Happy birthday to Mehmood and remembering him with Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi.

Mehmood Mohammad Rafi The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary comedian Mehmood on 29th September, 2012. He was an indispensable actor during the 60s and 70s. He had acted in different types of roles ranging from serious ones in Choti Behen to villainish roles in Pyaasa and obviously serio-comic roles in Gumnaam. He was the other comedian other than Johnny Walker, who had given lips in majority of songs in landmark films. His combination with Subha Khote and Dhumaal, was as brilliant as the legendary pairs of Dharmender Hema Malini or Shashi Kapoor Nanda. Shankar Jaikishan had always been known to set trends and not follow any existing system created by the other compositions. SJ used Lata to her limit in Barsaat in the late 40s, during a time when the other female singers like Noorjahan, Suraiya, Samshad Begum, Rajkumari were also prominent in singing playback songs in bollywood films. SJ never stuck one single team and that was one of their secrets of success in bollywood films. In respect of Mehmood, it was a tradition for most of the composers to use Manna Dey to sing for Mehmood, most of which were very very successful. SD Burman used Manna Dey to sing “duniya bananewale” in the film Ziddi for Mehmood, where he used Rafi to sing the songs for Joy Mukherjee like “bolo bolo, aye dildaar”, etc. RD Burman used Manna Dey to sing the songs “sawaariya” and “ek chaturnaar” in the film Padosan for Mehmood. LP used Manna Dey to sing “o mere maina” in the film Pyar Kiye Ja, for Mehmood. There are numerous other examples where Manna Dey was used by the composers to suit Mehmood. Shankar Jaikishan had something else in mind. He used Manna Dey in very serious classical songs like “sur na saje” in Basant Bahar, emotional songs like “tu pyar ka sagar hai” in Seema, or folk songs like “chalet musafir” in Teesri Kasam. When it came to Mehmood, SJ experimented with Rafi, and those songs probably are considered the most successful songs of Mehmood in his entire career. The song “ajahu na aye balma sawan bita jai” in the film Saanjh Aur Sawera, picturized on Mehmood, stands out as one of the most classically oriented compositions of SJ for Rafi. The song had both appeal for the mass and also the class. The song “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” in Gumnaam, became a trademark song of Mehmood. Rafi almost reproduced the style of dialogue throwing of Mehmood in the song and it appeared to the masses that the song was sung by Mehmood himself. SJ used Rafi to sing the song “mai rickshawala” in the black and white era in the film Choti Bahen, during a time when Mehmood’s image was not created. Mehmood almost made people cry in the film and the credit goes to Rafi’s emotions in the song. In the film Zindagi, Rafi’s song for Mehmood titled “ghungharwah mora cham cham baje”, became big hit. The other hit songs of Rafi for Mehmood composed by SJ include “o gori chalona hans ki chaal”, “zindagi mujhko dikhade raasta”, “mai hoon jaani tera”etc. Rafi’s presence was felt in the films Beti Bete, Bhai Bhai, etc. where Mehmood had prominent roles and SJ composed the music of those films. Even the song “bakhma bakhma” in the film Shatranj became successful. Even in the duets that were sung for Mehmood, SJ created a new trend in allowing Suman Kalyanpur to sing some of the songs with Rafi or Sharda to sing some of them, in addition to Lata who had sung around 440 duets with Rafi during the golden age. The songs and the films of the legendary combination of Shankar Jaikishan, Rafi and Mehmood should be restored for their filmic appeal and versatile creations.

Happy birthday to Mahima Choudhury.

Mahima Choudhury The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mahima Choudhury on 13th September, 2012. She had been a big asset of bollywood films in the 90s. She had been given a great break by Subhash Ghai in the film Pardesh opposite Shahrukh Khan. All the songs in the film became super hit like “do dil mil rahe hai”, sung by Kumar Shanu or “yeh dil diwana” sung by Sonu Nigam, etc. Her traditional role in the film was well appreciated by every section of the viewers. Subhash Ghai had given breaks to new comers all across his career, and just like Madhuri Dixit, Manisha Koirala, Mahima Choudhury also proved her merit in the first film. After that Mahima Choudhury acted in every type of roles. She was sublime opposite Chandrachud Singh in the film Daag the fire. Although it was an out and out action film she kept her mark in the film. She had a double role in the film and did very well in the role of an accomplished girl and the role of a prostitude. The two characters were absolutely contrasting in nature. Due to domination of Sanjay Dutt in the film Mahima’s performance did not get the limelight which she deserved. She did extremely well in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Lajja. She was one of the five ladies who faced oppression from the patriarchal society and her way of expressing discontent was very impressive. She was sublime opposite Sanjay Dutt in the film Kurukshetra. Sanjay Dutt was a fearless police officer and faced the hurdles created by the corrupted ministers and the corrupted police officers in his department. Mahima Choudhury, who played the role of his wife in the film expressed her discontent after being the victim of vengeance of the criminals who were arrested by Sanjay Dutt. Mahima Choudhury did well in smaller roles as well. The one which is most remembered is her performance in the film Dhadkan where Shilpa Shetty, Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar had the more prominent roles. She had featured in less number of films in the recent past. The viewers expect her to act in bollywood films of 2012 and future as she still has a lot of acting left in her.

Barfi had done business of more than 80 crores due to brilliance of Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Barfi. Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra’s film Barfi had done business of more than 80 crores. Not only that the film had been nominated for Oscar awards, the director Anurag Basu had been congratulated from different quarters for the poetic rendition of the story. Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra gave their life's best performance in Barfee. Anurag Basu had directed a masterpiece classic film Barfee. The film had been released on 14th September, 2012. It had already collected 20 crores in the first two days. The film had been produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Sidharth Roy Kapoor. In the film Ranbir Kapoor played the role of a deaf and dumb person. His parents kept his name Murphy. But due to wrong pronunciation everyone started calling him Barfee. Illeana DCruz fell in love with him in Darjeeling. But due to the fact that her mother Rupa Ganguly warned her of not marrying a economically downtrodden person she could not marry him. She married Jishu Sengupta. Ranbir Kapoor wanted to kidnap Priyanka Chopra, an autistic girl whose father Ashish Vidyarthi depended on the trust property created in the name of her daughter. Ranbir Kapoor wanted to kidnap her for the 7 lakhs rupees required to save his father who suffered sickness. He got the money but the father died. Priyanka Chopra followed Ranbir Kapoor. He took her to Kolkata. Then she again disappeared to a boarding called Muskan. Illeana Decruz left her husband's house and went to live with Ranbir Kapoor. But Ranbir Kapoor liked Priyanka Chopra and married her. At the end of the film it was shown both died after attaining old age. Ranbir Kapoor should get all the awards for playing the role of a deaf and dumb ever smiling character. Priyanka Chopra really made everyone feel that she was suffering from autism. Illeana Decruz, Rupa Ganguly, Saurav Shukla, Haradhan Banerjee were brilliant in their performances. The background music of Pritam was excellent. Anurag Basu's camera work in Darjeeling and Kolkata were poetic. He was romantic in the presentation of nature. The film bears the best story of the year. After Kahaani, the film had been the most innovative film. Ranbir Kapoor had shown that a deaf and dumb person not only could earn his own living, could also take care of an autistic girl. The film was excellent. It had got great box-office response. Everyone should watch the film. It is interesting to see with Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra gets the filmfare awards for the best actors and actresses. Vidya Balan is another great contender for the award for her excellent performance in the film Kahaani.

