Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha.

Rekha The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dashing star Rekha on 10th October, 2012. She had dominated bollywood films of the 80s. Being the daughter of Legendary South Indian actor Gemini Ganeshan on 10th October, 1954, Rekha created a separate place for herself in bollywood film industry. She was better known as Bhanurekha Ganeshan. In 1969 she acted opposite Biswajeet Chatterjee in the film Do Shikari. She got the her lead role as heroine opposite Navin Nischal in the film Sawan Bhado. In the early 70s, Rekha had to fight for her place in the bollywood industry, at a time when Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore were dominating the industry. But she acted in many landmark films during that period including Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Rampur Ka Laxman opposite Randhir Kapoor, etc. From the late 70s her films opposite megastar Big B changed her career. Most of the films ended up being super hit including Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Silsila, etc. Rekha gradually developed her acting and became one of the most versatile actresses of the 80s. Rekha had acted opposite all the leading actors of the 80s namely Jeetender, Dharmender, Big B, Vinod Mehra, etc. She received national award for her memorable performance in the role of a mujrewali in the film Umrao Jaan. She received filmfare award for best actress in her dashing role in the film Khoon Bhari Maang in 1988. She acted in more than 180 films. Along with the commercial films like Silsila, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, she had been remembered for the performances in off-beat films. She played landmark roles in off-beat films like Gulzar’s Ghar and Ijaazat, Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug, Govind Nihalini’s Vijeta, etc. Even her films in the 90s like Kamasutra and in 2000 onwards in films like Lajja and Koi Mil Gaya, she showed her metal as a very talented actress. She received lifetime achievement award for the immense contribution to bollywood films. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

Big B, Shatrughun Sinha. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the megastar of bollywood films Amitabh Bacchan on 11th October, 2012. Born in 1942, he had been the most popular actor of the entire millennium. In the 70s his films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Deewar created a new age of action films. His angry young man image created a revolution during an age when corruption became rampant in India. If Zanjeer was related to the obstacles faced by an honest police officer to safely perform his duties, Deewar was based on the contradiction of two brothers of whom one was a police officer, while the other was compelled to be a smuggler due to social compulsions. Sholay was based on the story of domination of the Chambal region of India by dacoits. The Thakur (played by Sanjeev Kumar) of the village employed two brave criminals namely Big B and Dharmender to face the dacoits. Big B was a very powerful actor and became the choice of all the leading directors of the 70s and 80s. His films included Abhimaan directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy, Zanjeer directed by Prakash Mehra, Deewar directed by Yash Chopra, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat directed by Shakti Samanta, Amar Akbar Anthony directed by Manmohan Desai, to name a few. The other factor which singled out Big B with the other actors in terms of his versatility was his baritone voice which he modulated to perfection. His comedy films like Namakhalal, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, created new dimensions in Indian film history. His notable films during the 80s included Shakti, Akhree Rasta, Inquilab, etc. Even in the 90s his films like Akela and Indrajeet carried his strong personality forward. Big B had played a huge innings as a character actor and his films like Black, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc., showed the viewers, that after Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar, Big B was an actor with whom the directors could do any experiment. His performance in his son Abhishek Bacchan’s films like Bunty Aur Babli had also been notable. In 2010, he received the national award for the best actor for the third time for his excellent performance in the film Paa. In 2011, he was absolutely brilliant in the role of an academician in Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan. Day by day his acting skills are just getting better and better and he is experimenting in different types of roles. Even in Kaun Banega Crorepati he is the anchor and his profound educational background and pure hindi accent amazes the viewers. Sony TV cannot think about any other anchor other than Amitabh Bacchan. In 2012, his film Shoebite is in the pipeline for being released. The viewers expect him to continue the great work that he started 40 years back.

Happy birthday to Jaya Prada.

Jaya Prada. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jaya Prada on 3rd April, 2012. 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.

Dhruba and Rimjhim stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.

Dhruba and Rimjhim Mitra stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program. Popular actor and actress of Zee Bangla serial Agniparikkha namely Dhruba and Rimjhim Mitra stormed Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program on 26th March, 2012. Both the actor and the actresses came as guest judges in the show. Rimjhim Mitra

