On death anniversary of Showman Raj Kapoorsahab it can be said that his jubilee films are uncomparable

The box-office success of Raj Kapoor films were amazing. Showman Raj Kapoor is considered to be the biggest superstar of Indian films for the last 100 years. Other than Dilip Kumar no other actor has box office success anywhere near Raj Kapoor. Credit goes to his own production, direction, music of Shankar Jaikishan, lyrics of Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, camera work of Radhu Karmakar and brilliant singing by Mukeshji, Manna Dey Sahab, Lataji, Rafisahab and others and the entire team of Raj Kapoor. In 1948 Raj Kapoor directed his film Aag where he was the lead actor. But in 1949, Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat became the greatest blockbuster which was a golden jubilee hit running for more than 50 weeks. Raj Kapoor produced and directed the film with Nargis, Premnath, KN Singh, Nimmi playing important characters. It was the first time Shankar Jaikishan composed music for the film. Mukeshji’s song “chor gaye balam”, Lataji’s “hawa me udta jaye”, “jiya beqarar hai” became super hit. In the same year, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar starrer Andaz was the 2nd biggest blockbuster. Nargis acted opposite the two titans Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. Mehboob Khan directed the film and music was composed by Naushad Ali. In 1950, Raj Kapoor’s film Dastan was the 4th biggest hit of the year after Ashok Kumar’s Samadhi, Dilip Kumar’s Babul, and Ashok Kumar’s Sangram. Dastan was a silver jubilee hit running for more than 25 weeks. AR Kardar directed the film. Naushad Ali composed the music. Raj Kapoor, Suraiya, Veena played the lead roles. In 1951, Raj Kapoor’s Awaara became the biggest blockbuster. It was a golden jubilee hit and ran for more than 50 weeks. It became popular in Russia and Europe as well. Raj Kapoor produced and directed the film. The music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor, Leela Chitnis, KN Singh played the lead roles. Mukeshji’s song “awara hoon, yah gardish me hoon aasman ka tara hun”, Lataji’s “jab se balam ghar aye”, “ghar aya mere pardesi” became super hit. In 1952, Raj Kapoor’s Anhonee became the 5th biggest hit film. KA Abbas directed the film. Roshanlal Nagrath composed the music. Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Om Prakash played the lead roles. In the same year, Raj Kapoor’s Bewafa became the 8th biggest hit. Nargis, Raj Kapoor and Ashok Kumar played the lead roles. The film was directed by ML Anand. AR Qureshi composed the music. Talatji’s song “dil matwala lakh samhala”, “tumko phursat ho” became big hit. In that year Dilip Kumar Aan was the biggest blockbuster. In 1953, Raj Kapoor’s Aah became 9th biggest hit film. It was directed by Raja Nawathe and produced by Raj Kapoor. Music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Nargis, Raj Kapoor and Pran played the lead roles. Mukeshji’s song “aaja re”, “jane nan azar” and Lataji’s song “rajaki ayegi baraat” became superhit. In that year Pradeep Kumar’s Anarkali was the biggest blockbuster. In 1955, Raj Kapoor’s Shree 420 became the biggest blockbuster. It was a golden jubilee hit and ran for more than 50 weeks. Raj Kapoor produced and directed the film. The music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Rafisahab’s song “ramaiya vasta maiya”, Manna Deysahab’s song “dil ka haal sune dilwala”, “mur murke na dekh”, Lataji’s song “ichakdana” became super hit. In that year Dilip Kumar’s Azaad was the 2nd biggest hit. In 1956 Raj Kapoor’s Chori Chori was a silver jubilee hit running for more than 25 weeks. Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Pran played the lead role. The music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Manna Dey’s song “aaja sanam madhu chandni me hum”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, Lataji’s “rasik balma” became super hit. In 1957 Raj Kapoor’s Sharda was a silver jubilee hit running for more than 25 weeks. Meena Kumari, Shyama acted opposite him. The music was composed by C Ramchandra. Mukeshji’s song “jap jap jap re”, Lataji’s song became super hit. In 1958, Raj Kapoor’s Phir Subah Hogi was a silver jubilee hit running for more than 25 weeks. Ramesh Saigal directed the film. The music was composed by Khayyam. Mala Sinha, Rehman acted opposite Raj Kapoor. Mukeshji’s songs “wo subah kabhi to ayegi”, “phir na kije meri gustakh nigahon ka gila” became super hit. In 1959, Raj Kapoor’s Anari was the biggest blockbuster and a golden jubilee hit. It ran for more than 50 weeks. Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed music for the film. Nutan, Raj Kapoor, Lalita Power played the lead roles. Mukeshji’s song “sab kuch seekha humne”, “kisiki muskurahaton pe ho nisar”, Lataji’s song “yeh chand khilan”, became super hit. Raj Kapoor received the filmfare award for best actor for Anari in that year. In 1960, Raj Kapoor’s Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai became the 4th biggest blockbuster and a golden jubilee hit running for more than 50 weeks. It was produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Radhu Karmakar. Shankar Jaikishan composed the music of the film. Padmini, Pran acted opposite Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor again received filmfare award for best actor for the film. Lataji’s song “o maine pya kiya”, “o basanti pawanapawan”, Mukeshji’s song “aa ab laut chale”, “mera naam raju”, “hoton pe sacchai rehte hai” became super hit. In that year Dilip Kumar’s Mughal I Azam was the biggest blockbuster. In 1964, Raj Kapoor’s Sangam became the biggest blockbuster and a platinum jubilee hit. It ran for more than 75 weeks. Raj Kapoor produced and directed the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed the music of the film. Rajender Kumar, Vaijayantimala, Raj Kapoor played the lead roles. All the songs became super hit including Rafisahab’s “ki tum naaraaz na hona”, Mukeshji’s “bol radha bol”, “o mehbooba”, to name a few. Raj Kapoor’s other silver juvilee hits included Parvarish in 1958 opposite Mala Sinha, Mai Nashe Me Hoon opposite Mala Sinha in 1959, Chalia opposite Nutan in 1960, Shrimaan Satywadi opposite Shakila in 1960, Nazrana opposite Vaijayantimala, Usha Kiran in 1961, to name a few. The other films of Raj Kapoor which did better than average business included Bawre Nain opposite Geeta Bali in 1950, Do Ustad opposite Madhubala in 1959, Aashiq opposite Padmini in 1962, Dil Hi To Hai opposite Nutan in 1963, Diwana opposite Saira Banu and Around the World opposite Rajashree in 1967. After Mera Naam Joker’s failure in box office in 1970, Raj Kapoor did cast his son Rishi Kapoor from Bobby in his own films. So viewers saw actor Raj Kapoor in few films in the 1970s and 1980s. In a career of 67 films as actor, more than 25 films of Raj Kapoor ended up as golden jubilee, silver jubilee and platinum jubilee. It is an amazing record. Other than Tragedy King Dilip Kumar and Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar, no actor comes any close to the huge box office success of Showman Raj Kapoor.

