Mumbai: Famous radio broadcaster and the iconic voice behind the 'Binaca Geetmala' on Radio Ceylon and Vividh Bharti, Ameen Sayani, passed away at the age of 91, his son Rajil Sayani said on Wednesday. Rajil informed that Sayani suffered a heart attack on Tuesday night and was taken to a hospital in South Mumbai but could not be saved.
In a statement in this regard, Rajil said that Ameen Sayani passed away last night of heart attack at H N Reliance hospital. He said Ameen was rushed to the hospital last evening around 6:00pm after he complained of chest pain. The doctors at the hospital tried to revive him but he passed away around 7:00pm, Rajil said. He said the last rites will be held on Thursday and that the family will be issuing a statement in this regard.
Illustrious Radio Career: Ameen Sayani, whose iconic introduction 'Namaste behno aur bhaiyon, main aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon' on Radio Ceylon still evokes strong nostalgia amongst listeners, was born in Mumbai in a multilingual family on December 21, 1932.
Ameen had an aptitude towards creativity since childhood and soon started writing for his mother's fortnightly journal 'Rehbar' at the age of 13. Around the same age, Ameen became a proficient broadcaster in English and started participating in children's programmes on the English service of All India Radio Bombay.
Sayani, however, faced disappointment when he was rejected in his audition to present in Hindustani because of a slight tinge of Gujarati accent in his voice. Sayani got a major break after the then Minister for Information and Broadcasting, B V Keskar banned Hindi songs from AIR and Radio Ceylon started to become popular.
Geetmala fame: Sayani got a chance to host 'Binaca Geetmala' on Radio Ceylon in December 1952 and there was no looking back and the show became synonymous with Sayani. The show ran from 1952 to 1994 to massive popularity for 42 long years. With variations in its name, it continued to woo listeners in the early 2000s too.
