Everyone carries that little secret Passion inside, don't they?
I have a secret passion that I really keep rather well hidden, not because I am ashamed, it is because people, sometimes don't quite understand it. Most people I have met and know about this really can't stand it. But I stand proud because that is what having passion is for, loving something because it means something to you. So I reveal my hidden passion because I revealed it to my wife in the car on the way to swimming on Saturday! My secret passion is for Playback singers!
What are playback singers I hear you cry? Indeed. A little history. For those of you who are au fait with Indian films, you will be aware that they not only act and Dance, but sing too! Now, what you may not know is that the actors do not themselves sing, they merely act and the singing is overdubbed. The playback singers provide the singing voices and in India the Playback singers, the great ones are as famous as the actual actors in the movies and they are pretty famous in India, which is almost as sadly obsessed by the Celebrity Cult as our sorry nation over here. Which neatly cues me onto a great Quote from one of my old professors from Exeter, Professor Richard Seaford (Genius), who tried to teach a young Williams about Ancient Greece, Especially at the time socratic philosophy! 'I am strongly committed to the view that the study of ancient culture is a vital form of liberation (from the triviality and increasing narrowness of our own media culture).' He's like a twinned Soul, he really is. But anyway that was just an excuse to use a great mans words.
So playback singers kind of began at the start of the first sound film in 1931. Though India's film history stretches back to around the late 1890's. The country loves film, as most will know. So with the creation of the playback singers you have, I think, some of the most amazing voices ever to be recorded.
What I first feel in love with is the older, black and white films that an old girlfriend used to show me, there was an obscure Channel 4 show that used to air them in the late 80's. And I so cannot remember the name.
It is the beauty of their voices that just kind of removes me to a far away world. I may be one of few, I admit. I intend now to show you hopefully from you tube some samples of the acknowldeged greatest playback singers, both female and Males. Most of them started in the 1940's and some are still going!
Perhaps the Greatest known Male playback singer and my favourite is,
Mohammed Rafi, 1944-1980.
Then there is another good one, called Mukesh, who presently is playing on Cassette in the car, when I am driving. My mother bought me back his greatest hits from when she spent her winters in India a few years back. Mukesh has a very dreamy type of voice and it's great to drive too!
Mukesh,
I am sure by now you see the almost naive innocence within the 60's films, it is quite endearing to watch how they act, when they are singing of unrequited love, and deep love, and it looks so almost childlike.
Now onto the Females, and wow, you all probably know that I am a sucker for a chick with a guitar, well, I love the female voice and too me, Indian female singers have the greatest voices, and I'll put two here, all related, as my contribution. Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, sisters.
Asha Bhosle
I think you'll agree, a truly stunning voice. No just imagine this as a soundtrack as you trek through Kashmir and Jodphur because that's where I am when I listen to this, looking at this;
Kashmir
Jodphur
Digression, this is the problem when you have a bad dose of proper flu and can't sleep, the blog can ramble.
Now, the jewel in the crown, LATA MANGESHKAR,
From Pakeeza,
another, from Pakeeza, because, it's my blog and I had forgotten how great a film it is! Just look at the colours, the costumes and Meena Kumari, gorgeous and such an amazing expression in the intro, so full of pathos and pain. If you only ever see one Indian film, then make it this one. Below is a little synopsis (and for all the boys out there, you find out at 30secs where archangel was, before he found Airwolf! Ha.
This movie is about the courtesan Sahibjaan, (Meena Kumari), who is born to a blonde courtesan, Nargis (also Meena Kumari). After being spurned by her lover's (Ashok Kumar) family, Nargis is driven to a graveyard where she gives birth to Sahibjaan secretly. Nargis dies during childbirth, and her sister, Nawabjaan, takes the child as her own. Sahibjaan was brought up by brothel madame Nawabjaan (Veena). Unable to break away from the vicious circle, Sahibjaan grows up and becomes a beautiful and popular dancer/singer. Forest ranger Salim Ahmed Khan (Raaj Kumar) is enthralled by Sahibjaan's beauty and innocence, and eventually convinces her to elope with him, which she does. But trials and tribulations await Sahibjaan as she is recognized by men wherever she goes in the company of Salim. When Salim re-names her "Pakeezah" (pure of heart) and takes her to a priest to be legally married, she refuses, and returns to the brothel. Salim eventually decides to marry someone else, and invites Sahibjaan to dance at his wedding, Sahibjaan agrees to this, not knowing that many secrets will be revealed at this wedding.
