Friday, December 4, 2009

M. S. Subbulakshmi’s Hindi Meera (1947)

This post first appeared in the PassionForCinema blog on December 3, 2009.

M. S. Subbulakshmi as Meera I have some memories associated with my old VHS tape of the 1947 Hindi version of the 1945 Tamil film Meera that is synonymous with M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916-2004). The year was 1991. Rajiv Gandhi had been assassinated on May 21. Sometime in the next couple of days or so, Doordarshan, in a gesture of magnanimity reserved for such somber occasions, paid homage to the departed soul by screening Chandraprabha Cinetone’s Hindi Meera—which, for some reason, unlike its Tamil original, is not easy to come by.

As a schoolgirl, for me—as for many others, undoubtedly, in keeping with Shakespeare’s “whining schoolboy … creeping like snail unwillingly to school”—the death of a famous political leader usually meant a sudden holiday, much welcomed especially if it was the postponement of a dreaded test or assignment. Some things never change. (Of course, Rajiv Gandhi’s death occurred during the summer vacation—I had just finished Std. XI—so it was certainly a lost holiday opportunity for whining school goers.)

The other thing about such deaths was that one could be fairly sure that Doordarshan would be inclined to broadcast vintage devotional or mythological films—essentially, classics that would stir the soul. Likewise, All India Radio would offer quite a musical bonanza, with rare recordings of devotional songs, bhajans, and classical music—which were all certainly not easy to come by on an ordinary day. And, of course, the melodious but sad strains of a shehnai vaadan (usually by Ustad Bismillah Khan) could be heard wafting through the neighborhood TVs and radios that would all be on, in anticipation of any announcements or updates.

For the avid vintage-films/vintage-music collector in me, this was the time for some serious recording work. Armed with enough blank audio and video tapes, and with both the TV and the radio on side-by-side, I would assume the role of watchdog (and a pugnacious one at that, if anyone interrupted), keeping my eyes and ears open for any vintage treasures that were on the way. And that is how I acquired my precious copy of the Hindi Meera, directed by Ellis R. Dungan (1909-2001), the American from Barton, Ohio, and co-written by Kalki Krishnamurthy, the legendary writer and freedom fighter (1899-1954).

Meera, with nearly twenty exceptionally melodious songs, all vying with each for best song, is one of those films that one can never have one’s fill of. The music for the Hindi version was inspired by the famous musician-intellectual of the time Dilip Kumar Roy (1897-1980) and composed by S. V. Venkatraman, G. Ramanathan, and Naresh Bhattacharya. (So far I have not been able to find accurate information about the three music directors, which just shows how wanting the documentation is in this area; I did read in a few places though that S. V. Venkatraman was an underrated composer. That is hard to understand, given the melody of the songs here.)

I really don’t want to sound clichéd, but M. S. Subbulakshmi is, cinematically and musically, quite the personification of Meera. When I think of or read Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Sir Laurence Olivier’s brooding face (from his 1948 film) comes to mind. When I think of Meera or listen to her bhajans, the inner eye, by default, equates Meera with M. S.—although I have seen and listened to other adaptations of the story of this 16th century Rajput princess. M. S.’s interpretation of Meera is one of those rare things that one can rely upon when one is down on one’s luck in the world; it is quite the panacea for life’s wear and tear.

The film starts with Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) introducing “Subbulakshmi of the South to the people of the North”—and to the world. It is a spellbinding introduction of a spellbinding artist, from one of modern India’s great literary voices, effortlessly lyrical and heartfelt. Clip 1:



The film tells the story of Meera’s single-minded devotion to Lord Krishna. A reluctant queen who sings the praises of Krishna, she is loved by the common people who call her Meera Maata, but criticized by the palace bigwigs for her unworldly ways. After many a trial and tribulation, Meera finally attains self-realization at the shrine of her beloved Dwarkanath.

