Happy birthday to Item –queen Malaika Arora.

The viewers of bollyood films wish happy birthday to Item-queen Malaika Arora on 23rd August, 2013. She had been an important figure in the bollywood industry for the last 10 years. Her father worked in Merchant Navy. She was selected as one of the MTV VJs when MTV started operation in India. She also did shine in the modeling world. After that she became number one item dancer in bollywood films. Her dance in the film Dil Se stormed bollywood. She danced in the song “chaiya chaiya” opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film. The cameos in bollywood films in the item numbers continued. She made a special appearance in Bobby Deol’s film Bicchu. She got a bigger role in the film Kaante. Her item number titled “kaal dhamaal” in the film Kaal again created attention. She also danced in item numbers in the film Om Shanti Om and Hey Babby in 2005. Then again in the film Welcome, her item number in the song “hoont rasiley” became the most popular song of the entire film. She danced opposite Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar in the film. She married Arbaaz Khan and has a son named Arhaan. She acted in the film Housefull. In 2010, she stormed bollywood again in Arbaaz Khan’s film Dabaang, in the item song “munni badnaam hui”. The film was the most successful song of the year. The major credit goes to the high class of dancing of Malaika Arora Khan. As far as her dancing capabilities are concerned she had established herself in bollywood. But she requires to play notable roles in social films to prove her acting capability. Helen, who initially got roles of vamps, later on when acted in films like Khamoshi, had shown the viewers that she had lot of acting talent. Malaika Arora Khan was the co-producer of the super hit film Dabaang 2. She danced in one of the songs of the film as well. Due to Salman Khan magic the film did business of more than 158 crores. The co-production and direction of Arbaaz Khan had been well appreciated by the viewers. Viewers expect Malaika Arora to act in prominent roles in future and expect that 2013 will be a successful year for year.

Happy birthday to poet Shailendra.

The lovers of music all across he world remember poet Shailendra on his birth anniversary on 30th August, 2013. 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. Generally between 1940s and 1960s, whenever Shailendra wrote the songs, the tunes were given by Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi. Whenever Hasrat Jaipuri wrote the songs, the tunes were given by Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal. 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.

Happy birthday to Neha Dhupia.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Neha Dhupia on 27th August, 2013. Neha Dhupia, the daughter of Commander Pradip Dhupia of Indian Navy, had attracted public attention after winning the Miss India Universe 2002 crown in that year. After beginning her career in the film Qayamat: City Under Threat, she impressed the viewers with challenging role in the film Julie where her glamour was used to perfection. But she got a notable role in the film Kya Cool Hai Hum in 2005. She acted opposite Ritesh Deshmukh where Tusshar Kapoor and Isha Koppikar were the other pair. Isha Koppikar, the police officer in the film was sent by Anupam Kher to investigate a case relating to a habitual offender. Tusshar Kapoor was suspected to be a murderer and Isha Koppikar was sent to his house to monitor his activities. Ritesh Deshmukh had an affair with Neha Dhupia and married her at the end of the film. The film was serio-comic in nature and Neha Dhupia performed very well in her respective role. She also got a purposeful role in the film Shootout At Lokhandwala. The film was related to a real-life story where the Bombay police had trapped the underworld group in a house in Bombay and fired at them. Sanjay Dutt gave a memorable performance in the role of Encounter specialist in the film opposite Vivek Oberoi who played the role of a mafia don. Neha Dhupia did her part very well. She did even better in the film Chup Chup Ke, in the role of the sister of Kareena Kapoor. Shahid Kapoor pretended to be dumb in the film and stayed in their house. Neha Dhupia acted as a mediator between Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor and helped in the marriage between the two. Neha Dhupia knew that Shahid Kapoor could speak but never informed Sunil Shetty or Om Puri or any other member of the house about it. Although the film was related to the serio-comic relationship between Om Puri, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav, Neha Dhupia kept her mark in a reserve role and in some of the sequences even acted better than Kareena Kapoor. She was even impressive in her supporting role in the film Singh is Kinng, where Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar had the lead roles. Singh is Kinng also did good business in India and abroad. But if her performance in the earlier films like Sheesha and new films like Mithya are compared it will be found that initially the stylish screen presence and bold performance of Neha Dhupia was publicized by the producers. These days the acting skills of Neha Dhupia are used. She had been bold enough to act in the role of a prostitude in the film De Dana Dan in 2008. The role required comedy timing and she did extremely well. In 2009, her performance in the film Raat Gayi Baat Gayi bagged her the nomination for Star Screen Award for the best actress in a supporting role. She had two releases in 2010 where her two films, Action Replay and With Love to Obama had different roles. Although her performances in the films were appreciated the films did not do good business. In 2012 she had acted in the film Rush where Imraan Hashmi, Sagarika Ghadke and Aditya Pancholi had played important characters. In 2013, she is acting in the film Ungly with Sanjay Dutt, Imran Hashmi and others. Unless she grabs any glamourous role in near future she will not remain in the rat race where the competition between Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha is very keen.

Kalyanji Anandji had big combination with Mohammad Rafi.

Kalyanji Anandji had grand combination with Mohammad Rafi. In the Golden age of Indian film music, many composers have enriched the firmament of music with their innovative compositions, yet they did not get the recognition they deserved. Kalyanji Virji Shah (born in 1928) and Anandji Virji Shah, (born in 1933) better known as Kalyanji and Anandji, started their journey with the film Samrat Chandragupta, in 1958. In early 60s, Kalyanji Anandji provided successful tunes in Raj Kapoor’s Chalia, in 1960, where songs like “chalia mera naam”, “dum dum diga diga” becoming successful. Due to strong dominance of Shankar Jaikishan in that era, most of the music lovers could not dissociate compositions of other composers, and thought it was S J’s composition. In Raj Kapoor’ film Dulha Dulhan, 1964, Mukesh’s song “humne tumko pyar diya hai jitna” was composed with tragic andaz. Kalyanji Anandji associated with Mohammad Rafi, the man dominating the world of playback singing in that age in Shammi Kapoor’s film Bluff Master, 1963, where most of the songs were sung by Rafi followed by Joy Mukherjee’s Ji Chahta Hai, in 1964. The most successful composition of the musical duo came in 1965 with Shashi Kapoor’s film Jab Jab Phool Khilen, where Rafi’s songs ‘pardesiyon se na ankhiyan milana”, “mai yahan ek ajnabi hun”, “na na karke pyar” becoming super duper hits. In the film Himalay Ki God Me, 1965, Kalyanji Anandji’s composition and Mukesh and Lata’s songs became successful. In 1967, Kalyanji Anandji won filmfare award for their superlative composition in Manoj Kumar’s Upkaar. Manna Dey’s song “kasme wade” was as successful as Mahendra Kapoor’s song “o mere desh ke dharti” and Rafi’s duet song with Asha Bhosle “Gulabi raat gulabi”. Rafi’s combination with Kalyanji Anandji continued in Shashi Kapoor’s Haseena Maan Jayegi, in 1968, with songs like “Bekhudi me sanam”, “Chale the saath milke” and the songs in the film Raaz, 1967, where Rafi’s song “Akele Hain Chale Ayo” becoming very popular. Mukesh’s song “Chandan sa badan” from the film Saraswatichandra, 1968, was also successful. Kalyanji Anandji composed legendary bhajan for Rafi titled “sukh ke sab sathi, dukh me na koi” in Dilip Kumar’s film Gopi, 1970. In the 1970s, Kalyanji Anandji provided successful songs to Kishore Kumar including “Zindagi ka safar” in the film Safar. Rafi’s song in Raj Kumar’s Maryada, 1971, titled “tu jo aja” had an everlasting effect in the film. Kalyanji Anandji’s composition included hilly tunes composed in Rajender Kumar’s film Geet, in 1970, where Rafi’s songs “aaja tujhko pukare mere geet” becoming everlasting hit. Kalyanji Anandji were the only musical duo along with Laxmikant Pyarellal, who could blend their own skills with the general taste of popular cinema which changed with passage of time. That was the reason why Kalyanji Anandji succeeded in composing successful songs for Firoz Khan’s films Apradh, 1972, Dharmatma, 1975, Jaanbaaz, 1986, which were spread out in two decades. He even composed successful songs in action pact films like Muqaddar ka Sikander, 1977, where he asked Kishore Kumar to sing the song “rote hue ate hai sab” for Amitabh Bacchan in the happy mood, and Mohammad Rafi to sing the same song in sombre mood for Vinod Khanna in the same film. It is difficult to compile the contribution of Kalyanji Anandji in a short article because they had created everlasting hits in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s. But they had grand association with Rafi, and wherever they got opportunity the combination had provided immortal songs which can be preserved for immense musical value.

