Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar.

Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar

Katrina Kaif had created her impression before the viewers with her performance opposite Salman Khan in the film Maine Pyar Kiyu Kiya. Sushmita Sen was the other actress in the film and Katrina had sacrificed her affair with Salman Khan for the cause of Sushmita Sen in the film.

But her films opposite Akshay Kumar had been appreciated by the viewers the most. The film Namaste London was extremely successful. Katrina Kaif was the daughter of Rishi Kapoor who had settled in London with his family. As Katrina lived in that place from childhood, she was not used to Indian values which existed in India.


Rishi Kapoor wanted to get her an Indian husband as he could not trust the British boys who married many girls divorced them. So he brought Katrina to India and got her married to Akshay Kumar against wish. Akshay Kumar came all the way to London to find that Katrina never considered their marriage as real. She wanted to marry her boyfriend in London and was not concerned about the feelings of Akshay Kumar. Akshay Kumar ultimately convinced her about the Indian values and she came to India with Akshay as per the wish of Rishi Kapoor.

In Welcome, Katrina Kaif played the role of the sister of underworld dons Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar. Paresh Rawal, the relative of Akshay Kumar wanted to get himself married to a girl from a good family. But Akshay had an affair with Katrina Kaif and the film revolved around the dilemma of marrying with Katrina Kaif. The information relating to the identity of Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar was revealed and there was not way the marriage could be prevented. It was a comedy film where all the respective performers had done well.


Both of them are again seen in the film Singh is Kinng. Akshay Kumar had played the role a hardworking Punjabi who had created his fortunes by working hard. The viewers have a lot of expectation from the film which is going to be released very soon.


Both Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif are expected to do well together in the films to come.

Tanuja and Uttam Kumar.

Tanuja and Uttam Kumar

Tanuja, the younger sister of Nutan had a good box-office in Bengali films and had contributed well opposite Uttam Kumar, the superstar of Bengali film industry in the 60s and 70s. Her films opposite Uttam Kumar were all successful and became landmark hits during that age.

Uttam Kumar played the role of renowned singer in the film Deya Neya, who left his house as his father Kamal Mitra, a big industrialist did not accept his musical career. Uttam Kumar worked as the driver in Tanuja’s house and went on singing in All India Radio. The truth relating to Uttam Kumar’s identity was unearthed when he sang in a public function for the cause of his sick friend who had written the lyrics of Shyamal Mitra’s song “ganer bhuban bhariye debo”. Shyamal Mitra and Manobendra Mukherjee’s song “dole dodul dole jhulona” became superduper hit in 1963. Tanuja complimented Uttam Kumar’s romantic image in the film with her carefree acting. The film was remade in hindi with the title Anurodh where Rajesh Khanna played Uttam Kumar’s role and simple Kapadia played the role of the leading actress in the film.

In Antony Firingi, Tanuja played the role of successful singer from who Uttam Kumar being a Christian learnt singing and reproduced Manna Dey’s songs like “ami je jalsaghare”, “ami jamini tumi shashi he”, etc. He married Tanuja and arranged for puja for Goddess Kali. Unfortunately the orthodox hindus could not accept that and they burnt Tanuja at the end of the film. Uttam Kumar got National Award for best performance in Antony Firingi and Chiriakhana. He gave excellent lips in Manna Deys’s songs like “champa chameli” which were some of the best songs Manna Dey had sung in his life.

Both Tanuja and Uttam Kumar complimented each other in the film Raj Kumari, which was a romantic film. The romantic songs were composed by RD Burman. Kishore Kumar’s song “e ki holo” became extremely successful and RD Burman made the remake of the songs in hindi which were also successful.


Uttam Kumar’s existence in Bengali films had drawn many leading actress from bollywood films in Bengali including Tanuja, Mala Sinha, Moushumi Chatterji, etc., and all their films had been extremely successful. These films should be restored and preserved.

Lara Dutta in the last few years.

Lara Dutta in the last few years

Lara Dutta was one of the actresses who had got recognition from participating in beauty contests and then doing extremely well in bollywood films. She started her career from the film Andaaz where Priyanka Chopra, another young actress started her career.

Lara Dutta acted opposite many actors in her short career, including Abhishek Bachan in the film Bambai Se Aaya Mere Dost. In that film she had played the role of a village girl. Abhishek Bacchan came from the city to the village where his grandfather stayed.

Lara Dutta did extremely well in the film No Entry. She had the habit of suspecting her husband Anil Kapoor about having affair with other girls. Eventually Anil Kapoor entered into an affair with Bipasha Basu who was sned by Salman Khan to get involved with Anil Kapoor.

Her entry into the lives of Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan had resulted in both the persons losing peace in their family and getting divorce suits from their wives. Ultimately Salman Khan came from abroad to resolve the matter and he resolved it after playacting infront of his wife Esha Deol.

Lara Dutta also acted in multistarrer films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, where she acted opposite Bobby Deol, while Preti Zinta acted apposite Abhishek Bachan. She was also sublime in the film Partner, opposite Salman Khan. Salman Khan trained other persons about the art of love. He trained Govinda about making himself presentable before Katrina Kaif who was smart and elegant in the film. Lara Duta was also a smart girl in the film who was ultimately impressed by Salman Khan.

She also acted in crime thrillers like Jurm and also suspense thrillers like Kaal and showed her acting skills in these films.

She is expected to do even well in the years to come along with her performance in the film Banda Yeh Bindass Hai and Billo Barbar.

Rafi’s memories in the month of July.

Rafi’s memories in the month of July.

The month of July brings sad memories every year because at the end of this month in 1980, Mohammad Rafi, the man with the golden voice passed away. Musiclovers all across the world cannot forget this day.

Rafi is still in the mind of numerous musiclovers across the world. His songs “man tarapata”, “o duniya ke rakhwale” shows the control over ragas which Naushad had used in the film Baiju Bawra.

His songs “yeh mahalon, yeh takhton, yeh tajon ki duniya” from the film Pyaasa, and the song “bichre sabhi bari bari” from the film Kagaz Ka Phool, picturised on Guru Dutt had philosophical value. Guru Dutt was sublime in these films. Besides SD Burman’s music was excellent in these films.

