Gaata Rahe Mera Dil

Look behind the scenes of fifty celebrated songs, from an estimated repository of over one lakh!’De de khuda ke naam pe’: when Wazir Mohammed Khan sang these words in India’s first talkie, Alam Ara, he gave birth to a whole new industry of composers, lyricists and singers, as well as an entirely new genre of film-making that is quintessentially Indian: the song-and-dance film. In the eight decades and more since then, Hindi film songs have enraptured listeners all over the world. From ‘Babul mora, naihar chhooto jaye’ (Street Singer, 1938) to ‘Dil hai chhota sa’ (Roja, 1992); from the classical strains of ‘Ketaki gulab’ (Basant Bahar, 1956) featuring Bhimsen Joshi to the disco beats of Nazia Hassan’s ‘Aap jaisa koi’ (Qurbani, 1981); from the pathos of ‘Waqt ne kiya’ (Kaagaz Ke Phool, 1959) to the exuberance of the back-to-back numbers in Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977), here is an extraordinary compilation, peppered with trivia, anecdotes and, of course, the sheer joy of music. Find out answers to questions like:With which unreleased film did Kishore Kumar turn composer?In which song picturization was dry ice first used?Which all-time classic musical was initially titled Full Boots?Where was the title song of An Evening in Paris shot?The idea for which song originated when the film-maker visited Tiffany’s in London?Which major musical partnership resulted from the celebrations around an award function for a commercial jingle for Leo Coffee? How many of your favourites find mention here? Make your own list!