Agragami and Bengali films.

Agragami Film Sagarika.


Agragami and Bengali films.

In the 50s and 60s, in the list of eminent Bengali directors who had directed refined commercial films other than Ajoy Kar, Agradoot, the team of Agragami was the most prominent team of directors, led by the eminent personality Saroj Dey.
Saroj Dey was born in 1921. In 1956, Agragami directed Uttam Kumar Suchitra Sen’s super hit film Sagarika. The film again bolstered the bond of composer Robin Chatterjee, singer Sandhya Mukherjee and actress Suchitra Sen. All the songs in the film became super hit including Sandhya Mukherjee’s “sei to amar prothomo faguno bela”, “Alpona Banerjee’s “hridoy amar sundoro tobo paye”, Shyamal Mitra’s “amar sopne dekha rajkonya thake”, to name a few. In the same year, Agragami’s film Shilpi did excellent business. Uttam Kumar and Suchita Sen were outstanding in the film and the character artists Kamal Mitra, Asit Boron, and others amazed the viewers. Robin Chatterjee’s music was excellent with Dhananjoy Bhattacharya’s song “bondhu re” mesmerizing the audience.

From commercial films, Agragami started making realistic films in the mid-50s like Head Master and Dakharkora. In Head Master, legendary actor Chabi Biswas played the role of Head Master. He brought tears in the eyes of the viewers by depicting the life of a Head Master. Karuna Banerjee played the role of the wife of Chabi Biswas. Kali Banerjee in the film Dakharkora made the viewers spellbound with his rural performance. He played the role of a post-man in the film who travelled by bicycle and carried the postal documents to different destinations. Composer Sudhin Dasgupta was excellent in the film especially in Manna Dey’s song “ogo tomar shesh bicharer ashay” which was written by Tarashankar Banerjee. Sabitri Chatterjee did a great job in the film too.

After making successful films like Kanna, Nishithe in the mid-60s, Agragami again astonished the viewers with Uttam Kumar’s successful film Shankhabela. In the film the progress and decline of a high-earning personality played by Uttam Kumar was projected. His over-drinking habit led to separation with his wife Madhabi Mukherjee who lived with her small son alone. When the son fell ill, Bosonto Choudhury, the great doctor in the film treated him. Bosonto Choudhury helped in the re-union of Uttam Kumar with Madhabi Mukherjee over the recovery of their small child. The music of Sudhin Dasgupta was excellent once again with Manna Dey’s hit song “dekechi ke age ke diyeche sara”, “ami agantuk ami barta dilam” and Lata Mangeshkar’s brilliant song ‘aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo”. Agragami’s film Bilombito Loy in 1970, with Uttam Kumar and Supriya Debi was also successful. Composer Nochiketa Ghosh’s music in the film was impressive.

Saroj Dey made the film Koni in the early 80s, in his own name by not using the banner of Agragami. There Soumitra Chatterjee played the role of trainer of swimming who groomed a female swimmer in Bengal. One article is too small to highlight the achievements of eminent director like Agragami. Articles after articles can be devoted to the genius director. His films and works should be preserved.

Happy birthday to Neha Dhupia.

Neha Dhupia.


Happy birthday to Neha Dhupia.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Neha Dhupia on 27th August, 2011. Neha Dhupia, the daughter of Commander Pradip Dhupia of Indian Navy, had attracted public attention after winning the Miss India Universe 2002 crown in that year. After beginning her career in the film Qayamat: City Under Threat, she impressed the viewers with challenging role in the film Julie where her glamour was used to perfection.

But she got a notable role in the film Kya Cool Hai Hum in 2005. She acted opposite Ritesh Deshmukh where Tusshar Kapoor and Isha Koppikar were the other pair. Isha Koppikar, the police officer in the film was sent by Anupam Kher to investigate a case relating to a habitual offender. Tusshar Kapoor was suspected to be a murderer and Isha Koppikar was sent to his house to monitor his activities. Ritesh Deshmukh had an affair with Neha Dhupia and married her at the end of the film. The film was serio-comic in nature and Neha Dhupia performed very well in her respective role.

She also got a purposeful role in the film Shootout At Lokhandwala. The film was related to a real-life story where the Bombay police had trapped the underworld group in a house in Bombay and fired at them. Sanjay Dutt gave a memorable performance in the role of Encounter specialist in the film opposite Vivek Oberoi who played the role of a mafia don. Neha Dhupia did her part very well.

She did even better in the film Chup Chup Ke, in the role of the sister of Kareena Kapoor. Shahid Kapoor pretended to be dumb in the film and stayed in their house. Neha Dhupia acted as a mediator between Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor and helped in the marriage between the two. Neha Dhupia knew that Shahid Kapoor could speak but never informed Sunil Shetty or Om Puri or any other member of the house about it. Although the film was related to the serio-comic relationship between Om Puri, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, Neha Dhupia kept her mark in a reserve role and in some of the sequences even acted better than Kareena Kapoor.

She was even impressive in her supporting role in the film Singh is Kinng, where Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar had the lead roles. Singh is Kinng also did good business in India and abroad.

But if her performance in the earlier films like Sheesha and new films like Mithya are compared it will be found that initially the stylish screen presence and bold performance of Neha Dhupia was publicized by the producers.

These days the acting skills of Neha Dhupia are used. She had been bold enough to act in the role of a prostitude in the film De Dana Dan in 2008. The role required comedy timing and she did extremely well.

In 2009, her performance in the film Raat Gayi Baat Gayi bagged her the nomination for Star Screen Award for the best actress in a supporting role. She had two releases in 2010 where her two films, Action Replay and With Love to Obama had different roles. Although her performance in the films were appreciated the films did not do good business. Unless she grabs any glamourous role in near future she will not remain in the rat race where the competition between Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha is very keen.

Remembering Kazi Nazrul Islam by Manobendra Mukherjee's songs.

Manobendra Mukherjee Nazrulgeeti.


Remembering Kazi Nazrul Islam by Manobendra Mukherjee’s songs.

Poet, composer and singer Kazi Nazrul Islam is remembered on his death anniversary on 29th August, 2011. He was considered to be one of the greatest Bengali talents after Rabindranath Tagore who created songs and poetry during colonial period. He was in fact called bidrohi kobi, meaning rebel poet.

Manobendra Mukherjee, the genius of Bengali classical songs had made Nazrul Islam immortal by singing more than 500 Nazrulgeeti during his lifetime. Manobendra Mukherjee died in 1992, but before that whatever records he made in nazrulgeeti still remains the Geeta for new singers who specialize in Nazrulgeeti. Some of the songs that people remember include “eto jol o kajol”.

Manobendra showed his classical jugglery in the song “bou katha kou katha kao abhimanini”. The song which Manobendra Mukherjee sang in many concerts included “bagichay bulbuli”. The other song which was very popular in the 70s included “jare haat diye mala gethe”. The same song was also recorded by legendary singer Pandit Ajoy Chakravarty in his own andaz.

Manobendra also was brilliant in the song “timir bidary”. Manobendra’s song “noyon bhora jol go tomar aanchol bhora chul” became extremely popular in 80s. His other hit songs included “jhumko lotar chikon”, “keno kaden poran”, “kache amar niba”, “saat bhai chompa”, “aso priyo aro kache”, “jani amar sadhona”, “amar noyone noyon”, “jabar belay fele”, “mor priya hobe”, “sondha se godhuli”, to name a few.

Few of Manobendra’s songs had been sung one after the other by other musical giants. For example “sawono rate Jodi”, had been sung by Manobendra. It was also sung by Manna Dey in the film Devdas, where Uttam Kumar gave lips in the song. Besides Manobendra Mukherjee’s song “ado ado bol” was also recorded by genius singer Mohammad Rafi later on.

One article is too small to highlight Manobendra Mukherjee’s landmark songs composed by Nazrul Islam, but along with Juthika Roy, Dhirendra Mitra, Firoza Begum, Kamal Dasgupta, Manobendra Mukherjee had glorified Nazrulgeeti in his own classical andaz. The songs should be preserved.

Mika Singh stormed Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program.

Mika Singh in Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program.


Mika Singh stormed Zee Saregamapa Little champs Program.


Singer Mika Singh stormed Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program held on 26th August, 2011 held in Zee TV. He was brilliant with his entry and sang brilliant songs in the program.

