The Gravitas of Sitar in Songs

SitarSitar makes a very conspicuous presence on the screen due to its size. But it conveys an entirely different image from the piano or the harmonium. If piano is aristocracy, harmonium is plebeian. And what about the sitar? It is elegant classicism; it is not about the social, but musical status. There is gravitas in the sitar on the screen – either it is a classical raga-based song, or a song full of pathos. None of the frivolity you might see with the harmonium, such as in the film Padosan. Even piano has been a venue of some romantic love-play between the lovers.

Ravi Shankar’s international appeal made it the most familiar stringed instrument, associated with the Indian (Hindustani) classical music, in the outside world. Yet despite its such close association with our classical music, there is no unanimity among the musicologists about its origin. I tried to get some clarity about its history from Arvind Parikh’s series on Vividh Bharati’s ‘Sangeet Sarita’. There is a fair degree of agreement that attributing its invention to the 13th century well-known Sufi poet Amir Khusro is erroneous. One school of thought attributes the sitar’s evolution to Muslim influence from the Persian stringed instrument ‘sehtar’ (three strings), acquiring its present form in the 18th-19th century. One text mentions a later ‘Amir Khusro’ of the 18th century, said to be the 15th descendant of Naubat Khan, son-in-law of Tansen, who developed this instrument from the Persian sehtar. This source also gives the names of his descendants who carried forward further evolution of the instrument and playing styles.

There is another school which ascribes to the sitar a very ancient origin from Tritantri Vadya (a musical instrument of three strigs), or Veena/Rudra Veena/Saraswati Veena, long before any Muslim influence. In popular iconography, Goddess Saraswati is depicted as holding Veena in her hands (this is derived from Saraswati Vandana, या कुन्देन्दुतुषारहारधवला…/ या वीणावरदण्डमण्डित्करा या श्वेतपद्मासना). This association would give sitar almost a celestial origin at par with veena. Veena is a common instrument in Carnatic music.

For lay persons both generally look similar, with a long hollow neck, a big gourd which is a resonating chamber, and a smaller gourd at the end of the neck. Some sitars have only the big gourd. Both are plucked, stringed instrument. The tonal quality of the two, though, is very different. This is due to the difference in their construction, number of strings and how they are placed and tied, frets, pegs and bridges. Another common stringed-instrument with a gourd and a long neck, in the ensemble in a classical concert, is tanpura, which is not meant to provide melody, but to support the soloist. It has no frets, it has only 4-5 strings (as opposed to 18-21 strings in sitar). It just plays two notes, the tonic of the performer (सा) and the fifth (प). The two notes are played, one after the other in a loop, creating a continuous drone throughout the performance. Anything more about these instruments I have to leave for the experts. For this post I would include veena and tanpura songs too, because visually they create the same impact of serious classical music.

Despite such gravitas associated with the sitar, I was witness to some awkward levity long ago at a jugalbandi between Pt. Ravi Shankar and Ustad Bismillah Khan. The Ustad had a child-like simplicity and he must not have heard of the term ‘political correctness’. At the introduction he smilingly made a remark about Ravi Shankar that he was so romantic of heart that wherever he went, he married a female there, Main inko kahta hun ki ab bas kijiye, ab aur shaadi mat kijiye. I don’t think Pt. Ravi Shankar was amused, but he gave a faint smile; Khan Saheb was obviously innocent that the other person might have been offended.

Now let us enjoy some songs in which the sitar is conspicuous on the screen.

1. Dhal chuki shaam-e-gham by Rafi from Kohinoor (1960), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

Any mention of sitar and the film Kohinoor instantly reminds you of Madhuban mein Radhika naache re in Raga Hameer. This song has acquired a legendary status, with stories of how Dilip Kumar took intensive lessons in sitar so that he could play like a real sitarist on the screen (I understand the sitar was played by Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan). This song has featured in the last post, DP Rangan’s tribute to Kumkum on her first death anniversary. The film had another superb sitar song, Dhal chuki shaam-e-gham, with equally superb dance by Kumkum. Rafi’s voice modulation in this song is out of this world, and the music by the Great Naushad is equally delightful.

2. Chandrama ja unse kah de by Mahendra Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar from Bharat Milap (1965), lyrics Bharat Vyas, Vasant Desai

This is a beautiful classical-based virah song, composed by Vasant Desai, who is associated with classical music more than any other music director. A long-distance duet of separation, are the characters Ram-Sita or Lakshman-Urmila? But the subtle point to note is Vasant Desai has shown the lady with veena, instead of the more common sitar. This I believe is the care he and the director have shown for authenticity. Treta Yug would have veena, the eternal music instrument, and not the sitar. Please recall the film Ram Rajya (1943) had the immortal Beena madhur madhur kachhu bol.

3. Meri veena tum bin roye by Lata Mangeshkar from Dekh Kabira Roya (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan

Ameeta is so drained out in virah that she can’t even get her fingers to play the veena which is her partner in her sadness. She involuntarily rests her head on the veena. Madan Mohan creates three great melodies, one following the other seamlessly, as three lovers pine for their respective love partners – Meri veena tum bin roye segues into Ashqon se teri humne tasveer banayi hai, which in turn telescopes into Tu pyar kare ya thukara de hum to hain tere deewanon mein.

4. Hum tere pyar mein sara aalam kho baithe hain by Lata Mangeshkar from Dil Ek Mandir (1963), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan

Menna Kumari, once she is married, is the epitome of a sacrificing pativtrata naari. But once the worm of suspicion entered the husband’s head, it was impossible to shake it off. In hospital afflicted with a serious ailment, Raj Kumar takes the moral high ground to ask Meena Kumari to forget him and go back to her former lover. Pained beyond words, she sings this poignant song while playing the sitar.

5. Manmohana bade jhoothe by Lata Mangeshkar from Seema (1955), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan

After her parent’s death, Nutan was under the care of her harsh uncle and aunt, who treated her worse than a servant. The ill-treatment and a false theft charge made her run away; her past made her completely wild and untamed in the shelter home, despite the extremely patient and sympathetic manager, Balraj Sahni. Once in a very foul mood, she was breaking windows, while humming Manmohana bade jhoothe in anger. While her act caused terror in the hearts of other inmates and staff, Balraj Sahni noticed her talent for music. He calmed her and made her sing. And how beautifully she sings Manmohana bade jhoothe with tanpura in hand. You can see a sitar in a corner at the back. This has become the leading film song based on Jaijaiwanti. (KL Pandeyji identifies traces of Rageshree too in the song. Over to the experts. – AK)

6. Ka se kahun man ki baat by Sudha Malhotra from Dhool Ka Phool (1959), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music N Datta

N Datta was one of the unlucky geniuses. Here Purnima ‘plays’ beautiful sitar and lip-synchs Sudha Malhotra’s Kafi-based song.

