Shatru was the first hit film of 80s.

Shatru was the first hit film of 80s.

Superstar Uttam Kumar died on 31st July, 1980. The Bengali film industry came to a stand still for few years. People say time is the best healer. It took four years for the bengalies to realize the fact that Uttam Kumar was no more. Whichever film was released during 1980 to 1984 only ran for seven days each.

Eminent director Anjan Choudhury appeared at that time. He initially wanted to provide the role of the honest police-officer to Uttam Kumar. But Uttam Kumar died. So the role was offered to Ranjit Mullick. According to the story of the film, he came to a jurisdiction where all the previous police officers were corrupted.

He came to know that a small child named Chottu became orphan, because his father Paran Mondol was kidnapped by Manoj Mitra’s men and there was no evidence of his existence. Ranjit Mullick came to know about the affairs of the place from the subordinate officer played by Chiranjit. Manoj Mitra used a lot of gundas in the film to dominate the rural folk including Prasenjit Chatterjee.

Ranjit Mullick got attached to the little child Chottu and asked Shakuntala Barua to take care of him. The relationship of Ranjit Mullick and Chottu was well presented by Anjan Choudhury. The reason why every operation of Ranjit Mullick was revealed before Manoj Mitra was because a subordinate officer in the same police station played by Anup Kumar informed Manoj Mitra about all the affairs.

At the end of the film, Anup Kumar was caught by Ranjit Mullick leaking the confidential information and he arrested Manoj Mitra for the criminal activities. The film became super hit. After that film most of Anjan Choudhury’ s films like Guru Dakhina, Choto Bou, etc., became hit one after the other. Ranjit Mullick went on playing important roles in the films of Anjan Choudhury. The police department of Kolkata was asked to see the film to ensure honesty and commitment.

Other directors can learn from Anjan Choudhury that good stories and proper script can reach the middle-class mass who can associate themselves with those films.

Konkona Sen Sharma had remained down to earth.

Konkona Sen Sharma had remained down to earth.

Konkona Sen Sharma, one of the successful actresses of bollywood had remained down to earth. Recently she had given interview in Zee Bangla in a program held on 26th June, 2010, which was anchored by director Anurag Basu. She was born on 3rd December, 1979, in Kolkata.

In the entire program which determined the greatest fan of Konkona Sen Sharma, the honesty and humbleness of the talented actress was reflected. References came about the performances of the co-stars of Konkona Sen Sharma, where she admitted that she admired Irfan Khan. She started her career with the film Ek Je Ache Kanya in 2000. Then she got National Award for the performance in the film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer in 2002. It was directed by her mother Aparna Sen.

She acted well in the parallel cinema Page 3 in 2005. Then she received filmfare awards for best supporting actresses in the films Omkara in 2006 and Life in a Metro in 2007. Her performance in the film Omkara also earned her second national award in the category of best supporting actress.

She spoke about her experience of acting opposite popular actress Rani Mukherjee in the film Laga Chunari Me Daag. She said that her dancing skills were quite weak. Her tool flew off and hurt Rani Mukherjee on the first day of shooting. She also did a great job opposite Farhan Akhtar in Zoya Akhtar’s film Luck By Chance which was given positive reviews by critics.

Recently she carried her success in art films to commercial films as well. Her film Wake Up Sid opposite Ranbir Kapoor became a smash hit in 2009. She confessed that she was very comfortable working with the director Vishal Bharatswaj as he was organized and actor Ranbir Shorey who was very intimate to her. The Bengali audience expressed their sadness for not seeing her in many Bengali films. Her Bengali films were limited to only art films like Rituparna Ghosh’s Titli where she acted opposite Mithun Chakravarty and Aparna Sen and the film Doshor where she acted opposite Prasenjit Chatterji. She confessed that she did not get good scripts. But both Anurag Basu and Konkona Sen Sharma said that they will look forward to working in more Bengali films in future.

The viewers expressed their regards to the talented actress and wished her best of luck for upcoming films.

Satinath Mukherjee and classical songs.

Satinath Mukherjee and classical songs.

Satinath Mukherjee was one of the versatile classical singers who did not get dues during the golden age. The 50s and 60s were categorized with notable classical and semi-classical singers in the Bengal arena where Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, Akhil Bandhu Ghosh and other giants galvanized the world of modern songs.

Satinath Mukherjee, the guru of notable singer Shyamal Mitra, had a huge partnership with lyricist Shyamal Gupta and presented his flora of classical ragas in Bengali modern songs. His songs “pashaner buke likhona amar naam”, “bono patho majhe”, “jibone Jodi deep”, etc. were milestones of Bengali modern songs.

He sang separate private songs involving “raag pradhan” which described the movement of separate ragas like Imon, Baghesri, Darbari Kanada, Behag, Ashawari, etc. His song on raag bageshri included “elo jochona se tobu”. His song on raag bairagi included “dake na keno je banshi”. His song on raag behaag included “gelo je logon chole”. His song on raag bhairav included “jagiche bhore probhat robi”. His song on raag bhupali included “kotha je banshori baaje”. His song on raag darbadi kanada included “e bedona kemone sohi”. His song on raag desh thumri included “boroshar rate jagi”. His song on raag kalawati included “baje keno beena”. His song on raag komol ashavari included “modhu rati bhor hoi”. His song on raag madhab todi included “ke jano dake nishibore”. His song on raag manj khamaj included “tomare bhulite ogo”. His song on raag nandkauns included “kotha tumi ghanashyam”. His song on raag pahari thumri included “emono dine se kothay”. His song on raag patdeep included “kano janina baje”. His song on raag yaman included “na go na jeyona”.

Some of his classical songs included “bojhona keno ami je koto eka”, “jedin jibone tumi”, “baluka belay kurai jhinuk”, to name a few. Very significantly most of the songs were composed by himself.

As a composer he used to be considered a giant of giants. His compositions for other legendary singers included “tomar pother prante moner monideep jele rekhechi” and “bhule gechi kobe” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee, “eto alo aar eto hasi gaan” sung by Shyamal Mitra, “ami cheyechi tomay” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, “tomar moto amiyoto koto soyechi” sung by Pannalal Bhattacharya, to name a few.

Besides his own student Dipak Maitra had sung few songs composed by Satinath Mukherjee included “koto kotha bola holona”. Satinath Mukherjee is associated with the compositions for the two maestros in Indian music namely Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

Lata’s first record in Bengali namely “akash pradeep jale” and “koto tara” were the compositions of the genius Satinath Mukherjee. Satinath Mukherjee’s landmark compositions for Mohammad Rafi included “ekhono biday bolona”, “pakhitar buke jeno teer merona”, etc. It is very sad that Satinath Mukherjee’s immense musical talents were not used in Bengali films. He had sung rare songs like “majhe nodi bahe re” in Tapan Sinha’s film Atithi, songs in Uttam Kumar’s film Bon Palashir Padabali, etc.

Otherwise Satinath Mukherjee, the sincere student of Ustad Bare Ghulam Ali Khan was one of the revolutionary singers and composers who remained an institution by himself. His students included singer and composer Jotileshwar Mukherjee who carried on the legacy of Satinath Mukherjee. The songs and creations of Satinath should be preserved and restored.

The world remembers Michael Jackson- the other name of unlimited entertainment.

The world remembers Michael Jackson- the other name of unlimited entertainment.

Michael Jackson, the king of pop songs died one year back in June 2009. For most of the viewers and listeners of pop music and dance it was shock and disbelief. Although the master entertainer died he had left a huge treasure of music for his admirers all across the world. After one year of his death he still remains in the minds of numerous lovers of music and dance all across the world. He is remembered on his 1st death anniversary in different parts of the world.

Born in 1958, Michael Jackson stormed the world of pop songs with the Album “I wanted you back” at an age of 11 years. Although he was ill-treated by his father at an early age, he became the most popular pop singer and break dancer of the present age. In fact he took out the standard of popularity of Elvis Priestley, John Lennon, Frank Sinatra from evergreen albums to performers stage where he brought acting in his dance and music shows.

Michael Jackson was the seventh son of Joseph Jackson and Kathrene. In his numerous interviews Michael Jackson had repeatedly said that he never had a proper childhood. He was the lead singer in the band “Jackson five” where all his brothers and sisters performed with him. He had to perform in night clubs where sometimes there were events like striptease which had taken away his childhood.

He underwent plastic surgery and had feminine looks later on which was criticized from different quarters of the world. He married a number of times, converted himself into muslim, got involved in child molestation case, but it did not affect his dance and music. His last show would have been titled “this is it”, it was not completed as an album was supposed to have been completed with title and the music companies are facing huge debts.

Indians became great fans when Michael Jackson came to Mumbai and performed in the respective auditoriums. Those who had interacted with Michael said that he was a very down to earth human being. He was interested in charity and donated money for charitable institutions. His album “thriller” is still popular among Indians. Many teenagers still cannot forget Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.

He will remain in the minds of millions of admirers through albums like “heal the world”, why you wanna trip on me” to name a few. His admirers pray for peace for the departed soul.

Raavan had remained the greatest flop of the year.

Raavan had remained the greatest flop of the year.

To the surprise of lot of critics, director Mani Ratnam’s film Raavan ended up being the greatest flop of the year. The film was released on 18th June, 2010. It was simultaneously released in Tamil as well with the title Raavanan. While the Tamil version had done good business, the hindi version was not accepted by the audience at all.

The film opened with Abhishek Bacchan jumping into water from a cliff. His gang distracted the police. The policemen were seduced and killed by the gang of Abhishek Bacchan. Aishwarya Rai was kidnapped by Abhishek Bacchan. He and his brothers Ravi Kishan and Nikhil Dwivedi almost ran a parallel government in the state. Although the police considered him terrorist, the villagers loved him.

Aishwarya Rai’s husband Vikram entered the jungle with the help of forest guard played by Govinda to release his wife. He managed to get his wife back, but Abhishek Bacchan did not kill only because he was the husband of Aishwarya Rai. But after returning back, he accused her of infidelity. At the end of the film Abhishek Bacchan was killed by the police when Vikram returned back with the police team.

The music was composed by AR Rehman. The songs “veera veera”, “behene de” had the AR Rehman touch but could not recreate the magic shown in the film Roja, 15 years back. The major reasons for the failure of the film lie in the taste of the viewers. Viewers these days are fed up of stories related to terrorism, naxalite movement, maoist attack, separatist movement, etc.

While those stories amazed the viewers at the beginning in the early 90s, when Roja became super hit, with gradual way of repeatation, these stories hardly astonished the viewers. Abhishek Bacchan, Vikram and Aishwarya Rai acted well. The leading actors can forget the fate of the film and can concentrate in their upcoming projects.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham, better known as Rahul Dev Burman, on his birthday on 27th June, 2010. Almost 16 years passed after his death, yet his tunes had kept him alive among the young generations.

Being the son of legendary singer and composer SD Burman, he had a monumental task of proving his identity in the 60s. He came out with innovative tunes sung by Rafi in Mehmood’s film Chote Nawab. From that time onwards critics understood that RD Burman had come to create his unique identity. His biggest in the 60s came in Shammi Kapoor’s film Teesri Manzil in 1966. All the songs sung by Rafi and Asha became landmark hits including “o haseena zulfonwali”, “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera”, “janeman janejaa”, etc. Along with western composers like Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, who were ruling the industry, RD Burman kept his feet on strong platform.

RD Burman and Rafi combination continued in films like Abhilasha with songs like “wadiyan tera daaman”, Jeetender’s Karwan with songs like “kitna pyara wada”, “are chadti jawani”, “are ho goriyan kahan tera des re”, Shashi Kapoor’s Pyar Ka Mausam, with songs like “tum bin jayun kahan”, “ni sultana re”, Rajesh Khanna’s The Train, with songs like “gulaabi aankhe”, “tujshe bhala yeh”, etc. RD Burman composed brilliant music in the film Chandan Ka Palna. Rafi and Asha’s song “zulfon ko aap yun” had soft romantic andaz. In the 70s, RD took the bollywood industry by storm. With death of Jaikishan, Roshan, Ghulam Mohammad, Vasant Desai, etc., the industry depended on Pancham, Laxmikant Pyarellal and Kalyanji Anandji for best music. They provided stability to the industry for the next 15 years.

RD Burman had monumental contribution in Rajesh Khanna and Big B’s films and gave a new life to Kishore Kumar. All the songs of films like Amar Prem, Kati Patang, Aap Ki Kasam, Namak Haram, Mehbooba, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Shaan, Shakti, etc. Memorable songs included “tere naina”, “kuch to log kahenge”, “ai sham mastani”, “janu meri jaan”, etc.

RD Burman contributed a lot in Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Raj Kumari in 1970. The song “ki holo kabe holo” , created history which was remade in hindi in the film Amar Prem. Critics argue that RD Burman reserved his best music in Gulzar’s films. His songs for Lata in Suchitra Sen’s Aandhi titled “is mor se jaate hai”, Uttam Kumar’s Kitaab, “aa ii masterjiki ho gayi chutti”, Jeetender’s Kinara where Bhupinder Singh and Lata did their best in “naam gum jayega”, “meethe bol bole”, “ek hi khwab”, etc., Sanjeev Kumar’s Parichay, with Bhupinder’s “biti na bitai rehna”, etc.

He won the filmfare award for the best composer three times. The young generations associate themselves with RD’s tunes even today, in that count he was one of the versatile composers after Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, Madanmohan, Roshan, etc.

On 22nd June, 2010, versatile singer Asha Bhosle came as judge in the Indian Idol music competition held by Sony Television. Very significantly veteran musicians who played landmark instruments with RD Burman adorned the show including famous Sexaphone Player Manohari Singh. The participants sang songs composed by RD Burman like “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera”, “janeman janeja”, “samundar mai nahake”, “one two cha cha cha”, etc. Asha Bhosle provided her expert comments to the participants and shared her experience with RD Burman. She said that had RD Burman survived, he would have given chance to the new participants as he liked new talents. The other judges namely Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant also payed their tribute to RD Burman. RD Burman’s songs and films should be restored and revisited.

Amritakumbher Sandhane showed the crude reality of attending Kumbh Mela.

Amritakumbher Sandhane showed the crude reality of attending Kumbh Mela.

Director Dilip Ray experimented with epic literature of Bengal’s literary giant Samaresh Bose titled Amrito Kumbher Sandhane in the year 1982. The film was based on the experience of visiting Kumbh Mela in Prayag Sangam in Allahabad. Kumbh Mela is considered a very pious event by numerous Indians and those who get a scope of taking a holy dip consider themselves fortunate and blessed by God.

Subhendu Chatterji played the role of the observer in the film. He was a writer and related the stories of different individuals who travelled with him. He observed the story of Bhanu Banerjee, who had a daughter, who left the house with her girl friend and never returned back. Bhanu searched for her in Allahabad.

He witnessed the story of George Becker, who was a sadhu, then married Sanghamitra and left the life of ascetic. But she left him and became a baijee in Benaras and again returned back to Allahabad as a devotee. Anup Kumar was a bayul, who went to Prayag for giving holy dip in the sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. But at the holy time for bathing in Prayag, there was immense rush and got stamped and died.

Subhendu met a Bihari family of Pramod Ganguly and his three wives. The characters were played by Aparna Sen, Ruma Guha Thakurta and Lili Chakravarty. Their husband was old and infirm. He was taken to Prayag so that the holy dip can change his health. Instead he got stamped in the rush and died. All the three wives got back being widows.

At the time when everyone wanted to bath in Prayag, the naga sanyasis from different akhras created a mess, and the police and administration failed to stop the crowd and the unrest. It took away the lives of more than thousands of people and the rest returned back with injuries.

Samarash Bose attacked the unscientific belief in the minds of rural people in India that bathing in the holy waters of Prayag during Kumbh Mela can wash away all their evil and bring prosperity in life. He used the term “amriter saadh labanakto” meaning the taste of the holy water which should have been sweet was not sweet at all, was rather bitter. His words were given expression by Subhendu Chatterji in the film he realized that Kumbh Mela hardly brought any happiness and prosperity, on the other hand took the lives of innocent people. But for uneducated population of the country the religious beliefs in their minds cannot be substituted by rational scientific thinking. The music of the film was composed by Sudhin Dasgupta.

Dilip Ray was appreciated for his efforts to make a film on the brilliant subject and the film ended being very successful.

Nicole Kidman's contribution in Hollywood films.

Nicole Kidman’s contribution in Hollywood films.

Nicole Kidman, the successful actress of Hollywood films was born on 20th June, 1967, in Honululu, Hawaii. She started acting in Australian films and Television. Her notable roles included Five Mile Creek, BMX Bandits and Bush Christmas. She also acted in Emerald City and Bangkok Hilton.

Her performance in the film Dead Calm in 1989 attracted the attention of leading directors of Hollywood films and from that time she never looked back. She appeared opposite Tom Cruise in the film Days of Thunder in 1990 and in Ron Howard’s Far and Away in 1992.

In 1995, she acted in the successful film To Die for. She got critical acclamation and Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film. In 1998, she appeared opposite Sandra Bullock in the film Practical Magic. She even acted in a bold role in the film Eyes Wide Shut in the late 1990s opposite Tom Cruise, but the film faced criticism due to explicit nature of the sex scenes.

