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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#21

Originally posted by: Barnali
Thanx a lot Babu. i hav the book wth me & really it;s an excellent book.somethng to treasure.yu get to knw a lot frm it.

Yes Didi that what I was told. Thanks Didd.

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vinnie

@vinnie-thepooh

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#22

Suraiya was perhaps the last of the great singing stars.

Born in Lahore, she debuted as a child star with Taj Mahal (1941). She did playback as a 13 year old for Mehtaab in Sharda (1942) under Naushad's direction. The barely-in-her-teens Suraiya had to stand on a stool to reach the mike!

She was effectively launched as a singing star in Bombay Talkies Humaari Baat (1943). She made her presence felt in perhaps India's first multi-starrer K.Asif's Phool (1944) and played strong supporting second lead roles to Noorjehan in Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946) and Munawar Sultana in Dard (1947). Though Noorjehan had perhaps the best of Naushad's compositions in Anmol Ghadi (Jawaan Hai Mohabbat, Aawaaz De Kahaan Hai, Aa Jaa Meri Barbad Mohabbat ke Sahare, Mere Bachpan ke Saathi, Kya Mil Gaya Bhagwan), Suraiya too had her moments with Socha Tha Kya, Main Dil Mein Dard Basa La Aayee and Man Leta Hai.

She was fortunate to star opposite the legendary K.L. Saigal in three of his later films - Tadbir (1945), Omar Khaiyam (1946) and Parwana (1947), the last remembered for her haunting rendition of Jab Tumhi Nahin Apne.

The 1948-49 phase saw her rise to her peak. With Pyar ki Jeet (1948), Badi Bahen (1949) and Dillagi (1949) she became the highest paid female star of her time. At her peak, Suraiya generated hysteria comparable only to Rajesh Khanna in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Shop owners would down their shutters to see her starrers on the first day itself, crowds would throng outside her residence at Marine Drive in Bombay just to get a glimpse of her and actor Dharmendra recalls going to see Dillagi 40 times! Her songs from the above films Tere Nainon Ne Chori Kiya, O Door Jaanewaale (Pyar ki Jeet), Woh Paas Rahe Ya Door Rahe, O Likhnewaale Ne, Bigdi Bananewaale (Badi Bahen) and Tu Mera Chand, Murliwaale Murli Bajaa (Dillagi) were hummed in every nook and corner of the country.

But there was more to Suraiya than just her songs. Over the years she had more than picked up the finer rudiments of acting as well and she came up with more than capable performances in her films expertly integrating gesture, music and speech.

However Suraiya's reign at the top was brief. She suffered both professionally and personally. Her films started flopping one after another in the 1950s. She had got involved with Dev Anand and the two of them did six films together (1948-51) but her strict grandmother put her foot down and the affair and their partnership ended. (Suraiya remains unmarried to this day)

She made a short-lived comeback with Waaris (1954) and Mirza Ghalib (1954). The latter saw her finest dramatic performance as she made alive and vivid the role of the married Ghalib's lover, a courtesan. Ghalib also saw some of her finest singing - Aah ko Chaihiye Ek Umar, Nuktacheen Hai Gham-e-Dil, Dil-e-Nadaan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai, Yeh Na Thi Humari Kismet etc. Her singing is till date regarded as the definitive Ghalib. In fact India's then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru paid her the ultimate compliment by telling her she had brought Mirza Ghalib to life. (Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki Rooh ko Zinda Kar Diya).

Unfortunately her work thereafter remained largely undistinguished. Shama (1961) was a musical hit and her last film was Rustom Sohrab (1963), which also boasts of one of her finest ever songs - Yeh Kaisi Ajab Dastaan Ho Gayi.

After that Suraiya preferred to stay away from the limelight and was rarely seen except at select film functions leading her to be known as the Garbo of India. She passed away on January 31, 2004 following a brief illness.

Edited by mp_142 - 19 years ago

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#23

Indian Film Music

	*At a Glance...*

Lata Mangeshkar

Though popular film music is not entirely synonymous with Hindi film music, Hindi films are usually seen as adequately constituting the "essence' of commercial Indian cinema. Since the early 1930s, there have been few Hindi films without songs, and only the so- called art cinema, the advent of which was perhaps marked by Shyam Benegal's Ankur ("The Seedling", 1975), has shown a disdain for this most marked feature of the Hindi film. A number of characteristics of Hindi film music and song compel attention. First, Hindi film music has borrowed unabashedly from all known styles and genres of music, and much like Indian culture as a whole, refuses to acknowledge the bankrupt concept of "copyright". Everything is, to put it colloquially, fair game: thus the borrowings are not only from Indian classical, folk, and devotional music, but also from Japanese music (as in the film "Love in Tokyo") and Persian music, and from Western music. Hindi film music is often set to large, Western-style orchestras; in many Hindi films until recently, there was a set piece in which the hero played, before a large and distinguished gathering, in which his fiancee as well as the vamp were present, the piano. But the hero in the Hindi film plays the piano no more than he sings: indeed, songs are sung by what are termed playback singers. Thus the hero and heroines (the villains are seldom given that honor) appear to sing, but the long history of Indian cinema has known only a few dozen singing voices.

Among the most well-known male playback singers have been K. L. Saigal, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, and Manna Dey; among the women, the two dominant voices have been of Lata Mangeshkar and her sister Asha Bhosle. Lata, as she is affectionately known throughout India, has been singing for nearly forty years. Along with her sister Asha she is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for having recorded more songs than anyone else. Some of the songs are sung as duets, with male and female voices alternating. T he song in this selection is entitled Is Moe Se Jaate Hain ("From this turn [of the road] we leave"), and is taken from the film Aandhi ("Storm"): Lata is accompanied here by Kishore Kumar.

