Runa laila: Magic of Bengal - Page 3

Thanks Qwest for the lyrics and the articles.. 😊 😊

Originally posted by: kiran17

i dun wanna argue wid u dude....

Hey cool down. If you don't like these topics you can always stay clear of it. Why post these comments and then retaliate too.

Just Chill !!!!!!!!!!! 😊

Her is a Interesting Post

poser who last teamed up with Runa Laila for' The Loves of Runa Laila', which was an all-time smash hit, is once again interested in a singer - Ashok Khosla, the soft-voiced singer of ghazals. They are teaming up for a film 'Shair'and between them they will record some 16 ghazals for the film. 0 P Nayyar's fans will be glad to hear the maestro's music again. Ashok is quoted as saying: "I'm his fan. In my childhood the first songs I liked were his and I leamt singing through his songs, the music of which captivated me. I leave the entire result up to him... He is doing it for the sake of art, more than anything else." Of a different genre altogether is Bappi Lahiri Leaning against a round bolster on the massive gaddi in his 'mujhik' roorn with hands folded, he looks very dwarfed. He is lost in ecstasy listening to his new reggae beat and adoring his latest find, Rema Lahiri, nine-year-old, singing to her music director, 'Papa tumne promise kiya tha, Kashmir lekarjaoge'. "Hamara mujhik always thoda hat ke," Bappi declares. Bappi always does new things; departs from the beaten track. He is the first to make Alisha, Manclakini, Padmini Kolhapure and Anil Kapoor sing. Great deeds, but to enter the book of records you have to do more. And Rema Lahiri, with her

Anol Da,
Need help do Editing on my last post.
Thanks Dada!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by: charades

Thanks Kavitha for nice post...Apart from people from Hyderabad and may be Bangalore...not many people from south know Runa Laila..

Atleast they have a chance to know now with these posting if they want to ...😊

Better late than Never 😉

YOU ARE RIGHT

Published: 03/16/2004 12:00 AM (UAE)

'I don't copy anybody'

