Akshay Khanna – the decent actor of bollywood.

Akshay Khanna – the decent actor of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

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

By: CR Chatterji.

Mumtaz – the dancer of the swinging 60s.

Mumtaz – the dancer of the swinging 60s.

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

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


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


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

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Kishore and RD Burman.

Kishore and RD Burman.

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


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


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

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

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


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

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Arshad Warsi – the serio-comic hero of bollywood.

Arshad Warsi – the serio-comic hero of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

Has eastern classical music become extinct in bollywood films?

Has eastern classical music become extinct in bollywood films?

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

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

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

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

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

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

By: CR Chatterji.

Johnny Walker – the evergreen comedian of bollywood.

Johnny Walker – the evergreen comedian of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Should composers be given awards named after singers?

Should composers be given awards named after singers?

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

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

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

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

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

By: CR Chatterji.

Parveen Babi – the stylish actress of bollywood.

Parveen Babi – the stylish actress of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

Jaya Prada – the gifted dancer of bollywood.

Jaya Prada – the gifted dancer of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Suresh Watkar – the classical singer of bollywood.

Suresh Watkar – the classical singer of bollywood.

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

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


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


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

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


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

By: CR Chatterji.

Amisha Patel – the submissive actress of bollywood.

Amisha Patel – the submissive actress of bollywood.

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


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


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

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan.

Mohammed Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan.

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


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

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


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


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

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Related Reading

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

Nana Patekar – the trend-breaking actor of bollywood.

Nana Patekar – the trend-breaking actor of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

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

By: CR Chatterji.

Laxmikant Pyarellal and Lata.

Laxmikant Pyarelal and Lata.

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

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

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

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


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


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

Related Reading

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

Shatrughun Sinha – the action king of bollywood.

Shatrughun Sinha – the action king of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

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

Katrina Kaif - the sweet actress of bollywood.

Katrina Kaif - the sweet actress of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

Should Filmfare awards have second best and third best awards?

Should Filmfare awards have second best and third best awards?

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

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

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

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

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

By: CR Chatterji.

Farooq Sheikh – the decent romantic actor of bollywood.

Farooq Sheikh – the decent romantic actor of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

By: CR Chatterji.

Vivek Oberoi – the spontaneous actor of bollywood.

Vivek Oberoi – the spontaneous actor of bollywood.

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

Helen – the elegant dancer of bollywood.

Helen – the elegant dancer of bollywood.

Helen had contributed a lot in bollywood films from 50s to 70s with her powerful dancing. In the early 50s, most of the actresses did not learn specialised dancing and as such the films required Cuckoo, and other dancers to fill up the vacuum. But Helen, encouraged composers to create music in the manner which suited her dancing style.


In Gumnam, in 1965, she got a positive role, being one of the many members who were trapped in an unknown island and killed one after the other. In that film also Shankar Jaikishan had composed the song “is duniya me jeena hai to sunlo meri baat” in a typical manner which suited her choreographic skills. She also acted well in the film showing the anxiety of the character. She also performed in the mujra composed by Roshan, titled “nikele the kahan jane ke liye” in the film Bahu Begum, which was sung by Asha. In Teesri Manzil, in 1966, her dance number opposite Shammi Kapoor, titled “woh haseena zulfowali” composed by RD Burman, and sung by Asha and Rafi, became an everlasting hit.

She also acted in prominent roles like the partner of Mehmood, in the film Pyar hi Pyar, where the central characters included Dharmender and Vaijayantimala. Shankar Jaikishan, even procided the orchestration in the song “muqabla humse na karo’ in the film Prince, where Helen performed the western dance number against Vaijayantimala who performed the eastern dance number. Shammi Kapoor complimented both of them with his rock and roll style of dancing.


In the 70s, Helen performed in mostly dance numbers, like “piya tu ab to aja” in the film Karwan, sung by Asha, composed by RD Burman, “mehmooba, mehbooba, in Sholay, etc. Very significantly the acting skills of Helen were not exploited to that extent by most producers and directors. But whenever she got good roles she had done well. For example she performed the role of the mother of Meenakshi in Big B’s Akela, and done well. At the same time she acted mostly in negative roles, including the role opposite Rajesh Khanna in Mere Jeevan Saathi. Viewers expect Helen to act in character roles in the films made in the years to come, as it is evident that she had not lost her acting potentiality and still can contribute in recent films.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

53rd Indian Filmfare awards.

53rd Indian Filmfare awards.

The 53rd Indian filmfare awards had been declared. These days awards are also given after ascertaining the popular choice. Shahrukh Khan received the award for the best actor for his performance in the film Chak De. Kareena Kapoor won the award for the best actress. Amir Khan got the award for best director for the film Taren Zameen Par. The best supporting actor and actress award went to Irfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma, for their performance in the film Life in a Metro. AR Rehman won the best music director award for his composition of music for the film Guru. Shaan won the best male singer award while Shreya Ghoshal won the best female singer award.

At the same time there were critics choice awards where Tabu won the best actress award for her performance in the film Cheeni Kum. Rishi Kapoor won the lifetime achievement award, while his son Ranbir Kapoor won the best male debutant award. Deepika Padukone won the best female debutant award.

There are few indications from the 53rd filmfare awards, which show that the male actor category is still dominated by Sharukh Khan. He had won the best actor award 6 times before, and as such it significantly conveys the message that the other actors who had provided hits in 2007, still are not his competitors, for example Akshay Kumar’s films Bhool bhulaiya, Namaste London, which had done well in the Box Office, yet he did not pose any threat on Shahrukh. Kareena also is a known actress for sometime and the new actresses had failed to create any impression. AR Rehman had won the best composer award many times, and the new composers have shown their incompetence with creating new tunes which had not reached any level of excellence.

Another thing that is evident with these awards is that the viewers are still interested to see good stories, not cheap entertainment. That is the reason why the story of Taren Zameen Par had been liked so much. It is not necessary that every film should have useless songs including item numbers and B-grade comedy and unnecessary action. If good stories are portrayed with powerful direction and decent acting, viewers always will positively respond to them.

By: CR Chatterji.

Lata and SD Burman.

Lata and SD Burman.

SD Burman had experimented with different singers during his tenure in bollywood films including Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle. Among them he had special respect towards Lata due to her melodious voice. Lata had sung the songs “piya to se naina lage re” and “aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai” composed by SD Burman, extraordinarily which gave a new dimension to the film Guide in 1965, picturised on Wahida Rehman. Her song “rulake gaya sapna mera” brought tears in the eyes of listeners in the film Jewel Thief, in 1967, picturised on Vaijayantimala.

Lata was sublime in her performance in Tere Ghar Ke Saamne in the song “yeh tanhai haie re hai”, and the duet song “dekho rutha na karo” with Rafi, composed by SD Burman wchih was picturised on Nutan. The film Abhimaan in 1973, was based on music and Lata’s performance in each of the songs were unique, including the songs “tere mere milan ki”, “teri bindiya re” which were sung by Kishore and Rafi also. Jaya Bacchan gave immortal lips in the legendary songs in the film.

SD Burman had given landmark songs to Lata also in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Chupke Chupke in 1975. the film was based on the story portrayed in Uttamkumar’s Choddobeshi, and the bengali actresses Jaya Bacchan and Sharmila Tagore tried to maintain the Bengali flavour in the film. Lata’s song “chupke chupke” was very big hit.


In Bimal Roy’s Sujata and Bandini, SD gave folk tunes to Lata and in both these films the songs played a significant role for their success. Songs like “mora gora anng laile”, sung by Lata had not lost its appeal even today. SD Burman had lot of love and respect for Geeta Dutt as he gave songs like “jane kya tune kiya”, “waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam”, picturised on Wahida Rehman which became very famous during the 50s. Similarly SD had given landmark songs to Asha including “raat nashili hai”, in Jewel Thief, picturised on Tanuja, “acchaji mai hari” the duet song of Asha and Rafi in Kala Pani, 1958.

But whenever he thought about the song which would mark his identity Lata’s name automatically came in his mind. His songs in Milli, like “maine kaha phoolon se”, or the song “dil pukare are are are” from Jewel Thief, shows that SD Burman also believed that Lata was indispensable in the golden age of Indian film music. The songs composed by SD Burman and sung by Lata should be restored and preserved.

Related Reading

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

Mahima Chowdhury – the quiet actress of bollywood.

Mahima Chowdhury – the quiet actress of bollywood.

Mahima Chowdhury had created a separate image for herself in her illustrious career in bollywood films. She had done well in a double role in the film Daag –The Fire. She was married to Chandrachud Singh who was a corrupt lawyer who falsely implicated Sanjay Dutt’s father. As a result Sanjay Dutt who was a military officer came and fired at Chandrachud. But Mahima Chowdhury died in an attempt to save her husband. In that tussle Chandrachud lost his memory. His associates found a tawaif which was played by Mahima Chowdhury who had resemblance with Chandrachud’s wife. She was asked to stay with him to bring back his memory. After he regained his memory he reopened the case and proved the truth. Mahima was sublime in both the characters.

Initially she impressed the viewers with her performance in Pardes, opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film depicted the difference of Indian culture with foreign culture. The songs in the film like “yeh dil” sung by Sonu Nigam and “do dil mil rahe hai” were big hits.


Mahima performed well in Rajkumar Santoshi’s film Lajja. In that film it was shown even in recent times women in India are denied gender justice. Her father was exploited for dowry, and she ultimately declined to marry the person who did not have voice to protest against his own father about the evil practice. Ultimately a thief, played by Anil Kapoor, married her. It was shown that some of the law breakers have more humanity than the cultured people in society.


Mahima also acted in a quiet and subdued role in Dhadkan, with Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar. She supported the central characters in the film. She also did well in the film Kurukshetra, opposite Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay was an honest police officer, who had to face corrupt officers and corrupt CM played by Om Puri. Om Puri threatened him to take away his job with all his influence. Mahima had shown her frustration due to all these activities very well. Ultimately Sanjay Dutt killed Om Puri and his friend who jointly formed the government on the day when Ravan, the demon is burnt by Hindus.

The admirers of Mahima Chowdhury expect her to make a comeback as she is not seen much in bollywood films these days, and make significant contribution in character roles in future.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Paresh Rawal – the talented character-artist of bollywood.

Paresh Rawal – the talented character-artist of bollywood.

Paresh Rawal had made himself indispensable in the bollywood film industry by performing in every type of role in the last 15 years. He was very impressive in the film Woh chokri, where she was the father of Palavi Joshi, who became a politician and neglected his wife and daughter. He portrayed extremely unkind characteristic by killing his daughter at the end of the film with his hired killers.

He was impressive in China Gate, as a dishonest police officer, who helped the dacoits operating in that area. He even arrested the retired military personnel including Om Puri, Naseer, Amrish Puri and got beaten up at the end of the film. In the recent years he has revolutionised comedy acting. In Priyadarshan’s films he had been unparallel.


In Malamaal Weekly, he used false teeth and played the role of seller of lottery ticket who came to know that the winner of the lottery had died out of excitement. He asked Om Puri to pretend to be the lottery winner and as the plan became public he had to engage huge number of villagers in his team and ultimately got the money from Arbaaz Khan. The comedy performance in the film involved innocence and simplicity that is exhibited by villagers of different parts of India.

He was sublime in both Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. In both the films he was associated with Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, and their acts had implicated him too. In Phir Hera Pheri, he even sold his assets to get his money doubled by a company which practiced fraud. All three of them (Akshay, Sunil Shetty, and Paresh Rawal) lost all the assets and had to take unfair means to regain them.


Paresh Rawal also did well in Gupt, as a compassionate father who had taken the guilt of Kajol on himself and confessed it before Om Puri. Ultimately the investigation showed that Kajol had killed the related persons. He also acted well in Nana Patekar’s Krantiveer as a miser who brought up Nana and his own son, and was killed at the end of the film due to evil intentions of Danny and others in the film.

Paresh Rawal had been impressive in Mohra, Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta, Sunny Deol’s Ghayal. These days viewers are used to seeing him in every alternative film either in a character role, or a villain, or a comedian. He should continue his impressive work in the years to come.

Lata and Madanmohan.

Lata and Madanmohan.

Madanmohan, the king of ghazals gave a separate dimension to the sweet voice of Lata. Most of his compositions had ghazal andaz and Lata could use her classical base with her expression to provide life in the compositions. In Anpadh, “aap ke nazro ne samkha”, picturised on Mala Sinha became a big hit due to Lata’s melodious presentation.

In Woh Kaun Thi, in 1964, all the songs sung by Lata including “naina barse”, “lagja gale”, had a serene dimension. Viewers were confused about the identity of Sadhna who was presented as a ghost at times by Raj Khosla, and the composition of Madanmohan had enhanced the suspense in the film. Similarly Lata’s song “tu jaha jaha chalega” in the film Mera Saya, picturised on Sadhna had an everlasting appeal.


In films related patriotic subject matters, like Haqeeqat, Madanmohan had created tunes which had softened the complexity existing in the film like the song “zarah si aahat hoti hai” written by Kaifi Azmi, picturised on Priya Rajbangsh and sung by Lata. Lata was even sublime in the song “teri aankho ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai”, picturised on Asha Parekh in the film Chirag, which was sung brilliantly by Rafi as well.

