A tribute to old Hindi film music. Songs of the 30s through the 60s.

Lyricists

Gulzar and RD Burman: A combination in contrast and excellence

August 18, 2025

Celebrating 91st Birth Anniversary of the lyricist, poet, story-writer, director and producer Gulzar (b. 18 August 1934) with his combination with RD Burman No two persons can be more different than Gulzar and RD Burman – one was known to be a serious, sensitive poet; the other, bit of a Chhote Nawab, hyper, carefree, impatient. […]

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Qamar Jalalabadi: The Unforgettable Lyricist

January 9, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan paying a tribute to Qamar Jalalabadi on his 21st Remembrance Day (b. 9 March 1917 – d. 9 January 2003) (Among the main markers of a film song – the film, the singer, the lyricist and the music director – the lyricist, whose words gave birth to the song, is […]

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Pyarelal Santoshi: Jack of All Trades?

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

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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Rajendra Krishna with Chitragupta and Ravi: Reaching for the skies

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

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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Rajendra Krishna with the Albela Karigar C Ramchandra

September 23, 2021

A tribute to the lyricist Rajendra Krishna (6 June 1919 – 23 September 1987) on his 34th Remembrance Day by guest author Hans Jakhar (The lovers of old film music regard Rajendra Krishna with a lot of respect for a large number of immortal songs he wrote. His most prominent association was with C Ramchandra, […]

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Raja Mehdi Ali Khan: Lyricist Par Excellence

June 25, 2021

Guest article by D P Rangan as a tribute to Raja Mehdi Ali Khan on his 55th Remembrance Day (b. 1915/1928? – d. 29 July 1966) (There are at least two dozen lyricists who wrote more songs than Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. Yet every lover of old film songs has the highest regard for him, […]

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“Guide, The Film: Perspectives”

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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Shakeel Badayuni: Revitalising bond with Ravi

September 18, 2019

Guest article by Hans Jakhar (This is the second guest article by Hans Jakhar on the trot after his debut with Asha Bhosle’s songs by Ravi. He had given enough indication that he would be writing on Shakeel Badayuni’s partnership with Ravi. Hans’s forte is mastery over data. And you see full evidence of this […]

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