The year was 1962 and my favorite uncle (my mother’s youngest brother) whom I called “Sona Mama” was to get married. His parents had passed away many years earlier. Although he had several elder sisters to find a suitable bride for him, this was not an arranged marriage. He chose his bride himself – she lived in the house behind my “Mama Bari” (uncles’ house) where Sona Mama lived with his two married brothers.
One reason I liked him was his HMV gramophone and a large collection of 78 rpm vinyl records. He did not mind if I played them in his absence. We spent several days before and after the wedding ceremony in that house to celebrate the occasion which gave me an opportunity to explore his record collection. Many of them were western songs.
The song that caught my attention and left a permanent mark in my memory as well as in my heart was not really a song, but an instrumental piece – the theme from the movie “Come September” (CS). I listened to the tune at least a dozen times. More than sixty years later, it is still fresh to me, and I love the piece with the same intensity. The music was composed by Bobby Darin (who also starred in the movie) on a twelve-string guitar. Elizabeth Taylor was reportedly so impressed by the music she personally congratulated Darin. She said that whenever she felt down, this music lifted her up.
It was not just me or Elizabeth Taylor, but all of India that was mesmerized by the music. There was no shortage of opportunities to hear it. If someone was getting married or a community puja was being held or a sporting event taking place, it would come blaring out of loudspeakers.
It is a catchy and uplifting tune with a very pleasant lilt; indeed, if there is such a thing as an “evergreen” tune, then the theme from CS is it. One can hum along, dance along, tap one’s shoes along or learn to play it on some musical instrument. I cannot name any other western song or musical number that captivated the entire country in the same way during my lifetime – not Elvis, not the Beatles and not even Michael Jackson. I had no doubt that Sona Mama bought this “American” record, despite being a staunch Marxist, because he was feeling happy at the prospect of his impending matrimony.
It took Indian music directors, especially the ones in Bollywood, by storm. Everyone was apparently so moved that they felt compelled to include the tune in some way in their compositions. There have been several such compositions over a period spanning several decades. I have compiled in this essay all the songs inspired by the CS theme that I know of.
It is interesting to note that the very first song to copy the CS theme was not a Bollywood song but came from a Pakistani film. The song was “Samajh na aye dilko kahan le jaoon”, composed in 1962 by Muslihuddin for the movie “Daal me Kala”. The singer was his attractive wife, Nazi Niyagi, who had a sweet voice. https://youtu.be/HXJV7vF79dM.
The first Bollywood tune to copy the CS theme was a song, “mast nazar dekh idhar” from the movie “Ek dil aur sau afsane” (1963), with music by ShankarJaikishan.
The interesting aspect of this song was that it copied only the first part of the theme and then drifted into a somewhat different beat. https://youtu.be/cNSCzzXHfpk Next was a song sung by Suman Kalyanpur and a pleasant rendition of the entire theme. It is not from any movie, but Ms. Kalyanpur was reportedly so inspired by the theme that she privately recorded it. I do not know who the lyricist was; some people think that it was Shailendra.
In my opinion, it is one of her best songs. https://youtu.be/cX5TwgmE3po If we fast forward to 1995, we can find a song “dole dole dil dole…” from the movie “Baazi” sung by Kavita Krishnamurty and composed by Anu Malik based on the CS theme. https://youtu.be/5RfilC-9Yy8 There was another movie titled “Raja” in the same year which also featured a copy of the CS theme. The song was “nazrein mili dil dharka” sung by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan.
Music directors were Nadeem-Shravan. Although not a faithful copy it was probably the most entertaining song and dance routine based on the CS theme. https://youtu.be/Q0NNaJ4SCc I also found on YouTube instrumental versions of the CS theme song played on various instruments such as the Sitar, Veena, Harmonica, Flute, Jaltarang etc.
Then there are other famous music directors who used excerpts from the CS theme in their music; for example, Ravi did it in a scene from the movie “Humraaz” where the CS tune was playing in the background. Sachin Dev Burman inserted ten seconds of the music in the hit song “Duniya banane wale” from the movie “Ziddi”. Perhaps one of the appeals of this song is that it is a very simple tune and can be played on virtually any musical instrument. In addition, it can be combined with other musical stanzas to compose many different songs.
It is not just Hindi; the tune has been adapted in songs in many different languages around the world. I have heard a Tamil song, titled “Vandhal Ennodu” based on the CS theme from the movie “Naan”. https:// youtu .be/UJddfwD0ZEI There are Spanish songs, “Cuanto llegue Septiembre”, for example by Gelu https://youtu.be/qCkl0vLmhFA as well as the group “Les Rocking Boys” https://youtu.be/WFHynA6yook. A Serbian singer Radmila Karaklajic sang “Mi U Kampu” following the CS tune https://youtu.be/cvaK4r12rro.
An English song based on the CS tune, performed by the Andrews Sisters was introduced in the USA https://youtu. be/Tq_7R0cZCjQ. Even the Finnish artist Eila Pellinen joined in the foray with her song “Tule Syykuu” https://youtu.be/c9p9h _XLi_k . In addition to composition of songs, the CS tune has inspired covers by instrumental groups of diverse nationalities such as Ventures (American), Billy Vaughn (German American), Santo and Johnny (Italian American) and the Flying Arrows (from the Netherlands). Some of them have altered the musical arrangement a little bit. However, it has not been so widely copied in any language as in Hindi.
I attribute the mass hysteria in India about the CS tune to its lilt and this can be the key in understanding the popularity of Bollywood film music. We Indians just love the ups and downs in a catchy tune. Popularity of the theme music also extended the popularity of the movie itself. There were at least, two Bollywood movies made – “Kashmir ki Kali” and “Mere Sanam” – where the first part of the movie was clearly a copy from the movie CS, where the caretaker of a private mansion-type house was renting it out to visitors without the owner’s knowledge.
The scene in the CS movie featuring the tune showed a bunch of young couples on scooters on a joyful group safari; it was virtually replicated by a similar scene in the movie “An Evening in Paris”, accompanied by the song “Hoga tumse kal bhi samna”. I am eternally grateful to Sona Mama for introducing me to the western music world.
His stack of records also contained two other instrumental pieces which made life-long impressions: “Tequila” by the Champs and “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by Perez Prado. Sona Mama is almost 90 years old now. He is still in good shape but sadly losing his hearing. I am sure that many of these tunes are permanently etched in his brain.