All India Radio as Media in 1960s
by J.V. Yakhmi
Lala Amarnath, once India’s cricket captain, had transformed himself into an expert commentator on radio for cricket in 1960s, which was exclusively test cricket then. He excelled in providing an expert summary on the just finished day’s cricket. In his inimitable style, he would often state that the batsman X ‘had no business to touch the ball that he did’, and he would famously say, ‘and ULTIMATELY he was out!’. We used to love listening to him on radio in late 1960s.
Then there was Vijay Merchant, the Indian Bradman, whose batting average stood only next to Don Bradman. Vijay Merchant was a humane commentator of repute, who would always end his Thackersey Mills’ sponsored program “Cricket with Vijay Merchant” on radio, with a mention on 3 R’s since he had strong links also with NASEOH — National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Physically Handicapped.
The comments by A.F.S. Talyarkhan on radio, or as newspaper column, were all meant for the connoisseur, may it be on horse racing or other sports, and his newspaper summary always ended with ‘Do you get me, Steve?’
Vividh Bharati, the commercial broadcasting service of All India Radio was launched in 1957. A Hindi Film songs program ‘Jaimala’ for ‘Fauzi Bhaiyon ke liye’ (for armed forces brethren), was started by Vividh Bharati in 1964, primarily to entertain our armed forces posted in difficult terrains. One of the early Jaimala programs was compered by the top film comedian of those days — Johny Walker. And look at the first song he chose to play — it was Mehmood-enacted Manna Dey song from the film Ziddi (1964) — “Pyar ki Aag mein Tan Badan Jal Gaya’ which Johny Walker played after giving profuse accolades to Mehmood’s talent, who was yet to give some of his best performances in ‘Gumnaam’, ‘Pyaar Kiye Ja’, and ‘Padosan’, etc. That was the kind of camaraderie among film professionals of yore!
And talking of the comedian Mehmood, he started a new trend — giving the radio jingle himself for advertising his own forthcoming films. He crooned on radio, “Dekhne Aana Padosan ko, re bhai, dekhne aana..’; prior to the release of his Padosan (1968); or ‘Alla ke naam pe dilaade eik ticket Sadhu Aur Shaitaan ki’, before the release of his film Saadhu Aur Shaitaan (1968).
Around 1969, Vividh Bharati started another film songs program ‘Bela ke Phool’, that would air after 10pm, and end at 10.40 pm, or even 11 pm — a bit late for Radio Stations to close in those times. It also had sponsored Ads, majority of which were on films about to be released. One such film I cannot forget was the 1970 Sanjeev Kumar hit film ‘Khilona’, and invariably the Ad would play a line of ‘Sanam tu Bewafa ke Naam Se ..’, but following quickly with, ‘Khilona jaan kar tum to mera dil..’. And Rafi’s deep, long wail ‘Oooooo, Khilona’ would sound haunting in the stillness of the night.
No less bewitching was the line played in ‘Bela ke Phool’ Ad for Hema Malini film Sharafat (1970) — ‘Shareefon ka zamaane mein aji bas haal wo dekha ki Sharafat….’.
Meena Kumari famously lamented while compering a radio program on Hindi film songs in 1960s that she would always miss not having done a serious film with the tragedy king Dilip Kumar. Being a tragedienne herself, all the four films that she did with Dilip Kumar were light comedies or mazaahiya, as she described them!
Thespian Ashok Kumar, while presenting the Jaymala program in late 60s played the song ‘Main ban ki chidiya ban ke ban ban boloon re, Main ban ka panchi ban ke sang sang doloon re’, sung by him and Devika rani, his lead-actress for their hit film, ‘Achhut Kanya’ (1936). But before playing it he mentioned in a lighter way that in early days of talkies, the lines of several songs would simply end in ‘re, re’.
