Station Hollywood

Bipasha Basu’s improved performance in the last few years.

2008-07-05T10:28:00.001+05:30

Bipasha Basu’s improved performance in the last few years.

Bipasha Basu initially joined bollywood films from her success as model. Her initial roles also included negative characters like the one in the film Ajnabee, where she along with Akshay Kumar duped Bobby Deol and Kareena Kapoor and involved Bobby Deol in a planted case. Bobby Deol unearthed the truth and in his tassle with Akshay Kumar Bipasha Basu died.

She also played comedy roles like the role in the film Chor Machaye Shor, where she was a police officer. Bobby Deol disguised himself as a police officer in his search for an expensive stone and even duped Paresh Rawal and Om Puri. Shilpa Shetty was the other heroine in the film.

But from the film Razz, the acting skills were used and her career took a turn. Critics appreciated her acting and she got roles where her she could concentrate on performance along with glamour. In the film Darna Zaroori Hai, she adapted herself to the spooky sequence of the film directed by Ram Gopal Verma.

In no Entry, she played the role of a club dancer who was paid by Salman Khan to attract Anil Kapoor and create tension in his family. Due to her involvement, Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan faced divorce suits from their wives Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitley. Salman Khan had to come all the way from abroad to solve their problem.

She also acted as a fraud character in the film Phir Hera Pheri, where she took huge amount of money from Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, for doubling them, instead disappeared with the money. She did it for compelling reasons. She played a challenging role in the film Corporate, where the life of the corporate world of India had been depicted. She was nominated for best actress award.

She also did well in the film Dhoom 2 along with Abhishek Bacchan, Hrithik Roshan and Aiswarya Rai. With her new performance in the film Bacchna Ai Haseeno with Ranbir Kapoor and Depika Padukone, the viewers expect a lot from the talented actress. Viewers have confidence that she will develop as a powerful actress in future.

Naushad and Rafi in the 60s.

2008-07-05T09:57:00.001+05:30

Naushad and Rafi in the 60s.

Naushad was the one of the greatest musical genius India has produced in the last 60 years. In the 60s he reached his level of excellence where he could compose brilliant songs which could suit the sequences of different films. He used Rafi’s singing skills in the best manner that was possible.

In Ram Aur Shyam, Naushad composed songs for children like “aye hai baharen dekho” sung by Rafi and picturised on Dilip Kumar which amused the audience. The same film had brilliant composition like “aaj ki raat mere” where the lyrics of Shakeel Badayani were as brilliant as the performance of Rafi and Dilip Kumar.

In Mere Mehboob, the title song “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhabat ki kasam” Naushad used the grammer of ghazals and the other songs like “ai husn zara jag” were masterpieces where the lips of Rajender Kumar were as brilliant as the playback of Rafi. In Leader the songs “tere husn ki kya tareef karun”, “ek shahenshah ne banwake hasee tajmahal”, “apni azaadi ko hum hargese mita sakte nahi” had classical ragas, patriotic passion, everything embedded in them. Dilip Kumar and Rafi were brilliant in their individual performances.

In Aadmi, the songs “na aadmi ka koi bharosha”, “aaj purani rahon par” were landmark hits where Rafi was exceptional and Dilip Kumar was sublime. Similarly Naushad gave his best in the film Dil Diya Dard Liya, where the songs “dilruba maine tere pyar me kya kya na kiya”, “sawan aye ya na aye”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi” where classical masterpieces, where Rafi and Dilip Kumar complimented each other.

Naushad composition were equally brilliant in the film Kohinoor, were Rafi’s song “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan aaj ki raat”, were exceptional. Even Naushad brought in Bhojpuri flavour in the song “nain lad jaihe” in the film Ganga Jumna, where Rafi used rural accent for Dilip Kumar.

Naushad and Rafi became an institution by themselves and explored in the 60s. Tragedy King Dilip Kumar dominated bollywood films for more than 30 years, so had given adequate expression in the songs of Rafi composed by Naushad. The songs and the films should be preserved for their immense musical value.

Review of Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic.

2008-07-04T12:16:00.001+05:30

Review of Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic.

In the film Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, Saif Ali Khan, a rich industrialist has a lot of money, but no companion. He lost most of the people he loved. In a significant court verdict he is given the liability of taking care of four orphan children.

