Tag: Kaifi Azmi

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – May 2020

Welcome to May 2020 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

We first pay our tributes to the artists who passed away recently:

Irfan Khan passed away on 29th April 2020. Irfan Khan’s Wife Sutapa Sikdar and sons Ayan and Babil released a statement about Irfan Khan’s untimely death.@ Our life was a masterclass in acting, learnt to see harmony in cacophony. Amitava Nag @ Irfan Khan – A Personal Tribute writes a heartfelt tribute. Anuradha Warrier feels the loss @ And Movies Will Never Be The Same.  Irrfan is a tribute from his follower.

Credit: Business As Usual by E P Unny, April 2020

In a tribute to Rishi Kapoor @ Amitabh is ‘destroyed’, Simi mourns her ‘darling’ & Lata holds on to memories of Chintu note Shubhangi Misra and Yimkumla Longkumer. Anuradha Warrier extends the Hyphen In Between the Rishi Kapoor’s tweeter tag line “Son of a famous father, father of a famous son. I’m the hyphen in between.” by stretching it a little further to note that he was also the hyphen between the superstardom of Rajesh Khanna and the juggernaut that was Amitabh Bachchan. Jai Arjun Singh @ Rishi Kapoor, in memoriam notes that looking back on his work during that time, it’s interesting to consider how often he seems to be a silent or passive presence, or how often we see the character he plays in relation to someone else

That passionate voice of music – Radio Ceylon host Gopal Sharma, known as ‘the first RJ of India passed away at the age of 88 on 22nd May. Sharma’s greeting “Awaaz ki duniya ke doston … ” became synonymous with him.

Deepa also has paid a very intimate tribute @ Gopal Sharma – A Boon Companion from the World of Voice

We can listen to his voice in this video clip:

We pick up other tributes and memories:

Should Phalke, 150, Be Forgotten?  – On May 3, 1913, Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra was released commercially. May 3 was finalised as the day the National Film Awards would be given out every year. Ratnottama Sengupta wonders how the Government of the world’s largest filmmaking country had made no plans to mark Phalke’s 150th anniversary this year.

Kaagaz Ke Phool is Guru Dutt’s masterclass in filmmaking and heartbreak – Guru Dutt’s classic, tragic film is brought to life by subtle performances and dialogue, gorgeous camerawork and Kaifi Azmi’s haunting lyrics.

On the B.R. Chopra’s birth anniversary, The Print looks back @ Gumrah, BR Chopra’s tale of a woman’s desire that challenged conventions back in 1963 – Gumrah, said to be inspired by the love story of Dilip Kumar and Kamini Kaushal, was refreshingly bold and managed to stand apart from the many adaptations that followed.

Anokhi Raat – A Unique Look at the Bitter Truths – Asit Sen’s Anokhi Raat, true to its name was a unique film that told the story of an unusual stormy night – the storms being both within and outside. Sundeep Pahwa looks back at this film with some memories, observations and trivia. Monica Kar (in maroon font) ponders on the memorable songs of this film, which was the swan song of music director Roshan.

‘Hansraj Behl – A Forgotten composer’ is a look-back to his songs in Part 1 and Part 2.

Raat Aur Din, directed by Satyen Bose, was the perfect swansong for Nargis – Nargis Dutt’s performance as a woman with an identity disorder in this 1967 film won her the first National Award for Best Actress.

Shailendra Sharma @ Golden Era of Bollywood has posted following memorial tribute posts:

In our Manna Dey birth centenary series, after Manna Dey and his contemporary lead actors, and Manna Dey’s Comedy Songs for Mehmood, we are on the first part of the last leg,

SoY too pays tribute to Manna Dey @ Remembering a special singer Manna Dey

May 2020  episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs takes up the less-heard songs of Manna Dey in the series Manna Dey – Chale Ja Rahein Hai…. – 1951 – 1953 . Till now we have his

We will now take up the articles on other subjects:

“Quarantine” or “Lockdown” Dances (in other words, more dances in people’s homes) – As the title suggests, this is a quick compilation of videos posted by the classical-home-performers while fighting the boredom of this lockdown period.

Jetha Ramdhanu Othe Heshe: The Smiling Rainbow of Talat Mahmood (Tapan Kumar’s) Bengali Songs – Among the many tributes and special features on the legendary singer Talat Mahmood, few, if any, talk about his remarkable repertoire of superhit Bengali songs he sang in the early part of his career. Under the name of Tapan Kumar, Talat Mahmood began his Calcutta sojourn with his first record of Bengali songs in 1944. Sounak Gupta chronicles that illustrious journey, remembering the velvet-voiced singer.

