The Great Cycle Songs Of Bollywood

Bollywood and bicycle move together like the wheel and the spokes. From the Black & White era till know many romantic songs have been picturized. When we think of the Golden Era immediately the song Mana janab ne pukara nahin  from Paying Guest comes in our mind.Dev Anand showed us how a cycle helps you to chase your playfully-angry girl, the song Ae maine kasam li   from 1971 film Tere Mere Sapne, Dev Anand and his ladylove Mumtaz riding through the sunflower dotted streets and singing.
The earliest cycle song was Sawan Ke Nazare Hain of 1941 film Khajanchi.The film starts with this song picturised on S D Narang, Ramola and their friends who are cycling on the road. It is said that there were some uncredited actors in this song who later became well known actors. I could only identify Madan Puri ( on the cycle next to S D Narang playing mouth organ) though Pran was in the film as a friend of S D Narang. The film ends with a part of this song being replayed while S D Narang and Ramola are on their cycle rides after their marriage.

Song of Khajanchi 1941

In the 50s many films have Bicycle songs One of the greatest hit was Maana Janaab Ne Pukara from Paying Guest

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Song of Adalat (1958)

Song of Anari (1959)

Bicycle Songs of the 60s

Song of Bewaquof (1960)

Song of Apna Ghar (1960)

Song of Ishara (1964) 

Song of Ghunghat (1960)

Song of Baat Ek Raat Ki 1962

Song of Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi 1966

Song of Padosan (1968)

Bicycle Songs of the 70s

Song of Tere Mere Sapne 1971

Song of Adhikar 1971

Song of Ganga Tera Pani Amrit 1971

Song of Aarop (1974)

Song of Shaan 1981

Song of Bhabhi 1991

Song of Armaan (2003)

The Most Funny Songs of Dev Anand

We all remember Dev Anand for the Romantic Songs he sang in films but he also sang many Funny songs in many of his films. In this Blog, I have selected some of his funniest and hilarious songs.

Song of  Baazi 1951

Song of  Tamasha 1952

Song of  Taxi Driver 1954

Song of Munimji 1955

Song of Funtoosh 1956

Song of Funtoosh 1956

Song of Funtoosh 1956

song of Love Marriage 1959

Song of Love Marriage 1959

Song of Ek Ke Baad Ek 1960

Song of Pyar Mohabbat 1966

Song of Chhupa Rustam (1973)

Song of  Darling Darling 1977

The Great Bollywood Songs based on Folk Music

India is a diverse country, Every region, every state has its own music. From the rural part of these areas originated the music which had been one of the indispensable sources of music for Bollywood. The leading composers of Bollywood films had used the folk songs in successful films and popularized them.
The first Marwari song in Hindi film was taken in early talkie era – ‘Baala Joban’ from 1934. 
S D Burman was one of the composers of Golden Era who created many great songs based on Folk Music.The major folk songs used by SD Burman in bollywood films include “jane kya tune kaha” sung by Geeta Dutt in Pyasa, “dil ka bhanwar kare pukar” sung by Rafi in the film Tere Ghar Ke Samne, “o janewale ho sake to”, sung by Mukesh in the film Bandini, “mitwa” sung by Talat Mehmood, in the film Devdas. In this Blog, I have selected such songs based on Folk by various Music Directors.

Bichhudo Ri Ghaali Peehar Chaali Saa, Aali Jaa

Song of Baala Joban 1934

Song of Pyaasa 1957

Song of Bombai Ka Babu 1960

Allah Megh De Paani De

This song “Allah Megh De paani de” is based on a East Bengal folk song. This song is sung by S D Burman and the song plays in the background in the movie.

Shailendra is the lyricist. Music is composed by S D Burman.

Song of Guide 1965

daiya re daiya re jangal papi bichua”

Salil Choudhury had merged Assamese Bihu folk music with westernized folks.

