Saturday, March 19, 2016

Happy birthday to Ayesha Takia


Happy birthday to Chubby Star Ayesha Takia. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Chubby Star Ayesha Takia on 10th April, 2016. Actress Ayesha Takia has a very bright future in bollywood films. There are two categories of actresses who perform in bollywood films. The first category includes the daughters of celebrities who make their debut in films made by their parents. Examples include Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, whose first films had lot of curiousness created in respect of the performance. The second category includes the other actresses who prove their capability by performing in films over a period of time. Ayesha Takia fall in that category. She was born on 10th April, 1986. Her father Nisith or mother Faridah were not celebrities to the stature of Jeetender, or Feroz Khan or Hema Malini whose children joined bollywood films. Ayesha did advertisement relating to complain girl and acted in music video of Falguni Pathak titled “meri chunari ur ur jaye”. She received the filmfare award for best debutant for the performance in the film Tarzan, The Wonder Car. After that few average films like Socha Na Tha, Dil Mange Mor followed. She created attention in the film Shaadi No. 1, where Esha Deol and Soha Ali Khan acted with her. All three of them had husbands like Fardeen Khan, Sharman Joshi, etc., who were addicted towards other ladies. Sanjay Dutt came over there and disclosed the truth relating to the affairs of their husbands with other girls like Riya Sen. At the end of the film Ayesha’s husband and the husbands of Esha Deol and Soha Ali Khan understood their mistake and followed the right path. Ayesha Takia was sublime in the film Salaam-e-Ishq opposite Akshay Khanna. Initially Akshay Khanna did not wanted to marry her for not taking up responsibilities of husband. But later he got convinced and married her. Ayesha gave able lips in the songs “salaam –e-ishq”, “dekho to dekho aisa hota to”, etc. Although the film did mediocre business the songs of the film became super hit. In 2008 and early part of 2009 her films De Taali, Sunday and 8*10 Tasveer did mediocre business. In 2009, Ayesha Takia acted in super hit film Wanted opposite Salman Khan. Her romantic performance opposite Salman Khan was appreciated by all sections of the crowd. Her softness and submissiveness is like by different sections of audience. The song “love me love me” became hit in the film. The film did business of more than 75 crore and established Ayesha Takia as a leading actress along with Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. The viewers also appreciated the good work of Ayesha Takia in films like Paathshala and Aap Ke Liye Hum in 2010. Viewers expect Ayesha Takia to continue her good acting in future.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Happy birthday to Moushumi Chatterji.


The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Moushumi Chatterji on 26th April, 2016Moushumi Chatterji, the Bengali actress acted both in Bengali and hindi films and showed her skills in both of them. She acted in the Bengali film Balika Badhu, where the film was based on child marriage and impressed the directors and producers with her performance. From that time she ventured in Bombay and tried her luck in bollywood industry. Her film Anurag opposite Vinod Mehra became super hit. She played the role of a blind girl and got appreciation of the crowd. The songs in the film became very successful including songs like “woh kya hai” sung by Rafi. SD Burman composed the music of the film. She acted in action films like Goutam Govinda. The film was related to the story of Shashi Kapoor, a police officer who came to the village and trained all the rustic villagers the manner of self-defense. Shatrughun Sinha was his own brother, which was disclosed at the end of the film. Moushumi Chatterji showed her humour in the respective role. Moushumi also acted in suspense-thrillers like Benaam, opposite Big B, where there the anxiety relating to the kidnapping of her son was at issue. She expressed her feelings very well in the film. She was brilliant in the film Manzil Manzil, opposite Big B. It was the remake of Mrinal Sen’s Bengali film Akash Kushum. Akash Kusum was based on the story relating to Soumitra Chatterji presenting a false story about himself before Aparna Sen with the help of his friend Shubendu Chatterji. In the hindi version also the story line was not changed. Moushumi Chatterji’s smile had a beauty of its own which she expressed in majority of films in style. While acting in a number of bollywood films, she stormed Bengali films with her performance in the super hit film Ogo Bodhu Sundari, opposite Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar. The film was released in 1980. The story was based on how Uttam Kumar, an academician brought a girl from the streets and taught her literature. Moushumi expressed the difficulty of forgetting her rustic language which she adopted from the environment she came from and learning the new language. The music given in the film by Bappi Lahiri became super hit. Songs like “ami ekjon shantoshisto”, “shudhu tumi nou obolakanto”, etc., sung by Kishore Kumar became super hit. It was incidentally the last film of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar. Her comedy conception was used by Gulzar and other directors very successfully. Her film Angoor opposite Sanjeev Kumar showed her comedy skills. The film was based on Uttam Kumar’s film Bhranti Bilas and had similarity with Shakespeare’s play Comedy of Errors. Sanjeev Kumar played the double role in Angoor that was played by Uttam Kumar in the Bengali film Bhranti Bilas, while Moushumi Chatterji played the role of his wife which was played by Sabitri Chatterji in the Bengali film. The two brothers were identical twins and Moushumi Chatterji got confused with her own husband and his brother. Deven Verma played a double role along with Sanjeev Kumar as his servant. Her other successful films included Pati Patni Aur Woh, opposite Sanjeev Kumar, Ghayal, as the sister-in-all of Sunny Deol and many other films. Even she had acted in landmark Bengali films like Kori Diye Kinlam based on the epic novel of Bimal Mitra. In 2013, she had acted in successful Bengali film Gainar Baksho. She had acted in the role of a widow who died and the spirit of the widow tortured the other women in the family. She acted with Konkona Sen Sharma and Srabanti Chatterjee in the film. The viewers expect Moushumi to contribute in character roles in bollywood films in future.

