Archive for the ‘Post by Sudhir’ Category
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Saigal, a voice that became still more than sixty years ago, is still regarded as the unvanquished king of Hindi film music. The prodigious voice of Saigal, the Golden Voice as many writers have referred to him, is a wonder that has not since been emulated again. And this person of humble and affable personality, also carried a heart of gold.
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 year is probably 1932-33; and the location is Calcutta. Kidar Sharma, a very young and talented poet and writer from Amritsar, about 23 or 24 years of age, is eagerly trying to get a break into the world of cinema. The film Rajraani Meera is under production at New Theatres, and the star cast boasts of such luminaries as Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote and KL Saigal. (Although these became household names a few years hence, in those fledgling years, all these stars were new and still trying to find their feet in the industry).Kidar Sharma writes in his memoirs about his first meeting with all three of them on a single fateful day, as he is trying for an introduction to the powers that be in New Theatres.
Read more on this topic…
Mere humnasheen mere humnawaan
Posted on: September 2, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The film Bhool Na Jaanaa, is an unreleased film from the 1964-65 time frame. Started under the banner of Integrity International, by producer Jagan Prasad Sharma, its storyline was built around the Indo-China war of 1962. By the time this film was under production, the govt. of India refused permission for this film to be released. Apparently the relations with China were improving, and the govt. put a ban on films on this subject. (May be it was lucky for Chetan Anand that his film on the same subject, Haqeeqat, got released in 1964, and the ban probably came after that). Although in an advanced stage of completion, the production of this film was shelved.
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 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.
Read more on this topic…
Kaise kate ratiyaan baalam
Posted on: September 1, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Today’s write up is different from the normal format / content of Saigal Saab’s songs, that we are discussing on this blog. (I am in travel today, and have limited access to resources and time. I shall be back tomorrow.)
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.
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.
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.
aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai
aaj phir marne ka irada hai
No better words to express the exuberance and the playfulness of a liberated spirit. A poet’s dream and life’s illustration in reality, all anxieties and caution thrown to the winds and the desires to live the life the way it should be. These words from the pen of Shailendra, and numerous other such gems, of all moods and flavors, embellish the Hindi film screen for 160+ films across two decades. A poet par excellence, Shailendra was a rebel spirit meshed in a romantic mould, whose understanding and expression of human emotions and situations is second to none.
Read more on this topic…
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.
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.
Greetings and welcome all to the 4500th song on this blog.
Read more on this topic…
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
Recent comments