Imagine the era of the 1960s, when television was a distant dream and the internet did not exist. At that time, a small box called a radio was the lifeblood of the Indian middle-class drawing room. The relationship between radio and Hindi cinema has always been like that of a choli-daman relationship; one provided visuals, while the other transformed those visuals into sound that reached every home.
Regular radio broadcasting in India began in the late 1930s, and around the same time, in 1931, India’s first talking film, Alam Ara, was released. Radio provided a platform for cinema from the very beginning.
When radio entered cinema
In the early days, people were enamoured with film reviews and musical tunes on the radio. Around the 1950s, when cinema carried glamour but had limited reach, Radio Ceylon and Vividh Bharati brought films directly into living rooms. There was a time when listening to the radio was a shared family activity.
A significant historical turning point came in 1952, when the then Information and Broadcasting Minister, BV Keskar, labelled film songs as vulgar and Western and banned them on All India Radio. However, cinema and music could not be restrained. This ban led to the rise of Radio Ceylon, which, through Binaca Geetmala, gave Indian cinema a wider market and unprecedented recognition.
Amin Sayani and the golden era of radio
It was then that when the needle stopped at that frequency and Amin Sayani in his velvety voice boomed, 'Yes, brothers and sisters, I am your friend Amin Sayani', the country would come to a grinding halt. No, it wasn't just a broadcast, but an enduring bond between cinema and radio, which shaped India's cultural heritage.
"Even today, older generations remember how Mohammed Rafi's O Duniya Ke Rakhwale brought tears to listeners' eyes. Lata Mangeshkar once said in an interview that in the early days, singers feared whether people would recognise them, but radio carried their voices to homes where no poster could reach. According to her, radio was the medium that turned singers into superstars.
Radio is still the hero of cinema
Cinema has always regarded radio as its hero. From Vidya Balan and Sanjay Dutt saying 'Good Morning Mumbai' in Lage Raho Munna Bhai to Vidya Balan greeting listeners in Tumhari Sulu, radio has remained central to storytelling. Vidya Balan once said that there is a mystery with the radio, where you cannot see anyone, but you will feel them. She said that the cinema is visual, the radio is spiritual, and the RJ's voice may become the 'greatest companion of loneliness.'
This journey spanning a century for Radio and Cinema is not about technological development alone, but about the emotional pulse of common Indians. Cinema is a harbinger for dreams, while Radio is a voice for those dreams. This is so even in this era of digital technology, podcasts, and different media streaming platforms.
As Gulzar once beautifully stated, 'Listening to songs on the radio is like reading a letter from an old friend.' Cinema gave stories wings, and the radio added music to the stories. Even today, programmes like Nilesh Mishra’s Yaadon Ka Idiot Box continue to tell cinematic stories on FM Gold. This proves that while technology has changed, the magic of a good story and a soulful voice still lives inside the same small box called radio.
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