Tuesday 13 May 2008

S.D. Burman: Aradhana (1969)

Aradhana

Here's one I'm quite fond of. Burman Sr. this time - although I suspect Rahul Dev had a hand in 'Aradhana' [review]; the trademarks are there. Check out the cool shuffle of 'Roop Tera Mastana', the chirpy bounce of 'Mere Sapnon Ki Rani' and the groovy backbeat of 'Baghon Mein Bahar Hai' (my favourite). Add a lovely Lata Mangeshkar contribution in 'Chanda Hai Tu Mera Suraj Hai Tu' and you've got what amounts to an ace score.

Track listing:
1. Kishore Kumar: Roop Tera Mastana
2. Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle: Gun Guna Rahe Hain Bhanvre
3. Kishore Kumar: Mere Sapnon Ki Rani
4. Mohd. Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar: Baghon Mein Bahar Hai
5. Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar: Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera
6. Lata Mangeshkar: Chanda Hai Tu Mera Suraj Hai Tu
7. S.D. Burman: Saphal Hogi Teri Aradhana

33 comments:

  1. Thaaaaaank you sooooo much!
    This is wonderful! Long Live PC! =)

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  2. PC, do you understand Hindi language or do you simply go for the music?? Just curious! I am amazed :)

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  3. Just the music. I have no idea what they're singing about.
    PC x

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  4. more of "just the music"

    kalyanji anandji - don background music

    http://www.mediafire.com/?2vsmxv3mxy7

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  5. Roop Tera Mastana is already considered a classic, and began appearing on some of those Best of Bollywood CDs that all seemed to have come out between 2000-2005.

    I do think this is the first time anyone has offered this entire soundtrack though.

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  6. I did a tribute to Kishore Kumar over on my blog and just wanted to repost this tidbit in honor of this classic soundtrack~

    1969 would prove a watershed year in Kishore's life both personally (his beloved wife Madhubala passed away that year) and professionally (with 'Aradhana')...



    S.D. Burman had already started recording the songs for 'Aradhana' and used Mohammed Rafi's voice for the first two when he became very ill and was hospitalized. His son R.D. Burman was responsible for finishing the soundtrack and although R.D. was relatively new to Bollywood, he had always been enamored with Kishore's voice.

    R.D. broke tradition and recorded the remainder of the songs with Kishore in studio convinced that he would be able to hit the nuances of the songs better than Rafi. 'Aradhana' became a blockbuster hit and that one movie changed the entire landscape of Bollywood for years to come. Rajesh Khanna became the biggest movie star of the day and no one, not Raj Kapoor before him or Amitabh Bachchan after, could match the way he just owned the silver screen for the next five years. Kishore fared even better, after the success of 'Aradhana' he became the most sought after singer in Bollywood until he passed away and had few if any peers to his craft.

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  7. I don't claim to have the historical insight that you do, but as regards Kumar I agree with you!

    Don't you sense that Bachchan and Kumar were perhaps the best onscreen/offscreen duo in the history of Bollywood? No one could ever possibly have caught all the subtleties and diversities of Bachchan's performance better. And I always think about that 11 minute number in "Namaak Halal," a difficult number by Lahiri that Kumore simply pulls off with divine ease. Incredible.

    Films from that period with Bachchan teamed any other playback singer (with the exception of Bachchan himself) are a complete disappointment!

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  8. Hey PC,

    Thanks a million, wonderful uploads, greatly appreciated !!!.

    Would you by any chance happen to have these RDB albums on vinyl:

    PYAR KA MAUSAM - 1969
    WARIS - 1969
    MUKTI - 1977
    MELA - 1971
    CARAVAN - 1971
    RATON KA RAJA - 1970
    ABDULLAH - 1980

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  9. I have Caravan, to be posted at some point (obviously), none of the others though.
    PC x

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  10. Thanks for the quick reply, looking forward to Caravan. You're doing a wonderful job !!

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  11. I agree wholeheartedly! Kishore Kumar's voice fit Amitabh so well that even Pakistani friends of mine were fooled in the early 80's when we were all teenagers listening to the tunes. They had just learned about 'playback singers' and just thought it was Bachchan's voice. In fact, Kishore's voice seems more of a fit for Amitabh than Amitabh himself ;)

    The 11 minute number you mention is an absolutely brilliant 'reimagining' of a classic religious bhajan (I can email you a version that has amazing sitar composition if you would like). Kishore couldn't do the very fast portion of the song (the Hindi/Urdu version of Do Re Mi Fa So) so either a classical singer did that part or Bappi himself did.

