।। श्री गणेशाय नमः ।।
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Saturday, April 15, 2023
Aawaaz Ki Duniya - 04 - MnM Talkies
Welcome to the world of sound! Come See the Sound. Yes you read it right. That's what MnM talkies has been doing all these years with sound. This till date has been my favourite, most loved production house which produces top notch quality audio content. These people are the wizards when it comes to audio shows.
So once again I just want to give a brief intro as to why I love the audio medium the most. Most of us love to hear stories, we have been listening to various stories since childhood and while someone narrated us stories we used to be lost in our own imagination with our own interpretation of the story told. We used our imagination to create the characters and the events described and depending on the detail of the storytelling our imagination used to supply each detail of the story in our heads which only we could see. So suppose there are 5 other people along with you sitting listening to the story there are 5 different visuals of the same story with different set of characters rendered by each one of our imaginative minds. Isn't this fascinating enough. This is one major reason for my love to audio stories and the format. But besides this, since childhood I've always liked someone telling me a story, its more entertaining than watching a film. Cut to present times while I travel to work and the average travel time to reach work in a city like mumbai is around 1 hour everyday. How much of radio you can listen to? How much of songs? If you are stuck in traffic then additional time to add to the boredom. I used to drive down to Lower parel and back and the travel time used to be tiring, thats when I came across several audio shows which used to come on radio, the best part was these were really well produced shows and extremely entertaining. The first few Shows I heard were as follows
1. Yaad Shehar With Neelesh Misra on 92.7 Big FM
2. Sainaath on Fever 104
3. Friends in a metro - Fever 104 and SoundCloud
4. Fever Fry - Fever 104 and Sound Cloud
So these got me intrigued in the world of radio / audio format. These shows had a set showtime and in case if I missed it I would be disappointed! Fortunately later I found out that Fever 104 used to park the episodes on SoundCloud and thats how I could enjoy all the remaining episodes.
Later with apps like Spotify, Audible and many more a lot of audio content got into production. My joy knew no bounds when I stumbled upon these apps and content. An hour of travel listening to shows while i drive or rode my motorcycle made my commute bit relaxing and to some extent traffic did not matter.
Apart from the entertainment, these shows added some peace of mind in the busy schedule I had. I used to look forward for that drive/ride back home eager to know whats going to happen next in the show I am listening to. That was the "ME TIME" I got since even after reaching home there are other responsibilities.
OK so the reason for such a long introduction is that ever since i've been listening to the content produced by MnM talkies, its not only entertainment, but also knowledge of other cultures, simple teachings and small town experiences are which I got to know and learn. It was also a revival to some moral stories which we hear in our childhood and forget the moral of the story and these shows brought it back to me.
So let me introduce you to MnM Talkies, This is a company formed by a bunch of talented people about who I will write about in the next few posts. So, Mr. Mantra, is the founder of MnM talkies and they have been wizards in this area.
The first podcast I came across from this production was Mine and Yours, its available on Audible and I would highly recommend you all to listen to it. Then I kept stumbling upon a lot of MnM branded content until I heard Bhaskar Bose, this is our own James bond / Sherlock / Byomkesh in todays times. Well I will have to write another long post about each of their shows.
Their shows production values are top-notch, with excellent sound design and voice acting that draws the listener into the story. This format allows MnM to explore a wide range of themes and topics, from love and relationships to crime and suspense. It also keeps the listener engaged and curious about what will happen next. Excellent Storytelling with high quality production is the reason for MnM Talkies being successful and popular amongst the audiences.
They are always looking for new ways to push the boundaries of podcasting and create content that is fresh, exciting, and innovative. From Mine and Yours, Bhaskar Bose, Kahaniyon Ka Mantra, Batman ek Chakravyuh, I Hear You, Shanaya, Dr Phobia, Commander and many more, the list just goes on. Each show is different and they have also created a multiverse with crossovers in their shows which is an excellent innovation.
I have heard almost everything. Many a times with these shows i've come across simple life lessons. There have been times I've had a tough day and these shows have made me forget the stress as i transit on my way home, refreshing me to be back to normal again. Sometimes I felt maybe god wanted me to take that advice and its come across in this format. I've laughed at Bikesh Da's funny anecdotes, felt bad while Bhaskar separated from Bikesh as he moved to another space and time, (sorry for giving some spoilers here). Got mad at Biplav for being really mischievous and crazy, by the way who can imagine Vrajesh Hirjee as a Mad Psycho Villain, yes another spoiler here... Got intrigued with the storytelling and wondered maybe they made all these shows just to entertain me. And also felt happy for adding credits of VO artists at the end of the show.
