sdburman.net tribute - Delhi
Kaustubh Pingle
-------------------------------------------------
It is S.D.Burman's birth centenary this year. And www.sdburman.net
compiled an awesome evening today, here in Delhi at Sri Sathya Sai
Auditorium, Lodhi Road.
Personally, I have attended very few musical shows, primarily because
the music that I like is seldom a crowd-puller, and hence commercial
organizations avoid it. However, this was a treat compiled by a select
group of connoisseurs, and all of it - as Ritu Chandra, one of the
co-hosts and co-owner of the site mentioned - voluntary and for immense
love for Burmanda's music. Due to this I was eagerly awaiting the
show. And I wasnt disappointed. A labor of love has a fragrance that is
as natural and pure as a rose in the garden - with thorns, et al;
something that is not found in the ornate bouquets wrapped in plastic
films in decorative shops. So was the show fragrant, byouant and
vibrant, despite a few hiccups and snags. It was all for the love of
music, by lovers of music, for the lovers of music.
On my part I am not a Burmanda fanatic, but I like many of his songs
and can quietly place myself in the ranks of those who respect him a
lot. Some of his numbers, especially ones sung by Lataji, are
extraordinary.
The chief guest for the evening was famous poet Padmashri Gopal Das
Neeraj. Apart from his poems, Neerajji is a reknowned lyricists with
hits like 'Likhe jo khat tujhe' (Kanyadan/SJ), ' Caravan guzar
gaya' (Nayi Umar Ki Nayi Fasal / Roshan)and 'Ae bhai zaraa dekh ke
chalo' (Mera Naam Joker/ SJ). With Burmanda, his association is
particularly productive and right up there in lyricist-music director
associations.
The second guest of honor was Meena Kapur, wife of legendary composer
Anil Biswas; but also a singer in her own right. From her ouvre, I am
particularly fond of 'Meri atariya pe kaaga bole' from the oldest
Aankhen (Madan Mohan's debut film). Other luminaries included Mrs
Basanti Dutta (grand-niece of Burmanda) and Mr. KC Khurana (an elderly
emcee who has done several shows with legends like Manna De, etc).
As Sajid, the emcee for the evening, began his narration (using a mix
of shudhh Hindi and chaste Urdu) with a famous quote 'Nashili ki raat
hai, saare chiraag gul kardo, khushi ki raat mein kya kaam hai
jalnewalon ka' (incidentally, immortalised as the prelude in Shankar
Jaikishan's breathtaking number 'Lo aai milan ki raat' from
Aashiq), I settled cozily into my seat to enjoy the evening.
After the lamp-lighting ceremony by Neerajji and an audio-visual
documentary on the life of Burmanda, Indraneel Mukherjee's musical
troupe took over the proceedings and unleashed a spew of immortal
Burmanda hits. As if to invite the soul of Burmanda, Indraneel began
with 'O Jaane waale ho sake toh laut ke aana' (Bandini).
Indraneel's voice had a strong Hemant Kumar tinge, and after
listening to the number one could imagine how it would have sounded if
the said number was sung by him rather than Mukesh, the original
singer.
Some nuggets in this section included: the swaying 'Yeh raat yeh
chandni phir kahan', the mesmerizing 'Ab toh hai tumse har khushi
apni', the mischevious 'Ab ke sajan saawan mein aag lagegi badan
mein', the romantic 'Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hai', the deeply
resonating 'Jalte hai jiske liye teri aankhon ke diye' and the coy
'Jaane kya toone kahi'
The evening's theme was to capture the 'Navrasas' in Burmanda's
music. The second section focused on that and began with
'Shaantras'. Songs in these had the breezy 'Thandi hawaayen
lahrake aayen' (one of the most copied songs in Bollywood) and my
ultimate favorite, Latadi's 'Phaili hui hai sapnon ki raahein'.
[Due to the time constraints, the troupe mix-and-matched full songs and
mukhda-one-antara combination]
For 'Vatsalyaras' a talented young girl Arundhati Prasad (all of 10
years) danced merrily to Asha Bhonsle's cute 'Chanda mama mere
dwaar aana re'.
'Vibhatsaras' and 'Raudraras' were combined in two back-to-back
rousing Sahir numbers from Pyasa - 'Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahan
hai' and 'Yeh mehlon yeh taajon yeh takhton ki duniya'.
All this while Sajid interspersed his commentary with anecdotes from
Burmanda's life, either himself or through audio clips of various
artistes like Lataji, Ashaji and Hrishida(Mukherjee). For example,
Sajid told us how Sahirsaab had written this motivational ghazal full
of 'Veerras'...and what did Burmanda do? He gave it to a
club-dancer situation, and the bumper hit innovative number 'Tadbeer
se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le' was born.
'Karunaras' is a major force in Bollywood cinema. Hence some time
was spent on it. Songs included 'Hum bekhudi mein tujhko pukare chale
gaye' (which was rendered by a 16-year old youngster), one Bengali
song and that tearful Ashaji's minimal-orchestrated number from
Bandini - 'Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul'
I am sure it will not be very difficult to guess the song that would be
an obvious choice for 'Haasyaras'. But it was singer Sonu's
rendition of 'Paanch rupayya baarah aana' which brought in the
maximum applause. His yodelling and vocal twists matched Kishore
Kumar's impossibly difficult one. It wasn't a surprise that the
audience greedily demanded for an encore, which the singer obliged by
doing another perfect rendition of 'Haal kaisa hai janaab ka'. This
'ras' was rounded off with 'Achhaji main haari ab maan jaao na'
Since Neerajji was not feeling too bright, his felicitation was
pre-poned. This section had four of my most favorite songs - Rangeela
re , Phoolon ke rang se , Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye and Jaise Radha ne
maala japi shaam ki ... for the last, the audience was so much involved
that they requested for the full song to be sung.
