Sargam

Udhar tum haseen ho...

2012-02-11T14:22:00.001-05:00

Movie: Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955)
Music: O P Nayyar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singers: Mohammed Rafi & Geeta Dutt
Filmed on: Guru Dutt & Madhubala (February 14, 1933-February 23, 1969) ..........................................................................................................................I am very thankful to Azam for singing this duet with me.

Download "Udhar tum haseen ho"

Ja ja ja ja bewafa...

2012-01-14T07:43:00.001-05:00

Movie: Aar Paar (1954)
Music: O P Nayyar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singer: Geeta Dutt
Filmed on: Shyama ( Khurshid Akhtar, Mrs. Fali Mistry)

Download "Ja ja ja ja bewafa"

Nanhi kali sone chali...

2011-12-22T21:41:00.004-05:00

Movie: Sujata (1959)
Music: S D Burman
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singer: Geeta Dutt
Filmed on: Charu Chowdhary(Sulochna) & 2 children playing young Rama(Shashikala) and young Sujata(Nutan)

Baby Aashna has joined me in this lori.

Download "Nanhi kali"

Raag Pahadi

2011-08-01T13:56:00.028-04:00

I am very thankful to Thinkal Govind Kumar for singing this vintage duet with me.

Movie: Anmol Ghadi (1946)
Music: Naushad
Lyrics: Tanvir Naqvi
Original singers: Noorjahan, Surendra
Filmed on: Noorjahan & Surendra
Video: by Rahul

Download "Awaz de kahan hai"

I am very happy that Pradip Somasundaran asked me to sing this duet and offered to mix it. We recorded this in 2007. I am posting it again because he has done a remarkable job with the dialogue and all.

Movie: Milan(1967)
Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Original singers: Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar
Filmed on:Sunil Dutt & Nutan

Download "Sawan Ka mahina"

Popular songs in Pahadi,to name a few...
Aage bhi jane na tu
Chaudhveen ka chaand ho, Chahunga main tujhe
Isharon isharon mein
Jo wada kiya wo
Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein, Kora kagaz tha
Lag ja gale
Neela asmaan so gayaa, Neele gagan ke tale
Suhani raat dhal chuki

Thaat: Bilawal
Prahar 5 (6 pm - 9 pm)
Aaroha 'P-'D-S-R-G-P-D-S'
Avaroha S'-N-D-P-m-G-R-s-'n-'d-'P-'d-S
Pakad S-'D-'P-'D-'m-'G-'P-'D-S
Jaati Audav-Sampoorn

Dr. Bharat Patel accepted my request to sing the Pakad even when he was under the weather. He is from my Medical school, my senior. He is kind, generous and has a great sense of humor. He plays keyboard too.

Pahadi Pakad

Main agar kahoon...

2011-07-08T21:51:00.009-04:00

"Om Shanti Om" was produced by Gauri Khan (Mrs. Shahrukh Khan).... directed and choreographed by Farah Khan(choreographed Munni Badnaam and Sheila ki jawani in 2010) and introduced Deepika Padukone(daughter of Badminton champion Prakash Padukone).

A R Rehman withdrew from giving music score because of some copyright disagreement with T-series.

One song in this film, "Om Shanti Om" had guest appearances by more than 40 film stars.
At the time it was the highest grossing movie from Bombay film industry. Now it is ranked at #7.

I am very thankful to Azam for asking me to sing this duet. He has been very kind and has mixed the song and the video.

Movie: Om Shanti Om (2007)
Music: Vishal-Shekhar
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Original singers: Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal
Filmed on: Shahrukh Khan(Prakash Makhija), Deepika Padukone(Shanti Priya) &Shreyas Talpade(Pappu)
Video link: Main agar kahoon

Main Agar Kahun

Jiya beqarar hai...

2011-06-09T11:04:00.004-04:00

Movie: Barsaat (1949)
Music directors: Shanker-Jaikishen
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri
Original by: Lata Mangeshkar
Filmed on: Nimmi, Premnath &Raj Kapoor

Download "Jiya beqarar hai..."

Ye zindgi usee ki hai...

2011-03-30T21:35:00.006-04:00

Bina Rai (June 4, 1936- Dec. 6, 2009) convinced her parents to let her act in movies by going on hunger strike. She acted with Premnath in Aurat (1953) which was a remake of Samson and Delilah. They fell in love and married. Her films with Premnath did not do well at the box office but her pairing with Pradeep Kumar was a hit.

Some of her very famous roles were in Anarkali(1953), Insaniyat (1955), Ghunghat (1960), Taj Mahal (1963) and Ram rajya (1967).

She received Filmfare best actress award for Ghunghat.

Film: Anarkali (1953)
Music: C. Ramchandra
Lyrics: Rajinder Kishen
Original singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Filmed on: Bina Rai and Pradeep Kumar

Download "Ye zindgai usee ki hai"

Jaane kaise kab kahan...

2011-03-01T12:48:00.012-05:00

Movie: Shakti (1982)
Music: R D Burman
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Original singers: Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar
Filmed on: Smita Patil & Amitabh Bachchan

I thank Azam for singing this duet with me and mixing the song and posting the VIDEO on his facebook page. He is a very versatile singer and a meticulous video/sound engineer.

Download "Jaane kaise kab kahan"

Sun Sun Sun Sun Zalima...

2011-02-11T12:30:00.007-05:00

Azam and I recorded this duet a long time ago. I think he has done a wonderful job. Thanks Ajay for mixing the song.

Movie: Aar Paar (1954)
Music: O P Nayyar
Lyrics:Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singers: Mohammed Rafi & Geeta Dutt
Filmed on: Guru Dutt(July 9, 1925-Oct. 10, 1964) & Shyama (born Khurshid Akhtar in Lahore, British India, June 7, 1935)

Download "Sun Sun Sun Sun Zalima"

Kaisee paheli zindgani...

2011-01-26T15:57:00.014-05:00

Movie: Parineeta (2005)
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire
Original singers: Sunidhi Chauhan & chorus
Filmed on: Rekha, Sanjay Dutt & Raima Sen( Raima's maternal grandmother is Suchitra Sen. Raima's paternal grandmother was Ila Devi, Rajmata Gayatri Devi's older sister.)

Download "Kaisee paheli zindgani"

So ja Rajkumari...

2010-12-31T21:01:00.010-05:00

Movie: Zindagi (1940)
Original Singer: Kundan Lal Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947)
Music Director: Pankaj Mullick
Lyrics: Kedar Sharma
Raag: Jhinjhoti

Download "So ja Rajkumari"

Munni badnaam hui...

2010-11-14T05:20:00.023-05:00

I am very thankful to Azam for singing this duet, recording all the dialogues for the video version and offering to mix this duet. I have grown accustomed to his versatility and his attention to details and I take it for granted.

Movie: Dabangg (Fearless) (2010)
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Lalit Pandit
Choreographer: Farah Khan
Original singers: Mamta Sharma & Aishwarya Nigam
Filmed on: Malaika Arora Khan (Munni), Salman Khan(Inspector Chulbul Pandey) & Sonu Sood (Chedi Singh)
and a cast of very talented dancers.

Malaika Arora Khan is married to Salman Khan's younger brother Arbaaz Khan, who plays the role of "Makkhi Pandey", Inspector Chulbul Pandey's younger brother and is the producer of "Dabangg".

Choreographer Farah Khan is the niece of Daisy Irani and Honey Irani.

Download "Munni badnaam hui"

Apni kaho, kuchh meri suno...

2010-10-29T08:28:00.018-04:00

V. Shantaram (Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre) (18 November 1901 - 30 October 1990) was a well known Indian film producer. director and actor. He was the founder of Rajkamal Studio.
He was Maharashtrian-Jain.

Some of his very well known films were Jhanak jhanak payal baje (1955), Do aankhen barah haath(1957), Navrang(1959) and Geet gayaa pattharon ne(1964) in which he introduced his daughter Rajeshree and actor Jeetendra.
He was married 3 times, first wife Vimla, second wife-actress Jayshree ( Rajeshree's mother), third wife-actress Sandhya.
His daughter Madhura is married to Pandit Jasraj.

