Aap ki nazaron ne samjha – Anpadh (1962)

Homebound? Listen to an extremely hummable, endearing and ever popular number put together by the genius and ‘prince of ghazals’ Madan Mohan. Primarily raag darbari based, the lilting composition would have been a tough one to sing even for the legendary Lata Mangeshkar.

Aap ki nazaron ne samjha pyaar ke kaabil mujhe
Dil ki ae dhadkan theher ja mil gayee manzil mujhe
Aap ki nazron ne samjha

Ji hamein manzoor hai aapka ye faisla
Keh rahi hai har nazar banda paravar shukriya
Hans ke apni zindagi mein kar liya shaamil mujhe
Aap ki nazron ne samjha

Aapki manzil hoon main meri manzil aap hain
Kyon main toofaan se daroon mera saahil aap hain
Koi toofanon se kah de, mil gaya saahil mujhe
Aap ki nazron ne samjha

Some compositions are beyond sweet and melodious! This composition is definitely one of them. An evergreen melody and raag-based composition, the lovely number stands out and needs no major accompaniments. The evergreen maestro – Madan Mohan – who preferred raag-based sad songs had many such endearing melodies to his name in the 1950s, 60s and the 70s. He was even brought ‘alive’ by his son, Sanjeev Kohli, in the 2004 musical Veer Zaara by using some of his beautiful unused tunes (read: http://shailendra19.com/2018/02/09/tere-liye-hum-hain-jiye-veer-zaara-2004/). The number also has some lovely wordsmithing by the one and only Raja Mehdi Ali Khan who happened to work with Madan Mohan for many successful film scores including Madhosh, Mera Saaya (with unforgettable songs like Tu jahaan jahaan chalega, Jhumka gira re, Aap ke pehlu mein aakar, Nainon mein badra chhaaye), Woh Kaun Thi (Lag jaa gale, Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim). There is an interesting piece worth reading on the multi-faceted composer (who was an Army man, a great cook and a fanatic sports enthusiast all rolled into one!) Madan Mohan and highlights his greatness as a composer and a human being (read: https://web.archive.org/web/20140715011401/http://www.indiainfoline.com/Lifestyle/Smart-Gadgets/An-Eternal-Composition-called-Madan-Mohan/3981824). If interested further, you can go to his website, http://www.madanmohan.in/, that his son Sanjeev Kohli has put together. I also really like another popular raag-based number from this film – Jiya Le Gayo Ji Mora Sanwariya also sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Aap ki nazron is an evergreen number has superb mass appeal and is loved by music-lovers across generations. You may find your grandparents hum it along with their new-age grandchildren! Extremely beautiful, hummable and an epitome of how romantic film compositions should sound like. Love you for this, Madan Mohan and Lata Mangeshkar!