In 2001, Nicole Kidman showed her maturity in acting in her performance in the film Moulin Rouge. She received Academy Awards nomination for her performance in the film. In the film The Hours that was released in the next year, she played the landmark role of Virginia Woolf. She received Academy Award and Golden Globe award for her epic performance in the film.

Her other notable films included Dogville directed by Lars Von Trier, The Human Stain which was Anthony Hopkin’s adaptation of the grand novel of Philip Roth. She also acted in the film Cold Mountain. Even at an old age she kept her existence in Hollywood films intact by performing in films like The Interpreter and Bewitched.

She had been busy with the film The Danish Girl which is scheduled to release in 2010. She had been busy with also Chrish Cleave’s novel, Little Bee. She will both produce and act in the film. Viewers are anxiously waiting for her comedy film Just Go With it, which will be made by Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.

There is no doubt that she had been one of the leading actresses of Hollywood films of the 90s. Her films should be restored and preserved.

Aranyer Dinratri was Ray's masterpiece.

Aranyer Dinratri was Ray’s masterpiece.

Satyajit Ray experimented with classic literature of Sunil Ganguly to make the film Aranyer Dinratri in 1969. The film was based on the life of tribals of forest area in the region of Palamou and Daltongunge in Bihar.

It was Ray’s masterpiece. The film was related to the experience of four Bengali friends who went for a travelling experience in Palamou for few days. Soumitra Chatterji, Subhendu Chatterji, Samit Bhanja and Robi Ghosh were the four friends.

They met the family Pahari Sanyal who had a house in the forest region. The life of the tribals and the solitude attracted the friends and they started staying in the forest bunglow without the permission of the forest ranger. Pahari Sanyal’s daughter Sharmila Tagore fell in love with Soumitra Chatterji, while his daughter-in-law Kaberi Bose liked Subhendu Chatterji.

Samit Bhanja, a cricket player in the film was depressed about his girlfriend Aparna Sen in Kolkata and mixed with Simmi Garewal, a tribal girl. In fact it was the only film of Satyajit Ray where Simmi Garewal acted. He was beaten up by a local tribal, who he accused about stealing his purse. In fact his purse fell down in the house of Pahari Sanyal where he was playing badminton with Kaberi Bose, Subhendu Chatterji and Robi Ghosh.

They returned back after staying for few days. It was pity that Satyajit Ray could not make a coloured film in 1969, otherwise, the weird landscape of Daltongunge would have haunted the viewers. The nightlife in the tribal forest was very unique with the native people drinking a kind of desi alcohol and sleeping.

Goutam Ghosh got attracted with the film and made a sequel of it with the title Abar Aranye, few years back. He had to change the team, because although Soumitra Chatterji, Subhendu Chatterji and Samit Bhanja was alive, Robi Ghosh had died. Kaberi Bose also died in the late 70s. The film won a number of awards both nationally and internationally. The film Aranyer Dinratri should be preserved and restored.

Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra.

Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra.

Sonu Nigam had brilliant combination a number of leading composers of bollywood over the last 10 years. Sonu Nigam was associated with Anu Malik as some of his best romantic numbers were composed by him including “hume jab se mohabbat ho gayi hai”, in the film Border, or “sau dard hai” in the film Jaaneman. He was also associated with Sajid Wajid, as most of his romantic numbers like “tumko bhula na payega” from the film Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, or “mujhse shaadi karogi” in the film Mujshe Shaadi Karoge was composed by him.

But Sonu Nigam sang very landmark songs under the composition of Shantanu Moitra in critically acclaimed films. The films included Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, The Three Idiots, etc. Parineeta was directed by Pradeep Sarkar and was probably the first launching pad of actress Vidya Balan. Sonu Nigam’s duet song with Shreya Ghoshal namely “piyu bole piya bole” composed by Shantanu Moitra maintained the flavor of Rabindrasangeet with a background of Kolkata during the time of writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji. Also the song “yeh hawaye gungunaye” was equally impressive.

In the film Lage Raho Munnabhai, Shantanu Moitra, maintained both the bhai-like mastani flavor as well as the soft romantic mood. Sonu Nigam’s song “pal pal pal pal pal pal har pal” was probably the most romantic song of the film. The other songs like “lage raho munnabhai” did bear a different andaz. If the acting of Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani and Vidya Balan was impressive, the music was equally instrumental in the success of the film.

The Three Idiots had shown the loopholes of India’s higher education system. The songs composed by Shantanu Moitra had the message of the director Raj Kumar Hirani. Sonu Nigam and others in the film sung the theme song “all is well” a number of times in the film. The other song “zubi zubi” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal was also very fast and melodious. Shantanu Moitra had used other upcoming singers like Suraj in the film who had also done a great job in the film. If the acting of Amir Khan, R. Mahadevan and Sharman Joshi had impressed the viewers, the music had made them spellbound.

The audience expect the combination of Sonu Nigam and Shantanu Moitra to provide more number of romantic numbers in future, even in films made under any other banner in addition to the banner of Vidhu Vinod Chopra or direction of Raj Kumar Hirani.

Prospect of Kareena Kapoor in 2010.

Prospect of Kareena Kapoor in 2010.

2010 is definitely going to be a testing year for Kareena Kapoor. As it has been said a number of times that the task of retaining the number one position in bollywood industry is more difficult than reaching the number one position.

Kareena Kapoor has generally four competitors namely Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai and Lara Dutta. She has an edge over the other actresses in terms of her acting potentiality which she had proved a number of times. But Katrina Kaif’s master luck had resulted in hits after hits, the latest one being Rajneeti.

But these days whenever any actress crosses 30 years, or gets married the producers and directors discard them. So the period of success of the leading actresses are getting reduced day by day. Madhuri Dixit ruled bollywood films for more than ten years. But after her retirement every year Indian celluloid saw a new reigning queen.

In 2009, Kareena’s film Kambakht Ishq did fantastic business. Kareena’s combination with Akhay Kumar entertained the viewers to a great extent. In the same year she acted opposite Amir Khan in film The Three Idiots and Salman Khan in the film Mai and Mrs. Khanna. The Three Idiots did a business worth 150 crores. The other film Kurbaan opposite Saif Ali Khan flopped inspite of Kareena Kapoor’s brilliant performance.

Kareena also has to face the fact that she is a bit older than Katrina Kaif or Priyanka Chopra, so obviously her demand will gradually go down. So she is inclined to sign meaningful films at the moment and try to maintain her steady market.

It is fact that Kareena Kapoor had pulled on the legacy of Raj Kapoor after Rishi Kapoor, as none of the sons of Shammi Kapoor or Shashi Kapoor could be successful in bollywood films. Wherever Kareena Kapoor even did dance numbers, her performance was appreciated. For example her performance in Don in the dance number “yeh mera dil pyar ka diwana” amazed the viewers.

In 2010 Kareena is acting opposite Shahid Kapoor again in the film Milenge Milenge. The viewers are looking forward to even better performance from Kareena Kapoor in 2010 itself.

Uttam Kumar's Bikele Bhorer Phool propagated the tourist spot Digha.

Uttam Kumar’s Bikele Bhorer Phool propagated the tourist spot Digha.

Uttam Kumar’s Bikele Bhorer Phool propagated the tourist spot Digha. Digha became an important tourist spot with allied spots like Talsari, Shankarpur, Jhargram, etc., in the recent times. Lot of films are shot in the romantic place. But in the early 70s, the tourist spot was on the making. Uttam Kumar’s film gave it a great launching pad. Uttam Kumar became a living God in the 70s in Bengali cinema. Bikele Phorer Phool was released in the early 70s, at a time when producers used to consider that the moment Uttam Kumar appeared in any film the film became hit automatically. He was one man industry. The film was directed by Pijush Basu.

The film was entirely shot at West Bengal’s biggest tourist attraction Digha. It was released in 1974, and director Pijush Bose in one way discovered the place. Uttam Kumar was a renowned novelist in the film. He was old aged and came to Digha to pass his leisure time. Sumitra Mukherjee with her friends were college girls who were brought by the college teacher from Kolkata on a trip to Digha.

When the college teachers knew about the presence of Uttam Kumar, they called him in the guest house to address the college students. Sumitra Mukherjee sang a rabindra sangeet, “ki gabol ami”. Uttam Kumar then told them a horror story. Most of the girls became fan of Uttam Kumar.

Sumitra Mukherjee got especially attached with him, as she had a bad parentage and her parents quarreled against each other daily. She went to Kapal Kundala Mandir near Digha with Uttam Kumar. That was the place where Novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterji got the plot of the novel Kapal Kundala.

