Happy birthday to Shekhar Kapoorji

Happy birthday to Shekhar Kapoor. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shekhar Kapoor on 6th December, 2021. He was one of the thoughtful directors of bollywood films and still his films are cherished by a big section of the viewers today. He directed a meaningful film Masoom in the early 80s. He used the most dynamic actors and actresses of the contemporary period that was Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddun Shah. Naseeruddin had a previous wife who died leaving his small child played by Jugal Hansraj. He married Shabana Azmi who already had her own daughters including Urmila Matondkar. It was difficult for Shabana Azmi to accept the step son when her own daughters’ interests were related. Naseeruddin Shah decided to send the young child to boarding, but Shabana Azmi’s conscious spoke and she brought him back at the end of the film. RD Burman’s composition titled “huzur is kadar bhi” sung by Bhupinder Singh and Suresh Watkar, and “tushse naraz nahi zindagi” sung by Lata appealed to the masses. Shekhar Kapoor astonished the viewers with a masala film Mr. India in the mid-80s. Anil Kapoor found a device which could make people invisible. He used the device to encounter a big smuggler played by Amrish Puri with the title Mogambo. Anil Kapoor ran an orphanage full of children and after becoming Mr. India used the children in his fight against Mogambo. Anil Kapoor’s compassionate performance, Amrish Puri’s fiery acting, Sri Devi’s dance numbers, everything appealed to the masses and the film ended up being the greatest hit of the year. Laxmikant Pyarellal’s music in the film became super hit including songs like “hawa hawai”, “karte hai hum pyar Mr. India se”, etc. Shekhar Kapoor was criticized the most for his film Bandit Queen based on the life of dacoit Phoolan Devi. Shekhar Kapoor tried to show the torture faced by Phoolan Debi who was a malwa, by the Thakurs of the area, which compelled her to become dacoit. But the film gathered controversy due to the details shown by Shekhar Kapoor in respect of humiliation faced by Phoolan Debi. The Censure Board came in the way. Shekhar Kapoor got criticized all the way. His other film Elizabeth was also a noble venture. Shekhar Kapoor is also known for his acting in TV serials like Khandan which became super hit in the mid-80s. His future projects include Paani, Long Walk To Freedom and The Last Full Measure. The viewers expect Shekhar Kapoor to continue his innovative film making in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Sharmila Tagoreji.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary actress Sharmila Tagoreji on 8th December 2021. Her hit films like Kashmir Ki Kali opposite Shammi Kapoorji, Waqt opposite Shashi Kapoorji, Amanush, Anand Ashram opposite Uttam Kumarji, Mausam opposite Sanjeev Kumarji are still remembered by her admirers.

Dharmender and Sharmila Tagore had acted in many bollywood films together and in most of the cases the films had become extremely successful. Their film Mere Humdum Mere Dost became hit mainly due to the melodious music composed by LP in the film. Rafi’s songs like “na ja, kahin ab na ja”, “hui shaam unka”, etc. became landmark hits in the late 60s. They did very well in the film Satyakam directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Dharmender played the role of an engineer who came to know the crude reality relating to the corruption in the relative sector. He married Sharmila Tagore whose modesty was outraged and there was nobody to marry. Dhamender received the acclaimation of critics for his good performance in the film. Both of them showed their comedy skills in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Chupke Chupke which was the remake of Uttam Kumar’s film Chodobeshi. Dharmender was a Professor of Botany who pretended to be the driver of Om Prakash and ran away with Sharmila. Big B was asked the play the role of the Professor of Botany and he did the acting to perfection and got ultimately engaged with Jaya Bacchan and got married to her. SD Burman’s music was successful with songs like “ab ke sajan”, “chupke chupke” sung by Lata and “saregama” sung by Rafi and Kishore. Both of them did well in the film Yakeen, where again the music was excellent. Rafi’s song “gar tum bhula na doge” became big hit in that age. With the advent of action films Dharmender got involved in big budget films like Sholay, Jugnu, Charas, etc., and Sharmila Tagore concentrated to soft romantic films like Mausam, Dooriyan, etc., with Sanjeev Kumar, Uttam Kumar and others. Yet the viewers accepted the pair of Dharmender and Sharmila Tagore both in the soft romantic films and comedy films. The films should be restored and preserved.

Happy birthday to Shot Gun Shatrughun Sinhaji

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful actor Shatrughun Sinha on 9th December, 2021. He was considered to be one of the leading angry young man of the 70s after Big B. Although he started his career as anti-hero in films like Khilouna, where the central characters were played by Jeetender and Sanjeev Kumar, within short time, he showed his metal as an action star and ruled bollywood films for another 20 years. He also did well in the film Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari. He was successful in films like Gaye Aur Gauri opposite Jaya Bacchan, Bombay To Goa, etc., in the early 70s. Shatrughun Sinha learned acting Pune Film and Television Institute and his lessons went a long way in his illustrious career. He had seen other giants in the Pune Film and Television Institute like Hritik Ghatak, Subhash Ghai, etc. Viewers remember his combination with Reena Roy as both played romantic pair in numerous films. Kalicharan was one of the most popular films amongst them. Whenever Shatrughun Sinha faced Amitabh Bacchan both the actors tried to supersede the other. The viewers enjoyed the rift between the two actors in contemporary films. Both did a fantastic job in Ramesh Sippy’s film Shaan. Shatrughun Sinha’s charishma in the role of a shooter was as elegant as Big B’s angry young image in killing Goga Kapoor’s men in the film. The other films where Big and Shotgun (Shatrughun Sinha was called by this name) met included Kala Patthar, Dostana, Naseeb, to mention a few. In Kala Patthar there was an encounter scene with Amitabh Bacchan, which was as popular as the encounter of Vinod Khanna with Amitabh Bacchan in Amar Akbar Anthony. In all those films both the actors complimented each other. Even in comedy films like Naram Garam, Shotgun showed his comedy elements and was appreciated. Shatrughun Sinha was given an off-beat role by Goutam Ghosh in Bengali film Antarjali Jatra where he played the role of a cremator. He played a marathon innings in films which include commercial success like Goutam Govinda, Dillagi, etc. Even in political career he achieved a lot by working for the people under the BJP banner. He was member of Rajya Sabha and won elections also under BJP ticket. He is called the stylish Bihari Babu by his admirers. He must be a proud father after his daughter Sonakshi Sinha had stormed bollywood with her superhit debut opposite Salman Khan in the film Dabanng released this year. Both Shatrughun Sinha and Vinod Khanna are considered the greatest competitors with Big B and had succeeded in portraying the role of action heroes in India. Their height, voice and stature helped a lot in portraying those characters. The viewers expect Shotgun to continue the great work in films in future.

