This BLOG is about the Past of Hindi Films Specially Black and White Cinema We will refresh your memories by bringing out forgotten or unseen songs and clippings of film scenes We will try to give you as much information as we gather from our research.
This Blog was started as a one-man’s passion for film history but has now become an addiction for many music lovers who are equally passionate about Hindi films
Shikari(1946) was the first Hindi film of Dada Burman as a composer. The songs of the film were not very popular but they received good reviews from music critics. He wanted to create music that would be part of the common man's everyday life, his joy, and sorrow.
In his biography, he said "When I was composing the music of Shikari, everybody in the studio was praising its music but he was not satisfied because the common man present in the studio was not responding. Sometime after the release of his film, another film "Rattan" was released. The songs of that film became so popular that one day he was composing music for another film he heard his servant was singing the song of Rattan while preparing tea for him.
It made him think that day in day out he listens to my compositions but I have never heard him humming my tunes. I made up in my mind that from now onwards I will make a simple tune for his songs so that a common man could sing and understand.
I was composing the songs for Do Bhai whose first line was 'Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gata'. Suddenly i heard my servant humming the same song. It made me realized that this song is going to click with the masses. My first Guru in the film music direction was that servant of mine.
He combined Indian classical music with folk music to create songs that had a lasting impact on the audience. He also started a trend of making a tune first and then ask lyricists to write on his tune.It provided space for a conversational style of music for songs like Haal Kaisa Hai Janab Ka (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, 1958). He didn't believe in a heavy orchestra, he emphasized more on its melodic content. He believed in the perfect coordination of the words and tunes. ‘Natural poetry would naturally create a worth-humming tune, He abandoned intricate twists and turns in his songs, preferring simplicity that touched the heart of the listeners..
Sachin da had the honesty and integrity of character to acknowledge the sources of his music and the genuine inspiration that he received and how he internalized it into his song/s. For example, once at the age of nineteen, he stumbled upon a rare tune sung by a group of village-women in Chittagong (now in Bangladesh). He liked the tune immensely and it stayed with him to bloom into Sahir Ludhianavi’s ‘Thandi hawaein lahra ke aayeen‘ (Naujawan, 1951). Some discerning connoisseurs of western classical and popular music feel that this was inspired by C’est la vie from the movie Algiers (1938).
Dada was a hard taskmaster but he also expressed his joy if a singer, lyricist, or instrumentalist performed exceptionally well and would reward the person in some form or the other.
SD Burman continued to work through the end of the 1960s and well into the 1970s. "Abhiman" (1973), "Chupke Chupke" (1975), and "Mili" (1975), are a few compositions from this period which stands out. However midway through his work on "Mili", he goes into a coma. He died on October 31, 1975.
It is said that literature may or may not need films, but films undoubtedly need good literature. Many great films were made in great literature. Devdas was one such film based on Sharat Chandra Chatterji's novel Devdas. It is the most filmed non-epic story in India.
There has been always a debate for book lovers, A book is better or a film is better? the very idea of seeing their favorite novel or work of literature turned into a movie is simply unacceptable.to many. Cinema is altogether a different media, Here the imagination of a director and cinematographic effects of the photographer and the screenplay can create an outstanding film.
Many great Hindi filmmakers like Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar, Basu Chatterjee, and Vijay Anand have made films from great novels. If we look into today's filmmakers, we find Raju Hirani and Vishal Bhardwaj follow these great filmmakers.
Here are a few notable film versions of the great novels.
Chitralekha
Song of Chitralekha 1941
It is a 1941 Indian Hindi-language film, directed by Kidar Sharma and based on the 1934 Hindi novel of the same name by Bhagwati Charan Verma. Its music is by noted classical musician Ustad Jhande Khan, giving popular songs like "Sun sun Neelkamal Muskaye,"It was the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 1941. This was the debut of actor Bharat Bhushan, who later achieved fame with Baiju Bawra (1952) It was remade by Sharma in 1964, also titled Chitralekha, starring Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar.
This is a very heart touching movie based on Munshi Premchand's novel "Godaan". Released in 1963 starring Raj Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, and Shashikala The book was published in 1937;.. It iscounted among the greatest novels written in Hindi.
It was a 1965 Indian romanticdrama film starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. It was directed by Vijay Anand, who contributed to the screenplay. The film is based on the 1958 novel The Guide, by R. K. Narayan. Guide was highly successful at the box-office upon release.[3] It went on to become a Bollywood classic and proved to be memorable for its highly acclaimed performances by the lead actors and memorable music by S. D. Burman. Time magazine listed it at #4 on its list of Best Bollywood Classics.
Teesri Kasam
Song of Teesri Kasam 1966
It was a 1966 film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra. It is based on the short story Mare Gaye Gulfam, by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Renu. The film stars Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman. Teesri Kasam was an unconventional film that portrays rural Indian society. It is the story of a naive bullock cart driver Hiraman, who falls in love with Hirabai, a dancer at a nautanki.
It was a 1970IndianHindi film produced by the Mushir-Riaz duo and directed by Asit Sen, based on a novel by Bengali writer Ashutosh Mukherjee. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore, and Feroz Khan in lead roles. The film became the tenth top-grossing production of the year.Asit Sen remade the 1956 Bengali film Chalachal, which was directed by him.
Itis a 1986 film, directed by Sukhwant Dhadda, and is an adaptation of Rajinder Singh Bedi's classic Urdu novella by the same name.The novel won the 1965 Sahitya Akademi Award. The film stars Hema Malini, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rishi Kapoor and Poonam Dhillon in lead roles.