Rimjhim Mitra. also acted in other successful Bengali serials like Sasuri Zindabad. The judges of the program Paran Banerjee, Rajatavo Dutta and Srilekha Mitra welcomed Rimjhim and Dhruva in the show. The performers did excellent job in the show. Fatik Purokayet (Maduli) started the show with his comedy performance. His joke dedicated to Srilekha Mitra was not liked by her but Rimjhim appreciated the performance. Apurbo played the character of a wood-cutter and he made everyone spellbound. He mentioned in the performance that these days wood-cutters are losing livelihood because forests are conserved and cutting of wood from forests are banned. Apurbo Roy danced with Rimjhim and Mir in the show. Vicky, Partho and mentor Subhadeep did a great job at the end of the show. Vicky played the character of Amitabh, Partho played the role of Abhishek Bacchan, and Subhadeep played the role of Govinda. It was an excellent performance. Mir said an interview was taken in radio mirchi where Big B was asked how come Govinda had overshadowed him in the film Bade Miya Chote Miya. In reply Big B said if he could have 10% of talent of Govinda he would have been happy. That showed the greatness of Big B. A veteran parody singer Dilip Chatterjee did a great parody at the end of the show. Mir anchored the show in style.

Happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor.

Shashi Kapoor. Happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor on 18th March, 2012. In 2011 he received the filmfare lifetime achievement award. In 2011, he received Padmabhushan, the civilian award for his excellence in bollywood films. His sickness prevents him from freely walking, but he receives most of his awards on wheel chair. Born in 1938, Shashi Kapoor started his acting career in the film Aag in 1948 directed by his elder brother Raj Kapoor. He also showed his acting skills as a child artist in the film Awara in 1951. The film won different awards in international film festivals and ended up being super hit. Shashi Kapoor acted in off-beat films at the beginning of his career like Prempatra opposite Sadhna. He entertained the audience with the film Jab Jab Phool Khilen in 1965. All the songs of Rafi composed by Kalyanji Anandji in the film became super hit like “pardesiyon se na”, “yahan mai ajnabee hoon”, “na na karke pyar”, etc. From that time Shashi Kapoor acted with Nanda in a number of films like Muhabbat Is Ko Kehte Hai, Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhari, etc. Rafi’s songs in many Shashi Kapoor films did magic including “o dilbar janiye”, “dilbar dilbar”, “bekhudi me sanam”, to name a few. In the late 60s Shashi Kapoor acted in many romantic films like Pyar Kiye Jaa, Kanyadaan, Abhinetri, Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati, etc. In Pyar Kiye Ja, he acted opposite actress Nanda, in Kanyadan he acted opposite Asha Parekh, in Abhinetri he acted opposite Hema Malini, in Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati he acted opposite Babita. In the 70s, Shashi Kapoor acted in action films along with Amitabh Bacchan, at a time when action films dominated either types of films in bollywood. His dialogue in the film Dewaar opposite Big B titled “mere paas ma hai” became immortal over the years. He acted in many films opposite Big B like Shaan, Do Aur Do Paanch, Iman Dharam, Namakhalal, Suhaag, Kala Pathhar, Kabhi Kabhi,Trishul, Silsila, etc., and most of those films ended up being blockbusters. Some of these films were multi-starred in nature. For example in Shaan and Kala Patthar he acted opposite Big B and Shatrughun Sinha. It was his sheer talent, that he could adapt himself in the new regime of anti-establishment films in the 70s, starting from Dewaar, which were quite different from the society shown in the romantic films of the 60s. He acted with other bollywood actors like Shatrughun Sinha in films like Gautam Govinda. He was a close friend of Ismail Merchant and featured in many of his English films like Siddharta. He produced impressive films like Junoon directed by Shyam Benegal and Vijeta directed by Govind Nihalini. His sons Kunal Kapoor and Karan Kapoor acted in many films. In the 1990s, Shashi Kapoor put on a lot of weight and stopped acting. He was in tears to receive the filmfare lifetime achievement award. The viewers pay homage to the veteran actor.

Happy birthday to stylish actor Rajnikant.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajnikant on 12^th December, 2011. 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.

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 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.

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.

Happy birthday to Meenakshi Sheshadri.

Meenakshi Sheshadri.

Happy birthday to Meenakhi Sheshadri.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Meenakshi Sheshadri on 16th November, 2011. She had been one of the leading actresses of bollywood films of the 80s. She entered the film industry at a time when there was serious competition amongst the actresses in bollywood. Jaya Prada and Sri Devi established themselves as lead actresses and new stars like Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla entered bollywood.

She started her career in Subhash Ghai’s film Hero. Meenakshi acted opposite Jackie Shroff in the film who also started his career with the film Hero. After that Meenakshi acted opposite all the leading actors of bollywood films. She was very successful in the film Meri Jung opposite Anil Kapoor. In that film Anil Kapoor being a lawyer contested against Amrish Puri in a keenly contested case.

