Remembering Usha Kiran

( 22nd April 1929 - 9th March 2000 )

We, the Maharashtrians have a special pride for Madhuri Dixit for securing the topmost position in Bollywood in 90s. While the pride placed on Madhuri is not at all undeserved, at the same time we should also be proud of Usha Kiran, a Marathi actress who made a mark in Bollywood in 1950s, when forget acting in movies, going to a movie was a taboo !

Usha Kiran viz. Usha Balkrishna Marathe, started acting in films at the age of 19 to support her family. Her first film was Kalpana ( 1948 )a dance- drama film, produced by Uday Shankar, in which she played a small role. Her first film in lead role was 'Daag' ( 1952 ) opposite Dilip Kumar. But she rose to the fame from Patita ( 1953 ) opposite Dev Anand. Her performance in Patita established her in Bollywood.

Usha Kiran acted in about 50 Hindi and Marathi films. Other than Daag and Patita, her other hit  Hindi films were Badbaan, Nazrana, Kabuliwala, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Bawarchi etc. Her well known Marathi films are 'Shikleli Bayko', Postatil Mulgi and Jashas Tase.

Usha Kiran acted opposite to the Great trine ( Raj,Dilip,Dev), Ashok Kumar, and during 70s opposite to Rajesh
Khanna, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bacchan.

She had the honour of being Sheriff of Mumbai during 1996-97. This talented actress having a simple, sweet and expressive face succumbed to cancer in 2000. Dev Anand who worked with Usha Kiran in three films remembered her in his condolence as one of the finest actress he has ever worked with...

Remembering Manohari Sing

( March 8, 1931 to July 13, 2010 )

( To pay him tribute today please watch the  song ' Aawaz deke hame tum bulavo'  below from the film 'Professor'. Listen to the magic of Manohari Singh's saxophone between mukhada and first stanza and between second and third stanza... Music from the Great Shankar Jaikishan....)

It is very rare in Bollywood music that an instrument player in the orchestra commands the equal name and fame as that of the music composer or singer. But that happened in case of Manohari Singh.. but the journey of this saxophonist  was not so simple and smooth.. he toiled hard initially in brass band and then in Kolkatta's night clubs.. playing and practicing his favourite saxophone 13 hrs a day...
He received his first break in bollywood by S.D. Burman for the film in 1958 for the film 'Sitaron Ke Aage.' and thereafter played saxophone with other music composers also. But his hit song is ' Gata Rahe Mera Dil' from Guide partially composed by R.D.Burman. He had the strong association with R.D. Burman with whom he played Saxophone a number of times and  also acted as Music assistant and arranger.....

He last played his Saxophone for the songs of ' Veer Zara ' in 2004.This charming Piper said good bye to this mortal world on July 13, 2010 but leaving behind his immortal tunes to entertain us forever.....

Remembering Ravi

( March 3, 1926 to March 7, 2012 )

'जब चली ठंडी हवा, जब उठी काली घटा, मुझसे ऐ जाने वफा, तुम याद आये '

Yes, we do remember Ravi not only in 'ठंडी हवा,' but quite often for his melodious music and superhit songs.

Ravi was born as ' Ravi Shankar Sharma' in Delhi. He could not learn any classical music and was an electrician by the occupation. He shifted to Bombay in 1950 to become singer and had hard times as he had to stay on streets and sleep at night on railway platform.

The great music composer Hemant Kumar gave him the first opportunity to sing in chorus of ' Vande Mataram' in film ' Anandmath'. Thereafter he worked as an assistant to Hemant Kumar for some time. His first film as a music composer was ' Vachan ' . But he got popularity from the song of Talat Mehmood in 1957 from ' Ek Sal' (सब कुछ लुटाके होश में आये तो क्या किया ) He was consistent enough to establish himself as a recognised music composer by composing melodious music for the films ' Dilli ka Thug, ( ये राते ये मौसम नदी का किनारा ) Chirag kanha Roshni Kanha, Choudhvi ka Chand,(चौदव्हीका चांद हो या आफताब हो ) Ghoongat , Tower house (ऐ मेरे दिले नादान तु गमसे ना घबराना )

He thereafter had a long association with producer B. R. Chopra and composed music for of his films which became superhit viz. Gumrah,(चलो एक बार फिरसे अजनबी बन जाये हम दोनो ) Waqt (आगेभी जानेना तू , ओ मेरी जोहराजबी, हम जब सिमटके आपकी बाहो में आ गये ) and Nikah (दिलके अरमान आसुओमे बह गये )

Ravi's other best songs include तोरा मन दर्पन, छु लेनेदो नाजुक होठोंको ( Kajal ) रहा गर्दिशोमे हरदम ( Do Badan ) ना मुह छुपाके जिओ (Humraaz ) etc.

He was instrumental in bringing Mahendra Kapoor ,the singer, to the limelight. He received the Filmfare award for best music composer twice viz. Khnadan and Gharana.

Later on Ravi diverted himself to Mallyam films and had a remarkable presence there. He received National awards for two Malyalam films in 1995 : Parinayam and Sukhrutam.

I was never an ardent lover of Ravi's Music. With due respect, I found his music of same style even though melodious. But I still remember the folks in college days who used to watch 'काजल , वक्त , दो बदन, हमराज at Matinee shows again and again to listen to Ravi's songs. He had a notable fan base.

Ravi's songs were much popular and used to be played at weddings ( आज मेरे यार की शादी है , बाबुल कि दुवाये लेती जा ) Interestingly the beggars in trains ( especially in Mumbai local trains ) used to recite only the songs of Ravi ( दिलके अरमान आसुओमे बह गये, तुम एक पैसा दोगे वो दस लाख देगा ) Reasons beyond my comprehension !