Subhamita Banerjee and Rupankar stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program.

Subhamita Banerjee and Rupankar stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program. Singer Subhamita Banerjee and Rupankar stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program on 26th September, 2012. Both of them were invited as guest judges in the program. Primarily Subhamita Banerjee and Rupankar came

After that the contestants started performing. One of the contestants sang Kishore Kumar’s song “rimjhim gire sawan” which was appreciated by the viewers. After the performance of few performers Rupankar was called on the stage to sing a song. He sang it with guitar. After that Subhamita Banerjee was asked to sing the song “dekhecho ki take oi neel nodir dhare”. She sang it excellently. Everyone looked at Joy Sarkar because he composed the beautiful tune. Last week when Bhupinder Singh and Mitali Singh came to the show, they also appreciated the melodious song and the beautiful composition. Both Subhamita and Rupankar had to attend a marriage occasion, so left the show early. The contestants, the anchor Jishu Sengupta and the judges Alka Yagnik, Kumar Shanu and Joy Sarkar graced the presence of Subhamita and Rupankar in the show and gave them their best wishes for the success of the puja album.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Lata, Talat Mehmood, Jaikishan The listeners of music in India and abroad wish happy birthday to Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen on 28th September, 2012. She had remained a sensation even in her 80s. Starting her journey from the early 40s, Lataji created an impression with the songs “ayega anewala” in the film Mahal, released in 1947 composed by Khemchand Prakash. The songs of the horror film were picturised on Madhubala who later became a legendary star of bollywood films. Lata faced the competition from eminent singers Noorjahan, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Rajkumari, and others and emerged victorious in the 50s and 60s. Her sweetness of voice compelled composers to give the best tunes ever created in Indian film history. Along with Rafi, Lata had the record of singing songs of almost all the composers of the golden age. Everlasting gems of Lata include “tu jaha jahan chalega” composed by Madanmohan Kohli, “duniya kare sawal” composed by Roshanagrath , “hume tum mil gaye humdum” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir teri kahani yaad aye” composed by Naushad Ali , “ajare pardesi” composed by Salil Choudhury, “allah tero naam” composed by Jaidev, “piya tose naina lage re” composed by SD Burman, to name a few. Lata had sung more than 30000 songs during her singing career which was more than 65 years long. She had sung for Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Wahida Rehman, on one hand, and did sing for the new actresses of the 90s namely Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, etc. Her patriotic songs “aye mere watan ke logon” brought tears even in the eyes of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Articles after articles can be devoted to the Indian nightingale, Lata who had remained an institution in different types of songs including Hindustani classical, folk songs, lift romantic songs, to name a few. Lata Mangeshkar sung songs in more than 15 regional languages including Marathi, Bengali and others. She played a very significant role in Bengali film industry in the world of playback singing. Some of her hit songs included “jago” in Raj Kapoor’s film Ekdin Ratre, composed by Salil Choudhury, “aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta in Uttam Kumar’s film Shankhabela, to name a few. Goddess Saraswati was very kind to the nightingale of India, Lataji, and that was the reason the sweetness of her voice remained intact for the last 60 years. Articles after articles can be written about the musical genius. Singers of the present age consider Lataji as their idol and try to emulate her style. Even reputed singers like Sonu Nigam feel privileged to get his son record his son at such tender age with evergreen legend Lata Mangeshkar. The listeners of music all over the world expect Lataji to continue the great work that she started 70 years ago. Her works should be restored.

Neel Mukherjee stormed Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program.

Neel Mukherjee. Bengali actor Neel Mukherjee stormed Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program on 26th September, 2012. Neel Mukherjee had acted in noted Bengali films like Teen Yaari Katha, Abar Byomkesh, etc. Rachana Banerjee invited him in the second round of the Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 program. In that round contestants are expected to sing songs. Neel Mukherjee did an innovative work. He acted in the film Teen Yaari Katha, Abar Byomkesh, in the past and received better reviews from the audience. In the second round contestants are expected to sing songs. Neel Mukherjee did an innovative work. He gave four subjects to the contestants and asked them to act out the scenes along with him. One contestant was given the subject of speaking to a husband who is deaf. The other contestant is the person who was given the subject of convincing a friend to marry her. The other contestant was given the subject of getting annoyed with the affair of the maid servant with the newspaper boy. All the contestants did well. In the previous show, that is Zee Bangla Ranngaghar Sudipa Mukherjee invited actress Subhadra and her husband. She taught a dish related to posto rui fish. Her husband sang a number of songs in the show. Both the shows had become popular with the bengalies. They are telecast on all the days. Rachana Banerjee had done a great job as anchor in Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 while Sudipa Mukherjee did a great job in the show Rannaghar.

Hollywood film Frogs created horror effect.

