Happy birthday to Sonali Bendre.

                       Sonali Bendre

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sonali Bendre on 1^st January, 2012. Sonali Bendre showed a lot of promise in the 90s when she joined bollywood films. She had spontaneity in her performance and did not imitate any star.  She was sublime in Aamir Khan’s film Sarfarosh.

Sarfarosh was the film based on the story of an honest police officer who addressed the corruption existing in the police department itself and the other wings of the Govt. Sonali Bendre ably assisted Aamir Khan in his noble mission. Jagjit Singh’s song “husnwale” became very successful.

Her performance in Sunil Shetty’s film Bhai requires special mention. Although she loved Sunil Shetty like Pooja Batra but when she knew that Pooja Batra was also attached to him, she sacrificed her love. She died at the end of the film while fighting for the cause of Sunil Shetty. In fact she helped Sunil Shetty to learn urbanized style of living as he came from the hills and was uneducated.

She acted in completely different role opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film Duplicate. Shahrukh Khan played a double role in the film, one having an affair with Juhi Chawla while the other having an affair with Sonali Bendre. She acted opposite Shahrukh Khan who played the role of the smuggler. From the time the two characters interchanged Sonali Bendre expressed the astonishment in style. Her lips in the song “mere mehboob mere sanam” require special mention. Although the film had mainly comedy element in it, the powerful performance of Sonali Bendre and Juhi Chawla helped the film to be successful.

Her other hit films include Hum Saath Saath Hai, opposite Salman Khan, Zakhm with Ajay Devgan, to name a few. She received the star-screen best supporting actress award for her brilliant performance in the film Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. Her performance in the film was as outstanding as Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai.

After success in films like Jis Desh Me Ganga Rehta Hai with Govinda, Major Sahab, etc., she left films in 2002. He appeared in many TV programs in a number of private channels, in some of them being the judges of those programs. But she was not found in prominent roles in the films released in the last few years. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in character roles in future.

Hollywood film Catacombs horrified everyone.

Hollywood film Catacombs horrified everyone.

Hollywood film Catacombs created a very horrid experience for the viewers. The film had been directed by Tomm Coker and David Elliot. It was released in 2007.

In the film Shannyn Sossamon came to Paris, France on the invitation of her sister Pink (Alecia Moore). She entered a graveyard in Paris called Catacombs with her sister Pink and her friends and she did not even require entry fees to get in.

An introductory speech was given at the place by Mihai Stanescu. Shannyn was told that there was a killer called antichrist who killed everyone who got lost in the graveyard. She believed it. For the rest of the film she was encountered by horrifying images of skulls, human bones that were kept in open in the underground caves.

                                               Poster of film Catacombs.
A man with a goat mask even chased her. After she faced the harassment, Alecia Moore told her that everything was planned to scare her. She got so irritated that she started killing each and every friend. She left the Catacombs with blood and went o Paris Airport. The film did good business. The film still has a huge horror appeal. The performance of Alecia Moore, Shannyn Sossamon and others were excellent.

Superstar Subhasree rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel program.

Superstar Subhasree rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel program.

Superstar Subhashree rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel program. She was called by Mir Afsar Ali on 28^th December, 2011. She had acted in many successful films opposite Bengali superstar Deb.

Mir asked her to laugh and it was seen whenever any comedy item was presented she could not control her laughter. Fatik Purokayet, Istiaq Nasir and Palash Adhikari all performed together in the show. The judges Rajatavo Dutta, Srilekha Mitra and Paran Banerjee all appreciated them.

Sangeet Tiwary, Vicky and Partho were the other performers. Vicky and Partho acted with a new subject once again. Sangeet Tiwary was elegant in his presentation.

The best performer of the day was again Apurbo Roy. He came as a pick-pocket and told a story related to the struggle of a pick-pocket in becoming successful in different bused in Bengal. Subhashree was amazed at his performance.

Subhashree was asked why did she stopped acting for 2 years. She said she was looking for better story and better role. She made a comeback opposite Dev in the film Romeo. Presently she is also acting opposite Dev in the film Khokababu.

Happy birthday to Nana Patekar.

Happy birthday to Nana Patekar.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to actor Nana Patekar on 1^st January, 2012. He created a different style of acting which had no similarity with the commercial actors like Shahrukh Khan or art film actors like Naseeruddin Shah.  After Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, he was probably the other actor who allowed the directors to do any experiment with him.  He drew the attention of viewers all across the country with his strong performance in the film Prahar in the late 80s.

He not only acted in the film but also directed the film. The film was related to the story of a young boy whose mother was dragged into unlawful activities. He learned took military training and provided guidance to new students who joined the armed forces in India. The training schedule was very hectic and the strictness of Nana Patekar appealed to the masses.

After the training was over, one of his students who lost his legs while facing terrorists was killed by the underworld group. Nana Patekar came to Bombay, and took revenge against all of them. He was given shelter by Dimple Kapadia, who was the sister of Madhuri Dixit, the wife of Nana’s student.

The civilians in the area did not like the intervention of military personnel in the area. After Nana killed all the underworld members, he was tried in a court. The court ordered him to be sent to a mental asylum as he started taking the responsibilities of all the other civilians. The film had a strong social message and was admired by the intellectual viewers.

Nana Patekar stormed bollywood films with strong performance in the film Krantiveer. The film showed the use of common people by political leaders for creating riots and clashes between different communities. Nana Patekar killed most of them and supported the effort of Dimple Kapadia who played the role of a daring journalist. If his reserve personality in the film Prahar was appreciated, his aggressive acting in the film Krantiveer amused the viewers.

He also acted in comedy roles in films like Raju Ban Gaye Gentleman with Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. He was also sublime in the film Yashwant with Madhu. His uprightness caused trouble for his wife and friends.

He was also sublime in a muslim role in the film Ghulam-i-mustafa. He played the role of an underworld person who worked for the cause of a political leader played by Paresh Rawal. His wife Ravina Tandon was killed in the process. He then helped a South Indian family led by Aruna Irani, and stayed in her house to prevent the rival groups from creating any trouble against the family. The film had a strong message of national integration.

Nana Patekar also did a fantastic job in the film Hum Dono with Rishi Kapoor. He balanced the romantic acting of Rishi Kapoor opposite Pooja Bhatt with his witty performance and strong action. He did well opposite Big B and Tabu in the film Kohram.

Whenever people saw films like Ab Taak Chappan or Vadh, they had appreciated his strong personality which has always raised voice against the evil practices in the country. In Vadh he went on killing persons one after the other till it was discovered that he was the real killer. His negative acting in films like Parinda opposite Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff was also appreciated.

