Story of a Bollywood Song

Author: Vijay Ranchan
Publisher: Abhinav Publications, New Delhi
(Pp 130, ISBN 978-81-701-7551-3, Rs 550)

What is Bollywood without its lovely songs? Well, it is unimaginable. The Story of a Bollywood Song traces the evolution of a Hindi film song from the time of silent movies to the era of talkies. The book depicts certain incidents and situations during the process of composition, narrating the contextual background of a song. These stories are illustrative of the gradual as well as the simultaneous evolution of a Hindi film song. As we hear it today. Each milestone in the evolution of a Bollywood song has a story to tell – be it the story of a Jesuit Father, or of the first test recording, or of the mendicant-beggar song, or of a song sung by a princess or a rebel commoner, and so on.

This interesting book has some interesting pictures as well, showcasing singers from the yesteryears – Jamshedji, Ardeshiriji, Jahanara, Noorjahan, Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar,

Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, besides the modern-day maestro AR Rehman. A well-written book, which can enchant a general reader as well as those who wish to know more about the legendary Bollywood songs.

– Vasu V