Edited by Qwest - 19 years ago

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vinnie

@vinnie-thepooh

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#24

S.D.BURMAN -A Singer and Composer
S.D. Burman proved that age is no impediment for creativity. He was the only great composer who remained in high demand right till the end of his life, unlike his contemporaries who gradually faded away. His greatest gift lay in the fact he could be equally jazzy and trendy in a dhoti. His grip on Indian folklore, his sound classical base, his capacity to absorb from the scene around him made him the greatest all-rounder in Indian Film Music. And to think he never sat down on a harmonium to compose! His tunes would come to him in a flash on a long walk or a drive or even out fishing at sea!

Born in the royal family of Tripura in North-East India, he began his training in classical music under his father, sitarist and Dhrupad singer Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman. He later continued his training under Ustad Badal Khan and Bhismadev Chattopadhaya.

His early work for radio was based on East Bengali and North-Eastern folk-music. In the early 1930s he made a reputation for himself as a singer of folk and light classical music. (Consequently his film compositions were often influenced by his huge repertory of folk-tunes from the Bengali, Bhatiali, Sari and Dhamail traditions of the North-East)

He made his film debut singing in Yahudi ki Ladki (1933) but the songs were scrapped and re-sung by Pahadi Sanyal! His first film as a singer was finally Sanjher Pidim (1935). He became a music director initially in Calcutta in the late 1930s before moving to Bombay in 1944.

In Bombay, he began with Filmistan's Eight Days (1946) but his first major breakthrough came the following year with the company's Do Bhai (1947). The song Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya sung by Geeta Dutt is remembered till today and was her breakthrough song into the film industry!

Shabnam (1949) was his biggest hit with Filmistan with the multi-lingual song Yeh Duniya Roop ki Chor sung by Shamshad Begum becoming the rage of the day. But disillusioned with the materialism of Bombay, he left the Ashok Kumar starrer Mashaal (1950) incomplete and decided to board the first train back to Calcutta. Fortunately he was dissuaded from doing so.

Burmanda composed the music for Dev Anand's production company, Navketan's first film Afsar (1950). With the success of their second film, Baazi (1951) he made it to the top and a long association with Navketan and Dev Anand was on its way.

Baazi's jazzy musical score revealed a new facet to singer Geeta Dutt's singing. Till then she was mainly known for weepy sad songs and bhajans. The sex appeal in her voice and the ease with which she went western was marvellous to behold. While every song in the film was a raging hit, one stood out for special appeal - Tadbir se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer a ghazal that was occidentalized into a seductive song!

Burmanda could at once be a light and a serious in-depth composer. When Guru Dutt made comparatively light-weight films like Baazi and Jaal (1952), Burmanda reflected their mood with compositions like Suno Gajar Kya Gaye or De Bhi Chuke Hum and when Guru Dutt made his somber masterpieces - Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz ke Phool (1959), he was right on target with Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind and Waqt ne Kiya Kya Haseen Situm.

Burmanda's zest for life showed through his music. He was right there on the front bench to cheer his favourite football or hockey team. Such was his enthusiasm that he once offered music to go with a hockey match! The very name of his house 'The Jet' signified a composer who was up to date with the times.

Ill health caused a slump in his career in the early 1960s but his compositions for Bandini (1963), Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967) and Aradhana (1969) showed that S.D. Burman could still dictate trends. Aradhana was responsible in Kishore Kumar's second coming and went on to make him the top male playback singer of Hindi Films.

Burmanda was also responsible along with O.P. Nayyar into shaping Asha Bhosle as a singer of repute. A scrap with Lata Mangeshkar in 1958 led him to using Asha as his main singer in the 1958 - 62 period which saw her go from strength to strength.

As a singer, his thin but powerful voice was often used as bardic commentary e.g. Wahaan Kaun hai Tera from Guide or Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana from Aradhana. Abhimaan (1973) stands out for his outstanding musical score among his later films.

Edited by mp_142 - 19 years ago

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Barnali

@Barnali

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 19 years ago

#25

Hemant Kumar

Hemant Kumar

Birth: June 16, 1920
Birthplace: Varanasi
Profession: Playback Singer, Music Director, Composer, Bollywood.

With his deep but passionate voice and melodic sensibility, Hemant Kumar (born Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee) helped steer the evolution of post-World War II Indian music. Well-known for his interpretations of Rabindranath Tagore's songs, Kumar was equally influential as a composer. In addition to scoring more than 150 Bengali films and 50 Hindi films, Kumar wrote an estimated 2,000 songs.

Hemanta Mukherjee was born on the 16th of June 1920 in Varanasi. From an early age he had developed an everlasting bond with music. He started his singing career on the radio in the late 30s. His first recorded Bengali (non-film) album was in 1937. His first song as a singer in movies was in a Bengali film. 'Nimai Sanyasi' released in 1940.

Appearing on Indian radio for the first time in 1933,at the age of 13. Kumar recorded his debut disc, "Janite Jadi Go Tumi" b/w "Balo Go Balo More," six years later. Despite his obvious talent, Kumar gave little thought to a career in music. Instead, he enrolled in a four-year course at the Engineering College of Jaduvpar Polytechnic and dreamed of becoming a writer. In 1937, Dash magazine published one of Kumar's stories. Six years later he cut his first gramophone disc for HMV. Recognition soon followed in the elite music circle of India. In 1940 he sang his first Hindi geet 'Kitna dukh bhulaya tumne'. But commercial success was yet to come.

Hemant Kumar sang his first Hindi song for in 1944 for Music Director Amarnaath in the movie Iraada produced by Indrapuri Studios Calcutta. He sang two solos,'phir muhabbat ke pyaam aane lage', and, 'aaraam se jo raaten kaate.n vo ashq bahaanaa kyaa jaanen' written by Aziiz Kaash- miirii, and a duet with Raadhaaraanii,'nit nit ke roothane vaale saajan, tum deep bano'.

