The SoY Award for the Best Music Director goes to?
This year’s detailed review had more songs (152) than in any preceding year, and I had hoped that this would cover most of the noteworthy songs. Nevertheless, the readers added a large number of songs in the comments. This shows that there are a number of persons spread all over the world, who are deeply passionate about old Hindi film music and who consider it worthwhile to spend hours and hours reminiscing about songs, looking for them on the YT, and sharing their favourite songs and their thoughts on the SoY. This vindicates that my laborious exercise is, after all, not futile. We discover some forgotten or unknown gems, get new insights and become more aware of difference in tastes. I have to thank all the readers deeply for their valuable comments, which enrich the exercise and help me in my Wrap Ups. The Final Wrap Up is a distillation of the Overview post and the four Wrap Ups: Wrap Up 1 on the best male solos, Wrap Up 2 on the best ‘other’ female solos, Wrap Up 3 on the best Lata Mangeshkar songs and Wrap Up 4 on the best duets.
Our master statistician Venkataramanji continued to help us with the detailed data analysis. This year’s number of songs in the Select List (of memorable songs) in relation to the total number of songs in the year compares as follows with the previous years:
|
Year |
Select List No. of songs (films) |
Total No. of songs (films) |
| 1950 | 152 (50) | 1000-1050 (114-117) |
| 1951 | 144 (41) | 840 (97) |
| 1953 | 93 (37) | 850 (98) |
| 1955 | 84 (26) | 1075 (124) |
(The figures in italics given by me, based on HFGK and some estimation)
What does the above table show? One is the trivial part, that this year’s Select List represents 6% increase over 1951, 63% over 1953 and 81% over 1955. The more important part is the ratio with the total number of songs. Venkataramanji has estimated that there are no information or links for about 200-250 songs. If you take that out, even my large Select List comprises only 19% of the total songs. If you add the songs mentioned by the readers, we are talking about 25% of the total songs, which can be called worthy of notice and second hearing. My guess is that even at that time those songs would have sunk without notice. One wonders why all this fuss in our films to have ten songs. I like the current crop of films at least on the count that they have de-emphasised the importance of music. They are satisfied if they can hit one or two item songs.
A remarkable work has been done by our Ashokji (Ashok M Vaishnav) in taking the yearwise review to another level on his blog. Taking my overview post as the base, he has done micro analysis on various singer-MD combinations, as only he could do. He has done about two dozen posts, and for the convenience of the readers he has prepared a meta-summary of his work and put it on Google drive in pdf format. This is an invaluable archival material, and becomes a very important complement to my reviews on SoY.
To recapitulate, the prominent MDs are well-known. C Ramchandra was very prolific with the number of films, and consequently songs which are not only extremely popular to this day, but also of a very high quality. The roll call of Nirala, Samadhi, Sangeeta, Sangram and Sargam speaks of his prowess. The Great Mughal Naushad had a fetish for perfection and did less number of films compared to his other peers. But his two films, Babul and Daastan are enough to put him up at the top. The doyen of the earlier generation Anil Biswas gives some of his best music in Arzoo, Beqasoor and Lajawab. SD Burman with his two films Afsar and Mashal makes a mark. Roshan with his Bawre Nain, a year after his disastrous debut (with Neki Aur Badi), creates an all-time masterpiece, and if the best score in a film was the criteria, Bawre Nain would be many readers’ choice.
Bulo C Rani’s Jogan too belongs to the class of all-time great scores. There were some more. A song from Wafa made it to the best duet category. We discovered at least three songs from his unreleased film Rasiya, which instantly charmed everyone.
Vinod, now consigned to among forgotten composers, creates outstanding music in Anmol Ratan, three songs from which made to the bests in different Wrap Ups.
Talking of numbers, Husnlal-Bhagatram have the maximum number of films (7) in my Select List: Aadhi Raat, Apni Chhaya, Biraha Ki Raat, Chhoti Bhabhi, Gauna, Meena Bazaar and Sartaj. Several of their songs figure in the Wrap Ups.
