Will Luck by Chance attract the viewers at all?

Will Luck by Chance attract the viewers at all?

Zoya Akhtar, the sister of Farhan Akhtar had worked together with Farhan Akhtar in successful films in the past including Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya. Dil Chahta Hai did fantastic business in India and abroad with Saif Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Akshay Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Preeti Zinta all doing extremely well in their respective roles. The music of the film was successful and the locations in Australia were marvelous.

This is the first time Zoya Akhtar had directed a film and in her first directed film she had cast her own brother Farhan Akhtar in the major role in the film Luck By Chance. The story revolves around the life of Farhan Akhtar.

He had been shown as a common man who had arrived in Bombay to become a successful actor. Many actors all across the country have dreams and it was not unusual on the part of Farhan Akhtar too in the film. He had over there and realized that life was that complex and problematic.

He started handling pressure situations well. He realized that every successful actor in Bombay and the film industry had experienced failures at some point of their careers and it was nothing unusual for them. The success and the failures of Farhan Akhtar filled the entire film.

He even acted in films produced by those producers who only believed in casting established actor and actresses who had created a name for themselves. Farhan Akhtar got a scope of acting such types of films. He even entered into an affair with the leading actress of such films.

Hrithik Roshan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla played notable roles in the film and all of them gave realistic performances. Hrithik Roshan danced excellently as usual in the limited sequences created in the film. There were other good performances in the film given by Dimple Kapadia, Saurabh Shukla and Sanjay Kapoor.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed the music for the film and had given decent songs in the film. The only worry lies in the fact that a number of big budget films are either released or are going to be released in 2009. Films like Dilli 6, Billu Barber, Kites are going to dominate bollywood films in 2009.

In that scenario, Luck By Chance can expect moderate response, definitely not an exceptional reaction from the viewers. Even if that happens Zoya Akhtar should consider herself to be lucky.

Billu Barber has all the elements to become a super hit film.

Billu Barber has all the elements to become super hit film.

Shahrukh Khan starts off his journey in 2009, with brilliant performance in Billu Barber, his first release in 2009. 2008 had been a very average year for the superstar, with Hrithik Roshan, Amir Khan and Akshay Kumar contributing more in bollywood films than Shahrukh Khan. His film Rab Ne Bana De Jodi also did mediocre business as opposed to his blockbusters like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Om Shanti Om, etc.

In Billu Barber, Irfan Khan, a rustic villager met his school friend played by Shahrukh Khan when the entire shooting team came to his village to shoot a film. Shahrukh Khan played the lead role in that film and Irfan Khan was quite surprised to meet his old friend. The villagers urged him to disclose the stories relating to his friendship with Sharukh Khan at the time when the shooting was going on.

Irfan Khan felt very shy to do it, as he was only a barber by profession and doubted whether his friend was going to acknowledge his relationship with him as his status was that of a superstar and Irfan Khan’s intimacy with him would have affected his stardom in the film. The viewers will also have to wait in the film to see whether Shahrukh Khan recognizes Irfan Khan.

At the end of the film Shahrukh Khan revealed his relationship with Irfan Khan in the past and disclosed before the villagers the immense contribution of his old friend. He told them he got clothes from the friend when he did not have any and got food from him during his bad times.

The actresses in the film were all very impressive including Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra. All of them had a very impressive year in 2008 and looked gorgeous in their costumes in Billu Barber. They played the role of the heroines of Shahrukh Khan who had come to the village for shooting the film.

Lara Dutta was even better in the role of a village woman. She has been a sensation over the years and showed her class of acting in Billu Barber once more. The music of the film composed by Pritam also was very impressive.

The main songs of the film like “marjani marjani” had already become hits before even the release of the film. Shahrukh Khan and Irfan Khan were brilliant in their respective roles.

The film has all the elements of entertainment including a strong storyline, powerful casting, good songs, good locations, and is going one of the blockbusters of 2009.

Will Hrithik Roshan storm bollywood films again with Kites?

Will Hrithik Roshan storm bollywood films again with Kites?

Hrithik Roshan has been busy working for his next film Kites. The different TV Channels and the electronic media had highlighted the injuries suffered by the superstar while he attempted some daring acrobatic stunts for the film.

Kites is related to the story of Hrithik Roshan getting involved with a Latin American girl to be played by Barbara Mori. Barbara was a Spanish girl who had shown her skills in the fashion industry. Anurag Basu, the director of the film experimented with a unique subject where the entire affair takes place between two persons who don’t know each other’s language.

The love story had a number of twists and turns with able support from the new actress Kangana Ranaut. Although Hrithik Roshan had played the role of a romantic character, the depiction of romance has been done in a serious manner. The film has been shot in different parts of USA and India.

Hrithik Roshan had become a phenomenon in Indian film industry and before any of his recent films are released, the viewers get informed about all the news relating to the shooting of the films. He had won star screen awards recently for the best actor for the performance in the film Jodha Akbar.

Just like Amir Khan, Hrithik Roshan acted in very few films in the last few years, but each and every film of his had made news. He was sublime in the film Dhoom 2 and to everyone’s delight he bagged the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in the film Dhoom 2, inspite of the fact that the character was negative to some extent. He was an international thief and even after his guilt was exposed by Abhishek Bacchan, no punishment was given after he disclosed the secret place where he hid all the stolen money and property.

Hrithik Roshan’s success in films directed by Rakesh Roshan has always created news in whichever year they were released. Kahona Pyar Hai was perhaps one of the best films of Hrithik’s career, but he did extremely well in Koi Mil Gaya and Krishh.

Last year Ashutosh Gowarikar experimented with him and Aishwarya Rai in a period fill like Jodha Akbar, and there too Hrithik came out being victorious. To everyone’s satisfaction he displayed the royal style of life led by Mughal emperors five hundred years back. The costumes did suit him and the stunts were brilliant.

The viewers are convinced that he again will storm bollywood films with his powerful performance in the film Kites to be released this year.

Happy birthday to Bobby Deol.

Happy birthday to Bobby Deol.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Bobby Deol, on 27th January, 2009. He had acted in many successful films in his long career, and the new generation expects even better performance from the stylish actor.

Being the son of Dharmender and brother of Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol required some special skills to create his identity and look different to the viewers. He showed his stylish accent in the film Gupt which was a murder mystery. Bobby Deol was alleged to have killed his father Raj Babbar and was sent to jail. He escaped from the jail with the help of Manisha Koirala and proved himself innocent.

He matched the villainish performance of Kajol in the film and balanced the performances of a series of villains in the film including Prem Chopra, Raza Murad, etc. Om Puri was sublime in the role of a police inspector and Bobby Deol showed his personality when both of them met each other. He even gave good lips in the songs composed by Viju Shah like “bechaniya”, “gupt, gupt”, etc.

Producers started casting Bobby Deol in stylish roles especially in action pact films like Soldier. He did very well opposite Preeti Zinta. Most of the film was shot in Australia and Bobby Deol proved himself both as a romantic actor and also action. All the songs of the film were hit including “soldier, soldier”, “mehfil me ekbaar”, etc. His action stunts opposite Suresh Oberoi was ably appreciated by the viewers.

After few years Bobby Deol changed his hair style but continued to act in action films like Badal and Bicchu. In both these films his heroine was Rani Mukherjee who added attraction in the films. Bobby Deol brought out the vengeance in the character of terrorists especially in the film Badal. But someway or the other due to strong domination of Shahrukh Khan mainly in romantic films, Bobby Deol’s films did mediocre business and he did not get the recognition he deserved.