Sam Elliot, Joan Van Ark Hollywood film Frogs created real horror effect. The film was directed by George McCowan. It was released in 1972. The film was produced by George Edwards and Peter Thomas. A big message was given in the film if human beings hunted animals, birds and created imbalance in the environment, then nature and the animals took revenge against it. In the film Sam Elliot rowed on a canoe and took photographs of animals around the Crockett family estate, situated in rural Florida. His Canoe was dipped in the water by a speed boat run by Ray Milland’s son. He then carried Same Elliot in their own boat and brought him to the Crockett House. Ray Milland was the handicapped old person of the Crockett family. He wanted to celebrate his birthday on 4th July, the next day. He send a person called Grover to spray pesticides in the forests and swamps around their house. Sam Elliot went to find Grover. He found that the corpse of Grover was lying in the woods. He reported about that to Ray Milland. His son Michael went to the forest and accidently shot himself and got killed by insects. His son Kenneth and went to the green house to check the animals in that green house. He was killed by the animals over there including the wasps and insects. At the end of the film when even the servants left Ray Milland, Sam Elliot took Joan Van Arc, the daughter of Ray Milland and the two children out of that area. He asked for lift after crossing the lake and the lady who travelled said in that area she never came across any human being in the three hours drive. That showed that the insects and animals killed the human population due to the fact that the Crocket family hunted many animals in the area. The last scene showed that the frogs had broken the glass and surrounded Ray Milland. He got hurt attack and died. The performances of Ray Milland, Sam Elliot and Joan Van Arc were excellent. The photography was brilliant. The film really gave a message and created a horror effect

Happy birthday to Dev Anand.

Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to evergreen star Dev Anand on 26th September, 2012. He died last year but he still lives in the hearts of numerous admirers of bollywood films. Along with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar he was one of the most popular stars of bollywood films of the 50s and 60s. He acted opposite most of the leading actresses of the 50s and 60s and most of his romantic of the golden age remained hits. Some of his successful films include Taxi-Driver with Nalini Jayant, CID with Wahida Rehman and Shakila , Tere Ghar Ke Saamne with Nutan, Kalapani with Madhubala, Kalabazar with Wahida Rehman, Jewel Thief with Vaijayantimala, Jaal with Geeta Wali, Teen Deviyan opposite Nanda, Hare Rama Hare Krishna opposite Mumtaz, etc. His production banner Navketan was the pivot around which his brothers Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand contributed a lot. In the 60s, Dev Anand acted in successful films like Guide, Jewel Thief, etc. Guide was based on the epic literature of RK Narayan. His brother Vijay Anand directed the film and he did a great job. Dev Anand received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in the film Guide. He made an English version of Guide too. In Jewel Thief he successfully acted in the role of a detective to combat the group of burglers led by Ashok Kumar. Vaijayantimala and Tanuja acted well opposite Dev Anand in the film. From the 70s Dev Anand started directing his films including Prem Pujari, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, etc. Even as a director he showed his class. As an actor he was known for his stylish andaz as he emulated the mannerisms of Hollywood actor Gregory Pegg. Another factor for which Dev Anand is still remembered is the quality music given in his films. Composers like SD Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, Jaidev, OP Nayyar, gave everlasting music with Rafi’s songs like “tujhe jeevan ki dorme” in Asli Nakli, “khoya khoya chand” in Kala Bazar, “tere mere sapne” in Guide, “hum bekhudi me tumko bulaye” in Kala Pani still remaining immortal. Even Kishore’s songs “jeevan ki safar me rahi” in Munimji, “gata rahe mera dil” in Guide, “phulon ke rang se” in Prem Pujari had not lost their colour even today. Dev Anand received Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his excellence in Indian cinema. He even at his late 80s is interested to produce and direct films. Few years back he made the film Mr. Prime Minister. His films and music should be restored.

The nation remembers style icon Feroz Khan on his birthday.

Feroz Khan. The nation remembers Feroz Khan on his birthday on 25th September, 2012. He had died in 2009, two years back and the nation had missed the style icon very badly. Feroz Khan started his career with romantic films. His performance in the film Aarzoo, in the mid-60s with Rajender Kumar and Sadhna is well remembered even today. He played the role of friend of Rajender Kumar who sacrificed his wife for the best interest of his friend Rajender Kumar. While Feroz Khan’s performance in romantic films like Ek Sapera Aur Ek Lutera was well appreciated, his skills in action films like Aadmi Aur Insaan, Mela, etc., created a separate identity for himself. Feroz Khan did a great job in the film Oonche Log along with Raj Kumar and Ashok Kumar. It was a romantic film with Rafi’s romantic song “jag dil-e diwana”. Feroz Khan was killed at the end of the film by Tarun Bose. From the 70s, Feroz Khan got involved in production and direction of his own films and created gold in the next 20 years. His film Apradh with Mumtaz became super hit. He brought in many dimensions of car driving in Indian cinema. He showed car racing in Apradh. His film Dharmatma with Hema Malini and Rekha created history in the mid-70s. It was modeled in the lines of Hollywood film Godfather where Marlon Brando played the lead role. Part of the film was shot in Dubai, and from that time Feroz Khan used Dubai for shooting many of his blockbuster films. Feroz Khan’s action style mesmerized the viewers. He gave a stylish performance in the film Khote Sikke and Kala Sona. His Robinhood like image haunted the viewers. His style of riding cars, riding horses and jugglery with the guns showed touch of Hollywood actors. With the advent of action films in the mid-70s with the emerging of Amitabh Bacchan in the bollywood scenario, Feroz Khan’s demand in action film increased and increased. His film Qurbani with Vinod Khanna and Zeenat Aman created storms in the early 80s. Rafi’s song ‘kya dekhteho” picturised on Feroz Khan, became hit in the early 80s. He gave a new definition to action films with the film Jaanbaaz, where he protested against the trade of LSD and other Narcotic drugs. Villains like Raza Murad and Shakti Kapoor gained prominence from Feroz Khan’s films. Feroz Khan used Anil Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Sri Devi in Jaanbaaz in his unique style. His film Yaalgaar with Sanjay Dutt, Manisha Koirala and Kabir Bedi also became super hit in the early 90s. One of the other shades of character of Feroz Khan was to promote the newcomers. He acknowledged the brilliant skills of Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, who were much younger than him and formed the next generation of actors. Feroz Khan maintained his body for more than 30 years and that was the reason who could act opposite three generation of actresses, including Sadhna in Aarzoo in 1965, to Hema Malini in Dharmatma in 1975, to Sri Devi in Jaanbaaz in 1985. In the late 90s he promoted his own son Fardeen Khan. Even in recent films like Welcome he showed his comedy skills opposite Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar. His death brought a great loss to the film industry. He is remembered on his birthday and will always be remembered in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Kareena Kapoor.