Neerajji came to stage amidst thundering claps. He spoke eloquently and
said that 'sam-gat ka matlab sangeet hai' - and gave examples of
how everything is in harmony in nature itself. He averred 'Geet hi
aadi, geet hi ant, bin geet jeevan marghat samaan'. He also narrated
his poem written on the importance of music and song. He also released
a commemorative compilation that has articles, filmography and
biography of Burmanda.
After the fecilitations, there was a small break for tea (during which
Neerajji left) followed by another round of music from Indraneel's
troupe. Some Meena Kapur numbers were the highlight of this section -
and these were ones unknown to me as well. A point to note - Meenaji
got her break with SD Burman.
More SDB songs followed - the heart-wrenching 'Waqt ne kiya kya
haseen sitam', the chirrupy 'Ae maine kasam lee' and the soaring
'Kaali ghata chhaye'. Chaitali Haldar came on stage to dance on
Lataji's classic 'Piya tose naina laage re' (original soundtrack
played, and my heart swelled with joy). The dance was good, and the
song captures 'Shringarras' effectively. Another audio-visual on
some famous songs and films of SDB followed next.
The grand finale was of course reserved for that song on which the show
was named - Lataji's 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai' - an
ultimate song that manifests feelings of freedom, joy and breaking of
shackles! The music of Guide is a remarkable feat, emblazoned boldly in
glittering gold in the film music annals - no wonder three songs from
this film featured in the show!
During the evening I got acquainted to some numbers I hadnt heard of -
Kisi se meri preet lagiyo (Aath Din), Pyara pyara hai sama my dear come
to me (Kamal) [both Meena Kapoor numbers], Ae kaash chalte milke
(Manzil), Apni toh har aah ek toofan hai (Kala Bazar) and Prem ke
pujari hum ke ras ke bhikhari hum (Prem Pujari).
The auditorium was not large, and hence gave the effect of a quaint
sangeet-mehfil. Thankfully, the audience was very receptive and even
clapped along in few songs - though, as expected, there were a few
rotten apples. For example, the three heavily decked up ladies in the
row before me were more interested in waving at one of the singers, who
was ostensibly their friend, than in really listening to the music.
Their non-stop chatter was off-putting.
This was offset by some such deeply loving fans who had come all the
way from Mysore and Bombay to attend the show. I was impressed by Mr
Srinivas from Mysore, who was sitting next to me. His knowledge was
immense, and he carried a neatly packaged scrap-book on SDB's life
(articles, photos etc). Music is a great unifier indeed...and what
better example, than this that the site's co-owners are gentlemen
from Bangladesh and Pakistan!
Alongwith the audience, the troupe was enjoying every minute of the
program. And it was clearly visible. The rapport amongst them was
great, and Rupendra Shridhar - on keyboard and the conductor as well -
could be seen beaming, or playfully reprimanding if something went
wrong (e.g. in the number 'Ab ke sajan saawan mein' just before the
antaras begin, there is a sharp flourish of violins, which the
synthesizer player forgot to simulate in time). His entire
body-language, as he timed the various artistes/singers, was one who is
completely soaked into the proceedings. And the drummer gave some
stirring crescendos to a few songs.
There were a few negatives (and I know,I would be resorting to
unnecessary nit-picking)- it started very late, the number of
felicitations, bouquet-distribution in the second half were too
elongated which unnecessary lengthened the duration, a few technical
snags in the audio-visual sections, a power cut in between and worse,
wrong credits in the audio visual (how could they list 'Jogi jab se
tu aaya mere dwaare' as Asha's song, unless there is an
Asha-version that I am not aware of!!!!). Also, I wish they had some
more real instruments esp. flute (since it was an integral part of
Burmanda's music). As of now, there were three synthesizers, two
guitars, saxophone, drums and dholak alongwith a few other percussions.
But then, this was not a professionally organized show. For an amateur
and voluntary project, the entire package was slick, sleek and superb!
In all, an evening well spent - and a standing ovation to the
organizers. Whereever SDB is today, he would be exceedingly proud to
see such fans who compiled and conducted this sort of a magnificent
programme, without any greed or ulterior motive...just for the love of
his music. That spirit and intent in itself is laudable, and I salute
it with my full heart and soul! A tip of the hat to them!
Warm regards, DJ
Pais
<-- snipped detailed account of SDB centenary celebrations --->
Hello Kaustubh,
Thank you for posting it here and thanks as well to Mr Deepak J for
putting out the detailed writeup. Seems like it was a great night.
Many congratulations to all the organisers as well.
Regards,
Pais
Abhay Jain
"Kaustubh Pingle" <kcpi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154149601....@s13g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> as told by Mr Deepak J in a different music forum, Regds KCP
> -------------------------------------------------
> It is S.D.Burman's birth centenary this year. And www.sdburman.net
> compiled an awesome evening today, here in Delhi at Sri Sathya Sai
> Auditorium, Lodhi Road.
>
>
> Burmanda's life, either himself or through audio clips of various
> artistes like Lataji, Ashaji and Hrishida(Mukherjee). For example,
> Sajid told us how Sahirsaab had written this motivational ghazal full
> of 'Veerras'...and what did Burmanda do? He gave it to a
> club-dancer situation, and the bumper hit innovative number 'Tadbeer
> se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le' was born.
>
This song is an example of true genius of SDB - presenting a gazal
into a club song form.
Based on my personal email exchanegs with Ritu,
shame on Dev Anand for being too greedy and
not willing to pay tribute to a person who was
a significant factor in his success.
Finally a tribute to our friend Ritu for her dedication and
hard work resulting in a great program against so many odds.
AJ
>
> Warm regards, DJ
>
raaz
Abhay Jain wrote:
>
> Based on my personal email exchanegs with Ritu,
> shame on Dev Anand for being too greedy and
> not willing to pay tribute to a person who was
> a significant factor in his success.
>
the " greedy " part of Dev Anand.
raaz.
veekay
Brilliant sum up of the events Kautubh. I was there too. Yes it was
,all in all, a great show considering the resources and man-power
available to the organisers. The man on keyboard was clearly involved
in his work and was enjoying it. Songs sung by IN were good but for one
or two mistakes in lyrics. One Pyasa song line is as follows
" harek jism ghayal hrek ruh pyasi
nigahon main uljhan, dilon main udasi"
IN substituted uljhan with ulfat, and since the song is serious and
highly poetic this just killed the total song. But his rendition was
overall very good.
I rate the neeraj song Rangeela re the best , performed to perfection.
Neeraj still is charming. His 'jeevan ta ta thayya', stole the heart of
crowd.
Unfortunately I could not stay after the break, but must have been
good.
Ritu and others of her co-organisers deserve all the praise and
congrats.
veekay
PS: I also noticed that trio of women . They arrived late, waved to
the singer , remained busy chattering or taking on mobile calls, and
then went away. I was sitting just behind them.
surjit singh
Absloutely agree! Once again RMIMers show how it is done.
>
> AJ
>
> >
> > Warm regards, DJ
> >
Ritu
feedback with a critique as well. Most people who meet you on the floor
only say nice things so you never know the real picture. But I was
telling someone today that my true feedback is going to come from the
internet music community. Not the nitwit journalists covering the show
:).
I was actually headed out for the mountains for the next week and had
thought that I would do all writing on the show later, but then I think
since the steam is on lets just do it now.
The whole show was a great moment for us at SDB.net. Firstly because we
could get atleast some small thing out to commemorate our dear Old Man.
It's really amazing DD that did full length documentaries on KLS and PM
don't think find SDB as interesting a topic for a documentary!!!
And secondly, for the first time our sub-continetal team at SDB.net Mr
Chowdhury from Dhaka, Mr Maajid Maqbool from Pakistan and I could meet.
We've worked on the website for 3 years but never met!. Both the
gentlemen turned out to be absolute gems. We hadn't thought Maajid Saab
would get a visa to India because he applied barely 6 days before the
event (the courier with the invitation and card did not reach in time)
and because of the Bombay blasts just a week earlier and a sudden sour
in relations. When his wife went to get a visa she was refused flat at
first on the grounds that they need 2 weeks to process a visa. She
insisted that they read the invitation once and then told him about the
website... lo behold they got a visa! It is so positive. They are here
in Delhi with their entire family.
Talking of the show itself. Our Navras theme and script went for a six
because around 8:30 PM Neeraj said he was not well and wanted to leave
immediatly. We had planned the journal release with him and then a
special section dedicated to his songs. We had to cut Indranil short,
prepone the Neeraj section and postpone Meena Kapoor's entry (with
Hasya Ras in Pyaara Pyaara Hai Sama). Maajid Saab and I had to sit on
both sides and do lots of wah wah to his songs(as they were sung on
stage) and tell him how wonderful the lyrics were... just to keep him
from going away :). Finally when he was on stage he enjoyed himself.
Glitches and chaos aside the whole thing was a great learning process.
Here is my summary and suggestions for anyone as clueless about show
organisation like I was when we started planning this event two months
back
1. Start fund-raising well in advance. Two months is too little time to
plan a show of worth. Our first hurdle was fund-raising. Eventually, it
was the music community(list is up on SDB.Net) and relatives/friends
who organised 80% of our funds. We got only BAG Films and Radisson in
corporate sponsorship. That too the former was purely because of a
relative taking a personal favour from Rajiv Shukla. Something that
could have been avoided. Eventually, if one can get good corporate
sponsorship it makes things much easier. But for that you need to put
together a professional presentation, market and sell the concept. So
you need someone with hard-sell skills on board!
Another advantage of having funds in advance is that you can work
better on the quality of the show. Good performers and resources after
all come for good money! I had wanted a professionally trained dancer
to perform on 'Piya tose naina' but could not afford their fees.
Similairly we could not afford to fly in anyone from Bombay because
celebrity hospitality means good money.
We were lucky to have some talented people within the family to do the
card designs, stage and backdrop designs, portraits and also 'Chanda
Mama mere dwaar' :). But in everything else we had to cut quality for
costs.
2. Try and get a dedicated team of atleast 6-7 people who are the core
commitee and have the project high on their priority list . The second
major hurdle I faced was lack of manpower. Eventually it was only our
core comittee of two people doing everything. My cousin was busy with
press, PR, finances etc. leaving me pretty much alone to chalk out and
execute conceptulise and execute the show and journal. Again quality
suffers in such a scenario.
For instance, a couple of very good resources we got could not stick,
like this young chap from S3 channel who I sat on one session for the
audio visuals. If he had done the whole thing it would have been very
slick. But he had to go off for some assignment leaving me struggling
with AVs a thing I had never done before!!! I figured out how to script
the second 'Contribution to Indian Cinema AV' only 5 days before the
show. And worse still write a script in Hindi! I have to thank Asad
Kidwai for giving the basic skelton with that one. I couldn't have done
without his help.
3. Get an event management company, even if it is a cheap one. It takes
a lot of last day chaos off your head. Ofcourse that ties to the first
point again.. money!
I was telling an RMIMer on the phone 15 days back. From today onwards
I shall never curse an organiser :). It's a crazy process.
Fund-raising aside even sticking to your convications with the pressure
to cater to the lowest common denominator is back-breaking. Someone
suggested get people like Udit Narayan, have him pay lip-service to SDB
and sing his own songs!!
Ofcourse I also had much pressure from my cousin not to include too
many Bengali songs :). I had to really fight to explain to them that
his Bengali output includes almost 20 years of his approx 50years
output how can you pay real tribute to SDB by excluding them? But then
somewhere you have to keep your audience in mind. So, stealthy I built
them into the bio-sketch AV ;).
And then the press. They are such nitwits. Esp, this plethora of
channels that have sprouted recently and their inexperienced reporters.