Awards, to name a few...
Best film-Jhanak jhanak payal baje
Best director-Do aankhen barah haath
Dada saheb Phalke award-1985
Padma Vibhushan-1992

I am very thankful to Pradip Somasundaran for recording this duet for me and mixing it, even when he was very busy with the release of his debut album "Mazhanritham" as a composer.

Movie: Parchhain(1952)
Music: C. Ramchandra
Lyrics: Noor Lukhnawi
Raag: Pilu
Taal: Dadra
Original singers: Lata Mangeshkar & Talat Mahmood
Filmed on: Sandhya & V. Shantaram

Download "Apni kaho"

Sawan ke badlo...

2010-10-14T08:10:00.009-04:00

Swaran Lata (December 24, 1924, Rawalpindi, British India-February 8, 2008, Lahore, Pakistan) was Sikh by birth. She lost her parents very early and was raised by her brother. She was studying in Lucknow when she was discovered by some director.

She moved to Bombay and worked on stage and later had a lot of success in Hindi movies and was called the "tragedy queen". She acted with Prithviraj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, to name a few.
She fell in love with her co-star, Nazir Ahmed(20 years her senior) during the shooting of "Laila Majnoo" and married him. She converted to Islam and changed her name to Saeeda Bano. After partition she migrated to Lahore, Pakistan with her husband. They were a very successful team and produced several successful movies.

Karan Diwan (1917-August 2, 1979, Bombay), a successful and popular leading man of 1940s-50s Bombay film industry, who also sang some memorable songs along the way.
Some of his films were "Lahore" with Nargis, in which he sang "Duniya hamare pyar ki" with Lata Mangeshkar;
"Musafirkhana" with Shyama, and "Bahar" with Vyjayanthimala. He also acted in "Jeene ki raah" and "Gumraah" in supporting roles.

I am very thankful to Azam for agreeing to sing this duet from an era gone by.

Movie: Rattan (1944)
Music: Naushad
Lyrics: D N Madhok
Original singers: Zohrabai Ambalewali & Karan Diwan

Download "Sawan ke badlo"

Aye mere humsafar...

2010-08-27T21:39:00.014-04:00

Nutan (June 4, 1936, Bombay-February 21, 1991, Bombay)

Her first film was "Hamari beti" in 1950, produced by her mother, Shobhna Samarth; a popular actress of 1940s.

Nutan was the winner of "Miss India" in 1952.
She was married to Naval Lieutenant-Commander Rajnish Behl in 1959.
Her only son Mohinish is an actor. Her younger sister is actress Tanuja, Kajol's mother.

Filmfare Awards (Nutan has the distinction of receiving the most Filmfare awards for Best actress category)
1956 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Seema
1959 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Sujata
1963 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Bandini
1967 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Milan
1978 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki

1985 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Meri Jung

1961 -Nominated for Best actress for Chhalia
1974-Nominated for Best actress for Saudagar

She received "Padma Shri", in 1974.
Many people may not be aware that she was a good singer too.
I have tried one of her songs from "Chhabili".

Nutan lost her battle with cancer in 1991.

Movie: Chhabili (1960)
Music: Snehal Bhatkar ( known for "Hamari yaad aayegi")
Lyricist: S. Ratan
Original singer: Nutan

Download "Aye mere humsafar"

Thaheriye hosh mein aa lun...

2010-07-31T03:25:00.017-04:00

I am very thankful to Azam for this duet.

Movie: Mohabbat is ko kahete hain (1965)
Music: Khaiyyam
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singers: Mohammed Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur
Filmed on: Shashi Kapoor and Nanda

Download "Thaheriye hosh mein aa lun"

Meethee meethee baton se bachna zaraa...

2010-06-27T22:03:00.010-04:00

I am very thankful to Noureen for helping me complete this song.

Movie: Qaidi No. 911(1959)
Music: Dattaram
Lyrics: !
Original singers: Lata Mangeshkar & Daisy Irani
Filmed on: Nanda & Daisy Irani

Download "Meethee meethee baton se"

Ranjish hi sahi...

2010-03-27T21:31:00.015-04:00

Mohammed Ali (November 19, 1938, Rampur, India- March 19, 2006, Lahore, Pakistan) was a very popular actor and was known as Shahenshah-e-Jazbaat. He was the winner of 7 Nigar awards for best actor, supporting actor and special award. He was married to actress Zeba.

Zeba (Shaheen- born on October 3, 1946 in Ambala, India) is one of the most famous, beautiful, glamorous and well respected actresses of Pakistan. She was a true superstar and credited for insuring success of many actors with whom she was paired.
Her first marriage to Sudhir(Pakistan's first superstar and action hero) was short lived. She married actor Mohammed Ali in 1966.

Mohammed Ali and Zeba lived a very opulent life style. Both of them were included in the 25 (all time) greatest actors of Asia which was published by CNN on March 4, 2010.

Nisar Bazmi (Syed Nisar Bazmi: 1924, Bombay, India- March 22, 2007, Karachi, Pakistan) was a famous music composer who was responsible for introducing Alamgir to Film music in Pakistan. Laxmikant-Pyarelal worked as musicians with him before the Independence of India and creation of Pakistan.

Ahmed "Faraz" ( Syed Ahmed Shah: January 14, 1931, Kohat, NWFP, British India-August 25, 2008, Islamabad, Pakistan), was one of the fine poets of his time, known for his simple yet beautiful poetry. He was outspoken and remained in self imposed exile during Zia-ul-Haq era. He was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz( the second highest honor given to a civilian or a military personnel in Pakistan) in 2004, for literary excellence but he returned it in 2006, showing his disapproval of Government and politics.

Mehdi Hassan (born in 1927, Luna, Rajasthan, India) is a famous Pakistani ghazal singer (known as King of Ghazals) and playback singer for Lahore film industry.

I have tried a version made popular by Runa Laila.

Movie: Mohabbat (1972)
Music: Nisar Bazmi
Lyrics: Ahmed "Faraz"
Raag: Yaman
Original singer: Mehdi Hassan
Filmed on: Mohammed Ali and Zeba

Download "Ranjish hi sahi"

Aao bachchon tumhein dikhayen jhanki Hindustan ki...

2010-01-26T02:42:00.027-05:00

Hindustan (Sindhu+Sthan) as it was known in ancient Persia and Middle East, means the land of the people who lived in the region of Sindhu River.
The struggle for Sovereignty has produced many Heros and Shaheed, some of whom are mentioned in this song.

India became independent from British rule on August 15, 1947 and became a republic on January 26, 1950.

Maharana Pratap of Mewar (May 9, 1540-January 29, 1597) was a contemporary of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. Maharana was of Suryavanshi Sisodia clan. He is the symbol of Rajput pride. His horse "Chetak" has inspired songs. Maharana Pratap died of injuries sustained in a hunting accident.

Rani Padmini of Chittor : Allaudin Khilji(Sultan of Delhi) had seen her reflection in the mirror and was smitten by her beauty. He attacked Chittor in 1303 AD. Rana Rawat Singh held the fort for seven months and then gave his life up, fighting valiantly. Rani did "Jauhar" with many other women. Allaudin captured the Chittorgadh that had mostly children and old people left.

Shivaji Raje Bhosle (February 19, 1630 – April 3, 1680), popularly known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was raised and influenced by his mother, Jijabai. A contemporary of sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb; Shivaji had been responsible for reemergence of Hindu rule and resistance during his lifetime.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is also known as the Amritsar Massacre, where, on April 13, 1919, 90 British soldiers, under the command of General Dyer; opened fire on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children . The people had gathered for peaceful protest against British occupation. The firing lasted for 10 to 15 minutes, until the soldiers ran out of ammunition. Many in the crowd jumped into a nearby well, to escape the bullets.( the footage is from the movie "Gandhi")

Subhash Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897, Orissa, British India-August 18,1945, Taiwan), a popular freedom fighter known also as "Netaji" had the same goal but conflicting views with Gandhiji. He had formed "Azad Hind Government" in exile. He is presumed to be dead in a plane crash over Taiwan.

I am very grateful to Nandita, N V Krishnan, Sarada, Azam and Pradip for joining me in this song.I am also very happy that Ragini, Gayatri and Priya did the chorus for me.