Remembering Mukesh on his death anniversary.

Remembering Mukesh on his death anniversary. The viewers of bollywood films remember legendary singer Mukesh on his death anniversary on 27th August, 2013. 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.

Happy birthday to Sunil Shetty.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sunil Shetty on 11th August 2013. Although he started his career as an action star, especially in the film Balwaan, he proved his capability in every type of role very gradually. His combination with Akshay Kumar had been considered very grand and both the actors had given many colourful hits during their illustrious career. Mohra was a big hit. There Sunil Shetty played the role of the anti-hero who was dictated terms by Naseeruddin Shah, while Akshay Kumar played the role of an honest police-officer. Sunil Shetty fell into the trap of Naseeruddin Shah and went on committing crimes one after the other. He came to know about the actual character of Naseeruddin Shah at the end of the film. Their film Dhadkan opposite Shilpa Shetty did great business. Sunil Shetty received the filmfare award for the best villain for his brilliant performance in the film. The songs in the film including “tum dil ki dhadkan me” were extremely successful and both the stars gave brilliant lips in those songs. Sunil Shetty started a new chapter with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal in his career in respect of comedy films with the film Hera Pheri. Three of them acted brilliantly in the film Hera Pheri along with Tabu and other actors. The film became so successful that the director Priya Darshan was compelled to make a sequel of the film with the title Phir Hera Pheri. It became super hit too. In this film Bipasha Basu played a very significant role along with the three musketeers. The third sequel of Hera Pheri is under production at the moment. Sunil Shetty was excellent in anti-establishment roles in films like Main Hoon Na. He was equally impressive opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film. He was brilliant aside Ajay Devgan in the film Diljale. Sunil Shetty also acted in great patriotic films like Border. JP Dutta’s blockbuster utilized the acting skills of Sunil Shetty, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff and Akshay Khanna. The songs in the film composed by Anu Malik created history with Sonu Nigam doing a great job with “sandese ate hai”. His other hit films include Hu Tu Tu opposite Tabu, Krishna opposite Karishma Kapoor, etc. Sunil Shetty praised Gulzar for his direction when he worked with him in the film Hu Tu Tu. He acted in other successful films like Shashtra, Gaddar, Vishwasghat, Rakshak, Prithvi, Vinashak, Dhaal, Officer, Refugee, Jungle, Awaara Paagal Deewana, to name a few. In 2009, Sunil Shetty acted opposite Sameera Reddy in Priyadarshan’s comedy film De Dana Dan. The film did not do equally good business like Hera Pheri or Phir Hera Pheri. In 2010, Sunil Shetty had worked in 3 films, which included Tum Milo Toh Sahi, Red Alert: The War Within and No Problem. Sunil Shetty had a number of new releases in 2011 namely Thank You, Chai Garam, Loot and Hera Pheri 3. In 2012 he acted in the films Enemmy and Afra Tafri. The viewers wish him the best for the films in future and also for his Production House titled Popcorn Entertainment.

Subhashis Mukherjee became champion of Zee Bangla Mirakkel 7 Program.

Performer Subhashish Mukherjee became champion of Zee Bangla Mirakkel 7 Program on 25th August, 2013. Incidentally, Zee Bangla Mirakkel 7 Program ended with the grand finale on 25th August, 2013. He had been famous for his musical parodies which he done along with play acting on each of the episodes. In the final round the markings were done by the judges Paran Banerjee, Rajatavo Dutta and Paran Banerjee. In the final round, Subhashis Mukherjee defeated Krishna Banerjee, Jamil Bhai, Tapadyuti Dutta, Sayon, Mithun and Mrinmoy. They also did very well. In the final round, singer Monali Thakur came as guest judge. She sang the song “anjana, anjani”, the title song of the film Anjaana Anjaani. She appreciated the performances of all the performers. From Monday, 26th August, 2013, Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program with Sourav Ganguly will begin and Mirakkel season 7 had ended. Subhashis Mukherjee played out the roles of singers Manna Dey, Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukherjee, AR Rehman and others in a Circus. He changed the words of the songs of those singers like “ami jharer kache rekhe elam amar thikana”, “a gaaner projapoti pataye rong charay”, to mention a few. In addition to singing out the songs, Subhashis Mukherjee had acted very well, and the songs had fitted the comedy sequence very well. Mrinmoy, played the character of Salman Khan in Dabaang. In the final round there a number of star performances of champions of the show and also the groomers. Apurbo Roy played the character of scare-crow or Kaktarua in the finale. Sonali Choudhury acted with groomers, Subhadeep, Dr. Krishnendu, Arnab and Sourav in as small skit relating to operation in an operation theatre. Actress Oindrila also performed with Palash Adhikari, Sangeet Tiwary and Fatik Purokayet. Mir Afsar ali anchored the program very well.

Arijit Singh stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Little Champs Program.

Singer Arijit Singh came to Zee Bangla Saregamapa Little Champs Program on 23rd August, 2013. He came, saw and conquered. The judges of the program namely Kumar Shanu, Akriti Kakkar, Joy Sarkar and Koushiki welcomed him in the show. The anchor of the show Jishu Sengupta told Kumar Shanu that it was an occasion when the singer of the older Ashiqi film and the singer of the present film Ashiqi 2 is seen together. Jishu Sengupta asked Kumar Shanu and Arijit Singh to come to the stage and sing the songs of Ashiqi film. Kumar Shanu sang his famous song “sanson ki zaroorat hai jaise” from the film Ashiqi. Arijit Singh sang his song from the film Ashiqi 2. Arijit Singh recently had sung many impressive songs in Bollywood films and also Bengali films. He came to the stage and sung the song “phir le aya dil” from the film Barfi. The film was an excellent film. The song was composed by Pritam Chakravarty. Arijit Singh had also acted as an assistant to Pritam for some time. In 2013, all his songs in the film Ashiqi 2 had become super hit. Some of the songs included “tum hi ho”, “meri aashiqi”, to mention a few. His song “kabira” in the film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani became smash hit. Ranbir Kapoor’s film did business of 189 crores this year and one of the reasons for extreme success was the melodious music. His song “Kashmir me tu kanyakumari” from the film Chennai Express also became super hit. Shahrukh Khan’s film had made business of more than 200 crores and is declared the greatest blockbuster of 2013. Arijit Singh sang many super hit songs in Bengali films. Some of his hit songs included “Dadagiri, title track” in the Bengali Zee Bangla Program Dadagiri, “na re na” from the film Bojhena Sei Bojhena, “din khon mapa ache” from the film Hawa Bodol. In 2013 his songs in Jeet’s super hit film Boss also became very popular. Some of his hit songs included “mon majhire”, “icche joto uriye debo”. The child participants were appreciated by Arijit Singh. They were encouraged by his statements. Jishu Sengupta anchored the program very well.

