Akshay Khanna – the decent actor of bollywood.

Akshay Khanna – the decent actor of bollywood.

Akshay Khanna has been an exception in the list of bollywood actors who had joined bollywood films in the 90s. He has banked his resources on his decency which most of the actors hardly care about. He exhibited his softness of character in the film Taal opposite Aiswariya Rai. He did not try to be forceful in his presentation of affection in the film.

In Border, he played the role of an Indian soldier who died at the border after he had been successful in destroying the Pakistani forces in the war that took place in the 70s. He loved his wife and mother which was shown in the flashback. He gave good lips in Sonu Nigam’s song “hume jab se mohabbat ho gayi hai”, composed by Anu Malik.


He was also sublime in the film Hulchul opposite Kareena Kapoor. He tried to create an artificial weakness for her as his family and Kareena’s family were at war for generations. But after meeting her some time, he fell in love in reality and ultimately succeeded in marrying her against the wishes of all the family members.

He played the complex role in Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Dimple Kapadia, where he was the friend of Amir Khan and Saif Ali Khan and fell in love with a middle aged lady, who was older than him. He even left his friends as the association with Dimple was quite awkward and these types of attachments are not accepted in the societies of third world countries. He expressed a thoughtful character who was different from his enthusiastic friends in the film.


He had also done well in the film 36 China Town, where he played the role of a detective. The film was based on a murder that took place in 36 China Town, where Kareena and Shahid Kapoor also went and got involved in the list of suspected characters. He solved the mystery in style.

Akshay Khanna has a number of films in his list of films which are going to be released in 2008 and viewers expect his dynamic performance in all of them.

By: CR Chatterji.

Mumtaz – the dancer of the swinging 60s.

Mumtaz – the dancer of the swinging 60s.

Mumtaz stormed the silver screen with her dancing capabilities in the bollywood films of 60s. She impressed the viewers with her item number in the film Brahmchari, opposite Shammi Kapoor, titled “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche”, where SJs rock and roll composition was given adequate expression by Mumtaz. She acted very well opposite Dilip Kumar in Ram Aur Shyam. She acted as a village girl who did not recognise the difference when Ram came to the village, who had identical get up as Shyam the person she loved.

Mumtaz matched Jeetender in the film Jeegri Dost. She was very polite and submissive in the film and gave good lips in the songs “raat suhani jag rahi hai” sung by Lata and Rafi and composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. She had been very successful in the films opposite Rajesh Khanna most of which everlasting hits like Aap Ki Kasam, Roti, etc. In Aap Ki Kasam, she was thrown out of the house by Rajesh Khanna due to misunderstanding, who repented for the cruel act throughout his life. He returned back when Mumtaz had solemnized the marriage of her child at the end of the film.


She also did well in Pyar Kiye Jaa, opposite Mehmood. It was a comedy film where Mehmood wanted to be a director but never got a producer who invested money in his film. He was duped by Shashi Kapoor and Kishore Kumar who posed to be rich men, and when he could not direct any film he ultimately married Mumtaz. Mumtaz showed her rock and roll dancing style in the song “o mere maina”, sung by Asha and Manna Dey and composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.


Mumtaz also acted in a number of films opposite Firoz Khan, including films like Apradh. She left films in the late 70s and did not appear even in character roles after that. Viewers still feel that she had acting talent in her and if she wanted she could have acted in modern films. Still she is remembered by the viewers and whenever her films like Loafer, opposite Dharmender, or Patthar ke sanam, opposite Manoj Kumar is shown in TV Channels, viewers refresh their old memories about her sweet performances in these films.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Kishore and RD Burman.

Kishore and RD Burman.

Kishore Kumar had entertained the viewers with his multi-talented singing style for more than 30 years. Within that span he was specially indebted to RD Burman who had given him immortal tunes.


Kishore’s song “aao jhume gaere” in Paraya Dhan, composed by RD Burman created a special platform for the rest of the film. In Aandhi, Kishore’s songs for Sanjeev Kumar, titled “tere bina zindagi me shikwa”, “is mor se jate hai”, ‘tum aa gaye ho” had immortal appeal for the thoughtful audience as Gulzar’s lyrics were very meaningful. RD’s composition for Kishore in Jeetender’s Parichay, in 1972, with the song “musafir hun yaaro”, and in Khusbu, in 1975, with the song “o majhi re” had philosophical thoughts embedded in them.


Kishore was sublime in Rajesh Khanna’s Amar Prem and Aapki Kasam, where RD’s composition like “kuch to log kahenge”, “chingari koi bharke”, “zindagi ke safar me”, “karwate badalte rahe”,” jai jai shiv shankar” were all super duper hits. Even in Namak Haram, the song “yeh kya hua” amazed the audience.

RD had given very melodious songs for Dharmender where Kishore had given adequate expression which include “hum bewafa hargis na the” in Shalimar, “yeh dosti hum nahi torenge”, in Sholay, “koi haseena jab” in Sholay, etc.

