Superstar Prasenjit Chatterjee’s 30 years were celebrated in Zee Bangla Channel.

Superstar Prasenjit Chatterjee had celebrated 30 years of career in Bengali films. Zee Bangla Channel engaged celebrities to celebrate the 30 years of his career. Bollywood actor Biswajeet Chatterjee was invited in the show. Biswajeet Chatterjee, the father of Prasenjit Chatterjee danced in the song “pukarta chala hoon mai”. Incidentally it was Mohammad Rafi’s song picturized on Biswajeet in the film Mere Sanam. Biswajeet was a very successful actor in Bollywood films during the 1960s. Soumitra Chatterjee also came in the show. He said that he knew Prasenjit from the time he was born. Prasenjit had carried the Bengali film industry on his own shoulders for the last 30 years. He was confident that Prasenjit Chatterjee will do the same for the next 30 years. Actors and actresses from the Bengali film industry came and danced in the songs of Prasenjit Chatterjee. Mir Afsar Ali anchored the program and he imitated Prasenjit Chatterjee along with Vicky. Rimjhim danced in the song of Prasenjit Chatterjee. Monami Ghosh, Jishu Sengupta, and others also danced in the show. Kanchan and actress Tanima Sen acted out a small play in the memory of Prasenjit Chatterjee. Comedian Apurbo Roy also acted out his part. Sourav Ganguly was also invited in the show. Prasenjit Chatterjee was overjoyed to get the tribute from all the actors and actresses in Tele-serials and Bengali film industry and also the tribute given by Zee Bangla Channel.

Papiya Adhikari, Rita Koiral and others stormed Double Dhamaka in Zee Bangla Channel.

On 30th September, 2013, Zee Bangla Channel came up with double dhamaka. Both Rannaghar and Didi No. 1 were merged together in the same program. Rachana Banerjee and Sudipa Mukherjee anchored the program together. Celebrities like Papiya Adhikari, Rita Koiral, Papiya Sen and Tanima Sen played the game. In the first round, all the contestants had to cook different dishes out of Pomfret fish. The celebrity who cooked the best dish got the maximum points and most number of awards. Papiya Sen cooked Chilly Fish out of Pomfret in Chinese style. Rita Koiral cooked Posto Pomfret with the same fish. Tanima Sen cooked Sarshe Pomfret with the same fish. Papiya Adhikari cooked Pomfret curry in Orissa style. All of them did a great job. Rachana Banerjee said it was not possible to identify whose dish was the best. Sudipa Mukherjee finally judged Papiya Adhikari’s Pomfret curry in Orissa style the best dish. She got all the awards in the first round. In the third round which was a musical round actor Arjun Chakravarty came and asked musical questions. All the celebrities answered musical questions of Arjun Chakravarty. Everyone said they loved Arjun Chakravarty. Both Papiya Adhikari and Rachana Banerjee said that they were amazed to work in Oriya films during the early part of the career. The large cut outs of them really amazed them. Arjun Chakravarty sang the antara of Hemanta Mukherjee’s song “boshe achi potho cheye” from the film Shapmochon. The mukhra was sung by Tanima Sen. Sudipa Mukherjee helped her. Arjun Chakravarty asked Papiya Sen to sing a rabindrasangeet. Rita Koiral sang the song “sajanake liye” and also danced with Arjun Chakravarty. All the contestants sang their songs correctly and got full points. In the rest of the rounds Rita Koiral answered all the questions and became Didi No. 1. Rachana Banerjee asked each of the celebrities about their plans in the upcoming Durga puja. All had plans of shopping and seeing Durga idols in Kolkata.

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

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary comedian Mehmood on 29th September, 2013. 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.

Happy bithday to superstar Ranbir Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Ranbir Kapoor.

The viewers of Bollywood films wish happy birthday to superstar Ranbir Kapoor on 28th September, 2013. He had a great burden of proving his worth for being the son of successful artists Rishi Kapoor and Nitu Singh. He had also the burden of carrying the legacy of his grandfather Showman Raj Kapoor. He started his career with the film Sawaaria in 2007 which did not do great business. But his second film Bachna Aye Haseeno did great business. He acted opposite three actress Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba. The three romantic stories were depicted in the same film. In the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahaani he acted opposite Katrina Kaif. The film did business of more than 65 crores. From that time he became a superstar. He showed his comedy skills and romantic skills in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film. He did a great job in the other two films as well namely Wake Up Sid and Rocket Singh. From 2011 Ranbir Kapoor had experimented with complicated characters. He was unblemish in the film Rockstar. He received filmfare award for the best performance in the film. He also played a brilliant character Barfi in Anurag Basu’s film Barfi in 2012. Again he received filmfare award for the best actor. He depicted the role of a deaf and dumb character with a lot of ease. He also best actor award in Screen Awards and IIFA awards. From that time he never looked back. On one had he has semi-art films like Rajneeti of Prakash Jha under his belt. At the same time in 2013 he had given a 189 crore business with his blockbuster film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. In playing romantic roles he is the number one actor at this point of time. Other than Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan none of the Indian actors have such a steady box-office like Ranbir Kapoor. He is the new superstar of the present period. There is a lot of expectation with his new film Besharam. It is going to be released this week. His viewers expect that he will continue the success streak.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music in India and abroad wish happy birthday to Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen on 28th September, 2013. 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.

The nation remembers style icon Feroz Khan on his birthday.

The nation remembers Feroz Khan on his birthday on 25th September, 2013. He had died in 2009, four 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. He did wear a black dress which was very popular among the youngstars of the 1970s. Whatever he did wear in his young days used to declare fashion statement. 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.

Sudipa Mukherjee, Neel Mukherjee, Jayjit and others stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program.

