Ameen Sayani passed on to radio heaven on February 20, 2024. He was 91. At the end of all things, we at 9 PM Movies recount how Geetmala made Ameen Sayani an Indian radio icon.
Ameen Sayani dawned on the consciousness of millions of radio listeners on December 3, 1952 – The first episode of the weekly 30-minute music-based show Binaca Geetmala was broadcast on this day on Radio Ceylon.
Ameen Sayani had an easy conversational tone. His voice was distinctive, gifted with a balanced bass voice, immediately friendly, the unchanging tone did seem dated after three decades. Audiences had moved away from the world of Sayani’s ‘Behno aur bhaiyon’ (Sisters and brothers) introduction long ago. But Sayani, always the purist and traditionalist, stuck to his style and tone for over five decades, to the end of his marathon radio career.
Sayani’s radio jockeying was old world, but engaging if conventional, without any overtly stylized intonations or showboating. It was clearly the simplicity of Sayani’s conversational tone that won over audiences.
That not many music lovers had financial power to purchase music records, or that technology of that time made it impossible to instantly access and listen to songs, was also a major factor to the immense popularity of Binaca Geetmala. The songs were the main attraction of Geetmala. But Ameen Sayani was the voice thread who presented the songs in a decorous necklace, much like the name of the show – Geetmala – translated to ‘a necklace of songs.’
Making radio history with Geetmala
The 1950-1980 timeline was the golden era of Hindi movie soundtracks. A time when almost every Hindi movie had a bunch of songs, many of them memorable.
Well trained playback singers, poetry flowing in the lyrics, sharp rehearsals, the unforgiving compulsion to record the song in one or two ‘takes’ with a string of expert musicians, music composers with western influences and Indian melodies…it was a lovely time for music lovers. That many of the Hindi film songs of that thirty-year era are still heard, blatantly covered, and remixed (mostly to obnoxious ends) is further proof of their class and quality.
Sayani with R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle
Geetmala origins: Ameen Sayani, Radio Ceylon and the ban
Once upon a time in Bombay, 1951, Ameen Sayani under the guidance of his elder brother Hamid Sayani was already hosting English language shows on All India Radio. Sayani junior was now eager to host shows in Hindi too.
Sayani has spoken of life before Geetmala in an audio CD series (Saregama Music), admitting, “My written Hindi was very good. But my Hindi-Urdu speech had a touch of Marathi and Gujarati.” Therefore, as fate would have it, Ameen Sayani was rejected for Hindi language shows by the powers that be at All India Radio.
Call it destiny or coincidence – Radio Ceylon shows began to be recorded at the St. Xavier’s College, Bombay training studio at that time – Ameen Sayani was a student there! An enthusiastic Sayani often barged in to the studio. He was especially taken in by the musical show, where emerging singers would perform.
Sayani had started doing a few shows with Radio Ceylon that an offer was put to him.
Would Ameen Sayani, asked the authorities, at a modest salary of INR 25 per month, write, produce and host a new musical show sponsored by a toothpaste company? Also, additional responsibility included checking on audience letters for the INR 100 jackpot prize, was he game?
Sayani replied, “Yes sir.”
The rest, as they say, was radio, broadcast, timeless music and history.
What also played to Radio Ceylon’s hands at that time – All India Radio, bafflingly, had banned the broadcast of film songs on their stations.
Sayani was overwhelmed by the response to Geetmala. “We were expecting 40-50 letters in response to the first Geetmala contest. How many did we receive? Nine thousand! First I jumped with joy, that wow, the show is a hit, then I held my head and realized that I have to check all the letters.”
Eventually, Sayani did receive help in these tasks that he could dedicate more time to the weekly Geetmala episode. Week after week, week after week, week after week. The repetition is deliberate.
After a 36-year run on Radio Ceylon, Geetmala was finally broadcast on Vividh Bharati, All India Radio between 1989 and 1994. That incredibly is Ameen Sayani’s rich legacy – 42 consecutive years of living, breathing, eating, sleeping Geetmala, lighting up millions of lives across generations.
The anecdotes of Ameen Sayani’s interactions with the who’s who of the Hindi film industry can fill up pages. That is for another article.
If you want to relive the epic Geetmala journey with Sayani, you are in luck. Geetmala ki Chaon Mein is available in its marathon completeness on YouTube under Saregama Music.
Sayani is pure nostalgia here, recounting his life story with Geetmala. Spread across several volumes, Geetmala ki Chaon Mein features exclusive sound bites from Hindi movie legends. This way, the Ameen Sayani legacy lives on, even as radio shows and podcasts vie for eager listeners on various music streaming platforms today.
Thank you, Ameen Sayani, for the joy and celebration of simpler times and great music. You did your thing, and you did it fabulously well.
(Article by Snehith Kumbla)