Happy birthday to Saira Banu

Happy birthday to Saira Banu. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Saira Banu on 23rd August, 2013. She used to be called beauty-queen of the 60s. Acting was there in her blood with her mother Nasim Banu doing well in many films in the 40s. Saira Banu started her career with the film Junglee opposite Shammi Kapoor in 1961. The brilliant music of Shankar Jaikishan given in the film and exotic locations of Jammu and Kashmir flabbergasted the audience in the early 60s. All the songs in the film were super hit including “suku suku”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “Kashmir ki kali hun mai”, to name a few. From that time onwards Saira Banu started getting stylish roles one after the other in bollywood films. Saira Banu went on to give hit after hit with Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee as well. With Biswajeet her film April Fool released in 1964 became super hit. The songs of SJ again created storm including “april fool banaya”, “aa gale lag jaa”, etc. With Joy Mukherjee Saira Banu’s film Shagird stormed box-office in 1967. All the songs of Rafi and Lata were hits including “dil vil pyar vyar”, “woh hai zara khafa khafa”, “o bare miya diwane”, “duniya mehfil hai”, etc. The music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. Saira Banu exhibited the character of village girl who was sought after by her teacher played by IS Johar, but fell in love with Joy Mukherjee in the film. There were other hit films of Saira Banu like Saaz Aur Awaaz opposite Joy Mukherjee, Aadmi Aur Insaan opposite Dharmender, to name a few. Saira Banu’s combination with Rajender Kumar was well accepted by the audience. All the three films opposite Jubilee Kumar including Ayee Milan Ki Bela in 1964, Aman in 1967 and Jhuk Gaya Aasman in 1968 became super hit. The songs of all those films composed by SJ again struck box-office. Prominent songs included “o priya kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “tum khamseen ho”, “kahan chal diye”, “surahidar garden”, etc. Saira Banu balanced the powerful performance of Rajender Kumar in those films. In Aman, Saira Banu played the role of a Japanese girl. In Ayee Milan Ki Bela she played the role of an urbanized girl having wealthy background. In Jhuk Gaya Aasman, she played the role of a sophisticated girl coming from middle-class family who was involved with Rajender Kumar who was guide in Darjeeling, but after reincarnation led the life of a wealthy industrialist. May be after Sadhna, Saira Banu was accepted by the viewers the most opposite Rajender Kumar. After marrying Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu acted in a number of films opposite him including Sagina, Gopi and Bairaag, most of which did well in the box-office. Sagina was directed by Dada Saheb Phalke winning director Tapan Sinha, who made the Bengali version and the hindi version of the same film separately. Saira Banu acted opposite Dilip Kumar in both the films. Her films with Raj Kapoor titled Diwana and Dev Anand titled Par Muhabbat did good business mainly due to hit music of Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of those films including “ai sanam jisne tujhe chaand si surat di hai”, “dil ki awaz khuda khair Karen” still remain the landmarks of Indian film music. Even Saira Banu’s comedy films like Parosan opposite Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood did brilliant business. From the mid-70s Saira Banu faded away from the industry before acting in films opposite Big B like Zameer and Hera Pheri. There were other films of Saira Banu opposite other stars like Manoj Kumar in the film Purab Aur Paschim, Dharmender in Resham Ki Dori. The viewers expect her to contribute in bollywood films in character roles again.

Happy birthday to Saif Ali Khan.

The viewers of Bollywood films wish happy birthday to Saif Ali Khan on 16th August, 2013. 2013 had been a successful year for him. His film Race 2, did more than 100 crores business at the beginning of the year. If the history of bollywood films had been looked into it will be seen that many actors and actresses got involved in production of films after being in the profession for substantial period of time. Some of the them had succeeded while others stopped production due to lack of success. Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt started their careers with productions of their own. They also knew the art of direction. So they don’t fall within this category. In fact their standards as producers were so high that their best acting lies in their production. Directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Mehboob Khan or Pacchi could not utilize Raj Kapoor in the manner he utilized himself in films like Awara, Shree 420, or Sangam, etc. Guru Dutt was at his best in films like Pyaasa or Aar Par or Mr. and Mrs. 55, all under his own production. In respect of actor turned producers list Shahrukh Khan had mixed responses. Dreams Unlimited developed by Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla did great business in films like Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, but again did mediocre business in other films as well. Anil Kapoor started production few years back. He had success with films like Shortcut, but still his films had not done great business if compared with the hit films of his brother Boney Kapoor who had hit films including No Entry, Hamara Dil Aapke Pass Hai. Saif Ali Khan had started his career as producer with the film Love Aaj Kal. The film has all the elements of a hit film. With the performance of Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, the viewers are also enthusiastic about its performance. Saif Ali Khan had taken a great decision in casting himself in the main role which releases the pressure of a producer. But it is too early to foretell that Saif Ali Khan will be a successful producer. There are reasons for making such statement. It had been seen in the past that even eminent producers failed to understand the pulse of the viewers. Their tastes were changing and good producers and directors had both the taste of hit and flop films. Shakti Samanta started giving flops in the 70s like Pagla Kahin Ka or Jane Anjane, inspite of using Shammi Kapoor who had given super hit films in the 60s like Kashmir Ki Kali or An Evening in Paris. The viewers expect Saif Ali Khan to be successful as a producer and give super hit films in future.

With 181 crores business Shahrukh Khan's Chennai Express is set to break the record of Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger.

Shahrukh Khan’s Chennai Express had done business of 181 crores in India’s domestic market. Although the box-office collections are diminishing after 9 days of release of the film because Akshay Kumar’s film Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara had also been released, yet there are indiations that Chennai Express can break the record of Ranbir Kapoor’s Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani which did business of 189 crores and Salman Khan’s Ek Ta Tiger which did business of 199 crores. Shahrukh Khan and superstar Salman Khan had proved themselves to be the greatest crowd pullers of all times. There was time when there was a huge debate who was a greater crowd-puller, was it Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor. Both of them ruled Bollywood films during 1940s 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. These days the maximum amount of profit in Bollywood films had accrued in the films of Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan. For the last 3 to 4 Eids in the months of August, it had been Salman Khan magic. His films Wanted, Dabaang, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, all were released at this time and one broke the record of the other. In 2013, Eid had been the Eid of Shahrukh Khan. Chennai Express had been released on 9th August, 2013, and on the first day the film did business of 33 crores. It has broken the record of Ek Tha Tiger which did business in 2012 in Eid, worth 31 crores. Later on Ek Tha Tiger did total business of 199 crores. If the trend of Chennai Express continues it has the capability of breaking the record of Amir Khan’s all time blockbuster The Three Idiots which had done business worth 202 crores. Chennai Express had been directed by Rohit Shetty, produced by Gauri Khan, Ronnie Screwala and Siddharth Roy Kapoor. Vishal Shekhar composed the music of the film. In the film Shahrukh Khan played the role of a North Indian man, whose parents were lost during childhood. His grandparents brought him up. His grandfather had a business of sweets, and he died at the age of 99 years. His grandmother played by Kamini Kaushal asked him to wash the ashes of his deceased grandfather in the sea at Rameshwaram. He took it but was interested to go to Goa with his two friends. But his boarded the Chennai Express to show Kamini Kaushal to show her that he was really going to Rameshwaram. On the Kalyan Station Deepika Padukone rode on the train with four of her relatives send by her father to bring her back to the village of Komban. Her father played by Satyaraj in Kumban was the don of the village. He wanted to get her married to Nikitin Dheer who played the character of Tangaballi. The rest of the film was related to Shahrukh khan’s struggle of running away and escaping with Deepika Padukone to different places. He could succeed to immerse the ashes of his grandfather in the holy waters of Rameshwaram. But after that he returned back to Komban with Deepika to face the don and his men. He fought against the men of Nikitin Dheer and showed that that neither was he a body builder, not very strong, but being a common man he loved Deepika and for her he took up the challenge of even facing Nikitin Dheer who was a giant bodybuilder. Satyaraj accepted Shahrukh Khan as his son-in-law due to his courage and big heart. The performances of Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Satyaraj and Nikitin Dheer were excellent. The scenic beauty of the excellent locations of Ooty, Rameswaram, Dudh Sagar Falls enchanted the viewers. Rohit Shetty did a marvellous job. The music of Vishal Shekhar was impressive. Priyamani in the dance sequence of the song “1 2 3 4” showed her immense talent. The comedy dialogues in the film were excellently written. There is no reason why the film should not do business of more than 150 crores. Time will tell whether it can bypass Ek Tha Tiger and The Three Idiots in respect of maximum business. Viewers should watch the film.

Sudipa Mukherjee, Shukla Mukherjee, Sneha Chatterjee and others stormed Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program.

Rachana Banerjee invited the entire team of Rannaghar Program in Zee Bangla Didi No. 1 Program on 19th August, 2013. The team included Sudipa Mukherjee who is the anchor of the program, Shukla Mukherjee, Sneha Chatterjee and Sonali Choudhury. Zee Bangla Rannaghar Program is shown everyday at 5 pm in Zee Bangla Channel. All these hosts are famous for hosting cookery shows in Zee Bangla. Ranchana Banerjee asked Sudipa Mukherjee about her experience in the show. She said the program had crossed 2500 episodes and is running excellently. Sneha Chatterjee said that she had a great experience in hosting the shows in the houses of renouned personalities. Shukla Mukherjee is called kitchen queen and had written many books of cookery. Sonali Choudhury said she enjoyed the anchoring of the program on Sundays. In the first round, the contestants were asked to make samosas with the ingredients. Sudipa Mukherjee did in shortest time and won Kitchen Chimney as prize. In the second round Biswanath Choudhury came in the musical section. He had also anchored the Rannaghar program for some episodes. He said he had excellent experience of going to Purulia. In the villages of Purulia he met the common villagers and their simplicity touched him. He also said there was red palash flowers in the hills of Purulia which looked like red carpet. He also understood the poverty of the common man in the village. All the contestants were asked to sing songs in the second round. Shukla Mukherjee sang the song “sadher lau banailo more bairagi”. Biswanath Choudhury stayed in the show for one more round. All the cookery show anchors brought with them brilliant delicacies. Sudipa Mukherjee brought khitchuri. Sonali Choudhury brought hilsa fish. Biswanath Choudhury brought sweet curd ( mishti doi). Shukla Mukherjee and Sneha Chatterjee brought sweets. The palatable dish was eaten by all the participants and Rachana Banerjee. At the end of the show Sneha Chatterjee gave all the answers in the rapid fire round and won all the prizes that were left over. The other three contestants Sudipa Mukherjee, Shukla Mukherjee and Sonali Choudhury had won many other prizes. Rachana Banerjee anchored the program very well.