Remembering Talat Mahmood for his happy mood songs,

Songs and contra-songs lists songs of opposing truths. E.g. songs on एक/अनेक (one /many)

Howard Roark’s speech in the courtroom in The Fountainhead (1949)

Ek chidiya anek chidiya (animated short film) by Bhimsain

Madhulika Liddle lists  Ten of my favourite ‘multiple version’ songs – male/female solo versions and Ten of my favourite ‘multiple version songs: one voice, two solo versions

Sadma is an achingly beautiful story about a love that defies labels – Balu Mahendra’s Hindi remake of his Tamil classic, Moondram Pirai, was a milestone in his, Sridevi’s and Kamal Haasan’s careers.

SoY initiates Best songs of 1945: And the winners are? , the 10th episode in the annual series Best songs of year. We will take up Micro View of Songs of 1945 from next month.

We end the post with a few songs of Mohammad Rafi, each one of which basically has a link with the topics discussed in the present post, we have picked up:

Tera Jalwa Jisne Dekha Woh  Diwna Ho Gaya – Laila Majnu (1945)  – with S D Batish – Pt. Govindram – Tanveer Naqvi

(Mohammad Rafi has made maiden on-screen appearance @ 1.17in this song.)

Bulbul Mein Hai Naghmme Tere – Laila Majnu (1953) – with Khan Mastana – Ghulam Mohammad – Shakeel Badayuni

Yeh Duniya – Yahudi (1958) – Shankar Jaikishna – Shaiendra

Tum Jahan Jaoge Mujh Ko Wahin Paoge – Chor Darwja (19650 – Roy Frank – Koifi Azmi

Yeh Diwane Ki Jid Hai – Laila Majnu (1976) – Madan Mohan – Sahir Ludhyanavi

I look forward to your inputs to enrich the contents of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Disclaimer: This monthly series of posts is my best-effort-based compilation of posts on Hindi film songs that I normally visit regularly. As I record my sincere thanks to all the original creators of these posts, any other posts that I have nor covered herein shows my lack of awareness of existence of such posts and is by no means any disrespect to their work. The copyrights to the posts, images and video clips remain the properties of the original creators.

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – January 2020

Welcome to January 2020 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

The first post is about the end of the year –

Oh, what a world – As we get close to the end of the 2010s, it’s difficult to think about the state of the world. The post ends 2019 with four songs of 1940s/50s period of Indian Cinema. About different times, of course (with one even being about ancient times – supposedly), but also – needless to say – very relevant to our own.

Songs of Yore opened the New Year with some nostalgia of Americana @ Romancing the Route 66.

And, now the major event of January 2020 –

January 14, 2020 marked the 101st birth anniversary of poet and social activist Kaifi Azmi. Google Doodles has paid tribute to the legend who was one of the pioneers to bring Urdu poetry to mainstream Hindi films.

Google Doodle pays tribute to famous poet and songwriter Kaifi Azmi on 101st birthday

Google Doodle celebrates Kaifi Azmi’s 101st birth anniversary: Here are some of his best Bollywood songs

दिल को गहराई तक छूने वाले हैं कैफी आजमी के ये शेर

Remembering Kaifi Azmi’s dialogue in verse for the classic Hindi film ‘Heer Raanjha’ – The Progressive writer and film lyricist left his distinctive stamp on the 1970 adaptation of the Punjabi romance. – Chetan Anand’s Heer Raanjha was set in a rugged landscape and revolves around hearty village folk. Kaifi Azmi not only wrote the dialogues of lead charchters but also those of rest of ensemble cast as well.

We pick up other tributes and memories:

Mehfil celebrates ‘C Ramchandra’ Month! with the opening post on his songs that he himself sung, in the name of Chitalkar. This is followed up by –  C Ramchandra – The 1940s ,  C Ramchandra – The 50s (Part I) and C Ramchandra – The 50s (Part II).

Utpal Dutt Today: How would the thespian have fared in the age of Netflix and Chill? – Gautam Chintamani – It’s 26 years since Utpal Dutt passed on. Would he have achieved the same glory today with online platforms, where ‘content’ and ‘actor’ surpass the ‘star’, but have a much shorter screen life?