By Sonali Raha, Staff Reporter

"I love music. Music has always been my passion and always will be," says Runa Laila. Gulf News After more than 5,000 songs in 17 languages, she has not stopped learning, says Runa Laila. Or being herself Runa Laila. We heard her singing on television as we were growing up, her voice hitting impossible notes, her graceful fingers flashing with rings as she danced, eyes closed, carried away by her own song - Damadam Mast Qalander. We loved her huge smile and the way she often stopped between songs, to say a few words about what she's going to sing next. Years later, I'm glad to report, Runa Laila has lost none of her presence. Her voice is still powerful, her smile wide, her words pertinent. Three nations — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh — still listen to her, still queue up for her live shows, praise her playback singing, buy her private albums. We met Runa Laila at her room in The Taj Palace Hotel, Dubai, a day before her recent concert in the city organised by Marketing Pivot. "I love music. Music has always been my passion and always will be," she said at the very beginning of our conversation. Then, for the next hour and a half, she took us back and forth in time, speaking about her life and her music, moving seamlessly between English, Bengali and some Hindi. "My mother says I've been singing and dancing right from the time I learnt to say a few words and take a few steps. I would hear something on the radio and dance to it, trying to sing as well, even if I couldn't say most of the words," she remembered. "Music started out as a hobby. It is part of the Bengali culture to learn singing, an instrument, dancing — any of the fine arts. My mother and my sister sang regularly on radio and we had a home environment that nurtured music. "I was more into dancing then and was learning classical Indian dance. But I would hear my mother and sister sing. I used to retain their songs, even if I was busy playing or dancing. One day, the ustad who taught my sister heard me sing. He told my mother, 'she must start singing, she has a natural knack'." Runa's first public performance came fairly soon after that. "My sister Dina Laila was supposed to sing at a function in Karachi (their home city). In the last minute she developed a sore throat. My father (a civil servant) told the organisers that I would sing instead. They said I was too young to sing. He said no, I would do a good job. 'She sings well and is very confident,' he said. So I sang a raag. I don't remember much, but do remember there was a lot of praise and I won some awards. That was the beginning of my musical career," she said. At nine, Runa said, she took part in a school music competition organised by Radio Pakistan. She sang a ghazal and won the first prize. The next big break came when she was 11. "My dad got a call from a film producer in Lahore. He was looking for someone who could do playback for a boy of 12 in his film. Radio Pakistan had recommended me. My father's immediate reaction was 'no way, my daughter will never sing for a film'. But they kept persisting. I overheard my parents talk about this and told my mom I was really keen to sing. So she told my father 'let them hear her once, maybe they won't even want her'. "So the producer, the music director and the director came to our house. They heard me sing and said immediately, 'she fits the bill, we want her to sing for us'." Her father agreed, although reluctantly. For a month she trained with the music director — Manzoor Hussain — and learnt about the technicalities of playback singing. "He taught me exactly how we should sing, which words to sing directly into the mike, which sounds to sing away. I'm really grateful to him because he shared with me his great knowledge," Runa said, her voice breaking slightly. "So, the song was recorded and sweets distributed," Runa continued. "The producer gave me an envelope and said 'just a little something to buy yourself some sweets'. I didn't know you got paid for singing. So I started crying when I opened the envelope and found money, thinking I was being insulted. He was very kind and explained that I was not selling my voice, I was being paid for the work I've done and everyone should get paid for the work they do. I was still not convinced and asked my father about the money. He said I could keep it. That's how my career started and it has never stopped." "It" includes singing over 5,000 songs; singing in 17 languages; recording 10 songs in one day; working with celebrated Subcontinental music directors such as Nisar Bazmi, M. Ashraf, Alauddin Ali, Alam Khan, Subal Das, Kalyanji Anandji, Jaidev, O.P. Nayyar, Bappi Lahiri and Laxmikant Pyarelal; and releasing private albums that have gone platinum (Super Runa and Loves of Runa Laila). She has sung in top venues across the world (think Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Gardens) and won several awards in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (where she has been living since 1974). With so much accomplished, how does she define her own career? "I'm a playback singer," Runa said immediately. "But I've done private albums too. In a film you get slotted into a situation — it's a romantic song or a sad song or a cabaret number. When you do your own album you sit together with the writer and the musicians and you have the freedom to experiment and express yourself." Future plans, she disclosed, includes bringing out three non-film albums from Mumbai, India, in association with an international music company. "I believe every singer should have a proper classical training. Then he or she can try any genres, can continue to grow. Otherwise a singer stagnates. "I'm constantly trying to improve myself. I listen to contemporary music, know what's happening around me. No matter how long you've been singing, there is always room for improvement. There is nothing called a big or small artiste. I believe there is something special — a unique quality — in every artiste. And I'm always willing to learn." Runa paused, thought a bit, and then leant forward, speaking with quiet emphasis. "I try to make myself as contemporary as possible while still retaining my originality and being me. I don't copy anybody. Ever. I've been inspired by a lot of people, but no one can say I'm somebody's carbon copy, replica, duplicate. "In whatever I've done, I've tried to convey my own perception of the song, my personality. I've always wanted people to know me for myself, however big or small I may be. I've always wanted people to say there's somebody called Runa Laila and this is how she sings her song." Anybody who has heard her sing Damadam Mast Qalander can say nothing else. I LIKE Favourite instruments: Saxophone, violin, flute. Favourite female singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Noorjehan. Favourite male singers: Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Abdul Alim, (her teachers) Ustad Abdul Qader Piarang and Habibuddin Khan. Favourite Western singer: Whitney Housto

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/04/03/16/114321.html

Thanx for the post. Runa Laila is one of my fav singer. I;ll add more but jst now here's an audio sample of her. the ghazal Ranjish Hi Sahi.

Audio Sample - Ranjish Hi Sahi

I am listening to it jst now. It;s wonderful.

Originally posted by: Dawn05

uknaik99 and Qwest ji thanks for the post 👏 👏

Some times I wonder if Music is in the Air of Bangal , or in water or soil or perhaps every where !!!!

Your wondering is correct, I am still learning. SHEKHAR J NY KONO SHIM-ANA.

A Great Singer of the Yesteryears: Runa's Reign of Fame

By Anis Ahmed Shakur

A look back at the early sixties offers a glimpse of the golden age of the Pakistan film music.