Even in suspense thrillers like Ajnabee, Bobby Deol balanced the villanish performance of Akshay Kumar and individual performances of Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu. The film had many twists and turns and Bobby Deol ultimately took revenge against Akshay Kumar for planting a false case against him.

Bobby Deol even did well in the film Aur Pyar Ho Gaya opposite Aishwarya Rai. His films Jhoom Barabar Jhoom did not do that well in 2007, but his film Heroes in 2008 did good business. With strong competition from Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Amir Khan and the new heroes Bobby Deol has to do something exceptional to maintain his stardom.

The viewers expect him to do even better in bollywood films in the years to come.

Salman Khan and comedy films.

Salman Khan and comedy films.

Salman Khan had been considered as one of the most popular macho heroes of bollywood films. In fact most of the youngstars of the 90s started building their bodies and joining gymnasiums after Salman Khan’s body on silver screen. In that respect his action films should have been very successful.

But excepting few of his films like Tere Naam, Auzaar, Tumko Na Bhul Payenge, Jeet, none of his action films did notable business. In fact his image as an action hero never grew like Sunny Deol with super hit films like Damini, Ghayal, Ghatak, etc., or Sanjay Dutt with super hit films like Sadak, Vastav, Daag- the fire, etc. Instead his comedy films did fantastic business over the last 5 years.

His film No Entry, became super hit few years back. Although other established actors and actresses like Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Lara Datta, Bipasha Basu, Esha Deol had notable contribution in the success of the film, Salman Khan’s presence in the film counted a lot. He in fact inspired his friends like Fardeen Khan and Anil Kapoor to tell lies to their wives and carried on his extra-marital relationship with other girls. He in fact saved them from separation after their wives filed divorce suits against them due to involvement with Bipasha Basu, a bar dancer in the film.

His comedy film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya was perhaps the launching pad of Katrina Kaif. The comedy film had other popular performers like Arshad Warsi, Sushmita Sen, Sohail Khan, Isha Kopikaar, but again Salman Khan’s on-screen chemistry with Katrina Kaif did the magic. After that Katrina went on giving one hit or the other including Welcome, Namaste London, Singh is Kinng, etc.

In Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, Salman Khan went on telling lies to Katrina Kaif about his wife and asked Sushmita Sen to pretend as his wife. To conceal on lie he had say more lies and ultimately Sushmita Sen got attached with Salman Khan. Katrina Kaif asked him to get married to Sushmita Sen because she was the ideal wife of Salman Khan. The successful songs in the film including “just chill chill” and “ saajan”, entered the viewers as well.

Similar type of comedy film with Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra titled Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, became super hit. Akshay Kumar was the old friend of Salman Khan and played a dram in relation to his relationship with Priyanka Chopra. Salman Khan made one mistake after the other and most of his acts harmed Amrish Puri, the father of Priyanka Chopra. He ultimately could disclose his love for Priyanka Chopra in a cricket stadium where India’s cricket match was going. Again the successful songs in the film like Sonu Nigam’s “jeene ke hai char din”, “mujhse shaadi karogi”, entertained the viewers.

Salman Khan had other hit comedy films within his list including Biwi No. 1 with Karishma Kapoor and Sushmita Sen, Partner with Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai with Twinkle Khanna, to name a few. Only last year’s film God Tussi Great Ho with Priyanka Chopra and Sohail Khan did moderate business.

The producers and directors of bollywood films should involve Salman Khan in more comedy films in future after going through his past record.

Review of Dilli 6.

Review of the film Dilli 6.

Abhishek Bacchan is back with a bang in the film Dilli 6. Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra had directed the film. The major actors and actresses who had contributed in the film include Om Puri, Sonam Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Wahida Rehman, Divya Dutta and Atul Kulkarni.

Rakesh Mehra had impressed the viewers with his brilliant in films like Aks and Rang De Basanti in the past. In fact Amir Khan, the perfectionist had created a different dimension for Rang De Basanti with his dynamic performance. With that background Rakesh Mehra had done a notable experiment in the film Dilli 6.

In this film Abhishek Bacchan, who was an Indian who had settled in US brought his sick grandmother back to India. He brought her to New Delhi. The story had highlighted the life of people around the Chandni Chowk area of New Delhi. It falls within old Delhi, and as the pincode of the area was 110006, the people of that area used to call the place Dilli 6. That is how the name of the film had been derived.

Abhishek Bacchan realized within a short time that he had taken a wrong decision in terms of bringing her grandmother back to Old Delhi for her recovery. Instead of recovering she got entangled in a number of urbanized problems. Most of the problems were related to religion, popular beliefs, ideologies, etc.

The treatment of Rakesh Mehra had been excellent in the film. The strong script of the film had been given expression by brilliant performance of Om Puri. Om Puri, a veteran actor who had performed in more than 300 films still got motivation to do something new, even after playing every type of role that was possible in the career of an actor.

Sonam Kapur once again did a great job. She had been brilliant in Sawariya and had shown in this film that if good scripts are given she can provide adequate expression. Wahida Rehman and Rishi Kapoor were brilliant as ever. Divya Dutta and Atul Kulkarni also did a decent job.

The biggest gift for the audience had been given by AR Rehman in terms of the music that was composed for the film Dilli 6. He had been a sensation during the last few years, specially after amusing international audience with his brilliant music in Anil Kapoor’s film Slumdog Millionaire which even received Golden Globe Award. All the songs in Dilli-6 were impressive including “mashak kali”.

The film has all the prospects of becoming a dashing hit and the first blockbuster of 2009. Viewers should watch the film.

Among Amir Khan and Hrithik Roshan who is going to win filmfare award for best actor?

Among Amir Khan and Hrithik Roshan who is going to win filmfare award for best actor?

With the filmfare awards for the excellence in cinema going to be declared soon, the viewers wonder that who is going to win the film fare award in each category. The viewers are curious to know whether Hrithik Roshan or Amir Khan who is going to win the film fare award for the best actor for 2008. Hrithik did a marvelous job in Jodha Akbar, while Amir Khan had amazed the viewers with his classic performance in the film Ghajini. Sometimes filmfare awards are given to some actors or actresses who are not even thought of by most section of the people. If Shahrukh Khan wins it again for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, it will be a wonder of wonders.

Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif had given most of the hits of the year, but acting is considered separately, Priyanka should win the filmfare award for best actress for her performance in the film Fashion. Kareena Kapoor or Preeti Zinta had not done any notable work in 2008, although Aishwarya Rai has the chance of bagging another filmfare award with her performance in the film Jodha Akbar.

Anil Kapoor should get the best supporting actor award for his dynamic performance in the film Yuvvraaj. Similarly Kangana Ranaut and Neha Dhupia should get the same award for the female category for their performance in the films Fashion and Singh is Kinng respectively.

In respect of best composer AR Rehman has the chance of bagging it once again with his powerful music in the films Ghajini, Yuvvraaj, Jane Tu Ya Jane Na and Jodha Akbar. Vishal Shekhar had done a great job in the film Bacchna Aye Haseeno and Pritam was sublime in the films Race and Singh is Kinng.

Ghajini, Race, Jodha Akbar and Singh is Kinng should get the nominations for the best film of the year 2008. Accordingly the directors of those films have the chance of bagging the award for the best director of 2008.

In the singers list a number of male singers like Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Kunal Ganjawala, Atif Aslam have the scope of getting best singer award. The female singers including Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Alisha Chinoi, Alka Yagnik can win the best female playback singer award.

Whoever wins the filmfare awards on the respective category, in 2009, the competition is going to be neck to neck as many films had received viewers acclamation in the year and entertained the audience.

Rajashree - the classical dancer of the 60s.

