My favourite songs

My favourite happy songs of Mukesh

Thumbnail image for 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

Thumbnail image for 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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New Theatres’ romance with Prem

Thumbnail image for 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

Thumbnail image for 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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Best of Mahendra Kapoor-OP Nayyar

Thumbnail image for Best of Mahendra Kapoor-OP Nayyar January 9, 2011

Mahendra Kapoor was the favourite singer of BR Chopra Films, and Ravi was their favourite composer. BR Films-Ravi-Mahendra Kapoor combination gave a large number of well known songs. After Ravi, the only music director who used Mahendra Kapoor in a significant manner was OP Nayyar, apparently on rebound when he had some rift with Mohammad […]

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Hemant Kumar-Lata Mangeshkar duets

Thumbnail image for Hemant Kumar-Lata Mangeshkar duets October 21, 2010

The Ultimate in Melody Hemant Kumar in his voice brought the beauty of Bengal and melody of Rabindra Sangeet. When he joined with Lata Mangeshkar the effect was magical. Easily the best duets of Hindi films are of Hemant-Lata. One can also safely say no song of Hemant Kumar was pedestrian. With his deep resonant […]

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Remembering Mughal-e-Azam’s Music

Mughal-e-Azam August 22, 2010

Travesty of missing the Filmfare award This is the Golden Jubilee year of Mughal-e-Azam (1960), and the media, both print and electronic, is rightly full of the movie. Everything about the film was superlative – its lavish production, awesome battle scenes with thousands of camels, horses and soldiers (there were no computer generated imaging those […]

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