Flawed Genius – Sahir Ludhianvi was many things all at once – a failed romantic, a bitter cynic, a master egotist, a generous mentor, a firm friend. Above all, he was a stellar poet and master lyricist. This, then, is the man on whom the book – Akshay Manwani’s Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet (Harper Collins Publishers India; ISBN: 978-93-5029-733-9; Rs.399; 320 pages) – shines a spotlight.

The World of Javed Akhtar: 124 Rare Exhibits to Celebrate the Legend’s 75th Year  –  Silhouette Magazine goes backstage to speak to the curators, Pradeep Chandra and S M M Ausaja, and bring an exclusive preview.

Shailendra Sharma @ Golden Era of Bollywood has posted following memorial tribute posts:

In our Manna Dey birth centenary series, after Manna Dey and his contemporary lead actors, we took up Manna Dey’s Comedy Songs, starting with Manna Dey’s songs for Mehmood. The January 2020 episode explores Manna Dey- Mehmood bond from the beginning of Mehmood’s acting career, till blossoming into comedy songs in 1964 with Ziddi songs.

C.I.D. — when Bollywood musical met noir in signature Dev Anand style – Samira Sood -The 1956 classic also introduced one of Hindi cinema’s most loved actors – Waheeda Rehman. Ask anyone born after 1980 and they’ll tell you — if at all they’ve heard of C.I.D. — that the one thing about the movie that has immediate recall is the song Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan.

RD Didn’t Get His Due, But He’ll Never Be Forgotten: Asha Bhosle – Khalid Mohamed – RD Burman passed away at the age of 54, on 4th January, 1994. And it was only posthumously – or should we say belatedly? – that he has been acknowledged as a music wizard.

January 2020  episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs takes up Jaidev: Brilliant, But Underrated, Composer:  1971, in continuation of the series on Jaidev. The first two articles related to Jaidev’s songs from  1955 to 1963 and from 1964 to 1970 .

Dr. Pradeep Sheety adds: Lata’s NFL Jayate Jayate Jayate … was originally a Kannada film song by Manna Dey, Amber Kumar and Krishna Kalle from the movie KALPAVRIKSHA,1969, with Jaidev’s music. Lyrics by Ku Ra Seetaram Shastri. A lovely song. Unlike the patriotic Hindi version, it is about the role of truthfulness and honesty in life.

We will now take up the articles on other subjects:

Smita Patil’s portrayal of a flawed, messy actor in Bhumika is fascinating and powerful – Samira Sood – Based on memoir of Marathi actor Hansa Wadkar, Smita Patil’s Bhumika, a film by Shyam Benegal, is a brutal & unflinching look at the life of a female movie star in Bombay. Not only Patil’s performance, but also the sensitive writing (Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad, with Satyadev Dubey for dialogue) shine through.

Amol Palekar interview: ‘The challenge is always to try something else’ – Nandini Ramnath -One of Indian cinema’s best-loved actors is back with a new play after 25 years. What will it take to make him return to the movies?

Surrogate Songs – The purpose of such songs was really to focus on the lead actors who were quietly enjoying the song and dance, wishing in their hearts they could do it themselves. We will draw upon one song to understand the theme –

Bichhade huye milenge phir kismet ne gar mila diya – Post Box 999 (1958) – – Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle – Kalyanji-Virji Shah – PL Santoshi

To which I have added my own submission –

Jaane Kahan Gayi – Dil Apana Aur Preet Parayai (1960) – Mohammad Rafi – Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendar

Night Songs By Shailendra, by Swapneel Sathe, is a night tour enjoying various flavors of emotions depicted from some selected night songs from the pen Shailendra.

Shabana Azmi is what Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay thought of when he wrote Swami – Madhavi Pothukuchi – The 1977 film is an excellent tribute to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s book, which put the woman and her desires and angst in the forefront.

“Essayed Sisyphean roles with effortless ease” is a short review – for India Today – of a new book about Dilip Kumar – Dilip Kumar: Peerless Icon Inspiring Generations (by Trinetra Bajpai and Anshula Bajpai).

Chashme Buddoor, aka Saeed Jaffrey, and the art of making a small role fill the screen – Samira Sood – The 1981 rom com and buddy film starring Saeed Jaffrey shows you don’t have to be centre stage or mainstream to have an impact.

Actor Saeed Jaffrey on the sets of Chashme Buddoor with Deepti Naval and Sai Paranjape | Twitter: @FilmHistoryPic

We end the post with a few songs of Mohammad Rafi, each one of which basically has a link with the topics discussed in the present post, we have picked up:

Apni Chhaya Mein Bhagwan Bitha Le Tu Mujhe – Insaniyat (1955) – C Ramchandra – Rajinder Krishna

Tum Jahan Jaaoge – Chor Darwaza (1965) – Roy Frank –  Kaifi Azmi

Kitana Rangeen Hai Ye Sama – Picnic (1966) – With Asha Bhosle – N Dutta – Sahir Ludhyanavi

Tere Kooche Mein Tera Deewana  – Heer Raanjha (1970) –  Madan Mohan – Kaifi Azmi

Chanpa Khili Daar – Faisla (1974 /1988) – with Asha Bhosle – R D Burman – Majrooh Sultanpuri

I look forward to your inputs to enrich the contents of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Disclaimer: This monthly series of posts is my best-effort-based compilation of posts on Hindi film songs that I normally visit regularly. As I record my sincere thanks to all the original creators of these posts, any other posts that I have nor covered herein shows my lack of awareness of existence of such posts and is by no means any disrespect to their work. The copyrights to the posts, images and video clips remain the properties of the original creators.

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – May 2019

Welcome to May 2019 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

We have two distinctive themes as the lead article – birth centenary of Manna Dey and 50 years of ‘parallel Cinema.

Manna Dey – Birth Centenary

Fifty years of Hindi Parallel Cinema

        • Fifty years of Hindi alternative cinema – Uday Bhatia, Jai Arjun Singh – In 1969, three films signaled the start of Hindi-language Parallel Cinema. To mark the half-century, the article has collated a selection of 50 films, one for each of the last 50 years, which are notably influential, obscure or under-appreciated., from the arthouse, experimental, indie, Parallel and Middle Cinema movements
        • The sounds of Parallel Cinema – Salil Tripathi – Music and sound design played a huge part in the alternative Hindi cinema of the 1970s – Directors turned to composers like Vijay Raghav Rao, Vanraj Bhatia and Rajat Dholakia for innovative soundscapes…Songs allowed for playful innovations. In filming the delightful song Paanch Lakh Ki Gadi, Saeed Mirza used an extended long shot in Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai (1980), as Naseeruddin Shah and other motor mechanics tinkered with an expensive jalopy. The song is filmed in a single shot, as if paying homage to Hitchcock, whose Rope (1948) was filmed to seem as if it was a single shot.
In 2017, Azmi tweeted a photograph from a Cannes visit in 1976—of her and Smita Patil in saris, draped two different ways.

Continuing with the homage to Shamshad Begum, Shamshad sings with Mangeshkar sisters remembers duets and triads, e.g.  Khushiyan Na Manaae Kyon Hum.. Kismat Hamare Saath Hai….– Khidaki (1948) – with Lata Mangeshkar and Mohantara Talpade – C Ramchandra – PL Santoshi

Ten of my favourite Kaifi Azmi songs is a chosen list of some of Kaifi Azmi’s timeless songs.

The Unrivaled Poet Kaifi Azmi- Part  I lists his songs composed by Khayyam, Hemant Kumar and Madan Mohan and  Part II lists his songs with all other composers. I have taken one illustrative song from each one –

Sara Mora Kajra Chhudaya- Do Dil (1965) – Mohammad Rafi & Aarti Mukherji / Music – Hemant Kumar

Baithe Hai Rehguzar Par – 40 Days (1959) – Asha Bhosle / Music – Babul 

Nazir Hoosein ensured that at Mumbai’s Liberty Cinema, the show never stopped – A tribute to the doughty owner of Liberty Cinema, Mumbai’s Art Deco gem.

The premiere of Andaz in 1949. Photo courtesy Nazir Hoosein and Karl Bhote

Romancing the Reel: Vijay Bhatt – Legendary director-producer Vijay Bhatt, the founder of Prakash Pictures, a film production company and Prakash Studios in Mumbai, had launched some of the most illustrious names in Hindi film industry. SMM Ausaja pays tribute to this illustrious filmmaker with a journey through his life and works on his birth anniversary, embellished with a collection of rare pictures courtesy Osianama.

