Details

Published: 17 December 2025

Last Updated: 17 December 2025

Har Mandir Singh Hamraaz and I are happy to announce the completion of updating and editing of volume two, 1941 to 1950. Filmography was already updated. Song picturization information is now finished. The data has been uploaded to the database website.

Sadly, for this decade only 143 films are available to us. The rest of the data was obtained from the booklets. In the end we have picturization for 221 films and 1,606 songs.

Many producers have been careful to preserve their films for example Prabhat, Wadia, New Theatres etc. We thank them from the bottom of our heart.

Was is not for the M and M video of Karachi, Pakistan, we would have not have even 143 films. Out of commercial interest they videotaped the movies from Doordarshan and provided them in the VHS format. You can clearly see their imprint on many of the movies available on Youtube and elsewhere.

It is possible that these movies and many more are available in a better quality elsewhere in India. If so we will be grateful if you can help us find them.

DATABASE LINK

Now You Know! 

Details

Published: 16 December 2025

Last Updated: 16 December 2025

When you undertake a massive project like the Hindi Film database, you always have to decide when to stop checking. if you keep going forever then, of course, you will never publish anything. If you stop too soon then there might be many mistakes. So it's somewhat of a compromise when to stop.

I have been watching Hindi movies to determine the picturization of various songs. I checked my data  as much as I could but then when I found that I have done enough, I published. My hope was that other people will watch films and let me know if I made mistakes.

Recently a Facebook friend of mine named Sudipta Bhaduri contacted me and started asking me some questions about the database website. It turns out that he has been consulting it to find the picturizations, he seems to be very interested in people singing the songs and and also those who are sitting around or dancing. In the end, I was able to convince him to do a project for me and he is working on it now.

Yesterday he expressed doubt about three songs from Miss Mary. He said that the elderly person who is sitting there is not Badri Prasad, which is what I have written on the website. It looks like Jagdish Sethi to him. I watched the song again and definitely he is correct!.

I want to thank him for pointing out my mistake. I am happy to have a friend like him. 

Now You Know!.

New DS-561 

Details

Published: 14 December 2025

Last Updated: 14 December 2025

I believe first comprehensive work on Indian was the films was the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen (1998). It has the biographies of film people, brief description of films in many languages and many rare pictures.

 

They describe how they got their information from many different sources and people. Many of these people and others have now written film Geet Koshes. Still many other people whose names are have not proceeded further.

 

I'm going to publish the list from the book hoping that some activity can be generated.

 

Now You Know! 

 

---

New DS-559