Legend has it that Meera, as a child, fell in love with an idol of Krishna that was brought to her house by a holy man called Rupa Goswami. In the following scene, Radha Sadasivam (M. S.’s step-daughter) plays little Meera, sitting on the lap of her grandfather, played by Durasiwamy (an actor who specialized in fatherly roles in Tamil and Telugu films, hence playfully referred to as Appan Duraiswamy by my father, who points out to me that Appan Duraiswamy would die usually coughing). Little Meera is entranced by Krishna’s idol, which for a moment turns into a charming Kumari Kamala—the quintessential Krishna of celluloid. Rupa Goswami appears to be Serukalathur Sama, a Carnatic vocalist who acted in many Tamil films, such as Sakunthalai (1940) and Gemini’s Nandanar (1942). Baby Radha and Serukalathur Sama are singing for themselves in this song. Clip 2:



One day, little Meera sees a marriage procession from her balcony and, when she wonders about it, is told that she will also marry when she grows up. Then and there, she makes up her mind that she will wed only Giridhar Gopal. Baby Radha sings “Nanda bala mora pyaara,” and over the course of the song, she transforms into M. S. in what is now regarded as a sequence unprecedented in Indian cinema. The technicalities are best explained in film historian Randor Guy’s words, which I quote:

“When the changeover takes place, there is a 45-second, fast-paced musical interlude by the background orchestra as bridge as part of the song. Normally such background musical interludes are recorded along with the song in a recording studio long before the shooting of the film commences. But Dungan did not do so. He shot the scene first and the changeover sequence consisted of a number of shots of the statue of Lord Krishna… lighted candles with flames flickering …flowers on trays… prayer offerings…. Krishna’s flute in the statue…and then a cut to a close-up of MS singing with great feeling and emotion, “Hey! Murali… Mohana…” The shots were static, and also on fast trolley in close-up. (There were no ‘Zoom lenses’ in 1944-1945!) Dungan edited them all by himself into a rapidly cut fast-paced sequence first, and then the sadly underrated but highly talented music composer, S. V. Venkataraman scored the background music, in rhythm with the shots in a recording theatre. The impact was ecstatic and brilliant.”

(Randor Guy, “Full of technical innovations,” The Hindu, December 17, 2004)

Clip 3:



After her marriage to the Rana of Mewar, Meera moves to the capital Chittor, where she leads the life of a householder in the eyes of the world only, for, at heart, she is wedded to Krishna. After fulfilling her daily responsibilities, she retreats into the world of Krishna. Clip 4:



Here is the only duet in the film, with Meera and the Rana (played by V. Nagaiah, the very versatile Telugu actor-singer-composer, among other things) strolling in the royal gardens, in happy times. It is a moonlit night, replete with fountains, lotus ponds, rose trees, doves, and graceful white swans—quite an enchanting zone. The Rana has just promised her that he will build a grand temple for Krishna, and Meera is overjoyed. Clip 5:



As Meera spends more and more time at the temple, immersed in the glories of Krishna, she invites the ire of the Rana’s family, who instigate the Rana against her. In one scene, Meera, in a state of spiritual ecstasy with cymbals in hand, takes to the streets of Chittor, with the crowd following her, in her famous “Chaakar raakho ji” song. When the news of Meera singing and wandering on the streets reaches him, the Rana is horrified at his minstrel queen. Clip 6:



The Rana expresses his displeasure to Meera, who then promises to make amends by being present at court by his side for a ceremonial occasion. The day happens to be a special day at the temple as well, but still Meera agrees to fulfill her queenly duties at the court. The day arrives—but at the last moment, when, as a heavily bejeweled queen, she is all set to leave for the court, she hears “Kaanha ki bansi” (Krishna’s flute) from the temple and, utterly overwhelmed, runs to the temple and bursts into a song. Meanwhile, at court, the Rana is anxiously awaiting Meera. There is a look of sarcasm on the faces of Meera’s chief detractors—namely the Rana’s sister (K. R. Chellam) and his younger brother Jayaman (T. S. Baliah, a popular villain). When the Rana hears about Meera’s lapse, he is furious and stomps into the temple, as the chorus builds up dizzyingly. Clip 7:



Jayaman, who hates Meera with all his heart, decides to kill her and persuades his trembling sister (who still has a spark of conscience) to give her poison. Meera drinks the prasad (or offering) laced with poison that her sister-in-law brings her. The poison does not affect Meera; instead, the presiding deity at Dwarka turns blue and the doors close, much to the shock of the devotees there.

