When one talks of ghazals in hindi film music, two names that will always stand out are those of Lata Mangeshkar & Madan Mohan and the music they produced together. There is a timelessness, an almost divine beauty and soulfulness in Madan Mohan Sb's music, the poetry of some of our best lyricists, and in the renditions of those songs by Lataji. The songs featured in this episode are -

1. Yun hasraton ke daagh - Adalat (1958)

2. Aapki nazaron ne samjha - Anpadh (1962)

4. Naghma-o-sher ki saugat kise pesh karoon - Gazal (1964)

4. Lag ja gale se - Woh Kaun Thi(1964)

5. Ham hain mata-e-koocha-o-bazar ki tarah - Dastak(1970)

6. Rasme ulfat ko nibhayein to nibhayein kaise - Dil ki raahen(1973)

7. Jaane kyun, yaadon ka mausam hai - Veer Zaara(2004)

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Amongst traditional music styles which evolved in India, Ghazals are right up there as a unique combination of poetry and melody; which could give expressions to myriad emotions. In the hands of accomplished poets like Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakil Badayuni, Kaifi Azmi; virtuoso music composers like Naushad, Madan Mohan, Ravi & Roshan; and supremely talented singers like Mohd Rafi and Talat Mahmood(featured in the photograph); Ghazal reached amazing heights in the 50s and 60s Bollywood music. This episode attempts to take a small step towards appreciation of this genre. The featured ghazals are -

1. Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya - Hum Dono(1961)

2. Na kisi ki ankh ka noor hoon - Lal Qila(1960)

3. Naseeb mein jiske jo likha tha - Do Badan(1966)

4. Phir wohi shaam - Jahan Ara (1964)

5. Main yeh sochkar - Haqeeqat (1964)

In the 1950s, Lata Mangeshkar was the name to reckon with amongst female playback singers but her sister, Asha Bhonsle, had to take the arduous and long road to success. This episode is the story of Asha Bhonsle and her search for a musical identity through the 50s and 60s. The partnerships that she struck with music directors like O P Nayyar & S D Burman and with Film maker B R Chopra, have given us some memorable music. Its a story of talent, grit and sheer hard work. This is a double episode, featuring 10 songs.

Shammi Sb's breakthrough on bollywood scene upturned many unsaid assumptions about the bollywood hero's persona and it was one person's vision which made it a reality - Subodh Mukherjee, the legendary producer and director. Tumsa Nahin Dekha, their first collaboration, together with the director, Nasir Hussain, heralded not merely a new star, but a new era in film making and music making. And yet, it was also almost a black swan event. In our fascinating study of evolution of bollywood music, this is probably the only chapter where several music directors created a sound to match the actor's on-screen persona and the filmmaker's vision behind it. In this episode, the songs are -

1. Tumsa nahin dekha - Tumsa Nahin Dekha(1957)

2. Ehsaan tera höga mujh par - Junglee (1961)

3. Tumne mujhe dekha - Teesri Manzil (1966)

4. Ye chaand sa roshan chehra - Kashmir ki Kali (1964)

5. Aasmaan se aaya farishta - An Evening in Paris (1967)

Navketan is a production house set up by brothers Chetan, Vijay & Dev Anand, in the 1950s, well known for its very distinctive urban style. The music of Navketan gave its movies a huge push ahead under the able stewardship of Music Director S D Burman and his famous partnerships with lyricists Sahir Ludhianvi, Shailendra, Majrooh and Hasrat Jaipuri. This episode attempts to give a flavour of Navketan's music. The songs included are -

1. Dukhi man mere - Funtoosh (1956)

2. Yeh Raat yeh chandni pair kahaan - Jaal(1952)

3. Na hum hamein jaano - Baat ek raat ki (1962)

4. Dil ka bhanwar kare aukar - Tere ghar ke saamne(1963)

5. Din dhal jaaye - Guide (1965)

Two of India's legendary film makers, Mehboob Khan who made Mother India amongst several other brilliant movies and K Asif, the film maker who will forever be known for making Mughal-e-Azam - collaborated with Music Composer Naushad to create some stirring music. In this episode, we will hear stories of these collaborations and the lengths to which film makers go to get the exact sound that they want in their movies. The songs featured in this episode are -

1. Tu kahe agar - Andaz

2. Maan mera ahsaan - Aan

3. Dukh bhare din beete re bhaiya - Mother India

4. More panghat par - Mughal-e-Azam

5. Pyar kiya to darna kya - Mughal-e-Azam

Continuing about lyricists who breathe life into songs, this episode talks about a few of my favourite songs about life, hope & mysticism. The songs in this episode are -

1. Mausam beeta jaaye - Do Bigha Zameen

2. Aasman pe hai khuda - Phir Subah Hogi

3. Kisi ki muskurahaton par - Anari

4. Jaanewaalon zara - Dosti

5. Aa chal ke tujhe - Door Gagan ki Chhaon Mein

We will talk about Shailendra, Sahir, Majrooh and Kishore Kumar and some memories from these songs.

What does independence mean? How did some of our lyricists express this emotion in early days of Indian cinema. This episode is a dedication to these songwriters. People like Shailendra, Kavi Pradeep, Sahir, Kaifi Azmi, Prem Dhawan - the songs they wrote to give voice to the feeling of being a part of independent India. On this independence day, it is worthwhile to refresh some of these memories.

The year was 1949, full of many firsts for Indian cinema. And amongst other happenings, it heralded the arrival of Lata Mangeshkar to the scene. Starting in 1949, she gave Hindi cinema some of its most popular songs and memorable songs ever - be it classical, ghazals, bhajans or even western. Bollywood music was never the same again.