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.

Happy birthday to Namrata Shirodkar.

Happy birthday to Namrata Shirodkar.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Namrata Shirodkar, one of the successful actresses of 90s, on 22nd January, 2009. She was the sister of successful star Shilpa Shirodkar and also a colourful personality. She showed her skills in the fashion world as well.

She did extremely well in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Pukar, opposite Anil Kapoor. She played the role of the daughter of a military major and interacted with Anil Kapoor. Anil Kapoor wanted to marry her, but her mother played by Rohini Hattangiri, was not interested as she got sick with the life military personnel.

Madhuri Dixit was a friend of Anil Kapoor, and due to jealousy with Namrata Shirodkar, she hatched a plan of disgracing Anil Kapoor. A false case was filed against him and he was thrown out from the armed forces. Namrata also left for accomplishing her career as a model and Anil Kapoor had to struggle to prove himself to be innocent.

The film took a turn in the second half as Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit worked together to prevent a terrorist attack from Danny and his men. Anil Kapoor received national award for his impressive performance in Pukar. Namrata’s performance was well appreciated.

Namrata Shirodkar was sublime in her role in the film Aghaaz. Sunil Shetty came to the city of Mumbai for education of her sister. But as Sunil Shetty did not fulfill the demands of the underworld group in the film, his sister was raped. Sunil Shetty filed a suit against all the members of the housing complex to make them aware of their responsibilities. All of them had scene the incident yet due to fear none of them raised any hue or cry.

Namrata Shirodkar helped Sunil Shetty a lot in understanding the nature of people in Mumbai who were professionals and not as simple as rural people. Her friendship with Sunil Shetty was depicted well in the film. She even played a significant role in getting his sister admitted in a college in the neighbouring area. Sunil Shetty united the local people in their fight against the demands of the underworld and killed the suspected culprits.

Namrata did her best in the film Vastav, opposite Sanjay Dutt. It was film totally based on the underworld people in Mumbai. Sanjay Dutt, who was a law-abiding citizen, killed one of the underworld person and from that time went on killing the other mafias and became an underworld don. But he also faced the agonies of living a life full of fear against the police. Namrata Shirodkar played the role of the wife of Sanjay Dutt in the film. She adjusted herself with the life led by Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay Dutt received filmfare award for his performance in the film.

Namrata Shirodkar left films during prime time of her career. The viewers of bollywood films expect her to make a comeback as it is felt that there is lot of acting still left in her.

Happy birthday to Minissha Lamba

Happy birthday to Minissha Lamba.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Minisha Lamba on 18th January, 2009. She had been a new icon of bollywood films who had become popular during the last year and is about to act in big banner films.

She started her career in bollywood films with the film Yahaan in 2005. It was directed by Sujit Sircar and he was looking for a newcomer at that time. Minisha Lamba created an impression and bagged an important role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s successful film Corporate.

Corporate was based on the complexities faced by the workers and the employers of the corporate world which is crude reality in the metros. Most of the employees in the corporate world become mentally sick with the monotonous work culture and demand of fulfilling targets. Bipasha Basu gave a lifetime performance in the film and Minisha Lamba also was appreciated for her strong performance.

She acted in small budget films like Anthony Kaun Hai, Dus Kahaniya, Honeymoon Travels Kaun Hai and became a regular actress in contemporary films. Then she got a lifetime role in the film Bacchan Aye Haseeno, opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Newcomers in bollywood dream about getting roles under the Yashraj Banner. Minissha Lamba got the role in the very early part of her career.

Bacchna Aye Haseeno was the story of Ranbir Kapoor who had met three different girls in his life and each of the girls had a great influence on his character. He had different experiences with Minisha Lamba, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone and all the experiences eventually shaped his character. Minnisha Lamba gave able lips in the song “ki mujhe pyar hai” composed by Vishal Shekhar in the film. The music of the film was very impressive with hit songs like “bacchna aye haseeno”, and other songs.

In 2008, Minisha Lamba also acted in an important character in the action film Kidnap. She played the role of the daughter of Sanjay Dutt was lived separately from her mother due to differences between each other. Imran Khan, the relative of Amir Khan, kidnapped her and asked for heavy ransom from her father Sanjay Dutt.

Although Sanjay Dutt did not fulfill any of the father’s responsibilities till the call of kidnapper was made, his influence in the society was used for releasing his daughter. He took the call of Imran Khan as a challenge and the rest of the film involved the struggle of Sanjay Dutt in bringing Khan to task.

Minissha Lamba was sublime in the film and showed signs of a matured actress. With a number of new actresses like Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Asin, increasing the competition amongst heroines, Minisha Lamba has a challenging task of maintaining her stardom and do even better in the new films in future.

Big B's comments on Slumdog Millionaire are baseless.

Big B’s comments on Slumdog Millionaire are baseless.

Very recently Big B has commented that the western world had recognized the efficient work in Indian films relating to realistic subjects. They did not appreciate the quality work done in mainstream cinema where the directors and techinicians also showed their expertise in the respective fields of cinema and the films had been appreciated by the people at large as well.

The reference was made in respect of the awards and recognition given in Anil Kapoor’s film Slumdog Millionaire. The story of the film was related to the life of a slumdweller in Mumbai. He participated in a competition in Television channel where by answering questions a person could be a millionaire. There had been similar competitions in the past like Kaun banega crorepati, dus ka dum, etc. The slumdweller one huge amount of money and it changed his life. A R Rehman had been awarded golden globe award and his background music in the film had been appreciated in US.

Big B’s reference relating to Satyajit Ray’s recognition in US and Europe does not make any sense. Firstly Ray was the first intellectual director of India who could make the nature speak for itself in the film Pather Panchali. There was a scene where Apu dropped the neckless alleged to have been stolen by Durga, his sister in the film, in a pond. The ripples were shown in the pond which came together to hide the truth and the end the story relating to the stealing of the necklace.

Satyajit Ray made the audience think about the ripples and understand that each of his scenes had inner meanings beyond the characters and the dialogues. Similarly when Kanu Banerji, the father of Apu, showed the sari that he bought from the market to his wife, she showed her outburst in tears, as Durga died few days back and it was known to her father. Satyajit Ray played the theme music played by Pandit Ravi Shankar to fade away the sound of the outburst of Karuna Banerji, the mother of Durga in the film.

Satyajit Ray was a path-breaker in contemporary cinema and giants of Indian films like Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan had referred the number of times they had seen Pather Panchali to learn the art of film making from the legend of legends Satyajit Ray.

Recognition of Satyajit Ray during his illustrious career in US and Europe had hardly anything to do with the poverty existing in Bengal or the realistic subject matters. The recognition was based on the level of excellence that he had reached in each and every film in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

Ray had dealt with classic literature of Tagore in films like Teen Kanya, Charulata, Ghare Baire, he had worked on crime thrillers written by himself like Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, he had worked on contemporary problems lying in Kolkata in films like Mahanagar in 1965, and Pratidwandi in the early 70s, he had also worked on the fading of rule of feudal lords (zamindari) during colonial rule in films like Jalsaghar.

Ray had been an institution by himself in inventing new grammer of story-telling, working outside the studio, using non-professional actors, experimenting with eastern and western classical music, believing in reflections, etc. Whenever discussions are made in respect of realistic films or art films in India and abroad, it is better if Satyajit Ray’s name is not used for comparison, because he was unparallel, uncomparable and much ahead of his time. In that respect Big B’s comments are absolutely baseless.

If India had given birth to one novel prize winning poet like Rabindranath Tagore, India had given birth only one oscar winning director like Satyajit Ray. Legends of the contemporary period had just learned and learned from these maestros whose works had reached a level of perfection which cannot be matched.

