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

Singers

Roshan: the great melody maker for Lata Mangeshkar

November 16, 2011

A tribute on his death anniversary on November 16 I have expressed great admiration for Roshan at several places in my blog. Among the greatest and most melodious songs of Lata Mangeshkar, Roshan compositions occupy a very high place. He did not achieve big commercial success as some of his peers, but for music lovers […]

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Kishore Kumar – The best mad, crazy, comic songs

October 13, 2011

A tribute on his death anniversary October 13 MJ Akbar in his obituary to Shammi Kapoor wrote in India Today that one reason for Shammi Kapoor craze was that he was mad. But who was the maddest of them all? The great superstar Amitabh Bachchan could do a mad act with straight face. You can […]

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My favourite Lata Mangeshkar songs by C Ramchandra

September 28, 2011

Birthday greetings to Lata Mangeshkar on September 28 Presenting my favourite Lata Mangeshkar songs composed by C Ramchandra, as my birthday greetings to her on September 28, is not a very diplomatic thing to do, given the history of their relationship. As her biographical accounts go, Lata Mangeshkar was more than a muse to C […]

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Mukesh’s best happy duets

September 17, 2011

Having recently done a list of happy songs of Mukesh, I had no intention of doing another Mukesh post anytime soon. But dustedoff, AP Joshi and Subodh Agrawal in their comments entered into an earnest discussion on ‘happy’ duets of Mukesh and requested I do a list of my favourite such duets. This opened the […]

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My favourite ‘special’ Asha Bhosle songs

September 8, 2011

My greetings on her birthday September 8 Knowing that Asha Bhosle has a huge fan following and there are people more passionate about her than Lata Mangeshkar, I have to carefully choose my words to describe my relationship with her. If I am asked to choose only 20 singers from the 1930s to 60s for […]

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My favourite happy songs of Mukesh

August 27, 2011

A tribute on his death anniversary August 27 I recently heard a joke on a reality show which went something like: Jo jeetega wo Singapore jayega, jo harega wo Mukesh ka gana gayega. I found the joke quite neat, though I did not agree with the underlying premise. I do not view a song as […]

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My favourite Rafi – Lata duets

July 31, 2011

Remembering Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary July 31 Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were two colossus whose comprehensive domination in the golden era of 1950’s and 60’s made them synonymous with playback singing. They were what is described in marketing jargon as the brand becoming the product. What better way than to write on […]

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Forgotten Composers, Unforgettable Melodies (1) – Daan Singh

June 20, 2011

A tribute on his passing away I saw a small news item tucked away deep inside the Times of India’s today’s edition stating that music director Daan Singh passed away at his Jaipur home of liver ailment at the age of 78 on Saturday June 18. If you are not a keen reader or aware […]

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New Theatres’ romance with Prem

May 29, 2011

Best love songs of Vintage Era I have been in the New Theatres mood since I wrote my last post on Pankaj Mullick. BN Sircar established New Theatres in Calcutta in 1931, i.e. the same year the first talkie Alam Ara was released in Bombay. Music has been an integral part and a defining feature […]

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My favourite Pankaj Mullick songs

May 10, 2011

A tribute on his birthday May 10 I became seriously acquainted with Pankaj Mullick several years after I had thoroughly absorbed KL Saigal. This would probably be the normal sequence for any non-Bengalee what with Saigal having acquired an iconic status, and generations of listeners having grown on a Saigal song every morning at 7.57 […]

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