He sang generally his hit songs like "ibn-e-batoota",“sawan me lag gayi aag”, “aap ka kya hoga janabewali”, “kabhi to nazar to milao”, etc. In the program the child participants sung their songs in style. Barnali Hota sang one of the classically oriented songs of the film Lekin, which was originally sung by Asha Bhosle. Alka Yagnik said that she did the harkats very well, but required to be a bit soft to maintain the feeling required in the song. Rimsha Deb sang the song “do labso ki hai” composed by RD Burman and sung by Asha Bhosle.

Azmat Hussain sang the song “yaad piya ki aye” which was originally sung by Bare Ghulam Ali Khan. He made everyone spellbound. Mika Singh gave him prize of Rs 50000, and gave each of the other singers prize of Rs 11000 each. It was great gesture on the part of Mika Singh. In fact Mika Singh played the guitar with Rimsha Deb, in the song “do labso ki hai”, and sung the song “sawan me laga gayi” with Azmat Hussain.

Salman Ali and Nitin Kumar were excellent in their songs as usual. Anmol Khatri and Niladri Chatterjee were at the bottom two. At the end Anmol Khatri was eliminated and could not reach the top 6 spot. Even then, listeners should remember Anmol Khatri’s singing specially, his excellent rendition of the song “ajahu na aye balma, sawan beeta jaye” which was composed by Shankar Jaikishan and originally sung by Mohammad Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur.

The comments of Kailash Kher, Adnan Sami, Alka Yagnik and Javed Ali were excellent as usual and even Mika Singh appreciated their efforts in grooming the child participants. All the child participants have excellent potential and will become established singers in future.

Remembering Mukesh on his death anniversary.

Jaikishan, Raj Kapoor, Mukesh,Shankar, Shailendra

Remembering Mukesh on his death anniversary.

The viewers of bollywood films remember legendary singer Mukesh on his death anniversary on 27th August, 2011. He was born on 22nd July, 1923 and died on 27th August, 1976 and people all over the world remember his great works. Mukesh was probably the most popular singer of the 50s, 60s and 70s after Mohammad Rafi.

His nazal tune had huge amount of sensitiveness and he gave expression to brilliant composers of the golden age with the romantic voice. His combination with Showman Raj Kapoor was considered one of the golden combinations of the 40s, 50s, 60s.

His notable songs for Raj Kapoor included “awara hoon” from film Awara, composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “aaja re” from film Aah, composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “ramaiya vasta maiya” and “mera joota hai japani” from film Shree 420 composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “sab kuch sikha humne”, “dil ki nazar se” and “kisiki muskurahaton pe ho nisar” from film Anari, composed by SJ, etc. The list can go on. Shankar Jaikishan stormed bollywood films with their everlasting tunes for more than 25 years, and wherever they were associated with Raj Kapoor, Mukesh sang the songs of his lifetime. The combination gave everlasting hits in films like Barsaat, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, Ek Dil Sau Afsana, Around the World, Diwana, Teesri Kasam, Mera Naam Joker, to name a few.

In non-Raj Kapoor films also Mukesh did a superlative job. His performance in Dilip Kumar’s Madhumati, composed by Salil Choudhury, Manoj Kumar’s Hariyali Aur Raasta composed by Shankar Jaikishan, Rajender Kumar’s Saathi composed by Naushad, Manoj Kumar’s Pathar Ke Sanam composed by LP, require special mention. Some of the notable songs of Mukesh which had remained immortal in those films included “dil tarap tarap ke kehrahahe aabhi ja” in Madhumati, “ifteda-e-ishq me” in Hariyali Aur Raasta, “mera pyar bhi tuhe” in Saathi, “tauba yeh matwali chal” in Patthar Ke Sanam, etc.

He died in 1976, and ended the era relating to soft romantic songs. His journay from the film Nirdosh in 1941 to Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, remained unblemish. In 1974, he received national award for best singer for the song “kai baar yun hi dekha hai” from the film Rajnigandha, composed by Salil Choudhury. He deserved many more national awards, as he had sung from his soul bringing tears in the listener’s eyes. Besides he received filmfare awards for his best performance in films like Anari, Pehchan, Beimaan, Kabhi Kabhi. Even in the 70s, when slow music gradually lost its predominance, Mukesh’s songs in somber mood like “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” in the film Kabhi Kabhi composed by Khayyam and written by Sahir Ludhiyanvi created a permanent place in the hearts of millions of musiclovers.

Articles after articles can be devoted on the successful combination of Mukesh with Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Choudhury, Naushad, Roshan, and others. His films and songs should be preserved.

Happy birthday to Saira Banu.

Saira Banu.

Happy birthday to Saira Banu.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Saira Banu on 23rd August, 2011. She used to be called beauty-queen of the 60s. Acting was there in her blood with her mother Nasim Banu doing well in many films in the 40s.

Saira Banu started her career with the film Junglee opposite Shammi Kapoor in 1961. The brilliant music of Shankar Jaikishan given in the film and exotic locations of Jammu and Kashmir flabbergasted the audience in the early 60s. All the songs in the film were super hit including “suku suku”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “Kashmir ki kali hun mai”, to name a few. From that time onwards Saira Banu started getting stylish roles one after the other in bollywood films.

Saira Banu went on to give hit after hit with Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee as well. With Biswajeet her film April Fool released in 1964 became super hit. The songs of SJ again created storm including “april fool banaya”, “aa gale lag jaa”, etc. With Joy Mukherjee Saira Banu’s film Shagird stormed box-office in 1967. All the songs of Rafi and Lata were hits including “dil vil pyar vyar”, “woh hai zara khafa khafa”, “o bare miya diwane”, “duniya mehfil hai”, etc. The music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. Saira Banu exhibited the character of village girl who was sought after by her teacher played by IS Johar, but fell in love with Joy Mukherjee in the film.

Saira Banu’s combination with Rajender Kumar was well accepted by the audience. All the three films opposite Jubilee Kumar including Ayee Milan Ki Bela in 1964, Aman in 1967 and Jhuk Gaya Aasman in 1968 became super hit. The songs of all those films composed by SJ again struck box-office. Prominent songs included “o priya kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “tum khamseen ho”, “kahan chal diye”, “surahidar garden”, etc. Saira Banu balanced the powerful performance of Rajender Kumar in those films. In Aman, Saira Banu played the role of a Japanese girl. In Ayee Milan Ki Bela she played the role of an urbanized girl having wealthy background. In Jhuk Gaya Aasman, she played the role of a sophisticated girl coming from middle-class family who was involved with Rajender Kumar who was guide in Darjeeling, but after reincarnation led the life of a wealthy industrialist. May be after Sadhna, Saira Banu was accepted by the viewers the most opposite Rajender Kumar.

After marrying Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu acted in a number of films opposite him including Sagina, Gopi and Bairaag, most of which did well in the box-office. Sagina was directed by Dada Saheb Phalke winning director Tapan Sinha, who made the Bengali version and the hindi version of the same film separately. Saira Banu acted opposite Dilip Kumar in both the films. Her films with Raj Kapoor titled Diwana and Dev Anand titled Par Muhabbat did good business mainly due to hit music of Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of those films including “ai sanam jisne tujhe chaand si surat di hai”, “dil ki awaz khuda khair Karen” still remain the landmarks of Indian film music. Even Saira Banu’s comedy films like Parosan opposite Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood did brilliant business.

From the mid-70s Saira Banu faded away from the industry before acting in films opposite Big B like Zameer and Hera Pheri. There were other films of Saira Banu opposite other stars like Manoj Kumar in the film Purab Aur Paschim, Dharmender in Resham Ki Dori. The viewers expect her to contribute in bollywood films in character roles again.

Sudipa Mukherjee had been excellent in Rannaghar in Zee TV Bangla.

Sudipa Mukherjee, Rannaghar, Zee Bangla.

Sudipa Mukherjee had been excellent in Rannaghar in Zee TV Bangla.

Sudipa Mukherjee had been excellent in Rannaghar in Zee TV Bangla. She had shown the art of cooking excellent dishes in the Zee Bangla channel on all the week days at 5 pm.

Firstly her rannaghar , that is the kitchen is excellent, having brilliant cooking devices including microwave, cooker, gas, etc. Secondly she had been successful in inviting famous cooks from Bangladesh who had shown delicacies like Bhapa Ilish, Mourala tak, bhetki paturi, etc.

On Janmashtami, she brought a guest who taught how to cook Taler Bara, a dish cooked from the fruit taal, which is famous in bengal, which was also liked by Lord Krishna. That was the reason, why people had cooked that dish during Janmashtami years after years.

In the second week of August, she dedicated her show to the different serial actresses and named the show Nayika Sangbad. She called up the heroines of the serials Erao Shatru, Agniparikkha, Saat Pake Bandha etc. The actresses came and prepared brilliant dishes themselves.