Remembering Tapan Sinha - the legendary storyteller.

Remembering Tapan Sinha – the legendary story – teller.

Tapan Sinha, the legendary story-teller and path-breaker in Bengali cinema had died recently at the age of 84 years. Very recently he had been awarded the highest award Dada Saheb Phalke for his notable contribution to films for more than 50 years. Being a big admirer of John Ford and Billy Wilder, Tapan Sinha worked under the dynamic personility Charles Cryton in Pinewood Studios in London.He returned back to India with a vision of merging the environment, mystery, tribal reality, social concerns with literary flavour and his dynamism shaped and nurtured silver screen from its infancy to a field of exhibition of work of art.

Most of his films received awards in India including national awards and also international awards. He had used the immortal literature of legendary writers of Bengal including Rabindranath Tagore, Jorasondho, Sorodindu Bandhopadhyay, Subodh Ghosh, to name a few and mesmerized the audience with his powerful script, outstanding camera work, meaningful casting and innovative story-telling.

The subjects with which he had made films never matched with each other showing the dynamism of the legend of legends. The story of Kabuliwala was based on Tagore’s realization of affection of an afghan father for his small daughter. Chabi Biswas astonished the viewers with his dynamic performance and created a standard which was not reached by even stalwart actor of bollywood Balraj Sahani in Bimal Roy’s Kabuliwala.

In that respect, no other director other than Satyajit Ray had such a strong casting sense that was exhibited by Tapan Sinha. His team of actors varied from film to film and the audience found that the actor or actresses he chose in the respective film matched the literary character that was depicted in novels. Nirmal Kumar, the jailor in the film Louhakapat was matchless with his poetic eyes which expressed his compassion towards the prisoners.

His casting of Uttam Kumar in the film Jhinder Bandi, the adaptation of Anthony Hopp’s Prisoner of Zenda, stormed Bengali films in the early 60s. Uttam Kumar looked like a European actor on horseback which was required in the film considering the chivalry that was required from Shankar Narayan Singh, the prince of Jhind, a land of warriors. The same Uttam Kumar was used in a different way by Tapan Sinha in the film Jotu Griha.

Uttam Kumar was a notable engineer in the film, who married Arundhuti Debi, but could not beget any child due to deficiency of Arundhuti Debi. He had property, pomp, grandeur, recognition in the society, yet due to lack of children ultimately the relationship ended up in separation. In their separation also the relationship between Uttam Kumar and Arundhuti Debi was divine, and their feelings for each other touched the souls of the audience when in the last scene their trains crossed one another thereby providing a new path for the spouses. The depiction of Anil Chatterji, a middle-class worker in Uttam Kumar’s firm who had many children and was needy, yet happy with his struggling life, had not been forgotten by cinematic audience.

The same Tapan Sinha brought out the best from Tragedy King Dilip Kumar in the film Sagina Mahato, which was remade in hindi as well. Dilip Kumar was tribal leader and leader of worker’s union in the hilly districts of West Bengal. He was used by the local political leaders including Anil Chatterji for mobilizing the ideal youth of the place, but when Dilip Kumar gained popularity, his powers were taken away and he was proved to a traitor. The powerful performance of both Dilip Kumar and Anil Chatterji had not been forgotten by cinematic audience even after 40 years of the date of creation of the film.

He used Ashok Kumar and Vaijayantimala in style in the film Hate Bajare, where the notable contribution of a compassionate doctor attracted the attention of the viewers. Villains like Ajitesh Banerjee and comedians like Chinmoy Roy surprised the viewers with a different style of acting. Again in Nirjan Saikate, Anil Chatterji’s performance as an observer questioned the fate of five widows in the film namely Sharmila Tagore, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Bharati Devi, Chaya Devi, Renuka Debi, all of whom received National awards for their individual performance.

When the works of Tapan Sinha are analyzed it becomes a question to the historians in respect of where to start and when to end. The work of Kali Banerjee, a compounder in the film Arohi, with an emotional relationship with his master played by Bikash Roy, requires special mention. The feelings of a semi-educated rural person was displayed in style by Kali Banerjee who sacrified his earnings for the education of his master’ son.

Tapan Sinha’s other landmark films include Khudito Pashan, Khaniker Atithi, Golpo Holey Sotti. Tapan Sinha even showed the unrest existing in Kolkata during the naxalite period in films like Ekhoni and Aponjon. Besides there were films based on reflections like the film Atithi were Tagore’s complex observations were highlighted. His comedy films like Bancharamer Bagan and Baidurjo Rahasya addressed the interests of common audience of the country.

Radhamohan Bhattacharya, an eminent scholar and versatile personality was used by Tapan Sinha in dynamic roles like the royal diwan in Jhinder Bandi, the medical expert in Khoniker Atithi, the noted novelist in Kabuliwala and the urdu poet in Khudito Pashan.

In the late 90s, Tapan Sinha even made films based on antisocial activities like Antardhan and Atonko, where Soumitra Chatterji depicted the concerns of middle-class father in a complex society. Most of Tapan Sinha’s films were remade in hindi and provided fresh ideas for other directors in bollywood industry like Bimal Roy, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, etc.

He is probably the most unsung, unrecognized, unlamented maestros of golden age of Bengali cinema, but the intellectuals of India and abroad consider Tapan Sinha as the greatest director of all times after Satyajit Ray and had remained an institution by himself.

The viewers pay their regard and respect to the departed soul.

Shahrukh Khan's projection of bollywood history in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

Shahrukh Khan’s projection of bollywood history in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

In the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, there was a dance sequence where Shahrukh Khan along with Anushka Sharma, showed the style of dance performances propagated by the leading stars of bollywood over the years.

Composer Salim Sulaiman composed the tunes for the modernized version of the legendary songs and Sonu Nigam sang them after representing the style of singing of all the stalwarts of the different decades. Shahrukh Khan showed the style of Raj Kapoor with a costume that the showman wore in the film Shree 420, while Kajol showed the style of Nargis. The form of the dance presentation was related to the era of Raj Kapoor, although the mannerism was evolved by Shahrukh Khan.

Dev Anand’s style was also depicted by Shahrukh Khan with Bipasha Basu playing the part of both Nutan and Sadhna. The songs included some of the hit songs of Dev during the 50s, 60s. Shammi Kapoor’s rock and roll style was also displayed with Helen’s performance replicated by Lara Dutta. Someway or the other the music of Shankar Jaikishan could not be matched or replicated.

Rajesh Khanna’s style was also depicted by Shahrukh Khan with Preeti Zinta depicting the mannerisms of Sharmila Tagore. Also Rishi Kapoor’s mannerisms were shown by Shahrukh Khan with Rani Mukherjee playing the part played by Neetu Singh. The producers, directors, choreographers of the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi claim that the selections of actresses were based with their similarity with the stars of the different ages.

But in respect of conveying the message of domination of the respective stars of the different periods of time, there were lot of disparity. Firstly performances of giants like Dilip Kumar in the 50s, Joy Mukherjee or Biswajeet in the 60s, Amitabh Bacchan in the 70s were not found in the show.

Secondly as far as actresses were concerned very significantly the powerful dancers of the 50s and 60s were not shown at all like Vaijayantimala, or Asha Parekh, or Wahida Rehman. In fact, most of the dance sequences of the golden age, especially the 50s and 60s were dependant on the sheer brilliance of Vaijayantimala, Wahida Rehman, Rajashree, Mumtaz, etc., as most of the actors other than Shammi Kapoor and Jeetender were not specialized in dancing in serious sense of the term.