Prithviraj Kapoor in Vikramaditya 1945

Shailendra Sharma @ Golden Era of Bollywood has posted following memorial tribute posts:

Remembering Kedar Sharma is a tribute to Kedar Sharma, on his 20th Death Anniversary.

“Shamma Pe Aake O Parwane Jal Jal” – Heera Sawant – Heera Sawant was not only an excellent dancer but also an adept actress. She made her debut in Hindi films in 1940s, made her emphatic presence felt in around 120 films over two decades, produced a few films and with the changing times bid adieu to the arc lights of the film world.

May, 2019 episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs takes up. Manna Dey – Chale Jaa Rahein Hai…. : 1947 – 1950. This in continuation to the previous article in 2018 wherein we had covered Manna Dey’s songs for the year 1943 to 1946.

And, now commence the posts on other subjects.

Chorus Songs in the Hindi Films of Yore – In the first part of her three-part dissertation on chorus songs in the films of yore, the guest author, Shalan Lal covered the first decade of the 1930s. The second part, dealing with  the second decade of the 1940s, and chorus songs from this era, gives a good insight into the main trends during this period and style of music.

Romancing The Letters – Khat, Chitthi and Sandesh Songs is a collection of Hindi songs which narrate a story through the wonderful, romantic mode of communication.

Doris Day sang ‘Que Sera Sera’ – and so did Telugu star Bhanumathi –  Sriram V – How Indian filmmakers reused the famous tune from Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense thriller ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ (1956).

Doris Day sings Que Sera Sera in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).

Chinna Pennana Pothile, Aaravalli (1957)

Que Sera Sera in the Telugu film Thodu Needa (1965).

On ‘Main Shayar toh Nahin: The Book of Hindi Film Lyricists’ by Ravishankar presents Hindi-film lyrics and lyricists from the 1930s to the present day. Main Shayar Toh Nahin isn’t a book you will read for the quality of the writing, or for a cleanly structured approach: it makes random leaps, there are patches of repetition. But by the time you reach the last page, you feel better-educated about a subject that had been something of a mystery to most of

Following the overview article, Best songs of 1946: And the winners are?. , we have also rolled out The Micro View of Best Songs of 1946, beginning with Male Solo songs. We have covered Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, G M Durrani and Ashok Kumar till now.

Now we post with a few songs of Mohammad Rafi, each one of which basically has a link with the topics discussed in the present post.

Tera Husn Rahe Mera Ishq Rahe – Do Dil (1965) – Hemant Kumar – Kaifi Azmi

Arre Hasanewale, Kabhi Ye Bhi Socho – Parwana (1971) – Madan Mohan – Kaifi Azmi

Chalate Hi Jaana Chalate Hi Jaana Jahan Tak Aaj Ye Raah Chale – Usne Kaha Tha (1961) – With Manna Dey – Salil Chaudhary – Shailendra

I earnestly solicit your inputs for further broad-basing our cache for the content for our carnival of blogs on the Golden Era of Hindi film music.

Disclaimer: This monthly series of posts is my best-effort-based compilation of posts on Hindi film songs that I normally visit regularly. As I record my sincere thanks to all the original creators of these posts, any other posts that I have nor covered herein shows my lack of awareness of existence of such posts and is by no means any disrespect to their work. The copyrights to the posts, images and video clips remain the properties of the original creators.

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – January, 2019

Welcome to January, 2019 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Let us Swing into the New Year with Swing a song of sixpence on a swaying spree of ‘jhoola’ songs with Ashwin Bhandarkar.

Mrinal Sen: The Man Who Fought Through Cinema – Bhuvan Shiome, the sophisticated satire’s runaway success not only created cine-history, it created an entire generation of cine-maestros…showing a multifaceted India on the silver screen.

For the micro-level review of the film please read on Bhuvan Shome (1969).

Some more tributes to Mrinal Sen, on Scroll.in:

This is also the birth centenary year of Kaifi Azmi. Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan, lyricist Javed Akhtar, actor Shabana Azmi and filmmaker Feroz Abbas Khan have come together for a ‘Raag Shayari’ to mark Kaifi Azmi’s centenary celebrations

We take a look at a retrospective by Rajya Sabha channel – Remembering Kaifi Azmi

On Kaifi Azmi’s centenary year, Garm Hava writer Shama Zaidi – Aaj ki Raat Bahut Garm Hawa Chalti Hai – Kaifi Azmi recites for Balraj Sahni

Shakeel-Naushad: Classy Confluence, Seamless Flow – 2 – After exploring the Shakeel – Naushad initial phase in the Part 1, Vijay Kumar now delves into their combined work from Mughl-e-Azam.

