Book excerpt: The Hindi film song has held millions spellbound for nearly eight decades. In this unputdownable ‘labour of love’, India’s leading film song historian, Raju Bharatan, delves deep into his treasure trove to tell us how singing is all about romancing, how composing is all about feelings, how the twain, stardom and songdom, do meet to make the vintage film number a part of the nation’s psyche. He reconstructs song happenings over the last sixty years or so to condense the emotion and passion going into legendary star hook-ups, showing us how with the pairing comes the vibe, with the vibe comes the tune, and with the tune unfolds cinema that is a ‘Madhuballad’ all the way. This volume also describes the creative inputs of music directors, lyricists and singers that go into the making of a Hindi film song. It is a compendium that no one can afford to miss! Raju Bharatan is popularly recognized as the last word on film music in India – as the only one physically there ‘on the scene’ through the decades. His knowledge of Hindustani cinesangeet is matched only by his grip on Indian cricket. He now packs fifty years of musical lore into a work sure to command a niche on your bookshelf.