Music Directors

OP Nayyar’s association with Mahendra Kapoor

Thumbnail image for OP Nayyar’s association with Mahendra Kapoor May 27, 2025

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar in OP Nayyar centenary series (Ravindra Kelkar wrote a series of articles on OP Nayyar eight years ago. The grand centenary celebrations of Rafi on SOY inspired Mr Kelkar to mount a similar tribute to OP Nayyar whose centenary is on 16 January 2026. He also offered to write a […]

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R D Burman and His Orchestration Improvisations – Rhythm Instruments

Thumbnail image for R D Burman and His Orchestration Improvisations – Rhythm Instruments April 25, 2025

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav (My first post of the current calendar year was a review of RD Burman’s biography by Anirudh Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal. In that review I had also mentioned that for me RD Burman was a post-1970 phenomena, which was beyond the time period I had set for this blog. […]

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OP Nayyar’s transition from Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt to Asha Bhosle

OP Nayyar with Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle April 14, 2025

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar launching OP Nayyar’s Centenary Celebrations with a tribute to Shamshad Begum on her 106th birth anniversary, and also wising a very Happy Baisakhi, Bihu, Vishu and similar festivals across India (Ravindra Kelkar is another once-an-SOY-regular who has woken up after a deep slumber. This time it came as a bigger […]

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Book Review: R. D. Burman: The Man, The Music

Thumbnail image for Book Review: R. D. Burman: The Man, The Music January 4, 2025

The book review as a tribute to RD Burman (27.6.1939-4.1.1994) on his 31st Remembrance Day R. D. Burman: The Music, The Man Authors: Anirudha Bhattacharjee & Balaji Vittal Publisher: HarperCollins India, 2011 ISBN: 978-93-5029-049-1 Pages: 342+24 (Index, Acknowledgements) Price: Amazon (Paperback): ₹399 I have to admit I am an R. D. Burman-skeptic; in fact, I […]

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Best songs of 1941: Wrap Up 4

Thumbnail image for Best songs of 1941: Wrap Up 4 November 30, 2024

And the SOY Award for the Best Music Director of 1941 goes to? We are now coming to the end of the review of the best songs of 1941. After the Overview Post, Wrap Up 1 of the best male solos, Wrap UP 2 of the best female solos and Wrap Up 3 of the […]

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Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0: Their best songs for ‘other’ male singers

Thumbnail image for Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0: Their best songs for ‘other’ male singers November 20, 2024

After I had covered the best songs of Kalyanji-Anandji for Mukesh and Rafi, I once browsed through their songs for ‘other’ male singers for a lark. I was amazed to find an enormous variety of singers they had chosen. Though all the songs were well-known it had not registered in my mind instantly. The result […]

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Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0 and Kishore Kumar: Made for each other

Thumbnail image for Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0 and Kishore Kumar: Made for each other November 10, 2024

I had written my first post on Kalyanji-Anandji about ten years ago on their best songs for Mukesh and had titled it “Made for each other”. I used that phrase studiedly because that was my instinctive feeling. Nudging by a reader made me explore their more songs – for Rafi, Other male singers, and Lata […]

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Usha Khanna’s best songs for Lata Mangeshkar, and other female singers

Thumbnail image for Usha Khanna’s best songs for Lata Mangeshkar, and other female singers October 31, 2024

Concluding the series of tributes to Usha Khanna with her best songs for Lata Mangeshkar and other female singers Usha Khanna’s debut score in Dil Deke Dekho (1959) sounded so much OP Nayyar-ish that you may get the impression that she too would exclude Lata Mangeshkar completely and her female singer would be predominantly Asha […]

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Usha Khanna’s best songs for Mukesh and other male singers

Thumbnail image for Usha Khanna’s best songs for Mukesh and other male singers October 19, 2024

Continuing the tribute for Usha Khanna, her best songs for Mukesh and other male singers The last post was on Usha Khanna’s best songs for Rafi on her 83rd birth anniversary (b. 7 October 1941). This was also a tribute to Rafi as a part of his centenary celebrations. How does she do with other […]

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The First Lady Music Director of the Golden Era breaks the glass ceiling with Rafi

Thumbnail image for The First Lady Music Director of the Golden Era breaks the glass ceiling with Rafi October 7, 2024

Continuing the Centenary Celebrations of Rafi with his songs by Usha Khanna (b. 7 October 1941) wishing her Happy 83rd Birth Anniversary Music direction in our films had been generally a male monopoly. Usha Khanna was the only one in the Golden Era to break the glass ceiling. Long before her, in the Vintage Era […]

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