Song of Madhumati 1958

Nain Lad Jaye  Ho To Manwa Ma

Naushad used Bihari & Eastern UP folk in Ganga Jamuna 1961

Song of Ganga Jamuna 1961

Mohe Panghat pe Nandlal chhod gayo re

This is from the Folk of UP very well composed by Naushad

Song of Mughal e Azam 1960

Are Ja Re Hat Natkhat

C Ramchandra composed this song on Gujarati Folk in V Shantaram's Navrang

Song of Navrang 1959

Uden Jab Jab Zulfen Teri

This song is based on Punjabi Folk composed by Naushad for Naya Daur

Song of Naya Daur 1957

Ganga Aaye Kahaan Se

This song is based on Bengal  Folk composed by Salil Chaudhary

Song of Kabuliwala 1961

Chalet Musafir”

Shankar Jaikishan had used folk songs and blended western music in many films This song is from Teesri Kasam

Song of Teesri Kasam 1965

Govinda Aala Re Aala

This super hit song from Bluff master is based on Marathi Folk

Song of Bluff Master 1963

Hey Naam Re Sabse Bada Tera Naam O Sheronwali This song is on Gujarati folk composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal for Suhag

Song of Suhag 1979

Nimboda Nimboda

This song is based on Rajasthani Folk

Song of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 1999

Bumbro Bumbro

This song from Mission Kashmir is based on Kashmiri Folk

Song of Mission Kashmir 2000

Pinga Ga Pori

This Bajirao Mastani song is based on Marathi Folk

Song of Bajirao Mastani

The Hindi Films where Hero plays a photographer.

Today on World Photography Day I recall the Bollywood Films where the Hero or Heroine played a character of a Photographer. The first such film comes to my mind is Heera Panna where Dev Anand is a fashion photographer and can be seen using multiple cameras- Nikon, Nikomat, Pentax and Hasselblad medium format one where he changes the film roll(120 formats) also. I think in one scene he uses a macro lens where he takes an extreme close up of the face of Zeenat Aman.
Another important film was Jane Bhi Do Yaron In this movie, the lead actors Naseerudin Shah & Ravi Vasvani start a photography studio. Glamour photography is on their mind but they also do street photography to participate in a photography contest to get the prize-winning money to sustain. They are hired by a newspaper editor to expose corruption in the Land & Building Department and nexus between builders and officials.

Another film is Ram Gopal Verma's Nishabdh where Amitabh Bachchan plays a character of a photographer. Though the film is not about the photography but about the relationship with the friend of his daughter.

Three Idiot was a film in which one of the characters played by Madhavan. A passionate wildlife photographer who is forced to study Engineering by his strict father. After graduation, he pursues his passion, assists a well known International wildlife photographer and after a few years publishes many photo books on nature & wildlife. 

Ijazat was another film made by Gulzar, Naseeruddin Shah is shown as a freelance advertisement photographer( he travels for campaigns) who has his own dark room and is shown making prints under red light with an apron.

Madras Cafe is a 2013 Indian political action drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar and starring John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, In this film  she plays a war correspondent Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakhri) 

In Wake, Up Sidh plays a role of a photographer..He starts working as an intern in a magazine where is girlfriend is also working. He takes a lot of her photographs and they take selfies also using a DSLR,

Song of Heera Panna

Song of Namak Haraam 1973

The Songs of Gulzar

Gulzar, originally Sampoorna Singh Kalra started to work as a garage mechanic in Worli while writing poetry in his spare time. Gulzar, as any other dreamer who comes to Bombay for the first time, was bitten by the film bug. It is said that Gulzar's first song was Mora Gora Rang Le Le from 1963 film Bandini. that's not a true the first song written by him was from Kabuliwala 1961, "Ganga Aye Kahan Se" the Hindi translation of a Bengali song.sung by Hemant Kumar. After that Bimal Roy asked him to write songs for Prem Patra 1962 film.
He then began writing for films for directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Asit Sen. Some of the films that Gulzar has written include Anand (1970), Guddi (1971), Bawarchi (1972) and Namak Haram (1973) for Hrishida and Do Dooni Char (1968), Khamoshi (1969) and Safar (1970) for Asit Sen.
With Mere Apne in 1971, he donned the role of a filmmaker. Gulzar went on to make Parichay (1972) and Koshish (1972). With Sanjeev Kumar, he made Aandhi (1975), Mausam (1975), Angoor (1981) and Namkeen (1982) He also made film with Jeetendra (Parichay, Khushboo (1975), Kinara (1977), with Vinod Khanna: Achanak (1973), Meera (1979) and Lekin (1990) and Hema Malini: Khushboo (1975), Kinara (1977), Meera (1979)
As a lyricist, Gulzar had a close association with the music director Rahul Dev Burman. Both of them gave some gems of the songs. Later he is associated with Vishal Bhardwaj  in Maachis (1996), Omkara (2006) and Kaminey (2009); A. R. Rahman in Dil Se.. (1998), Guru (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and Raavan (2010) 
 Rahman and Gulzar won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" at the 81st Academy Awards. The song received international acclaim and won him a Grammy Award (shared with Rahman) in the category of Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Gulzar has written lyrics and dialogues for several Doordarshan TV series including Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Hello Zindagi, Guchche and Potli Baba Ki with Vishal Bhardwaj. 
Gulzar is married to actress Raakhee. The couple has a daughter, Meghna Gulzar (Bosky). Meghna Gulzar grew up with her mother and father and, after completing her graduation in filmmaking from New York University, went on to become a director of films such as Filhaal, Just Married, Dus Kahaniyaan and Raazi
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2004 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He has won a number of National Film Awards and 20 Filmfare Awards. He was also given Baba Saheb Phalke Award.

Song of Kabuliwala 1961

Song of Prem Patra 1962

Song of Bandhini 1963

Song of Khamoshi (1970)

Song of Do Dooni Chaar (1970)

Song of  Mere Apne (1971)

Song of Guddi (1971)

Song of Anand (1971)

Song of Parichay (1972)

Song of Anubhav (1972)

Song of Aandhi (1975)

Song of Mausam (1976)

Song of Kinara (1977)

Song of  Gharaonda (1977)

Song of Masoom (1983) 

Song of Maachis (1996)

Song of Slumdog Millionaire (2009)

Chetan Anand was a role model for Dev Anand

It was 75 years ago before coming to Bombay Dev Anand visited the famous Doon School at Dehra Dun to spend time with his elder brother, whom he idolised. The elder brother was a teacher of history, English theatre and tennis at this prestigious institution, which was then just eight years old.
Dev hero-worshipped Chetan, who was a tennis player (he had played at Wimbledon), swimmer, appeared for the ICS (now IAS) exams at England and spoke fluent flawless English. "I had always looked up to my brother. He was a model of everything I admired, handsome, intellectual, fashionable, England-returned, and now teaching in one of the most elite schools of the country," he writes in his biography.
Dev Anand admits that it was Chetan who inspired a style in him. The Doon School and Chetan together taught him many a thing about personality, and with it he evolved his own unique style that he was perhaps known for as much as he was celebrated for his acting. 
During his visits to the school, Dev came to learn "the manners of a proper Englishman". He writes that Chetan taught him table manners as "he put me amongst the affluent, pick-of-the-upper class students at Doon School, with their spick - and span-manners - breakfasting and dining on tables laid out for them by uniformed khansamas.
He would wear his brother's big leather boots, imported from London, as well as his woollen check-shirt, black and maroon, typically English, both of which he loved to flaunt.
Chetan Anand, the elder brother of Dev worked at the Doon School from 1940 to 1944. In 1944, he resigned from the job and started his journey towards becoming a writer, actor and director. His first film as a director - "Neecha Nagar" went on to win the Golden Palm in the very first year of the Cannes Film Festival!
Chetan's erudite, polished and sophisticated personality, which one can see in films like Haqeeqat and Hindustan ki Kasam, greatly inspired young Dev
The two brothers worked as a team under their Navketan banner, doing films like Afsar, Andhiyan, Taxi Driver and Funtoosh. They then parted ways with Chetan forming his own company. Dev retained the Navketan banner. The brother whom he held in high regard went another way, professionally.
Chetan Anand appeared in Humsafar made in 1957. In 1957 he directed two movies Arpan and Anjali, in which he played lead roles too. He went on to act in Kala Bazar, Kinare-Kinare, Aman, Kanch Aur Heera and Hindustan Ki Kasam, which he directed too.

