Happy birth anniversary of Amrish Puri.

Happy birth anniversary of Amrish Puri. The viewers of bollywood films provide their best wishes and wish happy birth anniversary to Amrish Puri on 22nd June 2015. Amrish Puri died few years back and bollywood industry lost one of its indispensable actors ever. His voice had an universal appeal and initially Amrish Puri was associated with realistic films directed by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini and others. His performance in the films Bhumika, Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Vijeta, Suraj Ka Satwa Ghora, Sardari Begum brought him national and international awards. But he became an indispensable figure in the commercial film industry with his manly body and outstanding voice. His role JK in Ramesh Sippy’s successful film Shakti, balanced the soft tune of acting of Dilip Kumar as police officer and loud acting of Amitabh Bacchan as a smuggler. He killed Rakhee at the end of the film and was murdered by Big B when he was about to leave India. His act of kidnapping of Big B at a young age led to creation of a barrier between Dilip Kumar and Big B, where Big B thought Dilip Kumar never liked his son, which was untrue. It took Big B the entire film to know that Dilip Kumar loved him just his any other father. Amrish Puri balanced Dilip Kumar’s personality in Mashal. Dilip Kumar was a journalist in the film and Amrish Puri, an underworld don, evicted Dilip Kumar from his house when he published real news about him. Dilip Kumar’s wife Wahida Rehman died in the streets when they were evicted from their house. Dilip Kumar later became a smuggler and killed Amrish Puri when he tried to murder Anil Kapoor, a young journalist who again reported true events. Amrish Puri was sublime in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Ghayal. His character Balwant Rai was memorized by even children of India. He killed Raj Babbar and created false case against Sunny Deol. Sunny along with Sudesh Berry and others escaped from the jail and took revenge against Amrish Puri’s men inspite of Om Puri giving protection in the role of Police Officer Desouza. The entire action revolved around Amrish Puri. Amrish Puri’s character Mogambo in Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr. India gave a new dimension to the character of villains. He dominated the film inspite of Anil Kapoor’s brilliance in using a scientific gazette to remain invisible. Amrish Puri never stuck to one style of acting and never got type-casted like other villains including Jeevan, Prem Chopra or Ajit. He showed his comedy instincts in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate opposite Anil Kapoor and also David Dhawan’s Mujshe Shaadi Karogi opposite Salman Khan. Amrish Puri’s character role in films like China Gate, Chachi 420, still haunts viewers. He made viewers cry with his performance in the film Ghatak as father of Sunny Deol. He had cancer and died at the end of the film. Amrish Puri acted in almost 400 films within a span of 25 years which include blockbusters like Big B’s Andha Kanoon, Aaj Ka Arjun, Dilip Kumar’s Duniya, Bidhata, Mashal, Sunny Deol’s Damini, Ghatak, Gadar Ek Prem Katha, Vishswatma, Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta, Mahanta, to name a few. Critics argue that no other actor other than Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah had shown the dynamism that Amrish Puri had shown over the years. His films should be restored and preserved for the new generation.

Happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia.

Happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia on 8th June, 2015. She had been considered as one of the most dynamic actresses of bollywood films after Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. She started her career with a bold, sizzling demeanor in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby in 1973 opposite Rishi Kapoor. Raj Kapoor introduced the concept of teenage romance in the 70s and his effort got justice due to brilliant performance of both Dimple and Rishi Kapoor. Dimple’s smart, dashing lips in the songs “hum tum ek kamre me bandh ho”, “jhoot bole kowa kate”, “mujhe kuch kehna hai” sung by Lata and composed by LP just flabbergasted the audience of the 70s. Viewers thought both Dimple and Rishi Kapoor were made for each other. But after Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia, he stopped her acting, and bollywood films lost one of the most promising actresses for 13 years. Again she made a classic comeback in Ramesh Sippy’s Saagar. The film showed a triangular love story with Kamal Hassan and Rishi Kapoor. The brilliant locations, powerful music composed by RD Burman, all contributed for the success of the super hit film. Rishi Kapoor was always considered to be the most romantic actors produced by Indian films. He proved it again in Saagar. Dimple balanced the sacrificing performance of Kamal Hassan who died at the end of the film to save Rishi Kapoor and allow Dimple marry her. All the three performers were brilliant in the lips given in the songs “o maria”, “saagar kinare”, “yeh to bata tera naam kya”, etc., sung by Lata, Bal Subhramanium, Kishore Kumar, etc. In the mid -80s, Dimple acted in most of the successful commercial films opposite leading stars like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, etc. She was brilliant in Feroz Khan’s Jaanbaaz. In fact her smart performance balanced the cowboy image of Anil Kapoor in the film. She was sublime opposite Jackie Shroff in the film Kaash. In the late 80s, producers and directors experimented with her in challenging roles. She was exceptional in Gulzar’s film Lekin. Lata’s songs “yara silli silli”, Suresh Watkar’s “surmai sham” composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar were landmarks of classical music in Indian films. Dimple Kapadia portrayed the character of rajasthani folk community who were used for crying in funerals in the film Rudaali. She played the role of her lifetime and got national and international awards. Her lips in Lata’s song “dil hum hum kare” composed by Bhupen Hazarika, still haunts the listeners 20 years after its creation. Her other successful films include Ram Lakhan, opposite Jackie Shroff, Krantiveer and Prahar opposite Nana Patekar. Her performance in the off-beat films gave her a special place just like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. Even in her middle-age she amazed viewers with brilliant performance in the film Dil Chahta Hai opposite Akshay Khanna who was at least 15 years younger than her. She again amazed the viewers in character roles opposite Rishi Kapoor in the films Pyar Me Twist and Farhan Akhtar’s Luck By Chance. Whenever she acted opposite Rishi Kapoor she always did a great job. In 2010, her film Tum Milo Toh Sahi had addressed the concerns for the middle-aged couples and bachelors in Mumbai. Her performance was as brilliant as that of Nana Patekar in the film. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in the future and go on astonishing the viewers with dynamic performances like before.

Happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty.

Happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty on 8th June, 2015. She had maintained her romantic image and brilliant figure for over 15 years. She had remained indispensable for the last 15 years. Starting her journey with Shahrukh Khan in the film Baazigaar, in the early 90s, she had acted in different types of films. She acted in romantic films like Dhadkan opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. The film had successful songs like “tum dil ki dhadkan me”. She also acted in action thrillers like Prithvi, opposite Sunil Shetty. She was also sublime in off-beat films like Tarqueib. Nana Patekar played the role of the crime-investigator in the film. She was the friend of Tabu, the girl killed in the film. She also had speaking terms with Ashutosh Rana who was initially suspected to have murdered Tabu. Nana Patekar at the end of the film found out the murderer. But Shilpa Shetty showed her acting skills while relying to interrogation of Nana Patekar in the film. Her performance in the film Auzaar opposite Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor, also require special mention. Salman Khan was a CBI investigator in the film and was given the task of investigation the unlawful business affairs of Sanjay Kapoor. In fact the underworld involvement of Paresh Rawal, the father of Sanjay Kapoor was at issue. Shilpa Shetty bridged the gap between Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor, after Salman convinced her that he concealed his identity for the benefit of Sanjay Kapoor, his friend. Shilpa gave brilliant lips and danced well in the songs “oye oye oye oyeoye”, and other songs composed by Anu Malik. Shilpa Shetty had shown her comedy instincts in a number of films like Chor Machaye Shor. She played the role of the daughter of Paresh Rawal, and got attached with Bobby Deol, who was a subordinate of Paresh Rawal. He pretended to be twin brother, one having a moustache, the other without a moustache. In that comedy drama, Shilpa Shetty should her innocence and comedy instinct along with Bipasha Basu, who also played a significant role in the film. Even at her middle age she had shown dance numbers which could have made young actresses envious about her. For example, in Dostana, released in 2008, she performed in a dance number opposite John Abraham, which amazed the viewers. After marrying Raj Kundra she had reduced signing in as many number of films as she used to do earlier. She also had bought major share of Rajasthan Royals team which played IPL cricket in 2010. In 2011 her team Rajasthan Royals did not fare well in IPL, so she should concentrate in films. In 2013, she had been accused of being part of match-fixing scandal. Both her husband Mr. Kundra and herself faced charges of match fixing. She should act in more films. She should be followed by the new generation of actresses who want to stay fit and contribute in bollywood films for more than 20 years.