Bidisha Choudhury of Erao Shatru cooked Mutton Nihari, which is a delicacy based on boiled mutton. She just provided onions, potato, carrots, and used butter to cook the mutton with lesser amount of spices. These dishes are prescribed by the doctors to patients who develop weaknesses. She did a great job and explained the manner of cooking the food as well.

Sudipa Mukherjee called up Anupam Roy, the singer of the song “amake amar moto thakte dao” to come and cook a dish for Rannaghar. He also did a great job and also sang songs during the program.

Sudipa Mukherjee’s manner of explanation of the dishes is excellent, and she shows the ingredients and the entire process of cooking twice in her show. Her dishes range from Ilish Bhapa, to La Bhetki, Chocolate Cookies to Mutton Dopiaza. She brought a cook from California who had showed the dish La Bhetki.

The viewers had become spellbound with the excellent performance of Sudipa Mukherjee. They wish the cookery show should create further wonders in Zee Bangla in the days to come.

Happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani.

Happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani on 18th August, 2011. She had made her debut as a child actress in the film Ganga Jamuna in 1961. She played the role of the smaller version of Azra in the film. She played similar roles in films like Jahanara in 60s.

But her fantastic dancing skills launched her in super hit films like Farz which was released in 1967. She danced opposite Jeetender in the film Farz in Rafi’s song “mast baharon ka mai aashiq”, and that cemented her career in bollywood films. After that she got dance-based roles one after the other in bollywood. But due to comedy pairing with Mehmood in films like Humjoli, she got roles in the range of vamps rather than frontline heroines. She was brilliant opposite Mehmood in the Jeetender starrer Waarish in 1968. The music of RD Burman was brilliant with Rafi’s hit songs like “ek bechara pyar ka maara”.

She amazed the viewers with the role of a gypsey woman in Jeetender’s film Carwan released in 1971. Her dance number in the song “dilbar” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and “chadti jawani” sung by Mohammad Rafi had shaken up bollywood in the early 70s. Her dancing skills were used to perfection by Showman Raj Kapoor in the film Bobby especially in Shailendra Singh’s song “mai shayar to nahin”.

Her successful films in 70s and 80s includes Khel Khel Me, Buddha Mil Gaya, Laila Majnu, Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari, Qurbani, Sargam, Rocky, Love Story, etc. In negative characters in films like Qurbani she had amazed the viewers. From late 80s, she switched to character roles and became one of the leading actresses in that field. She received filmfare award for the best supporting actress for her brilliant performance in Madhuri Dixit’s film Beta.

Her brilliant performance in films like Raja Babu, Ghulam-e-Mustafa, Kartavya, had created a separate place in the hearts of millions of filmlovers. Viewers got astonished to realize how an able dancer in her teenage, had transformed into a brilliant character artist who could do any type of role starting from comedy acting to serious roles to roles of negatives characters.

She should have won many more filmfare awards for epic performances in films like Bobby, Qurbani, Haseena Maan Jayegi. She also played notable role in Priyadarshan’s film Khatta Meetha released in 2010. The viewers expect the veteran of more than 300 films to continue the great work that she started 40 years ago.

Happy birthday to David Dhawan.

Happy birthday to David Dhawan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to David Dhawan on 16th August, 2011. He had been a master entertainer. He had entertained the viewers with comedy films one after the other.

David Dhawan had experimented the most with successful actors Govinda and Salman Khan. Salman Khan featured in his film Biwi No. 1. Released in the late 1990s. In that film Salman Khan had a responsible wife Karishma Kapoor and also had an affair with Sushmita Sen. Anil Kapoor and Tabu leaked out the affair before Karishma Kapoor. It had led to unrest in the family. When Salman tried to live with Sushmita she failed to take care of his children and relatives. So the indispensability of Karishma Kapoor was felt. The music of Anu Malik was excellent. The songs “chunari chunari”, “ishq sona hai” became landmark hits in the 90s.

Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla starrer Bol Radha Bol made director David Dhawan a star. The film did excellent business and all the songs of the film became super hit including “bol radha bol tune ye kya kiya”. Rishi Kapoor acted in other films of David Dhawan including Eena Meena Deeka and Yaarana.

Govinda had featured in a number of films of David Dhawan. His comedy andaz had made the viewers spellbound. Govinda gave probably the greatest hit film of David Dhawan, that is Ankhen. In that film Chunkey Pandey, Kader Khan, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and other big names contributed for the success of the film. Govinda’s film Hero No. 1 was super hit. His combination with Karishma Kapoor was excellent. Govinda’s other film Cooli No. 1 was equally successful. His other films with David Dhawan included Rajababu and Benarasi Babu.

Sanjay Dutt acted in many films of David Dhawan. Most of them were based on the joint performance of Sanjay Dutt and Govinda including Haseena Maan Jayegi, Jodi No. 1, Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, etc.

David Dhawan had success in 2007 with the film Partner where both Salman Khan and Govinda featured. The film was based on the influence of a love-guru on the person had affair with a rich girl but never knew the art of impressing her. Govinda was attached to Katrina Kaif. Govinda was a middle-class person, so had to take lessons from Salman Khan to impress Katrina. Everything happened with comedy andaz. Salman Khan fell in love with Lara Dutta but had to accept her son before marrying her. The music of the film was extremely successful with songs like “do you want a partner”, “you are my love”, etc. Salman Khan and David Dhawan combination had given hits after hits including Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya.

David Dhawan had released the tension of regular life of Indian viewers with his comedy films. David Dhawan is presently busy with the shooting of the film Partner 2. He is slated to work with Salman Khan and Govinda again. The film is slated to be released in early 2012. The viewers expect him to continue the good work in the years to come.

Revisiting film Mahabharata on Krishna - Janmashtami.

Revisiting film Mahabharat on Krishna-Janmashtami.

Indians have a separate religious sentiment associated with Lord Krishna, the renowned avatar of God Vishnu. The film Mahabharat made in 1965 is revisited on the eve of Krishna Janmashtami to be celebrated all over India tomorrow on 22nd August, 2011.

The film Mahabharat was directed by director Babulal Mistry in 1965. Actor Abhi Bhattacharya played the celebrated role of Lord Krishna in the film. He had the challenging task of chanting the slokas from Bhagwat Geeta, which moulded Arjun in the battle of Kurukshetra and led to victory of the Pandavas. Very significantly Pradeep Kumar played the epic role of Arjun in the film. When Arjuna saw his own relatives in the other side of the battle, he got perplexed and thought whether to fight the battle or not. Lord Krishna explained to him that he must do his Karma and that too of a Kshatriya. In the entire Mahabharata what Lord Krishna had delivered later became learning texts for Hindus all over the world.

Actor Dara Singh played the role of Bhima in the film, while Jeevan played the role of Shakuni. Actress Padmini played the notable role of Draupadi in the film. Composer Chitragupt composed the music of the film, and the songs sung by Rafi in the film were very memorable.

In the late 80s and early 90s, eminent filmmaker BR Chopra made Mahabharata in Doordarshan, and as TV serial had remained extremely successful. Nitish Bharatdwaj played the role of Lord Krishna in the serial. All the episode related to the birth of Lord Krishna flabbergasted the audience. His mama’s role was played by Goga Kapoor. The viewers saw the battle between Lord Krishna and Mama Kanghs was very well depicted by BR Chopra.

Nitish Bharadwaj studied Bhagwat Geeta, very well and his performance in the battlefield of Kurukshetra where he persuaded Arjun to fight the battle had remained matchless. The character of Arjun was played by Feroz Khan. The pandavas were heavily dependent on Lord Krishna in their war against the kauravas. Lord Krishna only asked Bhima to hit Duryodhana on his uru, meaning the thigh, which led to his victory. Lord Krishna asked Arjun to throw his arrow at Karna when his chariot got stuck in mud and he tried to release it. The same Lord Krishna, provided cloth to Draupadi, at a time when Duryodhana asked Dushshashan to take away her clothes.

Lord Krishna is worshipped as God by numerous hindus all across the world, and the effort of filmmakers in reaching the epic related to Lord Krishna had always been considered noble and appreciated. Both the film Mahabharata and the serial Mahabharata should be restored.

Barnali Hota was the best in qawalli special in Zee Saregamapa Little Champs.

Barnali Hota was the best in qawalli special in Zee Saregamapa Little Champs.

