Johny Walker

Badruddin Jamaluddin Qazi, aka Johnny Walker .... my take on some of his songs I love ( in no particular order) ...

1.Jungle Mein Mor nacha Kisi ne Dekha (Madhumati, 1958): everything about this song is delightful. Salil Choudhary’s music is bubbly , Johnny Walker’s antics, as he climbs up a tree, falls off and generally complains about people complaining he drinks—are hilarious, and the lyrics are fun.

2.Ai Dil Hai Mushkil (CID, 1956): Unlike most of the songs picturised on Johnny Walker, this one isn’t a laugh-out-loud funny one. Instead, it’s a pessimistic commentary on the inhumanity of a large city—a city that our man ‘Master’, a petty thief, traipses through, either sauntering along by himself or by hitching a ride in a Victoria with his pragmatic girlfriend. Kumkum,

3.Are Na Na Tauba Tauba (Aar Paar, 1954): There’s lots I love about this song. Johnny Walker, of course—doggedly romancing his lady in a zoo, of all places. The music. The lyrics, so much fun (when our man asks his lady wistfully if she’s been keeping awake nights, her retort is that she isn’t ill).

4.Jaane Kaha Mera Jigar Gaya Ji (Mr and Mrs 55, 1955): If he was prancing around in a zoo in Arre na na na tauba tauba, here Johnny Walker’s flirting in an office at lunchtime, watched by a bemused chowkidar. Yasmin, all dimpled and pretty as a picture, is wooed by an admiring photographer who insists he’s lost his heart somewhere—under a desk? In a filing cabinet?
One of my favourite songs ever.

5. Sar jo tera chakraaye (Pyaasa, 1957): Quintessential Johnny Walker: completely loony, irreverent, but with a heart of gold. This is a brilliant tune, with delightful little twirls and twists (even the sounds of the champi are incorporated into the music!), and Johnny Walker is perfect as he goes about drumming up business, massaging heads, dispensing advice, and generally being the local clown. In a film that is otherwise cynical , the tel-maalishwaala, Abdul Sattar, is a welcome ray of light.

6.Gareeb Jaan Ke Hum Ko Na Tum ( Choomantar,1956) Johnny Walker Serenading his lady love .. The lyrics simply awesome ... Jahan Mein aur hamara Kaha Thikana Hai Tumare Dar se hume uth ke kaha jaana hai Jo ho Sake te Muqadar mera Jaga Dena ..tumhi ne dard diya hai tumhi dava dena .