Obituary: The soul of 'Binaca Geetmala', the legendary Ameen Sayani bids a final farewell

'Namaskar Behno aur Bhaiyon! Main aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon..!' India's first celebrity Radio Jockey Ameen Sayani's famous line will be missed. May his soul rest in peace.

The legendary radio host Ameen Sayani – who ruled the airwaves and ruled the hearts of millions of 'Behno aur Bhaiyon' in the Indian subcontinent and neighboring countries – fell silent forever after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 91. Ameen Sayani is survived by his son Rajil and several grandchildren. Sayani suffered a heart attack late on Tuesday and was rushed to Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Nana Chowk where he breathed his last. “His remains will be kept for people to pay their last respects at Famous Studios, Mahalaxmi, followed by burial,” Rajil Sayani said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other bigwigs from the political and entertainment fraternity paid tributes and offered their condolences to Sayani's family.

The iconic lines of the country's first famous Radio Jockey: “Namaskar Behno aur Bhaiyon! Main aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon..!” became embedded in the hearts of millions of people, spanning several generations, and remains an unparalleled radio greeting even today.

Sayani became a household name with the country's first popular countdown show featuring the best Bollywood songs on Radio Ceylon (now Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) and subsequently on All India Radio (AIR).

“One of the greatest radio presenters, Ameen Sayani, has passed away. He was the iconic host of the popular radio show 'Binaca Geetmala',” AkashvaniAIR said on Wednesday in paying tribute to the renowned radio host.

An acclaimed communicator, a voice-over artist par excellence and an unparalleled storyteller, Sayani also had a great sense of humor, and over the decades his voice became synonymous with the golden age of Indian radio.

This was long before the airwaves were loosened up and a young breed of RJs took up the studio microphones.

He was born on December 21, 1932 in Mumbai, educated at St. Xavier's College and started working for Radio Ceylon from 1951. Sayani went on to create a massive record of presentations, presenting more than 54,000 radio programs and more than 19,000 spots or jingles, and appears as herself in several Hindi films.

Initially, he would help his mother Kulsum Sayani in editing a fortnightly multilingual magazine 'Rahber' initiated by Mahatma Gandhi, while his elder brother Hamid Sayani was an equally famous English broadcaster.

Starting with the 'Binaca Geetmala' (later 'Cibaca Geetmala', 'Hit Parade' and revived as 'Colgate Cibaca Geetmala'), the program reigned for 42 years from 1952-1994.

There, Sayani, in his mesmerizing voice, presented the best Bollywood songs of the week, counting down, with the grand finale of the top song ('Aur pehle payaan par hai…!'), for which his captivated audience placed bets, shouted and celebrated when they got directly.

Sayani also contributed to many English programs at AIR for a decade before he fully concentrated on Hindi programming and carved a permanent place in the hearts of his audience despite the meager payments at the time.

Through the 'Geetmala' series, Sayani also helped popularize Hindi film music among the masses through the humble 'family radio', especially for those who could not afford the expensive gramophone players and records.

Later, Sayani hosted popular shows like 'S Kumar ka Filmi Muqaddama' and 'Filmi Mulaqaat' on AIR and Vivid Bharati, and also the 'Bournvita Quiz Contest' which he took over from his brother after his death in 1975, and a 13-episode of a public awareness radio series in the form of plays based on actual HIV/AIDS cases.

Other big shows included: 'Sangeet Ke Sitaron Ki Mehfil', 'Shalimar Superlac Jodi', 'Saridon Ke Saathi' and later several parts of the 'Geetmala' program serials like 'Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein' which was equally popular turned out to be .

He has also produced radio series for the BBC's ethnic network in the UK, Sunrise Radio in London, Radio Asia and Radio Ummal Quwain of the UAE, and various radio networks in Canada, the US, Africa and others.

As his popularity transcended national boundaries, Sayani hosted more than 2,000 live shows and events such as beauty pageants, international film festivals, fashion shows and others, in India and around the world, where audiences hung on to his every word.

Sayani received the Padma Shri (2009), the Hindi Ratna Puraskar (2007), IAAFA's Hall of Fame Award, among many other awards and accolades.