Another thing that is evident was that Shahrukh Khan could not create any magic out of the dance sequence relating to bollywood history, the way he amazed the viewers with his dance sequence in Om Shanti Om. In that film, he danced with all the leading stars of golden age and modern age like Dharmender, Jeetender, Rekha, Shabana Azmi and Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Bobby Deol, etc.

The film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi had done moderate business and could not match the expectation of viewers who were used to see Shahrukh Khan’s blockbusters like Kabi Alvida Na Kehna, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc.

Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra won Starscreen awards.

Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra won Starscreen awards.

Hrithik Roshan won the starscreen best actor award and Priyanka Chopra won the starscreen best actress award for their performance in bollywood films for the year 2008. Hrithik Roshan won it for the film Jodha Akbar and Priyanka Chopra won it for the film Fashion.

Hrithik Roshan had been considered as the most stylish Indian actor who had all the potentiality required to perform in Hollywood films. When he played a historical role of Akbar, the viewers were mesmerized with his royal style of performance. He was appreciated for his acrobatic stunts in the films Dhoom 2 and Krissh previously and this award will also go a long way in his acting career.

Priyanka Chopra had dominated bollywood films in 2008 with a number of releases like God Tussi Great Ho, Love Story 2050, Chamku, etc. She got the award for her dynamic performance in the film Fashion. She amazed the viewers with her various expressions in Madhur Bhandarkar’s experimental film.

Tushar Kapoor bagged the best supporting actor’s award for his performance in the film Golmaal Returns. He acted in a dumb role, but his expressions made the people laugh in the halls. Sahana Goswami got the best supporting actress award for her performance in the film Rock On.

Akshay Kumar got the Nokia Popular Viewer’s choice award for his performance in the film Singh is Kinng. Aishwarya Rai got the same award for her performance in the film Jodha Akbar. To everyone’s astonishment Akshay Kumar dedicated the award to Amir Khan for his dynamic performance in the film Ghajini.

Farhan Akhtar won the best debut male actor for his performance in the role rock on. Asin won the best debut female actress for her performance in the film Ghajini.

Ashutosh Gowarikar won the best director award for the film Jodha Akbar. Neeraj Pandey won the same award for the film A Wednesday. Both the films had very high standard of story telling and both the directors deserved the award. Jodha Akbar was adjudged as the best film of the year 2008.

AR Rehman won the award for the best background music in the film Jodha Akbar. To the astonishment of the viewers Priyanka Chopra was not present in the award ceremony, while Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar appeared for the awards.

It is interesting to see whether the same stars would get the filmfare awards for the same category which will be announced later this year.

Happy birthday to Kabir Bedi.

Happy birthday to Kabir Bedi.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Kabir Bedi on 16th January, 2009. He had played a notable role in the bollywood industry and also contributed well in Hollywood films.

In the late 60s, he played a significant role in the film Hulchul with OP Ralhan. The film was a suspense thriller having comedy element as well. The communication relating to a murder was heard by OP Ralhan and he communicated it to all the known personalities in the film thereby creating a panic situation. Kabir Bedi’s baritone voice in the film impressed the viewers.

In the 80s and 90s, Kabir Bedi was used by most of the directors of bollywood films in negative roles. In Firoz Khan’s Yalgaar, he kept the balance in the film opposite Mukesh Khanna. His men killed the Commissioner of Police played by Mukesh Khanna, and thereafter was chased by Feroz Khan, the son of Mukesh Khanna.

His own son played by Sanjay Dutt, took the challenge on his own shoulders, but could not save Kabir Bedi. He died himself after being fired by Feroz Khan in the film. The film was very successful in the early 90s.

Kabir Bedi was sublime in his role in the film Rudrakh. He played the role of the father of Sanjay Dutt in the film. Through his meditation he could visualize the person in whose possession the famous stone rudraksh was lying with. Rudraksh was a very powerful device, and the person who used it could acquire supernatural power.

The reason Kabir Bedi identified the person Sunil Shetty, who was having the rudraksh, was because the stone could be used by the respective person for committing evil deeds as well. Kabir Bedi died in the process. But Sanjay Dutt with the help of Bipasha Basu reached the place where Sunil Shetty kept the rudraksh. Ultimately it was obtained from him. Although the film was based on fantasy, Kabir Bedi’s performance was worth mentioning.

Kabir Bedi was also sublime in the film Kohram. Big B and Nana Patekar fought against the antisocial activities of Danny in the film. Kabir Bedi played the role of Military major and he did very well in the film.

Kabir Bedi had acted in more than 200 bollywood films and had shown his indispensability in different types of roles. The viewers expect him to continue the good work in the years to come.

Kimi Katkar and bollywood films.

Kimi Katkar and bollywood films.

There were a number of actresses who appeared in bollywood films in the 80s and faded away from the industry after some period of time. Viewers had remembered the most popular actresses like Madhuri Dixit or Sri Devi. But actresses Neelam, Farha, Kimi Katkar were forgotten who had limited success but created their own identity in contemporary films.

Kimi Katkar came to limelight with the performance in the film Tarzan. The story of Tarzan had always attracted children all across the world and every time the film was remade in Hollywood or bollywood, the viewers responded well. Johnny Wasmuller became more popular for playing the character of Tarzan than winning Gold Medal for Swimming in the Olympics.

Kimi Katkar did very well in the hindi version of the film Tarzan. She was the wife of Tarzan and taught him the lifestyle of urbanized people. She understood the truth in the personality of Tarzan and tutored him to face the modern man. The lips given in the song “tarzan, my tarzan” was also impressive.

She stormed bollywood with her powerful performance in the film Hum opposite Big B. Big B was at his best in the early 90s, when the film was released and it was a dream for any actress of bollywood to perform opposite him at that time. Due to old age, Big B took a make up of an old person, the so called brother of Govinda and Rajnikant in the film.

Although the main story of the film revolved around the revenge taken by Big B against Danny who was his biggest enemy, Kimi Katkar’s relationship with Big B was worth mentioning. She explained the greatness of Tiger, the character played by Big B in the film, who sacrificed his life to bring up the young brothers who had no other guardian to look after them.

He even did not marry considering the interest of the two brothers played by Govinda and Rajnikant. In the last part of the film when Rajnikant disregarded Big B and tried to arrest him, the performance of Kimi Katkar appealed to the masses.

Her other notable films included Kala Bazar, opposite Anil Kapoor. The film was related to unlawful activities of Kader Khan who became wealthy after accepting bribes. On the other hand Sujit Kumar, the father of Anil Kapoor, who was an honest person faced the misery of life. Anil Kapoor revolted at the end of the film and mobilized the police force led by Jackie Shroff to reveal the identity of lawbreakers of the society. Kimi Katkar supported Ail Kapoor in the film with her strong performance.

In the mid-90s, with the domination of Juhi Chawla, Kajol, Raveena Tandon and other new actresses Kimi Katkar faded out from the industry. But her films should be restored and viewers feel that new producers should give her character roles in future as well.

Why Yuvvraaj did not storm bollywood films.

Why Yuvvraaj did not storm bollywood films.

Yuvvraaj had been one of the big-budget films of 2008, directed by Subhash Ghai which did not storm bollywood films like Ghajini, or Singh is Kinng, or Race or Jodha Akbar. If the film is analyzed the reason for the mediocre business can be found.

Firstly the film had been too long. Subhash Ghai had created a legacy for making long films continuing for more than 3 hours, but most of the successful ones like Karma or Karz, or Khalnayak, had series of events to entertain the viewers. It did not happen in the case of Yuvvraaj. The locations of Austria, South Africa, UK amused the viewers but the message of unification with family bond was not strong enough to make the viewers enchanted.