Bikash Roy gave landmark stylish performances in bengali films.

During the golden age of Bengali cinema, that is the 40s, 50s and 60s, few actors had glorified silver screen in the most dynamic manner, such that the following generations were inspired by their dynamism. Chabi Biswas was considered to be the greatest character actor ever to have graced Indian screen by Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray. During that period, Bikash Roy was one of the colourful personalities whose mellifluous voice had enchanted audience of All India Radio and Bengali silver screen for more than 30 years. Born on 16th May, 1916, Bikash Roy did BA from Presidency College in Kolkata and passed Bachelor of Law Exam subsequently. He was a famous lawyer of Alipore Sessions Court and District court. In 1932, he joined All India Radio under the supervision of Birendra Krishna Bhadra. He also worked in Signet Press. After coming in contact with notable director Jyotirmoyee Roy, he made his debut in the film Abhijatri in the 40s. He came to limelight with powerful performances in the film Bhuli Nai and Biyallish. His villainish andaz of dialogue throwing was used to perfection in the film Biyallish, where he played the role of a cruel officer who tortured Pradeep Kumar and Manju Dey, who were freedom fighters. In Jighansha in 1951, noted director of all times, Ajoy Kar cast Bikash Roy in the role of an insane botanist who later turned out to be the murderer. The film had similarity with Arthur Conan Doyle’s epic novel The Hound of Baskervilles. Bikash Roy was the member of the Princely Estate, who could not inherit the property of his ancestors and went on killing one generation after the other by employing his relative Manju Dey who seduced the prince played by Biren Chatterji to a marshy land and were planned to be killed. Sishir Batabyal, the actor who played the role of Sherlock Holmes in the film unearthed the mystery. Bikash Roy’s modulation of voice rocked Bengali silver screen and from that time he became one of the leading stars of Bengali cinema. Bollywood film Bees Saal Baad was the remake of Jighansha. He acted in the role of hero in the film Ratnadeep opposite Anubha Gupta in 1951 directed by Debaki Kumar Bose, Chele Kar opposite Arundhuti Debi in 1954 directed by Chitta Bose, Sajghar opposite Suchitra Sen in 1955 directed by Ajoy Kar, Bhalobasha opposite Suchitra Sen in 1955 directed by Debaki Kumar Bose, to name a few. But within short period of time his ability to play diverse types of characters established him as a powerful character artist. He had contributed in more than 100 films of Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar. He played the role of eminent barrister in Suchitra Sen’s epic film Uttar Falguni in style. He was the husband of the Suchitra Sen, who was a baijee named Panna Bai, and defended her in a murder case where she killed Kalipada Chakravarty on provocation. He won the BFJA award for the best supporting actor for his dynamic performance. In the 60s, he played different type of roles and most of the performances had been versatile. Some of his landmark performances came in the film Surjotoron opposite Suchitra Sen, Sreeti Tuku Thak opposite Suchitra Sen, Jibon Trishna opposite Deepti Roy, Neel Akasher Neeche opposite Manju Dey, to name a few. Viewers also remembered Bikash Roy for his stylish English accent that he used in landmark films like Sapmochon, Abhayer Biye, Jotu Griha, Shesh Anka, Chaddabeshi, etc. In some of these films the style was connected with comedy, while in others it had villainish mannerisms attached with it. He had acted in films of noted directors of Bengal, including Tapan Sinha in the films Aarohi and Jotugriha, Mrinal Sen in Neel Akasher Neeche, Ajoy Kar in Jighansha, Rajen Tarafdar in Jiban Kahini, Haridas Bhattacharya in Indranath Srikanto and Annadadidi, Arogyo Niketan directed by Bijoy Bose, Chaya Surjo directed by Partho Pratim Choudhury. Besides, Bikash Roy made meaningful films as director. Most of the films he directed were critically acclaimed like Raja Saja, where Uttam Kumar played the main role, Carey Saheber Munshi where Chabi Biswas played the main role, Basant Bahar where Bosonto Choudhury played the main role, Morutirtha Hinglaj where Uttam Kumar and Anil Chatterji played the main roles, etc. Bikash Roy acted in more than 200 films, and articles after articles can be devoted his different styles of performances in various films. With his death in 1987, Bengal lost one of the versatile actors whose style and diction had remained unparallel.

Ranbir Kapoor's Bombay Velvet stands out as the most stylish film of 2015.

Ranbir Kapoor’s Bombay Velvet stands out as the most stylish film of 2015. Anurag Basu the director recreated Mumbai of the 1950s. Vikas Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane produced the film. Music was composed by Amit Trivedi. The film was shot partly in Mumbai and partly in Sri Lanka. Ranbir Kapoor played the character of Johnny Balraj a street fighter of the 1950s. He was ambitious and was in affair with Anushka Sharma playing the role of a jazz singer Rosy Noronha. It was shown that Anushka Sharma’s parents sold her to Portuguese singer Remo Fernandez at an early age. He used to beat her up and abuse her. One day she assaulted him and escaped from Goa to Mumbai. She sang jazz songs in the Hotel Bombay Velvet in the Geeta Dutt style. Ranbir Kapoor and Satyadeep Misra were spotted by Karan Johar playing the role of Kaizad Khambhata, wealthy parsee in Mumbai. Ranbir Kapoor went into deal with Karan Johar to be the owner of Bombay Velvet. Whoever came in the way of prosperity Ranbir killed one after the other. There were a lot of character who were powermongering and wanted control including Manish Choudhury playing the role of newspaper editor Jimmy Mistry, Siddharth Basu playing the role of Mayor of Mumbai. They used Ranbir Kapoor in all the evil acts including kidnapping comrade leader in land acquisition case. Ranbir Kapoor brought a prostitute and made her sleep in the house of Anushka Sharma and did fit a time bomb. The operation was to save Anushka Sharma. He took Anushka Sharma and jumped from 1st floor and made the world believe she was dead. At the of the film Karan Johar kidnapped Anushka Sharma and brought Ranbir Kapoor to Bombay Velvet which was sealed by police officer KK Menon. Karan Johar made Ranbir Kapoor fight against the street fighter. He fired at Anushka. She survived. Ranbir killed Karan Johar. At the end the police officer who was agent of the Mayor Siddharth Basu killed Ranbir Kapoor. The film was based on real life story. Anurag Kashyap recreated Mumbai of 1950s. It was very stylish andaz. Ranbir Kapoor acted very well and showed glimpses of Raj Kapoor. Anushka Sharma did well. Karan Johar amazed everyone with his acting skills. The music of Amit Trivedi mesmerized the audience. The song “fifi” sung by Suman Sridhar and “behroopia” sung by Mohit Chauhan and Neeti Mohan became smash hits. The film should do business of more than 100 crores.

Happy birthday to Sonakshi Sinha.

