Happy birthday to Jaya Prada

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jaya Prada on 3rd April, 2018. Jaya Prada was considered as one of the most gifted actresses of bollywood films of the 80s. She shook the Indian audience with her dancing skills in the film Shankaravaranam. In the late 70s her film Sargam opposite Rishi Kapoor became superhit with a brilliant story and excellent songs. She played the role of a deaf and dumb girl who had immense dancing callibre which was unearthed by Rishi Kapoor in the film. The film created sensation in both in North India and South India. The music composed by LP was brilliant by every musical standard and Lata and Rafi were sublime in the songs “dafliwale dafli baja”, “koel boli”, “ramjiki nikli sawari”, etc. In an age of action pact films of Big B, Vinod Khanna, Sargam being a romantic film with Rishi Kapoor and Jaya Prada did excellent business. From that time Jaya Prada became the no. 1 bollywood actress and acted opposite all the leading stars of bollywood. Her other superhit films include Sharabi, opposite Big B, Akhree Rasta opposite Big B, Kamchor opposite Rakesh Roshan, to name a few. She acted in a number of films opposite Jeetender as well and all of those films were successful. At that time she got stiff competition from Sri Devi, another South Indian actress who had both acting talent and dancing talent. The films where both of them acted together, the viewers were confused to choose between the two. In Akhree Rasta Jaya Prada did equally well like Sri Devi. In the 90s, also Jay Prada’s films especially opposite Big B did good business, like Indrajeet or Aaj Ka Arjun. In those films while Big B concentrated on action sequences, Jaya Prada played the romantic part to perfection. With the emergence of new actresses in bollywood films in the 90s like Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla, Jaya Prada faded away from the bollywood industry. She joined politics and had been the parliamentarian for more than a decade. Besides she had played important roles in tamil films and other South Indian films over the years. A number of cinema halls in Mysore and Bangalore were named after her. In 2010, she had been expelled from the Samajwadi Party by Mulayam Singh Yadav along with other primary members. That can give her some time to devote in bollywood films as well. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in bollywood films in character roles as many of them feel that she still has a lot of acting left in her.

Shankar Jaikishan composed maximum duet songs for Rafisahab Suman Kalyanpur.

The listeners of film songs wish happy birthday to legendary singer Suman Kalyanpur on 28th January, 2019. Suman Kalyanpur glorified Indian music of the 50s and 60s, with her romantic rendition of landmark songs. She had sung songs in many languages. She had sung almost 200 duet songs with immortal singer Mohammad Rafi. Shankar Jaikishan in the 60s made immense number of experiments in bollywood film music. Right from westernized compositions to Indian classical songs to folk tunes, the compositions had a wide variety. Rafi was the automatic choice of the legendary musical duo, with his tremendous range and romantic appeal. Suman Kalyanpur sang landmark duet song with Rafi under the composition of giant composers during the 60s, including Naushad “dil-e-betaab ko sinese lagana hoga”, in Palki, Madanmohan “baad muddat ke yeh ghari aye”, Jahanara, Roshan “rahe na rahe hum”, in Mamta, Khayyam “parbaton ke pero par sham ka basera hai”, in Shagun, to name a few. Suman Kalyanpur sang many immortal duet songs with Rafi in the 60s and 70s under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan. In Dil Ek Mandir, the title song “dil ek mandir hai” was sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur with utmost elegance in 1963. The song was sung after the death of Rajender Kumar in the film and therefore the singers displayed the tragic andaz in the song. Rafi had his own solo songs in the film like “jahan koi nahi” and “yaad na jaye” which immortal over a period of time. Suman Kalyanpur’s solo song “juhi ki kali meri ladli” also had a soothing appeal. In Saanjh Aur Sawera, in 1964, the classical song “ajahuna aye balma, sawan bita jaye” was probably one the most immortal duet sung by Suman Kalyanpur with Rafi composed by SJ. In 1964, Biswajeet’s April Fool had a number of romantic songs of SJ sung by Rafi. Rafi was unparallel in the song “aa gale lag ja”. Suman Kalyanpur accompanied Rafi very well in the songs “tujhe pyar karte karte” and “kehdo kehdo jahan se kehdo”. In Sunil Dutt’s film Beti Bete, the song “agar terii jalwa numai na hoti” showed the melodious impact of duet of Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan. The duet “tumne pukara aur hum chale aye” sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur composed by SJ in Shammi Kapoor’s Rajkumar again stormed box-office in 1964. In 1966, Rafi and Suman’s duet “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe mere raazdaar” in Rajender Kumar’s super hit film Suraj stands out as the most romantic song of the film. Rafi sang for Rajender Kumar while Suman Kalyanpur sang for Vyjayantimala. In the late 60s, Shankar Jaikishan’s rock and roll composition for Shammi Kapoor in the film Brahmchari had probably the most entertaining duets of Rafi with Suman Kalyanpur titled “aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche har jawanpar”. The brilliant orchestration was loud but rhythm –oriented as well. The film ended up being blockbuster and the music of the film played a very important role in the success of the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed a very romantic duet in Uttam Kumar’s film Choti Si Mulakat, titled “tumhe dekha, tumhe chaha” Rafi and Suman. Rafi sang Uttam Kumar’s portion while Suman Kalyanpur had sung Vaijayantimala’s portion. The list of Rafi Suman duets under Shankar Jaikishan was too long. In the early 70s, SJ’s composition for Suman Kalyanpur in Shammi Kapoor’s film Andaz was well received by the audience. The song “hai na bolo bolo” was sung by Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur, Sushma Shreshta and Pratibha. After the death of Jaikishan in 1971, many producers and directors who were involved with Shankar Jaikishan shifted towards RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarellal. So Suman Kalyanpur’s scope of singing duets with Rafi reduced down inspite of Shankar providing good tunes to both Suman Kalyanpur and Rafi. Shankar Jaikishan composed hit song of Suman in Dharmender’s film Resham Ki Dori, “behnane bhai ki kalayi se” in the mid -70s. Rafi’s duets with Suman Kalyanpur under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan require both restoration and publicity.