Perhaps RD and Kishore had reserved their best tunes for Amitabh and had given superhit songs one after the other in the 70s and 80s. The list includes “janu meri jaan” from Shaan, ‘jaha teri yeh nazar hai”, from Kalia, all the songs from the film Satte Pe Satta and Kasme Wade, from , “jane kaise kab kahan” from Shakti. The list can go on. As Big B dominated bollywood for more than 20 years, he had propably gave lips in the maximum number of songs of Kishore, and some of the best songs were composed by RD Burman for Big B.


The songs have not lost their popularity even today and are sung by the competitors in the program for Kishore, in a TV Channel, where the judges, Amit Kumar, Sudesh Bhosle and Bappi Lahiri provide their comments. The songs should be restored and preserved.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Arshad Warsi – the serio-comic hero of bollywood.

Arshad Warsi – the serio-comic hero of bollywood.

Arshad Warsi had established himself as the most elegant serio-comic heroes of recent times. As he had the potential to play the lead role he is not a comedian in the strict sense like Johnny Lever, and had been sublime mainly in roles where he supported the main hero of the film.

The viewers know him best as Circuit, he character he played in Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai. In both the films he was the assistant of Sanjay Dutt who was an underworld don, but had been involved in good activities. In Lage Raho Munnabhai, he even talked to an invisible character when Sanjay had asked him to address Gandhiji, who was there in his subconscious mind. He even brought the academicians to answer the questions relating to Gandhiji. He gave good lips also in the song “lage raho munabhai”.


He had shown that people can be entertained not by overt mannerisms but natural acting. He had done very well in Hulchul with Akshay Khanna and Kareena Kapoor. He was the friend of Akshay Khanna and advised him to continue his acting to convince Kareena that he likes her. Both Akshay and Kareena had family enmity and as such the family members were hostile towards the other family. Arshad Warsi even got beaten upthe family members of both Kareena and Akshay during the film, for misunderstandings. At the end of the film, the acting turned into reality and ended in the marriage of Akshay and Kareena.

The natural performance of Arshad Warsi had added flavour in Salaam Namaste with Saif Ali Khan and Preeti Zinta. He was the lawyer friend of Saif Ali and advised him to hurl words at Preeti who was a radio jockey and destroyed the hotel business of Saif Ali who had specialised in cooking quality dishes in a restaurant in Australia. While helping Saif Ali, Arshad Warsi entered into an affair with a local girl and got married. His entire performance was highly entertaining.


He even entertained the audience with his brilliant performance in the film Golmaal, along with Ajay Devgan, Tushar Kapoor and others. He entered the house of Paresh Rawal and his wife, who were blind and pretended to be their relative and enjoyed their hospitality. All the friends, four of them took turns and told lies one after the other to Paresh Rawal. With the success of other hit films like Shyam Ghanshyam, he has a steady box office these days. The viewers expect better performance from him in the new films.

Has eastern classical music become extinct in bollywood films?

Has eastern classical music become extinct in bollywood films?

With strong domination of western music for the last 20 years the audience wonder about the fact whether eastern classical music had become extinct in bollywood films. If the films are analysed which had popular music in the last year, we will refer Om Shanti Om, Sawaria, Chak De, etc., which had western music. If the trend of music for the last 20 years is studied it will be found that bollywood films hardly require eastern classical songs.

Now the influence of western music had started from the 40s itself. OP Nayyar’s orchestration in Howrah Bridge, had western effect, C. Ramchandran’s composition in Asha, had western influence, Salil Chowdhury had used western chorus in many films including Do Bigha Zameen and Anand. But there were differences from the present set of music composition because the composers knew how to blend eastern and western songs.

OP Nayyar’s song “humko tumhare isq ne”, sung by Rafi in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, was based on eastern classical raga. Shankar Jaikishan seriously used the sexaphone in Aarzoo, but brought out the eastern classical raga in “aji rooth kar ab” sung by Lata and Rafi.

RD Burman used western compositions for his creations in “jan-e-ja”, “aja aja”, but had returned back with qawallies like “hai agar dusman zamana”, “ zamane ko dikhana hai”, etc. Even the ghazals, bhajans, classical compositions sung in the 80s in bollywood films became hits.

For example “hoto se chu lo tum”, sung by Jagjit Singh, “kesariya balma” sung by Lata in Lekin, “suramai shaam” sung by Suresh Watkar, “karoge yaad to”, sung by Bhupinder Singh got box-office success. After the 90s, composers hardly take the risk of composing bhajans, ghazals, qawallis, thumris, kajris, knowing that the reaction of the audience can be uncertain.

These days Carribean music, Latin American music, Arabic music, all had entered bollywood films, problems lies in remote use of our traditional music which still can be mixed with western creations if the composers want and the singers can sing. Bollywood music should embrace every type of music both with Indian origin and western origin and if quality music is created there is no reason why the audience will not appreciate them.