Barnali Hota had been the best in qawalli special in Zee TV Saregamapa Little Champs held on 20th August, 2011. She sang Lataji’s song from the film Henna, “aaja ve mahi tera rasta ho dekhdiya” which was composed by Ravindra Jain. She had brought the sweetness required in the song. Alka Yagnik, the mahaguru gave her the best singer’s special cap to her for best performance. Javed Ali and others said that Barnali had proved that she is Hota and not Hoti.

Niladri Chatterjee did an excellent job with the song “na tu karwaki talash hai”. The song was composed by Roshan Lal Nagath in the film Basaat Ki Raat in 1960. Manna Dey, Mohammad Rafi, Sudha Malhotra, Asha Bhosle and others sung the song. The song was considered one of the 10 best qawallies composed in bollywood films. Niladri took the risk and showed his harkat to match the original song. Reema Deb sang the song “allah yeh ada” which was originally sung by Lataji in the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost and composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. She did justice to the song.

Salman Ali sang Abeeda Parveen’s dangerous qawalli. There were lot of classical renditions in the original song. Salman Ali sang it in his own style. Nitin Kumar sang the song “tu mane na yaa mane” which was originally sung by Badalli brothers. Guru Adnan Sami said that he expected that level of excellence from Nitin Kumar which as missing in the previous episodes. But he returned back with a bang.

Anmol Khatri sang the song “allah allah” which was originally sung by Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik and others in the film Dil Ashiyana Hai which was composed by Nadeem Shravan. Alka Yagnik said that for becoming khatra for others, Anmol had to sing even better as the competition had become fiece. Azmat Hussain made everyone spellbound with the song “tu ne to loot liya”. Alka Yagnik gave Azmat Hussain nazrana.

Kailash Kher and Javed Ali used brilliant shayeri to maintain the mood of the qawalli night. The qawalli night was brilliant by every musical standard.

Sanjana Bhola ended her journey in Zee TV Saregamapa Little Champs.

Sanjana Bhola ended her journey in Zee Saregamapa Little Champs.

Child contestant Sanjana Bhola had ended her journey in Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program in Zee TV held every Friday and Saturday. She last sang in the program on 19th August, 2011.

On 19th August, 2011, Nitin sang the song “haule haule ho jayega pyar” sung by Sukhwinder Singh in the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jori, composed by Salim Sulaiman. Rimsha sang the song “chaliya chaliya chaliya” which was originally sung by Sunidhi Chauhan in the film Tashan. She got the highest number of votes from the public. Alka Yagnik asked her to be confident, but not over-confident.

Salman Ali sang the song “satrangi re” from the film Dil Se, which was composed by AR Rehman and sung by Sonu Nigam. He had a sour voice, so could not match his own performance given in the past. Judge Javed Ali, showed the difference in the first line of the song, which was the soul of the song according to him.

Azmat Hussain, Anmol Khatri, Barnali Hota and Sanjana Bhola sang their songs very well. Kailash Kher briefed the audience, that Azmat Hussain, a child of ten years had said he wanted to pay the debts of his father who had six other children. Kailash Kher was amazed at the ambition of the small child and wished him the best. Adnan Sami asked him to work on the talafuz, that is the intonation which should be very clear, if a singer has to reach any destination.

Viewers and the audience should not forget Sanjana Bhola who had amazed everyone by singing the song “masakkali masakkali” in own style. The song was very difficult, being composed by AR Rehman and sung by Mohit Chauhan, and picturised on the film Dilli 6. Sanjana Bhola showed lot of courage in attempting it and singing it in her own style.

There is huge future for Sanjana Bhola and she should continue her riyaz and practice relating to classical singing.

Aarakshan got medium response.

Aarakshan got medium response.

The film Aarakshan got medium response after being released a week ago. The film had been directed by Prakash Jha. It had been produced by Prakash Jha and Firoz Nadiawala.

In the film Amitabh Bachan had been the principal of a college. He had soft corner for financially weak students. He liked Saif Ali Khan who taught in that college for sometime before going to USA. His daughter Deepika Padukone loved Saif Ali Khan. Prateek Babbar, a high caste student also studied in the college.

After the Supreme Court gave verdict in favour of reservation, the college faced unrests. Big spoke rudely with Saif Ali Khan and the relationship between Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone broke up. Big B was asked to step down from the post of Principal as he took private tution of weak students. He started teaching in a cow shed. Manoj Bajpai used his influence to disturb that coaching class too. At the end of the film a Trust was being created by Hema Malini where Big B was asked to teach.

The music of the film had been composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. Some of the songs were impressive like “accha lagta hai” sung by Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal, “roshanee” sung by Shankar Mahadevan, “kaun si dor” sung by Channulal Mishra.

Around Rs 42 crores were spend in the film. In the first week Rs 50 crore was recovered. The performance of Big B, Manoj Vajpayee, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone were very impressive. But the film did not get the same type of response if compared with Rajneeti which did business worth Rs 70 crores. Praksha Jha’s direction had been excellent.

The subject matter of the film that is reservation, had remained a controversial subject for the last 20 years. In that perspective Prakash Jha’s film had a strong social message. The viewers should watch the film.

Debashis had been excellent in Radhuni in Aakash Bangla.

Debashis had been excellent in Radhuni in Aakash Bangla.

Debashis, the excellent cook had been brilliant in the program Radhuni held in Aakash Bangla held every week day at 6 pm. He had been aided by Bengali actress Mallika Majumdar every day.

During end of the July, Debashis celebrated “Ilish week”, the week when all the dishes were dedicated to the famous fish Hilsa. The fish had been considered the king of fishes both in Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Debashis himself had shown a number of dishes, while he had invited many contestants to cook different dishes, which were marked by Debashis. He cooked brilliant dishes like Ilish Bhapa. Bhapa Ilish had been always cooked with Mustard Powder which is called “sarshe bata” in Bengali.

On one of the days Debashis cooked the dish “Ilish Pora”. He prepared the fish on Banana Leaf. He had heated the hilsa fish by putting it inside the banana leaf and the leaf burned giving good taste. On one of the days he cooked the dish “ilish paturi”. That dish also required banana leaf, as the hilsa fish was rapped in banana leaf.

The contestants also cooked different types of dishes related to hilsa. They served the hilsa fish with cooked rice. The better cooks were given higher marks and went to quarter final, semi final. The title song in the program “bhalo bhalo ranna, sob sikhe ninna” had remained very catchy.

The viewers wish their best to Debashis and Mallika to continue the show and teach good dishes to every viewers.

Happy birthday to Manisha Koirala.

Happy birthday to Manisha Koirala.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Manisha Koirala on 16th August, 2011. She was the leading actress of the 90s and played important roles opposite all the leading actors of bollywood films.

She attracted the attention of the directors with her first performance in Subhash Ghai’s film Saudagar. She was excellent in the film 1942 – A Love Story opposite Anil Kapoor. The film ended up being musical blockbuster with RD Burman’s composition “pyar hua chupkese”, “ek larki ko dekha”, “kuch na kaho” becoming landmark hits. Manisha’s soft romantic performance balanced the all round performance of Anil Kapoor. Besides, the film was based on the life of people in the pre-independence period, so Manisha Koirala balanced her style of acting with the style of dialogue delivery of people during that time.

Manisha Koirala continued her romantic performance in other films like Akele Hum Akele Tum opposite Amir Khan, Yalgaar with Sanjay Dutt, Champion opposite Suny Deol. The songs of all these films did great business. She was comfortable in her roles both in action films and romantic films.

Manisha Koirala also played important roles in experimental films like Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Lajja. Her performance was author-backing performance of an observer of ill-treatment of women in different parts of the world. Her soft performance balanced the cruel attitude of Jackie Shroff in the film. She showed her metal in acting opposite a number of other successful actresses in the same film including Madhuri Dixit, Mahima Choudhury, Rekha and others.

Manisha Koirala was sublime in her performance opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film Dil Se. Mani Ratnam experimented with terrorist activities in the North East in the film Dil Se. Manisha Koirala played the role of the terrorist in the film and died at the end of the film with a suicide operation which killed Shahrukh Khan too.

Critics feel that Manisha Koirala still has lot of acting left in her. She had recently got married, and in respect of bollywood prospects, once actresses get married, their future gets doomed. Her dancing skills and acting skills still qualify her to make a comeback in bollywood films and compete with the leading stars like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and others.

She appeared in Dadagiri Program conducted by Sourav Ganguly in Zee Bangla Channel in 2010, and did a great job there too. Viewers came to know that she could speak well too. Viewers and her fans expect her to make a comeback in bollywood films and do even better.

Happy birthday to Gulzar.

Happy birthday to Gulzar.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary director and lyricist Gulzar on 18th August, 2011. He had been one of the greatest living legends at this moment. Bollywood is indebted to thoughtful director who had converted filmmaking into work of art.