As Safi Ali Khan neither had the skill of looking after the children nor suited their liking also, most of them were unhappy and some of them were even interested to take revenge against. The children prayed to God to give them an angel, who could help their cause.

After a short struggle of Saif Ali Khan with the four children, Rani Mukherjee appeared in the film. She came to their house as the new care taker and was loved by all the children.

The performance of Saif Ali Khan was just satisfactory but he did not try to do something innovative. Same is with Rani Mukherjee, some way or the other the directors these days are failing to utilize the immense acting talent of Rani Mukherjee.

Shankar- Ehsan-Loy’s music was not that entertaining except the song “pyar ke liye”. The children are impressive including the sikh kid.

The locations are good and the screen presence of Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee was impressive.

In 2008, none of the films looked like storming bollywood and creating history. Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic also ends up in the same direction. There is everything thoda thoda, little magic, little entertainment but not extraordinarily amazing.

Lata and Mukesh.

2008-07-04T11:56:00.000+05:30

Lata and Mukesh.

Due to strong association of Lata and Mukesh with Raj Kapoor, both of them sung aq number of songs in the same films and also numerous duets which were all successful. Shankar Jaikishan was a genius composer and his compositions for Lata and Mukesh became immortal hits over the period of time.

Their songs in the film Aah were hits, including the duet song of Lata and Mukesh titled “aaja re” which was picturised on Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Their song in the film Shree 420 titled “ramaiya vasta maiya” which was sung by Mukesh, Lata and Rafi became landmark hit in 1955. Their songs in the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai were also successful including “aa ab laut chale” picturised on Raj Kapoor and Padmini.

Their songs in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anari were also hit including “yeh chaand khila”, “dil ki nazar se”, etc., which were picturised on Raj Kapoor and Nutan. In the 60s, also the combination of Lata and Mukesh provided legendary hits like “o mere sanam”, and “har dil jo pyar karega”, which were picturised on Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala. All these golden songs were the landmark compositions of Shankar Jaikishan.

Even outside RK Banner Lata and Mukesh had sung many hit songs. In Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, Salil Choudhury composed the song “dil tarap tarap ke keh raha hai aa bhi ja” sung by Lata and Mukesh and picturised on Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala. Even the song “sawan ka mahina”, sung by Lata and Mukesh, composed by LP and picturised on Sunil Dutt and Nutan became big hit in the mid-60s.

Lata and Mukesh were also sublime in the film Mere Humsafar, where the songs were picturised on Jeetender and Sharmila Tagore. Mukesh died in the mid-70s, which led to the end of the golden combination of Mukesh and Lata who had provided melodious hits over a period of 30 years.

The films and the songs sung by Lata and Mukesh should be restored and preserved for the new generation.

Review of Love Story 2050

2008-07-02T11:09:00.001+05:30

Review of Love Story 2050.

2008 had not seen any blockbusters which had moved the viewers till now, although films like Race, Jodha Akbar, had done well. Love Story 2050 has the elements of amusing the viewers with an innovative subject matter.

Love Story 2050 is about the story of Karan (Harman Baweja) who does not believe in abiding by rules and regulations. He falls in love with Sana (Priyanka Chopra) who is a law abiding girl. Karan’s uncle is a scientist and completes his work relating to creation of a time machine.

Once the time machine becomes functional, Priyanka Chopra wishes to travel to 2050 and land in Mumbai. They realize that Mumbai had completely changed by that time. It has robots, buildings containing 200 stories, sky rails, flying cars, etc. Priyanka’s brothers and sisters also travel with her and finds that the world totally different.

Karan finds himself separated from Sana. They also land up facing the challenge of Dr. Hoshi, who is a demi-god of future. As far as amazing the viewers are concerned there are technical effects, good music, good locations.

Priyanka’s performance is satisfactory. The problem with Harman Baweja is that although his dancing skills and stunts are brilliant they have huge similarity with Hrithik Roshan. In respect of the viewers accepting Hrithik’s clone there can be mixed responses.

Another apprehension is the capability of Indian viewers of accepting stories relating to fanatasies. In Hollywood films these stories are appreciated, and in bollywood films also Hrithik Roshan’s Koi Mil Gaya, Krissh, had got success, but yet only a certain section of the viewers have the capability of appreciating them.

