June 12th, 2011

Snakes, Snake Charmers and Snake Films

Booklet for Naag Padmani (1957)

Booklet for Naag Padmani (1957). In Indian serpentlore, certain snakes may accumulate venom to form a light-emitting jewel on their hoods. The quest for this mythical stone is a theme in Indian fantasy films.

In the past, snakes, snake charmers and snake films have always remained an integral part of Lollywood and Bollywood. According to Rajesh Devraj and Edo Bouman,  “Given that the Hindu heavens are populated with millions of gods, it should come as no surprise that the mythological film has spawned many subgenres. The mythological itself is often termed “Pauranik” by those in the film trade to distinguish it from its variants: devotionals, which are religious films that deal with the gods’ interventions in human lives; saint films, which are biopics of poet-saints like Kabir and Tukaram; and the teerth yatra or pilgrimage film. India’s many cults and religions have given birth to offshoots such as the Sikh devotional and the Muslim devotional.

Snake films are a fascinating subgenre of the devotional/folklore film. Far removed from orthodox Hinduism, these films present snakes as objects of worship and are replete with “special effects” involving nothing more complicated than a rubber snake on a black string. There’s a strange note of whimsy here: Quite in the manner of Bollywood animal movies starring cigar-chomping chimpanzees or faithful Alsatians, the snakes are exploited for their entertainment value. ”

Here are five of my favorite songs/dances dealing directly or indirectly with snakes and/or snake charmers music.

1. This is one of the most popular song from Indian snake film Nagin (1954) sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Actress Vyjayanthimala and  music director Hemant Kumar got established in Hindi film industry because of this film.

2. Noor Jehan singing for Rani from Pakistani snake film Naag Muni (1972), music by Nisar Bazmi. Although the film itself is nothing to write about, almost all the songs from this film became very popular in the 70s.

3. Waheeda Rehman and unknown dancer in this cobra snake dance from Guide (1965), music by S.D. Burman.


4. Iqbal Bano singing for Neelo in Pakistani snake film Nagin (1959), music by Safdar Hussain.

5. Neelo dancing to Been music  from Pakistani classic Zehr-e-Ishq (1958), music by Khurshid Anwar.

Miscellaneous