In Mausam, in 1975, also Madanmohan had created immortal compositions for Lata, which were picturised on Sharmila Tagore and Sanjeev Kumar, including “dil dhoondta hai phir wohi” which was sung with Bhupinder Singh and “chari re chari” which was sung with Rafi. The songs sung by Lata also in the film Heer Ranjha and Hanste Zakhm, composed by Madanmohan had everlasting appeal.

Even during the black and white era, Madanmohan had provided tunes for Lata which brought tears in the eyes of the listeners like the song in the film Adalat, picturised on Nargis, titled “tumko jo shikayat haito”. Nargis was found in a kotha after Pradeep Kumar who had an affair with her in the past saw him at an old age. The other song in the film sung by Rafi and Lata and composed by Madanmohan, titled “zameen se hume asmaa par” was also very successful.

In a span of 25 years Lata created an everlasting combination with Madanmohan and most of the songs composed by Madanmohan had not lost their appeal even today. The immortal songs should be preserved and restored.

Related Reading

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

Namrata Shirodkar – the soft-spoken personality of bollywood.

Namrata Shirodkar – the soft-spoken personality of bollywood.

Namrata Shirodkar is one of the soft-spoken personalities of bollywood. The films in which she had acted she had left a lasting impression based on the softness of her character. She played the role of the daughter of a military officer in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Pukar, opposite Anil Kapoor. Her mother played by Rohini Hattangari never wanted her daughter to marry anyone employed in the armed forces as they never have any time for their family. That was the reason Namrata’s affair with Anil Kapoor ended and due to jealousy Madhuri Dixit implicated Anil Kapoor in a false case and he was thrown out from armed forces. The film was based on terrorism and Namrata did not feature in the second half of the film, but her performance in the first part was impressive.

She also did well opposite Salman Khan in the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai. Salman played the role of a playboy who had married Namrata and got a son, and then forgot her and entered into relationship with Twinkle Khanna. Namrata died and the son plyed by Udit Narayan’s son, brought memories of his mother. The songs in the film “o jana”, “pehli pehli baar”, “is dil me kya hai” were bit hits. Salman Khan ultimately had to tell the truth to Twinkle and her relatives that the son was his own son and he could marry only if the son could be accepted.


Namrata also did well opposite Sanjay Dutt in the film Vastav. He was an innocent person who was compelled to join the underworld gang and engaged in unlawful activities including killing people. Namrata married him knowing that he had a very unstable life and could die in an encounter with the police. She supported him at all times even during the time when he ill-treated her.


She was impressive opposite Sunil Shetty in the film Aghaaz. She helped Sunil Shetty who came from a village with his sister to know Mumbai. She also admitted her sister in a decent college. Although Sunil Shetty’s sister faced harassment eventually but Namrata was not party to it and she was supportive throughout the film. She also told both Sunil Shetty and his sister that life in that part of the world is too fast and there is no time for anyone. She left films after creating an impression on the viewers. Viewers expect her to make a comeback and do well in bollywood films in future.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Tanuja – the charming actress of bollywood.

Tanuja – the charming actress of bollywood.

Tanuja, the sister of Nutan, daughter of Shobhna Samarth and mother of Kajol, had inherent acting talent. She impressed the viewers with her performance in the film Sapno ka Saudagar, opposite Raj Kapoor, where Hema Malini was the main actress. Raj Kapoor used to provide illusions about the betterment of life to everyone which included Tanuja, too. She had also done well in the film Baharen Phir bhi Ayegi opposite Dharmender.

In Jewel Thief, opposite Dev Anand, in 1967, she played the role of the daughter of the trader of jewellery, not knowing that her father had conspired with the jewel thief played by Ashok Kumar to trap Dev Anand in the false charge. She had given elegant lips in Asha Bhosle song, composed by SD Burman titled “raat nashili hai”. She was very enthusiastic by nature and that was evident in her role in Hathi Mera Sathi, opposite Rajesh Khanna, where the credit of the success of the film ultimately went to the elephant who was loyal to the family and did overt acts.

Tanuja had been very successful in the Bengali films that she did opposite Uttam Kumar including Antony Firingi and Deya Neya. In Antony Firingi, she played the role of the wife of a Christian who devoted his life for singing religious songs for Goddess Kali and Tanuja was a Hindu girl who married this person and specialising in the type of song. As the orthodox society could not accept the liberal attitude of Tanuja they burnt her house and she died at the end of the film. It was very successful film and Uttam Kumar even won the national award of best actor for his performance in that particular year.

Tanuja had acted in hit films one after the other including Mere Jeevan Saathi, opposite Rajesh Khanna, Anubhav opposite Sanjeev Kumar, Jeene ki raah, opposite Jeetender, etc. In Izzat, opposite Dharmender, she had an affair with a lower caste person, whose father was Balraj Sahani, a respectable person in society. The film showed that the society only creates barriers, where people from the upper caste sometimes also indulge in shameful activities. Tanuja gave adequate lips in the song “yeh dil tum bin lagta nahi” composed by Laxmikant Pyarella and sung by Lata and Rafi. She also acted in the role of a ghost in the film Ek Paheli, opposite Firoz Khan. She acted in a number of character roles over the years and showed her talent in those roles also. Her acting talents were inherited by Kajol who became successful actress of the 90s. Viewers expect Tanuja to continue acting in significant roles in the years to come.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Hemant Kumar – the man with the golden voice.

Hemant Kumar – the man with the golden voice.

Hemant Kumar was one of the notable personalities who made significant contribution in bollywood and tollywood music. He composed music for the films Nagin, in 1955, with Pradeep Kumar and Vaijayantimala and won the filmfare award for composing quality music. The other films where he composed music include Dilip Kumar’s Paigham, Biswajeet’s Do Dil, Bees Saal Baad, Guru Dutt’s Saheb Bibi aur Ghulam, Biswajeet’s Kohra, Rajesh Khanna’s Khamoshi, etc. His notable songs include “jane woh kaise log” for Guru Dutt, composed by SD Burman, “yeh raat yeh chaadni” for Dev Anand, composed by SD Burman, “yeh nayan dhali dhali” for Biswajeet, composed by himself etc.


The notable songs sung by other singers in his composition include “kahi deep jale” by Lata, from the film Bees Saal Baad, “tera husn rahe” by Rafi, from the film Do Dil, “woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi” by Kishore, from the film Khamoshi, etc. He had sung huge number of rabindra sangeet in Bengali including “tumi rabe nirabe”, “tomar holo shuru”, “purano shei diner katha”, “jokhon porbe na”, etc. He was a big asset for Bengali film industry with most of his compositions being devoted for Uttam Kumar, the greatest superstar of Bengali celluloid. He composed music for the notable films of Uttam Kumar including Shapmochon, Harano Shur, Shaptapadi, Dui Bhai, etc. Uttam Kumar’s voice matched with his voice and whenever he gave playback for Uttam Kumar people thought he was singing himself.


Hemant Kumar was also a member of the IPTA and was associated with Salil Chowdhury. He had sung some of the landmark songs of Salil Chowdhury including “palki chale”, “runner chuteche”, etc., which were classical poetry written by famous Bengali poetsa like Satyendra Nath Dutta, Sukanta Bhattacharya which were converted into songs by the legendary composer Salil Chowdhury. Hemant Kumar also composed music for the films of noted Bengali Director Tarun Majumder including Fuleshwari, Dadar Kirti, Gana Debata, etc.


It is difficult to highlight the songs and compositions of Hemant Kumar in a small article because he was involved with Bengali playback singing, bolllywood films, Bengali modern songs and rabindrasangeet. He was producer and director of some films, too. He was rightly called the man with the golden voice, because whenever his voice appeared before the audience they used to get spellbound. His creations should be preserved and restored.

Sushmita Sen – the charishmatic actress of bollywood.

Sushmita Sen – the charishmatic actress of bollywood.

Sushmita Sen had shown her charishma from the time she had joined bollywood films after being successful in beauty contests. She played the role of the westernised girl in Bibi No. 1 opposite Salman Khan. Salman already had a wife played by Karishma Kapoor. He went to Switzerland on official tour and then married Susmita with the false impression that he was unmarried. Anil Kapoor and Tabu helped Karishma to get back her husband after creating disharmony in the life of Salman and Sushmita. Everything was picturised with comedy sequences and the film was very successful with songs like “ishq sona hai”, “chunari chunari”. The song “chunari chunari” was also used in the film Monsoon Wedding.

Sushmita had done very well in the film Zor, opposite Sunny Deol, where he had to unearth the evil deeds done by Om Puri and Mohan Agase who had very good public image. Although it was an action film but Sushmita had done her part very well. She also played the role of a lady police officer in Aghaaz, opposite Sunil Shetty. She brought out the personality that was required in the role.


She also did well in the film Tumko Na Bhool Payenge, opposite Salmaan Khan, where she loved him and then he was shot and he lost his memory. He was used by the ministry to kill terrorists as he had good aim and then his friend who was also a shooter, had fired at him and married Susmita. When Salman recovered he got involved with Diya Mirza and returned back to his old place to unearth the truth. Susmita had given adequate dance performance in the song “are re re yeh kya hua re”.


She also played the role of a tawaif in Kalpana Lajmi’s film Chingari, where it was shown that the circumstances existing in the society compels women to join the profession. Mithun Chakravarty played the role of a dishonest priest who was a shame for the society. Sushmita’s other films include Main Hoon Na, opposite Shahrukh Khan, Fiza, opposite Hrithik Roshan where she presented an item number in a serious film.

Over the years she had shown that she has the potentiality to act in every type of role, and in case she gets good scripts she can provide expression for the characters. Viewers expect quality performance from her in future.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Lata and Naushad.

Lata and Naushad

If Naushad was the musical personality who had nurtured the talent of Rafi, from the beginning, then he is the same person who had given immortal tunes to Lata considering her melodious voice. Lata had a tragic appeal in the song “bhool gaye sawariya” from Baiju Bawra, composed by Naushad in 1953. His composition for Lata in Mughal-i-azam, “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat”, etc., picturised on Madhubala, were landmark hits. Also the duet song of Lata and Rafi in Kohinoor, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan” picturised on Meena Kumari and Dilip Kumar had the class of Naushad and romantic appeal embedded in them. Again in Ganga Jumna, in 1961, Naushad had given folk tunes to Lata including “dhundo dhundo re sajna”, picturised on Vijayantimala, which suited the sequence so well.

In Mere Mehboob, the title song “mere mehboob tujhe”, was sung as brilliantly by Lata as Rafi had done it. Sadhna also gave adequate lips in the song. Also the song “mere mehboob me kya nahin” was successful. Naushad remembered the paradanshin society of Lucknow and Aligarh, while composing the tunes, and Lata pronounced the urdu lyrics written by Shakeel Badayani brilliantly. She was also brilliant in the duet song with Rafi “tere husn ki kya tariff karun” from the film Leader, in 1964, where all the songs were based on classical ragas which were exploited very elegantly by Naushad including raag lalit in “ek shaheshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”.


Naushad was exceptional in the film Dil diya Dard Liya, where songs like “sawan aye yah na aye”, contained the classical ragas which were sung elegantly by both Lata and Rafi. The other notable songs of Naushad for Lata included “kale ke sapne” and “phit teri kahani yaad ayi” picturised on Wahida Rehman.

Naushad also helped Ghulam Mohammad to complete the songs of Pakiza, in 1971, picturised on Meena Kumari, where Lata’s songs “mausam hai ashiqana”, “inhi logone”, “chalte chalte”, had created history. Naushad never believed in producing more and producing rubbish, as a result, he had limited compositions for Lata, but if 50 best songs of Lata are to be selected, there will definitely be 5 creations of Naushad, because he had given adequate expression to the Hindustani ragas which blossomed under his dynamic creations.

Related Reading

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

Ajay Devgan – the conservative personality of bollywood.

Ajay Devgan – the conservative personality of bollywood.

Ajay Devgan is one of the decent actors of bollywood who had created a conservative image for himself over the years. He had started as an action hero in Phool aur Kante, opposite Madhu, and attracted the attention of viewers from the film itself. He used to involve himself in difficult stunts which created added attraction in the films.

When he acted in romantic films like Pyar to hona hi tha, opposite Kajol, (his wife), his less spoken, expressive performance again made a big impression. The song in the film “pyar to hona hi tha” was very big hit. He also did well in the film Dil Kya Kare. While acting in action films and romantic films he contributed in comedy films like Ishq, opposite Kajol, where all the actors and actresses, including Amir Khan and Juhi Chawla, did funny things including destroying the break of a car, taking the disguise of ghost, etc. The song “ishq hua, kaise hua”, sung by Udit Narayan impressed the musiclovers.


He also did well as an honest police officer in the film Gangajal. The film was based on the corruption and evil practices that were rampant in the state of Bihar at one point of time, where it was almost impossible for honest law enforcers to work in the state. The film was successful and Ajay Devgan’s performance was well appreciated by the audience.