Even though popular among masses Ravi remained less appreciated by Hindi film industry. He was never retained by any Big banner production houses. Ravi , in spite of lack of appreciation,always remained a self content man till he breathed his last at Mumbai on March 7, 2012

Remembering OM Prakash

( 19th December 1919 to 21st February 1998 )

Since childhood, often I used to get impressed by the side actors, villains etc more than the heroes. And those side actors having a special style of acting or dialogue delivery were used to be my favouries. Obviously Om Prakash, the great versatile actor and comedian was one of them !

OM Prakash, Born as OM Prakash Chibber in Jammu started taking lessons in classical music when he was just twelve and joined All India Radio in 1937 on a monthly salary of Rs 25. He was known as “Fateh Din”, a radio personality and his programs made him popular all over Lahore and Punjab.
As an actor, he started his career in 1942 and played the leading man in some films like 'Dus Lakh' and 'Sadhu aur Shaitan'. However he had a greater success as a supporting actor. Due to his nasal voice and a peculiar style of dialogue delivery he became popular for his comedy films. His pivotal roles in the films like Chupke Chupke, Julie, Joroo Ka Ghulam, Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Pyar Kiye Jaa, Buddha Mil Gaya , Namak Halaal, Apna Desh will be remembered forever.
The most striking aspect about Om Prakash is his sheer versatility. He had done with ease almost all types of roles viz. lead hero, villain, comedian, family man, Munshi, alcoholic person, romantic old man, politician, hen pecked husband and what not ! He had a long spell of about 50 years in Bollywood and acted from Ashok Kumar, Great trine (Raj, Dilip, Dev ) to Rhishi Kapoor. He had a special relationship with Amitabh Bacchan as both worked in various hit films from Zanzeer to Sharabi

When Mehmood recevied the Radhakrishan award for best comedian for the film ' Pyar Kiye Ja' he acknowledged that Om Prakash, who played his father in the film equally deserved the award as his fabulous reactions made the scenes more entertaining. The scene of story telling in this film became so popular that it was repeated later in ' Dhoomdhadaka ' ( Marathi film ) by Lakshmikant Berde and Sharad Talwalkar.
After having 300+ films to his credit, Om Prakash breathed his last in 1998 in Mumbai

Dev Anand remembers Madhubala

(Kala Paani, 1958)

Dev Anand remembers Madhubala in his autobiography :

'I remember the film ' Kala Pani ' the most for Madhubala, the most beautiful of all heroines in the fairy land of films with her natural looks and always as fresh as morning dew. Her childlike innocence was accentuated by the most noticeable trait of her character, her famous giggle. She was forever giggling at the slightest pretext. Nobody knew when the next bout of giggles would come, and once it did, how long it would last !

Many times she would suddenly start giggling during a take when the camera was on. The lights had to be switched off indefinitely and tea ordered,until she was able to get a hold of herself.

The great giggler was perhaps laughing a the world around her that did not knew that she had a damaged heart, and would die quite young......'

Remembering Madhubala

( 14th February 1936 to 23rd February 1969 )

'The beauty in its purest form'

It rarely happens that even after a lapse of time... years together.... the hearts of millions people are filled with memories of a personality and their minds wander for ever around that charishmatic persona ....Madhubala was one of them......
Born as Mumtaz Jehan Begam Dehlavi, Madhubala was fifth of eleven children of her father. The family suffered innumerable hardships and Madhubala was compelled
to work in films as a child artist. Her first film was Basant ( 1942 ) when she was of 9 years old. She continued to act in films since then and assumed the screen name ' Madhubala' on the advice of the then veteran actress Devika Rani. Madhubala achieved recognition from ' Mahal' ( 1949 ) and her popularity reached at its peak in early 1950s as her succeeding films Dulari, Beqasoor, Tarana, and Badal were box office hits. Her bewitching eyes, mischievous glances, dazzling smile, glowing skin, natural look unburdened by make-up and a matchless, timeless sensuous personality did have a magic effect
Her stardom and huge fan base even forced Hollywood to take note of her by including an article on her in August 1952 issue of 'Theatre Arts' under the title 'Biggest Star in the World'. American Director Franc Capra was interested in inducting her in Hollywood but Madhubala's father refused.
Madhubala acted in about 70 films. Some of her notable films are Mahal, Chalti ka Naam Gadi, Howrah Bridge, Phagun, Kala Pani, Barsaat ki Raat and lastly the landmark ' Mughal-e- Azam' which made history.
However restrictions on her Public life by her dominating father, break up with Dilip Kumar, her incurable heart disease and late and ' not so happy' marriage with Kishor Kumar marred the personal life of this enchanting beauty.
Madhubala's health started deteriorating around 1960 and she was confined to bed. However she did not give up. With a slight improvement in 1966 she made an attempt to complete ' Chalak' opposite Raj Kapoor. When she found that acting entails strain on her body, she was set to make a directional debut by a film ' Farz aur Ishq'. Ultimately she surrendered against the cruel destiny on 23rd February 1969, but not with desperation and regrets. She might have rested in the arms of death ,humming innocently and mischievously in its ears ......अच्छा जी मैं हारी चलो मान जाओ ना ......

Remembering Pran

( 12th Feb 1920- 12th July 2013 )

' And Pran ...'

These two words ' And Pran ...' have appeared at the end of the titles of about 250 films.... This reflects the immense contribution Pran has made to the Hindi Cinema. True, Amitabh while paying tribute on Pran's demise called him as ' Magnificiant Pillar' of the film industry !
My first memories of Pran dates back to my childhood, to the movie ‘ Ram aur Shyam’. I still remember I was trembling by fright in my seat when he was slogging Dilip Kumar with ghastly cruelty. Thereafter I got fascinated by Pran’s performance in ‘ Madhumati ‘ especially the scene in which he says ‘ Sorry’ to Dilip Kumar with an aristocratic arrogance and in ‘ Dil Diya Dard Liya ‘ in which he misses no opportunity to insult Dilip Kumar. By the time I was in college, Pran had made a special place in my heart.