The attitude of Salman Khan and Zaid Khan in duping Anil Kapoor to get half share of the property of their father was also not convincing. In Mithun Chakravarty, the solicitor in the film read out the will of the father of Anil Kapoor, everyone came to know that the entire property was gifted to Anil Kapoor, and others were given just 5 crore rupees each. Salman Khan required the property only to satisfy Boman Irani, the father of Katrina Kaif who created a condition to get his daughter married to Salman Khan only if he was a billionaire.

Salman Khan had no genuine cause of hatred against Anil Kapoor, so the plan for getting the entire property with Zaid Khan was not convincing at all. Zaid Khan tried to show his hatred against Anil Kapoor for not co-operating with him in proving the mental imbalance of his father at the time of creation of the will. But that too was not that impressive.

Anil Kapoor at times looked intelligent, at other times looked childish. His lips in the respective songs were of very high standard. The performance of Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan in respect of being sympathetic towards Anil Kapoor touched the hearts of the audience.

The biggest asset of the film was melodious music of AR Rehman, which was perhaps the best creation of 2008, considering the quality of music of Jodha Akbar, Jane Tu Ya Jane Na, Ghajini, etc. But the viewers these days cannot devote three hours in cinema halls only to listen to melodious music.

There was no action or comedy to breakdown the boredom created in the film which stretched for such a long period of time. Subhash Ghai has to learn lessons from Samir Karnik, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Abbas Mastan and other modern directors in understanding the pulse of the viewers, otherwise the huge effort in bringing forth social messages relating to unification of family members and enhancement of family ties will fall flat. Both the films Yadein with Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor and Yuvvraaj are examples of projects which had promise but could not blossom into trend-setting family dramas.

Happy birthday to Imran Khan.

Happy birthday to Imran Khan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Imran Khan on 13th January, 2009. Imran Khan, the relative of Amir Khan had created a lasting impression in the minds of teenagers with the performance in his first film Jane Tu Yaa Jane Na.

Amir Khan produced the film keeping in mind the taste of the young generation of viewers. Imran Khan acted opposite Genelia D Souza, who was also another newcomer in the bollywood industry. The film was related to the life of Imran Khan, a rajput whose father Nasirruddin Shah believed in warfare.

His father Nasir died and Imran’s mother never disclosed the identity of his father and asked him to believe in non-violence. Imran was known for his peace-loving attitude in his college. He had an affair with Genelia but he could not say it to her.

Genelia was engaged with an egoistic person who even slapped her before marriage. She decided to go abroad to pursue her higher studies. Imran Khan went to the airport, broke the security over there and brought her on horseback. All the wishes of Nasir to see his son going to jail, riding on horseback, etc., the signs of rajputs, were fulfilled by his son.

The romantic theme of the film was enhanced by melodious and catchy music of AR Rehman. Songs like “kabhi kabhi”, “pappu cant dance”, etc., became the greatest musical hits of the year. The film stands in the list of the greatest hits of 2008.

Furthermore, Imran Khan has all the possibilities of bagging the filmfare best debutant award for his performance in 2008. Eve his other film Kidnap had a unique storyline. Imran Khan accepted the challenging of playing a negative role after one film, which other actors in his place would not have accepted.

He had kidnapped Sanjay Dutt, the father of Minissha Lamba in the film Kidnap, in respect of ransom. Sanjay Dutt communicated with him about the ransom. He was a very influential person and used his resources to track down Imran Khan and free his daughter. The tassle between Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan created a new dimension for the viewers and it ended with the release of Minissha Lamba.

Although the film did not brig adequate revenue as the viewers these days had not shown much interest in watching action films, Imran Khan’s acting effort in the film was well appreciated by the critics.

The competition in bollywood films in very severe. In that scenario actors like Imran Khan will compel veteran stars like Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Amir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan to do even better in the years to come to remain in competition. Imran Khan has a bright future in bollywood industry.

Amir Khan's Ghajini did business for more than 200 crores.

Amir Khan’s Ghajini did business for more than 200 crores.

Amir Khan has been considered as the most thoughtful personality in bollywood industry. His films were seen by the audience like any religious site that is worshipped by devotees. The same thing had happened with Ghajini.

There was lot of curiousity in the minds of viewers about the film before it was released. Amir Khan himself told the journalists in press conference that he built the muscular body only to express the feelings of the mentally affected person in the film. It took more than 2 years to build the muscles.

When viewers watched the film they got flabbergasted with the performance of Amir Khan. He would have Oscar award for his brilliant performance had he acted in Hollywood films. There were stages where Amir Khan lost his memory every 15 minutes and looked helpless.

The character Ghajini in the film killed the girl friend of Amir Khan. Later on when Amir Khan wrote the name of his enemies in his body, he rubbed them off when he caught Amir Khan in a state of unconciousness. A young medical student helped Amir Khan to get back his memory.

The film took a turn in the last part where Amir Khan recovered after an iron rod was pierced in his body by Ghajini and he killed Ghajini with a heavy iron weapon. The last part was different from the South Indian version of the same film Ghajini.

The credit lies on Amir Khan in converting an otherwise simple film into a classic film. Already the film had brought revenues in India and oversees market of more than 200 crore rupees. It is still being exhibited in the leading halls all across the country and has the capability of bringing even more revenue.

It is quite unfortunate that the best performers in India never get the awards for best performances in Filmfare ceremony or other major Group awards that are given every year. Otherwise Shahrukh Khan would not have dominated bollywood films for the last 10 years.

It is evident in Ghajini that when an actor like Amir Khan puts in his heart, soul, body in the role played in the film the hard work gets rewarded in terms of the responses of the viewers. He is the best actor of the country at the moment and the popularity of Shahrukh Khan or Abhishek Bacchan cannot stop him from performing in even challenging roles in contemporary films.

If Taren Zameen Par was the best venture of 2007, then Ghajini was the most meaningful project of 2008. The viewers expect Amir Khan to explore himself more in his strive to reach perfection in bollywood films in future.

Preeti Zinta and Aishwarya Rai matched Hrithik Roshan the most

Preeti Zinta and Aishwarya Rai matched Hrithik Roshan the most.

On the birthday of Hrithik Roshan on 10th January, 2009, the viewers wondered about the actresses who had matched the superstar in his illustrious career. Amongst actresses like Amisha Patel, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and others it was Preeti Zinta and Aishwarya Rai who had matched Hrithik Roshan the most in films opposite him.

In the film Laksh and Koi Mil Gaya, Preeti Zinta complimented Hrithik Roshan with her westernized performance. In Laksh Hrithik Roshan did not have goal in life. He joined the army and but left it. Preeti Zinta was a journalist and reformed Hrithik Roshan to accept challenges in life. He joined the armed forces and did a great job during Cargill war at the borders of India and Pakistan.

In Koi Mil Gaya, Hrithik Roshan played the role of a handicapped person. Preeti Zinta was compassionate towards him and understood his feelings. She cooperated with him in his interaction with aliens and married him even after knowing his deficiencies. Koi Mil Gaya was one of the biggest hits in Hrithik Roshan’s career and Preeti Zinta contributed a lot with her romantic acting. Her lips in the song “koi mil gaya” was also very impressive.

Aishwarya Rai was the other actress who had western looks and matched Hrithik Roshan in the film Dhoom 2. Hrithik Roshan played a negative character in the form of international thief in the film. Aishwarya Rai was also an international criminal and both of them entered into a pact for the biggest stealing operations across the world.