First thing they kept hounding us to take Neeraj out in the middle of
the show for interviews (which they eventually did). After that they
kept calling Meena Kapoor, Meena Kumari!. I don't know how the press
decided that Meena Kapoor sang 'gore gore baake chore'. Someone came
and asked me to request her to sing the song.
The funniest one came from some nitwits in the Aaj Tak channel. We had
some people who had gone to deliver the cards there a day before the
event. They handed it to the entertainment desk telling them 'This is
SD Burman's centenary show, please do come'. The guy looks at the card
and says 'Wow SD Burman is coming for the show, we'll surely be
there!!'
Coming finally to Deepak's critique of the show. Thanks for pointing
out the short-comings. Very are totally guilty of not starting on time.
We had total chaos. As usual, the music troupe guys trouped in at 4:30
to setup their equipment, backdrop guy came at 3:00 PM etc. etc. One
basically needs to give a timing of 2 hours before to get things going.
The other critique is on the AV. I just saw the labelling now. It is
all wrong! There is no Asha 'Jogi Jab se tu aaya' ofcourse. Waqt me
kiya is not Sahir!. It's a big big mistake on our part and I apologise.
Again a part of the chaos. The labelling was done last minute after I
left for the auditorium I never saw the final cut and was too busy to
watch the AVs at the show. None of the people around me knew enough to
point it out. That is an unpardonable faux pax. The chap who did this
labelling I think just cut out names where they were getting too long
for the space at the bottom! I have to ask him tomorrow. He put credits
in the AV and he's called Pavan Jha, Pawn Jha!!
The second is about the elongated felicitations. I know that is boring
for the audience. But in a voluntary effort like this, there is no
other way of appreciating and acknowledging their contribution. A lot
of people gave their very valued services for free totally. Calling
them on stage and giving them a momento is all one can do. And which is
why, I am going to do it again. This show would have been possible if
it was not for two sets of people
1. The internet music community RMIM and more so SKS
2. Our family and friends
The latter is ofcourse of no interest to the music group so I shall
point out the former. Apart from the list of contributors (mentioned on
the site) and Acknowledgements, I have a big thanks for four people
who have been constantly supporting me in this endeavor albeit
remotely. Pavan Jha, Kamaal Mustafa, Kaustubh and Sonu. Sonu esp. has
worked nights on helping me procure my material, clips and then
organise it. He sat in the entire show with the clips.
I will post my list of acknowledgements up on the website soon. There
are a lot many more people who have our gratitude for their
contribution to the event. A big big thanks to them.
Cheers
Ritu
(And now I am off to the mountains!)
Kaustubh Pingle wrote:
> as told by Mr Deepak J in a different music forum, Regds KCP
> -------------------------------------------------
> It is S.D.Burman's birth centenary this year. And www.sdburman.net
> compiled an awesome evening today, here in Delhi at Sri Sathya Sai
> Auditorium, Lodhi Road.
>
> Personally, I have attended very few musical shows, primarily because
> the music that I like is seldom a crowd-puller, and hence commercial
> organizations avoid it. However, this was a treat compiled by a select
> group of connoisseurs, and all of it - as Ritu Chandra, one of the
> co-hosts and co-owner of the site mentioned - voluntary and for immense
> love for Burmanda's music. Due to this I was eagerly awaiting the
> show. And I wasnt disappointed. A labor of love has a fragrance that i
Sunil Dandekar
Congratulations to Ritu for having pulled off this Herculean task. I
can only imagine the efforts, the co-ordination that must have gone in
making it happen, even though it was a labor of love. I hope that
encouraged by this success she might repeat this in rest of the
country, say Pune. ;-)
I always admire the go-getters, who do not confine themselves to
passive appreciation of the music, but go out and organize programs
like this. These programs not only give opportunity to rest of us to
listen to the artistes who created the magic in the first place, but
also plant the seeds of love of good music in the young generation. I
am sure many young people come to these programs as social events and
go away hooked to the period music.
The Navras concept was also novel. Any hopes of getting CD of the
program?
Regards,
Sunil
vijay...@my-deja.com
Ritu wrote:
> Thank you very much Deepak for the review on the show. This was a good
> feedback with a critique as well. Most people who meet you on the floor
> only say nice things so you never know the real picture. But I was
> telling someone today that my true feedback is going to come from the
> internet music community. Not the nitwit journalists covering the show
> :).
>
> I was actually headed out for the mountains for the next week and had
> thought that I would do all writing on the show later, but then I think
> since the steam is on lets just do it now.
>
> The whole show was a great moment for us at SDB.net. Firstly because we
> could get atleast some small thing out to commemorate our dear Old Man.
> It's really amazing DD that did full length documentaries on KLS and PM
> don't think find SDB as interesting a topic for a documentary!!!
>
Congratulations Ritu, on your (team's) show.
I was watching news on NDTV the other day, when they announced
"And after the break, a report on the SD Burman centenary celebrations"
and a brief 2-second long shot of the stage where I recognized you.
I told my daughter - "hey, that's my friend on TV"
My daughter was impressed, but not so impressed that she would
refrain from switching the channel to her cartoons :-(
So, I missed the TV report....
But Deepak's and your reports here are so much more informative!
Vijay
Srinivas Ganti
One of my good friends and fellow SDB fan is planning an event in Pune
/ Bombay
area for in Oct. Do you want to be one of the volunteers for this show
? :)
Cheers,
Sri.
Ketan
>Based on my personal email exchanegs with Ritu,
>shame on Dev Anand for being too greedy and
>not willing to pay tribute to a person who was
>a significant factor in his success.
