One of Talat's most beautiful melodies in a film that is sadly forgotten today. I thought it was one of the best Dilip Kumar films of the time. Nalini Jaywant looks lovely as ever. Talat sounds his best and goes perfectly on Dilip. A melody forever
Showing posts with label Talat Mahmood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talat Mahmood. Show all posts
Friday, February 22, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Yeh kis manzil pe le aayee - Main Suhagan Hoon
A wealth of videos of rare, old songs is available on Youtube. I will link to some of the ones I found and much enjoyed. Hope you like em as well. Thanks go to the kind souls who shared these videos with the rest of the world.
A delicious Talat gem. This is from a 1966 film and Talat's voice was still good enough to lend the perfect ambience to rhis melody. This shows that had the music of the times been along the lines of the 50s when Talat dominated, we could well have seen Talat's career continue with success till the late 1960s.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Ghazal ke saaz uthaao
One of Talat's final recordings (if not THE last) was for the album titled "Ghazal ke saaz uthaao". I have spent most of today listening to the geets and ghazals from this album. The compositions are by Raghunath Seth, the famed flautist.
The first thing that leaps out is the sad state of Talat's vocals. However great a devotee I may be of Talat saab, I cannot deny that what we have here is a shadow of the legendary singer. But once you get used to it and get accustomed to the occasional, uncontrolled tremor in his voice, the listening becomes more of pleasure. What still remains is the trademark melody of Talat, that dulcet tone.. it makes you think back to the times of yore when Talat ruled the day, when his voice was untouched by time or indulgence.
The pick of the album for me is "gulshan me leke chal" - a lovely, uncomplicated piece that is typically Talat :
gulshan me leke chal kisii seharaa me leke chal
ae dil magar sukuun kii duniyaa me leke chal
The "sukuun kii duniyaa" is now long past. But thankfully, we have recordings of that duniyaa in Talat's voice to retreat to when the current times get too much to bear.
The rest of the album is about average. "Gazal ke saaz uThaao" is nice as is "kahii.n sher_o_naGamaa banake". "dil hii to hai" and "mere saaqiyaa" would have sounded better had they been rendered a decade or so earlier. All in all, what this album provides is a whiff of what Talat once was.. and makes you immediately rush to listen again to those magnifience geets he rendered at his peak.
The first thing that leaps out is the sad state of Talat's vocals. However great a devotee I may be of Talat saab, I cannot deny that what we have here is a shadow of the legendary singer. But once you get used to it and get accustomed to the occasional, uncontrolled tremor in his voice, the listening becomes more of pleasure. What still remains is the trademark melody of Talat, that dulcet tone.. it makes you think back to the times of yore when Talat ruled the day, when his voice was untouched by time or indulgence.
The pick of the album for me is "gulshan me leke chal" - a lovely, uncomplicated piece that is typically Talat :
gulshan me leke chal kisii seharaa me leke chal
ae dil magar sukuun kii duniyaa me leke chal
The "sukuun kii duniyaa" is now long past. But thankfully, we have recordings of that duniyaa in Talat's voice to retreat to when the current times get too much to bear.
The rest of the album is about average. "Gazal ke saaz uThaao" is nice as is "kahii.n sher_o_naGamaa banake". "dil hii to hai" and "mere saaqiyaa" would have sounded better had they been rendered a decade or so earlier. All in all, what this album provides is a whiff of what Talat once was.. and makes you immediately rush to listen again to those magnifience geets he rendered at his peak.
Monday, August 07, 2006
The enduring magic of "siine me sulagate hai.n"
Taraanaa is a soundtrack to treasure forever. It is easily one of Anilda's finest soundtracks and one of the master's own personal favourites. Its obvious to see why the music of this film has continued to appeal to successive generations of music lovers through the past 55 years. Every song in this film has something charming about it, a certain sweetness that is immediately endearing. Lata is at her sweetest and Talat at his most in the songs of this film. The film was released at a time when both these singers were beginning to establish themselves as the leading singers of the time. While Lata was now a regular ghost voice for almost all the leading actresses of the time, Talat's voice was now inseperable from the melancholic image of a sensitive, brooding Dilip Kumar. Of all the songs in the film, the pathos duet siine me sulagate hai.n aramaa.N is most well-remembered.
