Station Hollywood: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Rekha and Big B

Rekha and Big B.

Rekha had provided memorable performances over the years in huge number of bollywood films. Whenever she had acted with Big B, the performance of both the stars had impressed the audience.

Rekha was sublime in her performance in the film Silsila, where Big B had also done well. The songs composed by Shiv Hari were extraordinary. Lata’s song “yeh kaha a gaye hum” made everyone spellbound. Big B had sung songs in his own voice including songs like “neela aasman so gaya”, “rang barse”, etc.

Rekha had complimented Big B in the film Khoon Pasina. Although it was an action-pact film where Big B faced Vinod Khanna who had given strong performance in the film, Rekha had played her part very well. The film depicted corruption existing in Indian society in the mid-70s.

Rekha and Big B had done well in Muqaddar ka Sikandar. Although Big B loved Rakhee in the film, Rakhee never appreciated his weakness and admired Vinod Khanna. Rekha played the role of a tawaif, yet she had been loyal to Big B and helped him whenever required.

Both of them were sublime in the film Suhaag. Big B was a drunkard at the beginning of the film, but after Shashi Kapoor, the police officer, lost his eyes, Big B joined the police force. He took revenge against Amzad Khan who caused harm to their entire family and the people at large. Rekha did well in her portion.

The other successful films of Rekha and Big B include Do Anjane, Mr. Natwarlal, etc. All these films should be restored for their immense filmic value.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh.

Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh had performed in successful films in the 60s which had picturesque locations, romantic music and decent stories. They were extremely successful in the film Phir Wahi dil Laya Hoon.

The film was mainly shot at Jammu & Kashmir and OP Nayyar’s compositions in the film had created a lasting effect for generations. Rafi and Asha’s songs “banda parwar”, “lakho hai nigahon me”, “zulf ke chaon me chehereka ujala lekar”, “aanchal me saza lena kaliya”, “naznee bara rangeen hai wada tera”, “aji kibla mohe tarma”, etc., had all become legendary creations over the years. Asha Parekh went to Kashmir with her friends and entered into an affair with Joy Mukherjee. Pran created problems at the by pretending as an impostor. Rajendernath showed his comedy skills in the film.

Both of them did well in the film Ziddi. Asha Parekh was very adamant about whatever she liked to have in life. Joy Mukherjee came to their house and taught her to be patient and have tolerance like her sister played by Nazima. The music composed by SD Burman is worth mentioning with songs like “teri surat se”, “bolo bolo bolo bolo” sung by Rafi, “pyar ki aag me’ sung by Manna Dey, etc. the comedy portion performed by Mehmood, Dhumal and Subha Khote require special mention.

Probably the greatest hit of Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh was the film Love in Tokyo. The film was shot in Tokyo, which added the attraction for the viewers along with strong music composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Songs like “Japan, love in Tokyo”, “aaja re aa zara aa”, “o mere shahe khuba”, “hume tum mil gaye humdum”, sung by Rafi and Lata stormed bollywood in the mid-60s.

Besides, Pran had kidnapped the nephew of Asha Parekh and created obstacles in the marriage of Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh in different ways. Lalita Power, the mother of Joy Mukherjee did not accept Asha Parekh as the daughter-in-law initially, which was resolved at the end of the film. Although these films did not provide any messag to the audience, they had entertained them to the fullest extent. The films should be restored for those reasons.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Songs in the films of Aishwarya Rai.

Aishwarya Rai had maintained her stardom in bollywood for the last 15 years. Music had played a very important role in the success of her films. She had got hit songs over the years based on diverse styles of compositions.

In Taal, the songs like “ishq bina kya jina, ishq bina kya marna”, “taal se taal milake”, were well appreciated by viewers. The film was based on music and the folk music that originated from the native lands and mountains were recorded by Anil Kapoor and used by his cassette company after modification.

In Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, the songs like “aankho ki gustakhiyan maaf ho”, “hum dil de chuke sanam”, etc., became landmark hits. The story was related to Salman Khan’s learning of eastern classical music from the father of Aishwarya Rai. Besides he had presented some Italian music that he learnt when he stayed abroad. In fact the songs were responsible for the immense success of the film.

In Devdas, the song “dil dola re” became one of the landmarks which shaped the career of Shreya Ghoshal. The song was picturised on Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit who played the roles of Parvati and Chandramukhi respectively in the film. Music had significance in the film based on classic literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterji.

The song of the film Bunti Aur Babli, where Aishwarya Rai provided an item number also became hit. The song was titled “kajra re kajra re” sung by Alisha and written by Gulzar. The other songs in the film were also successful like “dharak dharak dhuya uraire re”, picturised on Rani Mukherjee and Abhishek Bacchan.

Songs in the film Guru, titled “basro re megha megha” composed by AR Rehman also created a huge impact in the minds of the viewers. Besides Aishwarya’s songs “krazy kiya re” sung by Sunidhi Chauhan in the film Dhoom -2 had become super hit.

The viewers expect Aishwarya Rai to continue to provide her excellent lips in songs in bollywood films in future in the same way as she had done in the past.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Related Reading

Raj Kumar Santoshi’s films.

During the last 20 years, Raj Kumar Santoshi had entertained the viewers with his action films which best on anti-establishment themes. The viewers had identified themselves with the unfair practices that took place which were shown in the films.

In Ghayal, Raj Kumar Santoshi had used Sunny Deol to protest against the oppression of Amrish Puri in the film. Amrish Puri had used the industry, the police force, the ministry and all the influential people in the film to plant false cases against Sunny and get him imprisoned after killing Raj Babbar. Sunny got out of prison, took the help of three other prisoners and destroyed the unlawful business establishments of Amrish Puri. While taking revenge against him, he also attracted the attention of Om Puri, an honest police officer that the police force was also responsible for making Amrish Puri a tyrant.

Similarly in Ghatak, Sunny came from Benaras and raised voice against the mafias working in Mumbai who had dominated over shopkeepers and other businessmen in the area. His father Amrish Puri who was suffering from Cancer was ill-treated by Danny, the leader of the gang, and Sunny fought against the entire gang alone. Meenakshi had ably supported him in his fight against evil.

Also in Damini, it was shown that a middle-class witness faces huge amount of obstacles while giving testimony about what the person had witnessed before a court of law. Meenakshi saw the bodily assault of her servant in the house, but when she went to give her testimony, the entire family of her inlaws stopped her, even proved her to be insane. Only the lawyer played by Sunny and her husband Rishi Kapoor, had the courage to disclose the truth and see that the criminals are punished.

He also showed the struggle of Anil Kapoor in Pukar, where he was a military officer who faced court martial for the false allegations against him which were planted by Madhuri Dixit. Eventually he unearthed the terrorist activity of Danny who wanted to kill huge number of people in a banquet hall, which he stopped at the end of the people. Even China Gate was successful, showing the fight of retired military officers against a group of dacoits who became notorious due to corruption of local police. Om Puri, Nasiruddin Shah, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal, all did well in the film. The viewers expect similar types of films from Raj Kumar Santoshi in the years to come.

By: CR Chatterji.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Manoj Vajpayee – the seasoned actor of bollywood.

Manoj Vajpayee, had shown his calibre of performing in various roles in bollywood films in the last 10 years. He kept his mark in the film Shool, where played the role of a fearless police officer who never compromised with corruption, red tapism in the area where he operated. The film showed the amount of corruption existing in the different departments and the amount of pressure created by the politicians on the police force to prevent their independent functioning.

He was ably supported by Ravina Tandon, who played the role of his wife who was subjected to assault to obstruct Manoj Vajpayee from independently dealing with the cases. He also did very well as a dacoit who helped Phulan Devi in the film Bandit Queen directed by Shekhar Kapoor.

