Archive for the ‘Ghazal’ Category
This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
It is said that on seeing the film Devdas, famous actor/producer/director V Shantaram, was not satisfied and did not approve of its content and conclusion. His reaction was that no one should throw away his youth and neglect his life, just on account of frustrations in love. In response, V Shantaram produced the film Aadmi (1939), whose tag line is ‘Life Is for Living’. This film is a story of a young man frustrated in love. This young man responds to the failures with determination and faces the life’s challenges boldly, and does not yield to the temptations of drinking.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
A debate that does not seem to garner much attention from critics and music lovers, is about the on screen presence and on screen histrionics of Saigal Saab. The singing voice, which is at once enchanting as well as haunting, is so expressive and overpowering that it overshadows any and all other aspects of this personality. And yet, in the eight decades since the Hindi films started to talk, and after more than ten thousand films having been played on the silver screen, one of the most powerful and everlasting memories is the tragic portrayal of a frustrated ‘Devdas’ (1935). A portrayal that made Saigal Saab a cult figure, and the film a rare and exceptional cinematic experience. And also, the film for which the term ‘musical hit’ was coined, and the film that elevated film songs and film music to a distinct identity.
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Ghar ye tera sadaa na mera hai
Posted on: August 30, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
A diffident soul for most part of his life, Saigal Saab avoided calling or causing any attention to himself in public. BN Sircar (founder of New Theaters, Calcutta), recalls that Saigal Saab would never take himself too seriously. People that he took seriously were the people who were less fortunate than himself. He apparently lived only for music and singing. Everything in life was just for a song. And for his friends. Before he left for Jullundur in the winter of 1946, he met with Phani Mazumdar in Bombay. Phani had produced and directed the film Street Singer, for New Theatres. Saigal Saab told Phani that he wanted to work together again. When Phani Mqzumdar indicated that he may not be able to afford the star of his eminence any more, Saigal Saab promised him that finances would be the least of the issues and that he would take care of it. Leaving Phani Mazumdar to start working on script and start planning for the film, Saigal Saab traveled to Jullundur, in what turns out to be his final travels. For Phani Mazumdar, the story was forever unfinished, for he could never think of completing it with any other star.
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Bahut us gali ke kiye here phere
Posted on: August 27, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
In her memoirs, Kaanan Devi, the premier leading lady of the films in the 1930s, recounts her times and experiences of working with Saigal Saab. As a singer-actor team, this duo has worked together in many Hindi and Bangla films produced by New Theatres, Calcutta, and there is treasure of memorable music these two have created together. Kaanan Devi writes about his simplicity and a childlike disposition that endeared him to one and all. She tells about his unmindful and forgetful nature, especially when engrossed in music. There would be times when the shooting is to start, the preparations are all in place, the unit is ready, and people are waiting for Saigal Saab to come. Sometimes he would be very late, and there was no information where he is. Then someone would come and tell that Saigal Saab has been in the studio for a long time, but away from the hustle bustle of the shooting location, he is sitting in some lonely corner, or alone in a room, with a harmonium, and is simply singing away to his hearts fulfillment. Then someone or the director would find courage to go and remind him about the schedule, and then he would come running, profusely apologetic, and in good humor trying to get the schedule move forward.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
In his life, and in his death, Saigal Saab remains a mystery. Not much is known about his years of wandering, and then the immediate success as a singer-actor in Calcutta, somehow defies the normal course of understanding life’s events. He was just as he was.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The mellifluous voice of Saigal Saab has an enrapturing power that always casts a spell over the listeners. The range of his voice has a span that goes from the very base notes – ‘Bina Pankh Panchhi Hoon Mein’ (Tansen) all way to the higher octaves as in ‘Prem Ka Hai Is Jag Mein Panth Niraala’ (President). Saigal Saab’s voice as the rare ability to effortlessly accord the right expressions to each word, and make it glow distinctly. All his renditions leave a lasting impression in the mind, whether it be a love song ‘Baalam Aaye Baso Morey Mann Mein’ (Devdas), or a lullaby ‘So Jaa Raajkumari So Jaa’ (Zindagi), or an inspirational song ‘Hat Gayee Lo Kaari Ghataa’ (Lagan), a bhajan ‘Suno Suno Hey Kishan Kaalaa’ (non-film), a children’s song ‘Ek Raja Ka Beta Le Kar’ (President), or a song full of melancholy and pathos ‘Bina Pankh Panchhi Hoon Mein’ (Tansen).
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Ibn e mariam huaa karey koi
Posted on: August 19, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
If one were to try to understand the phenomena of Saigal Saab’s success in the world of show business, one simply has to resort to providence. The initial reactions of the people like RC Boral, BN Sircar, PC Barua, Nitin Bose on meeting him for the first time, was at best dismissive. Unusually tall, already balding above the forehead, irregular features, and when asked about his musical tutorship, he could not name a single Ustad, obscure or famous, under whom he could have learnt. And why, of all the places he arrived in Calcutta from Jalandhar, is a mystery that has no answers even now. And yet, there are volumes that have been written about the magic of his voice, and the account of his career. His voice was as if a divine endowment. One can speculate endlessly as to what could have been the course of cinematic history, had Saigal Saab lived longer. But better than this speculation, it is a succor that he was when he was, and has left behind a legacy that is a tremendous treasure.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie songs and a regular contributor to this blog.
It is said that most great people wear their fame with comfort; but it is the really renowned who can wear their fame with humility. Fame is a mammoth burden to carry; and only those who are greater than the fame itself, will not be weighed down by it. Much has been written about Saigal Saab’s character and persona, and there is one quality that all writers concur about – that he was a humble, unassuming and an unsophisticated person. Once at a music concert, Saigal Saab was sharing the stage with luminaries of classical music like Fayaaz Khan, Hafiz Ali Khan and Sadiq Ali Khan. As soon as the first item was announced, there was trouble; the audience wanted to hear to Saigal Saab only. Later, while leaving the place, he commented to a friend that he will never participate in another concert in that particular city, because – “. . . the people here do not know how to behave. Today, my Guru’s were insulted on my account.” Many others would not even realize the issue, much less confess it.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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