One of the most prodigious and eminent discovery of those days which the Pakistanis had yet seen was the charming Runa Laila.

I do concur with the popular notion of those music experts, who had predicted in the initial stage of her career that here is a girl (Runa was in her early teens then) who has obviously absorbed something of the fervor radiating from the greatest music directors of the past.

Each and every wish of the highly cherished composers came true.

Moreover, since she was the best bet in the country.

For more than a decade, Runa ruled the music world like a princess. She received the fair share of both songs and ghazals, which eventually paid enormous dividends, primarily, because she did her utmost to meet or exceed the higher standards of her times.

Her dramatic rise was nothing less than a thunder in the domain of playback singing. The richness of her attractive voice and her mastery of the words left the public spell-bound. Partly because of her superb intonation, her songs were recorded for almost all leading actresses of her days, including Zeba, Shabnam, Rani and Sangeeta. One of her earliest and major breakthrough came in 1965, when she sang a duet "Masoom sa chehra hai" (Runa, Rushdi: Rishta hai pyar ka) this was an instant success which established her as a foremost singer of very high repute. Sky was the limit for her. One great movie was followed by another and one super hit song was followed by another. One of the most potential reason among many for the distinct status of Runa has to do with the splendid compositions of our brilliant composer, Nisar Bazmi. Each and every song which was composed by Nisar Bazmi and sung by Runa added accolades to her already great name. Some of them are: Aap dil ki anjuman mein (Anjuman) Dil dharkay mein tum say (Anjuman) Kaatay na katay (Umrao jan ada) Maanay na bairi balma (Umrao jan ada) Haataun mein kankna (Umrao jan ada) Mili gul ko khushboo (Naseeb apna apna)

The following songs depicts her unprecedented style, the hall mark of Runa: Aap farmayain kiya khareedain gay. Takhti per takhti. Aik baat kahoon. Arousi, parousi chahay. Hawa aanchal urti hai. Chup chap rehna. Dau dil ik doojay ko. Zara thumkay pay thumka.

Listed below are a few artistic renditions by her: Jan-e-mun itna bata (Commander) Ho janam janam tera mera (Professor) Chumpa aur chumbeli (Dil aur duniya) Aik paheli boojoh na (Anmol) Chand ki saej pay (Jhug gaya aasmaan) Hai meri ye dua (Meray hum safar) Too nay kiya shay (Tehzeeb) Dinwa, dinwa mein (Mun ki jeet) Mera baboo chail chabila (Mun ki jeet) Savan aye, savan jaye (Chahut) Meri marzi mein (Aak)

In the mid sixties, "Zia Mohydin Show" happened to be a total triumph for Runa, whose 'Shakira ki maan ye boli' still reverberates on ones ear before it evaporates in the thin air.

Runa's enchanting voice was immaculate for ghazal singing, which, on the one hand, promised further fame for her, and on the other, immortalized those gorgeous ghazals. A case in point is Ubaidullah Aleem's magnificent "Aziz itna he rakho"

Two of the other noteworthy ghazals are:

Ishq say tabiyat nay.

Bhari duniya ko veeraan.

Likewise, these four accomplishments are more than enough to keep her legacy alive:

Ghar kay chiragh roshan hain aaj.

Naghma o sheir say hai pyar mujhe.

Unki nazroan say mohabbat ka jo .

Piya taras gaye.

A song of a very different nature has always fascinated people and I often wonder that if its lyrics had not found the eloquent voice of Runa, than, perhaps, their would have been nothing. Yes, I am referring to "Mein tau chali sakhio"

Her dazzling disco cassette was released in the mid seventies, two of its celebrated songs were:

Pukaro, tum kahan ho pukaro.

Disco express.

Her adorers have always been, are and hopefully will be ,all praise for her in mirth and misery, in rhythm and rhapsody, for those of us who have seen those good old times have vivid memories of the "Runa –craze" when her dress, her hair-style, her demeanor, her every move were quickly copied by her female fans.

On behalf of all her well-wishers the world over, I must add that we wish her success in every walk of life.

Long live Runa !