Hemant Kumar the man with the golden voice is remembered on birth anniversary

Remembering Hemant Kumar on his birth anniversary. The viewers of bollywood and Bengali films pay their homage to evergreen singer Hemant Kumar on his birth anniversary on 16th June, 2026

. He had died more than 16 years back, but had left lot of memories which are cherished by the following generations. He composed music in many bollywood films in the 50s and 60s and carried forward the legacy of Rabindra Sangeet beyond the Bengal border and made it popular all across India. He composed music in the film Nagin and got the filmfare award for the best composer in 1955. His tune “man dole” sung by Lata for Vaijayantimala became extremely popular in the mid -50s. He sang a number of songs for Dev Anand including “yeh raat yeh chandni” in the film Jaal, “yeh apna dil” in Solwa Saal composed by SD Burman, songs in Patita composed by Shankar Jaikishan, etc. He also sang the legendary song “jane yeh kaise” for Guru Dutt in the film Pyaasa. His composition in Biswajeet’s films Bees Saal Baad and Kohra, became super hit. Successful songs included “yeh nayan dhali dhali”, “zara nazron se kahdo ji”, etc. In fact Hemant Kumar produced the film Bees Saal Baad, which was the sequel of Bengali crime thriller Jighansha, directed by Ajoy Kar. Hemant Kumar’s composition in the other films included Biswajeet’s Do Dil, Dilip Kumar’s Paigam, Dharmender’s Khamoshi, Guru Dutt’s Sahe Bibi Aur Ghulam, to name a few. Some of the hit songs sung by Hemant Kumar in those films included “tum pukarke”, and others. Besides he had given many hit songs to Lata, Asha and Geeta Dutt in those films. Hemant Kumar had sung majority of playback songs for Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar in the 50s. His songs included “surer akashe tumi je go shuktara” from the film Shapmochon in 1955, “tare bole diyo” from the film Dui Bhai in 1961, “nir choto khoti nei” from the film Indrani in 1958, “ei poth Jodi na shesh hoi” from the film Saptapadi in 1961, “jai chole jai” from the film Kal Tumi Aleya in 1965, “sapno jagano raat” from the film Shudhu Ekti Bachar in 1966, “mou bane aaj” from the film Bondhu in 1958, to name a few. Besides most of the Rabindra Sangeet sung by Hemant Kumar in Bengali films became hits, including “tumi robe nirobe” in Biswajeet’s Kuheli, “ami pothbhola ek pathik” in Uttam Kumar’s Mon Niye, “jokhon porbe na mor” in Uttam Kumar’s film Bibhas, “purano shei diner kotha” in Uttam Kumar’s Agnisshar, etc. Hemant Kumar had composed songs in more than 50 bengali films like Shap Mochon, Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Deep Jele Jai, Sathihara, Palatak, Phuleshwari, Dadar Kirti, Dui Bhai, Surjotoron, etc., most of which became dashing hits. Hemant Kumar had sung more than 1000 bengali modern songs under different composers. He had sung trend-setting songs composed by Salil Choudhury like “runner”, “kono ek gayer bodhu”, “patha harabo bole ebar”, “palki chole”. Nochiketa Ghosh composed landmark song for Hemant Kumar titled “amar ganer shorolipi lekha robe”. He had sung many ranbindra sangeet and showed his own skill aside other giants like Pankaj Mallick, Subinoy Ray, Dijen Mukherjee, Debrata Biswas and others. Hemant Kumar’s contribution in Bengali modern songs and film songs is so huge that articles after articles can be devoted for the melody king of Bengal. The viewers pay their respect for the departed soul of legendary singer Hemant Kumar on his birthday.

Manoj Kumarsahab Upkar and Dilip Kumar sahab Ram Aur Shyam were major blockbusters of 1967

The biggest blockbusters of 1967. In 1967, different types of films were released in India with different storylines. While there were social films like Milan, but also there were other films like An Evening in Paris, where the entire film was shot in foreign location. The biggest blockbuster of the year was Upkar. Manoj Kumar played a village man 'Bharat', who sacrificesd everything to get his brother educated. His brother Puran (Prem Chopra) went abroad and came back a selfish man wanting his share of the property. But when India started a war with Pakistan, Bharat decided to enlist and head to the border; while his selfish brother, with the help of his greedy uncle, Charandas(Madan Puri) and some partners, tried to gain profit by selling drugs and black marketing in the market. In the end, Bharat returned as a demoralized soldier having lost the war and his brother repented as he was caught by the police (by the brother-in-law of Bharat). Hence, he vowed to be