Sumitra Mukherjee wanted to marry Uttam Kumar. But Uttam Kumar explained to her that his days were over, he was old like twilight and Sumitra Mukherjee was a young flower, so marriage between unequal age groups could not blossom. He advised Sumitra Mukherjee to forget her past, concentrate on singing and live a better life.

Utpal Dutt did a great job in role of District Magistrate. He showed his comedy instincts as his speeches and song made the young girls laugh. Kalyan Chatterji played the role of a loafer who wanted to seduce Sumitra Mukherjee and got a slap from Uttam Kumar for that.

Hemant Kumar’s music was super hit, with Arati Mukherjee’s song “ei jhaupata” becoming very popular in the early 70s. In the song “ei jhaupata” the entire forests (jhaubon) fringing the Bay of Bengal in Digha was shown. Uttam Kumar’s mere presence in a film used to create storms in the Bengali arena during that time.

So the film of Pijush Bose ended up being a super hit project. The film and the music should be preserved.

Bipasha bolstered the bond of Suchitra Sen, Robin Chatterji and Sandhya Mukherjee.

Bipasha bolstered the bond of Suchitra Sen, Robin Chatterji and Sandhya Mukherjee.

The film Bipasha bolstered the bond of Suchitra Sen, Robin Chatterji and Sandhya Mukherjee. The success of legendary actress Suchitra Sen was largely indebted to the romantic music composed by Robin Chatterji and songs sung by Sandhya Mukherjee. The brilliant team of Suchitra Sen, Sandhya Mukherjee and Robin Chatterji gave evergreen hit songs like “ghum ghum chand” in Sabar Opare, “tumi na hoy rohite” in Pathe Holo Deri, “jani na phurabe” in Sagarika, to name a few. Very significantly all those films directed by Agradoot. Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen are considered to be the greatest romantic pair that ever graced Indian silver screen. They acted in 30 films together and most of their films ended up being cine-classics. Bipasha was released in 1962 and did fantastic business.

It was a film directed by Agradoot where Robin Chatterji composed the music. Suchitra Sen was named Beas (Bipasha in Bengali) as she was born near river Beas. She lost her parents during riots occurring at the time of partition in 1947. She was saved by Kamal Mitra, a divine soul near Sialkot and reached to relief camp in New Delhi. She studied there and got a job in tribal welfare in Panchet in Bihar.

Uttam Kumar was an engineer who worked in Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) projects. Both Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar met each other and entered into an affair. Suchitra Sen gave able lips in Sandhya Mukherjee’s song “aami sapne tomay dekhechi”. When Uttam Kumar wanted to marry Suchitra Sen, he got a letter from his maternal uncle played by Nitish Mukherjee saying that he was illegitimate son of his mother Chaya Debi.

Uttam Kumar went to Allahabad to find his mother and in her absence attempted to commit suicide. Chabi Biswas, a sanyasi there saved him. He wrote a letter saying that Uttam Kumar (Dibyendu Chatterji) was the son of Saradindu Chatterji (Chabi Biswas). Chaya Debi (his wife) gave birth to him before her marriage. Chabi Biswas went abroad and married another foreign girl. The foreigner filed a suit against Chabi Biswas after she knew that he was already married to Chaya Debi. Their Chaya Debi gave false testimony saying that she was not married to Chabi Biswas, to save her husband. Uttam Kumar came to be known as illegitimate son from that time. After that Chabi Biswas gave the contact details of Chaya Debi. Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen found her and film ended there.

The powerful story was given adequate expression by compassionate performance of legendary actor Chabi Biswas. Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen’s romantic performance just improved from film to film and viewers started thinking that both of them were husband and wife.

It is a pity that Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen did not show their powerful performance in bollywood films, otherwise they would have given very tough competition to Raj Kapoor and Nargis and Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala who ruled bollywood industry in the 50s. The film Bipasha should be restored for its aesthetic value.

Contribution of Sajid Wajid in bollywood films.

Contribution of Sajid Wajid in bollywood films.

Sajid Wajid had been one of the most promising music composers of contemporary bollywood films. They were born in a musically rich family. Their father Ustad Sharafat Khan was famous table player. Their grandfather was Ustad Abdul Latif Khan who received the prestigious Padmashree award from Government of India.

They learned music from Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Das Babu. They started they career in bollywood music with the film Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya in 1998. Salman Khan was the hero of the film and Sohail Khan produced it. The song “teri jawani bari mast mast hai” became big hit. They gave the biggest break to singer Sonu Nigam who became a star with the first non-film album Dewaana. The song “kuch tum socho” literally haunted the teenagers for years. The other songs “dewaana mai hu dewaana tera”, “dil se dil tak”, “ki ab mujhe raat din” mesmerized the audience, specially the youngstars.

They composed impressive songs in Salman Khan’s Hello Brother. The songs “Hello brother”, “hata sawan ki ghata” became very popular. They also composed music in other upcoming films like Gunaah, Shararat, Jawani Diwani, etc.

They had composed the best music in generally Salman Khan’s films. In Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, the songs “tumko bhula na payega” and “are re re yeh kya hua re” sung by Sonu Nigam were the most romantic songs composed in 2002. Their music in Salman Khan’ film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi in 2004 became smash hit. Sonu Nigam’s song “jeene ke hai chaar din”, “mujshe shaadi karogi” was as popular as Udit Narayan’s song “laal dupatta”. The film did brilliant business as well.

Sajid Wajid continued the magic with Salman Khan in David Dhawan’s film Partner as well in 2007. All the songs in the film smash hit like “do you wanna partner”, “you are my love”, “gore gore mukhrepe”, to name a few. The film did business of more than 60 crores and the credit goes to the performance of Salman Khan, Govinda, Katrina Kaif. Lara Dutta and the brilliant music of Sajid Wajid. Their music in Mai Aur Mrs Khanna and Wanted also was received by the audience. The song “ishq vishq” sung by Kamaal Khan and “dil leke” sung by Shaan became very popular.

In 2010, Sajid Wajid composed music for Salman Khan’s film Veer. The song “surili ankhiyonwali” sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, “salaam aya” sung by Roop Kumar Rathod and “meherbaniyan” sung by Sonu Nigam became very popular inspite of the film doing moderate business. Sajid Wajid had composed music for Salman Khan’s upcoming film Debaang.

The viewers expect the musical duo to continue the great and composer more innovative tunes in future.

Kali Banerjee was one of the most talented actors of golden age.

Kali Banerjee was one of the most talented actors of golden age.

Kali Banerjee was one of the most talented actors to grace the silver screen. Born in 1921, Kali Banerjee made his presence felt in Bengali films of the 50s, with impressive performance in the film Barjatri.

From that time he had acted in more than 200 films and every type of role possible at that time. He had been remembered for his epic performance in Agragami’s film Dakharkara in 1958. He was postman of a village and faced odds to convey letters, parcels telegrams to distant places. The last message he received was the message of death of his son who had joined the Indian armed forces , received a gold medal and died at the battle field. Tarashankar Banerjee’s classic literature was given adequate expression by Kali Banerjee.

He became the automatic choice of all the legendary directors of Bengal during the golden age. Hrithik Ghatak did cast him in his innovative film Ajantrik where he showed the abstract relationship of a man with a car. Mrinal Sen used him in his epic film Neel Akasher Neeche, where he played the role of a Chinese in Kolkata, who had left home to do business in the city. His emotional performances brought tears in the eyes of viewers. He was used by Satyajit Ray in his film Manihara and Parash Pathar, and he did a great job in both the films. He was used by Tapan Sinha in the film Arohi, where he played the role of a compounder who gave all his earnings for the higher education of the doctor’s son. The doctor was played by Bikash Roy and Kali Banerjee’s relationship with him amazed the viewers. The film was remade in hindi where Sanjeev Kumar played the role played by Kali Banerjee. He did a great job in Tarun Majumdar’s Dadar Kirti.

He also played significant roles in the commercial films dominated by superstar Uttam Kumar. He played the role of automobile engineer in Uttam Kumar’s film Sonar Harin. He played the role of a villain in Uttam Kumar’s film Kokhono Megh. He also played character roles in Uttam Kumar’s films Shilpi, Surjo Toron, etc.

The modern generation remembers him for his brilliant performance in Anjan Choudhury’s film Guru Dakhhina in 1986. He played the role of music teacher of hero Tapas Pal who took the Guru Dakkhina under pressure of not allowing him to sing. But he took it back at the end of the film when Tapas Pal sang. He acted in bollywood films as well, including Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Bawarchi, which was the hindi remake of Tapan Sinha’s film Golpo Holeo Satti.