In a nutshell, it can be said that the film has novel subjects and elements of success, but is subject to the modernized sense of apprehension of Indian audience who are more used to seeing realistic films.

Rafi and Asha

2008-07-02T11:08:00.001+05:30

Rafi and Asha

Although in the 50s and 60s, the main female playback was provided by Lata even considering the immense contribution of Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suman Kalyanpur, Sudha Malhotra, etc., Asha Bhosle had sung numerous successful songs composed by many composers. Rafi dominating the world of playback had sung many notable songs with Asha in that era.

His song “acha ji mai hari chalo” from the film Kala Pani became very successful in late 50s. The song sung by Rafi and Asha was composed by SD Burman and picturised on Madhubala and Dev Anand. The songs “aap yuh hi agar”, “mai pyar ka rahi hoon”, “bahut shukriya bari meherbani” from Ek Musafir Ek Haseena included the most versatile compositions of OP Nayyar. Joy Mukherjee and Sadhna were sublime in the musical blockbuster.

Similarly in the film Kashmir Ki Kali, the songs “ishaaro ishaaro”, “deewana hua badal”, etc., stormed bollywood films in the early 60s. Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore played there roles elegantly in the film.

In Joy Mukherjee’s Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, in 1963, OP Nayyar’s monumental compositions like “nazni bara rangeen hai wada tera”, “zulf ke chao me chehere ka ujala lekar”, etc., had become immortal over the years. Some had ghazal andaz, others had westernized notes.

The successful songs of Asha and Rafi include songs from the film Mere Sanam which were picturised on Bishwajeet and Asha Parekh. Besides Shankar Jaikishan’s compositions for the film An Evening in Paris with songs like “raatke humsafar” picturised on Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore had not lost their appeal even today.

Rafi and Asha had even sung successful songs composed by RD Burman including “socenge pyar kya hua” from the film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, “pal do pal ka” from the film Burning Train, “hum kisi se kum nahi” from the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, which were mainly picturised on Rishi Kapoor and Jeetender. The songs and the films should be restored for the new generation.

IIFA awards 2008

2008-06-30T12:01:00.001+05:30

IIFA awards 2008.

The International Indian film Academy (IIFA) awards, 2008, were presented in a colourful evening in Bankok this year. Awards were given for different categories of Indian films including best composer award, technical awards, best actor, actress awards, etc.

Very significantly the award winners were the same celebrities who won the filmfare awards for their achievements in the year. AR Rehman received the best composer award for his music composition in the film Guru. He had received around 7 filmfare awards by this time and is looking forward of breaking the record of Shankar Jaikishan for receiving 8 filmfare awards.

Shahrukh Khan won the best actor award for his performance in the film Chakde India and Kareena Kapoor won best actress award for her performance in the film Jab We Met. Konkona Sen Sharma won the best supporting actress award for her performance in Life in a Metro. Chak De India got the award for the best film of the year. Govinda won the best comedian award for his performance in Partner.

There is a trend of bollywood awards in the last few years that the same actors and actresses have got these awards one after the other. Shahrukh Khan had been getting the awards one after the other. There is a question mark in the minds of many viewers that why cant god actors, actresses or singers, composers, fail to receive even a single award for their good performance.

For example, Shahid Kapoor received nothing for his performance in Jab We Met. Amir Khan’s film Tare Zameen Par could have received the best film award. It has been the tradition for the last 50 years. On one hand composers like Madanmohan, Ghulam Mohammad did not receive any filmfare award, Dharmender, Jeetender did not receive any best actor award, on the other hand few actors, actresses, composers, directors got the award many times.

IIFA should break the trend and judge the best performance independently and encourage and motivate new talents in the industry.

Esha Deol hit films.

2008-06-27T12:02:00.001+05:30

Esha Deol hit films.

Esha Deol had been one of the most successful actresses of the last few years. She had inherent acting skills as she carried the legacy of Dharmender and Hema Malini forward with her performances.

Her performance in the film No Entry had been extraordinary. Unlike Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitley she trusted Salman Khan, her husband in the film. At the same time Salman Khan had the habit of telling lies in respect of his extra-marital affairs. Due to his insistence Bipasha Basu spend some time with Anil Kapoor and disturbed the peace of the life of Anil Kapoor and Fardeen Khan.

Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitley had filed divorce suits against their husbands. Esha Deol unfolded the truth before Salman Khan and he did playacting by trying to commit suicide and the problem was solved.

Esha Deol did well in the comedy film One Two Three. She was a fashion designer and wanted to sell a consignment to earn big amount of money. But she got engaged with Tushar Kapoor who was a bhai in the film who was appointed as a serial killer. Ultimately Tushar Kapoor entered into an affair with Esha Deol and changed his plan.

Esha Deol did well in the film Na Tum Jano Na Hum opposite Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan. He entered into an affair with Hrithik Roshan even without meeting him. Both of them developed their friendship by posting letters in the Post office. In the meantime her marriage was fixed with Saif Ali Khan. The film took a different turn. Esha Deol was sublime in her performance.

She did well in the film Dhoom also. She also acted in negative characters like the one she played in the film Ankahee opposite Altaf Shivdasani and Amisha Patel. Her other successful films include the action thriller Dus, the crime thriller Kaal.

With a number of hit films under her belt, she is expected to do even better in the new films in 2008.

Big B and Vinod Khanna

2008-06-26T10:17:00.001+05:30

Big B and Vinod Khanna.

In the 70s, with the advent of action films, Vinod Khanna became the greatest competitor of Big B. Both of them acted in many films together and in most of the cases they were rivals of each other. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Big B was a smuggler, and Vinod Khanna a police officer. Both of them also fought against each other in their search for a wanted person Robert

Amar Akbar Anthony was a muli-starrer film where Rishi Kapoor also was prominent and gave memorable lips in the successful songs of Rafi in the film. Vinod Khanna was the elder brother of Big B in the film and got united at the end of the film. In Khoon Paseena, Vinod Khanna acted as the rival of Big B, and their misunderstanding was resolved at the end of the film. Before that Vinod Khanna wanted to kill Big B in the film.

Even in Parvarish, Big B played the role of police officer where as Vinod Khanna played the role of law-breaker. The mystery related to the blood relation of Shammi Kapoor was solved at the end of the film. Both the actors showed their action skills in the film and the film became extremely successful.

They also acted in romantic films like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, where Big B admired Rakhee but she loved Vinod Khanna. Big B got attached with Rekha who played the role of a tawaif in the film but who had feelings for Big B. At the end of the film Big B died in a clash against the villain Amzad Khan and Vinod Khanna revealed the truth about the amount of love he had devoted for Rakhee

The other successful films where Big B and Vinod Khanna acted together include Hera Pheri and Zameer. Both of them were equally brilliant in their performances in the action films excepting Big B excelling with his baritone voice in some cases. Later on Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty had performed together in many action films, but still the combination of Big B and Vinod Khanna is admired by viewers of different ages.

Rafi and Lata in the 50s and 60s.

2008-06-25T10:35:00.001+05:30

Rafi and Lata in the 50s and 60s.

Rafi and Lata were the premiere singers of Indian cinema and most of the composers relied on them for the success of the songs. In the film Baiju Bawra, Rafi’s song “tu ganga ki mauj”, composed by Naushad and picturised on Bharat Bhushan became successful. The film had classical songs involving legendary ragas used by Naushad.

Rafi and Lata had sung many duet songs in that age. Prominent among them include “who jab yaad aye” from the film Parasmani, composed by LP; “jo waa kiya” from the film Tajmahal, composed by Roshan; etc. The song of Tajmahal, stormed bollywood films in the 60s, and Pradeep Kumar made the character of Shahjahan look absolute lively.

The other landmark duet songs of Rafi and Lata include “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, composed by Shankar Jaikishan and picturised on Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu; “tere husn ki kya taref karun” and “ek shahehshah ne” from the film Leader, composed by Naushad and picturised on Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala; “mai hoon saki”, composed by Naushad and picturised on Dilip Kumar and Wahida Rehman; etc.

Also the song from the film Shagird, titled “woh hai zara khafa khafa”, composed by LP and picturised on Joy Mukherjee and Saira Banu, became landmark hit. Also Ravi’s composition in the film Do Kaliyan titled “tumhari nazar”, picturised on Biswajeet and Mala Sinha became big hit. Also RD Burman’s composition in the film Pyar Ka Mausam, titled “ni sultana re” picturised on Shashi Kapoor and Asha Parekh became very successful.