    Speaking of Bappi.. did you catch the breakout show of the year on Sony TV? It was called 'K for Kishore' and was essentially an American Idol type competition but with only Kishore Kumar songs. A multitude of stars served as judges including Asha Bhonsle and Bappi Saab himself.

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  12. You'd be willing to email that? Sounds very tasty! Maybe instead you can just post the track at Rapidshare or Sendspace or Zshare, so we can all hear it.

    Two things, since I am a caucasian in the United States and do not have access to all the same media sources:

    1) I can imagine that Kumar, unlike Mohammed Rafi, did not have the same strength in traditional and/or sacred song forms, among them Bhajan and Qawwali - and since Lahiri is very much a "take charge" music director, I can in fact imagine him doing the part that was beyond Kumar's magnificent reach.

    2) No I definitely have NOT seen "K for Kishore" ! That
    s something that needs to be cured!

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  13. three things:

    1: glad to see the action is continuing here, thanks for yet another OST!

    2: I am also caucasian (I guess that still makes me part "asian") and for me at least, it's not just the music, but the "vibe" and sometimes the sheer abruptness of change, which with most forms of western music you just don't find (also, of course, Indian Classical)

    3: I would love to hear that song from Namak Halaal which I was just watching the other day. Please do post it up somewhere accessable.

    Thanks!

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  14. Thanks for yet another stellar post. I can't get enough of this Bollywood stuff.

    Best, Kevin

    http://eclectic-grooves.blogspot.com

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  15. Stephen: I can't post Namak Halaal as I haven't got it, however Stella_1 over at Parties, Saries and Melodies has, here, along with loads of other great scores.
    PC x

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  16. Scroll up to Sanket Vyas' post:
    The 11 minute number you mention is an absolutely brilliant 'reimagining' of a classic religious bhajan (I can email you a version that has amazing sitar composition if you would like)

    This is what I was talking about :)

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  17. Ah, right. Only he hasn't emailed it to me :-)
    PC x

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  18. lol no hurry...

    However, it occurred to me to ask: For those who are familiar with films that are good like Namak Halaal &/or starring Bachchan, could you please email me or post a list of the really good ones? I only have a handful of non-Raj Kapoor films, including Namak Halaal, Shaan, Teesri Manzil, Sholay...

    Since there are sooooo many films it would be nice to know where to start... and then know where to get non-bootleg quality DVD's of them in the USA.

    Got help? Please and Thanks, and sorry for the threadjack.

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  19. hey stephen, what's your e-mail address? i can e-mail you a list. you're just looking for essential stuff right?

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  20. Or post it here if you like, in case others are interested.
    PC x

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  21. "Baghon Mein Bahar Hai" is just brilliant.

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  22. hey lo pan - I am sure that it would be appreciated if you did post it up here. If you don't feel like it then send here: isfahani (at) g mail

    I am indeed looking for the 'essentials' there are so many of these films I have to depend on the kindness of more knowledgeable
    strangers to set me right!

    Thanks.

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  23. Okay Stephen, I think I'm a little in over my head. The task of listing all of the essential Hindi films is almost impossible because, well, for every Hollywood film made, Bollywood has about 20. The Bombay film industry is just way too expansive. It all depends on what the person is looking for. There's something for everyone. If you want straight action similar to the James Bond series, I'd recommend Shaan, which was Ramesh Sippy's follow-up to Sholay. If you want a strange horror film, I'd recommend Rajkumar Kohli's Nagin. If you want a film with hippie elements in it, I'd recommend Purab Aur Pacchim. It all depends on the person, but if I was given some sort of position in which I was supposed to think of 25 films that I feel best represent Hindi cinema, I'd list these. Out of these titles, the introductory film should definitely be Sholay. If you've seen it already, Deewaar is an excellent follow-up. Keep in mind, the 80's were a pretty bad decade for Hindi cinema, which can be seen by its lack of representation in my list of films. There's an abundance of other essential titles, but this is a good start. If you need any assistance, just message me on my blog. You can buy all of these titles from Eros Entertainment (http://www.erosentertainment.com). Wal-Mart is starting to carry Bollywood titles as well. If you find anything you're curious about, just message me because I've most likely seen it. I'm a Bollywood whore. I hope this helps. Take care

