Though I had been fond of writing and disseminating information about Hindi films, it was my daughter Snigdha who, in late 2016, prompted me to publish my written material on Facebook through a blog.
As 2017 draws to a close ( getting into the second half of December signifies that the end is near !), let us walk through the main events of the year 2017, which shaped this blog, as did the feedback from many friends and connoisseurs, enriching the experience.
I have also included a few songs of 2017 relevant to the themes, so that musically too, we travel down memory lane !
I started off hesitantly in January by expanding a piece written earlier on elections, just when as the announcement of polls in five states was made.
Then, next week, Khaadi Board removed Bapu from their calendar , triggering the essay on songs which mentioned Mahatma Gandhi. This effort was very well received, emboldening me further and in the next week, the two judgements,first one on Salman Khan and the second on Jallikattu paved the way for songs involving legal issues.
I wrapped up the month of January by writing about recycled songs ( as Raees and Kaabil, the releases that week had such songs) and recycled artistes.
Here is the latest song on Gandhi , the 2017 patriotic song Gaandheeyam
The Budget was the first highlight of February, giving me an idea to write about songs on inflation. Tamil Nadu and its leaders came into focus the next week, shouting their own praises warranted an episode on the change in culture from self-effacing to chest-thumping.
The very next week, the wannabe-CM of Tamil Nadu Sasikala was jailed, prompting me to enumerate "Songs in captivity" !
February ended with political leaders making abbreviations like SCAM and KASAB, which meant that an episode on Alphabets in songs of Hindi films was imperative.
In 2017, the film Lucknow Central, based on Jail and its musical band, was released and had remarkable music.
March started with ruckus in colleges, reminding us of better times through the episode on college songs.
Then , there were multiple cases of Indian getting the wrong end of stick in foreign lands, which was a trigger for songs which mentioned foreign lands, titled "hum to hain pardes mein".
The results of elections came out in March and we had the article on songs about elected leaders.
Following this, came the story of formation of Romeo Squads in UP by the new government, which gave birth to the episode "In the name of love", which is by far the most read and liked episode of all. Love conquers , as always !
Let's listen to the latest romantic song, from across the border !
In the first week of April , Supreme Court banned automobiles without proper emission standards, which led to the piece of automobiles seen in Hindi songs.
In April, too we lost Kishori Amonkar and as a tribute to her, I had rolled out an episode on Classical singers in Hindi films, which was very well received. Similarly, in the last week in April , Vinod Khanna breathed his last and as a tribute, "Singing and Dancing Villains" was posted.
Also, in April, UP government announced that English will be taught right from the class I in vernacular schools, so I found out the songs which were wholly in English , as part of Hindi films. The Supreme Court verdict on the long- winded saga of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi issue was used as a ploy to write about films which took the longest to get made !
A delightful film on education was released this year called Hindi Medium
The month of May brought into focus the meek four-legged animal Cow ( whom Hindus also revere as gau mata ) through demonstrations , which resulted in an episode about Animals in Hindi film songs.
The next week, release of a blockbuster Bahubali: The Conclusion grabbed all the headlines. A film made in two parts ( something the Showman had dreamt of, years ago, but his Mera Naam Joker's failure put paid to his ambitions) necessitated a waiting time. The blog that week mentioned the films which took too long in the making.
The digital kidnapping of data by Ransomware made it to the front page, next week and I was able to link Stockholm Syndrome in Bollywood, which got many eyeballs.
The last week of May was that of Cannes Film Festival and we explored the Indian films who have got favourable mentions in International film festivals.
The next week, release of a blockbuster Bahubali: The Conclusion grabbed all the headlines. A film made in two parts ( something the Showman had dreamt of, years ago, but his Mera Naam Joker's failure put paid to his ambitions) necessitated a waiting time. The blog that week mentioned the films which took too long in the making.
The digital kidnapping of data by Ransomware made it to the front page, next week and I was able to link Stockholm Syndrome in Bollywood, which got many eyeballs.
The last week of May was that of Cannes Film Festival and we explored the Indian films who have got favourable mentions in International film festivals.
June brought the news of imminent disinvestment of Air India and I followed the story by posting on my blog a recollections of Songs sung air-borne.
Despite the Indo-Pak relations being what they are, a cricket match garners huge patronage , as we saw in the second week of June. Indian artistes who have gone to Pakistan for performing ( not settling down there) was the obvious choice of that week's blog. Cricket continued to remain on centre-stage and therefore, one could not avoid the topic of Cricketers in Bollywood for long, which was named Howzzat.
The very next week, the milestone of 25th Episode was reached, as the half the year was already gone. For this event , I chose songs from Hindi films which were mathematically oriented, displaying my love for maths !