Movie: Jaagriti(1954)
Music : Hemant Kumar
Lyrics: Pradeep ji
Original singers: Pradeep ji and chorus
Filmed on: Abhi Bhattacharya and young students

Download "Aao bachchon"
आओ बच्चों तुम्हें दिखाएं ज़ांकी हिंदुस्तान की
इस मिट्टी से तिलक करो ये धरती है बलिदान की
वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम ...

उत्तर में रखवाली करता पर्वतराज विराट है
दक्षिण में चरणों को धोता सागर का सम्राट है
जमुना जी के तट को देखो गंगा का ये घाट है
बाट-बाट पे हाट-हाट में यहाँ निराला ठाठ है
देखो ये तस्वीरें अपने गौरव की अभिमान की,
इस मिट्टी से तिलक करो ये धरती है बलिदान की
वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम ...

ये है अपना राजपूताना नाज़ इसे तलवारों पे
इसने सारा जीवन काटा बरछी तीर कटारों पे
ये प्रताप का वतन पला है आझादी के नारों पे
कूद पड़ी थी यहाँ हझारों पद्मिनियाँ अंगारों पे
बोल रही है कण कण से कुरबानी राजस्थान की
इस मिट्टी से तिलक करो ये धरती है बलिदान की
वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम ...

देखो मुल्क मराठों का ये यहाँ शिवाजी डोला था
मुग़लों की ताकत को जिसने तलवारों पे तोला था
हर पर्वत पे आग लगी थी हर पत्थर एक शोला था
बोली हर-हर महादेव की बच्चा-बच्चा बोला था
यहाँ शिवाजी ने रखी थी लाज हमारी शान की
इस मिट्टी से तिलक करो ये धरती है बलिदान की
वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम ...

जलियांवाला बाग़ ये देखो यहाँ चली थी गोलियाँ
ये मत पूछो किसने खेली यहाँ खून की होलियाँ
एक तरफ़ बंदूकें दन दन एक तरफ़ थी टोलियाँ
मरनेवाले बोल रहे थे इन्क़लाब की बोलियाँ
यहाँ लगा दी बहनों ने भी बाझी अपनी जान की
इस मिट्टी से तिलक करो ये धरती है बलिदान की
वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम ...

ये देखो बंगाल यहाँ का हर चप्पा हरियाला है
यहाँ का बच्चा-बच्चा अपने देश पे मरनेवाला है
ढाला है इसको बिजली ने भूचालों ने पाला है
मुट्ठी में तूफ़ान बंधा है और प्राण में ज्वाला है
जन्मभूमि है यही हमारे वीर सुभाष महान की
इस मिट्टी से तिलक करो ये धरती है बलिदान की
वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम वंदे मातरम ...

Akhiyan mila ke...

2010-01-09T06:16:00.018-05:00

Zohrabai Ambalewali (1918-1990) was born into an orthodox Muslim family.
She received training under Ghulam Hussain Khan and Ustad Nasir Hussain Khan(Agra gharana).

She began her career on radio, singing mainly classical and semi-classical numbers. She also cut albums with HMV.
Music director Vasant Desai gave Zohrabai her first film song in Shakuntala (1943). Many of her popular songs were recorded for music director Naushad Ali in Ratan, Anmol Ghadi, Mela, and Jadoo.

Some of her very famous songs...
Sawan ke badlon...with Karan Diwan (Ratan)
Aayee Diwali aayee Diwali...(Ratan)
Aahen na bhari ...with Noor Jehan & Kalyani (Zeenat)
Udan khatole pe ud jaun...with Shamshad Begum (Anmol ghadi)

It is believed that Zohrabai sang the "most" number of songs between 1941-1950 (more than 1,000). Her daughter, Roshan Kumari is a famous Kathak dancer.

" Rattan" launched the career of Naushad .The story of two lovers who were separated when she was married off somewhere else, was considered a box office risk by the distributors but it turned out to be a huge success.
Lata Mangeshkar has included "Akhiyan Mila ke" in her "Shraddhanjali" album.

Movie: Rattan (1944)
Music: Naushad(1919-2006)
Lyrics: D N Madhok (1902- 1982)
Original singer: Zohrabai Ambalewali (1918-1990)
Filmed on: Swaran Lata(1924-2008) & Karan Diwan (1917-1979)

Download "Akhiyan mila ke"

Kaahe koyal shor machaye re...

2009-12-10T05:50:00.023-05:00

Shamshad Begum was born on April 14, 1919 in Amritsar, India. She started her singing career on Radio in Lahore on December 16, 1937. She was a big fan of K L Saigal and had watched his "Devdas" many times.

Music composer Gulam Haider Sahab used her voice in Khazanchi (1941) and Khandan(1942). When he moved to Bombay in 1944, she moved there also.

Some of her very popular songs...

Pee ke ghar aaj pyaari, Kahin pe nigahen...
Le ke pehla pehla pyar with Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle
Ho ooo bachpan ke din bhula na dena & Teri mehfil mein with Lata Mangeshkar
Meri neendon mein tum with Kishore Kumar
Milte hi aankhein with Talat Mehmood
Kajra Mohabbat wala with Asha Bhosle

She received "Padma Bhushan" in 2009, the third highest civilian honor awarded by the President of India. She was in the company of "Padma Shri" recipients for 2009... Helen, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar from the Bombay film industry.

Shamshad Begum was married to Late Ganpat Lal Batto and has a daughter named Usha Ratra.

Movie: Aag (1948)
First film under RK banner, first film for Raj Kapoor as a Producer and Director and his first film with Nargis
Music: Ram Ganguli
Lyrics:Behzad Lakhnawi
Original singer: Shamshad Begum
Filmed on: Nargis

Download "Kaahe koyal shor machaye re"

Namak Ishq Ka...

2009-11-07T08:03:00.009-05:00

Movie: Omkara (2006)
Music director:Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyricist: Gulzar
Original singer: Rekha Bhardwaj
Filmed on: Bipasha Basu as "Billo Chamanbahar"

Download "Namak Ishq Ka"

Andaaz mera mastana...

2009-10-07T21:57:00.019-04:00

"Andaaz mera mastana" is filmed on Meena Kumari and Raj Kumar, depicting a charity show by the hospital staff, Raj Kumar playing the role of the doctor and Meena Kumari and the other dancers are the nurses...the set is reminiscent of a scene from "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam "...

Omar Khayyam (May 18, 1048, Neishapur, Iran -December 4, 1122, Neishapur, Iran) was a renowned Persian poet, mathematician, physicist, philosopher and astronomer.

Shankar-Jaikishen won the Filmfare award for the "best music director(s)" for "Dil apna aur preet parayee". Other nominees were Naushad for "Mughal-e-Azam" and Ravi for "Chaudhvin ka chaand".

Movie: Dil apna aur preet parayee (1960)
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics: Shailendra
Original singers: Lata Mangeshkar and chorus

Download "Andaaz mera mastana"

Raag Miyan ki Todi

2009-08-17T20:50:00.019-04:00

Miyan Tansen (born Ramtanu Pandey 1506 – 1589) , one of the greatest vocalists and composers of Hindustani classical music was born in Behat, near Gwalior to Hindu Brahmin parents. He learnt music from Swami Haridas of Brindavan and later from Muhammad Ghaus (Sufi saint of Shattari order).

He is believed to be the contemporary of Baiju Bawra. He was in the court of King Ramchandra Baghela of Reva when Shehanshah Akbar called for him and kept him in his court as one of the Navratna (nine jewels). Tansen later converted to Islam. Akbar honored him with the title of "Miyan".

Several of the Hindustani Raag are composed by him and often called...Miyan ki Todi, Miyan ki Malhar, Miyan ki Mand and Miyan ka Sarang. He is also credited with creating major raag like Darbari Kanada, Darbari Todi, and Rageshwari.

Swami Haridas, Tansen and Baiju Bawra were "Dhrupad" style singers.

Tansen married Husseini. All his children, Tanras Khan, Bilas Khan, Hamirsen, Suratsen and Saraswati Devi were musicians.Almost all Gharanas of Hindustani music trace their lineage to Tansen. Tansen was buried in the mousoleum complex of his Guru, Muhammed Ghaus, in Gwalior.