Kanchan Mallick last year gave excellent interview in Happy Parents Day


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.

Interview of Monami Ghosh, Shibo Prasad in Happy Parents Day.


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.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

In 2015 Salman khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan had the best story.


Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan has very good humanitarian message.Salman Khan’s new film Bajrangi Bhaijaan released on 17th July, 2015, did business of more than 32 crores on the first day. The film has excellent humanitarian message. The film had been directed by Kabir Khan who had previously directed Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger few years back. Salman Khan and Rockline Venkatesh produced the film. The music had been composed by Pritam. The film is all about a little girl played by Harshali Malhotra who got lost in India. She belonged to a hilly district of Pakistan. Salman Khan met her in Delhi but as she was dumb he could not make out her place of residence. He kept her in the house of Kareena Kapoor and her father Sharat Saxena. Sharat Saxena incidentally gave Salman place to stay when his father died some time back. After that Salman Khan entered Pakistan without Passport and Visa. He was a devotee of Hanumanji. So told the truth that he entered underneath the fencing in the deserts between India and Pakistan. He got beaten up by the Pakistani police. He got help from a Pakistani journalist played by Nawazuddin Siddique and Om Puri, a religious person. Ultimately he could reach Munni or Shahida, the child to her parents in Pakistan in Sultanpur district. The child at the end spoke out. The film gave the message that nature shares all the assets in both India and Pakistan. Human love and affection could have softened the relationship between the human beings of both the countries. It is the law enforcers and policy makers who had stemmed hatred between the two country men.
Salman Khan played his role in an outstanding way. His innocence and human feeling touched everyone. Kareena Kapoor and Sharat Saxena were brilliant in their roles. Om Puri did a cameo in his short role. Nawazuddin was again brilliant and very different from his villainish roles. The music of Pritam was outstanding. Atif Aslam’s song “tu chahiye”, Adnan Sami’s qawalli “bhar do jholi meri”, Mohit Chauhan and Palak Mucchal’s song “chicken” and Javed Ali’s song “tu jo mila” touched everyone. Salman Khan in the past had shown that he was the badshaah of eid.

Inspite of unique story Bombaby Velvet did not do great business.


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
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 end 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.

Ajay Devgan and Tabu were par excellence in Drishyam.


Ajay Devgan and Tabu were brilliant in film Drishyam. Ajay Devgan and Tabu did a great job in the film Drishyam. The film was originally made in Malayalam and Mohanlal played the lead role in the film. The hindi version is directed by Nishikant Kamat. It had been produced by Kumar Pathak, Ajit Andhare and Abhishek Pathak. The music had been composed by Vishal Bhardwaj. In the film Ajay Devgan had Cable business in a remote village at Goa. He lived peacefully with his wife played by Shriya Saran and two daughters. Once his daughter went for camping with her college friends. At that camp Rishabh Chaddha (played the role of Sam), the son of Inspector General played by Tabu took ofscene photos of her from his mobile phone and blackmailed her. In haste Ajay Devgan’s daughter hit him with an iron rod and he was killed. Shriya Saran and the daughter buried the body in the garden of the house and told Ajay Devgan about everything. Ajay Devgan made a plan, took the family on holiday, went to Panaji by bus, stayed in a hotel, saw a film and returned back keeping all the bills of expenses. Tabu very seriously interrogated him because one of the police officers Gaikonde saw Ajay Devgan driving the yellow car of Sam. The rest of the film was related to the interrogation. The police tortured Ajay Devgan and his family in the custody, and finally the younger daughter told that the body of Sam was buried in the garden. But when the surrounding area was dug, the body of a dead goat was found. Tabu was suspended along with Gaikonde. Ajay Devgan very intelligently used the stories of films and buried the body in the new foundation of police station. The acting of Ajay Devgan, Tabu were per excellence. Both of them deserve a number of awards for outstanding performance. The film had very unique storyline. The film had done business of 42 crores in 5 days but is destined to do better. The music was good and the song “dum ghutta hai” by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Rekha Bhardwaj stands out. Everyone should watch the film.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Happy birthday to Pran.