Pran, born as ' Pran Krishan Sikand 'was academically gifted especially in Mathematics. But he started his livelihood as a photographer. His first Hindi film was ' Khandan' ( 1942 ). His trademark of blowing smoke rings started from Film Bari Bahen. 'Ziddi' was his first notable film which launched his career as well as that of Dev Anand. Pran rose to the heights of fame after 'Ziddi' and ruled the film industry for about six decades as a villain and supporting actor. His career span stretches from the beginning of the era of great trine ( Raj, Dilip, Dev ) to the superstar Rajesh Khanna and Big B. His association with Dev Anand itself stretched for about 30 years from Ziddi ( 1948) to Des Pardes ( 1978 )
A natural gifted artist, Pran struck terror in the generation of filmgoers by his blood shot eyes and cold voice. Generating hate amongst the audience by his scornful smile and sneer, his influence was enough to desist people naming their children ' Pran'. He will always be remembered for his roles in Madhumati, Ram aur Shaym, Azad, Jis Desh Men Ganga Bahati Hai, Chori Chori, Amardeep, Rajkumar, Aah, Aadmi, Munimji, Don,Upkar, Zanzeer, Parichay, Majboor, Victoria No 203 etc .
Pran was awarded by Filmfare as best supporting actor in 1967, 1969 and 1972. He was honoured Padmabhushan in 2001 and Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2010.
Pran shifted himself to the roles of character actor in the later part of his career. Being a versatile actor he gave the superb performances. But for majority of his fans ( including me ) Pran was always a villain, is a villain and will always be remembered as a Villain …..
Rightly honoured as ‘Villain of Millenium’ in 2000 by Star Dust !

RIP Sadhana

( September 2, 1941 - December 25, 2015 )

' तुझे जीवन कि डोरसे बांध लिया है' 

Almost every youth in early years of 1960s was tied up with this sweet girl of lovely face and captivating eyes. Even after her golden times were over, her charishma continued till late 70s..... I remember the folks in my college days, who repeatedly used to watch ' Mere Mehboob ' and 'Rajkumar ' at matinee, the movies in which Sadhna looks exceedingly beautiful...

Born as Sadhana Shivdasani in a Sindhi family , her first lead role was in India's First Sindhi film ' Abanna' in 1958. But she got recognition by her first Hindi film ' Love in Simla ' starring with Joy Mukherjee. In the first film itself she introduced her trademark look, a hair style, which was later on became popular as ' Sadhna Cut ' and was a fashion in 1960s.

After ' Love in Simla ' Sadhna was cast in a role of a village girl in Bimal Roy's ' Parakh ' which proved to be a multi- award winning film. In 1961 and 1962 her image of a romantic heroine was established when she was successfully co-starred with Dev Anand in ' Hum Dono' and ' Asli Naqli '.

Sadhana was peak of her career in 1963 by her role in ' Mere Mehboob' ... a block bluster. In mid 60s she became famous as a ' Mystic Girl ' by her roles she played in suspense thrillers in three successive films, ' Woh Kaun Thi ', Mera Saya' and ' Anita '.

Unfortunately Sadhana does not have to her credit a single filmfare award..but interestingly she was fortunate enough to deliver on screen some of the best of Lata solos...नैना बरसे रिम झिम रिम झिम ,ओ सजना बरखा बहार आई,लग जा गले कि फिर ये हंसी , तू जहां जहां चलेगा मेरा साया साथ होगा, नैनोमै बदरा छाये, अभी रूठकर कर अब कंहा जायेयगा etc.

Sadhna developed a health problem with her thyroid, her eyes got affected and she was under a long medical treatment. After her comeback she did act in some films viz. Intequam, Ek Phool Do Mali, Aap Aaye Bahar aayi etc. Though these films were successful she had lost her earlier luster.

She retired from the film industry in mid 70s and was avoiding the public life post retirement. She even refused to be photographed as she wished to be remembered as the way she was in her golden times.
She is no more now.. but she will always be alive by her performances, her beauty and by the eternal songs picturised on her, and though we frequently hum अभी ना जाओ छोडकर कि दिल अभी भरा नही, our heart will always be full with her sweet memories.....

Tribute to Dev Anand......the 'Evergreen'

( 26th Sept 1923- 3rd Dec 2011) 

By dedicating my first block to him on the same day of last year, I began with this activity of preparing the posts of Bollywood artists. Following his footsteps I continued with the task happily without caring much whether my posts are read or ignored, liked or criticised,forwarded or deleted ! 

Frankly he didn't belong to my generation as such. When I was born in 1960, he had already acted in about 60 films ! But as his filmy persona stretched for 60 years, filled with glamour and fame, probably the longest of any actor till date, he was/is an idol for many like me.

Though his golden era is over since long his aura persists still today.... his songs and movies are still watched across the generations. His journey in the Bollywood is too long .... from 1946 to 2005..to cover in a tiny post. The secret of his popularity is in the lively,carefree image of urban hero he displayed on the screen. as compared to the brooding image of tragedy king Dilipkumar, and an innocent rural image of Raj Kapoor. Moreover while Dilip Kumar and Raj kapoor acted with a limited number of heroines, Dev Anand's co stars range from Kamala Kotnis in 1946 to Tara Sharma in 2005 ( who happened to be younger to him by 55 years !) He acted with almost all the heroines of Bollywood from Madhubala to Madhu and from Geeta Bali to Smita Patil. The another attribute worth noting is that Dev Anand as a head of his Nav Ketan films introduced multitude of talents to the industry beginning with Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand, Sahir Ludhianvi, Jaidev, Shatrughna Sinha, Shekhar Kapoor, Zeenat Amang, Tabbu, Jackie Shroff and so on....

