The past few weeks at work have been a whirlwind of high energy and anticipation. We were all gearing up for the SCREENXX Summit and Awards, held on November 13th in Mumbai. It was a flurry of activity—entries streaming in, juries deliberating, final results being tallied, trophies polished, agenda locked, invitations sent out, and registrations in full swing. The most thrilling part? The big question: Which celebrities would actually make it for the night?
As the day approached, the buzz was palpable. Would the
stars align (quite literally) and grace us with their presence? It felt like
the entire team was holding its breath.
After a long day of planning, I’d unwind at home,
instinctively reaching for my phone. And as if by some magical algorithm (or
maybe Big Brother keeping tabs on my Bollywood mood), my social media feed
served me snippets from series like Panchayat and Very Parivarik.
It was like the universe was playing along, providing the perfect dose of
entertainment just when I needed it.
The event turned out to be a roaring success! Stars from the
small screen dazzled the audience, receiving a raucous cheer as if it were the
climax of a blockbuster. Though I haven’t been following Hindi OTT shows as
religiously lately, and it’s been a while since I binge-watched a series, the
collective excitement was contagious. The presence of yesteryear celebrities,
like Chunky Panday, brought back a flood of memories from simpler times.
Bollywood Nostalgia: Growing Up in the Golden Era
Growing up in the 80s in Mumbai, it was impossible to escape
the Bollywood wave. At just 5 or 6 years old, I remember the thrill of watching
the youngest Kapoor brother, Rajiv Kapoor, playing cricket on our school
field. The odd walk through Union Park in Chembur had us trying to spot Om
Prakash, the veteran actor as we passed by his bungalow there.
Sundays were special days indeed. The roads were clear as families
indulged in the Sunday evening ritual watching that long-awaited movie on TV.
Subsequently that moved moved to Saturdays and the regional treat took over the
Sunday. On weeknights, the entire family would huddle around the TV to watch Chitrahaar
and Chhayageet, eagerly waiting for our favourite songs. The
introduction of colour TV during the 1982 Asian Games marked a turning
point. Suddenly, watching TV felt like a whole new experience. We spent dinner
time not around the table, but seated on the sofa in front of the TV and keenly
kept track of the developments on screen as we followed the serials like 'Hum
Log' and later 'Buniyaad'. Also the comedy treats like 'Hum Paanch' and many others.
Summer and Diwali holidays often meant marathon movie
sessions at a neighbour’s place. They would rent the movies by the dozen and
their living room was a mini-theatre. We didn’t mind sitting on the floor and at
times non-stop commentary from the lady of the house who was an absolute movie
buff. When we got our own video player,
we made the most of it to watch a good mix of Hindi blockbusters as well as
English treats.
Flashback to 1988: The Era of QSQT
One movie that stands out vividly in my memory is Qayamat
Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT), released in 1988. The film introduced us to the
original chocolate hero, Aamir Khan, who stole everyone’s heart with his
captivating performance. But what truly won me over was the music. The peppy,
rock-and-roll rhythm of “Papa Kehte Hain”, featuring a cameo by dance
maestro J J Rodriguez, is still one of my favorite songs—to listen to,
to play, and even to sing. It’s a classic that never gets old. This was one of
the early songs I learned to play on the keyboard. Give it a listen here.
Recently, on a quiet evening at home with my lovely wife, we
found ourselves reminiscing about this film. I started playing another
beautiful love song from the movie, and she spontaneously joined in. Here’s our
rendition of “Gazab Ka Ye Din”—a timeless melody that still gives us
goosebumps.Listen here
We’d love to hear your feedback on this rendition. There are
a few more covers in the pipeline, and we can’t wait to share them with you
soon. Stay tuned for more musical nostalgia!
