Moving forward, and looking back to Old is Gold

I wish the days were longer. If there were 48 hours in a day, instead of just 24, I would be able to spend so much more time doing fun things – painting, reading, writing… But the more pragmatic around me point out that if days were longer I would probably need to work longer hours and spend more time on daily routines, and they are definitely not shy in telling me that if days were longer, I would spend more hours watching movies, chit-chatting and… planning all the things I would do if the days were longer! Ah well, they are probably right but that does not stop me from dreaming of scenarios where all my plans would come to fruition.

But I am happy to say, that even though I am continuously failing to complete my half-written posts, I haven’t been entirely unproductive. I have been working on reviving Bollyviewer’s old blog, Old is Gold. With more than a hundred of her posts there, it remains a treasure trove for me. I am re-posting one of the popular posts from that blog, where I have updated the web-links.

The A-Z of Mohammed Rafi
Originally published: 31 July 2009

Think old Hindi songs and you think of Rafi’s voice! For over three decades, he was the singing voice of generations of heroes. His melodious voice could soar into high notes for a passionate song or dip down into the low notes for a ghazal, adapt itself equally well to a qawwali, a classical song, a Rock-n-Roll number, or a bhajan. It wasn’t just his vocal range and melodious voice that made him such a popular singer. There was also that elusive quality – Charisma with a capital C – in his voice (a quality that onscreen stars had cause to be grateful for!). And then of course, as Filmi Girl points in her awesome podcast, he was also a consummate actor. He could make you laugh and cry, tug on your heartstrings, make you feel blue, or ready to dance. 29 years after his death, his voice is still fresh and charismatic as ever!

So, here’s a post dedicated to my favorite singer on his 29th Death Anniversary [ed. 42nd anniversary in Jul 2022]. Since it’s impossible to do a list of my favorite Rafi songs or even favorite Rafi solos/duets, (those lists would run into the hundreds), I’ve decided to do a Rafi song for each letter of the alphabet.* Just to make things more interesting, I decided to restrict myself to his duets or group performances from B/W films. So here goes…(The songs are all in a YouTube playlist.)

Hum leke rahenge azadi – India Awakens

India is afire with protests against the country’s new citizenship law (CAA). To those of us who have been watching fascism’s brutal take-over of India with growing dismay, the last couple of months have brought dawning hope. The people have finally risen against injustice and tyranny.

Naina songs

It is re-union time again! In masala-land, a re-union does not need a reason, but a rhyme (and music) is always welcome. When Madhu posted her Aankhen songs list, Anu also wanted to post about filmi eyes and I am always happy to join a song-n-dance party. So we planned our re-union party, with songs about eyes – Anu decided to bring Nigaahein songs to the party, Madhu opted for Nazar, and I settled on Naina songs.

Seeta Aur Geeta (1972)

Once upon a time in masala filmland, families/siblings were routinely torn asunder (usually in Kumbh Mela, accidents or by the machinations of the evil villain) and brought together years later through inevitable coincidence. Sadly, families always seem to stay together these days. Be that as it may, as a card carrying member of Bollywood’s families-torn-apart-and-re-united party, I was, naturally, always alert to the possibility that I have missing family out in this big bad world. But it was in blogland that I finally met my long-lost masala sisters – Anu (Conversations Over Chai) and Madhu (Dustedoff). Anu and Madhu found each other years ago. My masala sibling-ness took a while to manifest itself – Anu and I both lived in Bombay, Madhu and I both live(d) in Delhi, all three of us had (mostly) the same thoughts about movies/songs/actors/books. But when Anu and I watched the same movie (five years apart) and found ourselves making the same comments on the film, it was time to face up to the truth – we were bicchdi behne indeed!

A re-union of masala sisters does not happen everyday. To celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime re-union, we decided to watch our favourite masala re-union stories. In order to spare you reading about the same movie thrice (of course, we all chose the same movie to review!) Anu decided to watch Yaadon Ki Baaraat (three brothers separated in childhood by an evil villain), Madhu went for Johnny Mera Naam (two separated brothers) and I settled for my favourite twin-sisters-separated-at-birth film.