On 25th September, 2013, Sourav Ganguly invited celebrities Sayan Basu, Sneha Chatterjee, Sudipa Mukherjee, Neel Mukherjee, Jayjit Banerjee and Biswanath Basu in the program Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program. Sourav Ganguly asked Sayan Basu what was the meaning of her name Sayan Basu. She said she was born in July, during monsoon period. Srabon in Bengali indicated monsoon. Sayon was derived from Srabon, so her name was given Sayan Basu. Sneha Chatterjee said her husband who was and film editor, used to play cricket and big admirer of Sourav Ganguly. Sourav Ganguly told everyone that she had ably acted in the Zee Bangla Serial Subarnalata. Neel Mukherjee said his father also was a great theatre actor. Presently he is acting in one of the plays that his father had acted in the late 1970s. In the googly round Sneha Chatterjee gave very good answers. On the screen all the alphabets were shown and the word soap written. In the list of alphabets s was coloured red and the second was coloured half –red. She said it indicated daily soap. Sunday was a holiday and Saturday was half day, that was the reason they were coloured red. In the slog over round the participants answered the questions even before the options were put forward. The result was that most of the answers were wrong. Biswanath Basu pressed the buzzer relating to the question what was the actual name of music composer Jeet Ganguly. He could not answer that the original name was Chandrajeet Ganguly. Some of the questions asked by Sourav Ganguly were very intelligent ones. He asked which came first egg or chicken. The question did not mention’s the egg of which bird. The answer was the Dinosaurs came before human beings and other birds. So obviously the dinosaur’s egg came before the chickens. Neel Mukherjee asked Sourav Ganguly that if anyone wanted to create a film on the life of Sourav Ganguly, who will be the actor who he wanted to act out his role. Sourav Ganguly said that if such a film is made in future, he wanted to play the role. At the end of the show, Sudipa Mukherjee became the winner of the Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program. As no one could score 50 points, the cash amount for the fastest 50 was distributed among all the contestants. When the child contestant who used to carry the bats for Sourav Ganguly was asked who was the better actor among the celebrities, he said Neel Mukherjee.

Happy birthday to Dev Anand.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to evergreen star Dev Anand on 26th September, 2013. He died in 2011 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.

Happy birthday to Kareena Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Kareena Kapoor. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Kareena Kapoor on 21st September, 2013. She had been the number star of bollywood films and carried forward the grand legacy created by Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor forward. In 2013 her film Satyagraha opposite Ajay Devgan got commercial and critical success. 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 bollywoo

d 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. With the success of Satyagraha, Kareena Kapoor has shown huge potential and she can still contribute in future. 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.

Basu Chatterjee directed the film Rajnigandha very well.

Basu Chatterjee directed many films based on real life stories like Chitchor, Choti Si Baat, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, to name a few. Rajnigandha was directed in the year 1974. Both Amol Palekar and Vidya Sinha made their debut in the film Rajnigandha. Both of them represented the middle-class Indian very well. The film Rajnigandha was produced by Suresh Jindal. The music of the film was composed by Salil Choudhury. In the film it had been shown that Vidya Sinha had been a student of psychology. She had an affair with Dinesh Thakur during her college days. But due to the fact that he had been involved with student union, both of them were separated. She came to Delhi to pursue her graduation. At that time she fell in love with Amol Palekar. He did the graduation with her. He got a job and maintained the relationship with her. After Vidya Sinha completed her PhD, she got an offer for Lecturership in an academic institution in Mumbai. Her friend Ranjita Thakur got married in Mumbai and stay in an apartment. She promised her the period of stay for giving the interview. Amol Palekar was happy to know Vidya Sinha’s ambition of getting job in Mumbai. He could not come with Vidya Sinha from Delhi because he did not have any leave in office. Ranjita Thakur send Dinesh Thakur to pick up Vidya Sinha from the Station. From that time all the memories of the affair with Dinesh Thakur flashed back. She found Dinesh Thakur to be very helpful. He used his contacts to know the panel of interview. Her interview went well. She took Vidya Sinha to different places in Mumbai. He became a director involved in making advertisement films. When Vidya Sinha reached Delhi back she had confusion as to which boyfriend to choose. At that time a letter came from Dinesh Thakur, which again said that he could not take responsibility in terms of marriage and settling down at that time. Amol Palekar came and said that he got promotion in his office and Vidya Sinha was not required to get the job in Mumbai. He was ready to marry her. The story was written by Manu Bhandari with the title “Yeh Sach Hai”. The success of the direction of Basu Chatterjee lies in the depiction of reality of middle-class lives. He did not try to show any larger than life image. Mukesh’s song “kahin baar yuhi dekha hai” fetched him the national award for best male playback singer. Salil Choudhury used Lata’s voice successfully in the song “rajnigandha phool tumhare”. Both the songs became hit. The film received a number of awards including filmfare critics choice award for best cinema. Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha, Dinesh Thakur and Ranjita Thakur did a great job. The film should be preserved and restored.

