Posts Tagged ‘Singer-MD’
Main rotaa hoon mat manaa karo
Posted on: October 14, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Comparatively, the treasure of Hindi songs by Pankaj Babu is limited. In the Hindi/Urdu domain, Pankaj Babu has scored music for about 25 films from 1933 to 1954, some of them in collaboration with RC Boral. He has rendered less than 40 songs in all, in Hindi films. Outside of films, and excluding the live programs and recordings, the non-film Hindi songs number about 20. And so comparatively, his contribution appears to be not as significant (in the Hindi domain) as that of his contemporaries. His musical creations are more prolific in the Bengali film and non-film space. By some accounts, Pankaj Babu has composed over five thousand songs. Simply going by the numbers, it is evident that his major contribution has been in Bengali.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
An almost sublime piece of music, whose author is not known (as yet). This non film offering by Pankaj Babu is a gem that ensconces within itself, immeasurable depths of emotions. The words are just so beautiful, and the rendering by Pankaj Babu highlights the expressions to the utmost.
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“Preet” (1945) was directed by Ram Daryani and it had Chandramohan, Nazir , Snehprabha , Swarnalata , Pahari Sanyal, Gope , Gulab etc in it. I have discussed as many as three songs from this movie, notwithstanding the fact that the songs of this movie are just as obscure as the movie itself.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Zalzalaa (1952), is film produced under the banner of Art Films of Asia Ltd. It is produced and directed by Paul Zils. Paul was a German filmmaker who made India his home for more than two decades from mid 40s to the 60s. He is credited with the rejuvenation of India’s documentary film movement, after the departure of the British in 1947, and a prime moving force behind the Films Division of govt. of India (which was known as Information Films of India under the British regime).
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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 the beginning of the 30s, when the talking films made a debut on the Indian silver screen, and Calcutta was the premier center for film making, with a gathering of renowned stalwarts guiding the industry through its infancy. Names like BN Sircar, Nitin Bose, PC Barua, Debaki Bose, Premankur Atorthy, Prafulla Roy, Kidar Sharma, Aga Hashr Kashmiri, RC Boral, Pankaj Mullick and many more come to mind when one thinks of the film industry, Calcutta and 1930s.
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This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
This song by Pankaj Babu, is a non film offering. Another one of his iconic recordings that is without comparison. Another great favorite of mine for many decades. It appears that during the years from 1930s to 50s, there was a more serious interest in music, as in there is a huge body of great music that was recorded as non-film music. I am not saying that the recording of non-film music is any less in the current years, but the content and quality is a matter of debate. No doubt there are some good quality songs that still get produced, but compared to the entire music that gets generated in a year, the percentage of music that is memorable, and that carries along with the collective memory of the society is definitely diminishing. When one thinks of the singers of the 30s, 40s and 50s, names like Saigal Saab, Pankaj Babu, Jagmohan, KC Dey, and more, their level of good quality memorable songs, in films and outside of films, is almost one hundred percent of what has been recorded. Rather, it is a misfortune that probably a much larger body of their work, as part of live programs and music conferences that happened in those years, is lost now, because it is not recorded, either as audio or even as documentary records of what all they sang. And yet, we are fortunate that we have, what ever that is available on record.
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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 tongue in cheek song, if ever there was one. The first line itself suggests that this one is going to be a very very interesting song. Recorded sometimes late 30s or so, this is a gem of a song from the pen of Pt. Madhur. What a pace and a rhythm, reminds one of, ‘aayee bahaar aaj aayee bahaar’.
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Kaun des hai jaanaa baabu
Posted on: September 26, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
The innovator in Pankaj Babu has been responsible for some very remarkable additions to the sound and music aspect of the film industry. He was probably the first music arranger and orchestra conductor to introduce the use of western musical forms and instruments in the music for films in India. He is credited with introducing the use of instruments like piano and accordion, in the music compositions for Hindi and Bengali films that he worked on.
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