Nana Patekar was brilliant with Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor in the film Welcome. His role of mafia don amazed the viewers whose sister Katrina Kaif, who wanted to marry Akshay Kumar. But Akshay Kumar’s uncle Paresh Rawal never wanted Akshay to marry Katrina, due to Nana Patekar’s involvement in underworld activities. The film ended up being one of the super hit films of 2009.

He also showed his skills in the film Dus Kahaniya. The film consisted of 10 different stories compiled together.  In one of the stories he played the role of a Christian who lost his wife. He travelled in  a bus with balloons and disclosed to a fellow traveler that he was taking it to give the gifts in the birthday of his wife. The fellow traveler landed in a graveyard and understood that he was giving it in the grave of his wife. It was one of the films where Nana Patekar’s performances touched the minds of the viewers.

He continued his different type of acting in other types of films like Ek: The Power of One. Bobby Deol was the leading actor in the film. Nana Patekar was the investigating officer who discovered that Bobby Deol was the criminal.

The viewers expect him to continue the good work in 2012 and show more dynamism in commercial and art films in future.

        Nana Patekar Katrina Kaif in Welcome

Happy birthday to Vidya Balan.

Happy birthday to Vidya Balan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vidya Balan on 1^st January, 2012. Vidya Balan had shown her potentiality in sophisticated roles in the past. 2011 had been her year. Her performance in the role of Silk Smita in the film Dirty Picture had been appreciated by the audience. In fact her performance had been the best performance of the year by any female actress.

Vidya Balan attracted the attention of cultured audience through her soft performance in Pradeep Sarkar’s film Parineeta. It was an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s successful novel Parineeta. Vidya Balan reached the depth of the character that was related to life of Kolkata during the 18^th century.

Vidya Balan acted opposite Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan and balanced their performance with her own performance. She also gave able lips in the song “piyu bole, piya bole” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal which became super hit.

Vidya Balan was also impressive in the film Lage Raho Munnabhai opposite Sanjay Dutt. The film was based on the story of the transformation of Munna Bhai, who was notorious for his unlawful activities through the dictates of Mahatma Gandhi. He told lies to Vidya Balan about being a Professor, but gathered some courage to tell the truth that he was not a Professor. The songs “pal pal pal” created a theme for the film and he performance of both Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Balan was very impressive.

Although Vidya Balan’s films like Kismat Conection with Shahid Kapoor or Hey Baby opposite Akshay Kumar did mediocre business in the last few years, the viewers had seen her strong performance in the film Bhoolbhulaiya.

She had done a good job opposite Abhishek Bacchan and Big B in the film Paa in 2009. She loved Abhishek Bacchan. Their child Big B suffered from a strange disease. Before death Big B united Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan. Her reserve performance once again amazed the viewers. She received the filmfare award for the best actress in 2010 for her brilliant performance in the film Paa.

In 2010, her other performance in the film Ishqiya opposite Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi was well appreciated by the viewers. Her role of a widow was really experimental in nature.  The character as depicted by Vidya Balan had amazed many viewers. She received the star entertainment award for the best actress for the phenomenal performance in the film Ishqiya.

It is interesting to see whether she gets Filmfare  award for best actress for her performance in the film Dirty Picture. She had carried the entire film on her own shoulders.  She should continue to act in reserve roles which suit her characteristics in the years to come.

                                      vidya balan

Superstar Shahrukh Khan’s Don 2 got opening of 46 crores in the first weekend.

Superstar Shahrukh Khan’s Don 2 got opening of 46 crores in the first weekend.

Superstar Shahrukh Khan’s Don 2 got an opening of 46 crores in the first weekend. From the trend of success in India and overseas it is presumed that Don 2 is going to be bigger grosser than Ra One but smaller grosser than Bodyguard. The King had been back. Shahrukh Khan impressed the audience with his brilliant performance in the film Don 2. Don 2 had been the sequel of Don – the chase begins. Farhan Akhtar had directed the film. It had been produced by Farhan Akhtar, Shahrukh Khan and Ritesh Sidhwani. The music had been composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

In the film Shahrukh Khan was chased by European drug cartelists who wanted the Don dead. He was selling drugs at a lower cost in Thailand and other nations and destroying their business. So Shahrukh Khan surrendered before Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra in Malaysia. In Malaysia he was given death sentence and imprisoned in the same jail where Boman Irani was imprisoned.

Shahrukh Khan and Boman Irani escaped from prison and went to Switzerland. There they blackmailed Aly Khan by showing a videotape relating to killing of a competitor and got the code related to printing plates of money printing bank. Aly Khan hired assassins to kill Shahrukh Khan who instead compelled them to work for him.

After the plates were stolen Boman Irani betrayed him. Kunal Kapoor was hired by Shahrukh Khan and he informed Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra. But Shahrukh Khan again went back to the building in Germany to diffuse the bombs he had planted. In the struggle Priyanka Chopra was shot but she survived. Shahrukh Khan killed the rest and Boman Irani was put back to prison. At the end of the film it was shown that Lara Dutta and Kunal Kapoor met Shahrukh Khan and Kunal Kapoor handed over the actual printing plates.

In the film Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta did well, but Lara Dutta was not used to her potentiality. Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani, Om Puri and Aly Khan did very well. The music was mediocre.

But Farhan Akhtar’s action sequences were excellent and Shahrukh Khan was at his best. With a bumper opening there is no doubt that Don 2 is going to do business more than 100 crores. It is yet to be seen whether it at all is going to break the record of Salman Khan’s Bodyguard.

Priyanka Chopra in Don 2.

Remembering Naushad Ali on his birthday.

Remembering Naushad Ali on his birthday.

The audience of film music in India remember dignified composer Naushad Ali on his birthday on 23^rd December, 2011. He was a genius composer and shaped Indian film music with his classical gharana in the 40s from where it just grew with variety and innovation.

Naushad Ali is remembered for his brilliant tunes over a period of 50 years down the memory lane. In the 40s, he composed music in many films including Anmol Ghari, but he stormed bollywood with romantic songs in Dulari, including “suhani raat dhal chuki” sung by Rafi, all the songs of Andaz, where he composed Rafi’s songs for Raj Kapoor and Mukesh’s songs for Dilip Kumar.

In the 50s, Naushad’s composition in Baiju Bawra made the listeners speechless. He won filmfare award for the best composer for his brilliant classical presentation in songs like “wo duniya ke rakhwale”, “man tarapata”, “tu gangi ki mauj”, etc., sung by Rafi and Lata. Rafi’s range was used to perfection and from that time the Rafi Naushad combination provided gems after gems. The different ragas and their timings were explained by Naushad in the film. Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari gave able lips in the songs composed by Naushad. Songs of Uran Khatula, like “wo dur ke musafir” sung by Rafi for Dilip Kumar also shook bollywood in the mid-50s.