Meenakshi was successful opposite Big B in the film Shahenshah. Big B played the role of a police officer who did his duty during the day and attached criminals at night with the name of Shahenshah. Meenakshi gave able lips in the song “jane do jane do mujhe jana hai”. Meenakshi acted in successful of Raj Kumar Santoshi one after the other.

She was at her best in the film Damini. In that film she had seen a girl being raped. When she went and gave her testimony before the court about the happening she was considered to be an insane person. But she did not care about the allegation and testified before the court about the happening. Sunny Deol and Rishi Kapoor also did extremely well in the film opposite her. Meenakshi could have won a national award for the brilliant performance in the film, had Dimple Kapadia not won it for Rudaali.

Sunny Deol and Meenakshi formed a deadly combination especially in the films of Raj Kumar Santoshi. Their other hit films included Ghayal and Ghatak which did fantastic business. In Ghayal Meenakshi played the role of a dare devil character, the journalist who did not fear to write the truth related to a corrupted businessman played by Amrish Puri. Sunny Deol was falsely implicated in a case and fled from the jail to kill Amrish Puri. Meenakshi also acted opposite other actors like Vinod Khanna. Even in less known films like Joshiley, Meenakshi Sheshadri did extremely well opposite Anil Kapoor. She had very successful opposite all the leading stars of the 80s and 90s including Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, Big B and others.

Meenakshi also acted in South Indian films and was successful there too. She left films at a time when she was very matured. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan

Amitabh Bacchan with Rishi Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the megastar of bollywood films Amitabh Bacchan on 11th October, 2011. Born in 1942, he had been the most popular actor of the entire millennium.

In the 70s his films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Deewar created a new age of action films. His angry young man image created a revolution during an age when corruption became rampant in India. If Zanjeer was related to the obstacles faced by an honest police officer to safely perform his duties, Deewar was based on the contradiction of two brothers of whom one was a police officer, while the other was compelled to be a smuggler due to social compulsions. Sholay was based on the story of domination of the Chambal region of India by dacoits. The Thakur (played by Sanjeev Kumar) of the village employed two brave criminals namely Big B and Dharmender to face the dacoits.



Big B was a very powerful actor and became the choice of all the leading directors of the 70s and 80s. His films included Abhimaan directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy, Zanjeer directed by Prakash Mehra, Deewar directed by Yash Chopra, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat directed by Shakti Samanta, to name a few. The other factor which singled out Big B with the other actors in terms of his versatility was his baritone voice which he modulated to perfection.

His comedy films like Namakhalal, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, created new dimensions in Indian film history. His notable films during the 80s included Shakti, Akhree Rasta, Inquilab, etc. Even in the 90s his films like Akela and Indrajeet carried his strong personality forward.

Big B had played a huge innings as a character actor and his films like Black, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc., showed the viewers, that after Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar, Big B was an actor with whom the directors could do any experiment. His performance in his son Abhishek Bacchan’s films like Bunty Aur Babli had also been notable.


In 2010, he received the national award for the best actor for the third time for his excellent performance in the film Paa. In 2011, he was absolutely brilliant in the role of an academician in Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan. Day by day his acting skills are just getting better and better and he is experimenting in different types of roles. Even in Kaun Banega Crorepati he is the anchor and his profound educational background and pure hindi accent amazes the viewers. Sony TV cannot think about any other anchor other than Amitabh Bacchan.

The viewers expect him to continue the great work that he started 40 years back.

Happy birthday to Rekha.

Rekha in film Aastha.


Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dashing star Rekha on 10th October, 2011. She had dominated bollywood films of the 80s.

Being the daughter of Legendary South Indian actor Gemini Ganeshan on 10th October, 1954, Rekha created a separate place for herself in bollywood film industry. She was better known as Bhanurekha Ganeshan. In 1969 she acted opposite Biswajeet Chatterjee in the film Do Shikari. She got the her lead role as heroine opposite Navin Nischal in the film Sawan Bhado.

In the early 70s, Rekha had to fight for her place in the bollywood industry, at a time when Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore were dominating the industry. But she acted in many landmark films during that period including Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Rampur Ka Laxman opposite Randhir Kapoor, etc.

From the late 70s her films opposite megastar Big B changed her career. Most of the films ended up being super hit including Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Silsila, etc. Rekha gradually developed her acting and became one of the most versatile actresses of the 80s. Rekha had acted opposite all the leading actors of the 80s namely Jeetender, Dharmender, Big B, Vinod Mehra, etc.

She received national award for her memorable performance in the role of a mujrewali in the film Umrao Jaan. She received filmfare award for best actress in her dashing role in the film Khoon Bhari Maang in 1988. She played landmark roles in off-beat films like Gulzar’s Ghar and Ijaazat, Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug, Govind Nihalini’s Vijeta, etc.