Happy birthday to Gulzar.

Happy birthday to Gulzar.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary director and lyricist Gulzar on 18th August, 2013. He had been one of the greatest living legends at this moment. Bollywood is indebted to thoughtful director who had converted filmmaking into work of art. His film Mausam released in 1975, was based on reflections of mind. Sanjeev Kumar was attached with Sharmila Tagore living in Darjeeling when he came over there as a student. After he went abroad to pursue his post-graduate studies, Sharmila was exploited and her daughter how looked identical like her mother was compelled to join prostitution. Sanjeev Kumar returned as a foreign-return doctor and took his daughter away from the surroundings and gave her a new life. Bhupinder Singh’s ghazal “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi” composed by Madan Mohan and written by Gulzar remains as the greatest ghazal created in the 70s. The story-telling in the film was appreciated by critics. Gulzar created a different dimension by experimented with classic literature during the 70s and 80s. His films Aandhi released in 1975, with Suchitra Sen and Sanjeev Kumar and Kinara released in 1978, with Jeetender and Hema Malini can very well be classified as master pieces. He gave very meaningful sequences where songs were recorded. He created a separate fanclub for himself who could understand human relations at the same period when larger than life images were created in main stream cinema of Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha and other angry young men in films like Sholay, Kalicharan, Burning Train, etc. Gulzar’s films created for children like Parichay, released in 1972 and Kitaab, released in 1978 are still considered masterpieces. He was impressed by the thoughts of Hollywood film Sound of Music and Uttam Kumar’s Joyjoyanti to make a film related to five children who required a good teacher. Jeetender treated them with compassion and brought change in the children. In Kitaab, Uttam Kumar cared for his brother-in-law Master Raju who was a small child and had been send by her mother (Dina Pathak) to get educated in urbanized background. Vidya Sinha was the sister of Master Raju. Uttam Kumar played a huge part in transforming the character of Master Raju in the film. Gulzar experimented with so many diverse subjects that articles after articles can be devoted to his different themes, including the film Koshish, released in 1972, based on life of deaf and dumb, Lekin, based on folklore of Rajasthan. Koshish had a very strong social message. It showed that deaf and dumb persons could go to dead and dumb schools and learn sign language. Their life can have a new aspiration and direction. All his artists like Suchitra Sen, Jaya Bacchan, Sharmila Tagore, Uttam Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetender portrayed the life of middle-class men who were found in everyday life. He even worked with subjects like terrorism in films like Machis. His composers, Jaidev, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, RD Burman all had given their best music for the thoughtful director. These days Gulzar concentrates more on writing lyrics. In that field too he had been master of masters. In the recent past Gulzar said that he wanted to devote time to write books. For those reasons he had reduced directing films in the last 10 years. It is a huge loss for thoughtful viewers. He continued to write lyrics of songs in bollywood films in regular intervals and his popular lyrics like “aisi nazar se” in the film Bunty Aur Babli had both class and also rhythm. He received the filmfare award for the best lyricist a number of times. His admirers expect him to continue to make rich films which make the audience think, feel and reflect on the happiness and sniffles of life.

Happy birthday to Sunidhi Chauhan

Happy Birthday to Sunidhi Chauhan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sunidhi Chauhan on 14th August, 2013. Born in 1983, Sunidhi Chauhan got a break in the film Shastra with the song “ladki diwani”. She amazed the viewers with her dashing style of singing in the film Mast, with the song “ruki ruki yeh zindagi”. It never matched with any of the traditional singers and composers found a female voice who could improvise for any type of song. She sang the English song “reach out” in the Opening Ceremony of 2006 Asian Games at Doha, Qatar. She had always being given challenging songs which did not require sweetness to that extent but related to the folk effect or the intoxicating effect or had rural appeal. She was excellent in her performance in the film Chameli with the song “sajna ve sajna”. With passage of time composers used her in westernized creations like the one in the film Dhoom 2. Her song “crazy kiya re” had both the strength of the voice and also the punch required in the intonation to bring out the appeal of the lyrics in the song. She sang for all the leading actresses of bollywood films in her short career including Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and others. All the songs she sang in the film Dhoom 2, including the song “dhoom machale” picturised on Aishwarya Rai became super hits. Her song in the film Parineeta was also challenging, the song “kaisi paheli zindagani”. She had displayed the type of songs being sung in Pubs in Park Street in Kolkata like Moulin Rouge, where bar singers used to entertain the local people in the late 18th century. She started getting different types of awards from 2004, including Star Screen award for best female playback singer in 2004 for the song “sajna ve sajna” in the film Chameli. In 2005, she got the IIFA award for the best playback singer for the song “dhoom machale” in the film Dhoom 2. In 2006, she got the Star Screen award for the best female playback singer for the song “beedi jalaile” in the film Omkara. She also the filmfare award for the best female playback singer also for the same song. She had become an automatic choice for challenging songs for all the leading composers of bollywood films. Shankar Ehsaan Loy had used her in the song “dharak dharak” in the film Bunty Aur Babli, picturised on Rani Mukherjee. Her hit songs include “deedar de” from the film Dus, “”ishq samundar” from Kaante, “”cash meri aankhon me” from the film Cash, “chaliya” in the film Tashan, “Race sansonki” in the film Race, “Lucky Boy” in the film Bacchna Ay Haseeno. The list can go on. Sunidhi Chauhan had increased the variety of bollywood songs in the last few years and had created her identity in the list of successful female singers like Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shreya Ghoshal, Alisha Chinoy, and others. The listeners expect her to continue the good work and experiment with her voice even more in the future.

Happy birthday to Manisha Koirala.

Happy birthday to Manisha Koirala. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Manisha Koirala on 16th August, 2013. She was the leading actress of the 90s and played important roles opposite all the leading actors of bollywood films. She attracted the attention of the directors with her first performance in Subhash Ghai’s film Saudagar. She was excellent in the film 1942 – A Love Story opposite Anil Kapoor. The film ended up being musical blockbuster with RD Burman’s composition “pyar hua chupkese”, “ek larki ko dekha”, “kuch na kaho” becoming landmark hits. Manisha’s soft romantic performance balanced the all round performance of Anil Kapoor. Besides, the film was based on the life of people in the pre-independence period, so Manisha Koirala balanced her style of acting with the style of dialogue delivery of people during that time. Manisha Koirala was brilliant in the film Khamoshi opposite Salman Khan. The film was excellent. She played the role of a deaf and dumb girl. The film stood out for the excellent music. The songs of Kavita Krishnamurthy namely “aaj mai upar aasma niche” stormed bollywood. The online chemistry of Manisha Koirala opposite Salman Khan worked a lot. Manisha Koirala continued her romantic performance in other films like Akele Hum Akele Tum opposite Amir Khan, Yalgaar with Sanjay Dutt, Champion opposite Suny Deol. The songs of all these films did great business. She was comfortable in her roles both in action films and romantic films. Manisha Koirala also played important roles in experimental films like Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Lajja. Her performance was author-backing performance of an observer of ill-treatment of women in different parts of the world. Her soft performance balanced the cruel attitude of Jackie Shroff in the film. She showed her metal in acting opposite a number of other successful actresses in the same film including Madhuri Dixit, Mahima Choudhury, Rekha and others. Manisha Koirala was sublime in her performance opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film Dil Se. Mani Ratnam experimented with terrorist activities in the North East in the film Dil Se. Manisha Koirala played the role of the terrorist in the film and died at the end of the film with a suicide operation which killed Shahrukh Khan too. Critics feel that Manisha Koirala still has lot of acting left in her. She had recently got married, and in respect of bollywood prospects, once actresses get married, their future gets doomed. Her dancing skills and acting skills still qualify her to make a comeback in bollywood films and compete with the leading stars like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and others. She appeared in Dadagiri Program conducted by Sourav Ganguly in Zee Bangla Channel in 2010, and did a great job there too. Viewers came to know that she could speak well too. Viewers and her fans expect her to make a comeback in bollywood films and do even better.