Jubilee Hit films of Shankar Jaikishan.

Jubilee hit films of Shankar Jaikishan. Shankar Jaikishan are the musical duo who became immortal with their music. Between 1949 to 1971 they became a phenomenon. Their music really enchanted the listeners. Here is the list of jubilee hits of SJ. 1949 - Barsaat - Raj Kapoor - Golden jubilee 1951 - Awaara - Raj Kapoor - Golden jubilee 1952 - Daag - Dilip Kumar - Silver jubilee 1955 - Shree 420 - Raj Kapoor - Golden jubilee 1956 - Chori Chori - Raj Kapoor - Silver jubilee 1956 - Basant Bahar - Bharat Bhushan - Silver jubilee 1958 - Yahudi - Dilip Kumar - Silver jubilee 1959 - Anari - Raj Kapoor - Golden Jubilee 1960 - Jis Desh me Ganga Behti Hai - Raj Kapoor - Golden Jubilee 1960 - Dil Apna Prit Parayi - Raj Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1961 - Junglee - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1961 - Sasural - Rajender Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1962 - Professor - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1962 - Hariyali Aur Raasta - Manoj Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1963 - Dil Ek Mandir - Rajender Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1964 - Sangam - Raj Kapoor, Rajender Kumar - Platinum Jubilee 1964 - Ayee Milan Ki Bela - Rajender Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1964 - Zindagi - Rajender Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1964 - April Fool - Biswajeet - Silver Jubilee 1965 - Aarzoo - Rajender Kumar - Golden Jubilee 1965 - Janwar - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1965 - Gumnaam - Manoj Kumar - Silver Jubilee 1966 - Suraj - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1966 - Love in Tokyo - Joy Mukherjee - Silver Jubilee 1967 - An Evening in Paris - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1968 - Brahmchari - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1968 - Shikar - Dharmender - Silver Jubilee 1969 - Yakeen - Dharmender - Silver Jubilee 1969 - Kanyadaan - Shashi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1969 - Prince - Shammi Kapoor - Silver Jubilee 1972 - Beimaan - Manoj Kumar - Silver Jubilee In 1949, Raj Kapoor rose to Stardom with Barsaat. Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat became the greatest blockbuster which was a golden jubilee hit running for more than 50 weeks. Mukesh’s “chor gaye balam”, Lataji’s “hawa me urta jaye” and “jiya beqarar hai” became super hit. 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, Dilip Kumar’s Daag was a silver jubilee hit film. Talatji’s song “koi nahi mera is duniya me” and “ei mere dil kahin aur chal” became super hit. 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 1956, Bharat Bhushan’s Basant Bahar also became a silver jubilee hit. Manna Dey’s song “sur na saje”, Bhim Sen Joshi’s “Ketaki gulab”, Rafisahab’s “duniya na bhaye mohe” became big 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 1960, Raj Kumar’s Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi became silver jubilee hit. Lataji’s songs ‘sheesha-e-dil itna na uchalo”, “dil apna aur preet parayi” became big hit. In 1961, Shammi Kapoor’s Junglee became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s songs “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “meri yaar shabba khair” became super hit. In 1961, Rajender Kumar’s Sasural became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s song “ek sawal tum karon”, “teri pyari pyari surat ko” became super hit. In 1963, Rajender Kumar, Raj Kumar’s film Dil Ek Mandir became silver jubilee hit. Lataji’’s song “ruk ja raat”, “hum tere pyar me sara alam” and Rafisahab’s “jahan koi nahi”, “dil ek mandir hai” and “yaad na jaye” became super hit. 