By: CR Chatterji.

Johnny Walker – the evergreen comedian of bollywood.

Johnny Walker – the evergreen comedian of bollywood.

Johnny Walker had contributed a lot in bollywood films with his comedy performance over 30 years. He was a friend of Guru Dutt, and always got good roles in his films. In Mr.&Mrs 55 he accompanied Guru Dutt who married Madhubala under a typical condition set by Lalita Power. Johny Walker’s lips in the song “jane kaha mera” sung by Rafi is worth mentioning.

In Pyasa, in 1957, he played the role of a poor man who earned his livelihood by doing oil message. In the film he was shown as a honest human being who had some humanity as opposed to brothers of Guru Dutt including Mehmood who were only interested about money. The song in the film “sar jot era chakrae” sung by Rafi became very very successful due to effortless lips of Johny Walker.


In Madhumati, he played the role of staff of Dilip Kumar who was used in the place where he was working. He was drunkard. When a group of people came to visit the hilly region including a girl who resembled Vaijayantimala, he thought her to be ghost and informed a tantrik to get rid of the ghost. He depicted the innocence of an uneducated character in the film. He gave elegant lips in the song “jangal me mor nacha” sung by Rafi and composed by Salil Chowdhury which became very big hit.

In Naya Daur, he helped Dilip Kumar and the other villagers who were building a bridge with his urbanised expertise. He gave good lips in the song “mai babai ka babu” in that film also, sung by Rafi and composed by OP Nayyar.


Johnny Walker also acted as central character in some films like Chu Mantar, and important roles in Raj Kapoor’s Chori Chori and Rajender Kumar’s Mere Mehboob. In the 70s, he acted in less number of films but made a comeback in Shaan, as the uncle of Vindiya Goswami. Even at an old age his performance in Kamal Hassan’s Chachi 420, attracted the attention of viewers. He played the role of the husband of Chachi, which was an imaginary character. Johnny Walker was an indispensable comedian in bollywood films in the 50s and 60s, and his films still have an everlasting appeal in the minds of viewers even today.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Should composers be given awards named after singers?

Should composers be given awards named after singers?

There is a big debate across the country whether composers should be given awards which are presented in the name of legendary singers? The trend was led by some State Governments who had started giving awards to notable composers in the name of legendary singers.

For example Lata Mangeshkar award has been given to Naushad and Khaiyyam in the respective years. It adds to the controversy whether these awards add any respect to the composers or create disrespect. For example Naushad and Khaiyyam are some of the legendary composers who had nurtured the talents of Lata, Rafi and other notable singers. Their relationship with these singers are almost like that of a teacher and a student.

Naushad’s immortal tunes which had been sung by Lata include “phir teri kahani yaad ayi”, “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “kal ki sapne”, “dhoondo dhoondo re sajna’, “teri husn ki kya tariff karun”, to name a few. These songs had given recognition to the legendary actresses like Madhubala, Wahida Rehman, Meena Kumari, etc.

Khayyam had given everlasting tunes to Lata like “baharon mera jeevan bhi sawaro”, “kabhi kabhi mere dil me”, “aja re”, etc. Most of these composers had their unique style of compostitions, and some of them were experts in Hindustani classicals, or ghazals, etc. When such composers who had been considered as eminent personalities within India and abroad are given awards in the name of the singers whom they have trained it creates very awkward situation, even considering the fact that most of these composers have pride in their students like Lata.

If these awards are created to encourage singers to follow the devotion and discipline in music that had been followed by Lata, then the awards should go to the new singers who had shown their skills and have promise. The singers of the present generation have a lot of respect for Lata and can get motivated to sing even better if given the award whenever they prove their metal.

By: CR Chatterji.

Parveen Babi – the stylish actress of bollywood.

Parveen Babi – the stylish actress of bollywood.

Parveen Babi had kept her mark in stylish roles during 70s and 80s. She was impressive in Majboor, opposite Big B, in 1974, where Big B had thought he had brain tumour, and when he came to know that there was no serious concern about it he investigated a criminal case and became successful in his attempt. Parveen Babi acted in a quite role in Deewar, where Big B was the elder brother and a smuggler and was killed by his younger brother, a police officer, played by Shashi Kapoor at the end of the film.

From that time, viewers accepted Parveen Babi, opposite Big B, and she complimented his aggressive style with her soft style of acting. In Shaan, in 1980, she was sublime in the comedy sequences opposite Big B, and also performed well in the songs “pyar karnewale”, “janu meri jaan”, etc.


Even in Amar Akbar Anthony, in 1977, she played the role of the daughter of Jeevan who was brought by Pran, and she knew him to be her father. She was tried to be kidnapped at different times in the film. She gave good lips opposite Big B, in the song “kab tak chupaye rakkha” in the film. She also acted in serio-comic films like Rang –birangi, where Amol Palekar was her husband, and as he was having an affair with his receptionist, she had create a drama with Farooq Sheikh to make him realise his sin. The film was full of comedy sequences, and Parveen Babi adjusted herself to the requirement of the film.