He also acted in the role of a fearless police officer in the film Jago. The daughter of Ravina Tandon and Sanjay Kapoor was assaulted and killed by three persons while she was travelling in local train in Mumbai. Due to immense pressure created by the perpetrators of crime, the witnesses never had the courage to testify before the court of law. Both Ravina Tandon and Sanjay Kapoor got frustrated before Manoj Vajpayee took up the case.

He provided support to the witnesses and encouraged them to come before the court of law, identify the criminals and provide their testimony about the incident. They did that at the end and the criminals were punished. He made a submission before the court of law mentioning the difficulties with which the police force in India work. Whenever they try to raise voice against any of the ministers either they are transferred or dismissed by involving them in false cases. These are some of the reasons for which the police cannot perform their duties properly.

He also did well in a villanish role in the film Veer Zara where he involve Shahrukh Khan in a false cases relating to anti-national against Pakistan so that he could marry Preeti and Shahrukh suffered imprisonment for the false charges till he was proved innocent by strong submission of Rani Mukherjee, who reopened the case. Manoj Vajpayee had shown his potentiality in films like Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar with Tabu. He is expected to continue his good work in the years to come.

By: CR Chatterji.

Biswajeet and Rafi.

Biswajeet Chatterji was one of the few Bengali actors who started his film career from Tollygunge film industry and kept his mark in bollywood films during the golden era. Although his initial films like Bees Saal Baad and Kohra were indebted to famous Bengali singer Hemant Kumar, his fame in bollywood was largely related to grand playback provided by Mohammad Rafi.

Rafi sang very melodious songs for Biswajeet in the film Do Dil, including songs like “tera husn rahe mera ishq rahe”. The songs in the film Mere Sanam composed by OP Nayyar, can be considered as one of the greatest creations of OP Nayyar in the 60s. All the songs of Rafi in the film picturised on Biswajeet including “pukarta chala hoon mai”, “humdum mere maan bhi jao”, “hue hai tumpe aashiq hum bhala mano bura mano”, “tukre hai mere dilki”, etc., became superhits.

Also the due songs of Rafi and Asha, picturised on Biswajeet and Sharmila Tagore titled “phir miloge kabhi is baat ka wada karlo” composed by OP Nayyar became very successful. Again all the songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film April Fool, picturised on Biswajeet and Saira Banu impressed the listeners.

LP provided very romantic compositions for Rafi in the film Night in London, where Biswajeet was accompanied by Mala Sinha. The song “nazar na lag jaye” sung by Rafi had absolute European orchestration and included stylish presentation.

Even in the film Do Kaliyan, Ravi provided melodious songs for Rafi including “tumhari nazar”. Biswajeet’s other landmark songs include “na jhatko zulf se paani” where Rafi had addressed Rajashri in the film. All the songs of the Shehnai became very very successful.

With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Biswajeet faded away from the film arena, otherwise he may have given elegant lips in more songs of Rafi in that period.

By: CR Chatterji.

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Review of Tashan.

Tashan is the other multi-starrer film released this year, where the viewers had a lot of expectation. The actors and actresses who had performed in the film include Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar. There were other actors and actresses as well who contributed in the film.

Anil Kapoor played the role of big mafia cum villain who is called bhaiyaji. He used broken English and wrong English thereby creating a humorous impact in the same way in which Javed Jaffery amused the viewers in Salaam Namaste. Anil Kapoor had always been elegant in aggressive roles and comedy roles, so the performance in this film was also satisfactory.

Akshay Kumar worked as the recovery agent under Anil Kapoor, with the name Bacchan Pandey. He had been send by Anil Kapoor to recover the money that had been borrowed by Kareena Kapoor.

Kareena Kapoor travelled from one part of the world to the other and she was not in a position to repay the loan that had been borrowed. She had been accompanied by Saif Ali Khan who had been an NRI, who also got involved in the transaction due to the affection towards Kareena.

The only twist in the story lied in the fact that Akshay who had been send by Anil Kapoor to collect the dues from Kareena entered into an affair with Kareena Kapoor and the other part of the mission got delayed due to that. The film directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya had been entertaining for the crowds.