"Khuda-e-Bartar" is based on Raag Miyan ki Todi, (similar raag..Bilaskhani Todi, Gurjari Todi).
Despite the obvious strain on my voice from not being well, I have selected this song because of Sahir's lyrics.

I thank Rajesh for singing the Pakad (quintessence) of Raag Todi.

Thaat: Todi
Aaroha: S-r-g-M-dh-N-S’
Avaroha: S’-N-dh-P-M-g-r-g-r-s
Jaati: Shadav-Sampoorn
Vaadi/Samvaadi : dh/g
Prahar: Morning (9 - 12)

Movie: Taj Mahal(1963)
Music: Roshan
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Original singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Download "Khuda-e-bartar"

Download "Todi"
Khuda-e-bartar teri zameeN par, zameeN ki Khaatir, ye jaNg kyoN hai?
har ik fatah-o-zafar ke daaman pe Khuun-e-insaaN ka raNg kyoN hai?

zameeN bhi teri, haiN ham bhi tere, ye milkiyat ka savaal kyaa hai?
ye qatl-o-KhuuN ka rivaaz kyoN haiN? ye rasm-o-jaNg-o-jadaal kyaa hai?
jinheiN talab hai jahaan bhar ki unhiiN ka dil itnaa taNg kyoN hai?
Khuda-e-bartar teri zameeN par, zameeN ki Khaatir, ye jaNg kyoN hai?

Ghareeb maaoN, shareef behnoN ko amn-o-izzat kii zindagii de
jinheiN ataa kii hai tuu ne taaqat, unheiN hidaayat kii roshnii de
saroN meiN kibr-o-Gharoor kyoN hai? diloN ke sheeshe pe zaNg kyoN hai?
Khuda-e-bartar teri zameeN par, zameeN ki Khaatir ye jaNg kyoN hai?

qazaa ke raste pe jaanevaaloN ko bach ke aane kii raah dena
diloN ke gulshan ujaR na jaayeiN, muhabbatoN ko panaah dena
jahaaN meiN jashn-e-vafaa ke badle, ye jashn-e-teer-o-tufaNg kyoN hai?
Khuda-e-bartar teri zameeN par, zameeN ki Khaatir, ye jaNg kyoN hai?

Jaane kahan mera jigar gayaa ji...

2009-07-29T01:10:00.019-04:00

Johnny Walker (Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi... May 15, 1923-July 29, 2003) was born in Srinagar, India. His father was a mill worker. The family later moved to Bombay. Badruddin tried different occupations and while he was working as a bus conductor on the B.E.S.T. line that he caught the attention of Balraj Sahni, who was working on the screenplay of Guru Dutt's Baazi.
Guru Dutt gave him the screen name "Johnny Walker" and they remained good friends. Guru Dutt always made sure to have a role for Johnny Walker in his films.

Johnny Walker met Noor(actress Shakila's sister) on the set of Aar Paar and later married her. They had 3 daughters and 3 sons.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was quite fond of Johnny Walker.

He acted in many films...including Baazi(1951), Aar paar, Mr. & Mrs. 55, Pyaasa, Devdaas, Mughal-e-Azam, Chaudhvin ka chaand, Kagaz ke phool, Anand, Shaan....his last film was Kamal Hasan's Chachi 420(1998)

Some of his very memorable roles were in C.I.D.(1956), Chori chori (1956),Madhumati(1958) and Mere Mehboob(1963).

Awards...
Best supporting actor, Madhumati (1958)
Best Comedian, Shikar (1968)

Some of the songs filmed on Johnny Walker...
Aye dil hai mushkil ...C.I.D.
Dekhta chala gayaa main ...Gateway of India
Gareeb jaan ke...Chhoo mantar
Sar jo tera chakraye...Pyaasa
Mera yaar bana hai dulha...Chaudhveen ka chaand
Jungal mein mor nacha...Madhumati

I thank Azam for helping me pay tribute to the one and only, Johnny Walker...

Movie: Mr. & Mrs. 55(1955)
Music: O.P. Nayyar
Lyrics:Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singers: Mohammed Rafi & Geeta Dutt
Filmed on: Johnny Walker & Yasmin

Download "Jaane kahan mera jigar gayaa ji"

Jaane kya tune kahi...

2009-07-09T14:44:00.016-04:00

Guru Dutt (Vasanth Kumar Padukone) was born on July 9, 1925 in Bangalore, India.
He did his schooling in Bengal and spoke fluent Bengali.
He was a well known actor, director and producer in Bombay film industry. Some of his memorable films were Baazi, Jaal, Aar Paar, Mr. and Mrs. 55, C.I.D., Pyaasa, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam and Kagaz ke Phool.
He married Geeta Roy in 1953 overcoming a great deal of family opposition. Later, he was said to have a romantic involvement with Waheeda Rehman. He died on October 10, 1964 from overdose of sleeping pills.

"Pyaasa" is a story of a struggling poet Vijay (GuruDutt) who was ditched by his love, Meena(Mala Sinha). She married a wealthy publisher, Mr. Ghosh(Rehman). Vijay meets a prostitute, Gulabo(Waheeda), who loves his poems and gets those published. At the end, Vijay, who had enough of this selfish world, leaves with his true companion, Gulabo.

In 2004, the sound track of Pyaasa was chosen as Best film music by British film institute magazine.
This was the last collaboration of the popular SDB, Sahir team.
The story was partly based on the life of its writer Chandra Shekhar 'Prem' .
The song...
"Hum aap ki aankhon mein" was added upon pressure from the distributors...as a relief from a pessimistic story.
Guru Dutt had initially hoped for Nargis, Madhubala and Dilip Kumar for the roles of Meena, Gulabo and Vijay.

Movie: Pyaasa (1957)
Music: S D Burman
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Original singer: Geeta Dutt

Download "Jaane kya tune kahi"

Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan...

2009-06-15T23:23:00.012-04:00

"Jaal" was produced by Guru Dutt. The story is based in Goa (then under Portuguese control). A story of love and forgiveness based on the Principles of Christianity...unusual theme for a Guru Dutt film, with Geeta Bali(Maria) and Dev Anand(Tony) in the leading roles.

Guru Dutt and Dev Anand were very good friends and had made an agreement to use each other (as director and actor) for their films.

This duet, originally sung by Hemant Kumar (June, 16 1920-September 26, 1989) & Lata Mangeshkar, has been on my favorite list forever.
I thank Asim for his prompt response to my request to sing this duet.

Movie: Jaal (1952)
Music director: S.D. Burman
Lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi
Raag: Kafi

Download "Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan"

Uma Devi/Tun Tun

2009-04-28T20:48:00.023-04:00

Uma Devi Khatri (July 11, 1923, UP, India-November 24, 2003, Mumbai, India) was born into a Punjabi family. She lost her parents very early. She ran away to Bombay at the age of 13 years with the dream of singing. After her initial break, she knocked on Naushad's door and told him that if he did not give her a chance, she would throw herself in the ocean.
He did and again for "Dard" she sang ..."Afsana likh rahi hun"...filmed on Munawar Sultana.
A Pakistani gentleman was so smitten by her singing, he never went back. They married later. She called him Mohan.... he passed away in 1992.They had 2 daughters.
Other famous songs ...
Aaj machee hai dhoom...(Dard)

Her singing songs for S S Vasan's Chandralekha( a huge success) ended her association(breaking the contract) with A R Kardar. After partition, the work was less, as Mangeshkar sisters were emerging....she was down and put on a lot of weight around that time.
Again, Naushad suggested that she should try her comedic talent in films...and gave her a chance to act in "Babul" with Dilip Kumar and Nargis. It is said that Dilip Kumar called her "Tun Tun" and it stayed with her. Other notable roles were in Aar Paar, Mr. and Mrs. 55, Pyaasa, C.I.D, Kashmir ki kali and Namak Halal.

I have a rare autograph of her, given to my father.

Movie: Dard (1947)
Music director: Naushad
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni

Download "Afsana likh rahi hun"

Kisee nazar ko tera intezaar...