Meanwhile, hearing about Meera, people from all over flock to see her. And thereby hangs another tale. Supposedly, Akbar, the Mughal emperor at the time, accompanied by Mansingh, traveled all the way from Delhi to Chittor in disguise to see and listen to Meera, with an offering of a pearl necklace for Krishna’s idol. In this scene, Meera enters the temple with her tanpura and sings the captivating “Main Haricharanan ki daasi”—if I have to choose my favorite song in the film, it is this. Clip 8:



A suspicious Jayaman accosts the two visitors from Delhi, who, in their hurry to flee, accidentally leave behind an item that bears the stamp of the Mughal empire. Jayaman promptly reports this to the Rana and interprets this as a sign of the Mughals spying on Mewar. The Rana is enraged and, at the goading of his brother, orders the temple to be torn down. A triumphant Jayaman marches with the soldiers to the temple and tells all the Krishna devotees gathered there, including Meera, to leave. They refuse, convinced that Krishna will come to their rescue.

A mocking Jayaman orders the canon to be fired—at that very moment, in the palace, the Rana’s sister who is convinced of Meera’s devotion, confesses to her brother that she tried to poison Meera, to no avail, and pleads with him to stop Jayaman from destroying the temple. When he hears about the plot to kill Meera, the Rana is shocked. He realizes his mistake and runs to the temple—but it is a little too late. The canon has been fired, and Meera has made up her mind to go her own way in her quest for Krishna.

Meera, with only her tanpura, sets out on the long, arduous journey to Brindavan, the place where Krishna spent his childhood. She faces many hardships on the way, but steadfastly moves towards her goal. Clip 9:



She finally reaches Brindavan, and all her tiredness vanishes. And here is another snippet. According to journalist Gowri Ramarayan, Dungan was “terribly worried” about shooting the “Yaad aavey, Brindavan ki mangala leela” song since the scene required a crowd to follow M. S., and the production had not arranged for that. The film’s producer Sadasivam (M. S.’s husband) confidently assured Dungan that the “crowd will turn up.” And, indeed that is what happened with the crowd “materializ[ing]” out of nowhere. (M S Amma: A Shy Girl from Madurai, Documentary directed by Swati Thiyagarajan, 2007) Clip 10:



When Meera reaches Rupa Goswami’s ashram at Brindavan, his disciples tell her that their teacher does not see women. Meera wonders aloud about this gender discrimination in the realm of Brindavan, in the realm of the all-pervading spirit of Krishna. Goswami hears this and comes out to see Meera, apologizing for his narrow mindedness. He recognizes her as the little girl to whom, long ago, he had given a Krishna idol.

With Goswami and his disciples, Meera leaves for Dwarka, where the doors of the shrine still remain closed. In the last song of the film, “Suno meri manovyatha,” Meera’s plea to Krishna is answered, as the temple doors unlock and Meera attains salvation. The repentant Rana comes to take Meera back with him—but he is late. Clip 11:



The film was shot entirely on location, with the cast and crew traveling to all the places associated with Meera, including Jaipur, Chittor, Udaipur, Brindavan and Dwarka. Randor Guy, in the same article I mentioned before, writes that M. S. became a “national celebrity” after the 1947 release of the Hindi version of the film—apparently, even the Mountbattens saw the film before they left India.

This December 11 will be M. S.’s 5th death anniversary.

Image credit: worldstuff.net

30 comments:

  1. I have been searching for meera hindi since many years and finally because of you i could get some songs. Can u give me the remaining songs too like more tho girdhar gopal....?

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  2. Swathi, the audio-video is out of sync in my copy of the "more tho giridhar gopal song"; hence I did not upload it. But anyway I will do so. And I will post the other remaining song as well (it is a chorus). Nivedita.

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  3. Is this movie available commercially? I have been looking for this for ages . Thank you for a fantastic article and for uploading.

    Sandip.