Madhumanti Maitra, Deboshree Roy and others stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Sourav Ganguly invited celebrities on 18th September, 2013. Bengali actress Deboshree Roy, actor Barun Chandra, Dulal Lahiri, Debika Mukherjee, newsreader Madhumanti Maitra and others. Sourav Ganguly asked Deboshree Roy about her new film Adhoba. She said that she is playing the lead role. The other artists in the film included Barun Chandra, Dulal Lahiri and others. Sourav Ganguly asked Deboshree Roy whether she had reduced acting in films after she became MLA from Trinamool Congress. She said she balanced the 3 things together, acting in films, her work as MLA and also the responsibilities in respect of social welfare. She also is an animal lover. She has a lot of dogs at home and takes care of them. Barun Chandra shared his experience of working with Oscar Winning director Satyajit Ray. He said Ray met him when Barun Chandra was working in an advertisement company. Ray came in contact with him and gave him a role in the film Sheemaboddhyo. The film was released in early 1970s. After that for 20 years Barun Chandra did not work in films. Then he joined films. Sourav Ganguly showed a clipping of the first hindi film of Deboshree Roy with Arun Govil and asked the question to Barun Chandra about the actor. He could not say it although he identified Deboshree Roy. Madhumanti Maitra gave the maximum number of answers and won the prize for the fastest 50 in the show. Deboshree Roy sang a song in the show. Madhumanti Maitra asked a googly question to Sourav Ganguly where she asked him to name a mountain where there was good fragrance. Sourav Ganguly said that Sourav meant good smell and Dadagiri had the word giri meaning mountain. Everyone clapped at Sourav Ganguly’s ready intelligence. He anchored the program very well and gave due respect to all the celebrities in the show.

Remembering Hasrat Jaipuri, Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi on the anniversary of Hasrat Jaipuri.

17th September is celebrated as the death anniversary of renowned poet Hasrat Jaipuri. 15th April is celebrated as the birthday of great poet and lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri. Renowned poet and lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri was born on 15th April, 1922 as Iqbal Hussain. In 1940, Hasrat Jaipuri came from Jaipur to Mumbai. Prithiviraj Kapoor heard him in a mushaira and recommended him to Raj Kapoor when he was making the film Barsaat. The epic combination of Hasrat Jaipuri and Shankar Jaikishan started from Barsaat. The first 2 songs written by him became super hit namely “jiya beqarar hai” and “chor gaye balam”. The pen of Hasrat Jaipuri glorified RK Films and other bollywood films for the next 30 years. Rafi, SJ and Hasrat Jaipuri was an equally brilliant combination like Shailendra, SJ and Rafi. Hasrat’s song sung by Rafi titled “teri teri pyari pyari surat ko” in Rajender Kumar’s film Sasural became super hit. In Shammi Kapoor’s Junglee almost all the songs sung by Rafi became immortal hits. In that list, Hasrat’s song “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” touched the souls of music lovers all across India. The song was sung by Rafi and Lata and both the versions were very melodious. Hasrat’s lyrics for Rafi “tum mujhe yu bhula na paoge” became super hit in the late 60s. It was composed by SJ for Shammi Kapoor in the film Pagla Kahin Ka. Hasrat’s song “ajahu na aye balma” in the film Saanjh Aur Sawera was a sensational song. Rafi exhibited his classical andaz and tune of Shankar Jaikishan was excellent by every musical yardstick. Hasrat Jaipuri received the filmfare award for the best lyricist for Rafi’s song “baharon phool barsao” in Rajender Kumar’s film Suraj. Rafi’s other songs written by Hasrat Jaipuri and composed by SJ included “unke khayal aye to” in Raj Kumar’s Lal Pathar, “badan pe sitare lapete hue” in Shammi Kapoor’s Prince, “awaaz deke hume tum bulayo” in Shammi Kapoor’s Professor, “aji ruuth kar ab” in Rajender Kumar’s Aarzoo, “dekha hai teri aankho me pyar hi pyar beshumar” in Dharmender’s Pyar Hi Pyar, “dhire dhire chal chand gagan me” in Dev Anand’s Love Marriage, “rukh se zara naqab uthalo” in Jeetender’s Mere Huzoor, “teri zulfon ne judai to nahi maangi thi” in Dev Anand’s Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, “kaun hai jo sapno me aya” in Rajender Kumar’s Jhuk Gaya Aasman, etc. Hasrat Jaipuri contributed in Raj Kapoor’s blockbusters like Awaara, Shree 420, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, etc, Rajender Kumar’s blockbusters like Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Dil Ek Mandir, Humrahi, Sasural, Zindagi, etc, Shammi Kapoor’s hit films Janwar, Brahmchari, Raj Kumar, Andaz, etc., Joy Mukherjee’s Love In Tokyo, Biswajeet’s April Fool, Uttam Kumar’s Choti Si Mulakat, to name a few. Raj Kapoor’s greatest hit film in his illustrious career remained Sangam. In the film Hasrat Jaipuri’s words “yeh mera prempatra par kar” sung by Rafi and picturised on Rajender Kumar had remained immortal. Hasrat Jaipuri wrote it for a girl named Radha. Raj Kapoor kept the name of Vaijayatimala Radha in the film Sangam. Rafi’s voice at the end of the film brought tears in the minds of the audience with the words “kitum nazaar na hona” when Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala immersed the ashes of Rajender Kumar in Prayag Sangam at the end of the film. Hasrat Jaipuri died in 1999. One article is too small to highlight the works of the legends Hasrat Jaipuri, SJ and Rafi. In fact Hasrat Jaipuri worked with other composers of the golden age as well. But the songs written by Hasrat Jaipuri for Rafi which were composed by Shankar Jaikishan still stand out as the most romantic masterpieces in the history of bollywood cinema.

Suchitra Sen’s Uttar Falguni and Saat Pake Bandha had crossed 50 years.