The impact of Kumar's voice could not be denied, however. Although he was turned down by the Senola and Megaphone Record labels, he was signed by Columbia and introduced to their staff trainer, Sailesh Dattagupta. Although he had previously begun studying classical Hindustani music with Ustad Faiyaz Khan, his lessons ended prematurely with Khan's untimely death.

Commercial success was much slower. For several years, Kumar sought a way to break into film playback. His chance came when he was chosen to be the playback singer in the hit film Nimai Sonyas. In 1944, he composed the entire score for Heman Gupta's film, Abhijatri. He resumed his work for Gupta in 1951 with the film Anandamath. He subsequently relocated to Bombay and took a staff composer position with S. Mukherjee's Filmistan Studios. Although he attempted to break into film direction with his own Geetanjali productions, his best work was done for other directors.

One of the most popular Rabindrasangeet singers of his time, starting under the tutelage of Anadi Dastidar, initially singing mainly in the tradition of Pankaj Mullick. Changed his style in context of a brief but fruitful collaboration with Salil Chowdhury(1949-52)associated with the Indian People's Theatrical Association(IPTA). Debut as singer in Bengali film with Phani Burma's Nimai Sanyasi(1940) and in Hindi with Iraada(1944). Early compositions for Hemen Gupta (Bhuli naai, '42, Anandmath, Kashti). Established himself as a Bengal composer with Ajoy Kar's Jighansa. Although he went on to become one of the most popular Bengali composers, his main fame derives from playback singing for Uttam Kumar, his baritone becoming a key ingredient of the star's romantic dramas; e.g., classic hits like 'Jhor uthechhe' in Sudhir Mukherjee's Shapmochan; 'Nir chhoto khati nei' in Niren Lahiri's Indrani; 'Ei path jadi na shesh hoi' in Ajoy Kar's Saptapadi; etc. Often partnered Sandya Mukherjee, female playback usually for Suchitra Sen.

Beginning in 1948, Kumar worked with lyricist/composer Salil Chowdhury to develop a new kind of music, Kavya-geeti, translated as "ballad but not necessarily romantic." From the 50's onwards his voice incarnated Bengali middle-class romanticism, having an enduring influence on all male playback singers in that language since. Became a star singer in Hindi with 'Ye raat ye chaandni' in Guru Dutt's Jaal(1952) picturised on Dev Anand on the beach among the fishing nets. Collaborated extensively with Dutt, e.g. 'Jaane vo kaise log the' in Pyaasa and scored the hauntingly beautiful numbers of Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam. First hindi hit as composer is Nagin adapting a tune from Bijon Bhattacharya's play Jivan kanya for the sinous snake dance number Man dole a landmark in the introduction of electronics into Hindi film music. Composed extensive for Tarun Majumdar and the early Mrinal Sen, producing Sen's Neel Akasher Neechey. As producer he often worked with set designer turned director Biren Nag, showing a penchant for thrillers like Bees Saal Baad (adapted from The Hound of the Baskervilles) and Kohraa borrowed from Daphne du Maurier's(and Hitchcock's) Rebecca. Also produced Pinaki Mukherjee's Faraar, Tarun Majumdar's Rahgir and Asit Sen's Rajesh Khanna psychodrama Khamoshi.

He was introduced as a music director in Hindi films by director Hemen Gupta in the film Anand Math released by Filmistan in 1952, which had tunes for traditional songs, like 'Jai jagdeesha hare', the patriotic song 'Vande maataram sujalam suphalam' (Bankim Chandra Chatter-jee). The patriotic tunes continued in Jagriti (Old), with 'De di hamen aazaadi binaa khad binaa dhaal', (which was an adaptation of the Noorjehan-Naushad hit 'Kya mil gaya bhagwan tumhein dil ko dukha ke', and 'Ham laae hain toofaan se kashti nikaal ke' (Rafi) and 'Aao bachchon tumhe dikhaaen jhaanki hindustaan ki' (Pradeep).

As a music director, he made it big in Hindi films with his huge hit Nagin. This was the movie that introduced electronic synthesized music in films. As most people know, the famous 'been' music before the song 'Tan dole mera man dole' was synthesized and the credit for that goes to the music director's assistants Kalyanji and Ravi. In Kohra, the song 'Kahe bajaya tu ne paapi bansuriya' by Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor too had such music.

For Lata, Hemant's voice always reminded her of a sadhu/saint. It is probably this awe/reverence that reflects in her voice when she sang with Hemant. This was not just in the songs where Hemant was the Music Director, but also in most of their other duets, like, 'Chandan ka palna resham ki Dori' (Naushad), 'Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag' (C.Ramchandra), Lata has been the predominant female voice in Hemant's films. The other female singers who have had their share of good songs with him were Geeta Dutt, 'Na jaao saiyaan chudaake baiyaan', Asha Bhosle, 'Bhanvra bada nadaan hain'.

While Hemant sang most of his songs himself, he did leave some excellent compositions for some of his contemporary male singers. Rafi was used on and off is many of his movies Jagriti (Old), Miss Mary, Do Dil etc. For Talat Mahmood too, Hemant created some wonderful tunes in the movie Bahu. The Talat Mahmood -Geeta Dutt duets 'Thandi hawaon mein tere hi baahon mein', and 'Dekho dekhoji balam aise birha ka gham mera nanha sa jiya tadpana na' surely rank high in the list of the most popular songs of Talat Mahmood. He also gave Kishore Kumar the opportunity to sing the sensitive romantic duet with Sudha Malhotra 'Aaj mujhe kuchh kahana hai' penned by Sahir; Then with Gulzar, he again gave the opportunity to Kishore to sing evergreen songs like 'Vo shaam kuch ajeeb thi ye shaam bhi ajeeb hai' Khamoshi (Old).

