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

Talat Mahmood

Ravi’s many-splendoured genius with the ‘other’ singers

December 15, 2019

We now come to the end of the series on Ravi. In my opening post in the series we saw him as a many-splendoured genius with a large number of songs for themes and occasions, which have acquired an iconic status, many of which made the readers exclaim, Oh, this is also composed by him! […]

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The real mesmeriser Talat Mahmood: His best non-film songs

February 24, 2019

A tribute to Talat Mahmood on his 95th birth anniversary (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) Never before could a reader foretell what I would write on nine months in advance. But like anything in old film music, nothing can be said in absolute terms about SoY. In May last year, a new reader […]

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King of Ghazal Talat Mahmood with Ghazal Maestros Madan Mohan and Roshan

September 18, 2018

DP Rangan set-off a tandem series on Roshan-Madan Mohan with their classical-based songs. I have since written on their songs for Rafi (Madan Mohan’s; Roshan-Rafi covered earlier); Qawwalis; Mukesh; and Asha Bhosle. Several readers requested that I write on their ghazals. Since I am covering them generally by singers, ghazal would have been an overlapping […]

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Talat Mahmood: A Mesmeriser

May 9, 2018

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to Talat Mahmood on his 20th death anniversary (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) (We know all the famous songs of Talat Mahmood. Most of them are already covered on SoY. But that is not a deterrent to a real Talat-fan like our indefatigable DP Rangan, […]

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The Unlucky Genius Ghulam Mohammad’s best songs for Talat Mahmood

February 24, 2016

Ghulam Mohammad was Naushad’s senior in the music industry by several years. He was an established tabla player, earning Rs 60 per month, with Ustad Jhande Khan, when Naushad joined him, in 1937, as a piano player at Rs. 40 per month. Fate catapulted Naushad to commanding heights, making him the greatest Mughal of Movie […]

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Talat Mahmood by Naushad and C Ramchandra

February 24, 2015

A tribute to Talat Mahmood on his 91st birth anniversary (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) There was every reason for Talat Mahmood to have a long innings with Naushad. Both coming from Lucknow, they represented a similar Urdu sensibility and cultural milieu. Talat’s entry into Bombay Hindi film music was spectacular with Ae […]

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Talat Mahmood’s songs by SD Burman

March 6, 2014

My last post on Talat Mahmood’s songs by Anil Biswas reminded me that last year when I had ‘closed’ my series on SD Burman, Venkatarmanji and some other readers mentioned some more singers who gave memorable songs with Dada. Talat Mahmood was one of the names mentioned. They fit in very nicely. SD Burman was […]

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The Mentor and the Protégé: Talat Mahmood songs by Anil Biswas

February 24, 2014

A tribute to Talat Mahmood on his 90th birth anniversary Anil Biswas was not the first composer for whom Talat Mahmood sang in films. He debuted as an actor-singer in Calcutta in Raj Laxmi (1945). While in Calcutta, he also sang (and acted) in Tum Aur Main (1947), Samapti and Swayansiddha (1949). During this period […]

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Best songs of 1953: Wrap Up 1

Talat Mahmood, Rafi, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar

August 8, 2013

Songs of Yore award for the Best Male Playback Singer goes to? In the first Wrap Up I take a look at the best male solos of 1953. I am greatly helped by the readers’ comments on the survey article – Best songs of 1953 – which are not only very exhaustive, but much more […]

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Best duets of Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle

February 24, 2013

A tribute on Talat Mahmood’s Birth Anniversary, February 24 When I wrote on Talat Mahmood’s peppy duets last year, it left many readers naturally unsatiated. He, of the velvety voice, is known more for his heart-touching, soft and romantic duets. The readers very generously gave a big list of his duets with various female singers, […]

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