He also did well in the film Omkara. The film had glimpses of the Shakespearean play of Othello, but was created with the backdrop of rural areas of northern India, specially Bihar. His performance was as impressive as the performance of Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi in the same film. He also made notable contribution in horror films like Kaal.


By nature he does not speak too much, and has a reserve character, but always had raised his voice against the evil practices that place in society. Even as a military officer in the film Major Saab, he was impressive. Big B also did well in the same film. He did cut his hair short for performing in that film.

Even when he was married to Aishwariya Rai in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, he never received any compassion from his wife, but he supported her knowing that she loved Salman Khan. Recently he appeared in Saregamapa Little Champs program in a TV Channel, where Sonu Nigam had requested him to make quality action films in future. The viewers also expect even better performance from him in future.

Sunil Shetty – the action star of bollywood.

Sunil Shetty – the action star of bollywood.

Sunil Shetty had been on of the leading action stars of the 90s. He created a positive impression in the film Mohra, where he was used by Naseer (who showed everyone that he is blind) to kill his rivals in the market. He came to know about the identity of Naseer at the end of the film. Ravina and Akshay supported Sunil Shetty in the film.

He played the role of an anti-hero in the film Dhadkan opposite Shilpa Shetty, where both himself and Akshay loved the same lady. The song in the film “tum dil ki dhadkan me” became a huge hit. Sunil Shetty impressed the viewers with his performance in the film Bhai, where he came from a village with his brother but the killing of his brother made him an underworld don and from that time he indulged in anti-social activities to kill the major offenders. Sonali Bendre and Pooja Batra had done well in the film.


He performed in a double role in the film Gopi Kishen, opposite Karishma Kapoor and Shilpa Shirodkar. The characters included a police constable and an imposter. The constable was a fool, while the imposter took revenge against the offenders in the film.

Sunil Shetty had done well in the film Refugee, where he played the role of law enforcer in Pakistan, who also loved Kareena Kapoor. He did not like her affair with Abhishek Bacchan, who helped people to cross the border at different times. But at the end of the film Sunil Shetty helped the couple to get married.

In the film Aghaaz, Sunil Shetty played the role of simple villager who came to the city with his sister who was sexually harassed by the anti-socials of the society. He filed a suit against all the persons who lived in that colony and taught them how to be united in protesting against the misdeeds of the anti-socials. The people learnt to be brave and face the anti-socials which they did at the end of the film. He had done well in the film Hu tu tu, opposite Tabu.


He is also comfortable in the comedy roles, the ones he played with Akshay in Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. In both these films he was an honest character who was involved in the unlawful acts due to misdeeds of Akshay and silly acts of Paresh Rawal. Tabu and Bipasha Basu had done well in these films. His other notable films include Krishna, Rudraksh, etc. The viewers expect even better performance from him in the character roles along with this performance in the action films.

By: CR Chatterji.

Meenakshi – the elegant actress of bollywood.

Meenakshi – the elegant actress of bollywood.

Meenakhsi Sheshadri is one of the most elegant actresses of bollywood films of the 80s and 90s. She was well educated and the good conception of the roles had helped her to understand the characters she had played. In the early part of her career she created an impression in Subhash Ghai’s film Hero opposite Jackie Shroff. She also did well in Shaheshah, opposite Big B and gave good lips in the songs “jane do jane do’, etc. She tried to take revenge against Amrish Puri who killed her relatives, who was ultimately killed by Big B in Open Court. Although it was a male dominated film, Meenakshi had played her part very well.


In Ghayal, she played the role of a journalist who had exposed the misdeeds of Amrish Puri in her publication. She acted opposite Sunny Deol and supported him in his war against Amrish Puri and his force. In Damini, she witnessed the offense committed by members of in –laws on a woman servant who died in a hospital. As the event involved family prestige everyone asked her to keep silent about the deed. But she gave testimony before the police. After that her life was ruined. She got support from an honest lawyer played by Sunny and her husband Rishi Kapoor. The entire film hovers around the them of the obstacles that are faced by important witnesses before they can give evidence in courts of law. Her testimony in the court at the end of the film reflected the crude reality of our justice system which is based on proof beyond reasonable doubt which leads to criminals being acquitted.

She was a very good dancer and whenever she got a scope of exhibiting the skills she had done it. She acted well in the film Ghatak, where again, she was the silent witness of the evil deeds of Danny, and ultimately revolted against them along with the powerful performance of Sunny. She also did well in film Joshilay, opposite Anil Kapoor.


In Satyamev Jayate, she played the role of the wife of Vinod Khanna, who entered into misunderstanding that led to discontent. Their marital life was affected by that. At the end of the film it was settled and Vinod Khanna was successful in his mission. She was also sublime in her role in the film Meri Jung opposite Anil Kapoor. The viewers want her to make a comeback as she left bollywood films for some time and act in character roles and provide even better performances in future.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Amrish Puri – the indispensable actor bollywood.

Amrish Puri – the indispensable actor bollywood.

Amrish Puri was indispensable during the 80s and 90s and bollywood producers and directors never thought of making any film without the versatile actor. Having a baritone voice and expeience of acting in stage, he initially performed in landmark films of Shyam Benegal like Bhumika, and Govind Nihalini’s film Akrosh, Ardha Satt. Very soon, the bollywood directors used his voice to give him roles of villain in blockbusters like Shakti. He played the role of a smuggler, who kidnapped Dilip Kumar’s son at a young age to blackmail him to release his gangmember. He kept the balance of the film and was ultimately killed by Big B.

Similarly in Mashal, he played the role of a smuggler who ruined the life of Dilip Kumar who was an honest journalist. With the death of Wahida Rehman, the wife of Dilip Kumar, he became a greater lawbreaker and indulged in unlawful businesses. Dilip Kumar killed Amrish Puri, before he could ruin the career of Anil Kapoor, another journalist.


He was also sublime in the film Ghayal, where being a big industrialist, he used the police force for his own security but could not stop Sunny Deol, the brother of Raj Babbar, whom he killed before from exposing him before the police. Om Puri and Meenakshi also acted very well in the film. Amrish Puri also had very clear comedy concept and he showed it in the film Chachi 420, with Tabu and Om Puri, where he was the father of Tabu and almost got involved in an affair with Chachi played by Kamal Hussain. He showed his skills also in the film Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate, where he maintained strict discipline in the house and stood in the way of marriage of Juhi Chawla with Anil Kapoor.


If he was sublime in the negative characters, he was also elegant in the honest characters like the one he played in the film Ghatak, opposite Sunny Deol, where he was suffering from incurable disease and was insulted, rebuked and beaten up by Danny and his group as his son tried to raised voice against the anti-socials of the society. Even as a grandfather he impressed the viewers in his role in the film Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, with Tushar Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. It is not possible to highlight his best films in a career of more than 400 films in a small article but whenever viewers watch Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta, Anil Kapoor’s Nayak, Shahrukh and Salman’s Karan Arjun, they realise that the film would have been incomplete with the powerful performance of Amrish Puri.

By: CR Chatterji.

Lata and Shankar Jaikishan.

Lata and Shankar Jaikishan.

Lata Mangeshkar had dominated bollywood film music for over 50 years, so obviously had good relationship with lot of composers. But her relationship with Shankar Jaikishan was very special because they are musical duo who had provided her the number one spot during her days of struggle. In Barsaat, in 1949, the two songs “hawa me urta jaye” and “jiya beqarar hai” had marked the beginning of success of Lata and she never had to look back. In Awara, 1951, all the songs composed by SJ and sung by Lata including “ghar aya mere pardesi”, “dham bhar jo udhar muh fere”, etc. were superduper hits. Similarly in Aah, “rajaki ayegi baraat”, “ aja re” sung by Lata and composed by SJ were evergreen hits.

On one hand SJ had provided romantic tunes to Lata like “aja sanam”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi” etc., which were duets with Manna Dey, on the other hand there pure classical compositions like “aji ruth kar ab”, “bedardi baalma”, etc. from Aarzoo, picturised on Sadhna. SJ had utilised Lata’s range in songs like “woh basanti pavan pawan”, “hum tere pyar me sara alam”, “rasik balma”, picturised on Padmini, Meena Kumari, Nargis, respectively.


When Shankar Jaikishan composed songs for films shot at foreign locations, Lata did sing westernised songs and there too she was brilliant like “hume tum mil gaye humdum”, “o mere shahe khuba”, etc. picturised on Asha Parekh from the film Love In Tokyo. At the same time the song “o mere sanam” picturised on Vaijayantimala in Raj Kapoor’s Sangam, 1964, was very unique.

SJ was probably the most liberal composer of his times and for doing justice to Lata, they did not do injustice to other singers like “mur murk e na dekh” given to Asha, “dil use do jo jaan de de” to Suman Kalyanpur, “titli uri” to Sharda, etc. Yet their compositions for Lata were unforgettable due to stylish orchestration and east-west blend of music like “sayonara” from Love In Tokyo, “gumnam hai koi” from Gumnam. People sometimes have an erroneous perception that just because SJ tunes were popular they lacked in the same amount of quality which Roshan, Khayyam, Madanmohan, Naushad, had in their compositions. If a tune is popular like “ramaiya vasta maiya” based on folk tune, sung separately, by Lata, Rafi and Mukesh, it is not necessary that there is no quality in the tune. Besides, while making the tunes popular, they did not compromise on quality, for example the songs of Lata in the film Junglee, like “Kashmir ki kali hun mai”, “mere yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, picturised on Saira Banu, were popular and had musical value embedded in them. Even in the duet songs of Lata and Rafi, like “awaaz deke hume tum bulayo”, “sau saal pehle”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, etc., SJ either had instilled classical ragas or did experiment with the orchestration. The death of Jaikishan in 1971, had been the greatest blow to Indian film music, because had the duo survived for another 15 years, they could have provided everlasting tunes and experimented with Lata.

Related Reading

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

Tabu – the aggressive actress of bollywood.

Tabu – the aggressive actress of bollywood.

Tabu is considered as one of the aggressive actress of bollywood who had contributed to the success of a number of films with her solitary performance. In Gulzar’s Machis, she depicted the agony of citizens of Punjab, who were the victims of terrorist attacks during the period when there was unrest in the state. Chandrachur Singh and Om Puri also provided realistic performance in the state.

She was sublime in the film Tarqieb, where she was killed and there was no evidence to prove the guilt of the offender. She was the friend of Shilpa Shetty and she was also interrogated about her experience with her friend. Nana Patekar did the enquiry and used a number of witnesses to establish the murder and unveil the truth.

In Kohram, she acted opposite Nana Patekar, where both Nana and Big B had tried to unearth the truth related to terrorist attacks sponsored by Danny and ultimately succeeded in killing him. It was an action film, but Tabu had done justice to her own part.


Lat year she acted in a film Cheeni Kum opposite Big B, which had a peculiar story line of a 60-plus aged person having an affair with a middle aged woman. It happens in certain cases, and Tabu had provided adequate feelings in her role.

She was brilliant in Chachi 420, opposite Kamal Hassan, where her father Amrish Puri, disliked her husband and Kamal Hassan had to play the role of a chachi, who was a cook in her house and in that way both of them lived together. She also had a daughter whom both her husband and herself loved a lot. The film had very powerful performance from the character actors like Om Puri and Paresh Rawal.

She had done well in the comedy film Bibi No. 1, opposite Anil Kapoor, where his friend, Salman Khan had entered into extra-marital affair, and both Tabu and Anil Kapoor, had helped Karishma Kapoor, the wife of Salman Khan in the film to get back her husband and leave Susmita Sen, who created all the problems. Tabu had shown her comedy skills in an adequate manner. She also did well in the film Hera Pheri opposite Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar, where she used all the unfair means possible to get a job.


Tabu had used both her glamour and acting capability in the films that she acted in which includes Border, Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, etc. She is expected to do even better in the years to come.

Dimple Kapadia – the sizzling actress of bollywood

Dimple Kapadia – the sizzling actress of bollywood.

Dimple Kapadia had been one of the sizzling actresses of 70s, 80s and 90s. She stormed bollywood with her first appearance in Raj Kapoor’s film Bobby, opposite Rishi Kapoor. She brought a revolution in teenage romance and her lips in Lata’s songs had been trendsetters, including “hum tum ek kamre bebandh hai”, “jhut boley”, etc.

After marrying Rajesh Khanna she discontinued films but returned back in 1985, with even stronger performance in Sagar, opposite Rishi Kapoor and Kamal Hassan. The story had very strong script and she was elegant in displaying the fact that she loved Rishi and considered Kamal Hassan only as a friend. She was brilliant in her lips in the songs “sagar kinare” composedby RD Burman. During the same time she acted very well in Firoz Khan’s Jaanbaaz opposite Anil Kapoor. The film was related to the harm caused by use of drugs which killed Sri Devi in the film.


As Dimple Kapadia had both the glamour required in bollywood films and very strong acting potentiality quality directors gave her challenging roles. She was outstandingin Gulzar’s Lekin, a film, which was based on folklore. She had made the songs “yara sili sili”, “kesariya balma”, sung Lata absolutely immortal with her classic performance. Suresh Watkar’s song “surmayi shaam” had very strong classical touch. Vinod Khanna supported her in the film with strong performance.