Saif Alik Khan and Akshay Kumar were sublime in their style-oriented presentation. Kareena Kapoor also complimented them with her stylish performance. The music was satisfactory.

Although Tashan had not created an extraordinary impact in the mind of viewers and neither had novelty to the extent of Race which had been released this year, the film is expected to do well with its lovely locations and strong performance of stars.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Amit Kumar - the consistent singer of bollywood.

Amit Kumar – the consistent singer of bollywood.

Amit Kumar, the son of the legendary playback singer kishore kumar, had a decent career in bollywood films. He was the son of K and famous Bengali actress and singer Ruma Guha Thakurta.

He came to limelight with his song “bade acche lagte hai” from the film Balika Badhu. He also acted as a child artist in the film Door Gagan Ki Chaon Me where KK had played the leading role. He sang very successful songs in the 80s, in films like Love Story. His song “yaad aa rahi hai” picturised on Kumar Gaurav became big hit. He received filmfare award for the best singer for the song “yaad aa rahi hai” in 1981.

He also sang the song “dushman na kare” in the film Akhir Kyon. He was extremely successful with the song “ek do teen” from the film Tezaab, picturised on Anil Kapoor. The film became superhit and Amit Kumar’s singing style was also appreciated.

His song “kehdo ki tum” also became hit. Also his song “oye oye” in the film Tridev became successful. He faced competition from Kumar Shanu, Udit Narayan and Abhijeet in the 90s.

Even then his songs in Ghayal, Jeevan Ek Sunghursh, Narsimha, etc., had attracted the attention of viewers.

Presently he appears in the TV program, titled K for Kishore, where he judges the talents of new singers who sing Kishore Kumar’s songs, along with Bappi Lahiri and Sudesh Bhosle. He educates the listeners about his experience with Kishore Kumar, as he had accompanied his father in a number of music recordings and knows a lot about composers on the 60s, 70s.

He had been consistent over a period of 25 years, and his songs in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, like “bole churiya”, had not become obsolete. The viewers and the listeners expect him to continue his good work in bollywood films and give more hits in the years to come.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Sunidhi Chauhan – the spirited singer of bollywood.

Sunidhi Chauhan had been one of the most spirited singers of bollywood for the last few years. She started singing at a very early age and flourished in signing once her family shifted to Mumbai. She won the Lata Mangeshkar Trophy in the television program “meri awaaz suno” for best female singer along with Pradip Somasundaran in the male category.

She sang songs for the films Shastra, Gang, etc., and caught the attention of viewers in the film Mast with her titled song “mast”. She stormed bollywood with her unique style of singing with the song “man saat samandar” in the film Chameli. Kareena Kapoor got critical acclamation for her performance and Sunidhi Chauhan received star screen award for best female singer for her performance in the film.

She again amazed the crowds with her performance in the song “dhoom machale” from the film Dhoom, where she received the Zee Cine Award for the best female playback singer in 2005. She never had to look back after that.

Within a short span of 5 years she had become the role model of lot of young female singers at the moment. Neither does her singing style resemble Lata or Geeta Dutt, nor Asha Bhosle, in fact she had shown her spirited performance even in songs identified as item numbers.

Her remote style was again revealed in the song “crazy kiya re” picturised on Aishwarya Rai in the film Dhoom 2. She received the filmfare award for the best singer in the film Omkara, for singing the song “biri jalaile”, picturised on Bipasa Basu.

Her other hit songs include “kaisi paheli zindagani” from Parineeta, picturised on Rekha, “aja nacchle” from the film Aja Nacchle, picturised on Madhuri Dixit, “humto aise hai bhaiiya” from Laga Chunari me Daag.

If Shreya Ghoshal is the main conventional female playback singer of bollywood at the moment, Sunidhi Chauhan is the main unconventional female playback singer of bollywood. The viewers expect her to continue her good performance in future.

Aishwarya Rai and Anil Kapoor.

