Not everybody who creates history becomes famous.
Like, do you know Zaheer Aalam? Or do you know Mohammed Shafi Niyazi? Of course, you don't.
Over the weekend I rediscovered one of the biggest superhit songs of all time, that Aalam wrote and Niazi composed: “तुम तो ठहरे परदेसी साथ क्या निभाओगे”
Nobody knew Aalam even after the song became the biggest superhit of the mid nineties, though its singer Altaf Raja, whose guru Niazi was, became a household name. Life, as they say, is like that only.
Browsing through the compact disc (CDs) at Rhythm House (Mumbai's most famous music shop. Oh Yes, I still buy CDs) late on Saturday evening I suddenly came across this familiar looking cover in blue and yellow with pictures of Aamir Khan and Karishma Kapoor on it.
It took me no time to realise that I had rediscovered “तुम तो ठहरे परदेसी” the album, after all these years.
My mind went back to a day in 1996, when standing outside G.E.L Church Shopping Complex( the closest Ranchi had to a shopping complex) I first heard a paanwaala play the song full blast.
“एकदम superhit गाना है सर. पच्चीस रुपैये का cassette तीस रुपैये मैं black कर रहे हैं” he told me.
On that day, I was lucky to have some money in my wallet and I convinced the guy to part with the last piece that he had for twenty five rupees only.
Over the next two days I played the song full blast at home on the National Tape Recorder that I had, much to the irritation of my mother and sister. Like most females, they were firmly of the opinion that the song was clearly meant for autowallahs and rickshawallas, not for gentry like us.
The superhit song ensured that the album went onto become the biggest selling non film album of all time in India. It sold around 1 crore copies back then. A huge number. And clearly, everybody who bought the album couldn't have been an auto or a rickshawalla.
What is amazing is that the album when it was originally released had been named “पंगा ले लिया" based on another song in the album and possibly the worst song in the album.
The producers of the album Venus Records and Tapes quickly realised after the release of the album that another song in the album had become a big hit. And that song of course was “तुम तो ठहरे परदेसी साथ क्या निभाओगे”
It took them no time to repackage and relaunch the album with the name “तुम तो ठहरे परदेसी” And the rest as we all know is history.
Altaf Raja over the next few years released more albums, and even starred as himself, in a whole lot of Mithun Chakraborty movies, including one called “चंडाल,” in which he sang the superhit qawali “इश्क और प्यार का मज्जा लीजिये थोड़े इंतज़ार का मज्जा लीजिये”
Even with all the success he saw, “तुम तो ठहरे परदेसी साथ क्या निभाओगे,” remained his biggest hit. And as normally happens with such huge successes, once the impact of his original hit died down, he also disappeared from the scene.
Aalam and Niyazi of course must have continued with their lives, I assume. The Wikipedia entry on Raja tells me that Niyazi is now dead. Aalam, if he is still around, must be continuing with his nondescript, unassuming life, I guess. Given that India has very weak royalty norms, I have my doubts on how much these guys would have really gained out of the song becoming a huge superhit.
But what I will always remember Aalam for is one of the many couplets that keep popping up in the “तुम तो ठहरे परदेसी साथ क्या निभाओगे”
इस शहरे नामुराद की इज्ज़त करेगा कौन
हम भी चले गए तो मोहब्बत करेंगा कौन?