Even though I would have liked Dev Anand to show up at Ritu's function, I can
see why he would refuse and at some level I would agree with him. There are a
dime a dozen SDB centenary celebrations going on around the country. Should he
be expected to attend all of them, paying for it(travel, lodging and personal
time) from his own pocket? Which ones does he go for and which ones does he
refuse--at the cost of being seen as pricey or arrogant? In the end, it fits
with his oft-stated approach, i.e: to talk as little as possible of yesteryear
movies and personalities. He wishes to keep this part of his memories private,
and however many teeth I might gnash and ask/plead/beg him to open up his
memories, you gotta respect his wishes and leave him to it. I very much doubt
that he even has a autobiography coming out anytime soon if at all. Not unless
he badly needs the money to make yet another *shudder* movie.
Ketan
Pavan Jha
Congrats for Putting up a great show.. Kudos to you and your team for a
brave effort, sincere and 'dil-se' tribute to Burman da.. He surely
would be smiling in the heavens. II missed the show and would regret it
for a long time..
> None of the people around me knew enough to
> point it out. That is an unpardonable faux pax. The chap who did this
> labelling I think just cut out names where they were getting too long
> for the space at the bottom! I have to ask him tomorrow. He put credits
> in the AV and he's called Pavan Jha, Pawn Jha!!
Great!!. How did he knew I was a chess fanatic... and ofcourse I was
fortunate to serve as a Pawn (though remotely) in the squad of
volunteers for the show.. my pleasure..
>
> I will post my list of acknowledgements up on the website soon.
would love to see Pics of the show ASAP and a detailed dofficial
report on the site!!!
> (And now I am off to the mountains!)
Haven't you climbed one already and I am sure the earlier one would
prove to be more exciting with higher peeks you conquered with the
show....
Keep climbing!!!
Pavan
Pais
These should then be of interest to you ;)
http://apunkachoice.co.uk/happenings/20060721-0.html
http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=072246
Regards
Pais
Srinivas Ganti
Kaustubh Pingle wrote:
> as told by Mr Deepak J in a different music forum, Regds KCP
> -------------------------------------------------
> way from Mysore and Bombay to attend the show. I was impressed by Mr
> Srinivas from Mysore, who was sitting next to me.
I got a couple of messages regarding this. Just wanted to clarify that
this was Dr.Srinivasan Channiga from Mysore.
I am very much here in US, near NYC (and yes I am coming to the Bay
Area meet !!)
Ritu
Ketan wrote:
> In article <KRJyg.7880$UY2....@fe11.lga>, Abhay Jain says...
>
> >Based on my personal email exchanegs with Ritu,
> >shame on Dev Anand for being too greedy and
> >not willing to pay tribute to a person who was
> >a significant factor in his success.
>
> Even though I would have liked Dev Anand to show up at Ritu's function, I can
> see why he would refuse and at some level I would agree with him. There are a
> dime a dozen SDB centenary celebrations going on around the country. Should he
> be expected to attend all of them, paying for it(travel, lodging and personal
> time) from his own pocket?
I think Abhayji got my personal email wrong. At no point did we expect
Dev Anand to come for free or pay for his own passage. Abhayji had
suggested he could pay for his passage and at some point I had lamented
that no money so we can't get Dev Anand and he must have put two and
two together. But basically my lament was that we did not have enough
money for the hospitality that a celebrity of his stature should
require and hence was out of reach for us. We never asked him to come
for free.
But as a lifelong fan I must confess that my meeting with Dev Anand was
the least memorable of all the celebrities I met. I found him lacking
in substance somehow and also slightly self-obsessed. Given the fact
that Dev Anand was the reason I first got interested in vintage music
and SDB, the starting point of the long journey I have made as a music
lover, it was sad that I could not get a one page article for our
journal !
Regards
Ritu
Ritu
surjit singh wrote:
> > Finally a tribute to our friend Ritu for her dedication and
> > hard work resulting in a great program against so many odds.
>
> Absloutely agree! Once again RMIMers show how it is done.
Thanks Prof Saab your good wishes!
Though to be fair and to give credit where it's due, in this case I
would identify myself as an SKSer :). I did have a lot of personal
friends in RMIM helping me in this venture, the support I got from
unknown members in SKS both to personal mails and public appeals was
overwhelming (particularly when the project hit a low phase). I am
eternally thankful to them!
Cheers
Ritu
Ritu
Sunil Dandekar wrote:
> Thanks Deepak for a wonderful review.
>
> Congratulations to Ritu for having pulled off this Herculean task. I
> can only imagine the efforts, the co-ordination that must have gone in
> making it happen, even though it was a labor of love. I hope that
> encouraged by this success she might repeat this in rest of the
> country, say Pune. ;-)
Thanks Sunil. I would have loved to do something in Pune or Bombay.
Eventually in Delhi you are limited because of the lack of discerning
audience. Bheemsinh Rahangdale is planning a celebration in Bombay and
we have been toying with the idea of polishing up the same Navras theme
and taking it to Bombay. Ofcourse I shan't be around in India myself at
that time. Whatever he does, I am sure Bheem will do a wonderful job
and I hope you can make it for that show.
Cheers
Ritu
Ritu
vijay...@my-deja.com wrote:
> Ritu wrote:
> > Thank you very much Deepak for the review on the show. This was a good
> > feedback with a critique as well. Most people who meet you on the floor
> > only say nice things so you never know the real picture. But I was
> > telling someone today that my true feedback is going to come from the
> > internet music community. Not the nitwit journalists covering the show
> > :).
> >
> > I was actually headed out for the mountains for the next week and had
> > thought that I would do all writing on the show later, but then I think
> > since the steam is on lets just do it now.
> >
> > The whole show was a great moment for us at SDB.net. Firstly because we
> > could get atleast some small thing out to commemorate our dear Old Man.
> > It's really amazing DD that did full length documentaries on KLS and PM
> > don't think find SDB as interesting a topic for a documentary!!!
> >
> (snip)
>
> Congratulations Ritu, on your (team's) show.
