Book/Film Reviews

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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“Guide, The Film: Perspectives”

Guide April 14, 2020

Book Review Guide, The Film: Perspectives Lata Jagtiani & Other Writers Blue Pencil, New Delhi, 2019 ISBN: 978-81-939555-2-9 An unintended blessing of Corona-enforced lockdown, I thought, was that I would be able to finish some half-read books and watch and rewatch some of my favourite films. With this thought I resumed ‘Guide, The Film: Perspectives’ which […]

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Book Review: “Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman”

Incomparable SD Burman August 10, 2019

Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman By HQ Chowdhury Published by Blue Pencil, New Delhi, 2018 ₹599 (Available for less on Amazon); pp 437 Among all the biographies of SD Burman – I am aware of at least four, all well known – the ‘Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman’ by HQ Chowdhury of Bangladesh, first published in Bangladesh […]

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‘Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema and The Same Name Confusion’

Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema August 18, 2018

Welcoming the ‘writer’ Arunkumar Deshmukh and his first book ‘Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema and The Same Name Confusion’ By Arunkumar Deshmukh & Prof Surjit Singh Published by Professor Toofaanii Publishers I want some information about Master Vitthal and Zubeida, the lead actors of the first talkie, ‘Alam Ara’, for writing my dissertation for my […]

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