Archive for the ‘Song of 1940’ Category
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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This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Yet another non filmi ghazal offering from the genius of vocal expression. I have written about this before, and yet I am compelled to write again. Listening to Saigal Saab render a ghazal, is more than just good music and singing. There is an element of revelation, as one can feel that the singer is rendering each word with an understanding that gives a deeper import to the words of the ghazal itself. The singing comes through as not simply a rendering, but also comes through is a conviction, that the singer understands the words, and is making the effort to pass on the implication and the values of the words, and not just a vocal rendering.
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This article is written by Sudhir,a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Continuing the silsilaa of ghazals rendered by Saigal Saab, this ghazal is a non film offering. The verses are written by Ghalib, and the combination, as always, is a heady wine that takes one to worlds beyond.
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“Prem Nagar” (1940) is the movie where Naushad made his debut as a music director. The songs of this movie are a nostalgia buff’s delight.
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Deewaanaa hoon deewaanaa hoon
Posted on: July 20, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Movies with the name Zindagi have been made four (or maybe five) times. As per the recorded listings, the first instance of a film named Zindagi is in 1940. This is a New Theatre Productions from Calcutta, directed by PC Barua. The primary players in this film are KL Saigal, Jamuna, Pahari Sanyal, Ashalata, Sham Laha, Nemo, Manorama, Sitara, Dhruba Kumar, Bikram Kapoor, Rajnirani, and Ramkumari etc. The screenplay for this film is adapted from the novel ‘Priya Baandhabee’ by Prabodh Sanyal.
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Kaun bujhaawe
Posted on: July 14, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
There are many success stories in the film world, where in un-tested and un-trained folks from common occupations and professions, came into films and made it big. Without a doubt, the earliest such story which has turned out to be the most phenomenal success ever, is Saigal Saab. Moving from Jalandhar to Calcutta, and from being the sales manager in a typewriter company, KL Saigal broke into the Bengali cinema world in 1932, and in a short career that lasted barely 15 years, he has left behind a legacy that has charmed generation after generation of music lovers. A legend and a phenomena in his own living years, with a treasure of just 185 known recordings, an unrivalled treasure that cannot be compared to any other artist since the time the sound has been electrically recorded.
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So jaa raajkumaari so jaa
Posted on: June 13, 2011
I became aware of the movie “Zindagi” (1940) only just recently, but I was familiar with a couple of songs from this movie for some four decades. I had been listening to these songs at the srtoke of 8 AM on radio many a times in 1970s.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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