He also acted in many plays which were hosted in landmark halls in Kolkata including Arogyo Niketan, Khuda, etc. Most of these plays were made into films, but Kali Banerjee’s performances did outcast of the performances of the actors in the films.

He had the same style of acting gharana which was there in bollywood actor Sanjeev Kumar. He was cast in multifarious roles and still remains one of the most versatile actors of all times. His films and other works should be preserved.

Kalipada Sen and Bengali films.

Kalipada Sen and Bengali films.

Composer Kalipada Sen made very valuable contribution in Bengali films during the 50s, 60s and 70s. He faced the keen competition against legendary composers during the golden age of Bengali film music including Robin Chatterji, Anupam Ghatak, Pabitra Chatterji, Anil Bagchi, Salil Choudhury, Sudhin Dasgupta, Nochiketa Ghosh, Manobendra Mukherjee, Hemanta Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra, and yet created his own identity.

He composed brilliant music in Uttam Kumar’s film Sare Chuattor in 1953. His shyamasangeet “e maya proponchomoy” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya enchanted the viewers. The other song was chorus song “amar ei jouban champachameli bone” where Manobendra Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra and others did lend their voices. Manobendra Mukherjee and Shyamal Mitra even acted in the film. The film was directed by Nirmal Dey.

In Chitta Basu’s film Chele Kar, Kalipada Sen composed decent music. The comedy film released in 1954 had legendary actors and actresses like Bikash Roy, Chabi Biswas, Arundhuti Debi, Suprabha Debi, to name a few. The songs “badla akash”, “rononigandha”, etc., became hit. Ajoy Kar directed Shyamali in 1956, and Kalipada Sen composed music for the super hit.

He composed music in many successful films of Uttam Kumar including Bidhilipi, Lakhahira, Punarmilan, Kankabatir Ghat, Raja Shaja, Upahar, Biraj Bou, etc. Very significantly he composed music in the films of directors from 50s to 60s. It included Ankush and Nirjan Saikate directed by Tapan Sinha, Darpa Churna directed by Dilip Ray, Bindur Chele directed by Chitta Bose, Sadanander Mela directed by Sukumar Dasgupta, Dui Bari directed by Ashim Pal, Debatra directed by Haridas Bhattacharya, Kathin Maya directed by Sushil Majumdar, Bamuner Meye directed by Ajoy Kar, to name a few.

At the same time he had composed music for all the legendary singers of the golden age including Sandhya Mukherjee, Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Supriti Ghosh, Manobendra Mukherjee and others.

His films and music should be restored and preserved.

Remembering Hemant Kumar on his birthday.

Remembering Hemant Kumar on his birthday.

The viewers of bollywood and Bengali films pay their homage to evergreen singer Hemant Kumar on his birthday on 16th June, 2010. He had died more than 16 years back, but had left lot of memories which are cherished by the following generations.

He composed music in many bollywood films in the 50s and 60s and carried forward the legacy of Rabindra Sangeet beyond the Bengal border and made it popular all across India. He composed music in the film Nagin and got the filmfare award for the best composer in 1955. His tune “man dole” sung by Lata for Vaijayantimala became extremely popular in the mid -50s.

He sang a number of songs for Dev Anand including “yeh raat yeh chandni” in the film Jaal, “yeh apna dil” in Solwa Saal composed by SD Burman, songs in Patita composed by Shankar Jaikishan, etc. He also sang the legendary song “jane yeh kaise” for Guru Dutt in the film Pyaasa. His composition in Biswajeet’s films Bees Saal Baad and Kohra, became super hit. Successful songs included “yeh nayan dhali dhali”, “zara nazron se kahdo ji”, etc. In fact Hemant Kumar produced the film Bees Saal Baad, which was the sequel of Bengali crime thriller Jighansha, directed by Ajoy Kar.

Hemant Kumar’s composition in the other films included Biswajeet’s Do Dil, Dilip Kumar’s Paigam, Dharmender’s Khamoshi, Guru Dutt’s Sahe Bibi Aur Ghulam, to name a few. Some of the hit songs sung by Hemant Kumar in those films included “tum pukarke”, and others. Besides he had given many hit songs to Lata, Asha and Geeta Dutt in those films.

Hemant Kumar had sung majority of playback songs for Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar in the 50s. His songs included “surer akashe tumi je go shuktara” from the film Shapmochon in 1955, “tare bole diyo” from the film Dui Bhai in 1961, “nir choto khoti nei” from the film Indrani in 1958, “ei poth Jodi na shesh hoi” from the film Saptapadi in 1961, “jai chole jai” from the film Kal Tumi Aleya in 1965, “sapno jagano raat” from the film Shudhu Ekti Bachar in 1966, “mou bane aaj” from the film Bondhu in 1958, to name a few.

Besides most of the Rabindra Sangeet sung by Hemant Kumar in Bengali films became hits, including “tumi robe nirobe” in Biswajeet’s Kuheli, “ami pothbhola ek pathik” in Uttam Kumar’s Mon Niye, “jokhon porbe na mor” in Uttam Kumar’s film Bibhas, “purano shei diner kotha” in Uttam Kumar’s Agnisshar, etc. Hemant Kumar had composed songs in more than 50 bengali films like Shap Mochon, Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Deep Jele Jai, Sathihara, Palatak, Phuleshwari, Dadar Kirti, Dui Bhai, Surjotoron, etc., most of which became dashing hits.

Hemant Kumar had sung more than 1000 bengali modern songs under different composers. He had sung trend-setting songs composed by Salil Choudhury like “runner”, “kono ek gayer bodhu”, “patha harabo bole ebar”, “palki chole”. Nochiketa Ghosh composed landmark song for Hemant Kumar titled “amar ganer shorolipi lekha robe”. He had sung many ranbindra sangeet and showed his own skill aside other giants like Pankaj Mallick, Subinoy Ray, Dijen Mukherjee, Debrata Biswas and others. Hemant Kumar’s contribution in Bengali modern songs and film songs is so huge that articles after articles can be devoted for the melody king of Bengal. The viewers pay their respect for the departed soul of legendary singer Hemant Kumar on his birthday.

Ray used Anil and Madhabi to perfection in Mahanagar.

Ray used Anil and Madhabi to perfection in Mahanagar.

Oscar winning Director Satyajit Tay experimented with the classic story with which writer Narendra Nath Mitra wrote the transformation of middle class Bengali of Kolkata of the early 60s. Satyajit Ray’s film was released in 1965, when the view of the writer was a reality, considering the socio-economic condition of the metropolitan city.

The film did receive both positive reviews and international awards. In Mahanagar the central character who was the sole bread-earner of the joint Bengali family was played by Anil Chatterji . Anil Chatterji was a middle-class Bengali in Mahanagar, who was an employee in a private bank in Kolkata but struggled to fulfill the needs of his wife Madhabi Mukherjee, his father, mother, small child and younger sister played by Jaya Bacchan.

Anil Chatterji with his multi-dimentional talent succeeded to express the anxiety of the middle-class husband. At some stages he was harsh towards his wife played by Madabi Mukherjee. Anil Chatterji was very adjusting and considerate towards his wife at the beginning confronting the opposition by his father, who believed that a middle-class Bengali housewife should not go to the outer world to earn a living.

Madhabi Mukherjee had to look for employment and joined Haradhon Banerjee’s firm which promoted women’s domestic products. There was strong resistance from the family. Just like other conservative bengalies, Anil Chatterji’s father, a retired academician, never liked the housewife to do marketing and earn a living. He in fact stopped talking to Anil Chatterji after Madhabi Mukherjee joined office.

Additional characters were included in Mahanagar, like the character of an anglo-colleague who played the role of the friend of Madhabi Mukherjee who helped her to be professional. She was unethically sacked by Haradhon Banerjee, and for her cause Madhabi Mukherjee gave her resignation at the end of the film.

Jaya Bacchan did a decent job in her role of the sister of Anil Chatterji. In fact it was her debut, and she was fortunate to get a role in a film directed by Oscar Winning Maestro Satyajit Ray. When Madhabi Mukherjee went to give her resignation letter, Anil Chatterji asked her not to give it, as his company went for a lockout and he became jobless. But when Madhabi Mukherjee gave her resignation at the end of the film Anil Chatterji supported her and cooperated with her.

Both the husband and the wife had to earn to meet the requirements of the present day. That was the message given by the writer Naren Mitra. Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar won many national and international awards. Satyajit Ray’s was a master of casting and he used the acting skills of Anil Chatterji and Madhabi Mukherjee in such a way that the viewers could identify themselves in their respective roles. The film should be preserved for realistic story, brilliant script, outstanding story-telling and meaningful acting.