Song of Neecha Nagar 1946

Song of Afsar 1950

Song of Taxi Driver 1954

Song of Aandhiyan 1952

Song of Funtoosh 1956

Song of Kinare Kinare 1963

Song of Janeman 1976

Song of Saheb Bahadur 1977

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Performed in Rishi Kapoor's Wedding

 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan known as The King of Kings of Qawwali performed at the wedding of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. It was possibly his first performance in India. It was Raj Kapoor who heard him casually somewhere and liked his singing. He kept him in mind that whenever he will get a chance he would invite Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to India.
Born(13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) in Faisalabad, Khan had his first public performance at the age of 16. He was the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and qawwal. The tradition of qawwali in the family had passed down through successive generations for almost 600 years. In 1964, Khan's father died, leaving his musical education under the supervision of his paternal uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan.
In 1971, after the death of his uncle Mubarak Ali Khan, Khan became the official leader of the family Qawwali party and the party became known as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Khan's first public performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organized by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan.
His first major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured the restrained use of Khan's Sargam improvisations. He also contributed songs to and performed in, several Pakistani films. In the summer of 1985, Khan performed at the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival in London.Khan's album Intoxicated Spirit was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in 1997. That same year, his album Night Song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
Shortly before his death, he composed music for three Bollywood films, which includes the film Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, in which he also sang for "Koi Jaane Koi Na Jaane" on-screen with the lead pair, and "Zindagi Jhoom Kar"; He also composed music for Kartoos, where he sang for "Ishq Da Rutba", and "Bahaa Na Aansoo", alongside Udit Narayan. He died very shortly prior to the movie's release. His final music composition for Bollywood was for the movie, Kachche Dhaage, where he sang in "Iss Shaan-E-Karam Ka Kya Kehna". The movie was released in 1999, two years after his death. The two singing sisters of Bollywood, Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar sang for the songs he composed in his brief stint in Bollywood. He sang "Saya Bhi Saath Jab Chhod Jaye" for Sunny Deol's movie Dillagi. The song was released in 1999, two years after Khan's death. He also sang "Dulhe Ka Sehra" from the Bollywood movie Dhadkan which was released in 2000.
He is widely considered to be the most important qawwal in history. In 1987, he received the President of Pakistan's Award for Pride of Performance for his contribution to Pakistani music.

The credit of introducing this great singer to India goes to the great Showman of India Raj Kapoor. who invited him for the sangeet ceremony of his son Rishi Kapoor. He sang all night. The guests were stunned by his performance! The gaana bajaana [musical celebrations] went on for days.
The invitation was, in fact, extended to Nusrat by famous Pakistani actor Mohammad Ali. On receiving the invitation Khan was thrilled, more so for the chance to visit Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the famous shrine of Sufi Saint Moinuddin Chishti, in Rajasthan.
The wedding party boasted of a number of artists and musicians from that era. Surprisingly he decided to treat the guests to Indian classical vocals rather than his trademark qawwali. It is said that his performance created a flutter, with senior musicians climbing to the stage to personally congratulate the then 31-year old. 
After this programme, he became darling of many of Music lovers in India. Nusrat went on to sing live and perform at a number of concerts across India in the years to come, but it was only with 1994's Bandit Queen that he first composed music for an Indian film. His first recorded Bollywood song came about in 1996, thanks to Aur Pyar Ho Gaya, starring Aishwarya Rai and Bobby Deol.

Here is the Audio Recording of  Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's programme at Rishi Kapoor's wedding

       Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Marriage Ceremony Of Rishi Kapoor & Neetu Singh 

Haq Ali Ali,

Song of Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya,1997

Song of Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya,1997

Song of Kartoos 1999

Song of Dhadkan 2000

 .