In the 60s Naushad was unstoppable. His composition in Kohinoor for Rafi titled “madhuban me radhika nachere” and “do sitaron ka zameen” picturised on Dilip Kumar displayed the brilliance of Hindustani ragas. Naushad’s composition in Rajender Kumar’s Mere Mehboob, Naushad displayed the ghazal culture of Lucknow and Aligarh. The songs “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam”, “ai husn zara jag”, etc. sung by Rafi and picturised on Rajender Kumar was per se excellent. Naushad composed light songs in Mughal-i-azam for Lata including “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat ke nandlal”, and again composed thumri sung by Bare Ghulam Ali Khan in the same film.

Naushad also composed Bhojpuri music for Dilip Kumar in the film Ganga Jumna. The songs “nain lar jaihe” sung by Rafi was one of the examples of Naushad’s control of Bihari folk tune. Naushad was at his best in Dilip Kumar’s Leader. All the songs in the film sung by Rafi and Lata flabbergasted the listeners, including “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “teri husn ki kya tareef karun”, “mujhe duniya walon”, etc. Naushad was excellent in Dilip Kumar’s Ram Aur Shyam. All the songs sung by Rafi and Lata in the film including “aye hai baharen dekho”, “yeh raat dulhan bangayi”, “mai hoon saki”, etc.

Critics consider Dil Diya Dard Liya as one of the best creations of Naushad. All the songs in the film became superhit including Rafi’s “dilruba maine tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”. Naushad Rafi and Dilip Kumar continued with their level of excellence in the film Aadmi, with Rafi’s songs like “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, “aaj purani rahon se”, etc. Besides, Naushad composed excellent music in Rajender Kumar’s Palki, Saathi, Ganwar, etc. Rafi’s hit songs in those films included “dil-e-betaab ko seene se lagana hoga” sung with Suman Kalyanpur.

                          Naushad Ali, Mohammad Rafi, Shakeel Badayani.

Naushad faded away from film music in the 70s, causing huge loss to the film industry. The classical gharana related to thumris, kajris, ghazals, etc., faded away with Naushad. Music became popular, but lost its class. Naushad received Dadasahab Phalke for his excellent contribution to bollywood music. His songs and the films should be preserved and restored.

Happy birthday to Twinkle Khanna.

Happy birthday to Twinkle Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Twinkle Khanna on 29^th December, 2011. She has left films after marrying Akshay Kumar, but her performances in the recent past still haunts the viewers of bollywood films.

She was very successful in the film Barsaat opposite Bobby Deol. Bobby Deol started his career with that film and it was produced by Dharmender. The music was impressive. Twinkle Khanna expressed her romantic feelings very well in the film. The viewers accepted the pair of Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna. With the success of the film in the early 90s, Twinkle Khanna became a readymade choice for any type of film.

She acted with Shahrukh Khan in the film Badshah. Just like other films of Shahrukh Khan the film was based on fantasy and funny acts. Twinkle Khanna played her part very well in the film. The song “humto diwane hue yaar” became superhit. Twinkle Khanna also acted in the comedy film Joru Ka Ghulam with Govinda. As the name suggested, the film was related to the story of how a groom became obsessed with the bride and almost became her servant. Although the term was used in the literal sense, Govinda’s character proved the title of the film. Johnny Lever did well in the film. Twinkle Khanna gave able lips in the song “mai joru ka ghulam banke rahunga” with Govinda.

Twinkle Khanna got a challenging role in Amir Khan’s film Mela. The story was related a girl being chased by dacoits and how she was saved. Amir Khan’s own brother acted in the film. The film had action sequences as well. Sonu Nigam’s song in the film “mela dilon ka aya hai” became super hit. The other challenge was matching Amir Khan’s acting performance in the film as in most of his films he had strived to reach perfection in the respective roles. The viewers accepted Twinkle Khanna’s performance opposite Amir Khan in the film.

Probably Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai with Salman Khan was the most successful film of her career. The film was shot in UK, Switzerland and other European Countries. All the songs of the film were super hit including “o jana”, “is dil me kya hai”, “pehli pehli baar”, etc. In the film the love of Salman Khan for her reformed Salman Khan’s character, who was a playboy before that. Twinkle Khan looked gorgeous in the film.

Twinkle Khan in a number of films opposite Ajay Devgan also in the late 90s. She had acting in her blood, as her mother Dimple Kapadia is considered one of the greatest actresses of bollywood films with landmark performances in films like Lekin, Prahar, Krantiveer, Sagar, Rudali, to name a few. Besides her father Rajesh Khanna was a superstar of the 70s.

When Twinkle Khanna looked like dethroning Juhi Chawla, Preeti Zinta or Kajol in bollywood films, she married Akshay Kumar and ended her career. She must have been a proud wife as Akshay Kumar had proved himself to be the greatest entertainer of 2007 and 2008, with majority of his films becoming blockbusters.

But a lot of acting was still left in Twinkle Khanna. The viewers of bollywood films expect Twinkle Khanna to make a comeback and contribute in character roles where there are not many matured actresses at the moment.

                        Twinkle Khanna

Shahrukh Khan’s Don 2 got a bumper opening.

The King had been back. Shahrukh Khan impressed the audience with his brilliant performance in the film Don 2. On the first day it had done excellent business in New Delhi, UP, Kolkata, Rajasthan and other parts of the country. Don 2 had been the sequel of Don – the chase begins. Farhan Akhtar had directed the film. It had been produced by Farhan Akhtar, Shahrukh Khan and Ritesh Sidhwani. The music had been composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

In the film Shahrukh Khan was chased by European drug cartelists who wanted the Don dead. He was selling drugs at a lower cost in Thailand and other nations and destroying their business. So Shahrukh Khan surrendered before Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra in Malaysia. In Malaysia he was given death sentence and imprisoned in the same jail where Boman Irani was imprisoned.

Shahrukh Khan and Boman Irani escaped from prison and went to Switzerland. There they blackmailed Aly Khan by showing a videotape relating to killing of a competitor and got the code related to printing plates of money printing bank. Aly Khan hired assassins to kill Shahrukh Khan who instead compelled them to work for him.

After the plates were stolen Boman Irani betrayed him. Kunal Kapoor was hired by Shahrukh Khan and he informed Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra. But Shahrukh Khan again went back to the building in Germany to diffuse the bombs he had planted. In the struggle Priyanka Chopra was shot but she survived. Shahrukh Khan killed the rest and Boman Irani was put back to prison. At the end of the film it was shown that Lara Dutta and Kunal Kapoor met Shahrukh Khan and Kunal Kapoor handed over the actual printing plates.

In the film Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta did well, but Lara Dutta was not used to her potentiality. Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani, Om Puri and Aly Khan did very well. The music was mediocre.