2009-04-07T22:34:00.014-04:00

Bhupinder Singh (born April 8, 1939, New Delhi, India) is a Playback singer and a Guitarist. Early in his career he sang on AIR-Delhi and Doordarshan. He also learnt guitar and violin. Music director Madan Mohan heard him over AIR and invited him to Bombay where he gave him the chance to sing in "Ho ke majboor mujhe" (Haqeeqat) with the likes of Rafi Sahab, Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood. His career did not take off as a singer.

Later he joined R D Burman's orchestra and played guitar for many of his famous songs like
Dum maro dum
Chura liya hai and
Mehbooba mehbooba
He became friends with RDB who gave him songs in "Parichay" like Beete na beetai raina and Mitwa Bole Meethe , which brought him recognition as a singer.

Bhupinder sang songs in Gulzar's movies that became quite popular. Some of these songs included Dil Dhoondta Hai, Naam Gum Jayega and Ek Akela Is Shaher Mein.
In 1980's he married Bangladeshi singer, Mitali. He then did live performances and released some albums and received recognition as a ghazal singer.
Other popular songs...
Huzoor Is Kadar bhi na Itra ke Chaliye( by RDB )
Hothon Pe Aisi Baat ( by Sachin Dev Burman)

I thank Azam for singing this duet with me.

Movie: Aitbaar(1985)
Music: Bappi Lahiri
Lyrics: Hasan Kamaal
Original singers: Bhupinder & Asha Bhosle
Filmed on: Suresh Oberoi, Dimple Kapadia & Raj Babbar

Download "Kisee nazar ko tera"

Piya aiso jiya mein...

2009-03-12T08:31:00.010-04:00

Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam
Bhootnath (Guru Dutt) comes to Calcutta in search of a job and finds shelter at a Zamindar's haweli where his munh-boli bahen's husband is working as Masterji. He finds a job working at a factory that makes Mohini Sindoor(said to have the power to attract the attention of one's love interest).
Chhote Sarkar (Rehman), one of the Zamindar brothers, spends all his time at a Nachne wali's kotha. The beautiful and virtuous Chhoti Bahu (Meena Kumari) seeks Bhootnath's help to obtain Mohini Sindoor, to get her husband's attention...has initial success with dire consequences...

The story, written by Bimal Mitra is based in Calcutta(British India).
Nargis had turned down the role of "Chhoti bahu" to spend more time with young Sanjay Dutt.
Guru Dutt had considered Shashi Kapoor and Biswajit for the role of "Bhootnath" before deciding to do it himself.

The movie was widely acclaimed...
1963 Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear (Best Motion Picture): Nominated
1962 Indian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
President's Silver Medal.
Bengal Film Journalist Association film of the year.

It won several Filmfare awards ....in 1963
Best Cinematography: (black & white) V.K.Murthy
Best Director: Abrar Alvi (also nominated at Berlin film festival)
Best Movie: Guru Dutt

Filmfare nominations...
Best Actress: Meena Kumari (had 3 nominations that year...for Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam ...Main chup rahungi and Aarti...she won for Aarti)
Best actor: Guru Dutt
Best story: Bimal Mitra
Best supporting actor: Rehman
Best supporting actress: Waheeda Rehman

Movie: Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam (1962)
Music: Hemant Kumar
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
Original singer: Geeta Dutt

Download "Piya aiso jiya mein"

O ri chhori...

2009-02-23T20:27:00.018-05:00

A. R. Rahman
Born on January 6, 1967 in Chennai, A. R. Rahman is a well known composer, record producer, music director, singer, instrumentalist and arranger from India.
He won 2 Oscars at the 81st Academy awards on February 22, 2009 for the categories 'Best Song' and 'Best Original Score' for "Slumdog millionaire".
He was born as A. S. Deelip Kumar to a music composer and conductor for Malayalam films, R. K. Sekhar. He lost his father at a young age of 9. He converted to Islam along with his mother and sisters in 1989 after a serious illness that affected his sister and an encounter with a Sufi teacher.

He has been awarded Padma shri from the Government of India.
He has won Filmfare-Best music director awards for...
1996 Rangeela
1999 Dil se
2000 Taal
2002 Lagaan
2003 Saathiya
2007 Rang de basanti
2008 Guru

"O ri chhori" is filmed on Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh & Rachel Shelley.

I thank Azam for recording this song with me. I have done the double duty and the chorus. I thank Ajay for patiently mixing all the files.

Movie: Lagaan... Once upon a time in India...(2001)
Music: A.R. Rahman
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Original singers: Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik & Vasundhara Das

Download "O ri chhori"

Bahot Shukriya...

2009-02-12T07:56:00.017-05:00

Sashadhar Mukherjee, Producer of Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, was Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar's brother-in-law, being married to their sister, Sati Rani. He was also instrumental in getting Ashok Kumar into films. His children are Rono Mukherjee, Joy Mukherjee, Deb Mukherjee, Shomu Mukherjee (Kajol's father), Shibani Maulik and Subir Mukherjee.

Rani Mukerji's grandfather, Ravindramohan Mukherjee was Sashadhar's older half brother. Sashadhar had two more brothers, film director Subodh Mukherjee , who was the producer of Munimji (1955) , Paying Guest (1957) , Love Marriage (1959) , Junglee (1961) , April Fool (1964), Saaz Aur Awaaz(1966) and film producer Prabodh Mukherjee.

In the 1950s Sashadhar launched his own production company called Filmalaya in Andheri, near Amboli. He also started an acting school which introduced actresses like Asha Parekh and Sadhana to Bombay film industry. Nasir Hussain(Asha Parekh was said to be romantically involved with him), R. K. Nayyar ( Sadhana married him) and Gyan Mukherjee were directors that worked with his productions.

He introduced his son Joy and Sadhana Shivdasani with the film Love in Simla(1960). Leader(1964-Dilip Kumar & Vyjayantimala) was his last production.

Ek Musafir Ek Hasina was directed by Raj Khosla (C. I.D. and Woh kaun thi fame).

Azam...ye duet gaane ke liye aap ka bahot hi shukriya...

Movie: Ek Musafir Ek Hasina(1962)
Music: O. P. Nayyar
Lyrics: S.H. Bihari
Original singers: Mohammed Rafi & Asha Bhosle

Download "Bahot Shukriya"

Tumhein yaad hoga...

2009-01-28T07:52:00.015-05:00

Kalyanji and Anandji's father (Virji Shah) was a businessman who came from Kutchh, Gujarat to Mumbai and had a grocery and provision store. Kalyanji started his career playing a new electronic instrument called the Clavioline, which was used as the Been in "Nagin". Music was composed by Hemant Kumar. Kalyanji and Anandji started doing shows in Bombay as "Kalyanji Virji and party", first of its kind in India. The big break came with Kalyanji composing music for "Samrat Chandragupta".

Gulshan Kumar Mehta, known as "Gulshan Bawra" was born in Sheikhupura (now Pakistan). He lost his parents during the partition and was brought to Jaipur by his sister. Later he moved to Delhi and then to Bombay. He received a Filmfare award for the lyrics of the song " Yaari hai Imaan mera, yaar meri zindagi" - Zanjeer

Tumhein yaad hoga... was filmed on Suresh and Vijaya Choudhury. The other cast members were Balraj Sahni and Meena Kumari, playing the roles of the father and the step mother of the young lady.

I thank Rajesh for singing this duet, which has been on my "favorite list" for years.

Movie: Satta Bazaar(1959)
Music directors: Kalyanji Anandji
Lyricist: Gulshan Bawra
Original singers: Hemant Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

Download "Tumhein yaad hoga"

Dhadak ne lage dil ke taron ki duniya...

2009-01-09T23:39:00.028-05:00

Mahendra Kapoor grew up admiring Mohammed Rafi and won the All-India singing competition. He had his first break in "Diwali ki Raat"(1956), music was composed by Snehal Bhatkar, but he had his first big break with V. Shantaram's "Navrang"(1959). Music director was C. Ramchandra.
Some of his very memorable songs are from "Dhool Ka phool", "Gumraah", "Humraaz" and "Upkaar".
Filmfare awards for male playback singer...
1964 Gumraah "Chalo ik baar"
1968 Humraaz "Neele gagan ke tale"
1975 Roti kapda aur makan "Aur nahin bas aur nahin"

Mahendra Kapoor was also well known in the Marathi film industry for being the playback singer for Dada Kondke in all his movies.