>
> I was watching news on NDTV the other day, when they announced
> "And after the break, a report on the SD Burman centenary celebrations"
> and a brief 2-second long shot of the stage where I recognized you.
Thanks Vijay, I actually missed all the coverage myself because I left
for the Valley of Flowers a day later. But the beautiful rugged Garhwal
mountains were more than worth it :).
Cheers
Ritu
Ketan
>But as a lifelong fan I must confess that my meeting with Dev Anand was
>the least memorable of all the celebrities I met. I found him lacking
>in substance somehow and also slightly self-obsessed. Given the fact
>that Dev Anand was the reason I first got interested in vintage music
>and SDB, the starting point of the long journey I have made as a music
>lover, it was sad that I could not get a one page article for our
>journal !
I agree with the first part of your impression--the lack of substance. Even when
I met him 10 years ago, he was reluctant to speak much and it was only after he
realized that I wasn't going to leave without some info that he relented and
spoke a bit about his association with SDB, Kishore, Guru Dutt etc. 10 years
ago, I am not sure if he was truly self-obsessed. It seemed to be an act to keep
away people who might continuosly hound for him interviews, memories etc. Given
his recent movies, comments, interviews, I am inclined to agree with you on the
second part too.
Ketan
Ritu
> In article <1154927804.7...@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, Ritu says...
>
> >But as a lifelong fan I must confess that my meeting with Dev Anand was
> >the least memorable of all the celebrities I met. I found him lacking
> >in substance somehow and also slightly self-obsessed. Given the fact
> >that Dev Anand was the reason I first got interested in vintage music
> >and SDB, the starting point of the long journey I have made as a music
> >lover, it was sad that I could not get a one page article for our
> >journal !
>
> I agree with the first part of your impression--the lack of substance. Even when
> I met him 10 years ago, he was reluctant to speak much and it was only after he
> realized that I wasn't going to leave without some info that he relented and
> spoke a bit about his association with SDB, Kishore, Guru Dutt etc.
I guess therein the difference lies. I am not a very persuasive person
esp. with strangers and I really did not try much with him. It wasn't
so much to do with his reluctance to talk as it was to do with what he
said esp. vis-a-vis SDB. It really wasn't much. Or maybe as a die-hard
fan my expectations were higher?
10 years
> ago, I am not sure if he was truly self-obsessed. It seemed to be an act to keep
> away people who might continuosly hound for him interviews, memories etc. Given
> his recent movies, comments, interviews, I am inclined to agree with you on the
> second part too.
I don't think it's an act.. it's just him. To sample. Somewhere down
the conversation I commented that "You must have had a special rapport
with SDB considering the variety and consistency of quality in the work
he gave to Navketan". This immediatate response was (not exact words)
"It actually depends upon the person who is extracting the music. A lot
of times I would suggest to him.. Dada do it this way...so it depends
on how you get good work for your film" !
Moot point... maybe he is right, but he couldn't help focus the
conversation on himself. He was basically disinterested in the whole
dealings apart from two places. First when he saw the invitation card
and 'Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai' as the title he gave a broad grin.
He was very happy that it was from his film and the second time when I
asked him about his autobiography. Yes he is writing it these days.
He's getting it edited and is quite busy with it. It will come out
early next year he says.
Actually... for the self-obessed part you don't need to go far. Look at
the Navketan website. The write-ups have his name in bold in every
other line! And there is no mention of either Vijay Anand or Chetan
Anand. It's a sham. After meeting Dev Anand I quite rued the fact that
Vijay Anand was not alive. Given my great admiration for Navketan and
their films, he would have been the person to meet. Vijay Anand was the
real substance behind Navketan.
Incidentally, I did tell him in as polite terms as I could that the
Navketan website leaves a lot to be desired.. he told me to get in
touch with his son and help give tips to improve it... but I think I
need to sit down with two back to back sessions on Nau Do Gyarah before
I feel inspired enough to do anything of that kind ;)
The crux in the whole deal... an artist and his art are two different
things. Don't mix the two. Revere the art not the artist !
Cheers
Ritu
Abhay Jain
"Ritu" <ritucha...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154927804.7...@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Ketan wrote:
>
>> In article <KRJyg.7880$UY2....@fe11.lga>, Abhay Jain says...
>>
>> >Based on my personal email exchanegs with Ritu,
>> >shame on Dev Anand for being too greedy and
>> >not willing to pay tribute to a person who was
>> >a significant factor in his success.
>>
>> Even though I would have liked Dev Anand to show up at Ritu's function, I
>> can
>> see why he would refuse and at some level I would agree with him. There
>> are a
>> dime a dozen SDB centenary celebrations going on around the country.
>> Should he
>> be expected to attend all of them, paying for it(travel, lodging and
>> personal
>> time) from his own pocket?
>
>
> I think Abhayji got my personal email wrong. At no point did we expect
> Dev Anand to come for free or pay for his own passage. Abhayji had
> suggested he could pay for his passage and at some point I had lamented
> that no money so we can't get Dev Anand and he must have put two and
> two together. But basically my lament was that we did not have enough
> money for the hospitality that a celebrity of his stature should
> require and hence was out of reach for us. We never asked him to come
> for free.
>
My posting did not imply you wanted him to come for free.
It is true that I had suggested that he could come on his own.
But I was refering to the email where you mentioned him asking
to pay for his entourage.
My trouble here is putting Dev Anand on a pedestal by
saying that "..hospitality that a celebrity of his stature should
require". But we are forgetting that whole event was to pay
tribute to a person of greater stature, SDB who is larger
in stature than Dev Anand who owes his success in large
part to SBD beyond good looks. His long association
with SDB and him being one of few of SDB's
surviving associates, his presence was overdue (IMHO).
AJ
>
>
> Regards
> Ritu
>
Ritu
I guess, you got me wrong. Dev Anand himself never asked for any such
thing. But speaking to other people who organise shows like this, it is
a forgone conclusion that you not only pay for the celebrity but also
for his entourage. Even with Neeraj we paid for his companion.