In the 80s, she also acted opposite other leading stars like Vinod Khanna, in Burning Train. Vinod Khanna was obsessed with his train, and that led to disputes in the family which was solved after the burning train reached the destination and the passengers reached their destination. She also acted opposite Shashi Kapoor in Suhaag, where he was a police officer who became blind in a struggle with the criminal in the film played by Amzad Khan.


Her other hit films include Khuddar, Do Aur Do Paanch, etc. In the mid-80s she faded away from the film arena. She had died few years back and viewers do agree that she could have contributed a lot in character roles if she continued with acting.

Jaya Prada – the gifted dancer of bollywood.

Jaya Prada – the gifted dancer of bollywood.

Jaya Prada is one of the most accomplished dancers of bollywood films. She was unique in her classical dance performances in the film Shankaravaranam, and carried on the brilliant work in the film Sargam, opposite Rishi Kapoor. She played the role of a dumb character who could not speak, and was ill-treated by her relatives. Rishi Kapoor encouraged her to continue with her dances, and he complimented her with a dafli. The songs in the film stormed bollywood. Laxmikant Pyarellal were at their best and Rafi and Lata gave adequate expression to all the songs of the film including “koel bole”, “dafliwale dafli baja”, “ramjiki nikli sawari” etc.

She never had to look back after that. She was praised for her performance in the film Kamchor, opposite Rakesh Roshan. She was elegant with Big B, in the film Akhree Rasta, where she was killed by Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Big B took revenge against the offenders in the film. Big B acted in a double role, where the role of the son was also played by him, and Sri Devi acted in the other role. Although it was a male-dominated film, Jaya Prada, had performed her part very well.


She had done well in the film Indrajeet, opposite Big B, where she had an affair with him, when he was involved with the duties of a police officer. Just because her father stood in the way while he was investigating an important case, their affair ended at that time. But when Indrajeet, in the last part of the film took revenge against all the criminals who had killed his daughter Neelam, he met Jaya Prada , who helped him in fulfilling his goals.

She showed her dancing skills in Amitabh’s Sharabi, where Amitabh was a drunkard and she had brought a change in his life with her performances, including the performance in Lata’s song “o mere sajna”. She had also acted in a number of films opposite Jeetender. She became a member of the Parliament and reduced acting in films.


Still viewers have lot of appreciation for Jaya Prada and whenever films like Aaj Ka Arjun is shown in TV Channels, people cherish her performance in those films. Her dancing skills are at par with Hema Malini, Vaijayantimala and other South Indian actresses who had glorified bollywood films during their tenure. Viewers expect her to make a comeback in bollywood films by performing in character roles in future.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Suresh Watkar – the classical singer of bollywood.

Suresh Watkar – the classical singer of bollywood.

Suresh Wadkar is one of the leading classical singers of the present times who had made significant contribution in bollywood films. When he was young he learnt music from Pandit Jialal Vasant. He caught the attention of noted composer Jaidev who gave him a break in the film Gaman, in 1978, with the song “seene me jalan”. His classical andaz was recognised and within short period of time who got breaks one after the other.

In Masoom, in 1983, RD Burman gave him break with the ghazal “huzur is kadar bhi na itrake chaliye”, which he had sung with noted ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh, and it was picturised on Naseeruddin Shah and Saeed Jaffery. He got the scope of singing all the songs in Raj Kapoor’s Premrog, composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, which were picturised on Rishi Kapoor.


In the mid-80s, he became a recognised name in bollywood singing and most his songs became everlasting hits. His song “ram teri ganga maili” in the film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, in 1985, composed by Ravindra Jain, and picturised on Rajjev Kapoor, became very very successful. His song “ai zindagi gale laga le” in the film Sadma, also became a landmark hit.


In Lekin, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, made full use of his classical talent and his song “surmai shaam”, in the backdrop of deserts of Rajasthan had made people speechless. The same film had landmark songs of Lata including “kesariya balma”, “yara silli silli”, etc. Lata got national award for the best female singer in that year.

He also stormed into the commercial film arena with songs like “oh priya priya” from the film Dil. His song “tumse milke aisa laga” in the film Parinda, picturised on Anil Kapoor created a romantic appeal that brought a change in the film which was full of action sequences. He has opened his own musical school which has produced many renouned singers of the present times.


He presently participates in the Saregamapa Little Champs program as a judge along with Sonu Nigam. The program is conducted by Aditya Narayan. He gives important tips to the little singers and encourages them to learn classical singing. Viewers expect Suresh Watkar to make major contribution to bollywood films with his classical songs because singers these days hardly learn them and cannot reach beyond a level, due lack of depth of training of Hindustani classical singing.

By: CR Chatterji.

Amisha Patel – the submissive actress of bollywood.

Amisha Patel – the submissive actress of bollywood.