Mahendra Kapoor
January 9, 1934 Amritsar, India- September 27, 2008 Mumbai, India

Azam has brought this duet to life by keeping the "Mahendra Kapoor style" intact. I have made an attempt at this very tempting duet.

Movie: Dhool ka phool(1959)
Music: N. Datta
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Original Singers: Mahendra Kapoor & Asha Bhosle

Download "Dhadakne lage"

Ghazab kiya tere wade pe aitbaar kiya...

2009-01-01T08:58:00.017-05:00

Daag Dehlvi داغ دہلوی

Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh (نواب مرزا خان) was born in 1831 in Delhi. He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his step father, Mirza Muhammed Fakhroo (heir to Bahadur Shah Zafar). In 1865, Daag left Delhi for Rampur where he joined government service and lived comfortably. He spent the later part of his life in Hyderabad.

Daag started reciting poetry at the age of ten. His forte was ghazal. He was a romantic shayar and he shunned wine.
Daag Dehlvi passed away in 1905.

I have attempted one of his very popular ghazals made unforgettable by Rafi Sahab. Music director is Khayyam.

.........................................................................
Ghazab kiyaa, tere vaade pe aitabaar kiyaa
tamaam raat qayaamat kaa i.ntezaar kiyaa

ha.Nsaa ha.Nsaa ke shab-e-vasl ashk-baar kiyaa
tasalliyaa.N mujhe de-de ke beqaraar kiyaa

ham aise mahv-e-nazaaraa na the jo hosh aataa
magar tumhaare taGaaful ne hoshiyaar kiyaa

fasaana-e-shab-e-Gam un ko ek kahaanii thhii
kuchh aitabaar kiyaa aur kuchh naa-aitabaar kiyaa

Download "Ghazab kiya"

Intehaa ho gayee / Mujhe naulakha manga de re...

2008-12-22T23:22:00.019-05:00

"Sharaabi" (1984) was Prakash Mehra's last hit with Amitabh, the other movies being Zanjeer, Hera Pheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Laawaris and Namak Halal. The story is loosely based on "Arthur" starring Dudley Moore. It is the story of a rich workaholic father, a son who turns alcoholic and finds love on "the other side of the tracks".
Jaya Pradha's dances and Bappi Lahiri's music(Filmfare Best Music Director Award1985) are the other highlights of this movie.

I thank Azam for asking me to sing these two duets with him. I am happy to post these here.

Download "Intehaa ho gayee"

Download "Mujhe Naulakha"

Waqt ne kiya...

2008-12-10T10:20:00.002-05:00

Movie: Kaagaz ke phool(1959)
Music director: S D Burman
Lyricist: Kaifi Azmi
Original singer: Geeta Dutt

Download "Waqt ne kiya"

Jaane do na...

2008-11-25T21:27:00.004-05:00

Ilaiyaraaja (born June 2, 1943 as Gnanadesikan) is a film composer, singer, and lyricist. He is a gold medalist from Trinity College of Music, London has composed over 4,000 songs and provided scores for more than 800 Indian films in various languages in a career spanning more than 30 years. He is based in Chennai (Madras).

Ilaiyaraaja worked with composer R. K. Shekhar, father of composer A. R. Rahman who later joined Ilaiyaraaja's orchestra and played Keyboard.
Ilaiyaraaja was one of the early Indian composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music.

"Jaane do na" is from the Film "Cheeni Kum", a story about a May-December romance.

The song is adapted from "Jotheyali Jothe Jotheyali" from Kannada film, Geetha(1980).

A later version of the same is "Vizhiyile Undan vizhiyile" from Tamil film, Nooravadu Naal(1984).

Movie: Cheeni Kum(2007)
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Lyrics: Sameer-Manoj Tapadia
Original singer: Shreya Ghoshal

Download "Jaane do na"

O Sajna / Na Jeo Na - Salil Choudhry's Masterpieces

2008-11-14T16:37:00.007-05:00

Salil Choudhry (November 19,1922-September 5,1995) was a famous Hindi and Bengali composer, poet and a playwright.

He was also proficient in several musical instruments, including flute, the piano and the esraj. He was also widely acclaimed for his inspirational and original poetry.
"Na Jeo Na" marks my first attempt at a Bengali song. Shefali Ranjan and Asim Ghosh helped me with the lyrics.

Movie: Parakh (1960)
Music: Salil Choudhry
Lyrics: Shailendra
Raag: Khammaj
Taal: Kaherva
Original singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Download "O Sajna"

Na Jeona (Don't, please don't leave)
Music: Salil Choudhry
Lyrics:? Salil Choudhry
Original singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Download "Na Jeo Na"

Hum aap ki aankhon mein...

2008-11-01T16:31:00.009-04:00

Geeta Dutt was born in 1930 into a zamindār's family as Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri in Faridpur, India(now in Banglādesh).

In 1942, her parents moved to Dādar, Bombay when she was twelve. There, composer/music director Hanumān Prasād once heard her singing casually, and was impressed. He introduced her in a chorus song in Bhakta Prahlād (1946), where she sang only two lines. The following year, she got a major assignment as a playback singer for Do Bhāi, and then on she was recognised as one of the top playback singers in Bombay film industry.

I thank Azam for singing this duet with me.

Movie: Pyaasa (1957)
Music: S D Burman
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Original Singers: Mohammed Rafi & Geeta Dutt

Download "Hum aap ki aankhon mein"

Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare...

2008-09-30T05:54:00.003-04:00

In this month, called Ashwin, that starts with Navratri, Durga Pooja, Dashera and ends with Diwali celebrations in the Hindu calendar, I would like to present this Aarti, ॐ जय जगदीश हरे...
Some of my friends have joined me. They are Leena Gore, Piya Roy, Debashish Roy, Dhiraj Barla, Bharti Sharma and Leena (Anjaan).
I thank them for honoring my request.

Download "Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare"

Dukh aur sukh ke raste...

2008-09-26T05:37:00.007-04:00

Dev Anand (born September 26, 1923)..

Dev Pishorimal Anand has had a career in Hindi films spanning over 6 decades. He had inspired hairstyles, fashion and was adored by young women and emulated by young men during the golden age of Hindi cinema.

He graduated with English literature from the Government College, Lahore.He was a good friend of Guru Dutt. They had a pact and used each other in their movies.His elder brother Chetan Anand and younger brother Vijay Anand were film directors.

Dev Anand started his own company, "Navketan", which has made several successful movies. Dev Anand introduced Zahida (Nargis's niece), Zeenat Aman, Tina Munim(Mrs. Anil Ambani) and the late Richa Sharma(Mrs. Sanjay Dutt #1) to the celluloid world under "Navketan" banner.
His first color film was Guide , which was released in Hindi and English in 1965.

He married Kalpna Kartik (Mona Sinha), his co star, in 1955. Before that he was romantically involved with Suraiya. Her family did not approve of the relationship and it ended. Suraiya never got married.

Dev Anand has received several awards....some of those are..
1958 - Filmfare Best Actor for Kala Pani
1966 - Filmfare Best Actor for Guide
1966 - Filmfare Best Film for Guide
1991 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

2001- Padma Bhushan
2002- Dada Saheb Phalke award

Film: Hum Dono
Music director: Jaidev
Lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi
Original singer: Asha Bhosle
Filmed on: Sadhna & Dev Anand

Down load "Dukh aur sukh ke raste"

Hum ko tum se...

2008-09-14T21:59:00.010-04:00

Amar Akbar Anthony

Manmohan Desai, born in Valsad,Gujarat (Feb. 26, 1936 -March 1, 1994) was a renowned producer and director of Indian movies.

His father had directed a film in the 1930s . His brother, Subhash Desai was a producer. Manmohan got his big break with the Hindi film Chhalia (1960). Subhash later went on to produce Bluffmaster, Dharamveer, Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Desh Premee with Manmohan as the director.
After his wife's death, he was engaged to actress Nanda in 1992. He ended his life because of medical problems in 1994. His son is married to Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali's daughter.

