Happy birthday to Vidya Balan.

Happy birthday to Vidya Balan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vidya Balan on 1st January, 2010. Vidya Balan had shown her potentiality in sophisticated roles in the past.

Vidya Balan attracted the attention of cultured audience through her soft performance in Pradeep Sarkar’s film Parineeta. It was an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s successful novel Parineeta. Vidya Balan reached the depth of the character that was related to life of Kolkata during the 18th century.

Vidya Balan acted opposite Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan and balanced their performance with her own performance. She also gave able lips in the song “piyu bole, piya bole” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal which became super hit.

Vidya Balan was also impressive in the film Lage Raho Munnabhai opposite Sanjay Dutt. The film was based on the story of the transformation of Munna Bhai, who was notorious for his unlawful activities through the dictates of Mahatma Gandhi. He told lies to Vidya Balan about being a Professor, but gathered some courage to tell the truth that he was not a Professor. The songs “pal pal pal” created a theme for the film and he performance of both Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Balan was very impressive.

Although Vidya Balan’s films like Kismat Conection with Shahid Kapoor or Hey Baby opposite Akshay Kumar did mediocre business in the last few years, the viewers had seen her strong performance in the film Bhoolbhulaiya.

She had done a good job opposite Abhishek Bacchan and Big B in the film Paa in 2009. She loved Abhishek Bacchan. Their child Big B suffered from a strange disease. Before death Big B united Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan. Her reserve performance once again amazed the viewers.
She should continue to act in reserve roles which suits her characteristics in the years to come.

Paa will get box-office.

Paa will get box-office.

AB Corporation had produced the film Paa with a view of presenting a realistic film having comedy elements. Whenever the corporation tried to do orthodox business, it failed. But now that the project is related to creative work it is going to definitely sell.

The credit goes to the Director Balakrishnan. He had Cheeni Kum in the past and had the courage to take up bold subjects. In the film Abhishek Bacchan got a very challenging role. He was a successful politician in India having won recent elections and had been a member of the Parliament.

While his aspiring career was at its peak, he got the information that when he was in Cambridge and had an affair with Vidya Balan, his child who was there in the mother’s womb, had survived. He asked his wife Vidya Balan, who was a professional doctor, refused to abort the child who was considered to be abnormal. The news of child who was 12 years old suffering from Projeria, a problematic disease created storm in the life of Abhishek Bacchan.

Genetically the age of the child was 70. Amitabh Bacchan, or Big B, took a peculiar make up, with a bald head, where the external features of the child did not match with the brain of the child. But inspite of the comedy sequences, Big B as a character showed his human feelings. He wanted to unite his father and mother, that was Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan, before he died. His sickness stood in the way and he died at the end of the film.

The viewers would definitely not like see their favourite star Amitabh Bacchan die at the end of the film. For the purpose of the story and realistic point of view there was no other climax possible. Abhishek Bacchan played a very effortless role without mannerisms. Vidya Balan was brilliant as ever. Lastly Big B was also brilliant, because he had shown his level of variations in films like Black. The fact that he is still obsessed with doing more experiments and exploring himself is very phenomenal.

The film will do well. Viewers cannot associate Paa with commercially hit films released this year like Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, but with the powerful performances of Big B, Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan, Paa is definitely going to bag a number of awards for excellence in bollywood films this year.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajnikant on 12th December, 2009. For the last 25 years he had remained as one of the most popular superstars of South Indian films and carried his stardom in bollywood films as well.

From the beginning of his career he had created an identity in action films. He had his own mannerisms which were liked by South Indian audience and was also new for bollywood viewers. In the film Andha Kanoon, he acted along with Big B. The film was released in 1983. His parents were tortured and killed in the film by Pran, Prem Chopra and Danny. The entire film was related to the revenge that he had taken against all those actors. His sister’s role was played by Hema Malini who was a police-officer in the film. There were romantic sequences in the film as well where Reena Roy contributed opposite Rajnikant, but as the action sequences became predominating there was not much scope for the romantic performance. The film became superhit in the early 80s.

Rajnikant showed his skills in action films along with Kamal Hassan and Big B in the film Geraftar. There he played the role of a friend of Big B, who was killed during an encounter with the villains in the film. The action sequences in the film became famous during mid-80s. Also the music of Bappi Lahiri became popular.

During the mid-80s Rajnikant acted in the superhit film Chaalbaaz which was made in the same line as Ram Aur Shyam and Seeta Aur Geeta. In the earlier films the double roles played by Dilip Kumar and Hema Malini amused the viewers. In Chaalbaaz the double role was played by Sri Devi. Rajnikant and Sunny Deol were the two heroes in the film. As the film was based on comedy of errors Rajnikant used his comedy skills to perfection opposite Sri Devi. Also Anupam kher did an experiment in the negative role in the film.

