With the passing away of Ameen Sayani, an era in broadcasting has actually come to an end. He not only enthralled his countless listeners in South Asia with his mesmerizing voice and inimitable style, but had so many anecdotes to recount, which brought out several unknown aspects that were connected with Bollywood and the Hindi film industry. He was indeed incomparable and though many young broadcasters tried to replicate his voice and the inflections, they miserably failed. When the Radio was the most powerful medium of communication, Ameen Sayani became the master of waves. He was to broadcasting what Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were to playback singing and he took his art to a new level altogether. He was chosen from a large list of known voices to be the sole presenter of the “Binaca Geet Mala’ a weekly programme of popular Hindi film songs aired on Radio Ceylon every Wednesday, with the objective of promoting the toothpaste manufactured by the CIBA company.
It was the Indian version of the top popular numbers of each year, based on the acceptance of these compositions by millions of listeners. The show became so popular that in the 1950s and a good part of 1960s, all activity would come to an end with people flocking to their Radio sets for one hour of super entertainment. Apart from the songs that featured in Binaca Geet Mala, Ameen Sayani’s commentary was always looked forward to.
There were many good presenters in Radio Ceylon like Manohar Mahajan whose soft voice was a distinct feature of this Radio Station, that also had a programme of old songs in the morning with the last reserved for the immortal Kundan Lal Saigal. If one would go by the top songs of each year, one could easily determine that on popularity list, which of the music composers or singers were the most sought after. The Hindi film industry had phenomenal talent and all this came to fore in form of the chosen songs for the Binaca Geet Mala show.
The programme had a distinct signature tune, inspired by the Spanish Gypsy dance and on every Wednesday, every activity would come to a standstill. Ameen Sayani worked extremely hard for his presentations and over the years, became a treasure trove of information about Bollywood.
He had the original recordings of all top singers, music composers, lyricists and film personalities, and would often play them on many occasions to illustrate his point or to share unforgettable anecdotes. These recording need to be properly preserved to give a new dimension to so many told and untold stories. In fact, he was a ready reckoner about the songs that made it to the top of the charts and what went on in the background when they were composed.
The All India Radio had many gifted presenters but they never got the kind of exposure the Binaca Geet Mala gave to Ameen Sayani. The AIR had exceptional newsreaders and many iconic persons such as Melville D’Mellow, who stood very tall because of their extraordinary ability to bring to life any event. There were newsreaders with perfect diction and were role models for students such as Lotika Ratnam, Surojit Sen, Phillip Neelam, Pankaj Mohan, Tejeshwar Singh in English, and Ramanand Prasad Singh, Devki Nandan Pandey, Indu Wahi and Vinod Kashyap in Hindi. However, Ameen Sayani in the world of broadcasting, had no competition.
He scaled all the milestones to reach the summit and was the undisputed Emperor. In the process, he left all his contemporaries behind even if he pursued a genre different from theirs. His programmes served to measure the actual popularity of many singers and composers. For instance, there was a particular year when nine out of the ten top songs which featured in his show were composed by Shankar Jaikishen, the iconic composer duo but the best hit number was composed by someone else. Anyone who regularly listened to his programmes was treated to a whole lot of experiences which provided a perspective and to the innumerable stories and anecdotes raging in the film industry. He would have a word or two on someone like O.P.Nayyar, who during his illustrious journey to the pinnacle never used the voice of Lata Mangeshkar, and instead became the mentor of her sister, Asha Bhonsle.
Ameen Sayani, had a take on some of the rivalries and his version of things on say, the Lata-Rafi feud over royalty, was the most authentic. He had a very good ear for music and would recognize any upcoming talent or singer. He had identified Laxmikant Pyarelal as very gifted composers and also supported many others, who despite their immense potential could never reach the upper echelons of stardom. He backed the young Bhupinder when he made his debut with Khyyam and also shared his excitement when Sharada was introduced as a budding singer with her “Titli Udi’’ in Suraj. Ameen Sayani was unbiased in his commentary and also featured in a few films. In Mehmood’s Bhoot Bangla, he acted as a compere and introduced Tanuja who sang a RD Burman composition. Unlike many modern day presenters, whose narration of events is on many occasions concocted or one sided, Ameen Sayani could never be accused of any such thing. His professionalism was his strong point and his voice would stand out as his greatest strength. May his soul rest in peace.