Director Ved Rahi’s film Prem Parbat (1973) did not release and has got forgotten by now. The film stars Rehana Sultan, Satish Kaul, Nana Palsikar, Agha and Hema Malini in a special appearance. Sadly, the print of the film got destroyed. One major contributing factor could be usage of nitrate which is highly flammable, and in the decades of fifties and sixties there have been several devastating fires in studios because of usage of nitrate films.
The film has music by Jaidev with lyrics by Jan Nisar Akhtar. Though this film didn’t release, it became famous for one of its blockbuster songs. “Ye Dil Aur Unki, Nigaaho Ke Saaye”, written by Jan Nisar Akhtar and sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Pahadi Raag. This song is engraved on minds of listeners. This song was recorded with just five musicians, all stalwarts including Shivkumar Sharma on Santoor and Hariprasad Chaurasia on Flute.
Yeh dil aur unaki song has become immortal, in my opinion it is one of the greatest compositions by Jaidev. It was on the top ten songs on Binaca Geet Mala which was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi movies. It was popular and had millions of listeners. Binaca Geetmala used to be broadcasted on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Service of All India Radio network in 1989 where it ran until 1994. It was the first radio countdown show of Indian film songs and has been quoted as being the most popular radio program in India during its run.
The film is the story of an orphan girl, whose loyalties are segregated between her aged husband and a young forest officer she has fallen in love with. Being the wife of the old Choudhari, she is conflicted about her love for another man. Rehana Sultan plays the orphan girl in the movie. She is one of the best actresses known for her emotive roles.
Raag Pahadi is a popular raga based on folk music. As its name suggests, it originates from the mountainous region. It resembles two other ragas which display the rich cultural heritage of folk music: Mand from the Rajasthan region and Pilu from the Hindi heartland. It is a light raga and resembles more like a ‘dhun’. It is very popular in Hindi music and sometimes simulates multiple echoes. Pahadi is mostly sung in the lower and middle octaves and the raga emotes yearning of a lover, tranquil in union, serene in separation, powerful enough to achieve eternal union, but resigned to the painful parting ruled by destiny.
Lata Mangeshkar has sung the song soulfully giving justice to Jaidev’s melody. Please listen to the song.