Saraswati Devi –The First Woman Music Director Of Indian Cinema

Main ban ki chirriya ban ke ban ban bolun re…. , Chali re chali re meri naav chali re chali re… Main to Dilli se dulhan laya re he babuji…. Chane Zor Garam Babu Main Laya Mazedar….

 

Today’s generation may have not heard these song songs but music buffs that have a penchant for Golden Era Music will surely go crazy on listening to these super hit songs which were chartbusters in the ’30s. The Music Director who composed these hit songs was Saraswati Devi the First woman music director of Indian Cinema!!

 

Saraswati Devi‘s real name is Khorshed Minocher Homji. She was born in a Parsi family in 1912. The Paris community created a furor over her joining films but she changed her name to Saraswati Devi to escape the wrath of her community. As a child, Saraswati was passionate about music. Her parents encouraged her and gave her training in Hindustani classical music under Music Ustaad Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. Later she learned professional music from Marris College (re-christened as Bhatkhande Music Institute) of Music at Lucknow.

 

When she was just 18 years old she was selected by All India Radio station at Mumbai to give musical performances. She was heard by Himanshu Rai, the Chief Director of Bombay Talkies, who appointed her as the Head of Music department to score music for his Bombay Talkies Films. Saraswati Devi accepted the challenge. She started with Jawani Ki Hawa the first film of Bombay Talkies and in the second film Achhut Kanya (1936) she created history composing the most popular song Main ban ki chidiya ban ke sang sang dolun re…… The song became the top chartbuster and even gave a run for money to K.L.Saigal hit song Prem nagar mein basuoongi ghar main…

 

Saraswati Devi worked with Bombay Talkies from 1935 till 1940. Her last film with Bombay Talkies was Bandhan (1940). In this film, she composed the super-duper hit song Chal chal re nau jawan….which became a regular part of the Prabhat Pheri during the Indian freedom movement in India.

 

The most interesting fact of Saraswati Devi‘s music is that her music has been copied by top music directors to make hit songs. Remember the hit song Ek chatur naar karke singaar from Mehmood‘s film Padosan (1968). Well, R.D. Burman has lifted the song from Saraswati Devi‘s film Jhoola (1941). Similarly, the Kishore Kumar hit song Koi humdum na raha….. Jhumroo (1961) has been a direct pick from Jeevan Naiya (1936) composed by Saraswati Devi.

 

Though she worked as music director till 1961, she got faded away from the memory of the film industry.

On August 9 in 1980 Saraswati Devi‘s died an unsung death!