Abhishek Bacchan – the promising actor of recent bollywood films.

Abhishek Bacchan – the promising actor of recent bollywood films.

Abhishek Bacchan, the son of Big B, had shown a lot of promise in the films he had acted till date. His first film Refugee, opposite Kareena Kapoor, was well appreciated by the filmlovers for its innovative storyline. He showed all the skills required for being a fine actor, in his first appearance in the film Refugee.

He played the role of a refugee who had helped the citizens of both the countries India and Pakistan to cross the border and travel to the other country whenever they wanted to meet their relatives in the respective countries. The film had a very unique message, that the landscape, way of living, language and culture of both parts are the same, yet the line of control had created a barrier of though and hostile relationship between the citizens of both the countries. Abhishek gave adequate lips in the songs composed by Anu Malik and sung by Sonu Nigam, including “panchi nadiya pawan ke jhoke”, “mere humsafar”, etc.


He made a lasting impression in the minds of the viewers with his performance in the film Bunty aur Babli, opposite Rani Mukherjee. He had cheated different persons in the film along with his wife, and the police also could not track his misdeeds. At the end of the film Big B, arrested him as he could think in the same way. The songs in the film were big hits like “dharak dharak”, “kajra re”, etc. Aiswariya Rai, also performed in an item number and created a significant impact.


His other notable films include Yuva, where he balanced the strong performance of Rani Mukherjee, with his own acting. The film was shot in Kolkata, and he adapted to the storyline. He was also sublime in the film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, along with Shahrukh Khan, Big B, Rani Mukherjee and Preety Zinta. He had the big task of proving before the audience that he never imitated his father and mother (Jaya Bacchan) and displayed his own style of acting.


His performance in the film Guru, Umrao Jaan, opposite Aiswariya Rai, showed his own style of dialogue throwing. With notable performances in the films Dhoom 2, Sarkar, Abhishek had shown that he is a promising actor, and if he gets good script, he has the capability of providing realistic performances. The viewers expect strong performance from him in the years to come.


Abhishek Bachan Photogallery

Vinod Khanna – the powerful actor of bollywood.

Vinod Khanna – the powerful actor of bollywood.

Vinod Khanna is one of the most popular actors of the 70s and 80s and has mae notable contribution to bollywood films for more than 35 years. In the early 70s he acted in hit films like Aan Milo Sajna as anti –hero, where Rajesh Khanna was the main actor. He showed his action skills within short period of time and became the leading action heroes of the 70s along with Big B.

He acted in challenging roles and balanced the powerful personality of Big B, in those films. In Zameer, he acted opposite Big B, and both of them never knew their actual parenthood, as a dacoit kidnapped the child of a honest person and made him a dacoit. In Amar Akbar Anthony, in 1977, he acted as the elder brother and a police officer, who was separated from his parents and the other tow brothers played by Big B and Rishi Kapoor, and were united at the end of the film. It was one of the most successful films of Manmohan Desai, and the songs of the film composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, impressed the viewers. Vinod Khanna matched the romantic performance of Rishi Kapoor, with strong lips in songs like “parda hai parda”, “shirdiwali saibaba”, sung by Rafi and comedy performance of Big B, with impressive lips in the song “my name is Anthony”, sung by Kishore with his powerful personality and elegant dialogue throwing. He acted opposite Shabana Azmi in the film.


He performed well the film Burning Train, opposite Parveen Babi, as an engineer,who built the train which was damaged by keeping a bomb in the train by Danny. It was a multi-starrer film with Dharmender and Jeetender providing impressive performances and Vinod Khanna showed the depth of the character by providing instructions as to how the accident and death of the passengers could be stopped in the film. He was very impressive in the film Qurbani, opposite Firoz Khan and Zeenat Aman, where his action skills balanced the stylish acting of Feroz Khan.


Vinod Khanna took a break from films in the early 80s, but when he returned back, he provided good performance in the film Dayavan opposite Firoz Khan, where he helped the helpless and took action against the lawbreakers in the society. His performance in the films Jurm, Satyamev Jayate, was very impressive. He also impressed the viewers with his character acting in some films and launched his son Akshay Khanna in the film Himalaya Putra. His films still have appeal, even after 30 years of their date of release and he is considered the second most popular actor after Big B as he provided strong challenge to the personality of Big B in films like Parvarish, Mugaddar Ka Siqandar, Hera Pheri, Khoon Pasina, etc.

Firoz Khan – the stylish actor of bollywood.

Firoz Khan – the stylish actor of bollywood.

Firoz Khan is known by film-lovers for his stylish performance in huge number of bollywood films. He acted in romantic films in the 60s and early 70s including Aarzoo with Rajender Kumar and Safar with Rajesh Khanna. In the 70s he brought a new dimension in the action films and launched himself as producer and director. His prominent films include Kala sona, Khote Sikke, etc. In Khote Sikke he made a team of persons who were lawbreakers in their early life and used them to fight out the greater criminals in the society.

He acted in Dharmatma opposite Hema malini and Rekha, in the mid-70s, which was inspired by the Hollywood film Godfather. Firoz Khan always created action sequences that were new and unique. For example he show Amrish Puri how to drive a car in Qurbani, and broke off all the parts of the car in the process, which was imitated by other producers in different films. The film had Vinod Khanna and Zeenat Aman opposite him and songs like “kya dekhte ho” sung by Rafi and “aap jaisa koi” became everlasting hits.


Firoz Khan is also known for giving exposure to new talents of bollywood in his films. He gave Anil Kapoor a scope of performing in his film Jaanbaaz, where he also provided stylish performance. The film involved the illegal use of drugs by businessmen and the evil effects of such drugs. There were scenes shot at locations in Middle-east countries and the performance of Shakti Kapoor and Amrish Puri is worth mentioning.


He also acted well in the Yaalgaar, as a police officer who took revenge against underworld don played by Kabir Bedi and his son Sanjay Dutt who killed Mukesh Khanna, who acted as the Commissioner in the film. The films had good songs, strong action sequences and westernized style of story telling. Firoz Khan brought life in the character played in the film.

He also acted in hit films like Apradh, Dayavaan, etc. He also launched his own son Fardeen Khan and is involved in production and direction of films during recent times. Viewers expect even better performance from him in days to come.

Shashi Kapoor – the romantic actor of bollywood.

Shashi Kapoor – the romantic actor of bollywood.

