Sangam was one of the classics that The Greatest Showman of Indian Cinema, Mr. Raj Kapoor entertained us with in the 60s. Starring Kapoor, Vyjayanthimala, and Rajendra Kumar, the plot of the 1964 film was penned against the backdrop of a love triangle between Sundar, Radha, and Gopal and how their story unfolds. And its evergreen soundtrack was a cherry on the cake.
Now if you remember, Sangam featured a track which goes like, Yeh Mera Prem Patra Padhkar. Yeah the love letter song picturised on Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. Do you know how it was discovered by the makers? This Twitter thread will tell you a fascinating story behind its birth.
The thread posted by @Paperclip_In, which begins discussing about the 1964 film, also talks about how lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri met Raj Kapoor and also collaborated for the hit number.
‘Music of Sangam was a major success’
Released in 1964, Sangam was one of the biggest critical and commercial successes of Raj Kapoor’s career. The music of the film was also a major success. Read on to know about the fascinating story behind one of Sangam’s hit numbers (1/15) pic.twitter.com/20KEmoDKUp
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Born as Iqbal Hussain, Jaipuri had ‘poetry’ in his ‘genes’
Iqbal Hussain was born in Jaipur in 1922. Poetry was in his genes, the poet Fida Husain 'Fida' was his maternal grandfather from whom he received taalim in Urdu & Persian. By his teen years, Iqbal was into writing poetry. But soon, life would change (2/15) pic.twitter.com/42Z3fQFhrF
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Prithviraj Kapoor ‘spotted’ him at a mushaira event in Bombay
In the early 1940s, Iqbal came to Bombay in search of livelihood. He got a job as a bus conductor. To quench his creative thirst, he occasionally participated in mushairas. At one such event, Prithvi Raj Kapoor spotted him and was very impressed (3/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Prithviraj ‘recommended’ Jaipuri to his eldest son, Raj Kapoor
Kapoor recommended the young man to his eldest son Raj. Thus would begin a musical journey that would continue uninterrupted for the next 22 years (4/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Jaipuri became an ‘integral’ part of Raj Kapoor’s musical team
Iqbal Hussain would gain fame as “Hasrat Jaipuri” – his nom de plume – and become an integral part of Raj Kapoor’s musical team along with Shankar-Jaikishan and Shailendra (5/15) pic.twitter.com/ssxTtvc50M
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Now comes the story of Yeh Mera Prem Patra Padhkar:
Raj Kapoor gave ‘song-writing duties’ of Sangam to Jaipuri and Shailendra Singh
In the early 1960s, Raj Kapoor was working on the love triangle Sangam. As always, the songwriting duties of the film were to be shared by Jaipuri and Shailendra (6/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
And here, the reel and real love letter’s situation ‘merged’ together
One of the songs was in a situation where a shy young man sings about a love letter he has dared to write to his beloved. It was here that reel and real merged (7/15) pic.twitter.com/LpsvZo2BTF
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Jaipuri had composed the song as a poem for his teenage love, Radha
As a teenager in Jaipur, Jaipuri had fallen in love with a girl called Radha who lived in his neighborhood. But just like Rajendra Kumar’s character in Sangam, Jaipuri struggled to convey his feelings. So he had composed a poem for her (8/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Jaipuri narrated the main lines to Raj Kapoor and of course, he loved it
The lines went: “Yeh mera prem patra padhkar ke tum naraaz na hona, ke tum meri zindagi ho.” When Jaipuri narrated the lines to Raj Kapoor, the latter liked it immensely and asked Jaipuri to immediately compose the rest of the song (9/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
And the iconic Rafi musical, a ‘fine example of shy expression of love’ was born
Coincidentally, Vyjayanthimala’s character in Sangam was also named Radha
By a strange quirk of fate, the name of the heroine of Sangam – played by Vyjayanthimala – was Radha – same as Hasrat Jaipuri’s teenage love. One wonders if this triggered the memory of the poem he had penned as an ode to his Radha (11/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
It’s still unknown if real Radha ever received Jaipuri’s poem
We don't know if Jaipuri's real life love ever received the poem which he had composed with so much affection. Years later, in an interview, Hasrat Jaipuri recalled the whole affair. He said: (12/15) pic.twitter.com/idQ5PPDQ6V
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
Recalling his affair years later, here’s what the lyricist said in an interview:
"Meri haveli ke samne, ek badi khoobsurat ladki rehti jiska naam tha Radha. Aur ishq ka mazhab se, zaat paat se, koi taaluq nahi. Kisi se bhi ho sakta hai, kisi se bhi kiya jaa sakta hai….. (13/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
He added that Radha taught him the real meaning of love
….Toh mera unse pyaar hua. Taalim maine sher-o-shayari ki, mere naana marhoom se haasil ki, lekin ishq ka sabak jo hai, woh Radha ne padhaayaa ki ishq kya cheez hai.” (14/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
‘His eternal yet incomplete love story lives on in his innumerable love songs’
Iqbal Hussain aka Hasrat Jaipuri passed away in 1999. His eternal yet incomplete love story lives on in innumerable love songs that he composed during his long and prolific career (15/15)
— The Paperclip (@Paperclip_In) August 24, 2022
In loving memory of Hasrat Jaipuri, enjoy the song in discussion here. The depiction of how a shy young man pours his heart out in a love letter he has dared to write for his beloved. And then expresses his feelings through a song.
Btw, did you know about the aforementioned trivia behind the song?
