Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – April, 2017

Welcome to April, 2017 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

The first day of April is to make fun. We have picked up  a topical post to commence our present episode:

Some unique good good songs is an excellent presentation of songs that repeat words, so typical spoken style of Hindi language, e.g.

• Do naina tumhare pyare pyare – Shrimatiji (1952)-  Hemant Kumar and Geeta Dutt – S Mohinder  – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

We will now take up the posts on the anniversaries or eulogies:

Then and now: How a ’40s movie star dealt with a bad marriage and prying eyes  -Kanan Devi broke off her short-lived marriage to Ashok Maitra after he objected to her career, thereby proving herself to be a truly independent spirit. – an excerpt with permission from Kanan Devi The First Superstar of Indian Cinema, Mekhala Sengupta, HarperCollins India.

Shamshad Begum with 3G, i.e. music directors Ghulam Haider, Ghulam Mohammad and Pt. Govind Ram,is a tribute to her on her 98th birth anniversary. The previous articles on Shamshad Begum @ SoY are available @ the tag Shamshad Begum.

The bit about Parveen Babi that you won’t find in the UG Krishnamurti biography – An outtake from the graphic novel by Nicolas C Grey and James Farley imagines the actress’s encounters with the philosopher. – Depicted here are the panels, which were not used in the final publication, the authors imagine the moment when Babi became a Krishnamurti follower – Reproduced with permission from This Dog Barking: The Strange Story of UG Krishnamurti, Nicolas C Grey and James Farley, HarperCollins India.

Yesterday’s Films For Tomorrow – It was but natural that legendary

PK Nair was a collector, a cinephile, a historian, an archivist, an evangelist, a teacher and a student of cinema

archivist and  ‘Celluloid Man’ PK Nair’s last wish was that his personal collection of books, journals and diaries be handed over the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) to preserve after he passes on. Yesterday’s Films for Tomorrow was released recently in Mumbai to commemorate P K Nair’s 84^th birthday.

Antara Nanda Mondal notes that this book is a remembrance of a person who was obsessed with not just the stories that cinema told, but with all its facets — the form, function and the ephemera of the moving image.

Peeyush Sharma pays tribute to K L Saigal with a journey through Saigal’s songs in Main Kya Janoon Kya Jadoo Hai: K L Saigal’s Magical Music .

‘KL Saigal’s Songs Started the Sugam Sangeet Revolution’ – In Conversation with Author Pran Nevile – Pran Nevile is the author of the authoritative book KL Saigal – Immortal Singer and Superstar; K.L. Saigal The Definitive Biography and the richly illustrated Nautch Girls of India: Dancers, Singers, Playmates.

After a successful career in the Indian Foreign Service and the United Nations, Pran Nevile turned to writing specializing in the study of Indian art and culture. His other books include Lahore – A sentimental Journey; The Raj Revisited; Love Stories from the Raj; Rare Glimpses of the Raj; Stories from the Raj – Sahibs, Memsahibs and Others; Beyond the Veil – Indian Women in the Raj and Marvels of Indian Painting: Rise and Demise of Company School.

In a conversation with Sundeep Pahwa in his Gurgaon home, Pran Nevile responds to a series of questions on K L Saigal drawn up by Peeyush Sharma and Sundeep Pahwa.

The April 2017 episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs was dedicated to Hasrat Jaipuri, recalling his songs for music directors other than Shanker Jaikishan. This post has covered songs from the beginning of his career till 1953.

Here are posts on other subjects as well:

Ten of my favourite ‘not-quite-duet’ songs are ‘technically duets’: not songs in which both singers play an equal part in making the song what it is, but in which the ratio is somewhat skewed or in which one singer only hummed, while the other did the singing. E.g. Phir aane lagaa yaad wohi (Yeh Dil Kisko Doon, 1963): Interestingly, Yeh Dil Kisko Doon featured not one, but two, songs that were sung primarily by a man but had a woman pitching in occasionally to add another dimension to the song. In Kitni haseen ho tum, Asha Bhonsle sings half a line here, half a line there while Rafi sings the rest of the song. In Phir aane lagaa yaad wohi, however, the female singer (in this case, Usha Khanna) has even less to sing: all she sings is three words, repeated at intervals through the song: Pyaar ka aalam, while Rafi sings the rest of the song. It works very well in this dreamy dream sequence.

Here is a belated posting: Enchanting Salil Chowdhary  – Listen to 18 songs from Salil Chowdhary by clicking the link below. These songs are from the 1950s to early 70s and many of them feature brisk movements among notes and wonderful arrangements to create an enchanting experience: LINK TO PLAYLIST OF SALIL CHOWDHARY SONGS

Sound of Lollywood: An obscure movie has a hidden gem for qawwali fans – “Mere Paas Aao’ from ‘First Time’ is, by turns, spiritual and romantic and wholly enjoyable.

Sahir Ludhianvi’s ‘Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi’ finds new meaning in ‘Begum Jaan’ – A song written after 1947 aptly describes the condition of a newly independent India. –  The song Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi from Phir Subah Hogi (1958) appears in the climax of Begum Jaan, with the lyrics and context made relevant to the plot.

A Look at Some of The New Remixes of Old Bolywood Songs – Sharada  Iyer wades through remixed songs and their corresponding originals in this article.

Picture the song: When Amol Palekar grinned his way to success in ‘Ye Din Kya Aaye’ – The entire world of Basu Chatterjee’s ‘Chhoti Si Baat’ is contained in a six-minute musical interlude.

A pat of butter and a picnic basket of movie memories – This is written for the film section of the Amul India book, which you can get here.

A Ghulamm Mohd. Song – Ye Duniya Hai – Shair 1949 – Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh

Ghantasala modulates the same phrase in several ways – ‘Emanene’ said in so many ways. As ‘barago’ says, once as question, then with anxiety, soothing and agitation.

Meethe Bol Bole, Bole Paayaliya – A Sparkling Jugalbandi of Music and Dance – Meethe bol bole in Kinara is a beautiful sangam of classical excellence brought together by three maestros – the music of RD Burman, the lyrics and direction of Gulzar and the Kathak Nritya choreography of Gopi Krishna. Anand Desai and Antara Nanda Mondal explore the layers of musical delights and dance pieces hidden within this sparkling gem from Kinara, sung by Bhupinder Singh and Lata Mangeshkar.

We have taken the first step in our annual Micro View of Best Songs 1948 @SoY

We end our present episode with Dual Versions of the Same Song by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar – Sharada Iyer has presented 21 such songs with a small note for each song. I have picked up Mohammad Rafi’s version of Agar Bewafaa Tujhko Pehchaan Jaate…from an unheard film, Raat Ke Andere Mein (1969). The song is written and composed by Prem Dhawan

I trust you will always feel free to proffer your suggestions for making this series of posts more lively and informative….