Shashi Kapoor is one of the successful actors of bollywood who had provided notable performance in both romantic and action films. He played the younger part of Raj Kapoor as a child artist in Aag, Awara, etc. He acted in a number of successful films opposite Nanda in the 60s, including Jab Jab Phool Khile, Need Hamari KJhwab tumhari, etc. The popular songs in these films, sung by Rafi. Lata, Asha, and others, had been the added attraction, including songs like “na na karke”, “paredeshiyon se na”,etc. The scenic beauty of Kashmir was also responsible for the success of the films. He also acted in a serio-comic film Pyar kiye ja, opposite Kishore Kumar and Mehmood, and the songs in the film like “gore haatho par”, “ramlal”, etc., were hit in addition to the success of the film.

In the 70s, Shashi Kapoor acted in a number of film along with Big B. In Deewar, in 1975, he acted as a police officer and the brother of a smuggler, played by Big B. both had started their life from the same platform and he was in the right path, which was the ideal path and his mother stayed with him for those reasons. He killed his brother in an encounter at the end of the film.


He also acted in an action thriller Shaan, along with Big B and Shatrughun Sinha. It also included the revenge that was taken against Shakaal, who had killed their brother played by Sunil Dutt and was involved in unlawful activities. In addition to performing in the commercial films, he also acted in few art films like Junoon, directed by Shyam Benegal and Vijeta, directed by Govind Nahalani. Junoon, was based on the independence movement during British rule, and Vijeta showed the story of a young boy, (his son), who joined Indian airforce and faced the challenges of life at different stages.


He did not imitate his elder brothers Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor, and created an own style of acting which was evident in films like Kala Patthar, Suhag, etc. Even in multi-starrer films like Waqt, he kept his mark along with Raj Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Balraj Sahani. It was a story where the 3 brothers were separated by an earthquake and were united at the end of the film.

He showed his romantic skills, action skills in most of his films and made notable contribution in bollywood films for more than 25 years. That is the reason why viewers still love to watch his films like Do Aur do Paanch, Namakhalal, etc.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Dev Anand – the evergreen hero of bollywood.

Dev Anand – the evergreen hero of bollywood.

Dev Anand is the evergreen hero of bollywood, who had made notable contribution to bollywood films for more than 50 years. He was very popular during the 50s and 60s along with Raj Kapoor And Dilip Kumar. He got the title of evergreen hero as he still launched himself as a hero in the 80s when Dilip Kumar appeared in character roles and Raj Kapoor concentrated on production and direction of films.

In the 50 his film Taxi Driver and CID, stormed the silver screen. CID was produced by Guru Dutt and music was composed by OP Nayyar, and the hits songs of Rafi, Asha, Geet Dutt, etc. like “ai dil mushkil”, “leke pehla pehla pyar”, “aankho hi aankho me”, etc., became evergreen hits. He also did well in films like Kala Pani opposite Madhubala, and Kala Bazar opposite Wahida Rehman. Kala Pani was the hindi adaptation of Uttam Kumar’s film Sabar upare, where the father of the hero was imprisoned with false charges of murder and the hero reopened the case and proved his father to be innocent before the court of law. The songs composed by SD Burman and sung by Rafi, Asha and others in these films like “hum bekhudi me tumko pukare”, “acchaji mai hari”, “khoya khoya chand” all were super duper hits.


Dev Anand acted in a double role in the film Hum dono, opposite Sadhna and Nanda. the film was based on the story of a military person who died at the battlefield and his friend having resemblance with his features being asked to pretend as the military major who died in reality. Jaidev’s music in the film and Rafi, Lata and Asha’s performance in the film with songs like “alla tero naam”, “abhi na jao chor kar”, “mai zindagi ka saath”, “kabhi khud pe”, etc., were superlative.


Dev Anand produced films under the Nav Ketan banner, and the most successful films include Guide, 1965 and Jewel Thief, 1967, which were directed by his brother Vijay Anand. Guide involved a story of a guide who fell in love with Wahida Rehman and when was charged for forgery, became a saint at the end of the film. The songs in the film sung by Rafi, Lata, Kishore were evergreen hits like “tere mere sapne”, “din dhal jaye”, “piya tose naina lagere”, “kya se kya ho gaya”, “gata rahe mera dil”, etc. In Jewel Thief, Dev Anand imitated Gregory Pegg, opposite Vijayantimala, and unearthed the activity of a gang of jewel thieves headed by Ashok kumar. The style of dialogue delivery was appreciated by viewers. Dev Anand had other hit films like Jab Pyar kisi se hota hai opposite Asha parekh, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne opposite Nutan, Love Marriage opposite Mala Sinha, Hare Rama hare Krishna opposite Mumtaz. He directed and produced a number of films. He received dada saheb phalke award for over all contribution to bollywood films and still have a lot of admirers across the country.

Article By: Rumi Chatterji.

Hrithik Roshan – the dynamic star of bollywood.

Hrithik Roshan – the dynamic star of bollywood.

Hrithik Roshan is one of the most stars who had glorified bollywood films for the last 10 years. The leading actors of bollywood generally had learnt acting and other skills after acting in a number of films. It did not happen in case of Hrithik Roshan. He learnt his choreographic skills, action skills and other mannerisms before starting his career and showed all these skills in his first film Kahona Pyar Hai.

It was directed by his father Rakesh Roshan, the son of the eminent music composer Roshan. The film showed a singer and performer, Rohit, seeing the killing of an individual by big industrialists and then they killed him. Amish Patel who had affair with Rohit, went to New Zealand and a similar face named Raaj, who came to India and unearthed the truth and held her father Anupam Kher also guilty of the misdeeds along with the other offenders. The film had good music, romantic locations and quality action sequence and became one of the greatest hits of all times.


He had provided decent performance in the film Fiza, and Mission Kashmir. In Mission Kashmir, he had acted in the role of a terrorist who became a victim of circumstances, as his parents were killed by Sanjay Dutt and he developed hatred towards the law enforcing authorities of the country. There were mixed responses, as a number of viewers appreciated Sanjay Dutt as the law enforcing personnel, and it was difficult for Hrithik to create impact with a negative role, but his acting performance was appreciated.

He continued to act in the 2nd and 3rd part of Kahona Pyar Hai, titled “Koi mil gaya” and “Krish,” directed by his father. In “Koi mil Gaya” he acted in the role of a handicapped person who ultimately acquired supernatural power and used it to combat the misdeeds of evil persons. He acted opposite Preeti Zinta and Priyanka Chopra in the respective films and matched them in performance in either of the films. There is no second opinion that he is the best dancer ever to grace Indian silver screen.