7. Baat chalat nayi cunari rang daari by Rafi and Krishnaro Chonkar from Rani Rupmati (1959), lyrics Bharat Vyas, music SN Tripathi

A man of many parts, SN Tripathi was another high class composer who, in the commercial pecking order, was not counted among the top bracket. The Sultan’s son, music-loving Baaz Bahadur is doing Riyaz with his Ustad, both holding tanpura (though horizontally, rather than straight up reclining on the shoulder). They sing the traditional Bhairavi bandish in the voices of Rafi and the classical singer Krishnarao Chonkar. Geeta Dutt had, some years ago, sung this bandish in the film Ladki (1953), composed by R Sudarshanam-Dhaniram. In the link below the uploader has also included Geeta Dutt’s version. The instrument now is veena in the hands of the lady (Anjali). After sometime, she hands over the veena to her lover Bharat Bhushan who plays the instrument, and she dances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ji_fIosso

8. Manmohan man mein ho tumhin by Rafi, SD Batish and Suman Klayanpur from Kaise Kahun (1964), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music SD Burman

This song would figure in any compilation of the best classical raga-based songs. Naturally so; there is a music Guruji Manmohan Krishna, teaching his daughter Nanda, when his talented disciple Biswajit (strange casting!) joins in. They sing in unison, tanpura being the prominent instrument in their hands.

9. Man ki been matwari baaje by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Shabab (1955), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

Naushad created a sensation for his classical raga-based songs in Baiju Bawra (1952). But I love the score of Shabab, another music-based film. The two lovers sing this Raga Bahar-based song, while playing the veena.

10. Mohabbat hi no ja samjhe wo zalim pyar kya jaane by Talat Mahmood from Parchhain (1952), lyrics Noor Lakahanavi, music C Ramchandra

Since I have titled this post on ‘sitar’, let me post this beautiful song, sung by the blind lover Shantaram, and unaware yet, Jayshree playing the sitar. A fellow blogger and SOY regular Anita Rupavataram in one of her posts drew attention to the odd use of the synonyms ‘mohabbat’ and ‘pyar’ as if they mean different things. What does it mean – One who doesn’t understand even love, how would that heartless lady know what is love? But the song is so good, I had not noticed any oddity until I read her post.

11. Ye kaisa aya zamana by Mukesh, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood from Humjoli (1970), lyrics Anand Bakshi, music Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Every rule has exception. One Mehmood can be mad enough, if you have three Mehmoods mimicking the three generations of Kapoor family (Papaji with sitar, the Tramp with duff and Dabboo with guitar), you can be sure the reverence for sitar will be a casualty.

Note: I have not embedded the video of Song #7. You can click the link to play it on the YT.

Acknowledgment and Disclaimer
1. David Courtney’s article on Chandrakanta.com gives an excellent summary of the history of sitar.
2. The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog claims no copyright over these songs which vests with the respective owners.

139 comments…read them below or add one

  1. Very good theme, and presented very well.

    Apart from songs that show sitar on the screen, there are those where the sitar is an integral part of the song. The one that comes to my mind is ‘O sajna barkha bahar aayee’ from Parakh. Take the sitar away, and the song loses half its appeal. Such songs are best described as a duet between voice and instrument. Other examples would be accordion in ‘Awara hoon’ and ‘Ae mere dil kahin aur chal’; flute in ‘Main piya teri, tu mane ya na maane’; tabla in ‘Nache man mora magan tig da dhigi dhigi’ and many more.

  2. Subodh,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. You are very right many sings are closely identified with some instrument, though that instrument is not visible. Accordion also in ‘Har dil jo pyar karega’, flute in so many songs composed by Roshan. The whole field is open for the experts. I feel very awkward to venture in their domain. My open invitation still stands.

  3. AK ,
    Nice theme nd equally nice is the narration nd selection of songs .

    आपने हमें सितार की बहनोंसे (वीणा , रुद्रवीणा , सरस्वती वीणा ) सें भी मिलवाया !!!
    सितार , तानपुरा आदि की तकनीकी जानकारी भी पढनेलायक हैं ।
    रविशंकर और बिस्मिल्ला खाँ साहब का किस्सा बहोतही मजेदार लगा ।
    गानें बडे ही अच्छे चुने आपने ।

    I wud like 2 add 2 songs here .

    बेदर्दी दगाबाज जा – ब्लफ मास्टर
    https://youtu.be/iKpjV7DWnPU

    मन रे तूही बता क्या गाऊँ – हमराही

    https://youtu.be/xKJefA9bfWs

    सुबोध जी एकदम सहीं फर्माते हैं .. कुछ गानोंमें सितार पर्देपर ना होने के बावजूद पूरे गानेंमें अपनें सूरोंका जाल बिछाए हुए हैं .. जैसे की

    आज सोचा तो आँसू भर आए – हँसते जख्म

    https://youtu.be/bfnRD6y-JbU

    AK , thnx for this post .

    – Pramod Godbole .

  4. Congratulations for a great writeup on a very popular musical instrument used in HFM . A great song selection out of which I could not recollect 2 songs. About the origins of sitar we may never be able to pinpoint. As observed at #1 , there are numerous mesmerising HFM songs where the sitar is used but not shown on screen and this could be a topic for another writeup .

    ‘ Jab dil ko…’ / 1950 / SARGAM / P L Santoshi / CR / Lata , Saraswati Abdul Rane & chorus.

    https://youtu.be/LPjnd4lE0Vo

  6. An excellent treatise on “sitar” as presented in Hindi films. Your writeup is superb as is always the case running like a jungle brook immediately after a cloud burst. Choice of songs could not be better suited to the theme. You have done such deep research on the origin of the instrument, I abandoned my endeavour to add something. Veena and Sitar would sound different, one of the reasons being the wood out of which they are carved. Veena is mostly made from around Thanjavur in Tamilnadu from a particular tree which is native to that locality.
    Serendipity has deserted me and songs on the theme elude me for the nonce.

