Uttam Kumar Vaijayantimalaji film Choti Si Mulakat had super hit songs of Shankar Jaikishan yet the film did not get adequate box office.

In 1967, bengali Superstar Uttam Kumar ventured into bollywood opposite superstar Vaijayantimalaji in the film Choti Si Mulakat. Before Vaijayantimalaji was uncrowned queen of bollywood. All her films from Nagin to Naya Daur, Devdas to Zindagi, Sangam to Suraj became super hits blockbusters. This film was based on the story of Agni Parikkha which was super hit film of Uttam Kumar Suchitra Sen in bengali. But the hindi version did not get box office. All the songs of Rafisahab "tujhe dekha tujhe chaha", "choti si mulakat me pyar ban gayi", Ashaji's "mat ja mat ja" composed by Shankar Jaikishan were bumper hits. Tujhe dekha tujhe chaha still remains one of the best super hit duets of Suman Kalyanpur and Rafisahab over the decade. Vaijayantimalaji was at the peak of her career at that time commanding highest fees. Uttam Kumar was the bengali superstar who was known for brilliant looks and lovely voice. There was exotic locations of Jammu and Kashmir, Shimla and everything was in colour. There was powerful performances of character artists like Pratibha Debi, Tarun Bose, Shashikala, Rajender Nath and others. The film was directed by Alo Sarkar. It was amazing that in bollywood films with weak storyline and poor acting also became hits in the past, while Choti Si Mulakat with two superstars Vaijayantimalaji and Uttam Kumarji ended up without success.

Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray said the greatest actor in Indian celluloid was Chabi Biswas.

After working with many actors Chabi Biswas was considered the greatest actor by Satyajit Ray. Satyajit Ray, the Oscar winning director of Indian films considered Chabi Biswas as the greatest actor ever to have been born in Asian soil. Ray brought the neo-realistic movement in Indian films and when he made a statement about an actor that statement the verdict of Supreme Court judge. In that perspective Ray’s comments about Chabi Biswas in Shamik Banerjee’s interview had justified the fact that Chabi Biswas was the only actor in Indian cinema whose improvisation in a Satyajit Ray film had flabbergasted international audience of US, Canada, France, Germany, etc. Satyajit Ray was known as the greatest perfectionist of his age. His script had each and every dimension relating to the work of the actors and actresses and there was hardly any scope of improvisation. But Chabi Biswas was such a great actor who could hardly be directed, nor guided, as his own innovation relating to the respective role that he played was brilliant by every acting standard. Ray had cast Chabi Biswas in three films Jalsaghar, Debi and Kanchenjungha, and due to his tragic death in 1962, Ray never got the scope of experimenting with the legendary actor in his following films. In Jalsaghar, the character Biswambhar Roy could not have been portrayed by any actor better than Chabi Biswas. It was based on the epic literature of Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, where Ray showed his brilliance in the depiction of Feudal System during Colonial period in Bengal. For Chabi Biswas, aristocracy got predominance in his life as a zamindar, and that dignity, personality, honour could not be sacrificed during his lifetime. As long as Chabi Biswas’s wealth matched with his aristocracy, the zamindar compromised with other aspects of life, but when the upcoming wealthy people in the village like Gangapodo Basu, by becoming rich through business, tried to equate themselves with the dignified landlord, they faced the tassled. Ray admitted, the scene where Chabi Biswas brought baijee (classical singer) from Benaras to perform in his house and Gangapodo Basu tried to give her reward and Chabi Biswas prevented him, the diction, the aristocracy and dignity could only be portrayed by Chabi Biswas. He said a performer can be first rewarded by the host who called her, not the invitee. The scene where Chabi Biswas was told that due to lack of duty paid by the farmers, there was no money to light the jharlonthon, Chabi Biswas went upstairs and showed the photographs of his ancestors whose sacred legacy he carried forward, and that was the scene which shook international audience. Ray once said, had Chabi Biswas been born in US, he would have received Oscar award for his performance in Jalsaghar. Chabi Biswas’s performance in the film Debi, based on the epic literature of Prabhat Mukhpadhay, was unparallel. He almost got the illusion of seeing Goddess Kali in Sharmila Tagore, who was his daughter -in-law. The expression for the belief which was based on devotion to God, was very complex, which could be only played by Chabi Biswas. Ray admitted, that had Chabi Biswas not been there, he would not have made the film at all. In respect of roles having dignified presence, Chabi Biswas could not be replaced. The best example was Kanchenjungha. There Chabi Biswas a rich industrialist. He could not equate others with himself as he had money, power, recognition in society. But Ray experimented with the abstract subject of the greatness of Kanchenjungha creating an impact in the minds of all the passersby including an egoist of the stature of Chabi Biswas. That was the reason when Chabi Biswas called the name of his friend Banerjee, the film ended with the realization. All the films of Satyajit Ray where he exploited the majestic performance of all time great actor Chabi Biswas should be restored and preserved. Lessons of acting and film making cannot be learned in a better than observing the great works of the two giants together.