Amar Akbar Anthony was truly a multi starer and a big box office hit. "Hum ko tumse" is probably the first and only time Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Mohammed Rafi..all sang together.

I thank Pradip for always making time from his hectic schedule for my requests. Thanks N V Krishnan for being so prompt. Thanks Azam for your help. Thanks Ajay for mixing the song.

Download "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyaar"

Ye mausam rangeen samaa...

2008-08-27T00:20:00.002-04:00

Mukesh Chand Mathur (22 July 1923, Delhi, British India – 27 August 1976 Detroit, USA)

Mukesh was the sixth in a family of ten children. Mukesh left school after the 10th grade and worked for a short time for the Delhi Department of Public Works.

Mukesh and Sarla Trivedi (1928 –2008) eloped and got married in a temple. Sarla was from a wealthy Gujarati Brahmin family.The couple had five children, Rita, Nitin(playback singer), Nalini(d. 1978), Mohnish and Namrata.

Mukesh was noticed by Motilal(a distant relative of Mukesh) when he sang at his sister's wedding. Motilal brought him to Bombay. He got his break as a playback singer in 1945 with the film Pehli Nazar . The first song he sang for a Hindi film was Dil Jalta Hai to Jalne de, which was filmed on Motilal. Mukesh was a fan of K L Sehgal and initially emulated him.

Mukesh also tried and make it as a singing star. Mashuqa (1953) with Suraiya and Anuraag (1956) with Usha Kiran both failed at the box-office. He also did a small role as a tangewala enacting his own song - "Chhoti si ye Zindgani" in Aah (1953)

Mukesh is best known as the voice (playback) of Raj Kapoor, but he has sung maximum songs for Manoj Kumar.

Mukesh died of a heart attack in Detroit in 1976, where he had gone for a concert with Lata Mangeshkar.

He received Filmfare awards for ...
- Sab kuchh seekha, Anari (1959)
- Sab se bada nadaan,Pehchan (1970)
- Jai bolo beimaan ki, Beimaan (1972)
- Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein, Kabhi Kabhi (1976..after death).

I thank Dinesh Pithia for helping me pay tribute to Mukesh.

Movie: Modern girl
Original Singers: Mukesh, Suman Kalyanpur
Music Director: Ravi
Lyricist: Gulshan Bawra

Download "Ye mausam"

Bhaiya mere rakhi ke bandhan ...

2008-08-16T06:06:00.002-04:00

"Raksha bandhan" falls on Shravan Purnima (usually August). On this day a sister ties a Rakhi(Raksha) on brother's wrist and hopes for his well being and the brother promises to protect the sister from all harm.

During Mughal period in India, Rajputs were fighting Muslim invasions. When Rani Karnavati (the widow of the then Raja of Chittor) realised that she could not defend Chittor from the invasion of the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a rakhi to Emperor Humayun. The Emperor touched by the gesture, accepted the rakhi and immediately started off with his troops to protect Rani Karnavati.

Film: Chhoti bahen
Music: Shanker-Jaikishen
Lyrics: Shailendra

Download "Bhaiya Mere"

Raag Pilu

2008-08-02T12:15:00.002-04:00

That: Kafi
Jaati: Audav-Sampurna
Vadi swar: G
Samvadi swar: N
Aroha: 'N-S-g-m-P-N-S'
Avroha: S'-n-D-P-d-P-g-'S
Time: Anytime is fine

Asha Bhosle is a very versatile singer. These three songs are in raag Pilu, composed by three very important music directors in her life, S. D. Burman, O. P. Nayyar and R. D. Burman, who shaped her career and helped her become "a Force to be reckoned with".

I have attempted solos from "Bandini" and "Mere Sanam" and a duet from "Yaadon ki baraat". I thank Azam for lending his voice for "Chura liya". He is charismatic, as always.

Movie: Bandini (1963)
Music Director: S.D.Burman
Lyrics: Shailendra

Download "Ab ke Baras"

Movie: Mere Sanam (1965)
Music Director: O. P. Nayyar
Lyrics:Majrooh Sultanpuri

Download "Jaiye Aap Kahan"

Movie:Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973)
Music Director:R. D. Burman
Lyrics:Majrooh Sultanpuri

Download "Chura Liya Hai"

Tum Jiyo Hazaaron Saal ...

2008-07-09T06:50:00.003-04:00

Film: Sujata (1959)
Music director: S. D. Burman
Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original Singers: Asha Bhosle and chorus

Download "Tum Jiyo Hazaaron Saal"

Tere pyar ka asraa...

2008-06-28T08:52:00.008-04:00

N. Datta

Born in the (then) Portuguese colony of Goa, Datta Naik, started his career as an assistant to the music director S D Burman. His partnership with song writer Sahir Ludhianvi was popular and successful.

Major films:
- Milaap
- Black Cat
- Sadhana
- Chandrakanta
- Dharmaputra

"Tere pyar ka"...is from the film "Dhool ka phool". Lyrics are by Sahir. This was the first film directed by Yash Chopra.

I thank Pradip for doing a wonderful job with singing and mixing this song.

Raag:Pilu
Taal: Kaherva

Download "Tere pyar ka"

Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyaan ...

2008-06-18T04:51:00.001-04:00

June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, it was the fourth month in the Roman calendar and had only 29 days. Julius Ceasar gave the month 30 days in 46 B.C., when he reformed the Roman calendar.

"June" was named in honor of the Goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and the protector of marriage; it is traditionally the month of weddings.

This song from "Chandni" is dedicated to all my friends who had their wedding, विवाह, النكاح and وليمة in June.

Music: Shiv-Hari
Lyricist: Anand Bakshi

Download "Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau"

Javed Akhtar

2008-05-27T01:17:00.002-04:00

Javed Akhtar was born on January 17, 1945 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Jan Nisar Akhtar, a well known film songwriter and Urdu poet and Safia Akhtar, a teacher and writer. He was married to (child star) Honey Irani and now to Shabana Azmi.

He has written lyrics for many popular songs. Some of the famous movies include Sagar, 1942: A Love Story, Dil Chahta Hai, Silsila, Arjun Pandit, and 1947 Earth.

He wrote the script (as part of the Salim-Javed team) for several movies also. "Don - The Chase Begins Again (Javed Akhtar)", "Shaan, 1980 (Salim-Javed)", "Shakti, (Salim-Javed)", "Don, 1978 (Salim-Javed)", "Deewaar, 1975 (Salim-Javed)", "Sholay(old), 1975 (Salim-Javed) and "Seeta aur Geeta, 1972 (Salim-Javed)" are some of the blockbusters that carry Javed Akhtar's name.

He received filmfare awards for the following songs...
Ek Ladki (1995)
Ghar se nikalte hi (1997)
Sandese (1998)
Panchhi nadiya (2001)
Mitwa (Lagaan, 2002)
Kal ho na ho (2004)
Tere liye (2005).

I present two of his songs from Chalte chalte and Dil chahta hai ... Azam has once again been kind and helped me with the songs.

Download "Tauba Tumhare Ye Ishare"

Download "Jane Kyun"

Silsila

2008-04-28T02:11:00.001-04:00

One of the blockbusters and multi starers of 1981. Made by Yash Chopra...the story is about love, social obligations, sacrifice and temptation. Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan gave a unique touch to this song.

Music: Shiv-Hari
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

Thanks Azam for agreeing to do this song.

Download "Ye Kahan Aa Gaye Hum"

Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai ...

2008-03-22T10:17:00.001-04:00

I am presenting some of my friends here ... some others could not join us because of time constraints.

We came to know one another through music and it has been a pleasant journey. They are Azam Khan, Dinesh Pithia, Vishal Khaparde, Shantha Senadheera, Vaibhav Ekbote, Navneet Sharma, Sreeharshan Muruthiyodan, Dilshad Shaikh, Rajeeb De and Ajay Acharya.

Music : Shankar Jaikishan
Lyrics: Shailendra

Download "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai"

Mirza Ghalib مرزا غالب

2008-02-22T20:47:00.002-05:00

Mirza Asadullah Baig ( مرزا اسد اللہ خان ), pen-name..Ghalib ( غالب, ġhālib) and Asad (former pen-name) (27 December 1797— 15 February 1869), was a great Urdu and Persian poet of the Indian subcontinent..