Probably she gave her best in the film Rudali, which involved the poor women of Rajasthan who were employed to weep for others when family members died. It was an offbeat film and she made it immortal with her passionate acting. Bhupen Hazarika composed landmark tunes including “dil hoon hoom kare”, sung by Lata, and the folksongs were given adequate expression by Dimple.


She had made her presence felt evening films of late 1990s and the following period, like Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Akshay Khanna, where she played the role of a middle aged lady who was lonely and required company. Even the films where she had done character roles had made real impression like Pyar Me Twist, opposite Rishi Kapoor, which showed the romance of middle aged persons. If all her landmark films including Ram Lakhan and Kaash, opposite Jackie Shroff, and Prahar, Krantiveer, opposite Nana Patekar are analysed everyone will agree that she had style, romantic appeal and depth of acting in all those films. Viewers expect even better performances from her in the years to come.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Manisha Koirala – the expressive actress of bollywood.

Manisha Koirala – the expressive actress of bollywood.

Manisha Koirala had provided proper expressions in the various roles that were given to her. She impressed the viewers with her performance in the film Saudagar, and as a newcomer showed her acting skills in a film where giants like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar had acted. She had also done well in Yalgaar, where she acted as the relative of Firoz Khan, who had fallen in love with the brother of Sanjay Dutt, who was the enemy of his family. She danced well in the song “ho jata hai pyar” in the film.

She developed her acting and got decent role in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1942- a Love story. She acted opposite Anil Kapoor, in a story which was based on India’s freedom movement and her father was also the victim of British oppression. The film had very romantic tunes composed by Rd Burman, and the songs “kuch na kaho”, “pyar hua chupke se”, “ek ladki ko dekha”, etc., became landmark hits.


She also did well in the film Bombay, directed by Mani Ratnam, opposite Arvind Swamy. It was a film based on the communal riots that took place in Bombay in the early 1990s. She had an affair with Arvind Swamy and as both their families belonged to separate religions, that had to come to Bombay to settle down. Arvind Swamy also had a job there. But the communal riots, destroyed their peace and killed their family members. It was based on real life story and Manisha’s performance was very impressive. AR Rehman provided immortal tunes like “tu hi re” sung by Hariharan.


She was sublime in the film Dil Se, opposite Shahrukh Khan, directed by Mani Ratnam, based on separatist movements in North East India. She was part of a suicide squad and even after having an affair with Shahrukh, did blow her up as there was strong hatred against the government. The title song “dil se” was very successful.

Manisha had acted in decent number of films and with different directors. Her other notable films include Champion, opposite Sunny Deol, Lajja, opposite Jackie Shroff, etc. She had done very well opposite Amir Khan in the film Mann. She has Nepalese get up and has a different style of expression. The viewers expect good performance from her in the years to come.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Lata and Roshan.

Lata and Roshan.

The composition of certain composers had given a separate dimension to the existing skills of a legendary singer. It has happened with the combination of Roshan and Lata. Music lovers generally assess the contribution of composers in the success of playback singers on the basis of the number of songs given to the respective singer. But if the quality of the compositions are examined the actual contributors are identified.

Roshan could compose songs for Lata and Rafi only during the 50s and 60s as he died in 1969. But each of the compositions stand out as landmarks in the history of bollywood music. His song “zindagi bhar nahi bhulenge” remains one of the landmark creations where Lata had provided adequate expression for Madhubala in the film Barsaat ki Raat in 1960. Lata was brilliant in the film Aarti, picturised on Meena Kumari and Pradeep Kumar, with songs like “baar baar tohe”, “aapne yaad dilaya tha”, “baharon ki manzil rahi”, some of them being duets sung with Rafi. Similarly her duet with Rafi in the film Taj Mahal, 1963, titled “jo wada kiya ho nibhana parega” had been responsible for the infinite love and respect created for Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal over the years.

In the film Bheegi Raat, Lata’s song “dil jo na keh saka” was as outstanding as Rafi’s version of the same song. Lata ‘s song “duniya kare sawal to hum kya jwab de” in the film Bahu Begum, picturised on Meena Kumari, still haunts the music lovers even today. It almost tells the story of Meena Kumari in the film and the way the raga was used with adequate orchestration, including the use of sexaphone, only Roshan could have done it, the manner in which it was done.


Similarly, the them song in Suchitra Sen’s film Mamta, sung by Lata, titled “rahe na rahe hum” had acted as a bridge in the film. It had brought back memories of the past and had been played a number of times in the same film. Lata was also sublime in her songs in the film Dil Hi to hai, picturised on Nutan opposite Raj Kapoor. If 50 best songs of Rafi are shortlisted, at least 5 of Roshan’s creations will come automatically, similarly, if the best 100 songs of Lata are identified, at least 5 songs of Roshan can be classified as the most outstanding creations of all times. Had Roshan lived for a longer period, music lovers could have cherished even more number of immortal songs which could have got adequate expression by the brilliant voice of Lata.

Related Reading

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

Sunil Dutt – the cultured actor of bollywood.

Sunil Dutt – the cultured actor of bollywood.

Sunil Dutt is one of the cultured actors of bollywood who always has been respected by a large section of the filmlovers. He got decent role in Bimal Roy’s Sujata, opposite Nutan, where he was considerate for the poor girl. Talat’s song “jalte hai jiske liye” composed by SD Burman was very successful. He acted in a dynamic role in Mother India as the son of Nargis, who was turbulent and unmanageable. But Nargis never compromised with the situations and even fired at Sunil Dutt, at times when she thought he was wrong.

In the 60s he acted in multi-starrer films of BR chopra like Waqt and Humraaz with Raj Kumar and all these films stormed bollywood with their romantic presentations and melodious songs composed by Ravi. Sunil Dutt was brilliant in Raj Khosla’s film Mera Saya, opposite Sadhna. It was a crime thriller where Sadhna had died and the song “tu jaha jaha chalega” haunted him. He gave brilliant lips in the song “aap ke pehlu me akar ro liye” composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Rafi. He brought out his soft expression also in the film Chirag, opposite Asha Parekh, and his lips in the song “teri aankho ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai” composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Rafi was extraordinary.


At the same time Sunil Dutt is known for providing adequate expression in the role of dacoits. He was brilliant opposite Wahida Rehman in films like Mujhe Jeene Do and Reshma aur Shera. Most of these films had the flavour of folk music composed by Jaidev and showed the difficulties faced by women in rural India. Sunil Dutt had also done well in the film Gumrah, opposite Mala Sinha, where the song “chalo ek baar fir se” is considered as one of the best romantic songs sung by Mahendra Kapoor. He was sublime in his role in the film Ghazal, opposite Meena Kumari, with legendary songs composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Rafi including “rang aur noor ki baraat”.


Even in the 80s Sunil Dutt, made his presence felt in films like Shaan, where he was the elder brother of Big B and Shashi Kapoor, an was killed in a dramatic manner by Kulbhushan in the role of Shakaal. He received public acclamation for his soft subject-matter in the film Dard ka rishta, which was based on the subject of cancer. He could not forget the death of his wife Nargis due to cancer and made a film on that subject.

As an MP also, Sunil Dutt is respected for his work on social welfare that he had done over the years. He is considered as a decent, cultured, soft human being and the history of bollywood films remains incomplete without him.

Akshay Kumar – the all-in-one actor of bollywood.

Akshay Kumar – the all-in-one actor of bollywood.

Akshay Kumar is presently considered the all-in-one actor of bollywood. He initially flourished as an action star and showed his metal in the film Khiladi. He also acted in a number of films with Sunil Shetty, prominent among those include Mohra, Dhadkan, etc. in Mohra he acted in the role of a police officer and investigated the criminal activities of Nasir. He also gave good lips in the song “tu chis bari hai” along with Ravina Tandon. The title song in the film Dhadkan, “tum dil ki dhadkan me” became a landmark hit in the respective year.

He also acted in a number of films along with Saif Ali Khan like Main Khilari Tu Anari, which was very successful along with the song “main khiladi tun anari”. He also acted in a negative role with Bipasha Basu in the film Ajnabee, where he conspired against Bobby Deol and Karina Kapoor to earn money and was ultimately killed by Bobby Deol.


Over the years he developed his acting and that had led to performing in many types of roles in recent times. He had shown his comedy conception in the film Hera Pheri with Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Tabu, and also Phir Hera Pheri, with the same team and Bipasha Basu. The scripts were very well written in both these films and he fought out with Sunil Shetty in these films with comedy andaz.

Last year he acted well in the film Bhoolbhulaiya. The film involved supernatural happenings in a big house with Vidya Balan, being involved in the activities. He acted as the scientific expert who understood the events and provided the solution for them. The story does not convince the viewers, but there was entertainment in the film and the song “ami je tomar” played at different times in the film created an uncanny atmosphere.


He also acted in romantic films like Namaste London, opposite Katrina Kaif. His other notable films include International Khiladi with Rekha, Mr. and Mrs Khiladi opposite Juhi Chawla, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, opposite Priyanka Chopra and with Salman Khan. As he had shown his diverse skills, the producers and directors are inclined in giving him dynamic roles in the coming years and he is expected to do even better in 2008 and the years to come.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Om Puri – the greatest actor of bollywood of all times.

Om Puri – the greatest actor of bollywood of all times.

Om Puri is the greatest actor of bollywood films of all times. If people think about popularity the names of Big B, Dilip Kumar or Shahrukh Khan will come in their minds. But when the acting criteria is weighed there is no second opinion that he had shown his conception in all types of roles given to him for the last 30 years.

In Satyajit Ray’s Satgati, he played the dynamic role of a lower caste villagers in north Indian village who used to cremate dead bodies. He faced the oppression of the zaminder and died at the end of the film while cremating a dead body. He was brilliant in Akrosh directed by Govind Nihalini where his tongue was cut and he was falsely charged for the murder of his wife Smita Patil. He did not speak in the film and balanced the powerful performance of Nasir as the defense counsel who tried to save him.


He was outstanding as a police officer in the film Ghayal, where he was given the responsibility to save Amrish Puri from Sunny Deol who threatened him to be killed within 24 hours. After conducting the investigation he concluded that Amrish Puri was an underworld don and Sunny was doing a good job in terms of destroying his establishment. In China gate, Om Puri amazed the viewers with his powerful performance of a military major who previously had left the army for failure in a particular mission. He made an army of retired officers and ended the rule of dacoits in the particular village in India. All the stalwarts of bollywood films including Nasir, Amrish Puri, Danny, Kulbhushan, etc. acted well, and Om Puri made the character real with his superlative performance. He showed tremendous personality as an investigative officer in the film Gupt, with Bobby Deol, where he unearthed the truth that Kajol had killed Raj Babbar and others.


In Sandip Ray’s Target, he acted as a poor villager who could use the gun very well and was used by the zaminder of the village played by Mohan Agase to kill tigers. He ultimately killed the zaminder to end the tyranny existing in the village. Om Puri has tremendous comedy conception which is evident in the films Jane Bhi Do Yaaron, Malamaal Weekly, etc. His face has spots showing he had smallpox at one time, he used the appearance in horror films like Raat, directed by Ram Gopal Verma, where he played the role of a tantrik who faced the unsatisfied soul of a person. As villain, he made notable contribution in films like Narsimha, Krishna, etc. Films like Ardhsatya, Tamas, Drohkaal, had become history due to sheer brilliance of Om Puri. He is indispensable in the film industry and viewers except his brilliant performance in every type of role that is offered to him in future.

Will Jodha-Akbar be as successful as Mughal-i-azam?

Will Jodha-Akbar be as successful as Mughal-i-azam?

Jodha-Akbar is one of the big budget films released in February, 2008, directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. The big question is whether the film is going to be as successful as period films previously being made like Mughal-i-azam by K. Asif. The big challenge for these types of films is the acceptability of the historical documentation by the viewers.

During the 60s, people were used to seeing historical films and it was easy for the directors to create a believable version. That is the reason in those days films like Tajmahal, 1963, Anarkali, 1955, all were successful. These days with various types of films being made unless the viewers find exceptional presentation of the history the stories are not well accepted.


In Jodha-Akbar, two of the most popular actors and actresses of the present period namely Hrithik and Aiswariya have played the role of Akbar and Jodha. Both have matured level of understanding and had done very well in the film. Besides Akbar is one of the most liberal-minded rulers of that period and there is lot of love and respect for the ruler which adds to the prospect of success of the film. And Akbar had to struggle a lot during his early days, as his father Humayun mostly faced fierce battles from Sher Shah Suri, for those reasons people have sympathy towards him and appreciate his love for Din-illahi and encouragement provide for nine gems including poets, singers, thinkers, etc. AR Rehman, the most innovative composers of the present time had given excellent music also.


But the moment comparison comes with the way it was played by Prithviraj Kapoor and Durga Khote in Mughal-i-azam, viewers will have mixed responses. Actors in those days used to exhibit royal style of acting by stretching their dialogues. Ofcourse that film had shown the part of the history where Akbar stood in the way of romance of Salim and Anarkali. Besides already a controversy did arise about the origin of Jodha Bai in some parts of India, including Rajasthan. It was very unconventional on the part of a Mughal King marrying a Rajput queen in those days.

Even then, Ashutosh Gowarikar had portrayed the historical events very well, and done shooting in exotic locations. The film is expected to be successful and that can lead to other directors to take up the challenge of making other period films.

By: CR Chatterji.

Nargis – the legendary actress of bollywood.

Nargis – the legendary actress of bollywood.

Nargis is one of the most powerful actresses of bollywood who was responsible for popularising Indian films across the world. She provided evergreen hits with Raj Kapoor like Barsaat, Awara, Aah, Shri 420, Chori Chori, etc.

She stormed the silver screen with her performance in Awara, where she played the role of a lawyer who pleaded before the court of law about the innocence of Raj Kapoor, in a criminal case. In the same film she learnt advocacy from Raj Kapoor’s father Prithviraj Kapoor. She portrayed the theme of the film, that is human beings are products of the society and environment where they live, and a Barrister’s son can also end up being a criminal if he stays in a bad environment.


Nargis had given immortal lips in Lata’s romantic songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan like “ghar aya mera pardesi”, “ramaiya wastamaiya”, “aja sanam”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, “rasik balma”, etc. Even in the films that were not produced or directed by Raj Kapoor, like Chori Chori, Nargis provided memorable performance. In that film she was the daughter of a rich person and to avoid an arranged marriage she left the house and was protected by Raj Kapoor who ultimately brought her back to her house. The story was similar to Hollywood film Roman Holiday, and Uttamkumar’s film Chawapawa, and later on Amir Khan’s film Dil Hai ki manta nahi, was made with the same theme. At the same time Nargis acted with other actors of the period including Babul, Andaz with Dilip Kumar, Adalat with Pradeep Kumar, Lajwanti with Balraj Sahani.

She became immortal with her majestic performance in Mehboob Khan’s film Mother India in 1957. She was the wife of Raj Kumar, in the film and after the death of the husband she worked as a peasant and brought up her two sons Sunil Dutt and Rajender Kumar and stayed in the right path. She received a number of awards for showing the struggle that is required on the part of a widow in a village in case her husband dies at an early age.


After marrying Sunil Dutt, she left films but as Member of the Parliament had contributed to social welfare of the country. She died out of cancer and did not see the success of her son Sanjay Dutt in bollywood films. If Meena Kumari is known for pardanashin aristocracy, Nargis is known for sublime personality and she is alive in her legendary films.

Udit Narayan – the unique singer of bollywood.

Udit Narayan – the unique singer of bollywood.

Udit Narayan, is probably the most unique singers who had graced bollywood films for the last 20 years. The main reason of his success was that he did not imitate any legendary singer for getting entry in bollywood cinema. For example Shabbir Kumar and Mohammad Aziz had imitated Rafi for their existence, Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Babul Supriyo imitated Kishore for their survival.

Udit Narayan sang immortal songs like “papa kehte hai”, “akele hai” for Amir Khan in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, “tum pass aye” for Shahrukh Khan in the film Kuch Kuch hota Hai, “chand chupa badal se” for Salman Khan in Hum dil de chuke sanam. He had been the leading singer for the last 25 years and probably sung every type of songs.


The other hit songs include “dil to pagal hai”, “kab tak chup baithe”, etc., from the film Dil to Pagal Hai, picturised on Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, where Lata had sung with him. Also his songs “pyar ki kasti me” for Hrithik Roshan from the film Kahona Pyar Hai, “mai nikla gaddi leke” for Sunny Deol in the film Gadar –ek premkatha, “chalo chale sajna” from the film Nayak, picturised on Anil Kapoor, “bechainiya” from the film Gupt, picturised on Bobby Deol, were big hits. He had also taken part in the Indian idol music competition held in Sony TV Channel as a judge along with Anu Malik and Alihsa.


He had received filmfare awards a number of times as best singer and is probably one of the most steady singers other than Sonu Nigam. In the present days new singers Himesh Reshamiya had entertained the musiclovers with his new style of singing, but that has not created any problem for Udit Narayan.

After Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore, Manna Dey, Udit Narayan is the singer who had stood the test of time and is expected to serve bollywood films for another 20years if he can maintain his voice quality.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Lata’s combination with RD Burman.

Lata’s combination with RD Burman.

Lata Mangeshkar had immortal combination with all the major composers of bollywood films from 40s till today. Among them RD Burman had provided very memorable songs for Lata during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Prominent among them include “bite na bitayi” from the film Parichay in 1972, picturised on Jaya Bacchan. It was a duet song where Bhupinder Singh also had made a memorable performance.

Lata was outstanding in all the songs composed by RD Burmna, in Gulzar’s film Kinara, picturised on Hema Malini, namely “naam gum jayega” and other songs. In Aandhi, the songs “is mor se jate hai”, “tere bina zindagi”, “tum agaye ho” picturised on Suchitra Sen and sung by Lata and Kishore all had philosophical thoughts embedded in them which were appreciated by all sections of the society.

RD Burman gave evergreen songs to Lata in the film Ghar, including “aaj kal paon zameen par”, “tere bina jioya jayena”, etc, picturised on Rekha.


Even the songs in the film Karwa, including the Arabic tune in the song “dilbar” was very well sung by Lata which was composed by RD Burman. In the 80s, also Lata made significant contribution in the film Sagar, where RD’s composition “sagar kinare” had touched the souls of millions of viewers and musiclovers.

Even during his fading times in 1942, A Love Story, Rd Burman asked Lata to sing the song “kuch na kaho” in a different way than the manner it was sung by Kumar Shanu. It was played at the end of the film, and Lata’s version had a tragic note which gave a different meaning to the main song. With RD Burman, making huge contribution to bollywood music during the 70s and 80s, providing every type of tunes including, westernised creations, qawallies, folk songs, eastern classical songs, Lata had given adequate expression to his style of composition of most of them had become immortal with passage of time. Had RD Burman survived for a longer period of time, he could have produced timeless classics which could have been sung by Lata even today.

Related Reading

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

Rekha – the sweet actress of bollywood.

Rekha – the sweet actress of bollywood.

Rekha is one of the most dynamic actresses of bollywood of all times. She provided sweet performances in the early part of her career, in Sawan Bhado, opposite Navin Nischal and Gora aur kala, opposite Firoz Khan. From mid-70s she became the leading actress of bollywood with powerful performances one after the other.

Her performance in Khoon Pasina and Mr. Natwarlal, opposite Big B is worth mentioning. She was sublime in Gulzar’s film Ghar, opposite Vinod Mehra. It was a romantic film, and Rekha with her soft performances had given adequate expression to outstanding songs sung by Lata and composed by Rd Burman, including “aaj kaal pao zameen par”, “tere bina jiya jaye na”, etc. Kishore also sang well the songs “phir wohi raat hai”, “aap ki aankhon me”, etc.


Rekha acted in the role of her lifetime in the film Umrao Jaan, as a tawaif, and got public praise, honour, etc., for the dynamic performance. Khayyam’ s music and Asha’s songs are evergreen even today including “in ankhon ki masti”, “justju”, etc. Even Aiswariya Rai had faced the challenge of matching Rekha in the new version of Umrao Jaan, and could not rise beyond the dynamic performance of Rekha along with powerful performance of Farooq Sheikh.

Rekha was brilliant in the film Silsila opposite Big B and Jaya Bacchan, which was a triangular love story. The songs composed by Shiv Hari and sing by Lata were given adequate expression by Rekha including “yeh kahan a gaye hum”. Her other notable films include Mugaddar ka sikandar, Do anjane, etc.


Even these days, she makes her presence felt whenever she acts in any role in the contemporary films, like the one she had done in the film Parineeta along with Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan. Her lips in the song “kaisi peheli zindagani” at Moulin rouge in Kolkata, caught everyone’s attention. She also performed in the dance sequence of the song “ om shanti on” with Shahrukh Khan in the film Om Shanti Om. She is still a big asset of bollywood and is expected to perform even better in the years to come.

By: CR Chatterji.

Amir Khan – the decent actor of bollywood.

Amir Khan – the decent actor of bollywood.

Amir Khan is one of the most decent actors of the last 15 years of bollywood films. He started his career with the hit film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, in 1988, opposite Juhi Chawla and gained public acclaimation. The film also became for its songs including “papa kehte hai”, “akele hai”, etc. somposed by Anand Milind and sung by Udit Narayan.

Amir Khan believes in acting in less number of films and acting in good films. For these reasons who had provided one or two decent films every year from the time he started his career. He was sublime in the film Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, opposite Juhi Chawla and Dil, opposite Madhuri Dixit.


Even in films showing patriotic feelings like Sarfarosh, Amir Khan had shown his dynamic style of acting. As a police officer, he instilled the generousness and passion of being honest to the other officers. Sonali Bendre supported him with her performance in the film.

Amir Khan probably had done his best in the film Lagaan, where he led a group of villagers of India during the colonial period and entered a challenge with the British cricket team. The condition was that if he had won the match, the revenues and other bindings that were there with the villagers would have been relaxed. It was a very difficult task as cricket required skills, and the villagers did not have it. With a lot of effort, will and passion he trained the eleven players and ultimately faced the British cricket team. There were other aspects in the film, but the novel subject matter had resulted in it being one of the landmarks in Indian film history.


Amir Khan was also sublime in the film Rang De Basanti, and Fanaa. In Fanaa, he acted opposite Kajol and balanced her powerful performance in a blind role with his own soft considerate performance. Amir Khan had very good comedy skills and that had been evident in his performance in the film Ishq, opposite Juhi Chawla, where Ajay Devgan and Kajol also had done well. If Shahrukh Khan is the mass entertainer of the present times, Salman Khan is the ideal body builder, then Amir Khan is the soft romantic actor. As he almost enters the skin of the character he plays, the audience expects even better performance from him in future both as an actor and director, because in that filed also he had shown promise with his film Tare Zameen Par.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Photogallery of Aamir Khan

Mala Sinha – the charming actress of bollywood.

Mala Sinha – the charming actress of bollywood.

Mala Sinha had a different identity in bollywood films, and she is probably the only actress from the north-eastern India who had been successful both in bollywood films and Bengali cinema. She acted in successful films opposite Raj Kapoor in Phir subah hogi, Parvarish, etc.

In Phir Subah Hogi, she had given elegant lips in the songs sung by Asha which were composed by Khaiyyam including songs like “woh subah kabhi to ayegi”, “phir na kije meri gustaq nigahon ka gila”, etc. The duet songs became hit due to passionate singing by Mukesh for Raj Kapoor.


Mala Sinha also acted in successful films opposite Biswajeet including Do Kaliyan, Night in London, etc. Night in London was shot in London and Mala Sinha contributed with her Nepalese style of performance in the crime thriller. There were hit songs like “nazar na lag jaye” composed by LP and sung by Rafi.

Mal Sinha had provided hits opposite Shammi Kapoor in the film Dil Tera Diwana, and Dev Anand in Love Marriage, Maya. She gave lips in hit duet songs sung by Lata and Rafi in these films including “tasveer teri dil me”, “dil tera diwana ho sanam”, “dheere dheere chal”. Shankar Jaikishan and Salil Chowdhury composed the songs for these films and they had become landmark hits.


Mala Sinha also acted in hit films opposite Dharmender including Ankhen, Bharen Phir Ayegi, Neela Akash, etc. In Baharen Phir bhi Ayegi, she was the elder sister of Tanuja and both the sisters fell in love with Dharmender, an employer in her firm. It was a venture of Guru Dutt, which he could not complete and died. She had played the historical character Jahan-ara, in the film Jahan –ara, opposite Bharat Bhushan. The excellent poetry and ghazals composed in the film by Madan Mohan, and sung by Rafi, Lata and Suman Kalyanpur, were given adequate expression by Mala Sinha and Bharat Bhushan including “baad muddat ke yeh ghari ayi”, “kisiki yaad me apnako hai bhulaye hue”. With a number of hit films under her belt Mala Sinha acted in hit Bengali films of Uttam Kumar, including Bandhu, Khelaghar, Putrabadhu, Saharer Itikatha, etc. She even provided dynamic performance in Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s epic literature Abhaya Srikanto, where she played the role of Abhaya. She was indispensable in the 50s and 60s both in bollywood films and Bengali cinema and even today when films like Himalay ki god me, or Haryali aur rasta are shown in TV channels she is appreciated along with other stars like Manoj Kumar.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Is Hrithik Roshan the most stylish actor ever to grace bollywood films?

Is Hrithik Roshan the most stylish actor ever to grace bollywood films?

The manner in which Hrithik Roshan had revolutionised bollywood films with his classic stunts and dashing performance in the film Dhoom 2, it has raised the debate that whether Hrithik is the most stylish actor ever to grace bollywood films.

He took outstanding make up in the film, sometimes even disguising himself as a statue while trying to steal the diamond from the famous museum in the film Dhoom -2, he had shown his skills while descending from helicopter with parachute and the use of modern technology for his outstanding operations in the film.


The scene where he pointed the revolver at Aiswariya Rai and asked her to kill him, there also his style was unique. Besides his dancing skills are excellent including the lips in the song “dhoom machale” which superseded the powerful performances of Abhishek Bacchan and Bipasha Basu in the film.