Shyamali became super hit due to brilliance of Ajoy Kar.

Shyamali became super hit due to brilliance of Ajoy Kar.

Ajoy Kar, the classic director of 50s and 60s experimented with classic literature of Ashapurna Debi in the film Shyamali. It was a great risk and there was possibility of the viewers not accepting the film. The reasons were obvious. The literature was read by entire Bengali community of the country.

The same story of Shyamali was played in Star Theatre in Kolkata for 4 years in the mid-50s. In the play Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji played the lead roles while Sarajubala Debi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar. Ajoy Kar picturised Shyamali in 1956 with the team of Uttam Kumar and Kaberi Bose. And Malina Debi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar. Previously it had been seen that any play which was successful with the audience did not do well when picturised in film. Shyamali was an exception.

In the film Ahindra Choudhury had two daughters, Kaberi Bose being the elder one. Kaberi Bose was deaf and dumb. Her younger sister was proposed to be married to Uttam Kumar, but due to fulfillment of wishes of Kaberi Bose, the priest chanted mantras related to marriage with Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar accepted Kaberi Bose as wife while his friend married the younger sister Bijoli. Ahindra Choudhury wanted Uttam Kumar to marry Bijoli, but Uttam Kumar sacrificed his life for Shyamali saying that mantras were already chanted and marriage was done. But Uttam Kumar’s mother Malina Debi did not accept Kaberi Bose as her daughter-in-law. Uttam Kumar did not have any other option but to leave Kaberi Bose in her mother’s house.

Uttam Kumar and Malina Debi went for pilgrimage to Hrishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath and brought Anubha Gupta who lost her parents and served Uttam Kumar when he became extremely sick whiling to travelling to those places. Malina Debi wanted to marry Uttam Kumar with Anubha Gupta.

But Uttam Kumar tried to convince her that his wife Kaberi Bose was still alive. When Uttam Kumar heard that Kaberi Bose’s mother Aparna Debi died and she slept with the photo of Uttam Kumar, he went to her house and brought her back. Uttam Kumar finally convinced Malina Debi that although Kaberi Bose could not speak, she could react to human actions, had a human mind full of feelings. She required her blessings to start a journey in the new family.

The film became super hit due to sheer brilliance of Ajoy Kar. Uttam Kumar, Kaberi Bose, Malina Debi, Anubha Gupta were all sublime in their respective roles. Malina Debi in fact outcast Sarajubala Debi who was a phenomenon in Bengali stage. The film should be restored to remind the viewers about a successful play being remade into film which featured the same level of excellence as depicted in the play.

Happy birthday to Raj Babbar.

Happy birthday to Raj Babbar.

The viewers wish happy birthday to Raj Babbar, on 23rd June, 2010. He had been an indispensable figure in bollywood films during the last 25 years.

He was comfortable both in commercial films as well as parallel cinema. Viewers had found him in big hits like Mazdoor. He played the role of jobless engineer who was given huge break by Dilip Kumar. His performance opposite legendary actor Dilip Kumar created grand impression. He gave able lips in Jagjit Singh’s song “hoton se chulo tum” in the film Prem Geet released in early 80s.

He was remembered for his special performance in Ketan Mehta’ s film Mirch Masala opposite Smita Patil. He became immortal in his role in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Ghayal. He was killed by Amrish Puri, and his brother Sunny Deol took revenge against Amrish Puri’s men and Om Puri’s police force. The film did excellent business and became the greatest blockbuster of early 90s.

In the 90s, Raj Babbar, started a new innings in playing negative characters. He became even more successful in that venture. His performance in Bobby Deol’s film Barsaat in the role of the father of Twinkle Khanna was well appreciated by the audience and critics. He was brilliant in the role of a villain in Sanjay Dutt’s film Daag: The Fire. He played the role of the uncle of Chandrachud Singh who persuaded him in backing him up in his illegal business and the blame went in the name of Chandrachud Singh. He was killed at the end of the film by Sanjay Dutt. He was even brilliant opposite Madhuri Dixit and Rishi Kapoor in the film Yaarana.

He played the role of a leading villain in Sunny Deol’s film Ziddi. Not only his modulation of diaglogues impressed the viewers, his intelligent frame of thinking amazed the viewers. He also acted well in character role in JP Dutta’s film Refugee.

The viewers expect Raj Babbar to continue the great work that he started around 30 years ago.

Humkadam was not as successful as Mahanagar

Humkadam was not as successful as Mahanagar.

Director Anil Ganguly experimented with the same story which Satyajit Ray made his film Mahanagar in his film Humkadam. Satyajit Ray’s film was released in 1965, while Anil Ganguly’s one was released in 1980.

But the film did not receive either positive reviews or commercial benefits. In Humkadam, Parikshit Sahani played the role played by Anil Chatterji in the Bengali film Mahanagar. Anil Chatterji was a middle-class Bengali in Mahanagar, who was the sole bread-earner but struggled to fulfill the needs of his wife Madhabi Mukherjee, his father, mother, small child and younger sister played by Jaya Bacchan.

Parikshit Sahani in the film Humkadam, could not express the anxiety of the middle-class husband. At some stages he was harsh towards his wife played by Rakhee. Anil Chatterji was very adjusting and considerate towards his wife Madhabi Mukherjee in Mahanagar.

Rakhee had to look for employment and joined Biswajeet Chatterji’s firm which promoted women’s domestic products. There was strong resistance from the family. Just like in Mahanagar, Anil Chatterji’s father, a retired academician, never liked the housewife to do marketing and earn a living, in Humkadam, A. K. Hangal, the father of Parikshit Sahani was never liked Rakhee’s employment at all.

Additional characters were included in Humkadam, like the character of Helen, who played the role of the friend of Rakhee who helped her to be professional. Helen was also earning for her handicapped husband. Parikshit Sahani and his family members never liked it.

Dina Pathak did a decent job in her role of the mother of Parikshit Sahani. Anil Ganguly kept the ending of the film same as Mahanagar. When Madhabi Mukherjee went to give her resignation letter, Anil Chatterji asked her not to give it, as his company went for a lockout and he became jobless. Parikshit Sahani did the same thing in Humkadam.

Both the husband and the wife had to earn to meet the requirements of the present day. That was the message given by the writer Naren Mitra. Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar won many national and international awards. Anil Ganguly’s Humkadam was a sincere project, but did not get the recognition as an innovative work.

Happy birthday to Karishma Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Karishma Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Karishma Kapoor on 25th June, 2010. She had been probably the only descendant of the Kapoor family who did not arrive in the bollywood industry with pomp and show. Her debut was made in a small manner.

She had to struggle hard and got good roles in films like Hero No.1 opposite Govinda. In Hero No. 1 Karishma showed her good dancing skills in songs like “mai to raste se jar aha tha”. Karishma was very impressive in the film Dil To Paagal Hai opposite Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit. The film showed triangular love story and strong music of Uttam Singh. Karishma gave good lips in the songs “le gai le gai”. That was one of her successful films under Yash Raj Banner.

Karishma Kapoor ventured in parallel films like Shyam Benegal’s Zubeida. Her performance opposite Manoj Vajpayee amazed the viewers. She was equally impressive opposite Hrithik Roshan in the film Fida. She played a non-glamourous role in the film. She was the sister of Hrithik Roshan. She wanted Hrithik to return back to mainstream society. She did not show any mannerisms in the film.

At the same time Karishma Kapoor played important roles in commercially hit films. In Krishna, her performance opposite Sunil Shetty was appreciated by all the viewers. Her dance performance in the song “jhanjhariya buddhi khanak gayi” was very impressive. Similarly her performance in the song “batti na bujhao” and “hai hooku hai hukoo” opposite Sunil Shetty created sensation in bollywood.

Karishma Kapoor did well in comedy films as well. She was sublime opposite Salman Khan in the film Judwaa where Salman Khan had double role. She did even better in the film Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge opposite Salman Khan. In that film she had to balance the comedy andaz of Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher and Om Puri and she did that in style. Even her lips in the song “jane kya hua hai dekho jiya bekarar” was very impressive.

She was even more successful opposite Salman Khan in the film Biwi No. 1 directed by David Dhawan. She played the role of the wife of Salman Khan who was neglected. Salman Khan married Sushmita Sen. Anil Kapoor advised Karishma Kapoor to send the children to Sushmita’s house. She failed to fulfil the duties of the mother. So Salman Khan understood that Karishma Kapoor was ideal wife for him and he returned back home. The music of Anu Malik in the film was very successful. Karishma gave good lips in the songs “jangal me aadhi raat”, “biwi no. 1”, etc.

