Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal Chhed Gayo Re: Difference between revisions

1960 song by Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni and Lata Mangeshkar

“Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal Chhed Gayo Re” (transl. Krishna teased me at the river bank) is a classical Hindi film song featured in the 1960 epic movie Mughal-e-Azam, directed by K. Asif. The song is composed by Naushad, written by Shakeel Badayuni, and sung by Lata Mangeshkar with a chorus. It is noted for its melodious composition, evocative lyrics, and its depiction of romantic folklore.

The song is picturised on Madhubala, who plays the role of beautiful courtesan Anarkali in the film and portrayed Radha in the song. It was shot in technicolour and choreographed by Kathak maestro Lachhu Maharaj,^[1] influenced by or staged in a Kathak tradition.

The song was objected to by veteran director Vijay Bhatt. Although he was not directly involved with the project, he thought that it would “ruin the film”, since it showed the Mughal emperor celebrating the Hindu festival Janmashtami.^[1] Though Naushad argued that the presence of Jodha Bai made the situation logical, he met with the film’s screenwriters and subsequently added dialogue that explained the sequence.^[2]

It was composed by the musician Naushad and was inspired by the song “Kahe Gumaan Kare Re Gori”.^[3]

The song combines Hindustani classical motifs with cinematic orchestration typical of Naushad’s compositions for Mughal-e-Azam. Lyrically it draws on Braj/Awadhi imagery associated with Krishna-Radha devotion — the “panghat” (river-bank) setting, playful teasing of “Nandlal” (Krishna), and pastoral romantic motifs — and is performed in a languid semi-classical idiom that supports Kathak-style dancing.

The song’s authorship has been controversial. The original film credits Shakeel Badayuni as the lyricist, however, the re-released colour version on 12 October 2004, forty years after the film’s release, credits Raghunath Brahmbhatt as the lyricist.^[4]

As reported, the song was originally penned by Brahmbhatt^[5] for the Gujarati play, ‘Chhatra Vijay’, in 1920.^[4][6][7][8] He approached director K. Asif for copyright infringement and later filed a complaint with the Film Writers’ Association and received a compensation of Rs 11,000 as royalty.^[4] However, Brahmbhatt’s grandson, renowned sexologist Dr. Raj Brahmbhatt signed an agreement with the film’s producer, Shapoorji-Palonji‘s Sterling Investment Corporation Limited, acknowledging the contribution of late lyricist Raghunath Brahmbhatt on the covers of the film’s VCD and DVD marketed by the company.^[4]

‘Mohe Panghat Pe…’ is the first song to appear in Mughal-e-Azam, structured on a classical thumri style. The composition is regarded as a demonstration of Naushad’s expertise in integrating Indian classical traditions into film music.^[9] It received widespread acclaim as one of the standout pieces of the Mughal-e-Azam soundtrack.^[10]