Aishwarya Rai had acted with a number of leading actors of bollywood for the last 10 years including Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bacchan, etc. She very rarely acted with Anil Kapoor, but whenever she had acted with him the viewers admired the performance of both the performers.

Although Anil Kapoor had started his career in the early 80s, and saw the transition face of bollywood films over the years, he maintained his stardom for more than 25 years, and had been successful to get leading roles even in 2008, in films like Race. His acting potentiality is appreciated by every section of the crowd, and that had made him indispensable in bollywood films for the last 25 years.

In Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, both Aishwarya Rai and Anil Kapoor had complimented each other in their performance. Anil Kapoor brought up children who were left alone by their mother as their father did not take up the responsibility of bringing them up. He treated the children as his own children even without marrying anyone.

Aishwarya Rai was ill-treated by Puru Raj Kumar, and her parents refused to accept her at home after the incident. She lived with Anil Kapoor after both of them came to know each other.

Anil Kapoor’s parents refuse to accept her as the wife of Anil Kapoor and created barriers to prevent their marriage. At the end of the film, the truth was unfolded that Anil Kapoor’s father was the actual father of the orphans whom Anil Kapoor brought up as his own children. The successful combination impressed the crowd in that unique film.

Both of them previously performed together in the film Taal. Anil Kapoor was a composer and employed Aishwarya Rai to perform with his music company after her father was ill-treated by Amrish Puri, the father of Akshay Khanna, the boyfriend of Aishwarya Rai. Anil Kapoor sacrificed his love for Akshay and commanded maximum respect from the viewers. The film was very very successful. Both of them are expected to do even better in bollywood films in future.

By: CR Chatterji.

Related Reading

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan.

Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan had very rarely acted together in bollywood films, specially after they acquired their stardom over the years. But whenever they acted together the films had been extremely successful.

Rakesh Roshan had made an experiment with both of them in the film Karan Arjun. The film had shown that both the brothers and their mother were ill-treated in a village of Rajasthan by Amrish Puri in the previous life.

The two brothers were killed and Rakhee prayed before God for returning her the children. Both of them were born again. Shahrukh worked in a stable and Salman also had insignificant employement.

Both of them returned to the same village and they were reminded about the evil deeds of the past. They were ably supported by Kajol and Mamta Kulkarni and Johnny Lever. They took revenge against Amrish Puri for his misdeeds.

Although the film was based on fantasy, the presence of the two superstars, and the romantic music of Rajesh Roshan entertained the viewers. The film went a long way in the directorial career of Rakesh Roshan who was appreciated by the viewers for his performance in bollywood films in the 70s, 80s, as a powerful actor.

Both of them also made significant contribution in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, directed by Karan Johar. Although Salman appeared for a short period at the end of the film, when his marriage was arranged with Kajol, he kept his mark in the small role. Sharukh Khan came in the marriage with his daughter and reminded her about the past. Salman sacrificed his love.

Both of them had appeared in other films also and the viewers expect both of the them to continue their good work in the years to come.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

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Shahrukh Khan and Preeti Zinta.

Shahrukh Khan in his illustrious career had mainly acted in films opposite Kajol, including blockbusters like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Baazigar, etc. But whenever he had acted with Preeti Zinta, he had created a lasting impression.

In Dil Se, Mani Ratnam, did an experiment with Shahrukh Khan by asking him to address terrorism in the North-eastern states of India. Manisha Koirala played the leading role acting as a terrorist who was ill-treated by the military officials of the north-east. While he met her during her journey and created a relationship with her, his parents arranged a girl for his marriage.

Preeti Zinta was the girl who had been chosen by the family members of Shahrukh Khan in the film. He met her and both had conversation to familiarise each other. At the end of the film Shahrukh Khan sacrificed his life to die in a suicide-bombing operation where she died with Manisha Koirala to prevent her from killing innocent people.