Karishma Kapoor suited Govinda’s style of acting the most and contributed a lot in comedy films opposite him including Haseena Maan Jayegi. It was a multi-starrer film with other actors like Sanjay Dutt, Kader Khan, Anupam Kher and others. She balanced the strong dancing skills of Govinda with her own aggressive dancing style.

She left films at a time when she learned acting. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to Sunil Dutt.

Happy birthday to Sunil Dutt.

The viewers wish happy birthday to Sunil Dutt on 6th June, 2010. He died few years back, but yet his impressive work is still alive in the minds of the viewers.

Sunil Dutt rose to stardom after his brilliant performance in Mehboob Khan’s classic film Mother India in 1957. He played the role of the son of Nargis Dutt who struggled to rear up her two sons after her husband Raj Kumar’s death. Nargis Dutt married Sunil Dutt in real life after the film. In the 60s Sunil Dutt acted in musical blockbusters like Hindustani. All the songs in the film became hit including Mukesh’s song “hum Hindustani”. He acted in Bimal Roy’s film Sujata opposite Nutan and gave good lips in Talat Mehmood’s song “jalte hai jiske liye”.

His film Mera Saya directed by Raj Khosla bewildered the viewers in the mid-60s. His wife Sadhna died and her sister was used by Prem Chopra to frighten Sunil Dutt. Sunil Dutt gave good lips in Rafi’s song “aapke pehlu me aakar” composed by Madanmohan. In the film Chirag, Rafi’s song “teri aankhon ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai” composed by Madanmohan had flabbergasted the audience in the late 60s and added popularity for Sunil Dutt. Madanmohan’s music in Sunil Dutt’s film Ghazal was equally impressive. Rafi’s song “rang aur nor ki barat” was one of the most landmark ghazals of the 60s.

Sunil Dutt did a great in BR Chopra’s films like Gumraah, Humraaz and Waqt. In all these films the music was composed by Ravi and Mahendra Kapoor sung landmark songs for Sunil Dutt including “chalo ekbar phir se”. From the early 70s, Sunil Dutt switched on to action films like Zakhmee, Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye, Nagin, etc., most of which were successful.

In the 80s, Sunil Dutt acted in the role of the elder brother of Shashi Kapoor and Big B in Ramesh Sippy’s film Shaan. He was an honest police officer, who was killed by Kulbhushan Kharbanda in the film. His other successful films during that time included Dard Ka Rishta which was related to cancer, the disease with which Nargis Dutt died in early 80s.

Sunil Dutt became MP a number of times and done a lot of social work for India. He was shocked when his son Sanjay Dutt got arrested in TADA case and ill-treated in prison. He produced films for his son like Rockey. He acted in the successful film of his son Lage Raho Munnabhai in a guest role.

The viewers remember Sunil Dutt and expect restoration of his great works that spread over 50s years.

Rajneeti got a very good opening.

Rajneeti got a very good opening.

The film Rajneeti had a brilliant opening. In the first week itself it had earned Rs 40 crores from India and oversees. The producers, distributors were quite apprehensive about the success of the film after Kites did not do desirable business in the last month. The film produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Prakash Jha had been released on 4th June, 2010.

Rajneeti had been made with the subject relating to politics in India. The film had shown the result of ambitions of individuals to rise to fame in politics in India. Ajay Devgan had been a person who wanted to fight for the country.

Katrina Kaif played the role of a woman who was already there in politics and wished to sacrifice her life for the cause of development of the country. Arjun Rampal was a person, who never wanted anyone to fight for India. He showed the state of mind in the entire film.

Arjun Rampal’s own brother Ranbir Kapoor, who came from foreign country showed a different mindset. He felt interested to help the cause of the country through politics.

A very key role had been played by Nana Patekar in the film. The other major actors in the film included Manoj Vajpai, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah, etc. All had given power-packed performances.

The music had been composed by Pritam, Aadesh Srivastav, Shantanu Moitra and Wayne Sharpe. The music had been very meaningful.

The film has all the ingredients for being successful. Katrina Kaif had shown that if she gets opportunities she can show her acting potentials. She had added acting in the list of positive attributes which previously was only restricted to height, complexion and beauty.
The acting capabilities of Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Manoj Vajpai do not require any new introduction. Prakash Jha had used his team of actors and actresses very well.

The film had addressed both the intellectual audience and the commercial audience. Viewers were not bewildered with media hype relating to differences of Ranbir Kapoor with Katrina Kaif. The private channels showed that they never talked to each other during the premier. Even in the Indian Idol Show in Sony TV, Ranbir Kapoor came separately to cheer the participants. Katrina Kaif came separately with Arjun Rampal.

2010 had not been very productive for bollywood industry. Rajneeti will probably be the first super hit film which had been released in 2010.

Paresh Rawal was brilliant in Atithi Tum Kab Jayoge.

Paresh Rawal was brilliant in Atithi Tum Kab Jayoge.

The film Atithi Tum Kab Jayoge, does not have anything new other than the brilliant performance of Paresh Rawal. There has been a mindset of most of the directors these days that the moment they make a comedy film it will automatically be hit. There is no basis of this mindset. If in 2009, All The Best did great business, Do Not Disturb and De Dana Dan flopped.

Ashwni Dhar had been the director of the film. He had cast Ajay Devgan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal in the main roles. Warner Brother Pictures and Wide Frame Films had produced the film. In this film Ajay Devgan and Konkona Sen Sharma had a peaceful family.

But the appearance of Paresh Rawal in their house created the maximum amount of displeasure. He mentioned that he was a distant relative of the family and come from village. But the period of time for which promised to stay passed away. He never decided to leave the house.

He created annoyance of every type for the family. Ajay Devgan and Konkona Sen Sharma had tried every type of ploy to compel Paresh Rawal to leave the house. But he was adamant enough to act on their ploy. The character artists like Ritesh Deshmukh, Sanjay Mishra, Pradeep Rawat, Satish Kaushik did well in their respective roles.

The music had been composed by Pritam. The song “dohe” sung by Amit Misra and “aaja aaja” sung by Pritam had been popular. The other song “joti jalaile” sung by Vishal Bharatdwaj was not bad. But the film does not have the masala with which viewers can be drawn in to the cinema halls or persuaded to sit in the halls for three hours.

The acting of Paresh Rawal and Konkona Sen Sharma had been fine. The best part of Paresh Rawal lied in asking Viju Khote during a film shooting to repeat his dialogue of Sholay titled “kitne aadmi the”. He got fed up saying do. The simplicity of Paresh Rawal in the respective role made people laugh. Ultimately the set that was created in the shooting site was destroyed because the director asked them to blast it when he said two and Viju Khote said do.

The film did mediocre business in 2010 and it was more than enough for the director and producer.

Songs in the films of Asha Parekh.

Songs in the films of Asha Parekh.

Asha Parekh had maintained her popularity over 15 years ranging from late 50s to early 70s. If her outstanding dance performances were the key to her success then the melodious songs that were picturised on her had also contributed for the popularity of the films. The songs “nazni bara rangeen hai wada tera” sung by Asha and Rafi, “zulf ke chaon me chehre ka ujala lekar” sung by Asha and Rafi, composed by OP Nayyar in the film Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon in 1963 and picturised on Asha Parekh and Joy Mukherjee were super hits. In fact all the songs of Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon like “banda parwar, thamlo jigar”, “aji kibla mohe tarma”, “anchal me saja lena kaliyan” sung by Rafi stormed bollywood in early 60s. Similarly the songs “jaiye aap”, sung by Asha Bhosle, “roka kaibaar” sung by Asha and Rafi, composed by OP Nayyar in the film Mere Sanam in 1965 and picturised on Asha Parekh and Biswajeet became everlasting hit in mid-60s.

From that time viewers went to watch Asha Parekh’s films with the predetermination of hearing good songs. Shankar Jaikishan mesmerized his audience with outstanding composition of songs in the film Love in Tokyo. Lata’s songs “sayonara, sayonara”, “o mere shahekhuba”, “hume tum mil gaye humdum”, “koi matwala aaja mere dware”, picturised on Asha Parekh and Joy Mukherjee created a lasting impression in the minds of the viewers along with Rafi’s hit songs “aja re a zara a”, “Japan, love in Tokyo”, “o mere shahekhuba”, etc. Asha Parekh’s dream run continued with the songs “tum mujhe yun bhula na poyege” sung by Lata and Rafi and picturised separately on Asha Parekh and Shammi Kapoor in the film Pagla Kahin Ka. Shankar Jaikishan’s composition for Asha Parekh and Dev Anand in the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, including songs like “sau saal pehle”, “yeh aankhen”, sung by Lata and Rafi became super hit along with the hit songs of Rafi like “teri zulfon ki”, “jiya ho”, etc. Even in Teesri Manzil, RD Burman’s music and Asha Bhosle’s songs picturised on Asha Parekh like “o mere sona re”, “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera” sung by Rafi as well became smash hits in the mid -60s.

