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.....​