Song Of The Week

Bollywood by way of Tajikistan as Tajik Jimmy sings "Jimmy Adja" from Disco Dancer during a coffee break!

Bollywood & The Beatles

Today, 9-9-09, marks the worldwide release of the newly remastered Beatles catalog. The Beales changed the world and Bollywood was no exception. What follows are songs that were heavily influenced by the Beatles' music. Special thanks to itwofs.com for compiling the list of songs.

First up, Shankar-Jaikishan's "Dil Use Do Jo Jaan De De" from Andaz (1971) which was inspired by "With A Little Help From My Friends" from 1967's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band."





Anu Malik's "Paagalpan Chaa Gayaa" from Jaanam (1992) is strikingly similar to "And I Love Her" from "A Hard Days Night" released in 1964.





Shankar-Jaikishan's "Dekho, Ab To" from Jaanwar (1964) draws heavy "inspiration" from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" released in 1964.






"Jaane Bhi De Sanam Mujhe" from Around The World (1967) is another Shankar-Jaikishan song. This time they borrow some of the melody from the Beatles' "I'll Get You" from 1964.




Of course the Beatles, in particular George Harrison, were influenced by Indian classical music. In 1967, George studied the sitar with maestro Ravi Shankar.



Some would say George's "Within You, Without You" from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has elements of Naushad's "Ek Shahinshah Ne Banavake" from Leader (1963).




In 1968, The Beatles went to India and studied transendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. They also wrote some of their greatest songs while there. Many of which appeared on the "White Album." The Beatles occasionally used Indian instrumentation on their songs. "Norwegian Wood," "The Inner Light," and "Love You To" prominently feature the sitar, tabla and other musical instruments.

Helen of Bollywood - Volume 3

Now available at DesiTorrents
The third volume of the series spans 27 years of Helen's illustrious career from Alibaba And Forty Thieves (below) released in 1954 to Chorni (1981). As usual, all videos were remastered to the best of my ability for optimal viewing pleasure. So, I hope you enjoy them!




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 and retimed where needed (Chinatown, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Caravan, Chorni).

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.

Get the DVD at DesiTorrents Here















Before & After:


Before & After:

Song Of The Week

One Of Helen's earliest film appearances. She was around 15 years old! Lovely vocal by Lata Mangeshkar.

Song Of The Week

Here is "Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paoge." The beautiful sad love song sung by Mohd. Rafi from Pagla Kahin Ka (1970). The original vinyl Lp soundtrack of the the movie is here.

Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) - Rajesh Roshan

"Khoon Bhari Maang" opens with one of Rajesh Roshan's greatest compositions - the wonderfully cheerful "Hanste Hanste Kat Jaye Raaste." Beautifully sung by Sadhna Sargam and Nitin Mukesh, it appears on this record in three versions. It has such an infectious melody and beat that one never grows tired of hearing it again and again! Also on the Lp is the bouncy "Jeene Ke Bahanne Lakhon Hain" with a great vocal by Asha Bhosle. Another gem! Asha and Sadhna then team up for an excellent disco dance song called "Main Haseena Gazab Ki." Sadhna Sargam also sings the hauntingly beautiful "Main Teri Hoon Janam" which is almost a note for note copy of the theme for "Chariots of Fire." What a lovely and expressive voice she has. Nowadays, Sadhna Sargam is a top singer for the Tamil and Telugu film industries.

In conclusion, "Khoon Bhari Maang" is a lushly produced record with superb vocals and memorable songs. Highest recommendation!

Rating: *****


01 - Hanste Hanste Kat Jaye Raaste - Sadhna Sargam, Nitin Mukesh & Chorus
02 - Jeen Ke Bahane Lakhon Hain - Asha Bhosle & Chorus
03 - Hanste Hanste Kat Jaye Raaste - Sadhna Sargam, Sonali & Chorus
04 - Main Haseena Gazab Ki - Asha Bhosle, Sadhna Sargam & Chorus
05 - Main Teri Hoon Janam - Sadhna Sargam
06 - Hanste Hanste Kat Jaye Raaste (Sad) - Sadhna Sargam, Sonali & Chorus


For an in-depth and fab review of the film please visit bollywooddeewana's wonderful blog here.

Baaje Payal

Episode 12 of the series examines the dancing of Sridevi!
Produced and directed by Asha Parekh!
Enjoy!

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.