He has worked with almost all the top lyricists of his time. Rajinder Krishan in Nagin, Kaifi Azmi in Kohra, Shakeel Badayuni in Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Shailendra in Chaand, Gulzar in Khamoshi, Majrooh Sultanpuri Ek Hi Raasta, Sahir Ludhianvi in Girl Friend and Pradeep in Jagriti. Strangely though some of these associations were limited to a single movie. But they were nevertheless memorable. Kaifi Azmi, who has had a better share of movies with Hemant, said that Hemant's tunes always did justice to his lyrics. A sentiment, which is probably shared by all the other lyricists too.

Hemant Kumar was as endearing in 'Tum pukaar lo' as he was in 'Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan', the pathos in 'Ya dil ki suno duniya waalon' was no less than the one seen in 'Jaane wo kaise log the jinke pyaar ko pyaar mila.

However the gradual fade out of Hemant Kumar was reflected by some of his last few songs,like 'ya dil ki suno duniya waalon'( Anupama) accurately describing the mood of Hemant at that time. He was last credited five or six years ago for the title song of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's tele-serial 'Talaash' starring Moushmi Chatterjee and Alok Nath. The song, sung by Suresh Wadkar, 'Jeevan ek talaash hai', had the same tune as 'Tum pukaar lo' from Khamoshi (Old).

Edited by Barnali - 19 years ago

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manjujain

@manjujain

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#26

Ever the royal

HOME | MOVIES

Dinesh Raheja

Josephine Mull had once said, "Playing Shakespeare is very tiring. You never get to sit down, unless you are a king."

Pradeep Kumar was a fortunate actor. He was the first choice to play prince/king in numerous Hindi films. His talwar-cut moustache, broad shoulders, receding-into-his-temples coiffure, peaches-and-honey complexion, and regal bearing made him fit the role of an amorous aristocrat like a made-to-order crown.

Pradeep was the kind who could smoke a hookah with the same lan as while puffing State Express cigarettes when he played the modern lover.

Born to orthodox brahmin parents in West Bengal, Pradeep bided his time till he was 17 years old before he announced his decision to pursue an acting career. Despite his father's disapproval, Pradeep began acting on stage. During one of his performances, renowned filmmaker Debaki Bose spotted him and cast him in a Bengali film, Alaknanda (1947).

Pradeep Kumar's famous songs
Song	Film	Singer
Zindagi pyar ki do char	Anarkali	Hemant Kumar
Aa neel gagan tale	Badshah	Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar
Tere dwar khada ek jogi	Nagin	Hemant Kumar
Yeh vaada karo chaand	Rajhath	Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar
Zameen se hume aasman	Adalat	Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle
Mujhko tum jo mil gaye	Detective	Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt
Yeh kissne geet chheda	Meri Surat Teri Aankhen	Mukesh, Suman Kalyanpur
Ab kya misaal doon	Aarti	Mohammad Rafi
Jo vaada kiya	Taj Mahal	Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar
Dil jo na keh saka	Bheegi Raat	Mohammad Rafi
Jis dil mein basa tha	Saheli	Mukesh
Hum intezaar karenge	Bahu Begum	Mohammad Rafi
Raat aur din deeya jale	Raat Aur Din	Mukesh

Encouraged, Pradeep moved to Mumbai and found a job in the bustling Filmistan Studio. He brushed up on his Hindi and learnt Urdu in a bid to make an impression in his first Hindi film, Anand Math (1952). The film, set in the 18th century, had strong nationalistic overtones and co-starred Prithviraj Kapoor and Geeta Bali. The Vande Mataram number from this film became a cult success.

In the next two years, Pradeep's career escalated to the top with two hugely successful musical hits -- the Bina Rai-starrer Anarkali (1953) and the Vyjayanthimala-starrer Nagin (1954). While Anarkali revolved around the eternally popular legend of Mughal prince Salim's passionate affair with a commoner Anarkali, Nagin was a reed-slim romance between two lovers belonging to rival snake-catching tribes.

The songs of both films (Nagin had as many as 12) had audiences transfixed. Pradeep's lessons in fencing for Anarkali and his gamble of letting a python play on his wrist for Nagin paid off.

Pradeep's regal demeanour won him legions of fans. He went on a signing spree (in 1956, he had 10 releases) and inked deals with V Shantaram (Subah Ka Tara) and Raj Kapoor (Jagte Raho).

All the top-notch heroines of the 1950s -- Nimmi (Jayshree), Nargis (Adalat), Nutan (Heer), Meena Kumari (Bandhan) -- were paired with Pradeep.

After Rajhath (1956), the actor tried desperately to make a hit pair with the beauteous Madhubala. They did as many as five other films together --- Yahudi Ki Ladki (1957), Gateway Of India (1957), Police (1958), Mahlon Ke Khwaab (1960) and Passport (1961), but Pradeep's efforts were in vain.

His films with lucky mascot Vyjayanthimala (including his home production Ek Jhalak) did not enjoy even a fraction of the success of Nagin. But his pairing with Bina Rai seemed to have stilled the wings of time. This teaming salvaged Pradeep's career from the late-1950s dip, first with Ghunghat (1960) and more decisively with Taj Mahal (1963). Even a decade after Anarkali, Pradeep could evoke a regal aura while playing love-struck Mughal royalty. Roshan's dulcet duet, Paon chhu lene do toh and Jo vaada kiya from Taj Mahal, like an unforgettable promise, continue to haunt radio listeners even today.