Rajnikant had been one of the most popular icons of Tamil films for generations and had carried forward the legacy that was created by Shivaji Ganeshan, Jemini Ganeshan and others. The list of his hit films are too long and cannot be highlighted in a small article. Even his latest film that was released in 2008 titled Shivaji had become super hit. He also played a very active role in South Indian politics. He campaigned for the political party Dravida Munetra Khazagham (DMK) under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi.

Filmstars in South India are hailed across all the four states Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as the languages Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam are very close to each other. Rajnikant had remained popular for more than 25 years and the people at large could identify themselves in the diversified characters that Rajnikant had played during his long career.

Whenever the list of South Indian filmstars who had glorified bollywood films comes into question the name of Rajnikant comes at the top along with Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Arvind Swami and others. The All India audience expect Rajnikant to continue his excellent work both in South Indian films as well as bollywood films in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha.

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful actor Shatrughun Sinha on 9th December, 2009. He was considered to be one of the leading angry young man of the 70s after Big B.

Although he started his career as anti-hero in films like Khilouna, where the central characters were played by Jeetender and Sanjeev Kumar, within short time, he showed his metal as an action star and ruled bollywood films for another 20 years. He was successful in films like Gaye Aur Gauri opposite Jaya Bacchan, Bombay To Goa, etc., in the early 70s.

Shatrughun Sinha learned acting Pune Film and Television Institute and his lessons went a long way in his illustrious career. Viewers remember his combination with Reena Roy as both played romantic pair in numerous films. Kalicharan was one of the most popular films amongst them.

Whenever Shatrughun Sinha faced Amitabh Bacchan both the actors tried to supersede the other. The viewers enjoyed the rift between the two actors in contemporary films. Both did a fantastic job in Ramesh Sippy’s film Shaan. Shatrughun Sinha’s charishma in the role of a shooter was as elegant as Big B’s angry young image in killing Goga Kapoor’s men in the film.

The other films where Big and Shotgun (Shatrughun Sinha was called by this name) met included Kala Patthar, Dostana, Naseeb, to mention a few. In all those films both the actors complimented each other. Even in comedy films like Naram Garam, Shotgun showed his comedy elements and was appreciated.

Shatrughun Sinha was given an off-beat role by Goutam Ghosh in Bengali film Antarjali Jatra where he played the role of a cremator. He played a marathon innings in films which include commercial success like Goutam Govinda, Dillagi, etc. Even in political career he achieved a lot by working for the people under the BJP banner. He was member of Rajya Sabha and won elections also under BJP ticket. He is called the stylish Bihari Babu by his admirers.

Both Shatrughun Sinha and Vinod Khanna are considered the greatest competitors with Big B and had succeeded in portraying the role of action heroes in India. Their height, voice and stature helped a lot in portraying those characters. The viewers expect Shotgun to continue the great work in films in future.

Happy birthday to Hema Malini.

Happy birthday to Hema Malini.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dream girl Hema Malini on 16th October, 2009. She was the uncrowned queen of bollywood films of the 70s.

Her strong dancing skills gave her a separate place in bollywood films. Her performance in the film Sapno Ka Saudagar opposite Raj Kapoor was extremely successful in the late 60s. From there she never looked back. Her film Abhinetri opposite Shashi Kapoor became super hit. Her successful films opposite other stars included Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Burning Train opposite Dharmender, Johnny Mera Naam opposite Dev Anand, to name a few.

Within short time she formed a brilliant combination with Dharmender and their films started rocking bollywood in the 70s. The pair started off with films like Naya Zamana, Raja Jani and went on to give all time hits like Seeta Aur Geeta, Jugnu, Charas, Sholay, etc. If Sholay is remembered for superlative camerawork of Ramesh Sippy, villainish andaz of Amzad Khan, angry image of Big B, then it is also remembered for tremendous dance performance of Hema Malini. She danced on top of glasses in the song “jab tak hai jaan”.

Hema Malini did extremely well in off-beat films as well. One of her landmark films included Kinara opposite Jeetender and Dharmender. Gulzar’s films was based on dancing and Hema Malini’s classical dance balanced the story line where Jeetender’s car struck Dharmender and killed him on the spot. Dharmender was the husband of Hema Malini in the film and she lived with his memory in the film.

Hema Malini’s films opposite Big B also did great business. Some of their hit films included Desh Premi, Satte Pe Satta, etc. In the last few years Hema Malini had been seen contributing in character roles in bollywood films like Baghban.

The viewers still believe that a lot of dancing skills are still left in Hema Malini and she should still act in bollywood films in future.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vinod Khanna on 6th October 2009. He had remained a versatile actor and contributed in bollywood films from the 70s.

