It was not just the story but even the songs celebrated sibling bindings. Who can forget the heart wrenching “Ab ke baras bhejo bhaiya ko babul” picturised on the jail inmates in Bimal Roy’s Bandini? Asha Bhosle has often shared the experience of recording this album in her interviews. Post her marriage, she had not visited her maiden home for more than a decade and while recording the song became so emotional that she choked every time she had to mention babul and it took several takes before the recording was okayed.
Family dramas were the flavour of the season then and South banners were masters of the genre. Yamuna played the caretaker of a large family in Beti Bete where siblings get separated in childhood and meet decades later in the climax. Baby Farida playing younger Yamuna’s rendition of ‘Aaj kal mein dhal gaya…’ brings tears to your eyes even today.
To be continued