Music Directors

R D Burman and His Orchestration Improvisations – Rhythm Instruments

Thumbnail image for R D Burman and His Orchestration Improvisations – Rhythm Instruments April 25, 2025

Being born to parents – Sachin Dev Burman and Meera Burman – it was natural that R D Burman had natural flair for music. As a very young boy he had penchant for the note Pa. As such, Ashok Kumar used to call him ‘Pancham’. Very soon, father S D Burman, recognising the musical inclination […]

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OP Nayyar’s transition from Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt to Asha Bhosle

OP Nayyar with Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle April 14, 2025

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar launching OP Nayyar’s Centenary Celebrations with a tribute to Shamshad Begum on her 106th birth anniversary, and also wising a very Happy Baisakhi, Bihu, Vishu and similar festivals across India (Ravindra Kelkar is another once-an-SOY-regular who has woken up after a deep slumber. This time it came as a bigger […]

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Best songs of 1941: Wrap Up 4

Thumbnail image for Best songs of 1941: Wrap Up 4 November 30, 2024

And the SOY Award for the Best Music Director of 1941 goes to? We are now coming to the end of the review of the best songs of 1941. After the Overview Post, Wrap Up 1 of the best male solos, Wrap UP 2 of the best female solos and Wrap Up 3 of the […]

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Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0: Their best songs for ‘other’ male singers

Thumbnail image for Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0: Their best songs for ‘other’ male singers November 20, 2024

After I had covered the best songs of Kalyanji-Anandji for Mukesh and Rafi, I once browsed through their songs for ‘other’ male singers for a lark. I was amazed to find an enormous variety of singers they had chosen. Though all the songs were well-known it had not registered in my mind instantly. The result […]

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Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0 and Kishore Kumar: Made for each other

Thumbnail image for Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0 and Kishore Kumar: Made for each other November 10, 2024

I had written my first post on Kalyanji-Anandji about ten years ago on their best songs for Mukesh and had titled it “Made for each other”. I used that phrase studiedly because that was my instinctive feeling. Nudging by a reader made me explore their more songs – for Rafi, Other male singers, and Lata […]

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Usha Khanna’s best songs for Lata Mangeshkar, and other female singers

Thumbnail image for Usha Khanna’s best songs for Lata Mangeshkar, and other female singers October 31, 2024

Concluding the series of tributes to Usha Khanna with her best songs for Lata Mangeshkar and other female singers Usha Khanna’s debut score in Dil Deke Dekho (1959) sounded so much OP Nayyar-ish that you may get the impression that she too would exclude Lata Mangeshkar completely and her female singer would be predominantly Asha […]

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Usha Khanna’s best songs for Mukesh and other male singers

Thumbnail image for Usha Khanna’s best songs for Mukesh and other male singers October 19, 2024

Continuing the tribute for Usha Khanna, her best songs for Mukesh and other male singers The last post was on Usha Khanna’s best songs for Rafi on her 83rd birth anniversary (b. 7 October 1941). This was also a tribute to Rafi as a part of his centenary celebrations. How does she do with other […]

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The First Lady Music Director of the Golden Era breaks the glass ceiling with Rafi

Thumbnail image for The First Lady Music Director of the Golden Era breaks the glass ceiling with Rafi October 7, 2024

Continuing the Centenary Celebrations of Rafi with his songs by Usha Khanna (b. 7 October 1941) wishing her Happy 83rd Birth Anniversary Music direction in our films had been generally a male monopoly. Usha Khanna was the only one in the Golden Era to break the glass ceiling. Long before her, in the Vintage Era […]

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Kalyanji-Anandji’s best songs for Lata Mangeshkar and other female singers

Kalyanji-Anandji and Lata Mangeshkar September 28, 2024

Kalyanji-Anandji were extremely melodious composers. But in a crowded field at the top comprising Naushad, SD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Roshan, Madan Mohan, etc. they were not among the elite at the High Table. But 70s onwards the gods were kind to them. Kalyanji-Anandji showed amazing talent to adapt themselves to the new voices (read […]

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Kalyanji-Anandji’s ‘other’ male singers

Kalyanji-Anandji July 20, 2024

If you were to ask me which singer I associate most with Kalyanji-Anandji, my answer would be instantly Mukesh. It was natural I wrote a post on Mukesh-KA in the initial years of the blog with the title, Made for each other. When I started looking for their Rafi songs as a part of his […]

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