The viewers wish happy birthday to Sonakshi Sinha on 2nd June, 2015. Sonakshi Sinha, the daughter of renowned bollywood actor Shatrughun Sinha had started her acting career with the bollywood film Dabanng opposite Salman Khan. The big question that comes in the minds of many viewers is that whether there is any future of her in the industry. Before considering her potentiality, the careers of noted actors and actresses can be looked at. While the sons of legendary actor Dharmender, namely Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, and the son of Showman Raj Kapoor, namely Rishi Kapoor, and in the third generation Ranbir Kapoor, had got equal success like their fathers, there is a line of actors and actresses who had not achieved the desired stardom. Hema Malini ruled bollywood films during the 70s. She was associated with biggest bollywood hits of that age including Jugnu, Sholay, Seeta Aur Geeta, etc. But her daughter Esha Deol had an average career so far. Same is the case of Tanuja’s daughter Tanisha. Although Kajol was successful, Tanisha could not reach stardom. Fardeen Khan’s stardom is nowhere compared with Stylish actor Feroz Khan, while Tushar Kapoor had not been a match to Jeetender. Even Abhishek Bacchan when compared with the success of Big B, looks a mediocre, who had hit films but is not the ruler of bollywood. The biggest challenge that is faced by the sons and daughters of stars is the comparison that is made with their fathers of mothers. The viewers see their performance with the mindset that they will have the same qualities as that of their star parents. In some case, they have their individuality, in other cases where they try to imitate their parents, the viewers never accept it. Keeping that in mind Sonakshi Sinha also has a very strong challenge to rise up to the occasion. She had remained successful as a model. But if the fate of other star daughters are seen in the recent times (Anil Kapoor’s daughter Sonam Kapoor is still struggling), Sonakshi Sinha will have a monumental task to get acceptance from the viewers. Sonakshi Sinha’s films opposite Salman Khan had always been super hit. Both Dabaang and Dabaang 2 became blockbuster. Sonakshi Sinha’s films opposite Ajay Devgan in Son of Sardar and Akshay Kumar in Rowdy Rathore became smash hits. But she faced failures also. Her film Lootera and Action Jackson bombed at box office. The viewers can wish her good luck in the film Akira.

Happy birthday to Paresh Rawal.

Happy birthday to Paresh Rawal. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to veteran actor Paresh Rawal on 30th May, 2015. He had proved himself to be an indispensable actor in the bollywood arena for the last 20 years. In the late 80s and early 90s he was known for depicting serious characters like Sardar Ballabhai Patel in the film Sardar, the performance in the film Wo Chokri, etc. Then he acted in huge number of films in the role of villain, like Damini, Laadla, Mahanta, Vijeta, Samundar, etc. From the late 90s, his talented got recognized and he started acting in central characters and serio-characters. He was sublime in the films Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. The story of both the films revolved around him and Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty were outcast by his brilliance. He was brilliant in Kamal Hassan’s Chachi 420. His performance was as powerful as the performances of Om Puri and Amrish Puri. In the film China Gate he showed his excellence opposite stalwant actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Amrish Puri and others. During the last 10 years, most of the bollywood directors depend upon him to pull out big projects. He was excellent in the film Chup Chup Ke, with Om Puri and Shahid Kapoor. He was sublime in the role of the father of Akshay Khanna in the film Mere Baap Pehle Aap. He did a cameo in the film 36 China Town opposite Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. He also contributed in the comedy films Malamaal Weekly, Hero No 1, etc. The huge space in bollywood films that was created by the absence of Amrish Puri, Kader Khan and other veteran actors had been filled by Paresh Rawal. He had been sublime in the recent films like Oh My God. From serious to comedy characters he had played different types of roles spanning over 30 years. He had received few awards for the best comedian, but he deserves more number of awards, because through his acting variation he had proved his versatility. The viewers expect him to continue the great work in this year and the years to come.

Asitboron had impressive screen presence at par with Uttam Kumar.

Asitboron had impressive screen presence in Bengali films. Asitboron was the established Bengali star of the golden age, namely the 40s and 50s, whom Uttam Kumar surpassed and became a super star. An actor of more than 100 film, he had an impressive screen presence. Born in 1913, he learned table lessons from renowned singer and composer Gyan Prokash Ghosh. He was noticed by actor Pahari Sanyal while performing in All In Radio and was given opportunity in Hemchandra Chandra’s film Pratisruti in 1941. He played notable roles in the late 40s and early 50s. His successful films included Jaideb opposite Anubha Gupta, Kar Pape opposite Manju Dey, Nay Dondo opposite Arundhuti Debi. In Kar Pape he played the role of patient suffering from the disease of syphilis who married Manju Dey against the wishes of the doctor Chabi Biswas who advised him not to marry before he got absolutely cured. When Manju Dey got infected with syphilis and her children also died she fired Asit Boron at the end of the film when he was preparing for another marriage. The film created sensation in early 50s. Asit Boron played the notable role of Mathur in the film Rani Rasmani. He was the son in law of Malina Debi in the film who never believed in God. But Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramhanshadeb’s appearance changed his mind set. Malina Debi and Gurudas Bandhopadhyay’s spirited performance was balanced by Asit Boron’s smart performance. In Uttam Kumar’s film Khokababur Protyaborton, Asit Boron played the role of the Judge, whose son was lost by Uttam Kumar, the servant of the house, who sacrificed his own son in the film. It was Tagore’s classic literature which moved the audience. Asit Boron was professional singer and tabla player and all those skills were exhibited in the role of hero in the films of 50s and 60s. He played notable roles opposite Suchitra Sen in the film Sriti Tuku Thak and Shilpi, opposite Mala Sinha in Bandhu, Sandharani in the film Brotocharini, to name a few. Besides he played landmark roles in historical films like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Antony Firingi, etc. In Antony Firingi he played the role of Bhola Moira, who contested against Uttam Kumar in the kabir larai, war between poets. He provided elegant performances in the films of other heroes, like Bosonto Choudhury’s Bodhu and Shreyasi, Nirmal Kumar’s Kono Ek Din, Uttam Kumar’s Surjo Toron, to name a few. At the frag end of his career he showed his potentiality in Tapan Sinha’s film Harmonium. He was zamindar in the film whose harmonium was sold by his daughter and changed different hands and returned back to the daughter played by Arundhuti Debi. He commanded respect from the film community under his nickname “kaloda”. His films and songs should be preserved.