Amisha Patel had shown her politeness and submissiveness in her first film opposite Hrithik Roshan, Kahona Pyar Hai. She was the daughter of a big industrialist, Anupam Kher, and had an affair with a singer Hrithik. As Hrithik saw the killing of the Commissioner by Anupam Kher’s men, he was shot and fell in a river. When Amisha went to New Zealand she met another Hrithik Roshan, named Raaj who came to India to unearth the mysterious killing and proved that Anupam Kher was also involved in the crime. The songs in the film composed by Rajesh Roshan, the son of the legendary composer Roshan, were all superduper hits, including “pyar ki kashti me”, “kahona pyar hai”, “aksar is duniya me”, etc. There was controversy regarding the existence of two characters who resembled each other and the acceptability of the story presented by Rakesh Roshan, but there was no doubt that the film entertained every section of the society. Unfortunately as Hrithik stole the show with his brilliant stunts and choreography, Amisha did not get the credit that she deserved.


Amisha was brilliant in the film Gadar Ek Prem Katha, opposite Sunny Deol, which was based on the story of partition. She was the daughter of Amrish Puri, a resident of Pakistan, who had an affair with Sunny Deol, a hindu, and gave birth to a small child. Once she returned to Pakistan, Sunny went to take her back and faced obstacles at every level. Amrish Puri had communal feelings and he used the entire machinery of Pakistan to prevent Sunny to take his daughter and grandson back to India. Amisha showed the frustration of her mind when she was prevented at every level to return back to India. The train which carried Sunny and Amisha, was packed with Pakistani forces, who checked every commodity possible and in the process even killed Sunny’s friend. Ultimately Amisha got injured due to her father’s hostile attitude, but was cured in the hospital. Her performance was well appreciated by the viewers.


She also did well in the film Ankahee. In Bhool Bhoolaiya, she was projected as the insane girl, and every member of the palace, who witnessed unusual happenings blamed her for them. Akshay, the psychologist in the film identified her and ultimately detected that Vidya Balan was suffering from the mental disease, not Amisha Patel. Amisha expressed her horror and frustration very well. She has a lot of acting potentiality left and viewers expect her to do well in the films to be released in future.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan.

Mohammed Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan.

As shankar jaikishan had given tunes to all the leading singers of bollywood films, including Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore, Talat, Hemant Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, etc., shankar jaikishan’s special relationship with Rafi went unnoticed. Rafi was a sensation in the history of playback singing and SJ acknowledged his talent over the years.


Rafi’s westernised andaz was used by shankar jaikishan in the songs “raat ke humsafar” picturised on Shammi Kapoor, in An Evening in Paris, “aja je a zara aa”, picturised on Joy Mukherjee, in Love In Tokyo, “O Priya”, picturised on Rajender Kumar in Jhuk Gaya Asman, “ai chand zara chup jaa” picturised on Shammi Kapoor in Laat Sahab, to name a few. shankar jaikishan had given landmark ghazals to Rafi, including ‘chaalke teri ankho se sharab aur ziada,” picturised on Rajender Kumar in Aarzoo, “unke khayal aye to ake chale gaye” picturised on Raj Kumar in Lal Pathhar, “o mere shahe-khuba” picturised on Joy Mukherjee in Love In Tokyo, “rukh se zara naqab” picturised on Jeetender in Mere Huzur.

shankar jaikishan had provided tragic tunes which were made immortal by sweet performance of Rafi including “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, picturised on Shammi Kapoor, in Junglee, “teri zulfo ki” picturised on Dev Anand, in Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, “yaad na jaye” picturised on Rajender Kumar in Dil Ek Mandir, etc.


shankar jaikishan had composed classical songs for Rafi including “kaise samjhaun bari na samajh ho” in Suraj, “radhe ke tune bansuri churayi” in Betibete, “awaaz deke hume tum bulayo” in Professor, etc. As shankar jaikishan dominated bollywood films from the 40s to the 70s, the viewers had lost count about the different category of songs given to Rafi by shankar jaikishan. The songs having the flavour of folk music also became famous like “ramaiya vasta maiya” in Shree 420, which was also sung by Mukesh and Lata along with Rafi.


shankar jaikishan’s excellent orchestration is evident in Rafi’s songs “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche”, “jaan pehchaan ho”, “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “le gayi dil”, “meherbaa likhoon”, to name a few. Had Jaikishan survived for a longer time, the combination could have given everlasting tunes for more number of years. All the classic creations should be restored for future generations who can cherish the rich compositions.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Related Reading

• Immortal Ghazals sung by Mohammad Rafi.
• Awards received by Mohammad Rafi in his illustrious career.
• Mohammad Rafi- the greatest voice of the last century.
• Rahul Dev Burman’s immense respect for Mohammad Rafi.
• Laxmikant Pyarellal’s immortal relationship with Mohamand Rafi.
• OP Nayyar’s immortal relationship with Mohammad Rafi.
• Salil Chowdhury’s relationship with Mohammad Rafi.
• Ravi’s memorable combination with Rafi.
• Roshan's everlasting bond with Mohammad Rafi.
• SD Burman and Mohammad Rafi.
• Rafi’s pleasant memories with Madanmohan.
• Khayyam and Jaidev’s relationship with Mohammad Rafi.
• Kalyanji Anandji’s association with Mohammad Rafi.
• Naushad’s association with Rafi.