Happy birth anniversary to Pran. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birth anniversary to Pran Sikand, the legendary actor on 12th February, 2016. He was one of indispensable personality in bollywood films without whom most of the films of the 50s and 60s could not be thought about. He also was a big star who was as popular as an antihero as the leading stars of 50s and 60s including Showman Raj Kapoor and Tragedy King Dilip Kumar. He died last year but actually did not leave the hearts of numerous admirers of Bollywood films. Pran had acted in more than 300 films in his career which spanned over 60 years. He was a notorious dacoit in Raj Kapoor’s Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, who was reformed and persuaded to surrender before the police at the end of the film. He hammered Dilip Kumar all along the film Dil Diya Dard Liya, not knowing his identity. It was later known that Dilip Kumar was the king of the princely estate after the locket in his body was discovered. Dilip Kumar forgave him even after knowing that his affair with Wahida Rehman never blossomed into marriage due to Pran only. Among romantic songs of Rafi and Lata like “sawan aye ya na aye”, “dilruba main ne tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”, Pran kept a balance with his villanish pursuits. In Ram Aur Shyam, Pran tortured one of the Dilip Kumars who played the role of his brother-in-law. When Dilip Kumar’s twin brother came to his wife he took revenge against the evil deeds of Pran. Both the sequences when Pran whipped Dilip Kumar and when Dilip Kumar whipped Pran remained sensational. The film was serio-comic in nature with Dilip Kumar playing a double role for the first time in Ram Aur Shyam. In the mid-60s, Pran changed his image by playing positive roles like the one he played in the film Upkar. In that film he played the role of a handicapped person but he was an observer who witnessed the good deeds of Manoj Kumar who was a farmer and the bad deeds of his own brother played by Prem Chopra. Pran’s lips in Manna Dey’s songs “kasme wade” is still remembered by cinematic audience today. Pran was sublime in most of the hit films of the 60s like Shammi Kapoor’s Raj Kumar, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, etc., Joy Mukherjee’s Love in Tokyo, Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Biswajeet’s Mere Sanam, Rajender Kumar’s Ganwar, Raj Kumar’s Maryada, Manoj Kumar’s Gumnaam, to name a few. In the 70s he even matched himself with the action heroes of the other generation like Dharmender and Big B. His performance in Big B’s film Zanjeer in the role of a Pathan requires special mention. He gave excellent lips in Manna Dey’s song “yari hai imaan mera yaar mera zindagi” in the same film. In Amar Akbar Anthony, he was the father of Big B, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor and he faced the evil operations of Jeevan and his men all along the film. He kept his fitness to such an extent that in action sequences, he never looked out of place in a film where Big B, Vinod Khanna who were much younger than him showed their own skills. Pran continued his villainish performances in films of 80s including Dilip Kumar’s Duniya and Big B and Rajnikant’s Andha Kanoon. With notable actors coming in bollywood industry in the 80s like Amrish Puri, Danny, Paresh Rawal, Kader Khan, Anupam Kher, etc., Pran slowly faded away from the industry. By that time he had performed in more than 300 films. Viewers remember him for his unique style of dialogue delivery, unique mannerisms and fantastic body. He died few years back making everyone sad. His viewers pay respect to the old actor on his birth anniversary who had already received lifetime achievement award from Filmfare for his unique contribution to bollywood cinema.

Raj Kapoor celebration of Holi in RK Studio still haunts everyone.


The holi festival has come again in 2015. The festival of colours brings a large section of the society together. These days holi is losing significance in the context of bollywood films and the stars involved with film-making. During the lifetime of Showman Raj Kapoor, holi was celebrated in RK Studio. It used to be a very prestigious affair. Other than members of the Kapoor family including Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor and others, celebrities from the film industry used to play holi in the studio. These days Holi party is thrown by Raj Kundra and others. The event marked the strengthening of relationship of members of the bollywood film industry. The celebration included directors like Manmohan Desai, actors like Dilip Kumar, singers like Mukesh, composers like Shankar Jaikishan, to name a few. The enthusiasm was there even during the 80s, when most of the celebrities who were contemporaries of Raj Kapoor became old. Raj Kapoor himself stopped it in the late 80s as he started having physical discomfort while playing holi. He had asthma and the contact of colours basically aggravated the disease. The prestigious celebration of holi stopped after 1988, after the death of Raj Kapoor. After that time, a number of other celebrities started the tradition of inviting the film industry to play holi. But the pomp and grandiuer that was there in RK Studio could not be replicated. Holi forms an important festival for Indians and bollywood films had devoted a lot of space for holi. It was shown in films like Paraya Dhan, Sholay, Silsila, to name a few. The songs related to holi like “holi re holi” sung by Manna Dey, “holi ke rang” sung by Kishore Kumar, or “rang barse” sung by Big B had not lost their appeal even after 30 years of the release of the films. Modern producers and directors can also portray the festival of colours in modern films in their innovative style as holi is one of the most popular festivals of the country. Ranbir Kapoor is on the way to be the new superstar of bollywood films with successful performances in films like Bachna Aye Haseeno, Wake Up Sid, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. He can make an effort to revive the holi celebrations in RK Studio.

