Anandji- A Great Man

this morning while getting ready to go to work, i was listening to club asia radio station as usual and i was very surprised but pleased to hear that anandji (of kalyanji-anandji) was present in the studio as a guest (one of my faves 😊)

what a humble gentleman 👏👏👏... it was truly a pleasure to listen to him... i was so hooked that i ended up going to work late and made the excuse that there were delays on the trains 😆

it's great to hear/see interviews with such great people... i never believe what i read in print because it is always exaggerated and things they say are taken the wrong way and sensationalised... here's a few things he said that might interest fans...

he spoke about kalyanji and how much he respects and remembers him... when asked how he and kalyanji worked together, he said that they both wrote separate songs, kalyanji composed most of the classical-based song whereas anandji composed the more upbeat numbers with a western flavour

about other MDs from their time- he said that it was all healthy competition then... no jealousy just everyone giving their best yet appreciating each other's music... he was very good friends with many MDs of this time... he said everybody had their idols and his was SD Burmanji

regarding songs of today... he said he generally doesn't like them much apart from certain exceptions... the one that he mentioned was parineeta... he does not like the noisy disco tracks especially those which have no place in the film and are just put in for the sake of it... he said that when he and kalyanji were composing, they would ask about the exact details of the situation and character the song was to be picturised on (e.g. extrovert/introvert, where in india they were supposed to be from etc) in order to make the song as appropriate as possible

he spoke quite a lot about black eyed peas... and despite them taking his songs without his permission, he didn't have a word to say against them... just in case anyone didn't know black eyed peas song "don't phunk with my heart" was a complete rip-off of work of kalyanji-anandji... the intro is identical to the intro of "yeh mera dil" (don) and the actual song is identical to "aye naujawan hai sab kuch yahan" (apradh)... anandji requested the presenter to play both these songs as well as the black eyed peas song because he wanted to enlighten young people who weren't aware of this... however, he did this in a very humble way... he also cleared up any misunderstandings about how the black eyed peas went about getting rights to the music... it is true that they did not directly ask permission from anandji but they did obtain rights from saregamapa and anandji does get royalties... overall anandji is flattered by this and praised black eyed peas for the effort they put into finding these songs... he was also pleased about winning a grammy due to the black eyed peas song

on remixes... he said he generally does not like them as they change the lyrics and the beat ... he also feels very strongly about the videos and can't stand the vulgarity... he said "no dupatta... no choodiyan... no ghoongroo... u can see everything" 🤢 (too right anandji!)

he spoke a little about his show little stars and CDs him and kalyanji have made to help people learn how to sing... he asked the presenter to play one of these tracks... it was a sweet track and just taught the basics of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni.... he encouraged everyone to give it a go and by listening to these CDs you can get the basics of singing... he said that listening is the key to everything... he was never taught english but learnt it by hearing it so much (btw- his english is really good!)

despite being such a successful MD with a remarkable list of amazing songs, there was not a single bit of arrogance in anything he said... at one point the presenter called him the "supreme of bollywood" to which he humbly replied- plz don't say that, i am just an ordinary person... all i can say is- what a great man! 👏