His film Mausam released in 1975, was based on reflections of mind. Sanjeev Kumar was attached with Sharmila Tagore living in Darjeeling when he came over there as a student. After he went abroad to pursue his post-graduate studies, Sharmila was exploited and her daughter how looked identical like her mother was compelled to join prostitution.

Sanjeev Kumar returned as a foreign-return doctor and took his daughter away from the surroundings and gave her a new life. Bhupinder Singh’s ghazal “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi” composed by Madan Mohan and written by Gulzar remains as the greatest ghazal created in the 70s. The story-telling in the film was appreciated by critics.

Gulzar created a different dimension by experimented with classic literature during the 70s and 80s. His films Aandhi released in 1975, with Suchitra Sen and Sanjeev Kumar and Kinara released in 1978, with Jeetender and Hema Malini can very well be classified as master pieces. He gave very meaningful sequences where songs were recorded. He created a separate fanclub for himself who could understand human relations at the same period when larger than life images were created in main stream cinema of Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha and other angry young men in films like Sholay, Kalicharan, Burning Train, etc.

Gulzar’s films created for children like Parichay and Kitaab are still considered masterpieces. He was impressed by the thoughts of Hollywood film Sound of Music and Uttam Kumar’s Joyjoyanti to make a film related to five children who required a good teacher. Jeetender treated them with compassion and brought change in the children. In Kitaab, Uttam Kumar cared for his brother-in-law Master Raju who was a small child and had been send by her mother to get educated in urbanized background.

Gulzar experimented with so many diverse subjects that articles after articles can be devoted to his different themes, including the film Koshish, based on life of deaf and dumb, Lekin, based on folklore of Rajasthan. Koshish had a very strong social message. It showed that deaf and dumb persons could go to dead and dumb schools and learn sign language. Their life can have a new aspiration and direction. All his artists like Suchitra Sen, Jaya Bacchan, Sharmila Tagore, Uttam Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetender portrayed the life of middle-class men who were found in everyday life. He even worked with subjects like terrorism in films like Machis.

His composers, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, RD Burman all had given their best music for the thoughtful director. These days Gulzar concentrates more on writing lyrics. In that field too he had been master of masters. In the recent past Gulzar said that he wanted to devote time to write books. For those reasons he had reduced directing films in the last 10 years. It is a huge loss for thoughtful viewers. He continued to write lyrics of songs in bollywood films in regular intervals and his popular lyrics like “aisi nazar se” in the film Bunty Aur Babli had both class and also rythm.

His admirers expect him to continue to make rich films which make the audience think, feel and reflect on the happiness and sniffles of life.

Happy birthday to Vaijayantimala.

Happy birthday to Vaijayantimala.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dancing queen Vaijayantimala on 13th August, 2011. She had ruled bollywood films during the 50s and 60s, during an age when muslim actresses like Nargis, Madhubala, Meena Kumari rocked silver screen. She was the first South Indian actress to create a sensation in bollywood films and paved the way for other South Indian actresses to follow like Hema Malini, Sri Devi, Jaya Prada, Meenakshi Sheshadri, and others.

Her online chemistry with Tragedy King Dilip Kumar created history in bollywood. Most of their films including Devdas, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Paigham, Ganga Jumna, Leader, Sunghursh ended up being blockbusters. Besides dancing, she was sublime in the role of a tawaif in Bimal Roy’s film Devdas, in the role of village girl in Bimal Roy’s Madhumati.

Vaijayantimala used to do a lot of homework also in respect of her role. When she was awarded best supporting actress award in filmfare for her performance in the film Devdas, she did not receive the award. She said after reading the literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, she found that Chandramukhi, the character she played, was equally a heroine as Parvati. Probably Madhumati marks the best performance of Vaijayantimala in her entire career. Her innocence reflected in her acting and she made the audience spellbound with the lips given in songs composed by Salil Choudhury including “aa ja re pardesi”, “ghari ghari mera dil dharke”, “daiya re daiya re”, etc. She received the filmfare award for the best actress for the brilliant performance in the film.

On one hand she was brilliant opposite Dilip Kumar, on the other hand she created sensation with Raj Kapoor as well. Their film Nazrana did mediocre business. But Sangam was probably one of the biggest hits of Raj Kapoor in his entire life. Vaijayantimala’s stylish performance opposite both Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar created a benchmark which could hardly be reached. Sangam still remains one of the most landmark films based on triangular love story shot at exotic locations in London, Paris, and other European countries. Shankar Jaikishan was matchless in Sangam. The acting performance was excellent and she received the filmfare award for the best actress once again. The last scene where Vaijayatimala questioned both Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar about deciding about her life, had become a trend-setter. She justified the fact that she had affair with Rajender Kumar, but from the time she married Raj Kapoor, she fulfilled all the responsibilities of a hindu wife. She had been followed by numerous actresses of the following period in similar roles.

In the 60s, Vaijayantimala was matchless. Her name was enough to make any film hit. The list of her films include Nagin opposite Pradeep Kumar, Suraj opposite Rajender Kumar, Amrapali opposite Sunil Dutt, Prince opposite Shammi Kapoor, Choti Si Mulakat opposite Uttam Kumar, Jewel Thief opposite Dev Anand, Pyar Hi Pyar opposite Dharmender, to name a few. In fact her combination with Rajender Kumar and Shankar Jaikishan created sensation in the 60s. All their films ended up being silver jubilees including Aas Ka Panchi, Suraj, Sangam, Zindagi, etc. Her lips in landmark songs like “kaise samjhayun bai na samajh ho”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe meri raazdaar”, “o mere sanam”, “titli uri” had become immortal over a period of time. Besides her standard of classical dancing in films like Katputli or Amrapali had created interest among viewers to appreciate aesthetic dance numbers which became an art in due period of time.

Her films should be restored and preserved.

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakhee on 15th August, 2011. She had contributed in bollywood films for more than 30 years. She had contributed both as a leading actress and also as a character actress.

Rakhee came to limelight with her successful film Sharmilee opposite Shashi Kapoor in the early 70s. The songs of the film composed by SD Burman became very successful, including the songs “khilte hai dil yahan”, “megha chaye aadhi raat”, etc. Rakhee played a double role and created attention.

In the mid-70s Rakhee acted in landmark roles including the one in the film Kabhi Kabhi opposite Big B and Shashi Kapoor. She loved a poet played by Big B, but had to marry Shashi Kapoor. The poetry of Big B created a great impact in the life of Rakhee. The songs of Mukesh and Lata composed by Khayyam in the film including “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” made the viewers spellbound.

Rakhee acted in many landmark films opposite Big B including Shakti Shamanta’s Bengali film Anusandhan, hindi film Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Kala Patthar, Kasme Wade, etc. In the early 80s Rakhee played the role of her lifetime opposite Dilip Kumar in the film Shakti. She played the role of the mother of Big B, who faced the hostility between Dilip Kumar and Big B, one being the protector of law, while the other being the lawbreaker. The scenes where she praised her law-abiding husband her performance had outcast Big B, and viewers said that Rakhee’s performance was as brilliant as Dilip Kuma in Shakti. The film became super hit. She was brilliant in the film Shaan. She played the role of the wife of Sunil Dutt. After the death Sunil Dutt, her small interaction with Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bacchan, who were the brothers of Sunil Dutt in the film, had shown the class of acting of Rakhee.

In the 90s, Rakhee played many character roles in films like Anil Kapoor’s Ram Lakhan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan’s Karan Arjun, Bobby Deol’s Soldier, to name a few. She had acted in more than 100 films and continues to act in many contemporary films.

Rakhee had also acted in many character roles and challenging roles. Her performance in Aparna Sen’s film Parama requires special mention. She had affair with a middle-aged neighbour. When the truth relating to her extra-marital affair was known to her husband, she lost her value in the family. She showed the helplessness in the respective story. She had performed in both commercial films and parallel cinema and in both forms of films she had kept a mark.

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

Happy birthday to Adnan Sami.

Happy birthday to Adnan Sami.

The viewers of bollywood films and the listeners of bollywood music wish happy birthday to singer and composer Adnan Sami on 15th August, 2011. Singer and composer Adnan Sami had glorified Zee TV Saregamapa little Champs Program held every Friday and Saturday in Zee TV channel. He is one of the judges of the program along with the other judges namely Kailash Kher and Javed Ali. They consult with the Mahaguru Alka Yagnik.