Hppy birthday to Aamir Khan.


Happy birthday to Mr. Perfectionist Star Amir Khan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mr. Perfectionist and Committed Star Amir Khan on 14th of March, 2016. He has proved himself as one of the most committed actors of modern bollywood films. He also carried on the legacy of Tragedy King Dilip Kumar of acting in less number of films and meaningful films. In 2012, the viewers are eagerly waiting for his new film Talaash. These days whenever Amir Khan’s films are released they end up being blockbusters. He started his career with the hit film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988 opposite Juhi Chawla. His film had brought back the era of romantic films, after bollywood was loaded with action films for more than 20 years. The music of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak composed by Anand Milind and majority of songs sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik created history. The popular songs included “aye mere humsafar”, “papa kehte hai”, etc. The film did excellent business and Amir Khan became a star at the early part of his career. From that time onwards Amir Khan acted in many romantic films like Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, opposite Juhi Chawla, Ishq opposite Juhi Chawla, Dil opposite Madhuri Dixit, Mann opposite Manisha Koirala. Being a relative of Nasir Hussain, Amir Khan showed his acting skills from the beginning of his career. He gave able lips in most of the songs of Udit Narayan and with passage of time showed his versatility in different types of films. He did extremely well in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Lagaan. Lagaan was based on the story of Indian farmers entering into a challenge with the British Govt. during the colonial rule. A cricket match was held between the British team and the Indian peasants. The condition was that if the Indians won it, the farmers would be excused of the share of produce that they supposed to give the landlords and the British Govt. of such. Amir Khan gave training to the rural Indians and ultimately won the match amidst odds. Amir Khan was sublime in his performance in patriotic film based on the life Mangal Pandey and he did an excellent job in the film Sarfarosh. Even as a director he showed innovative vision by making a film on the subject related to children. The film Taren Zameen Par showed that every child in the world is special. They have their innovative qualities. The job of the teachers and the academicians should be to unearth their skills The songs in the film composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy were also sensational. Even in 2008, Amir Khan’s film Ghajini was remarkable in nature. He played the role of a person who lost his memory every 20 minutes. He took revenge against the murder of his girlfriend, but he did it with his limitation in respect of the lost memory. He had played probably the role of his career. He came out with even greater hit film in 2009, The 3 idiots. The film had done more than 200 crores business till now. Even more than that the film directed by Raj Kumar Hirani, had a serious social message to give. The message is that the parents should not overburden the students with their own choices. Students should be allowed to specialize in the line they love and enjoy. Although filmfare awards had not been fare to Amir Khan, it does not matter for Amir Khan at all. He is the actor of the refined section of audience and will remain there for periods to come. In 2010, his venture Peepli Live had been ably appreciated by the critics and the audience as a whole. In 2011, his film Dhobi Ghaat did well in most part of India. He had acted well in the film. He also requested hall owners not to give break in the film, because it takes away the concentration in the film. Talash released in 2012 showed the intensity with which Amir Khan played the role of investigating officer who lost his own son who drowned in water. Amir Khan’s Dhoom 3 released in 2013 did business of more than 280 crores. In 2014 his film PK destroyed all records and did business of more than 330 crores. Raj Kumar Hirani directed the film, and Aamir Khan did a brilliant job in the film. He is a very cultured actor and the viewers have lot of hope on the thoughtful personality for innovative ventures in the years to come.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Happy birthday to Jaya Prada.


The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jaya Prada on 3rd April, 2016. Jaya Prada was considered as one of the most gifted actresses of bollywood films of the 80s. She shook the Indian audience with her dancing skills in the film Shankaravaranam. In the late 70s her film Sargam opposite Rishi Kapoor became superhit with a brilliant story and excellent songs. She played the role of a deaf and dumb girl who had immense dancing callibre which was unearthed by Rishi Kapoor in the film. The film created sensation in both in North India and South India. The music composed by LP was brilliant by every musical standard and Lata and Rafi were sublime in the songs “dafliwale dafli baja”, “koel boli”, “ramjiki nikli sawari”, etc. In an age of action pact films of Big B, Vinod Khanna, Sargam being a romantic film with Rishi Kapoor and Jaya Prada did excellent business. From that time Jaya Prada became the no. 1 bollywood actress and acted opposite all the leading stars of bollywood. Her other superhit films include Sharabi, opposite Big B, Akhree Rasta opposite Big B, Kamchor opposite Rakesh Roshan, to name a few. She acted in a number of films opposite Jeetender as well and all of those films were successful. At that time she got stiff competition from Sri Devi, another South Indian actress who had both acting talent and dancing talent. The films where both of them acted together, the viewers were confused to choose between the two. In Akhree Rasta Jaya Prada did equally well like Sri Devi. In the 90s, also Jay Prada’s films especially opposite Big B did good business, like Indrajeet or Aaj Ka Arjun. In those films while Big B concentrated on action sequences, Jaya Prada played the romantic part to perfection. With the emergence of new actresses in bollywood films in the 90s like Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla, Jaya Prada faded away from the bollywood industry. She joined politics and had been the parliamentarian for more than a decade. Besides she had played important roles in tamil films and other South Indian films over the years. A number of cinema halls in Mysore and Bangalore were named after her. In 2010, she had been expelled from the Samajwadi Party by Mulayam Singh Yadav along with other primary members. That can give her some time to devote in bollywood films as well. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in bollywood films in character roles as many of them feel that she still has a lot of acting left in her.

