Legendary music composer Naushad Ali needs no special introduction. The music composter was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, as well as Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Hindi cinema. After kickstarting his journey in 1940 with Prem Nagar, he was associated with numerous films in his illustrious career spanning over six decades.
He has worked with some of the finest directors of his era to churn out a host of classic songs. However, did you know that Naushad Ali had turned down director C.V. Sridhar’s offer of composing the music for the blockbuster film Saathi?
Saathi was the official remake of the hit Tamil film Palum Pazhamum. The music of the Tamil film was scored by M S Viswanathan and Ramamurthy. When Naushad Ali heard the original film’s songs, he was mesmerised by the work of the composer-duo. He then wrote a letter to Sridar, in which he expressed that he won’t be able to recreate the same magic as Viswanathan and Ramamurthy in the remake of Palum Pazhamum. However, he later accepted the request of composing Saathi’s music only at Viswanathan’s request.
The lyrics for Saathi’s songs were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The film, as well as its songs, were received well by the audience. Some of the iconic tracks of this 1961 film are loved by fans even today. Let’s take a look at some of the euphonious compositions from Saathi:
1. Aankhen Khuli Thi
Aankhen Khuli Thi remains to be popular among the masses to date. Mukesh’s melodious vocals in the song successfully managed to tug at audiences’ heartstrings. The heartfelt lyrics of this Hindi song were also lauded by everyone.
2. Husne-e-Jaana
Husne-e-Jaana was also sung by Mukesh while its lyrics were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The on-screen chemistry of Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar was lavished with immense love by viewers back then.
3. Mere Jeevan Saathi
Lata Mangeshkar had lent her mellifluous vocals to Mere Jeevan Saathi. The song was filmed on Simi Garewal in the film.
Saathi narrated the story of a doctor, who works hard on conducting research for cancer treatment. His journey is marred with a lot of challenges. In the process of research, he first loses his wife, followed by his vision. The poignant storyline of Saathi was successful in striking a chord with the masses. Abrar Alvi had penned the dialogues for Sathi while it was produced by Venus Pictures.