De Dana Dan with Akshay Sunil Shetty Katrina and Sameera was a super hit film.

Review of De Dana Dan. Director Priyadarshan had come up with another hilarious film De Dana Dan, the sequel of Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. He had used the same team of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal, whom he had used in the films Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri. In this film Akshay Kumar had been shown as a butler, cook, personal attendant of rich industrialist in Singapore played by Archana Puran Singh. He had an affair with Katrina Kaif. Akshay Kumar’s friend Sunil Shetty came to Singapore to become rich but ended up being a courier delivery person. He had an affair with Sameera Reddy who was a rich girl but whose parents wanted her to get married to only a rich person. In the meantime Paresh Rawal, who was a businessman, wanted to get Chunkey Pandey married to Sameera Reddy so that, he can get lot of money in dowry as Sameera Reddy was very rich. Both Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar planned to kidnap a person to recover ransom. In that way they could get quick cash and impress their girlfriends. But things went wrong just like other Priyadarshan movies and the chaos leads to comedy instances. Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty again did a brilliant job. The music of Pritam had rocked bollywood even before the film had been released. Some of the hit songs include “paisa” sung by Selina, Manak E, etc., “gale lag ja” sung by Javed Ali and Ban Jyotsna, “hotty naughty” sung by Sunidhi Chauhan. The exotic location of Singapore created

special attention for the viewers. Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy brought out their comedy instincts in style. As a whole the film became super hit and brought huge revenue to bollywood film industry.

Hit films and actresses of bollywood films of 2008

The year 2008 is almost going to end. Bollywood industry had benefited a lot this year due to success of many films including Race, Jane Tu Ya Jane Na, Jodha Akbar, Golmaal Returns, Heroes, etc. Among the actresses Priyanka Chopra had been one of the winners. It was not due to all her films doing excellent business, but more than that she had acted in many films and made her presence felt all round the year. Some of the films did average business like Love Story 2050, Champku, but her performance in those films had been well appreciated. The presence of Harman Baweja and his similarity with Hrithik Roshan may have been the reason of the medium business of Love Story 2050, but the songs were hits. Priyanka Chopra acted in challenging roles this year like the one in the film Fashion directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. The film already is doing good business and had got critical acclamation where the acting skills of Priyanka had been utilized to the fullest extent. Dostana had just been released and had got a very good opening. Looking back at the history of films produced by Karan Johar, they had never failed in the past whenever there was good casting, good music and good locations. Even in the case of Dostana, the songs like “desi girl” became hit before the release of the film. Besides, the acting of Abhishek Bacchan and John Abraham and exotic locations of Miami will draw more viewers in the long run. The only film God Tussi Great Ho could not fulfill the expectations of the viewers inspite of Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra being appreciated for their performances. The other actress who is having a dream run include Katrina Kaif. She had given hits after hits from the last two years. Her film Race was the first hit film of the year with all the songs like “pehli nazar me”, “allah duai hai”, etc., becoming superhits. It was a multi-starrer film with Bipasha Basu, Sameera Reddy, Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna providing fantastic performances. The glamour of Katrina Kaif in the exotic locations of South Africa added value for the viewers. Her other film Singh is Kinng opposite Akshay Kumar had been extremely successful. The film had all the elements of entertainment including comedy, drama, romance, etc. Again the music composed by Pritam stormed bollywood. Songs like “dil kho gaya”, “singh is king”, etc., had entertained the viewers. With the positive response relating to the music of Katrina’s recent film Yuvvraaj, it is obvious for film critics to be optimistic about the success of the film, especially with the unification of Gulzar, A R Rehman and Subhash Ghai for the first time. Viewers are curious about the relationship of Katrina Kaif with Salman Khan and the film Yuvvraaj would add spark to the anxiousness. Viewers are inquisitive enough to know whether Priyanka Chopra or Katrina Kaif can bag any award this time after giving so many hit films in the same year. The viewers have to wait for few months to know it.

Happy birthday to Diya Mirzaji.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to serene beauty Diya Mirza on 9th December, 202

1. Although she had acted in more than 30 films, she did not succeed in reaching the stardom of toppers in bollywood like Kareena Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif. It is an established fact that ultramodern roles never suited Diya Mirza. She had a calm, quiet, docile image and whenever roles relating to that image were given she had done great jobs. But whenever ultramodern roles were offered to her she could not adapt herself in the respective role. She was sublime opposite Salman Khan in the film Tumko Bhula Na Payenge. The film showed the loss of memory on the part of Salman Khan. Salman Khan was a shooter and along with his co-shooter was appointed by the home minister to shoot his rival. But after some time bullets were fired at Salman Khan and he was found in a pond in a village. The father of Arbaaz Khan found Salman Khan and told him that he was his son. Diya Mirza stayed in the same village and was the daughter of the friend of Salman Khan’s father. She used to visit Salman Khan and persuade him to believe that nothing serious had happened to him. Salman was inclined to know the cause of the loss of his memory. Neither Diya Mirza, nor Rajpal Yadav, told him the truth. The romantic performance of Salman Khan and Diya Mirza was well appreciated by the viewers. Both of them gave able lips in the songs “yeh bekhudi diwanagi” and “are are yeh kya hua re” sung by Sonu Nigam and others. The other part of the film was related to Salman Khan taking revenge against his rival and death of Sushmita Sen in the struggle. Her docile image was used by Vidhu Vinod Chopra in the film Parineeta. Her performance was well appreciated along with Vidya Balan. Even her performance in the films Deewanapan and Tumsa Nahi Dekha also had feminine appeal. Even her performance in the film Lage Raho Munnabhai in the role of the daughter of Boman Irani had docile image. She was very obedient daughter of her father but the moment she knew that her horoscope was redesigned not to let his inlaws including Kulbhushan Kharwanda know that she was manglik, she told them the truth after speaking with Sanjay Dutt (Munna Bhai). She initially wanted to commit suicide but later changed her decision after being briefed by Munna Bhai. Even her performance in Shootout at Lokhandwala had the feminine. But her performance in the film Cash broke the image, which was not liked by the audience. Her lips in an ultramodern fashion in the song “hey chori zara nachke dikha” along with Esha Deol and Shamita Shetty was not impressive at all. Diya Mirza has a sweet face and loving image, so should concentrate on those roles which show her feminine docile image, rather than aggressive roles of egoists which can spoil her career. The viewers are looking forward to better performances from Diya Mirza in future.