Rafisahab had excellent combination with Khayyam.


When we visualise the golden era of music in Indian cinema we primarily think about the giant music directors like Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, etc., or lyricists like Shakeel Badayani, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri or singers like Rafi, Lata who made major contribution to the music of that age. Among the legendary giants there were other composers who composed music for less number of films but created their identity and everlasting appeal even with the less number of compositions. Jaidev and Khayyam are two composers who received numerous awards for their classic performance and still remain few of the offbeat composers without whom the firmament of music would be colourless. Jaidev who came to Bombay initially from Ludhiyana to become an actor learnt music from K. Jaokar and Janardan Jaokar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and after ashort span of stay in his home town Ludhiyana, returned to Bombay with his immense command of folk and classical music. As he initially worked with Navketan Banner, he got a scope of working with SD Burman also. His debue with Chetan Anand’s film Joru Ka Bhai, 1955, gave him opportunity to compose independant music but he got recognition with the film Humdono in 1961. Humdono was also the starting point of Jaidev’s relationship with the man with the golden voice, Mohammad Rafi. The unique style of Jaidev included his tunes which appeared not to end with the antara or the sanchari and uniting them with the mukhra unlike other composers. Rafi’s voice had the effect of sedative which doctor’s prescribe for patients who cant sleep in the song “Abhi na jao chor kar, ki dil abhi bhara nahi” in Hum Dono. The way Rafi pronounced adhuri yaas, hardly any playback singer can think even today. The emotions of the character were kept intact and the musical value of the song was enhanced by Rafi in a tremendous way in Humdono. The ghazal in the film “kabhi khud pe kabhi halat pe rona aya” can be categorised as one of the ten best ghazals Rafi did sing in his life. At the same time the other song “main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya” which showed the carefree attitude of Dev Anand, who got admitted in military in the film, had the effect of santoor and the prelude and interlude followed the main song of Rafi that music lovers even memorised them as a song itself. Lata Mangeshkar’s performance in the song “Allah tero naam” in raag gara was probably one of her best performances ever. Jaidev’s return path of the sanchari was again evident in the classical bhajan which is still sung sometimes as prayer song at other times in temples and places of worship. The other film he composed music for include Mujhe Jeene Do, 1963, where Lata’s song “Nadi nare na jao sham” became hit. As it was female oriented film with Wahida Rehman providing the lead performance there were hardly sequences for male songs. In the other film Kinare Kinare, in 1963, Jaidev asked Rafi to sing duet song with Usha Mangeshkar titled “maya anchal jale kaya ka abhiman”. His other notable songs for Rafi include “aaj ki raat hai bus jalwa dikhane ke liye” and “roop ki dhoop to dhalke rahegi” from the film Jiyo Aur Jeene Do, in 1969. Both were successful with Jaidev’s folk effect in the respective songs. In the 1970s, Jaidev shifted towards Ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh for most of his songs, with “Do Diwane Shahar Me” and “Ek Akela is shahar me” from the film Gharonda, 1977, directed by Gulzar with Amol Palekar in the lead role. Runa Laila’s song “tumke hona ho mukhko to itna yakeen hai” looked like it was never going to end with the brilliant lyrics of gulzar. The violin was played so brilliantly in the song “Ek akela is shahar me” depicting urbanised folk songs, that it identified the pathos of Jaidev who was a loner in life. The other successful film of Jaidev included Dooriyan, 1979, acted by Uttamkumar and Sharmila Tagore. There Bhupinder Sing’s song “Zindagi zindagi o mere ghar ana ana zindagi” and “zindagi me jab tumhare gham nahi the” showed Jaidev’s unconventional movement in the rise and fall of the antara and sanchari. Jaidev along with Madanmohan had composed music for Rishi Kapoor’s film Laila Majnu, 1977, where Rafi’s songs “barbad muhobbat ki dua saath liye ja”, “is reshmi pazeeb ki jhankar ke sadpe”, “likhkar tera naam zameen par” were superhits and marked Rafi’s tremendous combination with Rishi Kapoor. Jaidev received national award for the brilliant composition of music in the films Reshma Aur Shera, Gaman and Ankahi, most of which included Rajasthani folk music. Jaidev never got the recognition which he deserved. It is a pity that Jaidev got a scope of composing music for female oriented films where he made the best use of Lata Mangeshkar, because Rafi could have made enormous contribution to Jaidev’s remote style of music composition. Even then the combination of Rafi and Jaidev carry enormous musical value for music lovers across the country. Khayyam better known as Mohammad Zahur Khaiyyam is the other music composer, who had such an immortal appeal in his compositions, yet had not received the recognition he deserved. He was born in Jullundher, Punjab in 1927, and learnt music from Pandit Amarnath and Hunslal Bhagatram. Khayyam initially used Tala Mehmood in the song “Sham-e-gham ki kasam” in Dilip Kumar’s Footpath, 1954, where he made his debue and Mukesh in the songs “Woh subah kabhi to ayegi” and “phir na kije meri gustaq nigaho ka gila” in Raj kapoor’s Phir Subah Hogi, 1958. Although Rafi had one song “jo bor kare yar ko us yaar se touba” in Phir Subah Hogi, 1958 where it was a duet with Mukesh singing for Raj Kapoor and Rafi singing for Rehman. But Khayyam acknowledged the golden voice of Rafi in the film Shola Aur Shabnam, 1961, where most of the lyrics were written by Kaifi Azmi and Rafi’s songs “dhunti rehti yeh ankhe mujhme”, “jeet hi lenge bazzi hum tum”, “pehle to aankh milna”, “phool ko dhoonde pyaasa bhawra” had a soft, passionate flavour of the soil of mountains. The songs were picturised on Dharmender. In the film Shagun, 1964, the song “parbaton ke paron par sham ka basera hai” sung by Rafi carried the intoxicating appeal of Khayyam. The next film Mohabbat is ko kahte hai, 1965, picturised on Shashi Kapoor had a fantastic duet song of Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur titled “thehriye hosh me alun to chale jaiyega” which was a form of a poetry where each of the poets answered one another. In Akhri Khat, in 1966, Rafi’s song “aur thori der theher” had the same folk effect of Khayyam. Lata Mangeshkar was brilliant with her performance of “baharo mera jeevan bhi sawaaro” and “mere chanda mere nanhe” in the same film. In the 1970s, Khaiyyam composed music in lesser films but again came up with creative music and received the filmfare award for composing music for the film Kabhi Kabhi, 1975, where the title song written by Sahir Ludhianvi and sung by Mukesh and Lata were well acclaimed by music lovers of India. His composition in Umrao Jaan, 1981, brought him the second filmfare award and amazed the musical pandits with classical mujra, which became extinct from bollywood music at that time. His songs in the film Bazaar, 1982, picturised on Nasiruddin Shah, titled “karoge yaad to” had ghazal andaz and Bhupinder Singh was sublime with his performance. As Khayyam, like Jaidev, composed music in mostly offbeat films their presence was felt whenever the directors came up with thoughtful stories, powerful direction and rich lyrics. Although they have provided less number of songs for Rafi but the creations of the combination should be restored for the epic value of the folk and classical effects in the songs.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Shriman Satyawadi showed brilliance of Raj Kapoor Shakila.