>
> My trouble here is putting Dev Anand on a pedestal by
> saying that "..hospitality that a celebrity of his stature should
> require". But we are forgetting that whole event was to pay
> tribute to a person of greater stature, SDB who is larger
> in stature than Dev Anand who owes his success in large
> part to SBD beyond good looks. His long association
> with SDB and him being one of few of SDB's
> surviving associates, his presence was overdue (IMHO).
Agreed, but as Ketan says.. it's not about SDB but who is giving a
tribute to him. Dev Anand has no way of knowing our credentials. We
have not done anything in the past to prove ourselves and have nothing
to our credit apart from our passion for SDB. He did fly all the way to
Calcutta to recieve the award instituted in SDB's name. But there
ofcourse, it was a govt. organised function and the chief minister was
present. The scale of our show was too small for him.
Infact later Chowdhury Saab who had put me through him (and knew him
personally at some level) commented that he knew that he wouldn't come
but he did not want me to know at the outset and get disappointed since
I was such a big fan. His reading of Dev Anand more or less matched
mine.
But where he could have done something was give us a good piece for the
journal. That really does not call for much effort on his end. Even
Gulzar could not make it (or rather I told him the same). But he gave
me a great recording for the journal despite his short association with
SDB. Even though he was not chatty and friendly like Meena Kapoor or
even Neeraj but he was courteous, professional and to the point. Manna
Dey also gave Satish Uncle a wonderful copy. It doesn't really take
much to do that. That's something Dev Anand could have done IMO.
Anyway... all water under the bridge now. Show over. Time to move on :)
Cheers
Ritu
Ketan
>SDB who is larger in stature than Dev Anand who owes his success in large
>part to SBD beyond good looks. His long association with SDB and him being >one
>of few of SDB's surviving associates, his presence was overdue (IMHO).
I haven't yet crunched all the numbers but a quick memory check tells me that
both Dev Anand and SDB found the greatest success when they were paired
together, but even when they were independent of each other, they weren't
failures either. Dev Anand does have a lot of hit movies or memorable songs with
other MDs. So am not sure if one can say that SD was responsible for Dev Anand's
success. Infact the case could be made for exactly the opposite, that it was Dev
Anand's initial popularity that ensured the success of Jaal and Baazi that kept
SDB from leaving Bombay. Personally though, I am against over-crediting either
one as the reason for the other person's success. I think it was a case of right
place-right time.
Taking other pairs, would you say the same(an MD(pair)who made the actor
famous)as regards RK-SJ, or Dilip-Naushad, Rajendra Kumar-SJ, Rajesh Khanna-RDB?
And what about actress-MD pairs. Does Waheeda owe some success to SDB, for
giving her memorable songs in Pyaasa, Kagaaz Ke Phool and the Navketan films?
Ketan
Ritu
Ketan wrote:
> In article <0raCg.52$pi5...@fe11.lga>, Abhay Jain says...
>
> >SDB who is larger in stature than Dev Anand who owes his success in large
> >part to SBD beyond good looks. His long association with SDB and him being >one
> >of few of SDB's surviving associates, his presence was overdue (IMHO).
>
> I haven't yet crunched all the numbers but a quick memory check tells me that
> both Dev Anand and SDB found the greatest success when they were paired
> together, but even when they were independent of each other, they weren't
> failures either. Dev Anand does have a lot of hit movies or memorable songs with
> other MDs. So am not sure if one can say that SD was responsible for Dev Anand's
> success. Infact the case could be made for exactly the opposite, that it was Dev
> Anand's initial popularity that ensured the success of Jaal and Baazi that kept
> SDB from leaving Bombay. Personally though, I am against over-crediting either
> one as the reason for the other person's success. I think it was a case of right
> place-right time.
Agreed. It was team work. Maybe there was a synergy at best. But
Navketan only represents one part of SDB's work. With Dev Anand, he
found success with SJ with films like 'Love Marriage', 'Jab Pyar Kisi
Se Hota Hai' (what else?) and KA for 'Johnny Mera Naam'. But there is
no doubt his finest work was with the Burmans particularly SDB. One can
safely say that 75% of his greatest songs are by SDB. Esp. post 1954.
But if you look at it dispassionately then the other side of the coin
is that it was Dev Anand who gave SDB the much needed confidence when
he was ill and out in the 60s by sticking by him for Guide. This was at
a time when the rest of SDB's patrons like Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy(?),
Fimistan etc. had all conveniently dumped him. I don't think we can
doubt the Anands' devotion for SDB (though after reading an effusive
interview of Vijay Anand I wonder if it was driven by him?).
>
> Taking other pairs, would you say the same(an MD(pair)who made the actor
> famous)as regards RK-SJ, or Dilip-Naushad, Rajendra Kumar-SJ, Rajesh Khanna-RDB?
Pradeep Kumar - Hemant Kumar :). After watching the film, I cannot
imagine Pradeep Kumar or Nagin running for more than 2 days had it not
been for Hemantda's chartbusting music!
And what about Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee etc. I think they basically
ran because of those typical 60s plots and OPN and SJ's foot-tapping
music. Eg. 'Mere Sanam', 'Ek Musafir Ek Hasina', 'Phir wohi dil laaya
hoon', 'Love in Japan' etc.
> And what about actress-MD pairs. Does Waheeda owe some success to SDB, for
> giving her memorable songs in Pyaasa, Kagaaz Ke Phool and the Navketan films?
>
A slightly indirect relation because films were never heroine centric
and they rarely formed teams. What about Zeenat Aman and RDB? Or by the
same yard stick Nargis and SJ?
Ritu
UVR
>
> And what about Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee etc. I think they basically
> ran because of those typical 60s plots and OPN and SJ's foot-tapping
> music. Eg. 'Mere Sanam', 'Ek Musafir Ek Hasina', 'Phir wohi dil laaya
> hoon', 'Love in Japan' etc.
