‘Khamoshi’ (1969) is an old classic with thespian actress Waheeda Rehman in the lead role and Rajesh Khanna in one of his sensitive portrayals as a mentally disturbed young man jilted in love. It was a remake the old Bengali hit film ‘Deep Jele Jayee’ (1959) with superstar Suchitra Sen in the role of a nurse in a mental hospital, who’s asked to pretend to be his lady love to draw her patient out of his acute depression. Strong emotions are aroused of passion & guilt as characters struggle with new hopes of finding love again…
While the film was directed by Asit Sen, it’s beautiful music was a collaboration of two masters, composer Hemant Kumar and writer, Gulzar. The film for cinematic reasons was to have a soulful song picturised on the hero but the locale had to be outdoors (and not in the hospital) as conceived by the makers. It was visualized as a song sung in the boat (with the lead players) over the River Hoogly in Kolkata and sound effects of waves splashing the oars and choir music in the background gave it an ethereal effect. They’re drawn to each other & lyrics juxtapose their feelings with memories of their past love.
The song was based on the famous raag ‘Yaman’ that’s been a favorite of composers. The interesting part was choice of the singer who’d bring the real emotions and depth of feelings to such a song and while there were choices, Hemantda felt that only Kishore could do justice to the number with his mellifluous voice. It was picturised on Rajesh Khanna, who was on his way to stardom with his many hits. ‘Woh Sham Kuch Ajeeb Thi..’ is a one of the finest romantic film numbers, rendered with understated eloquence and serenity – it’s a song that’s a ‘thing of beauty and a joy forever’ for old music lovers.
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