Rafi had sung huge number of westernized numbers including “meherban likhoon” from Sangam, picturised on Rajender Kumar, “akele akele kahan ja rahen ho” picturised on Shammi Kapoor from the film An Evening Paris, “Love in Tokyo” from the film Love in Tokyo, picturised on Joy Mukherjee. All these songs were composed by legendary composer Shankar Jaikishan.

Rafi was sublime in the films Kashmir Ki Kali, Phir Wahi Dil Laya Hoon, Mere Sanam, where the songs picturised on Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Bishwajeet were given adequate expression by the sweet voice of Rafi. OP Nayyar composed the melodious songs for the above mentioned films.

Rafi had sang very landmark songs composed by Roshan, including “dil jo na keh saka”, “jo wada kiya hai”, “aap ne yaad dilaya” etc, picturised on Pradeep Kumar from the film Bheegi Raat, Taj Mahal and Aarti respectively. Rafi and Madanmohan had provided immortal songs like “baad muddat key eh ghari aye”, “tumhare zulf ke saye me shaam karlunga”, etc.

It is not possible to highlight the contribution of musical giant like Rafi who had sung more then 26,000 songs in a career spanning over 35 years. The songs and the films should be restored and reached out to the next generation to learn about quality singing. Let Rafi’s soul rest in peace.

Katrina Kaif in negative and positive roles.

Katrina Kaif in negative and positive roles

Katrina Kaif had acted in many films successfully over the last few years. She had played the positive and negative roles with equal conviction. Her performance in the film Namaste London had both positive and negative shades of character. She was very rough and unkind in the first part of the film.


Rishi Kapoor had settled in London and Katrina lived afast life where human emotions did not have that amount of value. When Rishi Kapoor got her married to Akshay Kumar in Punjab and they retuned back to London, Katrina refused to accept the marriage. As it was UK, the customary law of India did not have that weight and Katrina wanted to marry a British friend of her choice even without caring for the feelings of Akshay Kumar. It took a long time and at the end of the film Akshay Kumar could create space in her heart and returned to India with him. She was sublime both in the first part and latter part of the film.


In the film Race, Katrina conspired with Akshay Khanna to kill Saif Ali for his property. Both of them were supposed to get enriched by the insurance money after the death of Saif Ali Khan. Saif Ali also conspired with Bipasha Basu to pretend to die and kill his brother for the money. Anil Kapoor , the investigating officer, also unearthed the truth about Katrina’s relationship with Akshay Khanna and knew the fact that they got the marriage registered by false means. He got money from Akshay to close the case. Ultimately Katrina and Akshay Khanna got killed in road accident while having race with Saif Ali Khan. Katrina was comfortable in the negative role.


At the same time, Katrina Kaif had acted in many positive roles in her career, including the one in the film Maine Pyar Kyn Kiya, where she never married Salman Khan and acknowledged the love of Sushmita Sen for Salman Khan.


She was also positive in the role in Partner opposite Govinda, inspite of the fact that he was unsmart and learnt attitude from Salman Khan. Her role in the film Welcome opposite Alshay Kumar was also positive.


In 2008, it is expected that Katrina Kaif will amuse the audience in films like Singh is King and other films with her positive and negative characters whenever they are offered to her.

Rafi and RD Burman

Rafi and RD Burman.

As RD Burman had been associated with Kishore Kumar for most of his compositions very little has been written about RD’s combination with Rafi. It is not known to most of the viewers that RD Burman had started his career with the film Chote Nawab where almost all the songs were sung by Rafi.

Teesri Manzil had changed the career graph of RD Burman in 1966. Viewers had forgotten all the songs sung by Rafi in the film for Shammi Kapoor including “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera”, “diwana tujhsa nahi”, “o haseena zulfonwali”, “jaaneman jaanejaa”, “o mere sona re sona re” became landmark hits. In fact RD Burman got a new identity in totally competitive world of composers whem Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, Madanmohan, Roshan, OP Nayyar, were dominating the filmworld. Some of the songs were duets where Asha Bhosle had complimented Rafi in the respective songs.

In the film Pyar Ka Mausam, RD’s tunes for Rafi including “ni sultana re pyar ka mausam aya”, “tum bin jayun kahan” became landmark hits. Shashi Kapoor and Asha Parekh were at their best in the film and lot of their success was related to the brilliant music of the film. In the film Abhilasha, the song “wadiyan tera daman” picturised on Sanjay Khan, became successful.

In the film Karwan, all the songs sung by Rafi and composed by RD Burman including “are ho goriyan kahan tera desh re”, “kitna pyara wada”, etc., picturised on Jeetender and Asha Parekh became extremely successful. There were good dance sequences where Aruna Irani also did very well.

The RD and Rafi magic was replicated in the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin. The songs “chand mere dil”, “kya hua tera wada”, “yeh ladka hai alla”, “hum kisi se kum nahi”, were all hits. Rafi received the national award for best singer for the song “kya hua tera wada”. Also Rafi’s songs for Rishi Kapoor’s film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, became hits. RD Burman had experimented with many singers including Kihsore, Shailendra Singh, Manna Dey, Anup Ghoshal, Bhupinder Singh, etc., but whenever he had used Rafi the songs had created storm. The songs and the films should be restored.

Review of Kismat Connection.

Review of Kismat Connection.

Aziz Mirza had come up with a new venture with the film Kismat Connection. Shahid Kapoor in this film was a topper during his school and college days, but after specialization in architecture failed to get clients or projects. One of his friends Juhi Chawla advised him that required a lucky person who could change his fortunes.

He met Vidya Balan after that and from the time he got associated with her his luck changed. He became wealthy and prosperous. He got a contract from Om Puri to build a shopping mall. He showed his skills and got appreciation.

But the romantic pair did not have the magic that is required in these types of films to attract the audience. Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan had previously acted in different types of roles and viewers don’t have any doubt after their acting capability. But as a romantic pair they did not appeal to the audience to that extent.