                                     Lara Dutta in Don2.
But Farhan Akhtar’s action sequences were excellent and Shahrukh Khan was at his best. With a bumper opening there is no doubt that Don 2 is going to do business more than 100 crores. It is yet to be seen whether it at all is going to break the record of Salman Khan’s Bodyguard.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna on 29^th December, 2011. He had remained one of the most popular actors of 70s, before Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena and gave birth to action films. The other reason why Rajesh Khanna is remembered even today was for the melodious music that he got from Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman, Salil Choudhury, Laxmikant Pyarellal and other composers.

Although he started his career with films like Akhri Khat, Raaz, etc., in the late 60s, he got recognition with Shakti Shamanta’s super hit film Aradhana which was released in 1969. In the 70s, Rajesh Khanna had a dream run with films of different directors including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Shakti Samanta and others.

Most of his films from 1971 to 1973, were super hit. And the music of these films created history. The songs of the film Anand, composed by Salil Choudhury were super hit, including “kahin door jab din dhal jaye”, “maine tere liye hi saat rang” sung by Mukesh and “zindagi kaisi hai peheli” sung by Manna Dey. The songs of the film Aan Milo Sajna composed by LP became super hit including Rafi’s song “aan milo sajna” and Kishore’s song “accha to hum chalte hai”.

The songs of the film Amar Prem composed by RD Burman became super hit including KK’s song “chingari koi bharke”, “kuch to log kahenge”, etc. Amar Prem was the hindi version of Uttam Kumar’s famour Bengali film Nishipadda. Similarly the songs of the film Kati Patang composed by RD Burman became super hit including songs of KK like “ai shaam mastani”, Mukesh’s song “jis gali me”, etc.

Similarly songs of the film Safar composed by Kalyanji Anandji became super hit. Kishore’s song “zindagi ka safar” can be considered as one of the best songs that he sang during his long career. The songs of the film Namak Haram composed by RD Burman, Roti composed by LP, Raaz composed by Kalyanji Anandji, Bawarchi composed by Madanmohan, were all very successful.

Rajesh Khanna created a romantic image and his films opposite various actresses like Sharmila Tagore in films like Aradhana, Amar Prem, Mumtaz in Aap Ki Kasam, Asha Parekh in Kati Patang, Aan Milo Sajna, Tanuja in Mere Jeevan Saathi, Hema Malini in Mehbooba, and others created an era of romantic films. He became a role model for the younger generation.

Rajesh Khanna was remembered as the next door neighbour’s character. Other than the commercial films he acted in Asit Sen’s Safar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand, Shakti Shamanta’s Amar Prem, where the central character was a human being having human feelings.

But from the time Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena he not only dethroned Rajesh Khanna but more than that changed the dimension of bollywood films. He played anti-establishment characters and persuaded other superstars like Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha, Dharmender, Firoz Khan, Sunil Dutt and others to play similar type of roles.

Action films dominated bollywood industry and films like Sholay, Deewar, Kalicharan, Burning Train, Jugnu, Zakhmee, Dharmatma faded away Rajesh Khanna’s romantic films like Soutan, Prem Nagar and other films.

Rajesh Khanna’s wife Dimple Kapadia established herself into one of the most powerful actresses of bollywood films with success in Saagar, Jaanbaaz, Rudaali, Lekin, Krantiveer, etc.

Even then Rajesh Khanna continued acting for another 20 years and is even seen in a recent film in a role of an old person. Even Rishi Kapoor did cast him in his directorial venture title A ab laut chale. He had received filmfare best actor award a number of times and also received lifetime achievement award.

                        Rajesh Khanna Sharmila Tagore in Aradhana.

The viewers expect Rajesh Khanna to contribute in character roles the way Big B, Vinod Khanna and other veteran actors have done over the years.

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha.

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful actor Shatrughun Sinha on 9^th December, 2011. He was considered to be one of the leading angry young man of the 70s after Big B.

Although he started his career as anti-hero in films like Khilouna, where the central characters were played by Jeetender and Sanjeev Kumar, within short time, he showed his metal as an action star and ruled bollywood films for another 20 years. He also did well in the film Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari. He was successful in films like Gaye Aur Gauri opposite Jaya Bacchan, Bombay To Goa, etc., in the early 70s.

Shatrughun Sinha learned acting Pune Film and Television Institute and his lessons went a long way in his illustrious career. He had seen other giants in the Pune Film and Television Institute like Hritik Ghatak, Subhash Ghai, etc. Viewers remember his combination with Reena Roy as both played romantic pair in numerous films. Kalicharan was one of the most popular films amongst them.

Whenever Shatrughun Sinha faced Amitabh Bacchan both the actors tried to supersede the other. The viewers enjoyed the rift between the two actors in contemporary films. Both did a fantastic job in Ramesh Sippy’s film Shaan. Shatrughun Sinha’s charishma in the role of a shooter was as elegant as Big B’s angry young image in killing Goga Kapoor’s men in the film.

The other films where Big and Shotgun (Shatrughun Sinha was called by this name) met included Kala Patthar, Dostana, Naseeb, to mention a few. In Kala Patthar there was an encounter scene with Amitabh Bacchan, which was as popular as the encounter of Vinod Khanna with Amitabh Bacchan in Amar Akbar Anthony. In all those films both the actors complimented each other. Even in comedy films like Naram Garam, Shotgun showed his comedy elements and was appreciated.

Shatrughun Sinha was given an off-beat role by Goutam Ghosh in Bengali film Antarjali Jatra where he played the role of a cremator. He played a marathon innings in films which include commercial success like Goutam Govinda, Dillagi, etc. Even in political career he achieved a lot by working for the people under the BJP banner. He was member of Rajya Sabha and won elections also under BJP ticket. He is called the stylish Bihari Babu by his admirers. He must be a proud father after his daughter Sonakshi Sinha had stormed bollywood with her superhit debut opposite Salman Khan in the film Dabanng released this year.

        Dharmender, Shatrughun Sinha, Rishi Kapoor, Nitu Singh
Both Shatrughun Sinha and Vinod Khanna are considered the greatest competitors with Big B and had succeeded in portraying the role of action heroes in India. Their height, voice and stature helped a lot in portraying those characters. The viewers expect Shotgun to continue the great work in films in future.

Happy birthday to Salman Khan

Happy birthday to Salman Khan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Salman Khan on 27^th December, 2011. He had been the other superstar other than Shahrukh Khan who had ruled bollywood films for the last 22 years. Although he had mixed results in respect of success of his films released in 2009 and 2008, his popularity and box-office had remained intact. In 2010, he had given the greatest hit Dabanng, which had done business of more than Rs 150 crores. From that time he had proved himself as the greatest cash generator of bollywood films. His film Ready released in summer 2011 did business worth 125 crores and his film Bodyguard had broken the record of Dabaang and did business worth 160 crores.

