Happy birth anniversary to legendary poet Shailendraji and remembering his majestic combination with Raj Kapoor sahab, Shankar Jaikishanji

The lovers of music all across he world remember poet Shailendra on his birth anniversary on 30th August, 2022

. Poet and lyricist Shailendra had glorified the world of bollywood music with his romantic words. He had tremendous combination with legendary composer Shankar Jaikishan. Both of them in turn had magical relationship with immortal singer Mohammad Rafi. Generally between 1940s and 1960s, whenever Shailendra wrote the songs, the tunes were given by Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi. Whenever Hasrat Jaipuri wrote the songs, the tunes were given by Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal. The magic combination came together in the film Boot Polish, released in 1954 with the song “nanhe munne bacche tere mutthi me kya hai” which had become immortal over the years. In the film Shikast, the combination came together in the song “gham me jal raha hai”. In the mid-50s, all of them Shailendra, SJ and Rafi became superstars and icons in their individual departments. SJ composed excellent song with the words of Shailendra sung by Rafi,Mukesh and Lata in Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420 titled “ramaiya vasta maaiya”. In 1955 the film ended up being blockbuster. In Seema, the song “kahan jaraha tu” stands out. Manna Dey’s song “tu pyar ka sagar hai” was also a masterpiece. Rafi made the audience spellbound with the song “duniya na bhaye mohe” in the film Basant Bahar. Shailendra and SJ were brilliant as ever. Rafi’s song “mai rickshawala” in the film Choti Behen had realistic andaz. In Dev Anand’s Love Marriage, Rafi’s songs “kaha ja rahe the” had romantic andaz. In Shararat, the combination got together with the song “ajab hai dastan” which was very melodious. The same soft romantic Shailendra with SJ and Rafi changed their gears in aggressive songs of Shammi Kapoor in the film Junglee with the songs “yahoo, chahe koi mujhe jungle kahe”, “ayi ayi ya suku suku”, etc. The combination made the audience spellbound in Rajender Kumar’s film Sasural with the song “ek sawal mai karoon.” In Shammi Kapoor’s song “dil tera diwana” in the film Dil Tera Diwana, really the song balanced the lightning and rain. The combination continued in Shammi Kapoor’s film Professor with the songs “mai chali mai chali”, “khuli palak me” etc. The same combination brought tears in the eyes of the audience in Rajender Kumar’s film Dil Ek Mandir with the song “yaad na jaye”. The magic combination continued together in the blockbusters of the mid 60s, including Biswajeet’s April Fool in 1964, Shammi Kapoor’s Janwar and Rajkumar in 1965, Rajender Kumar’s Humrahi in 1963, Ayee Milan Ki Bela in 1964, Aarzoo in 1965, Suraj in 1966, Joy Mukherjee’s Love in Tokyo in 1966, Dev Anand’s Pyar Muhobbat in 1966, Uttam Kumar’s Choti Si Mulakat in 1968, to name a few. The unfortunate death of Shailendra in 1966 ended the marathon that was played by Rafi and SJ with the immortal lyricist for more than 20 years. His lyrics were used in films that were released later after his death in films like Shammi Kapoor’s Bhramchari, Rajender Kumar’s Jhuk Gaya Aasman and Dharti, Jeetender’s Mere Huzoor, to name a few. Articles after articles can be devoted to the genius Shailendra, Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi who had produced only gems after gems during the golden age of Indian music. They had made the audience laugh, smile, cry and repent with the words, tunes and rendition of voices. The songs and the films should be preserved.

Mystery actress Sadhnaji is remembered on birth anniversary.