The other major part which could have helped the film, which is the music was not that attractive if compared with the other films of Aziz Mirza like Yes Boss or Chalte Chalte. Pritam’s music was appreciable in the song “aai paapi”.

The film has the elements of doing moderate business but lack the ingredients of a superhit film.

The viewers expect that Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan will come up with better performances in other films in future, as they are capable performers and had proved themselves in the past.

Uttam Kumar and 24th July.

Uttam Kumar and 24th July.

24th July, every year brings a very sad memory in the minds of bengalies across the world, as it is the same day when the Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar died in 1980. No other actors in the Bengali screen had replaced him and Bengal had not given birth to a more charishmatic hero in the last 50 years who could match Uttam Kumar.

He played the role of village singer in Shapmochon, an industrialist in Harano Sur, who lost his memory in an accident and married Suchitra Sen and again lost that memory in another accident. He played the role of Sarat Chandra Chatterji in the films Rajlakshi Srikanto and Kamallata. He was sublime in the role of a singer who disguised himself as a driver of Tanuja in the film Deya Neya.

The same Uttam Kumar played the role of an investigator in the film Thana Theke Aschi. He played the role of an affluent industrialist in the film Shankhobela and also played the role of Nayak directed by the legendary director Satyajit Ray. He acted opposite almost all the leading actresses of the 50s, 60s, 70s, including Suchitra Sen, Arundhuti Debi, Sabitri Chatterji, Supriya Debi, Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore, Anjana Bhowmick, Tanuja, Madhabi Mukherjee and also bollywood actresses like Vaijayantimala, Vidya Sinha, etc.

He acted in films of legendary directors like Ajoy Kar, Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Agradut, Agragami, Arobindo Mukherjee and bollywood directors like Gulzar, Shakti Shamanta. He had given lips in the songs sung by Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Manobendra Mukherjee, Kishore Kumar, Rafi, Bhupinder Singh and other singers.

Legendary composers of Bengal and bollywood films had composed music for his films including Robin Chatterji, Sudhin Dasgupta, Salil Chowdhury, Nochiketa Ghosh and alos in the All India arena composers like Shankar Jaikishan, Jaidev, RD Burman composed music for his films.

Any type of dress matched him. Whenever bengalies recollect memories of legendary films like Sanyasi Raja, Stree, Nishi Padda, the golden memories of Uttam Kumar comes in their mind. His films should be preserved to recollect his invaluable contribution to Bengali and Indian films.

Preeti Zinta in westernized roles and Indian roles.

Preeti Zinta in westernized roles and Indian roles.

Preeti Zinta in her long career had acted in different roles, both western and traditional ones. But the viewers had appreciated her more in the westernized roles. She was short-tempered Indian girl staying in Australia in the film Soldier. In fact her angry expressions had impressed the viewers in the film where she complimented Bobby Deol in the dashing role.

She also played a dashing role in the film Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Amir Khan. Although the character was not that aggressive she displayed the smart role who explained Amir Khan about the essence of love. In the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, she played the role of the wife of Shahrukh Khan who stayed in USA and worked in a company to bring up her child. Her relationship with Shahrukh Khan became contractual as they never had any attachment. None of the husband and the wife tried to understand each other. In fact Shahrukh Khan was attached with Rani Mukherjee in the film who had married Abhishek Bacchan and lived an unhappy life.

When Preeti Zinta was tested in traditional roles her smart enterprising getup had to be balanced with powerful acting. In Veer Zara, she played the role of girl staying in Pakistan who had come to India to fulfill the wishes of her grandmother to immerse the ashes of her relative in water. The character was docile and she fell in love with Shahrukh Khan and sacrificed her life to stay in India to take care of the children in the village-school that was set up by her father-in-law played by Big B. Shahrukh also languished in Pakistani jail and was released by Rani Mukherjee after the case was reopened and she proved him innocent.

Preeti Zinta had played challenging roles in life including the one in the film Kya Kehna, but whenever her westernized characters are compared with the Indian traditional roles the westernized roles were appreciated more like the one in Salaam Namaste, and it appears that she is more comfortable in those roles.

The viewers expect her to continue her good work in the years to come.

Review of Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa.

Review of Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, directed by Abbas Tyrewala and produced by Amir Khan had been a good attempt. The new performers including Imran Khan (Amir Khan’s relative) and Genelia Dsouza stands out.

Imran (Jai) loved a girl named Aditi, but could not disclose it. He was the son of Rajput played by Naseerudin Shah who had died. His mother never wanted him to get involved with violence which was the hallmark of Rajputs. His ancestors believed that without beating anyone, without riding on horse and going to jail, no Rajput could claim themselves as true Rajputs.

Jai believed in nonviolence whereas Aditi used to get irritated due to that. Jai and Aditi with the help of other friends found a true partner for each other. Jai found a girl who was of good nature but her parents never had peace at home, they used to fight each other out. Aditi got involved with a boyfriend who could not forget his own affairs but hated Aditi’s friends. He even slapped Aditi out of frustration.

Jai went to his house, slapped him and got to jail. There Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan helped him to ride on a horse and stop his friend Aditi to go to US. He went to the airport and brought her back.

The music in the film composed by AR Rehman was melodious including songs like “pappu cant dance sala”, “kabhi kabhi” had become successful after release of the film. The performance of the young actors and actresses were impressive.

Although the subject of the film is very simple, due to realistic treatment of the director the film has ingredients of becoming successful. Imran Khan and the young performers have future in bollywood films.

Amir Khan should come with more subjects like this in future.

Tapan Sinha and Dadasaheb Phalke award.

Tapan Sinha and Dadasaheb Phalke award.

Tapan Sinha is going to be awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. He rightly deserves the award, critics believe that he had got it too late in his life.

He had experimented with various subjects in his long career. In Kabuliwala, he used Tagore’s classic literature to show the love of Chabi Biswas for his own daughter who stayed in Kabul. He showed the attachment towards a Bengali girl in Kolkata named Mini who replicated his own daughter. In Lauhakopat, he showed the experiences of a jailor in respect of the life of many prisoners. Many prisoners were not born criminals, the circumstances had led to commission of the respective offence. Nirmal Kumar, Chabi Biswas, Kali Banerjee were sublime in the film.

