MUMBAI: As a part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of India’s independence, IBN 7 and CNN-IBN have initiated a special programme on the music of Indian cinema.

Splendid 60 – The Sound of Cinema will be a two-part series featuring Javed Akhtar accompanied by his filmmaker son Farhan Akhtar discuss the incredible journey that Hindi film music has taken since independence, including picking out the most evocatively patriotic film songs from each of the six decades.

The programmes will air as two half hour specials on CNN-IBN on 7 July and a one-hour show on IBN 7 the same day.

Splendid 60 – The Sound of Cinema is a part of the TV 18 Network’s Rising India campaign to celebrate 60 years of Indian independence.

“The Hindi film music industry has come a long way since the country’s independence 60 years ago and who better to take one through the ages than the maestro himself assisted by his son. Cinema and its music are an integral part of rising India – with its popularity going well-beyond national borders,” said CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai.