Archive for the ‘Post by Sudhir’ Category
Main jo dinan ki thhoree
Posted on: September 11, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Kidar Sharma ‘Hasrat’, the famous lyricist, writer and filmmaker, recounts his association with Saigal Saab, while working on the film Tansen and Bhanwara. It was early 40s, and Saigal Saab was still associated with the New Theatres in Calcutta on a contract basis. Chandulal Shah of Ranjit Movietone (Bombay) planned the film Tansen, and the obvious choice for the title role was Saigal Saab. After some negotiations with New Theatres, Chandulal Shah obtained permission for having Saigal Saab work temporarily with Ranjit Movietone. The understanding was for a fixed period of time, and not for completing an assignment.
Read more on this topic…
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusist of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Asha Bhonsle – the name that conjures up the racy and spicy sounds of ‘udlayee udlayee udlayee o’, a voice that has a chirp, and an impish and naughty flavor to it, and the versatility that adorns thousands of music creations that have become a hallmark in the annals of Hindi film music. The second of the famous siblings of the Mangeshkar clan, Asha ji was born on this day in 1933. She started singing for films at a very young age of 10 years. Although her released recordings in 1950s were second only to Lata, she was considered as the singer for “bad girls” and vamps, and got the assignments that were turned down by Lata, Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum. Her voice started getting noticed from films like Sangdil (1952), Parineeta (1953) and Boot Polish (1954). And then came the real recognition of her talent in the mid 1950s, under the baton of OP Nayyar, with hits like CID (1956) and Naya Daur (1957). She became the voice of Helen, and has sung most of the songs that Helen has performed on the screen. Helen ji used to attend the song recording sessions personally, to better get a feel of how the song is to be performed.
Read more on this topic…
Humjoliyon ki thhee toliyaan
Posted on: September 7, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The wondrous characteristic about Saigal Saab is that whatever he sang, it became music. Even the songs with passages of prose and pauses, sound like melodies. His rendition of ‘Piye Jaa Aur Piye Jaa’ from Pujaarin (1936) is a combination of verse and prosaic speech, of a person under the influence of alcohol. It is stated that this song was recorded without any rehearsals. Just the first take is the final version we hear today. Or the song ‘Ek Raja Ka Betaa Le Kar Udne Waalaa Ghodaa’ from President (1937). Combining story telling with singing, it set up a fresh style for children songs. All examples of a gifted artist who would convert words to music.
Read more on this topic…
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The films in India started to talk in 1931, and with it came the music and the songs, that are so inseparable from the culture of this country. No matter what part of the country one talks about, music is the flow that nurtures and strengthens the emotional character of the society. And the music immediately became a crucial thread in the talking films, and the films became a pivotal medium for the folk and popular music to prosper. It was with the coming of the talking films that the concept of a ‘music’ industry was born in India.
Read more on this topic…
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
It is a well known fact that Saigal Saab did not have any formal training classical music. As a child, he was blessed by and initiated into the practice of riyaaz by Pir Salman Yusuf, a sufi saint in Jammu. This blessing, and the word of his first Guru, led to a secret discipline, which was akin to a pursuit in spiritual internalization. It molded his voice such that his voice gained an unusual musical power – an emotional content that is not generally cared for in formal training. Saigal Saab has this dexterity to make the words glow with music, as he sings. In ghazal singing, his swara’s power the words from within, such that the music does never seem to interfere with the flow of words. It is like a magic. From the lowest note, he can move his voice so smoothly to the higher octaves, without ever becoming shrill even when he touches the highest notes. Throughout the entire rendition, there is a smooth and vivid timbre to the sound that is very pleasant. Nowhere can the listener detect any vibrations, or ‘kampan’.
Read more on this topic…
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
Recent comments