Even her films in the 90s like Kamasutra and in 2000 onwards in films like Lajja and Koi Mil Gaya, she showed her metal as a very talented actress. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna.

Vinod Khanna.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vinod Khanna on 6th October 2011. He had remained a versatile actor and contributed in bollywood films from the 70s.

He started his career as an anti-hero. He played the role of a villain in the film Aan Milo Sajna, where Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor. He also acted in negative role in Shammi Kapoor’s film Jaane Anjane opposite Leena Chandravarkar. With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Vinod Khanna became a dominating figure in bollywood films. Big B’s appearance in the film Zanjeer created a fair competition between Vinod Khanna and Big B.

Both of them featured together in the film Zameer. Both of them showed their action skills against the other actor. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Vinod Khanna played the role of a police officer while Big B played the role of a smuggler. In that film the action skills of Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan was balanced by the romantic style of performance of Rishi Kapoor. Vinod Khanna’s smartness in the role of police officer amazed the viewers. All three of them played the role of the three brothers who were separated earlier but met together at the end of the film. Pran played the role of the father of the three actors.

In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Vinod Khanna played the role of the friend of Amitabh. Big B sacrificed his life at the end of the film after preventing Amzad Khan from creating any harm to Rakhee. The songs of the film became superhit. Vinod Khanna acted along with Big B in other films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Paseena, Pavarish, etc.

The other notable films of Vinod Khanna included Qurbani with Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played the role of his friend who sacrificed his life to save Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played a very significant role in the film Burning Train, where Dharmender played the role of his friend. He was the engineer who built the super fast train, but Danny conspired to put a bomb in the train which exploded and burned the train. At the end Dharmender, Jeetender and Vinod Khanna rescued the passengers.

His films Jurm and Satya Mev Jayate also received very positive criticisms. Just like Amitabh Bacchan he established himself as action star, and delivered in action films even in the late 90s, 20 years after his earlier action movies.

After launching his son Akshay Khanna in the film Himalay Putra, Vinod Khanna switched to character roles and got busy with politics. He also joined the Rajnish Ashram in the early 80s. In 2009, he was very impressive in Salman Khan’s super hit film Wanted where he played the role of his father. In 2010, again he played the role of the father of Salman Khan in the blockbuster film Dabaang. Although he died at the end of the film, his soft performance was appreciated by the audience. His sharpness in respect of acting had not withered away and he just like Amitabh Bacchan had matured into a more composed actor. The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Mohammad Aziz.

Happy birthday to Mohammad Aziz.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful singer Mohammad Aziz on 2nd July, 2011. He was born in 1954 and his nickname was Munna and real name Syed Mohammad Azizunnabi.

He started his singing career by singing in a Bengali film Jyoti. In Mumbai his career started by singing in the film Ambar in 1984. He rose to stardom by singing the song “mard tangewala” in the film Mard in 1985, which was picturised on superstar Amitabh Bacchan.

Then he got breaks one after the other and sung successful songs in the film Doodh Ka Karz, Allah Rakha, Swarg, etc. His singing style had lot of similarity with legendary Mohammad Rafi whom he idolized.

His song “ameeron ki sham garibon ki sham” in the film Naam became super hit. His song “Disco bhangra” in Big B’s film Ganga Jamuna Saraswati also became super hit. He stormed bollywood with the song “my name is lakhan” in the film Ram Lakhan picturised on superstar Anil Kapoor.

He also sang the successful song “ek doosre se karte hai pyar hum” picturised on Big B, Rajnikant and Govinda in the film Hum released in 1991. Laxmikant Pyarellel used him in many films including Karma, Saudagar, etc. His song “imli ka boota” in the film Saudagar picturised on Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar became super hit in the early 90s.

He also sang successful songs in the films Khudgarz, Vishwatma, Khuda Gawah, Aadmi Khilouna Hai, etc. He also sang in the film Kaafila. He had been a very humble person and always soft spoken. He also contributed a lot in the Oriya film Industry by singing songs in notable films.

One article is too small to highlight the contribution of successful singer Mohammad Aziz. The viewers of bollywood films and the audience wish Mohammad Aziz to continue the great standard of singing that he started more than 25 years ago.

Happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy.

Happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy on 23rd January, 2011. He had been a trend setter in the history of action films in India and was followed by majority of directors of the contemporary period.

Being the relative of GP Sippy, he was associated with hit films from the early part of 70s. The film Andaz with Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini became a musical blockbuster due to the brilliant tunes created for the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed music of the film and the major songs for the film sung by Rafi like “hai na bolo bolo”, “re mamma re mamma”, “dil use do jo jaan de de” became super hit. Seeta Aur Geeta was another super hit film released in 1972. Hema Malini in a double role was as brilliant as Dharmender and Sanjeev Kumar in their respective roles.