On 14th August, 2011, during the show, Alka Yagnik greeted Adnan Sami with a birthday cake, and sang the song “panchi nadiya pawan ke jhoke” from the film Refugee. She meant that India has its independence day on 15th August, while Pakistan has its independence day on 14th August. As Adnan Sami is from Pakistan, due to the insistence of Alka Yagnik, he stayed during his birthday in India as against his wishes of spending it with his wife and family in Pakistan. On the same day Javed Ali showed his sufiana andaz by singing the song “piya haji ali” with the child singers.

Adnan Sami was born in 15th August, 1973. He had shown his exceptional talent in playing the piano and composing experimental songs in Indian films. He was born and brought up in London, UK. He created his first solo album Raag time in 1991-92. Adnan Samy acted in the film Pakistani film Sargam along with his wife Zeba. Then he created the album Kabhi To Nazar Milao with Asha Bhosle, for which he composed the songs himself.

His song “tu sirf mera mehboob” from the film Ek Ajnabee became a big hit in 2001. His next album Tera Chehra was released in 2002, which also became super hit. He worked with composer AR Rehman in the song “aye uri uri” in the film Saathiya in 2002. From that time he never looked back.

He composed music along with Raghav Sachar in Sunil Shetty’s film Daddy Cool in 2010. In the film the song “daddy cool” sung by Raghav Sachar and Paroma Dasgupta became very popular. He sang the landmark song “nor-e-khuda” along with Shankar Mahadevan and Shreya Ghoshal in the film My Name is Khan released in 2010.

He had won many international awards including the Nigar Award, the Bolan Academy Award, the Graduate award, to name a few.

In the Zee TV Saregamapa Little Champs Program his way of guiding the child competitors had amazed the viewers and listeners. His urdu talaffus had been excellent and he had addressed the child participants like Asmat, Salman and others with lot of respect and dignity. All the judges had used their immense talent to guide the children who had sung difficult classically oriented songs brilliantly.

The country expects a lot from the great singer and composers. The viewers expect that Adnan Samy is going to create new dimensions in the field of music in future.

Iti Mrinalini had been a commercial venture of Aparna Sen.

Iti Mrinalini had been a commercial venture of Aparna Sen.

Director Aparna Sen made the film Iti Mrinalini both in hindi and Bengali and it had been a commercial venture considering her previous works like Parama or 36 Chowrangee Lane, etc. The film had been produced by Srikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni. The music had been composed by Debojyoti Misra.

In the film, Mrinalini an aged actress wrote a suicide note. She tried to commit suicide in the same way in which she had always thought in terms of entering a stage and coming out of the stage. Before taking the pills she tried to destroy whatever memories were available, including her photographs, letters, correspondences, etc.

But while going through the relics, the different memories haunted her, and she looked back at the history. But once Ajaan started in the morning, she changed her mind and took her dog for walk. The idea of committing suicide changed and she tore up the suicide note. In this film, Konkona Sen Sharma played the role of the daughter of Aparna Sen.

The other actors and actresses in the film included Priyangshu Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor, Locket Chatterjee, Suzanne Bernert, Koushik Sen, Ananya Chatterjee, Rita Koiral and others. Konkona Sen Sharma had done a great job as usual.

The thing has to be seen is how the viewers receive the film. The content and story are outlined in the footsteps of parallel cinema. But the director herself will also be pleased if the masses react well in respect of the film.

Udit Narayan was amazing in the X Factor Show.

Udit Narayan was amazing in the X Factor Show in Sony TV.

Veteran singer Udit Narayan had glorified the X Factor Show, by his brilliant singing and presence. Being a great singer who had sung almost 15000 songs in his illustrious career which had spanned over 25 years, he had not shown any pride.

Sonu Nigam showed huge respect for Udit Narayan in the show. He said that there are few voices which glorifed Indian Playback Singing with the sweetness of the voice. If Mohammad Rafi was one of the greatest singers, then after him it was Udit Narayan. The singers of the new generation should learn from Sonu Nigam how to address the other singers. Udit Narayan gave a brilliant reply. He said that when he heard Sonu Nigam in a program in New Delhi in the early days, he understood that when Sonu Nigam came to Mumbai from New Delhi, he would dominate the world of bollywood singing which eventually happened.

The judges Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam and Sanjay Leela Bansali used their veto power to save Seema Jha and Diwana Group who were at the bottom two on the 12th August, 2011. No one was eliminated.

As far as performance on the night, Sajda Sisters were the best with the brilliant song “pal do pal ka saath hamaara” sung by Rafi and Asha Bhosle in the film Burning Train. It was one of the brilliant compositions of RD Burman and difficult to sing. The Sajda Sisters kept the qawalli andaz in the song intact and sang brilliantly. Udit Narayan praised them a lot.

Deewana Group sang the song “dharak dharak dyun uraye re” from the film Bunty Aur Babli. The song was originally sung by Udit Narayan. It was composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. They sang well. Seema Jha sang the song “ruki ruki yeh zindagi” from the film Mast. It was originally sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Nigam. Nirmeeti Group sang the song “chal chaiya chaiya” which was originally sung by Sukhwinder Singh in the film Dil Se which was composed by AR Rehman.

Aditya Narayan sang with his father Udit Narayan, “do you wanna partner o partner” and mentioned that he was the most lovable father. Singers like Udit Narayan should regularly be invited in the X Factor and other shows.

Anna Hazare had glorified Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program.

Anna Hazare had glorified Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program in Zee TV.

Anna Hazare had glorified Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program on 12th August, 2011. He came with an Ex- Income Tax Commissioner in the Show.

Rimsha sang the song “bande mataram bande mataram” written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji which was used by Hemant Kumar in the film Anandmath. Niladri Chatterji sang the song “aye mere pyare watan” sung by Manna Dey in the film Kabuliwala, which was composed by Salil Choudhury. Niladri asked Anna Hazare, didn’t he feel hungry when he did hunger strike in respect of Lokpal Bill. He said he felt hungry only for the first day, but from the next day he won over hunger.

Salman Ali sang the song “bande mataram, maa tujhe salaam” which was composed and sung by AR Rehman. Nitin sang the song “bharat humko jaan se bhi pyara hai”, sung by Hariharan in the film Roja, which was composed by AR Rehman. Azmat Hussain sang the song “kar chale hum fida” which was sung by Mohammad Rafi in the film Haqeekat, composed by Madan Mohan and written by Kaifi Azmi.

Barnali Hota sang the song “aye mere watan ke logo” which was sung by Lata Mangeshkar, which once brought tears in the eyes of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country. Barnali Hota asked Anna Hazare, the reasons for his protests and hunger strikes, what were the implication of his demands. Anna Hazare explained it in his own way.

The program got a new dimension with the presence of Anna Hazare, who is compared with great Mahatma Gandhi in the present age. Due to his intervention none of the child contestants were eliminated in the Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program.

Happy birthday to gorgious icon Sri Devi.

Happy birthday to gorgeous icon Sri Devi.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to gorgeous icon and evergreen actress Sri Devi on 13th August, 2011. She was the most dominating figure in bollywood films in the 80s. Her excellent dancing skills gave her an edge over other actresses of that period.

She was brilliant in the film Himmatwala opposite Jeetender. The film was a South Indian production which was released in the early 1980s and the dancing skills of both Sri Devi and Jeetender mesmerized the viewers. The music of the film was also very popular. Sri Devi got a landmark role in Feroz Khan’s film Jaanbaaz. She played the role of the wife of Jeetender who was given drugs forcefully by Shakti Kapoor, Raza Murad and their men. She died due to consumption of the drugs. Feroz Khan along with Anil Kapoor took revenge against her brutal killing.

Sri Devi’s combination with Anil Kapoor was appreciated by the viewers of the 80s. Their film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapoor became everlasting hit. Sri Devi displayed her comedy skills as against the innocent performance of Anil Kapoor in the film. Anil Kapoor’s device for becoming invisible amazed the viewers. Amrish Puri was matchless in his performance in the role of Mogambo. Sri Devi’s dance number opposite Anil Kapoor in a blue dress during a rainy day haunted many youngstars of the 80s.

Big B acted in many films opposite Sri Devi including Inquilab, Akhree Rasta and others. Most of those films ended up being blockbusters. In Akhree Raasta she had show her mettle opposite another South Indian beauty Jaya Prada. Her performance was as good as Jaya Prada, and both the actresses justified their selection opposite Megastar Big B. Sri Devi gave many hits opposite Rishi Kapoor including Yash Rash film Chandni. In Chandi, Sri Devi looked gorgeous. Rishi Kapoor was considered to be most romantic actor of the 80s. Sri Devi had the challenge of matching him in a Yash Raj film, where shooting is done in Switzerland and costly dresses are used for the stars. Sri Devi rose up to the occasion and got the viewers flabbergasted with her performance. Even then viewers considered Anil Kapoor the best combination opposite Sri Devi. Their superhit films included Laadla, Lamhe, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, and others.

