Dr raajeev shrivastav’s book suron ka mela is on the history, literature, folk & communication of hindi film music (1931-2020)

Jyothi Venkatesh

Since the time the journey of the Indian Film Music started with the first ever Talkie film Alam Aara (1931), Hindi songs in Indian films have been an integral part of each and every film. It is indeed surprising for the music lovers that after nine decades of emergence of the film music in India only now , in the year 2020 a book has come out in Hindi language on the history of Hindi Film Music entitled ‘Saat Suron ka Mela’ authored by my dear friend Dr Raajeev Shrivaastav.

This book is the result of 30 long years of research and meetings/ interviews of the personalities of various fields of Indian film industry. Since 1991 onwards till the first quarter of 2020 Dr Raajeev Shrivaastav took the task on the priority basis to pen the research based authentic history of Hindi Film Music. This book mainly focuses on the history of film music in respect to the literature, folk elements and communication in Hindi film songs. This aspect of the book provides a wider perspective through which a strong bond and relationship explored in between Cinema & Literature.

The lesser known lyricists, composers and other personalities during the bygone eras are also mentioned in this book as per their works and contributions. The big litterateur of Hindi literature both in prose and poetry who had been in association with Hindi films are also discussed with the volume of work they did in cinema and in the music field.Luminaries who joined Hindi films from Hindi literature such as Premchand,Kamleshwar as writers and Pradeep, Sumitra Nandan Pant, Amrit Lal Nagar, Gopal Singh Nepali, Neeraj as poet-lyricists and many others are also included in this book.

The book ‘Saat Suron ka Mela’ speaks about the foundation of Hindi film music in context of the Silent Era and the status of songs in Indian films. The introduction of playback in films was another milestone in Hindi film music which brought the charismatic wonders in film songs. It is believed that Cinema and Literature are synonymous to each other which are well explored in this book. The changing pattern in film music, milestones, achievements and trends in various decades are also a part of this book.

The authenticity of the book can be easily understood when we see the names of the luminaries and composers and lyricists interviewed for the book. Like Anil Biswas,Khayyam, Prem Dhawan, Pt Ravi Shankar, Sardar Malick, Kalyanji-Anandji, Ravi,Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Ravindra Jain, Sonic-Omi etc, besides Pradeep, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri, Indeevar, Yogesh, Swanand Kirkire etc Also singers like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, Nitin Mukesh, Amit Kumar, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and many others’versions have been documented in the book.

The preface of the book is penned by Arvind Kumar, the former Editor of ‘Madhuri’ (Filmfare) and ‘Sarvottam Digest’ (Reader’s Digest). His explanation, expert opinions and recommendations certify the importance and quality of the book. The span of ninety years of film music in India is summarized in the book in such a way that apart from history, literature, folk and communication it also narrates various memories and anecdotes. A very special part of this book is connected with the rare and unpublished poetry of legendary poet-lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri exclusively penned for this book way back in 1995.

Two decades later, after the demise of Hasrat Jaipuri in the year 1999, his poem appeared in this book which is a marvelous gift for the music lovers. At the end of the book titled Saat Suronka Mela authored by Dr Raajeev Shrivaastav and published by Ministry of I &B and priced at just Rs 515/-,a song list is given decade wise from 1931 to 2020 covering most loved and all-time great songs of Hindi Film Music which gives the complete scenario of the film music at a glance.

The book ‘Saat Suron ka Mela’ speaks about the foundation of Hindi film music in context of the Silent Era and the status of songs in Indian films. The introduction of playback in films was another milestone in Hindi film music which brought the charismatic wonders in film songs. It is believed that Cinema and Literature are synonymous to each other which are well explored in this book. The changing pattern in film music, milestones, achievements and trends in various decades are also a part of this book.

The authenticity of the book can be easily understood when we see the names of the luminaries and composers, lyricists and singers interviewed for the book. Like Anil Biswas, Khayyam, Prem Dhawan, Pt Ravi Shankar, Sardar Malick, Kalyanji-Anandji, Ravi, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Ravindra Jain, Sonic-Omi etc, besides Pradeep, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri, Indeevar, Yogesh, Swanand Kirkire etc Also singers like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, Nitin Mukesh, Amit Kumar, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and many others’ versions have been documented in the book.

The preface of the book is penned by Arvind Kumar, the former Editor of ‘Madhuri’ (Filmfare) and ‘Sarvottam Digest’ (Reader’s Digest). His explanation, expert opinions and recommendations certify the importance and quality of the book. The span of ninety years of film music in India is summarized in the book in such a way that apart from history, literature, folk and communication it also narrates various memories and anecdotes.

A very special part of this book is connected with the rare and unpublished poetry of legendary poet-lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri exclusively penned for this book way back in 1995. Two decades later, after the demise of Hasrat Jaipuri in the year 1999, his poem appeared in this book which is a marvelous gift for the music lovers. At the end of the book titled Saat Suronka Mela authored by Dr Raajeev Shrivaastav and published by Ministry of I &B and priced at just Rs 515/-,a song list is given decade wise from 1931 to 2020 covering most loved and all-time great songs of Hindi Film Music which gives the complete scenario of the film music at a glance.