He started his career as an anti-hero. He played the role of a villain in the film Aan Milo Sajna, where Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor. With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Vinod Khanna became a dominating figure in bollywood films. Big B’s appearance in the film Zanjeer created a fair competition between Vinod Khanna and Big B.

Both of them featured together in the film Zameer. Both of them showed their action skills against the other actor. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Vinod Khanna played the role of a police officer while Big B played the role of a smuggler. In that film the action skills of Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan was balanced by the romantic style of performance of Rishi Kapoor. All three of them played the role of the three brothers who were separated earlier but met together at the end of the film. Pran played the role of the father of the three actors.

In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Vinod Khanna played the role of the friend of Amitabh. Big B sacrificed his life at the end of the film after preventing Amzad Khan from creating any harm to Rakhee. The songs of the film became superhit. Vinod Khanna acted along with Big B in other films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Paseena, Pavarish, etc.

The other notable films of Vinod Khanna included Qurbani with Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played the role of his friend who sacrificed his life to save Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played a very significant role in the film Burning Train, where Dharmender played the role of his friend. He was the engineer who built the super fast train, but Danny conspired to put a bomb in the train which exploded and burned the train. At the end Dharmender, Jeetender and Vinod Khanna rescued the passengers.

After launching his son Akshay Khanna in the film Burning Train, Vinod Khanna switched to character roles and got busy with politics. He also joined the Rajnish Ashram in the early 80s. The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the megastar of bollywood films Amitabh Bacchan. He had been the most popular actor of the entire millennium.

In the 70s his films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Deewar created a new age of action films. His angry young man image created a revolution during an age when corruption became rampant in India. If Zanjeer was related to the obstacles faced by an honest police officer to safely perform his duties, Deewar was based on the contradiction of two brothers of whom one was a police officer, while the other was compelled to be a smuggler due to social compulsions. Sholay was based on the story of domination of the Chambal region of India by dacoits. The Thakur (played by Sanjeev Kumar) of the village employed two brave criminals namely Big B and Dharmender to face the dacoits.


Big B was a very powerful actor and became the choice of all the leading directors of the 70s and 80s. His films included Abhimaan directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy, Zanjeer directed by Prakash Mehra, Deewar directed by Yash Chopra, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat directed by Shakti Samanta, to name a few. The other factor which singled out Big B with the other actors in terms of his versatility was his baritone voice which he modulated to perfection.

His comedy films like Namakhalal, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, created new dimensions in Indian film history. His notable films during the 80s included Shakti, Akhree Rasta, Inquilab, etc. Even in the 90s his films like Akela and Indrajeet carried his strong personality forward.

Big B had played a huge innings as a character actor and his films like Black, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc., showed the viewers, that after Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar, Big B was an actor with whom the directors could do any experiment. His performance in his son Abhishek Bacchan’s films like Bunty Aur Babli had also been notable. The viewers expect him to continue the great work that he started 40 years back.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor on 4th September 2009. He had remained as one of the most romantic actors that bollywood had ever produced.

He started his career as a child artist in Raj Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker. He stormed bollywood films with his romantic performance in the film Bobby in 1973. The film did great business and Rishi Kapoor received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in Bobby.

From that time onwards Rishi Kapoor remained one the most romantic actors in bollywood films. His films Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, Laila Majnu in 1977 and Sargam in 1978 were the greatest musical blockbusters of the 70s. The songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, Jaidev and Madanmohan in these films became everlasting hits. The notable songs of Rafi and Lata in this film included “koel boli”, “parda hai parda”, “dafliwale”, “barbad muhobbat ki dua”, “is reshmi pazeeb”, to name a few.

Rishi Kapoor’s extraordinary capability of giving lips in these songs separated him from other actors of that era. His films Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi and Karz created history. He showed his dancing skills in every type of songs of Rafi and Kishore including “hai aga dushman zamana”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “dared dil”, “om shanty om”, “puchona yaar kya hua”, to name a few. RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarellal probably gave their best music to Rishi Kapoor in the 70s and 80s.

In the 80s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Duniya, Sitamgar, Saagar, Chandni, Cooli, Naseeb, did fantastic business. In fact due to presence of Rishi Kapoor, producers and directors created romantic stories during an era when Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha dominated bollywood with action films. Even in the 90s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Bol Radha Bol, Damini, etc., were appreciated by the audience.

After the debut of his son Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor switched to character roles. In 2009 also Rishi Kapoor did well in films like Dilli 6.

The viewers expect him to continue the high standard of acting in the years to come and continue the legacy created by Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Rakhee

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakhee on 15th August, 2009. She had contributed in bollywood films for more than 30 years. She had contributed both as a leading actress and also as a character actress.