Happy birthday to Bappi Lahiriji

Happy birthday to Bappi Lahiri. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Bappi Lahiri on 25th November, 2021. He had huge contribution in bollywood music during the 70s and 80s and his compositions are remembered even today. He is the son of famous Bengali singer and composer Aparesh Lahiri. Aparesh Lahiri had very impressive basic discs and the songs like “takka tare”, “jhar” stormed the Bengali audience in the 50s. His composition for Lata Mangeshkar, titled “ekbar bidae de ma” in Bengali films should his capability of using powerful resources successfully. Bappi Lahiri emerged in the bollywood film arena, when composers like Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, Madan Mohan, SD Burman, died and composers like Laxmikant Pyarellal, RD Burman, Kalyanji Anandji were the main competitors in the late 70s. Bappi created an impression before the audience with his compositions for the film Zakhmee where Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh were the main performers. The music of his film Namakhalal became super hit. Big B’s lips and Kishore Kumar’s song “ki pag ghungru”, made Bappi Lahiri a big star in the early 80s. He also gave ppular music in the film Sharabi, where again the Big B, KK combination stormed bollywood. The song “imtehan ho gayi intezr ki” became super hit. Bappi Lahiri and KK combination did work also in the films of Mithun Chakravarthy. All the songs of the film Disco Dancer became super hit where Bappi Lahiri himself sang hit songs like “yaad aa rahai”, etc. The other hit films where Bappi Lahiri contributed well include Thanedaar, with Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit, where the song “tama tama loge” became very popular. Bappi Lahiri was very successful in his composition of music for Bengali films as well. His music in Uttam Kumar’s last film Ogo Bodhu Sundari became super hit. KK’s songs “ami ekjon santoshito”, “shikte tomai hobe”, etc., became very successful. The other hit Bengali films where Bappi Lahiri made valuable contribution include Guru Dakhina and Amar Sangi. The hit songs include “o amar gurudakhina”, “prithibi hariye geche”, “sangi, sangi”, “jekhanei thako”, etc. He sang the song “u lala u lala” in the film Dirty Picture. The film had reciprocated the great music trend of 1980s when Bappi himself composed music in films like Himmatwala. Bappi Lahiri had been often criticized for copying music from international films and other sources, as his tunes were very similar to others tunes. But that controversy is faced by lot of modern composers as well. The big thing is Bappi Lahiri had entertained audience of bollywood films for more than 15 years. His admirers expect him to compose innovative tunes in more films in future.

Happy birthday to legendary actor Dharmenderji

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Dharmender on 8th December, 2021. He is one of the living legends of bollywood. In 2011, he acted in the film Yaamla Pagla Diwana with Bobby Deol and Sunny Deol, and the film did excellent business. But he promoted his daughter Esha Deol’s film in the later part of 2011, which did mediocre business. In 2013 he acted in the film Yaamla Pagla Deewana 2, with sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. He had acted in more than 300 films and bollywood industry was heavily dependent on the star in the 60s and 70s. He started his journey with romantic films. His successful romantic films included Phool Aur Pathar with Meena Kumari, Mamta with Suchitra Sen, Mere Humdum Mere Dost with Sharmila Tagore, Aye Din Bahar Ke with Asha Parekh, Pyar Hi Pyar with Vaijayantimala, to name a few. Rafi’s songs picturized on Dharmender like “gar tum bhula na doge,” “ na ja kahin ab na ja”, “o majhi chal”, “dil kahen ruk ja”, “aaj mausam bara beimaan hai”, etc., had remained evergreen gems. His combination with legendary singer Mohammad Rafi was evergreen. As he acted in the production and direction of different legends in the 60s, including Bimal Roy, Chetan Anand, Asit Sen, etc., he gave lips in the songs of Rafi composed by different composers. Some of the examples include “aap ke haseen rukh” composed by OP Nayyar in the film Baharen Phir Bhi Ayegi, “dekha hai teri ankhome” composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film Pyar hi Pyar, “chalkaye jam” composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal in the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost, “tere paas aake” composed by Ravi in the film Aankhe, “in baharon me akela na phiro” composed by Roshan in the film Mamta, to name a few. He played a different innings in the 70s. His image of action hero created revolution in bollywood films. He had a very muscular physic and created a trend of actors who involved themselves in exercises. His discipline had been followed by the actors of the next generation like Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and others. His successful films in the 70s included Jheel Ke Us Paar, Jugnu, Sholay, Dream Girl, etc. His combination with Hema Malini is considered as one of the most colourful onscreen combination after Raj Kapoor Nargis and Dilip Kumar Vaijayantimala. Dharmender had acted in more than 20 films with Hema Malini, most of which were super hit. The most renowned films included Raja Jani, Naya Zamana, Sholay, Charas, Seeta Aur Geeta, Burning Train, Dream Girl, etc. Dharmender acted in off-beat films as well. The best example was Gulzar’s Kinara. He was the husband of Hema Malini in the film who was a noted classical dancer. He was killed due to an accident with the car of Jeetender in the film. Bhupinder Singh’s song picturised on Dharmender titled “ek hi khwab kai baar dekha hai maine” remains as one of the greatest off-beat creations of RD Burman. His performance in the film Maa, based on the life of elephant requires special mention. He took a young elephant away from his mother to use him in Circus. The mother elephant revolted and killed Dharmender’s mother Nirupa Roy in the film. Dharmender’s patent dialogue “maa kasam”, “kamine”, etc., were memorized by youths of the 70s. Both his sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol are successful actors of bollywood films. Dharmender still has acting left in him and the viewers expect him to carry on the marathon innings that he had started 50 years back.

Hasrat Jaipurisahab Rafisahab had great combination with Shankar Jaikishanji.

