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

DP Rangan

Mohammad Rafi & Johnny Walker in Symbiosis

July 31, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan as a joint tribute to Rafi on his 44th Remembrance Day and Johnny Walker on his 21st Remembrance Day. (The title of this post says it all. When you think of Johnny Walker you think of Rafi. JW established a presence for himself and soon the producers and music directors […]

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Street Dancers of Bollywood

February 13, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan (An interesting feature of our films is the dances performed in the streets, often by unknown actors. Sometimes the main protagonists also take to dancing and singing in the streets. Naturally a big crowd assembles around them enjoying the performance. These songs generally come at a critical juncture in the […]

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Qamar Jalalabadi: The Unforgettable Lyricist

January 9, 2024

Guest article by DP Rangan paying a tribute to Qamar Jalalabadi on his 21st Remembrance Day (b. 9 March 1917 – d. 9 January 2003) (Among the main markers of a film song – the film, the singer, the lyricist and the music director – the lyricist, whose words gave birth to the song, is […]

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Shikwa in Bollywood

June 19, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan (Our love guru DP Rangan, after exploring the ecstacy, agony and flippant sides of love, now explores another common aspect shikwa/shikayat, or ‘complaint’, ‘grievance’. Nay, Mr Rangan explains in the introductory lines that shikwa/shikayat is universal to human nature in all social interactions. The 84-year young Mr Rangan is a […]

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Ballads of Love: Flippant

May 18, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan completing his Trilogy of Love (Our octogenarian guest author, DP Rangan, surely has great experience in ‘Love’. This is an evidence that age is not just a number, but wisdom and knowledge. After his previous two articles on the ‘Ecstasy’ and ‘Agony’ aspects of love, he concludes his trilogy with […]

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Ballads of Love: Agony

April 7, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan (DP Rangan had written on the ecstasy side of love when the stars shine bright, sky is bluer than ever, flowers are in bloom, and the world smiles tenderly. But joy and sorrow are the two sides of the same coin – खुशी के साथ दुनिया में ह्ज़ारों ग़म भी […]

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Ballads of Love: Ecstasy

March 18, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan (We celebrated Holi sometime back. This is the season of romance and love, when the flowers bloom, there is music in the stream of rivulets and rustling of leaves, and the hearts of even old people are aflutter with desire. There is a folk proverb to describe this: ‘फागुन में […]

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Pyarelal Santoshi: Jack of All Trades?

January 12, 2023

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to the polymath PL Santoshi, the lyricist, dialogue & script writer, actor, singer, producer, director (Most of us with some familiarity about our vintage films know PL Santoshi as one of the prominent lyricists. His association with C Ramchandra in several blockbusters made his name quite well-known. […]

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Master Ghulam Haider: A Trailblazer

November 9, 2022

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to Ghulam Haider on his 69th Remembrance Day (1908 – 9 November 1953) (DP Rangan has been the most prolific guest writer for SOY, but it is more than a year since he last wrote. Some health issues which required hospitalisation, and his computer suddenly conking off […]

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Kumkum: The Danseuse Butterfly of Bollywood

July 28, 2021

Guest article by DP Rangan to pay tribute to Kumkum (22 April 1934 – 28 July 2020) on her first death anniversary (The dancers had an important place in our films. They came in amazing varieties. There was a tradition of the top actresses themselves being professionally trained in classical or popular dance forms, such […]

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