Music Directors

Best songs of 1944: Final Wrap Up 4

Khemchand Prakash-Naushad-Pankaj Mullick October 30, 2021

And the Award for the Best Music Director goes to? When you think of the year 1944, you think of Naushad. That was the beginning of Naushad phenomenon with his Jewel in the crown, Rattan. This was his 13th movie, having debuted in 1940 as an independent music director, he already had five Silver Jubilees […]

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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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Rajendra Krishna with the Albela Karigar C Ramchandra

Rajendra Krishna-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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Dattaram Part 2: Breaking out of the Banyan Tree with ‘Other’ Singers

Dattaram May 29, 2021

Second and final part of tribute to Dattaram (1929 – 8 June 2007) We saw in Dattaram Part 1 dealing with his songs for Mukesh and Manna Dey, how his association with the Big Banyan tree, Shankar-Jaikishan, made it difficult to get out of the comfort zone of SJ. The readers Mahesh and Hans Jakhar […]

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Dattaram Part 1: Under the shadow of big banyan tree with songs of Mukesh and Manna Dey

Dattaram May 20, 2021

A big banyan tree gives shelter and protects you from elements. But this may become a trap because one may be deterred from venturing out on one’s own for the risks involved. But a human being also has an urge to venture out and stand on his own. That involves a vertical progression from earning […]

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The Unlucky Genius N Datta: His songs for ‘other’ singers

N Datta January 14, 2021

Wishing the readers Happy Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri and Magh Bihu with the concluding  tribute to N Datta, with his songs for ‘other’ singers N Datta’s music in BR Films’ Sadhana (1958), Dhool Ka Phool (1959), and Dharmaputra (1961) is of such a high quality that I found it quite surprising that Gumrah (1963) onwards […]

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N Datta-Rafi: When they meet it is GOLD

N Datta-Rafi December 13, 2020

Guest article by Hans Jakhar as a tribute to N Datta (12 December 1927 – 30 December 1987) on his 93rd birth anniversary with his songs for Rafi (You can’t get a more passionate fan of Asha Bhosle than Hans Jakhar, and she was the principle female playback singer for Ravi. Therefore, he was the […]

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Hemant Kumar’s Hindi Duet Compositions

Hemant Kumar and his Duet singers October 27, 2020

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav in the continuing series of Hemant Kumar’s Centenary (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989)  celebrations (The Grand Centenary Celebrations of Hemant Kumar were set off by N Venkataraman’s omnibus article Hemantayan Part 1 on his Birth Centenary 16 June 2020, which covered his early life and his career […]

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Hemantayan – Part 2

Hemant Kumar September 26, 2020

A tribute to Hemant Kumar on his 31st Remembrance Day (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989) in his Birth Centenary year by guest author N Venkataraman (N Venkataraman launched the Centenary Celebration of Hemant Kumar with his superb article Hemantayan Part 1 on his Birth Centenary, 16 June 2020. This gave a comprehensive overview […]

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Hemant Kumar’s male playback singers

Hemant Kumar with Manna Dey-Rafi-Kishore Kumar September 17, 2020

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav in the series of centenary tributes to Hemant Kumar (b. 16 June 1920 – d. 26 September 1989) (Hemant Kumar’s centenary celebration was set off with an excellent article by N Venkataraman, ‘Hemantayan Part 1’, in which he wrote about his family origin, early life, and his career up […]

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