This piece is from my favourite Indian film, Pakeezah, it's a very sad film but the music is great and the cinematography is cool, too and it should be, it took 14 years from beginning to getting it finished.
So there you go, a little taster of the beauty that is Indian Playback singers and a joy for me to unearth Pakeeza clips on You tube. It is a beautiful film, easily purchased on Ebay, I am sure. Now you know my secret Passion and perhaps after this you may well even feel more sympathy for my wife, who so bravely put up with a solid 20minutes of mukesh coming back into Kirkby! Not the most natural home for Indian music but I see myself as that lonely outcrop!
In many ways my secret passion reminds me of why I love life. It is because of all those far off places that as a child you can only read about and as an adult maybe fortunate to visit, that so shapes and moulds our tastes and personalities. And it's everywhere now, from the delicious Indian Food we can now buy down the road, whereas forty years ago it was spuds and veggies. To Google earth where you can room across the Asian Steppes like an eagle looking down on the most stunning of landscapes, from the colours of a mediterraenean blue sky, so deep and blue-blue, there are some who know what I mean, to when you arrive home in the UK from a hot arrid country and you just see all the vary and lushcious shades of Green this country is patched up in and we all so easily take for granted. So a secret Passion has turned into a rant about how passionate I am about the world and its joyous diversity.
So maybe next time I might talk about Places and scenes that have or I hope would inspire me. And I think now you have heard Indian music you may well be ready for arguably another secret Passion, again musical, which is the type of national music I am fairly young in knowing but it is an expression that drips with a continual proudness that many nations including our own, who have seen them as being stateless and who have been attacked so many times and betrayed often. And this makes the music so full of passion and fire, it's spellbinding yet so full of pride and pain. I know you'll enjoy it, maybe tomorrow, after I have dug some clips out.
What are playback singers I hear you cry? Indeed. A little history. For those of you who are au fait with Indian films, you will be aware that they not only act and Dance, but sing too! Now, what you may not know is that the actors do not themselves sing, they merely act and the singing is overdubbed. The playback singers provide the singing voices and in India the Playback singers, the great ones are as famous as the actual actors in the movies and they are pretty famous in India, which is almost as sadly obsessed by the Celebrity Cult as our sorry nation over here. Which neatly cues me onto a great Quote from one of my old professors from Exeter, Professor Richard Seaford (Genius), who tried to teach a young Williams about Ancient Greece, Especially at the time socratic philosophy! 'I am strongly committed to the view that the study of ancient culture is a vital form of liberation (from the triviality and increasing narrowness of our own media culture).' He's like a twinned Soul, he really is. But anyway that was just an excuse to use a great mans words.
So playback singers kind of began at the start of the first sound film in 1931. Though India's film history stretches back to around the late 1890's. The country loves film, as most will know. So with the creation of the playback singers you have, I think, some of the most amazing voices ever to be recorded.
What I first feel in love with is the older, black and white films that an old girlfriend used to show me, there was an obscure Channel 4 show that used to air them in the late 80's. And I so cannot remember the name.
It is the beauty of their voices that just kind of removes me to a far away world. I may be one of few, I admit. I intend now to show you hopefully from you tube some samples of the acknowldeged greatest playback singers, both female and Males. Most of them started in the 1940's and some are still going!
Perhaps the Greatest known Male playback singer and my favourite is,
Mohammed Rafi, 1944-1980.
Then there is another good one, called Mukesh, who presently is playing on Cassette in the car, when I am driving. My mother bought me back his greatest hits from when she spent her winters in India a few years back. Mukesh has a very dreamy type of voice and it's great to drive too!
