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Sound and Music of Hindi Talkies: The First Four Years

Surjit Singh

Everybody knows that the talkie era in India was begun by Imperial Movietone, Bombay on March 14, 1931 when the first full-length feature film Alam Ara (called ‘All Living, Breathing 100% Talking’ in a contemporary ad) was released in the Majestic Cinema, Girgaum. Not so well known is the fact that since early 1929, Calcutta’s Madan Theatres have been making and releasing short items consisting of songs, dances, scenes from stage plays and musical audio-visual recordings. The sound reproduction of Alam Ara was ‘patchy’, and the hero Master Vithal did not speak at all. However, the talkie (with its seven songs and some dances) was so successful commercially that it led to a deluge of singing-dancing musicals that still continues 75 years later and has defied movie critics at home and abroad!

Read more: Sound and Music in Hindi Talkies

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Musing 800: Filmi Deewaano, Congratulations! Misc 127

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Musing 795: Patel Awara. Misc 122

Musing 794: Navchetan (1932). Misc 121

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Musing 791: My movie list

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Musing 789: Kamla Chaterjee. Misc 118

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Musing 787: Two death ceritificates. Misc 116

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Misc 777: Indubala. Misc 106

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Musing 772: Three years. Misc 101

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There were some problems with earlier songs. Fixed.

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Details

This is the earliest adaption of a European tune that I have heard. It is based on El Jarabe Tapatio or Mexican Hat dance, a traditional Mexican tune. This is almost a decade before that Samadhi song or Mangala's Brazilian adaptations.

Listen to 1941_beTee_07_vaasantee_1941 beTee jaag-3-jag-re-ab-to_x_GYaan-datt.mp3

Now you know!

Bharat 31 Lata Gobindram

 

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