He created an impression before the viewers with his romantic film Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989. After that he had acted in every type of film including comedy films, action films etc. His musical blockbusters include Khamoshi with Manisha Koirala, Andaz Apna Apna with Amir Khan, Karishma Kapoor and Ravina Tandon, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai opposite Twinkle Khanna, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega opposite Preeti Zinta, to name a few.

He build a manly body from the early part of his career and from that time became the role model of many youngstars of the country. His action films included Auzaar with Shilpa Shetty, Tumko Na Bhool Payenge with Diya Mirza, Tere Naam, Karan Arjun opposite Mamta Kulkarni, to name a few. His recent action film in 2009 titled Wanted opposite Ayesha Takia did brilliant business. Although he did not shape his career as an action hero like Sunny Deol or Sanjay Dutt, his performance in action films were very impressive.

He acted in landmark comedy films during his career, which included Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya opposite Katrina Kaif and Sushmita Sen, Mujhse Shaadi Karoge opposite Priyanka Chopra, Partner opposite Lara Dutta, God Tussi Great Ho opposite Priyanka Chopra, to name a few. In 2009, he acted in romantic films Mai Aur Mrs Khanna, opposite Kareena Kapoor, and also London Dreams with Ajay Devgan and Asin. Although Mai Aur Mrs. Khanna did average business, London Dreams became hit.

If his films in 2008 can be analyzed it can be said that his film Heroes with Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Preeti Zinta, had done best business so far. The films God Tussi Great Ho did average business and the film Yuvvraaj could not rise up to the hype that was created by strong promotion of Subhash Ghai. Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s performance had been well appreciated by the film-lovers and the film had created aesthetic values with innovative music and good locations. In 2010 his  film Veer has both romantic elements and action elements as well but the huge cost that was put up was not recovered at all.

His television show Dus Ka Dum in Sony Channel got fantastic response in 2009. The leading actors of bollywood films including Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Jeetender, Tusshar Kapoor, Amir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, all appeared in that show and Salman Khan helped all of them for the promotion of their films that were released this year. In 2011 his show Big Boss got excellent viewership with Sanjay Dutt also sharing the role of anchoring.

Salman Khan had been extremely popular for the viewers of TV Channels for his straight forward communications. He appeared in Saregamapa Music Competition in Zee TV with Katrina Kaif and asked Aditya Narayan, Himesh Reshammiya, Pritam, Shankar Mahadevan and others about the fate of Aneek, Raja and others who had won the competition before. He enquired whether they had got chance in bollywood films or whether they were still struggling. No other bollywood actor would have ever been concerned about the fate of upcoming talents including singers, dancers, actors, etc. In 2011 he came during Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program and encouraged child participants like Azmat Hussain, Niladri Chatterjee, Salman Ali, Nitin Kumar, and others.

Salman Khan had always been involved with controversies and his good deeds got neutralized due to the killing of deers in Jodhpur, offense relating to rash and negligent driving, etc. But those who had behaved well with Salman Khan know that he is a gem of a human being.

                          Salman Khan Preity Zinta
2010 had been a year with mixed fortunes for Salman Khan. While Veer did mediocre business, Dabanng ended up being blockbuster. He had also hosted the show Big Boss with huge success. 2011 had been excellent for Salman Khan with 2 of his films Ready and Bodyguard giving business of more than 125 crores each.  The viewers expect Salman Khan to give an even better performance in the films Dabanng 2 and Dabanng 3 opposite Sonakshi Sinha which are going to be made in future.

Bappi Lahiri rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Bappi Lahiri rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Legendary singer and composer Bappi Lahiri rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 20^th December, 2011. He was the star of the show and the anchor Mir Afsar Ali gave him lot of love and respect.

Bappi Lahiri sang the song “ooh lala ooh lala” from the film Dirty Picture, which had been sung by Bappi Lahiri and Shreya Ghoshal. Everyone cheered at the song, as the song and the film both are doing excellent business.

Bappi Lahiri said that the compositions of the 80s were so popular that they are still sung today in cyclic order. He also sang the song “ek aankh marun to parda phat jaye”, which he was composed by him. He said even the song “yaad aa raha hai” from the film Disco Dancer, in 1982, had been used in the film Golmaal 3.

Bappi Lahiri, Aparesh Lahiri, Mukesh, Lata, Hemant Kumar

The performers Palash Adhikari, Fatik Purokayet, Sajal, Istiaq Nasir, Abu Henna Ronnie, performed in front of Bappi Lahiri and the judges Paran Banerjee, Srilekha Mitra and Rajatavo Dutta. Bappi Lahiri appreciated all the participants and told them to do even better in the coming episodes. He was happy to see his own photograph in the screen at the age of 4 years with singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Wanted revived the stardom of Salman Khan.

                                      Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia in film Wanted

Wanted revived the stardom of Salman Khan.

Salman Khan had a soft start of 2009. His film Mai Aur Mrs Khanna did average business. The brilliant shooting in different parts of Australia and melodious music failed to create the magic created by Salman Khan in the 90s with films like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai. After Mai Aur Mrs Khanna, Salman Khan relied a lot on his next action film Wanted.

Wanted was the remake of the 2006 Telegu film Pokiri. It was directed by Prabhudeva, and was very successful back in South India. The hindi version had also been directed by Prabhu Deva. Boney Kapoor had been the producer of the film.  In the hindi version, Salman Khan had been projected as a fearless person, who had worked under the mafia don Prakash Raj. His ruthlessness changed altogether when he met Ayesha Takia.

Salman Khan’s affair with Ayesha Takia completely changed his personality. Previously he was shown as an ill-tempered person who had used his ammunition whenever he had slightest disputes. He became more reasonable after spending time with Ayesha Takia.

Ayesha Takia tried her best to take away Salman Khan from the underworld. A time came when she faced Prakash Raj and spoke with him. She neither supported him nor agreed to his deals. Even she declined to work for him.

The rest of the film was related to the consequences of the refusal of Ayesha Takia to work for the mafia don. After a long time Salman Khan had acted in an action film. His previous films like Veergati, Auzaar, etc. were different from the present film.

Ayesha Takia was very impressive in her individual role. Other performers also did well in the film. There was  concern  that very few action films had done good business in the last 3 years. In that respect it was very risky on the part of Salman Khan to sign an action film. Even then the film had the elements of entertainment and was well received by the audience. Vinod Khanna did well in a small role. The success of Wanted  revived the stardom of Salman Khan who was considered to have equal box-office like that of Shahrukh Khan few years back.

