When you hear the name Ameen Sayani, most people who grew up in India before the 90s will immediately connect it to a voice.
Legendary radio anchor and the 'Golden Voice of India', best known for his show Binaca Geetmala, will be in town this Independence Day to present Geetmala Ke Amar Sangeetkar, an audio-visual showcase of the work of famous composers like Madan Mohan, R D Burman, Naushad Ali, Salil Chowdhary and Laxminath Pyarelal among others.
"The golden period of Hindi film music had already begun when my flagship programme, Binaca Geetmala took off. It reflected our philosophy, devotion, romance, literature, poetry and culture," says Sayani.
"There were some outstanding music directors, lyric writers and singers who were going out of their way to create the best output they ever could and the music was absolutely divine. I have a huge archive, where one can find all these people recorded. I gave my son, Rajil the audio and said 'beta, can you turn this into an audio-visual?' That's how the show came about!"
One short piece of each music director has been taken and developed into an audio-visual with a montage of old photographs of them. Sayani has given a visual opening and closing to each segment as well. The format one can expect is the introduction, the audio-visual presentation and then, a performance of a song or two by that composer.
For over 65 years, Sayani has seen and heard the music of India change. When asked what his impression of it was, he says "The entire life and civilisation in the world is changing. It is but natural that film music changes as well. This happened in the West early — melody went out and only rhythms remained. As Naushad very correctly pointed out, 'The old golden period music used to touch the soul and the heart.
The current music, which is very good to dance or exercise, only touches the body. That is the truth'."
Another highlight of his show will be the unveiling of Geetmaala ki Chaao Mein, 35 volumes of the music of great composers personally compiled by Sayani himself. So how did he differ from his contemporaries? "I spoke from my heart because I've been close to the people about whom I spoke. I spoke as an insider.
In the heydays of Radio Ceylon, the probable number of listeners were 20 crore a week, I spoke as if I was talking to one person. I became a family member for my listener, not a far away announcer," describes Sayani as he completes his walk down memory lane.
The event is being organised by Rotary International District 3190 and will be held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, on August 15 at 6 pm, in aid of Dialysis Machines Project, which aims to make medical equipment available to those who do not have the means to afford it. For tickets, call 9845721118.
Legendary radio anchor and the 'Golden Voice of India', best known for his show Binaca Geetmala, will be in town this Independence Day to present Geetmala Ke Amar Sangeetkar, an audio-visual showcase of the work of famous composers like Madan Mohan, R D Burman, Naushad Ali, Salil Chowdhary and Laxminath Pyarelal among others.
"The golden period of Hindi film music had already begun when my flagship programme, Binaca Geetmala took off. It reflected our philosophy, devotion, romance, literature, poetry and culture," says Sayani.
"There were some outstanding music directors, lyric writers and singers who were going out of their way to create the best output they ever could and the music was absolutely divine. I have a huge archive, where one can find all these people recorded. I gave my son, Rajil the audio and said 'beta, can you turn this into an audio-visual?' That's how the show came about!"
One short piece of each music director has been taken and developed into an audio-visual with a montage of old photographs of them. Sayani has given a visual opening and closing to each segment as well. The format one can expect is the introduction, the audio-visual presentation and then, a performance of a song or two by that composer.
For over 65 years, Sayani has seen and heard the music of India change. When asked what his impression of it was, he says "The entire life and civilisation in the world is changing. It is but natural that film music changes as well. This happened in the West early — melody went out and only rhythms remained. As Naushad very correctly pointed out, 'The old golden period music used to touch the soul and the heart.
The current music, which is very good to dance or exercise, only touches the body. That is the truth'."
Another highlight of his show will be the unveiling of Geetmaala ki Chaao Mein, 35 volumes of the music of great composers personally compiled by Sayani himself. So how did he differ from his contemporaries? "I spoke from my heart because I've been close to the people about whom I spoke. I spoke as an insider.
In the heydays of Radio Ceylon, the probable number of listeners were 20 crore a week, I spoke as if I was talking to one person. I became a family member for my listener, not a far away announcer," describes Sayani as he completes his walk down memory lane.
The event is being organised by Rotary International District 3190 and will be held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, on August 15 at 6 pm, in aid of Dialysis Machines Project, which aims to make medical equipment available to those who do not have the means to afford it. For tickets, call 9845721118.