The Hindi Film Song Synopsis Booklet

1_CinemaEducation

Theme.Object Collection

The Hindi Film Song Synopsis Booklet

Introduction

Body of Work

Research Centre

7,029

Library

Archive

7,029

Related Links

1_CinemaEducation

Theme.Object
Collection

The Hindi Film Song Synopsis Booklet

Introduction
Body of Work
Research Centre
The Hindi Film Song Synopsis Booklet
The song synopsis booklet is an early to mid-twentieth-century paratextual film ephemera from the Indian sub-continent. It is a cheaply produced multisensorial object that surpassed the existence of extremely flammable nitrate film reels, bringing together printed text, illustration, photography, and song lyrics to evoke the visual, haptic, and aural promises and pleasures of the new mass medium of cinema. The immediate antecedents to the song booklet are theatre chapbooks, religious hymn booklets, astrological almanacs, and joke books. With the flourishing of film production in the subcontinent, song booklets from the 1920s onward feature spectacular combinations of text, drawings, full colour photo illustrations, typographical flourishes, ornamental decoration, and film stills. These booklets include plot synopses, cast and crew credits, song lyrics, production stills, and advertisements for upcoming films, many of which were never made, so that the only traces that remain are these promotional images. What makes Indian film song booklets different from film paraphernalia and playbills elsewhere in the world is their inclusion of the lyrics for songs, which are a key element of popular Indian cinema, an aspect most remembered and memorialized by audiences, thus creating a different register for materiality and circulation histories. The booklets feature advertisements for film equipment, studios, and lists of former or upcoming productions. Through a side-by-side display of narrative and industrial attractions, these cheaply produced ephemera are located, like the films they promote, at the intersections of the fields of visuality and aurality of the narrative spectacle, art and commerce. Gathering influences from different kinds of cinema booklets and other promotional objects from across the world, the song synopsis booklet came on its own, earning the status of a rare collectible over the course of time. Traversing the history of over eight decades, the booklet has evolved from theatre advertisements to Hollywood cinema handbills and synopsis booklets of the silent era to the song synopsis booklet, an object intrinsically unique to the Indian sensibilities.
Read More
The song synopsis booklet is an early to mid-twentieth-century paratextual film ephemera from the Indian sub-continent. It is a cheaply produced multisensorial object that surpassed the existence of extremely flammable nitrate film reels, bringing together printed text, illustration, photography, and song lyrics to evoke the visual, haptic, and aural promises and pleasures of the new mass medium of cinema. The immediate antecedents to the song booklet are theatre chapbooks, religious hymn booklets, astrological almanacs, and joke books. With the flourishing of film production in the subcontinent, song booklets from the 1920s onward feature spectacular combinations of text, drawings, full colour photo illustrations, typographical flourishes, ornamental decoration, and film stills. These booklets include plot synopses, cast and crew credits, song lyrics, production stills, and advertisements for upcoming films, many of which were never made, so that the only traces that remain are these promotional images. What makes Indian film song booklets different from film paraphernalia and playbills elsewhere in the world is their inclusion of the lyrics for songs, which are a key element of popular Indian cinema, an aspect most remembered and memorialized by audiences, thus creating a different register for materiality and circulation histories. The booklets feature advertisements for film equipment, studios, and lists of former or upcoming productions. Through a side-by-side display of narrative and industrial attractions, these cheaply produced ephemera are located, like the films they promote, at the intersections of the fields of visuality and aurality of the narrative spectacle, art and commerce. Gathering influences from different kinds of cinema booklets and other promotional objects from across the world, the song synopsis booklet came on its own, earning the status of a rare collectible over the course of time. Traversing the history of over eight decades, the booklet has evolved from theatre advertisements to Hollywood cinema handbills and synopsis booklets of the silent era to the song synopsis booklet, an object intrinsically unique to the Indian sensibilities.

Introduction

The song synopsis booklet is an early to mid-twentieth-century paratextual film ephemera from the Indian sub-continent. It is a cheaply produced multisensorial object that surpassed the existence of extremely flammable nitrate film reels, bringing together printed text, illustration, photography, and song lyrics to evoke the visual, haptic, and aural promises and pleasures of the new mass medium of cinema. The immediate antecedents to the song booklet are theatre chapbooks, religious hymn booklets, astrological almanacs, and joke books. With the flourishing of film production in the subcontinent, song booklets from the 1920s onward feature spectacular combinations of text, drawings, full colour photo illustrations, typographical flourishes, ornamental decoration, and film stills. These booklets include plot synopses, cast and crew credits, song lyrics, production stills, and advertisements for upcoming films, many of which were never made, so that the only traces that remain are these promotional images. What makes Indian film song booklets different from film paraphernalia and playbills elsewhere in the world is their inclusion of the lyrics for songs, which are a key element of popular Indian cinema, an aspect most remembered and memorialized by audiences, thus creating a different register for materiality and circulation histories. The booklets feature advertisements for film equipment, studios, and lists of former or upcoming productions. Through a side-by-side display of narrative and industrial attractions, these cheaply produced ephemera are located, like the films they promote, at the intersections of the fields of visuality and aurality of the narrative spectacle, art and commerce. Gathering influences from different kinds of cinema booklets and other promotional objects from across the world, the song synopsis booklet came on its own, earning the status of a rare collectible over the course of time. Traversing the history of over eight decades, the booklet has evolved from theatre advertisements to Hollywood cinema handbills and synopsis booklets of the silent era to the song synopsis booklet, an object intrinsically unique to the Indian sensibilities.