    1. Awaara (Raj Kapoor, 1951)
    2. Pyaasa (Guru Dutt, 1957)
    3. Mother India (Mehboob, 1957)
    4. Sangam (Raj Kapoor, 1964)
    5. Guide (Vijay Anand, 1965)
    6. Humraaz (B.R. Chopra, 1967)
    7. Jewel Thief (Vijay Anand, 1967)
    8. Mera Naam Joker (Raj Kapoor, 1970)
    9. Shor (Manoj Kumar, 1972)
    10. Daag (Yash Chopra, 1973)
    11. Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)
    12. Deewaar (Yash Chopra, 1975)
    13. Pratiggya (Dulal Guha, 1975)
    14. Trishul (Yash Chopra, 1978)
    15. Don (Chandra Barot, 1978)
    16. Qurbani (Feroz Khan, 1980)
    17. Umrao Jaan (Muzaffar Ali, 1981)
    18. Darr (Yash Chopra, 1993)
    19. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra, 1995)
    20. Maachis (Gulzar, 1996)
    21. Vaastav (Mahesh Manjrekar, 1998)
    22. Hey Ram (Kamal Hassan, 2000)
    23. Zubeidaa (Shyam Benegal, 2001)
    24. Dil Chahta Hai (Farhan Akhtar, 2001)
    25. Company (Ram Gopal Varma, 2002)

    And here's a list of some classic Amitabh Bachan material

    1. Anand (Hrishikesh Mukherjee, 1971)
    2. Zanjeer (Prakash Mehra, 1973)
    3. Deewaar (Yash Chopra, 1975)
    4. Sholay (Ramesh Sippy, 1975)
    5. Don (Chandra Barot, 1978)
    6. Trishul (Yash Chopra, 1978)
    7. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (Prakash Mehra, 1978)
    8. Kaala Patthar (Yash Chopra, 1978)
    9. Shaan (Ramesh Sippy, 1980)
    10. Silsila (Yash Chopra, 1981)
    11. Shakti (Ramesh Sippy, 1982)

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  24. I already have a handful of those: Awaara (all time favorite), Jewel Thief, Sholay, Shaan... Teezri Manzil and Namak Halaal are current favorites.

    I definitely realize that there's a lot to go thru, that's why I asked... And this is just Bolly, not including Lolly!

    I seem to draw the line at the 80's stuff tho, where it is indeed hit or miss, mostly miss. I really prefer the 'golden age' classics.

    Thanks for the list, I will be on the hunt. The unfortunate thing about EROS is the lack of quality on a lot of DVDs... And I find it interesting that the dreaded wal mart would start to carry such things. It might be time to go and visit again, as the local Indian groceries here seem to think that 19.99 is a reasonable price for these shoddy quality DVDs.

    The availability is nice, now if I could just get them to sub the songs!!!

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  25. Hey man, I never included any Lollywood films. I don't even watch that stuff.

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  26. Another good place to buy Bollywood DVDs is at Nehaflix (http://store.nehaflix.com/)
    PC x

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  27. I've just listened to the Doob Doob O'Rama compilation where the Kishore Kumar song "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani" from this soundtrack is featured and got very excited since this song was already an old favorite of mine in a cover version by Malaysian dangdut queen Zaleha Hamid. Zaleha's version is called "Perasaan Rindu" and can be downloaded here:
    http://popoknet.blogspot.com/2008/11/zaleha-hamid-dan-orkes-zindegi.html

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  28. Cool, would love to hear that. Sadly savefile.com (where the tracks are hosted) seems to have shut down, so I'm unable to access it :(

    D'you happen to have an MP3 you can pop up here?

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  29. Sure, good thing I didn't toss the old MP3s when I acquired the 7" then. Here's a link for you: http://www.mediafire.com/?zzmckyjzizg

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  30. Fantastic, thank you/tusen takk!

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  31. I'd love to hear this, would a reupload be possible?

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