Nana Patekar – the trend-breaking actor of bollywood.

Nana Patekar – the trend-breaking actor of bollywood.

Nana Patekar had created the image of a trend-breaker in the films he had performed till now. He created an own way of mannerism which in most cases represented the anti-establishment trend. In Prahaar, he played the role of a military officer who had trained a number of young trainees in his camp. He very extensively showed the training program, which was probably shown in details for the first time in the history of bollywood.

When his trainee, returned back to his house after being handicapped, he came to know that a number of anti-socials were disturbing him and after his death came to stay in Dimple Kapadia’s house as a paying guest and faced the law breakers.


He found that the members of the society feared the anti-socials and to drive the fear out of their mind he fought against them in military style. But the Court considered Nana as a mad person who started taking the liability of all the citizens on his own shoulders. The film was an of-beat film without unnecessary music and raised a number of questions in the minds of viewers.

In Parinda, he played the role of an underworld don, who worked with Jackie, and when Anil Kapoor, the brother of Jackie got involved with unlawful activities, Jackie killed him. He had a long history for becoming a lawbreaker in the society. Suresh Watkar’s song “tumse milke” picturised on Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit became very big hit.


In Ghulam Mustafa, he worked under an underworld leader, but had his own human values. He was used by the politicians for winning elections and other purposes, while doing so he caused harm to an honest hindu family. He stayed in their house for the period that was required to regain their earlier status. He had always shown very aggressive nature of performance including the role he had played in the film Yaswant.

Nana had also contributed in crime thillers like Tarkieb, where he acted as the investigator who unearthed the truth about Tabu’s murder. Besides in Vadd, he acted in a peculiar role where he suspected his wife for having extra-marital relations with other people and went on killing the persons whom he suspected to be involved in these acts. He made acting look very simple even in complex roles like the one he played in Krantiveer, but with his aggression he had raised voice about the evil practices in society. Viewers expect even more dynamic performances from him in the films in future.

By: CR Chatterji.

Laxmikant Pyarellal and Lata.

Laxmikant Pyarelal and Lata.

Laxmikant Pyarelal had a very eventful musical combination with Lata over 40 years. They were as respectful towards Rafi as they regarded Lata. Even during the phase when music got commercialised in the 80s, Laxmikant Pyarelal survived in the industry and provided everlasting tunes to Lata.

In Parasmani, in n1963, Laxmikant Pyarelal had given immortal tunes to Rafi including “roushan tumhi se duniya”. The same film had a melodious duet song for Lata and Rafi titled “woh jab yaad aye bahut yaad aye”. Their composition for Lata and Mukesh titled “sawan ka mahina”, picturised on Nutan and Sunil Dutt became an everlasting hit in the 60s.

Laxmikant Pyarelal’s composition in the film Izzat, titled “yeh dil tum bin kahi lagta nahi” sung by Lata and Rafi was a masterpiece. In those days producers never dictated terms to the composers and as such the best compositions of Laxmikant Pyarelal came in the 60s and 70s, which included “woh hai zara khafa khafa” sung by Lata and Rafi in Shagird, picturised on Saira Banu and Joy Mukherjee. Laxmikant Pyarelal’s composition in Jigri Dost, titled “raat suhani” sung by Lata and Rafi and picturised on Mumtaz and Jeetender had a huge romantic appeal.

In the early 70s, also Laxmikant Pyarelal created semi-classical compositions like “patta patta” sung by Lata and Rafi which also became hit. After the death of Jaikishan in 1971, Raj Kapoor used Laxmikant Pyarelal for the rest of his films and Lata made significant contribution in all those films. Songs like “hum tum ek kamre me bandh ho” from Bobby, “satyam shivam sundaram” from Satyam Shivam Sundaram, became landmark hits.


Also songs like “koel bole”, “dafliwale” from the film Sargam picturised on Jaya Prada and Rishi Kapoor, and sung by Lata and Rafi, created sensation in the late 70s. Even in the early 80s, the title song of the film Ek Duje Ke Liye, became very very successful. Laxmikant Pyarelal had the capability of catering to the needs of the new generation and was the only composer of the 60s who could survive in the 80s when action films dominated bollywood.


Lata’s combination with Laxmikant Pyarelal marks diverse types of songs and some of them like “aya sawan jhumke”, from Aya Sawan Jhumke, “aap mujhe acche lagne lage”, from Jeene ki raah, all the songs from the film Banphool, had not lost their appeal even today. The songs should be restored for immense musical value.