Music and songs remained to be an indispensable part of his film career. He used to spend hours together with S D Burman to finalise the tunes and then used to take strenuous efforts to rehearse the songs. ( His this trait was also followed by superstar Rajesh Khanna who used to practice the songs with Mumtaz and Sharmila Tagore at his home before shooting ),Therefore the songs of Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna are enjoyed more than those of other stars including Big B and Shah Rukh khan. ( आज सुद्धा दुकानांत लोक देव आनंदच्या गाण्यांची सीडी मागतात... without mentioning the name of the films ! )

Dev Anand did not restrict his lively image to the screen, in fact it was his personality which more or less found reflection in the roles he played . Where others took the failures seriously and ran into depression, Dev Anand's interest never dried and though the film flopped he started with another one vigour and enthusiasm.
Once questioned by a journalist about the financial losses he incurred as his films flopped, he said " I came to Mumbai with Rs 30 in my pocket. As long as I am not left with Rs 29/- I am not a financial looser'. A positive and zealous attitude, Yoga, strict diet and a busy but regular schedule kept him physically and mentally fit till the last years of his life.

Mr Ganesh Anantharaman , a writer who interviewed Dev Anand in 2008 in his Anand Studios recalls ' Sitting in the midst of books and files, and dressed impeccably in formals, with the famous scarf round the neck, nothing about him suggested that he is touching 84. He got excited when I informed him about my book and wished me best of luck. He told me he is working on a new script for his new film. For the next 40 minutes I had a tough time keeping pace with the speed of his thought and articulation .. In his presence, I can comprehend, why he is called evergreen !

Remembering Geeta Dutt

(23rd November 1930- 20th July 1972 )

जाने क्या तुने कही जाने क्या मैने सुनी बात कुछ बन हि गई.......

Geeta Dutt got the first opportunity to sing for the film Bhakta Pralhad...in fact it was not a song but only two lines.But the sixteen years old Geeta mesmerised the entire studio by the liveliness she could bring in those two lines. Her first full song was for the film ' Do Bhai 'मेरा सुंदर सपना बित गया (which we still hear in Bhoole Bikhare Geet.) But Geeta Dutt and Geeta Bali both rose to the heights of popularity by the song तदबीर से बिगडी हुई तकदीर बना ले , a club song composed by S.D, Burman for the film Bazi. The film Bazi also happened to be the turning point in the life of Geeta Dutt as on the sets she first time met Guru Dutt, the director of the film with whom she tied the marriage knot afterwards.

Getta Dutt's ability to put in the required emotions and feelings in the song was just supreme. On the strength of this ability she could hold the fort against the Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar for about ten years. The logic for opting Geeta against Lata was simple. ...Lata was faultless but Geeta was marevllous....

Geeta Dutt's mainly sang for S.D. Burman, O.P Nayyar and for Hemant Kumar. वक़्त ने किया क्या हंसी सितम, नन्ही कली सोने चली ,बाबूजी धिरे चलना , मेरा नाम चिंचिंचू , हम आपकी आंखोमें , न जाओ सैया are some of her songs which portrays the emotions of the lyrics as well as of the situation.

Guru Dutt's behaviour and his involvement with Waheeda Rehman resulted in a discord between the couple. This also affected the professional life of Geeta Dutt. She refused to sing for Waheeda Rehman in Sahib Biwi aur Gulam and that paved the way for upcoming Asha to sing the song भंवरा बडा नादान है which was picturised on Waheed Rehman while all other songs of the film are delivered by Geeta Dutt. Guru Dutt's untimely death made the life worse for Geeta Dutt as Guru Dutt has contracted huge debts and Geeta had to rear three children. The Mangeshkar sisters are also getting too strong now to hold the fort any longer. Geeta started cracking.. turned to alcohol for solace and died at the age of 41....But before leaving , by her swan song .... मुझे जां ना कहो मेरी जान she caused everyone to remember that her talent to convey the feelings and passions will remain unmatched for ever !

Happy Birthday Ranjeet

( 12th November 1946 )

' The Rapeman '

It is very interesting to follow the career graph of Ranjeet and to peep into the life of this villain who has done about 200 rapes on screen !

Ranjeet, born as Gopal Bedi in Punjab had an inclination to films since his youth. Being an ardent fan of Dev Anand, he used to mimic almost the entire ' Hum Dono' and 'Guide' line by line. With some connections he landed in Mumbai with a hope to get some work in Films. His first films were ' Sawan Bhado ' and ' Reshma aur Shera'. Sunil Dutta, the producer of Reshma aur Shera, gave him a screen name 'Ranjeet'. On the sets of Reshma aur Shera, on watching his acting caliber, Rakhee suggested his name for 'raping ' her in her forthcoming film Sharmilee. After the negative role in Sharmilee, Ranjeet shot to fame and after successfully undertaking the 'rape job' in a few films thereafter, he was crowned with the title ' The Rapeist Ranjeet ' in the Bollywood !

But Ranjeet had to pay the social cost for this success. Though a strict vegetarian, non- smoker, non- drinker and having the spotless moral character, Ranjeet used to be avoided in parties, especially by ladies who refused to shake hands with him. He also had strain relations with his parents for some time, who walked out of the Premier show of Sharmilee in interval after seeing him 'raping' Rakhee on the Screen.

But Ranjeet continued... raping the heroines, side heroines, hero's sisters, dancers, vamps whoever came in his way... Soon Rape became synonymous with Ranjeet !