Bengali films and Manobendra Mukherjee

Bengali cinema for the last 10 years, have relied on music composed by music directors of Bombay and singers of bollywood films. Mostly composers like Bappi Lahiri, Shantonu Moitra, and singers like Kumar Shanu, Babul Supriyo, Abhijeet are brought from Bombay and contribute for the Bengali cinema. There are Bengali composers like Jeet Ganguly but they also rely on the voices of Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjaywala. There was an age (the 50s and 60s) when Bengali film industry was self-sufficient and did not have to borrow singers from bollywood industry. Manobendra Mukherjee belonged to such an elite class who could sing any type of song ranging from pure classical numbers to folk songs, to nazrulgeeti, to westernized songs. In 1954, Manobendra Mukherjee started his innings as music director in Bengali films with Uttam Kumar’s film Chapadangar Bou. He sang Mahadev’s gajon (a type of devotional song) titled “shibo he shibo he” which was picturised on Uttam Kumar and became very successful. Manobendra’s kirtan in Uttam Kumar’s film Shanjher Prodeep released in 1955 also became extremely popular. Manobendra was brilliant by every musical standard in the film Nilachole Mahaprobhu which was based on the life of Lord Chaitanya. Composer Raichand Boral made Manobendra sing a number of kirtans including “jagannath jagatbacndhu” which became superhit. The film was released in 1957 and mesmerized the Bengali audience with cult songs. During that time composer Ghyan Prakash Ghosh used Manobendra Mukherjee for pure classical numbers like “andhare”. Bosonto Choudhury played the main role in the film. Noted composer Anil Bagchi experimented with classical numbers in Chabi Biswas’s epic film Shashibabur Sangsar. The song “rojoni pohale sojoni kothaye” was very successful and Bosonto Choudhury gave able lips on Manobendra’s song in the film. In the mid-50s, composer Nochiketa Ghosh experimented with folk songs in the film Nabajanma. Uttam Kumar gave brilliant lips in Manobendra’s song titled “ore monmajhi” which was based on Bengali folk song titled bhatiayali. Manobendra was sublime in Bosonto Choudhury’s film Kostipathor. The song “kal se phakir aaj se raha” showed Manobendra’s skills in singing light songs. In the 60s Manobendra stormed Bengali films as a versatile composer. All the songs composed in Biswajeet’s film Mayamrigo became superhit, including Manobendra’s own song “metidiamerikar kabyo”, “bidhire”, Hemanta Mukherjee’s song “ore son son geroraj”, Sandhya Mukherjee’s song “bok bok bok bokum bokum payera”. Similarly all the songs composed by Manobendra Mukherjee in Chabi Biswas’s legendary film Badhu, were well appreciated by the learned audience including Manobendra’s own kirtan “gunimon kalorupe”, Sandhya Mukherjee’s song “sonali megher din”, etc. Manobendra’s composition in the film Godhuli Belai was equally brilliant with the title song “godhuli belai” picturised on Biswajeet. Probably Joy Joyanti, marked the best creation of Manobendra Mukherjee which fetched him Indira Gandhi award for remarkable music composition. The film was based on Hollywood film Sound of Music. Sandhya Mukherjee’s songs in the film “amader chuti chuti”, “kiholo karo je mukhe kotha phote na”, etc., were landmarks in Bengali film music. Besides, many composers had given their most dynamic compositions to Manobendra. The best example can be the film Lalu Bhulu. The film was released in 1958. Lyricist Sailen Roy and composer Robin Chatterji gave probably the best songs ever in the film. All the songs sung by Manobendra mukherjee like “ei pranjhorona jaglo”, “akash mor alloy decho bhore”, “jar hiya akasher neel nilimai”, “dukkho amar shesh kore dao probhu”, “dukher pothe naamli Jodi”, etc., had class, variety and depicted the helplessness of two blind and handicapped boys who sang songs to earn their livelihood. In fact Lalu Bhulu’s songs were inspiration for lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, composer Laxmikant Pyarellal and singer Mohammad Rafi, who created songs of their lifetime in the film Dosti which was the hindi adaptation of Bengali film Lalubhulu. Some of Manobendra’s songs like “dole dodul dole jhulona” in Uttam Kumar’s film Deya Neya are still popular even today. Manobendra’s composition in films like Joto Mot Tato Poth, Sudur Niharika, Sadhok Bamakhepa, caught both the classical base and devotional flavor of Bengali music. It is a pity that Manobendra Mukherjee, with all his classical talent and depth, did not go to bollywood like Manna Dey, otherwise Bengal could have been represented on a larger scale by the meritorious singer and composer whose style and elegance in modern songs was compared with stylish andaz of Australian batsman Neil Harvey. Bengali films these days lack the brilliance of classical singers and composers like Manobendra Mukherjee who are born once in a decade. The songs and the films should be restored for their aesthetic value. The songs should be unearthed and publicly played as well.

Lily Chakravarty, Rajatavo Dutta, Sudipa Basu and others stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program.

Rajatavo Dutta, Lily Chakravarty, Sudipa Basu and others stormed Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program.

On 12th May, 2015, Sourav Ganguly brought celebrities in Zee Bangla Dadagiri Program. The celebrities included Rajatavo Dutta, Lili Chakravarty, Biplab Chatterjee, Sudipa Basu, Satinath Mukherjee and Papiya Adhikari. Biplab Chatterjee talked about his 40 years experience in films. He said that he generally acted in negative roles althrough his life so had been seen getting beating from Tapas Pal or Prasenjit. He said he first worked with Satyajit Ray in the film Pratidwandi in early 1970s. He was known for his successful performance in the film Joy Baba Felunath in 1978. Lily Chakravarty said she got the first role in Bengali films in the film Bhanu Pelo Lottery in late 1950s. But from the time she acted in superstar Uttam Kumar’s film Deya Neya, all the directors started casting her in the roles of sister in law, meaning bouthan. She had to take dark make up in Tapan Sinha’s film Hansuli Banker Upakatha as the film was related to rural sautal tribes. Rajatavo Dutta said that presently he is working in many Bengali films and hindi films. He also was one of the successful judges in Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program. Papiya Adhikari showed her tattoo in hand and said her American friend did it with drilling act 4 years ago. Sudipa Basu talked about her acting career both in films and serials. Satinath Mukherjee had been a newsreader, announcer and also acted. He told a poetry on Sourav Ganguly. At the end of the show, Rajatavo Dutta gave the maximum number of correct answers and won the title. Sourav Ganguly asked very intelligent questions to the celebrities.

Suman Rafi hits under different composers.

Suman Kalyanpur had her birthday on 28th January, 2015. The media during the last 60s years had been too kind towards some of the celebrities while remained silent about the others. For example during the golden age 50s, 60s and 70s, other than Lata and Rafi there were other combinations who had given everlasting hits. Lata Mangeshkar always got the focus of attention and as such her duets with Rafi which covers more than 440 in number always stole the attention. Yet Suman Kalyanpur during the same age of competition had sung almost 170 duets with Rafi most of which became super hit, yet could not get the lime light which they deserved. The song “ajahu na aye balma” from Saanjh Aur Sawera, picturised on Mehmood and Subha Khote and composed by Shankar Jaikishan showed the compatibility of Rafi with Suman Kalyanpur in classical songs. Rafi could adapt his style of singing with any singer. But Suman Kalyanpur also did a great job with the giant. The song “dil-e-betaab ko seene se lagana hoga” from the film Palki, picturised on Rajender Kumar and Wahida Rehman and composed by Naushad had the ghazal andaz embedded in them and Suman Kalyanpur was unblemmish aside Rafi. SJ used the same Suman Kalyanpur aside Rafi in fast numbers like “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche” from Brahmchari picturised on Shammi Kapoor and Mumtaz, “dil use do jo jaan de de” picturised on Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini in the film Andaz. The biggest tragedy is that the songs did great business and the films became super hit, yet the message relating to Rafi’s combination with Suman Kalyanpur did not reach most of the viewers and the media too did not play a neutral role in that aspect. Half of the people thought the duets were sung by Rafi and Lata as Suman Kalyanpur’s singing style matched with that of Lata. Khayyam’s composition “thereiye hosh me aaloon to chale jayiega” from the film Mohabbat is ko kehte hai” picturised on Shashi Kapoor and Nanda had another romantic number of Rafi and Suman. Madan Mohan’s tune “baad muddat se yeh ghari aye” sung by Rafi and Suman stunned many listeners of ghazals, as the urdu words were pronounced in style in the film Jahan –ara. Bharat Bhushan and Mala Sinha were sublime in the film. Rafi as usual was unblemish in respect of ghazals. But Suman too had adapted her style of singing which suited the songs of the Mughal period. Even the fast numbers composed by LP like “tumse o haseena” sung by Rafi and Suman did not get the hype of media which it deserved inspite of Farz ending up as a run away hit of Jeetender. Roshan’s meritorious composition like “maine aye jaane wafa” from the film Bedaag, “chand takda hai idhar” from the film Doojh Ka Chaand remained unnoticed. Besides there were other hits like “parbaton ke paron par sham ka basera hai” from the film Shagun composed by Khayyam, “tumne pukara aur hum chale aye” from the film Raj Kumar composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “dil ek mandir hai” from the film Dil Ek Mandir composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “tujhe dekha tujhe chaha” from the film Choti Si Mulakat composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “tujhe pyar karte karte” from the film April Fool composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “mujhe yeh phool na den” from the film Ghazal composed by Madan Mohan. The factor of Suman Kalyanpur being chosen to sing duets with legendary Rafi Sahab by giant composers like Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, Laxmikant Pyarellal, Kalyanji Anandji, proved another fact that she was not any particular composer’s singer. She did a great job with Rafi, but due to passive attitude of the media the songs got recognition with no information relating to the singer. Even in many films when the names of the singers were written Suman Kalyanpur’s name was mentioned at the end without any particular reason for it. Rafi had proved in his entire life that he was a greater human being than a singer. That was the reason why he could match his singing style with any fellow female artist including Lata, Geeta Dutt, Sumna Kalyanpur, Sharda, Mubarak Begum, Asha Bhosle, Shamshad Begum, and others. His combination with Suman Kalyanpur should be preserved and restored.