Bharat Vyas – The Prolific Lyricist – I and Bharat Vyas – The Prolific Lyricist – II is a series of tributes to the lyricist in his centenary birth year.

OP Nayyar, the Music Maestro Who Regretted Nothing, is republished to mark OP Nayyar’s birth anniversary. Listen to OP Nayyar jukebox here.

Remembering poet and lyricist Neeraj, who gave us some great lyrics and enduring ideas – On his 94th birth anniversary, flashbacks to the time Neeraj escaped death thrice and his views on Hindi film music.

Shailendra Sharma @ Golden Era of Bollywood has posted following memorial tribute posts:

The flashback series: why you should watch Kala Bazar with its celebrity cameos, vivid sound design, and an early glimpse of Vijay Anand as director and actor

Pancham And His Jalpari – Tale Of Choral Tail –The previous Jalpari article relates to the lovely buildup of the emotion / yearn of the beloved, as lovingly detailed as a mermaid’s cute face/ mukhada in RDB songs. The present sequel takes up the tale of the choral tail, the tail that follows as smoothly after the mukhada as the aqua-dynamic as the shape of the tail of the mermaid, an apt example is the improvised sad version of Saagar Kianre

‘Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche’ – Imtiaz Khan, elder son of actor Jayant, played played important roles in many hit films like ‘Yaadon Ki Baaraat’, ‘Dharmatma’, ‘Zakhmi’, ‘Zorro’, ‘Kala Sona’, ‘Kabeela’ and ‘Darwaza’., but his first love was film direction.

From Left Imtiaz, Jayant, Amjad

January, 2019 episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs is second article in the series of annual article series on Jaidev: Brilliant, But Underrated Composer. The present article covers less remembered songs of unknown films from 1964 to 1970. For the records, we had covered his take-off years of 1955 to 1963 last year.

We also have another article, JAIDEV- A composer with the highest number of unreleased films, in which he had composed some gems

And, now the posts on other subjects:

Welcomed with Arrows – Arrows and bows are called teer and kamaan respectively in Hindustani language. They are also called baan and dhanush. Our poets have used teer and baan as metaphors in poetry, both to ignite love—in the Cupid way—as well as to injure it. The post checks out these songs from our films, which make an early reference to such ammunition:

Greatness in the shadow of the giants: Pandit Shyam Sundar – Shyam Sundar was not only central to the career of the three greatest singers, Noorjehan, Lata Mangeshkar and Rafi, he takes the sole credit for Sulochana Kadam’s fame. Shyam Sundar’s career was short, spanning about 14 years (1939-1953) in which he gave music for only 4 Punjabi and 20 Hindi films. He died prematurely in 1953.

The Irony of an Iron Building – One wonders how the word hotel became a substitute for an eatery in Hindustani parlance, with names like one finds names like Ram Bharose Hindu Hotel or Allah Bux Hotel being ubiquitously seen across towns in India. The post recalls the song engaging with this idea,

Aao Hamar Hotel Mein Chai Piyo Ji GaraM Garam, Biscuit Khalo Naram Naram – Kundan (1955) – S D Batish, Sudha Malhotra – Ghulam Mohammad – Shakeel Badayuni

Shehnai (1947) and a Sad Video About the River in the “Chhuk Chhuk Chhaiya Chhaiya” Scene – The clean, fragrant, and sweet waters that the song talked about have long since lost their spirit. Today, the Kandivli ‘nullah’ bears an ominous look.

More Than Meets the Eye – What is it about sunglasses that is so cool? Why is it that they are seen more as style accessories than as protection for the eyes? When did they transform from a thing of function to one of fashion? In any case, Hindi films have a known tradition of actors who were seen wearing sunglasses in a song. The post lists such songs.

We will take a quick look at these guest posts, before we move over to the curtain call for the present episode:

In our tradition of ending our post with article on Mohammad Rafi or a topical song of his, I have picked up a few songs, each one of which basically has a link with the topics discussed in the present post.