Wanted had a great impact in the success line of Salman Khan. With more than 70 crores business in Wanted, the next action pact film Dabaang was made and it did business worth 150 crores. In 2011, Salman Khan acted in 2 blockbusters. Film Ready did business worth 120 crores. Whereas, the film Bodyguard did business worth 160 crores. Bodyguard had been considered to be the greatest blockbuster ever after The Three Idiots.

In that context Wanted had been the trend-setter in the life of Salman Khan. After the success of Wanted, Salman Khan is just giving hits after hits. Viewers are expecting another shocker in 2012 with the film Dabaang 2.

Happy birthday to Mohammad Rafi.

Happy birthday to Mohammad Rafi.

The listeners of music all over the world wish happy birthday to Mohammad Rafi on 24^th December, 2011. The noble soul had left his admirers 31 years ago. Yet he is alive in numerous everlasting hit songs which are heard and cherished for generations.

Very significantly he was associated with all the leading actors of bollywood industry in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, which starts with Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Rajender Kumar, Raj Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Guru Dutt, and extends upto Big B, Rishi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetender, etc. Even comedians like Johnny Walker, Mehmood were indebted to the maestro for his modification of the voice in favour of them which entertained the audience to a big extent.

Filmfare can start creating separate category of musical awards under different types of playback songs in the name of Mohammad Rafi.

There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best ghazal sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi had sung immortal ghazals in his everlasting career. In fact Rafi won the filmfare award for the best male playback singer in 1960 for the ghazal “chaudavi ka chand ho” composed by Ravi in the film Chaudavi Ka Chand. He sang other brilliant ghazals like “tumhari zul ke sayeme sham karlunga” composed by Madanmohan, “mere mehboob tujhe” composed by Naushad, “jane wo kaun hai” composed by Roshan, “unke khayal aye to” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, etc.

There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best qawalli sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi had made listeners spellbound with his rendition of landmark qawallies like “yeh ishq ishq” in the film Barsaat Ki Raat composed by Roshan Lal Nagrath, “parda hai parda” in the film Amar Akbar Anthony composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, “hum kisi se kum nahi” in the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi composed by RD Burman, to name a few.

There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best western song sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi was phenomenal in the western songs “dil ke jharoke me” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “nazneen bara rangeen hai wada tera” composed by OP Nayyar, “dil tarpe tarpaye” composed by Salil Choudhury, to name a few. The list just goes on.

There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best eastern classical song sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi had sung classical songs with excellence including “madhuban me radhika nachere” composed by Naushad, “aajahu na aye” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir tere shahar me” composed by OP Nayyar,etc.

Rafi had been cherished in the minds of musiclovers all across the world. The singers of the present generation should learn from Rafi and improve their own style of singing.

     Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood.

Happy birthday to superstar Anil Kapoor.

Happy birthday to superstar Anil Kapoor.

                                         Anil Kapoor

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to superstar Anil Kapoor on 24^th December, 2011. Critics argue that other than Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Amitabh Bacchan, no other actor in India had the same amount of individual talent as that of Anil Kapoor. He had sustained the heat and storm of bollywood films for more than 25 years and even at an age of 52, still remains an indispensable figure in bollywood industry. Although Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan took the industry by storm from the mid-90s, but Anil Kapoor had given one hit or the other in all those years.

Furthermore those actors who had come with Anil Kapoor like Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol and others shifted to character acting, but Anil Kapoor still remained hero in the recent period. That describes his talent in totality. In 2008, he had played different types of roles.

In Race, the first super hit film of 2008, Anil Kapoor played the role of detective who had solved the mystery relating to the death of Saif Ali Khan. He disclosed the fact that Saif Ali Khan had not died but his death was planted. He also witnessed the death of Akshay Khanna when he competed with Saif Ali Khan in a car race. The film was related to the devolvement of family property between the two brothers. Anil Kapoor balanced the suspense –drama with action stunts of Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna and dance sequences of Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy. The songs composed by Pritam like “pehli nazar”, “allah duhayi hai” became landmark hits in the early part of the year.

He acted in a negative role in the big banner film Tashan with Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar. He sent Akshay Kumar to collect the debts of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Akshay Kumar discovered his childhood relationship with Kareena Kapoor and took revenge against Anil Kapoor at the end of the film in a power-pact action sequence. Although the film could not do justice to the star-cast and high expectations of the audience of the country, the funny performance of Anil Kapoor could not be ignored.

Anil Kapoor was sublime in Subhash Ghai’s musical venture Yuvvraaj that was released in the last part of the year 2008. It was the first time that Subhash Ghai, AR Rehman and Gulzar had united together to compose the music of the film, and the music had already become hit. The hit songs of the film included “tu muskura”, “shanno shanno”, “to mera dost hai”, etc. Although Subhash Ghai concentrated more on the romantic presentation of the relationship between Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in the film, the performance of Anil Kapoor as the elder brother and an innocent character appealed to the viewers the most. The audience has so much weakness for Anil Kapoor that the scene where Zaid Khan had slapped Anil Kapoor had created negative impact on the crowds and there were requests of editing of the scene. Although the film did not get box-office Anil Kapoor’s splendid performance was appreciated.

In 2009, the film directed by Anil Kapoor titled Short Cut, got critical acclamation. He had cast Akshay Khanna in the lead role who played the role of a devoted director. He was cheated by the actor Arshad Warsi who got success in films by short cut. Akshay Khanna used him in his own film and took revenge against the cheating committed by Arshad Warsi. Sonu Nigam’s song “kal nau baje” appealed to the viewers. The film he had produced in 2009, titled Slumdog Millionaire, won numerous number of Oscar awards, including the best composer award won by AR Rehman. Anil Kapoor is continuing with his directoral projects ahead.

In his long career, Anil Kapoor had acted with giants like Dilip Kumar and Big B in Sholay; Dilip Kumar, Nasiruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff in Karma, Nutan in Meri Jung, etc. He had performed in every type of film including romantic films, comedy films, action dramas, serious films, etc. He had acted different actresses ranging from Padmini Kolhapuri, Sri Devi, Madhuri Dixit to Tabu, Aishwarya Rai, Lara Dutta, to name a few.

Articles after articles can be devoted to the versatile actor. His notable films include Mr. India, Meri Jung, Tezaab, Pukar, Nayak, Virasat, No Entry, to name a few. He received filmfare awards, national awards for best actor and other awards dedicated for the excellence in bollywood cinema. Critics say that he never received the recognition that he deserved in life.

In 2010, the film No Problem, produced by him, did mediocre business. He had acted well in the film along with Sushmita Sen, Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Khanna. A section of the crowd thinks that Anil Kapoor can contribute in mainly character roles, as his age is in the 50s.

Even then the viewers expect him to continue the good work and entertain the viewers in the same way both as actor and also producer, director, as he did in the last 25 years.