In Jhinder Bandi, Tapan Sinha dealt with the historical story of Prisoner of Zenda. Uttam Kumar, the original prince of Jhind had been kidnapped by his brother Tarun Kumar and Soumitra Chatterji. The twin brother of the prince which was also played by Uttam Kumar had to come all the way from Kolkata and save his brother. The story-telling in the film was of superlative class. Again in Jotugriha, Tapan Sinha experimented with social life of a couple played by Uttam Kumar and Arundhuti Debi who did not have any child. It led to separation of the couple who loved each other inspite of the vacuum in their life.

In Nirjan Saikate, he showed the experience of Anil Chatterji with three widows who had come for visiting the holy place of Puri. Anil Chatterji convinced Sharmila Tagore that life is short and the sculptures at Konark, show that human beings should use the precious life to do something creative instead of reflecting on the gains and losses in life. Sharmila followed the footsteps of Anil Chatterji to the unknown place where he marched at the end of the film.

In the Bengali and hindi version of Sagina, Tapan Sinha experimented with Dilip Kumar as a trade union leader who was utilized by Anil Chatterji and others for their own purpose and was proved as a villain at the end of the film. Tapan Sinha’s works cannot be highlighted in a small article and his films like Arohi, Khudito Pashan, Antardhan, etc., had become work of arts by passage of time. His works should be studied by new filmmakers to understand storytelling, powerful script, powerful casting and meaningful theme music.

Raj Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan.

Raj Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan.

One of the most legendary combination of director and composer in the history of bollywood include the combination of Raj Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan. Raj Kapoor could experiment with music in most of his films due to the sheer magic of SJ. In Barsaat, in 1949, SJ’s composition for Lata including “jiya bekarar hai” and “hawa me urta jaye” made her the rising star in the late 40s.

Awara had dream sequence songs and SJ’s composition for Lata including “ghar aya mera pardesi” became trendsetter. Nargis and Raj Kapoor were sublime in the film. The same film had Mukesh’s song “awara hoon” which became extremely popular in India and Russia. In Aah, the duet song of Mukesh and Lata titled “aaja re” became super hit in the early 50s.

SJ made new experiments in the mid-50s in films like Shree 420. the duet song “mur murke na dekh” sung by Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle had westernized andaz, while the song “ramaiya vastamaiya” sung by Rafi, Mukesh and Lata had folk flavour. All the compositions of SJ in Chori Chori including “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, “aaja sanam”, “jahan bhi jaati ho” sung by Manna Dey and Lata became successful.

In the late 50s, SJ provided melodious tunes in Anari, with songs like “kisiki muskurahaton pe ho nisar”, “sab kuch sikha humne”, etc. Their composition in Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, including “aa ab latu chale” had chorus andaz where Lata and Mukesh had complimented each other. In Sangam, Rafi’s song “meherba likhoon” was totally based on westernized composition.

Even in the films where Raj Kapoor acted as hero, SJ provided landmark tunes including “ai sanam jis ne tujhe” from the film Diwana, “chale jana” from the film Around The World, “duniya bananewale” from the film Teesri Kasam, to name a few.

It is very difficult to highlight the contribution of RK and SJ in a small article as they were sublime over 25 years. It was a tragedy that Jaikishan died in 1971, after providing immortal tunes in Mera Naam joker, otherwise the legendary duo could have contributed more for the immortal films of Raj Kapoor. The films and the songs should be preserved.

Priyanka Chopra has prospect in 2008.

Priyanka Chopra has prospect in 2008.

Priyanka Chopra had performed in many hit films in the last 5 years. Her performance in the film Don was well appreciated by the viewers. She showed her revengeful character opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film. Her brother was killed by Shahrukh Khan and she came to take revenge against Don for the misdeed. In fact she played the same role which Zeenat Aman played in Big B’s Don.

Her performance in the film Krish opposite Hrithik Roshan was also appreciated. It was related to fantasy where Hrithik acquired power from aliens and was involved supernatural activities. She was also sublime in the film Salaam –e ishq, where she acted opposite Salman Khan. She played the role of an actress who was looking for news item to gain popularity. She spread the news that she was having an affair with Salman and eventually fell in love with him. There were other pair of actors in the film and the film was also successful.

In 2008, Priyanka Chopra has a lot of hope and prospect. She acted in the film Love Story 2050, opposite Harman Baweja. The film is based on time machine which can take someone to future world, that is Bombay in 2050. Priyanka did her part very well in the film although critics think that Harman Baweja’s style of dancing has reflections of Hrithik Roshan.

She is acting in the film God Tussi Great Ho, opposite Salman Khan. She had previously had performed opposite Salman Khan and there is lot of expectation from the pair in 2008.

She is also acting in the film Chamku, opposite Bobby Deol. She had provided big hits in the past including films like Aitraaz, Mujhse Shaai Karogi, Andaaz, etc. Her fans expect that she would recreate the magic that she had shown in her past films and her films in 2008 will end up being successful. She has a bright prospect in 2008.

Sadhna and Rajender Kumar.

Sadhna and Rajender Kumar.

Sadhna and Rajender Kumar formed one of the successful pair of artists who had provided superhit films in the 60s. Their film Mere Mehboob was extremely successful in the early 60s.

The film showed the pardanashin community of Aligarh, Lucknow and north India. They expressed their affair in the most dignified manner that was possible. The songs in the film composed by Naushad were of extraordinary quality. Rafi and Lata were at their best. The songs “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam” , “tujhse ishar-e-hal kar baithe”, “ai husn zara jag”, etc., musical masterpieces where the lyrics written by Shakeel Badayani were of superlative class. Rajender Kumar and Sadhna gave elegant lips in those songs.