  7. Veena has also been mentioned in the post. There are very many songs in Tamil/Telugu featuring veena. Am posting a well known song from the film “Sampurna Ramanayam”. The film does not run on usual lines. Ravanan has been shown in his good avatar. He is considered a superb veena player and this song sequence takes place in raj darbar and Ravanan gives a dissertation on the various carnatic ragas. I know it may sound Greek and Latin to many of the followers but would request them to enjoy the song.

    Veenai kodi udaya vendane (Ravanan’s flag has the symbol of veena in it).
    https://youtu.be/0W46Q0sQ1XQ?t=278

  8. Namaste AK ji,
    A fabulous piece of writing for this most elegant and graceful instrument.
    The songs that are selected are beautiful pieces composed by various composers who have used the sitar very well.

    There are a few songs that I could remember and would like to add here. Madan Mohan ji was known to have a soft corner for the sitar, made good use of it in the following songs.

    1. Naino mein badra chaaye from Mera Saaya

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU8pYP9Udws

    2. Meri ankhon se koi neend liye jaata hai from Pooja ke Phool. Rais Khan made his debut with this song. This song initially recorded had santoor as the major instrument, but later it was shelved and rerecorded with sitar, Beautifull pieces, like the sitar is singing with the lead singer.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgRvsTAxy30

    3. Rasm-e-ulfat ko nibhayein toh nibhayein kaise from Dil ki Rahein
    The film did not do well at all, but this has been very well appreciated by audiences, especially for the use of the sitar. The end has a long spell of fantastic sitar playing by Rais Khan. Worth a listen

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTXd3PWYKOA

    4. Baiyan na Dharo from the film Dastak.
    The National Award winning song for the year sung by Lata Mangeshkar and sitar played by Rais Khan

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKky-_T85XU

    O.P. Nayyar too made very good use of the sitar in quite a few of his songs.
    Sharing a beauty from the film Kashmir ki kali
    Deewana hua badal
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-gqCrEdpK8

  10. Pramod @3,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. The experts would scoff at me for mentioning the sitar, veena, tanpura in the same post. But for a lay person, all the three are about 4′ long with a gourd and a long neck. Once you are used to seeing and hearing them, you start noticing the difference. It is interesting, Bedardi dagabaaz ja was also in my list, but I rationed between the three instruments.

  11. Mr S Joseph @4,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Jab dil ko saate gham is one of my post favorite songs. Sitar is very prominent, the ladies in the film belonged to a musical family, and they were also accomplished. Many songs have very prominent sitar strains, as also some other instruments, though not visible on the screen. In fact, the experts on the forum should write on this theme.

  12. Madhu,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. There are so many songs to choose from, I had to limit it to ten. They are not the best for sure, not even my most favourites, but I wanted to give a variety of flavour. All the three songs are excellent, the last two my special favourites.

  13. Mr DP Rangan @6, 7,
    Thanks a lot for effusive praise, as always. Sitar songs are too many in Hindi films; I mean those in which the sitar is visible. I have only skimmed the surface. Many songs would soon come to your lips. With your explanation I enjoyed the Tamil song a lot. And thanks a lot for the information about Ravan’s musical talents. Nice addition to the theme. I have to explain the tonal difference between sitar and veena, sitar gives clear metallic sound, while veena’s sounds full and thick.

  14. Sangeetaji,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. If I were to name one music director who comes to mind for sitar songs, it is Madan Mohanji. Dekh Kabira Roya itself had Kaun aya mene man ke dware, a superb song (veena?). Who can forget the sitar notes in Nanino mein badra chhaye, bijli se chamke haye. I am very fond of Meri aankhon se koi neend liye jata hai too. His two other songs also have ver prominent sitar notes. Sitar is very prominent in Deewana hua baadal too, but OP Nayyar has become so associated with ghoda-gadi beat that his name would not occur to me for sitar. Thanks a lot again.

  15. Shekhar @9,
    Thanks for adding Ye zindagi usi ki hai. It has unforgettable sitar interlude. Ustad Halim Jaffer Khan was associated with best of the sitar songs. We have to be thankful for such artists who did not hesitate to traverse both the classical and film music. I have seen him in classical concerts too.

  17. A very famous song sequence with the Veena . Vyjayantimala does not really play on this instrument. The string instrument that we hear alongwith the song I thought sounded like a Sitar . Only those familiar with such instruments can distinguish the sounds .

    ‘ Tumhen yaad karte…’/ 1965 / AAMRAPALI / Shailendra / SJ / Lata

    https://youtu.be/yIlCqg__Nvg

  20. AK ji
    Lovely post on an excellent topic.
    Lot of MDs during the golden era of Bollywood songs used sitar beautifully. Certain MDs, when they sat down to compose a song, would take sitar and play it as a tune came to mind – not always but quite often. Vasant Desai and Shankar of SJ duo were well known for this tendency.
    I read somewhere that in late sixties, Shankar had to regretfully do away with this habit. The reason was that he got the dreaded disease of diabetes and was advised that bruising caused to the fingers would take long time for healing because of extra blood glucose.

    Regards

  21. A classical song where Lata , Asha come together. To me the Tanpura here is hardly audible. This movie was adapted from a south Indian movie and the Hindi version was said to be a success perhaps more due to the music .

    ‘ Sakhi ri sun…’ / 1957 / MISS MARY / Rajinder Kishan / Hemant / Lata, Asha

    https://youtu.be/zS4b3WlymvE

  22. Arunji @16,
    I am happy that you liked the post.
    Ye hawa ye raat is a beautiful song. The lady plays the sitar and the man sings. Too good.

  23. Mr S Joseph @17,
    The instrument is indeed veena, the sound too is that of veena. I distinguish by the clarity and the metallic sharpness of the tonal quality. Sitar is sharper.

    @21,
    Showing the tanpura is more important. It establishes what you are going to experience is classical music.

  24. Anup @18,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Since I am also a lay person, I saw the instruments belonging to the same family. I am happy that I did that way. Chanda chamke neel gagan mein is a beautiful song based on Bhimpalasi, which is one of my top favourite ragas. Here the instrument is veena. Balamwa bolo na has tanpura. Sajan sang neha lagaye by Mala Sinha with tanpura perfectly fits the bill. Sad song, the saajan Raj Kapoor for whom she is pining, is inebriated in the night club and staggers to dance with whoever he can hold. Maine chaand aur sitaaron ki tamanna ki thi is another immortal song in Bimpalasi, but is sitar visible in the video?

