The golden age of cinema produced sizzling star like Nadiraji

Nadira – the sizzling star of golden age. Nadira used to be considered a sizzling star of the 50s and 60s, the golden age of bollywood cinema. Her beauty was different than the traditional stars like Nargis or Madhubala, and her charishmatic intonation had created a separate place in the minds of viewers. She acted in the first coloured film of bollywood that is Aan, made in the early 50s opposite Dilip Kumar. From Aan itself, the smartness of Nadira reflected in her acting as the film required horse-riding and adventurous acts which were difficult for other actresses of the same era. In 1955, Raj Kapoor gave the role of her lifetime in the film Shree 420. Her villainish performance in the film did outcast Nargis in the same film. The song “mur murke na dekh” composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Asha Bhosle and Manna Dey was picturised on Nadira and Raj Kapoor. The lips of Nadira created a lasting impact in the minds of the viewers and Shree 420 became a super hit film. The good part of Shree 420 in the career of Nadira was that it made her a rising star. But the bad part was that from that film her image in negative characters got bolstered and producers and directors started casting her in negative roles. In Dil Apna Aur Preeti Parayi, she acted opposite Raj Kumar and Meena Kumari. Raj Kumar had affair with Meena Kumari, a nurse in the film, and after marriage with Nadira, the weakness towards Meena Kumari led to disharmony in the family. Nadira matched Meena Kumari in acting in a musical blockbuster, where once again Shankar Jaikishan amazed the viewers with songs like “ajeeb dastan hai yeh”. Nadira’s strong command over urdu had earned her majestic roles in films like Pakiza, where the muslim pardanashin community was shown. Nadira’s performance in the film was appreciated by the critics who consider the epic film of Kamal Hamrohi, as one of the greatest films of all times. In the mid-70s, with advent of action films, characterization of negative personalities underwent a change. Even in those films Nadira contributed in her own way. Her performance as a step-mother of Shabana Azmi in the film Amar Akbar Anthony created special attraction. Her torture towards Shabana’s family was detected by Vinod Khanna, who was police officer in the film and she was arrested. In the mid-80s, she made valuable contribution in Ramesh Sippy’s romantic film Saagar. She was associated with Kamal Hassan, who made the viewers cry at the end of the film when his romance ended in failure. She loved Dimple Kapadia who was addicted towards Rishi Kapoor. When Rishi Kapoor was attacked by his relatives Kamal Hassan saved at the cost of his own life. Kamal Hassan had special relation with Nadira and he used to disclose his private matters to her. Nadira was compassionate towards Kamal Hassan when she came to know about his sacrifice. In the 90s, Nadira’s performance in the TV serials directed by Gulzar, where Om Puri interviewed her about her film career, was equally impressive. Kamini Kaushal also acted in the serial and matched Nadira in the special role. Nadira’s films should be preserved to grace her remote style of performance having sizzling effect and also lasting appeal.

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Sangam with Raj Kapoorji Rajender Kumarji and Vyjayantimalaji was the greatest blockbuster of 1964

