8th December, 2014 marks the 70th birthday of the lovely Sharmila Tagore and the 79th birthday of the hunky Dharmendra: both artistes I am fond of (especially in their earlier roles). So here is wishing them both many happy returns of the day – with a song list. Instead of making two separate posts, this is … More Happy Birthday, Sharmila Tagore and Dharmendra!
There are some movies that can be watched again and again – not necessarily because they are classics, but just because they are light, breezy, sweet and great fun. Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, 1963 Navketan production directed by Vijay Anand, falls under this category. I remember watching it way back, the year Nutan passed away, when … More Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (1963)
Literature translated into cinema has a special appeal. It is always fascinating to see how an author’s imagination gets re-created on screen and to see if one’s visualisation (as a reader) matches up with the actual visuals. In two of my posts last week, I listed songs from the 1962 Guru Dutt classic movie, Saheb Bibi Aur … More Sahib Bibi Golam – Bimal Mitra
I felt rather incomplete after my earlier post in the day. Yes, one list of 10 songs does not do her any justice. So another list it shall be – of ten of my favourite duets. 1) Kya Ho Jo Phir Din Rangeela Ho (1957, Nau Do Gyarah, SDB, Co-singer: Asha Bhosle) : Geeta Dutt sang … More Unforgettable Geeta Dutt – Part 2
Geeta Dutt would have been 84 years old today. This post is a tribute to one of the most versatile singers in the Hindi film music scene. Born in Faridpur, now in Bangladesh, as one among ten children, Geeta Dutt (nee Roy) moved to Bombay with her family in 1942. There is a well-known story … More The Unforgettable Geeta Dutt
Two posts in the span of couple of hours was certainly not intended. But, today is the 91st birth anniversary of one of the finest music composers of Indian cinema – Salil Choudhary. What can one say about this immensely talented genius! He was a dramatist, writer, scriptwriter, lyricist and musician – composer and arranger … More A tribute to a master – Salil Choudhary
Nov 5th marked the thirtieth death anniversary of one of the most impressive actors of the fifties and sixties, the regal, suave Rehman. His family traced its roots to King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan and two of his grand-nephews are actors in Pakistan. Born in 1921 in Lahore, Rehman grew up in Jabalpur. After his graduation … More Remembering Rehman…
There is a certain joy in listening to forgotten favourites in unexpected places – irrespective of the fact that the song is present in my current playlist. I experienced this pleasure earlier, when on the road, earlier today. One of the radio stations was playing this haunting, melodious number from Ustadon Ke Ustad (1963). Sau … More Sau Baar Janam Lenge (Ustadon Ke Ustad, 1963)
The post the other day on Sanjeev Kumar made me want to watch a couple of his movies – preferably ones I had not watched before. So the search began. Gustakhi Maaf and Charitraheen were ones that were on my list. Both are difficult to find – I had looked for them in the usual places … More Charitraheen (1974)
This post is unabashedly about the best lyricist/ poet Hindi film music (in my opinion) has ever seen. I have mentioned before in this blog that I adore Sahir Ludhianvi and that one or more of his songs do find a way into this blog every week or so… But today I have a valid reason to … More Mandatory Sahir Post of the week!
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