‘Ameen Sayani was copied by generations. Now everyone seems to be attempting to grow to be smaller Ameen Sayanis in their very own method.’
In 1960, when the movie Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai hit the theatres, considered one of its songs drew frowns from an data and broadcasting minister, notoriously cautious of the corrupting affect of Hindi movie music.
Sheesha‐E‐Dil Itna Na Uchhalo was the ‘decadent’ tune that riled B V Keskar.
On his orders, a clerk pasted a ban sticker on the album’s 78 RPM vinyl report. But he pasted the ‘NA’ sticker on the mistaken aspect and ended up banning the memorable Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh from the airwaves for a variety of years.
IMAGE: Ameen Sayani. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ameen Sayani/Facebook
Radio legend Ameen Sayani, who breathed his final on February 20, shared the anecdote with Pervaiz Alam, a former broadcaster with BBC Hindi.
Sayani, 91, regaled Alam with a number of tales that are actually a part of nostalgia — simply as he did thousands and thousands of rapt listeners on radio with an iconic voice and mannerism that set the benchmark for broadcasters in India.
It is well-known how Keskar’s ethical policing turned a boon for Radio Ceylon.
Keskar had his prudish notions on tradition and determined to ban movie songs on All India Radio (AIR) in 1952.
Sayani swiftly seized a chance on the Sri Lanka-based Radio Ceylon and offered the enduring Binaca Geetmala, a weekly present that launched listeners to the catchiest new songs in a golden period of Bollywood.
The present ran from 1952 to 1988 on Radio Ceylon, earlier than shifting to AIR’s Vividh Bharti — till 1994 with a rechristened identify, Cibaca Geetmala.
Alam, who interviewed Sayani at size for an archive for public broadcaster Doordarshan, recalled rising up in Aligarh as an ardent listener of Binaca Geetmala.
“The traffic in the city would stop when his programme was aired. There were communal tensions and other problems, but on Wednesday evenings, he would say ‘Behnon aur bhaiyon‘ and everyone would listen to his calm and soothing voice.”
IMAGE: Ameen Sayani, Ashok Kumar Kumar and Pran. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ameen Sayani/Facebook
Sayani was born in Mumbai on December 21, 1932, in a household of freedom fighters. His mom, Kulsum Sayani, ran a fortnightly journal on Mahatma Gandhi’s directions.
“He was inspired to do something for the country. Even the radio programme was meant for the common people,” stated Alam.
“He kept his script very simple. And he kept his voice and diction very chaste so that people could understand each and every word.”
IMAGE: Ameen Sayani with Amitabh Bachchan. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ameen Sayani/Facebook
Vijaylaxmi Chhabra, former director basic of Doordarshan, admitted that she wished to be on radio herself due to Sayani.
As a younger programme officer for Vividh Bharti in Nineteen Eighties Bombay, Chhabra discovered a soft-spoken thorough gentleman in Sayani, whose programmes have been outsourced by the federal government.
Sayani ran his unbiased firm and produced Geetmala, however remained a guiding determine for his associates in AIR.
“Radio was everything for him. Some of us inherited that love for radio from him,” she stated.
“How he inspired so many people is most amazing. In small towns those days, during stage programmes, most of the announcers tried to speak just like him.”
“When he spoke, the whole nation listened. I don’t think anybody could grab that kind of attention on radio,” she added.
Among the numerous broadcasters he impressed is Shammi Narang, a former information anchor and considered one of India’s best-known voice-over artists.
“What is a good dialect, punctuations, stresses, pauses, diction… we have learned all of that from him as we grew up listening to Binaca Geetmala,” Narang stated.
In tv, anchoring calls for a extra severe fashion of presentation. Yet, Narang stated, subconsciously, many in his era embodied Sayani’s fashion of modulation or articulation.
IMAGE: Ameen Sayani with Farooque Shaikh. Photograph: Kind courtesy Ameen Sayani/Facebook
Sayani marked an period a lot totally different from right this moment’s extremely industrial area when quite a few channels compete for audiences.
Abhilash Thapliyal, a movie actor, radio jockey and tv host, stated Sayani’s legacy continues to affect the brand new era.
“He gave RJ-ing a certain style for sure and created a format for all of us who followed. The only problem with style is people start aping,” he stated.
“Now, it’s more about personalising your style and figuring out the personality you want to present on air. Ameen Sayani was copied by generations. Now everyone is trying to become smaller Ameen Sayanis in their own way.”
Thapliyal added that Sayani was a reference level for interviews as properly.
“In India, at least, the format was set by him. With Ameen Sayani, he was always at par with the interviewee,” he stated.
“It was an interaction or conversation between two people of the same stature. Now, when we are talking to a celebrity, we are only interviewing them.”
With Sayani’s passing, a voice generations grew up listening to has fallen silent.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