He had impressed the viewers in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham opposite Kareena Kapoor, and Laksh opposite Preeti Zinta. Even as a military personality he has impressed the viewers in his role in Laksh. In one part of the film he showed his laziness and in the other part he had shown his disciplined endeavour.

Even as an anti-hero in the film Dhoom 2, he had amazed the viewers, opposite Aishwaria Rai, and he received even better reviews than Abhishek Bacchan, who had played the positive role in the film. Viewers are looking ahead to see his brilliant performance in the role of Akbar in the film Jodha-Akbar, opposite Aishwariya Rai. The historical character requires royal performance and he has the acting skills to play the legendary character. He has a lot of acting left in him and is expected to do even better in the future.

Article By: CR Chatterji.

Pradeep Kumar – the legendary actor of 60s.

Pradeep Kumar – the legendary actor of 60s.

Pradeep Kumar is one of the legendary actors, who had glorified bollywood and tollywood films during the 40s, 50s and 60s. He impressed the Bengali audience in films like Biyallish, Dasshumohan, Grihadaha, etc, some having patriotic feeling embedded them, the others based on classical Bengali literature.

When he went to Bombay, producers and directors could not ignore his majestic personality and did cast him in historical characters which required elegance. He made a significant impact on the audience in the film Anandmath, along with Prithviraj Kapoor and Bharat Bhushan. In Anarkali, he displayed the royal style of acting during the mughal period opposite Beena Rai, who played the role of anarkali. His other film Nagin, opposite Vaijayantimala was also successful.

In the 60s, he acted in musical blockbusters, one after the other, starting with Aarti, opposite Meena Kumari. The songs composed by Roshan and sung by Rafi and Lata were masterpieces, including “aapne yaad dilaya to mujhe yaad aya”, “ab kya missal doon mai tumhare shabab ki”, “baharon ki manzil rahi”, to name a few.


He had a screen presence which resembled Shahjahan, and the get up was exploited in the film Taj Mahal, 1963, where his performance was excellent. He displayed the royal form of lifestyle existing during the historical age and his lips in the songs of Rafi, composed by Roshan was marvellous, including songs like “paon chulene do phulon ko inayat hogi”, “jo wada kiya ho nibhana parega”, etc. The love of the monarch towards poetry, ghazals, architecture and beauty was well exhibited by Pradeep Kumar, and critics say that there was no second actor who could depict the character in the same manner as Pradeep Kumar.

Apart from historical films, Pradeep Kumar also showed his excellence in social films like Bheegi Raat and Bahu Begum opposite Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar. The films involved triangular affairs, where one person had to sacrifice his affection for the other friend, which was done both these films by Ashok Kumar. But Pradeep Kumar played the role of decent individual in these films, who felt the emotions of Meena Kumari and ultimately was admired by the audience. The songs in these films like “dil jo na keh saka”, “jane who kaun hai, kya naam hai in ankhoka”, “hum intezer karenge tera qayamat tak”, “duniya kare sawal”, were some of the songs composed by Roshan in these films, which were the best creations ever in the history of bollywood music.

His films Chitralekha, opposite Meena Kumari, Rajhath opposite Madhubala, Adalat, opposite Nargis, Meri Surat Teri Anken, opposite Asha Parekh, also showed his depth of acting. Notable songs in these films include “man re to kahe na dheer dhare”, “saze dil cher de”, etc. He was probably one of the most majestic actors ever to grace bollywood, and even being a Bengali, he did not find it difficult to pronounce urdu dialogues whenever required in the historical classics. It is difficult to mention his performance in the films he has acted because his presence was felt for more than 30 years and he acted with all the leading actresses of that age. The Television channels should held Retrospectives on the legend to educate the new generation about royal style of acting.

Article By: CR Chatterji.

Bobby Deol: The dashing hero of 90s

Bobby Deol: The dashing hero of 90s.

Bobby Deol brought a new style of acting in the 90s with his brilliant performance in action films. His first film Barsaat, opposite Twinkle Khanna showed his capability in terms of dialogue delivery and romantic performance.

He amazed the film lovers with his European style of acting in Gupt, which was a suspense thriller. His father Raj Babbar, was killed by someone and he was found at the scene of occurrence with the murder weapon and was arrested imprisoned. He escaped from the prison and inquired in the relevant places including the souses of the ememies of his father to unearth the truth. In the meantime he fell in love with Kajol and Manisha Koirala and provided good lips in the songs composed by Viju Shah including “bechaiya”, “gupt”, etc. He had adopted decent dancing skills and that added to the success of the film. Besides Om Puri’s performance as the investigating officer and Kajol’s performance as a villain astonished the viewers.


Bobby continued his European stunts in the film Soldier, opposite Preeti Zinta, which was shot mainly in Australia. He took revenge against all the offenders who had killed his father and humiliated both his father parents with false charges. The music composed by Anu Malik was excellent with songs like “soldier, soldier”, “saajan”, “mehfil me barbar”, etc. all becoming big hits. Bobby was successful in exhibiting his comedy skills, action skills and powerful personality in the film. Preeti Zinta also created her westernized image in the film for the first time.

Bobby Deol had the challenge of matching the level of excellence reached by his father Dharmender and brother Sunny Deol. He was successful to create a unique identity for himself which was totally different from them. His action films like Bicchu and Badal, opposite Rani Mukherjee where he acted as terrorist showed his depth of acting and his anti-establishment image.


He was also successful in films like Ajnabee where he faced false allegations for alleged conspiracy of Akshay kumar and Bipasa Basu and unearthed the truth relating to such conspiracy. He matched the set performance of Kareena Kapoor in the film and the songs and the action sequenced well appreciated in the film.

Bobby had acted in a number of films by this period of time including Aur pyar ho gaya, Chor machaye shor, Jhoom barabar jhoom, etc. he film lovers expect even better performances from him in 2008 and the coming years.

Article by: CR Chatterji.

Dharmender – the dynamic star of bollywood.

Dharmender – the dynamic star of bollywood.

Dharmender is one of the dynamic stars of bollywood who maintained a steady box office for over 40 years. Viewers of different age-groups have enjoyed his performance in the 60s, 70s and 80s. He is better known for action films, but he had acted in different types of films in his illustrious career.

Initially he had played roles of anti-hero in films like Ai Milan Ki Bela, along with Rajender Kumar, Saira Banu, and other roles in Kajal along with Raj Kumar, but showed his individual capability in OP Ralhan’s Phool Aur Patthar, opposite Meena Kumari. In those days viewers appreciated romantic films more than action films. Dharmender had acted in a number of those films which are known for outstanding music.