Mithun Chakravarty invited singers Shilajit, Monomoy and others in Dadagiri program.

Mithun Chakravarty invited singers Shilajit, Monomoy and others in Dadagiri program.

Superstar Mithun Chakravarty invited singers Shilajit, Monomoy, Bayul singer, Chandrani Banerjee and others in Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program shown in Zee Bangla Channel on 18^th December, 2011.

Mithun Chakravarty disclosed before everyone that he was indebted to the family of Shilajit Majumdar. His father Arun Majumdar gave the first break to Mithun Chakravarty to act in Bengali theatre. The play was written and directed by Arun Majumdar.

Besides, Mithun Chakravarty stayed in the house of Arun Majumdar. Shilajit Majumdar told everyone about the bravery of Mithun Chakravarty at different levels of his own life. When people were not giving chanda relating to durga puja, Mithun Chakravarty put on tilak on his face with sindoor and demanded chanda and everyone was compelled to give it.

When singer Monomoy asked Mithun Chakravarty about whether he was admirer of Amitabh Bacchan or himself, in reply he said that he was always admired Amitabh Bacchan, but the moment the camera was switched on, he was Mithun Chakravarty. Everyone enjoyed his brave answer. Indirectly Mithun Chakravarty told that he never gave up before seeing the end.

                                                 Mithun Chakravarty.

He asked Chandra Banerjee who belonged to the band bhoomi, sing a song from her band. He asked everyone in the competition to sing songs including the Bayul Singer, Shilajit, Monomoy and others. One fact is undisputed, that after 1980s, within the Bengali film circuit, there is no bigger acting icon than superstar Mithun Chakravarty. 

Happy birthday to Shekhar Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Shekhar Kapoor.

                                         Shekhar Kapoor

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shekhar Kapoor on 6^th December, 2011. He was one of the thoughtful directors of bollywood films and still his films are cherished by a big section of the viewers today.

He directed a meaningful film Masoom in the early 80s. He used the most dynamic actors and actresses of the contemporary period that was Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddun Shah. Naseeruddin had a previous wife who died leaving his small child played by Jugal Hansraj. He married Shabana Azmi who already had her own daughters including Urmila Matondkar. It was difficult for Shabana Azmi to accept the step son when her own daughters’ interests were related. Naseeruddin Shah decided to send the young child to boarding, but Shabana Azmi’s conscious spoke and she brought him back at the end of the film. RD Burman’s composition titled “huzur is kadar bhi” sung by Bhupinder Singh and Suresh Watkar, and “tushse naraz nahi zindagi” sung by Lata appealed to the masses.

Shekhar Kapoor astonished the viewers with a masala film Mr. India in the mid-80s. Anil Kapoor found a device which could make people invisible. He used the device to encounter a big smuggler played by Amrish Puri with the title Mogambo. Anil Kapoor ran an orphanage full of children and after becoming Mr. India used the children in his fight against Mogambo. Anil Kapoor’s compassionate performance, Amrish Puri’s fiery acting, Sri Devi’s dance numbers, everything appealed to the masses and the film ended up being the greatest hit of the year. Laxmikant Pyarellal’s music in the film became super hit including songs like “hawa hawai”, “karte hai hum pyar Mr. India se”, etc.

Shekhar Kapoor was criticized the most for his film Bandit Queen based on the life of dacoit Phoolan Devi. Shekhar Kapoor tried to show the torture faced by Phoolan Debi who was a malwa, by the Thakurs of the area, which compelled her to become dacoit. But the film gathered controversy due to the details shown by Shekhar Kapoor in respect of humiliation faced by Phoolan Debi. The Censure Board came in the way. Shekhar Kapoor got criticized all the way. His other film Elizabeth was also a noble venture. Shekhar Kapoor is also known for his acting in TV serials like Khandan which became super hit in the mid-80s.

His future projects include Paani, Long Walk To Freedom and The Last Full Measure. The viewers expect Shekhar Kapoor to continue his innovative film making in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Raj Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Raj Kapoor.

Raj Kapoor is remembered by the nation on his birthday on 14^th December, 2011. He was probably the most popular actor of bollywood films of the 40s, 50s and 60s other than Dilip Kumar.

Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor still remain the most popular actors of bollywood cinema in the last 70 years. One of the reasons of their immense success includes the superlative class of music being given to the giant actors by Naushad and Shankar Jaikishan.

Naushad gave classic tunes to Dilip Kumar in the films Uran Khatola, Kohinoor, Mughal-I-Azam, Leader, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram Aur Shyam, Aadmi, to name a few. Rafi and Shakeel Badayani were the other players in the deadly combination. Rafi’s songs for Dilip Kumar like “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “woh dur ke musafir”, “tere husn ki kya taarif karun”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”, “dilruba maine tere pyar me kya kya na kiya”, “aaj purani rahon se koi mujhe awaaz na den”, “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan aaj ki raat”, etc., remain one of the greatest creations of all times. If Naushad was unparallel as a composer, Shakeel Badayani was unparallel as a lyricist, Rafi was matchless as singer and Dilip Kumar matchless as an actor.

Producer director Raj Kapoor was the closest competitor of Dilip Kumar during the 40s, 50s and 60s. In fact both the giants had acted together in the film Andaz in 1949. Raj Kapoor’s deadly combination with Shankar Jaikishan had produced super hit films like Barsaat, Aah, Awara, Shree 40, Chori Chori, Anari, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, to name a few. The music of those films were equally popular and successful. Songs of Mukesh and Manna Dey like “ramaiya vasta maiya”, “mur murk e na dekh”, “sab kuch seekha humne”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, “o mehbooba”, “dost dost na raha” “aa aab laut chalen”, had not lost their flavor even after 50 years of their creation. As Raj Kapoor had other qualities besides acting including production, direction, editing, etc., he is considered the greatest showman of all times even today.

As far as the compositions of Naushad and Shankar Jaikishan are considered, both the composers had very strong classical orientation. Naushad gave folk tunes to Dilip Kumar in Ganga Jumna sung by Rafi including “nain lad jaiy he” and Lata in “dhoondo dhoondo resaajna”, etc. Shankar Jaikishan gave folk tunes to Raj Kapoor in Teesri Kasam in songs like “chalet musafir” sung by Manna Dey, to name a few.

If Naushad displayed the muslim culture of Lucknow, Aligarh with his classical tunes in films like Leader, Kohinoor, Mughal-i-azam, Shankar Jaikishan displayed the European tunes in Raj Kapoor’s films Sangam, Around the World, etc., where the westernized orchestrations complimented the colourful scenary of the foreign countries. In fact, SJ’s tunes “chale jana zara theheron” showed the brilliance of Lake Erie and Niagra Falls stretching from Canada to USA, and mesmerizing the audience. Even in Sangam, the creation of SJ picturised in the snow-clad Switzerland titled “ishq the ishq, I love you” showed SJ’s capability of adapting to European tunes. The musical fountain in Around the World, showed the brilliance of SJ in the film Around the World.