Related Reading

• Lata Mangeshkar – the uncrowned queen of Indian playback singing
• Lata’s combination with RD Burman
• Lata and Shankar Jaikishan
• Lata and Naushad
• Lata and Madanmohan
• Lata and SD Burman
• Laxmikant Pyarelal and Lata
• Salil Chowdhury and Lata

Shatrughun Sinha – the action king of bollywood.

Shatrughun Sinha – the action king of bollywood.

Shatrughun Sinha had shown his expertise in action films during 70s and 80s. He had a gifted voice and made adequate use of the voice while dealing with action sequences. In Yash Chopra’s Kala Patthar, he played the role of a criminal who required shelter and worked in a coal mine. The owner of the mine played by Prem Chopra exploited the poor workers of the area, which included Big B as well. Shashi Kapoor, the engineer, warned the employer that there was hazards of working in the mine and it can lead to accidents. Ultimately it did happen and Shatrughun Sinha had showed their bravery along with Big B and Shashi Kapoor in that situation.

He had portrayed the action sequences in the film Shaan also very well. He played the role of a shooter who was employed by Kulbhushan in the film to kill Sunil Dutt. As he purposely denied to kill him, his wife was killed. He saved Rakhee and her child when attacked by Kulbhushan’s men. He balanced the powerful performance of Big B and Shashi Kapoor with his reserve performance.


In his early days, he started his career in negative characters like the role he played in Banphool, opposite Jeetender. But his acting potentiality was recognised by producers and he got impressive roles like the one in Kalicharan, opposite Reena Roy, where he was brought from prison, reformed and used to raise voice against greater culprits.

He had very good comedy conception and he exhibited it in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Naram Garam. There was a scene where a play was going on the epic Ramayana. He thought the play to be real and entered the stage and started beating up all the actors.


He also did well in films like Dostana, along with Big B. He also acted in patriotic films like Kranti, and there also showed his feeling for the motherland with strong performance. In action sequences, he was at par with Big B and Vinod Khanna. He also had the capability of using rural language which he used in the film Gautam Govinda and other films.

He was involved with active politics and had done social work under the BJP Banner. Viewers expect him to make notable contribution in character roles in the years to come.

Katrina Kaif - the sweet actress of bollywood.

Katrina Kaif - the sweet actress of bollywood.

Katrina Kaif is a new prospect in bollywood films. She had appeared in films just few years back and already created an impression on the viewers. She had provided a sweet performance in Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. The film had a serio-comic treatment. She had an affair with Salman , who was a doctor in the film. But Salman had told lies to her that he had a wife and was giving a divorce to her.

From that time he went on saying liesone afterthe other. Katrina first wanted to meet his wife which was plyed by Sushmita Sen who was a nurse in Salman's clinic. Then she wanted to meet his children who were the erlatives of Sushmita. The comedy sequence went on and on in the film till it culminated in court scene. The songs in the film like "laga laga laga", "just chill", were big hits. The film was shot in exotic locations also.


Katrina had also done well in Welcome, opposite Akshay Kumar which another comedy film. She was the sister of Nana Patekar who was an underworld don, and Akshay never wanted to marry any girl having such a background. But he entered into the affair without knowing Katrina's family background. Anil Kapoor and Paresh Rawal had provided memorable performances in the film.

Katrina was equally elegant in Partner, opposite Govinda, where Salman Khan had taught him to be presentable before women. Partner also was based on comedy performances and all the performers inclduing Salman, Govinda, Lara Dutta, had proved their capability in comedy roles before.


With a number of sucesful films like Namaste London, opposite Akshay Kumar, Apne with Bobby Deol and Sunny Deol, Katrina Kaif had created her identity by this period of time. Her other film Race is going to be released this year. Her viewers only have one apprehension in mind that is she had been elegant in modern roles, whenever she is tested in traditional roles, how far she can show her acting capability is a question mark. Even then, the audience expect Katrina to continue her sweet performance in the years to come.

Should Filmfare awards have second best and third best awards?

Should Filmfare awards have second best and third best awards?

As only few actors, actresses, composers, singers, directors, etc., had repeatedly received the Indian filmfare awards, it can be debated that should there be second best and third best awards, in order to extend the list of recipients of these awards, the way it is done in case of National Awards. Even second best films are awarded under National Award scheme which is considered the most neutral award presented by the Government of India in respect of excellence of films.

If we look back at these awards, we will find that Dilip Kumar had won the best actor award 8 times, Shankar Jaikishan had won the best composer award 9 times. The reason these achievements are mentioned is because for those number of times any other actor or composer could not get any award. Instead of that if there had been second best or third best award, it could have encouraged others for performing even better in these films.

These days there has been a trend that the notable personalities who did not receive any award are given a lifetime achievement award to show their contribution to bollywood films. But there is a lot of doubt whether the actors like Dharmender or Jeetender who never got any best actor award were content with their lifetime achievement awards.

