Radio Ceylon

The station employed some of the most popular Indian announcers who played a vital role in establishing Radio Ceylon as the 'King of the airwaves' in South Asia, among them, the Ganjwar sisters, Vimla and Kamini, Vijay Kishore Dubey, Gopal Sharma, Rakesh Sharma, Hasan Razvi, Kumar and Manohar Mahajan, Sunil Dutt (who went on to become a film star in Hindi Cinema), Ameen Sayani and elder brother Hamid Sayani, though not hired by Radio Ceylon became popular by using Radio Ceylon for broadcasting programs like "Binaca Geetmala" (first broadcast in 1952) and "Lipton Ke Sitaare."

While the golden age of Hindi-language film music was in the 1950s and 1960s, the station popularised movie songs, including the ones from Asha Bhosle,[10] Lata Mangeshkar, K.L.

Having heard the programme, the audience flooded the station with letters requesting a countdown of Hindi-language filmi songs and the idea of Binaca Geetmala was born.

[12] Radio Ceylon also popularised English songs of Indian popular musicians - they went on to score huge hits, among them Uma Pocha (Bombay Meri Hai), Usha Uthup who has the rare distinction of singing Sri Lankan baila songs with ease and the Anglo-Indian star, Ernest Ignatius (who went on to be a success in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Bombay Dreams' in London) had a massive hit, I married a female wrestler, on the Hindi service.

Major brands queued up for their jingles to be broadcast live by the announcers of Radio Ceylon, such was the station's advertising power.

Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake appointed a distinguished Ceylonese civil servant, Neville Jayaweera to head the CBC.

Group picture of Announcers of Radio Ceylon in the year 1953
Director General Neville Jayaweera in the boardroom of Radio Ceylon.