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  4. Dear Sir,

    I have been looking to get a copy of this movie. Do you where in India or Online it would be available?

    Thanks a ton!

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  5. Thanks for uploading these videos from 'Meera'

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  6. I have been searching for the HINDI version of M.S. Subbalaxmiji's MEERA , since years ..

    the reason is sentimental. My late Father Pandit Narendra Sharma ji has written / adapted all these HINDI songs for this MEERA version in HINDI.
    I've been away from INDIA & haven't returned home since past 12 years.
    I'll pay you if you kindly send me a copy of this rare Gem . I will forever be in your debt.
    My E mail is : lavanis@gmail.com
    &
    lavanyashah@yahoo.com
    Do read my POST on M.S.Subbalaxmi --
    http://www.lavanyashah.com/2009/07/blog-post_12.html

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  7. Fantastic!! Thank you very much for putting in the effort to make this page.

    Do you have the digital version of the entire movie with you?

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  8. I recently watched (for the n'th time) the Tamil film Meera.

    M.S. is Meera.

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  9. kindly upload Hindi version of this movie. May God bless you.

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  10. Please, please, please I beg you to up-load the entire hindi version of Meera. You will be doing a great service to humanity and baghat's of M.S. and as stated quite rightly above 'M.S. is Meera.'

    Jai Shree Krishna ji and Rajrani Meera ji!

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  11. I am doing a presentation on Mirabai: interpretations and adaptations. I was unaware of this masterpiece's existence. The movie in Hindi or Tamil remained untraceable for me online. But thank you for making the clips available on youtube and for the article here. This has been a great help.

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    Replies
    1. Glad that you found it useful. Good luck with your presentation.

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    2. Hey Lionel,

      I'm working on my dissertation on the same. Could you please help me with some methodological tools that helped you navigate the topic?

      Delete
  12. Iam A STRONG DEVOTEE OF LORD KRISHNA. i HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE ON THE SAME DAY AS YOY HAVE SEEN.I AM SEARCHING FOR THE MOVIE/ VEDIO SONG S FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS. KINDLY SEND A COPY OF WHAT EVER VEDIO IS AVAILABLE OR ENTIRE MOVIE TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS. i WILL PAY THE COST WHAT EVER MAY BE AMOUNT. B.MURALI SBIAGM (RTD) FLAT NO. 403 TARAJEET RESIDENCY, NARAYANAGUDA, HYDERABAD-500029. THANKING YOU IN ANTICIPATION. I WILL BE VERY THANKFUL IF YOU CALL ME ON THE FOLLOWING NOS. 8008701555, 04023261646

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  13. Please, I beg you to up-load the entire hindi version of Meera, whatever the condition of your VHS tape may be. I am in search of this movie for many many years. I will be ever grateful to you if you kindly upload the movie.

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  14. I am also looking for the hindi version of Meera with MS.Can any one say where I could get a copy as I am a very great fan of MS and would like to have it before my time is up as I have only heard the songs but yet to see the film.
    I come to India often and would be glad to collect it personally.
    P>.Satyamoorthy

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  15. I am an avid listener to all the Meera songs sung by the greatest singer of this world, MS Amma. I shall be indebted to anybody if he /she can supply me a CD/copy of Meera movie at any cost.

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  16. Madam, I have the tamil version of the film. but unable to get the Hindi version. But I believe that the scenes are almost identical. I had benefited enormously by your great uploads of Hindi Meera songs .Leaving out the songs , not by MS , in the beginning, 1) Murali Mohana 2) Hari Aavan ki avaz 3) Baso mere naiunanme 4) Ghan Shyam ayaa re 5) Giridhara Gopala 6) Brundhavana Kunja bavana 7) Chakar Rako ji 8) hey hare dhayala 9) maiyn hari charan ki 10) hum ne suno hari 10) more tho giridhara 11) dharas bina 12) yaadh aavae 13) kunjana vana chadi 14) ganga jamuna 15) suno meri manvyath . As there is not much dialog, listeners can get the experience of seeing the film. I have created a website https://sites.google.com/site/meera1947film. and placed all but 3 video clips ( pricesless clips at that). a) Nandabala b) BASO MERE c) MORE THO . Kindly have a look. I have acknowledged your great work . Can you please give me the ragams of all those songs? Awaiting your reply and of all lovers of MS Meera film and songs .. ( mss.pages@gmail.com)

