Conversations Over Chai

15.04.1933-25.12.2024 I began ‘The Masters’ series in a bid to shine the spotlight on the people behind the camera – the directors, cinemato...

18.11.1901-30.10.1990 When we talk about the great directors of Indian cinema, one name is usually conspicuously missing – that of Shantaram...

02.11.1897-28.01.1984 Pic. Courtesy: Upperstall.com Sohrab Modi. The name brings to mind a man with a powerful voice, whose movies wer...

16.06.1920-26.09.1989 This post has been a long time coming. I first intended this to be posted on Hemant Kumar’s birth anniversary in Ju...

My love for old Hindi film songs is familiar to all those who have read my previous posts. And those who are familiar with my writing know t...

18.02.1914 - 19.08.1976 When veteran music director Khayyam was complimented on his compositions, he said, “ Where would my songs be without...

Picture Courtesy: India Today 19.02.1030 – 03. 02.2023 This past week, I have had occasion to ponder upon what Kamal Hassan referred to as...

14.01.1918 – 10.05.2002 Picture courtesy: Indian Express Archives I have always had an affinity for words. As a teen, I would religiously ...

14.07.1917-16.11.1967 Roshanlal Nagrath. Or, to refer to him by the name he became famous – Roshan. Anyone who loves old Hindi film music wi...

12.01.1918-05.01.1982 C Ramchandra. Or to give him his full name, Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar was born on January 12 th 1918 and died on J...

25.12.1919-05.05.2006 Naushad Ali. The name conjures up an old world aura, tehzeeb, and of course, scintillating melodies. From the footpath...

30.08-1923-14.12.1966 I spent a lot of time when I was growing up listening to Hindi songs. My favourite songs were those whose words reson...

10.01.1927 - 04.06.2020 Source: Indian Express Archives It’s a never-ending stream of bad news. If a global pandemic is devastatin...

19.05.1943 - 29.05. 2020 If 2020 didn’t already suck, well, it has just added to its sins. Blog reader and watchalong comrade Shalin...

16.01.1926 – 28.01.2007 OP Nayyar is the composer I turn to when I want happy songs. There's something about his compositions that...

01.10.1906 - 31.10.1975 This post has been a long time in coming. One year, to be precise. I picked the songs I wanted, badgered my ...

06.06.1919 – 23.09.1987 Rajendra Krishan Duggal or Rajinder Krishan was born on 6 June 1919 in Jalalpur Jattan (in present-day Pakista...

15.04.1922 – 17.09.1999 Back when I was used to having Hindi film songs play in the background all the time, names like Sahir Ludh...