A question has arisen whether it is possible to determine an overall ‘best’ song(s). We have two extreme views. Anu does not believe in such ‘bests’. Dinesh, at the other end, believes that not only we should have category-wise bests, but overall best or the ‘Sartaj’ song of the year. Most of us are in between – that it makes sense to talk of category-wise list of best songs, but doing an overall ‘best’ is probably not possible. Without taking any side, let me put at one place a table of the four best tens in different categories. Over to Dinesh to come up with the best overall song.
| Rank | Male solos |
‘Other’ female solos |
Lata Mangeshkar solos |
Duets |
| 1 |
Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal |
Jogi mat ja |
Matwale nainowale ki main wari wari jaaun |
Yaad aanewale phir yaad aa rahe hain |
| 2 |
Teri duniya mein dil lagata nahi |
Man mor hua matwala |
Mehfil mein jal uthi shama |
Shikwa tera main gaaun |
| 3 |
Jab kisi ke rukh pe zulfein |
Nain deewane |
Koi kisi ka deewana na bane |
Duniya badal gayi meri duniya badal gayi |
| 4 |
Mera jeevan sathi bichhad gaya |
Ghunghat ke pat khol re |
Aisi mohabbat se hum baaj aaye |
Khayalon mein kisis ke is tarah aya nahi karate |
| 5 |
Preet laga ke maine ye sukh paya |
Chhod babul ka ghar |
Hans hans ke mere chain pe bijli giraye ja |
Manwa mein pyar dole |
| 6 |
Aa ja nigaahon mein aa ja |
Sun bairi balam kuchh bol re |
Lagan more man ki balam nahi jaane |
O mahi O dupatta mora de de |
| 7 |
Akele mein wo ghabarate to honge |
Ambua ki dari pe bole re koeliya |
Bhool ja ae dil |
Kah do humein na beqaraar kare |
| 8 |
Upar gagan vishal |
Mori atariya pe kaga bole |
Abhi shaam aayegi nikalenge taare |
Zamaane ka dastoor hai ye purana |
| 9 |
Unki nazaron se koi nazarein mila ke poochhe |
Rakhati hun main tera pyar |
Unhe hum jo dil se bhulaane lage |
Armaan bhara dil toot gaya |
| 10 |
Dukh se bhara hua hai dil |
Biraha ki raat mose |
Dil hi to hai tadap gaya |
Gore gore O baanke chhore |
A useful exercise I did last year was to compile the MD-wise distribution of the above songs. Here is the table showing which MD accounts for how many of the ‘best’ songs in different categories.
| Music Director | Male solos | ‘Other’ female solos | Lata Mangeshkar | Duets | Total |
| 1. C Ramchandra | – | – | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2. Anil Biswas | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 3. Naushad | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4. Bulo C Rani | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5. Husnlal-Bhagatram | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6. SD Burman | 1 | 2 | – | – | 3 |
| 7. Roshan | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 3 |
| 8. Vinod | 1 | – | – | 2 | 3 |
| 9. Vasant Desai | 1 | 2 | – | – | 3 |
| 10. Madan Mohan | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| 11. Khemchand Prakash | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| 12. Khayyam (Sharmaji) | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| 13. Sajjad Husain | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| 14. Wadhawa | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| 15. Azeez Hindi | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| 16. AR Qureshi | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 |
Some observations from the above table are self-evident. Naushad is the only music director present in all categories, though from only one film Babul. We know that his musical landmarks had almost all the ten odd songs superhits. While no MD accounts for more than one male solo, Lata Mangeshkar has distinct CR-concentration, he accounting for four of the ten.
If we look at the readers’ choices, the outliers are Jignesh’s Vinod and SSW’s Sajjad Husain. Rest everyone is more conventional. Arvind’s choice for the best MD is SD Burman for Afsar. Ashokji’s choice for the best score in a film is Roshan’s Bawre Nain (however, his best overall MD is C Ramchandra), Arunji’s is C Ramchandra for Sargam, some have chosen Naushad for Babul or Bulo C Rani for Jogan. But most have considered the overall best MD in the year (and not for a particular film), and the generally agreed choice is C Ramchandra. No one can fault that. His dominance is also borne out by the table above.
I have to make three special mentions: Roshan for Bawre Nain, Vinod for Anmol Ratan and Bulo C Rani for his Jogan and the unreleased film Rasiya, for reasons I have mentioned in the beginning.
