Archive for the ‘Post by Sudhir’ Category
Saaf karo insaaf karo
Posted on: July 1, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Vasant Desai had a fairly long stint of thirty plus years in the film industry, and yet his total assignments as a music director are less than fifty. It is said that he did not take up or did not get many assignments because of his style. His style is deeply rooted in the classical and folk traditions, and he maintained that style throughout his career. In the 60s and 70s, his assignments are few and far between, and yet, with each outing as a composer, he has left an indelible mark.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Om Prakash holds a special position amongst the comedy / character artists in the Hindi film world. Hailing from Jammu (born 1919), he started his acting career on stage. Then after a brief stint at the All India Radio in Lahore, he got his first major break in the movies in early 1940s, with the famous producer director DS Pancholi. He did some movies in Lahore, including Daasi, Dhamki, and Aayee Bahaar. After partition, he moved to Bombay. In a career that lasted a little over five decades, he is credited with acting in 300 plus films. Om Prakash has always held out on his own even in the presence of many leading lights of their times, having worked with the three great actors of 50s and 60s, down to working with Big B in the 1980s. And his repertoire is not limited to small, comedy roles only. He has a fair share of pivotal roles that he played in many movies during his career; in fact the success of many movies is attributed to his roles, viz. Chupke Chupke, Julie, Sharaabi, Namak Halaal, Gopi, Sadhu aur Shaitaan, Annadata, Buddha Mil Gaya etc.
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Hasraten khaamosh hain
Posted on: July 1, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
“Hain Sabse Madhur Wo Geet Jinhen Hum Dard Ke Sur Mein Gaate Hain” – so are the lines that Shailendra has written for the song in Patita (1953), echoing the words of another great poet, Percy Shelley who wrote (150 years earlier) – “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought”. So it is not a wonder that the songs that tell of sorrow, are the ones that sound the sweetest and are the dearest to our hearts.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie songs and a regular contributor to this blog.
Parbat Pe Apna Dera (1944) is one of the more important creations of V Shantaram. The film deals with the concept of ‘maya’ the enduring allurement of the material world that spares no one. The theme also deals with the consequences fo desires, which are mostly painful and damaging. Briefly, Ulhas is an ascetic who lives alone on a hilltop, and does not allows any visitors or passersby to come to him. Once, Vanmala chances to come face to face with this ascetic, in one of her treks. She is injured, and the ascetic has some cure that relieves her of pain. She is the daughter of a rich person, probably used to having her way. She insists on continuing to meet Ulhas, against his wishes, and continues to bring him gifts, almost setting up a household on the hilltop, once where there was an abode of renunciation. One thing leads to another, and the ascetic ties the nuptial knot with this rich lady, leaves his ‘parbat’ (symbolically the high vantage point of human experience), and comes down to ‘civilization’ to live with his newfound family.
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Mohabbat ke gul haa
Posted on: June 29, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie songs and a regular contributor to this blog.
It is said that illustrious poets and their marvelous, amazing poetry has existed and will continues to exist till the end of time. Alas, the divinity that was bestowed by the cadence of KL Saigal’s rendition, was reserved for a privileged few. Any piece of poetry that was fortunate enough to be sung by this singer, came to life in his voice, as nothing else ever before or after him. From the simple, to the truly inspired creations of famous poets, each rendering was as if the singer himself was living the very life that the verse manifested. There may be words to describe the voice and the tone of KL Saigal, but there is no words, no comparison to the vitality and the liveliness that his voice imparted to the words.
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Jaao chamka subah ka taaraa
Posted on: June 28, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
A soft song of separation from the 1952 movie, Hyderabad Ki Naazneen. Arunkumar ji has provided a brief about this movie in one of his earlier comments. I reproduce it here with some edits.
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Diya jalaao jagmag jagmag
Posted on: June 28, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The legend of Deepak Raag is inseparable from the story and life of Miyaan Tansen. The entire life of Tansen is the stuff that legend and folk tales are made of.
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Man re Hari ke gun gaa
Posted on: June 27, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie songs and a regular contributor to this blog.
The film ‘Musafir’ (1957) is one of the most endearing movies for me. It is a remarkable and a representative perspective of the cycle of life. It is about a now forgotten era when our society was still sensitive to human values and faith was the bedrock of all relationships. The film brings forth reality of small town and the simple middle class folks of the 1950s engaged in punctilious fulfilling of their daily routines of life. Many of us, who toiled ceaselessly (or have seen our parents toil) after the 1947 partition to bring up their families in the 50s and 60s, would easily relate to these themes.
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Naao chali naani ki naao chali
Posted on: June 27, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie songs and a regular contributor to this blog.
As a child, I have been a very dedicated listener to the Hindi film songs on All India Radio and Radio Ceylon. Besides the song, another program that I never missed was the weekly program for children on Sundays, “Bacchon Ke Liye”, broadcast at 9 am. This hour long program was a most fascinating trip to many worlds. The program was hosted by the well known radio announcer Madhu Chanda (later also worked on Doordarshan), and a gentleman whose name I cannot recall now. The program consisted of information, entertainment, games (e.g. antaakshari competition, but not of filmi songs; it was on current Hindi poetry). We had stories, short plays, memoirs of great men and women from Indian history, programs on new adventures in science and exploration, programs on values and behavior. For all the years that I followed it on the radio, one thing that this program never was – it was never boring.
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Mukhde pe gesoo aa gaye
Posted on: June 26, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Reading about the Atul ji’s description of the tresses and curls of Indian film heroines, as he discussed yesterday in the song Zulfon ko hataa le chehre se (Saawan Ki Ghata) , I am reminded about this wonderful Kishore da song from the movie Paayal Ki Jhankaar.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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