Ranjeet's hit films include : Hulchul, Victoria no 203, Dharmatma, Rampur Ka Laxman, Khotey Sikkey, Aap Ki Kasam, Hath ki Safai, Amar Akbar Anthony, Vishwanath, Namak Halal, Sharabi and so on...

Ranjeet called it a day to his negative roles somewhere in 90s and switched to character roles. Presently he is busy in writing, direction and production of the films and tv serials.

In spite of 'raping' so many heroines Ranjeet's married life has remained a life long Honeymoon. His daughter is well known fashion designer and son is expecting a break in the film industry. Ranjeet's innings are long over, however even today I notice someone having shirt unbuttoned till the waist, the image of Ranjeet gets flashed in my mind !

Remembering Sachin Dev Burman

( 1st October 1906 to October 31, 1975 )

दिवाना मस्ताना हुआ दिल, जाने कंहा होके बहार आई .......

Yes, the only funda of this great music composer was to make the people crazy and happy by his simple and melodious tunes ....thats all ! His popularity across the nation was so vast that in 70s, one of his ardent fans named his son after this legendary music composer. The boy named after him, himself became a legend later on..... not in the field of music but in the world of cricket ! Well thats a different story to tell.......

Sachin Dev Burman's first film as a music composer was Shikari ( 1946 ). But his breakthrough came later with the song sung by Geeta Dutt मेरा सुंदर सपना बित गया which we hear quite often in Bhule bikhare geet.

He thereafter neither looked back nor stopped till his last breath. He is the only music composer who did not have any bad patch is his career of about 30 years. The list of his melodious songs is endless... to name a few : तेरे मेरे सपने अब एक रंग है, दिन ढल जाये,क्या से क्या हो गया, रंगीला रे ,शोखीयो मे घोला जाये, चूडी नही मेरा दिल, जलते है जिसके लिये, मित ना मिलारे मनका , खाई है रे हमने कसम संग रहने कि , पूछो ना कैसे मैने रैन बिताई , हम आपकी आंखोमे इस दिल को बसा दे तो etc.

S.D Burman had a long association with Dev Anand' s Navketan films and gave music to almost all the productions of Navketan. According to Dev Anand, S.D. Burman's music displayed the Spirit of Hope which was in tandem with the themes of all Navketan Productions. 

S D Burman throughout his life was in favour of easy and sweet tunes . According to him pure classical music has no place in films and therefore simple tunes should be derived from classical ragas. His this ability to draw lighter tunes from classical ragas was further developed by his son R.D.Burman who started a new era in Bollywood music. However had S.D survived after 1975, RD would have required to compete with his own father for the top slot in the industry ! When RD composed रैना बित जाये in 1971, SD at almost 67 and having two heart attacks to his credit, responded with मेघा छाये आधी रात indicating that even after giving music for last 25 years he is left with enough stock of creative compositions !

If you listen to Vividh Bharati most of Burmanda's songs are still aired in the programs like Man chahe Geet and so on. His popularity is unparalleled. In order to remain connected with the masses he used to get his tunes first approved from his driver, cook and other servants ! The secret of unprecedented popularity of S.D. Burman lies in this simple trick....

Happy birthday Hema Malini

'किसी शायर कि गझल ड्रीमगर्ल, किसी झील का कंवल ड्रीमगर्ल…. '

Happy Birthday Hema Malini !

I first met the ' Dream Girl ' in ' Seeta aur Geeta '. The film was running  superhit  and we had to buy tickets in black. While watching the movie, instead of getting carried away by Hema Malini's  beauty, I was impressed much by her fabulous  performance in the Double role .. a meek Seeta in contrast  to bold Geeta...Its no wonder she picked up the best actress award of Film Fare for this role/s.

After acting in two  Tamil films, Hemamalini made her debut in Hindi films through ' Sapno ka Soudagar ' opposite Raj Kapoor in 1968. But the film flopped. Thereafter Hema Malini took risk by accepting some non conventional roles : A young widow in Andaz and a negative role in Lal Pathar. By these roles she could  have some foot hold in the industry, But her lead role with Dev Anand in 'Johny Mera Naam'  straight way took her up to the top and the role in Seeta aur Geeta made her an established star. Hema Malini thereafter rule the Bollywood for next about 10 years by her dazzling beauty, tinkling smile, outstanding acting performance and graceful dancing sequences. Her hit films include Sholay, Pratignya, Sanyasi, Joshila, Dost, Dharmatma, Premanagar, Jugnu, Kranti,Charas , Naseeb, Satte pe Satta etc.

Hema Mailini and Dharmendra fell in love on the sets of Sholay in which Hema Malini has performed the role of talkative Basanti. It is heard that Dharmendra used to pay Rs 100/- to cameraman and spotboy for each mistake they commit during the romantic scene with Hema Malini, so that he could get an opportunity to romance with her again and again! Hema Malini  acted in total 28 films with Dharmendra. She was also paired with  other stars of the time viz.  Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand and Amitabh Bacchan.

Apart from the normal romantic roles, Hema Malini has made significant contribution to Indian Cinema by performing female-centric roles in three films of Gulzar : Khushboo, Kinara and Meera.

In about mid 90s Hema Malini almost took a break from films and made a come back in Baghban in 2003 co-starring with Big B.

Hema Mailini is an elegant and trained Bhart Natyam Dancer and  is also master of  Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam dance formats. She has done a number of dance performances in India and abroad with her daughters, the most notable is her dance ballet 'Durga' at Mysore Palace and the another one at Khajuraho Dance festival.

Hema Malini entered the Politics in 2003 and was a member of Rajya Sabha till 2009. She has also honoured the post of General Secretary of BJP and was the First Lady Chairperson of National Film Development Corporation. Presently she is a MP from Mathura constituency.