Great Bengali actress and mahanayika Suchitra Sen had been the most popular actress of all times. Along with Mahanayak Uttam Kumar she had remained an institution by herself. The media is celebrating 50 years of her two classic films Uttar Falguni and Saat Pake Bandha. In Uttar Falguni she played the character of a tawaif Panna Bai, who sacrificed her life for her daughter and killed her husband at the end of the film who tortured her for the entire life. The film was directed by Asit Sen. In Saat Pake Bandha, she showed the complication of life of married women in India, whose mother interfered with the life of her husband Soumitra Chatterjee, and in the end it led to breaking of the wedlock. The film was directed by eminent director Ajoy Kar. A lot of celebrities of the present period had spoken about the 2 epic films. Singer Sandhya Mukherjee had said that both Sabitri Chatterjee and Suchitra Sen were the most powerful actresses of her times. She had sung the maximum number of songs for Suchitra Sen. But when the question came to a mix of beauty and quality of acting Suchitra Sen had no competitors. Madhabi Mukherjee had said that Suchitra Sen was a bit reserve and egoist as well. But the ego and the personality of Suchitra Sen, matched the status and level she reached in acting. Eminent director Gulzar spoke about the 82 year old Suchitra Sen. He said, among the different actresses that he used in his illustrious film career as director, Suchitra Sen was the most dignified actress of all times. She acted in the film Aandhi and made everyone spellbound. Both the films should be restored, and efforts should not be made to remake these classic films with modern masala.

Happy birthday to Mahima Choudhury

Happy birthday to Mahima Choudhury. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mahima Choudhury on 13th September, 2013. 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.

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi.

Versatile actress Shabana Azmi was remembered on her birthday on 18th September, 2013. 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, three 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, Shatrughun Sinha 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. In Shyam Benegal’s Ankur she played the role of the wife of Sadhu Meher, a rural villager. The film showed oppression of the feudal lords in Indian villages. In Shekhar Kapoor’s Masoom she played the role of the husband of Naseeruddin Shah. She had her two daughters and had to reconcile the son of Naseeruddin Shah who was born out of the first wedlock in the film. In Mahesh Bhatt’s film Arth she played the role of the wife of Kulbhushan Kharwanda who was having extra-marital affair with another woman played by Smita Patil. She had played very diverse roles and did justice to the complicated characters of women over the last 35 years. Shabana Azmi should continue her great work in bollywood films in future.