In 1975, Ramesh Sippy made the film of his life, which became the most popular entertainer in the entire millennium. The film was related to the dominance of dacoits in the north and central Indian villages. Amzad Khan in the role of Gabbar Singh gave the best performance of his career in the role of the leader of the dacoits. Sanjeev Kumar showed astounding personality in the role of a thakur of the village who lost his two hands and his entire family in his fight against the dacoits. Amitabh Bacchan and Dharmender being two thieves fought against the dacoits and freed the village from their menace. Ramesh Sippy’s casting in the film including heroines like Hema Malini and Jaya Bacchan, comedians like Asrani, Jagdeep was brilliant. The music of RD Burman mesmerized the viewers with songs like “jab tak hai jaan”, “mehbooba mehbooba”, “holi ke din”, etc.

Ramesh Sippy continued his brilliance in another action film Shaan in 1980. Big B, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughun Sinha, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Majhar Khan all were their best in the film. The scene where Sunil Dutt as chased by dogs in the films, was extraordinary and the viewers could not distinguish whether they were seeing Hollywood films or bollywood films. Vindya Goswami and Parveen Babi were at their best in the respective romantic roles. The music of RD Burman was brilliant with hit songs of Rafi, Kishore like “janu meri jaan” and Asha like “pyar karne wale”, to name a few.

Ramesh Sippy was unparallel in the film Shakti, where Dilip Kumar’s personality in the role of honest police officer had outcast angry young man Amitabh Bacchan who played the role of his son and a smuggler in the film. Rakhee played the role of the wife of Dilip Kumar and balanced the two personalities in the film. Amrish Puri played the role of notorious smuggler who was eventually killed by Big B. The film became super hit in the early 80s.

Ramesh Sippy was equally evergreen in romantic films like Saagar. He balanced the romantic performance of Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Kamal Hassan in the same film. The songs of the film composed by RD Burman became big hits. The picturesque locations in the film were also treat for the eyes. It is not possible to highlight the achievements of giant director like Ramesh Sippy in a small article considering his success even in the early 90s in films like Akela.

For more than 20 years he was the path-breaker in action films and his films should be preserved and restored to teach the art of film making for the upcoming directors.

Happy birthday to Kader Khan.

Happy Birthday to Kader Khan.

All the viewers and admirers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the legendary character actor Kader Khan today, on 22nd October, 2010. Also famous as script writer, Kader Khan became a leading villain in the late 70s and early 80s after action films dominated bollywood.

Kader Khan was sublime in his villainous performance in the film Coolie. He tortured Wahida Rehman and made her insane. She was affected to such an extent that she could not even recognize her own son played by Amitabh Bacchan. He had to face Big B at the end and paid for his sins. He also played a villainous character in the film Inquilab. He trained Big B, brought him into politics and got into power. As a politician he behaved with Big B in a most diplomatic manner. Big B brought in all the corrupted leaders and killed one after the other inside the Assembly House.

He was sublime in his role in the film Indrajeet. His own son was involved in the murder of Big B’s daughter Neelam in the film. He tried his best to give protection to his son and his friends who were involved in the crime, but Big B entered the Central Jail and took revenge by killing him.

During the mid-80s Kader Khan switched to comedy roles. There too, he showed his skills. His performance in the film Bol Radha Bol, with Rishi Kapoor, Dulhe Raja with Govinda, Aankhe with Govinda and Chunky Pandey, showed his comedy conception where he gave effortless performances. In Bol Radha Bol, he could not see after sunset. In Aankhe he send his two sons Govinda and Chunkey Pandey out of his own house for their mischiefs.

He also played positive characters in Sunil Shetty’s film Bhai, Jackie Shroff’s film Aaj Ka Daur, Govinda’s film Hero No. 1. He had been one of the indispensable actors in bollywood films. Directors had cast him in different types of roles ranging from Sufi saints to police officers, big industrialists to corrupt politicians and all the different types of roles he showed his acting skills.

Even a number of contemporary villains in bollywood films had benefited by working with him including Shakti Kapoor. There were resemblance of style of tragedy king Dilip Kumar in the acting of Kader Khan in the early part of his career but he created his own identity and skill in the long run. His other successful films included Himmatwala, Aaj Ka Daur, Hero No. 1, Haseena Maan Jayegi, etc. These days his son Sarfaras Khan had been successfully acting in many bollywood films like Tere Naam.

