Book/Film Reviews

Book Review: DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

DIRECTOR'S CHAIR April 22, 2024

DIRECTOR’ CHAIR Hindi Cinema’s Golden Age By Manek Premchand Published by: Blue Pencil 2024 ISBN: 978-81-956660-8-9; Pages: 571 Price (Paperback on Amazon): ₹750 Manek Premchand is a familiar name to the readers of Songs Of Yore. He has written a number of books on Hindi film music and music personalities. The title of this book […]

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Book Review: Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema (2)

Thumbnail image for Book Review: Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema (2) February 1, 2024

Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema and The Same Name Confusion (2) Author: Arunkumar Deshmukh (Copyright) Publisher: Professor Toofanii Publishers, Lansing, MI USA (2023) Editor: Professor Surjit Singh Price: ₹450 plus postage (Paperback) at pothi.com Have you heard of Indurao Nimbalkar, Zohra Jan, Raja Sandow or Renuka Devi? They are important names from vintage era of […]

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Book Review: “Reflections & Stray Thoughts”

Reflections November 10, 2023

Reflections & Stray Thoughts By HQ Chowdhury Publisher: Blue Pencil, New Delhi ISBN: 978-81-952978-3-2 Price (Amazon): ₹314 (Paperback); 0 (Free Kindle) The SOY regulars know HQ Chowdhury as the author of “Incomparable SD Burman”, which is regarded as the definitive biography of Burman Dada. That book establishes Chowdhury as a great fan of SD Burman, […]

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Book Review: “Behind the Curtain”

Behind the Curtain August 18, 2023

Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai’s Film Studios Author: Gregory D Booth Publisher: Oxford University Press 2008 Pages (including Index and References): 321 Price (Amazon Kindle Edition): ₹357 The SOY readers’, especially S Joseph’s, request to write a review of “Behind the Curtain” predates the series on Arrangers and Musicians, and my own desire […]

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Book Review: “चल उड़ जा रे पंछी (संगीतकार चित्रगुप्त: व्यक्ति एवं कृति)”

Chal Ud Ja Re Panchhi February 8, 2023

चल उड़ जा रे पंछी… संगीतकार चित्रगुप्त: व्यक्ति एवं कृति (खण्ड 1 एवं खण्ड 2) By: Dr. Narendra Nath Pandey Kautilya Books, New Delhi: 2022 ISBN: 978-93-90885-68-8 Pages: (256+474=730) Price on Amazon: ₹1500 (Hardcover) I have to start with a disclosure. The author of the above book, Dr Narendra Nath Pandey, is well known to […]

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Book Review: ‘Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia’ Vol. 3, 4 & 5

Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia August 30, 2022

Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia (Reference Edition Raagwise: Vol. 3, 4 & 5) Author: KL Pandey Sangeet Shilp Prakashan, Lucknow First edition 2022 Hardcover ₹4800 on Amazon A passionate lover of Hindi film music, who has deep interest in classical music too, asks two different types of questions: One, which raag(s) this favourite song is based […]

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Book Review: “The Unforgettable Music of HEMANT KUMAR”

Hemant Kumar March 31, 2022

The Unforgettable Music of HEMANT KUMAR By Manek Premchand Pages: 441 First Edition: 2020 Blue Pencil, New Delhi (With study of his Bengali repertoire by Antara Nanda Mondal and Sounak Gupta) Salil Chowdhury once said if God wanted to sing, he would do it in the voice of Hemant Kumar. Lata Mangeshkar said about him, […]

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Book Review: “Majrooh Sultanpuri: The Poet For All Reasons”

Majrooh Sultanpuri January 25, 2022

Majrooh Sultanpuri: The Poet For All Reasons By Manek Premchand Pages: 534 First Edition: 2021 Blue Pencil, New Delhi Among the four markers of a film song – the film in which it appeared, the singer, the music director and the lyricist – the last generally gets a raw deal. The music lovers identify a […]

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Book review: ‘Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories’

Yesterday's Melodies Today's Memories December 12, 2021

Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories by Manek Premchand 1st Edition 2003 2nd Edition 2004 3rd Updated Edition: 2018 Notion Press, Chennai A book review is generally meaningful when the book has come fresh out of the mint. But there are a number of reasons why it is never too late to review ‘Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories’ […]

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‘Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia’ by KL Pandey: Book Review

Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia June 16, 2021

Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia (Reference Edition: Vol. I and Vol. II) Author: KL Pandey Sangeet Shilp Prakashan, Lucknow Second edition (Revised and Enlarged): December 2020 Hardcover ₹3200 on Amazon (Note: ‘Sur Samvadini’, a glossary of Hindustani Classical Music and a list of 174 raags appearing in Hindi film songs with their basic grammar, available complimentary […]

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