Remembering Hasrat Jaipuri, Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi on the death anniversary of Hasrat Jaipuri. 17th September is remembered as the death anniversary of eminent poet Hasrat Jaipuri sahab

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

Musical genious Salil Choudhurysahab was remembered on birth anniversary

Remembering Salil Choudhury. Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his death anniversary on 5th September, 2021. He was also remembered on his birthday on 19th November, 2013. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years. His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers. On the other hand his strength in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Choudhury hugely experimented with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment. Salil Choudhury used the different playback singers in Bengal and explored their talents to the brim. Some of the great compositions include “eso kache boso” sung by Tarun Banerjee, “pallabini go sancharini” sung by Dwijen Mukherjee, “Jodi jante go tumi jante” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee, “jai jai din” sung by Biswajeet Chatterjee, to name a few. The list can go on. Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury. Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury. Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular. Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen was based on Salil Choudhury’s literature. His music in the films Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Musafir, Parakh, Jagte Raho, Anand, Maya, Rajnigandha, etc., stand out as landmarks in Indian film history. He received filmfare award for brilliant performance in the film Madhumati. All the songs in the film including Lata’s “aja re”, “ghari ghari”, Rafi’s “tute hue khwabonme”, “jangal me mor nacha”, Mukesh’s “dil tarap tarap ke”, “suhana safar aur mausam hasin” touched the souls of numerous Indians in the late 50s. Other notable songs of Salil Choudhury in bollywood films include “tasveer teri dil me” from Maya, “zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai”, “kahin dur jab din dhal jaye” from Anand, “rajnigandha” from Rajnigandha, “jago mohan pyare” from Jagte Raho, “dil tadpe tadpaye” from Poonam Ki Raat, to name a few. Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. One article is not enough to reiterate the immortal works of the giant creator. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Basu Chatterjee films were related to real life stories

The demise of Basu Chatterjee at 93 age was a big blow to realistic films in India. He gave a lifetime break to actors Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab. Amol Palekar caught the attention of the viewers with his performance in the film Rajnigandha, directed by Basu Chatterji, where he acted opposite Vidya Sinha, the successful actress of the 70s. Salil Choudhury’s music in the film including songs sung by Lata, Yesudas and others like “janeman janeman”, “ranjigandha”, etc., created special impact on the viewers. Amol Palekar’s performance in the other film of Basu Chatterji, titled Chitchor also impressed the viewers. In that film a new pair of Zareena Wahab was created with Amol Palekar who was accepted by the viewers. The film revolved around the romantic story of Amol Palekar that took place in forest locations. The performance of Master Raju in the role of a child artist was also impressive. The music of the film composed by Ravindra Jain including songs like “gori tera gaon”, “tu jo mere sang me”, etc., sung by Hemlata and Yedudas was very impressive. Even the films based on classic literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee made in hindi by Basu Chatterjee still remain in the minds of viewers. Films like Swami, Apnapan still haunt the viewers. Shabana Azmi, Utpal Dutt, Girish Karnad did a great job in these types of films. His film Ek Ruka Hua Faisla was also a great experiment. Basu Chatterjee's films hovered around the common man. He showed the life of simple man, like the employee Amol Palekar in film Chitchor. The simple village life really impressed the audience.Basu Chatterjee's film Choti Si Baat, with Amol Palekar and Vidya Sinha was also a great experiment. Ashok Kumar did a great job in the film. His films require restoration and preservation

Happy birthday to superstar Rajnikantji.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajnikant on 12th December, 2021. For the last 30 years he had remained as one of the most popular superstars of South Indian films and carried his stardom in bollywood films as well. He was very ill last year, struggling with kidney disorder. After treatment he had recovered. His film Robot was a sensation in South India and did well in North India as well. His admirers expect him to continue his stylish performances in new films in future, the same way as he did in the past. Presently his film Robot 2 is destined to do business of more than 400 crores. From the beginning of his career he had created an identity in action films. He had his own mannerisms which were liked by South Indian audience and was also new for bollywood viewers. In the film Andha Kanoon, he acted along with Big B. The film was released in 1983. His parents were tortured and killed in the film by Pran, Prem Chopra and Danny. The entire film was related to the revenge that he had taken against all those actors. His sister’s role was played by Hema Malini who was a police-officer in the film. There were romantic sequences in the film as well where Reena Roy contributed opposite Rajnikant, but as the action sequences became predominating there was not much scope for the romantic performance. The film became superhit in the early 80s. Rajnikant also showed his comfort in hindi films after playing a handsome innings in South Indian films. Rajnikant showed his skills in action films along with Kamal Hassan and Big B in the film Geraftar. There he played the role of a friend of Big B, who was killed during an encounter with the villains in the film. The action sequences in the film became famous during mid-80s. Also the music of Bappi Lahiri became popular. During the mid-80s Rajnikant acted in the superhit film Chaalbaaz which was made in the same line as Ram Aur Shyam and Seeta Aur Geeta. In the earlier films the double roles played by Dilip Kumar and Hema Malini amused the viewers. In Chaalbaaz the double role was played by Sri Devi. Rajnikant and Sunny Deol were the two heroes in the film. As the film was based on comedy of errors Rajnikant used his comedy skills to perfection opposite Sri Devi. Also Anupam kher did an experiment in the negative role in the film. Rajnikant had been one of the most popular icons of Tamil films for generations and had carried forward the legacy that was created by Shivaji Ganeshan, Jemini Ganeshan and others. The list of his hit films are too long and cannot be highlighted in a small article. Even his latest film that was released in 2008 titled Shivaji had become super hit. He also played a very active role in South Indian politics. He campaigned for the political party Dravida Munetra Khazagham (DMK) under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi. Filmstars in South India are hailed across all the four states Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as the languages Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam are very close to each other. Rajnikant had remained popular for more than 25 years and the people at large could identify themselves in the diversified characters that Rajnikant had played during his long career. In 2014 he acted in the film Lingaa. Whenever the list of South Indian filmstars who had glorified bollywood films comes into question the name of Rajnikant comes at the top along with Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Arvind Swami and others. The All India audience expect Rajnikant to continue his excellent work both in South Indian films as well as bollywood films in the years to come.

Vaijayantimalaji and Rajender Kumarji were sublime in the super hit films of 1960s.

Rajender Kumar acted in many landmark films in the 60s and successfully performed opposite leading actresses of that age including Meena Kumari, Sadhna, Wahida Rehman, etc. But his performance opposite Vaijayantimala created a distinct impact on the viewers. Vaijayantimala previously formed a legendary combination with Dilip Kumar. In the film Sangam, she was attached with Rajender Kumar, but Rajender Kumar due to his soft corner for Raj Kapoor he could not express it.Raj Kapoor the airforce and the news relating to his death surprised Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala. At the time when they made up their mind of marrying each other Raj Kapoor again returned back and Vaijayantimala married him. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life for his friends. The viewers were in their tears when Rafi’s song “ki tum naraz na hona” was played when his ashes were immersed by Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala in the holy prayag sangam in Allahabad. Both of them acted together in the film Suraj where Rajender Kumar was a prince and Vaijayantimala was a princess. It was an action-pact film where the melodious songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan created a great impact on the audience. Songs of Rafi, Lata and Asha including “chehre pe giri zulfen”, “kaise samjhayun”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, “baharon phool barsao”, etc, mesmerized the viewers. Both of them did well in the film Saathi also, where Rajender Kumar became blind. The music was composed by Naushad, and Mukesh and Lata sung very well songs like “mera pyar bhi tu hai” and others. Vaijayantimala gave a spirited performance in the film Zindagi opposite Rajender Kumar. She was not accepted by her father-in-law played by Prithviraj Kapoor, and she struggled hard with her mother to stay separately, without the support of Rajender Kumar. He accepted her at the end of the film and repented for the misunderstanding. Their other hit films include Aas Ka Panchi, Ganwar, etc., and in all these films the romantic pair got the appreciation of the mass audience. Their films had strong storyline and music and for those reasons should be restored.