Chand Ki Sundar Nagri Mein Pariyon Ki Raani Raheti Thi – Dholak (1951) – with Uma Devi and Chorus – Shyam Sundar – Aziz Kashmirir

Koi Ek Ana Koi Do Ana Koi Ten Ana Koi Char Ana – Dhun (1953) – with Satish Batra, Madan Mohan, Babul – Madn Mohan – Bharat Vyas

Ishq Mein Mere Kya Kaya Junoon Ki – Khunus (Unreleased) – Jaidev – Bahadur Shah Zafar

Wo Teer Dil Pe Chala Jo Teri Kaman Main Hai.… – Aarti (1962) – with Asha Bhosle – Roshan – Majrooh Sultanspuri.

Nain Mila Ke Pyar Jata Ke Aaj Na Ja Tu –  Mera Bhai Mera Dushman (1967) – With Jagjit Kaur – Khayyam – Kaifi Azmi

Jinke Pas Haathi Ghoda Inke Pas Dil Thoda – Dil Ka Raja (1970) – with Asha Bhosle and Manna Dey – R D Burman – Mahrooh Sultanpuri

I earnestly solicit your inputs for further broad-basing our cache for the content for our carnival of blogs on the Golden Era of Hindi film music.

Disclaimer: This monthly series of posts is my best-effort-based compilation of posts on Hindi film songs that I normally visit regularly. As I record my sincere thanks to all the original creators of these posts, any other posts that I have nor covered herein shows my lack of awareness of existence of such posts and is by no means any disrespect to their work. The copyrights to the posts, images and video clips remain the properties of the original creators.

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

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

Month of May also has brought in two very specific posts:

Singing for a better tomorrow: A Hindi film song helpline for May Day – Ashwini Deshpande

On International Workers’ Day, a reminder of the times when lyricists, in Hindi films. These songs were filled with optimism, hope and dreams of a better life marked by equality.

Month of May also has a most significant milestone for Indian Cinema. DG Phalke’s labour of love ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was released on May 3, 1913. Here is what went into the making of the first Indian feature film – Sruthi Ganapathy Raman  recalls  that it was far from easy to make.

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

Passing away of Vinod Khanna did result in a downpour of eulogies, form all and different quarters.

  • Vinod Khanna conquered Hindi cinema by just being there – Mustansir Dalvi – When not playing the villain, Vinod Khanna played straight man to the more garrulous co-stars.
  • Thus Endeth Another Chapter of “a man with sad eyes, self-confident without being arrogant, the quietness of a man who was – finally – at peace with himself. For someone who was so much a man’s man, so ruggedly handsome, what remains with me is the half-smile that quirked his lips in the most endearing way, and the way his eyes lit up when he smiled. That smile made him at once real, and human.”
  • In Tribute: Vinod Khanna (1946-2017) – The deeply nuanced roles that went to actors like Sanjeev Kumar may not have been Vinod Khanna’s, but the roles he played, he played well. He played them convincingly, and he played them with a flair that was very appealing.
  • ‘Where are the available men’ and other tales from the sets of the sexual liberation drama ‘Rihaee’ – Arunaraje Patil faced typical and unforeseen challenges while directing her first solo feature in Gujarat in 1988 – edited excerpts from her autobiography Freedom My Story– “It was during the dubbing of Rihaee, that Vinod, finding me preoccupied, literally cornered me into telling him what the problem was. When he found out what was bothering me, he stepped out of the studio, went to his car and got me thirty thousand rupees. This was exactly what I needed for the first print. When I made a fuss about taking it, he thrust it in my hands and said, ‘Don’t worry, payable when able.’”
  • Remembering (and Re-Introducing) Vinod Khanna – Little wonder then that this strikingly handsome man, who might have made a career out of being a poster boy, letting his sunglasses and open shirts do most of the work for him, participated in a number of relatively offbeat or understated films – starting with Gulzar’s Mere Apne and Achanak and Sunil Dutt’s Reshma aur Shera, and continuing for the next two decades, through Meera, Lekin… , Muzaffar Ali’s uncompleted Zooni, or Patil’s Rihaee

Zohra Sehgal was the mother of all screen grandmothers – Rhea Nath – In movie after movie, the dancer and stage actress played a matriarch as charming as she is crusty.

