Music And Movies

Here is the link to read all parts of this series. In this last part, let us look at Lata's legacy. Lata came into Hindi film music when modernity was creeping into it, and music directors like Ghulam Haider, Anil Biswas, Sajjad Hussain, Shankar Jaikishen and others were pushing the boundaries of Hindi film music. It must be said that she became an integral part of this push towards modernity. The range of her voice and her singing skills enabled music directors to compose music without fear, for they know Lata would give perfect expression to their musical ideas. She was sought after by every music director in the initial days, though later, O.P. Nayyar did not work with her. She was an integral part of the golden generation of Hindi film music that spanned more than two decades, from the late 40s to the late 60s.  Lata has left behind an amazing body of work, that would be extremely difficult for any current-day singer to match. This is due to two reasons: one, music directors ar...

Here is the link to read all parts of this series. Kishore Kumar had tremendous respect for Lata and used to call her Lata Didi. They knew each other from the late 40s, having sung together for Kemchand Prakash and Anil Biswas in the late 40s and early 50s. The story of their meeting is funny, and Lata had narrated it in many places. Kishore's trajectory as a singer was quite different from Lata's, even though he had been singing since 1940s. Initially, Kishore Kumar wanted to be an actor. Most music directors of those times saw him as Ashok Kumar's younger brother who wanted to act, and not many saw him as a singer. His lack of formal training in Hindustani classical music was seen as a handicap, and through the 1950s and most part of the 1960s, he ended up singing only for the films he acted in and the films of Dev Anand.  Dada Burman and Dev Anand had a lot of confidence in Kishore's abilities as a singer, but most other music directors preferred Rafi. Also, during t...

The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links No one changed the soundscape of Indian film music more dramatically than R.D. Burman, lovingly called Pancham by his admirers. There were other trendsetters earlier, like C.Ramachandra, O.P. Nayyar, and others, but the impact R.D.Burman had on not just Hindi film music but on Indian film music was an order of magnitude greater than his predecessors. The sound he pioneered was without equal, and suddenly the music of other music directors felt old. R.D. Burman, with his musical intelligence and with inspiration - and sometimes borrowing - from the West, came up with a signature style of his own, which is an influential style even to this day. Though R.D. Burman got his first break in 1961, in the movie 'Chote Nawab,' his initial success came in the later part of the 60s with movies like 'Teesri Manzil' and 'Padosan.' When his partnership with Kishore Kumar was cemented with the rise of Rajesh Khann...

The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links Lata's collaboration with S.D.Burman, aka Dada Burman, was an enduring one. It lasted for two and half decades till the death of Dada. It survived various changes in trends, and it survived a huge misunderstanding that kept them apart for a few years. They together created a huge number of unforgettable songs. Logically, I should have written about Dada Burman around the same time I wrote about Anil Biswas and C.Ramachandra because Dada Burman was very active in the 1950s. I write about him after having spoken about Lata of the 60s because their greatest hits happened more in the 60s. Those songs are famous even to date and are enjoyed by people of all ages even today. Dada Burman was a unique music director who could morph his style to suit the times. His songs, whether composed in the 50s or 60s or 70s, sound fresh even now. Hindi film music went through multiple trends from the late 40s to the 70s. Many music direc...

Rajesh Khanna, the first 'super star' of Hindi films, passed away recently. He was responsible for the pleasant memories of a whole generation. As expected, his passing away made people sad. At the same time it made them nostalgic for those innocent days, when the music was melodious, the singers were titans and then there was the charm and charisma of Rajesh Khanna. There have always been Director-Music Director, Actor-Music Director combinations which have given great music. RajKapoor-Shankar Jaikishan, Vijay Anand - S D Burman, Hrishikesh Mukherjee - R D Burman in the Dir-MD combo and Dev Anand-S D Burman, Shammi Kapoor - Shankar Jaikishan in the Actor - MD combo come to mind immediately. Similarly Rajesh Khanna - R D Burman - Kishore is what comes to mind immediately when one thinks of Rajesh Khanna. While this trio gave us some extraordinary music, I feel Rajesh Khanna inspired other music directors as well to give him the best. Unlike Raj Kapoor or Dev Anand, Raje...

Some posts provoke lot of comments and some pass by without any comment. In case of R D Burman, I was sure lot of people would have lot to say, given that his music has impacted so many. My good friend Ravi Natarajan, mailed me asking if there was any limit on number of words that he could write in the comment section. When I replied that I didn't mind any length in the comment section, he came back by saying, "Why not I do a guest post on RDB". I was overjoyed and immediately took the offer. Ravi is a technologist based in Canada. He has a wonderful blog on Illayaraja wherein he discusses the intricacies of Raja's music. This is a well liked blog and is often referred to by all Illayaraja fans. Check out his Raja, The Genius blog  . (You can see it in my blog roll as well.)  Additionally Ravi, who is very influenced by writer Sujatha, writes about Technology in Solvanam . He also writes about India and Development Issues in Thinnai . Here is an article he wrote ...

It was early evening and Siva, Murthy and I, as usual, had gone to Gymkhana to listen to some songs. Someone played a song which transported me to my very early school days, transported me to a small lane in Boiguda, a sloping lane, a lane in which all houses had raised platforms. A lane where by 8 o clock all movement would cease and the soanpapdi-wala would ring the bell and bring along the flaky soan papdi in his huge bell shaped glass jar. Did you guess the song which transported me to this lane? Yes, you are wrong!! It was not 'Kanchi Re Kanchi Re' but another song from the same movie, 'phoolon ka taaron ka'. That made me think of 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' days and automatically to the evening hours of Boiguda. Probably the earliest of my remembrances. I had a neighbour called Roop who was senior to most of us in the street and the unofficial gang leader. His elder brother and friends had a small music troupe which would practice in his house. We would all...