There were huge number of solo songs of Rafi and Lata in the 50s and 60s which had become musical masterpieces. The songs and the films should be restored for their musical value. The playback singers of the modern age consider Lata and Rafi as their role models and still learn from their works.

Sushmita Sen’s successful films.

2008-06-24T12:09:00.002+05:30

Sushmita Sen’s successful films.

Sushmita Sen played very important roles in bollywood films in the last 10 years. In the film Bibi No. 1, she played the role of a westernized girl who had an affair with Salman Khan which led to disharmony in his family life.

Salman Khan left his wife Karishma Kapoor and embraced Sushmita Sen. But within a short time, she failed to look after his children and mother and proved that it was easy to have an affair but difficult to fulfill the responsibilities of a housewife. The songs in the films were also successful like “ishq sona hai”, “ chunari chunari”, etc.

Sushmita Sen’s film Aghaaz opposite Sunil Shetty was successful. Sunil Shetty played the role of innocent villager who came to Bombay to get his sister admitted in a college. But his sister faced ill-treatment in the hands of miscreants and Sunil Shetty took revenge by first bringing in the awareness in the minds of the people at large about raising their voice against evil in the society. Sushmita Sen ably supported Sunil Shetty in the film.

Sushmita Sen did very well in the film Mainen Pyar Kyun Kiya, opposite Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. She played the role of a nurse in the hospital of Salman Khan. She pretended as the wife of Salman Khan as he wanted to impress Katrina about the fact he was giving divorce to his wife and marrying her with mutual consent. After some time, Sushmita Sen fell in love with Salman Khan and the playacting resulted in reality. Sushmita was married to Salman Khan at the end of the film.

The other successful films of Sushmita Sen include Main Hoon Na, opposite Shahrukh Khan. That film was related to building of harmonious relationship among students of academic institution. Sushmita Sen acted in an experimental role in the film Chingari, where she played the role of a tawaif.

She also acted in other successful films like Zor opposite Sunny Deol. The viewers expect Sushmita Sen to carry on her good work in the films to come in 2008 and near future.

Shankar Jaikishan’s westernised compositions.

2008-06-23T19:48:00.001+05:30

Shankar Jaikishan’s western compositions.

Shankar Jaikishan were one of the greatest assets of bollywood music in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Other than their classical and folk compositions they were sublime in their westernized compositions. In the film Dil Apna Au Peet Parayi, their composition for Lata titled “ajeeb dastan hai yeh”, picturised on Meena Kumari had Hawaiian flavor.

In the film Jhuk Gaya Aasman, the songs “sacha hai ghar” and “kaun hai jo sapno me aya” had very melodious beat where Rafi’s brilliance balanced the screen presence of Rajender Kumar. The song “ai sanam jisne tujhe chand sa surat di hai”, sung by Mukesh in Raj Kapoor’s Diwana had a brilliant use of sexaphone.

Shammi Kapoor’s An Evening Parishad hit songs and SJ weer brilliant in almost all the songs including “akele akele”, “raat ke humsafar”, “mera dil hai tera”, etc. Rafi replicated the rock and roll andaz of Shammi Kapoor. Similarly Lata’s song in Love In Tokyo, titled “hume tum mil gaye humdum”, had a very balanced use of the organs bv SJ.

Gumnaam was a crime thriller, but SJ’s tunes including “jaan pehchaan ho” sung by Rafi and “is duniya me jena ho to” had very unique orchestration. Also in the film Andaz, the song “dil use do jo jaan de de” sung by Rafi and picturised on Shami Kapoor was brilliant by every musical standard.

SJ was sublime in all the songs of the film Brahmchari, including “dil ke jharoke me”, “mai gayun tum so jayo”, “chakke pe chakka”. Rafi was as brilliant as Shammi Kapoor. Besides SJ’s chorus effect was evident in the song “aa ab laut chale”, sung by Mukesh and Lata in the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai. It is not possible to highlight the westernized compositions of SJ in a small article as they ad unique compositions even in the films of Biswajeet, Dev Anand, Manoj Kumar, Sunil Dutt.

The songs are masterpieces and should be restored along with the films.

Kishore Kumar in the 80s.

2008-06-23T10:24:00.003+05:30

Kishore Kumar in the 80s.