Sri Devi had a fantastic career in South Indian films as well. Her performance in films opposite Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan became super hit in the 8os. She acted in hit bollywood films opposite Rajnikant like Chaalbaaz where she played a double role. She was excellent in the film Sadma opposite Kamal Hassan. Her abnormal acting which was required in the role and later on a different behavior really made the viewers spellbound. The music composed by Illaiyaraja was exceptional, with the song “surmaiy ankhyonme” becoming smash hit.

With the domination of Madhuri Dixit in bollywood films in the 90s, Sri Devi faded away from the film arena. Besides she added weight after marrying Boney Kapoor and giving birth to her daughter. Although viewers cannot expect the same glamour and charm of Sri Devi in her late 30s, yet they want her presence in bollywood films, as lot of acting is still left in her. The viewers expect her to make a comeback soon in character roles.

Mir Afsar Ali had been brilliant in Mirakkel Akkel Challenger 6 in Zee Bangla.

Mir Afsar Ali had been brilliant in Mirakkel Akkel Challenger 6 in Zee Bangla.

Comedy King Mir Afsar Ali had been brilliant in Mirakkel Akkel Challenger 6 in Zee Bangla held at 9.30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He was born in a conservative Bengali muslim family.

On a rainy evening in 1994, when he was on his way home from college, he read a six-day old newspaper in which the clothes from laundry were rapped. He saw that auditions were required for radio- jockeys. He became radio jockey and became famous for speaking in Hello Kolkata on Radio Mirchi.

In DD Bangla, he started his career as news reader on Khas Khabar. He did excellent work in Hao Mao Khao and Beta Betir Battle.

He has extraordinary skills of imitating film personalities like Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Mithun Chakravarty, Ranjit Mullick and others. In Mirakkel Akkel Challenger 6, the three judges who adjudicate the performances of participants in the laughter show include Paran Banerjee, Rajatavo Dutta and Sreelekha Mitra. Sometimes Kharaj Mukherjee also adjudicates the performances as judge.

Mir Afsar Ali is ably assisted by a group of orchestra who contribute in the comedy show. The performers had come from West Bengal and Bangladesh and had done great job till date. Some of the performers include Shakila, Sangeet, and others. There are performers who do puppet show, ventriloquism, also perform together, one being the microphone, as such.

Mir Afsar Ali had talked about a great performer of Monkey games, named Yasin. He used to come and show different games with a male and female monkey. The audience used to appreciate them, but hardly paid the talented man. He left the monkeys in the nearby forests, who later came to him as such as they could not stay without Yasin. Mir brought tears in the eyes of the audience with the real life experience.

Just by changing the background of the screen, sometimes he takes the visitors to Lords Cricket Ground in London, or Eiffel Tower in Paris, sometimes the forests in Africa. The judges provide tips to improve the comedy performances.

The viewers expect Mir Afsal Ali to continue the great work that he is doing and do even better.

Sandip Ray had loved visiting places during film-shooting with Satyajit Ray.

Sandip Ray had loved visiting places during film-shooting with Satyajit Ray.

Sandip Ray had given an interview in Bengali Newspaper Anandabazar Patrika on 31st July, 2011. He mentioned that when he was young he loved to go for outdoor shooting with his father Satyajit Ray.

He travelled during his holidays because he had school at other times. He loved the experience of going to Darjeeling when Satyajit Ray shot the film Kanchenjungha in 1962. He loved the shooting in respect of Gupi Gayeen Bagha Bayeen in 1969. Halla’ s king’s palace was shot in Sonar Kella, Jaisalmer.

Sandip Ray said that his father Satyajit Ray loved Rajasthan the most in terms of outdoor shooting. Ray in fact made Jaisalmer prominent, after shooting the film Sonar Kella in 1974, over there. Otherwise people knew Jaipur in more details than other parts of Rajasthan.

Among character actors Sandip Ray admired Chabi Biswas, Tulsi Chakravarty, Jahar Roy and others, who acted in Satyajit Ray’s films. He had started his career with the film Phatik Chand. Many portions of the film was shot near Shahid Minar in Kolkata. At that time a lot of jugglers showed many games in fairs held near Shahid Minar in Kolkata. The film took two years to get released. He said he was not fond of fish in diet, but liked Luchi Begunbhaja and khichuri.

Sandip Ray said that he was satisfied with the work in the film Nishijapon. Recently he had shot for the Feluda Series Detective Film Royal Bengal Rahasya. It was shot in Orissa, North Bengal and other places.
The viewers expect that Sandip Ray will continue making great films with the detective stories of legend of legends Satyajit Ray.

Happy birthday to Sunil Shetty.

Happy birthday to Sunil Shetty.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sunil Shetty on 11th August 2011. Although he started his career as an action star, especially in the film Balwaan, he proved his capability in every type of role very gradually.

His combination with Akshay Kumar had been considered very grand and both the actors had given many colourful hits during their illustrious career. Mohra was a big hit. There Sunil Shetty played the role of the anti-hero who was dictated terms by Naseeruddin Shah, while Akshay Kumar played the role of an honest police-officer. Their film Dhadkan opposite Shilpa Shetty did great business. Sunil Shetty received the filmfare award for the best villain for his brilliant performance in the film. The songs in the film were extremely successful and both the stars gave brilliant lips in those songs.

Sunil Shetty started a new chapter with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal in his career in respect of comedy films with the film Hera Pheri. Three of them acted brilliantly in the film Hera Pheri along with Tabu and other actors. The film became so successful that the director Priya Darshan was compelled to make a sequel of the film with the title Phir Hera Pheri. It became super hit too. In this film Bipasha Basu played a very significant role along with the three musketeers. The third sequel of Hera Pheri is under production at the moment.

Sunil Shetty was excellent in anti-establishment roles in films like Main Hoon Na. He was equally impressive opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film. He was brilliant aside Ajay Devgan in the film Diljale.

Sunil Shetty also acted in great patriotic films like Border. JP Dutta’s blockbuster utilized the acting skills of Sunil Shetty, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Akshay Khanna. The songs in the film composed by Anu Malik created history with Sonu Nigam doing a great job with “sandese ate hai”. His other hit films include Hu Tu Tu opposite Tabu, Krishna opposite Karishma Kapoor, etc. Sunil Shetty praised Gulzar for his direction when he worked with him in the film Hu Tu Tu. He acted in other successful films like Shashtra, Gaddar, Vishwasghat, Rakshak, Prithvi, Vinashak, Dhaal, Officer, Refugee, Jungle, Awaara Paagal Deewana, to name a few.

In 2009, Sunil Shetty acted opposite Sameera Reddy in Priyadarshan’s comedy film De Dana Dan. The film did not do equally good business like Hera Pheri or Phir Hera Pheri. In 2010, Sunil Shetty had worked in 3 films, which included Tum Milo Toh Sahi, Red Alert: The War Within and No Problem. Sunil Shetty has a number of new releases in 2011 namely Thank You, Chai Garam, Rave and Hera Pheri 3. The viewers wish him the best for the films in future and also for his Production House titled Popcorn Entertainment.

Usha Uthup glorified Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program.

Usha Uthup glorified Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program.

Padmashree winner Usha Uthup glorified Zee Saregamapa Little Champs Program by being the Mahaguru on 5th and 6th August, 2011. Alka Yagnik had gone for a holiday and Usha Uthup came to judge the performances of the participants in the program.

Very significantly the day was dedicated to the golden music of 1960s. Adnan Sami dressed up like Shammi Kapoor, Javed Ali dressed up like Dev Anand, Kailash Kher dressed up like Guru Dutt. The participants dressed up like the actors and actresses of the golden period and sang their songs.

Very significantly the participants mainly sang the songs of Mohammad Rafi. Niladri Chatterjee sang the song “yahoo chahe koi mujhe jungle kahen” from the film Junglee, sung by Mohammad Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Azmat Hussain sang the song “mere pairon me ghungruu bandhade” from the film Insaniyat sung by Mohammad Rafi and composed by Naushad Ali.

Usha Uthup mentioned that God was there in the heart of Azmat Hussain and that was the reason he sang so well. Anmol Khatri sang the song “nain lad jai he wo manwama kasak oi bekari” sung by Mohammad Rafi in the film Ganga Jumna, composed by Naushad Ali. Usha Uthup said he was looking like junior Dilip Kumar. The child participants were excellent in the rendition of the songs.