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  17. google site
    meera1947film
    https://sites.google.com/site/meera1947film/home/video-clips-as-mp4

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  18. https://sites.google.com/site/meera1947film/home/the-story-from-niveditha-s-blog

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  19. Would love to se and hear the Hindi equivalent of "Katrinile Varun geetham" . Tks in advance!

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    Replies
    1. Madam, though the scenes are almost identical, songs in tamil version(1945) and those in Hindi version are different in ragams and tunes. Some are better in tamil version and some in hindi version.
      https://sites.google.com/site/meera1945tamil/home/video-links/02--kaatrinilae-varum
      ------------------------------------------------
      I am giving the details here for comparison.
      1) Nandabala ,Murali Mohana ( no change)
      2) Katrinile Varum Geetham, Hari avan ki avaz
      3) Enathu Ullamae (tamil), Baso Mere Nainan me
      4) Vinnum Mannum (tamil)-- Ghan Shyam Aayare
      5) Giridhara Gopala (no change)
      6) Yadhunandhana (tamil)....Brundhaavana Kinja Bavana
      7) Leelaikal seyvaane (tamil)....Chakar Rako ji
      8) Hey Hare Dhayala (no change)
      9) Maravene Ennaalilumae (tamil) ...Pag Gungru re
      10) Characharam (tamil) ....Mai hari charan ki Dhasi
      11) Aranga un makimaiyai (tamil) ...Hum Suno Hari
      12) Maraintha koondil (tamil) ... Moare tho Giridhara
      13) Udal Uruga (tamil).......Daras bina
      14) Andha naalum (tamil) .....Yaadh Aasvae
      15) Engum Nirainthaye (tamil) .... Kunjana Vana chadi
      16) Janardhana (tamil)...........Suno meri manvyaadh
      -------------------------------------------------------------

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  20. Vijaya Pushkarna......Madam, So very happy that there are discerning devotees of MS Amma. Look for ;05.- Hari aavan ki avaz' ' in
    https://sites.google.com/site/meera1947film/home/video-clips-as-mp4
    .. Do not miss the next gem of a song Baso Mere Nainan me' in Carnatic Kalyani ragam ( Hindusthani Yaman). Best Regards..If you know Hindi, you can help me by giving the rough translation of the MS bajan ( 1949)..Main nirguniya '. It is not a meera bajan but a separate record.

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  21. Please can you upload MEERA movie by MS. SUBBALAKSMI ji of hindi version if it is available.

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  22. Very glad to share my website 'homage to ms subbulakshmi'.
    https://sites.google.com/site/homage2mssubbulakshmi

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  23. Meera was originally made in Tamil and Meerabai did not write in Tamil, so Tamil to Hindi dubbing is based on my father Pandit Narendra Sharma’s literary inputs. Please give him credit for the same. worldhindicenter@gmail.com

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  24. Carnatic vocalist M.S.Subbulakshmi in her 1947 Hindi version of her Tamil film Meera. Music inspiration: Dilip Kumar Roy; Music direction: S.V.Venkatraman, G.Ramanathan & Naresh Bhattacharya. Lyrics: traditional (Meerabai) and adapted by Pt. Narendra Sharma. Produced by Chandraprabha Cinetone.

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  25. Can someone please tell me where to get the copy of the Hindi movie Meera from? Please please please do this service to humanity.

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  26. SriDurga madam,
    I am so happy that you are keen to see the classic full film Meera in Hindi ( 1947) .
    Lockily DhoorDarsan has placed the film in public domain.
    Kindly visit my website
    https://sites.google.com/site/homage2mssubbulakshmi
    The home page gives the links to the film prominently in the beginning of the home page.
    In case you have any problem, do write to me at
    rs.ramaswamy at gmail.com

    ReplyDelete