Waqt Ne Kiya – The Introspective Songs of Kaifi Azmi – Peeyush Sharma – We have picked up one rare song here and one – one of the finest – at the end of our episode:

Aaj ki kaali ghata  – Uski Kahani, 1966 – Geeta Dutt – Kanu Roy

Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana: Shankar Jaikishan’s Melodies of 1971 – 18 Films, 104 Songs – Peeyush Sharma – Shankar, bade goodbye to this world on 26 April 1987. Jaikishan departed on 12th September, 1971. SJ (Shankar-Jaikishan) had 18 Hindi and one Telugu film releases this year. They had also now started working with a variety of lyricists; Hasrat was the regular as always, they added Rajendra Krishan, S H Bihari, Neeraj, Shaili Shailendra, Anand Bakshi, Varma Mallik, Indeevar and even Gulzar. Jaikishan had earlier appeared on screen way back performing on the Mukesh song, Ae pyase dil bezubaan, tujhko le jaaun kahan, in Begunaah in 1957. This year he made an appearance as Jaikishan himself, working on a balancing machine while recording the Kishore song Naach Meri Jaan Fatafat. The song went on Mehmood.

We have picked up three songs form the Telugu film Jeevitha Chakram:

Kallallo Kallupetti

Kanti Choopu (Female)

And its male version

Shankar-Jaikishan’s duets (1): Mukesh/Rafi with female singers and Shankar Jaikishan’s duets (2) is the continuum of singerwise posts for Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Rafi, Manna Dey, ‘Other singers’ and two posts on their dance songs – for Lata Mangeshkar and female dance duets.

The May 2017 episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs was dedicated to Snehal Bhatkar. Snehal Bhatkar composed songs for 27 Hindi films and 12 Marathi films. His contribution in Marathi NFS is also highly respected.

Here are posts on other subjects as well:

Returning to the songs of Ningalenne Communistakki (but still looking for subtitles) presents songs from a classic Malayalam film Ningalenne Communistakki.

Ashwin Bhandrakar debuts with guest post Beena madhur madhur kacchu bol in unpretentious style peppered with a dash of humour on bees and honey.

‘Pakeezah’ resonates to the sound of Meena Kumari’s anklets – Manish Gaekwad – The soundtrack of the 1972 classic was by Ghulam Mohammed, who used the foot ornaments to startling effect.

Lovers burn up the phone wires in ‘Jalte Hai Jiske Liye’– Nandini Ramnath – The song from Bimal Roy’s 1959 classic ‘Sujata’ is one of the most quietly raging love songs out there.

‘Dil Dhoondta Hai’ and the heart that never stops searching – Bubla Basu -Gulzar’s ‘Mausam’ features two versions of a love. From the first words “Dil dhoondta hai” (the heart is searching), we slip into the nostalgic, compelling mood of the film. Someone, somewhere, somehow is searching for someone. The solo is an echo of a love that is lost but not forgotten…. Madan Mohan’s haunting music and Gulzar’s evocative lyrics ensure that we recognise the song later in the film when Sanjeev Kumar and Sharmila Tagore render a longer and livelier duet.

The original ‘Meri Pyari Bindu’ from ‘Padosan’ is more than just a comical tune – The popular song by Kishore Kumar from the 1968 comedy mixes traditional Baul music with elements of the qawwali and the love ballad.

Two Mukesh duets buzzing me today: Yeh Duniya Hai… Yahan Dil Ka Lagana Kis Ko Aata Hai (Shair,1949, Ghulam Mohammad) and   Khayalon Mein Kisi Ke Is Tarah Aaya Nahin Karate (Banware Nain, 1950, Roshan).

When the bhajan ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare’ inspired a Pakistani love song – Karan Bali – ‘Phirni Aan Main Labdi’, from the 1957 movie ‘Nooran’, features Pakistani singing sensation Noor Jehan. – Written by Hazin Qadri, Phirni Aan Main Labdi is among several wonderful tunes by composer Safdar Hussain for Nooran.

We could not make any progress in annual Micro View of Best Songs 1948 @SoY.

We end our present episode with Kafi Azmi’s the song that just sweeps you away: Tum jo mil gaye ho (Hanste Zakhm, 1973, Madan Mohan). It has got the rhythm of the crashing waves and pouring rain in every note. It rises and falls like the tidal sea waves, races like the wind and then slows down to a gentle pitter-patter only to pick up the pace again at a frenetic speed. What an amazing song, composition and rendition by the trio of Kaifi Azmi-Madan Mohan-Rafi.

Tum bhi the khoye khoye, main bhi bujhaa-bujhaa
Thaa ajnabi zamaanaa apnaa koi na thha
Dil ko jo mil gayaa hai teraa sahaaraa

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