The Best Hindi Jingle Ever

The best hindi jingle ever, according to me, was the one written by Sahir Ludhianvi for Guru Dutt's Pyaasa. Composed by SD Burman and sung by Mohammad Rafi, Sar jo tera chakraye tries plugging an oil massage by Johnny Walker. Why I love it is:



a) The song has a single-minded brand proposition: Lakh Dukhon ki Ek Dava.
b) The target audience is clearly defined - people burdened with head aches and heart breaks.
c) As the product claims to make people feel lighter, the treatment of the song is suitably light-hearted.
d) The performance of Johnny Walker is a little over-the-top, in tune with the rather tall brand claim.
e) The product mention happens twice in the very beginning.
f) And above all, what a memorable tune and cleverly woven lyrics. Naukar ho ya maalik, leader ho ya public, apne aage sabi jukhe hain kya raja kya sainik. Could you better that? I bet my opinionated ass that no Prasoon or Piyush can match this.

Posted by Anantha.

The genius of VK Murthy

Let’s just say one can’t talk about the films of Guru Dutt without discussing the incredible talent of this great man. VK Murthy was Guru Dutt’s cinematographer, who along with the director gave us some of the most memorable images in Indian cinema.

He was the first man in India to shoot in Cinemascope. That landmark achievement happened in Guru Dutt’s ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’, way back in 1959. The most unforgettable moment in the film is the almost surreal ‘beam shot’ during the song ‘Waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam’. And to me, this shot stands as one of the finest in the annals of Indian cinema.

How did he compose it? Listen to Mr. Murthy himself in an interview he gave to rediff.com 4 years back.

“We brought two huge mirrors and kept one outside the studio in the sun, that reflected the light onto another mirror, kept on the catwalk, and opened the balcony door to the studio. Light reflected from one to the other and the beam was created. We added some smoke to it, and that scene became a phenomenal craze in the history of cinematography!”

Now, check out the song…and importantly to the way it has been lit.

Posted by Murali

I wish I had done that

I don’t know what you guys feel, but I find that the lyrics of a lot of songs on the pop charts are rather puerile or filled
with double entendre.

Which is why I’ve almost stopped listening to recent releases.
So I was rather stunned to hear a song on the waves begin with following verse:

I'm changing lanes
I'm talking on the phone
I'm drivin' way to fast
And the interstate's jammed with
Gunners like me afraid of coming in last
But somewhere in the race we run
We're coming undone

Days go by
I can feel 'em flying
Like a hand out the window in the wind as the cars go by
It's all we've been given
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by

Just when I started breathing again, the song picked up...

Out on the roof just the other night
I watched the world flash by
Headlights, taillights running through a river of neon signs
But somewhere in the rush I felt
We're losing ourselves

We think about tomorrow then it slips away
We talk about forever but we've only got today

I was wondering, just who has the courage to write a simple song about life in these times of exploitative themes?
Turns out the song is by Keith Urban.
The song is called "Days Go By".
See it with your eyes closed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yBlW-UEOmM
When the song ended there was just one thought in the mind of this wannabe songwriter:
“I wish I had done that!”
By the way Keith is married to Nicole Kidman.
I wish I had done that too.

Posted by Thomas