Sangam was the greatest hit film.  Sangam  Ayee Milan Ki Bela  Dosti  Ziddi  Raj Kumar  Kashmir Ki Kali  Haqeeqat  Zindagi  April Fool  Woh Kaun Thi Sangam was the greatest hit film. Raj Kapoor, Rajender Kumar, Vaijayantimala 1964 was a significant year in the history of bollywood films in India. There were various reasons for that. Firstly budgets of Indian films increased. Secondly from making black and white films majority of filmmakers started making coloured films. The technology of Indian films developed. More shooting of Indians took place in foreign countries. Music in those films just improved and improved. Sangam Raj Kapoor, Vaijayantimala in Sangam In 1964 the greatest blockbuster was Sangam. The film was produced and directed by Raj Kapoor. It was one of most successful films Raj Kapoor had made. The music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Brilliant performance of Vaijyantimala, Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar made the viewers spellbound. The story of Inder Raaj Anand was also very touching. Shooting of Raj Kapoor in Switzerland, Paris and other European countries created a treat for the eyes. Shankar Jaikishan’s excellent music with super hit songs of Rafi “ye mera prempatra par kar”, Mukesh “dost dost na raha”, Lata “O mere sanam”, to name a few. Raj Kapoor won the best director filmfare award for Sangam, while Vaijayantimala won the best actress award for best performance in Sangam. Ayee Milan Ki Bela Rajender Kumar, Saira Banu, Dharmender The second greatest hit film was Ayee Milan Ki Bela. Rajender Kumar, Saira Banu and Dharmender were the lead artists. The music of Shankar Jaikishan was excellent with Rafi’s brilliant songs “to bura maan gaye”, “hum pyar ka diwana”, “aha aye Milan ki bela”, etc., all became super hit. The performance of Saira Banu and Rajender Kumar was excellent. The direction of Mohan Kumar and production of J. Om Prakash require special mention. Dosti Sudhir Kumar, Sushil Kumar in Dosti The third greatest hit film was Dosti. Very significantly it was a black and white classic film directed by Satyen Bose and produced by Tarachand Barjatya of Rajashri Productions. The film was the remake of super hit Bengali film Lalubhulu directed Agradoot. Sudhir Kumar and Sushil Kumar were the lead artists, one playing the role of a blind child while the other being handicapped whose feet was lost in an accident. There were no superstars in the film but the brilliant story touched the souls of every Indian. Sanjay Khan made his debut in the film. In Lalubhulu excellent music of Robin Chatterjee, excellent lyrics of Sailen Roy with brilliant songs of Manobendra Mukherjee namely “dukkho amar shesh kore dao probhu”, “ei pranjharona jaglo”, was worth mentioning. In Dosti, excellent music of Laxmikant Pyarellal, brilliant lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri and brilliant songs of Mohammad Rafi namely “chahunga mai tujhe”, “rahi manwa dukh ki chinta” made the viewers spellbound. Ziddi Joy Mukherjee, Asha Parekh The fourth greatest hit film was Ziddi. Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh were the lead artists. The film was produced and directed by Pramod Chakraborty. There were strong performances from Mehmood, Subha Khote, Dhoomal, Nazima. SD Burman’s music was very significant with Rafi’s hit songs “teri surat se”, “janu kya mera dil”, and Manna Dey’s comedy songs “pyar ki aag me”, “mai tere pyar me” etc. Asha Parekh’s strong dance performances require special mention. Raj Kumar Sadhna, Shammi Kapoor The fifth greatest hit film was Raj Kumar. Shammi Kapoor and Sadhna were the lead artists. The film was directed by K. Shankar. The excellent music of Shankar Jaikishan and brilliant songs of Mohammad Rafi namely “tumne pukara aur hum chale aye”, “tumne kisi ki jaan ko”, were worth mentioning. The supporting performances of Pran, Manorama, Prithviraj Kapoor, Rajender Nath require special mention. Kashmir Ki Kali Shammi Kapoor Sharmila Tagore The sixth greatest hit film was Kashmir Ki Kali. Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore were the lead artists. The film was produced and directed by Shakti Shamanta. The brilliant music of OP Nayyar and excellent songs of Rafi including “ye chand sa roshan chehra”, “diwana hua badal”, etc., flabbergasted the audience. Excellent shooting in Jammu and Kashmir require special mention. Nasir Hussain, Pran and other supporting actors did well. Haqeeqat Balraj Sahani, Dharmender The seventh greatest hit film was Haqeeqat. The film was written and directed by Chetan Anand on the backdrop of Indo-China war. Strong performances from Balraj Sahani, Dharmender, Jayant, Priya Rajwangsh require special mention. Excellent music of Madanmohan Kohli, excellent lyrics of Kaif Azmi and songs of Rafi “kar chale hum fida”, Lata “zara si aahat”, etc., require special mention. Singer Bhupinder Singh acted and sang in the film the song “hoke majboor usne bulaya hoga” with Rafi, Manna Dey, Talat Mehmood. Zindagi Rajender Kumar, Vaijayantimala The eighth greatest hit film was Zindagi. It was produced by S.S. Vasan of Gemini Pictures and directed by Ramanand Sagar. Rajender Kumar, Vaijayantimala and Raj Kumar played the lead roles. Again the hit music of Shankar Jaikishan with successful songs of Rafi “pehele mile the sapno me” contributed in the success of the film. The performances of supporting actors Prithviraaj Kapoor, Leela Chitnis, Jayant, require special mention. April Fool Biswajeet, Saira Banu The ninth greatest hit film was April Fool. It was directed by Subodh Mukherjee. Saira Banu and Biswajeet Chatterjee played the lead roles. The excellent music of Shankar Jaikishan and Mohammad Rafi’s brilliant songs “aa gale lag ja”, “april fool banaya” once again attracted attention. The brilliant shooting in Jammu and Kashmir was worth mentioning. Woh Kaun Thi Manoj Kumar, Sadhna The tenth greatest hit film was Woh Kaun Thi. The film was a crime-thriller directed by Raj Khoshla. Manoj Kumar, Sadhna, Prem Chopra, KN Singh gave excellent performances. The horror effect created by Madanmohan’s music and Lata’s song “naina barse”, “lagja gale”, require special mention. The film can be considered to be one of the best 10 horror film ever made in India. A number of observations can be made in respect of 1964. Shankar Jaikishan still dominated the world of music. Sangam, Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Zindagi and April Fool became super hit due to their excellent music. Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were at their best and every film had their great contribution. The other composers Madanmohan Kohli, OP Nayyar, SD Burman, Laxmikant Pyarellal all were excellent in their contribution. Naushad Ali also composed excellent music in Dilip Kumar’s Leader in 1964. Among the actors after Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, Rajender Kumar was a great crowd puller. Three of his films Sangam, Ayee Milan Ki Bela and Zindagi featured in the top 10 films. Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Manoj Kumar, Biswajeet Chatterjee, Dharmender made notable contribution. Among the actresses Vaijayantimala was at the top. Saira Banu, Sadhna, Asha Parekh were the other contributors who gave excellent competition. Big Budget films like Sangam were appreciated, at the same time medium budget films like Dosti, created havoc. Good stories were appreciated by the audience