It's a still enigma to me how  she could spell bound the audience at her Dance Ballet at Mysore at the age of 60! At this age of 67 also she looks slim, smart and fit ! Any way, we wish her best for both of her careers, Artistic as well as political !

Happy birthday Amitabh Bachchan

'पीटर, अब ये ताला मै तुम्हारी जेबसे चाबी निकालकरहि खोलुंगा' ​

​Happy Birth Day Amitabh.....

It was February 1975 and while passing by the Neelayam Talkies the poster of ' Deewar' used to tempt me.... The upcoming new smart actor ' Amitabh Bachchan ' has already made the inroads in my young mind by  his earlier film ' Zanjeer' and I was eager to see Deewar. But watching Deewar  was not possible till  my SSC exam was over... For school going children going for a movie  was not easy in those days... It used to have a lot of discussions, permissions and sanctions at home !

But as planned, when the last paper was over we directly went ' Neelayam' to watch the much coveted ' Deewar ' and after the first scene of fight itself, Amitabh took a permanent seat in my heart as  an idol,  which I continue to cherish even today..

Stardum did not visit Amitabh easily... he had to pass  through  lot of frustrations, failures and rejections initially. His first film was Saat Hindustani but he rose to limelight from the film 'Anand',  a legendary film with Superstar Rajesh Khanna. After 'Zanzeer and Deewar he was recognised as Star and  was credited with the title 'An angry young man.' 

Amitabh continued to dominate the Bollywood in 1970s and 1980s to such an extent that the french Director 'Francis Truffant' labelled  him as 'One Man Industry '. The list of his films during this period is endless. To name a few Sholay, Don, Trishul, Silsila,Kaala Pathar, Mr Natwarlal, The Great Gambler Dostana,Satte Pe Satta, Lawaris,Sharabi, Naseeb, Mahan etc.

 In 1982, Amitabh suffered a major accident at the time of shooting of ' Coolie'. The entire nation prayed for his recovery and by the grace of God and the best wishes from all of us he came out of it. After recovery he took a break from films, joined politics but reentered the Bollywood in 1988 after getting frustrated from the bad aspects of politics. His first film on reentry was 'Shahenshah' which became the successful hit. But the success waned soon  and he had a bad patch from 1988 to 2000. His films flopped, and the company ABC Ltd, which he floated, went into financial doldrums. In 2000 he made a comeback with 'Mohabbatein' and thereafter has not look back till today.

 In his second innings Amitabh has played a range of character roles, a police officer in Khakee, Chef in Cheeni Kum, Godfather in Sarkar, A stern parent in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum, ageing teacher in Black, a ghost in Bhootnath, and a 13 year old son of his own son in Paa.....He also made a Hollywood Debut in 2013 in the film Great Gatsby in which he has played the role of a Jewish person.

​Bachchan also reached the millions of Indian homes by hosting tv serial ' Kaun Banega Karodpati ' and Big Boss.

Amitabh has acted in about 180 films, had 14 filmfare awards and 3 National film awards to his credit and has been honoured  with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award next to Bharat Ratna. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by 7 leading Universities out of which four are from abroad viz. Universities in Leicester & Leeds in UK, Brisbane in Australia and Cairo in Egypt.

Dear Amitabh,  there is still so much to pen about you, your  lending of  voice to various movies, your playback singing and above all your humble nature, your  humanitarian activities and so on.. but Sorry Big B... you are too Big to be captured in a post of whats app/ facebook.. For you only the sky may be the limit but I have limitations of words and expressions...and therefore please don't mind if all of us only say a ' Happy Birthday ' to you from bottom of our hearts....

Remembering Shammi Kapoor

( 21st Oct 1938 to 14th Aug 2011 )

'तुम मुझे युं भुलाना पाओगे '

​Yes, Shammiji, never, we will never forget you...

If you conduct a survey about  which films  the college students watched again and again between 1965 to late 70s at matinee by bunking their afternoon college classes,   you will most probably  end up with  following answers : तीसरी मंझील, काश्मीर कि कली, जंगली, प्रोफेसर,  तुमसा नही देखा, An evening in Paris,Prince, जानवर, ब्रह्मचारी, उजाला, राजकुमार and so on ....... all films of Shammi Kapoor.. He was indeed  the Hero of Collegians....

He made a debut in 1953 in the film Jeevan Jyoti.  He had a hard time initially as his first 15 films flopped. The towering presence of the great trinity ( Raj- Dilip-Dev ) restricted his success . But when he created his separate personality  as a  light hearted and stylish Play boy from the film '  तुमसा नही देखा' in 1957 ​and 'दिल देके देखो ' in 1959 success started following him ......

Shammi Kapoor's popularity can be attributed to his zestfulness on the screen &  unique body jerking and shaking dancing style he developed. Elevated to the status of  only dancing hero in 60s, Shammi Kapoor  used to compose his own dancing steps without the choreographer ! Rajesh Khanna, the Superstar used to say ' My inspirations include Dilip Kumar's intensity, Raj Kapoor's sponteneity, Dev Anand's style and Shammi Kapoor's rhythm....​

In early 70s Shammi Kapoor's increasing  weight problem compelled him to switch to character roles. But this second innings he also played well and his performance in Zameer, Vidhata, Hero, Premgranth and Parvareesh were well received.He also bagged the Film fare award for best supporting actor for his role in ' Vidhata' in 1982. He turned to direction in mid 70s directing ' Manoranjan ' and ' Bundalbaz ' starring Rajesh Khanna.