What is the reason behind the enduring popularity of this song ? No compilation of Lata or Talat's duets is ever complete without this song. No programme on Anil Biswas or Prem Dhawan can end without this song.. a perennial favourite. First, I think there are the visuals that remain etched in mind. A very fresh Dilip Kumar and Madhubala... the great close ups of the Madhubala at her most beautiful.. they do leave an impact.
Then the orchestration. No praise can be too high for the way the song has been composed. The use of the saxophone to create the aura of despair, a hallmark of Anilda's orchestration, is again simply superb. Also, as is typical of Anilda, each of the antaraa have different tunes. The saxophone however accompanies the singers through the song. One of the most thrillng moments in the song is in the final stanza - Lata sings ek aesii aag lagii man me, jiine bhii na de marane bhii na de~ and then pauses for just a second or so. There is silence for that second - all orchestra is silenced. Then Lata starts again with chhup huu.N and the orchestra picks up again. The effect of the orchestra rejoining after the moment of silence must be experienced to believe. Its in such subtle touches that the genius of a composer shines forth...
On a side note, this song was intended to be a Talat solo. Lata on hearing the song, however, was so enraptured by it that she was adamant that she wanted to sing the song as well. The song was hence converted to a duet.
Taraanaa is a soundtrack to treasure forever. It is easily one of Anilda's finest soundtracks and one of the master's own personal favourites. Its obvious to see why the music of this film has continued to appeal to successive generations of music lovers through the past 55 years. Every song in this film has something charming about it, a certain sweetness that is immediately endearing. Lata is at her sweetest and Talat at his most in the songs of this film. The film was released at a time when both these singers were beginning to establish themselves as the leading singers of the time. While Lata was now a regular ghost voice for almost all the leading actresses of the time, Talat's voice was now inseperable from the melancholic image of a sensitive, brooding Dilip Kumar. Of all the songs in the film, the pathos duet siine me sulagate hai.n aramaa.N is most well-remembered.
What is the reason behind the enduring popularity of this song ? No compilation of Lata or Talat's duets is ever complete without this song. No programme on Anil Biswas or Prem Dhawan can end without this song.. a perennial favourite. First, I think there are the visuals that remain etched in mind. A very fresh Dilip Kumar and Madhubala... the great close ups of the Madhubala at her most beautiful.. they do leave an impact.
Then the orchestration. No praise can be too high for the way the song has been composed. The use of the saxophone to create the aura of despair, a hallmark of Anilda's orchestration, is again simply superb. Also, as is typical of Anilda, each of the antaraa have different tunes. The saxophone however accompanies the singers through the song. One of the most thrillng moments in the song is in the final stanza - Lata sings ek aesii aag lagii man me, jiine bhii na de marane bhii na de~ and then pauses for just a second or so. There is silence for that second - all orchestra is silenced. Then Lata starts again with chhup huu.N and the orchestra picks up again. The effect of the orchestra rejoining after the moment of silence must be experienced to believe. Its in such subtle touches that the genius of a composer shines forth...
On a side note, this song was intended to be a Talat solo. Lata on hearing the song, however, was so enraptured by it that she was adamant that she wanted to sing the song as well. The song was hence converted to a duet.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Talat's "happy" melodies
The persona of Talat as the singer of blues looms so large that it shadows his sparkling cascade of bubbly duets. In fact, Talat's contribution to the romantic duets genre is immense. His style is typical of the man - the hero comes out as a gentleman, a person who romances more with his eyes and softness of nature than a macho hero that Mohd Rafi personified on the likes of Shammi Kapoor etc in the 1960s. This is not to belittle Rafi in any way because he has definitely sung some of the finest duets of Indian cinema.
Anyway, this small blog is about Talat and his duets. Needless to say, most of Talat's best duets are with Lata, and some with Geeta, Asha and Shamshad. Here is a list of my personal favourite of Talat's duets :
ye nayii nayii priit hai (Lata/Pocketmaar, 1956) : A stunner from Madan Mohan. Madan used his two favourite singers to near perfection. The tune is lilting and the singers have a brilliant chemistry established here. The song typifies what I mean about Talat's singing bringing to mind a softer, gentler hero. The romance is about eyes and dreamy visions of a land yonder :
nigaaho.n hii nigaaho.n me kaho kyaa kar diyaa
..
chalo chal de vahaa.N zamii.n aur aasamaa.N
gale milate jahaa.N banaale vahii.n aashiyaa.N
Its after listening to Talat in such form that even Lata tends to fall a little shrilly on the ears.
