I've been wanting to post this soundtrack for a while now, it's one that's very close to my heart and I grew up listening to these songs in Hindi and Tamil since they were a favorite of my father's. As a Carnatic music aficionado, obviously M.S. Subbulakshmi was a staple in my home, but film music with M.S was a rare treat since she's only acted in a couple.
In a bid to popularize his wife as a singer pan India, her husband, T. Sadasivam wanted to produce a musical film and M.S chose the subject of Meerabai.
Directed by American director Ellis Dungan and written by the famous Tamil writer Kalki Krishnamurthy, and music by S.V. Venkataraman and Naresh Bhattacharya, Meera was originally made in Tamil in 1945 and then a dubbed Hindi version with a few scenes reshot was released in 1947. The Hindi version opens with Sarojini Naidu introducing M.S. The film, of course, was a success and M.S was recognized as a singer par excellence.
Posting 3 of the songs here (I think there are about 20). The devotion in M.S's voice is of course legendary, she's the truest example of the bhakti rasa in a singer that I've come across and I consider myself blessed that I was able to see her live in concert once - an experience I will treasure all my life. Truly not just a Bharat Ratna but a Gem of music all over the world. The purity of her voice evokes tears of bliss. Incomparable and unparalleled.
It's hard to pick a favorite song, so many brilliant ones: Pag ghunghroo re, Main Hari charanan ki daasi, Chaakar rakho ji, Nandbala mora pyara, More toh Giridhar Gopal, Baso more nainan mein, Giridhar Gopala ..Oh all of them. Meerabai's bhajans were never sung with more piety imo. Divinity resides in her voice 😭
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oelL9ut0EUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWgb54Suw-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJQkGn5gf78
Edited by LizzieBennet - 2 years ago