    @19,
    Yes, Tora man darpan kahlaye, too.

  25. Tyagiji @20,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I think every good music director used sitar a lot. C Ramchandra and Madan Mohan have to be mentioned prominently. I thought Shankar was a percussionist. But he didn’t have to play any instrument. SJ’s orchestra had many talented musicians. I think Jayram Acharya also played the sitar in many of their famous songs.

  28. Gaddeswarupji,
    Sitar by Pt. Ravi Shankar in Pather Panchali is unforgettable. You don’t see the sitar on the screen though. But thanks for adding it. Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar shows many instruments on the screen in its songs, sitar and tanpura included. The film’s English title was The Music Room.

  30. Mr S Joseph,
    Tere naina talash karein jise, what a feast of tanpura and sitar, and of course, several other instruments too.

  31. AKji, a wonderful post on this majestic string instrument and its variants. I wanted to add a song from Laal Patthar. Sooni Sooni Saans Ki Sitar Par.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aq3T0a4I0o
    This song is a very special one. One, there is the mention of the Sitar and both the Sitar and the Tanpura along with many other instruments are being played.
    Two, this is a song in Raag Jaijaiwanti, which is also the raag of the song Manmohana Bade Jhoothe, which you have mentioned. The latter is sung by Lata and the former by Asha. But it shows how they both have full control over the notes. Both are masterpieces. The music directors of both songs are Shankar Jaikishan.

  33. Anita,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I was looking for a sitar song with sitar on the screen and in the lyrics. And you have found the Holy Grail. You have discovered several interesting connections, same MD, same raga, and siblings. If it is a concert setting then sitar normally would have tanpura too.

  37. S Joseph @4 and AK ji,

    Name of Saraswati Rane was NEVER Saraswati Abdul Rane.
    She was daughter of Abdul Kareem Khan, but after her mother separated from Khan sahab, her name was Saraswati Mane. In the early 40’s she got married to Sunder Rao Rane and her name became Saraswati Rane. So, in any case she can not become Saraswati Abdul Rane.
    Her name was Mane before marriage and after marriage it was Saraswati (Sunder Rao ) Rane, but NOT Sarswati Abdul Rane.
    -AD

  38. Mr S Joseph @35,
    If there is classical dance-song, you are going to see sitar and tanpuras. Chham chham baaje re payaliya is a very nice song.

    @36,
    The musical Shabab had all songs classical raga-based, and a good deal of string instruments.

  39. AK ji
    To say that it is a superlative article is to State the obvious.
    As you have said in a comment there are innumerable songs on the theme and precisely that is the reason which makes the article superlative. The choice of the songs is exceptional and so is the write up.
    I begin with a ‘gazab’ gazal rendered by Rafi.
    Here sitar is matching with his delicate voice making the gazal ever so beautiful.
    Gajab Kiya Tere waade pe- Daag Dehlavi – Khayyam
    https://youtu.be/ZkQYUh9RLr8

  40. A rare and interesting theme. May be later we can consider the other musical instruments also like piano or guitar!

  42. We see a Sitar here though it is not normally used in a qawwali . I hear the sound of sarangi also .

    ‘ Na toh karavan , ye ishq ishq …’/ 1960 / BARSAAT KI RAAT / Sahir Ludhyanvi / Roshan / Manna Dey , SD Baatish , Asha , Sudha Malhotra , Rafi

    https://youtu.be/NaebUivrdiY

  44. AKji,

    A brilliant post on a wonderful theme,
    It is not easy for an ordinary person like me to distinguish between these 3 classic instruments – Sitar, Tanpura and Veena.
    Your informative write-up has definitely helped to understand the basics.

    Beginning with couple of tanpura songs:

    Meri Surat Teri Ankhen 1963
    Manna – SDB – Shailendra
    Poochho na kaise maine rain bitayi

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0XXy00dEvU

    Basant Bahar 1956
    SJ – Shailendra – Rafi
    Duniya na bhaye mohe ab to bulale

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQHUzQ7QwmU

  46. Mr Muli @39,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. You have cited a song with beautiful sitar music. I confined my selection to the songs in which sitar is visible on the screen. Otherwise the list becomes unwieldy. The three long-necked string instruments presented themselves as a logical choice. Even with this limitation the number of songs is huge.

  49. KB @40,
    It is not a rare theme. I have already written on piano and harmonium songs. I have given links to these posts at the beginning of this post. Sitar was a natural corollary. Guitar is another highly visible instrument on the screen. If I extend my metaphor of piano – aristocracy; harmonium – plebeian; then guitar is youthfulness. We have a number of experts who known something about the guitar and other instruments. I am always conscious that I am too illiterate to write on musical instruments. I have done enough गुस्ताख़ी to venture into an area which belongs to the experts. My open invitation still stands to them.

  51. Mr S Joseph @41,
    Teer-e-nazar dekhneg: A courtesan film would have dance-songs with these instruments. Nice addition.

    @42,
    Na to karwan ki talash hai: Qawwalis need harmonium, some string instrument and a predominant rhythmic clapping. This one of the best qawwalis. Roshan used sitar quite generously.

    @43,
    Madhuban mein Radhika naace re I have mentioned prominently in song #1. A landmark song.

  52. Dr Deshpande @44, 45, 47, 48, 50,
    Thanks a lot for your generous praise. Tanpura is the easiest to recognise. In most of the sitar songs that have been posted her, there is only one gourd at the root of the long neck, there is no balancing small gourd at the other end. Veena would invariably have two gourds and more ornamentation. You have done very well in posting absolutley befitting songs, and recognising the instruments. My list had the songs of Basant Bahar as well as Poochho na maine kaise rain bitaayi

  53. Here we see Shantaram playing the Vichitra Veena. There are so many types of Veena and only experts can say more on this . What I learn is that V Shantaram was over 60 years when he played this lead role. The song is in praise of the beauty he had never seen .

    ‘ Kaun ho tum…’/ 1961 / STREE / Bharat Vyas / CR / Mahendra Kapoor

    The Veena can be both heard and seen around 4’ 3″ into the video sequence .

    https://youtu.be/saDAJD-9kmM

  55. This an excellent post. It is often difficult to locate which string instrument is being played in the song as the part of the song or as accompaniment or the notes based on the particular string instrument.