His dialogues were equally famous as his acting and he made contribution in the field of dialogue writing in more than 200 films. Besides he gave quality lips in some of the songs like “yeh paisa bolta hai” in the film Kala Bazar. It is not possible to include all the films of an actor who had contributed in more than 400 films, but it can be said that all his admirers want him to continue his good work and explore himself in the new films to come.

Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha.

Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dashing star Rekha on 10th October, 2010. She had dominated bollywood films of the 80s.

Being the daughter of Legendary South Indian actor Gemini Ganeshan on 10th October, 1954, Rekha created a separate place for herself in bollywood film industry. She was better known as Bhanurekha Ganeshan. In 1969 she acted opposite Biswajeet Chatterjee in the film Do Shikari. She got the her lead role as heroine opposite Navin Nischal in the film Sawan Bhado.

In the early 70s, Rekha had to fight for her place in the bollywood industry, at a time when Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore were dominating the industry. But she acted in many landmark films during that period including Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Rampur Ka Laxman opposite Randhir Kapoor, etc.

From the late 70s her films opposite megastar Big B changed her career. Most of the films ended up being super hit including Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Silsila, etc. Rekha gradually developed her acting and became one of the most versatile actresses of the 80s.

She received national award for her memorable performance in the role of a mujrewali in the film Umrao Jaan. She received filmfare award for best actress in her dashing role in the film Khoon Bhari Maang in 1988. She played landmark roles in off-beat films like Gulzar’s Ghar and Ijaazat, Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug, Govind Nihalini’s Vijeta, etc.

Even her films in the 90s like Kamasutra and in 2000 onwards in films like Lajja and Koi Mil Gaya, she showed her metal as a very talented actress. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to dashing star Vinod Khanna

Happy birthday to dashing star Vinod Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vinod Khanna on 6th October 2010. He had remained a versatile actor and contributed in bollywood films from the 70s.

He started his career as an anti-hero.He started his career in Sunil Dutt's film Man Ki Meet in 1968. Then he acted in landmark films like Purab Aur Paschim, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Saccha Jhoota. He played the role of a villain in the film Aan Milo Sajna, where Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor. He also acted in negative role in Shammi Kapoor’s film Jaane Anjane opposite Leena Chandravarkar. He acted in landmark roles in Gulzar's film Mere Apne in 1971. In Gulzar's film Achanak in 1973, his film was based on the real life story of KM Nanavati versus State of Maharashtra, the story of an army officer who was enraged by grave provocation.

With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Vinod Khanna became a dominating figure in bollywood films. Big B’s appearance in the film Zanjeer created a fair competition between Vinod Khanna and Big B.

Both of them featured together in the film Zameer. Both of them showed their action skills against the other actor. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Vinod Khanna played the role of a police officer while Big B played the role of a smuggler. In that film the action skills of Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan was balanced by the romantic style of performance of Rishi Kapoor. Vinod Khanna’s smartness in the role of police officer amazed the viewers. All three of them played the role of the three brothers who were separated earlier but met together at the end of the film. Pran played the role of the father of the three actors.

In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Vinod Khanna played the role of the friend of Amitabh. Big B sacrificed his life at the end of the film after preventing Amzad Khan from creating any harm to Rakhee. The songs of the film became superhit. Vinod Khanna acted along with Big B in other films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Paseena, Pavarish, etc.

The other notable films of Vinod Khanna included Qurbani with Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played the role of his friend who sacrificed his life to save Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played a very significant role in the film Burning Train, where Dharmender played the role of his friend. He was the engineer who built the super fast train, but Danny conspired to put a bomb in the train which exploded and burned the train. At the end Dharmender, Jeetender and Vinod Khanna rescued the passengers.

His films Jurm and Satya Mev Jayate also received very positive criticisms. Just like Amitabh Bacchan he established himself as action star, and delivered in action films even in the late 90s, 20 years after his earlier action movies.

After launching his son Akshay Khanna in the film Himalay Putra, Vinod Khanna switched to character roles and got busy with politics. He also joined the Rajnish Ashram in the early 80s. In 2009, he was very impressive in Salman Khan’s super hit film Wanted where he played the role of his father. In 2010, again he played the role of the father of Salman Khan in the blockbuster film Dabaang. His sharpness in respect of acting had not withered away and he just like Amitabh Bacchan had matured into a more composed actor. The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work in the years to come.

Big B, Ananya Chatterjee, Rituporno Ghosh won National Awards.

Big B, Ananya Chatterjee, Rituporno Ghosh won National Awards.

