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Salil Chowdhury

Mitti Ka Dev (1968)

A lost film by Samir Chowdhury — remembered today only through fragments of its music and the recollections of those who worked on it.

Mitti Ka Dev Poster

Film Information

Language: Hindi

Lyricists:
MT1 – Gulzar
MT2 – Yogesh
MT3 – Prem Dhawan

Directed by Samir Chowdhury, Salil’s younger brother, starring Sanjay Kumar and Anjana. The film tragically never released — the entire soundtrack and print were destroyed in a studio fire.

Only partial recollections and one recorded song survived. Each of the three songs had a different lyricist — a unique occurrence in Salil’s film career.

Songs

Nr Song Singer(s) HndMalTamTel KanBngOth
MT1 Shaam se Mukesh ✔-OB28- -OS65 / AS13-
MT2 Koi pia se kahe Lata Mangeshkar ✔--- -LM11-
MT3 Unknown (lost) Suman Kalyanpur, Mohammed Rafi, Chorus ✔--- ---

Notes & Background

Mitti Ka Dev remains one of the greatest losses in Indian film music history. Salil’s brother, Samir Chowdhury, directed it — and the cast and crew believed it could have been a major artistic film of the era.

The surviving song, “Shaam Se”, is adapted from Salil’s own Bengali classic “Mon Maatal Saanjh Sokaal”, and is considered one of Mukesh’s most soulful Salil renditions.

According to lyricist Yogesh, “Koi pia se kahe” was based on the Bengali song “Jodi baaron koro tobe jaabo naa” and featured a complex, beautiful arrangement.

The third recorded track, written by Prem Dhawan and sung by Suman Kalyanpur, Rafi, and chorus, is completely lost — not even its first line is known today.

The film’s negatives, master tapes, and all recorded songs were destroyed before release in a devastating studio fire, making this one of Salil’s most mysterious and irreplaceable works.