Rakhee came to limelight with her successful film Sharmilee opposite Shashi Kapoor in the early 70s. The songs of the film composed by SD Burman became very successful, including the songs “khilte hai dil yahan”, “megha chaye aadhi raat”, etc. Rakhee played a double role and created attention.

In the mid-70s Rakhee acted in landmark roles including the one in the film Kabhi Kabhi opposite Big B and Shashi Kapoor. She loved a poet played by Big B, but had to marry Shashi Kapoor. The poetry of Big B created a great impact in the life of Rakhee. The songs of Mukesh and Lata composed by Khayyam in the film including “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” made the viewers spellbound.

Rakhee acted in many landmark films opposite Big B including Shakti Shamanta’s Bengali film Anusandhan, hindi film Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Kala Patthar, Kasme Wade, etc. In the early 80s Rakhee played the role of her lifetime opposite Dilip Kumar in the film Shakti. She played the role of the mother of Big B, who faced the hostility between Dilip Kumar and Big B, one being the protector of law, while the other being the lawbreaker. The film became super hit. Rakhee was equally sublime in the film Shaan opposite Sunil Dutt. She beared the killing of her husband by the enemies and fought the battle against evil with Big B, Shashi Kapoor and Shatrughun Sinha.

In the 90s, Rakhee played many character roles in films like Anil Kapoor’s Ram Lakhan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan’s Karan Arjun, Bobby Deol’s Soldier, to name a few. She had acted in more than 100 films and continues to act in many contemporary films.

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

Happy birthday to Sri Devi

Happy birthday to Sri Devi

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to evergreen actress Sri Devi on 13th August, 2009. She was the most dominating figure in bollywood films in the 80s. Her excellent dancing skills gave her an edge over other actresses of that period.

She was brilliant in the film Himmatwala opposite Jeetender. The film was a South Indian production and the dancing skills of both Sri Devi and Jeetender mesmerized the viewers. The music of the film was also very popular. Sri Devi got a landmark role in Feroz Khan’s film Jaanbaaz. She played the role of the wife of Jeetender who was given drugs forcefully by Shakti Kapoor, Raza Murad and their men. She died due to consumption of the drugs. Feroz Khan along with Anil Kapoor took revenge against her brutal killing.

Sri Devi’s combination with Anil Kapoor was appreciated by the viewers of the 80s. Their film Mr. India, directed by Shekhar Kapoor became everlasting hit. Sri Devi displayed her comedy skills as against the innocent performance of Anil Kapoor in the film. Anil Kapoor’s device for becoming invisible amazed the viewers. Amrish Puri was matchless in his performance in the role of Mogambo.

Big B acted in many films opposite Sri Devi including Inquilab, Akhree Rasta and others. Most of those films ended up being blockbusters. Sri Devi gave many hits opposite Rishi Kapoor including Yash Rash film Chandni. Even then viewers considered Anil Kapoor the best combination opposite Sri Devi. Their superhit films included Laadla, Lamhe, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, and others.

Sri Devi had a fantastic career in South Indian films as well. Her performance in films opposite Rajnikant and Kamal Hassan became super hit in the 8os. She acted in hit bollywood films opposite Rajnikant like Chaalbaaz where she played a double role.


With the domination of Madhuri Dixit in bollywood films in the 90s, Sri Devi faded away from the film arena. Besides she added weight after marrying Boney Kapoor. The viewers expect her to make a comeback soon in character roles.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham, better known as Rahul Dev Burman, on his birthday on 27th June, 2009. Almost 15 years passed after his death, yet his tunes had kept him alive among the young generations.

Being the son of legendary singer and composer SD Burman, he had a monumental task of proving his identity in the 60s. He came out with innovative tunes sung by Rafi in Mehmood’s film Chote Nawab. From that time onwards critics understood that RD Burman had come to create his unique identity. His biggest in the 60s came in Shammi Kapoor’s film Teesri Manzil in 1966. All the songs sung by Rafi and Asha became landmark hits including “o haseena zulfonwali”, “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera”, “janeman janejaa”, etc. Along with western composers like Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, who were ruling the industry, RD Burman kept his feet on strong platform.

RD Burman and Rafi combination continued in films like Abhilasha with songs like “wadiyan tera daaman”, Jeetender’s Karwan with songs like “kitna pyara wada”, “are chadti jawani”, “are ho goriyan kahan tera des re”, Shashi Kapoor’s Pyar Ka Mausam, with songs like “tum bin jayun kahan”, “ni sultana re”, Rajesh Khanna’s The Train, with songs like “gulaabi aankhe”, “tujshe bhala yeh”, etc. In the 70s, RD took the bollywood industry by storm. With death of Jaikishan, Roshan, Ghulam Mohammad, Vasant Desai, etc., the industry depended on Pancham, Laxmikant Pyarellal and Kalyanji Anandji for best music. They provided stability to the industry for the next 15 years.