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. In 1964, Sangam was Rajender Kumar’s biggest blockbuster in entire career ending up as platinum jubilee running for more than 75 weeks. Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala’s performances were as brilliant as Rajender Kumar’s performance. Rafisahab’s song composed by Shankar Jaikishan “ki tum naraaz na hona” haunted the viewers. In the same year, Rajender Kumar’s Ayee Milan Ki Bela and Zindagi ended up as silver jubilee hits running for more than 25 weeks. Again Rafisahab and Shankar Jaikishan’s combination created gold for Rajender Kumar including the songs “tum khamseen ho”, “tu bura maan gaye”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, “aha aye milan ki bela”, “pehele mile the sapno me”, to name a few. Vaijayantimala acted opposite Rajender Kumar in Zindagi, while Saira Banu acted opposite Rajender Kumar in Ayee Milan Ki Bela. In 1965, Rajender Kumar’s film Aarzoo became silver jubilee hit running for more than 25 weeks. Again the Rafisahab, Shankar Jaikishan produced gold, the landmark songs being “aye nargisi mastana”, “chalke teri ankhon se”, “aji humse bachkar kahan jayiega”. Sadhna’s performance opposite Rajender Kumar was brilliant and the film ended up being the 4th biggest hit of the year. In 1966, Rajender Kumar’s film Suraj became silver jubilee hit running for more than 25 weeks. Again it was magic combination of Rafisahab and Shankar Jaikishan which created gold. The landmark songs included “gustaqi maaf”, “kaise samjhayun bari nasamajh ho”, “itna hai tumse pyar mujhe mere raazdaar”, to name a few. Vaijayantimala acted opposite Rajender Kumar in the film. In 1965, Manoj Kumar’s Gumnaam became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s songs “jaan pehchaan ho”, “jaane chaman shola badan” and Lataji’s “gumnaam hai koi” became super hit. In 1965, Shammi Kapoor’s Janwar became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s songs “lal chari maidaan khari”, “tum se accha kaun hai”, Suman Kalyanpur’s “mere sang ga gunguna” became super hit. In 1966, Joy Mukherjee’s Love in Tokyo became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s songs “Japan, Love in Tokyo”, “aaja re aa zara aa” became super hit. In 1967, Shammi Kapoor’s An Evening in Paris became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s songs “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “aasman se aya farishta”, raat ke humsafar” became big hits. In 1967, Dharmender’s Shikar became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s song “shikar karne ko aye” and Ashaji’s song “parde me rahene do” became a big hit. In 1968, Shammi Kapoor’s Brahmchari became silver jubilee hit. Rafisahab’s songs “mai gayun tum so jayo”, “aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche” became super hit. In 1971, Jaikishan’s death brought a big blow to marathon innings of Shankar Jaikishan in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The songs require restoration and preservation as they are still young and immortal.