Shammi Kapoor's era is long over but to me and millions of his fans it does not make any difference. I'll bet that no one will change the channel if Shammi  is going in a full swing on TV in ' Tarif karu kya Uski ' or Aaja Aaja main hoon pyar tera '..He is still crowned as the ' Most Entertaining Hero of the Bollywood '.............

Happy birthday Sunil Shetty

HBD Sunil Shetty

' From Action Hero to Expressive Performer'

It is quite interesting to follow the Bollywood journey of Sunil Shetty. He entered Bollywood quite late when he was in his early thirties. Being a Black Belt in Kick Boxing the natural choice of the producers was to allot action packed roles for him. His first film was 'Balwan ' (1992 ) which had a moderate success. However his next film ' Mohra' became superhit and in the same year  with the success of 'Dilwale' and 'Anth'  he established himself as a leading  'Action Hero'. Thereafter he did pretty well in that slot by slamming about 20 stereotyped action films. 

Introspection and flopping of some of his action films prompted him to shift his image from a Clashing Hero.  'Border' and 'Hera Pheri' can be considered as two landmarks for his transition  from an action hero to a versatile  actor. His role of  Army Officer in Border was critically acclaimed in which he could portray the uprightness of the character with a fierce sense of duty. In 'Hera Pheri' he proved that he is not only a  fighting hero  but can also play a light hearted comedy   with equal ease.

His journey towards becoming a complete actor  culminated when he received two filmfare awards not for the best action oriented roles  (from where he began) but for the roles as best villain ! He received one for his villanish role in ' Dhadkan' and the another one for the role in ' Main Hoon Na '.....

Sunil Shetty has also tried himself in Production by producing the films like ' Rakht' and 'Bhagam Bhag'. He is also engaged in hotel  businesses....being a 'Shetty' no wonder that he owns and runs a chain of Udupi Restaurants !

​We wish him good luck and a successful coming year.....​

Remembering Amjad Khan

( 12th November 1940 - 27th July 1992 )

'जो डर गया वो समझो मर गया ! '

It was May 1973.... Ramesh Sippy was a much a relaxed person as he had ultimately finalised the  star cast of Sholay and the photograph of his  forthcoming multistarrer Cast appeared in Screen bulletin on the background of a big lit up fire. In the photo were Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh, Hema Malini, Jaya and Danny Denzongpa... Yes,  the much talked about role of villain ' Gabbar Singh', after long deliberations and discussions has finally been zeroed down to Danny,  a young upcoming actor who has  just rose to fame by his negative role in ' Dhund '  

But the 'Destiny' had planned something different in her mind. The shooting schedule of Danny for Firozkhan's  film ' Dharmatma', which was to be shot in Afganistan, coincided with that of Sholay and as no solution appeared to be found out Danny opted for ' Dharmatma' standing by his commitment he had first made to Firozkhan.

Again the search for the Gabbar  started, but now a frantic and desperate one. Finally Amjad Khan, a theatre actor, was selected for the role of Gabbar Singh  on the recommendation of Salim- Javed, the storywriters of Sholay and shooting of Sholay ultimately started. 

But Amjad, though acted in a few films earlier was not an experienced actor. In his first scene,even after forty retakes, he could not do well the Gabbar's basic  mannerism on a horse back : taking tobacco out of the pouch, mincing  it and putting it in the mouth. The shooting of his scenes was therefore suspended.

Amjad wept,cried. His father was suffering from cancer and his son was  only of a month. His entire career depended on this film. He rehearsed and rehearsed. Ramesh Sippy stood by his side. He was advised to be in costume of Gabbar till next schedule and to live like the Gabbar in the unit. In next schedule he was prepared and after a few takes gave his first shot right. 

What happened thereafter all are aware of. Amjad Khan portrayed Gabbar  as a sadistic villain, a pure evil so completely that none of the roles of any other villain,  till date, even his own, came closure to what he has performed in Sholay. Sholay became the historic film and Gabbar Singh the  Legend...

Amjad Khan's peculiar dialogue delivery, unusual laughter ended up in  watching  Sholay by film viewers by  fifty, sixty times with fanatical devotion. His dialogues from Sholay कितने आदमी थे ,बहोत याराना लगता है रे,अरे ओ सांभा are still part of the daily life.

After Sholay, Amjad Khan's performance was once again hailed in 'Inkaar' and in Muqaddar ka Sikandar'. The Industry was looking for a fresh  villain as 'Ajit' was on the verge of retirement. Amjad's performance in Satyajit Ray's film 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi' was also critically accalimed.

Amjad Khan got injured in 1986 and passed away in 1992 due to the complications arose out of the accident. But he has remained immortal as Gabbar Singh in the hearts of the billions of people....

Happy Birthday Manoj Kumar

I was under the impression that Manoj Kumar ..... the Patriotic 'Bharat Kumar' might have been born on either 15th August or on 26th January ! But it is not so ! He was born on 24th July 1937 just like you and me as 'Harikrishna Goswami.!

After graduation, he decided to enter  the films and adopted  the name ' Manoj Kumar' for himself which he picked up  from the character name of Dilip Kumar, his idol, in the film ' Shabnam '

His initial films were not noteworthy. He rose to the fame from ' Hariyali aur Rasta ' and thereafter from ' Woh Kaun thi '.

His patriotic fervour started from  the role of  'BhagatSingh ' he played in ' Shaheed '. In 1965 the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastry has launched the slogan ' Jay Jawan Jay Kisan'. In his meeting  with Prime Minister, Shastriji  advised him to make a film based on this slogan. Manoj Kumar quickly responded by producing  and directing ' Upkar ' which became superhit and fetched a number of awards. He continued the patriotic spirit by directing Purab aur Paschim and thereafter Kranti , in which he fulfilled his dream of directing his idol ' Dilip Kumar '.