In conclusion:
The SoY Award for the Best Music Director goes to C Ramchandra.
SoY special mention: Roshan, Vinod and Bulo C Rani
Note: Hans has mentioned that ‘Rasiya’ does not belong to 1950, but probably some indeterminate year about mid-50s. Even if we exclude this, and replace its Lata song in the list by C Ramchandra or Anil Biswas, the outcome does not change.
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
dear sir
i am an avid reader of your blog, and really love your posts. thanks for giving us such info otherwise we wouldn’t have known.
with warm regards~
sandeep
Sandeep,
Welcome to SoY. I am happy you enjoy the blog.
It appears with a score of 5 out of 40, C Ramchandra rode to the finishing post first. One more item, i.e. the number of films for each M.D. would also throw something. For example C Ramchandra’s score of 5 out of 40 covered how many films. Why leave out lyrists from the above compilation. It is just my loud thinking. With no basic material available with me, I will have nothing to discuss in these posts.
AK ji
Am in agreement regarding CR being the best MD in 1950.
Mr V.A.K. Ranga Rao, a well-known collector of gramaphone records, once wrote ( in a newspaper article in Indian Express – 2.9.1990) that CR was his personal favourite. He further wrote ” if I could hear the song Tum kya jano tumhari yaad mein in my final moments, I’ll be fulfilled”.
AKji,
Pleased to see CR as the best, a very fair result. Superb overall analysis. Hats off for the enormous efforts you have put in along with Venkatramanji & Ashok Vaishnavji.
DP Rangan,
The best MD of a year is a composite outcome of many factors. It is also clear it is not a simple numbers exercise.
Many readers have often mentioned the importance of lyricists. Some lyricists do desrve more acknowledgement. But it is difficult to have a similar analysis for the best lyricist of the year
Ravindra Kelkar,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
AK
Thank you for bearing in mind my abiding interest in identifying some top songs of the year cutting across rather artificial categories (one does not like a song thinking that it is sung by Lata or it is a duet or whatever) including one best of the year.
Knowing your aversion to the idea, you have done the next best by passing the baton to me! I would have accepted the challenge willingly, but alas, as I already mentioned, 1950 and its songs are before ‘my time’, and as such several of the songs in your final lists I have only now discovered through your efforts.
I have to therefore admit that I am ill qualified to do the honours. Nor am I interested in doing so for 1950, for while there are some really good songs, I have to say that there is not one in the year that measures up to my awkward sense of music as outstanding!
Once we move on beyond 1952 closer to our time, I will be only too glad to present my own lists of the 10 best songs of the years in order.
But to throw down a more demanding gauntlet, why not try doing a list of the all-time 10 ‘best’ songs, in order? When I say this, let me clarify that “best” should be measured on a yardstick of two essential attributes: song’s intrinsic beauty and charm, and its popularity – then and through the years, maybe in a ratio of 60:40. But then there would also have to be a subjective factor for each one of us, which however we can balance out through democratic means. And once we do so, then we could repeat the exercise category-wise, such as female and male solos, duets, lyrics, romantic, blues, and so on.
I can well anticipate your instantaneous reaction, but please pause and give the suggestion some serious thought first. It would be fantastic to have such an unprecedented list(s), settling a BIG question once and for all, and, paradoxically, also fueling an interminable debate. AK, do think about it…
This year there seems to be much less scope for the discussions on the choice The Music Director of The Year.
AKji has used that opportunity well to expand the scope of the sum up review to include a retrospective of the entire exercise on this platform.
AK,
Perfect 10 on analysis as well as selection.
“But it is difficult to have a similar analysis for the best lyricist of the year”
Since when you have started shying away from difficult task?
Dinesh,
1950 is before your mental cut-off and none of the songs of the year enthuse you enough. Both fair points. So we can let that pass.
Coming to your more difficult challenge. Please don’t take it that I am rejecting it peremptorily. I have been deliberating these issues for quite some gtime. Even after rethinking. selecting 10 best ever is an impossible task, at least as far as I am concerned. I would find it difficult to select 10 best of even Lata Mangeshkar. I would need to include at least 50 songs. Subodh has some kind of an exclusive shortlist. I remember Jagjit Kaur’s Tum apna ranj-o-gham apni pareshani mujhe de do figures very high in his list. I hope he gives his views. I would have to do in different categories.
Ashok Kumar Tyagi,
Good to know that you too concur on CR. Tum kya jano can really evoke that kind of reaction.
Ashok M Vaishnav,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. You have yourself done a lot to give an overall perspective of the year.
Mumbaikar8,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
On lyricists we had long discussions several times. I don’t want to repeat all that. Not to minimise the importance of lyricists, briefly the main genetic markers of a song are the singer and music director. The film, of course, gives a location to the song.
Very happy to know that finally C R could make it. We are yet to find someone who could match his performance in fifties. It is unfortunate that in sixties he could not repeat except in few movies such as BAHURANI (1963) and STREE (1961). May be due to absence of Talat.
Wonderful analysis and presentation as ever. The selection of CR is apt. I would even contend that even based on one soundtrack, CR would clinch for Sangeeta in my view. “Naa ummeed hokar bhi ” and “Teri gali me koi deewana” are the stuff of dreams.
I am also very happy to see Vinodji being celebrated here. His Anmol Rattan was a great soundtrack.
Overall, a great year for music. Thanks for refreshing the memories.
Up with all the 1950 Wrap ups
I am enjoying the second reading of the Wrap Ups of 1950 and Ak has aptly put in the beginning of the number 5 Wrap Up, “This shows that there are a number of persons spread all over the world, who are deeply passionate about the old Hindi film music and who consider it worthwhile to spend hours and hours reminiscing about songs, looking for them on the YT, and sharing their favourite songs and their thoughts on the SoY. This vindicates that my laborious exercise is, after all, not futile.”
Over the last five years SOY created a huge body of the knowledge about the songs of the bygone time of the Hindi and other films from the Indian subcontinent. This is a jaw dropping watching creation! Not only this, but also the readers from all over the world made equal contribution and I praise this SoY extended family of lovers of Filmy songs. It itself is very rewarding that we are not alone in this madness that once that was thought trite and pedestrian.
In one of the visits of C.Ramchandra in 1978 to London he was invited to present a programme of his songs at the High Commission of India. There was a delegate of the Ministers of the Central Government of India who were present. When he sang the songs from the films, Samdahi, Albela Sargam etc. some minsters were foot taping and swinging.
So the indulgences in the Hindi films were slowly accepted and long after, the Gandhian grip on the politicians and public was loosening. It was O.K. to listen to the filmy music.
I accept the categories of the songs as Solo- Male or Female, Duet etc. But I feel that the Chorus songs or the songs of many voices too should be included. The film Saragam had many Chorus songs. Writing of the chorus or a song for many voices is of some skill and most of the MDs have to show their skills as well. Furthermore the orchestrators/ arrangers and also the lyricists should be considered in the decision of the “most loved” songs rather than the word “Best”.
All in all the five 1950 posts are wonderful.
Shalan Lal
Sathya,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Shalan Lal,
Thanks a lot for your generous praise. Film songs are no longer low brow, at least those of Golden Era. Even the doyens of classical music had huge respect for the playback singers.
Once in a long train journey my fellow families were non-Hindi speaking, but their kids were playing Antakshari with Hindi film songs with perfect diction and tune. I was pleasantly surprised that they were taught Hindi in school, but the parents told me the kids didn’t know any Hindi at all. The most defining identity or the unifying force of the country is Hindi film songs.
As regards choruses, if it has only one distinct voice, I put it in the category of solo. Same with duets. All male or all female or multiple voices I put in the duets. This is for practical convenience.
On lyricists I don’t want to repeat my views I have expressed in detail earlier. I would write you a mail.
On arrangers, I have a huge respect for them. Take them out, life would go out of many songs. The problem is they remained behind the curtain. A more competent person needs to do the honour, who can identify the instruments and the players and write knowledgeably. We have some people on SoY who can do that. We have to hope that some day they volunteer themselves to write.
Akji,
A superb analysis and summation.