It is not only Dhoom -2, Hrithik was sublime in his double roles in the film Kahona Pyar Hai, opposite Amisha Patel. The scene where he represented Raaj and looked at the mirror and said the criminals know the similar face, there his style was as elegant as any of the Hollywood stars of the present age.


Even in Mission Kashmir, his action sequence opposite Sanjay Dutt, a soldier of many battles, was unique. One of the reasons why Hrithik could not shine beyond a moderate level in bollywood films is because Indian audience had not matured to accept stylish performances to that extent. Otherwise he had shown the most dynamic styles in bollywood and could had become more popular than Amir, Salman or Shahrukh Khan. His English intonation is impressive and his voice is different from the leading actors of bollywood.

Other than his father Rakesh Roshan, the other directors could not use him to his full potentials. Jodha Akbar to be released this year will show his elegance in historical roles. He is expected to show his style in a more versatile manner in the years to come and can be a motivation for the actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Preeti Zinta, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, in the years to come for matching him in the respective performances.

By: CR Chatterji.

Hrithik RoshanPhotogallery

Nasiruddin Shah – the natural actor of bollywood.

Nasiruddin Shah – the natural actor of bollywood.

Whenever quality directors have thought about experimenting with any character Nasiruddin Shah’s name automatically came in their mind. He is one of the most dynamic actors ever to grace bollywood films. In Akrosh, he played the role of defense counsel of Om Puri who faced Amrish Puri, the Public Prosecutor, in a realistic murder trial which was related to Om Puri’s alleged killing of his wife Smita Patil. He saw how the evidences are tampered in cases where the influencial industrialists dominate the proceedings. Amrish Puri was his senior in the film, and he confessed before him that with that much of dominance of the lawbreakers it is impossible to prove that Om Puri was innocent.

Nasir was brilliant in the film Masoom, opposite Shabana Azmi, where he tried to persuade his second wife to accept his son born out of his previous wedlock. He showed his love for his son jugal Hansraj, who had nobody else in the world. He gave brilliant lips in the song “huzur is kadar” sung by Bhupinder Singh and Suresh Watkar.


While doing extremely well in art films, he made major contribution in main stream cinema with his acting in the films Tridev with Sunny Deol and Jackie Shroff and Viswatma with Sunny Deol and Chunkey Pandey. In both these films he raised his voice against the evil practices conducted by Amrish Puri and other villains. He could act in any type of role and directors even gave him the role of a villain in the film Mohra, opposite Sunil Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Ravina Tandon. He pretended to be blind, and took revenge against his contenders in the market by employing Sunil Shetty to kill them.

He also had provided life-time performance in the film China-gate, where he played the role of a retired military officer who was called by Om Puri, the Major, to face the dacoits in that area who became unmanageable. He shed his life for the welfare of the village after putting a brave fight at the battlefront.


Nasir also had very impressive comedy impulse which he displayed in the films Jane bhi do Yaaron, Hero hiralal, Albert Pintu ko gussa kyon ata hai, Katha, etc. In katha, he played the role of an innocent middleclass worker who stayed in the same apartment complex where Dipti Naval had stayed and helped his friend Farooq Sheikh who was involved in fraudulent activities. Viewers were amazed with his trend-breaking performance which showed the submissiveness, innocence, and shyness of a average middle-class Indian. With more than 100 films to be referred, one small article cannot highlight the greatness of Nasir, but Indian film industry still requires the dynamic performance of the living legend in the years to come.

Smita Patil – the realistic actress of bollywood.

Smita Patil – the realistic actress of bollywood.

Smita Patil is the realistic actress that bollywood had ever produced. She destroyed the myth that actresses require mannerisms to attract the attention of the viewers. The characters that she had played over the years had become immortal by her powerful performance. She stormed the silver screen with her serene performance in Shyam Benegal’s film Manthan, where the miseries of the life of workers involved in milk production in western India was depicted.

Within short period of time she became the main actress of all directors who made realistic films. In Satyajit Ray’s Satgati, she played the role of the wife of Om Puri, who cremated dead bodies by profession. Being a member of lower caste he was exploited by the zamindar of the village played by Mohan Agase. Smita Patil was the silent observer who witnessed the oppression which led to ultimately the death of Om Puri. Prem Chand’s immortal story was elegantly directed by Ray, one of the greatest directors of the world.


In Akrosh, directed by Govind Nihalini, she played the role of the wife of Om Puri, who was a worker in an industry in a village. The employers killed Smita Patil and falsely charged Om Puri for the murder. Nasiruddin Shah, played the role of the defense lawyer tried to save Om Puri, but Om Puri could not help him as his tongue was cut by the employers. The film depicted the oppression of the poor, uneducated rural population in the Indian villages, how the employers had succeeded in tampering evidence. Om Puri, Nasiruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Amrish Puri, were at their best in the film.


While performing in realistic films, Smita Patil also contributed in commercially successful films like Shakti, Namakhalal, etc. In Shakti, she was the wife of Big B, and the daughter-in –law of Dilip Kumar. She balanced the difference of opinions of big B and Dilip Kumar, as Dilip Kumar, was a dutiful police officer and ultimately had to shoot his son Big B as he was involved with unlawful activities. Rakhee also acted very well in the role of Dilip Kumar’s wife. Smita Patil again stormed the silver screen in the film Mirch Masala directed by Ketan Mehta, where she being a village woman was wanted by the subedar played by Nasiruddin Shah and had to take shelter in a factory which manufactured chillies. Om Puri, the old gate keeper, alone, fought against the forces and was killed. Then Smita Patil poured the chillies in the face of Nassiruddin Shah, showing the beginning of revolt in the village. She was even sublime in the film Akaler Sandhane directed by Mrinal Sen. Other than Shabana Azmi, no other actress had shown the depth of acting that Smita Patil had shown and that is evident when both of the them performed in the same film, for example Arth, directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Actresses of the present generation should learn a lot from the immortal performances of Smita Patil to show that acting is creative art, like other creative arts, including singing or painting.

By: CR Chatterji.

Guru Dutt – the thoughtful actor of bollywood.

Guru Dutt – the thoughtful actor of bollywood.

Guru Dutt is one of the most thoughtful actors who had glorified bollywood cinema during the 50s and 60s. Although he had impressed the viewers with films like Aar Par and Mr. & Mrs.55, he has created his identity with the film Pyasa opposite Wahida Rehman and Mala Sinha. In Pyasa, he played the role of a poet who loved a rich girl during his student life who was married to a rich person by her family members.

He was not interested about materialistic things and showed Mala Sinha, that the society very wrongly salutes rich people even without examining the virtues of other sections including the loyalty shown to him by a tawaif played by Wahida Rehman. The films in known for outstanding songs composed by SD Burman, including “yeh mahalon, ye takhton, yeh tajon ki duniya” sung by Rafi, “sar jo tera”, sung by Rafi, “jane who kaise” sung by Hemant Kumar, “jane kya tune kaha”, sung by Geeta Dutt.


He also experimented with an abstract subject in the film Kagaz ka phool, opposite Wahida Rehman, where he showed the eternal truth that the directors, actors and people involved with the film industry are worshipped like Gods during their good days but once they lose their market, nobody remembers them. It is another film where the songs had become history including “waqt ne kiya” sung by Geeta Dutt and “bichre sabhi bari bari” sung by Rafi.


Guru Dutt acted in romantic films like Chaudavi ka chaand, opposite Wahida Rehman, and depicted the muslim royal culture in the film. The songs in the film were composed by Ravi and the title song sung by Rafi “chaudavi ka chand”, remains as one of the most outstanding ghazals he had sing in his entire tenure. Guru Dutt also acted in historical films like Saheb Bibi aur Ghulam, which was the hindi version of Uttamkumar’s Bengali film having the same title. The film showed the feudal rule in Kolkata during the period when the British Government ruled Indian from the capital Kolkata. The lives of the zamindars were depicted including the oppression towards their wives which was displayed by Meena Kumari very well in the film. Guru Dutt, died in 1964, after acting in films like Saanjh aur sawera, 12 0’clock, bharosa, opposite Asha Parekh, etc. The film industry lost a great producer, director and a thoughtful actor who had provided entertainment and social message to the viewers. Retrospectives should be held in TC channels to show respect to the legendary creator.

By: CR Chatterji.

Bipasha Basu – the daring actress of bollywood.

Bipasha Basu – the daring actress of bollywood.

Bipasha Basu is one of the most daring actresses of the contemporary period. She had performed in daring roles and already created a separate identity for herself in bollywood films. She got a negative character in the film Ajnabee, opposite Akshay Kumar and implicated Bobby Deol in a murder charge. The murder did not take place and at the end of the films Bobby Deol with the help of Kareena Kapoor unearthed the conspiracy and while he tried to punish Akshay, Bipasha Basu died.

She acted in comedy role in the film Chor Machaye Shor, opposite Bobby Deol. She acted as a police officer, who was duped by false stories told by Bobby. During that period she resembled Hollywood star Sofia Loren, and got role in Raaz and Jism. She showed her westernized performance in these roles. She also acted in a fantasy film opposite Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty in the film Rudhrakh. She did a research on where the rudraksh was situated which could give immense power.


She acted in a role of club dancer in the film No Entry, where her husband was suffering from incurable disease, and for saving him he entered the business. Salman Khan employed her to meet Anil Kapoor and get into extra-marital affair. As his wife Lara Dutta suspected Anil Kapoor for unnecessary reasons, Bipasha became successful to add to the suspicion and breakdown of marital life. The songs in the film including “no entry”, “kaha ho tum”, were big hits.


On one hand has acted in spooky films like Darna Zaroori Hai, on the other hand off-beat films like Corporate, where the complexity of the corporate world is exhibited. Her performance in a rural story base in Omkara had been well appreciated with lips in songs like “biri jalaile”. She was sublime in the film Dhoom -2, along with Abhishek Bacchan, Hrithik Roshan and Aiswariya Rai. There were lot of action sequences and she adjusted herself for the requirement in the film.

With other hitfilms including Phir Hera Pheri, opposite Akshay and Sunil Shetty, she had become one of the established stars of present time. Viewers expect even better performance from her in the years to come.

Bipasha Basu Photo Gallery

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Saif Ali Khan – the smart actor of bollywood.

Saif Ali Khan – the smart actor of bollywood.

Saif Ali Khan had been one of the smarter actors of bollywood who had excelled in stylish roles during the last 10 years. Initially he was known for his dancing capabilities and in action films along with Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty he had contributed with his important performances. He had complimented Akshay Kumar in Main Khiladi tu anari, with his comedy performance and good lips in the songs “hum dono hai alag alag”, “pass who ane lage zara zara”, etc.

He developed his acting over the years and in the film Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Amir Khan and Akshay Khanna, he had made his presence felt. He was one of the three friends who wanted to live in their own way, and he was the most immature of the lot. He was even cheated by one of the girls in Goa who he thought loved him but ran away with his money. As the actors were serious in the film his flamboyant style added flavour in the film. He gave good lips in the song “woh ladki hai kahan”.


In Salaam Namaste, he complimented Preeti Zinta with his smart performance. He cooked delicious food in a restaurant in Australia and fell in love with Preeti who was a radio jockey. Then they examined the concept of live together, in the meantime, Preeti gave birth to a child also. The theme of the film was very modern and the concept had been debated a lot. He gave fantastic lips in the songs “salaam namaste”, “my heart”, etc.

As his acting skills developed over the years, directors had given him even negative characters like the one he played in the film Omkara along with Ajay Devgan and Vivek Oberoy. He expressed the rural style of mannerism that represents the villagers of India and his dialogue delivery also resembled rustic villagers. He received filmfare and other awards for the notable performance.


He never imitated his mother Sharmila Tagore, who had been one of the leading actresses of 60s and 70s, but developed a style of his own, which did not match any other actors. In 2008, his viewers are expecting powerful performance in the film Race, where he will be acting other leading actors. His voice suited the style of singing by Abhijit and he had sung successful songs for him. The notable songs where he gave adequate lips include “mai hoon ashiq”, “ole ole”. He is expected to do even better in the years to come.

Ravina Tandon –the dashing actress of bollywood films.

Ravina Tandon –the dashing actress of bollywood films.

Ravina Tandon is one of the most dashing actresses who had made major contribution in bollywood films of 90s. She had done well in the film Mohra opposite Akshay Kumar, as human right activist. Although it was an action film where Sunil Shetty and Nasirruddin Shah had major roles to play, even then she had given adequate lips in the song “tu chis bari hai mast mast” composed by Viju Shah. She also acted powerfully in Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta, where she was a police officer who had been given the charge of investigating a murder that was perpetrated by Sanjay Dutt. At the end of the film she discovered that Amrish Puri, her superior officer was the actual murderer.


With passage of time she started acting in realistic films and got national award for best performance in the film Daman. She was brilliant in the film Jago opposite Sanjay Kapoor. In that film, her daughter was molested in a local train in Mumbai, and she strived for justice. The rampant corruption in the police department was evident, with an honest officer, Manoj Vajpayee, finding it difficult to conduct the investigation properly. She made powerful submission in the Court of law when the trial on the murder was held, because her daughter died in the hospital. She stressed on certainty of punishment when these types of crimes are committed.