>
Love in Japan? You are probably thinking of that horrid, horrid song
"jaapaaaaan! lav in Tokiyo!" That's Joy M. with Asha Parekh. IMO, the
better "Love in *" movie with Joy M. was Love in Simla, with a stunning
Sadhana gracing the B&W screen. Even _stunninger_, I think, than in
Asli Naqli.
BTW, I think Biswajeet gained as much by his association with Hemant
as with OPN, if not more. I'd like Kalraji or Afzal saahib comment on
whether they think Mere Sanam and PWDLH would've have had Bis's
face on the screen had Bees Saal Baad not preceded them.
-UVR.
surjit singh
UVR wrote:
> Ritu wrote:
> >
> > And what about Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee etc. I think they basically
> > ran because of those typical 60s plots and OPN and SJ's foot-tapping
> > music. Eg. 'Mere Sanam', 'Ek Musafir Ek Hasina', 'Phir wohi dil laaya
> > hoon', 'Love in Japan' etc.
> >
>
> Love in Japan? You are probably thinking of that horrid, horrid song
> "jaapaaaaan! lav in Tokiyo!" That's Joy M. with Asha Parekh. IMO, the
> better "Love in *" movie with Joy M. was Love in Simla, with a stunning
> Sadhana gracing the B&W screen. Even _stunninger_, I think, than in
And, I am sure that everybody knows that the famous 'Sadhna cut'
originated in this movie and it was really Audrey Hepburn cut!
QUIZ: Who was the elderly lady who cajoled Sadhna to get the cut (in
the movie)?
UVR
>
> QUIZ: Who was the elderly lady who cajoled Sadhna to get the cut (in
> the movie)?
Answer: Who in their right mind would look at an elderly lady when
Sadhana was in the picture?
-UVR.
surjit singh
Answer to Answer: Haven't you heard the one about the imaarat and
khaND_har ? :)
>
> -UVR.
Deepak Sabnis
a pretty boy who imitated Gregory Peck. Don't get me wrong. I like many Dev
Anand movies. However, I don't consider Dev Anand a maha-talented actor,
certainly not in the same league as Guru Dutt or Balraj Sahni and few
others. He was not bad either. All these are my personal opinions of course.
However, I would like to present an example to make my case.
I love the House No. 44 song - "phailii huii.n hai.n sapano.n kii baahe.n".
I was all anticipation when I bought the DVD. It was such a huge
dis-appointment to see the picturization. Of course, it is not Dev Anand's
fault. But my point is that a good actor is helped more by a good plot, a
good director and of course good acting. As Ritu pointed out in response to
my querry about a song from Guide, the director can use music to enhance the
impact of a scene in the movie. But the song usually stands on its own. Real
credit for a song goes to the lyricists, music director, singers and the
orchestra members.
I still like the song from House No. 44 despite the wasted picturization
opportunity in the movie.
Deepak
Ketan
>Love in Japan? You are probably thinking of that horrid, horrid song
>"jaapaaaaan! lav in Tokiyo!" That's Joy M. with Asha Parekh. IMO, the
I wonder how SDB would have handled it, since he was the original MD picked for
this movie. This is when he had the heart-attack and lost 3 of the 4 movies on
hand--all excepting Dev Anand's Guide. 2 others that he lost were "Gumnaam" and
"Baharen phir bhi aayengi". I think S-J were composing with Shammi in mind and
hence the exaggerated singing, which IMO is not that bad. And you call yourself
a Rafian? Tchah!
>BTW, I think Biswajeet gained as much by his association with Hemant
>as with OPN, if not more. I'd like Kalraji or Afzal saahib comment on
>whether they think Mere Sanam and PWDLH would've have had Bis's
>face on the screen had Bees Saal Baad not preceded them.
PWDLH and Biswajeet? Doesn't (Kill)Joy grace the screen in PWDLH?
Ketan
ltusenet
Ketan wrote:
>
> PWDLH and Biswajeet? Doesn't (Kill)Joy grace the screen in PWDLH?
Yes it is Joy Mukherjee. For his sadela acting, he was in quite a few
entertainers..namely Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, PWDLH ityaadi..and the music
in these was very enjoyable.
>
>
> Ketan
UVR
> In article <1155149806.3...@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com>, UVR says...
>
> >Love in Japan? You are probably thinking of that horrid, horrid song
> >"jaapaaaaan! lav in Tokiyo!" That's Joy M. with Asha Parekh. IMO, the
>
> I wonder how SDB would have handled it, since he was the original MD picked for
> this movie. This is when he had the heart-attack and lost 3 of the 4 movies on
> hand--all excepting Dev Anand's Guide. 2 others that he lost were "Gumnaam" and
> "Baharen phir bhi aayengi". I think S-J were composing with Shammi in mind and
> hence the exaggerated singing, which IMO is not that bad. And you call yourself
> a Rafian? Tchah!
>
The song is not bad *because* of Rafi. It's bad *despite* him. Have
you
paid attention to the idiotic music/orchestration? It reminds me of
the
nonsense going on with the instruments in songs like "tum kamsin ho"
or "dekhaa hai teri aa.Nkho.n me.n pyaar hi pyaar". A 2yr old could
make better noises when he's banging on the pots in the kitchen.
> >BTW, I think Biswajeet gained as much by his association with Hemant
> >as with OPN, if not more. I'd like Kalraji or Afzal saahib comment on
> >whether they think Mere Sanam and PWDLH would've have had Bis's
> >face on the screen had Bees Saal Baad not preceded them.
>
> PWDLH and Biswajeet? Doesn't (Kill)Joy grace the screen in PWDLH?
>
Yes, you're right, he did. My bad, but does it really matter, except
from an academic p.o.v? :) Kalraji and Afzal sb can replace
PWDLH in that question with Kismat ('68).
-UVR.