They have an amazing team, from Story Writers like Asif Syed, Obaid Rehman and Musicians and sound wizards like Shadab Hashmi, Maneesh Sharma, Kunal patil. Producers like Azeem Mulani and this list is never ending, MnM is a powerhouse of talent and recently they got Mr. Sumanto Ray on board. I know of Sumanto Da since he was the brain behind Fever Fry one of the best mimicry comedy shows and Sainaath, another superb storytelling experience both on Fever 104 FM. A lot of bollywood artists have been associated with MnM and its an amazing experience to hear them in a different setting.
I may edit and add a few more instances and experiences regarding this excellent production house who indeed makes you see the sound.
But for now a heartfelt thanks to MnM Talkies and Dearest Mantramugdh for all the entertainment. I will be sharing posts of the people from MnM Talkies of who I DONT KNOW personally but what I feel about them. Yes I don't know anyone personally except one person who I will write about next.
Also Please note this is not a PAID review or write-up, I am a huge fan and this is like my diary I keep a note of :)
Thanks again and Bhaskar Da and Bikesh Da we are waiting for you to get back into action, dekho yaar itna badhiya write up likha hai, ab toh aa jaao wapis. Just kiddin! while I know you are busy with your on going assignments and will come back soon with something interesting on Bhaskar Bose.
Signing off for now,
A very happy and content fan. Thanks again and loads of love to you all!
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Jyotirbhaskar Jayant Salgaokar Sir - Ek Anubhav
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Aawaaz Ki Duniya - 03 - Neelesh Misra
Arent we all stories, or characters in a story... I think there is a story we watch everyday while we travel, work, eat, drive or play. Imagine you are on a public transport bus and suddenly a lady boards the crowded bus with her laptop bag, managing the crowd and moving to spot a seat. She manages to get a place and hurriedly pops open her laptop to send a few work emails. She gets done with it and spends the remaining 25 minutes in silence and at ease thinking about her struggle from getting up in the morning, getting the kids ready, rushing to get the lunch ready and packing it as she struggles to get her phone charged, gets ready in a jiffy, drops the kids at the school bus stop, runs for a rickshaw to get to the bus stop and manages to catch this bus she boarded just in the nick of time to avoid another late-mark at office. To which her silence is broken with an incoming call from her yaad shehar where she gets lost in the memories of her comfortable small town. Presenting you Neelesh Misra... the great story teller.
The above short story is not written by him or any of the members of his mandli, they do a great job. This is just a typical draft by me just to build the connection to Neelesh Misra's world. I dont know how well I did it, but I must say if you havent heard Neelesh Misra, you must check his Yaadon Ka Idiot Box series. Well who does not like to listen to stories, everyone does. From children to grown-ups like us, we all love to listen to stories and get on an imaginary world and enjoy the same.
Yaadon ka Idiot Box, yes, thats the show which got me hooked back to radio. As a pre-teen and a teen, I always used to listen to FM radio and record songs on my cassette since movie cassettes were way expensive. FM radio had a great stereo quality broadcast and the recording used to be fairly decent. Moving from stereo FM and cassettes to FM and music on mobile phones and then songs downloaded in mp3 formats loaded on mobile phones is the time I bought a car, my first car and Ta-Ding I got a SONY music system installed. This is somewhere in 2011 where we still had a few CD's in use and Pen Drives loaded with music. Bluetooth was still luxury and took a while to pair and connect. After a certain while it used to be boring to hear the same songs on your pen drive and radio where ads kept popping on and the experience was not so great. This is where I got re-introduced to the world of radio.
One day while returning from my office I heard a radio show - Yaadon Ka Idiot Box by Neelesh Misra and for about the next 45 minutes I enjoyed the show thoroughly. My office used to be at Worli and the driving time used to be not less than 1 hour 15 mins to my house in Powai and for such a long drive alone, entertainment was much needed and nothing could be better than this.
Every day there was a new story with new characters which came from all over the country and every story carried the aroma and soul of the place it belonged. The dialogues and the script was very well written and the sound effects were equally amazing and adding to the excellence of the show. People from all over the country loved the show since it took them to a small town where they belonged to or a place which made you feel good. The humbleness of the people in a village or small town, the time standing still out there somewhere touched me and many other like me and the person who made us travel to the Yaad Shehar was Neelesh Misra.
His stories were simple. Had the nostalgia element which hit people hard and made them fall in love with his style of storytelling and his voice. The simplicity and stories from big and small towns from all over india which were relatable to all the listeners which took them to their comfort corners and made them feel emotional and feel good at the same time.
Getting people from 35 cities together at one place and in one city - the yaad shehar just making them travel thru radio as they travel back to their home from work / college is no small task.
