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Tauseef Akhtar & Rachel Dwyer: Poetry, Playback and the Magic of Hindi Cinema

Cerys is joined by Tauseef Akhtar in session and film scholar Rachel Dwyer, exploring Bollywood’s poetic traditions with live ghazals, rich cinema insight and archive moments.

Cerys is joined by ghazal singer Tauseef Akhtar, in session, sharing the elegance of Urdu poetry and his musical lineage as a disciple of Jagjit Singh.

She’s also joined by film scholar Rachel Dwyer, who unpacks the lyricists, voices and cinematic traditions that shaped Bollywood’s most enduring songs.

Cerys weaves their stories with highlights from the Nightingales of India archive, featuring reflections on Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and the power of Hindi film soundtracks.

Plus, hand‑picked selections from Cerys's classic shelves and new discoveries inspired by the poetry, lyricism and storytelling at the heart of Indian cinema.

Produced by BBC Audio for BBC Radio 6 Music.

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BBC Radio 6 Music

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Music Played

  • Melina Mercouri

    Ta Pedia Tou Pirea

    • Melina For Ever.
    • Minos - EMI SA.
    • 3.

  • Amanaz

    Sunday morning

    • Zambia Music Parlour.

  • Laura Misch

    Kairos

    • Kairos / Scrolls.
    • One Little Independent Records.
    • 1.

  • Django Reinhardt

    I Saw Stars

    • The Classic Early Recordings In Chronological Order - Volume 1.
    • JSP Records.
    • 1.

  • Country Joe and the Fish

    Flying High

    • Electric Music For The Mind And Body.
    • Vanguard Records.
    • 1.

  • Satria Jaya

    Cordillera Mountains- Philippines

    • Tradition d'Asie.
    • alter ego music.

  • Mary Bergin, Alec Finn & Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh

    Rileanna (Reels): Inion Mhic Sheain (Miss Johnson's) / Mike Russell's

    • Feadóga Stáin.
    • Gael-Linn.

  • King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

    First Watch

    • Diamond Mine Jubilee Edition.
    • Double Six Records.
    • 1.

  • King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

    Bubble

    • Bubble.
    • Double Six Records.
    • 1.

  • Jacques Brel

    Les Prénoms De Paris

    • 60 Plus Belles Chansons.
    • Not Now Music.
    • 9.

  • J Dilla

    Don't Cry

    • Donuts.
    • Stones Throw Records.
    • 18.

  • Tom Misch

    Echo From The Flames

    • Full Circle.
    • Beyond The Groove.
    • 8.

  • Wendy Holcombe

    Foggy Mountain Breakdown

    • Memories of Wendy.
    • Adonda Records.
    • 1.

  • Kishore Kumar

    Yeh Sham Mastani

    • Saregama Limited.

  • Lucas Santtana

    A História da Nossa Língua

    • brasiliano.
    • no format.

  • Marcos Valle

    A Paraíba Não é Chicago

    • Discos N'Agulha #14 - "Brasil na Pista" por Yasmin Lisboa.
    • Som Livre.
    • 3.

  • Elmer Bernstein & The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra

    Theme from The Magnificent Seven

    • NPR - Milestones of the Millennium - Music in Film.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 12.

  • Tauseef Akhtar

    Riad (6 music Session, 2 Feb 2019)

  • Tauseef Akhtar

    Riad (6 music Session, 2 Feb 2019)

  • The Clash

    The Magnificent Seven

    • Columbia.

  • Tauseef Akhtar

    Riad (6 music Session, 2 Feb 2019)

  • John Lee Hooker

    You Know, I Know

    • The Real Folk Blues.
    • Geffen*.
    • 6.

  • Mae Powell

    Rope You In

    • Making Room for the Light.
    • Karma Chief Records.
    • 4.

  • John Blek

    Black & Blue

    • Bigger River Recording Co..

  • Big Bill Broonzy

    Letter to My Baby

    • Big Bill Broonzy Sings.
    • Period Records.
    • 3.

  • King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

    Your Own Spell

    • Diamond Mine Jubilee Edition.
    • Double Six Records.
    • 6.

  • Olive Jones

    End of Time

    • For Mary.
    • Nettwerk Music Group.
    • 7.

  • Shashwat Sachdev, Hanumankind, Jasmine Sandlas, Sudhir Yaduvanshi & Muhammad Sadiq

    Dhurandhar - Title track (edit)

    • Saregama.

  • Selah Sue & The Gallands

    You & Me

    • Because Music.

  • Mukesh

    Mera Joota Hai Japani

    • Mississippi Masala [Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack].
    • The Connoisseur Collection Ltd.
    • 13.

  • Geeta Dutt

    Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam

    • Saregama Limited.

  • Percy Mayfield

    Please Send Me Someone To Love

    • Poet Of The Blues.
    • Specialty Records.
    • 1.

  • Gerardo Frisina, Luzia Dvorek & Toco

    Meu Canto

    • Schema Records.

  • Anna Calvi

    God's Lonely Man (feat. Iggy Pop)

    • Domino.

  • Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar

    Karvaten Badalte Rahe

    • Saregama Limited.

  • Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Alisha Chinai, Shankar Mahadeva & Javed Ali

    Kajra Re

    • Bunty Aur Babli.
    • Yash Raj Music.

  • ZENA

    IT'S YOU (ANTE NEH) (feat. Meron T)

    • TEMESGEN.
    • Brownswood Recordings.
    • 4.

  • Asha Bhosle & Suresh Wadkar

    Pyar Ke Mod Pe

    • Weston.

Broadcast

  • Yesterday10:00
    BBC Radio 6 Music