    There are many string instruments in the Indian film music right from the beginning of the film songs.

    It is due to the history of the Indian music and Saraswati is always shown as holding Veena or Bina.

    Many people do not understand the name of the singer “Bina Paani Mukharjee. Bina Paani does not means without water but holding Veena in the hands means Sarswati.

    Perhaps next post should be on the pipe music. Shahanai which is a dominating instrument in the early films of Hindi language.

    The Tabala and western drums also needed to look at as well.

    In Ravindra Sangeet a full orchestra was very popular. But this orchestra was not the Western but based on the western harmony. Ravindranath was taught to play Piano by his English residential Teacher. Ravindranth did not go the schools which were started by the English Administration in all parts of India.

    I often gets the feeling when I hear Ravindra Sangeet that it is very similar to the old western music.

    Once Sarojini Naidu said that one has to be a Bengali to appreciate Ravindra Sangeet fully. She further said in her funeral speech on the death of Tagore that she and all her brothers and sisters lacked the understanding of the Bengali language as she and her family were prohibited by her dear father who did experiments in education on his children. They all grew up became great humanists.

    This my understanding how Music and about music makes people more rounded persons.

    Well this is another great article from AK. He keeps us on the boil.

    Shalan La

  65. Mr Joseph@ @53,
    Kaun ho tum is a very nice song.

    @56,
    Kaise samjhaun badi naasamajh ho: Natural setting for classical instruments.

    @57,
    @Jhanak jhanak tori baaje payalia: Excellent song in Darbari. Beautiful sitar play.

    @58, 59, 60,
    Three great songs from Jahanara. What talent of Madan Mohan! He shows his fascination for sitar

  66. Mr Muli @54,
    Very nice song. Veena becomes a metaphor for the lady’s sadness, Veena teri meri jaise ek kahani/ Is ghar mein hum donon ki kisi ne kadar na jaane/ Tera bhi koi meet nahin/ Mera bhi koi meet nahin. And then the antara, Ye kaisa surmandir hai jismein sangeet nahin. The lyrics also contain the word ‘veena’

  67. Shalan Lal @55,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation and a short survey of music instruments. All major instruments deserve to be covered, they have figured in our songs. I would put my request to the experts again.

  68. Manoj @62,
    Beena madhur madhur kachhu bol: Eternal veena song. I have mentioned in the write up of song #2.

    @63, 64,
    Meri veena ro rahi hai and Sooni padi hai sitar: Both deserve to be included. The instrument now has been personified and feels the pain in virah.

    P.S
    ‘Meri veena’ there is no doubt, but is it ‘Sooni’ or ‘Soona pada hai sitar’?

  69. AK ji
    Plethora of instruments here but I think Joy tries his hand ( literally) except on Veena.
    There is good fusion between impeccably dressed Joy with tie to boot and the classical tune as well as traditional outfit of Saira.
    Saaj ho tum awaaj hun main – Saaj aur Awaaj – Khumar Barabankavi – Naushad – Rafi
    https://youtu.be/e6szCRfApKE

  71. Mr Muli @69,
    Joy Mukherji had a good dress sense. He must have forgotten he was not required to play the guitar. He starts with the piano. But he couldn’t go back to change. He could show his talent with various instruments. Had the song been long enough, he could have played veena and sitar too, sitting nearby. Nice addition.

  74. OP Nayar has always used Sitar as one of his prime instruments in his
    orchestration. A few examples.

    1, Phir milogi habi is baath ka – film YE RAATH PHIR NA AYEGI,
    2. Dil ki awaaz suno – film HUMSAAYA,

    3. Andhere me baite hai – film – SAMBANDH
    In this song sitar is of minimum use but its effect is total unlike first two where Sitar is
    My song selection without a mention of Shankar jaikishan is incomplete. So here it. The song begins with the play of sitar.
    Song – Man re thu baatha re – film HUMRAAHI.

    where

  76. Dr Deshpande @73,
    Jahn jhananana chhedilya tara: This is what a perfect sitar-song should look like. The sitar is prominent on the screen, the sitarist plays it and sings, and the lady dances. But he has not watched the sitarists enough, his stage mannerism is a little overdone.

    @75,
    Dhanya bhag seva ka avsar paya is an excellent song. The instruments are in the background though; it would not figure in my fist cut for this post.

  77. Mr Vasudevan @74,
    Thanks for your nice song list. Most music directors used sitar very prominently in the orchestration. That is why I focussed on the songs in which the sitar created a great visual impact.

  81. Mr Joseph @79,
    Amrapali being based on the state courtesan, had good number of songs which, while maintaining the film-song character, had classical ensemble of instruments. Thanks for adding the song, Neel Gagan ki chhaton mein.

  82. Though we see the string instruments , the camera has not focused enough on the musicians . In any case I would not give more than 2/10 to the director for this song recording .

    ‘Kahe tarsaye jiyara…’/ 1964 / CHITRALEKHA / Sahir Ludhyanvi / Roshan / Asha , Usha Mangeshkar

    https://youtu.be/5hZ2SVxgBho

  84. Mr S Joseph @82, 83,
    Kaahe tarsaye jiyara happens to be one of my most favourite female duets, and among the best of Roshan songs.

  85. AKji:

    Thanks for this wonderfully enlightening post on sitar’s contribution to HFM. I think, we can now look forward to similar posts on mandolin and santoor, two other string instruments widely used by our MDs during the golden era.

    I was somewhat surprised by your use of the term ‘gravitas’ in connection with sitar. To me, the sounds of Veena and Rudra Veena appear to have more natural association with ‘gravitas’. Here I am not talking of dignity, but the weight or the timbre of the rich sound emanating from a Veena/Rudra Veena. Perhaps for this reason, Veena has been more popular in Carnatic music. Sitar, on the other hand, gets automatically associated in my mind with a joyous, more playful (not frivolous), melody.

    In Hindustani classical music, sitar has been one of the most versatile instruments. Its widespread use in HFM, not only in songs, but also in background scores, is testimony to its versatility and adaptability. Here is one song and a background score using sitar, all composed by SDB.
    First, ‘Kali ghata chhaye’ (Asha in Sujata):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZMyPcef_ws

    And now, the Jhamm-jhamma on sitar played by J V Acharya in background score of Kala Pani (courtesy Moti Lalwani ji’s interview which describes the context for this score in detail):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6MbVRabtes#t=6m15s

  87. Canasya @85,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation and substantive comments. When I used the word ‘gravitas’ I had in mind the visual impact of sitar on the screen in our songs. Whichever song came to my mind were all in a serious or classical setting.