Happy birthday to Raveena Tandon

Happy birthday to Raveena

Tandon. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Raveena Tandon on 26th October, 2021 . She was a versatile actress of the 90s. Initially when she joined films her performance opposite Akshay Kumar and Govinda attracted the attention of many viewers. Her films Mohra opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, Aatish and Vijeta opposite Sanjay Dutt, Vinashak opposite Sunil Shetty got great box-office success. In Vijeta she played the role of an honest police officer who loved a lawyer Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay Dutt took law in his own hands to punish the killers of his senior lawyer played by Aloknath. Raveena realized that her superior police officer Amrish Puri was a criminal himself and sided with Paresh Rawal. The performance of Raveena in a daring role in Vijeta amazed the viewers. She also showed her comedy skills in the film Andaz Apna Apna opposite Ami Khan and Salman Khan. She was the mate of rich girl Karishma Kapoor. But instead she pretended to be the rich girl and Karishma Kapoor pretended to be the maid. The film directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi did brilliant business in the early 1990s. But later on in her career she got challenging roles. She got the national award for the best actress for her brilliant performance in the film Daman. It was related to ill-treatment of women. She was sublime in the film Shool opposite Manoj Vajpayee, where the corruption in politics was at issue. Shool showed the high level of corruption in Bihar to such extent that some of the politicians wanted to ban the film. She gave landmark performance in the film Jago opposite Sanjay Kapoor. Her daughter was raped by miscreants in local train in Mumbai and she prayed for justice in court of law. Manoj Vajpayee, the police officer in the film faced the resistance from different members of the society in proving the case. Her performance in the court scene amazed the viewers and she got critical acclamation for the performance in the film. Raveena Tandon was brilliant in the film Daava opposite Akshay Kumar. She acted in other hit films like Officer opposite Sunil Shetty, Ladlaa opposite Anil Kapoor, Zid opposite Sunny Deol, to name a few.She always had kept her mark in action films where Sunil Shetty or Akshay Kumar or Sanjay Dutt had the major role. It is a pity that when she was at the peak of her career that she left films after getting married and begetting children. In 2011 she had acted in the film Buddha Hoga Tera Baap. She had also acted in the film Aap Ke Liye Hum. The viewers want her to make a complete return to bollywood films in character roles as she still has a lot of acting left in her.

Directors Ajoy Kar and Agradoot had marvellous combination with superstar Uttam Kumar

Elegant combination of Uttam Kumar with Ajoy Kar and Agradoot. In the 1950s major films of Uttam Kumar created romantic appeal before the majority of audience of the country. His combination with Ajay Kar and Agradoot was very grand. Ajay Kar did cast Uttam Kumar for the first time in the film Griha Prabesh. It was a social film where Uttam Kumar and Suchitra sen were launched and they acted opposite other established artists like Manju Dey, Bikash Roy and others. In Shyamali in 1956, Ajay Kar utilized Uttam Kumar’s acting potential. It was a film relating to deaf and dumb character played by Kaberi Bose. Uttam Kumar played a very compassionate role and his experience of acting in stage opposite Sabitri Chatterjee in the play Shaymali helped him a lot. In 1957, Uttam Kumar’s film Harano Sir ended up being the biggest blockbuster of the decade. Suchitra Sen played the role of wife of Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar met with an accident and for his previous history. Suchitra Sen treated her and married her. But again Uttam Kumar met with an accident and forgot Suchitra Sen. The rest of the film was related to the struggle of Suchitra Sen in bringing back memories of Uttam Kumar of the past. Geeta Dutt’s song “tumi je amar” became bumper hit. Ajay Kar’s Saptapadi stands out as one of the greatest classics of the golden period. Critics argue that Saptapadi released in 1961 stands out as the best film of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen in their entire career. Ajoy Kar probably made the best use of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen in the film Saptapadi. It was a story of Tarashankar Banerjee on affair between hindu Brahmin played by Uttam Kumar with a Christian girl played by Suchitra Sen. Uttam Kumar’s father Chabi Biswas did not accept the marriage. Uttam Kumar became a Christian and a doctor but could not marry Suchitra Sen. The film was made at the backdrop of Second World War. Hemanta Mukherjee’s music in the film was very impressive. Ajay Kar reciprocated the magic in Uttam Kumar’s film Shono Boronari. The film was released in 1960. There Supriya Debi, the daughter of eminent barrister Udasin played by Chabi Biswas fell in love with a homeopathic doctor played by Uttam Kumar. As monetarily Uttam Kumar was no match to Chabi Biswas, a marriage was arranged with industrialist Dipak Mukherjee in the film. At the end of the film Supriya Debi left her house to accept Uttam Kumar. The music of Robin Chatterjee in the film was very impressive. Ajoy Kar made other successful films with Uttam Kumar including Khelaghar opposite Mala Sinha, Bardidi with Sandharani, to name a few. Agradoot included a group of directors were formed in 1946 by director Bibhuti Laha, sound recordist Jatin Dutta, Laboratory specialist Sailen Ghoshal, script writer Nitai Bhattacharya and producer Bimal Ghosh. With Uttam Kumar Agradoot made the film Sahajatri in 1951. Bharati Debi was the heroine of the film. After that Agradoot directed one after the other hit films with Uttam Kumar. Agniparikkha in 1954 directed by Agradoot became super hit. Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen were established as leading stars of Bengal. Anupam Ghatak composed the music of the film. Sandhya Mukherjee sang landmark songs like “gaane more indradhanu”, “ke tumi amare dako”, to name a few. From that time Suchitra Sen, singer Sandhya Mukherjee, music director Robin Chatterjee, Anupam Ghatak stormed Bengali films. Sabar Opore followed. Uttam Kumar played the role of lawyer in the film who re-opened a murder case where his father Chabi Biswas was proved guilty of murder. Again the combination with Suchitra Sen, Sandhya Mukherjee, Robin Chatterjee struck gold. The songs of Sandhya Mukherjee like “ghum ghum chand jhikimiki tara”, and Dhananjoy Bhattacharya like “kantaro aghate chino paye rakta jhare” became super hit. The other super hit films of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen directed by Agradoot include Pathe Holo Deri, Bipasha, to name a few. Majority of Agradoot’s films were produced by MP Production and shot in MP Studio. One interesting statistics about Uttam Kumar Suchitra Sen pair is that from 1953 to 1959, both of them acted in 22 films. Majority of those films were directed by Agradoot and majority of them ended up being super hit films. Chabi Biswas was pivotal in playing the roles of fathers of Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar in majority of those films. Agradoot continued with his experiment in other Uttam Kumar films like Kuhak in 1961, Kokhono Megh in 1968, Choddobeshi in 1971. It was a great experiment of Agradoot in casting Uttam Kumar in negative role for the first time in Kuhak. Sabitri Chatterjee was the heroin. He wanted to take away the stolen money from Tarun Kumar’s son but was ultimately killed by Premangshu Basu. In Kokhono Megh Uttam Kumar played the role of detective with Kali Banerjee the villain. Anjana Bhowmick acted opposite Uttam Kumar. Agradoot also directed Uttam Kumar in serio-comic film Choddobeshi. Madhabi Mukherjee, Bikash Roy, Anubha Gupta were the other artists in the film. If the films of Ajoy Kumar and Agradoot were analyzed it will be seen while Uttam Kumar played the pivotal roles in all the films, the success of the films were dependent on outstanding music. The prominent music directors who contributed in the music of the films included Robin Chatterjee and Anupam Ghatak. The outstanding performances by character artists like Chabi Biswas took the films to a different horizon. Other male character artists performed beyond expectation including Kamal Mitra, Nitish Mukherjee, Bikash Roy, Pahari Sanyal, Kali Banerjee, Jahar Ganguly, to name a few. Also the female character artists like Malina Debi, Sunanda Debi, Chandrabati Debi, Chaya Debi, Padda Debi played landmark characters. The excellent literature of legendary writers like Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and contemporary writers like Samaresh Basu, Subodh Ghosh appealed to the masses. If Uttam Kumar became mahanayak, the legendary superstar of Bengal, there was huge contribution of Ajay Kar and Agradoot in making him a superstar. /s320/85a8e35fa5fd27565702cd986d9dbf62%2BUttam%2Bkumar%2Bsharmila.jpg" width="298" height="320" data-original-width="564" data-original-height="606" />