Looking back at Jaikishan and remembering his bond with Mohammad Rafi

Looking back at Jaikishan and remembering his bond with Mohammad Rafi. Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal is remembered on 12th September, his death anniversary in 2013. The listeners of music all over the world wished happy birthday to legendary composer Jaikishan better known as Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal on 4th November, 2012. He was part of the legendary duo Shankar Jaikishan who dominated bollwood music during the 1950s and 1960s. Rafi had a very sweet relationship with Shankar Jaikishan but unfortunately their relationship had not been glorified in bollywood history. Whenever contribution of composers relating to classic creations involving Rafi are highlighted the name of Naushad, Roshan, Madanmohan, OP Nayyar are glorified and the contribution of Shankar Jaikishan is ignored. If Rafi’s stylish andaz relating to westernized compositions are adequately it is Shankar Jaikishan who had used it to perfection. They had used Rafi for singing romantic songs with Japanese orchestration in Love in Tokyo including songs like “aja re aa zara aa”, “Japan, Love in Tokyo”, “ o mere shahekhuba”, etc. In Biswajeet’s April Fool SJ’s composition for Rafi including “aa gale lag ja” had westernized background. SJ’s composition for Rafi in Shammi Kapoor’s An Evening in Paris like “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “raat ke humsafar”, had loud French music with echo effect and Rafi’s intonation was also westernized. Shankar Jaikishan gave a completely different style of music to Rafi in Rajender Kumar’s Aarzoo with songs like “aji ruth kar ab”, “chalke teri aankho se”, “ai nargisi mastana”, etc. SJ had given songs addressing children to Rafi including “nanne munne bache teri mutthi me kya hai” in Boot Polish, “hai na bolo bolo”, “re mamma re mamma re” in Shammi Kapoor’s Andaz and “chakke p chakka” in Brahmchari. Rafi pronounced the words with childish accent and SJ used the orchestration to attract children. There were ghazals also given by SJ for Rafi including “rukh se zara nakab” in Jeetender’s Mere Huzoor, “unke khayal aye to” in Raj Kumar’s Lal Patthar, “saaze dil ched de” in Pradeep Kumar’s Rajhaath, etc. Besides SJ’s creation involving Rafi in somber mood had created great impact including songs like “teri zulfon ki judai to nahi maangi thi” in Dev Anand’s Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” in Shammi Kapoor’s Junglee, “yaad na aye” in Rajender Kumar’s Dil Ek Mandir. Shankar Jaikishan had used Rafi’s classical andaz in the songs “radheke tune bansoori churai”, “ajahu na aye”, etc., and combined the ragas with devotional andaz. SJ had given music in almost 200 films within the span from 1949 to 1971, and at least each year they composed music for approximately 10 films. As Rafi was given predominance over other male singers SJ had use him in regular intervals even without doing injustice to Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mehmood and others. Songs like “kaun hai jo sapno me aya” from Jhuk Gaya Aasman, “to bura maan gaye” from Ayee Milan Ki Bela, “yeh ankhen” from Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, “tujhe jeevan ki dor se” from Aasli Nakli, “dheere dheere chal” from Love Marriage, “badan pe sitaren lapete hue” from Prince, “mai kahin kavi na banjayun” from Pyar Hi Pyar, “mai gayun tum so jao” from Brahmchari, had not lost their flavour even 40 years after their creation due to sheer brilliance of Shankar Jaikishan. It is really tragic neither Shankar Jaikishan had received the accolades that they deserved nor Rafi’s association with them had been glorified but history says that the combination of Rafi with Shankar Jaikishan had produced invaluable creations which had become immortal over the period of time. Rafi had a dream run in the 60s, mainly in the films of Jubilee Kumar, Rajender Kumar for more than a number of reasons. Firstly Rajender Kumar acted in the production and direction of biggest banners of bollywood in the 60s. Secondly from 1963 to 1966, all his films ended up in silver jubilee showing his immense popularity and strong presence in the box-office. Shankar Jaikishan was equated with God in the early 60s and the main reason of the box-office success of Jubillee Kumar’s films was the superlative music given to him by both SJ and Naushad. In the film Ayee Milan Ki Bela, all the songs of SJ, picturised on Rajender Kumar and sung by Rafi became super hit The immortal songs include “mai pyar ka diwana“, “aha aye Milan ki bela“, “tum khamseen ho“, “to bura maan gaye“, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum“. Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu’s online chemistry in the film helped in the success of the film. SJ’s composition in the film Aarzoo, Humrahi and Sasural for Rajender Kumar and Rafi were equally rich. The brilliant songs include “chalke teri aankhose“, “ae nargisi mastana“, “aji ruth kar ab“, “yeh aansoo meri dil ki zubaan hai“, “teri pyari pyari surat ko“, “mujhko apne gale laga lo“, to mention a few. Sadhna complimented the powerful performance of Rajender Kumar in Aarzoo. The brilliant combination of Rafi, SJ and Rajender Kumar, continued in the film Dil Ek Mandir and Jhuk Gaya Aasman. Prominent songs include “yaad na jaye“, “jahan koi nahi“, “dil ek mandir hai“, “o priya kaun hai jo sapno me aya“, “kahan chal diye“, to mention a few. SJ Rafi and Rajender Kumar continued in the film Aman, where songs like “surahidar garden koel si hi awaz” still mesmerizes the listeners. Rafi, Rajender Kumar and SJ created history even in the film Suraj. The songs “kaise samjhayun“, “chehere pe giri zulfein“, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe“, “baharon phool barsao” had become immortal over the years. Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala’s screen presence were as majestic as the voice of Rafi and the quality of music of Shankar Jaikishan. The other films where the magic combination of Rafi, Rajender Kumar and Shankar Jaikishan made people speechless include Zindagi and Sangam, with the prominent songs being “pehle milethe sapno me” and “meherban likhoon“. When Shammi Kapoor was informed about Rafi’s death in 1980, he was told by the informer that he had lost his own voice. In other words it was said that Rafi’s voice had reached the soul of Shammi Kapoor, whose success in bollywood films was largely dependent on the golden voice of Rafi. Shankar Jaikishan had contributed in around 22 films of Shammi Kapoor and without the magical duo Rafi’s combination with Shammi Kapoor would not have fulfilled the popular demands of the musical audience. If SJ’s composition for Raj Kapoor mark the music catered to the masses, the composition for Rajender Kumar mark the sophisticated tunes catered towards the cultured audience, the compositions for Shammi Kapoor mark the westernized andaz addressed for the young generations. Shammi Kapoor brought the rock and roll andaz of Hollywood films in hindi films, and SJ and Rafi combined together to bring the energetic andaz of Shammi Kapoor who was considered to be a rebel star in the 60s. In fact his style was imitated by Joy Mukherjee and Biswajeet who were also blessed with melodious songs sung by Rafi in the 60s. SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi combined together to give superhit songs in the film Junglee, including “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, “chahe koi mujhe jungle kahen”, etc. Saira Banu made her debut opposite Shammi Kapoor and the Subodh Mukherjee film became a trend setter for other directors of producers of the 60s. SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi created the same magic in the film Janwar. Songs like “tumse achha kaun hai”, “lal chari maidan khari” became superhit along with romantic performance of Rajashree in the film. SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi combination in the film Raj Kumar was equally sublime with songs like “hum hai rajkumar”, “tumne pukara aur hum chale ayen”, “tumne kisiki jaan ko”, to name a few. Sadhna was sublime along with Shammi Kapoor in the film. SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi created magic again in the film An Evening in Paris. All the songs of the film became super hit including “aji aisa mauka”, “aasman se aya farishta”, “raat ke humsafar”, “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “mera dil hai tera”, “diwane ka naam to pucho”, to name a few. The foreign locations of Paris were as majestic as the European music of SJ and modernized performance of Sharmila Tagore in the film. The brilliant combination of SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi again created magic in the film Brahmchari. All the songs in the film including “dil ke jharoke me”, “chakke pe chakka”, “mai gavun tum so jayo”, “aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche” created storm in bollywood films. Shammi Kapoor won the filmfare for best actor for his performance in Brahmchari, and Shankar Jaikishan won the film fare for best music director for the same film, while Rafi won the filmfare for best singer for singing the song of the same film. Again Rajashree was sublime in the film. SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi were equally brilliant in the film Prince where Vaijayantimala acted opposite Shammi Kapoor. Rafi’s songs “muqabla hum se na karo” was as hit as “badan pe sitaren lapete hue”. The same combination came up with brilliant songs in the film Laat Sahab. The songs “sawerewali gari se chale jayenge” and “aye chaand zara chup ja” became superhit. Nutan contributed well opposite Shammi Kapoor. The magic combination of SJ, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi contributed even in GP Sippy film, Andaz. All the songs of Rafi like “dil use do jo jaan deden”, “hai na bolo bolo”, “re mamma re mammare” became superhit. Hema Malini performed for the first time opposite Shammi Kapoor. The brilliant combination of SJ, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi ended with sad demise of Jaikishan in 1971. Articles after articles can be devoted on the magic combination who even created magic in other films like Tumse Accha Kaun Hai, Jawan Muhobbat, etc. Critics argue that OP Nayyar and Ravi also contributed in Shammi Kapoor’s films, but their music was also influenced by Shankar Jaikishan’s tunes. The films and the songs of Shammi Kapoor, Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi should be preserved for the future generations. A big section of music lovers agree that had Jaikishan not died in 1971, Rafi’s dominance in bollywood music not suffered at all. In fact SJ’s tunes were brilliant and were specifically catered towards the likings of common mass. They were not that technical which could not reach the audience. Besides SJ gave tunes in around 10 films per years all along the 50s and 60s, the era when Rafi was unbeatable.