For example his film Mere Humdum Mere Dost, opposite Sharmila Tagore, LP’s music and Rafi’s songs “na ja kabhi ab na ja”, “hui shaam unka” were super duper hits. Similarly his Pyar hi pyar, opposite Vaijayantimala, had hit songs like “dekha hai teri ankhon me”, “mai kahin kavi na banjayu” composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi had been successful. At the same time he acted in films directed by Hrishijkesh Mukherjee like Satyakam, Giddi, Chupke chupke, where the characters were given adequate expression.

In Satyakam, he passed out as an engineer, and discovered the corruption in society. He was well supported by Sanjeev Kumar. In Guddi, he convinced a little girl played by Jaya Bacchan, who was his admirer, that whatever is shown in films are larger than life image, which has hardly any similarity with the reality. The film also showed the contribution of technical persons in the studios like cameraman, makeupman, costume-designer, dialogue-writer, etc., who are less known to the public, and the actors can accomplish their tasks due to their efforts. Chupke Chupke is a comedy film which shows the wit related to impersonation of a botanist to play the character of a driver of a lawyer.


At the same time Dharmender had acted in action films like Jugnu, Charas, Sholay, where his angry young man image had been accepted by the audience. He had raised his voice against the corrupt practices existing in the society, and he had been kind towards the gentle persons and harsh towards the criminals. In Sholay, his performance opposite Big B had entertained the crowd with the comedy scenes which were required to balance the tragic and action sequences. His performance opposite Hema Malini in films like Kinara, Jugnu, Seeta aur Geeta, is worth mentioning. He was an indispensable star, and bollywood depended on his sheer brilliance for more than 30 years. Modern actors have a lot to learn from the legendary hero.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Sunny Deol – the action star of the 80s and 90s.

Sunny Deol – the action star of the 80s and 90s.

Sunny Deol is one of the successful action stars of the 80s and 90s. Although he started his career by acting in the romantic film Betaab, in 1983, launched by his father Dharmender, in the late years he established himself as an actor who raised voice against the corrupt practices in the society.

He had provided spirited performance in the films of Raj Kumar Santoshi, like Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, etc. In Ghayal, he acted as the brother of Raj Babbar who was killed by a rich businessman played by Amrish Puri, and he took revenge in the entire film after facing the obstacles that were placed before him. Firstly the police did not cooperate with him, as they were loyal towards the businessman. He received a false charge which was planted against him. Then he had spend his time in prison. He escaped from the prison with three other prisoners who helped him in taking revenge against the offenders in the film.


The Commissioner of Police, ensured security to Amrish Puri by asking Om Puri to accompany him at every place where he went during that time, after Sunny had left from the prison and threatened him by saying that he was going to kill him. The film had very strong supporting performance from Om Puri and Amrish Puri, who provided natural performance in their respective roles. The film became a big hit, and got public sympathy.

In Damini, Sunny acted well as a lawyer opposite Meenakshi and helped her out to win the case against the odds shown in the film. The witnesses were purchased, killed and prevented from delivering evidence and the case relating to alleged offense against women took a turn after Sunny could submit before the court that the main witness of the incident played by Meenakshi was prevented from coming and disposing before the court. There was strong performance of Rishi Kapoor also in the film.

In Ghatak, also Sunny was sublime in his portrayal of a rebel character who had the guts to raise voice against Danny and his brothers who had created a threat in the business centre in the respective jurisdiction and the shopkeepers working in that placed got used to accepting their demands. Sunny showed that if the individuals were brave and could face the oppression in an united way, then it can end any type of tyranny existing in any part of the world. He also acted in comedy films like Chaalbaaz.

He also acted in other successful films like Darr, opposite Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, Hero, etc. over the last 20 years, he had created a rebel image which impressed the leading producers and directors of the industry to portray him in challenging roles and he has fulfilled their expectations. The audience expect even better performances from him in years to come.

Article By: CR Chatterji.

Salman Khan – the dynamic hero of bollywood

Salman Khan – the dynamic hero of bollywood.

Salman Khan can be considered as one of the most dynamic hero of bollywood who had made major contribution in the last 20 years. He started his career with the film Maine Pyar Kiya in late 80s opposite Bhagyashri and made significant impact on the film lovers. People were looking for new actors at that time and Salman Khan fulfilled their wishes in that film.

In 1991, he made a major contribution in the film Saajan, along with Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit. The film was based on triangular love story, where Sanjay Dutt was a handicapped poet who had written impressive poetry on Madhuri Dixit. He asked Salman Khan to show himself as the poet so that Madhuri Dixit can get impressed and get a better life partner than a handicapped person. Ultimately the truth was unfolded. The film became successful due to melodious songs being composed by Nadeem Shravan. The prominent songs include “mera dil bhi kitna pagal hai”, “dekha hai pehli baar”, “jiy to jiye kaise”, etc.


Salman Kahn had acted in other successful films at that time including Hum Saath Saath Hai, Khamoshi, etc. In Khamoshi, he played the role of a compassionate person who felt for a girl played by Manisha Koirala, who was the only person in the family of deaf and dumb who could speak. The songs in the film including “aaj mai upar, aasma niche” were successful.

In Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, he played the role of a singer who had come to India from abroad, to learn Indian classical music, and got involved in an affair with the daughter of the music teacher played by Aisharya Rai. The Indian traditional culture depicted in the film with colourful locations in Rajasthan, had contributed for the success of the film. The songs in the film including “aankho ki gustakhiyan”, “dhol baje”, etc., were very successful.

His other successful films include Auzaar, Bibi No. 1, No Entry, etc. He also acted well in the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, where he played the role of a playboy whose wife died leaving a son, and the son came in the way of marriage of himself with Twinkle Khanna. The son was played by Udit Narayan’s son, and his performance was well appreciated by film lovers.


It is very difficult to cover the best films of Salman Khan in a small article, as he had made landmark performance for the last 20 years, but there is no doubt that if films like Salaam- e-isqe, or Partner, are seen, everyon will conclude that he is a crowd puller and that is one of the reasons why his wax statue is made in Madam Tussade’s museum in London after Big B, Aiswariya Rai and Shahrukh Khan.

Article By: Rumi Chatterji.

Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor – the versatile actor of the 80s and 90s.

