Binaca Geetmala

Binaca Geetmala was a weekly radio countdown show of top filmi songs from Indian cinema listened to by millions of Hindi music lovers, that was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to Vividh Bharati network in 1989 where it ran till 1994. It was the first radio countdown show of Indian film songs,Back on air with Geetmala. Bella Jaisinghani. The Financial Express (India), Sunday, March 11, 2001. Transcript available online at , accessed online on 29 July 2006 and has been quoted as being the most popular radio program in India during its run.Binaca Geetmala, and its subsequent incarnations Cibaca Sangeetmala, Cibaca Geetmala, and Colgate Cibaca Sangeetmala on Radio Ceylonand then on Vividh Bharati ran from 1954 to 1994, with annual year-end lists airing from 1954 to 1993.

Ameen Sayani and Radio Ceylon

The show was hosted during its entire run by Ameen Sayani, and was very popular in India, with estimated listenership ranging from 900,000 to 20,00,000. It greatly increased the popularity of Radio Ceylon, making it the primary source of popular film music on radio for the Indian subcontinent.The show later aired on Vividh Bharati after 1988, and used to be on for 1/2 hour on Monday night.

Popularity ratings methodology

At its onset in 1952, the program did not rank songs, but rather played seven contemporary songs in no particular order. Later, the program started...
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