RD Burman had monumental contribution in Rajesh Khanna and Big B’s films and gave a new life to Kishore Kumar. All the songs of films like Amar Prem, Kati Patang, Aap Ki Kasam, Namak Haram, Mehbooba, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Shaan, Shakti, etc. Memorable songs included “tere naina”, “kuch to log kahenge”, “ai sham mastani”, “janu meri jaan”, etc.

RD Burman contributed a lot in Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Raj Kumari in 1970. The song “ki holo kabe holo” , created history which was remade in hindi in the film Amar Prem. Critics argue that RD Burman reserved his best music in Gulzar’s films. His songs for Lata in Suchitra Sen’s Aandhi titled “is mor se jaate hai”, Uttam Kumar’s Kitaab, “aa ii masterjiki ho gayi chutti”, Jeetender’s Kinara where Bhupinder Singh and Lata did their best in “naam gum jayega”, “meethe bol bole”, “ek hi khwab”, etc., Sanjeev Kumar’s Parichay, with Bhupinder’s “biti na bitai rehna”, etc.

He won the filmfare award for the best composer three times. The young generations associate themselves with RD’s tunes even today, in that count he was one of the versatile composers after Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, Madanmohan, Roshan, etc.

Happy birthday to Amrish Puri.

Happy birthday to Amrish Puri.

The viewers of bollywood films provide their best wishes and wish happy birthday to Amrish Puri on 22nd June 2009. Amrish Puri died few years back and bollywood industry lost one of its indispensable actors ever.

His voice had an universal appeal and initially Amrish Puri was associated with realistic films directed by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini and others. His performance in the films Bhumika, Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Vijeta, Suraj Ka Satwa Ghora, Sardari Begum brought him national and international awards. But he became an indispensable figure in the commercial film industry with his manly body and outstanding voice.

His role JK in Ramesh Sippy’s successful film Shakti, balanced the soft tune of acting of Dilip Kumar as police officer and loud acting of Amitabh Bacchan as a smuggler. He killed Rakhee at the end of the film and was murdered by Big B when he was about to leave India. His act of kidnapping of Big B at a young age led to creation of a barrier between Dilip Kumar and Big B, where Big B thought Dilip Kumar never liked his son, which was untrue. It took Big B the entire film to know that Dilip Kumar loved him just his any other father.

Amrish Puri balanced Dilip Kumar’s personality in Mashal. Dilip Kumar was a journalist in the film and Amrish Puri, an underworld don, evicted Dilip Kumar from his house when he published real news about him. Dilip Kumar’s wife Wahida Rehman died in the streets when they were evicted from their house. Dilip Kumar later became a smuggler and killed Amrish Puri when he tried to murder Anil Kapoor, a young journalist who again reported true events.

Amrish Puri was sublime in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Ghayal. His character Balwant Rai was memorized by even children of India. He killed Raj Babbar and created false case against Sunny Deol. Sunny along with Sudesh Berry and others escaped from the jail and took revenge against Amrish Puri’s men inspite of Om Puri giving protection in the role of Police Officer Desouza. The entire action revolved around Amrish Puri.

Amrish Puri’s character Mogambo in Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr. India gave a new dimension to the character of villains. He dominated the film inspite of Anil Kapoor’s brilliance in using a scientific gazette to remain invisible. Amrish Puri never stuck to one style of acting and never got type-casted like other villains including Jeevan, Prem Chopra or Ajit.

He showed his comedy instincts in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate opposite Anil Kapoor and also David Dhawan’s Mujshe Shaadi Karogi opposite Salman Khan. Amrish Puri’s character role in films like China Gate, Chachi 420, still haunts viewers. He made viewers cry with his performance in the film Ghatak as father of Sunny Deol. He had cancer and died at the end of the film.

Amrish Puri acted in almost 400 films within a span of 25 years which include blockbusters like Big B’s Andha Kanoon, Aaj Ka Arjun, Dilip Kumar’s Duniya, Sunny Deol’s Damini, Ghatak, Gadar Ek Prem Katha, Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta, Mahanta, to name a few. Critics argue that no other actor other than Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah had shown the dynamism that Amrish Puri had shown over the years. His films should be restored and preserved for the new generation.

Death of Prakash Mehra.

Death of Prakash Mehra.

The viewers of bollywood films pay homage to the departed soul of Prakash Mehra, who died today in 2009. He was considered as one of the leading directors who had shown the path of making action films in India.

His film Zanjeer, made Amitabh Bacchan, who was also called Big B, the megastar of Indian cinema. He gave him the role of a brave policer who never feared any law-breaker. He fought his way out against Ajit and his men with the help a pathan played by Pran. The film released in 1973, changed the shape and colour of bollywood films.