Anil Kapoor can be considered as one of the most versatile actors who had glorified bollywood films during the 80s and 90s. His initial films like Woh Saat Din caught the attention of film lovers. He also got scope of acting with big stars like Dilip Kumar in films like Mashal in 1984. His transformation by Dilip Kumar from a law breaker to a reformed journalist had made a lasting impression in the mind of filmlovers. He used the tapori language that is spoken by street peddlers in Mumbai in the first part of the film. He ultimately became a journalist and used hi pen to unearth the evils of society. His performance in the multistarrer Subhash Ghai titled Karma is also worth mentioning. Dilip Kumar used the prisoners who were facing life mprisonment and death sentence and all the prisoners Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Naseeruddin Shah helpedDilip Kumar to destroy the terrorist establishments in India.

In the early part of his career hisperformance in the film Meri Jung is worth mentioning. He acted as a lawyer and conducted a trial in the ideal way a trial is conducted in courts f law. In 1986, his film Mr. India based on fantasy made him a superstar. He got the formula by which a person can be invisible and used the formula to take revenge from Amrish Puri who acted as an underworld don who used his troops for unlawful activities. Amil Kapoor’s sense of humour amused the viewers and many viewers started comparing him with Raj Kapoor with his comedy skills.

Gradually Anil Kapoor started performing in all types of films, in films where he depicted an innocent person like Iswar, films where he showed his anger against the society which was dominated by corrupt individuals like Tezaab, and other films like Ram Lakhan. Most of his films had Madhuri Dixit as the actress opposite him and her choreographic skills added flavour in the blockbusters. He also acted in pure comedy films like Jamai Raja, where he smashed the ego and dominance of her mother-in-law played by Hema Malini. The reply were given through comedy and there was action at the end of the film.



In later years Anil Kapoor acted in significant films like Pukar, Lajja, etc. He received the national award for the best actor for performing in the film Pukar, where he playedrole of a patriot. He joined the army but was thrown away from there for false charges that were put against him by Madhuri Dixit. Ultimately he proved himself innocent and prevented a big destructive attempt made by the terrorists.

Anil Kapoor showed his immense personality in films where the character required them. He poured all his composure in the film Nayak, where he became the Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra only for 1 days, but showed the standing CM played by Amrish Puri that if there is a will a lot of reformation can be done even in one day. He dismissed all those officers and government servants who were not working and brought in work culture. Amidst his action films he also acted in romantic films like 1942-a lovestory. His lips in the songs like “ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga” and “kuch na kaho, kuch bhi nakaho” composed by RD Burman became superduper hits. He depicted the romance with Manish Koirala at the backdrop of India’s freedommovement.


Even during the days of new actors dominating bollywood, Anil Kapoor comedy impulse in seen in films like No Entry. In a span of 25 years, he has acted in around 100 films and showed his skills in different spheres. His films should be restored to show the new generation that for being a successful actor, comedy, tragedy and personality has to be displayed.



Anil Kapoor Photogallery

Bhupinder Singh - the passionate singer of bollywood

Bhupinder Singh: The passionate singer of bollywood:

Ghazal singers in India and other parts of the world have very limited number of audience, as the lyrics are very meaningful and require knowledge to appreciate them and the tunes also bear slow and soft image. In Indian films ghazals were used in the 50s, 60s by the thoughtful composers of that period including Madanmohan, Jaidev, Naushad, Khayyam, Shankar Jaikihsan, Roshan, etc. and sung in most cases by Mohammad Rafi and Talat Mehmood.

Bhupinder Singh, started his career as playback singer in the film Haqeeqat, in 1964, composed by Madanmohan, where he also acted as one of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in India’s war against China. The song “hoke majboor mujhe usne bulaya hoga” was sung by Bhupinder Singh along with Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Manna Dey. Bhupinder Singh had played important instruments like different types of guitars, etc., for composers like RD Burman.

As his deep voice having intoxicating appeal suited the criteria for singing ghazals, he made major contribution in refined commercial films where tunes were not composed for commercial requirement but to impress the music lovers. If any director had done justice to the young ghazal singer it was Gulzar and Bhupinder Singh got recognition in singing important songs for his films in general.

His song “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din”, in the film Mausam , 1975, is one of the most soft ghazals Madanmohan had composed in his career. Sanjeev Kumar recollected his past while his car crossed the roads towards Darjeeling and the song was played in the background. His songs in Parichay, 1972, picturised on Sanjeev Kumar, including “mitwa” and “bite na bitay raina” exhibits his strong command over classical songs.

His two songs in Gharonda, 1977, including “ek akela is shahar me” and “do diwane shahar me” picturised on Amol Palekar, had the flavour of urbanised folk song and he was successful to blend his voice with the remote style of composition of Jaidev. There was excellent use of the violin in the song “ek akela is shahar me”. The philosophical words of Gulzar like “in umrase lambi sarko ko manzil pe pahuchte dekkha nahi, is anjabeesi shahar me jana pehchana dhoonta hai” was given right expression by Bhupinder Singh and carried the essence of the phrase the sweetest songs are those which carry the saddest thoughts. Bhupinder also brought out the pensive mood of Jaidev’s creation in the songs “zindagi, zindagi, o mere ghar ana zindagi” and “zindagi me jab tumhare gham nahi the” in Uttamkumar’s Dooriyan in 1980. He also sang a notable ghazal titled “karoge yaad to” composed by Khayyam in the film Bazaar.

Bhupinder Singh also sang notable classical songs in the film Kinara, 1977, composed by RD Burman and picturised on Jeetender and Dharmender, including “naam gum jayega”, “ek hi khwab kaibaar dekha maine”, “meethe bol bole”. The other ghazal which was successful in the early 80s included “huzur is kadar bhi na itrake chaliye” picturised on Naseeruddin Shah in the film Masoom, where Suresh Watkar accompanied Bhupinder Singh. Excepting few ghazals sung by Jagjit Singh including “tumko dekha to yeh khayal aya” picturised on Farooq Sheikh and ‘tum itna jo muskura rahi ho” from the film Arth, the use of ghazals in bollywood films almost became extinct from the mid-80s.

Bhupinder Singh restricted his passion for ghazals in his private albums. Excepting Mohammad Rafi, no other classical singer could shine above a limited level, because the mass are attracted towards popular music which in major cases include non-classical compositions. That was the reason why Manna Dey having immense control over ragas, had lesser songs than he deserved in his career. Bhupinder Singh’s songs should be restored to honour the classical and ghazal andaz of the singer that had been exhibited in refined commercial films of bollywood.