Tapadyuti Dutta, Shreyan Bhattacharya, Ronita Banerjee and others stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program

Tapadyuti Dutta, Shreyan Bhattacharya, Ronita Banerjee and others stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program. Sourav Ganguly brought the child contestants in the Zee Bangla Dadagiri program on 10th August, 2013. Ranita Banerjee, Swapnanil Sarkar, Tapadyuti Sarkar, Asmee Ghosh, Subhankar Sarkar and Shreyan Bhattacharya are big stars of Zee Bangla Channel. Some are good singers, others are comedy experts and actors. Sourav Ganguly asked Tapadyuti Dutta to say a joke as he was a star of Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program. Swapnanil Sarkar was asked by Sourav Ganguly why was he called Sandesh. He said his elder brother is called mithai, so his parents called him by sweet name. Sourav Ganguly asked Shreyan Bhattacharya to sing a song. He sang Manna Dey’s song “shashikanto tumi dekchi asortake korle mati” which he had sung early also in Zee Bangla Saregamapa Little Champs Program. Ronita Banerjee sang a chorus song with Shreyan Bhattacharya and Shubhankar Sarkar, titled “ghore jaisi chal, hathi jaisi doom”. Sourav Ganguly askd Asmee Ghosh whether she had the curly hair naturally made. She said yes. She had acted in the Bengali serial Sati. Swapnanil Sarkar also sang the song “balam pichkari”. In the slog over round, Ronita Banerjee answered the maximum number of answers. She won the prize for scoring the fastest 50 in the show. Swapnanil Sarkar knew a number of answers but due to the fact of not knowing how to press the buzzer first he could not answer them. At the end of the show Ronita Banerjee became the champion of the competition. Sourav Ganguly showed some batting stunts to Subhankar Sarkar because he said he played in the cricket stadium in Kalyani. His father was his coach. Sourav Ganguly showed his wit in conducting the program because it is very difficult to keep the child contestants in good mood.

Happy birthday to Rakesh Roshan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakesh Roshan on 6th September, 2013. 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. In 2013, he is producing and directing the big budget film Krish 2 which is going to get released during Diwali. His song Hritik Roshan is playing the lead role and the music is composed by Rajesh Roshan. 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.

Happy birthday to Akshay Kumar.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Akshay Kumar on 9th September, 2013. 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. In 2013 his film Once upon a time in Mumbai dobara did not do great business. But he has a number of films in the pipeline to be released later this year. 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. The viewers expect Akshay Kumar to continue giving hits after hits, the way he had done few years back.

Happy birthday to Asha Bhosle.

The viewers of bollywood films and listeners of music all across the country wish happy birthday to Asha Bhosle on 8th September, 2013. 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.

Wahida Rehman said she lamented the fact of not acting opposite superstar Uttam Kumar.

Recently Wahida Rehman gave an interview in Anandabazar Patrika. Different types of questions were asked about her career. She said that it was her ill-luck that she never got an opportunity to act opposite superstar Uttam Kumar. She said Guru Dutt and Vijay Anand were her favourite directors. When she acted in the film Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam in 1962, she asked Guru Dutt to create a situation where she could have any dialogue opposite legendary actress Meena Kumari. But the story and the script was given importance by Guru Dutt, and the novel of Bimal Mitra did not give any scope of Wahida Rehman interacting with Meena Kumari in the film Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam. When she was asked the question who was the best dancer of her time, she said Vaijayantimala. She also said that after the film Guide she did not get much scope of showing her dancing skills although she learned classical dance. She also mentioned of her great experience of working with Dilip Kumar in Ram Aur Shyam, Dil Diya Dard Liya and Raj Kapoor in Teesri Kasam. She also said that when the question came about making the hindi version of Bengali classic film Deep Jele Jai, she recommended the name of Rajesh Khanna to play the role which was played by Basanta Choudhury in the Bengali film. She played the role of Suchitra Sen in the film Khamoshi. The film was directed by Asit Sen. She was ready to play the role at the time when she acted in the films Bees Saal Baad and Kohra opposite Biswajeet Chatterjee. Hemant Kumar was the producer of those two films and also the music director of those two films. She also spoke about the great experience of working with Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray. She acted in the film Abhijan. She was amazed with the direction, music composition, script writing skills of Satyajit Ray. She also spoke about her great experience of acting opposite Sunil Dutt in the film Reshma Aur Shera. She also accepted the fact that Kolkata was very close to her heart because she came to Kolkata for the shooting of numerous number of films like Pyaasa, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam, Khamoshi and many other films.

Anuradha Paudwal stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Little Champs Program.

Legendary singer Anuradha Paudwal came, saw and conquered Zee Bangla Saregamapa Little Champs Program on 6th September, 2013. She was invited as guest judge in the show. The other judges namely Kumar Shanu, Akriti Kakkar, Joy Sarkar and Koushiki Chakrabarty welcomed her. The anchor of the show Jishu Sengupta also welcomed her. One of the child contestants Ronita Banerjee sang the song of Anuradha Paudwal “dil hai ki manta nahi”. After she sang the song, Anuradha Paudwal was requested to sing the song herself. She sang the song excellently. Everyone talked about the memories of the film Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahi where Amir Khan and Pooja Bhaat played the lead roles. Kumar Shanu also sang the duet song with Anuradha Paudwal. Anuradha Paudwal sang the duet song “sanson ki zaroorat hai jaise” from the film Aashiqi with Kumar Shanu and everyone appreciated the song. Anuradha Paudwal appreciated the child contestants a lot. One of the child contestants sang the song “koel si teri boli” from the film Beta. It was originally sung by Anuradha Paudwal and Udit Narayan. All the judges gave compliment to the child contestant including Joy Sarkar, Kaushiki Chakravarty, Kumar Shanu and Akriti Kakkar. Akriti Kakkar sang the song “lagja gale se phir” before everyone. It was originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the film Wo Kaun Thi and composed by Madanmohan Kohli. Joy Sarkar and Jishu Sengupta confessed before Anuradha Paudwal that they were big fans of Anuradha Paudwal in the late 1980s and early 1990s. All her songs with Kumar Shanu and Udit Narayan were immoral and still today remains extremely popular. Anuradha Paudwal had also been invited in the show as guest judge on 7th September, to encourage the child contestants and give them tips to improve their singing.