Another feature of filmfare awards had been the selected categories under which awards had been given. There was no award for best dancer, which could have rewarded the great efforts of quality dancers like Vaijayantimala, Asha Parekh, Hema Malini, Jaya Prada, Sri Devi, Madhuri Dixit, etc. Among them some of them received best actress award in notable roles and did not mind the fact that their dancing efforts were not rewarded.

In respect of composers, the filmfare awards could identify very few composers, although Indian musical heritage and cultural heritage had been enhanced by rich creation of Vasant Desai, C. Ramchandran, Ghulam Mohammad, Jaidev, who hardly received any recognition for their immortal creations. There is also a debate regarding the term of best supporting actor or actress. Whether these actors or actresses did support the main actor or actress in the respective film is a big question mark. It would have been better if they were categorised as best character actor or actress award. Most of the actors and actresses believe that the greatest satisfaction that they have is when their film becomes commercially successful which shows the love and affection of the viewers. The filmfare awards can be re-modelled for addressing more recipients in the years to come.

By: CR Chatterji.

Farooq Sheikh – the decent romantic actor of bollywood.

Farooq Sheikh – the decent romantic actor of bollywood.

Farooq Sheikh appeared in the 70s in bollywood films and brought a new dimension of refined commercial films. He mainly acted in films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sai Paranchpe, who were involved with realistic films.

He acted in Saath-Saath, opposite Dipti Naval, and portrayed the complexity of life of middle-class person. After education is completed in many parts of India, it is not easy to get jobs, and when one gets any job, the slaray is not adequate to maintain a family. The songs in the film mainly sung by Jagjit Singh, including “tumko dekha to yeh khayal aya”, “yeh tera ghar yeh mera ghar”, etc., were well appreciated by critics and the mass.


In Katha, which was serio-comic film, he played the role of the friend of Naseer, who lived in a flat complex. His character was exactly opposite to the character of Naseer, who was honest, god-fearing and truthful. He went on telling lies one after the other and the resident in one of the neighbouring flats, Deepti Naval, believed them and married him on such belief. The film had many comedy instances like the time when Farooq Sheikh went to a neighbour’s house and praised her son to get a cup of tea, while Naseer, did fifty separate jobs in the room of old neighbour, just to get some milk which he used to make tea.

Farooq Sheikh was elegant in innocent characters as well, the character he played in Kisi Se Na Kehna, opposite Dipti Naval, where his father Utpal Dutt wanted to get him married to a village girl, who was simple and believed in traditional values. He took the help of Saeed Jaffry to falsely state that Deepti Naval, who was a doctor to be a village girl. Utpal Dutt agreed to solemnize the marriage and that belief and the intellectual comedy impressed all sections of audience.


Farooq Sheikh also portrayed the character of legendary writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji in TV channel in the episodes shown on Srikanto. He acted with Sujata Mehta in the respective episodes. His other successful films include Umrao Jaan, opposite Rekha. His way of asking questions was so impressive that the TV program Jeena isi ka naam hai, which was initially conducted by him where he brought various bollywood personalities, lost a number of audience from the time he left it. He is expected to make a comeback in bollywood films in character roles in future.

By: CR Chatterji.

Vivek Oberoi – the spontaneous actor of bollywood.

Vivek Oberoi – the spontaneous actor of bollywood.

Vivek Oberoi is the spontaneous actor of bollywood. He does not believe in unnecessary mannerisms and that is depicted in his films. In Saathiya, he impressed the viewers with unique style of acting where he was a software engineer. He had an affair with Rani Mukherjee but as his parents never wanted him to marry her, he created a separate establishment after marrying her. As he left his own parents, he expected Rani Mukherjee also to forget her relatives which she could not do.

AR Rehman had given excellent tunes in the film and songs like “saathiya, saathiya”, sung by Sonu Nigam and other songs like “chalka, chalka re” became very successful. Vivek portrayed the frustration of his character very well when Rani Mukherjee met with an accident with Tabu’s car at the end of the film.


Vivek acted well in Yuva, along with Abhishek Bacchan and Ajay Devgan, a film which was based on the unrest that exists in the students community in West Bengal, specially Kolkata. The differences in most cases leads to violence and that destroys the careers of the students. Vivek’s performance was effortless in the film.

Vivek Oberoi, never imitated his father Suresh Oberoi, who was gifted with a brilliant voice, in any of the films, and that was the reason for his success in bollywood films. He had done well in Subhash Ghai’s Kisna.


Even in the film Omkara, he had done well along with Saif Ali Khan and Ajay Devgan. The film was based on the rural background of the state of Bihar, in India. He was comfortable with the rural intonation that was portrayed in the character. He also danced well in the song “biri jalaile” along with Bipasha Basu.

Vivek Oberoi had made notable contribution even in action films like Shootout at Lokhandwala along with the noted actors like Sanjay Dutt and Abhishek Bacchan in the film. It was based on real-life story.

In the years to come he is expected to show his acting talent in every type of film, as he is liked by that section of the audience who want realistic performance without the larger-than life image.