Sunil Dutt and Raj Kumar were sublime in the film Humraaz.

Director BR Chopra directed many multi-starrer films and all of them did great business. Humraaz was one of the blockbusters released in 1967. In the film Vimi, the daughter of military officer Manmohan Krishan loved Raj Kumar and secretly married him. But Raj Kumar was send to the warfront and she came to know that he was no more. She gave birth to a daughter which was kept a secret by Manmohan Krishan. After 4 years of marriage, when Manmohan Krishan was in his last days the secret was disclosed. It was also mentioned that Vimi’s daughter Sarika was studying in a Boarding School, and the details relating to that was given to Vimi. Sunil Dutt, discovered that Vimi secretly went to a hotel to meet Raj Kumar, her earlier husband, and to find the truth took the disguise of a bearded man and stayed in a hotel to discover the matter. On one of the days Vimi was killed. Then Balraj Sahani had investigated into the matter. Raj Kumar and Sunil Dutt came to Ooty to take Sarika when they came to know that Madan Puri had taken her to that place. Madan Puri extracted money from his father-in-law and gave Sarika falsely mentioning that she was his granddaughter. Sarika after the killing of Vimi became dumb. At the end when the death scene of Vimi was shown by Iftekar and Mumtaz, which was recorded in a camera, everyone came to know Madan Puri killed Vimi. In a tassle to rescue Sarika, Raj Kumar was killed. The performances of Raj Kumar, Balraj Sahani, Sunil Dutt were excellent. The beautiful locations of Darjeeling and other places mesmerized the audience. BR Chopra utilized the best composition of music director Ravi Shankar Sharma. The songs of Mahendra Kapoor, “neele gagan ke tale”, “kisi patthar ki moorat se”, “na muh chupake jiyo”. Mahendra Kapoor also won filmfare award for his brilliant singing in the film Humraaz. BR Chopra did a great job as a producer and director. The film ended up being the 4th biggest blockbuster of 1967 after Upkar, Ram Aur Shyam and Farz. The film should be restored and preserved.

The country remembers Shammi Kapoor on his death anniversary.

On 14th August, 2011, veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, passed away. He was 79 years old. The country had become sad due to his demise. He brought a new wave in Indian films with powerful performances in films like Tumsa Nahi Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Junglee, Janwar and other films. He used to be called Rebel Star and the Indian Elvis Priestley. One thing for which viewers used to be mad to see his films during 60s used to be the everlasting music in the films and brilliance of Mohammad Rafi in those songs. Rafi had sung 341 songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan during his illustrious career with 216 solos. Very significantly 3 of the filmfare awards that Rafi received during 60s had been composed by Shankar Jaikishan. They included “teri pyari pyari surat ko kiski nazar na lage” from the film Sasural, “baharon phool barsao” from the film Suraj and “dilke jharoke me mujhko bithaker” from the film Brahmchari. But in the list of songs sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, at least half of the total sungs were composed for Shammi Kapoor. Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan worked together for around 22 films, most of which did great business in the 60s. If Rafi’s songs sung for Shammi Kapoor are remembered for the loud music and melo-dramatic dance numbers, there were lot of songs which were ever romantic and touched the hearts of the viewers. In the film Junglee, Rafi’s songs “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” and “meri yaar shabba khair” had very melodious appeal and the sweetness of Rafi haunted the listeners for years. In Shammi Kapoor’s Professor, the songs “awaz deke hume tum bulayo”, “mai chali mai chali”, probably had set the mood of the film. From that time Rafi, Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan created magic in one film after the other. In Raj Kumar, Rafi’s soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor like “yeh rang badalti duniya me”, “tumne kisiki jaan ko jate hue dekha hai” made the viewers speechless. Even the western numbers of Shankar Jaikishan for Rafi stole the hearts in the 60s. In the film Janwar, Rafi’s number “meri muhabbat jawan rahegi” and “humko hai tumse pyar” had been the most romantic songs in the film, where the landscape of Kashmir and Rafi’s melodious voice complimented each other. In the film An Evening in Paris, Rafi’s songs “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho” and “raat ke humsafar” were the most romantic numbers which were more melodious than the loud numbers which equally became hits. In Shammi Kapoor’s Brahmachari, probably the best songs included “mai gayun tum so jayo” and “dil ke jharoke mai”. “mai gayun tum so jayo” was sung twice by Rafi in the film, one with a even slower rhythm. Shankar Jaikishan’s background music was as brilliant as Rafi’s singing style for Shammi Kapoor. In the film Tumse Accha Kaun Hai, Rafi’s soft number “janam janam ka saath hai” had remained evergreen and melodious for years. In Latt Sahab, Rafi’s romantic number with Asha Bhosle titled “aye chaand zara ruk ja” haunted the listeners for years after years. Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan combined together in other films of Shammi Kapoor like Prince, Buttameez, Laat Sahab, Ujala, Chote Sarkar, Hong Kong, etc. There were many more romantic numbers of Rafi sung for Shammi Kapoor, which cannot be covered in a small article. In Shammi Kapoor’s Jawan Muhabbat, the song “jawan muhabbat jahan jahan hai” was very romantic. The last film where Shankar and Jaikishan worked together for Shammi Kapoor included Andaz. The songs “dil use do jo jaan de de” and “re mamma re mamma re” were brilliant both in form and orchestration. It was very unfortunate that Jaikishan died in 1971,and after that Shammi Kapoor also added weight and switched to character roles in films like Zameer, Parvarish, etc. The magical combination of Shankar Jaikishan, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi ended and the era of romantic songs also suffered a set back. Some section of listeners argue that Rajender Kumar probably received the more romantic numbers sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, but Shammi Kapoor’s combination with Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was phenomenal which swept the youth and took them to a different inspite of Shammi Kapoor being called a rebel star and Shankar Jaikishan providing the most loud bomblastic numbers for Rafi. The songs and the films of the legendary combination of Shammi Kapoor, Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan should be preserved.

Happy birthday to gorgeous icon Sri Devi.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to gorgeous icon and evergreen actress Sri Devi on 13th August, 2013. She was the most dominating figure in bollywood films in the 80s. Her excellent dancing skills gave her an edge over other actresses of that period. Recently her film English Vinglish received awards in IIFA awards in Macao. Her director received best debutant director award. She was brilliant in the film Himmatwala opposite Jeetender. The film was a South Indian production which was released in the early 1980s and the dancing skills of both Sri Devi and Jeetender mesmerized the viewers. The music of the film was also very popular. Sri Devi got a landmark role in Feroz Khan’s film Jaanbaaz. She played the role of the wife of Jeetender who was given drugs forcefully by Shakti Kapoor, Raza Murad and their men. She died due to consumption of the drugs. Feroz Khan along with Anil Kapoor took revenge against her brutal killing. Sri Devi’s combination with Anil Kapoor was appreciated by the viewers of the 80s. Their film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapoor became everlasting hit. Sri Devi displayed her comedy skills as against the innocent performance of Anil Kapoor in the film. Anil Kapoor’s device for becoming invisible amazed the viewers. Amrish Puri was matchless in his performance in the role of Mogambo. Sri Devi’s dance number opposite Anil Kapoor in a blue dress during a rainy day haunted many youngstars of the 80s. Big B acted in many films opposite Sri Devi including Inquilab, Akhree Rasta and others. Most of those films ended up being blockbusters. In Akhree Raasta she had show her mettle opposite another South Indian beauty Jaya Prada. Her performance was as good as Jaya Prada, and both the actresses justified their selection opposite Megastar Big B. Sri Devi gave many hits opposite Rishi Kapoor including Yash Rash film Chandni. In Chandi, Sri Devi looked gorgeous. Rishi Kapoor was considered to be most romantic actor of the 80s. Sri Devi had the challenge of matching him in a Yash Raj film, where shooting is done in Switzerland and costly dresses are used for the stars. Sri Devi rose up to the occasion and got the viewers flabbergasted with her performance. Even then viewers considered Anil Kapoor the best combination opposite Sri Devi. Their superhit films included Laadla, Lamhe, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, and others. Sri Devi had a fantastic career in South Indian films as well. Her performance in films opposite Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan became super hit in the 8os. She acted in hit bollywood films opposite Rajnikant like Chaalbaaz where she played a double role. She was excellent in the film Sadma opposite Kamal Hassan. Her abnormal acting which was required in the role and later on a different behavior really made the viewers spellbound. The music composed by Illaiyaraja was exceptional, with the song “surmaiy ankhyonme” becoming smash hit. With the domination of Madhuri Dixit in bollywood films in the 90s, Sri Devi faded away from the film arena. Besides she added weight after marrying Boney Kapoor and giving birth to her daughter. Although viewers cannot expect the same glamour and charm of Sri Devi in her late 30s, yet they want her presence in bollywood films, as lot of acting is still left in her. The viewers expect her to continue the flawless character acting like English Vinglish in the other films as well.