The most successful film involving Shahrukh Khan and Preeti Zinta was Veer Zara under YashRaj Banner. The film involved a lovestory between an Indian and a Pakistani. Shahrukh played the role of an Airforce Official who saved Preeti when she was drowning in water and brought her to his village where his parents Big B and Hema Malini treated her like their children.

In the meantime Monoj Vajpai was supposed to marry Preeti and in revenge he compelled Shahrukh to accept the allegation of being involved in terrorist activites against Pakistan and he languished in jail. Rani Mukherjee later reopened the case, fought it against Anupam Kher, the opposite Counsel, and released Shahrukh. Preeti also devoted her life in a village school where Shahrukh’s parents wanted her to make contribution.

At one time both Shahrukh and Preeti were successful pairs, whoare competitors now, sponsoring cricket teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings Eleven Punjab, in ICL Matches. The viewers expect them to do well in their new role just like they had acted successfully in films together.

By: CR Chatterji.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen.

Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen.

By: CR Chatterji.

Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen are one of the most successful romantic pairs that Indian celluloid had ever produced. Although they had acted in mainly Bengali films, with Uttam Kumar addressing the national audience in films like Amanush, Anand Ashram, Choti Si Mulakat, Dooriyan, Kitaab, etc., and Suchitra Sen contributing in films like Devdas, Musafir, Bombai Ka Babu, Mamta, Aandhi, etc., they had become immortal personalities due to sheer brilliance of performances.

They had acted in films having dynamic stories like Harano Sur, where Uttam Kumar lost his memory in a train accident, then was treated by Suchitra Sen, and due to a second accident forgot his relationship with his wife. Suchitra Sen had to work in the house of Uttam Kumar as a governess of his nephew, and the memory came back at the end of the film. Ajoy Kar, an eminent director and legendary cameraman showed his excellence in presentation of the story.

The same director gave scope to the legendary pair to do their best in the film Saptapadi. In this film the story involved an affair between a Bengali Brahmin with a Christian girl, and the father of Uttam Kumar played by Chabi Biswas did not accept the relationship and asked Suchitra Sen to forget Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar converted into a Christian but never married Suchitra Sen, as she gave work to Chabi Biswas about forgetting his son. At the end of the film, Uttam Kumar treated Suchitra Sen, when she was badly hit by bombs hurled during second world war.

They also acted in films based on classic literature like Rajlakshi Srikanto and Kamallata, written by legendary writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji. Both the films were based on biographies of Sarat Chandra Chatterji and Uttam Kumar represented Sarat Chandra in these films. The misery of Bengali women in the early eighteenth century was depicted by strong performance of Suchitra Sen. Very significantly they complimented each other in glamour and strong performance.

They had acted in 30 films together, including Chawa Pawa (based on the story of Roman Holiday), Alo Amar Alo, Har Mana Har, Nabarag, Grihadaha. It is not possible to highlight their contribution in Indian films in a small article. Had the bollywood directors shown the courage of casting them in bollywood films, they would have shown their level of excellence in bollywood films also.

Johnny Lever – the indispensable comedian of bollywood.

From the early 90s, major actresses and actresses had involved themselves in comedy roles, thereby getting rid of the requirement of a comedian in bollywood films. But Johnny Lever was always required for relief characters in film. In Tezaab, he was a member of the gang that was led by Anil Kapoor and Chunkey Pandey.

In Karan Arjun, he accompanied Salman khan and Shahrukh khan to the village in Rajasthan where they lived in the previous life. The film was based on fantasy and Johnny Lever made notable contribution in the film. In Soldier, he played the role of a tram conductor in Australia whose brother was lost in a Kumbhmela. Bobby deol met him at different times in the film, thinking him to be the twin brother but always met the same person.

In Badal, he played the role of a Punjabi person who came to celebrate his honeymoon in Shimla with his wife. He got involved amongst terrorist activities and got beaten up at different times. In Salman Khan’s Auzaar, he played the role of the servant of Paresh Rawal who pretended to be handicapped. Ultimately Salman proved before Sanjay Kapoor that Paresh Rawal was the leader of all illegal activities.