The passing away of Dilip Kumar sahab ended the era of orthodox method acting in India.

The expiry of Dilip Kumar sahab at the age of 99 years on 7th July 2021 has ended a grand era of orthodox method acting. The country is shocked and dumb founded. For generations he came saw and conquered. The viewers of bollywood films wished happy birthday to Dilip Kumar, better known as Tragedy King on 11th December, 2020. After the death of evergreen star Dev Anand, few days back at the age of 88 years, Dilip Kumar is the only living legend still in right humour who had adorned the golden age of Indian cinema. An institution by himself, Dilip Kumar had been a torch bearer in the world of romantic acting for the last 72 years. Born in 1922, Yusuf Khan, one of the greatest actors of bollywood films of all times had created new dimensions at every decade with his unique style of acting. In 2013, he fell ill and was hospitalized for a short time. Entire Bollywood became concerned. He recovered and came home. On his birthday many guests came including Asha Parekh, Salim Khan, Rani Mukherjee and others. Although his performance in tragic roles like Bimal Roy’s Devdas and Madhumati, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Musafir, and other landmark films had made him an icon of tragedy, he had proved his variation in comedy films, social films, action-oriented blockbusters. Directors like Bimal Roy, K. Asif, Tapan Sinha, Subhash Ghai, consider Dilip Kumar as the greatest actor of all times. He had made the characters immortal which he had played in his illustrious career. He had given extraordinary lips in landmark songs of the 50s and 60s sung by Mohammad Rafi like “madhuban me radhika nachere” and “do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan aaj ki raat” in the film Kohinoor, “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “tere husn ka kya tareef karun”, “apni azadi ko hum hargese mita sakte nahi”, in the film Leader, “dilruba maine tere pyar me kya kya na kiya”, “koi sagar dilko behlata nahi” in the film Dil Diya Dard Liya, “aaj ki raat mere”, “aye hai bahare dekho” in the film Ram Aur Shyam, to name a few. Giant composer Naushad made the greatest contribution in the films of Dilip Kumar, although Shankar Jaikishan gave quality music in the films Yahudi and Daag, Salil Choudhury contributed in the film Madhumati and Musafir. Dilip Kumar had acted opposite all the leading actresses of 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, including Madhubala in Tarana, Mughal-i-Azam, Nargis in Babul, Andaz, Meena Kumari in Kohinoor, Azad, Footpath, Vaijayantimala in Madhumati, Ganga Jumna, Leader, Wahida Rehman in Dil Diya Dard Liya, Aadmi, Ram Aur Shyam, Saira Banu in Sagina, Gopi, to name a few. Even during the 80s, his character roles created new dimension in bollywood films. His performance in the film Mashal, Masdoor, Shakti, Karma, Vidhata had inspired the new generation of actors like Anil Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and others. He has the record of getting the filmfare award for the best actor for the maximum number of times ( 8 times ) which had not been broken by even Shahrukh Khan till now. Dilip Kumar had not learned acting from any acting school yet the way he had made Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s character Devdas immortal, the actors of the next generation consider him an institution by himself. He had played roles of even trade union leaders in the film Sagina, he was the first actor in bollywood films to perform in a double role in the film Ram Aur Shyam. He created a trend and films with double roles were created in the same lines as that of Ram Aur Shyam in Seeta Aur Geeta, Chaalbaaz, Kishen Kanhaiya. He received the highest civilian award given by Pakistan, Nishan –e- imtiaz which was previously received by only one Indian, that is the former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. He had also received Dadasaheb Phalke award for his contribution in bollywood films. It is not possible to highlight the contribution of the legend of legends in a small article, as he had created an image which made him indispensable over 70 years in bollywood films. Yet his journey was not over. Even in the present age directors like Subhash Ghai engaged him with his new projects these days. Many veteran actors came to Dilip Kumar to greet him on his birthday in 2012 and 2013. The viewers want Dilip Kumar sahab can never die. He will remain immortal in his brilliant works. Viewers had got addicted to his soft tune of dialogue throwing and want him to reproduce the magic again.