Songs

Playlist: Has Bombay Talkies revived a Madan Mohan nostalgia? Listen to his 10 best songs

Filmmaker Karan Johar got the rights to four recorded classics composed by the late Madan Mohan for his production 'Bombay Talkies', a tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema. He is said to have got them free of cost.

Karan wanted rights to four songs, one of which was 'Ajeeb dastaan hain yeh' (which is also the title of Karan's part of the story in 'Bombay Talkies'). Saregama HMV, the label that owns the rights to the songs, gave them to Karan for free because the movie ('Bombay Talkies') celebrates 100 years of cinema.

'Bombay Talkies' is co-directed by four directors, including Karan, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap. The four directors have put together four short stories to make one project. The film was released on May 3.

The rights to Madan Mohan's unrecorded songs were last acquired by the late Yash Chopra for 'Veer Zaara'. Mohan, who passed away in 1975, was a talented composer in 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and composed mainly for Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Mohammed Rafi....more    

Item numbers are important, says singer Mamta Sharma

Mumbai: The trend of adding "item songs" in Hindi films to spice up things and attract eyeballs continues to find favour in Bollywood, and playback singer Mamta Sharma remains in demand for this genre. Filmmakers Tigmanshu Dhulia, Abhinav Kashyap and Indra Kumar will be having item numbers in their upcoming movies 'Bullet Raja', 'Besharam', 'Grand Masti' respectively. Dhulia's 'Bullet Raja', starring Saif Ali Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, deals with the...  

Playlist: The best of Shamshad Begum

New Delhi: One of the initial playback singers of the Hindi film industry Shamshad Begum is not with us anymore. She died at her Mumbai residence at the age of 94. Shamshad Begum was born on April 14, 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab. She made her debut on Peshawar Radio in Lahore on December 16, 1947. Very soon, her distinct singing style made her popular among the listeners. Her daughter Usha...  

Tigmanshu Dhulia paid Rs 30 lakh for Lata Mangeshkar's song?

Getting copyrights of classic film songs for peanuts is a thing of the past. Nowadays, producers have to shell out fortunes to get the song of their choice. ...  

Masses love item numbers: Yana Gupta

Though item songs are on a constant rise in Bollywood despite being under the scanner, Czechoslovakian born Yana Gupta, who sizzled on the big screen in the song 'Babuji zaraa dheere chalo', finds nothing wrong with them as "masses love it". ...  

Popularity of item songs shows their acceptance: Anushka

Actress Anushka Sharma believes that Bollywood item songs should not be blamed for depicting vulgarity on screen as such songs are part of entertainment. ...  

I'll continue to sing and dance in movies: Kareena

Reacting to the Censor Board's stance that item numbers in films will be examined on a case-to-case basis, actress Kareena Kapoor has said this will not stop her from doing such songs. ...  

CBFC: No move to give 'A' certificate to all item songs

The Censor Board's clarification comes in the wake of raging debate about 'obscenity' in item numbers. ...  

Who said Valentine's Day had to be expensive?

Nothing says you love a person like a heartfelt but poorly performed song on Valentine's Day. ...  

Ban on item songs is very necessary: Nawazuddin

Siddiqui and Prashant Narayanan support CBFC's decision to be more stringent about item songs which go on TV. ...  

Apple's iTunes sets record with 25 billion songs sold

The answer to the trivia question will be: "Monkey Drums (Goskel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch." That's the 25-billionth song purchased on iTunes. ...  

Singer Mika Singh detained at Mumbai airport

Bollywood singer Mika Singh was on Wednesday detained at the international airport in Mumbai for allegedly carrying Indian and foreign currency beyond permissible limit. Mika, who arrived here from Bangkok by a private airline around 7:30 pm, was intercepted by customs officials. ...  

Filmmakers should stop treating women as sex objects just like we should: Mayank Shekhar

Is it time for cinema to introspect on how it portrays women? Film critic Mayank Shekhar shared his perspective in an interaction with IBNLive readers. ...  

Father's death had a huge impact on Rahman: Sister

Formative years of A.R. Rahman, an internationally accomplished artist with many honours, were not so easy, reveals the music maestro's sister Reihana. She said that at the tender age of nine, the maestro experienced life-changing incident after an untimely death of their father, composer R.K. Shekhar. ...  

'Why do you sing dirty songs', raps Honey Singh

In his latest song, 'This Party Is Getting Hot', with Punjabi pop star Jazzy B, rapper Honey Singh seems to mock himself and his ways but defiantly advices his detractors to either accept him the way he is or not step out of their homes. ...  

Honey Singh: I'm the victim of a smear campaign

Bhangra-pop singer-rapper Honey Singh claims he is a victim of a vicious smear campaign launched by his rivals to finish off his rising career as India's foremost live entertainer. ...  

DJ Aqeel: Remixes keep youngsters linked to old songs

Remixes gave a new lease of life to several old songs, says DJ Aqeel who feels it was a healthy trend as it helped youngsters to connect with old melodies. "Remixes are actually dead. Today, it is just new films' songs that are being remixed. We don't see old songs being remixed and presented to people. Remixes are the only way that helps today's generation to connect to old songs,"...  

Elton John expecting his second surrogate child

London: Music legend Elton John and partner David Furnish are reportedly set to have another surrogate child. The couple are thought to be using the same surrogate, who gave birth to their son Zachary almost two years ago and she is already several months into the pregnancy, reported Daily Mirror online. "Elton and David love this lady like a sister and they feel indebted to her for life. Naturally she...  

Eminem to release new album in 2013?

Los Angeles: Rapper Eminem has hinted about a new solo album in 2013. The 40-year-old 'Not Afraid' hitmaker has been selling commemorative baseball caps on his online store. Printed on the cap's side panel are the lists of landmark dates for the artist's past solo records: 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2013, reported Ace Showbiz. No specifics, such as title or release date have been mentioned so...  

Shootout at Wadala: Priyanka not doing item song

Mumbai: Actress Priyanka Chopra has brushed aside rumours that she will feature in an item number in Ekta Kapoor's 'Shootout at Wadala'. "No, till now I am not doing any song in any other film except for my films," the 30-year-old said here at the People's Choice awards. Priyanka is working for Ekta's 'Milan Talkies', and she is excited about working with the producer. "This ('Milan Talkies') is my first...