The level of performance of both Hrithik and Ash reached standard of excellence of Hollywood films in Dhoom 2. The dance performances of both the superstars in the song “crazy kiya re” and “dhoom machale” also astonished the viewers. Hrithik Roshan in fact superseded Abhishek Bacchan in the same film with his dynamic performance inspite the fact that Abhishek Bacchan played the positive role in the form of investigator in the film.

Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai again stormed bollywood films with their brilliant performance in the film Jodha Akbar based on the life of Mughal Emperor Akbar. It was the first blockbuster of 2008.

Both Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan looked gorgeous in their colourful apparel that suited the theme of the film. The royal style of living of both the Mughals and the Rajputs was well expressed by Hrithik and Ash. The music of AR Rehman was excellent with all the songs becoming relevant and meaningful.

Hrithik Roshan has to go a long way as he had just spend 10 years in bollywood films and producers and directors should utilize the onscreen chemistry of Hrithik Roshan with Aishwarya Rai and Preeti Zinta to make even better films in future.

Happy birthday to Hrithik Roshan

Happy birthday to Hrithik Roshan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to superstar Hrithik Roshan on 10th January, 2008. He has been considered as one of the greatest style icons of India and probably the most dynamic actor ever to grace Indian silver screen.

When he appeared in his father Rakesh Roshan’s project Kaho Na Pyar Hai in 2000, he broke all types of records that were set up in Indian cinema in respect of revenues derived from successful films. He played a double role with the title Rohit as an Indian and Raj as a Kiwi citizen. The smartness and elegance that he showed in the Kiwi character was unparallel considering the capability of all the leading superstars of the country. He acted opposite Amisha Patel who was also sublime in the film. Last but not the least his dancing capability was appreciated by every section of the crowd, especially in songs like “pyar ki kashti me”, “kaho na pyar hai”, “haseeno ki mehfil”, etc.

But after the success in Kaho Na Pyar Hai, his off-beat films like Fiza and Mission Kashmir did not get proper response from the crowd. He gave spirited performance opposite Karishma Kapoor in Fiza and Preeti Zinta in Mission Kashmir. In fact he dared to even act in a negative character in the film Mission Kashmir opposite Sanjay Dutt in the early part of his career, which other actors of his age would not have dared to do. He gave adequate lips in the song “bhumaro bhumaro” in Mission Kashmir.

After a series of medium budget films like Mai Pyar Ki Diwani Hoon, he again stormed box-office with the success of his film Koi Mil Gaya. He received the filmfare award for the best actor again with dynamic performance in the role of a mentally retarded person. The film was shot in Australia by director Rakesh Roshan and Preeti Zinta and Rekha did very well in their respective roles. The relationship with Aliens was well expressed by Hrithik Roshan.

He again received filmfare award for best actor in the film Dhoom 2. Again he acted in a negative character in the form of international thief. He became notorious for his planned stealing operations in partnership with Aishwarya Rai. His deeds or misdeeds were detected by the intelligent investigator played by Abhishek Bacchan. He left him without charges after Hrithik transferred the stolen property to Abhishek Bacchan. Hrithik Roshan showed some acrobatic stunts which only Hollywood actors could have taken in the film. The dance performance in the song “dhoom machale” was brilliant by international standards.

Hrithik Roshan made the viewers speechless with his dynamic performance in the film Krishh. He acted opposite Priyanka Chopra and exhibited the supernatural powers that he inherited from his father who received them from aliens. The scenic beauty of South East Asian countries amazed the viewers along with the performance of Hrithik Roshan.

In 2008, Hrithik Roshan’s brilliant performance in the role of Mughal Emperor Akbar astonished the viewers. He complimented the dynamic performance of Aishwarya Rai in the film Jodha Akbar which was first blockbuster of 2008. His other hit films included Laksh opposite Preeti Zinta, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham opposite Kareena Kapoor, etc.

Indian viewers are not that much fond of westernized performances, otherwise with the multitalented approach to films, Hrithik Roshan would have dethroned Shahrukh Khan from the Number One position long time back.

Even with limited success, the viewers expect Hrithik Roshan to continue his good work and do even better in the years to come.

Remembering Mahendra Kapoor

Remembering Mahendra Kapoor.

The audience of bollywood films remember Mahendra Kapoor, the dignified playback singer of the golden age on 9th January, 2009. He learned music from the giant singer Mohammad Rafi and had a very strong background to sing complex tunes made during the 50s and 60s.

He mainly contributed in BR Chopra’s films and attracted the attention of the audience who were used to hear the voices of legendary singers like Rafi, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Kishore, Talat Mehmood, etc. In Sunil Dutt’s film Gumrah, Mahendra Kapoor’s song “chalo ekbaar phir se” composed by Ravi became super hit. From that time the team of BR Chopra, Mahendra Kapoor and Ravi had provided many memorable hits.

In the film Waqt, Mahendra Kapoor’s duet song with Asha titled “dil je sahare aja pyar Karen” became super hit. His songs were picturised on both Sunil Dutt and Shashi Kapoor in the film. He even received the filmfare award for the best singer in the late 60s for his song “nile gagan ke tale” composed by Ravi and picturised on Raj Kumar in the film Humraaz.

Manoj Kumar gave a different dimension to the singing career of Mahendra Kapoor by asking him to sing patriotic songs in his films. His song “rang de basanti chola” in the film Shahid became extremely popular along with Rafi’s song “aye watan aye watan”. The most popular song in the career of Mahendra Kapoor was “mere desh ki dharti” from the film Upkar.

Manoj Kumar made the film with Lal Bahadur Shastri’s vision for the country with the slogan “jai jawan jai kisan”. Mahendra Kapoor addressed the farmers of the country, the military personnel and the freedom fighters with the song “mere desh ki dharti” composed by Kalyanji Anandji. The film became super hit and Mahendra Kapoor became a legendary singer of the contemporary generation.

The partnership of Manoj Kumar with Mahendra Kapoor continued in following films like Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapra Aur Makaan, Kranti, etc. With increase of age more maturity was witnessed in the voice of Mahendra Kapoor.

Mahendra Kapoor sang many romantic songs in his illustrious career including “har dil jo pyar karega” composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film Sangam. His song was picturized on Rajender Kumar when Lata Mangeshkar sang the same song for Vaijayantimala and Mukesh sang it for Raj Kapoor. Mahendra Kapoor kept his mark amongst the other established singers.

His contribution cannot be expressed in a small article taking account of his presence over 40 years in bollywood industry. The viewers want to pay respect to the noble soul on his birthday on 9th January, 2009.

Sanjeev Kumar and Gulzar.

Sanjeev Kumar and Gulzar.

Sanjeev Kumar was one of the gifted actors of 70s who was indispensable in bollywood industry. He had performed in every type of films including classic pictures like Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ki Khiladi to commercially successful blockbusters like Sholay.

But the director who had used his talents to their limits was Gulzar. Gulzar dealt with classic literature and life of the middle-class man with their crude reality. Sanjeev Kumar fulfilled most of his requirements in diversified roles.

He was sublime in the film Koshish, which was based on the life of a deaf and dumb couple. Although he himself could not speak, he learnt the art of reading faces by which the communication could be understood by attending classes in deaf and dumb school. He taught the skill to his wife Jaya Bacchan also in the film. He only had eyes and face to express the feelings of the character and he did it in style. The scene where his child did not respond to a musical toy was very touchy. He thought his child was also deaf and actually the toy was defective and did not make any sound.