Happy birthday to legendary actress Mala Sinhaji.

Happy birthday to Mala Sinha. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mala Singh on 11th November, 2021. She had been a legendary actress of bollywood films and contributed in both bollywood films and Bengali films for more than 40 years. In the 50s, Mala Sinha had acted in classic films like Parvarish, Phir Subah Hogi opposite Raj Kapoor. The music composer of Parvarish was Dattaram, while it was Khayyam for Phir Subah Hogi. These films became immortal for their unforgettable songs like “anshu bhari hai”, “woh subah kabhi to ayegi”, etc. Mala Sinha was sublime opposite Dev Anand in the film Love Marriage. The music of the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan was equally grand. The hit songs included “dheere dheere chal”, “kahan ja rahete”, etc. Mala Sinha contributed well in Guru Dutt’s classic film Pyaasa. The romantic andaz displayed by Mala Sinha was very significant in the film in the songs “hum aapke aankho me”, sung by Rafi and Geeta Dutt. Guru Dutt loved Mala Sinha during college life, but failed to marry her. The realistic film received a lot of public appreciation. Mala Sinha continued her dream run in the 60s by performing in historical films like Jahanara opposite Bharat Bhushan. The film was a musical block buster. The songs “baad muddat key eh ghari aye”, “kisi ki yaad me”, etc., composed by Madan Mohan created history. The biggest achievement of Mala Sinha lies in sustaining in bollywood industry amidst high competition from other leading actresses like Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Vaijayantimala, etc. Mala Sinha was brilliant in the film Gumrah opposite Ashok Kumar and Sunil Dutt. She displayed her personality very well in a triangular love story. The songs of the film composed by Ravi was brilliant including “chalo ek baar phir se” and :in hawawon mai” sung by Mahendra Kapoor. Mala Sinha also acted with the next generation of actors like Rajender Kumar and Dharmender. Her successful films opposite Rajender Kumar included Dhool Ka Phool, Lalkar and Geet. Her successful films opposite Dharmender included Ankhen, Neela Akash, Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai, etc. which did great business. She was sublime in her performance opposite Dharmender in the film Baharen Phir Bhi Ayegi. She did very well in films opposite Biswajeet like Night in London and Shammi Kapoor in Dil Tera Diwana. Mala Sinha played a very long innings in Bengali films as well. Her successful films opposite Uttam Kumar included Khelaghar, Shaharer Itikatha, Bandhu, Putrabadhu, Saathihara, to name a few. She gave able lips in Geeta Dutt’s songs namely “nishi raat banka chaad”, “baashi bujhi ei sure aar dakbe na”, etc. Her other notable films include Dhuli opposite Prashanto Kumar, Abhaya Srikanto opposite Basanto Choudhury, etc. She even featured in modern films in the 90s like Khel where she had played character roles opposite Madhuri Dixit. The viewers expect her to continue in character roles in films in future.

Aparajito Soumitra Chatterjee still remained undefeated on demise

Soumitra chatterjee on his demise also remained Aparajito or undefeated. Soumitra Chatterjee, the legendary actor died on 15th November 2020 at the age of 85 years. The great innings of Apu the name of his first film with Satyajit Ray, ended. But he remained undefeated. He was a good actor, good stage performer, educated, poet and elocutionist. He was blessed to be associated with the best directors of India, namely Oscar Winning director Satyait Ray, Tapan Sinha, Ajoy Kar, to name a few. Right from the first character of Apu in Apur Sangsar directed by Satyajit Ray, he became a directors’s central character and author backed hero. The legendary literature of Bibhutibhushan Banerjee and great director of Satyajit Ray found expression in him in 1959. From that time onwards, the major characters he played became immortal in celluloid, and viewers started calling him by the character. In Tapan Sinha’s Jhinder Bandi, he played a negative character named Mayur Bahon, and did a great job there. In Ajoy Kar’s Saat Pake Bandha he was a sub-dew character being the husband of Suchitra Sen, whose marriage failed due to over interference of mother in law Chaya Debi. It was a female oriented film, yet Soumitra showed the courage to accept the role. In Satyajit Ray’s other films, Abhijan, Charulata, Debi, he kept his mark. But for child filmlover he was loved the most in the character of Feluda. Ray in his lifetime only made 2 films, Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath in the Feluda series. Those two films remained the best two films in the Feluda series ever. As a detective, Soumitra Chatterjee’s own likings and mannerism, matched the best in the role of Pradosh Mitra. He was sublime in Tapan Sinha’s film Atanka, and in his later years, Shiboprasad Mukherjee and Nandita Sen films like Belasheshe and Posto. The literary community loved him a lot for his love for literature, his poems, his recitations. Every good actor has to die a day, but actors of the callibre of Soumitra Chatterjee never die, he remained sublime as aparajito the undefeated, in his works in the stage, in celluloid, poetry and literary works. His works should be preserved and restored.