Happy birthday to Vaijayantimala.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dancing queen Vaijayantimala on 13th August, 2013. She had ruled bollywood films during the 50s and 60s, during an age when muslim actresses like Nargis, Madhubala, Meena Kumari rocked silver screen. She was the first South Indian actress to create a sensation in bollywood films and paved the way for other South Indian actresses to follow like Hema Malini, Sri Devi, Jaya Prada, Meenakshi Sheshadri, and others. There was no successful actor of the 1950s and 1960s, who did not act opposite Vaijayantimala. The list is very long ranging from Dilip Kumar to Raj Kapoor, Rajender Kumar to Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand to Pradip Kumar, Joy Mukherjee to Uttam Kumar. In 2013, she received the lifetime achievement award too for her immense contribution in Bollywood films. Her online chemistry with Tragedy King Dilip Kumar created history in bollywood. Most of their films including Devdas, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Paigham, Ganga Jumna, Leader, Sunghursh ended up being blockbusters. Besides dancing, she was sublime in the role of a tawaif in Bimal Roy’s film Devdas, in the role of village girl in Bimal Roy’s Madhumati. Vaijayantimala used to do a lot of homework also in respect of her role. When she was awarded best supporting actress award in filmfare for her performance in the film Devdas, she did not receive the award. She said after reading the literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, she found that Chandramukhi, the character she played, was equally a heroine as Parvati. Probably Madhumati, released in 1958, marks the best performance of Vaijayantimala in her entire career. Her innocence reflected in her acting and she made the audience spellbound with the lips given in songs composed by Salil Choudhury including “aa ja re pardesi”, “ghari ghari mera dil dharke”, “daiya re daiya re”, etc. She received the filmfare award for the best actress for the brilliant performance in the film. On one hand she was brilliant opposite Dilip Kumar, on the other hand she created sensation with Raj Kapoor as well. Their film Nazrana did mediocre business. But Sangam, released in 1964, was probably one of the biggest hits of Raj Kapoor in his entire life. Vaijayantimala’s stylish performance opposite both Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar created a benchmark which could hardly be reached. Sangam still remains one of the most landmark films based on triangular love story shot at exotic locations in London, Paris, and other European countries. Shankar Jaikishan was matchless in Sangam. The acting performance of Vaijayantimala was excellent and she received the filmfare award for the best actress once again. The last scene where Vaijayatimala questioned both Raj Kapoor and Rajender Kumar about deciding about her life, had become a trend-setter. She justified the fact that she had affair with Rajender Kumar, but from the time she married Raj Kapoor, she fulfilled all the responsibilities of a hindu wife. She had been followed by numerous actresses of the following period in similar roles. In the 60s, Vaijayantimala was matchless. Her name was enough to make any film hit. The list of her hit films include Nagin opposite Pradeep Kumar, Suraj opposite Rajender Kumar, Amrapali opposite Sunil Dutt, Prince opposite Shammi Kapoor, Choti Si Mulakat opposite Uttam Kumar, Jewel Thief opposite Dev Anand, Pyar Hi Pyar opposite Dharmender, to name a few. In fact her combination with Rajender Kumar and Shankar Jaikishan created sensation in the 60s. All their films ended up being silver jubilees including Aas Ka Panchi, Suraj, Sangam, Zindagi, etc. Her lips in landmark songs like “kaise samjhayun bai na samajh ho”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe meri raazdaar”, “o mere sanam”, “titli uri” had become immortal over a period of time. Besides her standard of classical dancing in films like Katputli or Amrapali had created interest among viewers to appreciate aesthetic dance numbers which became an art in due period of time. Her films should be restored and preserved.

Chennai Express crossed 100 crores in 3 days breaking the record of Ek Tha Tiger.

Chennai Express did business of more than 100 crores in the first 3 days. It has broken the record of Ek Tha Tiger which had previously did 100 crores business in 5 days.

Superstar Shahrukh Khan and superstar Salman Khan had proved themselves to be the greatest crowd pullers of all times. There was time when there was a huge debate who was a greater crowd-puller, was it Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor. Both of them ruled Bollywood films during 1940s 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. These days the maximum amount of profit in Bollywood films had accrued in the films of Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan. For the last 3 to 4 Eids in the months of August, it had been Salman Khan magic. His films Wanted, Dabaang, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, all were released at this time and one broke the record of the other. In 2013, Eid had been the Eid of Shahrukh Khan. Chennai Express had been released on 9th August, 2013, and on the first day the film did business of 33 crores. It has broken the record of Ek Tha Tiger which did business in 2012 in Eid, worth 31 crores. Later on Ek Tha Tiger did total business of 199 crores. If the trend of Chennai Express continues it has the capability of breaking the record of Amir Khan’s all time blockbuster The Three Idiots which had done business worth 202 crores. Chennai Express had been directed by Rohit Shetty, produced by Gauri Khan, Ronnie Screwala and Siddharth Roy Kapoor. Vishal Shekhar composed the music of the film. In the film Shahrukh Khan played the role of a North Indian man, whose parents were lost during childhood. His grandparents brought him up. His grandfather had a business of sweets, and he died at the age of 99 years. His grandmother played by Kamini Kaushal asked him to wash the ashes of his deceased grandfather in the sea at Rameshwaram. He took it but was interested to go to Goa with his two friends. But his boarded the Chennai Express to show Kamini Kaushal to show her that he was really going to Rameshwaram. On the Kalyan Station Deepika Padukone rode on the train with four of her relatives send by her father to bring her back to the village of Komban. Her father played by Satyaraj in Kumban was the don of the village. He wanted to get her married to Nikitin Dheer who played the character of Tangaballi. The rest of the film was related to Shahrukh khan’s struggle of running away and escaping with Deepika Padukone to different places. He could succeed to immerse the ashes of his grandfather in the holy waters of Rameshwaram. But after that he returned back to Komban with Deepika to face the don and his men. He fought against the men of Nikitin Dheer and showed that that neither was he a body builder, not very strong, but being a common man he loved Deepika and for her he took up the challenge of even facing Nikitin Dheer who was a giant bodybuilder. Satyaraj accepted Shahrukh Khan as his son-in-law due to his courage and big heart. The performances of Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Satyaraj and Nikitin Dheer were excellent. The scenic beauty of the excellent locations of Ooty, Rameswaram, Dudh Sagar Falls enchanted the viewers. Rohit Shetty did a marvellous job. The music of Vishal Shekhar was impressive. Priyamani in the dance sequence of the song “1 2 3 4” showed her immense talent. The comedy dialogues in the film were excellently written. There is no reason why the film should not do business of more than 150 crores. Time will tell whether it can bypass Ek Tha Tiger and The Three Idiots in respect of maximum business. Viewers should watch the film.

Shahrukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor stormed IIFA Awards 2013 at Macao.

