Miscellaneous

The Master of Musical Comedies C Ramchandra and his ‘Patanga’ (1949)

Patanga (1949) January 12, 2015

A tribute on C Ramchandra’s birth anniversary January 12 (12 Jan 1918-5 Jan 1982) In my simplified history of Hindi film music, when I move from RC Boral-Pankaj Mullick to Anil Biswas to Naushad, it would be quite unfair if I miss C Ramchandra. The Great Maratha (in the sense of one belonging to Maharashtra) […]

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The Jewel in the Crown of Naushad: ‘Rattan’ (1944)

Rattan January 1, 2015

SoY celebrates 2015 as the Year of Naushad in the 75th Anniversary Year of his debut If I were to write the history of Hindi film music, it would go as follows. Once upon a time there were RC Boral and Pankaj Mullick. Then came Anil Biswas. He was followed by Naushad, who in a […]

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Aao bachcho tumhein dikhayen jhanki….ki

Pakistani film Bedari (1957), a frame by frame remake of Jagriti (1954) August 15, 2014

Independence Day greetings to India and Pakistan Fill in the blank in ‘Aao bachcho tumhein dikhayen jhanki…ki’. We all know the answer – ‘Hindustan’. If you think of it, ‘Pakistan’ also fits in perfectly. It is quite befitting that this is so, because no two countries have such shared history, shared culture, language, musical tradition, […]

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Songs of Yore completes four years

Songs of Yore completes four years June 7, 2014

With a tribute to Juthika Roy I have often said I started blogging स्वान्तः सुखाय. As Songs of Yore completes four years today, I find I have become a little less selfish. Now I do a lot of things that are suggested and driven by the readers. And, you don’t need a preacher to tell […]

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Multiple Version Songs (16): Rabindra Sangeet and Pankaj Mullick

Rabindranath Tagore and Pankaj Mullick May 7, 2014

Hridaya Pankaje Rabi Viraje A tribute to Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) and Pankaj Mullick (10 May 1905 – 19 February 1978) by guest author N Venkataraman (The appeal of Rabindranath Thakur’s poetry and songs of love, nature and worship transcends the boundaries of language and culture. Pankaj Mullick, one […]

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A ‘serious’ review of Sangam (1964) in its Golden Jubilee Year

Sangam March 17, 2014

Raj Kapoor overturns Bollywood triangle to convey profound social messages Reviewing a film is not a joke unless you are Madhu, Anu or Memsaab Greta. Then, why am I venturing into a field in which I have no expertise, and why Sangam? Review of a Bollywood blockbuster like Sangam suffers from both the ends. At […]

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Songs of Atariya

Romeo and Juliet on Atariya February 12, 2014

With a tribute to Begum Akhtar in her Centenary Year I had thought songs of atariya are one of the things – like lori, bidaai songs, bhajan, piano songs etc. – that have been irredeemably lost from our films. Loosely translated as ‘balcony’, atariya was the place where the heroine would go stealthily from the […]

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Songs of Yore completes three years

Songs of Yore Third Anniversary June 7, 2013

Celebrating with three triad songs Today SoY completes three years. When I look back, it is not merely more of the same. To be sure, the frequency has increased from the preceding two years. Thirty-three posts in the year gone by, i.e. a post every 11 days, is far more than the preceding two years. […]

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In conversation with Minoo Mumtaz

Minoo Mumtaz April 26, 2013

Wishing her Happy 71st Birthday on April 26, 2013 I am not a journalist, nor am I in a line which should bring me anywhere near film people. Yet, here I was having a relaxed conversation with Minoo Mumtaz in her apartment in Pune, a few months back. Some stories are epic in scale. This […]

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Caught stealing from ‘Songs of Yore’, two Harvard students sadden me

plagiarism April 20, 2013

I wish I had never written this piece, and I tried my best to see that I didn’t have to. Yet there are times when you have to face up to unpleasant situations. When I started Songs of Yore about three years ago, I did not have a clue what blogging meant. My only excuse […]

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