Kareena Kapoor. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Kareena Kapoor on 21st September, 2012. She had been the number star of bollywood films and carried forward the grand legacy created by Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor forward. She started her career with the film Refugee in 2000 with Abhishek Bacchan. In that film she played the role of a pardanashin muslim girl of Pakistan. It was a big task on the part of Kareena to perform opposite stalwarts like Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Sunil Shetty and others, who were experienced actors and Kareena Kapoor rose up to the occasion and received good reception from all sections of the viewers. Within short time she adapted herself to different types of roles in films like Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai opposite Tushar Kapoor, Yaadein opposite Hrithik Roshan, Ashoka opposite Shahrukh Khan, to name a few. After two three years her films started flopping, and she bounced back with an off-beat role in the film Chameli. She received the critics award for the best actress in filmfare. From that time she never looked back. Most of her films opposite Shahid Kapoor had been super hit including Chup Chup Ke, 36 China Town and Jab We Met. She received the filmfare award for the best actress for her effortless performance in the film Jab We Met. The film was related to the romantic relation of her with Shahid Kapoor. All the songs in the film became super hit including “yeh ishq hai”, “nagara nagara”, “tujhse hi tujhse hi”, etc. At the same time her films opposite other stars were appreciated. She was successful opposite Salman Khan in the film Kyon Ki. She was sublime opposite Ajay Devgan in the film Omkara and Golmaal Returns. In 2009, her film Kambakht Ishq opposite Akshay Kumar did medium business. But she had two mega releases for which the viewers are awaiting anxiously. One was Mai and Mrs Khanna opposite Salman Khan. The other was The Three Idiots opposite Amir Khan. While the first one did mediocre business, the second one broke all bollywood records to do more than Rs 200 crores business. Kareena Kapoor was sublime in the film in the role of the daughter of Boman Irani. She had already two releases in 2010, including Milenge Milenge and We Are Family. Her other film Golmaal 3 also did great business. 2011 had been a lucky year for Kareena Kapoor. Her film Bodyguard opposite Salman Khan had done business more than 140 crores and emerged as the greatest blockbuster of the year. She was successful in the next film Raone with Shahrukh Khan which also did business more than 100 crores. 2012 has a lot in store. On 21st September, her most awaited film Heroine is getting released. Madhur Bhandarkar had given a challenging role and Kareena Kapoor has a lot of expectations from the film. One factor is clear. Kareena Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor had maintained the stardom that existed in Raj Kapoor’s family for the last 60 years. So both Kareena Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor are required to continue the good work in the years to come. The viewers expect Kareena Kapoor to stand the competition created by beauty queen Katrina Kaif and steady performer Priyanka Chopra in the coming years and emerge victorious.

Steven Spielberg’s film Jaws was a masterpiece.

Lorraine Gary. Steven Spielberg’s Hollywood film Jaws released in 1975 was a masterpiece. It was based on the novel of Peter Benchley. It was produced by Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown. In the film it was shown that in Amity Island a great white shark came and killed a girl. Roy Sheider, the police chief was informed and came to the beach. Richard Dreyfuss, an oceanographer studied the dead body and realized that a white giant shark killed the girl. Murray Hamilton, the mayor of the region declined to close the beach inspite of the insistence of Roy Scheider. The shark again killed a young boy. A large tiger shark was caught by the fishermen showing everyone that the problem was being solved. But that was not the man-eater shark. Robert Shaw, a hunter was taken with Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider who went to catch the white shark. Richard Dreyfuss entered a shark-proof cage, and tried to catch the shark. The shark attacked and killed Robert Shaw. Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss finally succeeded in killing the shark after firing and exploding the devises inside the vessel. The film created extreme horror effect. Lorraine Gary did very well in the role of the wife of Roy Scheider. Roy Scheider and Ricard Dreyfuss were magnificent in their performances. The photography of Spielberg mesmerized the audience. A number of sequels of Jaws were made due to the success of the first part. The film should be restored.

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi.

Shabana Azmi Versatile actress Shabana Azmi was remembered on her birthday on 18th September, 2012. Many actresses spoke about her. Nandita Das had said that she had started her career with Fire opposite Shabana Azmi. She had great experience of working with the great actress. She acted with Shabana Azmi in a play named Diary of Anne Frank which was hosted in Kolkata, Bangalore and New Delhi. Director Mahesh Bhatt also said that his career also took a turn after Shabana Azmi acted in his film Arth. Shabana Azmi gave an interview in Times of India on her birthday in 18th September, 2010, two years back. She commented on many things. She said that in theatre acting there is scope of underacting, as the viewers at the backseat may not recognize lack of expression, but in films that is not possible. For her film acting was a greater challenge. She also said that acted in both commercial and parallel films. She acted during the transition of the 70s, when the actresses got roles opposite the angry young man played by Big B, Vinod Khanna and others. Female actresses started getting roles which were transformations from the ones of the 60s in films like Mai Choop Rahungi to films in the 80s like Khoon Bhari Maang. But her range was exposed in parallel cinema. She could express the complexity of female mind successfully in the art films directed by Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray and others. When asked about her choice, she said that she would have accepted the role of a sweeper if director Bergman had offered her a role. He was her favourite director. In respect of actors, she commented that Tragedy King Dilip Kumar was her favourite actor. She grew up seeing his acting. It is very significant that the actress of the callibre of Shabana Azmi who had won 5 national awards also used the name of Tragedy King, who had not learned acting from acting school, but the characters immortal with his sensitive performances over 70 years. The interview was very knowledgeable. Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil were the two leading actresses with whom the renowned directors of India including Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini, and others experimented the most in the late 70s and early 80s. Some of the best films of Shabana Azmi include Khandahar, Paar, Masoom, Sati, Aarth, Mandi, etc. Shabana Azmi should continue her great work in bollywood films in future.

Rishi Kapoor stormed Zee Bangla Dance Bangla Dance Finale Program.

Rishi Kapoor. Superstar Rishi Kapoor stormed Zee Bangla Dance Bangla DanceFinale Program on Sunday, 16th September, 2012. Superstar Mithun Chakravarty invited Rishi Kapoor in the show. There were other celebrities as well in the finale. June Malia, Rachana Banerjee, Jishu Sengupta and other celebrities graced the occasion. The child dancers, both boys and girls all had devoted the finale with songs of Rishi Kapoor’s films. Dipanwita Kundu and other child dancers had already become famous among people by their performances in Zee Bangla. Two children performed on Rishi Kapoor’s song “dafliwale dafli bajaa” in the film Sargam. Jaya Prada and Rishi Kapoor danced in the original song. After the performance was over Rishi Kapoor said that those compositions of traditional songs were the most authentic compositions and they should not be forgotten. June Malia asked Rishi Kapoor come on stage and dance with her in the song “dafliwale dafli baja”. She also confessed that she was absolute admirer of Rishi Kapoor from her child days. Mithun Chakravarty delivered the certificates and asked Rishi Kapoor to give them to the finalists. Rishi Kapoor encouraged the children for their spirited performances. At the end of the show, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakravarty and others danced in the song “meri umar ki naujawano” from Rishi Kapoor’s film Karz, with child participants and the celebrities.

Jaikishan birth anniversary.

Shankar Jaikishan, Indira Gandhi. Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal had been remembered on his death anniversary on 12th September, 2012. Jaikishan was also remembered on his birth anniversary on 4th November, 2011. He had left the world in 1971, and the great combination of Shankar Jaikishan got effected due to his death. The country remembered the great musical duo. At the same their combination with Shailendra and Rafi require special mention. Poet and lyricist Shailendra had glorified the world of bollywood music with his romantic words. He had tremendous combination with legendary composer Shankar Jaikishan. Both of them in turn had magical relationship with immortal singer Mohammad Rafi. The magic combination came together in the film Boot Polish, released in 1954 with the song “nanhe munne bacche tere mutthi me kya hai” which had become immortal over the years. In the film Shikast, the combination came together in the song “gham me jal raha hai”. In the mid-50s, all of them Shailendra, SJ and Rafi became superstars and icons in their individual departments. SJ composed excellent song with the words of Shailendra sung by Rafi,Mukesh and Lata in Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420 titled “ramaiya vasta maaiya”. In 1955 the film ended up being blockbuster. In Seema, the song “kahan jaraha tu” stands out. Manna Dey’s song “tu pyar ka sagar hai” was also a masterpiece. Rafi made the audience spellbound with the song “duniya na bhaye mohe” in the film Basant Bahar. Shailendra and SJ were brilliant as ever. Rafi’s song “mai rickshawala” in the film Choti Behen had realistic andaz. In Dev Anand’s Love Marriage, Rafi’s songs “kaha ja rahe the” had romantic andaz. In Shararat, the combination got together with the song “ajab hai dastan” which was very melodious. The same soft romantic Shailendra with SJ and Rafi changed their gears in aggressive songs of Shammi Kapoor in the film Junglee with the songs “yahoo, chahe koi mujhe jungle kahe”, “ayi ayi ya suku suku”, etc. The combination made the audience spellbound in Rajender Kumar’s film Sasural with the song “ek sawal mai karoon.” In Shammi Kapoor’s song “dil tera diwana” in the film Dil Tera Diwana, really the song balanced the lightning and rain. The combination continued in Shammi Kapoor’s film Professor with the songs “mai chali mai chali”, “khuli palak me” etc. The same combination brought tears in the eyes of the audience in Rajender Kumar’s film Dil Ek Mandir with the song “yaad na jaye”. The magic combination continued together in the blockbusters of the mid 60s, including Biswajeet’s April Fool in 1964, Shammi Kapoor’s Janwar and Rajkumar in 1965, Rajender Kumar’s Humrahi in 1963, Ayee Milan Ki Bela in 1964, Aarzoo in 1965, Suraj in 1966, Joy Mukherjee’s Love in Tokyo in 1966, Dev Anand’s Pyar Muhobbat in 1966, Uttam Kumar’s Choti Si Mulakat in 1968, to name a few. The unfortunate death of Shailendra in 1966 ended the marathon that was played by Rafi and SJ with the immortal lyricist for more than 20 years. His lyrics were used in films that were released later after his death in films like Shammi Kapoor’s Bhramchari, Rajender Kumar’s Jhuk Gaya Aasman and Dharti, Jeetender’s Mere Huzoor, to name a few. Articles after articles can be devoted to the genius Shailendra, Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi who had produced only gems after gems during the golden age of Indian music. They had made the audience laugh, smile, cry and repent with the words, tunes and rendition of voices. The songs and the films should be preserved.

Hollywood film Frankenfish created horror effect.

Hollywood film Frankenfish created horror effect. The film was released in 2004. The film was directed by Mark Dipp. The film was produced by David Hillary.

The film was related to frankenfish. Medical Examiner Torry Kittles and marine biologist China Chow went to a Maryland pond, to investigate the death of a fisherman. They found Muse Watson hunting catsish in a swamp. They met Gloria Crankton, the wife of the deceased fisherman.

They met KD Aubert, the daughter of Gloria and also her boyfriend. Raoule Trujelo hand a handgun and when a big frankenfish attacked him he killed it with the gun. He took out the heart of the fish and tried eating it when a second frankenfish came and devoured him.

A shotgun from the barbecue shot China Chow and she died. A frankenfish killed Gloria also. At that time a bounty hunter with his team came and compelled Torry Kittles and KD Aubert to go to the swamp where they suspected more number of Frankenfish were there. He explained everyone that the fishes were genetically engineered variety of sneakhead fish.

They went to the fish’s den. Tory Kittles entered first under compulsion but fled away. The two bounty hunters were killed by the fish. Tory drove the boat with KD Aubert and knocked off the protective lining of the fan. The frankenfish launched its attack on them, could not resist the speed and got cut off by the blades of the fan of the boat. Tory and Aubert were the only survivors of the attack.

Tory, Aubert, Gloria, China Chow were excellent in their performances. The camera work was excellent. The film really created a horror effect in the minds of the viewers.

Happy birthday to Aditya Pancholi.