In Mausam, he recollected his romantic memories with Sharmila Tagore during the time when he entered into an affair with her during his student life. He came to Darjeeling as a medical student and was treated by Om Shivpuri, the father of Sharmila Tagore in the film. But after promising to marry Sharmila Tagore he went for Higher Education and returned after a long period of time. By that time Sharmila gave birth to a daughter, died herself and the daughter entered unlawful business to earn her livelihood. The reflections in the film could only be expressed by a stalwart of the callibre of Sanjeev Kumar.

Again Gulzar used him in style in the film Aandhi. He was compassionate to his wife played by Suchitra Senn who was a political in the film. She was cornered from every angle by her opposition and could only communicate about her feelings to her husband Sanjeev Kumar who stayed separately as his profession was different from his wife. Sanjeev Kumar even received filmfare award for best actor in the film.

The other landmark films of Gulzar, where Sanjeev Kumar was sublime include Parichay, Angoor, Namkeen, etc. All the roles played by Sanjeev Kumar in Gulzar’s films were different from one another and had sensitive human values attached to them.

Sanjeev Kumar entered the skin of the characters and made the viewers believe in them through his sheer brilliance. It is a pity that Sanjeev Kumar did not get the recognition he deserved and never became a phenomenon like Dilip Kumar or Balraj Sahani, but whenever viewers revisit his films they agree on the point that he was the fit performance for bringing life in classic roles in Gulzar’s films. The films should be restored for those reasons.

Happy birthday to Bipasha Basu.

Happy birthday to Bipasha Basu.

The viewers of bollywood films wish very happy birthday to Bipasha Basu, India’s Angelina Jolie. She has been one of the most sought after models who had become indispensable in bollywood films in the last few years.

When she initially joined bollywood films in Ajnabee with Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Kareena Kapoor, her smartness and aggressive performance was discussed amongst producers and directors. With passage of time new producers found similarity of Hollywood stars like Angelina Jolie and Sofia Lorrain and started giving her roles which were both bold and beautiful.

She was considered an art-film actress after her restrained performance in Madhur Bhandarkar’s off-beat project Corporate. Her hit films include Ajnabee, Bacchna Aye Haseeno, Race, etc.

She had bagged the award for the most stylish icon last year in 2008, during a year when other bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra had stormed bollywood films with their stylish performances and westernized dress-ups.

Although the complexion of Bipasha Basu was darkish, her looks were unique and that was the reason she was used by directors of different dimensions. In films like Dhoom 2, where Aishwarya Rai showed challenging stunts opposite Hrithik Roshan, Bipasha Basu complimented Abhishek Bacchan in the film with her smart performance. Till date she had performed in more stylish roles than tradional characters.

It did not matter to her that she had not been identified as romantic stars like Preeti Zinta, or Rani Mukherjee or Kareena Kapoor, who had ruled bollywood films for the last 5 years, as long as her performance in contemporary films were appreciated and her films did brilliant business in India and abroad.

Even with increase of age, viewers had to accept her presence in films in 2008, like Bacchna Aye Haseeno, where she had performed opposite younger stars like Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba. In an interview before a private channel Ranbir Kapoor mentioned that Bipasha Basu was the most matured actress who had acted opposite her in his short career. Beyond style and dance performances she had very strong acting conception which had still kept her in the rat race.

The viewers expect her to continue her brilliant work in bollywood films and show more dynamism in future.

Review of the film Chandni Chowk to China.

Review of the film Chandni Chowk to China.

The viewers of bollywood films are anxiously waiting for the release of the film Chandni Chowk to China in the 2nd week of January, 2009. The reasons are very obvious. Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone had played major roles in the film and the had given hits after hits in the last few years. At the same time Akshay Kumar had spoken about his role in the film in award ceremonies that were held in 2008 and the martial art that was displayed in the film was mentioned there.

Akshay Kumar played the role of an ordinary fruit-seller in the film who sold the produce in the streets of Chandni Chowk in Delhi. He met astrologers, fakirs and other fortune-tellers and asked them about any shot-cut route of becoming wealthy as he disgusted with his ordinary lifestyle. He got guidance from a local guardian played by Mithun Chakravarty in the film.

Two Chinese strangers came to Delhi, and told Akshay Kumar that he was the re-incarnation of major warrior of China. Akshay Kumar believed in there story and accepted the offer of being taken to China. He thought his life with be smooth in that part of the world. He dreamt about wine, beautiful women, picturesque locations.

What happened over there was totally different than what Akshay Kumar thought. Ranvir Shorey was the translator and he could not explain to Akshay Kumar that he had been taken to China not for any elementary purpose. He was supposed to fight against a notorious smuggler in that place with the title Gordon Liu. He met Deepika Padukone on the way and took her who wanted to look back at old memories in that part of the world.

Gordon Liu proved within short period of time that Akshay Kumar was not nothing better than a joker. After being beaten up him, Akshay Kumar contacted few personalities who taught him martial art and he trained himself to take revenge against Gordon Liu. From serious comedy the film took a turn towards authentic action sequences where Akshay Kumar had his specialization long back.

The film had very strong story line and script. There were events all across the film which could entertain the viewers and were not boring at all. The comedy sequences were created for purpose and action was also meaningful.

Nikhil Advani’s direction, Ramesh Sippy, Rohan Sippy’s production and Shankar –Ehsan-Loy’s music was very unique. Akshay Kumar’s hard work behind the project is evident from his performance. Deepika and Ranvir Shorey were very natural in their performances.

After the supreme success of Amir Khan’s Ghajini, Akshay Kumar again had come back with a super-hit package. His film will be the first block-buster of 2009 with the innovative venture.

Happy birthday to Reena Roy.

Happy birthday to Reena Roy.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Reena Roy on 7th January, 2009. She faced the strong competition of the performers of the 70s and yet could survive for more than 15 years in bollywood films. She came at a time when Hema Malini, Rekha, Parveen Babi and other actresses were at their peak.

But she impressed the viewers with her natural performance in Subhash Ghai’s film Kalicharan, opposite Shatrughun Sinha. The film was based on the story of a prisoner who was reformed and given training to work in the police force and thereafter help the investigation agency in tracking down the culprits. Reena Roy’s dance performance in the song “jareja” sung by Lata, was well appreciated.

In the late 70s Reena Roy kept her mark with her performance in the film Nagin. It was a multistarrer film where Firoz Khan, Mumtaz, Jeetender, Sunil Dutt, all were sublime in their respective roles. The story was based on fantasy where the snakes changed their form and took revenge against human beings who had killed their fellow snakes at different periods of time. Although the story had no practical base, but the entertaining performance of most of the stars including Reena Roy, converted a normal film into a hit venture.

Reena Roy acted in multistarrer films of other directors like Manmohan Desai. In Naseeb, she played the role of a worker in a restaurant where Big B himself worked. The film became extremely successful with powerful performance of Shatrughun Sinha, Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini. The music of the film was extremely successful. Pran and Amzad Khan played key roles in negative characters.

In the 80s, with the advent of action films new action stars adorned bollywood films. Actors like Rajnikant tried their luck in bollywood after playing successful innings in South Indian films. Even during that period Reena Roy was successful in her performance opposite Rajnikant in the film Andha Kanoon.

Andha Kanoon was related to the revenge that was taken by Rajnikant against Pran, Prem Chopra and Danny after they killed his family members. Reena Roy played the romantic character opposite Rajnikant and kept her mark opposite many stars in the film.

Later on she married Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan and left films. But even these days whenever she is seen in character roles like the one in Abhishek Bacchan’s film Refugee, the viewers enjoy her presence to a big extent.

The viewers expect her to continue her good work in the years to come.