Patriotic actor Manoj Kumar

Manoj Kumar – the patriotic actor of bollywood

Manoj Kumar, better known as Bharat Kumar, was one of the most patriotic souls in bollywood who devoted his life towards the making of patriotic films. Born on 24th July, 1937, Harikishen Goswami, better known as Manoj Kumar, made his debut in the film Fashion in 1957. As he was obsessed towards Dilip Kumar, one of the greatest actor of bollywood and started keeping his name in the name of Manoj Kumar, the character played by Dilip Kumar in the film Shabnam.

He got recognition in Vijay Bhatt’s film Hariyali Aur Raasta, in 1962, opposite Mala Sinha, where the music of Shankar Jaikishan, became super hit and the film provided him stable place in bollywood. He got a notable role in Raj Khosla’s crime thriller “woh kaun thi” where the twin sister of his wife played by Sadhna was shown at different times to make him insane and he unfolded the truth on the death of the twin sister when everyone came to know that Sadhna was not ghost, but the villain Prem Chopra had used her to make Manoj Kumar insane and inherit the property according to the will created by his ancestors. It wasthe greatest horror film of that age and outstanding music of Madan Mohan had hypnotised the audience.

His next film directed by Vijay Bhatt titled Himalay Ki God Me, in 1965, was also successful. Manoj Kumar again acted in a suspense thriller titled Gumnam, where the members of dance club were hijacked and left in an island and the villain Tarun Bose went on killing one after the other. The music of Shankar Jaikishan was super hit with immortal songs of Lata titled “gumnam hai koi”, songs of Rafi titled “ek ladkine mera jina mushkil kar diya” and “o mere man”, etc. Also Mehmood’s song sung by Rafi, “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” amused the crowds.

From 1965, Manoj kumar associated himself with patriotic films and his film Shaheed based on the life of Bhagat Singh became very big hit with Rafi’s song “ay watan ay watan” creating patriotic passion in the minds of numerous Indians. Bhagat Singh had been remade in the recent years with Ajay Devgan and Bobby Deol playing the role that Manoj Kumar had played before. He was inspired by the slogan of Lal Bahadur Shastri, that is “jai jawan jai kisan” and made a film based on that subject titled Upkaar in 1967. the film showed the life of a farmer and also brought patriotic subject related to Indian army. Mahendra Kapoors’ song “mere desh ki dharti” became superhit and people identified Manoj Kumar as Bharat Kumar. Manoj Kumar received the film fare award for best direction for the film Upkaar.

Manoj Kumar’s other films like Aadmi, opposite Dilip Kumar, Patthar ke Sanam also became successful. Rafi’s title song in Patthar ke Sanam, astonished the listeners. He also acted in the film Do Badan, where music composed by Ravi and sung by Rafi, including “bhari duniya me”, etc., appealed to the crowd. Manoj Kumar continued with his patriotic films by either directing, or acting in films like Puram aur Paschim, Beimaan, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Kranti, etc. Puram aur Paschim depicted the relationship of life of the eastern countries and western countries.He received the film fare award for the best actor in 1972 for performing in the film Beimaan.

He also acted in a number of crime thrillers like Anita and in the major number of these films he played the role of the doctor. In the 80s his film Kranti, which was based on the freedom movement of India became successful with Dilip kumar, Shatrughun Sinha also providing notable performances. His films should be restored for revisiting the freedom struggle movement of India and admiring his patriotic spirit displayed in several films.

Sanjeev Kumar - the dynamic actor bollywood

Sanjeev Kumar – the most versatile actor of bollywood.

Sanjeev Kumar can be considered as one of the most versatile actors who had glorified bollywood with his depth of understanding characters and dynamic performance in numerous films in Bollywood. Harihar Zariwala, better known as Sanjeev Kumar, was born on 9th July, 1938, and made his debut in the film Hum Hindustani in 1960, but got his role as a hero in the film Nishan in 1966.

As the directors and producers of the 60s and 70s, recognised the supreme calibre of Sanjeev Kumar in understanding the emotions of different characters from the depth of his heart, they started casting him in experimental roles. He acted in the role of an insane person in the film Khilona, 1970, opposite Mumtaz and got critics acclamation. His lips in Rafi’s song titled “khilona”, was well appreciated by music lovers. In Parichay, 1972, he acted in the role of classical singer who was rebuked by his father Pran (an industrialist) and to leave his house to create separate identity. Neither his wife was accepted his father, nor could he appreciate the musical skills of his sons, according to whom music was a substandard professions only practiced by tawaifs in kothas. Sanjeev Kumar contracted incurable disease and died leaving 5 children including Jaya Bacchan, the eldest of them and Master Raju, the youngest, who were brought back by Pran and reformed by Jeetender the compassionate teacher who felt the pains in the minds of these children who required love and not over strictness displayed by Pran. Sanjeev Kumar gave supreme lips in Bhupinder Singh’s songs “Mitwa” and “beeti na bitai raina”. The audience were in tears to see Sanjeev Kumar shedding blood while singing as he coughed out to death. Brilliant performances in each and every film of Gulzar made Sanjeev Kumar, the greatest actor of his generation.

He received the national award for the best actor in 1971, for his natural performance in the film Dastak, 1971, which was based on the pains of young couple who could not find a reasonable accommodation in the city of Mumbai, and went on searching them from one place to another which was a burning problem in those days and still remains a big concern today. He received his second national award in Gulzar’s film Koshish, in 1973, which was based on deaf and dumb subject. He himself was deaf and dumb and learnt to use sign language taught in deaf and dumb schools and taught Jaya Bacchan, who was also deaf and dumb to express herself with those signs. He did not have any dialogue in the film. There were so many soft emotions in the film, once Dina Pathak asked Sanjeev Kumar to tell his name which was haricharan, he just took a chilli and put it on her foot, as chilly is green meaning hari and feet resembles charan. At the same time he showed his sense of humour in Ramesh Sippy’s Seeta aur Geeta, 1972, opposite Hema Malini.

In 1975, Sanjeev Kumar, acted in the role of his lifetime in the film Sholay, where he played the role of a zamindar of a village in north India, who retired as a police officer and faced the challenge of dacoits in the Chambal region with a 2 man army of Amitabh Bacchan and Dharmender who were offenders themselves. The film was based on real life incidents and Ramesh Sippy’s blockbuster remains India’s most debated film of the millennium. He brought entire expression of horrified soul when Amzad Khan severed his two hands by giving a horrified look. The same expression was displayed at the end of the film when he deformed the hands of Amzad Khan, bringing all the feelings of revenge against a group of dacoits who killed everyone in his family and horrified the villagers with their tyranny. Sanjeev Kumar won the film fare award in the same year with his performance in the film Aandhi opposite Suchitra Sen. He was also nominated for the best actor award for his serene performance in the film Mausam opposite sharmila Tagore, in the same year, where his reflections in the song “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din” sung by Bhupinder Singh still haunts film lovers.