Velvettee Talat Mehmood was remembered on his death anniversary.

The owner of velvette voice Tala Mehmood was remembered on his death anniversary on 9th May, 2015. The listeners of bollywood music wish happy birthday to legendary singer Talat Mehmood on 24th February, 2015

. He was a leading performer in bollywood films during the 40s, 50s and 60s. Along with Rafi, Mukesh and other leading singers of bollywood Talat Mehmood sang notable songs in the films of leading stars of bollywood. He rendered his voice for most of the actors of the bollywood during the 40s and 50s including Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, and others. His landmark songs included “dil-e-nadan tujhe hua kya hai” composed by Ghulam Mohammad and picturised on Bharat Bhushan, in the film Mirza Ghalib in 1954, “koi nahi mera” composed by Shankar Jaikishan and picturised on Dilip Kumar in the film Daag in 1952, “mai dil hoon ek armaan bhara” picturised on Raj Kapoor in the film Anhonee in 1952, etc. He sang landmark songs for Dilip Kumar also in the films Footpath, Devdas, etc. All the leading composers of bollywood films of that age namely Naushad Ali, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan Lal Nagrath, Madanmohan Kohli , OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, SD Burman and others used him in different films. His other landmark songs included “phir wohi sham” composed by Madanmohan and picturised on Bharat Bhushan in the film Jahan-ara released in 1964. Talat Mehmood acted in a number of films including Dil-e-Nadan opposite Shyama, Raftaar opposite Nadira, Waris opposite Suraiya, Ek Gaon Ki Kahani opposite Mala Sinha and also showed his acting talent in those films. He had been mainly associated with ghazals and soft romantic songs. His vibrating technique in rendition had charmed many listeners of the golden age. He also sang light songs for many composers. His other songs included “jalte hai jiske liye” composed by SD Burman in the film Sujata, “humse aya na gaya” composed by Madanmohan in the film Dekh Kabira Roya, “itna na mujhse tu pyar bara” composed by Salil Choudhury in the film Chaya, “aye mere dil kahin aur chal” composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film Daag, to name a few.. Talat Mehmood had a number of basic discs in Bengali as well. His landmark songs included “chander eto alo” and “alote chayate” composed by Robin Chatterjee, “duti paakhi duti teere” composed by Kamal Dasgupta, etc. The sweetness of his voice was well appreciated by the Bengali listeners as well. His songs and films should be preserved and restored.

Suman Kalyanpur Rafi duets composed by Shankar Jaikishan stormed bollywood in 1960s.

The listeners of film songs wish happy birthday to legendary singer Suman Kalyanpur on 28th January, 2011. Suman Kalyanpur glorified Indian music of the 50s and 60s, with her romantic rendition of landmark songs. She had sung songs in many languages. She had sung almost 200 duet songs with immortal singer Mohammad Rafi. Shankar Jaikishan in the 60s made immense number of experiments in bollywood film music. Right from westernized compositions to Indian classical songs to folk tunes, the compositions had a wide variety. Rafi was the automatic choice of the legendary musical duo, with his tremendous range and romantic appeal. Suman Kalyanpur sang landmark duet song with Rafi under the composition of giant composers during the 60s, including Naushad “dil-e-betaab ko sinese lagana hoga”, in Palki, Madanmohan “baad muddat ke yeh ghari aye”, Jahanara, Roshan “rahe na rahe hum”, in Mamta, Khayyam “parbaton ke pero par sham ka basera hai”, in Shagun, to name a few. Suman Kalyanpur sang many immortal duet songs with Rafi in the 60s and 70s under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan. In Dil Ek Mandir, the title song “dil ek mandir hai” was sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur with utmost elegance in 1963. The song was sung after the death of Rajender Kumar in the film and therefore the singers displayed the tragic andaz in the song. Rafi had his own solo songs in the film like “jahan koi nahi” and “yaad na jaye” which immortal over a period of time. Suman Kalyanpur’s solo song “juhi ki kali meri ladli” also had a soothing appeal. In Saanjh Aur Sawera, in 1964, the classical song “ajahuna aye balma, sawan bita jaye” was probably one the most immortal duet sung by Suman Kalyanpur with Rafi composed by SJ. In 1964, Biswajeet’s April Fool had a number of romantic songs of SJ sung by Rafi. Rafi was unparallel in the song “aa gale lag ja”. Suman Kalyanpur accompanied Rafi very well in the songs “tujhe pyar karte karte” and “kehdo kehdo jahan se kehdo”. In Sunil Dutt’s film Beti Bete, the song “agar terii jalwa numai na hoti” showed the melodious impact of duet of Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan. The duet “tumne pukara aur hum chale aye” sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur composed by SJ in Shammi Kapoor’s Rajkumar again stormed box-office in 1964. In 1966, Rafi and Suman’s duet “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe mere raazdaar” in Rajender Kumar’s super hit film Suraj stands out as the most romantic song of the film. Rafi sang for Rajender Kumar while Suman Kalyanpur sang for Vyjayantimala. In the late 60s, Shankar Jaikishan’s rock and roll composition for Shammi Kapoor in the film Brahmchari had probably the most entertaining duets of Rafi with Suman Kalyanpur titled “aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche har jawanpar”. The brilliant orchestration was loud but rhythm –oriented as well. The film ended up being blockbuster and the music of the film played a very important role in the success of the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed a very romantic duet in Uttam Kumar’s film Choti Si Mulakat, titled “tumhe dekha, tumhe chaha” Rafi and Suman. Rafi sang Uttam Kumar’s portion while Suman Kalyanpur had sung Vaijayantimala’s portion. The list of Rafi Suman duets under Shankar Jaikishan was too long. In the early 70s, SJ’s composition for Suman Kalyanpur in Shammi Kapoor’s film Andaz was well received by the audience. The song “hai na bolo bolo” was sung by Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur, Sushma Shreshta and Pratibha. After the death of Jaikishan in 1971, many producers and directors who were involved with Shankar Jaikishan shifted towards RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarellal. So Suman Kalyanpur’s scope of singing duets with Rafi reduced down inspite of Shankar providing good tunes to both Suman Kalyanpur and Rafi. Shankar Jaikishan composed hit song of Suman in Dharmender’s film Resham Ki Dori, “behnane bhai ki kalayi se” in the mid -70s. Rafi’s duets with Suman Kalyanpur under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan require both restoration and publicity.

Shankar Jaikishan utilized the versatile singing potential of Manna Dey.