    Between Carnatic and Hindustani music there is no question the former maintains its ancient roots and their kritis are generally devotional as prayer to the popular deities in our pantheon. TM Krishna has tried to experiment, I believe due to his political beliefs, but the form remains deeply devotional and traditional. I like his singing. Hindustani classical music evolved with Persian/Islamic influence and became a distinct style. Its dominant form ‘khayal‘ could be translated as ‘romantic musings’. Lighter forms like thumri and dadra became playful. The two titans of sitar, Pt. Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan, both had a romantic style pf playing. A friend of mine who prefers Ravi Shankar says, he had लास्य about him from his dance background under Uday Shankar’s school at Almora. That reflected in his his sitar playing too. As a lay listener I preferred Vilayat Khan, possibly because of his gayaki ang. I found his style too very romantic. Our music directors have ‘shown’ both the sitar and veena with some reverence.

    Thanks a lot for the two videos.

  89. Ak ,
    Let me add some more marathi flavor .

    The लंकापति रावण is seen playing वीणा .
    The handsome marathi superstar चंद्रकांत singing in भीमसेन जोशी’s voice .

    Movie is स्वयंवर झाले सीतेचे

    रम्य ही स्वर्गाहून लंका

    https://youtu.be/juq16lSm6KA

  90. AK ,

    One more on तानपुरा .

    Sweetly sung by मधुबाला झवेरी.

    Actress नीलम

    Movie अवघाचि संसार

    आज मी आळविते केदार

    https://youtu.be/LV_h6Y8JJro

  91. Like most of the music instruments, Sitar is a very difficult instrument to handle even at the basic of right sitting posture.

    However, our great Hindi films have made playing Sitar as a common play. Of course, so is the case with piano or guitar too.

    Barring a few instances, the actor/ actress supposed to be playing the instrument literally murders the instrument. The instrument would possibly live for the next day only by the way it has been used in the song by the music director.

    SoY has done great service to Sitar by this informative and interesting article.

  92. Pramod @90,
    Thanks a lot for Ravan’s veena song. Mr Rangan too had mentioned a Tamil song of Ravan playing the veena. I didn’t know about Ravan’s veena talent.

    @91,
    Nice song.

  93. Ashokji @91,
    In this context Dilip Kumar’s effort to learn the sitar is admirable. Thanks a lot for our appreciation.

  94. AK ji , Rajesh ji , Pramod ji
    A poignant Marathi song from Gharkul on sitar. In fact it is an iconic poem ” Jogiya ” by Ga Di Madgulkar. Composed by C Ramchandra ,it is rendered by Rani Verma , daughter of Manik Verma.
    Konyat Zhopali ” Satar” –
    https://youtu.be/4VmqrbaqTwo

  96. Another song from the same movie @ 95 where we saw only a Tanpura. In this video we can hear as well as briefly see the sitar on screen.

    ‘ Naache mann mora…’/ 1963 / MERI SOORAT TERI AANKHEN/ Shailendra /SBD / Rafi

    https://youtu.be/5as7b0Zz8GI

  100. Akji, Sangeeta ji
    Sangeeta ji has posted 4 fabulous Madan ji’s creations one of which is from Dastak. Dastak was a veritable feast of Lata-MM combination and here is one more song from the film featuring The theme.
    Hum hai mata-e-kucha – Majrooh
    https://youtu.be/Jrdp3LdoiGA

  102. Great article, AK, and great songs as well! Also, thanks for sharing the anecdote involving Ravi Shankar and Bismillah Khan 🙂

    Two of my favourite songs in which the sitar plays a prominent part are:

    1. ”Phaili huyi hain sapnon ki baahen by Lata/Sahir/SD Burman from ‘House No: 44’ (1955)

    The sitar was played by Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxf-n4eMkHw

    2. ”Jiya le gayo ji mora saanwariya’by Lata/Raja Mehdi Ali Khan/Madan Mohan from ‘Anpadh'(1962)

    Was the sitar played by Rais Khan?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JB2tjjzfOg

  105. Here’s a song in which

    (a) Tina Munim does not play the tanpura most of the time, and plays it like it is an ektara when she does, but its sound is not heard

    (b) the sarangi and swarmandal are shown being played but for some reason are not heard, unlike the sitar and tabla

    (c) an Amitabh Bacchan look-alike plays the bansuri, and at one point, gets so carried away that he tries to stand,

    (d) Lata takes the names of two of her rivals, one after the other, in the mukhda.

    Nice song, though!

    ‘Suman sudha rajnigandha’ by Lata/Amit Khanna/Rajesh Roshan from ‘Manpasand'(1980)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdSo-AdZqcQ

  106. Another one of my favourite Lata songs. One can see a stringed instrument in the background in portions of the song-sequence, and it is featured prominently when the line ”main beena utha na saki’. It has way lesser number of pegs than a sitar, so it cannot be that instrument. The number of pegs seem to be 4, the same as in a tanpura, but their placement, at least from the silhouette (for the instrument itself cannot be seen clearly), is not like it would be in a tanpura, so the instrument cannot be a tanpura. Also, the instrument seems to have frets. So it it a veena by default?

    ‘Ja re, ja re ud ja re pancchi’by Lata/Majrooh/Salil Chowdhury from ‘Maya'(1961)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTMxRVtgLy4

  107. Mala Sinha makes her fingers fly up and down the stem of a veena, and successfully produce the sound of a sitar in this gem of a song that was inspired by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s thumri ”Ýaad piya ki aaye:

    ‘Balama anaadi man bhaaye’ by Lata/Sahir/C.Ramchandra from ‘Bahurani'(1963)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6doOa6A9g8

  108. Mr Muli @94,
    The audio is of poor quality. Is sitar clearly visible on the screen?

    @100,
    Hum hai mata-e-koocha is such a nice song.

  110. Mr Joseph @95,
    Poocho na kaise maine rain bitayi: It was in my list. A perfect song for this post.

    @96,
    Naache man mora I like even more. Tabla (played by Samta Prasad, aka Godai Maharaj) is very prominent.

    @97,
    Tere khayalon mein tere hi khwabon mein: MSTA had such nice songs. Thanks for posting these.