Both of them were sublime in the film Aarzoo where again the music played an important role. Shankar Jaikishan’s brilliant class of music with songs like “ai nargisi mastana”, “chalke teri aankho se”, “ai phoolon ki rani”, “bedardi balma”, “aaji rooth kar kahan jaiyega” had made the audience spellbound. Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri had always written classic lyrics for Shankar Jaikishan. There was no exception in Aarzoo. Rajender Kumar lost his leg and wanted Sadhna to marry Feroz Khan. But she wanted to sacrifice her legs at the end of the film. Ultimately the tragic love story blossomed into marriage.

Even in the 70s their film Aap Aye Bahar Aye, was rich in music. This LP produced hit songs like “aap aye bahar aye”. Although Rajender Kumar and Sadhna did not have the same glamour as they possessed 10 year ago the film ended successfully.

Rajender Kumar carried the same dignity which Dilip Kumar carried with himself all along his career. Due to the brilliance of acting of Sadhna and Rajender Kumar their romantic stories had appealed to all sections of the crowds.

Their films and songs should be restored for presenting the cine-classics to the next generation.

Zayed Khan in the last few years

Zayed Khan in the last few years.

Zayed Khan, the son of Sanjay Khan had shown his acting skills in the few films he has performed till now. He did well in the film Main Hoon Na, where the main role was played by Shahrukh Khan.

He played the role of a student who studied in the same academic institution where Shahrukh Khan came to study in the film Main Hoon Na. He initially did not accept Shahrukh Khan as a friend but later their relationship was revealed. Sharukh Khan was also involved with Sushmita Sen in the same film.

He also did ell in the film Shaadi No. 1 where he performed with other leading actors of bollywood films including Fardeen Khan and Sharman Joshi. All three of them were unhappy with their marriages and neglected their wives played by Esha Deol, Soha ali Khan and Ayesha Takia.

The three of them got involved with other girls and Sanjay Dutt exposed their activities before their wives and compelled them to maintain their wedlock. It was seriocomic film where Zayed Khan had shown his playboy image.

He also acted in the action film Fight club- members only. He also acted in the film Cash, where the story was related to theft of diamond. He played the role of one of the thieves who searched the diamonds along with Ajay Devgan, Esha Deol, Ritesh Deshmukh and Dia Mirza. They faced competition as Sunil Shetty and Shamita Shetty also searched the same diamonds.

With a number of successful films under his belt during the last few years like Shabd, Vada, Zayed Khan is expected to do well in the coming years. The viewers expect even better performance from him in future.

Kajol in the 90s

Kajol in the 90s.

Kajol became a new sensation for bollywood films in the 90s after she acted in the successful film Baazigar opposite Shahrukh Khan. After that she was sublime in one of the hit films of bollywood titled Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge opposite Shahrukh Khan.

The main reason for the success of Kajol lied in the fact that she never stuck any single type of role. She took up the challenge of acting in a negative character in the film Gupt. It was a crime thriller where Bobbly Deol was wrongly charged for the murder of his father Raj Babbar, where the actual murder was committed by Kajol. She loved him the most and whoever came in between their affair, she killed them. She even tried to kill Manisha Koirala who also loved Bobby.

During that she also acted in other roles like the one in the film Pyar To Hona Hi Tha opposite Ajay Devgan, her husband. Her performance in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had been appreciated opposite Shahrukh Khan. She studied in the same institution where both Sharukh and Rani Mukherjee studied. In fact Rani Mukherjee joined their later. She did not have feminine qualities which were possessed by Rani Mukherjee.

But in the long run Shahrukh Khan could not forget her and the memories haunted him back when the marriage of Kajol was fixed with Salman Khan. The film had good songs like “koi mil gaya”, “kuch kuch hota hai”, etc.

Kajol had made a serious comeback in the recent years with her performance in the film Fanaa, where she played the role of a blind girl who fell in love with Amir Khan who was a terrorist in the film. But the magic that she created in the 90s could not be repeated due to her age and other reasons.

She still has a lot of acting left in her. The viewers expect that she can act in landmark roles if given good scripts and she will continue her good work in the years to come.

Uttam Kumar in the 60s

Uttam Kumar in the 60s.

Uttam Kumar became one man industry in the Bengali filmworld in the 60s and 70s. He not only dominated the industry but also motivated other actors to perform their best. In the film Saptapadi, in 1961, he played the role of a Bengali Brahmin, who became a doctor but converted himself to a Christian to marry an anglo girl called Reena Brown which was played by Suchitra Sen. It was a classical romantic film made by the majestic director Ajoy Kar and Uttam Kumar was sublime in the later part where he devoted his life for the benefit of the victims of second world war.

Uttam Kumar made viewers speechless with his performance in the film Shonkhobela, where due to corporate success he became alcoholic which led to family tensions. His wife and son were neglected and when the child became extremely sick the doctor played by Bosonto Chowdhury called Uttam Kumar and convinced him about the father’s responsibility and reunited the family. Uttam Kumar’s lips in the famous song of Manna Dey titled “ami agantuk” and “ke prothom kache esechi” made the viewers spellbound. Sudhin Dasgupta composed the legendary music of the film.

Uttam Kumar received the national award for the best actor for the film Antony Firingi. He played the role of a an Anglo who worshipped goddess kali due to the devotion of his wife played by Tanuja, but the fundamentalists killed his wife. Uttam Kumar gave historical lips in Manna Dey’s song “ami jamini tumi sashi he”, “ami je jalsaghare”.

Uttam Kumar also amused the viewers in Satyajit Ray’s film Chiriakhana, where he played the role of a detective who unearthed the mystery relating to a murder which took place at a nursery near Kolkata. There were lot of members who could be suspected , but Uttam Kumar unveiled the truth relating to the actual murderer who played his violin while he committed the murder. The other memorable films in the 60s include Chourangee where Uttam Kumar played the role of hospitality manager in Metro Hotel at Kolkata, and while he left for Bombay with a new job offer, he lost his wife played by Anjana Bhowmick who was an airhostess and her flight crashed in her last journey.

Uttam Kumar had made people laugh, made them happy and also shed tears when there were tragic sequences. Probably with his death Bengal lost the greatest matinee idol of all times, who was neither replaced nor forgotten. The films should be restored to bring back the sweet memories of the legendary actor who really was one man industry.