The selection of C Ramchandra was expected. Many among us may feel that C Ramchandra was miles ahead. But in my humble opinion it was a close race between CR, Naushad and Anil Biswas. CR had a slight edge over the other two. Being a dedicated Naushad fan, you were generous in declaring CR as the best music director for the year 1950. The Lata factor might have tilted the scales in CR’s favour!
If one has to go by the best score for a particular film I would have voted for Naushad for the film Babul. Roshan for the film Bawrein Nain could have been another claimant.
Thanks a lot for the wonderful effort
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. CR of course is par for the course. But most impressive is the rooky Roshan. If you take the best score, it is difficult to put down Baawre Nain.
AKji,
It can’t get fairer than this. The competition was very tough.
50,51,53,and 55 analysis threw a different winner, but listeners got the real treat.
Siddharth,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
AKji,
What is the next now? 1952 or 1954?
Ravindra Kelkar,
I am covering non-Filmfare Award years in reverse order. Therefore, it would be 1949 next.
AKji,
Just noticed that the posters of Jogan and Arzoo looks identical. If you add Babul the expressions on Dilip Kumar’s face are same, implying the kind of movies he was doing.
Siddharth,
That’s an interesting observation. I recently commented on Madhu’s blog that many movies of Dilip Kumar seemed like unnecessary tragedies, they could as well have happy endings.
AK @19
Thanks for your comment and putting forward the difficulties about the assessment of the Chorus songs etc. In some another comment of the post SSV had mentioned the arranger Anthony Gonsalwis. He was a Trumpet player and I believe he was very close friend of C.Ramchandra and he appeared either as a music director or assistant as “Chick Chocolate”. I may be wrong. But there was a programme on TV about his contribution that I have seen and his daughter who lives in Goa gave very good information on his contribution to the orchestration.
There are many other Goan musicians who were arrangers for the Hindi songs and now are in their retirement and live in Poona. Somebody like Harmandir Saab had done for his volumes has to do a lot of legwork to trace these people or their relatives and bring out them in the daylight to shine their glorious works.
The Antakshari experience is very true. I grew up with and I know many West Indies families loved golden age music without understanding the Hindi. And it is same with the South India, Ceylon now Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore etc. They enjoy Indian filmy music but are not bothered about the the meaning of the Hindi songs.
“The most defining identity or the unifying force of the country is Hindi film songs.”
Yes indeed! The Indian Diaspora abroad find security in and enjoyment of listening to the Hindi songs and there are hundreds of Radio stations who play twenty four hours Indian music and use it to get the attention of the Indian origin people to their advertisements of their businesses etc. Only complaint is that they are not sincere in seeing the power of the Hindi music and have less respect for the songs. They mercilessly mangle it and ravenously and shamelessly promote themselves.
In the seventies when there was Kung Fu craze there appeared a Kannad pop song writer called Biddu Appaiah who won a prestigious British award Ivor Novello for the music and Grammy award as well. He wrote melody for the song called Kung Fu Fighting that became hit and number 1 on the hit parade in seventies. The song was sung by Carl Douglas who was only one song wonder. That song has some influence of the song “Panchhi Banu, Udati Phiru” from Chori Chori film. Biddu Appaiah composed melody for the hit songs of Hindi film Qurbani and Nazia Hassan became famous with the song “Aap Jaisa Koi Mil Gaya To Baat Ban Jaaye.” Biddu did not understand much Hindi. His music is sweeter than A.R. Rheman’s creations, who is now renowned musician and has won many awards. Biddu was phenomenal in seventies to nineties. He was born in Bangalore and made his way to the UK in the sixties. He is more known as Arranger and Album producer.
Shalan Lal
Ms,.Lal, Anthony Gonsalves was not a trumpet player. He was a violinist. You are mistaking him with Antonio Xavier Vaz alias “Chic Chocolate” who was C Ramchandra’s friend and often arranger. Chic Chocolate was mostly a jazz player, while Anthony Gonsalves had a thorough grounding in western classical music.
I don’t know if I would compare Biddu with Rahman. Biddu had a fairly one dimensional pop/disco mode (he used to compose and arrange songs for a British singer called Tina Charles in the 70s since I remember some of those songs as young boy).