Kishore Kumar had made huge contribution to bollywood music by singing successful songs for a lot of actors during the 60s, 70s and 80s. But in the 80s, he became unparallel because he matured as a singer and used all his acting skills to bring the different emotions of the heroes.

His songs in the film Sharabi, sung for Big B, became everlasting hit. The songs were composed by Bappi Lahiri. Notable songs include “ki pag ghungru”, “thodi si jo peeli hai”. KK brought the intoxicating appeal of Big B in the songs.

KK was sublime in the film Sagar, where Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Hasan and Dimple Kapadia all played important roles. The songs “sagar kinare”, “chehera hai”, composed by RD Burman became landmark hit. Also KK’s song for Rishi Kapoor in the film Sitamgar, titled “mausam pyar ka” became very successful.

KK also sang the successful song “jane kaise kab kahan”, composed by RD Burman, in the film Shakti, for Big B. Dilip Kumar and Rakhee played very important roles in the film and KK’s song had complimented the action sequences in the film.

KK’s songs in the film Shaan, composed by RD Burman also became very successful. The songs were picturised on Big B, including “janu meri jaan”, which was also sung by Rafi for Shashi Kapoor.

KK emerged as the single dominating playback singer as the new singers in the 80s like Shabbir Kumar, Mohammad Aziz and others had just started their careers and producers relied a lot on KK for the success of the music and the films.

KK’s songs even became hits in the late 80s, like “andheri raaton me” sung for Big B in the film Shahenshah. He single-handedly dominated bollywood music in that era when Rafi, Mukesh died, Talat Mehmood, Manna Dey did not make significant contribution in bollywood music and the new singers just shaped their careers in the 80s.

The songs and the films should be restored.

Katrina Kaif's songs

2008-06-21T11:19:00.002+05:30

Katrina Kaif’s songs

In the last few years the better actresses of bollywood had got good songs. Katrina Kaif had been one of the successful actresses of last few years. Although most of her dialogues are dubbed, her expressions show that she has understanding of the character that she plays.

The songs of the film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya opposite Salman Khan and Sushmita Sen became successful due to the serio-comic script and entertaining music. The songs picturised on Katrina Kaif and others like “just chill chill” became very successful. Susmita Sen also complimented Salman Khan and Katrina with her own performance. Her choreography in the song “laga laga re” requires special mention.

Katrina’s songs in the film Race had also been successful. The song “allah duhai hai” in the film caught the attention of cinematic viewers. The other actors and actresses in the film including Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Khanna, Sameera Reddy and Bipasha Basu also did well in the film.

Katrina’s songs in the film Partner opposite Govinda and Salman Khan also became extremely successful. The song “do you want a partner”, “dupatta tera naurang da”, “maria maria”, “soni de nakhre” became big hits. Lara Dutta and Salman Khan were the other pair in addition to Katrina Kaif and Govinda. All the performers did well in the film.

The songs of Katrina Kaif in the film Welcome opposite Akshay Kumar became very successful. The title song “welcome” was successful. The other songs “inshah alla”, “uncha lamba”, “hoth rasile” were entertaining. Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor and Mallika Sherawat had the other leading roles.

Also the songs of Katrina in the film Namaste London opposite Akshay Kumar became successful. Rishi Kapoor played a leading role in the film.

The viewers expect Katrina to say her own dialogue in the films in future and give adequate lips in the songs in future.

Sunil Dutt songs.

2008-06-21T10:39:00.003+05:30

Sunil Dutt songs.

Sunil Dutt had acted in dignified roles all along his career. One of the reasons for the success of his films include the quality music that existed in his films. In Bimal Roy’s Sujata, the song “jalte hai jiske liye” sung by Talat Mehmood and picturised on Sunil Dutt became a landmark hit.

The songs in his film Mera Saya opposite Sadhna, became superhits. Madanmohan composed the songs for the film. Lata’s song “tu jaha jaha chalega” and Rafi’s song “aapke pehlu me akar”, require special mention. The songs in Sunil Dutt’s film Ghazal were outstanding by every musical standard. Madanmohan’s composition “rang aur noor ki baraat”, picturised on Sunil Dutt became everlasting hit.