Manoj Kumarji's films are still relevant in India.

Happy birthday to Manoj Kumar. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Manoj Kumar on 24th July, 2021 and his films are still relevant in India

. He started his career as a romantic hero, then showed his skills in the field of direction and created a separate identity as a patriotic hero. He later on earned the name of Bharat Kumar. Harikishan Giri Goswami, better known as Manoj Kumar, was a big admirer of Tragedy King Dilip Kumar. He was obsessed with Dilip Kumar’s performance in the film Shabnam, in 1949, and kept the name of the character of the film, which was Manoj Kumar. Although he started his career in the film Fashion in 1957, he got recognition with a lead role in the film Kaanch Ki Gudiya in 1960. Vijay Bhatt directed Hariyali Aur Raasta in 1962 changed the destiny of Manoj Kumar as a romantic hero. The songs of the film were composed by genius of genius Shankar Jaikishan, and with Mala Sinha’s assistance Manoj Kumar reached the hearts of millions of music lovers in the country. The songs in the film including “ifteda-e-ishq”, “yeh hariyali aur yeh raasta”, sung by Mukesh and Lata astonished the viewers. The film became super hit. In the mid-60s, Manoj Kumar landmark roles in suspense thrillers like Woh Kaun Thi, 1964, and Gumnaam, 1965. Woh Kaun Thi was a horror film of Raj Khosla where Manoj Kumar played the role of the doctor who got scared with the ghostly appearance of Sadhna, who played a double role in the film. He solved the mystery in the film got Prem Chopra arrested at the end after realizing that his wife had a twin sister who was used as a ghost. The music of Madan Mohan was brilliant and Lata’s songs “naina barse rimjhim”, “lagja gale”, etc., created sensation. Gumnaam was a murder thriller which stormed bollywood in the mid-60s. More than seven friends were given offer of going for holidays, but the flight was hijacked and the friends had to land at an island. Each of them was killed one after the other and no one knew who killed them. Manoj Kumar solved the mystery and unearthed the truth that Tarun Bose was the actual murderer. The music composed by Shankar Jaikishan was extraordinary with songs like “jane chaman shola badan” sung by Rafi and Sharda, “gumnaam hai koi” sung by Lata, “is duniya me jeena ho to”, “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” sung by Mohammad Rafi, etc. Manoj Kumar started his second innings with patriotic films like Shaheed, Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapra Aur Makaan, Kranti, moved the viewers and earned him respect. He directed of those films and got filmfare award for best director for excellent work in films like Upkaar and Roti Kapda and Makaan. His film Upkaar also received the national award for best film in 1967, and he gave life to the slogan of PM Lal Bahadur Shastri titled “jai jawan jai kisan” with Upkaar. In fact Upkaar, was the highest grosser film in 1967, surpassing all the other super hit films like Ram Aur Shyam, Jewel Thief, etc. The songs in Upkaar composed by Kalyanji Anandji were also brilliant including “mere desh ki dharti” sung by Mahendra Kapoor and “kasme wade pyar wafa sab” sung by Manna Dey. After Upkaar a big section of the crowd used to call Manoj Kumar as Bharat Kumar, as his patriotic feelings used to reflect in his creations. His other successful films as hero also include Patthar Ke Sanam, Anita, Aadmi, etc. He acted with childhood idol Dilip Kumar in Aadmi and Kranti. The songs of most of his films were of excellent class. Naushad’s creation in Aadmi, and Rafi’s songs like “na aadmi ka khoi bharosa”, “aaj purani rahon se”, etc., had remained invalueable assets over the period of time. The viewers expect him to continue the excellent work as a director in the years to come.

Happy birthday to stylish dancer Helenji.

Happy birthday to Helen. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Helen on 19th Nov., 2021. She had remained an exceptional dancer and featured in majority of bollywood fllms in the 60s and 70s. She was probably one of the most indispensable figures in bollywood during 60s and 70s. Without her films like Gumnaam, Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, Inteqam, Carwan, Night in London, etc. would have been incomplete. She had acted opposite leading stars of the 60s and 70s, for example, in Gumnaam she acted opposite Pran, In Teesri Manzil she acted opposite Shammi Kapoor, in Jewel Thief she acted opposite Dev Anand, in Night in London opposite Johnny Walker to name a few. She in fact filled in the empty space created by prominent dancer Cuckoo in the 50s. One of her most memorable films included Gumnaam, which was released in 1965, where she played the role of one of the few persons who were taken to an isolated island. She was killed along with a number her friends by Tarun Bose in the film who was identified by Manoj Kumar at the end of the film. Her dance number in the songs “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” and “is duniya me jeena ho to” composed by Shankar Jaikishan were brilliant by every judging standards. She was put to test in her dance no. in the song “muqabla hum se na karo” in the film Prince along with Shammi Kapoor and Vaijayantimala. She did the western part while Vaijayantimala did the eastern part. Whenever she got a scope of performing opposite Shammi Kapoor her performance used to get a different dimension as he was the only male star in the 60s to dominate bollywood films with rock and roll dance performances. Both of them did well in the film Teesri Manzil. The song “o haseena zulfonwali” is remembered for the dance of both Helen and Shammi Kapoor. Helen got a villainish role in the film and trapped Shammi Kapoor in a murder case where the actual murderer was Prem Nath. Helen even got few roles of heroines in the 60s including the role in the film Pyar Hi Pyar where she acted opposite Mehmood, where the main roles were played by Dharmender and Vaiyantimala. Her prominent roles continued in the 70s, including her cameo in the song “piya tu ab tu aja” composed by RD Burman in the film Carwan, her role in the film Sholay, where her dance number in the song “mehbooba mehbooba” amazed the viewers. The villainish roles continued like the one in Big B’s film Don, where her song “yeh mera dil” became a runaway hit. Kareena Kapoor danced in the same item number as that of Helen when the film was remade by Farhan Akhtar, with Shahrukh Khan. Her other notable films include Mere Jeevan Saathi, Hindustani, Half Ticket, etc. She even acted in character roles in the 90s in films like Akela and Khamoshi. Her performance in the film Khamoshi had been appreciated by all section of viewers. In one article it is not possible to cover the contribution of Helen, who had dominated bollywood films of 60s and 70s. The admirers of Helen expect her to make more contribution in bollywood films in character roles as she has a lot acting still left in her.