Despite the Indo-Pak relations being what they are, a cricket match garners huge patronage , as we saw in the second week of June. Indian artistes who have gone to Pakistan for performing ( not settling down there) was the obvious choice of that week's blog. Cricket continued to remain on centre-stage and therefore, one could not avoid the topic of Cricketers in Bollywood for long, which was named Howzzat.
The very next week, the milestone of 25th Episode was reached, as the half the year was already gone. For this event , I chose songs from Hindi films which were mathematically oriented, displaying my love for maths !
In 2017, the cricket film was Sachin: a million dreams
In July, we remembered R.D.Burman on his birth anniversary by retrieving his songs from his most creative period, i.e. the 60s.
The next week PM's trip to Israel made me curious to find out if any Jews contributed to Hindi films, which I documented.
On my birthday ( July 12), I listed my favourite non-films songs which I shared the following weekend.
The red flag of Nepotism in films meant that an episode on Star Kids was spot on , as was the one on Unsung Songs, as Nitish Kumar terminated his attachment to one party and hitched on to another, shelving the people's verdict like an unsung song.
In 2017, about 40 years later, remakes of R.D.Burman's songs are being made.
The Blue Whale game of suicide, being played by young kids was suddenly the talk of the day in August, so it was practical to have an essay on film artistes whose death was suicide...or close to it. The unceremonious exit of Chairman of CBFC was an indication to talk about the banned films and the very next week another Hindu-Muslim controversy erupted:Love Jihad. Exploring the inter-faith marriages in Bollywood was my way of countering a phenomenon, centred on faiths.
The last week of August was all about Triple Talaq, giving me my subject on a platter: Muslim Socials !
The Hindu-Mulim controversy, in form of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmbhoomi is back in news, coinciding with the recent release of a film called The Game of Ayodhya.
The beginning of September saw Kamal Hassan turn a politician. It was natural to have a take on actors-turned-politicians in Hindi film industry, through their songs.
Next week, murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh was reason enough to explore the instances of journalists played by lead actors in Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar.
Two incidents: mention of dynastic politics by Rahul Gandhi and equating of Mughal rulers with bandits by a politician led to that week's episode on portrayal of Mughal Dynasty in Hindi films.
In the last week of September, the media blitzkrieg on Honey Preet and her absence made me look for actresses who generally played negative roles.
Here is a song from Noor, a 2017 film based on journalist's life.
Being a railwayman, the October news of Alstom and Siemens, two giants in railway technology coming together caught my eye and I explored the phenomenon of music director duos in Hindi film, an episode very well received.
The next week, the release of Judwaa-2 , an umpteenth instance of sequel saw me documenting the sequel effect ( and its variants) in Hindi films.
In October, the telecom wars were also intensifying with Airtel taking on Jio head on. I seized the opportunity to enumerate the phone songs in Hindi films ( apart from jalte hain jiske liye , which is the best known song in this sub-genre).
Then, next week, Taj Mahal shot into headlines for the wrong reasons. I cashed the opportunity to bring forth the songs, many rare ones, mentioning the monument.
In the final week of October, the laughable comments made by Shivraj Chauhan, the CM of MP, that the roads of his states were better than those of US called for the listing of Road Movies of Bollywood.
Before the year is out, another film has its sequel released: Fukrey Returns !
Come November and Kashmir was again in news ( it has been that way the whole year, though) and so I thought it fit to find out which Hindi films had Kashmir as a central theme.
If your memory is correct ( and you have suffered enough) , you will recall that the anniversary of Notebandi or Demonetisation fell on November 8 and so , the next episode was on Birthday Songs in Bollywood.
The dream-sequence-that-is-not-there in the upcoming ( will it see the light of the day? ) film Padmavati shook the nation like little else does. The next edition was, naturally, on Dream Sequences in Bollywood.
In the last week of November, the crowning of Manushi Chhillar as Miss World was trigger enough to delve into the history of Bollywood to find out beauty queens, who have been actors, too.
Let's take a look at a great song, composed this year for J & K Tourism by Vibha Saraf.
So, we enter December, the current month when the local elections in UP made Lucknow the cynosure of all media and it was appropriate to pen a tribute to my city in its own language: the Hindi-Urdu hybrid.
The demise of Shashi Kapoor was saddening and his collaborative efforts with his own family members was a matter of research and the product was a tribute to the great actor and producer. This was the penultimate, 49th episode.
And this one, just ended was the final one.
Before I sign off, for a short time at least, I want to assure that I shall be back, in a new, more interactive format.
Leaving you with another song of 2017, aptly titled "khatam kahani" from the film Qareeb Qareeb Singlle