If in a story he talks about a character taking a flight and travelling in a place, besides the brief and to the point narration, the sound effects of the airplane and on air announcements made you feel that you are on that same flight and experiencing that story. And as he starts narrating the story with the minute details and anecdotes, you realise this is your story, you've been through this at some point in time and you are all the more intrigued in yaad shehar. The detailed but relatable incidences make you realise that yes this did happen to me once or this did happen to someone very close to me. In the hustle bustle of the day to day life, Neelesh Misra was successful in building an audience and take them to those small lanes and corners where simplicity and life was in abundance.
His stories and simplistic narration is noteworthy, particularly at the time when radio was exploring these new audio shows. This one will always remain special to me.
Thank You Neelesh Misra Ji for creating the Yaad Shehar which requires no ticket to travel to.
Aawaaz Ki Duniya - 02 - Ameen Sayani
"Binaca Geetmaala" takes you back to the days when radio was a popular medium. TV's were a luxury but Radio or Pocket Transistors were in use. The show was run on Radio Ceylon and Vividh Bharti and was hosted by none other than Mr. Ameen Sayani.
Mr. Ameen Sayani is one of the first the most popular Radio Host known to the world for the last around 60 - 70 years and still continues to entertain all of us. His voice is magical and his command on the languages is scintillating.
Hosting a show is an art and I think he was the pioneer to have started this trend. My parents always kept telling me about his intriguing style of narration and hosting the show. Besides the songs on the show, it was also Mr. Ameen Sayani's voice which people had fallen in love with.
Besides radio shows, he also hosted events and voiced for ad jingles. The list for his jingles is endless. His voice is truly magical and his style is unique.
It's still a treat to hear his voice while you listen to shows on audible. The diction, tone and quality of speech is impeccable and unmatched.
Thank you Ameen Sayani Sir for the wonderful shows, ad jingles and all the entertainment.
Aawaaz Ki Duniya - 01 - Introduction
Hello Everyone, Its been a while ive posted something or scribbled about something. Not that I am an avid writer, but yes I do like to pen my thoughts here.
So today I would like to take the opportunity to start writing a new segment. Yes a segment in which I would like to talk about a lot of people and hence separate posts for each one of them since its not possible to write about these legends in one single post/article who are behind the camera most of the times.
Aawaaz ki Duniya me aap sabhi ka swaagat hai !!! Welcome to the world of sound !!! The moment you read the above lines, im sure you either read it in a certain tone and tempo and also thought of some voiceover in your mind with variations on the line.
Yes, voiceover plays a very important role in the entertainment industry. Somewhere I feel its overlooked and due credits are missing most of the times. Many people dont know who is behind the amazing voice unless its a known FACE. The reason I stressed on the word FACE is because you associate every voice with a face, you put a face to the voice. Simplest example is "Aaj Khush to bahot hongey tum haiyn" the moment you read this line you heard Amitabh Bachchan Sir speak in your head in the same voice and tone. Or "Ye Haath Humko De De Thakur" brings you gabbar - Amjad Khan sir in a flash. With these iconic dialogues, the acting, and the character, the VOICE is what made these dialogues come to life, now wherever you are, imagine in a crowd, and someone plays these dialogues on a loudspeaker, the entire scene plays in front of your eyes.
Voice and sound, both play a very important role in films, radio, gaming and every other form of entertainment and we never realise the power of this extensive and important medium.
Today I am going to write about names which are popular in the Voiceover Industry but not known to most of the common people. The reason I wanted to write this article featuring people I liked the most is because this is my way to thank them for the entertainment they provided.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
उड़ चला मन!
उड़ चला मन!
It's been a while i've posted something here. Yes off course in todays world of instagram and facebook who writes blogs? And who has the time to read it? But this is my diary and my space for me to express what i feel. So here I am back again with a small scribble.
About a couple of days ago when i was scrolling through my instagram feed, I came across a video by a music producer Janapriyan Levine who is an American producer and I have been liking his music which has the indian flavour blended in. I like fusion music and I kinda connected with the music he makes and have been following him. So back to the video I was talking about, its a video where he is playing a tune composed by him a few years ago. I instantly connected with the tune and shared a small visual note on the comments and he liked it. I was happy to see his appreciation. But the tune got stuck in my head and I thought of a couple of lines which i've scribbled in here.
You can watch the video for the music here - [https://www.instagram.com/p/CgfAhMPpJLz/?hl=en] and im sure even you would just fall in love with the tune.
And here is a link to Janapriyan Levine's youtube channel for you to enjoy some supercool music - https://www.youtube.com/c/JanapriyanLevine
And here is my scribble.