Details

Published: 11 March 2023

Last Updated: 18 May 2024

NOTE: The book is available on the following websites

pothi.com, notionpress.com, flipkart.com, soon on Amazon.in

Please search with the name of the author and/or title.

International Edition

professor toofaanii publishers, Lansing, MI USA is happy to announce their 50th book

Hindi Talkie Filmography (1961-70) (HINDI)
Har Mandir Singh 'Hamraaz'
and
Prof Surjit Singh

हिन्दी सवाक् फ़िल्मोग्राफ़ी (1961-1970)

हर मन्दिर सिंह 'हमराज़'
और
प्रोफ़ेसर सुरजीत सिंह

This book is a sister project, part of the much larger project undertaken by the two of us, with the help of many volunteers. Full details of the project can be seen on the main website

http://hamraaz.org/hfgk/index.php

The project is an outgrowth of the massive Hindi Film Geet Kosh (1980-) series of books compiled by the first author. The website is planned to contain all the data in the Geet Kosh, suitably expanded and revised by including the latest information.

The whole history of the Geet Kosh may be read in the My Story section of the above-mentioned website. It is felt unnecessary to repeat it here. Suffice it to say that after the pioneering work of Firoze Rangoonwalla and BV Dharap, Geet Kosh was a unique and original compilation work expanding the earlier work in many directions.

The database on the website is divided into three section for convenience. The Censor Certificate section has the information about the censored films. The Filmography section has the information about film production and other details. The Song section has detailed information about the songs.

It is a work in progress.

This book is based on the Filmography Section of Hindi Talkies Feature Films from 1961 to 1970.

English Edition coming soon.

Paperback, 6 by 9 in, 311 pages. Rs 650.

As usual, first ten pages may be read here

Now You Know!

Details

Published: 07 March 2023

Last Updated: 18 May 2024

NOTE: The book is available on the following websites

pothi.com, notionpress.com, Amazon.in, flipkart.com

International Edition

Please search with the name of the author and/or title.

professor toofaanii publishers, Lansing, MI USA is happy to announce their 49th book

Group Dancers of Indian Cinema (Golden Age and Beyond)
by
Upendra Samaranayake
and
Professor Surjit Singh

Group dancers are also called chorus or backup dancers. Clearly, without them most of the dance sequences would not be too interesting. The reason is that solo performances by the lead characters are rare and usually occur in formal, classical dance settings. For an average movie-goer, these are not very appetizing. Most of the time, though, the main dancer or dancers have to be embedded in a matrix of backup dancers.
The tradition of having other dancers present when the leads are dancing goes back a long way. In the story of the divine dancing pair Radha-Krishna we have Radha's friends almost always present. In fact, sometimes they are so jealous of Radha that Krishna clones himself such that each of Radha's friends thinks that she is the one dancing with him alone.
Quite a few of the folk dances that grew in the middle ages had other dancers besides the lead, sometimes complementing, sometimes mimicking what he or she was doing. As we have seen many times before, this tradition was continued in the theater, silent films, and finally the talkies.
In the talkies, when the dances moved away from the temple or the court to other locations, a need arose for more dancers. These dancers were, unfortunately, very low in the movie industry hierarchy, just above the extras. The extras are the ones sitting in the cafeterias or in parties. You can actually recognize many of them who are common fixtures sometimes for years. Little bit above them are the unheralded group dancers. They are usually hired by dance directors, sometimes called the dance masters or simply masters. They work in groups, get to know each other and typically do not need much rehearsal. They work is reasonably hard, very enjoyable for those who love dancing and pays well, roughly about 5-10 times a secretarial or low-level desk clerk job.
Sadly not much has been written about them. One can forget about biographies, for the most part, even their names are unknown to an average film-goer.
This book is a small effort to name them and have their filmographies written down. Much work still needs to be done.

Paperback, 6 by 9 in, 209 pages. Ts 750 (India), $8.5 (US).

First 15 pages may be seen here

Now You Know!

Details

Published: 06 March 2023

Last Updated: 18 May 2024

NOTE: The book is available on the following websites

pothi.com, notionpress.com, Amazon.in, and flipkart.com

International Edition

Please search with the name of the author and/or title.

professor toofaanii publishers, Lansing, MI USA is happy to announce their 48th book

Lyricists of Hindi Cinema
by
Jawed Hamid and
Gajendra Khanna

This book is about the lyricists of Hindi cinema. It was earlier published in Hindi by Jawed Hamid. It has been translated into English by Gajendra Khanna.  It not only includes well-known ones but also those lyricists who have written less but have given memorable songs to the listeners. The authors spent a lot of time researching and collecting details about those lyricists to incorporate their information. We hope the readers will find this rare information useful.

Paperback, 6 by 9 in, 162 pages, price Rs 650 (India), $9.95 (US).

First ten pages may be read here

Now You Know!