Sent from my iPhone*The Story Behind Khoya Khoya Chand – Kala Bazaar*

The story about this particular song is available in R D Burman’s own voice…. R 
D, Gulzar and Asha Bhosle did a program on Vividh Bharti together!!!

The story –
For their ninth film under the Navketan banner, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand 
decided to try out the S D Burman – Shailendra combination…. The film was 
titled Kala Bazaar (1960).

S D Burman, known for his bad temper, was under tremendous pressure. 
Shailendra, probably too busy with his other assignments, was not delivering a 
song, urgently needed for the film. Dev Anand and Vijay Anand were frantic. 
They were pestering Burmanda, who in turn was repeatedly asking Shailendra for 
the words. Shailendra was making all kinds of excuses for not delivering.

Finally, one fine day, the angry old man decided that he had had enough!!

Shailendra was at his place. Burman da called his young son, Pancham ( R D 
Burman ) and told him – ” You will go with Shailendra and DO NOT come home 
unless he gives you the lyrics ” !!!

Neither Pancham nor Shailendra could argue with him. Pancham quietly got into 
Shailendra’s car. Shailendra assured him that he would deliver the song. 
Pancham smiled as the car drove to Shanker -Jaikishen’s music room. As 
Shailendra entered, with Pancham in tow, Jaikishenji jokingly asked Pancham if 
he had come to their music room to steal some tunes. Shailendra explained. 
Jaikishen laughed and said – “Shailendra ji has a lot of pending work to do for 
us, you are in the queue…”

It was evening…. Shailendra finished his work with Shanker Jaikishen and with 
Pancham, got into his car. He instructed the driver to go to National Park. 
There, Shailendra kept smoking cigarette after cigarette. BUT NO WORDS !!!

Pancham was cursing his luck as they got back into the car, it was almost 
night. Shailendra told his driver…. “Juhu beach chalo “…..

At the beach, Shailendra was leisurely strolling along with the eager Pancham 
trying to keep step. The beach was deserted. Shailendra asked Pancham for a 
matchbox. Another jolt for the youngster! Shailendra knew that he smoked – what 
if he told Burmanda???

Pancham sheepishly handed over his matchbox to Shailendra. Shailendra was lost 
in thought, he lit his cigarette, returned the matchbox and asked Pancham to 
give him the tune Burman da had composed. Pancham, tapping the matchbox in 
rhythm, hummed the tune.

Shailendra kept looking at the sea and the sky, puffing away on his cigarette, 
after a while, he told Pancham – “You can go home, tell Dada, I will be at your 
place in the morning with the full song..”

He hummed the mukhda

खोया खोया चांद
खुला आसमाँ
आखोंमे सारी रात जायेगी
तुमको भी कैसे नींद आएगी

Pancham smiled, he knew that this song was a winner! He ran, hailed a cab and 
went home.

The next morning, when his father asked him for the song, Pancham handed him a 
crumpled piece of cigarette pack foil with the words of the mukhda scribbled on 
it!!!

The situation is an oft-repeated one.

Dev Anand is trying to woo Waheeda. It is a song of pure romance.

See what Shailendra does.

मस्ती भरी हवा जो चली
खील खील गयी ये दिल की कली
मन की गली मे हैं खलबली
के, उनको तो बुलाओ

तारे चले, नजारे चले 
संग संग मेरे वो सारे चले
चारो तरफ इशारे चले
किसीके तो हो जाओ

ऐसी ही रात, भिगी सी रात
हातो मे हात, होते वो साथ
कह लेते उनसे दिल की ये बात अब तो ना सताओ 

हम मीट चले, जिनके लिये
बिन कुछ कहे, वो चूप चूप रहे
कोई जरा ये उनसे कहे
ना ऐसे आझमाओ

Shailendra chooses his words very carefully. Beginning with the ambience, he 
gradually moves on to Dev Anand’s personal feelings, expressing his love for 
Waeeda Rehman. The words 

मन की गली मे हैं खलबली
के, उनको तो बुलाओ

are noteworthy.

चारो तरफ इशारे चले
किसीके तो हो जाओ

Anyone who has really fallen in love will know.
At a certain point, one feels as if the whole Universe, the Cosmos is 
conspiring to unite the two.

The next two verses are just pure, unadulterated romance ! Of course, now 
almost directly addressing Waheeda.

A little note before we go onto Vijay Anand’s work. Many people will wonder how 
he is talking about the moon and the stars when it is broad daylight. In 
Cinema, more so in the past, when we were not so well-equipped, when a Director 
had to shoot a night scene in the outdoors, he would use a technique called 
‘Day for night’ which means exactly the same.

The shooting would be done during the day and then, in the laboratory, the 
brightness would be reduced to give it a night effect.The song, as we view it 
here, will look bright, but, in the cinema hall, it will look like night.

Vijay Anand choreographs the song very intelligently. Please watch the song 
again. Waheeda Rehman seems like the silent moon, sometimes steady, at times 
just drifting a little. Dev Anand is moving in almost every shot. So is the 
camera, when he is in frame. The effect is of the vast sky and the unruly 
clouds moving around the steady, beautiful moon.

What Vijay Anand achieves is a feat which is very rare. Most directors shy away 
from shooting and showing us more than two verses of a song. Here, his 
shooting, along with Burmanda’s music and Shailendra’s words, is so perfect 
that we go through FOUR verses of this song just glued to our seats !!!! That 
is why Vijay Anand is adored by film-goers and film-makers all over India.

Dev Anand is just amazing, utterly romantic.
Waheeda Rehman is beautiful, little expressions, as she looks, a trifle amused 
at what Dev is telling her, the way he is wooing her. Almost like a peacock, 
spreading his beautiful feathers to impress his mate.

Kala Bazaar was the first time that Dev Anand, Vijay Anand, Waheeda Rehman, S D 
Burman and Shailendra came together, almost as if laying the foundation for the 
next time, when they would again come together and create history with Guide 
(1965).

Thank God for S D Burman’s anger and R D Burman’s long day with Shailendra!!

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