The 57th National Awards had been announced. Big B won the award for the best actor for his remarkable performance in the film Paa. He played the role of progeria patient who died at the end of the film. The actress Arundhuti Nag received the award for the best supporting actress.

Actress Ananya Chatterjee won the national award for the best actress for her performance in the film Abohoman. She was surprised with the decision and excited too. Ramesh Sippy, the legendary director being member of the jury, took very bold decisions. It was very significant that Ramesh Sippy himself never won any national award inspite of making blockbusters like Sholay, Shaan, Shakti and Saagar.

Director Rituporno Ghosh won the national award for the best director for the film Abohoman. Rituporno Ghosh won it a number of films. It was a good gesture on the part of the jury to judge regional films on merit.

Viewers feel that there were a long list of talented actors and actresses who never won one national award. Actor Balraj Sahani never received one single national award, actor Dilip Kumar never received one single national award inpsite of landmark performances in Aadmi, Shakti, Mashaal, etc.

Actress Meena Kumari never got any award in her illustrious career. The best actress award was also a question mark in the career of actress Nutan. Therefore those who won the awards should also consider themselves very lucky as whenever two or three artists performed well in the same year, the award went to only one recipient.

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakhee on 15th August, 2010. She had contributed in bollywood films for more than 30 years. She had contributed both as a leading actress and also as a character actress.

Rakhee came to limelight with her successful film Sharmilee opposite Shashi Kapoor in the early 70s. The songs of the film composed by SD Burman became very successful, including the songs “khilte hai dil yahan”, “megha chaye aadhi raat”, etc. Rakhee played a double role and created attention.

In the mid-70s Rakhee acted in landmark roles including the one in the film Kabhi Kabhi opposite Big B and Shashi Kapoor. She loved a poet played by Big B, but had to marry Shashi Kapoor. The poetry of Big B created a great impact in the life of Rakhee. The songs of Mukesh and Lata composed by Khayyam in the film including “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” made the viewers spellbound.

Rakhee acted in many landmark films opposite Big B including Shakti Shamanta’s Bengali film Anusandhan, hindi film Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Kala Patthar, Kasme Wade, etc. In the early 80s Rakhee played the role of her lifetime opposite Dilip Kumar in the film Shakti. She played the role of the mother of Big B, who faced the hostility between Dilip Kumar and Big B, one being the protector of law, while the other being the lawbreaker. The scenes where she praised her law-abiding husband her performance had outcast Big B, and viewers said that Rakhee’s performance was as brilliant as Dilip Kuma in Shakti. The film became super hit.

In the 90s, Rakhee played many character roles in films like Anil Kapoor’s Ram Lakhan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan’s Karan Arjun, Bobby Deol’s Soldier, to name a few. She had acted in more than 100 films and continues to act in many contemporary films.

Rakhee had also acted in many character roles and challenging roles. Her performance in Aparna Sen’s film Parama requires special mention. She had affair with a middle-aged neighbour. When the truth relating to her extra-marital affair was known to her husband, she lost her value in the family. She showed the helplessness in the respective story. She had performed in both commercial films and parallel cinema and in both forms of films she had kept a mark.

The viewers expect her to continue the good work in the years to come.

The Filmfare awards were reproduction of Star Screen awards.

The Filmfare awards were reproduction of Star Screen awards.

The 2010 Filmfare awards were absolute reproduction of Star Screen awards. Big B won the award for the best actor for his performance in the film Paa. Vidya Balan won the best actress for the performance in the same. Amir Khan’s performance in The 3 idiots went in vain.

It is nothing new that Big B never won any award for versatile performances in the films Akhree Rasta, Indrajeet, Akela, etc., but when the name got converted into brand name the awards had been running after him. Same thing had happened with AR Rehman. When he composed music for Roza, or Bombay, or Saathiya, there was innovation the main yardstick of awards. These days whenever even if he creates mediocre music in Delhi 6, he gets awards. Neither is there any promotion of new talents, nor recognition for good work. Pritam, Shantanu Moitra had just created good music in the films Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani and The 3 idiots.

Among the list of manipulated awards some rewards for genuine good performances included the award won by Boman Irani for best supporting actor in the film The 3 idiots. He has potential of the same lights of Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. Also Ranbir Kapoor won the critics’ choice award for his performance in the films Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, etc.

The male and female singer award does not prove anything. Kavita Seth and Rekha Bharadwaj had won the awards for the film Delhi 6. The songs were ordinary by every musical standards. Also Mohit Chauhan’s award proves nothing.

The sad part of these filmfare awards is that it had huge heritage of stalwarts like Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Balraj Sahani, Raj Kapoor winning the awards under different categories in the past. Critics even argue that there is hardly any justification of the best actor, the category should have been best hero.