After the success of Zanjeer, Yash Chopra made Deewar, Ramesh Sippy made Sholay, Subhash Ghai made Kalicharan, which stand out as the landmarks of action films in Indian cinema. Those actors who were known for their romantic performances in the 60s, became famous as action heroes in the mid-70s. Sunil Dutt was sublime in Zakhmee, Feroz Khan evergreen in Dharmatma, Dharmender brilliant in Charas and Jugnu, Vinod Khanna successful in Burning Train.

Prakash Mehra’s other film Muqaddar ka Sikander, created Big B and Vinod Khanna as the greatest superstar of the 70s. Big B lived as an orphan in the film but became a big don who cared for the poor people. He loved Rakhee, who had soft corner for Vinod Khanna. At the end of the film to save Rakhee and others, Big B fought against Amzad Khan’s men and died. The song “rote hue jaate hai sab” sung by Kishore Kumar and Rafi and composed by Kalyanji Anandji, became super hit.

Lawaarish was one of the other super hit films of Prakash Mehra and Big B. Big B lived the life of an orphan. Big B made the song “mere angneme” equally famous by lending his own voice. Prakash Mehra’s other hit films include Namak Halal, Sharabi with Big B, Mela with Feroz Khan and Haseena Maan Jayegi with Shashi Kapoor.

Prakash Mehra was known in the last few years as the maker of the films Munna Bhai and Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

Munna Bhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai was the story of a local don Munna Bhai played by Sanjay Dutt. He came a doctor in Munna Bhai MBBS, while he did gandhigiri in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Both the films became super hit and created a successful beginning and created a path for making sequels.

Prakash Mehra’s films should be restored and preserved to remember him as the trendsetter of action films in India.

Happy birthday to Moushumi Chatterji

Happy birthday to Moushumi Chatterji.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to actress Moushumi Chatterji on 26th April, 2009. She started her career in films by playing an important character in Bengali film Parineeta. With her she attracted the attention of leading producers and directors of Bengali films including Ajoy Kar and Tarun Majumdar. She acted in a number of Bengali films and then went to Bombay.

In bollywood she played notable roles during the period when the directors like Basu Chatterji, Basu Bhattacharya were involved in making realistic films. Her film Manzil Manzil opposite Big B, became successful, as the film was based on the realistic story titled Akash Kusum which was the Bengali film directed by Mrinal Sen. Her performance in the film Benam, opposite Big B was also outstanding. It was a suspense thriller where Big B’s son was kidnapped and Moushumi expressed the anxiety very well in the film.

In the 70s, Moushumi’s performance in the film Anuraag, opposite Vinod Mehra was worth mentioning. She played the role of a blind girl and did very well in the role. The music in the film composed by SD Burman was also very successful including Rafi’s song “who kya hai”. Mushumi did well also in the action films of that period including the film Goutam Govinda, where Shashi Kapoor and Shatrughun Sinha were brothers and helped the villagers against the oppression of Premnath in the film.

In the early 80s, Moushumi’s performance in superstar Uttam Kumar’s film Ogo Bodhu Sundari gave a special place for her in Bengali films. The film was the last film of Uttam Kumar as he died on 24th July, 1980. The story was based on the epic literature of George Bernard Shaw titled Pygmalion. Uttam Kumat brought Moushumi in his house to teach her. She was totally uneducated and learned culture, education and living style in a modern society from Uttam Kumar. The music of Bappi Lahiri in the film was equally successful.

In the 90s, Moushumi did extremely well in character roles. She was sublime in Sunny Deol’s film Ghayal, where she played the role of the sister- in-law of Sunny. A scandal was publicized against her and she committed suicide in the film.

She also contested MP elections from Kolkata from the Congress (I) ticket in 2004. Viewers agree that there is lot of acting left in Moushumi and they want her to continue the brilliant work both in bollywood films and Bengali films.

Happy birthday to Jaya Bacchan

Happy birthday to Jaya Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jaya Bacchan on 9th April, 2009. She was considered to be one of the most powerful actresses of films during the 70s and 80s. Her effortless performance in different types of roles had inspired other actresses to follow her later on.

Jaya Bacchan started her career with an impressive role in Satyajit Ray’s film Mahanagar in 1965. She played the role of younger sister of Anil Chatterji and adapted herself in the role of realistic actress who show least amount of mannerisms in that film. In the bollywood film Guddi, she played the role of a common girl who was inspired by bollywood films. Utpal Dutta, her uncle took her to film studios to show that actors like Dharmender and others were made stars by the sheer effort of the cameraman, make-up man, director, producer and others and larger than life image is created by the technicians. Jaya Bacchan showed the innocence required from the role of a common teenager in the film.