Raj Kapoor and Shakila were brilliant in Shriman Satyawadi. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, due to high box office of blockbusters, the hit films did not get that recognition. For example, in 1960, Raj Kapoor’s film Shriman Satywadi was released. Due to super hit box office report of Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai and all time blockbuster Dilip Kumar’s Mugha-i- azam, Shriman Satyawadi got lost in the crowd of brilliant films. But the film was successful. SM Abbas directed the film. Mahipatray Shah produced the film. The music was composed by Dattaram. Raj Kapoor was shown as an honest man whose father was an honest medicine seller. His father was falsely implicated by Mehmood’s father Radhakrishan. He deliberately kept narcotic drugs in his shop so that police could arrest him. He got a heart attack and died. Raj Kapoor was brought up by his neighbor uncle who send him to industrialist Nazir Hussain for job in Mumbai. Nazir Hussain and his daughter Shakila allowed Raj Kapoor to work in their advertisement company. Mehmood joined the same company and created a cream and pharmaceutical products which adulterated content. Consumers got skin diseases and one person died. Raj Kapoor left the company and did other jobs and finally worked as journalist in the Newspaper company owned by Moni Chatterjee. In the last scene Raj Kapoor went with Moni Chatterjee in the house of Radhakrishan to tell the truth relating to adulterated products. His son Mehmood shot a bullet on Moni Chatterjee. In a tassle with Raj Kapoor, Mehmood fell in an acidic pool and died. The film proved that honesty was the right policy. The music of the film became super hit. Mukesh’s songs “haal-e-dil hamara”, “ai dil dekhe hai humne” became bumper hit. Rafi’s song “rang birangi botal ka kaisa hai jadoo” was as big hit as Suman Kalyanpur’s song “kyun ura jata hai anchal” and Manna Dey’s bheegi “hawaano me” as well as Mahendra Kumar’s song “ek baat kahoon vallah”. Dattaram’s music was as brilliant as lyrics of Hasrat Jaipuri. Mehmood in a comedy cum villainish role was impressive. Nazir Hussain and Radhakrishan played very impressive roles. Raj Kapoor probably acted only in one film opposite Shakila. Both the artists matched each other. They should have been cast in more roles. The film and the music require restoration.

