Deepti Navalji and Farooq Sheikhji were outstanding in the film Kisi Se Na Kehna

Actors Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval were a brilliant intellectual pair who stormed Bollywood films in the 1980s. They were cast in different experimental characters after the pair of Naseeruddin Smita Patil and Om Puri Shabana Azmi. Kisi Se Na Kehna was a light-hearted comedy film made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1983. The film was produced by Ashok Raut or Jayant Pathare. The music was composed by Bappi Lahiri. In the film Farooq Sheikh became the general manager of the firm run by SN Banerjee. He fell in love with Deepti Naval who was the niece of SN Banerjee. Utpal Dutta, the father of Farooq Sheikh wanted to get him married to girl who knew Indian traditions and did not know the language. Utpal Dutta himself went to see a number of girls and found that the ones who were modern learned poor culture and were disrespectful towards elders. He asked Farooq Sheikh to marry only that girl who knew not a single letter of English. Sayeed Jaffery helped Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval to get married. He asked Deepti Naval and SN Banerjee to pretend that they were from the village and never heard any English word in life. Deepti Naval faced huge trouble as she was a learned doctor, but she managed the false relationship. Deven Verma, her cousin brother was the relief character in the film who was seen with different girlfriends at different times. At the end of the film when Utpal Dutta faced a heart attack, Deepti Naval had to give an injection to save him and told the truth. At the beginning Utpal Dutta told her to leave his house but after hearing the version from Sayeed Jaffery reconciled the situation. Hrishikesh Mukherjee gave a great message in the film. He showed the world that development is not based on roughness created by advanced education but the humbleness earned by traditional knowledge. Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval after creating havoc with brilliant performances in the films Saath Saath, Katha, Chasme Badoor, continued the dream run in the film Kisi Se Na Kehna. Utpal Dutta had a class of his own when it came to acting. Right from negative roles in the films Barsaat Ki Ek Raat to comedy roles in Golmaal and social roles in Kisi Se Na Kehna, he became the pride of the industry in character roles. Sayeed Jaffery was a great actor and showed his class in films like Shatranj Ki Khiladi, Masoom and many other films. The music of Bappi Lahiri was impressive with Asha Bhosle’s song “kisi se na kehna” which was very soft and melodious. The film should be restored and preserved.

Happy birthday to intellectual actress Shabana Azmiji

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi. Versatile actress Shabana Azmi was remembered on her birthday on 18th September, 2024. Many actresses spoke about her. Nandita Das had said that she had started her career with Fire opposite Shabana Azmi. She had great experience of working with the great actress. She acted with Shabana Azmi in a play named Diary of Anne Frank which was hosted in Kolkata, Bangalore and New Delhi. Director Mahesh Bhatt also said that his career also took a turn after Shabana Azmi acted in his film Arth. Shabana Azmi gave an interview in Times of India on her birthday in 18th September, 2010, four years back. She commented on many things. She said that in theatre acting there is scope of underacting, as the viewers at the backseat may not recognize lack of expression, but in films that is not possible. For her film acting was a greater challenge. She also said that acted in both commercial and parallel films. She acted during the transition of the 70s, when the actresses got roles opposite the angry young man played by Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha and others. Female actresses started getting roles which were transformations from the ones of the 60s in films like Mai Choop Rahungi to films in the 80s like Khoon Bhari Maang. But her range was exposed in parallel cinema. She could express the complexity of female mind successfully in the art films directed by Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray and others. When asked about her choice, she said that she would have accepted the role of a sweeper if director Bergman had offered her a role. He was her favourite director. In respect of actors, she commented that Tragedy King Dilip Kumar was her favourite actor. She grew up seeing his acting. It is very significant that the actress of the callibre of Shabana Azmi who had won 5 national awards also used the name of Tragedy King, who had not learned acting from acting school, but the characters immortal with his sensitive performances over 70 years. The interview was very knowledgeable. Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil were the two leading actresses with whom the renowned directors of India including Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini, and others experimented the most in the late 70s and early 80s. Some of the best films of Shabana Azmi include Khandahar, Paar, Masoom, Sati, Aarth, Mandi, etc. In Shyam Benegal’s Ankur she played the role of the wife of Sadhu Meher, a rural villager. The film showed oppression of the feudal lords in Indian villages. In Shekhar Kapoor’s Masoom she played the role of the husband of Naseeruddin Shah. She had her two daughters and had to reconcile the son of Naseeruddin Shah who was born out of the first wedlock in the film. In Mahesh Bhatt’s film Arth she played the role of the wife of Kulbhushan Kharwanda who was having extra-marital affair with another woman played by Smita Patil. She had played very diverse roles and did justice to the complicated characters of women over the last 35 years. Shabana Azmi should continue her great work in bollywood films in future.

Basu Chatterjee films like Chitchor Rajnigandha are still relevant in India

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