On Meena Kumari’s 50th death anniversary, we are dedicating a thread to her. The thread will consist of some little known facts about the woman whose smile concealed a thousand enigmas. #MeenaKumari
Connection to Rabindranath Tagore: Did you know that Meena Kumari was directly related to the family of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore from her mother’s side. Her mother Prabhavati, who was a bengali christian dancer, was the daughter of Rabindranath Tagore’s younger brother.
Near death experience: Did you know that Meena kumari nearly faced death on the sets of film Baiju Bawra. She was shooting for the song “Tu ganga ki mauj mein jamuna ka dhara” in AptaNagar. An adventurous Meena started enjoying the boat ride so much that she did not pay
attention to director shouting “CUT”. She continued rowing the boat in opposite direction not knowing that 100 yards ahead was a deep fatal fall. Suddenly her boat became unmanagable due to the strong current and she was being driven inexorably towards the fall.
Providence in the shape of a stone saved her. There were many fierce rocks in the stream and Meena’s craft collided with one. Her boat miraculously stopped and when she opened her eyes she was barely 15 yards away from the fall.
Marriage: Did you know that Meena Kumari married Kamal Amrohi in absolute secrecy.
On February 14, 1952, when her father dropped her n her sister Madhu to Doctor Jussawala’s clinic, instead of going to the clinic, the sisters hopped into a waiting Buick.
Kazi sahab began the marriage rituals, first according to Sunni customs and then according to Shia customs. The nikah papers were signed in the name of Mahajabeen and Saeed Amir Hyder Kamal Amrohi. Marriage over, the newly weds immediately parted ways to their respective homes.
Basi rotis: Did you know that Meena Kumari had an old fondness for Basi rotis (chapatis left overnight) which some consider a delicacy and others consider unhealthy.
The slap: Did you know that Meena Kumari was once slapped on the sets of Pinjre k panchi by Kamal Amrohi’s Man friday Baqar Ali.
That day, Meena arrived late to the muhurat of the film and immediately summoned Gulzar to her makeup room despite strict instructions from Mr Amrohi
that no man must enter her makeup room. Baqar Ali tried stopping Gulzar but Meena protested and clutched Gulzar to her bosom. At this point, Baqar Ali slapped her. Crying copiously, she left the studio informing Baqar, “Tell Kamal sahab I will not be coming home tonight”.
Chance encounter with a dreaded dacoit: When Meena Kumari was traveling for the shooting of Pakeezah, the unit’s cars ran out of petrol at a place called Shivpuri in MP. They decided to spend the night there. After midnight, they were surrounded by armed dacoits.
They were led to camp. Their leader, the dangerous and dreaded Amrit Lal, upon learning that Meena Kumari was in the car, arranged music, dancing and food for the entire unit. He then sharpened his knife and asked Meena to autograph his hand with the knife.
Do you remember the time when you sat on your couch before your favourite serial began just so you could enjoy listening to its title track?
Let's refresh those old memories with these 14 title tracks from the serials of DD1 and DD2.
1. Surabhi: This hugely popular show not only had the distinction of being the longest running cultural show but was also noted for it's signature tune & imaginatively chosen animated visuals. Music was composed by classical violinist L Subramaniam.
2. Byomkesh Bakshi: The crime detection series based on the novel written by Sharadindu Bandopadhyay had an outstanding opening theme by Ananda Shankar, with a fusion of Indian classical music and electronics and synth-based score.
Thread: Geeta Dutt
Geeta Ghosh Roy Chaudhary, the singer who not only entertained us with her dulcet voice but also successfully survived the Lata onslaught was often hailed as the female counterpart of KL Saigal.
Taking music lessons first under her mother and then under Pt. Hirendranath Chowdhary, Geeta made her singing debut at the age of 15.
In this thread, we will explore the astounding versatility of this melody queen by revisiting 7 of her most popular numbers.
1. Mera sundar sapna beet gaya: Geeta sang this melancholic love ballad when she was just 17. Her young but plaintive voice was beautifully able to capture the litany of woes of a woman who has lost everything in love.
Thread: Indipop
90s was an era when tasteful music flourished outside bollywood. Indipop was a full-fledged parallel industry giving serious competition to bollywood which was stuck with cheesy lyrics (choli, khatiya) and dreadful tunes.
Here is a playlist of 10 songs that is bound to take you tk a trip down the memory lane and make you reminisce over the bygone era.
(Jas Arora 😍😍)
1. Paree hoon mein: This boldly themed song about a high school girl having a crush on her professor made Suneeta Rao an overnight start.
Composed by Leslie Lewis, this mellow n pensive song from Dhuaan, complemented by Sunita's sharp vocals became a chartbuster.
This thread is dedicated to women who shaped the bollywood music industry before Lata and Asha arrived and changed the scene forever.
The sheen of golden era would have been halved without the full-throated husky voices of these amazing singers.
1. Zohrabai Ambalewali:
Zohrabai belonged to the first generation playback singers of hindi cinema. She started singing in the pre-independence era and laid a strong foundation for today's billion dollar Indian music industry.
Starting her career at a young age of 13, she initially recorded thumris for gramophone companies & then went on to make a mark by delivering unforgettable melodies in her distinct, inimitable style.
Shakti Samanta's quixotic romantic drama "Aradhana" was a trendsetter in many ways -
Catapulting Rajesh Khanna to dizzying height of stardom, reviving Kishor Kumar's playback career, and presenting the story of a woman unapologetic about her pre-marital pregnancy. 1/7
However, the one thing that left viewers go bonkers and blushing was the tantalizingly seductive number "Roop tera mastana, pyaar mera deewana". 2/7
Set amidst the backdrop of a thunderstorm, the song shows an impassioned Khanna looking wantonly at Tagore draoed in a candy-orange blanket.
A sweeping accordion sparks off the current and Kishor Kumar's sensuous voice sets the screen on fire. 3/7