a good & hardworking brother just like his Indo-Pak war veteran brother Bharat. The movie also starred Asha Parekh as a doctor promoting family planning, Kamini Kaushal and Pran in his first positive character role. Madan Puri played the main villain with ease, full ability, and command. The film won several major awards. Manoj Kumar won the film award for the best director of the film. Mahendra Kapoor won the national award for best singer for the song “mere desh ki dharti”. The 2nd biggest blockbuster of the year was Ram Aur Shyam. This was the first double role of tragedy king Dilip Kumar. Ram (Dilip Kumar) lived with his sister Sulakshna (Nirupa Roy) and niece Kuku in his family estate. His brother-in-law Gajendra (Pran) looked after his factories and controlled his property with an iron hand. Ram was shy and coward in nature. He was always abused and brutally beaten by Gajendra. Sulakshna and Kuku tried to protect Ram from Gajendra whenever he whipped Ram. Everybody decided to get Ram married for his well being. Gajendra found a rich girl Anjana (Waheeda Rehman) with the aim of getting a huge dowry. Anjana disliked Ram after he spilled tea over her due to nervousness. Gajendra angry at Ram's behaviour, conspired with the support of his mother and cunning Munimji to kill Ram and take over his property. Ram overheard this and escapes to the city to save his life. Meanwhile, Ram's long lost twin brother Shyam (Dilip Kumar) lived in a village with his adopted mother Ganga whom he believed to be his birth mother. No one other than Ganga knew the truth about the twin brothers. Shyam was strong, brave and mischievous, unlike his brother. He had a love hate relationship with Shanta (Mumtaz). Shyam escaped to the city, after a mischievous conflict with Ganga, and met Anjana, who was impressed by his personality. Anjana and her father confused Shyam with Ram. Ram met Shanta who thought he was Shyam and took him forcefully to his mother. Ram and Shanta developed feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Shyam decided to take the place of Ram to face Gajendra. Shyam refused to sign his property after which angry Gajendra attacked him. Shyam retaliated and whipped Gajendra hard, shocking everybody. Sulakshna stopped her brother to protect her husband. Gajendra was startled after being beaten up by Shyam, whom everybody believed as Ram. Shanta and Anjana met and both claimed the picture of Ram as their fiancé. Gajendra learned that Shyam has taken the place of Ram. He abducted Ram and Shanta, and planned to kill Ram. He framed Shyam for the murder of Ram though Ram was alive. Shyam was arrested by police. Anjana and her father learned from Ganga that Ram and Shyam were twin brothers lost in a village fair. Shyam escaped from police custody and battled Gajendra and his henchmen. Gajendra tried to shoot them but both the brothers and Shanta manage to defeat him. At the end twin brothers were happily married and the family reunited. As usual the Naushad Ali, Rafisahab, Shakeel Badayani magic worked for Dilip Kumar and all the songs like “aaj ki raat mere”, “ayi hai bahar mite zulmo sitam”, “mai hoon saqi tu hai sharabi sharabi”, became super hit. Many films were later made with same storyline like Sita Aur Geeta, Chaalbaaz, etc. The 3rd biggest hit film was Farz. It was 1967 Hindi spy thriller film produced by Sunderlal Nahata Dundi on Vijaya Lakhshmi Pictures banner and directed by Ravikant Nagaich. The film starred Jeetendra and Babita in lead roles and music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Jeetender’s career took a big turn with the success of the film. LP’s music for Rafisahab became bumper hit like “tujhse o haseena”, “baar baar din yeh aye”, “mast bahaaro ka mai aashiq” to name a few. The 4th biggest hit film was Humraaz. It was a 1967 Hindi film of the suspense thriller genre, produced and directed by B. R. Chopra, and written by Akhtar ul Iman. The film starred Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Mumtaz, Vimi, Sarika, Madan Puri, Iftekhar, Balraj Sahni, Jeevan and Helen. The film's music was composed by Ravi, while the lyrics were penned by Sahir Ludhianvi. Mahendra Kapoor received filmfare award for best singer for his song “neele gagan ke tale”. The 5th biggest hit film was Shagird. is a 1967 Indian Bollywood comedy film directed by Samir Gunguly. The film starred Joy Mukherjee and Saira Banu in lead roles. The LP Rafisahab magic worked in this film also with the songs “duniya pagal hai”, “bare miya deewane”, “wo hai zara khafa khafa” becoming big hits.