Happy birthday to sweet star Preeti Zintaji

Happy birthday to Preity Zinta. The viewers wish happy birthday to Preity Zinta on 31st January, 2026. Her age and the success of upcoming stars like Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra create eyebrows in the faces of most of her fans. In 2013 she had acted in the film Har Pal opposite Shiney Ahuja. The film will be her next release after 3 years. In 2009 she had acted in a challenging role in Deepa Mehta’s film Videsh which was made in the background of the life of Indians in Canada. Although her performance was extraordinary and the film is destined to win a number of awards just like any other film of Deepa Mehta, the film cannot determine the destiny of Preeti Zinta in bollywood films, as such type of films are seen by mainly intellectual audience. She also played an item number in Salman Khan’s film Mr. and Mrs. Khanna titled “amen”. But apart from them she had shown her substantial presence in bollywood films. If her success in bollywood films is examined, it will be seen that the films related to Australia had always stormed bollywood. Her first film Soldier opposite Bobby Deol became superhit. She was sublime in Farhan Akhtar’s super hit film Dil Chahta Hai, where again her romance with Amir Khan in the film was associated with Australia. Her super hit film Salaam Namaste with Saif Ali Khan was based in Australia. Even Rakesh Roshan’s mega project Koi Mil Gaya was also based in Australia and Preeti Zinta’s career was given new turn along with Hrithik Roshan. Besides earlier her acceptance of any role was backed her age and popularity amongst viewers. Her film Kya Kehna was accepted by the viewers, her role in Kabhi Alvida Ne Kehna opposite Shahrukh Khan was also accepted. She was sublime in Salman Khan’s film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, etc. , where Rani Mukherjee also played major part. Even last year her performance in the film The Heroes opposite Salman Khan was appreciated by the viewers. Her record in bollywood films show that she had achieved name, recognition and identity in bollywood films. The test of popularity is under scanner as the new actresses had created fierce competition in the recent years. Besides, the role of smart tall models like the ones played by Priyanka Chopra in Dostana or Katrina Kaif in Race or Lara Dutta in Partner cannot suit Preeti Zinta. From the time she acted in the film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom her fortune started going in the other direction. She had been busy playing the role of franchisee in the context IPL Cricket League. Her team Kings Eleven Punjab had faced a lot of hurdles and she got involved in keeping her team alive in IPL League. If it had brought smiles in the faces of cricket lovers, it had raised eyebrows in the minds of audience of bollywood films. Her presence in recent films is decreasing day by day. In 2012 her film Ishq in Paris was re-scheduled and could not be released at the deserved time. It was released in 2014 but did not do great business. In 2013 she acted in the film Bhaiyyaji Superhit opposite Sunny Deol. Viewers expect her to face the odds and still make valuable contribution in bollywood films as there is no doubt that she is still beautiful, fare, talented and crowdpuller. If the age comes in the way, she can look forward to character roles where her immense maturity can make the difference.

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