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Published: 01 December 2021

Last Updated: 01 December 2021

I have seen poster printers credited a few times in old films, but this is the earliest I am seeing actual creative people named.

From Ujala (1959).

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Published: 08 October 2021

Last Updated: 08 October 2021

We have seen earlier that this term was used in 1932 and 1938

Musing 44: Tollywood in 1932

Musing 696: Tollywood in 1938

You may be surprised to now that at least one Punjabi film was made in Tollywood!

The image is from the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Punjabi Films by B R Garg.

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Published: 20 November 2021

Last Updated: 20 November 2021

Right now I am mostly busy with entering the picturization information into the database for the years 1951-1960. The main part was easy. This is because, ever since the early eighties when films started to become available, the first thing I did on getting a film was to watch all the songs and note down who was singing it on screen. This was entered into my copy of the Hindi Film Geet Kosh. All that information collected over almost forty years (1983-2021) was entered quickly. It is done.

However, I saw that many songs were background songs and nobody was seen singing, but people were present. I decided that they should be mentioned also. From there it was a natural decision also to include all the background dancers and junior artists present in the songs.
That, of course, meant watching all the thousands of songs from hundreds of films again. But I am crazy, so be it. I started it a few months ago and I am about to finish 1957. All this info will be on the database website by the end of the year.

I feel so happy when I can say, hey that's Fazlu! Or, I know her, she is Pamela, Edwina's co-dancer in so many films. But my joy pails in comparison with the heavely bliss Memsaab Greta Kaemmer felt when she found out how Nazir Kashmiri looks like!!!

She wrote,

"Bells are ringing and the people are rejoicing, at least in my house (and by “the people” I mean…well, ME)."

and, further,

"I can die now. Or at least get some sleep, after I add him to my galleries."

Memsaab Finds Nazir Kashmiri!

It is because of her pioneering effort that encouraged me into trying to find out the names of background dancers and junior artists!

Here he is in Jugnu (1947), Noor Jehans' uncle and Kal Hamara Hai (1959) as a doctor with Bharat Bhooshan and Madhubala.

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