Happy birthday to sweet star Juhi Chawlaji.

Happy birthday to sweet star Juhi Chawla. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to sweet star Juhi Chawla on 13th November, 2021

. Juhi Chawla stormed bollywood films in the 90s. Her first film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak became super hit in the late 80s. Her pair with Amir Khan was well accepted by the audience. The songs in the film became very successful. The landmark songs included “aye mere humsafar”, “papa kehte hai” sung by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and others. From that time many producers and directors did cast her opposite Amir Khan in many films. The film also started a new trend of romantic films one after other after 15 years of domination of action films under success of Angry young man Amitabh Bacchan. Salman Khan’s film Maine Pyar Kiya followed very soon. Her comedy andaz in the film Ishq opposite Amir Khan was well appreciated. Her romance with Amir Khan started with quarrels as against the affair of Kajol and Ajay Devgan in the same film. The film did great business. Juhi Chawla acted in romantic films opposite all the leading actors of bollywood, including Rishi Kapoor in Bol Radha Bol and Eena Meena Dika, Anil Kapoor in Deewana Mastana, Jhoot Bole Kowa Kate, Amir Khan in Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, to name a few. In the mid-90s she acted in a number of films opposite superstar Shahrukh Khan. Her major films opposite Shahrukh Khan included Duplicate, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, etc. She started her production house Dreams Unlimited along with Shahrukh Khan and produced many films. One of the hit films included Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. Both Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla acted in the film. Juhi Chawla also acted in films opposite other actors. Her performance in character roles in the recent times had also impressed the crowds. Some of her recent films included Salaam-E-Ishq opposite Anil Kapoor. She played the role of a middle-aged woman whose husband got attached with another woman. She got dejected at the beginning, but keeping in mind the interest of her children, she compromised with Juhi Chawla. Juhi Chawla acted in action films like Darr as well. She performed opposite Sunny Deol and Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan acted in a negative role in the film who was killed at the end by Sunny Deol. Juhi Chawla’s dance performance in the film in songs like “tu meri saamne” still haunts the viewers. In 2012 she had acted in a number of films like Main Krishna Hoon, Son of Sardar. Son of Sardar was released in November, 2012, and there was lot of hope relating to the film where Juhi Chawla had a great role. The film did business of more than 100 crores and her performance opposite Sanjay Dutt created attention. In 2013, she had acted in the film Gulaab Gang. The film had been released. The viewers expect Juhi Chawla to continue the quality work in future.

Happy birthday to supertar Shahrukh Khan sahab.

Happy birthday to superstar Shahrukh Khan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to superstar Shahrukh Khan on 2nd November, 2021. He was the ruler of bollywood industry in the 90s. Right from Baazigar, Shahrukh Khan gave blockbusters one after the other. After Amitabh Bacchan, he is the next superstar, whose screen presence had carried through many big budget films. 2011 had been a great year for Shahrukh Khan. He had produced the costliest film in Indian history Ra One. The film in the first week had already done business of more than 50 crores. Although the film had not broken the record of Salman Khan’s film Bodyguard this year which had done business of 150 crores, the film had created a new trend, and Shahrukh Khan’s excellent acting, stunts and enthusiasm had been praised a lot by the viewers. In 2012, Shahrukh Khan’s romantic film Jab Tak Hai Jaan was released on Diwali, on 13th November. It was the last film of Yash Chopra. He died recently. This was the first time Shahrukh Khan had acted opposite Katrina Kaif. AR Rehman composed the music of the film. The film did business of 115 crores. 2013 had been even more successful year for Shahrukh Khan. His film Chennai Express released in August, 2013, did business of more than 210 crores. The film broke the record of Amir Khan’s The Three Idiots and stands as the biggest blockbuster ever. 2014 had been a bigger year. Shahrukh Khan’s film Happy New Year did business of more than 150 crores in the 1st weeks. It has the potential of doing business of more than 200 crores. Shahrukh Khan had a grand combination with Director Karan Johar, and most of the films directed by him ended up being super hit. The notable films include Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, etc. Shahrukh Khan also gave able lips in hit songs of these films including “kuch kuch hota hai”, “suraj hua madhyam”, etc. In 2010, their grand combination gave another hit titled My Name is Khan. Shahrukh Khan played the lead role in the film and did a great job opposite Kajol. Shahrukh Khan also succeeded in negative roles. The greatest example includes Darr. There he played a negative character opposite Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla. On one hand he gave good lips in the songs “tu mere samne”, on the other hand his attack on Juhi Chawla made the viewers understand that he could act in any type of films. He received filmfare award for the negative category as well. He was played a challenging role in Mani Ratnam’s film Dil Se. The film was related to terrorism in North East India and Shahrukh Khan died with Manisha Koirala in the film. Shahrukh Khan has the record of bagging 7 filmfare awards for best actor, which is the second best record after Dilip Kumar who had won it 8 times. Shahrukh Khan, better known as King Khan, had acted in the films of almost all the leading directors of the country, including Amol Palekar’s Paheli with Rani Mukherjee. Besides he had acted opposite different actresses like Kajol in the film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Preeti Zinta in the film Veer Zara, Anushka Sharma in the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jori, to name a few. Shahrukh Khan opened own production house titled Dreams Unlimited with Juhi Chawla, and the films produced by such combination like Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani also did good business. Shahrukh Khan had ruled the industry for more than 15 years. Shahrukh Khan is also known for high level of energy. He had sponsored the Kolkata Knight Riders IPl team which had been captained by Sourav Ganguly. Although the team had performed is a disastrous manner, Shahrukh Khan had always encouraged his players. Shahrukh Khan’s team under the captainship of Gautam Gambhir had also won the IPL Trophy this year. The viewers are waiting for his next film that is going to be released in 2020. In 2018 his film Zero did not do good business. He is breaking his own records. So there are more surprises in future. Viewers are waiting for his new film Zero.