Salil Choudhury is remembered on his death anniversary.

Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his death anniversary on 5th September, 2013. 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.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor on 4th September 2013. He had remained one of the most romantic actors that bollywood had ever produced. He started his career as a child artist in Raj Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker in 1971. He stormed bollywood films with his romantic performance in the film Bobby in 1973. The film did great business and Rishi Kapoor received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in Bobby. Raj Kapoor as producer and director started a new innings with a new team of Laxmikant Pyarellal as against Shankar Jaikishan after the death of Jaikishan in 1971. LP had huge contribution in the music of the films of Rishi Kapoor for the next ten years. From that time onwards Rishi Kapoor remained one the most romantic actors in bollywood films. His films Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, Laila Majnu in 1976 and Sargam in 1978 were the greatest musical blockbusters of the 70s. The songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, Jaidev and Madanmohan in these films became everlasting hits. The notable songs of Rafi and Lata in this film included “koel boli”, “parda hai parda”, “dafliwale”, “barbad muhobbat ki dua”, “is reshmi pazeeb”, to name a few. LP received the filmfare award for the best composer for 3 Rishi Kapoor’s films namely Amar Akbar Anthony, Sargam and Karz from 1978 to 1980. Rishi Kapoor’s extraordinary capability of giving lips in these songs separated him from other actors of that era. His films Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi and Karz created history. He showed his dancing skills in every type of songs of Rafi and Kishore including “hai aga dushman zamana”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “dard –e- dil”, “om shanty om”, “puchona yaar kya hua”, to name a few. RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarellal probably gave their best music to Rishi Kapoor in the 70s and 80s. In the 80s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Duniya, Sitamgar, Saagar, Chandni, Cooli, Naseeb, did fantastic business. He got the opportunity of acting opposite stalwarts in the industry namely Dilip Kumar in Duniya, Dharmender in Sitamgar, Kamal Hassan in Saagar, to name a few. In fact due to presence of Rishi Kapoor, producers and directors created romantic stories during an era when Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha dominated bollywood with action films. Even in the 90s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Bol Radha Bol, Damini, etc., were appreciated by the audience. He was successful opposite young actresses like Juhi Chawla, Meenakshi Sheshadri, who were one generation younger than him. He had great contribution in the films of eminent directors like Yash Chopra, Manmohan Desai, Subhash Ghai, Ramesh Sippy, David Dhawan, and others. After the debut of his son Ranbir Kapoor in the film Sawaariya, Rishi Kapoor switched to character roles. In 2009 also Rishi Kapoor did well in films like Dilli 6, Pyar Me Twist, Luck By Chance. He received Star Screen award for the best supporting actor in 2010 for his performance in the film Love Aaj Kal. In 2010 he acted in the films Chintuji and Sadiyaan. 2012 had been an excellent year for Rishi Kapoor. At the beginning of the year he acted in a negative character for the first time in his career in the film Agneepath. The film with hero Hrithik Roshan had done business of more than 125 crores. His other film Housefull 2 with Akshay Kumar had become super hit too. It also had done business of more than 110 crores. He is experimenting with new characters in this part of his career. He received best villain award for his performance in the film Agneepath. In 2013, he had acted in the films Chasme Baddoor and Besharam. The viewers expect him to continue the high standard of acting in the years to come and continue the legacy created by Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.

Joy Sarkar, Jayati Sen and others stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program.

Singers Joy Sarkar, Jayati Sen, Somlata Choudhury, Raghab Chatterjee, Rupankar and Anushree stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program on 3rd November, 2013. All the singers were invited by Sourav Ganguly in the program. Jayati Sen was asked by Sourav Ganguly to sing the song “amar bhitore bahire”. She did a great job. All her rabindrasangeet had been melodious. Raghab Chatterjee was asked to sing his song. Somlata Choudhury was asked to sing the song “jagorone jay bibhabori”. Sourav Ganguly asked about her experience after marriage. She said she was brought up in Kolkata. Her husband works in Gurgaon. But her husband was born and brought up in Asansol. She had to stay in Kolkata for music recording purposes. Raghab Chatterjee said he was very close to Sourav Ganguly and almost had relation similar to a relative. Incidentally Raghab Chatterjee received talim from Pandit Ajoy Chakravarty. He had sung in many hindi films like Parineeta, Devdas, etc. and worked with Sajid Wajid, Shantanu Moitra and others. Joy Sarkar came with his guitar and played the music with almost all the singers. He was the son of singer Sudhin Sarkar and showed his excellence in composing music for many established Bengali singers. One of his good tunes include “dekhecho ki age oi nil nodir jole” sung by Subhamita. Joy Sarkar asked Sourav Ganguly how he remained focused when Greg Chappel sacked him from the team. He said that the ups and downs are normal in the lives of every cricketer. He was very strong to stay calm and by that period he already played for more than 11 years, and the people recognized his skills as an opening batsman and captain of the Indian team. Rupankar asked Sourav Ganguly when he will be Indian coach. He said he was interested. If the selectors selected him he could do go job. Raghav Chatterjee gave maximum number of right answers in the slog over round and became the champion. At the end of the show Sourav Ganguly asked all the singers to sing a song together. He anchored the program very well.

Happy birthday to composer Pyarellal.

The viewers of Bollywood films wish happy birthday to Pyarellal on 3rd September, 2013. Laxmikant Pyarellal had a very successful career in bollywood films. Their success in the film Parasmani and Dosti had proved the fact that they had emerged in the film arena to play a long innings. In the 70s they gave music in most of the successful films and the music was innovative too. After the death of Jaikishan in 1971, Raj Kapoor used LP in the film Bobby in 1973. The songs “mai shayar to nahi” sung by Shailendra Singh, and songs sung by Chanchal had given them an opening for flourishing their musical careers as well. LP gave successful music in the film Aan Milon Sajna, where songs like “aan milon sajna” sung by Rafi and “acha to hum chalte hai” sung by Lata and Kishore became hits. LP gave successful music in the film Amar Akbar Anthony, where Rafi’ssongs “parda hai parda”, “shirdiwali saibaba”, Kishore’s song “my name is Anthony Gonsalves”, etc., had catered to the popular taste of film music. LP gave successful music in Rishi Kapoor’s film Sargam, with hit songs of Rafi and Lata including “dafliwale”, “koel boli”, “ramjiki nikli sawari”, etc. Even the songs in Rishi Kapoor’s film Karz, including “darde dil” sung by Rafi and “om shanty om” sung by Kishore gave super hit in the late 70s. Songs like “yeh dil tum bin kahin lagta nahi” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Izzat, and “patta patta boota boota”, sung by Rafi and Lata, in Ek Nazar are quality compositions showing the class of LP. LP also gave quality songs in the film Jeevan Mrityu, with Rafi’s song like “jhilmil sitaronka”, songs like “o sapno ka raja” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Banphool. LP in many cases compromised with the taste of mass audience in composing music in the late 70s if compared with the superlative class of music composed in the 60s. He even gave classical songs in the 60s like “roushan tumhi se duniya” and “woh jab yaad aye” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Parasmani based on classical touch. Even then the compositions of LP in the 70s are notable and should be preserved.

Uttam Kumar was remembered on his birth anniversary.

Superstar Uttam Kumar is remembered on his birth anniversary on 3rd September, 2013. 50 actors had been awarded the Mahanayak Uttam Kumar award on his death anniversary on 24th July, 2013. Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee had started the awards in the memory of the greatest superstar of Bengal Mahanayak Uttam Kumar. Madhabi Mukherjee, Dipankar Dey, Ranjit Mullick and Sandhya Roy had been given lifetime achievement award. Incidentally Madhabi Mukherjee had acted in many super hit films of Uttam Kumar like Shankhabela, Choddobeshi, Agnisshar, etc. and Sandhya Roy had acted in many hit films of Uttam Kumar like Mayamrigo, Surjotapa. Director Goutam Ghosh had also been granted lifetime achievement award. Actors Partho Mukherjee, Chinmoy Roy, directors Sandip Ray, Raj Chakravarty, Sujit Saha, Koushik Ganguly and Srijit Mukherjee are given special awards. Actors Tapas Pal and Prasenjit Chatterjee are given Mahanayak Samman. Actors Saswata Chatterjee and Parambrata Chatterjee are given special awards. Film Producing companies are also awarded and felicitated including RD Bansal and Company, Arora Films, Shri Venkatesh films, New Theatres, to name a few. He had died almost 33 years ago, yet the viewers had not forgotten his films and still his presence is felt in the life bengalies in different parts of the world. In 2011 the Governer of West Bengal launched the 50 rupees postal stamp having the engraving of Uttam Kumar in it. Previously Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar’s faces were engraved in Postal stamps for remembering their contribution to Indian cinema. Last year, Mamta Banerjee, the Union Railway Minister, renamed the Tollygunge Metro Station as Mahanayak Uttam Kumar station. In 2011, the walls of the Tollygunge Metro Station had been filled with the pictures of films of Uttam Kumar. In fact the people of Tollygunge cannot associate the place without the existence of Uttam Kumar whose works glorified the different studios which carried on the legacy of Bengali Film Industry. Mamta Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal had also provided support to revive the Uttam Mancha and take care of Shilpi Sangsad, an organization created by Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to help the needy actors, actresses, technicians, etc. Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray acknowledged the dynamic presence of the legendary superstar in Bengali films and made a film Nayak in 1966 based on the story of Uttam Kumar. His original name was Arun Kumar Chatterji, who was a clerk in Port Commission before joining Bengali films. When he joined films with Drishtidaan in 1948, he had to struggle to create his image as against he established heroes like Asit Boron, Bikash Roy and others. In 1952, his film Basu Paribar struck at the box-office and he overtook Bosonto Choudhury, Asit Boron and became the leading superstar of Bengali films. All the qualities of a romantic hero was possessed by him, including a standard height, good complexion, manly voice, romantic hairstyle and unique dialogue delivery. Any dress suited the legendary superstar including Punjabi, dhoti, coat, Bengali dresses, etc. He 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. Even the singers who had sung for him including Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Hemanta Mukherjee, Manobendra Mukherjee, etc., agreed that they did not find any actor who was parallel to Uttam Kumar in giving lips in songs. He made the viewers feel that he only sang the songs. Actor Shatrughun Sinha in his interview had said that during his student life in Pune Film and Television Institute, the upcoming actors used to debate about the charishma of Uttam Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. Although there was no unanimity about the finest actor among them, there was consensus about one fact had Uttam Kumar established himself in bollywood films by acting in more number of films, he would have been equally an international figure like Raj Kapoor or Dilip Kumar. Articles after articles can be devoted to Uttam Kumar who was one –man –industry in Bengali films. His films should be revisited to create motivation for making better quality films in future.