She acted in a number of films opposite Akshay Kumar and Govinda like Dava, Bare Miya Chote Miya. She was even elegant in soft characters like the one she played in the film Ladla, opposite Anil Kapoor, where Sri Devi played the role of the arrogant character. Anil Kapoor was a worker in Sheetal Industries, the organization led by Sri Devi and she married Anil Kapoor to show her superiority. Ravina Tandon sacrificed her love for Sri Devi.


Ravina Tandon left films at a time when she was matured in acting, so it was a big loss for the industry,as her acting capability was natural as displayed in films like Aatish opposite Sanjay Dutt, Zidd, opposite Sunny Deol. If any actress is known for sheer acting capability other than Tabu in the 90s it is Ravina Tandon, because after any actress becomes a star in bollywood films, they concentrate on dance sequences and the acting capability is not exploited. The viewers expect her to make comeback and perform well in character roles in future.

Geeta Dutt – the legendary singer of bollywood.

Geeta Dutt – the legendary singer of bollywood.

Geeta Dutt was one of the legendary singers of bollywood films and she made a significant contribution in both hindi films songs and Bengali film songs. She married Guru Dutt and is associated with the legendary director and actor in the performance in his films.

Her notable songs sung in Guru Dutt’s films include “waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam” in the film Kagaz ka Phool, picturised on Wahida Rehman, “na jayo saiya” in Saheb bibi aur ghulam, picturised on Meena Kumari, etc. Besides she was even elegant in singing kirtans and folk songs including “jane kya tune kaha” from the film Pyasa, composed by SD Burman, which was the hindi versions of his own song “mono dilona badhu”.

She was sublime in her huge of number of Bengali songs picturised on Suchitra Sen including “tumi je amar” from Ajoy Kar’s film Harano Sur, “ogo sundoro” from the film Indrani, opposite Uttamkumar. She had sung for tunes composed by Salil Chowdhury also when he was in IPTA including songs like “tomay dekhechi”.

Geeta Dutt made significant contribution in songs composed by OP Nayyar, as her style of singing matched his style of composition very well. The notable songs include “mera naam chinchin chu”, songs in the film Mr Mrs 55, picturised on Madhubala, etc.


After the death of Guru Dutt, she reduced her number of playbacks, but again made a comeback with the songs “meri jaan, tujhe jya na kahun”, “mera dil jo mera hota”, picturised on Tanuja from the film Anubhav, which was an offbeat film directed by Basu Bhattacharya where Sanjeev Kumar made a notable contribution.


She had also sung in films of Raj Kapoor, including songs like “bolo shawaiwai”, from the film Jagte Raho, in 1956. Actually she was elegant in the contributions of Salil Choudhury, OP Nayyar, SD Burman, Hemant Kumar, etc., who had used her soft style of singing and aggressive style too. After Lata and Asha, she is the most respectable female singer who had graced bollywood films. Her songs should be restored and preserved for the new generation to know the art of traditional singing.

Shahrukh Khan – the greatest superstar of bollywood films.

Shahrukh Khan – the greatest superstar of bollywood films.

Shahrukh Khan is probably one of the greatest superstars that bollywood have ever produced. He is very popular in India and abroad and over the years had brought smiles in the faces of producers and directors, by giving hits one after the other.

He made a great impression in the minds of the filmlovers in the GP Sippy film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, opposite Juhi Chawla in the early part of his career. Then he was sublime in Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhaniya le jayenge, opposite Kajol. In Karan Arjun, directed by Rakesh Roshan, he played the role of Rakhee and brother of Salman Khan, who had re-incarnation and in their new lives, took revenge against Amrish Puri, for killing their relatives. Although the subject matter of the film involved fantasy, but due to strong music composed by Rajesh Roshan and good action sequences and powerful performance of Shahrukh and Salman, it became a superhit film.


Shahrukh Khan’s popularity grew with time and he was sublime in cross-border films like Veer Zara, where he, being an Indian fell in love with Preeti Zinta, who was a Pakistani, and was ultimately freed from prison in Pakistan after his case was reopened by the lawyer played by Rani Mukherjee. The film had tunes of late Madanmohan where Lata, Sonu Nigam and others had sung melodious songs.


Shahrukh Khan had acted in the remake of films of Big B, and there too, his performance had led to the success of the films, like Don. Don was a hit film of megastar Amitabh Bacchan, in 1978, when he acted as an underworld don, who was replaced by an innocent person and came to know about the entire gang who was led by Om Shiv Puri. The same film was remade with strong action sequences and modern camera effects and Shahrukh Khan’s brilliance with support from Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor had led to success. The film had good songs like “raat hai”, “khaike pan banaraswala”.


Shahrukh Khan’s films released last year including Chakde de India, Om Shanti Om, had also been successful. In Om shanti om, he was sublime opposite new actress Dipika Parukone, and in the title song “om shanti om” had invited almost all the notable actors and actresses of bollywood to dance. He replaced Big B in the TV show KBC, and his popularity had led to creation of his wax statue at Madam Tussadds museum in London. The audience expects more dynamic performances from him in future.

By: CR Chatterji.

Kajol – the effortless actress of bollywood

Kajol – the effortless actress of bollywood

Kajol is one of the most effortless actress of bollywood films who had made significant contribution in the films of 90s. She acted in different types of films and showed people that acting is not that difficult.

Being the daughter of Tanuja and being relative of Nutan, she had acting in her blood. She played the role of daughter of an affluent family in the film Baazigar, opposite Shahrukh Khan. It was also the beginning of journey of Shahrukh Khan, who later became a very popular star of bollywood. In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, she acted as an immature girl who liked to fight with her friends, including Shahrukh Khan, as one of the friend. All of a sudden Rani Mukherjee came and joined her college and brought a change in her life. An arranged marriage was fixed for her with Salman Khan. At the end of the film, Shahrukh Khan entered the marriage party with his daughter and brought in memories of the past. The music in the film was very popular including songs like “tum pass aye”, “koi mil gaya”, etc., and strong direction of Karan Johar made the film a landmark film.


Kajol had acted in negative characters also, including the character of the criminal in the film Gupt, opposite Bobby Deol. She had a mental problem, that whenever she did not get what she wanted, she took the crude path of killing the persons who came in the way. She killed Raj Babbar, Kulbhushan and other persons who either prevented her from marrying Bobby Deol, or came to know about her crime. The truth was unearthed at the end of the film, when she tried to kill Manisha Koirala who also loved Bobby Deol. She also received the filmfare best actress award in a negative role for the performance in the film.


She also acted in romantic characters opposite her husband Ajay Devgan, in films like Isqh, where Amir Khan and Juhi Chawla were the other pair. The film involved comedy instances and had the story of a rich father wanting to marry her daughter to the type of person he wanted. The songs in the film like “isq hua, kaise hua”, were very successful. Her other notable films include Karan Arjun, directed by Rakesh Roshan, Pyar to Hona hi tha, etc.


After giving everlasting hits like Dilwale Dulhania le jayege, opposite Shahrukh Khan, and Kabhi Khishi Kabhi Gham, with Shahrukh, Hrithik Roshan, Jaya Bacchan, Big B, Kareena Kapoor, all of a sudden she stopped acting. But when she returned back to films, her performance in Fanaa, opposite Amir Khan was well appreciated by the viewers. She has a lot of acting potentiality left in her and can be expected to perform even better in the years to come.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Sanjay Dutt – the rebel actor of bollywood

Sanjay Dutt – the rebel actor of bollywood.

Sanjay Dutt, the song of Nargis and Sunil Dutt, is one of the rebel stars of bollywood, who did not stick to any conventional style but proved himself in anti-establishment roles. Initially he acted in teenage love-stories like Rocky and gave a decent performance in the film Naam. But he attracted the attention of viewers with his performance in the film Saajan, opposite Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan.

He played the role of a handicapped poet in the film and loved his friend and had affair with Madhuri. He asked Salman to pretend as the poet and impress Madhuri, as he did not want to waste her life. At the end the truth was revealed. The film had good music with songs like “mera dil bhi kitan pagal hai”, “tu shayar hai”, etc., composed by Nadeem Shravan and that contributed to the success of the film.


In many action films like Andolan, Aatish, Vijeta, he broke the convention of traditional stars and succeeded in creating an aggressive image. He also acted in anegative characted in Shubhash Ghai’s Khalnayak. He was sublime in the film Vaastav, where he hsowed the manner in which the society compels innocent individuals in Mumbai to get involved in underworld activities. He was an innocent character who put up stalls on the road to earn his livelihood, and oppression by the lawbreakers compelled him to be a lawbreaker and ended up being an underworld don. He received filmfare award for the superlative performance and the use of tapori language which was required in the film.


He got a new life with his performance in the film Munnabhai MBBS, and Lage Raho Munnabhai. He played the role of a underworld don, but used his muscle-power for good cause. He wanted to become a doctor in Munnabhai MBBS, and tried to cure the patients with love, affection, hopes. In Lage Raho Munnabhai, he tried to use Gandhiji’s principle of non-violence and the recourse of truth to transform wrongdoers. He helped Vidya Balan to run an old age home and fought for their cause when they were evicted from their home due to pressure created by big promoters. The film had good music including songs like “pal pal”, “lage raho munnabhai”, etc. These days, people know Sanjay Dutt more with his new image of munnabhai. He acted in a number of comedy films with Govinda including Ek aur ek gyarah. He went to prison a number of times, but that did not affect his acting skills. The audience expects even superior performance in future.

By: CR Chatterji

Nanda – the soft actress of bollywood.

Nanda – the soft actress of bollywood.

Nanda, is known for her soft performance in notable bollywood films of the 60s and 70s. She acted as the wife of military major played by Dev Anand in the film Hum Dono, where the major died, and another military officer, having resemblance with the major came to her house to give the news of his death. As her mother-in-law was blind and had no other bread-earner, Nanda asked the officer to pretend to be her son, as she was not strong enough to bear the news of his death. It was a very landmark film, with unique story having resemblance with Uttamkumar’s film Uttarayan. Nanda gave very impressive lips in Lata’s bhajan “allah tero naam”, composed by Jaidev in raag gour-sarang.

In the 60s, Nanda had acted in successful films opposite Shashi Kapoor, including Jab Jab Phool Khile, Neend Humari Khwab tumhari, Mohabbat is ko kehte hai, etc. The songs composed in these films by Kalyanji Anandji, Khayyam, and sung by Rafi, Lata, Suman Kalyanpur, were very unique, including “pardesiyon se na aankhiya milana”, “mai yaha ek ajnabi hun”, “theheriye hosh me aalun, to chale jaiyega”, etc.

In the film Gumman, in 1965, she transformed her docile image into stylish image and provided landmark performance opposite Manoj Kumar. It was crime-thriller, with 7 murders, and the actual criminal played by Tarun Bose, was detected at the end of the film. Shankar Jaikishan, as usual, had given memorable tunes including “gumnaam hai koi”, “ek ladki ne”, “jaan pehchaan ho”, “is duniya me jeena ho to”, “o mere maan”, etc. Nanda had balaned the strong performance of Helen, Pran, Mehmood and others in the film.

In the 70s, she was sublime in the serene performance in the film Shor, opposite Manoj Kumar, where she died, and her son was nurtured with her memory, although the film. The song “ek pyar ka nagma hai”, sung by Lata and Mukesh, composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal has become immortal with passage of time. Jaya Bachhan also performed well in the film. Nanda’s other notable films include The Train, and Joru ka ghulam, opposite Rajesh Khanna, and a familydrama titled Bhabi. If the films of the 60s and 70s involving soft romantic stories are remembered, Nanda’s performance will be adored as well, as the style of dialogue delivery was soft, unique and impressive.

Shabana Azmi – the versatile actress of all times.

Shabana Azmi – the versatile actress of all times.

Shabana Azmi is considered as one of the most versatile actress of all times who had graced bollywood films. Notable directors have experimented a lot with her and could take risks due to her dynamic acting capability. She had started her career in Shyam Benegal’s film Ankur, in 1974, where the picture of rural dominance by feudal lords on poor villagers were depicted and the beginning of protests by the downtrodden class was also shown. She was sublime opposite Sadhu Meher and Anant Nag in the film.

She impressed the viewers in the following films like Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, opposite Vinod Khanna and adapted the style of acting required in commercial films. All these films were action-pact films and she even played the role of thieves and pickpockets in these films. She was elegant in the film Khandahar, directed by Mrinal Sen, opposite Nasiruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor and Annu Kapoor. It was film where she took care of her sick mother and the visitors including Nasiruddin Shah came to know her needy condition. The mother’s role was played by Geeta Sen.

She stormed the silver screen with dynamic performance in the film Paar, directed by Goutam Ghosh, opposite Nasirrudin Shah. They came from village and had to do different types of jobs in the city for their livelihood. It included the passing of a group of pigs across the river Ganges. Both Shabana Azmi and Nasiruddin Shah had to swim across the river to complete the shooting.


