Songs on film stars

The Swar Kokila Kanan Devi

A tribute to Kanan Devi (22 April 1916 to 17 July 1992) on her birth centenary

Kanan DeviThe most important female pillar of the New Theatres, an enormously popular actor-singer of Bengali and Hindi films at the dawn of the film industry, having received the best actress awards a number of times, Padmashree, Gold Disc from the Gramophone Company of India, and finally Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1977 – Kanan Devi couldn’t have asked for more. Yet her life was one of pain and inner-conflict about her legitimacy and acceptance in the ‘respectable’ Bengali society. Those were the days when cultured ladies from ‘good’ families did not join the film profession. She herself was from the fringes of society. But a time came when at an award function the Governor stood up to greet her. She was now a respected cultural icon of Bengal. Her greatest achievement was earning respectability for women in the film industry.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

First male dancer of Hindi films: Mumtaz Ali

Mumtaz Ali_thumb[1]I came to Mumtaz Ali in a very roundabout way. Before the Internet era I was only aware of his name as the father of Mehmood and Minoo Mumtaz etc. Internet made me aware that he was also into films, with the Bombay Talkies. Then a rare chance occurrence gave me a day out with his grandson, Ajaz Ali a.k.a AJ (son of Minoo Mumtaz), and later with his help, with Minoo Mumtaz. What they told me about his early life was most fascinating, which could be straight out of classic tales: How a young boy in Saudi Arabia, run-away from his oppressive elder sister, hid himself in a ship’s hold, and found himself on the shores of Bombay where he started eking out a living with other street children, when a kind-hearted Englishman, BG Horniman, editor of Bombay Chronicle, took a liking for him and brought him up. Mumtaz Ali was a born dancer. Bombay had a large number of theatre groups where he started dancing. Devika Rani took a liking for him and employed him in the Bombay Talkies, where he danced in many films. His dance in the song Main to Dilli se dulhna laya re ae babuji became a roaring hit. You can see the account of my meeting with AJ and his mother in conversation with Minoo Mumtaz.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Naushad’s “The Singing Girl Next Door”: Suraiya

A tribute on her 86th birth anniversary (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004)

Naushad and SuraiyaOur last singing star, Suraiya, attained incredible heights of popularity bordering on mass hysteria. She started her singing career, as a child artiste, with Naushad; subsequently, she sang playback for Mehtab in a few films; she graduated as an actor-singer and reached superstardom on the strength of the songs he composed for her. Out of her 300 odd songs, Naushad accounts for about 50. Husnlal Bhagatram might have done a few songs more; he, too, occupies a very important place in her career. But considering Naushad’s association from her debut to her grooming to her maturity, he is the single most important factor in creating the Suraiya legend. For all the superb Suraiya melodies we love, she was an untrained singer, with a limited range. The skilful master, Naushad, kept her in her basic range, and created a feeling in the minds of the viewer that The Girl Next Door was singing.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Anil Biswas’s songs for Bombay Saigal: Surendra

A tribute to Surendra on his 104th birth anniversary as a part of Anil Biswas’s Centenary Year series

Surendra and Anil BiswasI have mentioned a few times that because of contractual difficulties inherent in the Studio Era, Anil Biswas could not compose for KL Saigal, even though their careers overlapped for over a decade, half of which was in Bombay itself where Saigal shifted from Calcutta in the early 40s. But, when Saigal was becoming a national sensation with the New Theatres in Calcutta, especially after Devdas (1935), Bombay was looking for its own Saigal, and its prayers were soon answered in Surendra – a tall, handsome young man, with a melodious voice, from Lahore.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The Doyenne of Vintage Era: Khursheed

A tribute in her Centenary year

KhursheedI realised somewhat late that Khursheed’s Birth Centenary (b. 14 April 1914, d. 18 April 2001) fell this year. But she is such a prominent singer of the Vintage Era that I had to pay my tribute with her selected songs. Vintage Era refers to not only a period of time, i.e. the 1930s through 40s, but also, and more importantly, a different style of singing, which became extinct with the arrival of Lata Mangeshkar. No singer represented this contrast better than Khursheed. Endowed with a full-throated, open and powerful voice, she was one of the leading singers of the Vintage Era. Blessed with a beautiful face and charming personality, she was also the leading lady in many films. Her roles as actor-singer against the legend, KL Saigal, in Bhakt Surdas (1942) and Tansen (1943) has given her an important place in the history of Hindi cinema. The songs of these films are remembered today as much for Khursheed as for Saigal. Besides these two films, she sang for most of the great composers of the era.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

In conversation with Minoo Mumtaz

Wishing her Happy 71st Birthday on April 26, 2013

Minoo MumtazI am not a journalist, nor am I in a line which should bring me anywhere near film people. Yet, here I was having a relaxed conversation with Minoo Mumtaz in her apartment in Pune, a few months back. Some stories are epic in scale. This one had its beginning on the other side of the globe, about a year back, when I had gone for a conference in Toronto, Canada.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Forgotten actor-singer of New Theatres: Asit Baran

Asit BaranI often wondered who filled in when New Theatres stalwarts led by KL Saigal headed for Bombay in the early 1940s? I got my answer while searching for songs from the New Theatres era, when an unknown voice held me spellbound for its incredible charm. Then some videos turned up on the YouTube. So here was not only an excellent voice but also a young and handsome face by the name of Asit Baran who had some very successful movies and outstanding songs during 1941-43. For a long time I could not find any material on him – several friends, whose knowledge I admired, seemed to know nothing about him beyond having heard his name. Then sometime back, on my request, Mr Sharad Dutt, a well known writer and short-film maker on music personalities (you would have seen his films on Naushad, Mukesh, Anil Biswas, Talat Mahmood, Pankaj Mullick etc on Doordarshan), was able to locate a very old clipping of the Screen magazine, which contained an obituary on Asit Baran. Thus I am presenting this tribute to Asit Baran, one of the unknown stars of the New Theatres, on his death anniversary November 27 (he passed away on November 27, 1984 at the age of 69).

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Suraiya: The Last Singing Star

A tribute on her death anniversary January 31

SuraiyaAside from Lata Mangeshkar Suraiya is among my top favourite female singers. She debuted as a child artiste in 1942 (film Sharda). Within three years she rose to become one of the top singing stars acting opposite the greatest legend KL Saigal in 3 films. Within the next three years her beauty, singing and romantic pairing with Dev Anand both on-screen and off-screen became a national craze.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dilip Kumar’s many voices

My tribute on his birthday December 11

Dilip KumarI had no plans of doing this post as it is not even a week since I did my last one. I need about two weeks to organise my thoughts and squeeze bits of time to write a piece. Secondly, my focus is on songs, their themes, singers and music directors, and not so much actors. The only time I have titled a piece on an actor – Raj Kapoor – was about several playback singers, other than the known ones Mukesh and Manna Dey, who sang for him – some of whom were quite a surprise discovery.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE