Happy birthday to superstar Shahrukh Khan.

Happy birthday to superstar Shahrukh Khan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to superstar Shahrukh Khan on 2nd November, 2014. He was the ruler of bollywood industry in the 90s. Right from Baazigar, Shahrukh Khan gave blockbusters one after the other. After Amitabh Bacchan, he is the next superstar, whose screen presence had carried through many big budget films. 2011 had been a great year for Shahrukh Khan. He had produced the costliest film in Indian history Ra One. The film in the first week had already done business of more than 50 crores. Although the film had not broken the record of Salman Khan’s film Bodyguard this year which had done business of 150 crores, the film had created a new trend, and Shahrukh Khan’s excellent acting, stunts and enthusiasm had been praised a lot by the viewers. In 2012, Shahrukh Khan’s romantic film Jab Tak Hai Jaan was released on Diwali, on 13th November. It was the last film of Yash Chopra. He died recently. This was the first time Shahrukh Khan had acted opposite Katrina Kaif. AR Rehman composed the music of the film. The film did business of 115 crores. 2013 had been even more successful year for Shahrukh Khan. His film Chennai Express released in August, 2013, did business of more than 210 crores. The film broke the record of Amir Khan’s The Three Idiots and stands as the biggest blockbuster ever. 2014 had been a bigger year. Shahrukh Khan’s film Happy New Year did business of more than 150 crores in the 1st weeks. It has the potential of doing business of more than 200 crores. Shahrukh Khan had a grand combination with Director Karan Johar, and most of the films directed by him ended up being super hit. The notable films include Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, etc. Shahrukh Khan also gave able lips in hit songs of these films including “kuch kuch hota hai”, “suraj hua madhyam”, etc. In 2010, their grand combination gave another hit titled My Name is Khan. Shahrukh Khan played the lead role in the film and did a great job opposite Kajol. Shahrukh Khan also succeeded in negative roles. The greatest example includes Darr. There he played a negative character opposite Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla. On one hand he gave good lips in the songs “tu mere samne”, on the other hand his attack on Juhi Chawla made the viewers understand that he could act in any type of films. He received filmfare award for the negative category as well. He was played a challenging role in Mani Ratnam’s film Dil Se. The film was related to terrorism in North East India and Shahrukh Khan died with Manisha Koirala in the film. Shahrukh Khan has the record of bagging 7 filmfare awards for best actor, which is the second best record after Dilip Kumar who had won it 8 times. Shahrukh Khan, better known as King Khan, had acted in the films of almost all the leading directors of the country, including Amol Palekar’s Paheli with Rani Mukherjee. Besides he had acted opposite different actresses like Kajol in the film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Preeti Zinta in the film Veer Zara, Anushka Sharma in the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jori, to name a few. Shahrukh Khan opened own production house titled Dreams Unlimited with Juhi Chawla, and the films produced by such combination like Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani also did good business. Shahrukh Khan had ruled the industry for more than 15 years. Shahrukh Khan is also known for high level of energy. He had sponsored the Kolkata Knight Riders IPl team which had been captained by Sourav Ganguly. Although the team had performed is a disastrous manner, Shahrukh Khan had always encouraged his players. Shahrukh Khan’s team under the captainship of Gautam Gambhir had also won the IPL Trophy this year. The viewers are waiting for his next film that is going to be released in 2015. He is breaking his own records. So there are more surprises in future.

Happy birthday to Beauty - Queen Aishwarya Rai.

Happy birthday to Beauty –Queen Aishwarya Rai. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to bollywood beauty-queen Aishwarya Rai on 1st November, 2014. She had been the first woman in India whose wax Statue had been made in Madam Tussadd’s Museum in London , UK. After winning Miss World Crown she stormed Bollywood films with Jeans. Her film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, released in late 1990s became super hit. Her screen presence in traditional Rajasthani dress flabbergasted the viewers. She gave elegant lips in the songs “nimura nimura” and “dhol baaje”. She gave the best performance of her life in the film Taal. Her softness in the film opposite Ashay Khanna and Anil Kapoor charmed the viewers. AR Rehman’s music in the film was sensational. All the songs in the film became super hit including “ishq bina kya jina”, “rabba jogi”, etc. Ash in that period was at the top of her career. She also did well opposite Anil Kapoor in the film Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. In that film she was raped by Puru Raj Kumar and was given shelter by Anil Kapoor. After that her docile image balanced the strong performance of Anil Kapoor in the film. The film got huge box-office. Ash created spark in item numbers as well. The best example can be “kajra re kajra re” in the film Bunty Aur Babli. Gulzar wrote the lyrics which was sung by Alisha Chinoi. The music was composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. In fact the best dance performance of the film was related to the song which pulled the crowds. Aishwarya’s other hit films include Josh, Kuch Na Kaho, Sarkar Raaj, etc. 2008 was a great year for Ash. After success in the film Dhoom 2 opposite Hrithik Roshan, she amazed the viewers with her powerful performance in the film Jodha Akbar, again opposite Hrithik Roshan. If Dhoom 2 showed her westernized dimensions, Jodha Akbar proved her royal andaz. That was the best film of the year and of her career till now. Aishwarya Rai played a very notable role in the films Bride and Prejudice and other Hollywood films. Articles after articles can be devoted on Aishwarya Rai’s Hollywood performances. In 2010 the viewers appreciated her performance in the role Sita in Mani Ratnam’s film Ravan. Her film Action Replay opposite Akshay Kumar did not do great business. Viewers appreciated her performance in the film Guzarish where she had acted opposite superstar Hrithik Roshan and it was critically acclaimed film. She discontinued acting for 2 years after giving birth to a daughter. The viewers expect Ash to continue the great work that she had started 15 years back.

Amrita Chatterjee, Biswanath Basu, Manashi, Arjun rocked Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Amrita Chatterjee, Biswanath Basu, Arjun, Manashi rocked Mirakkel Program. Actresses Manasi Sinha and Biswanath Basu came to Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 28th October, while Amrita Chatterjee and Arjun Chakravarty came to Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 29th October, 2014 to promote the film Janla Diye Bou Palalo. Mir Afsar Ali the anchor of the show asked the guest judges the story of the film. Biswanath and Basu and Manasi Sinha said that the story was related to a girl who was forced to marry a boy by her family never wanted to marry. Aniket Chatterjee directed the film. Amrita Chatterjee played the role of the girl. Thereafter the girl got irritated and escaped from the window of the house. Thereafter she met Arjun Chakravarty and fell in love with him. The film is related to slapstick comedy. The director Aniket Chatterjee had used huge number of comedy stars in Bengal right from Biswanath Basu to Manashi Sinha, Kharaj Mukherjee to Kanchan Mullick to name a few. In the show Mir Afsar Ali talked about doing a show in Jodhpur Park with a python. After some period of time the python started pressing the neck and he stopped the song after 1 minute and gave the snake to a snake charmer. Rajatavo Dutta said that he had acted in the Bengali film Badshahi Ungty directed by Sandip Ray. The film is yet to be released. It was based on Satyajit Ray’s first story on Feluda written in 1969. In that film also Rajatavo Dutta had to shoot with a snake and it was a terrifying experience. All the celebrities appreciated the participants in Mirakkel and the judges Rajatavo Dutta, Srilekha Mitra and Paran Banerjee wished best of the luck for the upcoming film Janla Diye Bou Palalo.

Satinath Mukherjee had unique singing talent in the golden age of bengali music.

Satinath Mukherjee was one of the versatile classical singers who did not get dues during the golden age. The 50s and 60s were categorized with notable classical and semi-classical singers in the Bengal arena where Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, Akhil Bandhu Ghosh and other giants galvanized the world of modern songs. Satinath Mukherjee, the guru of notable singer Shyamal Mitra, had a huge partnership with lyricist Shyamal Gupta and presented his flora of classical ragas in Bengali modern songs. His songs “pashaner buke likhona amar naam”, “bono patho majhe”, “jibone Jodi deep”, etc. were milestones of Bengali modern songs. He sang separate private songs involving “raag pradhan” which described the movement of separate ragas like Imon, Baghesri, Darbari Kanada, Behag, Ashawari, etc. His song on raag bageshri included “elo jochona se tobu”. His song on raag bairagi included “dake na keno je banshi”. His song on raag behaag included “gelo je logon chole”. His song on raag bhairav included “jagiche bhore probhat robi”. His song on raag bhupali included “kotha je banshori baaje”. His song on raag darbadi kanada included “e bedona kemone sohi”. His song on raag desh thumri included “boroshar rate jagi”. His song on raag kalawati included “baje keno beena”. His song on raag komol ashavari included “modhu rati bhor hoi”. His song on raag madhab todi included “ke jano dake nishibore”. His song on raag manj khamaj included “tomare bhulite ogo”. His song on raag nandkauns included “kotha tumi ghanashyam”. His song on raag pahari thumri included “emono dine se kothay”. His song on raag patdeep included “kano janina baje”. His song on raag yaman included “na go na jeyona”. Some of his classical songs included “bojhona keno ami je koto eka”, “jedin jibone tumi”, “baluka belay kurai jhinuk”, to name a few. Very significantly most of the songs were composed by himself. As a composer he used to be considered a giant of giants. His compositions for other legendary singers included “tomar pother prante moner monideep jele rekhechi” and “bhule gechi kobe” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee, “eto alo aar eto hasi gaan” sung by Shyamal Mitra, “ami cheyechi tomay” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, “tomar moto amiyoto koto soyechi” sung by Pannalal Bhattacharya, to name a few. Besides his own student Dipak Maitra had sung few songs composed by Satinath Mukherjee included “koto kotha bola holona”. Satinath Mukherjee is associated with the compositions for the two maestros in Indian music namely Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. Lata’s first record in Bengali namely “akash pradeep jale” and “koto tara” were the compositions of the genius Satinath Mukherjee. Satinath Mukherjee’s landmark compositions for Mohammad Rafi included “ekhono biday bolona”, “pakhitar buke jeno teer merona”, etc. It is very sad that Satinath Mukherjee’s immense musical talents were not used in Bengali films. He had sung rare songs like “majhe nodi bahe re” in Tapan Sinha’s film Atithi, songs in Uttam Kumar’s film Bon Palashir Padabali, etc. Otherwise Satinath Mukherjee, the sincere student of Ustad Bare Ghulam Ali Khan was one of the revolutionary singers and composers who remained an institution by himself. His students included singer and composer Jotileshwar Mukherjee who carried on the legacy of Satinath Mukherjee. The songs and creations of Satinath should be preserved and restored.

Remembering royal actor Pradeep Kumar on his death anniversary.

Royal actor Pradip Kumar is remembered on his death anniversary on 27th October, 2014. The viewers of Bollywood films wished happy birthday to Pradeep Kumar on 4th January, 2014. The 1950s and 1960s are categorized by the huge number of period films created after doing adequate research on the relevant historical characters. Whenever the elegant pair of actors and actresses of bollywood films are thought about the combination of Raj Kapoor and Nargis, and Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala gets the privilege. Their combination gave the greatest hits of bollywood history and Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor being stars, their stardom reached Europe and Middle-East, so their hit films were the most famous films in the 50s and 60s like Awaara or Madhumati. But whenever reference comes about the most royal pair of bollywood films, Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari’s name comes at the beginning. Pradeep Kumar acted in around 6 films with Madhubala, including Rajhath (1956), Yahudi Ki Ladki (1957), Gateway of India (1957), Police (1958), Mahlon Ki Khwab, (1960) and Passport (1961). But other than Rajhath and Gateway of India the other films did not do impressive business. In the early 50s, he acted opposite Meena Kumari in the film Bandhan. They also acted in the film Adil – e – Jahangir. But the pair actually got accolades for refined viewers with the film Aarti in 1962 under Rajashree Productions. In the film, their characters were noble, they came together to serve the poor. Ashok Kumar played the role of materialistic doctor who came in the way for his affection towards Meena Kumari. From that time the combination of Pradeep Kumar, Meena Kumari, Ashok Kumar, composer Roshan and singer Mohammad Rafi resulted in magic. All the songs of Aarti composed by Roshan and sung by Rafi were majestic in nature catering to the tastes of cultured audience including “ab kya misaal doon mai tumhare shabab ki”, “baar baar mohe”, “aap ne yaad dilayatha to mujhe yaad aya”, etc. Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari acted together in Kidar Sharma’s Chitralekha in 1964. Pradeep Kumar played the role of royal Samanta Beejgupta during the famous Gupta age. Roshan and Rafi combination again created magic with the legendary bhajan “man re to kahe na dheer dhare”. Pradeep Kumar, Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar came out with another triangular love story in the film Bheegi Raat in 1965. It was Kalidas’s film. The film had powerpact performances of all the three. The Roshan Rafi combination again created gold with the songs “jane yeh kaun hai”, “dil jo na keh saka”, etc., which became super hit. In 1967, Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari acted in two films of M. Sadiq’s films Bahu Begum and Noorjahan. Again Roshan Rafi combination was at their best. In Bahu Begum, along with Rafi’s “hum intezar karenge”, Manna Dey showed his brilliance in the qawallis picturised in dargas, and Lata was brilliant in the song “duniya kare sawal”. Ashok Kumar was sublime in performance in a sacrificing role opposite Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari. In the 70s, with the death of Meena Kumari, and the retirement of Pradeep Kumar from lead roles, the royal style of romantic stories faded away which were prevalent during the golden era. All the films of Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari combination require preservation and restoration for the romantic appeal, royal style of performance, elegance and superlative class of music.

Shahrukh Khan's Happy New Year scored 100 crores in 3 days.

Shahrukh Khan’s Happy New Year scored 100 crores in 3 days. Shahrukh Khan every year comes up with a new blockbuster and breaks all the records. Last year Chennai Express broke all the records. In 2014, till now Salman Khan’s Kick had the record of doing business of 235 crores and ended up being blockbuster. Hrithik Roshan’s Bang Bang was second blockbuster doing business of 180 crores. But Shahrukh Khan’s Happy New Year did business worth 108 crores in 3 days. The Diwali festival helped Shahrukh Khan for the success. The film had been been produced by Gauri Khan and directed by Farah Khan. The music of the film had been composed by Vishal Shekhar. In the film Jackie Shroff wrongly implicated Anupam Kher, the father of Shahrukh in robbery case, where the locker was made by Anupam Kher. Jackie bribed the witnesses and won the case and Anupam Kher committed suicide. Shahrukh Khan hatched a plan to rob the Shalimar Diamond from Jackie Shroff’s locker in Dubai. So made a team with Sonu Sood, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bacchan, Boman Irani and Vivaan Shah. They participated in an international dance competition and took the help of a bard dancer played by Deepika Padukone. Computer was hacked to get the final entry and they went to the final in Dubai. The planned operation worked out. Dubai police arrested Jackie Shroff. Deepika Padukone did not leave the dance floor and everyone reluctantly danced with her and India won the competition. The entire film had been Shahrukh Khan show. At time Farah Khan had been repetitive. Boman Irani’s parsi acting now had become repetitive. Sonu Sood was used but few comedy things like making him deaf from one year was unnnecesary. As Farah Khan herself was a famous choreographer, she had the scope of showing brilliant dancing by different dance groups across the world. The dance performances of the Koreans and other groups were not that impressive. But the fight sequences were good, specially the action of Shahrukh Khan with Korean dancer on rooftop of skyscraper in Dubai. If story and direction is examined Bang Bang had a better story compared to Happy New Year. But Shahrukh Khan has his own committed fan base, that superstar charisma made the difference and Happy New Year has the potential of breaking the records of Dhoom 3 as well.

Rekha Bhardwaj stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program.

Rekha Bhardwaj stormed Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program. Rekha Bhardwaj was invited as guest judge in Zee Bangla Saregamapa Program on 25th October, 2014. She was the additional judge in addition to the judges Kumar Shanu, Alka Yagnik and Hariharan. The participants sang excellent songs on 25th October. Alka Yagnik in her comment mentioned the way the contestants performed it became difficult for them to eliminate anyone. Kumar Shanu was so pleased with the singing of the contestants that he went on giving Goggles and Sunglasses to the contestants. One of the contestants sang Manna Dey’s song “Jodi kagoje lekho naam kagaj ure jabe”. It was a song with a lot of emotions. The contestant did justice to the song. Another contestant sang Manna Dey’s song ‘baje go bina” from the film Marjina Abdulla, composed by Salil Choudhury. There was huge amount of classical touch in the song. The contestant did well too. One of the contestants sang Shyamal Mitra’s song “jiban khatar proti patay jotoi lekho hishab nikash kichui robena” from the film Deya Neya. It was composed by Shyamal Mitra himself. The contestant did well. Other contestants sang songs like “zaara zaara” which were difficult to sing. Jishu Sengupta and the contestants requested Rekha Bhardwaj to sing her hit songs. She sang the song “sasural genda phool” from the film Dilli 6. She also sang the song “fakira maan ja” from the film Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani. Everyone were moved with her presentation. She was also requested to sing the song “namak ishq ka” from the film Omkara. It was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj. She also sung the song “phir le aya dil majbur kya kije” from the film Barfi. Pritam composed the music and Rekha Bhardwaj made everyone mesmerized with the performance. Jishu Sengupta anchored the program very well.

Happy birthday to Raveena Tandon.

Happy birthday to Raveena

Tandon. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Raveena Tandon on 26th October, 2014 . She was a versatile actress of the 90s. Initially when she joined films her performance opposite Akshay Kumar and Govinda attracted the attention of many viewers. Her films Mohra opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, Aatish and Vijeta opposite Sanjay Dutt, Vinashak opposite Sunil Shetty got great box-office success. In Vijeta she played the role of an honest police officer who loved a lawyer Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay Dutt took law in his own hands to punish the killers of his senior lawyer played by Aloknath. Raveena realized that her superior police officer Amrish Puri was a criminal himself and sided with Paresh Rawal. The performance of Raveena in a daring role in Vijeta amazed the viewers. She also showed her comedy skills in the film Andaz Apna Apna opposite Ami Khan and Salman Khan. She was the mate of rich girl Karishma Kapoor. But instead she pretended to be the rich girl and Karishma Kapoor pretended to be the maid. The film directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi did brilliant business in the early 1990s. But later on in her career she got challenging roles. She got the national award for the best actress for her brilliant performance in the film Daman. It was related to ill-treatment of women. She was sublime in the film Shool opposite Manoj Vajpayee, where the corruption in politics was at issue. Shool showed the high level of corruption in Bihar to such extent that some of the politicians wanted to ban the film. She gave landmark performance in the film Jago opposite Sanjay Kapoor. Her daughter was raped by miscreants in local train in Mumbai and she prayed for justice in court of law. Manoj Vajpayee, the police officer in the film faced the resistance from different members of the society in proving the case. Her performance in the court scene amazed the viewers and she got critical acclamation for the performance in the film. Raveena Tandon was brilliant in the film Daava opposite Akshay Kumar. She acted in other hit films like Officer opposite Sunil Shetty, Ladlaa opposite Anil Kapoor, Zid opposite Sunny Deol, to name a few.She always had kept her mark in action films where Sunil Shetty or Akshay Kumar or Sanjay Dutt had the major role. It is a pity that when she was at the peak of her career that she left films after getting married and begetting children. In 2011 she had acted in the film Buddha Hoga Tera Baap. She had also acted in the film Aap Ke Liye Hum. The viewers want her to make a complete return to bollywood films in character roles as she still has a lot of acting left in her.

The country remembers great Manna Dey on his death anniversary.

The country remembers the great singer Manna Dey on his death anniversary on 24th October, 2014. Last year he died at this time of the year making everyone sad. During 1950s and 1960s, Mohammad Rafi ruled bollywood music and used to be considered the uncrowned monarch of playback singing. Some of the most legendary songs of the decade were sung by Rafi including “man tarpat hari darshan” in film Baiju Bawra composed by Naushad Ali, “ajahu na aye balma sawan bita jay” in film Beti Bete composed by Shankar Jaikishan. During that decade Manna Dey, the classical singer having huge range and brilliant control was used to sing difficult songs. Shankar Jaikishan exploited the excellent talent of Manna Dey in the best way. In Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420, Manna Dey’s songs like “dil ka haal sune dilwala”, “pyar hua ikraar hua hai” and “mur mur ken a dekh” had romantic andaz. Same were the songs in Raj Kapoor’s Chori Chori where Manna Dey sang “yeh raat bhigi bhigi”, “jahan bhi jati hu”, “aaja sanam madhur chandni me ham”. Manna Dey was famous for his classical andaz. Shankar Jaikishan used the talent in Bharat Bhushan’s film Basant Bahar in the songs “ketki” and “sur na saje kya gayun mai”. SJ and Manna Dey combination stormed bollywood in Balraj Sahani’s Seema with the song “tu pyar ka saagar hai”. Manna Dey’s classical andaz was used in Shammi Kapoor’s Janwar in the song “ankho ankho se” and Raj Kumar’s film Mere Huzoor in the song “jhanak jhanak”. Manna Dey SJ created magic in Rajender Kumar’s film Zindagi titled “muskura ladle muskura”. His folk andaz was used by SJ in Raj Kapoor’s film Teesri Kasam in the song “chalet musafir”. SJ and Manna Dey were sublime in Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker as well in the song “ai bhai zara dekhke chalo”. Shankar Jaikishan after giving due respect to Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood and others did absolute justice to Manna Dey’s classical talent. It was sad that Jaikishan expired in 1971, otherwise the magic combination of SJ with Manna Dey would have continued. The songs and the films require publicity.

Birth Anniverary of Shammi Kapoor.

21st October is the birth anniversary of Rebel star Shammi Kapoor. The country remembers him on 21st October, 2014.

Rebel Star Shammi Kapoor is remembered on 14th August, 2014, his death anniversary, for his immense contribution to Bollywood films. 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.

Zee Bangla Channel paid tribute to Mahanayika Suchitra Sen.

Zee Bangla Channel paid

tribute to Mahanayika Suchitra Sen. Zee Bangla Channel with the help of the entire film fraternity gave tribute to legendary Mahanayika Suchitra Sen on 19th October, 2014. The entire program was shown on Zee Bangla Channel. Clippings from Suchitra Sen’ films were shown. Legendary singer Sandhya Mukherjee was brought up. She shared her experience of singing maximum number of songs for Suchitra Sen. Majority of those songs became classic songs. Soumitra Chatterjee shared his experience of acting with Suchitra Sen in the film Saat Pake Bandha. He was impressed with her personality. He received the Jury Award in Moscow Festival and Satyajit Ray was one of the members of the Jury. Actors and actresses of the present generation ranging from Prasenjit Chatterjee to Rituparna Sengupta, Manami, Shubhashree, Koyel Mullick, and others danced at her songs. Actors Biswajeet Chakravarty and Tanima Debi acted in a small play to speak about Suchitra Sen’s films. Jishu Sengupta, Rachana Banerjee, Saswata Chatterjee all anchored the program. Everyone echoed the same sentiment that both mahanayak Uttam Kumar and Mahanayika Suchitra Sen were the best couple in Celluloid. The art of romantic acting started with them and for the last 60 years they had remained a phenomenon. Singers June, Ujjaini and others sang different songs of Suchitra Sen which were either sang by Sandhya Mukherjee or Geeta Dutt. Mimi Chakravarty came and said that she had written her praises on Suchitra Sen. Saying anything about the legendary actress made her nervous. Actress Indrani Dutta got a scope of dancing in Suchitra Sen’s song “ghum ghum chand jhikimiki tara”. He said she loved the song very much. Everyone paid their respect to the departed soul of legendary Suchitra Sen.

Happy birthday to Sunny Deol.

Happy birthday to Sunny Deol. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to action star Sunny Deol on 19th October, 2014. He had been a sensation in bollywood films. Being the son of successful actor Dharmender, he had the pressure of proving his capability the early part of his career. Although he started with romantic films like Betaab in the early 80s, within short period of time he built a macho body and acted in action films one after the other. He became the lead actor in most of the films of Raj Kumar Santoshi. Most of those films were anti-establishment films where his anti-establishment- image amazed the viewers. After Amitabh Bacchan and Dharmender, probably Sunny Deol was the only star whose action image was accepted by audience of different tastes. He received the filmfare best actor award for his brilliant performance in the film Ghayal. He took revenge against smuggling don Balwant Rai played by Amrish Puri. He got awarded for his brilliant performance in the film Damini opposite Meenakshi Sheshadri. He played the role of an upright lawyer who helped a lady like Meenakshi who was threatened by her inlaws against giving testimony in a rape case. The film became the greatest hit of the year. Sunny had to very high standard of acting from his rival Amrish Puri in both these films who maintained the standard of acting he displayed in art films directed by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini and others. Sunny’s film Gadar Ek Premkatha, based on hindu-muslim vengeance during partition broke the record of hit films in India. He went to Pakistan to bring his wife Amisha Patel and small son, and faced the resistance of orthodox muslims under the leadership of Amrish Puri. He fought his way out and brought his family to India. He displayed the passion of being a true Indian in style. His other hit films included Ghatak, Samandar, Darr, Joshilay, Tridev, Vishwaatma, to name a few. He was considered to be one of the best body-builders of the country in the 90s. He also produced few films and did well in them as well. Other than Sanjay Dutt, no other actor was as successful as Sunny Deol in action films. He is presently busy with his sequel film Ghayal returns. 2011 had been a successful year for him. His film Yaamla Pagla Dewaana did excellent business at the beginning of the year. For the first time, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Dharmender were seen in the same film together. He was a great crowd puller in the 90s, viewers want the same magic back. His film Yaamla Pagla Dewaana 2 was released in 2012. It did not do that amount of business. The viewers expect him to continue the strong performance and contribute in bollywood films in future.

Happy birthday to actor of actors Om Puri.

Happy birthday to actor of actors Om Puri. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to actor of actors Om Puri on 18th October, 2014. Om Puri, along with Naseeruddin Shah used to be considered and is still considered the most versatile actor of all times. Born on 18th October, 1950, Om Puri learned acting from Film and Television Institute of India. He was an alumnus of 1973 batch of Delhi School of Drama along with Naseeruddin Shah. He was the automatic choice of the greatest directors of Indian films like Satyajit Ray who did cast him in Sadgati, Govind Nihalini who had cast him in Aakrosh, Ardha Satya, etc., Ketan Mehta who had cast him in Mirch Masala, Gulzar, who had cast him in Maachis, to name a few. But when question came in relation to awards, critics feel that Om Puri, did not receive the recognition he deserved. He received national awards for best actor for his performance in the films Arohan and Ardhya Satya. But there is no justification as to the fact why did not receive a national award for his lifetime performance in the film Aakrosh. He did not have a single dialogue, and in a mute role, he expressed his agony, which was at par with some of the best Hollywood actors of all times. His performance in Satyajit Ray’s film Sadgati requires special mention. He died at the end of the film while cutting wood for cremation purposes for Mohan Agase in the film. He made the classic literature of Munshi Premchand immortal with his performance. He was sublime in Mirch Masala. He was outstanding in Tamas. Although he won a number of international awards, that does not justify his immense acting skills. He won the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for his performance in the film Ardhya Satya in 1984. He won Brussels International Best Film Actor award in 1998 for his performance in the film My Son the fanatic. Even his performance in commercial films like Ghayal or Gupt or China Gate requires special mention. In the last 10 years he had featured in every alternate films including Gulzar’s Maachis, Priya Darshaan’s Malamaal Weekly, Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Pukar, Sohail Khan’s Dabaang. His performance in small roles in landmark films like Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi had amazed everyone. In the last few years his performance in Saif Ali Khan’s film Qurbaan, Ashay Kumar’s film Action Replay had been very impressive. Even in commercial films like Salman Khan’s Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Om Puri played the role of a wrestler very well. He balanced the performances of Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher. In 2011, viewers are waiting to see his performance opposite Shahrukh Khan in the film Don 2 – the chase continues. The viewers and critics feel that Om Puri should continue his brilliant work irrespective of adequate justice being done through the awards, because his actual admirer are the immense number of viewers who had always considered him a genius of genius. In 2012, he played an important role in the film Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal with Nana Patekar and others. The viewers expect him to continue the dream run in respect of powerful performances.

The country remembers great composer Shankar on his birth anniversary.

Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi was one of the giants of the great Shankar Jaikishan duo. On 15th October, 2014, the country remembers the great composer. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s a number of composers dominated Bollywood films. Naushad Ali, Roshanlal Nagrath, Madanmohan Kohli, OP Nayyar, all had the class of their own. Shankar Jaikishan composed music in almost 195 films in that golden age. One of the great reasons of Shankar Jaikishan’s huge success was due to the great combination with immortal singer Mohammad Rafi Sahab. 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, released in 1966 including songs like “aja re aa zara aa”, “Japan, Love in Tokyo”, “ o mere shahekhuba”, etc. In Biswajeet’s April Fool, released in 1964 SJ’s composition for Rafi including “aa gale lag ja” had westernized background. At the same time Rafi’s song “tumhe chaha” with Suman Kalyanpur was a great rendition in pensive mood. SJ’s composition for Rafi in Shammi Kapoor’s An Evening in Paris, in 1967, 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, released in 1965 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 which was produced by Raj Kapoor and released in 1954, “hai na bolo bolo”, “re mamma re mamma re” in Shammi Kapoor’s Andaz, released in 1971 and “chakke p chakka” in Brahmchari, in 1969. 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”, “kya kya na kahe” 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 has 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.

Apurbo Roy stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Apurbo Roy stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program. On 14th October, 2014, Apurbo Roy, one of the veterans of Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program gave a remarkable performance. He was the star performer and performed at the end. Apurbo Roy played the character of Joddha meaning warrior. Recently Deb (Deepak Adhikari) with Mimi acted in the film Joddha which was related the life of a warrior. Apurbo Roy borrowed the concept from there but gave a comedy angle to the entire play. He said that he had 4 brothers borda, mejda, chorda and joddha. Two children gave a remarkable performance with the subject of selling joynagarer moya. They did a marvelous job. The judge Paran Banerjee appreciated their accent which was said in the places Jessore and Khulna and it sounds very sweet. The other judges Rajatavo Dutta and Srilekha Mitra also appreciated their performance. An old performer Mr Dhar did a great job. He always made a signature entry by saying “namakar, namaskar, namaskar and namaskar, ekti meye”. Mir Afsar Ali, the anchor of the show, imitated him. Mr Dhar had wit of his own. He made the signature entry and then said the joke was over. Incidentally he won the prize of the best performer along with a performer of Bankura. One lady also did a great job by showing a play related to dieting. She said when Srilekha Mitra was asked what type of dieting she did, she answered see food diet. Meaning whatever came before her eyes, she ate them. Everyone laughed at the remark. Mir told everyone that they were flying to the Moon in a comedy andaz. He anchored the program very well.

Happy birthday to dream-girl Hema Malini.

Happy birthday to dream-girl Hema Malini. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dream girl Hema Malini on 16th October, 2014. She was the uncrowned queen of bollywood films of the 70s. Her strong dancing skills gave her a separate place in bollywood films. Her performance in the film Sapno Ka Saudagar opposite Raj Kapoor was extremely successful in the late 60s. From there she never looked back. Her film Abhinetri opposite Shashi Kapoor became super hit. Her successful films opposite other stars included Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Burning Train opposite Dharmender, Johnny Mera Naam opposite Dev Anand, to name a few. Gora Aur Kala became super hit with the successful songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal like “tu meri sapno ka rani banegi”, “dheere dheere bol”, etc. Within short time she formed a brilliant combination with Dharmender and their films started rocking bollywood in the 70s. The pair started off with films like Naya Zamana, Raja Jani and went on to give all time hits like Seeta Aur Geeta, Jugnu, Charas, Sholay, etc. If Sholay is remembered for superlative camerawork of Ramesh Sippy, villainish andaz of Amzad Khan, angry image of Big B, then it is also remembered for tremendous dance performance of Hema Malini. She danced on top of glasses in the song “jab tak hai jaan”. Besides she showed her bravery also in the film by riding on the horse-cart against the gang of dacoits of Gabbar Singh. Hema Malini did extremely well in off-beat films as well. One of her landmark films included Kinara opposite Jeetender and Dharmender. Gulzar’s films was based on dancing and Hema Malini’s classical dance balanced the story line where Jeetender’s car struck Dharmender and killed him on the spot. Dharmender was the husband of Hema Malini in the film and she lived with his memory in the film. Hema Malini’s films opposite Big B also did great business. Some of their hit films included Desh Premi, Satte Pe Satta, etc. In the last few years Hema Malini had been seen contributing in character roles in bollywood films like Baghban. She must be proud about the success of her daughter Esha Deol, but is respect of glamour and beauty and dancing skills still Hema Malini is remembered for her dominance during the 70s. In the recent years Hema Malini acted in many matured roles. She had acted very well in the film Aarakshan in 2011, opposite Amitabh Bacchan. She was the trustee of an organization catered to give higher education in India and reinstated Amitabh Bacchan as the Principal of that institution. Hema Malini also came in the Indian Idol 6 Show with Dharmender as guest judge in 2012. She shared her experiences of acting dancing and the history relating to playback singing involving her. The viewers still believe that a lot of dancing skills are still left in Hema Malini and she should still act in bollywood films in future.

Happy birthday to Item-queen Malaika Arora.

Happy birthday to Item –queen Malaika Arora. The viewers of bollyood films wish happy birthday to Item-queen Malaika Arora on 23rd August, 2014. 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 2014 will be a successful year for year.

Listeners of ghazals remember the King Jagjit Singh.

Listeners of ghazals remember the king of ghazals Jagjit Singh on 10th October every year. Ghazal King Jagjit Singh passed away on 10th October, 2011. In respect of his excellent ghazals his listeners have remained speechless. His voice had been used to heal sadness and sickness. He had been the only singer who had composed and sung songs on the poetry of legendary Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee titled “Nayidisha” in 1999 and “Samvedna” in 2002. Along with his wife Chitra Singh, he was the first Indian composer to have used digital multi-track recording for the album “Beyond Time” in 1987. His original name was Jagpreet Singh. He learned khayal, dhrupad, thumri from Ustaad Jamaal Khan. His album “The unforgetables” in 1976, mesmerized the audience. His baritone voice made everyone enchanted. He departed from classical ghazals to a more refined romantic rendition, by keeping the soul of the lyrics intact. He created a different gharana, a bit different from the other legends of ghazals like Mehedi Hassan, Talat Mehmood, Mohammad Rafi, Noor Jahan, Begum Akhtar, etc. His compositions in the duet albums “Ecstasies”, “A Sound Affair”, “Passions”, with Chitra Singh were unparallel. Jagjit Singh’s excellent bass was balanced by Chitra Singh’s high notes in most of the ghazals. Duet ghazals like”duniya jise kehte hai jadoo ka khilouna hai”, “kaun keheta hai muhobbat ka zuban hoti hai”, etc., will remain immortal for ever. After the death of his son Vivek at the age of 21 years, Chitra Singh left singing. But Jagjit Singh’s later albums were full of pathos, but the excellent lyrics of the shayar’s or poets or given adequate expression by the legendary Ghazal King. The titles of his music albums were also thoughtful including Hope, Insight, Mirage, Kahkashan (Galaxy), etc., to name a few. Jagjit Singh probably had sung with the best poets of the country in the 80s and 90s including Nida Fazli, Qateel Shifai, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Sudarshaan Fakir, Zaka Siddiqi, Nazir Bakri, Faiz Ratlami and others. It required huge talent and innovation to do justice to the thoughtful words shown in the poem. In whichever field of music Jagjit Singh had ventured he had struck gold, whether his albums in bhajans or gurbani. Jagjit Singh enriched hindi film music with his excellent compositions in the film Saath Saath and others. His film songs like “tumko dekha to ye khayal aya”, “tum itna jo muskura rahi ho”, “hoton se chulo tum” had remained historical masterpieces. His songs in TV Serial Mirza Ghalib had enchanted numerous listeners. A Padmabhushan being awarded to the musical maestro was not enough to reward his brilliance. One article is too small to highlight his achievements. His immortal works should be preserved and restored.

The country remembers all rounder Kishore Kumar on his death anniversary.

Eminent actor, singer, dancer Kishore Kumar is remembered on his death anniversary on 13th October, 2014. Kishore Kumar died on 13th October, 1987. Kishore Kumar, the master entertainer had been one of the most colourful personalities of bollywood who just became more and more and more popular over the years, now it is almost 26 years after his demise. In respect of his acting performances hardly any actor even dared to imitate him as his improvisations were spontaneous. The part that is followed by numerous singers all over the country is his singing style. When KK acted as hero in bollywood films he showed his acting capability even in playback singing like the song “c a t cat, cat mane billi” in the film Dilli Ka Thag. He brought out all the sounds of the animals that were named in the song. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gari, in the song “paanch rupaiya bara ana” he imitated SD Burman and in every paragraph he had created a new style which justified the lyrics. In Half Ticket he showed the childishness in the song “chil chil chillake” composed by Salil Choudhury, which became very popular among children. He even sang the ladies version of the song “o sawariya” in the film Half Ticket, when he was teasing Pran during a song sequence. He had acted opposite many versatile actresses like Nutan in Dilli Ka Thug, Madhubala in Jhumru, Vaijayantimala in Aasha, to name a few. All his innovations created history when he concentrated in playback singing only in the 70s. He made the audience realize that he was singing for Dev Anand, or Rajesh Khanna or Big B, to name a few. His songs “gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, “roop tera mastana” from Aradhana, “kuch to log kahenge” from Amar Prem, “tere mere Milan ki” from Abhimaan have created history over the years. With Big B he had a tremendous combination and had sung in almost all the films of Big B till 1987, including Don, Shaan, Mr. Natwarlal, Do Aur Do Paanch, Amar Akbar Anthony, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Kaalia, Silsila, etc. The list can go on. In the 80s, it was KK all the way, when he had no competitors. All his songs in Big B’s film Namakhalal, Sharaabi, became record hits. Even in Rishi Kapoor’s Saagar, his song “saagar kinare” had romantic appeal. Composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan could not think about any composition without KK. He provided playback for almost all the leading actors of bollywood in the 80s, namely Amitabh Bacchan, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakravarty, Kamal Hassan, and others. He became the legend of legends and all the actors of the 70s and 80s are indebted for his colourful playback. After his death Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo and other singers had established themselves by following his style of singing. It has not happened with any other playback singer of bollywood. His styles were very entertaining, romantic and filmic. Articles after articles can be devoted to the master entertainer and it can be said that he had remained alive all over the years in his numerous films and thousands of songs. His films and songs should be preserved.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the megastar of bollywood films Amitabh Bacchan on 11th October, 2014. Born in 1942, he had been the most popular actor of the entire millennium. In the 70s his films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Deewar created a new age of action films. His angry young man image created a revolution during an age when corruption became rampant in India. If Zanjeer was related to the obstacles faced by an honest police officer to safely perform his duties, Deewar was based on the contradiction of two brothers of whom one was a police officer, while the other was compelled to be a smuggler due to social compulsions. Sholay was based on the story of domination of the Chambal region of India by dacoits. The Thakur (played by Sanjeev Kumar) of the village employed two brave criminals namely Big B and Dharmender to face the dacoits. Big B was a very powerful actor and became the choice of all the leading directors of the 70s and 80s. His films included Abhimaan directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy, Zanjeer directed by Prakash Mehra, Deewar directed by Yash Chopra, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat directed by Shakti Samanta, Amar Akbar Anthony directed by Manmohan Desai, to name a few. The other factor which singled out Big B with the other actors in terms of his versatility was his baritone voice which he modulated to perfection. His comedy films like Namakhalal, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, created new dimensions in Indian film history. His notable films during the 80s included Shakti, Akhree Rasta, Inquilab, etc. Even in the 90s his films like Akela and Indrajeet carried his strong personality forward. Big B had played a huge innings as a character actor and his films like Black, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc., showed the viewers, that after Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar, Big B was an actor with whom the directors could do any experiment. His performance in his son Abhishek Bacchan’s films like Bunty Aur Babli had also been notable. In 2010, he received the national award for the best actor for the third time for his excellent performance in the film Paa. In 2011, he was absolutely brilliant in the role of an academician in Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan. In 2013, his performance in Prakash Jha’s film Satyagraha was brilliant. Day by day his acting skills are just getting better and better and he is experimenting in different types of roles. Even in Kaun Banega Crorepati he is the anchor and his profound educational background and pure hindi accent amazes the viewers. Sony TV cannot think about any other anchor other than Amitabh Bacchan. The viewers expect him to continue the great work that he started 40 years back.

Srijit Mukherjee and Chiranjit Chakravarty stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Srijit Mukherjee and Chiranjit Chakravarty stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program. On 6th October, 2014, Mir Afsar Ali and the entire team of Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program invited director Srijit Mukherjee and Bengali superstar Chiranjit Chakravarty in the program. In the same program the film Chatushkon was promoted. The great thing about the film Chatuskon was that renowned directors were taken in the film. The film had been released on 26th September, 2014. It has been directed by Srijit Mukherjee. The renowned directors who acted in the film included Aparna Sen, Chiranjit Chakravarty, Goutam Ghosh and others. Parambrata Chatterjee played an important role in the film. The music had been composed by Anupam Roy. In the show Mir Afsar Ali asked the question to Srijit Mukherjee about his experience of working with a veteran actor like Chiranjit Chakravarty. He said that he had not seen such a sporting person like Chiranjit Chakravarty in his life. Everyone in the sets of Chatuskon had the habit of imitating the style of dialogue throwing of Chiranjit. One day when the crew members were telling his famous dialogue, “bou gele bou pawoya jai re pagla, maa gele maa pawoya jai na,” he entered the sets. He said the word pagla, meaning mad person was added by the followers. In his dialogue he never used the word pagla. But he laughed at everyone. Mir was so moved by the experience that he asked all the judges Rajatavo Dutta, Paran Banerjee and Srilekha Mitra to tell the dialogue “bou gele bou pawoya jai re pagla, maa gele maa pawoya jaina.” Everyone said the dialogues in their own way. Both Srijit Mukherjee and Chiranjit Chakravarty admired the performances of the contestants of Mirakkel. Mir and the judges wished their best for the success of the film Chatuskon saying that it was great credit of Srijit Mukherjee to cast legends in the film.

Happy birthday to Rekha.

Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dashing star Rekha on 10th October, 2014. She had dominated bollywood films of the 80s. Being the daughter of Legendary South Indian actor Gemini Ganeshan on 10th October, 1954, Rekha created a separate place for herself in bollywood film industry. She was better known as Bhanurekha Ganeshan. In 1969 she acted opposite Biswajeet Chatterjee in the film Do Shikari. She got the her lead role as heroine opposite Navin Nischal in the film Sawan Bhado. In the early 70s, Rekha had to fight for her place in the bollywood industry, at a time when Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore were dominating the industry. But she acted in many landmark films during that period including Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Rampur Ka Laxman opposite Randhir Kapoor, etc. From the late 70s her films opposite megastar Big B changed her career. Most of the films ended up being super hit including Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Silsila, etc. Rekha gradually developed her acting and became one of the most versatile actresses of the 80s. Rekha had acted opposite all the leading actors of the 80s namely Jeetender, Dharmender, Big B, Vinod Mehra, etc. She received national award for her memorable performance in the role of a mujrewali in the film Umrao Jaan. She received filmfare award for best actress in her dashing role in the film Khoon Bhari Maang in 1988. She acted in more than 180 films. Along with the commercial films like Silsila, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, she had been remembered for the performances in off-beat films. She played landmark roles in off-beat films like Gulzar’s Ghar and Ijaazat, Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug, Govind Nihalini’s Vijeta, etc. Even her films in the 90s like Kamasutra and in 2000 onwards in films like Lajja and Koi Mil Gaya, she showed her metal as a very talented actress. She received lifetime achievement award for the immense contribution to bollywood films. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to action star Vinod Khanna.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vinod Khanna on 6th October 2014. He had remained a versatile actor and contributed in bollywood films from the 70s. He started his career as an anti-hero. He played the role of a villain in the film Aan Milo Sajna, where Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor. He also acted in negative role in Shammi Kapoor’s film Jaane Anjane opposite Leena Chandravarkar. With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Vinod Khanna became a dominating figure in bollywood films. Big B’s appearance in the film Zanjeer created a fair competition between Vinod Khanna and Big B. Both of them featured together in the film Zameer. Both of them showed their action skills against the other actor. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Vinod Khanna played the role of a police officer while Big B played the role of a smuggler. In that film the action skills of Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan was balanced by the romantic style of performance of Rishi Kapoor. Vinod Khanna’s smartness in the role of police officer amazed the viewers. All three of them played the role of the three brothers who were separated earlier but met together at the end of the film. Pran played the role of the father of the three actors. In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Vinod Khanna played the role of the friend of Amitabh. Big B sacrificed his life at the end of the film after preventing Amzad Khan from creating any harm to Rakhee. The songs of the film became superhit. Vinod Khanna acted along with Big B in other films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Paseena, Pavarish, etc. The other notable films of Vinod Khanna included Qurbani with Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played the role of his friend who sacrificed his life to save Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played a very significant role in the film Burning Train, where Dharmender played the role of his friend. He was the engineer who built the super fast train, but Danny conspired to put a bomb in the train which exploded and burned the train. At the end Dharmender, Jeetender and Vinod Khanna rescued the passengers. His films Jurm and Satya Mev Jayate also received very positive criticisms. Just like Amitabh Bacchan he established himself as action star, and delivered in action films even in the late 90s, 20 years after his earlier action movies. After launching his son Akshay Khanna in the film Himalay Putra, Vinod Khanna switched to character roles and got busy with politics. He also joined the Rajnish Ashram in the early 80s. In 2009, he was very impressive in Salman Khan’s super hit film Wanted where he played the role of his father. In 2010, again he played the role of the father of Salman Khan in the blockbuster film Dabaang. Although he died at the end of the film, his soft performance was appreciated by the audience. His sharpness in respect of acting had not withered away and he just like Amitabh Bacchan had matured into a more composed actor. In 2012 he acted in the film Players with Abhishek Bacchan, Bobby Deol and others. The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Asha Parekh.

Happy birthday to Asha Parekh. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Asha Parekh on 2nd October, 2014. She had been a dancing legend of the 60s. Bollywood industry is indebted to her for her brilliant performance in various films. She started her career opposite Shammi Kapoor in the film Dil Deke Dekho in 1959. The film did great business with hit songs composed by Usha Khanna including “dil deke dekho” sung by Rafi. After that she acted in musical blockbusters most of which were directed by Nasir Hussain. She was sublime in the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai opposite Dev Anand. The songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan like “sau saal pehle”, “yeh ankhe uff yumma”, “teri zulfon ki”, “jiya ho” became rich assets of history. Asha Parekh had a fantastic combination with Joy Mukherjee. Her films Ziddi, Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon and Love in Tokyo became superhit. Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, released in 1963 was shot in Kashmir, while Love in Tokyo, released in 1966 was shot in Japan. The romantic scenery entertained the viewers. The songs in most of these films composed by OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan stormed box-office. The most famous songs included “banda parwar”, “lakhon hai nigahon me”, “raton ka sila”, “nazneen bara rangin hai wada tera”, “japan, love in Tokyo”, “hume tum mil gaye humdum”, “o mere shahekhuba”, etc. Similarly Asha Parekh’s combination with Biswajeet and Shammi Kapoor was very grand. Her film Mere Sanam with Biswajeet, released in 1965 was another musical blockbuster. All the songs of the film like “pukarta chala hoon mai”, “humdum mere maan bhi jayo”, “hue hai tumpe aashiq hum bhala mano bura mano” sung by Rafi stormed box-office in the mid-60s. Asha Parekh played many serious roles in films like Chirag opposite Sunil Dutt, Kati Patang opposite Rajesh Khanna, Upkaar opposite Manoj Kumar, etc. She got critical acclamation for performance in the film Chirag. Asha Parekh dancing skills gave her a separate recognition during an age when actresses like Vaijayantimala, Rajashree, Mumtaz, Padmini were already created sensation in bollywood. Asha Parekh’s performance in the film Carwan opposite Jeetender requires special mention. She proved her dancing skills opposite other renowned dancers in the film like Helen and Aruna Irani. She also acted in character roles in films like Bulandi, Kaalia, etc., in the 80s. Asha Parekh had headed the Indian Censor Board for some time. As a member of the Board she did a great job in ensuring decency in the entertainment industry specifically films. Recently she was invited as guest judge in the Sony TV Indian Idol Program in 2012, where Sunidhi Chauhan, Anu Malik, Salim Merchant and Asha Bhosle were the other judges. The viewers expect her to continue the great work in character roles in the years to come.