At the same time her performance in the film Arth, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, opposite Kulbhushan and Smita Patil, requires special mention. She was neglected by her husband who maintained another woman and the story revolved around the mental trauma faced by the wife in those situations. The film had landmark ghazals sung by Jagjit Singh including “tum itna jo muskura rahi ho” where Raj Kiran had given impressive lips.

She used to understand the characters very well whenever complex roles were given to her. In Masoom, directed by Shekhar Kapoor, opposite Nasiruddin Shah, she played the role of a step mother who had her own daughters and could not accept the son of her husband’s old wife. The relationship grew up with passage of time and she ultimately embraced Jugal Hansraj, as the son and prevented him from going to a boarding. The songs in the film including “huzur is kadar bhi na itrake chaliye” sung by Bhupinder Singh and Suresh Watkar, and “tujhse naraz nahi zindagi”, sung by Anup Ghoshal had not lost their relevance even today.

Shabana Azmi had also played significant roles in the films City of Joy, directed by Ronald Joff, opposite Om Puri, Dharavi, opposite Om Puri, , Shatranj Ki Khilari, directed by Satyajit Ray. In City of Joy, she acted as the wife of Om Puri, who had come from village to Kolkata and saw the crude reality when Om Puri earned his livelihood as rickshaw puller. She was very impressive in the film God Mother. She acted as a journalist, opposite Big B, in the film Mai Azaad Hoon. Other than Smita Patil, no other actress had shown the range of performance that she had shown.

She is involved in a number of activities relating to women empowerment and social work. She had also been the judge in musical contests held in TV Channels along with Mahesh Bhatt and Anandji, and there, too, she had shown her understanding of music and lyrics. Being the daughter of eminent lyricist Kaifi Azmi, she had the capacity of interpreting urdu poetry very well. She had won a number of filmfare awards, national awards and international awards for best performance as an actress. The viewers expect same standard of performance from her in all types of films in the years to come.

By: CR Chatterji.

Nutan- the sophisticated actress of bollywood.

Nutan- the sophisticated actress of bollywood.

Nutan is one of the most sophisticated actresses who had remained sublime in her performances over three decades. In the 50s, she was used by eminent director Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee for playing complex roles which required depth of acting.

She played the role of insane person in the film Seema, who became insane due to social pressure but was reformed in the institution run by Balraj Sahani. The songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi, Lata, Manna Dey, including “baat baat pe rutho na”, “kahan ja rahe ho”, “tu pyar ka sagar hai”, were immortal hits.

She amazed the viewers with her performance in the film Sujata and Bandini, directed by Bimal Roy, where she even expressed the feelings of a woman who commits crime due to provocation and spends time in prison. She brought tears in the eyes of viewers with her lips in the tragic songs composed by SD Burman. Songs like “jalte hai jiske liye”, “mora gora aang laile”, were very successful.


In Anari, opposite Raj Kapoor, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, she played the role of a rich arrogant girl who was touched by the innocence of a middle-class person played by Raj Kapoor. The songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan, had created history, including songs like “banke panchi”, “kisi ki muskurahato pe ho nisar”, “sab kuch sikha humne”, “tera jana”, “yeh chand khila”, etc.

Nutan at the same time acted in hit commercial films like Laatsahab, opposite Shammi Kapoor, Tere ghar ke saamne, opposite Dev Anand, Milan, etc. She even acted in a mute role, in the film Karma, at the end of her career, opposite Dilip Kumar, where the terrorist activities had made her dumb. It was a difficult role and Nutan only had the potentiality to give right expression without dialogues.

Nutan had made notable contribution for more than 40 years in films and could adjust herself in any type of role including comedy role in Delhi ka thug, opposite Kishore Kumar. Her sophisticated style of performance cannot be highlighted in a small article, but the reference reminds people of the golden age where most of her films including Chaliya, Kanhaiya, Dil hi to hai, Paying guest, show her indispensability in the bollywood film industry.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Abhishek Bacchan – the promising actor of recent bollywood films.

Abhishek Bacchan – the promising actor of recent bollywood films.

Abhishek Bacchan, the son of Big B, had shown a lot of promise in the films he had acted till date. His first film Refugee, opposite Kareena Kapoor, was well appreciated by the filmlovers for its innovative storyline. He showed all the skills required for being a fine actor, in his first appearance in the film Refugee.

He played the role of a refugee who had helped the citizens of both the countries India and Pakistan to cross the border and travel to the other country whenever they wanted to meet their relatives in the respective countries. The film had a very unique message, that the landscape, way of living, language and culture of both parts are the same, yet the line of control had created a barrier of though and hostile relationship between the citizens of both the countries. Abhishek gave adequate lips in the songs composed by Anu Malik and sung by Sonu Nigam, including “panchi nadiya pawan ke jhoke”, “mere humsafar”, etc.


He made a lasting impression in the minds of the viewers with his performance in the film Bunty aur Babli, opposite Rani Mukherjee. He had cheated different persons in the film along with his wife, and the police also could not track his misdeeds. At the end of the film Big B, arrested him as he could think in the same way. The songs in the film were big hits like “dharak dharak”, “kajra re”, etc. Aiswariya Rai, also performed in an item number and created a significant impact.


His other notable films include Yuva, where he balanced the strong performance of Rani Mukherjee, with his own acting. The film was shot in Kolkata, and he adapted to the storyline. He was also sublime in the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, along with Shahrukh Khan, Big B, Rani Mukherjee and Preety Zinta. He had the big task of proving before the audience that he never imitated his father and mother (Jaya Bacchan) and displayed his own style of acting.


His performance in the film Guru, Umrao Jaan, opposite Aiswariya Rai, showed his own style of dialogue throwing. With notable performances in the films Dhoom 2, Sarkar, Abhishek had shown that he is a promising actor, and if he gets good script, he has the capability of providing realistic performances. The viewers expect strong performance from him in the years to come.


Abhishek Bachan Photogallery

Rajesh Khanna – the superstar of the 70s.

Rajesh Khanna – the superstar of the 70s.

Rajesh Khanna made significant contribution in bollywood films in the 70s and most of his films are still remembered for strong storybase and good music. He impressed the viewers with his performance in the film Aradhana, opposite Sharmila Tagore, in 1969, which was directed by Shakti Samanta. The songs composed by SD Burman and sung by Kishore including “roop tera mastana”, and Rafi “gunguna rahi hai bhwar” became everlasting hits.

Rajesh Khanna acted in films having realistic stories like Khamoshi, which was the hindi adaptation of Suchitra Sen’s legendary film Deep Jele Jai, where he was insane and had been cured by Wahida Rehman by pretending to be his better half. His film Anand, directed Hrishikesh Mukherjee, also had a unique story, where the cancer patient is being treated by Big B, and the person knowing that he is not going to survive for a long period, makes everyone laugh and entertains the patients and doctors in the medical centre. Salil Chowdhury had provide immortal tunes like “kahi door jab din dhal jaye” and “maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune” sung by Mukesh, and “zindagi kaisi hai paheli” sung by Manna Dey, and the songs contributed to the immense success of the film.


His film Bawarchi, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the hindi adaptation of Tapan Sinha’s film “golpo holeo satti”, where he acted as the cook in the house who taught the members of the house to be hardworking and help each other for the successful running of the joint family. His film Safar, was the hindi adaptation of Arundhuti Debi’s film Chalachal, where he is the painter who has an affair with Sharmila Tagore. The songs in the film composed by Kalyanji Anandji including “zindagi ka safar”, sung by Kishore Kumar had touched the hearts of filmlovers.


His film Amarprem, was the hindi adaptation of Uttamkumar’s film Nishipadda, where he was sympathetic towards a tawaif played by Sharmila Tagore, who had to accept the trade due to social circumstances. The songs composed by RD Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar including “chingari koi bharke”, “kuch to log kahenge”, have not lost their appeal, and are sung by contestants in the musical competition titled “K for Kishore” in TV channels these days. In fact RD Burman, Laxmikant Pyarellal and Kishore Kumar had a major contribution in the success of Rajesh Khanna’s films. His films like Roti, Aap ki kasam, Aan milo sajna, Kati Patang, Hathi Mere Saathi, have become everlasting hits and are seen even today, by the present generation when shown in different TV channels.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Priyanka Chopra – the romantic actress of bollywood.

Priyanka Chopra – the romantic actress of bollywood.

Priyanka Chopra is one of the most promising actresses of the present time. She had shown her capability in performing in different types of roles. She initially acted in small roles in films like Hero opposite Sunny Deol, where the main role was played by Preeti Zinta, but became prominent with passing of time.

She had impressed the viewers with her dynamic performance in the film Don, opposite Shahrukh Khan. She was acting in the role which was originally played by Zeenat Aman in the original Don, played by Amitabh Bacchan and released in 1978. She had to show both her vengeance as she entered the gang of workers working for Don, only to kill him and take revenge for killing her brother. The moment she came to know, that the new Shahrukh Khan was not the original Don, but a dummy used by the police department to arrest all the criminals, she had to show romantic performance. She was sublime in both the parts and adjusted herself to the modern technology that was used in the new Don. The song “aaj ki raat” was very successful.


She had done well opposite Hithik Roshan in the film Krishh, which was the 3rd version of the two early films directed by Rakesh Roshan titled Kahona Pyar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya. She showed her dancing capabilities opposite Hrithik Roshan, who was blessed with supernatural power in the film. Her performance along with Hrithik Roshan had contributed in the success of the story which was a fantasy.


Priyanka Chopra had done well opposite Salman Khan in the film Salaam-e-isq. She had shown her capability of romantic performance in the film and the film had been successful with hit songs like “salaam-e-isq”. Generally people have the feeling that actresses having background wining awards in beauty contests struggle in bollywood films where they face the test of acting, dancing and other skills. Priyanka Chopra had won prizes in these contests and just like Aishwariya Rai and Lara Dutta had shown that she knows acting and can make major contribution in bollywood films. The viewers expect even better performance in new films in the years to come.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Bharat Bhushan – the legendary actor of bollywood.

Bharat Bhushan – the legendary actor of bollywood.

Bharat Bhushan had created a distinct place for himself in the bollywood films made in the 50s and 60s. He can be rightly known as a singing star as most of his films depicted historical characters who were famous for their singing skills or poetic skills. He impressed the viewers with his performance in the film Anandmath with Pradeep Kumar and Pritviraj Kapoor, based on the novel of Bankim Chandra Chatterji.

His film Baiju Bawra, opposite Meena Kumari, had stormed the Indian silver screen with legendary music and lyrics. Naushad had made lifetime composition in the film and songs like “tu ganga ki mauj”, “woh duniyake rakhwale”, “man tarapata”, etc., made both Rafi and Bharat Bhushan legendary stars. The ragas were extraordinary and Naushad’s use of Rafi and Lata, showed the viewers why he was a legend of legends. He also depicted the characters of saints and noted poets like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Mirza Ghalib. In Mirza Ghalib, his performance opposite Suraiya is worth mentioning, with superlative music composed by Ghulam Mohammad, with songs like “dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai”, sung by Talat Mehmood and Suraiya.

After performing well in films like Phagun, opposite Madhubala, Bharat Bhushan again amazed the viewers with his serene performance in the film Basant Bahar. The music composed by Shankar Jaikishan included classical compositions of the highest degree with Manna Dey singing legendary songs like “sur na saje kya gayun mai” and facing Bhimsen Joshi in a musical contest. The display of quality ghazals and qawallis continued in the film Barsaat Ki Raat, where Bharat Bhushan, and Madhubala provided outstanding lips in the legendary composition of Roshan with songs like “zindagi bhar nahi bhulenge who barsaat ki raat”, sung separately by Rafi and Lata, and “yeh isq isq”, the immortal qawalli sung by Manna Dey, Rafi and others.

Bharat Bhushan was even sublime in his role in the film Jahan-ara, opposite Mala Sinha. He gave adequate lips in the songs composed by Madanmohan and sung by Rafi and other playback singers like “baad muddat ke yeh ghari ayi”, “kisi ki yaad me apna ko hai bhulae hue”, etc. He performed in character roles in the 70s and 80s, and there too commanded respect. His education and understanding of the historical characters are evident in the legendary roles he had played during the long span of film career. The viewers are respectful towards the notable performances of Bharat Bhushan in bolywood films.

Article By: CR Chatterji.

Juhi Chawla – the natural actress of bollywood

Juhi Chawla – the natural actress of bollywood.

Juhi Chawla made a significant contribution in bollywood films during the 80s and 90s. Her first film with Amir Khan titled Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, brought her recognition and she never had to look back during her career. The songs in the film composed by Anand Milind and sung mainly by Udit Narayan including “papa kehte hai”, were evergreen hits.

She had very good smile and that helped her to create a good impression in the minds of filmlovers. She had acted well in the film Darr opposite Sunny Deol and Shahrukh Khan. She was Sunny’s wife and Shahrukh Khan being a mental patient tried to kill Sunny, to marry her. The fear created in her mind by the insane acts of Shahrukh Khan was well expressed in the film. The songs in the film including “jadu teri nazar”, “tu mere samne”, etc., were very successful.