Shailedra : A Creative Genius with Awaken Conscience

It had been almost a decade of India being independent of the British rule. Those who dreamt of creating the golden land and nurtured the dream of great country were witnessing the struggle of an infant trying to stand on its feet. The destination was still very far. While the socio-economic landscape of India was settling, there was a group of artists who were trying to invoke the movement against …

Jaikishan : The Charm of Music

He was always a man of warmth. A prince in appearance and a king by heart. Dressed in shining Shark skin fabric trousers, crisp shirts and pointed shining leather shoes with his carefree strands of hair running around the forehead, whenever he entered the studio or a party, all the eyes always used to be on him. Jaikishan was really a charmer. His music has always reflected his persona. Music …

Remembering Shamshad Begum : A Singing Star of Yore

Na Kahu Sang Dosti, Na Kahu Sang Bair…. as Kabir said was the motto she followed all her life. Otherwise how could it happen that a singer who worked with the top composers of 30’s and 40’s like Pt. Amarnath, Ghulam Haidar, Husnalal Bhagatram, Naushad, S.D.Burman etc and who was a top playback singer of her time, stayed almost out of limelight in her career. Had Shamshad Begum followed the …

Lucila Pacheco and Zarin Daruwala : The Lone Stars of the Galaxy of Hindi Film Music

β€œA girl should be two things: Who and what she wants.” Said Coco Chanel. Perhaps the very basic need of any human is its identity and for a woman in the field dominated by men is nothing but her identity. Film Music is also one such domain wherein conventionally there have been mostly men who worked as musicians. Though there were many playback singers right from Amirbai Karnataki, Shamshad Begum …

Majaaz Lucknowi : Aye Gham-E-Dil Kya Karoon

It was only after I stepped into Mumbai city that I truly understood the poem ‘Awara’ by Majaaz. I used to stay in Hotel Majestic which was located opposite Regal Cinema. And often during those early days in Mumbai I used to step out for long walks in the evenings. And at every step, I remembered Majaaz. Especially, when I strolled from Nariman Point and went along the lights on …

Sebastian D’Souza : The Man Behind Immortal Harmonies

One of the most significant contributions of the Portuguese in India was compulsory music learning in Church Schools. They would not have imagined that this policy will be immensely helpful to composers of Hindi Film Music. How could this happen ? To know the answer, lets go 115 years back. On 29th January 1906, a baby was born in Reis-Megos village in North Goa. His parents named him Sebastian. From …

Rhythm Innovations of O.P.Nayyar

β€œIt gives me great pleasure indeed to see the stubbornness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly acclaimed.” Said Albert Einstein once and that proved true for maverick composers like O.P.Nayyar too. He never changed his rules for any one nor confirmed to contemporary trends of composing music for any of his producers. Having been stubborn, he did create his niche. Today, the same is considered a genre, a type. His niche …

O.P.Nayyar : A Phenomenal Composer

I remember we used to have four hour shift and then over time but he never used to take more than two and half to three hours for recording. Three hours and song is packed up. One day I asked him, “Nayyar Saab, You never have second take. If you do more takes you can have better song recording” He replied “Yes I can have but the freshness which I …

Bappi Lahiri : A Journey from Melody to Disco

Young Alokesh was really a chip off the old block. He began learning Tabla at the tender age of three and went on to train himself in various aspects of Music from his classical musician and singer parents Bansuri and Aparesh Lahiri. He became composer at the age of nineteen with Bengali Cinema. Later, when he began putting his feet on the glossy film world of Bombay in 1973, he …

Musical Portrait of S.D.Burman

An avid sportsman, A Music Teacher, A Drupad Singer, A Prince and A Composer – Sachin Dev Burman wore many hats while he finally landed that of a composer on his head. Even though he never went to be part of his royal family in Tripura, his conduct and stature as a music composer in Kolkata and Bombay have always been like a prince. Dada Burman or Karta as he …

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