He also won best actor award for the film Arjun Pandit, in 1976, where he was the compounder of a village doctor and gave his entire savings for the education of the son of the doctor. The pains in the role of the rural character as displayed by Bengali actor Kali Banerjee in the film Arohi directed by Tapan Sinha was well matched by Sanjeev Kumar’s brilliant acting skills.

The list of outstanding performance of Sanjjev Kumar, include Shikar, 1968, Satyakam, Alaap, etc., and it can go on as he was seen in almost every alternate film made at that time. If Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah depict realistic acting after specialising in acting with experience of learning performing arts in acting schools and schools of drama, Sanjeev Kumar belong to a unique gharana where no training is given in respect of perceiving the feelings of human beings through the senses and displaying them with expressions. He films should be restored for immense filmic value.

Raj Kumar - The Stylish Actor of Bollywood

Raj Kumar – the stylish actor of Bollywood.

Raj Kumar can be considered as one of the most stylist actors of bollywood whose style of stretching the dialogues with a unique manner of expression entertained the film lovers for the last 50 years. Born on 8th October, 1926, his original name was Kulbhushan Pandit, but he gained popularity in Indian silver screen with the name of Raj Kumar. He started his career with the film Merry Women, in 1952, but got recognition after acting in an epic role opposite Nargis in Mehboob Khan’s cine-classic Mother India in 1957. Although it was a female oriented movie with Nargis showing the struggle of a widow in a peasant family in rural India who had faced the crude realities of life after Raj Kumar died in bringing up her two sons Sunil Dutt and Rajender Kumar, Raj Kumar kept his mark in the initial part of the film.

Raj Kumar started getting prominent roles in the 60s with the success of the film Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi in 1960 opposite Meena Kumari and Nadira. He was sublime in the performance relating to complexity of emotions in the films as he had to balance the duties towards his wife Nadira in spite of having weakness towards the nurse played by Meena Kumari. Raj Kumar also acted with his personality in the film Dil Ek Mandir, 1963, where he played the role of the sick husband of Meena Kumari and was treated successfully by the doctor played by Rajender Kumar who died at the end of the film. The songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan in both these films became evergreen hits.



In mid-60s Raj Kumar displayed a new style of performance in the film Kajal, 1965, where the song sequences with his role of a drunkard appealed to the masses. The songs “chulene do nazuk hoton ko”, “yeh zulf agar khulke bikhar jaye to accha ho”, composed by Ravi and sung with a sombre expression of Mohammad Rafi had astonished the viewers. At that time Raj Kumar appeared in multi-starrer films of BR Chopra including Waqt, 1965, along with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Humraaz, 1967, along with Sunil Dutt. He acted in a unique role in Neel Kamal opposite Wahida Rehman and Manoj Kumar, where he used to appear in the dreams of Wahida Rehman and reflected a past relationship. Ravi’s composition and Rafi’s song “tujhko pukare tera pyar” became super duper hit at that period. He was well appreciated in the film Heer Ranjha, opposite Priya Rajwangsh and the songs of Rafi and Lata including “yeh duniya yeh mehfil” composed by Madan Mohan became everlasting hit.

Raj Kumar also performed well in historical roles like Lal Patthar in 1971 which was the hindi adaptation of Bengali Superstar Uttam Kumar’s film Lal Pathor made in 1964. the royal nature of lifestyle of the badshahs residing near Agra was displayed with style by Raj Kumar. He also complimented Meena Kumari in Kamal Humrohi’s musical blockbuster Pakiza, 1971. His dialogue “yeh paer bari haseen hai, ise zameen par mat phekna, maile ho jaenge” was memorised by numerous film lovers in India and abroad. Ghulam Mohammad was excellent with his use of the dholak and the duet song Rafi and Lata titled “chalo dildar chalo” picturised on Raj Kumar and Meena Kumari symbolised majestic romance.

After performing in other significant roles in films like Maryada, 1971, Raj Kumar shifted to action films in the 80s and 90s. In the 80s his film Bulandi stormed the silver screen, where he played the role of a Professor and used the students of his institutions to raise their voice against corrupt businessmen operating in the society. The dialogues in the film including “humko mita sake zamane me dum nahi, humse khud hai zamana, zamane se hum nahi” almost reciprocated his personality.

He continued to perform in big productions including Subhas Ghai’s Saudagar, in early 90s opposite Dilip Kumar and Tiranga opposite Nana Patekar. In Saudagar, he did maintain his family heritage which confronted with Dilip Kumar’s set of values and the audience enjoyed their clash of personality and witty postures. With his death in the mid-90s, the generation of stylist actors faded away.

His son Puru Raj Kumar, is sometimes seen performing with stylish endeavour in films like Mission Kashmir, opposite Sanjay Dutt, but he gets mainly characters resembling anti-heroes. Raj kumar’s films should be restored to update the present generation with the blend of personality with style and depth of performance which Raj Kumar had displayed for the last 50 years.

Rebel Star - Shammi Kapoor

Shammi Kapoor – The rebel star of Bollywood

Shammi Kapoor can be considered as the rebel hero of the 60s who broke the convention of other actors dominating the film arena. Shammi Kapoor, born on 21st October, 1931, better known as Shamsher Raj, was the second brother of Raj Kapoor and had a unconventional career graph if compared with other heroes of that age. In the early 50s his films like Rail Ka Dibba, 1953, Laila Majnu, Sipah Salar, did not make any significant impact on the film lovers, because his brother Raj Kapoor, was dominating the film arena with his realistic films. He transformed himself and followed the rock and roll dance postures of Elvis Priestley and started a new innings with film Tumsa Nahi Dekha, 1957.

The Indian audience was not habituated to seeing male dancers at that point of time except classical performances of Gopi Krishan. His dancing capabilities with rock and roll music composed by different composers and epic combination with Mohammad Rafi gave a different dimension to his career. The songs in Tumsa Nahi Dekha, including “yu to humne lakh hasin dekhe hai” sung by Rafi and composed by OP Nayyar became a super duper hit and the combination stormed the film world with the next film Dil Deke Dekho where music was composed by Usha Khanna with songs like “dil deke dekho del deke dekho” etc.

