The sound of music

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Bollywood has huge cinema history that spans over a century and embraces a hundred years of films, film stars, music and the magic they all created. Ever since the first talkie Alam Ara in 1931, song and dance have been an integral part of Indian cinema, but what historians Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal have done has never been attempted before. The Award winning duo takes you down memory lane with their latest effort, Gaata Rahe Mera Dil - 50 Classic Hindi film songs, and opens the door for debate and delight.

How does it work, you may ask? The two writers went back in time and collected what – in their opinion – were 50 classic Hindi songs recorded between 1935 and 1993. Even more interesting are the stories behind these songs and the films they were part of. You may not believe it but this 300-page book contains information that you may not find in 300 books; such is the magnitude of the research.

Bhattacharjee and Vittal’s selection is not conventional and not all songs in the book are the best from the film or from the era they represent. They have chosen songs that they feel have impact and deserve to be on the top list. What would you say if someone picked ‘Mera To Jo Bhi Kadam’ from Dosti over ‘Chahoonga Main Tujhe’ or preferred the medley over Awaara’s title track? This may be accounted as sacrilegious by hardcore fans of Bollywood music yet the writers describe their reasons so well that you have to agree with their analysis. They also explain how 150 songs became 100 and how they were shortlisted to the final 50.

Add the countless interviews, never-before shared information as well as interesting trivia and you get a book that you can’t put down. There is a story about a guy who ‘supposedly’ stalked Lata Mangeshkar but went onto become hugely popular; the unusual making of Mahal’s ‘Aayega Aayega’ song is also revealed and the same can be said of ‘Lag Ja Galay’ from Wo Kaun Thi, where the music composer had to solve a problem before finalizing the take.

According to the writers, it takes 20 years for any song to grow on you and be branded as classic; they feel that some songs age with the listeners and that can be judged by the fact that ‘Wo Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi’ has a different appeal for listeners at different eras of their lives! That’s why they have stopped their research at 1993 because they started work on this book in 2013, and three years is what took to make this ‘classic’.

There is some information that may not appeal to the layman but trust me, someone out there must be smiling when reading those facts. Be it replacing Usha Khanna with Asha Bhonsle for ‘Dum Maro Dum’ in Hare Krishna Hare Ram or selecting M.S. Subbulakshmi for ‘Allah Tero Naam’ in Hum Dono in place of Lata, this book is rich with facts that you may not believe to be true.

Then there are technicalities about alaaps, antaras and mukhras which get boring as they go on and on. However, for the classically trained their inclusion in the book will be as good as a treasure trove. Did you know that O.P. Nayyar wasn’t the first choice music composer for Kashmir Ki Kali; that An Evening in Paris went to Shankar Jaikishan as compensation and that Dilip Kumar and Nargis were the first choice to play the lead in Baiju Bawra?

Gaata Rahe Mera Dil is good for the heart and soul because fans of the golden era of Bollywood may listen to the songs through their ears but feel the music within. Every song has a story to tell and that story has a biography, has drama and trivia in it as well. You may know the name of the music composer, the playback singer, the lyricist, the year of release or the director but only a few know what went behind closed doors when these songs were being recorded. To know more, read the book and be one of those few privileged people!

Omair Alavi is a freelance broadcast journalist who can be contacted at omair78gmail.com