Aditya Pancholi. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Aditya Pancholi on 12th September 2012. He had very strong contribution in bollywood films in the 90s. He was most successful in the film Sailaab with Madhuri Dixit. In that film he had an affair with Madhuri. But later he met with an accident. After that he lost his memory. Then due to mental disability he started attacking Madhuri. She ran for her life. At the end the memory was brought back and the unrest ended. Aditya Pancholi acted in many films opposite Sanjay Dutt and complimented him with his different style of acting. Both of them did well in the film Jung. They were equally sublime in the film Aatish. In Aatish Aditya Pancholi played the role of the friend of Sanjay Dutt who helped him when being attacked by Shakti Kapoor. Ravina Tandon, Karishma Kapoor, Atul Agnihotri were the other actors in the film. Aditya Pancoli kept his mark in the film with strong personality. Even in docile roles Aditya Pancholi was very natural. His performance in Big B’s film Akela requires special mention. In that film he played the role of the brother of Big B. He married Kiran Juneza with the express consent of Big B. But they were killed by the enemies who were arrested by Big B. In recent times, Salman Khan gave a big break to Aditya Pancholi. He acted in a negative character in the super hit film Bodyguard in 2011. Bodyguard did business of more than 150 crores and was the biggest blockbuster of 2011. Aditya Pancholi adjusted in the character of villain very well and did the action sequences opposite Salman Khan in style. Aditya Pancholi did well in other films as well. In many films he even played the role of villains. In the last 5 years, he had faded out of the industry. The viewers want him to get back to bollywood films. He is expected to do well if he makes a comeback.

Happy birthday to Akshay Kumar.

Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Akshay Kumar on 9th September, 2012. He had acted in more than 100 films and given blockbusters like Namste London, Singh is Kinng. 2012 had been a brilliant year for him. He had given 2 blockbusters doing business of more than 100 crores. The films were Rowdy Rathore and Housefull 2. His film Joker opposite Sonakshi Sinha flopped, but that does not stand in the way of his success. When Akshay Kumar cemented his position in bollywood films, he was known for Khiladi series films. He acted in the films Khiladi, Sabse Bada Khiladi, Mai Khiladi Tu Anari, International Khiladi, etc. But from 2000 onwards he changed the style of acting. He acted in comedy films like Hera Pheri, Phir Hera Pheri, and also romantic films like Namaste London. In 2008, Akshay Kumar ruled the Lux Sabse Favourite Kaun Award. Priyanka Chopra won the award for the best actress in Lux Sabse Favourite Kaun award. She had continued the dream run that she started in 2008. She received the award for her brilliant performance in the film Kaminey. She won the award against the other nominees like Kareena Kapoor in Kambakht Ishq, and Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. Akshay Kumar won the award for the best actor in Lux Sabse Favourite Kaun award. He won the award against the other nominees like Salman Khan in Wanted, Amir Khan in Ghajini, Shahrukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, etc. He won the award for his sheer hard work. The viewers liked him inspite of his films Chandi Chowk to China, Kambakht Ishq, Blue, not doing good business in 2009. Sanjay Dutt won the award for the best comedian (male) for his hilarious performance in the film All the Best. Divya Dutta won the same award in the female category for her comedy performance in the film Saajan Chale Sajjanpur. The film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani won the award for the best film. Raj Kumar Santoshi, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and the entire team of the film should be proud about it. Hrithik Roshan won the style icon (male) award. There is no doubt that he is probably the most stylish actor in the industry. Bipasha Basu won the most fit actress award while Shahid Kapoor won the most fit actor award. Priyanka Chopra won the award for the most favourite ada, as against Lara Dutta, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. She is really having a fabulous year. In 2012 other films of Akshay Kumar are in the pipeline including Oh My God which will be released within September, 2012. The viewers expect Akshay Kumar to continue giving hits after hits, the way he had done few years back.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant.

Rajnikant, Aishwarya Rai The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajnikant on 12th December, 2012. For the last 30 years he had remained as one of the most popular superstars of South Indian films and carried his stardom in bollywood films as well. He was very ill last year, struggling with kidney disorder. After treatment he had recovered. His film Robot was a sensation in South India and did well in North India as well. His admirers expect him to continue his stylish performances in new films in future, the same way as he did in the past. From the beginning of his career he had created an identity in action films. He had his own mannerisms which were liked by South Indian audience and was also new for bollywood viewers. In the film Andha Kanoon, he acted along with Big B. The film was released in 1983. His parents were tortured and killed in the film by Pran, Prem Chopra and Danny. The entire film was related to the revenge that he had taken against all those actors. His sister’s role was played by Hema Malini who was a police-officer in the film. There were romantic sequences in the film as well where Reena Roy contributed opposite Rajnikant, but as the action sequences became predominating there was not much scope for the romantic performance. The film became superhit in the early 80s. Rajnikant also showed his comfort in hindi films after playing a handsome innings in South Indian films. Rajnikant showed his skills in action films along with Kamal Hassan and Big B in the film Geraftar. There he played the role of a friend of Big B, who was killed during an encounter with the villains in the film. The action sequences in the film became famous during mid-80s. Also the music of Bappi Lahiri became popular. During the mid-80s Rajnikant acted in the superhit film Chaalbaaz which was made in the same line as Ram Aur Shyam and Seeta Aur Geeta. In the earlier films the double roles played by Dilip Kumar and Hema Malini amused the viewers. In Chaalbaaz the double role was played by Sri Devi. Rajnikant and Sunny Deol were the two heroes in the film. As the film was based on comedy of errors Rajnikant used his comedy skills to perfection opposite Sri Devi. Also Anupam kher did an experiment in the negative role in the film. Rajnikant had been one of the most popular icons of Tamil films for generations and had carried forward the legacy that was created by Shivaji Ganeshan, Jemini Ganeshan and others. The list of his hit films are too long and cannot be highlighted in a small article. Even his latest film that was released in 2008 titled Shivaji had become super hit. He also played a very active role in South Indian politics. He campaigned for the political party Dravida Munetra Khazagham (DMK) under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi. Filmstars in South India are hailed across all the four states Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as the languages Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam are very close to each other. Rajnikant had remained popular for more than 25 years and the people at large could identify themselves in the diversified characters that Rajnikant had played during his long career. Whenever the list of South Indian filmstars who had glorified bollywood films comes into question the name of Rajnikant comes at the top along with Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Arvind Swami and others. The All India audience expect Rajnikant to continue his excellent work both in South Indian films as well as bollywood films in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Asha Bhosle.