Pradeep's career got a further fillip with Rajshri's social, Aarti. Meena Kumari and Pradeep played lovers who bond together because of their common desire to serve the poor. But their love story comes under a cloud when a rich, unscrupulous doctor (played by the late Ashok Kumar) is irretrievably drawn towards Meena Kumari. Aarti's success ensured that Pradeep and Meena worked unceasingly in a series of films. Pradeep once said, "Meena and I made a fine pair and worked very well together, but her husband did not like our friendship."

Pradeep Kumar's landmark films
Year	Film	Co-stars
1952	Anand Math	Geeta Bali
1953	Anarkali	Bina Rai
1954	Nagin	Vyjayanthimala
1956	Rajhath	Madhubala
1958	Adalat	Nargis
1962	Aarti	Meena Kumari
1963	Taj Mahal	Bina Rai
1965	Mahabharat	Padmini
1965	Bheegi Raat	Meena Kumari
1969	Sambandh	Anita Guha

The first Meena-Pradeep film to release on the heels of Aarti was Kidar Sharma's Chitralekha (1964). Pradeep played the hedonistic Samanta Beejgupta in this period film set in the Gupta period. Despite lavish production values, the stolid support of veteran Ashok Kumar and exquisite penmanship by Sharma and Sahir, the film collapsed at the box office. Kalidas's love triangle Bheegi Raat, which featured the tried triangle of Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari and Pradeep once again, was an average success. But M Sadiq's Muslim socials Bahu Begum (Ashok Kumar again) and Noorjehan, both released in the same year, spelt the death knell for the team.

Pradeep, who had not signed a single film with the new breed of successful heroines of the 1960s like Sadhana, Saira Banu and Sharmila Tagore, suddenly found himself without a rudder.

In 1969, Pradeep saw a glimpse of success once again with Sambandh, albeit in a character role. Ironically, Ajoy Biswas, the director of Sambandh, who had provided him with a short burst of fame, caused him a lot of heartburn too. Biswas had a short-lived and unhappy marriage with Pradeep Kumar's actress daughter, Bina.

Pradeep's princely persona and impeccable Urdu was relegated to the pages of history for the next decade and more. But the onscreen prince was destined to play an emperor in Kamal Amrohi's Razia Sultan (1983).

The semi-retired Pradeep played the emperor as only he could -- forcefully. After all, he had played blue-blooded characters all his life. He lived a life removed from the spotlight for the next 18 years and died a quiet death on October 28, 2001, at the age of 76.

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Barnali

@Barnali

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 19 years ago

#27

Another review on the book by Deccan Herald.

Lingering melodies

The book is a labour of one man's love for everything that goes under the name of Vintage Hindi Film Music

M BHAKTAVATSALA

Yesterday's Melodies Today's Memories
Manek Premchand
Mumbai: Jharana Books, 2003
pp 632, Rs 495

Those of us who grew up during the magical years of Indian Film Music, from the late forties till the early sixties, the experience of waking up every morning to a dew fresh beauty, each song etching itself into our life time experience, believed that it was all special to us and our generation.

The coming of satellite television and the unprecedented success of the musical talent programmes revealed that young men and women of all ages loved that timeless music. Not just that. Many young people had disciplined their singing talents by emulating greats like Rafi and Lata. But what we did not need is the mutilation of these songs into 'remixes.' That is not a tribute. A tribute can only be a serious study of the work of each of the men and women who gave us the wonderful treasures researching into their background, their inspiration, how each one of their great songs came to be...

Incidentally, 1949 - the year the author was born - was a watershed year for Indian Film Music. The year of Barsaat and Andaaz brought a sea change, not abandoning the firm moorings in Indian classical music, films absorbed and melded musical strains from all parts of the world. The miracle was that a 'complete score' had to be realised within a space of three minutes - the strict limit imposed by the 75 RPM shellac disc.

Yesterday's Melodies Today's Memories, while not a complete study of any single individual, is a labour of love - one man's love for everything that goes under the name of Vintage Hindi Film Music, thus reflecting his choice of music in his own language which is 'film journalese' full of tired stock phrases. Obviously written with emotion it is overburdened with too many superlatives and patchy narration.
It is unfortunate because what should have been an authentic marshaling of facts, becomes in the author's emotive outpouring in inadequate English. It is possible that many of the anecdotes are true but the recent spate of books on Meena Kumari and Madhubala have left a bad taste which because of similar style of narration may cast doubts on the veracity of them.

In a work of this nature where the author attempts a omnifarious volume there are bound to be mistakes and omissions like leaving out Vinod who gave a song to a generation - Lara Lappa of Ek Thi Larki or Sudhir Phadke - a prolific composer whose song was played when Lata as the Chief guest of the IFFI lit the inaugural lamp in 2001.

The shortcomings of the work however do not detract from the value of the book as it is. There is no doubt that this is a landmark work. Never has so much been compiled in one volume. There are delightful anecdotes and insights into the lives of the great men and women of Indian Film Music. How one wishes that the language and format were such as to permit constant upgrading as more and more authentic inputs surface. However, we are grateful to the author for his efforts in compiling such a volume.