Salman Khan action films

Salman Khan action films

Salman Khan had a very dynamic career for the last 15 years. He has acted in romantic films, comedy films and also action films. His performance in action films had been appreciated by cinematic audience of India irrespective of whether the film ended as a hit or not.

Salman Khan was sublime in the role in Auzaar. He was member of law enforcement department and unearthed the fact that Paresh Rawal was responsible for smuggling activities where the evidence relating to his deeds were wiped out by himself. He made his son Sanjay Kapoor a tool in his hand and without even letting him know about his deeds. Salman Khan faced their challenge and brought them behind bars. The film is also known for the songs like “are baba are baba”, “I love you”, etc., composed by Anu Malik.

Salman Khan did well in the film Tere Naam, where he fell in love with a college student and was beaten up by his contenders and he became insane. Later he recovered from the asylum to restore the situation. The title song of the film “tere naam” became big hit.


He did well in the film Tumko Na Bhool Payenge, where he lost his memory after facing bullets from his friend in Bombay. Both of them were hired to kill a required person and his friend betrayed him and shot at him to marry Sushmita Sen. When he regained his senses he entered into new affair with Diya Mirza. But he came back to Bombay to taek revenge against his friend and succeeded in his attempt at the cost of Susmita Sen who died in the firing. The song “are are yeh kya hua re” sung by Sonu Nigam became big hit.

The other action films of Salman Khan included Garv, and other films. As his romantic films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Saajan, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Khamoshi, had been the biggest hits of his career, viewers in most cases had overseen the action skills of Salman Khan who had a steady box-office for more than 15 years.


His fans expect that the will continue his good work and do well in more action films in the years to come.

Mallika Sherawat hit films.

Mallika Sherawat hit films

Mallika Sherawat brought a different dimension to dance numbers she entered films. She started her career with the film Khawish. She caught the attention of the viewers with her performance in the film Murder which was inspired the story of the film Unfaithful.

She also acted in the successful film The Myth, opposite Jackie Chan where her performance was well appreciated by the audience. She acted in the successful film Pyar Ke Side Effects, opposite Rahul Bose where there was scope of showing her acting skills.


During her short career till now, she did not get any real scope of showing her acting skills, although critics agree that she possess such skills. She acted in the spooky film Darna Zaroori Hai and showed her callibre in the film.

She also acted in the film Aap Ka Suroor. Her item number in the film Guru tilted “maiya maiya” had earned her a special position in the list of performers till now.


With hit films under her belt like Welcome, Shaadi Se Pehle, there is no doubt that Mallika Sherawat has a future in bollywood films and is expected to do even well in the years to come.

Shilpa Shetty in the last few years.

Shilpa Shetty in the last few years

Shilpa Shetty started her career with the film Bazigaar opposite Shahrukh Khan. Although the main role was played by Kajol in the film she impressed the crowd with her first performance.

Over the period of time she acted in other films like Dhadkan, where she had an affair with Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. She had to choose between the tow. The song in the film “tum dil ki dhadkan me rahti ho” became super hit.

She also acted in successful films opposite Sunil Shetty like Prithvi. Althjough it was an action pact film, Shilpa Shetty did a good job. She also acted in an experimental role of an AIDS patient in the film Phir Milenge.

In the recent years she acted in a film Life in Metro and also in the film Apne. Although the films did mediocre business she received lot of critics acclamation for her performance in those films.


The viewers expect her to do well in the years to come.

Preeti Zinta in the last few years

Preeti Zinta in the last few years.

In the last few years Preeti Zinta did not play any role in hits films with the same frequency as she did in her earlier years. In the early part of her career, Preeti Zinta acted in successful films like Soldier, where she had played the role of Australian girl who had settled there and interacted with Bobby Deol who came over their to find his father’s killers. In an action film Preeti Zinta gave good lips in the songs “soldier, soldier” and other songs.

Her other films like Kya Kehna, Dil Chahta Hai were also successful in the initial years. But during the last few years she acted in serious roles like the one in the film Kabhi Alida Na Kehna. She lived in US, as the wife of Shahrukh Khan and fulfilled the responsibility of her child. Shahrukh Khan loved Rani Mukherjee who was married by Abhishek Bacchan.


The marriage of Preeti Zinta and Shahrukh Khan became a contract in the long run, instead of a sacrament. Day after day the lack of adjustment resulted in quarrels and ultimately the relationship improved. The film had an offbeat subject matter and Preeti did well in her role.

But the films last few year of Preeti Zinta did not do that well in the box-office. The films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom opposite Bobby Deol, Abhishek Bacchan and Lara Dutta did not do well.

Preeti Zinta still has a lot of acting left in her. Whenever viewers see films like Laksh and Koi Mil Gaya opposite Hrithik Roshan viewers understand that Preeti Zinta can compliment the powerful acting of Hrithik Roshan.


Preeti Zinta has a smart upstart get up which had been utilized by the directors well over the years. Due to lack of success of her films in the recent years, her fans are worried about her fate.

Yet there is hope of Preeti Zinta to recover her box office and do well in future.

Rafi in the late 70s.

Rafi in the late 70s.

In the late 70s Rafi was sublime in his outstanding songs that he sang for Rishi Kapoor. He sang the song “parda hai parda” very well which was one of the most brilliant qawallies composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. The other songs in the film “o humko tumse ho gaya hai pyar kya Karen”and “shirdiwali saibaba” became extremely successful. Rishi Kapoor developed himself as one of the leading romantic actors of the period and Rafi complimented the romantic passion of Rishi Kapoor with his golden voice.

The other successful songs of Rafi for Rishi Kapoor include “hai agar dushman zamana” and “sochenge pyar kya hua” in the film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai. Rishi Kapoor again gave brilliant lips in the qawalli of Rafi.

Rafi sang a landmark song in the film Karz titled “darde dil dared jigar” which was composed by LP. RD Burman composed the song “pal do pal ka” a brilliant song in the film Burning Train, where Asha complimented Rafi in the song which was picturised on Jeetender and Neetu Singh.