Guest post: Makeover of the filmi doormats

Dear readers, I have been very tardy about writing new posts, lately. (It’s mostly the fault of the hot Delhi summer which makes it very uncomfortable to use my laptop.) So, when Ruchi, a regular Masala Punch reader, told me of her tragic encounter with a doormat (of the reel type), I immediately spotted a blog post in her and made every effort to encourage her writing. In the end, it turned out to be a joint effort, since neither of us had the time or the energy to do all the research on our own. Today we have for you a list of five filmi doormats and how we wish they had turned out. Over to Ruchi: 

I still remember the days when I was completely hooked on to Dhoop Kinarey, a Pakistani tele-serial that held my imagination with the brilliant romance of the impetuous Zoya with the oh so serious Ahmer Ansari. So when I recently came across a ‘new’ (new for me i.e.) Pakistani tele-serial on You Tube – Humsafar – which had apparently been a hit in Pakistan, I was immediately interested. The beautiful Khirad (Mahira Khan) and her blossoming romance with the handsome Asher (Fawaad Khan), the understated melodrama, so unlike what the likes of Ekta Kapoor are dishing out on the Indian TV screen, was seductive. So what if Khirad had a tendency to cry every episode, she was khuddar (self-respecting), we knew that from the very first episode. And anyway she did cry with such panache that you just had to admire it. And yes, Asher couldn’t stand up to his manipulative father but you can’t quibble with every tiny thing! The story had to start somewhere! 

Kabli Khan (1963) – scenery-chewing patriotism!

Masala patriotism is not my favourite genre, but where there are rules, there are exceptions to rules. And this film is firmly in the exception-to-rules category as far as my no-unsubtle-patriotic-films rule goes. I picked this up because it stars Ajit and Helen, and have no reason to regret my choice.

Ek Saal (1957) – the romantic year

I’ve been on a murder mystery watching spree of late. For a change of pace, I thought I’d watch something romantic.  But what to watch? That’s not a decision to be taken lightly. Ergo, I spent several (happy) hours on youtube, trying to decide what to watch! After much research and mental debate, I settled on watching a Madhubala film – even if the film is bad, Madhubala makes up for many filmi flaws. Once the all-important decision was made, it wasn’t hard to decide that a re-watch of Ek Saal is exactly what the doctor ordered. It’s my favourite Madhubala movie, it has her paired with another favourite – Ashok Kumar – in my favourite kind of romance – the bad guy reformed by TRUE LOVE!!!! Who wouldn’t be reformed by love of Madhubala? Certainly not our revered Dada Mani.

Ek Baar Kaho (1980) – a tryst with romance

I am very partial to well-made romantic films, and this one ticks all the boxes on my checklist for well-made romances: Dishy hero? Check. Melt-into-a-puddle romance? Check. A mature, grown-up couple? (No, I am not referring to their ages!) Check. Romance in the hills? Check! Coherent, well-crafted story? Check. Well-written dialogues? Check. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture!

Anupama (1966) – romance Hrishikesh Mukherjee style!

Google moves in mysterious ways, its wonders to perform. You ask for information on a new film, and before you know it, you are knee deep in photographs of your favourite B/W onscreen couples! One such search led me to pictures of young Dharam and Sharmila – one of my favourite onscreen pairs. They are both incredibly good looking, excellent actors, and have several great films together. Anupama (The Incomparable One) has long been a favourite of mine, and tops my list of Dharam-Sharmila films. I love well-done romances and they’re seldom as well done as this gentle coming-of-age story of a timid and shy young woman. And no wonder. When Hrishikesh Mukherjee gets together with the likes of Rajinder Singh Bedi, Kaifi Azmi and Hemanta Kumar, one can really look forward to quality cinema.