In Tumko Na Bhool Payenge, he played the role of an astrologer. Diya Mirza took Salman Khan to him when he lost his memory and could not identify himself. In fact, Johnny Lever was a fraud character who just cheated the villagers and extracted money with his overt acts. He played the role of the assistant of Sharukh Khan in the film Badshah, where again both of them were involved in fraudulent activities.

He played the role of one of the important witnesses who saw the murder in the film Ajnabee opposite Bobby Deol and Akshay Kumar. In fact it was planted case where Akshay tried to implicate Bobby but failed at the end when the truth was unearthed.

The other leading films of Johnny Lever include Baazigar, Dewaana Mastana, Kahona Pyar Hai, etc. He had been one of the most indispensable comedian of bollywood for the last 20 years and is expected to continue his good work in the years to come.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Has Kareena Kapoor improved her performance over the years?

Kareena Kapoor, the daughter of Randhir Kapoor and the granddaughter of Raj Kapoor, carried the legacy of the royal family of bollywood. She was not launched by RK films, but started her career in JP Dutta’ film Refugee opposite Abhishek Bacchan.

She was impressive in a submissive role, because the film was based on the romantic story between Abhishek and Kareena at the backdrop of tensions at the India-Pakistan border. She gave elegant lips in the songs “mere humsafar, mere humsafar”, “panchi nadiya pawan ke jhoke”, etc. Her other film Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, opposite Tushar Kapoor, was also successful, including the songs like “mujhe kuch kehna”, “is pyar ko mai kya doon”, etc.

After hew years of acting Kareena got opportunity of acting in big banner films including Yaaden, directed by Subhash Ghai, opposite Hrithik Roshan, where the story depicted the intimate relationship of fathers with their daughters. Jackie Shroff in the role of the father impressed the crowd with his performance. Also in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham directed by Karan Johar, Kareena acted opposite Hrithik and interacted with the other family members including Big B and Jaya Bacchan. Shahrukh Khan and Kajol were the other leading performers in the film.

But from the time, Kareena started performing in challenging roles, that the viewers accepted her as a powerful actress. She received critics acclamation for her performance in the role of a tawaif in the film Chameli. She also did well in the film Kyon Ki.

She won the filmfare award for the best female actress in the last year for her performance in the film Jab We Met with Shahid Kapoor. She displayed the agony of being left alone by a boyfriend whom she loved a lot.

Viewers do agree that Kareena had developed her standard of acting over the years from just concentrating on glamour to serious performances. With a number of her films to be released in 2008 including Tashan, and she herself commanding around 6 crores per film, she is expected to do even better.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Related Reading

Kareena Kapoor – the successful actress of recent times.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Lata in the 80s and 90s.

Lata in the 80s and 90s.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Although the presence of new female singers in bollywood films in the 80s had increased the competition in the world of playback singing, Lata still sang landmark songs in the 80s and 90s. Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurty, Asha and Anuradha Paudwal were some of the singers who had sung hit songs in the 80s.

Lata’s song “yeh kahan a gaye hum” in the film Silsila picturised on Rekha, became a landmark hit with the romantic location of Kashmir and other places. The songs in the film Ek Tuje ke liye, picturised on Rati Agnihotri, including songs like “ek duje ke liye”, “tere mere beech me”, etc., composed by LP became superhit.

In Saagar, Lata’s song “sagar kinare” picturised on Dimple became a big hit. Similarly in the film Chandni, all the songs sung by Lata, which were picturised on Sri Devi and composed by Shiv Hari became grandhit.

Lata sang notable songs also in the film Lekin, directed by Gulzar. The film was based on folklore of Rajasthan and Hridaynath Mangeshkar, the composer of the music of the film, used the folk effect and classical effect to make the film look realistic. The legendary songs of Lata include “yara sili sili”, “kesaria balma” etc. Dimple Kapadia was sublime in her performance.