Shankar Jaikishan and Manna Dey. Manna Dey was a unique singer in bollywood history whose brilliant classical andaz commended respect from the giant composers of the golden age that Is 40s, 50s and 60s. Lifetime Achievement award, Padmabhushan are few feathers in his cap which show the esteem with which the country greets him. He had very understanding with giant composers Shankar Jaikishan. Manna Dey rose to fame in 1955 with Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420, where his songs “mur murkena dekh”, “pyar hua ikraar hua”, “dil ka haal sune dilwala” were all super hit. Shankar Jaikishan’s composition, Raj Kapoor’s lips and Manna Dey’s expression synchronized in the musical blockbuster. In Basant Bahar, SJ gave classical tunes to Manna Dey. The song “sur na saje kya gayun mai” stands out. In Raj Kapoor’s Chori Chori, based on Hollywood film Roman Holiday, Manna Dey’s song “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, “yeh to batayo kit um mere kaun ho”, “aaja sanam” mesmerized the audience. The SJ Manna Dey combination was at their best in those songs. Raj Kapoor and Nargis played the same role which Gregory Pegg and Audrey Hepburn played in Hollywood and Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen played in the Bengali film Chawa Pawa. SJ’s tune “tu pyar ka saagar hai” sung by Manna Dey in Balraj Sahani’s film Seema was a masterpiece. The other landmark songs sung by Manna Dey composed by SJ included “cham cham bajere payelia”, also the song “mai tere pyar ka beemar hoon kya arz karoon” picturised on Mehmood in the film Love In Tokyo, “ai bhai zara dekhke chalo” picturised on Raj Kapoor in the film Mera Naam Joker, to name a few. In Shammi Kapoor’s film Pagla Kahin Ka, Manna Dey’s song “meri bhais ko danda kyun mara” became big hit. Besides Manna Dey’s folk andaz in Raj Kapoor’s film Teesri Kasam in the song “chalet musafir moh liyo re” was well appreciated by the critics. Also Manna Dey’s song “suraj aa pass” and “muskura ladle muskura” became extremely popular in the early 60s. It is not possible to highlight the magical combination of Shankar Jaikishan and Manna Dey in a small article. Shankar Jaikishan were probably the composers who used Manna Dey’s talent to the best possible level considering the effort of Roshanlal Nagrath, Madanmohan and others. The films and the songs of SJ and Manna Dey combination should be preserved and restored.

Monami Ghosh and Shiboprasad Mukherjee gave interview in Zee Bangla Happy Parents Day Program.

Monami Ghosh and Shiboprasad Mukherjee gave interview in Zee Bangla Happy Parents Day Program. Monami Ghosh and Shiboprasad Mukherjee gave interview in Zee Bangla Happy Parents Days Program on 7th May, 2015. Monami Ghosh came with her mother in the show. The father of Monami Ghosh expired 4 years ago. Monami Ghosh said that he had seen her success in Bengali serials and films. She made very elementary wishes before Debshankar Halder in the program. She wanted a house for her dog. Then in the second round she wanted a foot massage for her mother. As she had a 2 storeyed her mother had problems of climbing the stairs. She had answered correct answers till the 2nd round. After that she lost out. She also said that she learned dancing from an age of 3 years. That had helped her cement her place in the Bengali film industry. Recently she also acted in Shiboprasad Mukherjee’s film Bela Sheshe. She played the role of the daughter of Soumitra Chatterjee. Shiboprasad Mukherjee came with his mother in the show. He had been the director of recently released successful Bengali films Belasheshe and Ramdhonu. Shiboprasad had directed the films with Nandita Ray. He said Debshankar Halder is a genius. He said he contributed in Bengali theatre, he had been an eminent actor in Bengali films and as an anchor had made the program Zee Bangla Happy Parents Day very popular. There is no substitute of Debshankar Halder. Shiboprasad told the background of the film Belasheshe was that families these days are getting disintegrated. So the human values are reducing down. In that backdrop the film where Soumitra Chatterjee and Sathilekha Sengupta had acted together 30 years after acting in Satyajit Ray’s film Ghare Baire, has relevance.

Remembering Naushad Ali on his death anniversary.

5th May, 2015 is the death anniversary of eminent composer Naushad Ali. The lovers of music in India remember his everlasting tunes on the death anniversary. The audience of film music in India remembered dignified composer Naushad Ali on his birthday on 23rd December, 2014. He was a genius composer and shaped Indian film music with his classical gharana in the 40s from where it just grew with variety and innovation. Naushad Ali is remembered for his brilliant tunes over a period of 50 years down the memory lane. In the 40s, he composed music in many films including Anmol Ghari, but he stormed bollywood with romantic songs in Dulari, including “suhani raat dhal chuki” sung by Rafi, all the songs of Andaz, where he composed Rafi’s songs for Raj Kapoor and Mukesh’s songs for Dilip Kumar. In the 50s, Naushad’s composition in Baiju Bawra made the listeners speechless. He won filmfare award for the best composer for his brilliant classical presentation in songs like “o duniya ke rakhwale”, “man tarapata”, “tu gangi ki mauj”, etc., sung by Rafi and Lata. Rafi’s range was used to perfection and from that time the Rafi Naushad combination provided gems after gems. The different ragas and their timings were explained by Naushad in the film. Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari gave able lips in the songs composed by Naushad. Songs of Uran Khatula, like “wo dur ke musafir” sung by Rafi for Dilip Kumar also shook bollywood in the mid-50s. In the 60s Naushad was unstoppable. His composition in Kohinoor for Rafi titled “madhuban me radhika nachere” and “do sitaron ka zameen” picturised on Dilip Kumar displayed the brilliance of Hindustani ragas. Naushad’s composition in Rajender Kumar’s Mere Mehboob, Naushad displayed the ghazal culture of Lucknow and Aligarh. The songs “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam”, “ai husn zara jag”, etc. sung by Rafi and picturised on Rajender Kumar was per se excellent. Naushad composed light songs in Mughal-i-azam for Lata including “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat ke nandlal”, and again composed thumri sung by Bare Ghulam Ali Khan in the same film. Naushad also composed Bhojpuri music for Dilip Kumar in the film Ganga Jumna. The songs “nain lar jaihe” sung by Rafi was one of the examples of Naushad’s control of Bihari folk tune. Naushad was at his best in Dilip Kumar’s Leader. All the songs in the film sung by Rafi and Lata flabbergasted the listeners, including “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “teri husn ki kya tareef karun”, “mujhe duniya walon”, etc. Naushad was excellent in Dilip Kumar’s Ram Aur Shyam. All the songs sung by Rafi and Lata in the film including “aye hai baharen dekho”, “yeh raat dulhan bangayi”, “mai hoon saki”, etc. Critics consider Dil Diya Dard Liya as one of the best creations of Naushad. All the songs in the film became superhit including Rafi’s “dilruba maine tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”. Naushad Rafi and Dilip Kumar continued with their level of excellence in the film Aadmi, with Rafi’s songs like “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, “aaj purani rahon se”, etc. Besides, Naushad composed excellent music in Rajender Kumar’s Palki, Saathi, Ganwar, etc. Rafi’s hit songs in those films included “dil-e-betaab ko seene se lagana hoga” sung with Suman Kalyanpur. Naushad faded away from film music in the 70s, causing huge loss to the film industry. The classical gharana related to thumris, kajris, ghazals, etc., faded away with Naushad. Music became popular, but lost its class. Naushad received Dadasahab Phalke for his excellent contribution to bollywood music. His songs and the films should be preserved and restored.

Kanchan Mallick gave an excellent interview in Zee Bangla Happy Parents Day Program.

Kanchan Mallick gave an excellent interview in Zee Bangla Happy Parents Day Program. Kanchan Mallick, successful actor in Bengali films gave an excellent interview in Zee Bangla Happy Parents Day Program on 2nd May, 2015. The anchor Debshankar Halder asked Kanchan Mallick about his history before he joined films. He said that 20 years back his father lost his eyesight. From that time he had the responsibility of being the sole bread-earner in the family. He worked in a saloon as an accountant. But director Shibaprasad Banerjee gave him 4 game shows in the Private TV Chanel and asked him to leave the job in the saloon. He asked his mother about it. She told him whatever his heart told he should do. The TV show made Kanchan Mallick a star. Then he got film offers. From that time he never looked back. He said at one time he earned only Rs 700 every month. He was amazed how his mother could run a family with only such a small earning. He was passionate about theatre. He said his relationship with his father was like Uttam Kumar’s relationship with Kamal Mitra or Chabi Biswas. He could tell his mother. His father told everything to his mother. He played the game for his father and mother. Due to health reasons his mother and father could not come in the show. He answered all correct answers and ultimately won all the prizes for his parents. He also confessed that he was a great admirer of anchor Debshankar Halder. He liked his acting. Debshankar Halder anchored the program in style.

Happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani.

Happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dancing legend Aruna Irani on 3rd May, 2015. She had made her debut as a child actress in the film Ganga Jamuna in 1961. She played the role of the smaller version of Azra in the film. She played similar roles in films like Jahanara in 60s. But her fantastic dancing skills launched her in super hit films like Farz which was released in 1967. She danced opposite Jeetender in the film Farz in Rafi’s song “mast baharon ka mai aashiq”, and that cemented her career in bollywood films. After that she got dance-based roles one after the other in bollywood. But due to comedy pairing with Mehmood in films like Humjoli, she got roles in the range of vamps rather than frontline heroines. She was brilliant opposite Mehmood in the Jeetender starrer Waarish in 1968. The music of RD Burman was brilliant with Rafi’s hit songs like “ek bechara pyar ka maara”. She amazed the viewers with the role of a gypsey woman in Jeetender’s film Carwan released in 1971. Her dance number in the song “dilbar” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and “chadti jawani” sung by Mohammad Rafi had shaken up bollywood in the early 70s. Her dancing skills were used to perfection by Showman Raj Kapoor in the film Bobby especially in Shailendra Singh’s song “mai shayar to nahin”. Her successful films in 70s and 80s includes Khel Khel Me, Buddha Mil Gaya, Laila Majnu, Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari, Qurbani, Sargam, Rocky, Love Story, etc. In negative characters in films like Qurbani she had amazed the viewers. From late 80s, she switched to character roles and became one of the leading actresses in that field. She received filmfare award for the best supporting actress for her brilliant performance in Madhuri Dixit’s film Beta. Her brilliant performance in films like Raja Babu, Ghulam-e-Mustafa, Kartavya, had created a separate place in the hearts of millions of filmlovers. Viewers got astonished to realize how an able dancer in her teenage, had transformed into a brilliant character artist who could do any type of role starting from comedy acting to serious roles to roles of negatives characters. She should have won many more filmfare awards for epic performances in films like Bobby, Qurbani, Haseena Maan Jayegi. She also played notable role in Priyadarshan’s film Khatta Meetha released in 2010. She also had received filmfare lifetime achievement awards. She said that she knew nothing. Dilip Kumar brought her to the beautiful world of bollywood. She learned everything and was indebted to the viewers for their love and affection. It was her humility which spoke out and made everyone enchanted. The viewers expect the veteran of more than 300 films to continue the great work that she started 40 years ago.

Remembering Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2015

Remembering Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2015. Viewers of international films all across the world remember Oscar Winning Director Satyajit Ray on his birth anniversary on 2nd May and death anniversary 23rd April, 2015. Ray was born on 2nd May, 1921, and critics feel it was the birth of legend of legends and probably one of the greatest talents the world has ever produced after Rabindranath Tagore. Ray showed his excellence in every different of film making including script writing, costumes, music direction, costume designing, etc. My father, Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor, Bankshall Court, North, Calcutta, represented Sandip Ray, the son of Satyajit Ray, in a case relating to recovery of manuscripts from Uday Acharya, the brother of Nirmal Acharya, a renowned critic. When the manuscripts of Ray’s films were seized from Udai Acharya’s house and opened from sealed trunk it was seen that they were pictographic in nature. Script of the film Pather Panchali, Gonoshotru had illustrations at every part which showed the secret of Ray’s brilliant characterization in films. Probably some of the actors and actresses in Ray’s films rose to stardom through the images portrayed by Ray. Chabi Biswas mesmerized the film lovers with his dignified performance in the role of Bishambhar Roy in the film Jalsaghar. Charu Prakash Ghosh was unparallel in the role of Birinchibaba in the film Kapurush Mahapurush. Anil Chatterji was unparallel in the role of Post Master in the film Teen Kanya. Utpal Dutt gave his performance for his life in the character Maganlal Meghraj in the film Joy Baba Felunath. Similarly Om Puri and Smita Patil were sublime in their roles in the film Sadgati. Sanjeev Kumar entered the skin of the character played in the film Shatranj Ki Khiladi. Uttam Kumar could not have been replaced by any other actor in the film Nayak. Karuna Banerjee had made the role of mother of Apu immortal in the film Pather Panchali. Sharmila Tagore was outstanding in the film Debi. Tapen Chatterji and Robi Ghosh are still remembered by filmlovers through their character Goopi Bagha. All the Indian directors like Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan ,had agreed that they learnt the art of story-telling from Ray’ films. Even the theme music of the legendary director had moved the directors all across the world. Audrey Hepburn, the Oscar winning actress while awarding the Oscar award for lifetime contribution of Ray, said in her speech that Ray’s direction had the soul of Apu in the Apu Trilogy march out from the village of West Bengal and explored India and expressed the struggle for existence of every middle-class individual of the country. Whenever classic literature of novelists and writers were used in films, Ray created his own dimension in those films, including the standard of excellence in the films Charulata and Ghare Baire which were based on the epic literature of Tagore. Films made by Ray from his own literature like Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, Agantuk, etc., were equally brilliant. The films of Ray should be preserved to disseminate the art of script writing, costume designing, theme music, camera work, neat direction, etc. Satyajit Ray is remembered on 23rd April, 2012, his death anniversary. Oscar winning Director Satyajit Ray had been remembered all over the country on 23rd April, 2012. He had died on this day in 1992 at the age of 71 years. He was considered to be a legend of legends. Right from his first film Pather Panchali he changed the world of story telling in Indian films. He used classic literature of noted novelists like Rabindranath Tagore, Munshi Premchand, Bibhutibhushan Banerjee, Tarashankar Banerjee, and others and created a new dimension in the films with those classic stories. He changed the views of directors from shooting within studios and ventured out and captured the different moods of nature. He made crime thrillers like Joy Baba Felunath, Sonar Kella which were written by him and became popular with the children with the name of Feluda series. His use of theme music in films had been a learning experience for noted directors of the 70s like Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Govind Nihalini and others. His Apu Trilogi showed the path of a middle-class Indian who travelled the roads of villages and ventured into the urbanized town. Most of his films including Pather Panchali, Jalsaghar, Teen Kanya, Mahanagar, Nayak, were masterpieces. His films and literature should be preserved for their immense artistic value. A big section of intellectuals feel that he was the greatest creator in India to have born after Rabindranath Tagore. His Son Sandip Ray had directed many of the films based on his father’s literature including Bombaiyer Bombete, Tintoretor Jishu, Royal Bengal Rahasya, etc.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Roshan.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Roshan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajesh Roshan on 24th May, 2015. Being the son of Roshan Lal Nagrath, Rajesh Roshan had a great task of matching the great performance of his father as a composer. He was born in 1955. Although his compositions did not have the classical touch, he composed catchy tunes which attracted the attention for the viewers. He received the filmfare award for the best composer for his brilliant composition in the film Julie in the mid-70s. He composed excellent music in Rishi Kapoor’s film Aap Ke Diwane. Rishi Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan and Tina Munnim were the lead performers in the film. All the songs sung by Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar were super hit including the songs “tumko kush dekhkar”, “aap ke diwane hai”, etc. He gave good music in Big B’s film Yaarana. Kishore Kumar’s song “chukar meri manko” became big hit. From the 1990s, he concentrated more on composing music in his brother’s films, that is Rakesh Roshan’s film. All the songs of the film Karan Arjun became super hit including “suraj ki peheli kiran se”, “bhangra bole”, etc. The film also became super hit. The music that he composed in Hrithik Roshan’s films became landmark hits. All the songs of Kahona Pyar Hai, were super hit including “pyar ki kashti me”, “haseeno ki mehfil”, etc. All the songs of the film Koi Mil Gaya became super hit including the title song “koi mil gaya”. All the songs of the film Krissh became super hit including “dil na liya”, “chori chori chupke chupke”, etc. He also won the filmfare award for the best music director for the composition of music in the film Kahona Pyar Hai in 2000. In 2010, the viewers expected good performance from Rajesh Roshan as well for the film Kites. It had been produced by Rakesh Roshan with Hrithik Roshan playing the lead role. Always when the dream combination had worked together they had created magic. Although the music was appreciated the film could not do good business due to use of Spanish which was not understandable to the common masses. In 2013, the viewers were anxiously waiting for the combination of Rajesh Roshan, Rakesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan to fire in the film Krissh 3. The first part was super hit. Considering the second part that was Koi Mil Gaya, the third part had huge expectations. The film did business of more than 200 crores. Rajesh Roshan’s music also did magic with the hit song “raghupati raghava raja ram”. Rajesh Roshan should carry on the legacy.