The other hit songs of Rafi include “koel boli”, “dafliwale dafli baja” and “ramjiki nikli sawari” from the film Sargam. Rishi Kapoor matched the brilliant dancing skills of Jaya Prada in the film.

Rafi was also sublime in songs he had sung in the film Desh Premi, Naseeb and other noted films. Had Rafi survived for a longer time he could have sung more number of unforgettable numbers.

Kareena Kapoor in the last few years.

Kareena Kapoor in the last few years.

Kareena Kapoor established herself as one of the most versatile actresses of bollywood films from her first film Refugee. In that film she had an affair with Abhishek Bacchan and as she lived in Pakistan, her parents never liked such an affair. Ultimately the affair blossomed into marriage against all the odds. Kareena was sublime even in her lips in the songs “mere humsafar”, “panchi nadiya”, etc., in that film.

From that she had acted in many films including Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai opposite Tushar Kapoor, where she played the role of a researcher who researched on the heritage of the country. She did well in the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, where she performed opposite Hrithik Roshan.


In the last few years she developed her acting and played many challenging roles, including the one in the film Chameli. She played the role of a tawaif and was critically acclaimed for her performance.

After establishing herself as a glamour girl, she played a decent role in the film Jab We Met, where she was rejected by her lover and was given a new ray of hope by Shahid Kapoor. She developed the guts within herself to reject her first lover when he realized his mistake and apologized before her. She received filmfare award for best actress and also IIFA award for her brilliant performance in the film.


Recently she acted in a different role in the film Tashan, where she was supposed to pay back the debt of Anil Kapoor and fled with Saif Ali Khan. After that Akshay Kumar was send to collect the debt and she realized that he was her childhood friend. It was an unconventional role.

The viewers expect her to continue her good work in the years to come and do well in future.

Bipasha Basu’s improved performance in the last few years.

Bipasha Basu’s improved performance in the last few years.

Bipasha Basu initially joined bollywood films from her success as model. Her initial roles also included negative characters like the one in the film Ajnabee, where she along with Akshay Kumar duped Bobby Deol and Kareena Kapoor and involved Bobby Deol in a planted case. Bobby Deol unearthed the truth and in his tassle with Akshay Kumar Bipasha Basu died.

She also played comedy roles like the role in the film Chor Machaye Shor, where she was a police officer. Bobby Deol disguised himself as a police officer in his search for an expensive stone and even duped Paresh Rawal and Om Puri. Shilpa Shetty was the other heroine in the film.


But from the film Razz, the acting skills were used and her career took a turn. Critics appreciated her acting and she got roles where her she could concentrate on performance along with glamour. In the film Darna Zaroori Hai, she adapted herself to the spooky sequence of the film directed by Ram Gopal Verma.

In no Entry, she played the role of a club dancer who was paid by Salman Khan to attract Anil Kapoor and create tension in his family. Due to her involvement, Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan faced divorce suits from their wives Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitley. Salman Khan had to come all the way from abroad to solve their problem.

She also acted as a fraud character in the film Phir Hera Pheri, where she took huge amount of money from Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, for doubling them, instead disappeared with the money. She did it for compelling reasons. She played a challenging role in the film Corporate, where the life of the corporate world of India had been depicted. She was nominated for best actress award.


She also did well in the film Dhoom 2 along with Abhishek Bacchan, Hrithik Roshan and Aiswarya Rai. With her new performance in the film Bacchna Ai Haseeno with Ranbir Kapoor and Depika Padukone, the viewers expect a lot from the talented actress. Viewers have confidence that she will develop as a powerful actress in future.

Naushad and Rafi in the 60s.

Naushad and Rafi in the 60s.

Naushad was the one of the greatest musical genius India has produced in the last 60 years. In the 60s he reached his level of excellence where he could compose brilliant songs which could suit the sequences of different films. He used Rafi’s singing skills in the best manner that was possible.

In Ram Aur Shyam, Naushad composed songs for children like “aye hai baharen dekho” sung by Rafi and picturised on Dilip Kumar which amused the audience. The same film had brilliant composition like “aaj ki raat mere” where the lyrics of Shakeel Badayani were as brilliant as the performance of Rafi and Dilip Kumar.

In Mere Mehboob, the title song “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhabat ki kasam” Naushad used the grammer of ghazals and the other songs like “ai husn zara jag” were masterpieces where the lips of Rajender Kumar were as brilliant as the playback of Rafi. In Leader the songs “tere husn ki kya tareef karun”, “ek shahenshah ne banwake hasee tajmahal”, “apni azaadi ko hum hargese mita sakte nahi” had classical ragas, patriotic passion, everything embedded in them. Dilip Kumar and Rafi were brilliant in their individual performances.

In Aadmi, the songs “na aadmi ka koi bharosha”, “aaj purani rahon par” were landmark hits where Rafi was exceptional and Dilip Kumar was sublime. Similarly Naushad gave his best in the film Dil Diya Dard Liya, where the songs “dilruba maine tere pyar me kya kya na kiya”, “sawan aye ya na aye”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi” where classical masterpieces, where Rafi and Dilip Kumar complimented each other.

Naushad composition were equally brilliant in the film Kohinoor, were Rafi’s song “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan aaj ki raat”, were exceptional. Even Naushad brought in Bhojpuri flavour in the song “nain lad jaihe” in the film Ganga Jumna, where Rafi used rural accent for Dilip Kumar.

Naushad and Rafi became an institution by themselves and explored in the 60s. Tragedy King Dilip Kumar dominated bollywood films for more than 30 years, so had given adequate expression in the songs of Rafi composed by Naushad. The songs and the films should be preserved for their immense musical value.

Review of Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic.

Review of Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic.

In the film Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, Saif Ali Khan, a rich industrialist has a lot of money, but no companion. He lost most of the people he loved. In a significant court verdict he is given the liability of taking care of four orphan children.

