Even as a kid, I was drawn more to old movie songs in Hindi and Tamil--from the 1950s and 1960s--even as I enjoyed the contemporary ones. Well, contemporary as in 1970s and the early 1980s. My familiarity with Indian movie songs pretty much end with the 1980s.
As I scanned through the ever-increasing options in YouTube, I came across the following two by Hemant Kumar. He was a singer and a composer as well. A unique voice, that stirs images of a rural India more than the urban one, even though he was used in both the settings. (SD Burman's voice is absolutely rustic. His "Wahan kaun hai tera" is a gem)
Anyway, here is Hemant Kumar singing "Jaane woh kaise" in Pyaasa, which is recognized as one of the best movies ever--not merely Indian, but in a global listing.
That is from 1957!
The one below is, according to the notes with the video, from a movie for which he was a composer, and a producer.
The female lead in this movie, Waheeda Rahman, was born in Tamil Nadu. Even though I titled this post with "Hemant Kumar" it will be a shame if I don't include the video of Waheeda Rahman playing the dancer in "The Guide" for which Burman sang the intro song referenced earlier. In the following video, it is one hell of a competition for "spectacular": Rahman and the choreography, the music, and the voice ... Incidentally, it is cool that Rahman, a Muslim, plays the role of Rosie, while dancing classically--she was a trained classical dancer.
Does it matter that I don't understand a damn thing in the lyrics? Nope! Never, ever ... :)
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