SSW @29
Thanks for correction of the references of Anthony and Antonio. I disagree with your statement that Biddu had one dimensional musicality meaning A.R Rehman has multiplicity of creativity in the field of music. From Japan to California he was known as arranger and as well as producer of the albums. He also was a very good composer and brought to light many good singers of his days.This is a breathtaking dimension and it is praiseworthy. Besides I am very doubtful about the awards that Rehaman got out side India were rightly justified. While Grammy and Ivor were given to Biddu are his rightfully won.
Shalan Lal
Shalan Lal,
To add further to what SSW has said. Laxmikant-Pyarelal learnt the violin from Anthony Gonsalves. The song My name is Anthony Gonsalves from Amar Akbar Anthony was LP’s tribute to their Guru.
And a query: What is the basis to say that Biddu’s international awards are genuine, but AR Rahman’s suspect?
AK @31
Thanks for your comment about LP’s Tribute in his famous song. I always wondered about that name in that famous film. Just being a little silly and Akabar is tribute to the great Moghul; now who is this Amar that has been elavated by LP? Do not take this seriously.
The two awards that Biddu got are very famous. One is British that is Ivor Novello who was a very famous theatrical person and a contemporary of Noel Coward. The award was considered during the time of the WWII but theatres were closed during that peiod. it was instituted in 1955 and it is for the Excellence in Music. Mostly it was given to the British people. But Biddu’s work during the period of 1967 and seventy was very great not just as a composer, but arranger and producer of albums. He borught many voices to light who became millonair by the sale of their records.
About Grammy award google it on internet.
These awards are not easy unless the person has shaken up themusic business.
A>R Rehman’s award came on the back of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music “Bombay Dreaming” . Webber rose in fame for writing and producing musicals starting from his first Musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” His father was a classically based musician and teacher and very conservative. He hestised his son’s pop creation about Christian religious themed play. His success was so overwhlming that from that time onward whateve musicals he did people just loved them. Among them was the play Evita. Today Webber is Lord and sits in the House of Lord and he is thelast word in the Musicals. However his play “Bombay Dreaming” was a trite and critques put it down. Part of the of the songs that were very Indian were composed by A.R. Rehman. Overall execution of the music and arrangment was done by Andrews friend. Webber’s many musicals are still Houseful on the Boradway and he very powerful in the American music business.
Also there is a great Muslim population in great Britain and presently that is from 9/11 often seen as depressed in soial standing.
I think I have written enough. It is your judgement needs to see about A.R.’s awards.
A few years ago a biographer of Tagore who came from the Tagore family made a statment at her lecture on Tagore that the Nobel prize awrd for Tagore was pressed on by British Government to quieten the Bengali unrest at the time.
My opinion on this matter is Sarojini Naidu was more famous, and alsoe master in English writing and speaking before the fame of Tagore. I still feel many of her poems are masterpieces. But Tagore brought Hindu spiritualism in Englsih literature and that was a great demand from the time of the earlier century when Gita was translated into English.
The issu of the awards are always complicated. You can see the present discussion when many award winners are returning their awards. Many think they should not have won in the first place.
Here I shut my face.
Shalan
On the limited point of Tagore and his Nobel, happenstance and Yeats played a big role. Tagore happened to be in Britain circa 1911, came in contact with Yeats through mutual friends, who got totally taken in by Gitanjali and other poems of Tagore, and he was instrumental in ensuring the award. A recorded fact.
Ms.Lal you could be right. But there is only the Pacific ocean between Japan and California and I don’t care much for the opinion of fishes or for public opinion or awards. As a young boy in the 70s I heard a bit of Biddu’s music found it pleasant and disco/popish. As I grew older I found it trite just as I found “re mama re mama re” trite.
If you are basing the question of Rahman’s talent exclusively on “Bombay Dreams” I don’t think we need to go any further.
I don’t care much for the Nobel prize any more. It is another lobbying effort. Tagore doesn’t need a Nobel prize to be appreciated. Neither does E C G Sudarshan who didn’t get one.
