GhunghaT ke paT khol re, tohe piiyaa mile.nge ( Jogan, 1950): I have always thought that one of Geeta Dutt’s strengths as a singer was her rendition of bhajans. Subbulakshmi embodies the spiritual divinity of Meera-bai in the 1947 Hindi remake of the Tamil film Meera. You may have noticed that the first line of this bhajan was used in another ( much less saintly) Bollywood classic rendered by Kishore Kumar and composed by Bappi Lahiri from Namak Halaal (1982) decades later. I’ve selected one of about 20 Meera bhajans that are found in the film in this particular poem, Meera uses the metaphor of dance to describe her love for the Lord. Words don’t do this woman justice, so just click the link and take a listen for yourself. Her singing is ethereal and sublime, and many people have praised her by saying she is modern-day personification of Meera-bai herself! Although she retired from films early in her career to pursue classical concert music, her portrayal of Meera in this film is remembered to this day for its natural and pure expression of spiritual divinity. Subbulakshmi, who was the first musician to be awarded the prestigious Bharat Ratna, is one of the most renowned vocalists in the history of the Carnatic musical tradition. Subbulakshmi as both an actress and playback singer. Pag ghungruu bandh miiraa nachii re ( Meera, 1947): Meera (1947) is a rare treat for lovers of Bollywood films because it is the only Hindi film ever made that features M.S.
Here, let’s analyze a couple of examples in order to see how Meera’s words have been used in the context of Hindi film songs: In any case, it is undeniable that Meera’s texts contain universal themes about love, pain, and devotion that have permeated several mediums of the South Asian cultural sphere. This is further complicated by the fact that Meera, in her mind, actually considered herself to be the wife of Krishna (and supposedly conducted a marriage ceremony with a Krishna idol at a temple). Instead of serving her human husband, Meera devotes all of her love to Krishna, which is inconsistent with society’s expectations for the dutiful and virtuous Indian wife. On the other hand, Meera-bai actually subverts the typical pativrata norms established by Indian society because her devotion is misplaced. The type of selfless devotion and sacrifice Meera-bai displays toward Krishna is the same type of devotion that Indian women in the chauvinistic climate of the ’50s and ’60s were expected to provide their husbands. On one hand, Meera could be considered the ideal Indian woman for the eternal devotion she displays toward her lover–in this case, Lord Krishna–in spite of all the obstacles placed in her way. Interpreting and contextualizing Meera’s love for Lord Krishna can be a challenging task, however, because of its apparently paradoxical relationship to acceptable gender norms for women at the time. Meera-bai’s texts express themes that are highly pertinent to heroines in Hindi cinema from the Golden Era. The most well-known story describes how he poisoned Meera’s prasad and made her drink it, but the Lord transformed the poison into amrit (spiritual nectar) to save her life. Eventually, her brother-in-law became displeased with her excessive devotion for Krishna and made several attempts on Meera’s life. Although her undying devotion to Krishna was initially a private matter, public moments of spiritual ecstasy soon outed her to society. In her texts, she worships Krishna from the perspective of a lover longing for union: romantic on one level and spiritual on another. Meera transformed her grief into spiritual devotion and wrote many poems in praise of Lord Krishna. Her husband died in battle soon after their marriage and Meera became a widow at an early age. Meera, a Rajput princess, was married off to a prince at young age, but this marriage did not satisfy her as she already considered herself the spouse of Lord Krishna.
Meera-bai was a 16th-century mystic whose devotion to Lord Krishna has been immortalized in Indian culture through her poetry and bhajans (religious songs). While all this extravagance is certainly an integral aspect of the industry, you may be surprised to learn about a saintlier side of Bollywood that I will discuss here today: the use of Meera-bai’s texts in Hindi film music. When most people think of Bollywood cinema, they usually think of extravagant costumes, seductive dance moves, and lots of melodramatic overacting. 1498-1547 A.D) was a mystical poet and devotee of Lord Krishna