In the 70s, Jaya Bacchan acted in refined commercial films opposite Sanjeev Kumar and got appreciation from the mass and the critics. She was sublime in Gulzar’s film Koshish, where she herself along with Sanjeev Kumar played the role of a deaf and dumb couple who educated their child and learned communication by attending classes in deaf and dumb schools. She acted in the film Naya din nayi raat, opposite Sanjeev Kumar, where Sanjeev Kumar played 9 roles of 9 different persons. She left her house and met all the nine separate persons and met her husband which was also played by Sanjeev Kumar. She had very peculiar experiences of meeting drunkards, persons suffering from leprosy, smugglers, etc. and expressed her emotions very well.

She was sublime in Gulzar’s film Parichay in 1972, where she played the role of the eldest sister of Sanjeev Kumar. She and her brothers and sisters became orphans after the death of their parents and were brought by Pran, their grandfather to their ancestral house. Jeetender was invited to teach the children and she got involved with Jeetender at the end of the film. She expressed her love for her father and hatred towards grandfather for not accepting her mother in the house like any intellectual actress. Her lips in the song “biti na bitai rehna” sung by Lata and Bhupinder Singh require special mention.

Jaya Bachhan was equally sublime in commercial films like Sholay, Zanjeer, etc., opposite Big B. If her performance opposite Sanjeev Kumar in films like Anamika, Nauker, showed her class of acting, her performance opposite Big B in films like Bangsi Aur Birju or Abhimaan or Milli showed her spontaneous presence before the commercial crowd.

In Abhimaan, all the songs of Lata like “teri bindiya re”, “tere mere Milan ki yeh raina”, etc., almost appeared like songs of Jaya Bacchan. Critics feel that she even did better than Big B in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s classic film.

She became a myth in the 70s, after performing in any time of film including Manoj Kumar’s Shor to Yash Chopra’s Silsila. Even the medium-budget films like Piya Ka Ghar did business due to sheer brilliance of performance of Jaya Bacchan. In the late 90s, she again made a comeback in character roles in films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Fiza, etc., and showed the audience that she had not lost her touch in acting.

The viewers expect her to continue the great work in bollywood films, as there is no doubt that she had equal potentiality like Shabana Azmi or Smita Patil and could have been chosen for any art film made by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini and others during the 80s, had she not left films for bringing up Abhishek Bacchan and her daughter.

Happy birthday to Jaya Prada.

Happy birthday to Jaya Prada.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jaya Prada on 3rd April, 2009. 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 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.

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.

Happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor

Happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shashi Kapoor on 18th March, 2009. Shashi Kapoor, the son of Prithviraj Kapoor, and younger brother of Raj Kapoor, had acting in his blood. He performed in Prithvi Theatres at an early age.

He even acted in Raj Kapoor’s films Awara and Aag, as a child artist. He in fact played the younger stage of Raj Kapoor in those films as he was 15 years younger than Raj Kapoor. In the early 60s he acted in a number of black and white films including Prem Patra with Sadhna.

He established himself in bollywood films with his performance in the film Jab Jab Phool Khilen with Nanda in the mid-60s. From that time a successful team was created and both Shashi Kapoor and Nanda acted in films like Needh Hamari Khwab Tumhari, Mohabbat Isi Ko Kehte Hai, etc. Shashi Kapoor was blessed with successful songs of Mohammad Rafi in those films including “pardesiwon se na akhiyan milana”, “yahan mai ajnabee hoon”, “theriye hosh me aloon”, etc.

Shashi Kapoor acted in multistarrer films like Waqt in the mid-60s with Raj Kumar and Sunil Dutt and kept his mark in the respective role. In the 70s, after the emergence of Amitabh Bacchan, bollywood films took a turn. Directors and producers instead of making romantic films, started concentrating on anti-establishment films.

In that era, Shashi Kapoor acted with Amitabh Bacchan in many films. The combination was sublime in the film Deewar, where Big B was smuggler and Shashi Kapoor was a police officer. Shashi Kapoor’s dialogue “mere pass ma hai” still is remembered by numerous film lovers even today. Where Big B concentrated on action sequences, Shashi Kapoor played the role of soft, romantic actor in those films.

Shashi Kapoor’s other successful films with Amitabh Bacchan include Shaan, Kabhi Kabhi, Trishul, Iman Dharam, Suhaag, to name a few. Most of these films ended up being blockbusters.

Although Shashi Kapoor was not a trend-setter like Raj Kapoor who was considered showman in the 50s, or Shammi Kapoor, who brought the rock-and-roll trend in the 60s, his presence was felt in the 60s and 70s. Shashi Kapoor’s film Pyar Kiye Ja, Sharmilee, Chor Machaye Shor, did moderate business at the box-office.