The IIFA Awards 2013 hosted in Macao had been telecast in Star Plus Channel on 11th August, 2013. The awards were given more than a month ago but the viewers in India got a scope of seeing it for the first time in Star Plus Channel on 11th August, 2013. Shahrukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor were the anchors of the show and they did a great job. The best newcomer male award went to Ayushmann Khurana in the film Vicky Donor. The best newcomer female award went to Yami Gautam for Vicky Donor. Shahrukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor brought the newcomers on stage like Parineeti Chopra, Ayushmann Khurana and Shushant Singh Rajput. They were asked to prove that they had talent. They were asked to dance, to sing and then act. Shahrukh Khan showed them how to sing and it was found that he was only giving lips, the actual song “soorja hua madhyam” was being sung by Sonu Nigam. Shahrukh Khan promoted his new film Chennai Express by dancing on the song number “1 2 3 4” with the other dancers. Director Gauri Shinde received the best debutant director award for the film English Vinglish. Sri Devi came and danced in her popular songs “hawa hawai” from Mr. India. Rishi Kapoor received the award for the best villain for his performance in the film Agneepath. He was not present in Macao. The award was taken by Randhir Kapoor. A special award was given to Javed Akhtar for his immense contribution to Bollywood films as story writer, script writer and lyricist. Ranbir Kapoor received the best actor award in a leading role for his performance in the film Barfi. Vidya Balan received the best actress award in a leading role for her performance in the film Kahaani. Abhishek Bacchan won the best comedian award for his performance in the film Bol Bacchan. Annu Kapoor won the best supporting actor award for his performance in the film Vicky Donor. Anushka Sharma won the best supporting actress award for her performance in the film Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Anurag Basu won the best story writer award for the film Barfi. He collected his award. Vidya Balan also collected her award. Sonu Nigam won the best male singer award for his song “abhi mujh me kahin” from the film Agneepath. Shreya Ghoshal won the best female singer award for her song “chikni chameli” from the film Agneepath. Pritam won the best music director award for his music in the film Barfi. Amitabh Bhattacharya won the best lyricist award for his songs in the film Agneepath. Shahrukh Khan and Shahid Kapoor anchored the program in style.

Basu Chatterjee’s Hamari Bahu Alka was a realistic film.

Director Basu Chatterjee was famous for making realistic films in the 1970s and 1980s. His films Chitchor, Choti Si Baat, Rajnigandha and many others showed the life of middle-class Indians. His film Hamari Bahu Alka was directed and released in the year 1982. In the film Utpal Dutta, a contractor lived with his wife Sudha Shivpuri and two sons Rakesh Roshan and Master Raju. Rakesh Roshan was studying MBBS. Rakesh Roshan’s friend Asrani got married to Prema Narayan. Utpal Dutt thought it was better to get his son Rakesh Roshan married to his friend’s daughter Bindiya Goswami. But Utpal Dutta’s strict fatherhood made life difficult for Rakesh Roshan. He did not allow his son to stay in his bedroom. He was asked to study till 11 pm and then go to bedroom. By that time Bindiya Goswami got tired and felt asleep. In the house Utpal Dutta and Sudha Shivpuri both were very caring to Bindiya Goswami but she could hardly spend any time with Rakesh Roshan. So his friend Asrani wrote a letter from Bindiya Goswami’s village that her mother was ill. Rakesh Roshan booked a room in the hotel for her. He took her there. He used to come to the hotel room late at night, spend the night and return back home everyday. One day when Utpal Dutta could not find Rakesh Roshan back at home, the entire drama ended. Bindiya Goswami’s father came from the village and explained to Utpal Dutta that after marriage Rakesh Roshan and Bindiya Goswami required some space. He should allow them to go for honeymoon and reduce down his strictness. He agreed to do it. The subject of the film was very simple. The music was composed by Rajesh Roshan. All the actors and actresses Utpal Dutta, Rakesh Roshan, Bindiya Goswami and others did a great job. Basu Chatterjee’s direction was excellent. The film should be preserved and restored.

Shahrukh Khan's Chennai Express started with a bang.

Chennai Express started with a bang. Superstar Shahrukh Khan and superstar Salman Khan had proved themselves to be the greatest crowd pullers of all times. There was time when there was a huge debate who was a greater crowd-puller, was it Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor. Both of them ruled Bollywood films during 1940s 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. These days the maximum amount of profit in Bollywood films had accrued in the films of Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan. For the last 3 to 4 Eids in the months of August, it had been Salman Khan magic. His films Wanted, Dabaang, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, all were released at this time and one broke the record of the other. In 2013, Eid had been the Eid of Shahrukh Khan. Chennai Express had been released on 9th August, 2013, and on the first day the film did business of 33 crores. It has broken the record of Ek Tha Tiger which did business in 2012 in Eid, worth 31 crores. Later on Ek Tha Tiger did total business of 199 crores. If the trend of Chennai Express continues it has the capability of breaking the record of Amir Khan’s all time blockbuster The Three Idiots which had done business worth 202 crores. Chennai Express had been directed by Rohit Shetty, produced by Gauri Khan, Ronnie Screwala and Siddharth Roy Kapoor. Vishal Shekhar composed the music of the film. In the film Shahrukh Khan played the role of a North Indian man, whose parents were lost during childhood. His grandparents brought him up. His grandfather had a business of sweets, and he died at the age of 99 years. His grandmother played by Kamini Kaushal asked him to wash the ashes of his deceased grandfather in the sea at Rameshwaram. He took it but was interested to go to Goa with his two friends. But his boarded the Chennai Express to show Kamini Kaushal to show her that he was really going to Rameshwaram. On the Kalyan Station Deepika Padukone rode on the train with four of her relatives send by her father to bring her back to the village of Komban. Her father played by Satyaraj in Kumban was the don of the village. He wanted to get her married to Nikitin Dheer who played the character of Tangaballi. The rest of the film was related to Shahrukh khan’s struggle of running away and escaping with Deepika Padukone to different places. He could succeed to immerse the ashes of his grandfather in the holy waters of Rameshwaram. But after that he returned back to Komban with Deepika to face the don and his men. He fought against the men of Nikitin Dheer and showed that that neither was he a body builder, not very strong, but being a common man he loved Deepika and for her he took up the challenge of even facing Nikitin Dheer who was a giant bodybuilder. Satyaraj accepted Shahrukh Khan as his son-in-law due to his courage and big heart. The performances of Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Satyaraj and Nikitin Dheer were excellent. The scenic beauty of the excellent locations of Ooty, Rameswaram, Dudh Sagar Falls enchanted the viewers. Rohit Shetty did a marvellous job. The music of Vishal Shekhar was impressive. Priyamani in the dance sequence of the song “1 2 3 4” showed her immense talent. The comedy dialogues in the film were excellently written. There is no reason why the film should not do business of more than 150 crores. Time will tell whether it can bypass Ek Tha Tiger and The Three Idiots in respect of maximum business. Viewers should watch the film.

Superstar Jeet and Subhashree stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Superstar Jeet and actress Subhashree came to the Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 8th August and stole the show. They gave for the promotion of their new film Boss that is release this week at the time of Eid. Actress Subhashree had been every successful opposite the other Bengali superstar Deb. The anchor Mir Afsar Ali greeted Jeet and Subhashree well in the show. They were greeted by the judges as well Paran Banerjee, Rajatavo Dutta and Srilekha Mitra as well. The mentors Dr. Krishnendu, Sourav Paludi, Subhadeep and Arnab gave a special performance related to a court scene. All four of them represented the public prosecutor, the accused, the judge and the investigating police officer. Sourav played the character of the thief (the accused), Dr. Krishnendu played the character of the Public Prosecutor, Arnab played the character of the investigating officer while Subhadeep played the character of the judge. It was an awesome performance full of wit. Subhashis Mukherjee gave a hilarious presentation of parody with Palash Adhikari and Sangeet Tiwari. He played the character of singer Tansen. Palash Adhikari played the character of Emperor Akbar, while Sangeet Tiwari played the character of comedian Birbal. Subhash Mukherjee cleverly used the songs of films of superstar Jeet, changed the lyrics and fitted them in the context of the play. All of them did a great job. Both Jeet and Subhashree then came up on the stage and showed few steps related to the new songs of the film Boss. One of the judges Rajatavo Dutta had played the character of villain in the film Boss opposite Jeet. The other performers like Tapadyuti Dutta, Zameel Hussain, and others also did well. The elimination in the competition had started and one contestant is eliminated in every show.

Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala did well in the film Aas Ka Panchi.

