Radio icon Ameen Sayani’s legacy in boosting Hindi film songs will remain unmatched

If there is one voice on the radio that demanded and captured the imagination of those growing up in India in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, and shaped the evolution of radio in the country, it was that of Ameen Sayani. One of the most imitated voices on radio, Sayani breathed his last on February 21, 2024 at the age of 91. Here are five reasons why the grand old man of radio was and will always be a legend:

Introduced to the world of radio at the age of nine by his elder brother Hamid Sayani, who was a well-known English presenter on radio, Sayani began working in radio when he was around 19 or 20 years old. The young man soon became a household name with his engaging manner of presentation and knowledge of Hindi film music. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sayani has said that he wanted to make each listener feel that he was talking to them, which revolutionised radio presentation in the years to follow. The accessible, yet stylised manner of speaking endeared him to his listeners.

If you paid attention, you would have noticed that Sayani always addressed his listeners as ‘Behno aur bhaiyon’ as opposed to the more traditional ‘bhaiyon aur behno’.  In an interview with NDTV seven years ago, he said he does that because he believes in ‘ladies first’.

The first broadcast of Binaca Geet Mala on Radio Ceylon received approximately 9,000 letters in December, 1952. Within a year, the weekly mail rose up to 65,000 letters. The 30-minute programme became a one hour show in 1954 and is one of the longest-running radio shows in India.