Happy birthday to Shreya Ghoshal.


Happy birthday to Shreya Ghoshal. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to sweet singer Shreya Ghoshal on 12th March, 2016. From national awards, Zee Cine Awards, Starscreen awards and filmfare awards, she had remained a frequent recipient of the awards due to her sheer brilliance. Bollywood films in the 50s, 60s and 70s were dominated by Lata, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Sudha Malhotra, Suman Kalyanpur, etc. In the 80s and 90s Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurty made a very notable contribution in bollywood films. Shreya Ghoshal had established herself the future singer of bollywood cinema for the last few years. Born in a Bengali family in Rawatbhata, in Kota district of Rajasthan, Shreya Ghoshal learnt classical music from Mahesh Chandra Sharma. She participated in the musical competition in the TV Channel titled Saregamapa, and when she reached the finals after defeating renowned female singers, the producers, directors and composers were moved by her performance. She made her presence felt with her song in the film Devdas, directed by Sanjay Leela Banshali, with the song “bairi piya” and after that she never had to look back. Just like Sonu Nigam had created a gharana by himself and composers agree about his versatility, similarly Shreya Ghoshal is undoubtedly the future of Indian playback singing. She received the filmfare award for the best female singer along with Kavita Krishnamurty for the song “dola re” from the film Devdas, picturised on Madhuri Dixit and Aiswariya Rai. Her other hits songs include “jadu hai nasha hai” from the film Jism. She also amazed the listeners with the song “piyu bole, piya bole” picturised on Vidya Balan, from the film Parineeta, where Sonu Nigam sang it for Saif Ali Khan. The sweetness of her voice matched the period (late 19th century) when singers of the Bengali traditional families used to present their talent in soft style She also the song “apne aansoo peene ke liye” from the film Paheli, very well, along with powerful performance from Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan in the film. She also received filmfare award for the best singer for her song in the film Guru, titled “barsdo re” composed by AR Rehman. She had song notable Bengali songs like “pagla hawa” in The Bong Connection, “mon diye mon niye” in Agnipath, etc. In 2010, her song “bahara bahara” in the film I Hate Luv Stories was striking. She was extremely sweet in the duet song “tu ne to palbhar me chori kiya re jiya” with Sonu Nigam, in the film Dabanng, which went to do a business worth 150 crores. She sang brilliant songs in 2012 in different films like Agneepath, Jab Tak Hai Jaan. In 2013 she received a number of awards for her song in the film Ashiqi 2. With a number of songs which are going to be released in different films in 2015, she is expected to continue her good work and the viewers and listeners expect her best in the years to come.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Happy birthday to Kangana Ranaut.


The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut on 20th March, 2016. Kangana Ranaut had created a strong box-office for herself during her short career till now. In 2008 when she acted in the film Fashion, she amazed the audience with her powerful performance in a Madhur Bhandarkar film, which had more elements involving reality than larger than life image. The film showed the new entrants in the fashion industry. Priyanka Chopra played the main role in the film who had come from her native town to Mumbai to create her identity in the fashion industry. Priyanka interacted with Kangana Ranaut in the fashion industry and came to know about her struggle as well. Success in that industry is obtained at the cost of peace, security, happiness. Both Kangana and Priyanka played their part to perfection and created a mark in the minds of intellectual audience. Both Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra received filmfare awards for their best performance in Fashion as best supporting actress and best actress respectively. Kangana Ranaut played her role to perfection even in the film Gangster and Life in a Metro. Her performance in Gangster brought her the best debutant award in 2007. In Life in a Metro, she played the role of a girl who could not decide about what to do in a Metro city. She was confused about the boyfriends and could not find out who really wanted her. She was probably at her best in the film Raaz, the mystery continues opposite Adhyayan Suman and Imraan Hashmi. It has been released in January, 2009 and already did good business in India and abroad. The unsatisfied soul of Jackie Shroff had entered her body, and Imraan Hashmi could see the future events while he did paint Kangana’s face. At the end of the film, Kangana and Imraan Hashmi went to the place Kalindi, where they unearthed the past events where a chemical plant used to dump its toxic wastes in a sacred lake near a temple. When Jackie Shroff complained about it, he was killed by the gundas sent by the priest. So the unsatisfied soul of Jackie Shroff entered the body of Kangana Ranaut to tell the story to everyone. Kangana again can get nomination for best actress for her horrified performance in the film Raaz –the mysery continues. Although her film Kites opposite Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori and No Problem opposite Akshay Khanna did mediocre business in 2010, she bounced back with the film Tanu Weds Manu. R. Madhavan acted opposite her and the film did good business.She did well in those films but the films were not accepted by the audience for different reasons. She has age, beauty and acting talent in her favour which can make an impact in 2015. She had two big successes in 2013 with Shootout at Wadala and Krissh 3. Shoot Out At Wadala opposite John Abraham did business of more than 60 crores while Krishh 3 did business of more than 200 crores. 2014 had been a great year for her. She won the filmfare award for best actress for her performance in the film Queen. The viewers expect her to do well in the films in future.