Happy birth anniversary of legendary singer Manna Dey.

Classical songs sung by Rafi and Manna Dey together. Music of bollywood films reached its zenith during the 50s and 60s. Composers, lyricists and singers of diversified cultures and came together and produced masterpieces. During that period the classical rendition of orthodox songs sung by Rafi and Manna Dey had made the listeners spellbound and still remain immortal more than 50 years after their creation. Qawallies were composed in style during that period. In the film Barsaat Ki Raat in 1960, composer Roshan’s qawalli “na to karwan ki talash hai” started by Manna Dey and continued by Rafi with the lyrics “yeh ishq ishq hai ishq ishq”, was the major attraction in the film. Both Rafi and Manna Dey sang the qawalli in their own style and with their own harkats. Barsaat Ki Raat had other brilliant songs including the title song, but the qawalli stood as one of the superlative creations. In the film Taj Mahal in 1963, the qawalli “chandi ka badan, sone ka nazar” composed by Roshan was another masterpiece. Rafi’s style of performance was as unique as Manna Dey’s one. The same was equally brilliant as the other songs like “jo wada kiya hai” sung by Rafi and Lata and “paon chu lene do” sung by Rafi. In the film Bahu Begum in 1967, Rafi and Manna Dey probably competed against each other to prove their supremacy in the qawallies composed by Roshan. The song “dhoond ke layun kahan se mai” almost created an environment lying in a dargah. The individual classical touch given by Manna Dey was as brilliant as Rafi. The other song “waqib hoon khub ishq ke” sung by Rafi and Manna Dey made the audience speechless. Probably these songs were more difficult to sing than the solo songs like “hum intezar karenge” by Rafi or “duniya kare sawal” by Lata. There were light songs sung by Rafi and Manna Dey together also. In Kalpana, their song “tu hai mera prem devta” composed by OP Nayyar was one example. In Parvarish, Dattaram composed the song “mama ho mama” for Rafi and Manna Dey. In the film Rustom Sohrab, Sajjad Hussain composed for Rafi and Manna Dey the song “phir tumhari yaad ayi”. In the film Sachai, Shankar Jaikishan composed the song “ai dost mere” for Rafi and Manna Dey. Whenever Rafi sung duet with other playback singers the classical andaz could not be balanced by anyone. Whenever Manna Dey sang any duet with Rafi, whether a qawalli or any other semi-classical song, both the singers took their singing to a higher dimension, and the audience enjoyed the brilliant performances in the long run. Just because Rafi’s classical andaz could be matched by Manna Dey, Rafi had sung around 60 duet songs with him, that was the highest with any male singer. The songs and the films should be preserved.

Happy birthday to dancing queen Madhuri Dixit.

Happy birthday to dancing queen Madhuri Dixit. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to beauty queen and dancing queen Madhuri Dixit on 15th May, 2015. She ruled bollywood films in the late 80s and 90s. In fact after her retirement of films no single actress of bollywood films could be associated with the number one position. In 2013, for celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema when polling was conducted by History TV, amongst actresses Madhuri Dixit received the maximum number of votes. From Tezaab, she dethroned Sri Devi from the number one position and created sensation in bollywood. Her dance performance in the song “ek do teen” in Tezaab, surprised the viewers. Her pair with Anil Kapoor was well accepted by the viewers. The hit films of the immortal pair include Ram Lakhan, Khel, Jeevan Ek Sunghursh, Zindagi Ek Jua, Parinda, etc. In the late 90s, she proved herself in every type of film and was cast by different directors and producers. The successful pair had produced both commercial masala films like Ram Lakhan directed by Subhash Ghai, and also off-beat films like Parinda, which was made for the intellectual audience. Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit stormed bollywood with romantic performance in the film Saajan. It was the musical blockbusters of early 90s which shook the industry. All the songs of the film were hit including “jiye to jiye kaise”, “mera dil bhi kitna paagal hai”, “mai shayar hoon”, etc. Madhuri Dixit was considered the best dancer of the country at that time. Even her performances in the other films opposite Sanjay Dutt were also impressive including Thanedaar, Khalnayak and Mahanta. In off-beat films like Nana Patekar’s Prahar and Parinda, Prakash Jha’s Mrityudand, her performance impressed the intellectual audience. She acted in those films with hardly any make up and still created her impression. She received the filmfare award for the best actress a number of times. Viewers remember her notable performance in the film Beta opposite Anil Kapoor. She fought against her mother-in –law to get justice for her husband. Her other hit films include Dil opposite Amir Khan, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun opposite Salman Khan, Aarzoo opposite Akshay Kumar, Koyla and Dil To Paagal Hai opposite Shahrukh Khan, to name a few. In fact, her film Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, opposite Salman Khan had remained as one of the greatest blockbusters of all times. She became such a phenomenon in the mid-90s, that the producers associated the success of the film with her more than the heroes of those films. In Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Lajja, in a multi-starrer film Madhuri Dixit was not cast opposite the leading actors like Jackie Shroff, or Anil Kapoor, yet her performance stands out as one of the best performance of the film. Her womanhood in the film attracted every type of audience. Also her performance in crime-thrillers like 100 days attracted viewers. It was a murder mystery, where Jackie Shroff, the boyfriend of Madhuri killed her sister Moonmoon Sen. Madhuri Dixit expressed the anxiety and horror in the film to perfection. Even her performance opposite Anil Kapoor in the film Pukar requires special mention. Anil Kapoor got national award for the best actor for the performance in the film. It was a film related to patriotism and Madhuri Dixit was probably the only actress in bollywood who could match Anil Kapoor in his struggle against terrorists. She acted in few films few year back like Aaja Nachle, but the films did not create the same magic as that of the 80s and 90s. Last year she judged the dance competition held in Private Channel in India. She came from USA and gave tips to the different participants including Shekhar Suman, Ankita Lokhunde and others. She also attended the filmfare awards. After judging the program she returned back to USA. Madhuri Dixit attended some of the award functions later on. All the superstars of the present period like Hrithik Roshan appreciated Madhuri Dixit. Shahrukh Khan danced with Madhuri Dixit in one of the award shows. Priyanka Chopra dedicated certain dance numbers to Madhuri Dixit in the same show. She acted in the film Dedh Ishqiya and Gulab Gang in recent years and shown that she still has acting left in her. Viewers consider her as the best actress of the last 30 years and want her to make a comeback in character roles in future.