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vinnie

@vinnie-thepooh

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#28

MAHENDRA KAPOOR

Mahendra Kapoor was born in 1934 in Amritsar. Even though he was born in Amritsar, Mahendra Kapoor has lived all his life in Mumbai, ever since his family moved there when he ws just 40 days old! Mahendra had deep interest in music right from the very start. When he was five, he had already become popular in his school for his singing, and won a number of singing competitions there. Although it started out only as a hobby, Mahendra soon started to take his singing very seriously. When he was twelve years old, he gathered up enough courage to visit the late Mohammad Rafi, his idol, alone. The singer was impressed with the youngster's courage and determination, but advised him to create his own unique style of singing and not try to copy him as he wanted to do. Mahendra was also advised to get a sound classical base if he planned to get professional. Mahendra knew he had got advice from 'the best' didn't spare any time in starting his official training in music. Kapoor went on to learn classical vocal music under various teachers like Pandit Husanlal, Pandit Jagannath Bua Purohit, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Khan Saheb Abdur Rehman, Afzal Husain Khan and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma. In 1951, Mahendra recorded a song for Madmast under V. Balsara, a small-timer composer. While undergoing training in classical vocal music, Mahendra continued to take part in several inter-collegiate music competitions and also performed in many college functions. In 1957, Mahendra won the 'All India Metro-Murphy Competition'. One of the prizes he recieved when he won the competition was a film break. Mahendra ended up recording songs with Naushad and C. Ramchandra, both judges in the 'Metro-Murphy Contest'. The song, 'Chand chupa aur taare doobe'(Sohni Mahiwal), that Mahendra recorded with Naushad recorded immediately drew the attention of Yash Chopra when he heard the master-tape play at Mehboob Studios, mistaking Mahendra's voice for none other than Mohammed Rafi's! He recommended Mahendra's voice to B.R. Chopra, elder brother who was working on 'Dhool Ka Phool' (1959), Yash's directorial debut. At the same time, C. Ramachandra also used his voice in the film 'Navrang'. Both the films, 'Navrang' and 'Dhool Ka Phool' released in 1959, their songs proving to be major hits. Thus began Mahendra Kapoor's association with BR films...one that endures even to this day with their tele-serials! Mahendra Kapoor's peak phase came in the 1960s and early 1970s even as he forged excellent alliances with music giants like Ravi, Kalyanji-Anandji, O.P. Nayyar and Laxmikant-Pyarelal among others. The 60s saw Mahendra singing in a very wide variety of genres for nearly all the top heroes in Bollywood. Besides singing in films, he also sang in popular shows all over the world, and even at India's borders for the armed forces. Kapoor struck a rich vein of hits and golden melodies in films like Gumrah, Humraaz, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Doli, Anmol Moti, Badi Didi, Dhund, Nikaah, Aaj Ki Awaz (Ravi), Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Aap Ki Parchaiyaan, Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai (Madan Mohan), Oonche Log, Mera Kasoor Kya Hai, Ghar Basaake Dekho (Chitragupta), Dharamputra (N.Dutta), Hariyali Aur Rasta (Shanker Jaikishan), Gopi, Bairaag, Upkar, Parivar, Priya, Bandhan, Yaadgar, Purab Aur Paschim, Paras (Kalyanji Anandji), Daadi Maa (Roshan), Kismet, Sambandh, Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, Sawan Ki Ghata, Kahin Din Kahin Raat (O.P.Nayyar), Nag Mandir, Pyar Kiye Jaa, Aye Din Bahaar Ke, Night In London, Dastaan, Shor, Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Roop Tera Mastana, Ek Nazar (Laxmikant Pyarelal) and for several other composers. Later, in the 80s, Mahendra became very choosy and restricted his singing to his favourite filmmakers, stars and composers like the Chopras ( Nikaah, Aaj Ki Awaz), Laxmikant Pyarelal (Amar Akbar Anthony, Badaltey Rishtey, Nagin, Kranti, Hum Paanch, Amrit, Avtaar, Karma), Kalyanji Anandji (Hera Pheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar) and stars like Dilip Kumar and Manoj Kumar. The only film that Mahendra sang in the 90s was the film 'Dillagi'. Although he is not closed to playback, he feels his voice is a bit too old for most of the young stars seen in movies these days.

Album: Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

Amar Akbar Anthony

Album: AUR IS DIL MEIN KYA RAKHA HAI

Aur Nahi Bas Aur Nahi Gham Ke Pyale

Album: Charas (1976)

Charas Charas

Album: Dillagi (1999)

Dhoom Dhoom Luck Luck

Album: EVERGREEN HITS OF MAHENDRA KAPOOR (VOL.1) (2005)

Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se

Neele Gagan Ke Tale

Ae Jaan-E-Chaman Tera Gora Badan

Dil Lagakar Hum Yeh Samjhe

Aadha Hai Chandrama

Aaj Ki Raat

Din Hai Bahaar Ke

Tere Pyar Ka Aasra Chahta Hoon

Badal Jaye Agar Mali

Tum Agar Saath Dene Ka Vamada Karo

Mere Desh Ki Dharti

Hai Preet Jahan Ki Reet Sada

Album: EVERGREEN HITS OF MAHENDRA KAPOOR (VOL.2) (2005)

Lakhon Hai Yahan Dilwale

Tumahra Chahnewala

Ramchandra Keh Gaye Siya Se

Jag Gaya Jag Gaya

Beete Huye Lamhon Ki Kasak

Jhuke Jo Tere Naina

Tere Pyar Ki Tamanna

Aur Nahin Bas Aur Nahin

Fakira Chal Chala Chal

Jab Yaad Ki Badli Chaati Hai

Album: Hamraaz (1967)

Tu Husn Hain Main Ishq Hoon

Kisi Patthar Ki Murat Se

Na Mooh Chupa Ke Jiyo

Neele Gagan Ke Tale

Edited by mp_142 - 19 years ago

Quote

manjujain

@manjujain

Inactive

Posted: 19 years ago

#29

Pradeep

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Kavi Pradeep (1915-1998) was a popular Indian poet and lyricist.