Rimsha sang the song “yeh dil tum bin kahin lagta nahi ab kya Karen” sung by Lata and Rafi in the film Izzat, composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Sanjana sang the song “kajra muhabbat wala” sung by Asha Bhosle and Shamshad Begum in the film Kismat composed by OP Nayyar. Barnali Hota sang the song “parde me rehne do” from the film Shikar, sung by Asha Bhosle composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

Salman Ali sang the song “akele hai chale awo” sung by Mohammad Rafi and composed by Kalyanji Anandji in the film Raaz. Javed Ali praised Kalyanji Anandji for their unique composition and said that they had encouraged new talents. It was Kalyanji Anandji who had brought them in the industry.

Nitin Kumar sang the song “na ja kahin ab na ja” sung by Mohammad Rafi and composed by LP in the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost. Usha Uthup sang the song “haal kaisa hai janaab ka” herself. She had given her musical instrument khanjari to Nitin Kumar as a token of love.

In other episodes, Alka Yagnik used to make her valuable comments along with Javed Ali, Adnan Sami and Kailash Kher. On 5th and 6th August, Usha Uthup did the same, she had literally ignited and glorified the atmosphere of Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program telecast in Zee TV. Her English was as brilliant as her hindi as brilliant as her Bengali. She should be invited frequently in this program.

Kartar Singh ended his journey in X Factor.

Kartar Singh had ended his journey in X Factor.
Singer Kartar Singh had ended his journey in X Factor shown in Sony Television Channel. . He reached the top 6 spots in X Factor program but could not make it to the top 5 spot. On 6th August, composers Salim Sulaiman came to the program and sang the songs “maito awe awe awe” from the film Band Baaja Baarat in style. They appreciated all the singers in the program.

Singer Shreya Ghoshal had shown a lot of courage in choosing an old singer of the age of Kartar Singh who had crossed 60 years and yet contested with the junior singers. The great part of Kartar Singh had been his choice of songs.

He had admitted that he was a die-hard fan of Mohammad Rafi. He had sung sweet romantic songs in the program like “din dhal jaye”, “mera to job hi kadam hai”, “ek haseen sham ko”, “beeti na bitayi rehna”, etc. He had lost out to the great singers Nirmeeti Group, Sajda Sisters, Deewana Group, Geet Sagar and Seema Jha.

Whenever guests had come to the program, like Jeetender, the courage and effort of Kartar Singh found prominence and he was appreciated by all of them.

On 6th August, the theme was recent hits. Sajda Sisters did a great job with the song “parda parda”. Seema Jha sang the song “beeri jalaile”. Deewana Group were majestic in the song “hum ko peeni hai” from the film Dabaang. Nirmeeti Group also the sang the song “munni badnaam hui” from the film Dabaang with their own improvisation.

After seeing the program for 2 months many viewers feel that Sajda Sisters are the most cultured group of singers who had sung in the program. It is immaterial whether their style suited every type of songs. The best musical jugglery had been shown by Deewana Group. Just categorizing them for Sufiana songs is unfair. They have great range of voice and lot of harkats. Nirmeeti Group had shown huge amount of improvisation and may be “haal kaisa hai janaab ka” was their best performance till date.
The fate of all the best 5 singers is dependant on the public voting system. The viewers expect even better performance from all the participants in the future episodes.

Happy birthday to Suresh Wadkar.

Happy birthday to Suresh Wadkar

The viewers of bollywood films and listeners of bollywood music wish happy birthday to Suresh Wadkar on 7th August, 2011. Singer and music trainer Suresh Watkar is a musical genius and a living legend. Born in 1954, he took musical training from Acharya Jialal Vasant from the age of eight years.

Acharya Jialal Vasant gave him the task of teaching vocal classical to a pupil when Suresh Watkar was at the age of 13 years. From that time onwards Suresh Watkar had remained one of India’s great learning institutions. Acharya Jialal Vasant in interviews had confessed that he got a torch bearer in the form of Suresh Watkar who could travel a distance.

Suresh Watkar got his Prabhakar degree and joined Arya Vidya Mandir in Mumbai as music teacher. He got music schools both in Mumbai, Suresh Watkar Ajivasan Music Academy, and also music school in New Jersey, New York.

He won the Sur Singar Competition in 1976, where Jaidev was one of the judges. Jaidev gave break to Suresh Watkar in the film Gaman in 1977 with the song “seene me jalan”. Suresh Watkar stormed bollywood with his majestic singing in Raj Kapoor’s film Prem Rog in 1982. The music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellel. He received filmfare nomination for the best singer for splendid performance in the songs “mai hoon prem rogi” and “meri kismet tu”. The film did excellent business and the music became super hit. From that time Suresh Watkar never looked back.

In Sekhar Kapoor’s film Masoom released in 1983, Suresh Watkar was brilliant in the song “huzur is kadar na itrake chaliye” along with ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh. It was composed by RD Burman and was a masterpiece. In the film Sadma in 1983, composer Illayaraja composed two brilliant songs for Suresh Watkar, “ay zindagi gale laga le” and “yeh hawa yeh fiza”.

Suresh Watkar continued his dream run in the film Utsav. Laxmikant Pyarellal composed brilliant songs for Suresh Watkar namely “mere man baja mridang” and “sanjh dhale gagan tale”. Composer Ravindra Jain used Suresh Watkar in Raj Kapoor’s film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, where all the songs of Suresh Watkar were smash hits.

RD Burman used Suresh Watkar very well in the Parinda for landmark songs like “tumse milke” and “pyar ke mod pe”. Suresh Watkar stormed bollywood again with RK film Henna in 1991, where all his songs composed by Ravindra Jain were masterpieces. He showed his classical excellence in Gulzar’s landmark film Lekin, in the song “surmai sham”. It was composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

Suresh Watkar went on singing masterpieces in films like Premgranth, Maachis, Satya, Hu Tu Tu, Omkara, Saat Khoon Maaf. His dream run is still one.

One article is too small to highlight the greatness of the versatile genius Suresh Watkar who had contributed in the musical arena of India for more than 40 years. His admirers all over the world want him to continue the high class of classical singing and his music teaching in the years to come.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday on 4th August, 2011. Kishore Kumar, the master entertainer had been one of the most colourful personalities of bollywood who just became more and more and more popular over the years, now it is almost 23 years after his demise. In respect of his acting performances hardly any actor even dared to imitate him as his improvisations were spontaneous. The part that is followed by numerous singers all over the country is his singing style.

When KK acted as hero in bollywood films he showed his acting capability even in playback singing like the song “c a t cat, cat mane billi” in the film Dilli Ka Thag. He brought out all the sounds of the animals that were named in the song. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gari, in the song “paanch rupaiya bara ana” he imitated SD Burman and in every paragraph he had created a new style which justified the lyrics. In Half Ticket he showed the childishness in the song “chil chil chillake” composed by Salil Choudhury, which became very popular among children. He even sang the ladies version of the song “o sawariya” in the film Half Ticket, when he was teasing Pran during a song sequence. He had acted opposite many versatile actresses like Nutan in Dilli Ka Thug, Madhubala in Jhumru, Vaijayantimala in Aasha, to name a few.

All his innovations created history when he concentrated in playback singing only in the 70s. He made the audience realize that he was singing for Dev Anand, or Rajesh Khanna or Big B, to name a few. His songs “gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, “roop tera mastana” from Aradhana, “kuch to log kahenge” from Amar Prem, “tere mere Milan ki” from Abhimaan have created history over the years. With Big B he had a tremendous combination and had sung in almost all the films of Big B till 1987, including Don, Shaan, Mr. Natwarlal, Do Aur Do Paanch, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Kaalia, Silsila, etc. The list can go on.

In the 80s, it was KK all the way, when he had no competitors. All his songs in Big B’s film Namakhalal, Sharaabi, became record hits. Even in Rishi Kapoor’s Sagar, his song “sagar kinare” had romantic appeal. Composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan could not think about any composition without KK. He provided playback for almost all the leading actors of bollywood in the 80s, namely Amitabh Bacchan, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakravarty, and others. He became the legend of legends and all the actors of the 70s and 80s are indebted for his colourful playback.

After his death Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo and other singers had established themselves by following his style of singing. It has not happened with any other playback singer of bollywood. His styles were very entertaining, romantic and filmic.

Articles after articles can be devoted to the master entertainer and it can be said that he had remained alive all over the years in his numerous films and thousands of songs. His films and songs should be preserved.