Besides Shashi Kapoor had produced films for Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalini, and those films were appreciated by the intellectual audience. The films included Junoon and Vijeta, where Shashi Kapoor also himself acted.

In the mid-80s, Shashi Kapoor did put on a lot of weight and faded away from the film industry. But whenever viewers watch him in Ismail Merchant’s films and other films, his appearance reminds everyone about his association with the Kapoor family, the royal family which had contributed actors, producers and directors, for four generations.

Happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan.

Happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan on 5th February, 2009. He had entertained the viewers over the last 10 years and is expected to do even better in the years to come.

Being the son of superstars Amitabh Bacchan and Jaya Bacchan, he had a great challenge in terms of proving himself in the early part of his career. He got chance in good films like JP Dutta’s Refugee, Dhai Aksar Prem Ki, Bombai Se Aya Mera Dost, but due to comparison of him with his father, his performance was not appreciated inspite of the success of the film.

Then he formed a fantastic pair with actress Rani Mukherjee and his career took a turn. His film Yuva was very successful. He played a negative character in the film opposite Rani Mukherjee. The film was related to the violent scenario in Kolkata caused by politics in academic institutions and the loss to the students due to such unrest. Ajay Devgan and Vivek Oberoi did extremely well in the film along with Abhishek Bacchan.

Abhishek Bacchan and Rani Mukherjee complimented each other in the film Bunty Aur Babli. Both of them took the recourse of falsehood and duped different people all across the country. Before their plan was unearthed they left the place and got involved in other crimes. The music in the film composed by Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy became super hit with popular songs like “dharak dharak”, “chup chupke chup chupke”, “bunty aur babli”, “kajra re kajra re”, etc. Aishwarya Rai amused the viewers with her item number in the film titled “kajra re”. Big B also did well in the film in the role of police inspector.

Abhishek Bacchan did well in the film Dhoom-2 opposite Hrithik Roshan. He investigated the significant operations carried out by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai who were international thieves and stole expensive items from museums and art galleries. Abhishek Bacchan arrested Hrithik Roshan at the end of the film but did not confine him after he disclosed the places where he stored the stolen items.

His other hit films included Guru, opposite Aishwarya Rai and Dostana opposite John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra. This year his film Dilli 6 had been released where he did extremely well opposite Sonam Kapoor and veteran actors in the film.

His tall height and deep voice impressed the viewers over the last few years and the viewers are looking forward to his depiction of the character Ram that he is going to play in the film Ravan.

Why God Tussi Great Ho did not do good business?

Why God Tussi Great Ho did not do good business?

It is quite difficult to justify why God Tussi Great Ho failed to do good business in India and oversees market in the last year. The records of successful films in the last few years show that mostly the comedy films had done best business, excepting few action films like Ghajini, where the purpose of the revenge and the violence was well justified.

In case of God Tussi Great Ho, the comedy formula did not work to that extent. Besides, there was a great message in the film. Salman Khan always had grievances against God that it never did justice to its subjects who always prayed and believed in him. He had many worries in life including the liability relating to his sister’s marriage and his own job concerned.

To make matters worst he manufactured a lie detector and planned a program for his Channel which Sohail Khan stole from him and impressed the boss and Priyanka Chopra who was also the girlfriend of Salman Khan. Amitabh Bacchan played the role of God in the film and he gave his power to Salman Khan for 10 days so that he could change his fortune.

Salman Khan thought if he fulfilled the wishes of all the people in the world in one go saying yes, the miseries in the earth would end. Instead of ending it led to havoc, chaos and disaster. Criminals who were languishing in prisons prayed for release. He released them and they started killing innocent people in the city.

A common person wished to win a lottery ticket. After the award was won, an antisocial came and killed the person and left the wife and children in misery. Ordinary persons who did not have the capability of running important business houses became the bosses and made a mess of their jobs.

Salman Khan understood the truth relating to the destiny of human beings. Big B explained to him that the fortunes of human beings are created by hard work and truthfulness, not by some magic done by God.

He understood the message, asked Sohail Khan to sit in the lie-detector test and he started telling one after the other the truth relating to creation of the lie-detector machine was unfolded. Salman Khan got all his wishes fulfilled at the end of the film.

Although the social message given in the film was done through comedy sequences, there was no reason why the film did not do good business. Public tastes are quite unpredictable and if we look at film history we will find that films made with good social messages like Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ka Phool or Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker failed in the box-office.

The efforts made by the director, producer and the actors, actresses of God Tussi Great Ho, including Salman Khan, Big B, Sohail Khan, Priyanka Chopra and others should be appreciated by the viewers.

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.