Mera Pyar Shalimar

Manohar Malgaonkar-Shalimar...in those days spelled thrills,spills and mystery.An indianised Maclean and Forsyth put together.I remember having bought the paperback,reading it over and over again and also coloring the black and white photographs with my water colors.Even the pistol on the cover was sketched time and again.I can still sketch it from memory and of course I do possess thar book.
More than that was the launch of the grand blockbuster featuring Rex Harrison,Sylvia Miles,John Saxon and of course our legendary Papaji-Garam Dharam.
The canvas was awesome then laced with our famous down under cabaret queen jaya malini and the jhingalala crowd.
The ruby was a delight and so was the screenplay.But what stands out is Hum Bewafa and Mera Pyar Shalimar.However mera pyar shalimar was not given due justice.It just features in the background.Its a gem of a number.I decided to showcase it.I hope i manage to reach upto expectations.
I have also made a special edit of hum Bewafa wherein the jhingala chorus is absent.I shall post that video also.

The Burning Train

The Burning Train was one of my favorites during school.Saw it many times for the hollywood type special effects. Ravi Chopra was indeed inspired the japanese flick - The Bullet Train and The Towering Inferno.The music score is simply amazing especially the title track.The panning of the train sound was actually recorded by Panchamda and Dipen Chatterji using two microphones.Now when I see the same movie,it really feels sad thet the title track has been wasted on film negative footage akin to the title sequence of Chandra Barot's DON(whose title track is also terrific).
I have tried capturing the essence of the film in this short span.Note the use of the helicopter sequence with the music.Also noteworthy are the qawaali(pal do pal ka) and meri nazar hai tujhpe.Its indeed amazing how Panchamda could plan the stereo effects so well.Many others during that period have tried such stereo effects(Rajesh Roshan-Kaala Patthar,Laxmikant Pyarelal-Rajput/Ram Balram,Khayyam-Dard) but in vain.No wonder Panchamda's different.

Just felt like making a video of the title track of Shaan.The original was very impressive then in 1979,on the lines of Shirley Bassey's rendition of Goldfinger(1964).Usha Uthup is simply brilliant and amazing.I happened to notice a similarity in the jail sequence of Goldfinger and Shaan.Both have an exact score.Pancham must have been inspired a lot by John Barry's composition in Goldfinger.No wonder,Goldfinger was awarded an Oscar for the best sound recording.I would also like to mention that Amar Prem won the best sound recording award in the Filmfare category.

The video might be just able to convey the theme of Shaan.Bilkul Shaan Se!That's the way Panchamda expressed himself-shaan se.I tried to make use of some important and relevant clippings from the movie.Note the transitions from sepia to colour and vice versa.