Mukesh,
I am sure by now you see the almost naive innocence within the 60's films, it is quite endearing to watch how they act, when they are singing of unrequited love, and deep love, and it looks so almost childlike.
Now onto the Females, and wow, you all probably know that I am a sucker for a chick with a guitar, well, I love the female voice and too me, Indian female singers have the greatest voices, and I'll put two here, all related, as my contribution. Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, sisters.
Asha Bhosle
I think you'll agree, a truly stunning voice. No just imagine this as a soundtrack as you trek through Kashmir and Jodphur because that's where I am when I listen to this, looking at this;
Kashmir
Jodphur
Digression, this is the problem when you have a bad dose of proper flu and can't sleep, the blog can ramble.
Now, the jewel in the crown, LATA MANGESHKAR,
From Pakeeza,
another, from Pakeeza, because, it's my blog and I had forgotten how great a film it is! Just look at the colours, the costumes and Meena Kumari, gorgeous and such an amazing expression in the intro, so full of pathos and pain. If you only ever see one Indian film, then make it this one. Below is a little synopsis (and for all the boys out there, you find out at 30secs where archangel was, before he found Airwolf! Ha.
This movie is about the courtesan Sahibjaan, (Meena Kumari), who is born to a blonde courtesan, Nargis (also Meena Kumari). After being spurned by her lover's (Ashok Kumar) family, Nargis is driven to a graveyard where she gives birth to Sahibjaan secretly. Nargis dies during childbirth, and her sister, Nawabjaan, takes the child as her own. Sahibjaan was brought up by brothel madame Nawabjaan (Veena). Unable to break away from the vicious circle, Sahibjaan grows up and becomes a beautiful and popular dancer/singer. Forest ranger Salim Ahmed Khan (Raaj Kumar) is enthralled by Sahibjaan's beauty and innocence, and eventually convinces her to elope with him, which she does. But trials and tribulations await Sahibjaan as she is recognized by men wherever she goes in the company of Salim. When Salim re-names her "Pakeezah" (pure of heart) and takes her to a priest to be legally married, she refuses, and returns to the brothel. Salim eventually decides to marry someone else, and invites Sahibjaan to dance at his wedding, Sahibjaan agrees to this, not knowing that many secrets will be revealed at this wedding.
This piece is from my favourite Indian film, Pakeezah, it's a very sad film but the music is great and the cinematography is cool, too and it should be, it took 14 years from beginning to getting it finished.
So there you go, a little taster of the beauty that is Indian Playback singers and a joy for me to unearth Pakeeza clips on You tube. It is a beautiful film, easily purchased on Ebay, I am sure. Now you know my secret Passion and perhaps after this you may well even feel more sympathy for my wife, who so bravely put up with a solid 20minutes of mukesh coming back into Kirkby! Not the most natural home for Indian music but I see myself as that lonely outcrop!
In many ways my secret passion reminds me of why I love life. It is because of all those far off places that as a child you can only read about and as an adult maybe fortunate to visit, that so shapes and moulds our tastes and personalities. And it's everywhere now, from the delicious Indian Food we can now buy down the road, whereas forty years ago it was spuds and veggies. To Google earth where you can room across the Asian Steppes like an eagle looking down on the most stunning of landscapes, from the colours of a mediterraenean blue sky, so deep and blue-blue, there are some who know what I mean, to when you arrive home in the UK from a hot arrid country and you just see all the vary and lushcious shades of Green this country is patched up in and we all so easily take for granted. So a secret Passion has turned into a rant about how passionate I am about the world and its joyous diversity.
So maybe next time I might talk about Places and scenes that have or I hope would inspire me. And I think now you have heard Indian music you may well be ready for arguably another secret Passion, again musical, which is the type of national music I am fairly young in knowing but it is an expression that drips with a continual proudness that many nations including our own, who have seen them as being stateless and who have been attacked so many times and betrayed often. And this makes the music so full of passion and fire, it's spellbinding yet so full of pride and pain. I know you'll enjoy it, maybe tomorrow, after I have dug some clips out.
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