Mirza Asadullah Baig was born in Agra, of parents with Turkish aristocratic ancestry. When he was five years old, his father, Abdullah Beg Khan died in a battle while working under Rao Raja Bakhtwar Singh of Alwar and his uncle then looked after him. He lost his uncle at the age of eight. He moved to Delhi. There are no known records of his formal education.

At the age of thirteen (around 1810), he was married into a family of nobles. He had seven children, none survived. His wife was considered to be religious and conservative while Ghalib was carefree and not very religious.

Ghalib never worked for a living. He lived on state pension, credit or the generosity of his friends.In the last years of his life he suffered from arthritis. He died in Delhi on February 15th, 1869.

Ghalib (1797-1869) was the contemporary of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II...1775-1862, who was a great poet himself.

"Dil-e-nadaan" was composed by Naushad. I am very grateful to Azam for singing this ghazal with me.

Download "Dil-e-Nadaan"

Har dil jo pyar karega...

2008-02-01T00:37:00.004-05:00

Sangam (1964) was produced and directed by Raj Kapoor. It was RK's first color film. The film is in technicolor and 238 minutes long.

The movie stars Vyjayantimala, Raj Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar in a love triangle.
Sunder (Raj Kapoor), Gopal (Rajendra Kumar) and Radha (Vyjayantimala) are childhood friends. Sunder loves Radha, but she loves Gopal, who is also in love with her. Sunder often confessess his feelings for Radha to Gopal. Gopal decides to sacrifice his love, for his friend.
A lot of footage was filmed in Europe. Vyjayantimala is mostly dressed in beautiful white sarees (RK's favorite).
Raj Kapoor received Filmfare award for the Best director and Vyjayantimala for Best actress.

Pradip has once again impressed me with the right kind of feelings ... and the voice and clarity that remind one of Mukesh.
Azam's voice comes across so well as "the true love who knows the meaning of sacrifice".
I consider myself very lucky to be in the company of these gentlemen.

Music:Shankar Jaikishan
Lyrics:Shailendra
Original singers:Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Mahendra Kapoor

Download "Har Dil Jo"

Chali Chali Re Patang ...

2008-01-12T23:48:00.002-05:00

Approximately 2800 years ago the kite was first invented and popularized in China. After its appearance in China, the kite migrated to Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, Arabia and North Africa.

In India, January 14 is celebrated as "Uttarayana" or "Makar Sankranti", around this time people have a "kite fever" so to speak.

On this occasion, Azam Khan and I would like to present this fun duet ... Chali Chali Re Patang.

Movie : Bhabhi (1957)
Music Director: Chitragupta
Lyrics: Rajinder Kishan

Download "Chali Chali Re Patang"

Bhar Bhar Aye Akhiyan - Remembering Rafi Sahab (Dec. 24, 1924- July 31, 1980)

2007-12-24T14:51:00.004-05:00

This song is from the film, "Samrat Chandragupta".

It was composed by Kalyanji Virji Shah and the lyrics are by Bharat Vyas.

Lata Mangeshkar and Rafi Sahab have made this duet hard to forget. The other duet from this film , "Chahe paas ho" is immensely popular.

Azam Khan has joined me in paying tribute to Rafi Sahab and the Golden Era of Hindi film music.

Download "Bhar Bhar Aye Ankhiyan"

I had written a fan mail to Rafi Sahab on his birthday ... long time ago and received this photo and letter from him.

A Tribute to Sajjad Hussain

2007-12-04T15:15:00.006-05:00

Sajjad Hussain was born on June 15, 1917 in Sitamau, Madhya Pradesh. Some of this information was provided by his eldest son, Mustafa Sahab.
This talented composer gave music for only 14 movies as he never compromised on his high standards and "could not tolerate imperfections" ... as Lata Mangeshkar once said.
His father taught him Sitar. In his teens he mastered himself in Veena, Violin, Flute and Piano. He was also one of the best Mandolin players in the world. In 1940 Sajjad Hussain came to Bombay and a friend introduced him to Mir Allabaksh (Mina Kumari's father) who was a composer and was associated with Minerva Movietone. Mir was impressed by Sajjad Sahab's Mandolin and he employed him as his assistant.
He breathed his last at the age of 79.
Mustafa Sahab is an accomplished mandolin player.

The song, "Aye Dilruba" is from the movie "Rustam Sohrab" ... his last!

Lyrics: Jaan Nisar Akhtar
Filmed on: Yasmin & Prithvi Raj Kapoor

Download "Aye Dilruba"

Aah: Aaja Re

2007-10-16T23:00:00.001-04:00

This is the beautiful chemistry that was RK, Nargis, Mukesh, Lata, Shankar-Jaikishen and Hasrat Jaipuri.

Pradip has done a very admirable job with "feelings"...."Soz".

Download "Aaja Re"

Shree 420: Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya

2007-10-16T22:36:00.004-04:00

I would like to thank Azam Khan and Pradip Somasundaran for lending their voices to this evergreen RK song.

In contrast to Azam's "Nasheelee" Awaaz , Pradip has a voice that impresses one as "Pure and unadulterated".

I approached Pradip after listening to his rendition of "Mitwa" from "KANK" where he has done a fine job. He responded to my request for a couple of RK songs like an old friend would. Besides singing, he also obliged by mixing the songs.

Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics: Shailendra

Download "Ramaiya Vastvaiya"

Piya Piya Piya...

2007-10-05T12:38:00.008-04:00

This duet is very dear to me. I am an ardent fan of O.P. Nayyar's music. One of my friends, Dr. Sedani asked me to visit taranaa, there I liked the voice of a singer named "Khan Sahab". I was puzzled about his age and background but decided to ask Harshal Mulherkar to put me in touch with this person in February 2007. To my surprise, a very pleasant, soft spoken gentleman called back promptly and agreed to sing duets with me for the upcoming "Tribute to O. P. Nayyar". He had no idea if I could even sing or not. I was very impressed by his very unassuming attitude. I will forever remain indebted to him.

His voice and style remind us of Rafi Sahab...but I have chosen a Kishore-Asha duet here, as I am amazed how easily he has carried this song and that yodeling is very pleasing. I feel his voice has "intoxicating" quality.

Movie: Baap re baap
Music: O P Nayyar
Lyricist:Jaan Nisar Akhtar
Original singers: ASha Bhosle & Kishore Kumar
Filmed on: Chaand Usmani & Kishore Kumar

Download "Piya Piya Piya"

Devdas: Maar Daala

2007-10-05T12:36:00.002-04:00

Movie: Devdas(2002)
Music: Ismael Darbar
Lyrics:Nusrat Badr, Prakash Kapadia
Original singer: Kavita Krishnamurthy

Download "Maar Daala"

Aar Paar: Babu Ji Dheere Chalna

2007-10-05T12:14:00.005-04:00

One of my earlier recordings...no effects added..

Movie: Aar Paar
Music: O P Nayyar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Original singer: Geeta Dutt
Filmed on: Shakeela

Download "Babuji Dheere"

Introduction

2007-10-01T15:08:00.007-04:00

After being persuaded by Azam Khan and Pradip Somasundaran, I have decided to enter the blog world apprehensively. I am not a computer expert and hence updating this blog promptly could become a challenge at times.

I am from Rajkot, Gujarat. My father was a Police Officer. He played several musical instruments, Sitar being his favorite. Mother was a recording artist for HMV and AIR and playback singer for regional films and stage. I sang on All India Radio from a very young age.
I had the good fortune of knowing Ustad Sultan Khan (Sarangi maestro) as he accompanied me for most of my recordings. I received training in Hindustani classical music while I was in Rajkot. During my childhood, I had the opportunity to observe and listen to Begum Akhtar, Pandit Ravi Shankar and other famous people. I participated in vocal competition for "Police week" in Simla at age 6. The featured guest stars during the week were Rafi Sahab and Pandit Ravi Shankar.

During and after the Medical school, singing on the stage continued as a hobby.

My hobbies besides music are tennis and study of history and religions.