Asha Bhosle Mohammad Rafi The viewers of bollywood films and listeners of music all across the country wish happy birthday to Asha Bhosle on 8th September, 2012. She had remained a legend of legends in the field of music. She came to limelight in the 70s and 80s and ended up being the most successful female playback singer after Lata Mangeshkar. In the 50s, Asha Bhosle had to face the competition from other singers dominating the bollywood playback industry like Lata Mangeshkar, Shamshad Begum, Noorjahan, Suraiya, Geeta Dutt, Suman Kalyanpur, Sudha Malhotra and many other singers. Asha’s successful songs in the 50s include “mur murke na dekh” composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film Shree 420, “aiye meherban” composed by OP Nayyar in the film Howrah Bridge, “accha ji mai hari” composed by SD Burman in the film Kala Pani, to name a few. In the 60s, OP Nayyar backed Asha Bhosle, and her duets with Rafi in films like Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon released in 1963, Ek Musafir Ek Haseena released in 1962, Mere Sanam released in 1965, Kashmir Ki Kali in 1964, are considered milestones in Indian film music. Her famous duets with Rafi include “naznee bara rangeen hai wada”, “mai pyar ka rahi hoon”, “isharon isharon”, “diwana hua badal”, “bahut shukriya”, “zulf ki chayon me chehere ka ujala lekar”, etc. Few other composers only reposed their confidence on Asha like Khayyam who made her sing memorable songs in Raj Kapoor’s film Phir Subah Hogi, released in 1958. Ravi had given songs to Asha Bhosle in films like Waqt, Humraaz, Gumraah, etc. Some of her notable songs in those films include “in baharon me in fizayon me”, “wo subah kabhi to ayegi”, etc. Roshanlal Nagrath’s famous qawalli “na to karwaki talaash hai” in Barsaat Ki Raat in 1960 featured Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle and Sudha Malhotra. Shankar Jaikishan used Asha Bhosle in Rajender Kumar Vaijayantimala starrer Suraj, notably in the song “kaise samjhayun” which was a classical duet song between Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle. The list can go on. In the 70s Asha Bhosle married RD Burman and it changed the career of the premier singer. Her westernized style of singing was used by RD to give her super hit songs like “piya tu ab tu aja” in the film Karwan, “dum maro dum” in the film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, “chura liya” in the film Yaadon Ki Baraat, etc. She sang in almost all the films where RD Burman composed music. Asha Bhosle had sung landmark qawallies opposite Mohd. Rafi like “hum kisi se kum nahi”, in the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, “pal do pal ka” in the film Burning Train, etc. In the 80s, Asha Bhosle crossed new milestones by showing her skills in singing mujras in the film Umrao Jaan, composed by Khayyam. All the songs in the film including “dil cheez kya hai”, “justju”, etc., were appreciated by the critics. Her song “mera kuch saman” in Gulzar’s film Ijazat showed the versatile class of singing of Asha Bhosle. She received filmfare awards a number of times and she balanced the innovative style of singing of Kishore Kumar with her own innovation. It is not possible to cover the accomplishments of legendary singer Asha Bhosle in a single article as she had sung more than 25000 songs in hindi and other languages. Even her songs “amar din katena”, “aro dure cholo jai” in Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Choddobeshi composed by Sudhin Dasgupta was worth mentioning. After marrying RD Burman, she had sung a number of Bengali songs composed by RD Burman. She had even sung ghazals with Ghulam Ali. In 2012, she had remained one of the judges of Sony TV Indian Idol 6 Program along with the other judges Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant. There also she did a great job. The listeners expect Asha Bhosle to continue the great work she had started more than 50 years back.

Happy birthday to Rakesh Roshan.

Rakesh Roshan. Happy birthday to Rakesh Roshan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakesh Roshan on 6th September, 2012. He had remained one of the most successful producer and director in the last 10 years. Being born in a prestigious family and the son of legendary composer Roshanlal Nagrath, Rakesh Roshan had to prove a lot when he started his career as an actor in the early 70s. His film Paraya Dhan with Hema Malini and Balraj Sahani became very successful in the late 60s. The film was remembered for the melodious music composed by RD Burman. The songs “ayo jhume gayere”, “holi re holi” became super hit in the late 60s and early 70s. After that, Rakesh Roshan acted in many films opposite Rishi Kapoor. The combination of Rakesh Roshan and Rishi Kapoor gave super hit films like Khel Khel Me, Aap Ke Diwane, Yeh Wada Raha, etc. While Khel Khel Me was a suspense thriller, Aap Ke Deewane was a romantic film, where both Rakesh Roshan and Rihi Kapoor proved their worth. The music of Rajesh Roshan in the film Aap Ke Deewane was worth mentioning. The title song “aapke diwane hai”, and “tum ko khush dekhkar mai bahut khush hua” sung by Rafi and Kishore became super hit in the late 70s. All the songs of the film became super hit. Rakesh Roshan even acted in middle-budget films like Kamchor with Jaya Prada. In those films also the music played a role with hit songs like “yogi ha yagi haat me tera likkha hai” sung by Kishore Kumar. From the time Rakesh Roshan launched himself as producer and director, he stormed bollywood. His film Karan Arjun with Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan became super hit in mid-90s. It was an action block-buster where the music composed by Rajesh Roshan, the romance, the comedy everything entertained the viewers. Amrish Puri played the role of corrupt industrialist who killed Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan in their first life, and after they were reborn combated their attack. The major shooting of the film was done in Rajasthan. In the last 10 years whenever Rakesh Roshan had produced and directed film with his son Hrithik Roshan the films had become the greatest blockbusters of the year. Kahona Pyar Hai stormed bollywood in 2000. It was sheer brilliance of Rakesh Roshan to present his son with bravery in the first film. Till now it had been the best film Hrithik Roshan had acted in his long career. The other hit films of Hrithik Roshan directed by Rakesh Roshan included Koi Mil Gaya and Krissh. Rakesh Roshan chose different actresses like Amisha Patel, Preeti Zinta, Priyanka Chopra in his different films and all of them contributed to make the films successful. The viewers awaited the release of Hrithik Roshan’s new film Kites in 2010. With Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori in the film, the critics predicted that it was going to be another blockbuster. But due to most of the film having communication in Spanish, the Indian viewers could not appreciate the film to that extent. Rakesh Roshan had been working with his son Hrithik Roshan in the film Krish 2, which is a sequel of the film Krish. Whenever Rakesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan come up with a project they always make it big. Viewers look forward to more number of Rakesh Roshan Hrithik Roshan combinations in future. Rakesh Roshan should continue his great work in the years to come.

Soumitra Banerjee and Sidhu Roy rocked Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar.

