Ep 9: Swanand Kirkire On Popular Culture & S.P. Balasubrahmanyam - A Voice For The Ages

Aimless conversation is therapy. It is good for the soul. We drifted a lot in this episode. Because we had Swanand Kirkire as our guest. With Swanand we wandered all over the cultural landscape of India – the bylanes of Indore and its usal-poha , the ragas of Kumar Gandharv, the social commentary of Dada Kondke films, the multi-faceted genius of B.V. Karanth or the forgotten lyricism of Kamlesh Pandey. Swanand's genius stems from his deep immersion in our popular culture and it shone through in this 2-hour long conversation. What also came across was his honesty, his conscious engagement with the world around him and his love for cinema as a medium of expression. Swanand wears his fame and his accomplishments lightly (he's, after all, a 3-time national award winner) and he almost turned into a co-host of this podcast giving us a masterclass on pop culture. We listened, rivetted. Swanand was simply the best debut guest we could ask for. We begin this episode paying our tribute to S.P. Balasubrahmanyam – among the greatest singing voices of India ever. While we were limited by our knowledge of his vast repertoire in Tamizh, Telugu and Kannada, we hope we have done justice to his great talent. SPB was trained singer whose strong foundation in classical music gave him wings to soar high in world of film music. His singing was imbued with emotions and a certain innocence that touched the hearts of millions of listeners both south and north of Vindhyas. He will live in his songs forever. ***** पिछले हफ्ते एसपी बालासुब्रमण्यम का चला जाना भारतीय सांस्कृतिक जगत के लिए एक बहुत बड़ी क्षति है। भारतीय सिनेमा के महा-गायक, जो दक्षिण भारतीय सिनेमा संगीत में पिछले 50 सालों में सर्वोपरि रहे , और अपनी गायकी से हिंदी फिल्म संगीत में भी एक खासा मुकाम और पहचान पाने में सफल रहे। दक्षिण भारतीय फिल्म संगीत को भाषाओं के दायरे तोड़ते हुए उन्होंने जिस तरह से उत्तर भारत के जनमानस से जोड़ा , वह एक सांस्कृतिक राजदूत के रूप में उनकी काफी बड़ी उपलब्धि रही। इस एपिसोड में उनको, उनकी यादों, उनके संगीत और उनकी बातों से हमारी भावभीनी श्रद्धांजलि। इस बार के एपिसोड में एक नई शुरुआत, हमारे दौर की एक महत्वपूर्ण आवाज के साथ। इस बार की गपशप में हमारे साथ हैं विशेष मेहमान, स्वानंद किरकिरे, जिन्होंने पिछले 15 साल में अपनी मौजूदगी से हिंदी सिनेमा की नई और ताजा लहर में बड़ा महत्वपूर्ण योगदान दिया है। स्वानंद के साथ हम बात करेंगे, उनके बचपन के बारे में, उनकी सृजन यात्रा के विभिन्न पहलुओं के बारे में, और उन से जानेंगे भारतीय पॉप कल्चर के वे महत्वपूर्ण संदर्भ जिन्होंने उनकी रचनात्मकता और एक कलाकार के रूप में उनकी प्रगति में जरूरी योगदान दिया है। स्वानंद के साथ इस मजेदार बातचीत में बातें इंदौर की यादों की, कुमार गंधर्व की, दादा कोंडके की, बीवी कारंथ की, कमलेश पांडे की, और किशोर कुमार की। Episode Highlights: 00:00 to 15:00 –Introduction, SPB's early days in Hindi cinema, collaboration with LP and RD 15:00 to 32:30 – Our memories of SPB in Tamizh films, intro songs of Rajinikant, SPB for Salman, SPB as an actor and Gardish 32:30 to 55:00 – Swanand Kirkire introduction, story of Bawra Mann, growing up in Indore, childhood memories of films and songs, benefits of 'scarcity' and Kumar Gandharva 55:00 to 85:00 – Film festivals in Indore, Anantyatra, Bidhir Badon, love for Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaaye, influence of Hindi magazines, the confluence of cultures in Indore and the genius of B.V. Karanth 85:00 to 120:00 – Guilty pleasures: Rajesh Khanna's Masterji, Jeetendra's 80s films, role of songs in pop culture, Dada Kondke's genius, being rooted in our culture and art vs market 120:00 to 150:00 – Roots in folk (Malwa region), motifs in song, Sehar, composing for plays, Habib Tanvir's plays, poet vs lyricist 150:00 to 170:00 – underappreciate artists – Kamlesh Pandey, Vasant Dev, Mangesh Kulkarni; Hamari Hi Mutthi Mein Aaakash Saara, Dewas and Kabir-panthi singing, the joy and pain of Shailendra's Teesri Kasam, the food of Indore and Conclusion LinkOuts Films Anantyatra by Jayoo & Nachiket Patwardhan Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye by Amol Palekar Teesri Kasam by Basu Bhattacharya Documentary on B.V. Karanth Masterji by K. Raghavendra Rao Music The definitive SPB playlist by Pavan The definitive non-Hindi SPB playlist by Pavan Swananad Kirkire playlist by Pavan Kumar Gandharva playlist Kumar Gandharva Nirguni bhajan playlist Corrigendum: At 2h:02m:59s Swanand Kirkire mentions Kishore Kumar as the lyricist of songs of Jhumroo. Kishore Kumar penned two songs of Jhumroo, while the other 10 songs were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, a mistake pointed by our listener Asad Ur Rehman Kidwai. The two songs quoted in the commentary "Timbaktoo" & Thandi Hawa Ye Chandni" were penned by Majrooh saab. We regret the error. - उपरोक्त एपिसोड में पर स्वानन्द किरकिरे के मुताबिक झुमरू के गीत किशोर कुमार ने लिखे थे. किशोर कुमार ने झुमरू फ़िल्म में सिर्फ़ दो ही गीत लिखे थे, जबकि फ़िल्म के बाकी दस गीत मजरूह सुल्तानपुरी के लिखे हुए हैं. फ़िल्म के गीत 'टिम्बकटू' और 'ठंडी हवा ये चांदनी सुहानी' जिनका ज़िक्र उपरोक्त टिप्पणी में हुआ है वे दोनो मजरूह सुल्तानपुरी के लिखे हुए हैं, जैसा के हमारे सजग श्रोता असद उर रहमान किदवई ने हमें बताया . इस गलती के लिये हम लोगों की ओर से माफ़ी

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Ep 9: Swanand Kirkire On Popular Culture & S.P. Balasubrahmanyam - A Voice For The Ages is an episode from Haal-Chaal Theek Thaak Hai by Subrat & Pavan.

This episode is 02:49:42 long.

This episode was published on Sep 30, 2020.

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