The film Aas Ka Panchi was released in the year 1961. It was directed by Mohan Kumar. The music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The film was produced by J Om Prakash. The hero and heroine Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala did well in the film. In the film it was shown that Rajender Kumar, the son of Naseer Hussain had a childhood ambition of being a military officer. His father never liked that. When Rajender Kumar passed his BA exam, he got him employed in the same office where he had worked in the post of accountant. As Rajender Kumar was not inclined for that job he could not do it properly and lost the job after some period of time. He fell in love with Vaijayantimala, the daughter of Raj Mehra. Vaijayantimala told Rajender Kumar that he could not qualify to get officerial post in the military, he could start as ordinary jawan. He took her advise and joined the army. Raj Mehra wanted to get Vaijayantimala married to a doctor played by Shivraj. As Raj Mehra expected his daughter to marry a respectable person in the society, he could not tolerate her love affair with an ordinary soldier in the army like Rajender Kumar. While Rajender Kumar represented the army in one of the wars, he was severly injured, the operation of him was done by his friend Shivraj. He finally recovered. Vaijayantimala accepted him as her husband. The music in the film was very impressive. The lyrics were written by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. The landmark songs included “dil mera ek aas ka panchi” sung by Subir Sen, “dheere chalo zara” sung by Subir Sen and Lata Mangeshkar, “tumi roothi raho” sung by Mukesh, “ab char dino ki chutti hai’ sung by Mohammad Rafi, to mention a few. Very significantly Subir Sen was given a big break by Shankar Jaikishan after the film katputli. The performances of all the character artists in the film were excellent including Raj Mehra, Nasir Hussain, Mumtaz Begum, Leela Chitnis, Sundar and others. Vaijayantimala was ruling the film industry at that time, so her name was name to carry any film. Although Rajender Kumar did not become Jubilee Kumar by that time, yet Aas Ka Panchi showed that he had a lot of promise. The film should be preserved and restored.

Happy birthday to Suresh Wadkar.

The viewers of bollywood films and listeners of bollywood music wish happy birthday to Suresh Watkar on 7th August, 2013. Singer and music trainer Suresh Watkar is a musical genius and a living legend. In 2011 he received national award for the song in the film Mee sindhutai sapkal in Marathi. In 2012 he sang song in the film Yeh Khulla Aasman. Born in 1954, he took musical training from Acharya Jialal Vasant from the age of eight years. Acharya Jialal Vasant gave him the task of teaching vocal classical to a pupil when Suresh Watkar was at the age of 13 years. From that time onwards Suresh Watkar had remained one of India’s great learning institutions. Acharya Jialal Vasant in interviews had confessed that he got a torch bearer in the form of Suresh Watkar who could travel a distance. Suresh Watkar got his Prabhakar degree and joined Arya Vidya Mandir in Mumbai as music teacher. He got music schools both in Mumbai, Suresh Watkar Ajivasan Music Academy, and also music school in New Jersey, New York. He won the Sur Singar Competition in 1976, where Jaidev was one of the judges. Jaidev gave break to Suresh Watkar in the film Gaman in 1977 with the song “seene me jalan”. Suresh Watkar stormed bollywood with his majestic singing in Raj Kapoor’s film Prem Rog in 1982. The music was composed by Laxmikant Pyarellel. He received filmfare nomination for the best singer for splendid performance in the songs “mai hoon prem rogi” and “meri kismet tu”. The film did excellent business and the music became super hit. From that time Suresh Watkar never looked back. In Sekhar Kapoor’s film Masoom released in 1983, Suresh Watkar was brilliant in the song “huzur is kadar na itrake chaliye” along with ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh. It was composed by RD Burman and was a masterpiece. In the film Sadma in 1983, composer Illayaraja composed two brilliant songs for Suresh Watkar, “ay zindagi gale laga le” and “yeh hawa yeh fiza”. Suresh Watkar continued his dream run in the film Utsav. Laxmikant Pyarellal composed brilliant songs for Suresh Watkar namely “mere man baja mridang” and “sanjh dhale gagan tale”. Composer Ravindra Jain used Suresh Watkar in Raj Kapoor’s film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, where all the songs of Suresh Watkar were smash hits. RD Burman used Suresh Watkar very well in the Parinda for landmark songs like “tumse milke” and “pyar ke mod pe”. Suresh Watkar stormed bollywood again with RK film Henna in 1991, where all his songs composed by Ravindra Jain were masterpieces. He showed his classical excellence in Gulzar’s landmark film Lekin, in the song “surmai sham”. It was composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Suresh Watkar went on singing masterpieces in films like Premgranth, Maachis, Satya, Hu Tu Tu, Omkara, Saat Khoon Maaf. His dream run is still one. One article is too small to highlight the greatness of the versatile genius Suresh Watkar who had contributed in the musical arena of India for more than 40 years. His admirers all over the world want him to continue the high class of classical singing and his music teaching in the years to come.

Disco King Bappi Lahiri rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Bappi Lahiri came to the Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 5th August, 2013. He stole the show. He had answer for every questions in the form of songs. When the achor Mir Afsar Ali asked him what did Bappi Lahiri do when he had differences with his wife? He said he sang his own composed song “pyar manga hai tumhi se, na inkaar karo”. Mir, the participants and all the judges Srilekha Mitra, Paran Banerjee and Rajatavo Dutta laughed at his reply. The famous parody singer Subhashis Mukherjee sang songs composed and sung by Bappi Lahiri by changing the lyrics of those songs. Vicky danced on those songs. He picked and chose the hit songs of Bappi Lahiri. He sang “tolte tolte, pore gechi manhole khola dhakna” which was based on Bappi Lahiri’s composed song “chalte chalte mere yeh geet yaad rakhna kabhi alvida naa kehna”. Bappi Lahiri himself was very impressed with the effort. Subhashis Mukherjee also used Bappi Lahiri’s songs “tohfa tohfa tohfa, laya laya laya”, then “e amar gurudakkhina”. Vicky imitated the dance steps of Mithun Chakrvarty who had given lips in maximum songs of Bappi Lahiri. Bappi Lahiri said that he had composed songs for 4 generations. He composed songs in superstar Uttam Kumar’s film Ogo Bodhu Sundari, Prasenjit Chatterjee’s film Amar Sangi, numerous films of Mithun Chakravarty and many films of Deb. Mir said it proves the fact that composer never grows old. His songs are as young as can be mentioned. At the end of the show Bappi Lahiri came at the middle of the stage and sang his song “angna me baba duare me ma”. He said his father Aparesh Lahiri and mother Basabi Lahiri, both eminent singers of their times, were born and brought up in Pabna in Bangladesh. So gave his best wishes to those participants who came from Bangladesh to Kolkata to perform in Mirakkel 6 program. Bappi Lahiri also sang an English song that he composed for old people of England. He recorded the song in a studio of London and informed them about the song. He had composed songs for football worldcup also.

Superstar Shahrukh Khan came to the Indian Idol Junior show.

Superstar Shahrukh Khan and actress Deepika Padukone came to the Sony TV Indian Idol Junior show on 3rd August, 2013. The Indian Idol Junior show is running for more than 2 months and the judges Shreya Ghoshal, Vishal and Shekhar had adjudicated the rounds for that time. Presently many finalists are showing their talents in the final stages of the show including Anmol, Nirvesh, Debanjana, Sonakshi, Akash, Anjana, Priyam and Sugandha. Shahrukh Khan told the viewers that it was his second occasion to act opposite Deepika Padukone in Chennai Express after the super hit film Om shanti Om. Om Shanti Om was the first film of Deepika Padukone and she herself was also indebted to Shahrukh Khan for the success in film career. The participants also sang some of the hit songs of Om Shanti Om including “ankhon me teri ajab si ajab si adayen hai”. Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone danced with the participants as well. The director of the film Rohit Shetty also came in the show to speak about the film Chennai Express. The film is going to be released on 9th August. There is huge hype about the film as it is an id festival release. Previously Idd had been a successful period of release of superstar Salman Khan with majority of films like Dabaang, Wanted, Bodyguard being released at that time. This time superstar Shahrukh Khan is looking at the huge business during id. Director Rohit Shetty is associated with huge number of comedy films and hit films of Ajay Devgan including All the best, Golmaal, Golmaal Returns, Bol Bacchan, to name a few. This is the first time he is working with Shahrukh Khan. In the film Shahrukh Khan played the character of a north Indian person who came down all the way from North India and fell in love with a South Indian girl from Rameshwaram who was also the daughter a don of the place. The film had been produced by Ronnie Screwwala, Sidharth Roy Kapoor and Gauri Khan and music is composed by Vishal Shekhar. Already the dance number “1 2 3 4” with South Indian actress Priyamani had created storms all over India. Shreya Ghoshal wished her best for the release of Shahrukh Khan’s film Chennai Express.