Sidhu Roy, Cactus. On 6th September, 2012, Prasenjit Chatterjee invited Soumitra Banerjee and Sidhu Roy in the show Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar. Sidhu’s poribar (family) and Soumitra’ s poribar (family) came in the show. Soumitra Banerjee belonged to the famous band Bhoomi. He had been the lead singer along with many other singers in the team. Bhoomi had been extremely popular in India and abroad. Some of the most popular songs sung by Bhoomi included “barandar roddur, tomar dekha nai re”, “jabi sosurbari”, “najabu nag hare ami maas na dhoira”, “kande shudhu mon keno kande re”, to name a few. In the first round Soumitra Banerjee did the katakuti and won more than 45000 rupees. He answered the puzzles better than Sidhu Roy. Sidhu Roy was brilliant in the second round titled Bong anubad. He spoke about the entire riddle without using English words. He won 5000 rupees in that round. He sang the song “phirbe na” with all his family members. Sidhu Roy had been a popular figure of Bangla Band Cactus. He had been the lead singer along with other singers like Pota Barman. Both Soumitra Banerjee and Sidhu Roy had been called previously in other shows of Zee Bangla namely Dadagiri, Didi No. 1 and Mirakkel program. They did a great job there too. Comedian Apurbo Roy played the character of a repairer and did a small comedy show in the middle of the show. Prasenjit Chatterjee conducted the program very well.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury, Talat Mehmood. Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his death anniversary on 5th September, 2012. He was also remembered on his birthday on 19th November, 2010. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years. His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers. On the other hand his strength in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Choudhury hugely experimented with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment. Salil Choudhury used the different playback singers in Bengal and explored their talents to the brim. Some of the great compositions include “eso kache boso” sung by Tarun Banerjee, “pallabini go sancharini” sung by Dwijen Mukherjee, “Jodi jante go tumi jante” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee, “jai jai din” sung by Biswajeet Chatterjee, to name a few. The list can go on. Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury. Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury. Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular. Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen was based on Salil Choudhury’s literature. His music in the films Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Musafir, Parakh, Jagte Raho, Anand, Maya, Rajnigandha, etc., stand out as landmarks in Indian film history. He received filmfare award for brilliant performance in the film Madhumati. All the songs in the film including Lata’s “aja re”, “ghari ghari”, Rafi’s “tute hue khwabonme”, “jangal me mor nacha”, Mukesh’s “dil tarap tarap ke”, “suhana safar aur mausam hasin” touched the souls of numerous Indians in the late 50s. Other notable songs of Salil Choudhury in bollywood films include “tasveer teri dil me” from Maya, “zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai”, “kahin dur jab din dhal jaye” from Anand, “rajnigandha” from Rajnigandha, “jago mohan pyare” from Jagte Raho, “dil tadpe tadpaye” from Poonam Ki Raat, to name a few. Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. One article is not enough to reiterate the immortal works of the giant creator. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Remembering Mukesh on his death anniversary.

The viewers of bollywood films remember legendary singer Mukesh on his death anniversary on 27th August, 2012. 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, “ai sanama jish ne tujhe chand sa surat di hai” from film Diwana, “sajanwa bairi ho gaye hamar”, from film Teesri Kasam, 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 Ali, 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.

Mahanayak Uttam Kumar was remembered on his birth anniversary.

Uttam Kumar Choti Si Mulakat Mahanayak Uttam Kumar was remembered on his birth anniversary on 3rd November, 2012. In July, 2012 only Mamta Banerjee, the Chief Minister of Bengal gave Mahanayak awards to Soumitra Chatterjee, Sabitri Chatterjee, Supriya Debi and others. Uttam Kumar had acted in the films of all the legendary directors of the golden age including Satyajit Ray’s Nayak in 1966, Chiriakhana in 1967, Tapan Sinha’s Jhinder Bandi in 1961, Upahaar in 1955 and Jotugriha in 1964, Ajoy Kar’s Harano Sur in 1957, Saptapadi in 1961, Suno Bara Nari in 1960, Agradoot’s Bipasha in 1962, Surjo Toron in 1958, Agragami’s Sagarika in 1956, Shonkhobela in 1966, to name a few. Uttam Kumar acted opposite all the leading actresses of Bengali celluloid including Suchitra Sen, Arundhuti Debi, Manju Dey, Sabitri Chatterji, Supriya Choudhury, Mala Sinha, and others. His combination with Suchitra Sen had given everlasting classics and both of them still remains the most romantic pair in Indian silver screen. Uttam Kumar’s films were based on rich literature including Tagore’s Khokababur Protyaborton, Subodh Ghosh’s Suno Bara Nari, Samaresh Bose’s Kuhak, Sorodindu Bondhopadyay’s Chiriakhana, Shankar’s Chourangi. The films were related to different types of stories including comedy stories, tragic stories, soft romantic stories, etc. Uttam Kumar had acted in around 205 films (including bollywood films like Amanush, Anand Ashram, Choti Si Mulakat, Dooriyan, Kitaab etc., ) in a span of 35 years, and all his films had remained everlasting treasures. Out of his 205 films, around 37 of them ended up being blockbusters, around 50 were super hit films and around 50 were hit films. Actor Shatrughun Sinha in his interview before Bengali media had disclosed that when he was working in Pune Film and Television Institute, the graduates had unanimous view that Uttam Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar were the greatest superstars of celluloid and had Uttam Kumar acted in more number of bollywood films, he would have remained as great a legend as Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor. His films should be restored and preserved.

Kanakanjali Poribar and Keya Patar Nouka Poribar stormed Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar.

Kanakanjali Poribar and Keya Nouka Poribar stormed Zee Bangla Banglar Sera Poribar on 31st August, 2012. Both the families were very popular in TV shows in Zee Bangla Channel. Prasenjit Chatterjee invited both the families in Zee Bangla Channel. In the first round, that is Katakuti round Tilattama Dutta who played the role of Shreya in the serial Kanakanjoli came to play the round opposite Keya Patar Nouka poribar. Both the families gave good answers in the round. The second round was titled Bong Anubad Round. Both the families did well in this round too. In the round, use of English words were strictly prohibited. The members of both the families made sure that they did not use English words when completing the incomplete puzzle. Debottam and another member of the Keya Patar Nouka Poribar came to play the third round relating to word puzzles. Debottam played the character Sona in the serial Keya Patar Nouka. From the Poribar Tania Kar who plays the character Jhimli came with the other character Swagata of the same serial. Very significantly most of these characters had played hostile characters in the serial. But the same people lived like a family when they were outside the shooting arena. Comedian Apurbo Roy came in the middle to play a relief role in the show. Prasenjit Chatterjee anchored the program very well.