The national awards still have some relevance. Filmfare awards had been a tool, either purchased or manipulated or rigged.

The 55th Idea Filmfare awards have nothing new.

The 55th Idea Filmfare awards have nothing new.

The 55th Idea Filmfare awards nominations 2009 have nothing new. It seems that the nominations that were there in Starscreen Awards and Stardust Awards, the same nominations are made in filmfare.

The film 3 idiots will compete with Dev D, Kaminey, Paa, Wake Up Sid and Love Aaj Kaal for the best film. If 3 idiots fail to win the award it will be an amazement. AR Rehman will compete with Amit Trivedi, Pritam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Vishal Bharatdwaj for best composer. It does not matter that Pritam has two nominations and one of his compositions in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani did great business only due to the great music. AR Rehman will win the award again it seems.

Amir Khan neither attends awards ceremony nor gets the awards. It is strange that his film 3 idiots did business worth 200 crores. Yet the award will go to Amitabh Bacchan for his performance in the film Paa. It has become a prestige issue to give awards only to Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bacchan. It does not matter that Ranbir Kapoor has two nominations in the films Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani and Wake Up Sid. Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra’s efforts in the films 3 idiots, New York and Kaminey will go in vain as Vidya Balan will win the award for best actress for her performance in the film Paa. It has become a prestige issue to act with Big B and Abhishek Bacchan in the recent years.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will compete against Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Mohit Chouhan, Atif Aslam and Javed Ali/ Kailash Kher for the best singer award. Atif Aslam’s song “tu jane na” in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani was at par with Sonu Nigam’s Shukran Allah in Kurbaan and Sukhwinder Singh’s “dhan tana” in Kaminey. Kavita Seth will compete against Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Alisha Chinoy, Shilpa Rao and Rekha Bharatdwaj for the best female singer award.

Rishi Kapoor, Amole Gupte, Boman Irani, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Neil Nitin Mukesh had been nominated for best supporting actor award. Dimple Kapadia, Arundhuti Naag, Divya Dutta, Kalki Koechlin and Sahana Goswami had been nominated for the best supporting actress award.
The awards do not prove excellence. Whether an actor or actress wins it or not, as long as they receive appreciation for their work from the audience their work gets rewarded.

Happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan.

Happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan on 5th February, 2010. He had entertained the viewers over the last 10 years and is expected to do even better in the years to come.

Being the son of superstars Amitabh Bacchan and Jaya Bacchan, he had a great challenge in terms of proving himself in the early part of his career. He got chance in good films like JP Dutta’s Refugee, Dhai Aksar Prem Ki, Bombai Se Aya Mera Dost, but due to comparison of him with his father, his performance was not appreciated inspite of the success of the film.

Then he formed a fantastic pair with actress Rani Mukherjee and his career took a turn. His film Yuva was very successful. He played a negative character in the film opposite Rani Mukherjee. The film was related to the violent scenario in Kolkata caused by politics in academic institutions and the loss to the students due to such unrest. Ajay Devgan and Vivek Oberoi did extremely well in the film along with Abhishek Bacchan.

Abhishek Bacchan and Rani Mukherjee complimented each other in the film Bunty Aur Babli. Both of them took the recourse of falsehood and duped different people all across the country. Before their plan was unearthed they left the place and got involved in other crimes. The music in the film composed by Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy became super hit with popular songs like “dharak dharak”, “chup chupke chup chupke”, “bunty aur babli”, “kajra re kajra re”, etc. Aishwarya Rai amused the viewers with her item number in the film titled “kajra re”. Big B also did well in the film in the role of police inspector.

Abhishek Bacchan did well in the film Dhoom-2 opposite Hrithik Roshan. He investigated the significant operations carried out by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai who were international thieves and stole expensive items from museums and art galleries. Abhishek Bacchan arrested Hrithik Roshan at the end of the film but did not confine him after he disclosed the places where he stored the stolen items.

His other hit films included Guru, opposite Aishwarya Rai and Dostana opposite John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra. In 2009 his film Dilli 6 had been released where he did extremely well opposite Sonam Kapoor and veteran actors in the film.

At the end of the year he acted in a critically acclaimed film Paa. The film was directed by Balki. Big played the role of the son of Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan played the role of the his wife. Big B died at the end of the film. Big B and Vidya Balan received the best actor and best actress award in 2010 star screen awards for their performance in the film Paa. Abhishek Bacchan played his role of a politician in style.

His tall height and deep voice impressed the viewers over the last few years and the viewers are looking forward to his depiction of the character Ram that he is going to play in director Mani Ratnam’s film Ravan.