    @98, 99,
    My favourite song. I have included at #7.

    @101,
    Ek nazar kisi ne dekha: SJ have created such a fun song with all the instruments in a classical music setting.

  111. Ashwin @102,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Phaili hui hai sapnon ki baahein: The song is highly mellifluous. And sitar is an important of its charm, though not visible on the scree. Jiya le gayo ji mora saanwariya is another delightful song. Sangeetaji can confirm, but Rais Khan seems quite plausible.

    @103,
    Being Geroge Harrison’s Guru was a big part of Ravi Shankar’s fame. Ravi Shankar became a Rockstar among sitarists.

    @105,
    (a), (b) We should be happy that no sound came, it would be much worse if they sounded like violin or piano.
    (c) Sharp observation. He might be basically a qawwali singer.
    (d) 🙂 . This takes me to Dil hai chhota sa chhoti si Asha. The singer Minmini (?) is extremely arrogant and discourteous. How dare she call Asha Bhosle ‘small’. She must be her mother’s age. These youngsters!

  112. AK in “meri veena tum bin roye” I cannot hear the sitar or the veena. I can the sarod as the primary plucked string instrument in the beginning and in the interlude and in the background with the voice. Pity how the lyrics do not reflect the picturisation. 🙂

    Ashwin @106 interesting question. I would have hazarded it’s a Veena because it seems to have a scalloped fretboard and I can see 5 pegs in the shadow on the wall , and the side of the veena that faces the player will have 5 pegs. Two for the main playing strings and 3 for the drone strings. The side facing away will have two pegs for the other two playing . I cannot see the resonator at the top but I guess one can take it away without affecting the musical functionality of the Veena.
    Again no Veena in the song, but some beautiful flute and saxophone interludes and counterpoints and a very nice use of the clarinet.

  113. Ashwin @106,
    If we eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbale, must be the truth. Not tanpura, not sitar, and she says ‘Main beena utha na saki’. It has to be veena. Elemenary.

    @107,
    I told you so, and you were cribbing in @105 that sound was not heard.

    @109,
    She is playing veena, some string sound is coming. For lay persons that is enough.

  114. AK @ 111,

    I agree with your observation about Minmini. What gall the gal has to give a gaali to Asha by referring to the latter as mini-Asha just because her name happens to be Minmini!

    @ 113,

    For a moment, it crossed my mind that the ‘beena’ in ‘Main beena utha na saki’ might have been Beena Rai, but then I dismissed the thought as ‘Maya’…

    SSW @ 112,

    Thanks for the confirmation! A question – was the Bengali version of the song the original or was it the Hindi song?

  115. SSW @112,
    I have to bow to your superior judgment. But please watch 0.50 to 1.30 again. I think the instrument Ameeta is reclining on is veena. In my interaction with Ashwin, we have agreed that the presence of an instrument is no guarantee that you are also going to hear it. That depended which musicians the arranger had been able to get on the day of recording. We have heard of 50 violinists in SJ or so and so’s orchestra, but no one has heard of 2 veena players in them. You are more likely to hear any other instrument than veena.

  116. Here is one of my all-time favourites.

    Padmini dancing in a style that a Bharatanatyam expert told me was typical of Bollywood in the 50s and 60s, and is a mishmash of Kathak and Bharatanatyam, to a (Chhaya Nat-laced) Gaud Sarang-based song (with jhalaks of Kedar and Jogiya/Kalingada in the prefatory alaap), in which the instrumental accompaniment sounds very Carnatic! The percussion accompaniment is provided by the mridangam to boot! Although the sequence shows a veena, the stringed instruments used in the song are the sitar and sarod, as far as I can discern. The line ‘baaje man ka sitar, piya tere liye’ is apt!

    Na dir deem tana derena” by Lata/Prem Dhawan/Anil Biswas from Pardesi” (1957)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFJk-s-021I

  117. AK, I only said that the veena or sitar isn’t audibly present in the song. On the screen well that’s different.
    Ashwin, the Bengali version was released on a record in 1959. Maya, the film was I think 1961 though the songs could have been released earlier.

  119. Interesting theme; when I saw the title, I assumed you were talking about the use of the sitar in the music, not its presence on screen. 🙂

    So the three instruments you mentioned: here’s Bharat Bhushan playing the tanpura in Baiju Bawra
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95rsl4qREx8&t=158s

    From a cursory glance through the comments, I didn’t see this song (apologies if anyone has already mentioned it) – Amitabh playing the tanpura in Koi gaata main so jaata from Alaap.

    You can see the sitar being ‘played’ in Mehfil mein tere husn ka deewana kaun hai from a little known film called Rooplekha. The song is a duet by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLt1STB92j0

    For the actual music including the sitar, Subodh has already posted O sajna barkha bahaar aayi from Parakh.. The artist who played the sitar in that song, Jairam Acharya , is also the person who plays the sitar in Tere bina zindagi se from Aandhi, and Bol re papihara from Guddi.

    There don’t seem to be many songs which feature the veena prominently either. Not in Hindi, at least.

  120. Completely forgot this one for the Veena – Baat chalat nayi chunri rang dari from Ladki

    https://youtu.be/F3ji_fIosso?t=183

    and Madhubala on the veena as well in Bahut Din – Chanda chamke neel gagan mein
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRIlsJWaVXE

    And I don’t know how I could have forgotten this… Saira ‘playing’ the sitar
    Bedardi dagabaaz from Bluffmaster
    https://youtu.be/iKpjV7DWnPU

    (I hope I have made up for my long absence from your blog. 🙂 )

  121. Excellent theme AK Ji once again. And a large number of these songs are from the post vintage era, spanning over the years, with wonderful contributions from nearly all the MDs, a special mention has to be made of Madanmohan and Salil Chowdhury amongst the MDs
    Some of my favourite picks are as below and I hope I’m not repeating anything

    Saanwre saanwre by Lata from Anuradha composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar

    https://youtu.be/M3Bk5lpSYis

    Jaane kaise sapno me by Lata from Anuradha composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar

    https://youtu.be/LYH2SqwZzzQ

    Hiya jarat rahat din rain by Mukesh from Godaan composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar

    https://youtu.be/dQfUE4ArNkU

    Rasik balma by Lata from Chori Chori composed by Shankar Jaikishan

    https://youtu.be/hMk-JSGH1AE

    Kar gaya re by Lata and Asha from Basant Bahar composed by Shankar Jaikishan

    https://youtu.be/-T_j0GkehhQ

    O basanti pawan paagal by Lata from Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai composed by Shankar Jaikishan

    https://youtu.be/ra0TqyN42xs

    continued…

  122. Anu @119,
    I couldn’t have written on the use of sitar in music, I have been quite open about my illiteracy in music. This could be only done by the experts. We know four of them on the SOY. This Gang of Four includes one whom you know very closely. I did approach them, and my open invitation still stands. 🙂

    Thanks for posting Aaj gawat man mero jhoom ke. Pure classical singers, particularly Ustad Amir Khan, a singers’ singer who did aalap in Marwa for an hour, presenting Raga Desi in 6 minutes is a great feat.