Booklets

Mir, Ezra (Director), Nur Jehan, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mir, Ezra (Director), Nur Jehan, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Shirin Farhad, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Shirin Farhad, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Shirin Farhad, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Shirin Farhad, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Shirin Farhad, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Shirin Farhad, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Karani, Pesi (Director), Daulat Ka Nasha, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Karani, Pesi (Director), Daulat Ka Nasha, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Torney, R.G. (Director), Dilawar, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Torney, R.G. (Director), Dilawar, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Rathod, Kanjibhai J. (Director), Pak Daman, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Rathod, Kanjibhai J. (Director), Pak Daman, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Devi Devyani, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Devi Devyani, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mishra, B.P. (Director), Draupadi, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mishra, B.P. (Director), Draupadi, 1931 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Chatra Bakavali, 1932 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Chatra Bakavali, 1932 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Sati Savitri, 1932 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Sati Savitri, 1932 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Choudhry, R.S. (Director), Madhuri, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Choudhry, R.S. (Director), Madhuri, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Nanubhai B. (Director), Maya Bazaar, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Nanubhai B. (Director), Maya Bazaar, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Poonawala, Rustom (Director), Nek Abla, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Poonawala, Rustom (Director), Nek Abla, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mishra, B.P. (Director), Sati Madalasa, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mishra, B.P. (Director), Sati Madalasa, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Madanrai (Director), Sati Sone, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Madanrai (Director), Sati Sone, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Gandhi, Naval D. (Director), Shikari, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Gandhi, Naval D. (Director), Shikari, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Producer), Radha Rani, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Producer), Radha Rani, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mir, Ezra (Director), Zarina, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Mir, Ezra (Director), Zarina, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Desai, Jayant (Director), 2 Imposters, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Desai, Jayant (Director), 2 Imposters, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shantaram, V. (Director), Ayodhya Ka Raja, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shantaram, V. (Director), Ayodhya Ka Raja, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Desai, Jayant (Director), Char Chakram, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Desai, Jayant (Director), Char Chakram, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Karani, Pesi (Director), Dagabaz Ashak, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Karani, Pesi (Director), Dagabaz Ashak, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Gulru Zarina, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Madan, J.J. (Producer), Gulru Zarina, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Sethi, G.R. (Director), Khuda Dost, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Sethi, G.R. (Director), Khuda Dost, 1932 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Ghosh, Prafulla (Director), Char Darvesh, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Ghosh, Prafulla (Director), Char Darvesh, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Rajhans, B.S. (Director), Nal Damayanti, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Rajhans, B.S. (Director), Nal Damayanti, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Sircar, B.N. (Producer), Puran Bhakat, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Sircar, B.N. (Producer), Puran Bhakat, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Sircar, B.N. (Producer), Puran Bhakat, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Sircar, B.N. (Producer), Puran Bhakat, 1933 | Cyclostyled Lyrics Leaflet

Wadia, J. B. H. (Director), Lal E Yaman, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Wadia, J. B. H. (Director), Lal E Yaman, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Miss 1933, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Miss 1933, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Miss 1933, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Shah, Chandulal J. (Director), Miss 1933, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Rajhans, B.S. (Director), Nal Damayanti, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Rajhans, B.S. (Director), Nal Damayanti, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Sircar, B.N. (Producer), Rajrani Meera, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Sircar, B.N. (Producer), Rajrani Meera, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Madanrai (Director), Noor E Iman, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Madanrai (Director), Noor E Iman, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Majumdar, Nagendra (Director), Patit Pavan, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Majumdar, Nagendra (Director), Patit Pavan, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Madanrai (Director), Sati Ansooya, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Vakil, Madanrai (Director), Sati Ansooya, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Master, Homi (Director), Saubhagya Sundari, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Master, Homi (Director), Saubhagya Sundari, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Choudhry, R.S. (Director), Sulochana, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Choudhry, R.S. (Director), Sulochana, 1933 | Song-Synopsis Booklet

Research Centre

All

7,029

Library Archive

7,029

Highlights

709

Data not found

TRIS logo image

Home

Explore

Calendar

REGISTER