In addition to his pursuit of patriotic  films Manoj Kumar had an impressive presence in films  due to his striking  performances in Himalay Ki Godmain, Gumnam, Aadmi, Pathar Ke Sanam ,Do Badan,  Roti kapda aur Makan,  Shor ,Beiman, Sanyasi, Das Numbari etc. However in early 70s  as like Rajendra Kumar his career was affected  by the emergence of Superstar Rajesh Khanna. After Kranti his subsequent films flopped and he quit acting in 1995 after the film  ' Maidan - e- Jung.

Manoj kumar was in the news a few years back when he sued for his parody in the film ' Om Shanti Om' in which  the hero tries to sneak into the film premier by copying Manoj Kumar's  favourite style of covering the face by hand. Since then, I have hardly heard anything  about him.But I remember him without fail on  every 15th August when his song मेरे देशकी धरती सोना उगले, उगले हिरे मोती from Upkar is played at every nook and corner !

Remembering Rajesh Khanna

The Superstar… ( 29th December 1942- 18th July 2012 )

' The word ' Superstar ' was invented for him and for me it shall ever remain his and no others. His generation and the generations that follow shall never be able to describe or understand his phenomena ' - Amitabh on twitter on the demise of Rajesh Khanna

How apt are the words of the Big B ! In the early years of 1970s Rajesh Khanna literally swept Bollywood at his feet. His Superstardum was all pervasive...girls married to his photographs, sent love letters in blood and youths tried to imitate his style of winking and casual nods. The BBC also took a note of his stardom by making a film on him, titled ' Bombay Superstar' and in 70s when films were not at all considered respectable in colleges, a textbook of Bombay University contained a lesson ' The Charishma of Rajesh Khanna' !

Rajesh Khanna's film career began in 1965 when he won All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare out of ten thousand contestants. He made the debut in 'Aakhari Khat' and 'Razz' as a part of Prize for winning the competition. But he rose to the overnight national fame by 'Aradhana'. Starring in 15 consecutive solo hit films in the period 1969 to 1972 and having 35 films golden jubilee hits to his credit during 1967-1975, Rajesh Khanna was crowned as the First and only Superstar of Bollywood. Among the hits were Aradhana, Bandhan, Do Raaste, Safar, The Train, Kati Patang, Sachaa Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Mehboob Ki Mehendi, Dushmun, Anand , Haathi Mere Saathi, Amar Prem and so on.

Keeping aside his Stardum, to me, he was the outstanding actor of the times having the elegance and the dialogue delivery touching the hearts of the film viewers. Seema Deo, who worked with him in ‘Anand' used to weep a lot on the sets watching the scenes of Rajesh Khanna ! Khanna in an interivew mentioned "My inspirations include, Dilip Kumar's dedication and intensity, Raj Kapoor's spontaneity, Dev Anand's style and Shammi Kapoor's rhythm."

Rajesh Khanna’s magic started ebbing down after 1975 when the era of action films dominated by Amitabh Bacchan began. The Superstar continued to work in films but he lacked the earlier luster. His films started failing of box office leading the egoistic Superstar in depression and alcoholism. He craved, yearned for his earlier Superstardom to return, but in his destiny returning of the Superstardum had been postponed till 18th July 2012 ! On that day when he passed away the world could watch his Superstardum as his funeral was attended by nearly 3 lakh people and his fans flowing down from places like California, Singapore and from the other corners of the world !

Remembering Rajendra Kumar

( 20th July 1929 to 12th July 1999 ) 

' The Jubilee Kumar '

It is debatable ......what was instrumental to earn him the title of ' The Jubilee Kumar ' or 'Jubilee Star' as his 6 to 7 films used to run for more than 25 weeks in the same city at the same time  in different theatres ! Whether it was his strong shrewdness in selection of films or  sheer luck or superb talent or combination of all these ? Or is the result of the superstitious Bollywood in which the producers run after an actor if they found him lucky ? Whatever it  may be.... Rajendra Kumar  definitely played  his innings well and will ever be remembered as the ' First Jubilee Star of Bollywood '

Rajendra Kumar in fact did not wish to be an actor but wanted to become the  director instead. He initially worked as an assistant director for five years. But somehow he was cast in a small role in ' Jogan ' by Kidar Sharma. Thereafter he did some bigger roles in the films Vachan and in V.Shantaram's ' Toofan or Diya'. He came to the spot light from ' Mother India' and became a ' Star' from the film ' Goonj Uthi Shahanai '.

Soon the film makers noticed in him a ' Dilipkumar, the tragedy king ' at an affordable price. He also had him within a typical romantic hero of Hindi Cinema with pleasant looks and modest attitude. He was engaged in number of films and his  hits  started coming in an uninterrupted sequence .... Kanoon, Sasural, Dil Ek Mandir , Mere Mehboob, Zindagi, Sangam, Aye Milan ki Bela, Arzoo, Suraj and so on....

Early 70s witnessed the ascent of Superstar Rajesh Khanna  and Rajendra Kumar lost his supremacy as ' Jubilee Star'. But he was wise enough to change the gears and moved to production. He co-produced the film ' The train' by engaging Rajesh Khanna himself which became superhit. He subsequently  launched the films 'Love story' and 'Naam' starring his son Kumar Gaurav.

He also continued to appear in films  but his charishma as a star was over and excepting the films 'Saajan Bina Suhagan ' and ' Bin Phere Hum Tere'   none of his films were noteworthy.

The appalling paradox  for Rajendra Kumar, is though  Jubilee Star, he  did not receive a single Filmfare or Screen Cine award during his entire career.......

When realised  he has been diagnosed  with cancer, he refused to take any medication and hugged death with the same calmness and restraint as he has displayed the same  in 'Sangam' while  shooting himself in the chest !