"Suno Sajana Papihe Ne" from director Raghunath Jalani's "Aaye Din Bahaar Ke" (1966), composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and sung by Lata Mangeshkar, is one of the best songs I have heard.
I never tire of listening to it. Although I am already fifty Shravans old, it creates excitement for the fifty-first!
Towards the end of the song there is a sequence on a swing.
"baaghon men pad gaye hain, saawan ke mast jhule"Now watch another sequence on a swing from Satyajit Ray's "Charulata", 1964
Notice how, towards the end, camera rides with Madhabi Mukherjee (Charulata) looking at Soumitra Chatterjee (Amal).
I was stunned when I first noticed it.
Normally, for me, a good cinema almost always loses to a good book except The Godfather. But this sequence brings out the power of the cinema.
If a writer were to describe Charulata's confusion, her dilemma about her feelings towards cousin-in-law Amal, it would take more effort and time- even for Tagore or Tolstoy- than what Mr. Ray accomlishes so elegantly by that rocking camera.
And don't we all know how different the world looks from a swing?
Once I saw 'Charulata', I always thought what a disappointment 'Aaye Din Bahaar Ke' scene was. The song is divine but the director's treatment is so pedestrian.
Mr. Jalani could have learnt a lot just watching 'Charulata' which was released almost 2 years earlier than his own film.
And finally a swing on which I wish I sat one day...
"The Swing" Artist: Francisco Goya, Completion year: 1779