Legend has it that after Ameen Sayani presented Binaca Geetmala on Radio Ceylon for the first time in December 1952, the station received around 9,000 letters! The number slowly rose to a weekly 65,000 letters, and the 30-minute programme became a one-hour show in 1954. In time, it would also become one of the longest-running radio shows in India.
Talk to anyone about the great man of radio, Ameen Sayani, who passed away at the age of 91 on February 21, 2024, and it is impossible to not speak of Binaca Geetmala in the same breath. In 1951, when Dr B.V. Keskar became the minister for information and broadcasting, one of the things he did was to ban Indian film music from All India Radio, paving the way for Radio Ceylon to come up with the show on Hindi film music which went on to attain a cult status. In an interview with Hindustan Times in 2016, Sayani had called it his “most thrilling” programme, adding that he put all his love for music and nationalism into it.
However, Sayani’s contribution to Indian radio goes beyond the hit show. The late radio presenter contributed immensely to other areas of radio broadcasting as well as for the Hindi film industry, which flourished partly due to his visionary programming.
Ameen Sayani: Style and substance
Veteran voice artiste Harish Bhimani (of Main Samay Hoon fame, from Mahabharat on Doordarshan) shared a close bond with Sayani. Bhimani says that when Binaca Geetmala first started, Sayani was still a student at St Xavier’s College. Often, the deadlines for recording would clash with his college timing, and a recordist would be sent to the college with a microphone and tape recorder to record Sayani’s voice. “The show became so popular, that Budhvaar (Wednesday) became known as Binacavaar,” he adds with a chuckle.
Sayani's signature greeting on his show, ‘behno aur bhaiyon’, and his stylized way of speaking has been copied by many, but there can only be one Ameen Sayani, says voice artist Vishnu Sharma, who knew the late radio presenter for more than four decades. “When people ask me if I know how he developed this greeting, I tell them that he learnt it from his elder brother Hameed Sayani who was a fantastic English orator,” he says.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, they say, and there were many who tried to copy his inimitable style of speaking. “When I would tell Ameen bhai that people are badly copying him, he would say, ‘It’s okay Vishnu, they are earning their bread through that; let them be’,” he recalls.
Film music and more
Not only did Sayani change the way listeners perceived radio presenters, but he also shaped the destinies and box office collections of films through his programming. Bhimani says it is a significant aspect of Sayani’s life for which he is not given enough credit. “At that time (when Ameen Sayani started working) radio entertainment programming was very serious. He added fun and games to it,” says Bhimani, adding that what he brought to film music content was his programming and presentation style.
“It was because of his presentation style that the songs would go on to become popular. If Ameen Sayani said that ‘Anarkali ka yeh geet choti ka geet hai’ (this song from Anarkali is the top song), then it became that. The film music industry flourished partially because of him. All the music directors wanted to be in his good books,” he shares.
Bhimani adds: “One of the key aspects of film publicity was radio-sponsored programmes, which to my mind was his invention. He would make shows based on the films. There would be bits of dialogues, songs, story narration and the commercial part about which stars were part of the cast, etc.” While Sayani would assume the anchor’s role, other voice artistes would narrate parts of the story without too many spoilers. “There would be four such slots at night and the publicity would go on for four to six months. It was one of the biggest contributions to the Box Office collection of films,” he recalls.
Ameen Sayani as mentor
Throughout his illustrious career that began from 1952, when he began as a presenter on Binaca Geetmala, to producer and compere on over 54,000 radio programmes, Sayani mentored and gave opportunities to scores of voice artistes. Leading voice-over artiste Arvind Mehra recalls how there were hardly any avenues for artistes like him before Sayani came along to handhold them and show them the way.
“He had a system of auditioning young voices. At that time, a number of young voice artists would queue up outside his studio in Colaba near Regal cinema. During lunch break he would relax on his sofa and ask them to audition. He would cast them for various roles in the radio shows he produced, providing them with work and money,” says Mehra, who too got an opportunity to work with Sayani in some of the shows. “Today, voicing is a full industry but at that time it was new and it was a learning experience to work with him and to see how he modulates his voice and presents it during recording,” he adds.
Sayani was not just a mentor to his juniors; he was also someone they could count on as a friend and colleague. Sharma, who is also a voice culturist and conducts workshops for voice artists, shares that Sayani would send newcomers to him to learn the art. “Three years ago, he nearly lost his memory. A friend of mine organized an event and even though Ameen bhai was not in the best of health, he still came for it. He was unable to recognize most people but when he saw me, he called me by my name and asked about my two daughters. He sat there for more than half an hour and not for a second did he leave my hand,” Sharma says, choking up with emotion.
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