Happy birthday to Akshay Khanna


The viewers wish happy birthday to talented star Akshay Khanna on 28th March, 2016. Akshay Khanna has been an exception in the list of bollywood actors who had joined bollywood films in the 90s. He has banked his resources on his decency which most of the actors hardly care about. He exhibited his softness of character in the film Taal opposite Aiswariya Rai. He did not try to be forceful in his presentation of affection in the film. In Border, he played the role of an Indian soldier who died at the border after he had been successful in destroying the Pakistani forces in the war that took place in the 70s. He loved his wife and mother which was shown in the flashback. He gave good lips in Sonu Nigam’s song “hume jab se mohabbat ho gayi hai”, composed by Anu Malik. He was also sublime in the film Hulchul opposite Kareena Kapoor. He tried to create an artificial weakness for her as his family and Kareena’s family were at war for generations. But after meeting her some time, he fell in love in reality and ultimately succeeded in marrying her against the wishes of all the family members. He played the complex role in Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Dimple Kapadia, where he was the friend of Amir Khan and Saif Ali Khan and fell in love with a middle aged lady, who was older than him. He even left his friends as the association with Dimple was quite awkward and these types of attachments are not accepted in the societies of third world countries. He expressed a thoughtful character who was different from his enthusiastic friends in the film. He had also done well in the film 36 China Town, where he played the role of a detective. The film was based on a murder that took place in 36 China Town, where Kareena and Shahid Kapoor also went and got involved in the list of suspected characters. He solved the mystery in style. In Salaame- e- Ishq his romantic andaz opposite Ayesha Takia still haunts viewers. He gave a reserve performance in the film Aakrosh in 2010. His soft style of dialogue throwing balanced the dare devil acts of Ajay Devgan in the film. Both of them did a great job. He even acted well in the film Tees Maar Khan. The film did not do great business due to the storyline but Akshay Khanna’s performance was well appreciated. Akshay Khanna acted well in the film No Problem as well. Anil Kapoor produced the film. Akshay Khanna showed his acting talent amongst veteran actors like Paresh Rawal, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and others. The viewers expect him to do well in other films in future.

Happy birthday to Rani Mukherjee.


Happy birthday to Rani Mukherjee. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rani Mukherjee on 21st March, 2016. Born on 21st March, 1978, she started her career with the film Raja Ki Ayegi Baraat. She ruled bollywood films from 2002 to 2006. After that all of a sudden her stardom got affected. She rose to stardom with brilliant performance in Karan Johar’s film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. She acted opposite Kajol and Shahrukh Khan and superseded both of them in the film. She received the filmfare best supporting actress award for her performance in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. After reaching stardom she acted opposite all the leading stars of bollywood films. Her films Badal and Bichhu opposite Bobby Deol, which involved terrorism and narcotics respectively, did great business. Her film Ghulam opposite Aamir Khan was successful. Her lips in the song “aati kya khandala” were well appreciated. She got critical acclamation for powerful performance in the film Saathiya opposite Vivek Oberoi. All the songs composed by AR Rehman were super hit and film took Rani Mukherjee’s career to a different dimension. She played significant roles in other films like Nayak opposite Anil Kapoor, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke opposite Salman Khan, Chalte Chalte opposite Shahrukh Khan. She played the role of her life in Black. In the film she played the character of a blind girl. The entire process rediscovering herself earned her the filmfare award under the category of both best actress and best actress under critic’s choice. Then her combination with Abhishek Bacchan was well received by the viewers. Films like Bunty Aur Bably and Yuva was well received by the viewers. Rani Mukherjee started showing her versatility in any type of role, including the role of surrogate mother, aspiring model, etc. Her other successful films included Mujhse Dosti Karoge opposite Hrithik Roshan, Veer Zara opposite Shahrukh Khan, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega opposite Salman Khan, to name a few. Her attachment with the Yash Raj Banner had led to downfall after 2007. None of the films like Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, Ta Ra Rum Pum, did good business, and Rani Mukherjee lost out of competition with successful actresses of the present period like Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, etc. In 2011, her film No One Killed Jessica did well. She acted opposite Vidya Balan and the performance of both the actresses was well appreciated by the audience and the critics. She received awards also for the brilliant performance in the film No One Killed Jessica. In 2012 she acted two films. Her performance opposite Aamir Khan in the film Talaash was well appreciated. The other film Aiyyaa did mediocre business. In 2013 she acted in the film Bombay Talkies. In 2014 her film Mardaani did very well. The viewers expect Rani Mukherjee to make come back in character roles because a lot of acting is still left in her.