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5 Popular Songs
8 Plagiarized works of Kavi Pradeep

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[edit]

Early life

Born Ramchandra Barayanji Dwivedi in 1915 into a middle-class Brahmin family in the small central Indian town of Badnagar, in Madhya Pradesh state. Since his early student days in Madhya Pradesh and later in Uttar Pradesh, he had a passion for writing and rendering Hindi poetry. He hypnotized the audience at kavi sammelans with his inimitable style. It was during this time he changed his name to Pradeep. After graduating from Lucknow University in 1939, he decided to join a teacher's course and teach. Pradeep was invited to a 'Kavi Sammelan' (Poet's Conference) in Bombay (now Mumbai) where he was offered his first film Kangan by the late Himanshu Roy of Bombay Talkies. The film starred Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar. Pradeep Shifted to Bombay and wrote four songs for the film, all of which became very popular and sung three of the songs himself.

He next film was "Bandhan" produced by S Mukherjee and directed by Gyan Mukherjee. This time he wrote all the songs which became huge hits. The Most notable is "Chal chal re naujawan" which made waves since the freedom movement was at a crucial juncture.

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Golden Era

He worked on five more movies for Bombay Talkies which included Punarmilan, Jhoola, Naya Sansar, Anjan and Kismet. Kismet is known for its patriotic song "Aj Himalay ki choti se phir hamne lalkara hai...door hato ae duniyawalon Hindustan hamara hai" ("Go away outsiders, India is ours"). Mashaal was his next film and it features the extremely popular song 'Upar gagan vishal niche gahara pataal, bich mein dharati, wah mere malik tune kiya kamal...' sung by Manna Dey. Kavi Pradeep was at his creative zenith when he wrote for Nastik and Jagruti. He even lent his voice for the evergreen song 'Dekh tere sansar ki halat kya ho gayi bhagwaan kitna badal gaya insaan...' Jagruti is considered to be among his best work for one movie since it includes hit songs such as 'Aao bachchon tumhe dikhayen jhanki Hindustan ki, iss mitti se tilak karo, yeh dharti hai balidan ki...', 'Hum laye hain toofan se kishti nikal ke iss desh ko rakhna mere bachon sambhal ke...' and 'Dedi humein azadi bina khadak bina dhal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamal...'

His songs were so popular that movies would get repeat audiences just to listen to his soulful songs. Kavi Pradeep always believed in writing songs with a meaning and made sure the songs he wrote fit into the situation of the movie. The popularity of his songs were also due to his down to earth lyrics and simple language that was well understood by everyone. He stayed in the Irla area of the Mumbai suburb of Vile Parle until he died.

[edit]

Later life

By the 1960's, the popularity of his songs was on the wane and film producers who were looking for western music and fast numbers avoided him. However he managed to prove his detractors wrong with films Talaaq, a Rajendra Kumar starrer and Paigam starring Dilip Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Vyjayantimala. With 'Insan ka insan se ho bhaichara, yahi paigam hamara..' being a highlight. S. Mukerji's Sambandh starring Pradeep Kumar was a movie that ran on the popularity of songs such as 'Chal akela chal akela, tera mela pichche chchuta rahi chal akela...', 'Jo diya tha tumne ek din mujhe phir wohi pyar de do...' and 'Ek karaj mangta hum bachpan udhar de do' written by Kavi Pradeep. He continued to show his brilliance in 1975, when the movie "Jai Santoshi Maa" was released. For a low budget movie, it matched the collections of another Block Buster "Sholay". For months theatre's screening the movie, held the housefull boards high. Ladies would perform poojas when the immortal song "Mein to aarti utaroon re Santoshi mata ki...." was played in the theatres. Almost synonymous to his Kismet song "Aj Himalay ki choti se phir hamne lalkara hai..", the reel would be rewound and played many times to satisfy public demand.

[edit]

The Patriot

Kismet was his groundbreaking effort since it came at the time of the "Quit India" movement. The country was in strife with all national leaders in Jail. He cleverly wrote "Aj Himalay ki choti se phir hamne lalkara hai...door hato ae duniyawalon Hindustan hamara hai" ("Go away outsiders, India is ours"). The song was supposed to warn the Axis powers, but the Indian public understood the real meaning of the song. Theatres around the country were resounded with "once more" calls once the song ended. The reel had to be rewound and the song was screened again and again. Kismet made Box Office history for its time by running for 3-1/2 years in one theatre. The British realized the true meaning of his songs and issued a warrant for his arrest. This forced Kavi Pradeep underground to avoid arrest.

He continued his patriotic zeal with renewed vigor after Independence in movies such as Jagruti, 'Dedi humein azadi bina khadak bina dhal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamal...' is considered to be his tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

During 1962(Indo-China) war days.When heard about Param Vir Major Shaitan Singh Bhaati.He was so touched by his sacrifice & Bravery that he penned down the lines'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon'. The number 'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon' was originally supposed to be sung by Asha Bhosle, due to a misunderstanding between composer C. Ramchandra and Lata Mangeshkar. Kavi Pradeep though, was adamant about having Lata Mangeshkar sing the song, as he felt that hers was the only voice that could do justice to the number. C. Ramchandra was unsure whether Mangeshkar would agree to sing, so Kavi Pradeep began the task of convincing her to hear the song. On hearing the song she was moved so much that she instantly agreed to sing the song, on condition that Kavi Pradeep be present at the rehearsals. 'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon' went on to become one of the greatest patriotic songs of the country. It was while listening to Lata Mangeshkar's rendition of 'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo' that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was moved to tears. For writing the song he was conferred the honour of "Rashtriya Kavi" (National Poet) by the Government Of India.

