Ae mohabbat tere anjaam pe rona aaya! Mallika-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar

Updated on the occasion of her birthday!  NO one had a voice like hers, full of dard that welled up from her life experiences! Born Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, Begum Akhtar began her training as a singer at age 7, and gave her first public performance at age 15 and soon became the voice of ghazals, [...]

All those W(AK)OW moments – Asha Bhosle in concert!

Ashaji’s birthday today – so I am bumping this one up! On the spur of the moment I made the decision to try my luck at the Flint Center where Asha Bhosle was supposed to be singing, along with Sudesh Bhosle. We rushed madly through traffic, arrived late, were told only cash could be used [...]

Kishore Kumar – musical genius

It is the birth anniversary of Kishore Kumar, a day worth remembering for all lovers of music. Born 4th August 1929, Kishore was never a trained singer. His biopic mentions that he once got badly injured as a child, cried very loudly for several days, and that “opened” up his vocal chords! It is one [...]

The gentle mellifluous genius – Jaidev!

On his birth anniversary, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite compositions from this master. The winner of three National Awards for his compositions in the films Ankahee, Gaman, and Reshma Aur Shera, he also composed the music for Harivanshrai Bachchan’s Madhushala.

Rafi – Tum mujhe yun bhula na paaoge!

He died 31 years ago but his songs are immortal and give me joy even today! For all the fans of Rafi – here is a film made on his life, it contains great commentary, and wonderful video footage! Enjoy!

Bodyguard – Salman and Kareena

The first long song promo is out! Desi Beats is a catchy enough number but it does have some energetic choreography: Here is my analysis: 1. Salman is looking quite youthful and fit – best looking Khan today. 2. He is actually dancing to the beat, following the choreography and playing to the galleries splendidly. [...]

Remembering Kaifi Azmi on his death anniversary

At the age of 12 Kaifi penned a couplet, and then to convince his father he really write it, he had to pen a whole ghazal. Here it is sung by none other than Begum Akhtar:

Pancham Magic – The great RD Blast

In the Pancham Unmixed DVD package is included a DVD of the songs of RD Burman – The Great RD Blast. These are original film videos of 30 of his best songs and the sound quality for the music is exceptional. I have often wondered why it is that CDs of old music have shrill [...]

And now for new year resolutions! ahoy there 2011

I decided to make this list before the revelry of the 31st made me lose my judgment. After a few margaritas and some loud music one tends to make all kinds of resolutions that seem foolish the next morning. And then the guilt sets in. So this year I am starting early. In 2011 I [...]

The best, the worst and the in-betweens! Adieu 2010

The year is racing to a finish, and it is time to look back at what went by, or rather whizzed by. I wish I could have read more, seen more films, traveled more places – and eaten less Films: There were some really good ones and there were some really bad ones, and then [...]

Begum Akhtar sings Ghalib

Today is Mirza Ghalib’s birthday. What a wonderful opportunity to bring together my favorite ghazal singer and my favorite shaayar! Here is a small selection: Koi ummeed bar nahin aati Aage aati thi haale dil pe hansi Ab kissi baat par nahin aati!

Ya dil ki suno duniya waalon, yaa mujhko abhi chup rehne do….

Music or lyrics? I always ask people this question in today’s age of synthesized Hindi music where lyrics have taken the backseat. A friend once told me that playing music from The Doors guaranteed a cleared out room and an end to the party! Hindi film music today is like The Doors of the days [...]

The Music of Tees Maar Khan – some quick thoughts!

Farah Khan teams up with Akshay Kumar, in a Shirish Kunder script with music by Vishal Shekhar (and Shirish Kunder). The curiosity level is sky-high! After two back to back big hits that both had chart-buster type music, Farah chose to branch out on her own and produce and direct a film for her own [...]

Copied or merely similar? You be the judge

Here is the Tees Maar Khan title track:

Celebrating the birthday of a musical genius – SD Burman

Sachin Da was born in the family of the then Raja of Tripura, and after his BA did extensive training in music.  Here is what Wikipedia has to say about his training: He started his formal music education by training under the famous musician K. C. Dey from 1925 to 1930; thereafter in 1932 he [...]