Even the songs in the film Chirag composed by Madan Mohan enchanted the audience. The notable songs included “chirag dil ka jalao”, “teri aankhon ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai” sung separately by Lata and Rafi and picturised on Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh separately. LP’s composition for Asha Parekh in the film Aan Milo Sajna, became super hit including songs like “aan milo sajna” sung by Rafi and Lata and picturised on Asha Parekh and Rajesh Khanna, “accha to hum chalte hai” sung by Lata and Kishore.

With passage of time Asha Parekh had acted with new actors in the early 70s and music again played a notable role in the success of her films. In the film Karwa, the song “kitna pyara wada”, sung by Rafi and Lata, composed by RD Burman became super hit along with other songs sung by Rafi and picturised on Jeetender like “are ho goriyan kahan tera desh re”. LP’s composition for Asha Parekh and Dharmender in the film Aya Sawan Jhumke, including the song “aya sawan jhumke” sung by Rafi and Lata became big hits.

If all the films of Asha Parekh are analysed write from Dil Deke Dekho in 1959, where music was composed by Usha Khanna, to Ziddi where music was composed by SD Burman and Zakhmee in the mid-70s, where music was composed by Bappi Lahiri, the change of directors, producers, music composers, had not affected Asha Parekh’s fortunes of giving lips in successful songs.

The songs and the films are special and require restoration.

Has Salman Katrina's relationship ended?

Has Salman Katrina’s relationship ended?

Viewers wonder whether the four year relationship between Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif had ended or not. Katrina Kaif in interview in 2009 had mentioned that she does not have any more relationship with Salman Khan even as a friend. Sometimes these rumours are created to add popularity in bollywood arena.

But facts and circumstances establish that the relationship had not been the same as before. Over-possessiveness of Salman Khan had been the cause of such end. Katrina Kaif found while she was shooting for the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, with Ranbir Kapoor, that Salman Khan over-interfered in her affairs against her liking. Just as she never interfered in other’s affairs she disliked other’s interference in her affairs. In 2009, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani did business worth 70 crores and became a smash hit.

The relationship grew up in four five years ago and Salman Khan took the credit of introducing Katrina Kaif in Indian films. His film with Katrina Kaif, Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya also bolstered the relationship. The film helped Katrina Kaif to create her box-office popularity in the early part of her career by giving lips in impressive songs like “yeh larki loot ke man mera le gayi”, “just chill chill”, “teri meri lovestory”, etc. In 2008, their film Partner did fabulous business, and viewers started thinking that Katrina Kaif was going to marry Salman Khan. Although Katrina was cast opposite Govinda, Salman Khan was very much there in the film with his romantic role opposite Lara Dutta.

Even the failure of Yuvvraaj, at the box-office did not raise eyebrows relating to Salman –Katrina relationship. Viewers appreciated their online chemistry, as all the songs composed by the team of AR Rehman, Gulzar and Subhash Ghai became super hit. Prominent songs included “tu muskura”, “shano shano”, etc.

If the losses and gains after the end of the relationship is analyzed, everyone will agree that Katrina Kaif is hardly going to lose her stardom, as she had given hits with other actors like Akshay Kumar in Namaste London, Welcome, Singh is Kinng, etc., Akshay Khanna in Race, Govinda in Partner, to name a few. Her film Rajneeti had been released very recently opposite Ranbir Kapoor. She is young as well and has a long future ahead of her.

Salman Khan is in his 40s. He already had got a bad reputation for failing to maintain relationship due to his bad temper. But Katrina Kaif had agreed to play a cameo in Salman Khan’s film Debaang. Viewers wonder whether in that case the differences with Katrina Kaif had ended or reduced down.

Salman Khan had also not attained such age where he can switch on to character roles and leave the rat race relating to heroes. In that case his star-image would not have been affected at all. Last year had been a bad year for Salman Khan and if his instability with co-actors and actresses continue he has to see bad days in future.

There is another possibility. Producers and directors hardly cast Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif opposite each other due to flops given by them together in the past. So even if the relationship exists, the success of both the actors and actresses come opposite other co-stars.

Viewers expect both Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif to act well in the films to come, ignoring the personal relationship.

Satyajit Ray's casting was excellent in Post Master and Manihara.

Satyajit Ray’s casting was excellent in Post Master and Monihara.

Satyajit Ray was a master of casting whenever film direction was in question. He experimented with Rabindranath Tagore’s epic literature Teen Kanya in his film Teen Kanya. He chose the stories Post Master, Manihara and Shamapti.

In Post Master, Ray’s choice of Anil Chatterji in the role of Post Master showed his immense class in casting of characters. Anil Chatterji displayed the uneasiness of a Post Master in adjusting in village conditions very well. He listened to the rural music of the old villagers. He got frightened to weird mannerism of Nripati Chatterji who played the role of a village beggar. He faced fever, and even in sleep he dreamt about the weird beggar.

Ray’s casting of Chandana Banerjee in the role of the little girl was equally excellent. The girl lost her parents at a young age and served the Post Masters in the village. She took care of Anil Chatterji when he got fever and treated him like an elder brother. Anil Chatterji taught him to read and write. When he got transferred and a new Post Master came in his place, Chandana Banerjee made the viewers weep through her passionate expression. She got attached with the Post Master and did not even take the money offered to her by Anil Chatterji when he left the village.

In Manihara, the casting of Kali Banerjee and Konika Majumdar in the lead roles also showed Ray’s class. Kali Banerjee was a zamindar and Konika Majumdar was his wife. She had a troubled past. She was possessive towards her jewellery. When Kali Banerjee went to Kolkata for work, she asked one of her friends to reach her to her native town.

Konika Majumdar died. When Kali Banerjee returned back, her ghost came and appeared before Kali Banerjee. Kali Banerjee looked at her hand full of jewellary which later turned into a skeleton. A road passer told the story to a visitor who was also a ghost. Kali Banerjee’s frightened expression amazed the viewers.

Ray was a great artist and his illustration helped him to cast the right actors and actresses at the right roles. The characters came out of classic novels and mesmerized the viewers with conviction and accuracy. The film should be preserved for Tagore’s brilliant literature, Ray’ s powerful direction and the effortless performances of main actors and actresses in the film.

Songs in Ranbir Kapoor's films.

Songs in Ranbir Kapoor’s films.

Songs play a very vital role in the careers of leading stars of bollywood films. Whenever the name of Raj Kapoor comes in the minds of viewers the songs namely “mera juta hai japani”, “awara hoon”, “mur murke na dekh”, “o mehbooba” comes in the minds of the viewers. Similarly Dilip Kumar is associated with songs like “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan”, “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “aaj ki raat mere”, etc.

In that respect Ranbir Kapoor is blessed with good songs. He has acted in 4 films till now, namely Sawariya, Bacchna Aye Haseeno, Wake Up Sid, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. All these films had very promising songs. The film to be released on 4th June, that is Rajneeti is also full of meaningful songs.

The songs “sawariya” and “jab se tume dekha” in the film Sawariya, had done great business inspite of the film not doing that well. The songs of the film Bacchna Aye Haseeno composed by Vishal Shekhar created storms. All the songs in the film became super hit.

The notable songs in Bachna Aye Haseeno included “khuda jane ke mai fida hoon”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “ahista ahista”. The excellent lips of the actresses Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba had helped Ranbir Kapoor to maintain balance in the film. Besides, the exotic locations in the film were also appreciated by the viewers.

Wake Up Sid was a serious film and as such the music did not matter that much. Even then the music was very decent in the film. The performance of Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor was very realistic and that created a separate impression in the minds of the viewers.

Pritam did a grand job in the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. It had been the greatest hit of the career of Ranbir Kapoor. All the songs in the film became super hit. The leading song included “prem ki naiya”, etc. The onscreen chemistry of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif had made the viewers speechless.

On 1st May Ranbir Kapoor appeared in Indian idol show, along with renowned composer Pyarellal. He encouraged the participants by dancing with them. His songs were played like “sawariya”, “tera hone laga hoon”, etc. He honoured Pyarellal for giving splendid music in the films of his father Rishi Kapoor, like Bobby, Prem Rog, Karz, Amar Akbar Anthony, etc. Everyone in the show including Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Salim Merchant had wished best of luck for Ranbir Kapoor’s new film Rajneeti to be released on 4th June.

The viewers are looking forward to more hit songs in the upcoming films of Ranbir Kapoor in future.