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Popular Songs

"Main to arti utaron radheshyam ki re" (Kangan)
"Hawa tum dheere bahao" (Kangan)
"Sooni padi re sitar" (Kangan)
"Nacho nacho pyare man ke mor" (Punar Milan)
"Chal chal re nau javan" (Bandhan)
"Chane jor garam babu" (Bandhan)
"Piyoo piyoo bol pran papihe" (Bandhan)
"Ruk na sako to jao" (Bandhan)
"Kheencho kaman kheencho" (Anjan)
"Jhoole ke sang jhoolo" (Jhoola)
"Na jane kidhar aaj meri nao chali re" (Jhoola)
"Main to dilli se dulhan laya re" (Jhoola)
"Aaj mausam salona salona re" (Jhoola)
"Mere bichhade hue saathi" (Jhoola)
"Door hato ae duniya walo Hindustan hamara hai (Kismet)
"Dheere dheere aa re badal" (Kismet)
"Papiha re, mere piyase" (Kismet)
"Ghar ghar mein diwalee hai mere ghar me andhera" (Kismet)
"Ab tere siva kaun mera" (Kismet)
"Har har mahadeo allah o akbar" (Chal Chal Re Naujawan)
"Ram bharose meri gadi" (Girl"s School)
"Oopar gagan vishal" (Mashal)
"Kiski kismet mein kya likha" (Mashal)
"Aaj ashia ke logon ka kafila chala" (Kafila)
"Koyal bole ku" (Baap Beti)
"Kahna bahjaye bansari" (Nastik)
"Jai jai ram raghurai" (Nastik)
"Kitna badal gaya insan" (Nastik)
"Gagan jhan jhana raja" (Nastik)
"Tere phoolon se bhi pyar" (Nastik)
"Sabarmati ke sant" (Jagriti)
"Hum laye hain toofan se" (Jagriti)
"Chalo chalen maa" (Jagriti)
"Aao bachacho tumhen dikhayen" (Jagriti)
"Tere dwar khada bhagwan" (Waman Avtar)
"Kahe ko bisara hari naam, maati ke putle" (Chakradhari)
"Doosara o ka dukhada door karne wale" (Dashera)
"Tunnaak tunnak bole re mera ektara" (Ram Navmi)
"Pinjare ke panchhi re" (Naag Mani)
"Koi akh kare chaturai" (Chandi Pooja)
"Nai umar ki kaliyo tumko dekh rehiduniya sari" (Talaq)
"Bigul baj raha azadi ka" (Talaq)
"Mere jeevan mein kiran ban ke" (Talaq)
"Mukhada dekhle praani" (Do Bahen)
"Insan ka insan se ho bhaichara" (Paigham)
"O ameeron ke parameshwar" (Paigham)
"Jawani mein akelapan" (Paigham)
"O dildaar bolo ek baar" (School Master)
'Aaj suno hum get vida ka garaha" (School Master)
'Sanvariya re apni meera ko bhool na jana" (Aanchal)
'Na jane kahan tum the" (Zindgi aur khwab)
'Aaj ke is insaan ko ye kya hogaya" (Amar Rahe Ye Pyar)
'Sooraj re jalte rahena" (Harishchandra Taramati)
'Toot haiee hai mala" (Harishchandra Taramati)
'Janma bhoomi maa" (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose)
'Suno suno desh ke hindu - musalman" (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose)
'Bharat ke liye bhagwan ka ek vardaan hai ganga" (Har har gange)
'Chal akela chal akela" (Har har gange)
'Tum ko to karodon saal hue" (Har har gange)
'Jo diya tha tumne ek din" (Har har gange)
'Ye khushi leke main kya karoon" (Har har gange)
'Sukh dukh dono rehte" (Kabhi dhoop kabhi chhaon)
'Hay re sanjog kya ghadi dikhlai" (Kabhi dhoop kabhi chhaon)
'Chal musafir chal" (Kabhi dhoop kabhi chhaon)
'Jai Jai narayan narayan hari hari" (Haridarshan)
'Pabhu ke bharose han ko gaadi" (Haridarshan)
'Maarnewala hai bhagwan bachanewala hai bhagwan" (Haridarshan)
'Main is paar" (Agni rekha)
'Main to aarti utaron" (Jai Santoshi Maa)
'Yahan wahan jahan tahan" (Jai Santoshi Maa)
'Mat ro mat ro aj" (Jai Santoshi Maa)
'Karati hoon tumhara vrat main" (Jai Santoshi Maa)
'Madad karo santoshi mata" (Jai Santoshi Maa)
'He maruti saari ram katha ka" (Bajrangbali)
'Banjaa hoon main" (Aankha ka tara)
'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon"

His songs directly address and have inspired and continue to inspire millions of Indians spanning several generations

[edit]

Awards

Kavi Pradeep received numerous awards throughout his life. The best film lyricist award (in 1961), the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the Film Journalist Association award, the national integration award (in 1993) and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award (for the year 1997-98), months before his death.

[edit]

Quotes

About the kind of songs he wrote, Pradeep once said [1] "Love is just a part of life and the love written about today talks about love between the sexes only. But do young men and women have a monopoly where love is concerned. Aren't there different kinds of love that between a mother and her children, between a father and his children, between a bhakt (devotee) and his deity, between a man and his motherland? I chose to write about all these different kinds of love."

[edit]

Plagiarized works of Kavi Pradeep

Many of Kavi Pradeep's works have been plagiarized in neighboring Pakistan. Songs like "Hum Laye Hain Toofan se Kashti Nikal Ke, Is Desh ko rakhnaa mere bachchon sambhal ke" , "Aao Bachon Tumhe Dikhayen Jhanki Hindustan Ki"' have been plagiarized almost word to word with minor changes like 'desh' to 'mulk' and avoiding references like 'Bharat', 'Hind', 'Bapu' etc.

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Legacy

Kavi Pradeep died at the age of 83 in Mumbai on 11th December 1998. His wife, and his daughters, Ms Sargam and Ms Mitul, have set up the Kavi Pradeep Foundation. They are assisted in their task by former MLA, Mr Avinash Pande. He is also a distant relative of the poet. An award has also been constituted in his memory.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pradeep"