Lata also sang notable songs in the film Rudali, picturised on Dimple, where the music was composed by Bhupen Hazarika. There also the song ‘dil hum hum kare” received acclamation of the critics.

In the 90s, Lata sang notable songs in the film Dil To Pagal Hai, where Uttam Singh had composed memorable tunes for Lata. The songs were picturised on Madhuri Dixit, and all were hits.

Lata also made her presence felt in films like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, with Twinkle Khanna and Salman Khan. The magical voice of Lata is still young for the millions of music lovers across the world and still can make major contribution in modern bollywood films.

Mukesh and Raj Kapoor.

Mukesh and Raj Kapoor.

By: CR Chatterji.

Mukesh was one of the respectable characters of bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s. He created an image for himself and was mostly associated with cultured performances during the golden age. His voice suited Raj Kapoor the most and both of them had provided unforgettable records for future generations.

Songs like “aja re” from the film Aah, picturised on RK and composed by Shankar Jaikishan has not lost their appeal even today. Most of the songs of Anari, composed by SJ like “kisiki muskurahato pe ho nisar”, “ sub kuch sikha humne”, etc., became everlasting hits.

Mukesh’s performance in the film Phir Subha Hogi, composed by Khayyam and picturised on RK including “who subha kabhi to ayegi”, “phir na kije yeh gustakh”, etc., were appreciated due to their tragic andaz. Also the song “aanso bhari hai” from Parvarish, composed by Dattaram became successful.

“a ab laut chale”, and “mera naam raju” from the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, composed by SJ became extremely successful. Also “chaliya mera naam” and “dum dum diga diga” from Chalia, composed by Kalyanji Anandji became hits.

Songs from Teesri Kasam, carried the folk effect, with SJ creating tunes based on the folklore of villages of UP. Songs of Mukesh like “duniya bananewale”, “sajanwa bairi”, “sajan re jhoot mat bolo”, impressed the viewers with strong lyrics written by Shailendra.

SJ’s experiments in the film Diwana, were also successful. Mukesh probably sang all the songs in the film including “ai sanam jisne tujhe”, “pateka baat kahega”, “tumhare bhi jai jai”, “taron se pyare”, etc. Also the songs in the film Around the World like “duniya ki sair kar lo” were equally successful.

Songs of Sangam and Mera Naam Joker sung by Mukesh and composed SJ had become masterpieces over a period of time. The songs and the films should be restored for their musical value.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Preeti Zinta and Australia.

Preeti Zinta has a strange relationship with Australia. Whenever she had appeared in films either shot in Australia or having storyline in Australia, they have ended up being superduper hits.

Her first film Soldier, had a story line based in Australia. Bobby went to Australia and searched his father’s killers during the film. He met Preeti a number of times and their hatred transformed into affair. The songs in the film “soldier, soldier”, “naiyo naiyo”, etc. became landmark hits. Preeti made her first appearance and created an impression with the performance.

In the film Koi Mil Gaya, again picturised in Australia, Preeti played a compassionate role opposite Hrithik, who was handicapped and later regain strength and power from aliens. Preeti was sympathetic towards Hrithik. She gave good lips in the song Koi Mil Gaya.

Preeti again received the appreciation of viewers in her performance in the film Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Amir Khan, again picturised in Australia. She changed the mind of Amir who never believed in love. She gave able lips in the song “jane kyon log pyar karte hai” with Amir Khan.

Probably her most successful film in the background of Australia is Salaam Namaste, opposite Saif Ali Khan. She experimented with live together theory, and gave birth to a child at then end of the film. The good part and the bad part of live together concept was shown in the film. The title song was very successful.

With Australia bringing champions luck, she had sponsored the team King’s Eleven in the Indian Cricket League with Yuvraj Singh as captain. In the same team, she had brought in Brett Lee, world’s best fast bowler from Australia, who change the fortune of any game of cricket. The viewers expect Preeti’s luck with Australia and expect her team to do well, similar to her successful career.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

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Preeti Zinta – the stylist actress of bollywood.