Song Of The Week

Here is the ultra cool title music for Saazish (1975) by Shankar-Jaikishan.

Helen Of Bollywood - Volume Two

Now available Here at Mediafire.

Here's my latest "Helen Of Bollywood" DVD restoration! As with my previous release, the songs on volume two have been carefully remastered for optimal viewing pleasure.:) Simply put, you will not find these videos in better condition anywhere! Although I used the best source available, the original quality of most of these is marginal at best. Grain, compression artifacts, hissy audio and poorly encoded DVD transfers were far too common in most of these videos. So, after many hours of re-encoding I proudly present - Helen Of Bollywood (Volume Two). Here's a brief explanation of what was done technically:

Video

Grain and compression artifacts have been greatly reduced thanks to application of the Neat Video™ filter!
Video has been sharpened, brightened and color corrected as needed with various avisynth and virtualdub filters.

Subtitles

Added where needed (Anamika, Main Chup Rahungi, Teesri Manzil).

Audio

Hiss has been reduced when needed and volume normalization has been applied to all.

Tested on PowerDVD and various DVD players.

Any comments and feedback are welcome.

To be released sometime this weekend at Bwtorrents.com in the "Music Videos DVD" section. Registration is required.

Song Of The Week

Here is the English version of the famous Helen-Mehmood song from Gumnaam redone 5 years later by Mohd. Rafi.


The She I Love (1970) - Mohd. Rafi

Update: Helen of Bollywood (Vol. 2)

Release has been delayed.
Expect in 1 or 2 weeks.

Pagla Kahin Ka (1970) - Shankar-Jaikishan

Here's a wonderful soundtrack by Shankar-Jaikishan that sounds even better after repeated listening. It starts off nicely with the peppy, latin-sounding "Log Kahen Mujhe Pagla Kahin Ka." Then comes one of Rafi's best: the soulful "Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paoge." Asha follows with - "Suno Zindagi Gati Hai." Another winner! Next up is Manna Dey's "Meri Bhains Ko Danda Kyon Mara." A fun number. Then, another great sad love song by Rafi - "Ae Mere Dil Yahan." Finally, its Lata's turn to sing "Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paoge." And beleve it or not this tops Rafi's version! Wow. Although taken from a far less than pristine Lp, I think that overall the sound quality is good. Enjoy! Although not on the album, as a bonus I've included the title music taken from my lower fidelity vcd. This jazzy, John Barryesque number opens the picture as Shammi plays sax and Prem Chopra joins in on guitar while Helen dances away as the credits are displayed. Cool!
Title Music

The Tracks:
01 Log Kahen Mujhe Pagla Kahin Ka - Mohd. Rafi
02 Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paoge - Mohd. Rafi
03 Suno Zindagi Gati Hai - Asha Bhosle
04 Dialogue
05 Music (Play Peter)
06 Meri Bhains Ko Danda Kyon Mara - Manna Dey
07 Ae Mere Dil Yahan - Mohd. Rafi
08 Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paoge - Lata Mangeshkar
Bonus - Title MusicLog Kahen Mujhe Pagla Kahin Ka

Releasing Soon

22 more remastered Helen songs on DVD! My personal favorite is "Aaj Ki Raat" from Anamika (1973). Grain and compression artifacts on "Aaj Ki Raat" have been cleaned up with the Neat Video™ filter. I also unearthed subtitles which I added to the song! Other highlights are "Baharo Ki Kahani" from Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya and a very interesting and obscure song from a 1958 tamil movie!

I am also going to release the Pagla Kahin Ka (1970) Vinyl Lp by Shankar-Jaikishan in mp3 format. The movie stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh and in a rare starring role - Helen! Memorable soundtrack. Sadly, this movie is still unavailable on DVD.

Helen of Bollywood

Now available Here at Mediafire.

This a home-made DVD. A Helen compilation DVD. Painstakingly remastered from my own collection using the best available source for each song. Some are rare or hard to find. Others are well known, but all have never looked or sounded as good as they do now. Careful thought was given to song placement on the DVD so that each song would flow nicely to the next. Even the menus have special background music. Thanks PC!

I think all Helen fans will enjoy this DVD and will want to add it to their collection. This is the first of a series. Helen Of Bollywood (Volume One) will be released as a torrent on Bwtorrents.com on 4-24-09 in the "Music Videos DVD" section. Registration is required.
Below is a brief explanation of what was done technically:

Video
Grain and compression artifacts have been greatly reduced!
Video has been sharpened, brightened and color corrected as needed.

Subtitles
Added where needed (Apradh, Afsana, Sholay).
Replaced incomplete subs (Yakeen).
Retimed when needed (Gomti Ke Kinare).

Audio
Distorted audio has been replaced with better source (Mere Jeevan Saathi, Dus Lakh).
Hiss has been reduced and normalization has been applied to all.