The viewers of Bollywood films wish happy birth anniversary to Sadhna on 2nd September, 2021. She died recently but her admirers still feel all her films are still relevant. Sadhna Shivdasani remained sizzling actress in the 60s. Born on 2nd September, 1941, her name was given by her father due to his fascination for the actress Sadhana Bose. She acted in a Sindhi film Abana in 1958 where she played the role of the sister of the heroine in the film. Then Subodh Mukherjee did cast her opposite Joy Mukherjee in the film Love in Simla in 1959. The music was composed by Iqbal Qureshi and the songs of the film became big hits. She acted in successful films one after the other after that including Parakh, Hum Dono, Prem Patra. In 1962, her film Ek Musafir Ek Haseena opposite Joy Mukherjee became musical blockbuster. Raj Khosla’s hit became known for the songs composed by OP Nayyar, including Rafi’s songs “aap yuhi agar”, “bahut shukhriya”, “phir tere shahar me”, etc. She also acted in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Asli Nakli in 1962, opposite Dev Anand which was also another musical hit. Shankar Jaikishan’s composition became super hit including Lata’s “tera mera pyara amar”, Rafi’s song “tujhe jeevan ki dor me”, etc. Mere Mehboob was the greatest hit of Sadhna opposite Jubilee Kumar Rajender Kumar in 1963. The romantic film created the pair of Rajender Kumar Sadhna who remained sublime during the 60s. Naushad’s composition was brilliant including Rafi’s title song “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam”. The other super hit films of Sadhna opposite Rajender Kumar including Aarzoo and Aap Aye Bahar Aye. In 1965 she was married to RK Nayyar. She became famous for her spooky performance in Raj Khosla’s suspense thrillers like Wo Kaun Thi, Mera Saya and Anita. For Wo Kaun Thi she received filmfare nomination for best actress. Her other successful films including Dulha Dulhan opposite Raj Kapoor, Waqt opposite Sunil Dutt, Battamees and Raj Kumar opposite Shammi Kapoor, Ek Phool Do Mali opposite Sanjay Khan, etc. She faded away from the industry in the 70s, as her films Geeta Mera Naam, Ishq Par Zor Nahin, did not do adequate business. Her films should be preserved and restored.

With her exceptional dance steps Rajashreeji has a separate space opposite Raj Kapoor sahab, Shammi Kapoorji, Biswajeetji

Rajashree – the classical dancer of the 60s. Rajashree, daughter of famous director V. Shantaram and classical dancer Sandhya, made a notable contribution in bollywood films in the 60s. She faced very strong competition from Vaijayantimala, Sadhna, Asha Parekh, Saira Banu, and yet maintained her stardom in hit films opposite leading stars of bollywood films. She was extremely successful opposite Shammi Kapoor, in the film Janwar. Shammi Kapoor brought westernized mannerisms in bollywood films in the 60s, and his style was enhanced by fantastic music composed by Shankar Jaikishan, and colourful locations where the films were picturised. The same thing happened in the film Janwar. Most part of the film was picturised in Jammu & Kashmir, and the songs of Rafi like “lal chadi”, “tumse accha kaun hai”, etc., became super hit. Rajashree had adequate classical training for exhibiting her dancing skills which she showed in the song “mere sang ga gunguna”. The second part of the film dealt with the conspiracy committed against Shammi Kapoor, and her marriage with Shammi Kapoor got stuck due to those reasons. Over all her performance was very impressive and the film became super hit. The same combination was again successful in the film Brahmchari. Shammi Kapoor ran an orphan house where the children were brought by him and he did not marry to help out the orphan children in the film. Rajashree intereacted with Shammi Kapoor in the film and for different reasons, Shammi Kapoor taught her to be modern and arranged her marriage with Pran. After knowing that Pran had a very bad reputation in society and was also involved with Mumtaz, the marriage was cancelled and Rajashree was saved at the end of the film. Again the scintillating music of Shankar Jaikishan amused the viewers. All the songs of Rafi including “aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche”, “chakke pe chakka”, “dil ke jharoke me tujhko bithakar”, “mai gayun tum so jayo”, became landmark hits in the late 60s. Rajashree was extremely successful opposite Raj Kapoor in the film Around the World. Raj Kapoor played the role of an innocent person who had to travel all across the world, first as a worker in a ship and then after joining different forms of employments. He was attached with Rajashree during his travel to different places. The fantastic location of West Indies, United States, etc., was balanced by classic music of Shankar Jaikishan once again. Mukesh’s songs “kitna akela hoon mai”, “duniya ka sair kar lo”, “chale jana” became landmark hits in the late 60s. Rajashree acted in successful films opposite the other leading stars of bollywood films in the 60s, including Biswajeet, Joy Mukherjee, Jeetender, to name a few. Most of those films including Sehnai, became successful. Rajashree faded out from the industry in the 70s. Her films should be restored for the next generations.