As Safi Ali Khan neither had the skill of looking after the children nor suited their liking also, most of them were unhappy and some of them were even interested to take revenge against. The children prayed to God to give them an angel, who could help their cause.


After a short struggle of Saif Ali Khan with the four children, Rani Mukherjee appeared in the film. She came to their house as the new care taker and was loved by all the children.

The performance of Saif Ali Khan was just satisfactory but he did not try to do something innovative. Same is with Rani Mukherjee, some way or the other the directors these days are failing to utilize the immense acting talent of Rani Mukherjee.

Shankar- Ehsan-Loy’s music was not that entertaining except the song “pyar ke liye”. The children are impressive including the sikh kid.


The locations are good and the screen presence of Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee was impressive.

In 2008, none of the films looked like storming bollywood and creating history. Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic also ends up in the same direction. There is everything thoda thoda, little magic, little entertainment but not extraordinarily amazing.

Lata and Mukesh.

Lata and Mukesh.

Due to strong association of Lata and Mukesh with Raj Kapoor, both of them sung aq number of songs in the same films and also numerous duets which were all successful. Shankar Jaikishan was a genius composer and his compositions for Lata and Mukesh became immortal hits over the period of time.

Their songs in the film Aah were hits, including the duet song of Lata and Mukesh titled “aaja re” which was picturised on Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Their song in the film Shree 420 titled “ramaiya vasta maiya” which was sung by Mukesh, Lata and Rafi became landmark hit in 1955. Their songs in the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai were also successful including “aa ab laut chale” picturised on Raj Kapoor and Padmini.

Their songs in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anari were also hit including “yeh chaand khila”, “dil ki nazar se”, etc., which were picturised on Raj Kapoor and Nutan. In the 60s, also the combination of Lata and Mukesh provided legendary hits like “o mere sanam”, and “har dil jo pyar karega”, which were picturised on Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala. All these golden songs were the landmark compositions of Shankar Jaikishan.

Even outside RK Banner Lata and Mukesh had sung many hit songs. In Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, Salil Choudhury composed the song “dil tarap tarap ke keh raha hai aa bhi ja” sung by Lata and Mukesh and picturised on Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala. Even the song “sawan ka mahina”, sung by Lata and Mukesh, composed by LP and picturised on Sunil Dutt and Nutan became big hit in the mid-60s.

Lata and Mukesh were also sublime in the film Mere Humsafar, where the songs were picturised on Jeetender and Sharmila Tagore. Mukesh died in the mid-70s, which led to the end of the golden combination of Mukesh and Lata who had provided melodious hits over a period of 30 years.

The films and the songs sung by Lata and Mukesh should be restored and preserved for the new generation.

Review of Love Story 2050

Review of Love Story 2050.

2008 had not seen any blockbusters which had moved the viewers till now, although films like Race, Jodha Akbar, had done well. Love Story 2050 has the elements of amusing the viewers with an innovative subject matter.

Love Story 2050 is about the story of Karan (Harman Baweja) who does not believe in abiding by rules and regulations. He falls in love with Sana (Priyanka Chopra) who is a law abiding girl. Karan’s uncle is a scientist and completes his work relating to creation of a time machine.

Once the time machine becomes functional, Priyanka Chopra wishes to travel to 2050 and land in Mumbai. They realize that Mumbai had completely changed by that time. It has robots, buildings containing 200 stories, sky rails, flying cars, etc. Priyanka’s brothers and sisters also travel with her and finds that the world totally different.

Karan finds himself separated from Sana. They also land up facing the challenge of Dr. Hoshi, who is a demi-god of future. As far as amazing the viewers are concerned there are technical effects, good music, good locations.


Priyanka’s performance is satisfactory. The problem with Harman Baweja is that although his dancing skills and stunts are brilliant they have huge similarity with Hrithik Roshan. In respect of the viewers accepting Hrithik’s clone there can be mixed responses.

Another apprehension is the capability of Indian viewers of accepting stories relating to fanatasies. In Hollywood films these stories are appreciated, and in bollywood films also Hrithik Roshan’s Koi Mil Gaya, Krissh, had got success, but yet only a certain section of the viewers have the capability of appreciating them.


In a nutshell, it can be said that the film has novel subjects and elements of success, but is subject to the modernized sense of apprehension of Indian audience who are more used to seeing realistic films.

Rafi and Asha

Rafi and Asha

Although in the 50s and 60s, the main female playback was provided by Lata even considering the immense contribution of Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suman Kalyanpur, Sudha Malhotra, etc., Asha Bhosle had sung numerous successful songs composed by many composers. Rafi dominating the world of playback had sung many notable songs with Asha in that era.

His song “acha ji mai hari chalo” from the film Kala Pani became very successful in late 50s. The song sung by Rafi and Asha was composed by SD Burman and picturised on Madhubala and Dev Anand. The songs “aap yuh hi agar”, “mai pyar ka rahi hoon”, “bahut shukriya bari meherbani” from Ek Musafir Ek Haseena included the most versatile compositions of OP Nayyar. Joy Mukherjee and Sadhna were sublime in the musical blockbuster.

Similarly in the film Kashmir Ki Kali, the songs “ishaaro ishaaro”, “deewana hua badal”, etc., stormed bollywood films in the early 60s. Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore played there roles elegantly in the film.

In Joy Mukherjee’s Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, in 1963, OP Nayyar’s monumental compositions like “nazni bara rangeen hai wada tera”, “zulf ke chao me chehere ka ujala lekar”, etc., had become immortal over the years. Some had ghazal andaz, others had westernized notes.

The successful songs of Asha and Rafi include songs from the film Mere Sanam which were picturised on Bishwajeet and Asha Parekh. Besides Shankar Jaikishan’s compositions for the film An Evening in Paris with songs like “raatke humsafar” picturised on Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore had not lost their appeal even today.

Rafi and Asha had even sung successful songs composed by RD Burman including “socenge pyar kya hua” from the film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, “pal do pal ka” from the film Burning Train, “hum kisi se kum nahi” from the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, which were mainly picturised on Rishi Kapoor and Jeetender. The songs and the films should be restored for the new generation.