The lyrics written by Shakeel Badayani in Dilip Kumar’s films where music was composed by Naushad were as innovative as the lyrics written by Hasrat Jaipuri and Shankar Jaikishan in Raj Kapoor’ films composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The lyrics contained urdu shairy, bhopuri language, ultramodern lyrics, rural language, etc. and appealed to the masses.

Naushad had composed music in more than 15 films of Dilip Kumar and the same is the case of Shankar Jaikishan in Raj Kapoor’s films. The music of each of those films can be analysed and revisited.

It is impossible to say whether Dilip Kumar’s combination with Naushad was greater than Raj Kapoor’s combination with Shankar Jaikishan, but it is true that the two giants had left assets for generations to cherish which had ended up being masterpieces. New actors, composers, singers, directors learn from the success of the Showman and Tragedy King and the works should be revisited.

Raj Kapoor’s legacy is carried forward by his son Rishi Kapoor, grandson Ranbir Kapoor and granddaughter Kareena Kapoor. Both Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor had established themselves in bollywood films and will go a long way. Raj Kapoor’s creations should be preserved and restored.

                                         Raj Kapoor, Vyjayantimala, Rajender Kumar

The film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya was a trend setter.

The film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya was a trend setter.

The film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya was another brilliant venture of David Dhawan. It was a multi-starrer film produced by Sohail Khan.  Three sets of pairs were experimented with in the year 2005, and from that time onwards it has become a trend setter. The actors and actresses who performed in the film included Salman Khan, Katrina kaif , Sushmita Sen ,Sohail Khan, Arshad Warsi , Isha Koppikar, Rajpal Yadav and others.

Salman Khan was an orthopedic surgeon in the film. He had an affair with Katrina Kaif, who was a model. To stop the female patients from flirting with him, Salman told everyone that he was married. Katrina also believed in the fact. She asked Salman Khan to introduce her with his wife.

He convinced Sushmita Sen, his nurse, to pretend as his wife. Sushmita met Katrina with two children of her relative and spoke about her relationship with Salman. Katrina thought the children were Salman’s children and wanted to meet them. When the children were introduced Katrina came to know that her previous wife had a boy friend. Then she wanted to meet him and for that matter Salman Khan had to ask Arshad Warsi to act with Sushmita Sen. Then came the artificial divorce scene, where Salman Khan’s mother stepped in from Punjab and accepted Sushmita Sen as the wife of Salman Khan.

At the end of the film Sushmita Sen went to Karina Kaif and told the truth. Katrina asked Salman Khan to marry Sushmita Sen who agreed to pretend as his wife. Katrina Kaif married Sohail Khan who was struggling actor in the film. The entire story was depicted with comedy sequences. Himmesh Reshamiya’s music composition was very impressive.

All the songs in the film became super hits including “just chill chill”, “saajan, tumse pyar ki larayi me”, “teri meri love story ka angle”, etc. Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and other singers contributed well in the film. The performance of Rajpal Yadav in the role of soldier who lost his legs in Cargill War requires special mention.

Rajpal Yadav’s legs were normal, yet he used to come to Salman Khan’s clinic only to meet Sushmita Sen. He helped Salman Khan to reach the airport to stop Sushmita Sen to leave the country at the end of the film.  Arshad Warsi’s acting as lawyer in the divorce scene was phenomenal. Isha Koppikar did not get proper scope of dialogue throwing in the film but her dance performance in the song “saajan, tujhse pyar ki ladayi me” was very impressive.

The performance of Salman Khan’s mother by the actress who was also an Officer in the Ministry of Tourism, Rajasthan was extraordinary. Katrina Kaif and Sushmita Sen looked the beautiful in the film if compared with any other film in their career. Sohail Khan spend most of his career in production and direction of films, but in respect of his performance probably he did his best in the comedy role which was as important as Salman’s role. Day by day Salman Khan also has matured as a good comedian, because these days producers and directors rank him after Anil Kapoor and Govinda, whenever they think about comedy films.

David Dhawan should continue with brilliant ventures like Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya in future also.

                                       Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya

Happy birthday to Govinda.

Happy birthday to Govinda.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Govinda on 21^st December, 2011. For the last 20 years he had entertained bollywood viewers with his remote style of comedy performance and dancing.

Govinda came to limelight with his impressive performance in the film Ankhen along with Chunkey Pandey. Both Govinda and Chunkey were thrown out of their homes by their father Kader Khan, due to their mischievous acts. They witnessed the kidnapping of the CM played by Raj Babbar. In his place another person was brought who had similarity in looks. Govinda and Chunkey saved the CM and killed the imposter.

Govinda had a brilliant relationship with director David Dhawan. David Dhawan had used Govinda in most of his comedy films, and the dance performance and comedy performance of Govinda charmed the audience. His film Hero No. 1 with Karishma Kapoor became super hit. All the songs of the film including “sona kitna sona hai”, “mai to raste se jaa raha tha”, became very popular. The other films of Govinda like Aunty No.1, Cooli No. 1, also showed his charishma in comedy acting.

Govinda also acted in serious films like Andolan with Sanjay Dutt. He played the role of an engineer who had to compromise with the corrupt builders while building bridges. His revolt against the system was the subject matter of the film. He acted in a number of films with Sanjay Dutt and most of the films did good business. Some of those films included Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, Haseena Maan Jayegi, etc.

Govinda’s film Bare Miya Chote Miya with Big B and Raveena Tandon, and Deewane Mastane with Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, did fantastic business as well. In the recent past Govinda’s performance in David Dhawan’s film Partner with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif stormed bollywood. He required the guidance of a love guru played by Salman Khan to impress Katrina Kaif. The songs of the film like “do you want a partner”, “you are my love” became super hit, and Govinda’s dance performances in those songs were excellent. Salman Khan asked the director David Dhawan to increase the role of Govinda in the film, and he justified it by playing his character in style.

Govinda played his role in the film Salaam-e-Ishq in style. The film had all the leading actors of bollywood industry including Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sohail Khan, John Abraham and Akshay Khanna. In that league of actors Govinda proved his worth by romancing with a foreigner girl who was given shelter by a taxi-driver.

                                             Govinda in film Do Not Disturb
In 2009, Govinda’s films Life Partner, and Do Not Disturb with Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta, did mediocre business. He acted well in his small role in the film Raavan in 2010, and the viewers expect another cameo in the sequel of Partner. Viewers expect that with his busy work as a politician, as he was an MP elected with a Congress Ticket, he can still devote time for films and continue the work of entertainment in the years to come.