Guest Authors

The Sculptors of Film Songs (1): Sebastian D’Souza

Sebastian D'Souza January 29, 2023

Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (originally in Gujarati) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) as a tribute to Sebastian D’Souza on his 117 birth anniversary (29 January 1906 – 9 March 1998) (If you remove the prelude, interlude and orchestral arrangements from ‘Aawara hun, ya gardish mein hun aasman ka tara hun’, or ‘Mera […]

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Pyarelal Santoshi: Jack of All Trades?

PL Santoshi January 12, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to the polymath PL Santoshi, the lyricist, dialogue & script writer, actor, singer, producer, director (Most of us with some familiarity about our vintage films know PL Santoshi as one of the prominent lyricists. His association with C Ramchandra in several blockbusters made his name quite well-known. […]

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Master Ghulam Haider: A Trailblazer

Ghulam Haider November 9, 2022

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to Ghulam Haider on his 69th Remembrance Day (1908 – 9 November 1953) (DP Rangan has been the most prolific guest writer for SOY, but it is more than a year since he last wrote. Some health issues which required hospitalisation, and his computer suddenly conking off […]

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Rafi’s songs with some unrecognised composers

Rafi July 31, 2022

Guest article by Sivanandam Palamadai as a tribute to Rafi on his 42nd Remembrance Day (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) (Rafi was the most dominant male playback singer of the Golden Era of film music. Yet he remained an unassuming, simple-hearted person with malice to none. The stories of his kindness and support […]

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Duets (+) of Mukesh: With Male Singers

Mukesh with male singers July 22, 2022

Guest article by Ahok M Vaishnav as a tribute to Mukesh on his 99th Birth Anniversary (b. July 22, 1923 – d. August 27, 1976) (Once SOY-veteran N Venkataraman remarked that there has been a post on Mukesh every year. If it was there, I or a guest author must have had something new to […]

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Nathli se toota moti re: Manna Dey’s Non-film Hindi Gems

Manna Dey May 1, 2022

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav as a tribute t0 Manna Dey on his 103rd birth anniversary (1 May 1919 – 24 October 2013) (Manna Dey has been described by some as an enigma among singers. That was a reference to his apparent defensiveness about his place among the contemporary playback singers, despite having the […]

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The Teary-eyed Songs

Meena Kumari crying in Yahudi February 18, 2022

Guest article by Anita Rupavataram (Mukesh once famously sang, ‘Hazaaron tarah ke ye hote hain aansoo’ (song #5 in this post). There are literally thousands of types of tears.  Of joy, of sorrow. Of victory, of defeat. Of success, of failure. Of love, of break-up. Of parting, of union. Involuntary tears caused by music, painting, […]

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Mohammad Rafi’s Non-film Hindi Geets and Ghazals

Rafi December 24, 2021

A tribute to Mohammad Rafi on his 97th Birth Anniversary (b. December 24, 1924 – d. July 31, 1980) by guest author Ashok M Vaishnav and wishing Merry Christmas to all (Ashok M Vaishnav is a solid Rafi fan, without wearing it as a medallion, and without picking up a sword to slay anyone at […]

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Rajendra Krishna with Chitragupta and Ravi: Reaching for the skies

Rajendra Krishna with Chitragupta and Ravi November 29, 2021

Guest article by Hans Jakhar in continuation of his series on Rajendra Krishna (When some readers observed that the lyricists have not been give their due importance on SOY, Hans Jakhar offered to write a series of articles on Rajendra Krishna’s combination with different music directors. He has already written two articles in the series […]

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Rajendra Krishna and Madan Mohan: Classic Case of Two Geniuses at Work

Rajendra Krishna-Madan Mohan October 17, 2021

Guest article by Hans Jakhar on Rajendra Krishna’s combination with Madan Mohan (Hans Jakhar is among the regular readers of SOY who believe that the lyricists deserve greater recognition than what is generally given to them. It is true that even the serious followers of old film music give prominence to the singer and the […]

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