SSW; #29 ;
Tina Charles is a good reminder for me . How my self and my two daughters were crazy repeatedly listening to her songs during the 70s when Disco mania took every one on their feat . I still remember a few of her song like …..Dr. love ….I love to love ‘ but my baby just love to dance …..Dance little lady dance …..Disco fever ….I’will go where music takes me …..and a few more . I still have a cassette [UF1369] which I have saved for my grand children to enjoy [ as their mother used to enjoy listening to before going to bed ] . Tina charles perfect rendering made her famous for such Disco songs in the 70s and during that time Qurbani song …. Aap jaisa koi ….. got famous too . I was not aware about Biddu assisting Tina’s songs as Arranger at that moment of time . Thanks for the information that now we have .
Thank you Mr.Bhatia , I too had the same cassette of Tina Charles and heard Carl Douglas etc. When “Aap jaisa koi” came out in India I was a teenager and wondered why it sounded similar to all those Tina Charles songs with virtually the same ornamentation of the synthesizers etc till I realized it was Biddu’s composition. Now Rahman may not be everybody’s cup of tea but there is a lot to his compositions especially in Tamil.
He can do this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uicwU2xT6Cg (check out Vishwa Mohan Bhatt’s guitar and Bombay Jayashree and Unnikrishnan)
and this in the same album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQYa8Buvfeg (lovely piano by Louis Banks taken from Dave Grusin’s Mountain Dance).
Now, this song is simple, set in Hindolam (Malkauns) , it has a techno beat you might even say disco-ish and modern enough, Ms. Lal might even hear the starting “Oh ho ho” from Kung fu fighting here,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fme52RzRI-E
Can you recognize the melody the flute plays in this song? It is very well known in South India at least.
SSW ji;
Piano is one of my fav. and so are all others like Acordeone , Trumpet , spanish guitar etc . Louis Bank is fab. in Hello Mister song . Of and on I do listened to his instrumental version songs as I do for Brian Salas . But my fav. on International ranking is Richard Clayderman [ since 1980] . Guests to my home are greeted by his music . Along with this I listen to the various orchestra numbers by Andre reiu , James Last , Billy vaugh….etc.
The flute played in the last song is very close to A R Rahmans other movie song from Roza [ 1992]……..Roza jaanemam tu hi re . This is the closest call from myself .
Apart from Tina Charles I would like to know if Biddu also assisted any other singer or MD at national and International levels .
Mr.Bhatia there is a wikipedia page on Biddu that lists most of his music productions. You could check that.
Regarding the flute you are off the mark. The flute piece in the song I posted is not similar to the song in Roja that you mentioned.
However this is , though it may not be familiar to you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzr57yL_5fQ
SSW ;
Thanks for the wikipedia reference . I will surely go thru that .
Regarding Flute piece I may confess here , being punjabi, my hands are little tighter on south indian songs and music .
I agree with the conclusion.
To Hindi Film Music lovers like me who were in their teens in 1950 and had these and a plethora of melodious songs to enjoy, with their heads buzzing as if a Tape was running there all the time, Masters such as Chitalkar Ramachandra, Sajjad Hussain, Anil Biswas, Naushad Roshan and others were like Demi Gods; such was their hold and mesmerism over us with their tunes and instrumental scores. Even today at 80 plus, I feel thrilled to hear the song, ” Duniya rang rangeeli Baba”(1939) with K C De ( Pankaj Mallik) leading off, Uma following and Sehgal energetically pitching in with ‘Sukh ki Nadiya’. I have made it a habit to listen to this song as often as possible, preferably first thing in the morning. It makes a very happy beginning to my day.
I would request everyone to just reflect: A handful of composers of those days. A multitude of songs they gave us. And what great proportion of outstanding tunes among them ! Such genius was never matched, particularly after the 1970s.
Thank you for helping us relive those happy and tuneful days
N S Rajan
Can anybody tell the details of this song from golden era, not 70’s movie Thanedar, Jab se hui hai shaadi aansu baha raha hoon
Mr Rajan,
Grateful for your comments and appreciation. I have exactly the same feeling for Duniya rang rangeelee baba and the music directors and songs of yester years.
SoY has many young readers who are equally passionate about old songs. I look forward to your continued patronage.
Mr Surinder Sharma.
The song is from ‘Thaanedaar’ ; 1990; Bhappi Lahiri. Amit Kumar.