Black and white classics were transformed into coloured films and Shammi Kapoor was benefited the most with films like Junglee opposite Saira Banu, Janwar opposite Rajashri, Kashmir Ki Kali opposite Sharmila Tagore, etc., which were shot at picturesque locations in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and had melodious music. Shankar Jaikishan composed the maximum number of songs for Shammi Kapoor and nearly all of them were super hits. Prominent among them include “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “ meri yaar shabba khair”, “tumne pukara aur hum chale aye”, etc.

In the mid-60s Shammi Kapoor created a dance-based trend of films which were followed by other actors of that age including Joy Mukherjee and Biswajeet who had similar story lines as that of Shammi Kapoor. Films like Rajkumar opposite Sadhna, Teesri Manzil opposite Asha Parekh, Latt Saheb opposite Nutan, An Evening In Paris, Prince opposite Vaijayantimala, were very successful. The subject matter in those films involved soft romantic stories with element of comedy embedded in them. Rajender Nath as comedian accompanied Shammi Kapoor in a number of films. Some of the songs in Rock and Roll andaz include “aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche”, “aja aja”, “tumse accha kaun hai”, etc.

Teesri Manzil included a suspense thriller where Prem Nath acted as a villain for the first time. Shammi Kapoor received the best actor award for performing in the film Brahmachari, 1968, where he run an orphanage and looked after small children who were left there by their parents who never wanted to bear the liability of maintaining their children. The songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film like “mai gayun tum so jayo”, “dil ke jharoke me”, “chakke pe chakka” were very big hits with Rafi excelling in one song or the other.

In the early 70s, after acting in Andaz, opposite Hema Malini in 1971, Shammi Kapoor, put on weight, started keeping beard and switched of to character acting in films like Zameer, Parvarish, etc., where he acted as the father of Amitabh Bacchan or Vinod Khanna, etc. Notable films include Betaab in 1983. He received the best supporting actor award for performing in Vidhata, 1982, along with Dilip Kumar. As acting talents were inherent in the Kapoors, Shammi Kapoor did not find it difficult to perform in character roles and he is still acting in these types of roles these days.

Even then Shammi Kapoor is remembered for introducing the trend of dancing in Indian films with westernised mannerisms in the 60s which were carried forward by heroes of the later age. Rafi’s songs picturised on him including “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “raat ke humsafar”, “ai chand zara ruk ja”, “dil use do jo jaan dede”, etc., have an everlasting effect even today. His films should be restored to honour the exotic locations, brilliant music and overall entertainment in the 60s.

The megastar of the Millenium - Amitabh Bacchan

Amitabh Bacchan – The megastar of the millennium

If any personality in Indian silver screen had single-handedly determined the fate of the big productions in the 70s and 80s it is Amitabh Bacchan. He created a larger than man image in the 70s which addressed the grievances of numerous Indians against the corruption existing in the Indian society. He gave a new meaning to action films where the message against the evils existing in the society reached each and every film lover in India and abroad.

Born in 1942, he made his debue in the film Satwa Hindustani in 1969. His initial films included Anand and Namak Haram directed by Rishikesh Mukherjee, and small roles in films like Reshma Aur Shera. But he showed his angry young man image in the film Zanjeer, 1973, where acting as a police officer he addressed the corruption existing at that time.

From Deewar, 1975, Amitabh Bacchan became the uncrowned monarch of Indian silver screen. He portrayed the character of Haji Mastan and showed the country that evils of the underworld can be prevented only by taking revenge by another person who comes from a respectable family and becomes a victim of oppression of the members of the underworld. The film directed by Yash Chopra also exploited very catchy script written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. Big B died at the end of the film after Shashi Kapoor, the police officer (his brother) had shot him when he refused to surrender. The action scene in the godown in the film had been watched by film lovers numerous times and even respectable people started admiring action films.

In Sholay, 1975, the greatest hit of the last millennium, Big B along with Dharmender helped the Thakur of the village played by Sanjeev Kumar to face the dacoit operating with the Chambal region. Although it was based in real life incidents taking place at that time when the dacoits grew in strength and the police and administration failed to arrest them in the mid-70s. not only had Big B showed his action skills, but his baritone voice was exploited for serio-comic performance in the film as well. He balanced the villainous performance of Amzad Khan and strong performance of Sanjeev Kumar with his personality. During that age he also acted in the role of poet in the film Kabhi Kabhi, 1975 and comic role in Chupke Chupke, 1975 along with Dharmender.

His acting capabilities encouraged producers and directors in the late 70s to make films based on all the elements of entertainment that can be expected by film lovers including dance sequences, comedy, action, etc. On one side he acted in realistic films like Abhimaan, Milli, Alaap, etc. opposite Jaya Bacchan, Rekha and other actresses. In the action films Parveen Bhabhi accompanied him the most. In Amar Akbar Anthony, 1977, he showed his impulse on comedy roles alongside the serious performance of Vinod Khanna and musical performance of Rishi Kapoor. Producers and directors were encouraged to make multi-starrer films where Big B was accompanied by Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, etc.

Shaan, released in 1980, is a an example of multi-starrer film, where Ramesh Sippy had showed exotic locations, good action sequences and provided entertainment to the film lovers. Big B was well supported by fine acting of Shatrughun Sinha. Besides there are films which were dependant on Big B along and became super hits by his own calibre like Don, 1978, Kalia, etc. In the early 80s, he faced the strong personality of Dilip Kumar in the film Shakti, 1982, his father who was a committed police officer and he acted in the role of a smuggler and confronted at every part of the film with this father’s notion of law-bearer. People enjoyed his loud style of dialogue delivery with Dilip Kumar’s soft style of dialogue delivery. Rakhee’s performance in the role of his mother was well appreciated by film lovers across the world.

In the mid-80s, Big B became an institution of acting by himself and films where he played double roles were admired by the viewers as well. In Akhree Rasta, 1986, his performance in the role of father who got out of prison and took revenge against the perpetrators of crime who wrongly convicted him for a crime which he did not commit had shown the audience that he had matured to act in character roles as well. No actor in Indian celluloid could show anger for the rightful cause with the sharpness that Big B had shown. He had also sung with his own voice in few films including Silsila, 1983.

These days with his son acting in numerous films, and he is seen in many character roles the new generation looks at Big B with the impression of a character artist. But the new generation should watch his films of 70s, 80s to understand the growth of action films and departure of the film making from the way it was done at that time. For reference Big B had lend his beautiful voice in Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ki Khiladi, 1977. It is difficult to highlight his performance in more than 150 films in a career spreading over 35 years, but his films should be restored to show the beginning of transformation of Indian cinema with the advent of modern techniques and birth of action films.