Manek Premchand

Manek Premchand

Author | Film Music Historian

Manek Premchand is a passionate aficionado of Hindi film music, with a special devotion to the Golden Era—from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s. He has taught Broadcasting and Visual Communications at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and has conducted Master Classes on The Evolution of Music in Hindi Films at Manipal University, Karnataka. He has also served as an Advisor to Manipal University Press, which has published two of his works.

A prolific writer, Manek has authored hundreds of articles and numerous books on music, which include Yesterday’s Melodies, Today’s Memories, Musical Moments From Hindi Films, Romancing The Song, Shiv Kumar Sharma, The Man and His Music (co-authored), Talat Mahmood—The Velvet Voice, Hitting The Right Notes, The Hindi Music Jukebox, The Unforgettable Music of Hemant Kumar (co-authored), Majrooh Sultanpuri: The Poet For All Reasons, DIRECTOR’S CHAIR — Hindi Cinema’s Golden Age, And the Music Lives On, Shyam—A Star Forgotten (edited) and Soulfully Yours, Ravi.

He has been a Jury Member at the Bangalore International Film Festival and a Guest Speaker at the Mangalore LitFest. His voice has been heard on radio, including WorldSpace Satellite Radio, and he has been featured in many television programmes, celebrating and preserving the legacy of Hindi film music.

My Book(s)

Amazon Bestseller
Soulfully Yours Ravi - By Manek Premchand front cover
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Original price was: $24.99.Current price is: $18.99.

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Original price was: $60.00.Current price is: $30.00.

Original price was: $34.99.Current price is: $29.99.

Amazon Bestseller
DIRECTOR'S CHAIR — Hindi Cinema's Golden Age

Original price was: $29.99.Current price is: $24.99.

And The Music Lives On

And The Music Lives On

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Bakul Katha

Bakul Katha — Tale of the Emancipated Woman by Ashapurna Devi

Defiant Dreams

Defiant Dreams

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We Are What We Are

We Are What We Are

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cloudburst

Cloudburst: The Womanly Deluge

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THE BODY OF MEMORIES

THE BODY OF MEMORIES: A COLLECTION OF MEMOIRS & PERSONAL ESSAYS

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The Broken Home

The Broken Home: English Translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Nastanirh

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Thwarted Escape

Thwarted Escape: An Immigrant’s Wayward Journey

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Legends Speak

Legends Speak (Bengali Women’s Narratives In Translation)

Available at

Blog

Selected Writings

In The Media

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Director’s Chair – Hindi Cinema’s Golden Age: In Conversation with Manek Premchand

A distinguished music critic, Hindi film connoisseur and author, Manek Premchand has always been fascinated by Hindi cinema’s music.

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A medley of theme, theory, technique, and reason, yet modest in presentation!

Gopal Lahiri’s book ‘Crossing the Shoreline’ (2022) published by Haoajan Publishers is the book under review. This book contains 90 selected poems divided into three groups under the tags:

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Book Review: Alleys are Filled with Future Alphabets written by Gopal Lahiri reviewed by Nabanita Sengupta

That some books should be judged by their cover, is evident from poet Gopal Lahiri’s newest anthology of poems – Alleys are Filled with Future Alphabets. The hardbound book has an enigmatic painting on its cover

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Book Review: Voices Within-Edited by Gopal Lahiri

Ornately laden with passionately sensitive expressions of human emotions centred around ideas, beliefs, doctrines, love, loss, illness, and death, and most tellingly, a steadfast commitment to poetry, Voices Within edited by Gopal Lahiri and published by Setu Publications USA is a satisfying read.

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Return to Solitude: Juxtaposing love with wounds

Gopal Lahiri is an internationally acclaimed and widely published poet based in Kolkata. A Geo-physicist by profession and a poet by choice, the earth, its flora and fauna seep into his work as comfortably as do complex emotions.

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Book Review: Some Resonance Some Desire- Selected Poems by Gopal Lahiri

Shyamasri Maji reviews Gopal Lahiri’s latest poetry collection Some Resonance Some Desire observing how Lahiri mixes memories with the desire to re-view life from an optimistic angle.

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I have always revered the Mahatma but I learnt to love him as a man, through Ballad of Bapu.

Santosh Bakaya is the first of Gandhi’s innumerable biographers to envision his life as a poetic saga. In the Ballad of Bapu, she has produced a tour de force that spans his life, including many little- known episodes. Her exuberant language brings Gandhi’s spirit vividly to life like never before, and explores the varied potential […]

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When it comes to Shiladitya Sarkar

When it comes to Shiladitya Sarkar, there is more to look and feel than there is to say—hence the rather apt title to his recent works of art, Implicit Conversations.

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A Passage to (the Contemporary Art of) India

Intermission at Bass Concert Hall got a lot more interesting last month when Kala Fine Art filled the building with 80 large pieces of contemporary art from India

Videos

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Kashmir Pen Presents Sunday Kehwa Sips with Dr Santosh Bakaya

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Panorama International Literature Festival 2025

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Talking Books – Trishna Saha & Lopamudra Banerjee | Were Wonders: The Abandoned Fighter |

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TALKING BOOKS – Avijit Sarkar in Conversation with Lopamudra Banerjee

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Lopa Banerjee in Conversation with Shefali Chopra

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PANORAMA INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2023: Lopa Banerjee, USA

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The World Will Hear Us Sing – Sourodeep Sarkar | War of the Bands 2k24 | Theme Song | LIVE

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Boscoverse – Sourodeep Sarkar | Bosco Fest 2k23 | Theme Song

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One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful | Cover by Sourodeep Sarkar

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Sourodeep Sarkar – All We Have (Official 4K Video)

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Silent Night – Sourodeep Sarkar | Christmas Carols | Lyric Video

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Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Vocal Cover) | Sourodeep Sarkar