    @120,
    Baat chalat nayi chunri daar: I have mentioned this song and a posted a later version, which I find even superior to it, at #7.

    Chanda chamke neel gagan mein is a beautiful song. Anything in Bhimpalasi has to be, even Tu cheez badi hai mast mast. 🙂

    Bedardi dagabaaz is also a very good song. Saira Bano does ‘play’ the sitar well.

    Anu, of course, you have more than made up for your absence. More so with the bonus of one of the experts.

  123. Continued

    Ghar tera apna ghar laage by Suraiya and Talat from Waaris composed by Anil Biswas

    https://youtu.be/C1USdni17QM

    Apni kaho by Lata and Talat from Parchhaain composed by C Ramchandra

    https://youtu.be/REDQoD365oo

    Jab dil me nahi hai khot by Manna De from Bank Manager composed by Madanmohan (this seems to be Sarod, to my untrained ears )

    https://youtu.be/qa8We8RSAPM

    Sitare raah takte hain chale aao by Lata from Black Cat composed by N Dutta

    https://youtu.be/ZTsMOsLdBDk
    Laage tose nain by Asha and Talat from Chandi Ki Deewar composed by N Dutta

    https://youtu.be/6rd80gOT-HQ

    Saara mora kajra by Rafi and Aarti Mukherjee from Do Dil composed by Hemant Kumar

    https://youtu.be/Be_Fue6ZFOM

    Itne qareeb aa ke bhi by Talat and Mubarak Begum from Shagoon composed by Khayyam

    https://youtu.be/AvuCI4iJmsA

  124. And lastly, one very rare jugalbandi of Sitar and Sarod from a forgotten film Ferry, the real jugalbandi was played on Sitar by Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee and Sarod by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, enacted on screen by Dev Anand and Geeta Bali
    Music of the film was composed by Hemant Kumar

    https://youtu.be/ONscuEYwH2M

    Will continue if I find some more interesting songs

  125. Arvinder Sharmaji @121,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Ravi Shankar’s Anuradha and Godan, both hada number of everlasting songs, sitar was an important part in the. SJ’s songs you have posted are all absolutely superb, and great sitar pieces. You have mentioned Madan Mohan and Salil Chowdhury. Several MM songs and a few Salil Chowdhury’s songs have been posted. Their use of the sitar in several songs is very prominent and it adds to the beauty of songs.

  129. Dr Deshpande @126,
    Nice flute song, but the little sitar Mala Sinha plays is quite good. I think Geet’s other songs, too, we’re flute songs.

    @127,
    Both are exquisite classical raga based songs. The first one the uploader describes as Pahadi. The second is Maru Bihag?

    @128,
    Dil hi dil mein le liya meharbani aapki: Ravi-Mahendra Kapoor recreation of their earlier successful experiment. But the sitar, both seen and heard, makes it a beautiful song.

  131. Arvinder Sharmaji,
    Excellent songs all. The uploader of Preetam aan milo is a geat romantic. In CH Atma’s NFS, he has put in pictures of Suraiya, Saiyra Bano, Waheeda Rahman, Madhubala, Madhubala and Nimmi!

  132. Had it not been restricted to only songs with Sitar/Veena/Tanpura visible on screen , the number of songs covered under this post could have been at least 10 times more . AK ji had mentioned @ 6 that some experts could take up this theme .

    I wish we could give credit to the person who brings the musical instrument to life by spending a lifetime with it . A foreigner Mr.Gregory D. Booth had dealt with the subject of such silent workers of the HFM industry in his book ‘ BEHIND THE CURTAINS : MAKING MUSIC IN MUMBAI’S FILM STUDIOS ‘ (336 pages).

    Perhaps Saira Banu was the only star seen twice on screen playing the Sitar .

    ‘ Apne piya ki…’/ 1967 / AMAN / Hasrat Jaipuri / SJ / Lata

    https://youtu.be/cS8_zPuTTLY

  133. Mr S Joseph,
    That restriction was a conscious decision. Just use of sitar is in hundreds of songs. Mentioning those songs without any meaningful analysis is not very useful. Greg Booth is an academic ethnomusicologist at Auckland University and his ‘Behind The Curtains’ also has that flavour. The book is part ‘oral’ history (interview of persons familiar with the era when real musicians played instruments, music directors had singers come to their Music Room, followed by rehearsals and recordings with the orchestra). The book describes that era, and analyses the reasons for its collapse. The book would not give you at one place, main instrumentalists and the famous songs in which they played the sitar, violin, piano etc.

  134. Brilliant blog once again . But here again main songs are not included . Sitar Maestro Pt Ravi Shnakar composed music for Film Anuradha and all songs were Sitar based , none of the ANURADHA songs find place . Likewise ICONIC song “Pucho na kaisae maine raain bitaye ” from Meri Surat Teri Ankhen composition of S D Burman da is conspicuously absent.

  135. Avinash Kumar,
    Thanks a lot for your appreciation. My emphasis was on the sitar’s presence on the screen. I include only 10-20 songs. The readers add a large number of songs in the comments section. A reader has added Poochho na kaise maine rain bitayi, and many songs in which sitar music is prominent have been mentioned, even though the instrument is not seen on the screen.

  138. I joined late and it’s difficult to read all recommendations but have you included Tere Bina from movie Guru? The sitar bit is just so beautiful and powerful.

  139. Charu,
    Welcome to Songs Of Yore. If you mean this post, best is read it, if it is not there its not there. If you mean the SOY from the beginning, it has completed 15 years now. So you have to go through more than 450 articles. The best is see the dop-down list in Index and go through one by one.

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