nain mile nain hue baa.Nvare (Lata/Taraanaa, 1951) : This stellar soundtrack from Anilda is easily one of the greatest of all-time. And both Talat and Lata are near the top of their form here. The picturization on a very fresh Dilip Kumar and Madhubala adds to the delight of the song.
dil me samaa gaye sajan (Lata/Sangdil, 1952) : A sheer-magic song from Sajjad who created some of the most cherished melodies in Hindi music with Talat and Lata in this film. While "ye havaa ye raat" and "vo to chale gaye ae dil" are top-notch winners, this sweet duet is not very far behind. A regal Talat and a sweet Lata make the listening experience a most enjoyable one.
aramaan bhare dil kii lagan (Geeta/Jaan pehchaan, 1950) : This was Talat's only song with Khemchand Prakash, who sadly passed away shortly after this song was created. The impact of Talat's singing style is obvious when you listen to this song. While Geeta is delightful here, her rendition is a throwback to the 40s while Talat was clearly heralding the soft singing of the 50s. Geeta of course lost no time in tuning herself to the new form. But anyway, what a duet this is ! Amazing orchestration and brilliant singing..
sach bataa tuu mujhape fidaa (Asha/Sone ki chidiyaa, 1958) : A typical O.P.Nayyar composition with lots of fun and jolly exuding every note. What makes this song a delight is again the contrast between the singers - Asha is all fun and lark, Talat still soft and gentle with just that necessary touch of happiness.
These are songs that come to the top of my mind - there are plenty of other magnificent duets I have missed. Compositions of C.Ramchandra and Salil Chowdhury in particular have been missed. But well, these should provide good starting points to discovering that there is a lot more to Talat's repertoire than the sad, grim songs he made his forte. Those are definitely brilliant but then lets not forget his duets in the process.
Anyway, this small blog is about Talat and his duets. Needless to say, most of Talat's best duets are with Lata, and some with Geeta, Asha and Shamshad. Here is a list of my personal favourite of Talat's duets :
ye nayii nayii priit hai (Lata/Pocketmaar, 1956) : A stunner from Madan Mohan. Madan used his two favourite singers to near perfection. The tune is lilting and the singers have a brilliant chemistry established here. The song typifies what I mean about Talat's singing bringing to mind a softer, gentler hero. The romance is about eyes and dreamy visions of a land yonder :
nigaaho.n hii nigaaho.n me kaho kyaa kar diyaa
..
chalo chal de vahaa.N zamii.n aur aasamaa.N
gale milate jahaa.N banaale vahii.n aashiyaa.N
Its after listening to Talat in such form that even Lata tends to fall a little shrilly on the ears.
nain mile nain hue baa.Nvare (Lata/Taraanaa, 1951) : This stellar soundtrack from Anilda is easily one of the greatest of all-time. And both Talat and Lata are near the top of their form here. The picturization on a very fresh Dilip Kumar and Madhubala adds to the delight of the song.
dil me samaa gaye sajan (Lata/Sangdil, 1952) : A sheer-magic song from Sajjad who created some of the most cherished melodies in Hindi music with Talat and Lata in this film. While "ye havaa ye raat" and "vo to chale gaye ae dil" are top-notch winners, this sweet duet is not very far behind. A regal Talat and a sweet Lata make the listening experience a most enjoyable one.
aramaan bhare dil kii lagan (Geeta/Jaan pehchaan, 1950) : This was Talat's only song with Khemchand Prakash, who sadly passed away shortly after this song was created. The impact of Talat's singing style is obvious when you listen to this song. While Geeta is delightful here, her rendition is a throwback to the 40s while Talat was clearly heralding the soft singing of the 50s. Geeta of course lost no time in tuning herself to the new form. But anyway, what a duet this is ! Amazing orchestration and brilliant singing..
sach bataa tuu mujhape fidaa (Asha/Sone ki chidiyaa, 1958) : A typical O.P.Nayyar composition with lots of fun and jolly exuding every note. What makes this song a delight is again the contrast between the singers - Asha is all fun and lark, Talat still soft and gentle with just that necessary touch of happiness.
These are songs that come to the top of my mind - there are plenty of other magnificent duets I have missed. Compositions of C.Ramchandra and Salil Chowdhury in particular have been missed. But well, these should provide good starting points to discovering that there is a lot more to Talat's repertoire than the sad, grim songs he made his forte. Those are definitely brilliant but then lets not forget his duets in the process.
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