION. 'AND EVERY STOLEN GLANCE' Sometimes ANALYSING these songs one wonders HOW SOMETHING SO SIMPLE can be SO EFFECTIVE? How can one WRITE a SONG with JUST MELODY and NO HARMONY and such MINIMAL MELODIC MOTIFS [small components tunes that make a melody or orchestration]. PLAYBACK SINGER NOOR JEHAN [1912-2000] The MELODIC SIMPLICITY and REPETITION is a STRIKING FEATURE of the song. The VARIABLE that maybe INJECTS the 'LIFE' into such a MINIMALIST COMPOSITION is the ABILITY of NOOR JEHAN is VARY the TONE and INFLECTION of each REPETITION to make the IMPRESSION of a FRESH APPROACH to the PHRASES. This ENGAGES the LISTENER and 'FLOATS' a song that maybe would not work well with another or average vocalist? NOOR JEHAN was a SEASONED PERFORMER and SPECIALIST in PUNJABI ENTERTAINMENT. Her BACKGROUND and LOVE of the PUNJABI shines through in her performances. NOOR JEHAN'S PERFORMANCE TOOK KIT: - Varying RESONNANCE [tone vibration area] from NASAL, THROAT and CHEST - DICTION by choosing to pronounce words in slightly different ways - BREATH CONTROL by raising and falling the BREATH PRESSURE under tones - DYNAMICS by changing the VOLUME from QUIET to SUDDEN STRESSES especially at the end of PHRASES, end of SECTIONS or on SPECIFIC WORDS - REGIONAL SASSY-NESS...adding her deep knowledge of PUNJABI LINGUISTICS - THEATRE she PROJECTS some THEATRE from her IMAGINATION like an ACTRESS - TIGHTENING the THROAT for EXTREME TONE

• published: 01 Oct 2013
• views: 190