The film Chirag, is known for its strong storyline and melodious music. The performance of Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh were complimented by powerful singing by Rafi and Lata. The song “teri aankho ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai” had not lost its appeal even today.

Even the songs sung by Mukesh and picturised on Sunil Dutt became superhits. Songs like “sawan ka mahina” composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal and sung by Sunil Dutt had a flavour of its own and its swayed the audience with the musical wave. Nutan performed equally well opposite Sunil Dutt and gave adequate lips in Lata’s version of the same song.

The other films of Sunil Dutt which were rich in music include Mother India, where Naushad composed the legendary songs, Zakhmee, etc. Rafi’s song “chand jane kaha kho gaya” picturised on Sunil Dutt was equally successful in the early 60s.

In the late 70s, Sunil Dutt acted in mainly action films which were not that dependant on music. The films and the songs of Sunil Dutt should be preserved for the everlasting treasure of rich music.

Akshay Kumar has improved his acting over the years.

2008-06-20T10:12:00.002+05:30

Akshay Kumar has improved his acting over the years.

Akshay Kumar has improved his acting skills over the years. When he started his career, he was known for his martial art and action skills. All his initial films like Mohra, Khiladi, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, were action-oriented films.

But over the years he developed his acting capability and acted in every type of films. For example in Dhadkan, he played a romantic character opposite Shilpa Shetty where Sunil Shetty played a negative character.

In the film Mujhse Shaadi Karoge, he played the role of the friend of Salman Khan, who created his impression before Priyanka Chopra and his presence created annoyance for Salman Khan. He even gave good lips in the songs “mujhse shaadi karoge”.

In the film Welcome, he played the role of a harmless character who never wanted to marry any girl related to the underworld. But unfortunately he fell in love with Katrina Kaif and got related to Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar who belonged to the underworld. He was in a dilemma of accepting Katrina and rejecting her brothers. His comedy performance was well appreciated by viewers.

Similarly his comedy performance in the film Hera Pheri and Phir Hera Pheri, was sublime. Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty also played significant roles in the films. But Akshay Kumar was shown as the most cunning character of the lot. His deeds or misdeeds had led the others into trouble.

Again Akshay Kumar’s performance in the film Bhoolbhoolaiya was well appreciated as he was the expert who could study evil spirits and discovered that the spirit existed in the body of Vidya Balan. He used his guru’s help to drive out the spirit. The acting effort was appreciated once again.

By this period of time Akshay Kumar had acted in almost all types of roles and is expected to do even better in the years to come.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Celina Jaitley – the enthusiastic performer of bollywood.

2008-06-19T11:04:00.002+05:30

Celina Jaitley – the enthusiastic performer of bollywood

Celina Jaitley had shown her acting capability in the various films she had acted in her short career. She created her first impression in the fashion world and was crowned Miss India 2001.

She acted in the film Khel in 2003, but created an impression with her performance in the film No Entry opposite Fardeen Khan. The big celebrities of bollywood played important roles in the film including Anil Kapoor, Lara Dutta, Salman Khan, Esha Deol, etc.

Celina Jaitley played the role of a girl who had an affair with Fardeen Khan, but whenever the relationship was strengthened by the intervention of Anil Kapoor, the presence of Bipasha Bahu, a club dancer spoilt everything. Anil Kapoor had to tell lies to Lara Dutta, that she was Fardeen Khan’s wife. Celina Jaitley was told that she was Anil Kapoor’s wife.

When they went abroad to enjoy their honeymoon, the truth was unfolded and Lara Dutta, Esha Deol, Celina Jaitley filed divorce suits against their husbands. Salman Khan came back from foreign country and solved the problem. Celina Jaitley kept her mark among all the leading stars.

In Apna Sapna Money Money, she was sent by Jaickie Shroff and his gang to get the treasure that was hidden in a sandle which was used by Ritesh Deshmukh at one point of time. That film also was a serio-comic venture and in the search of the treasure difernt entities got involved including Anupam Kher, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, etc.

The other films where she had played notable roles include Zinda; where Lara Dutta also did well, Tom, Dick and Harry; and Heyy Babyy. Til now, the roles of Celina Jaitley, had featured young stylish characters.

With numerous numbers of actresses facing strong competition in bollywood films, Celina Jaitley should show her variation in acting if she has to cement her position in bollywood films. The viewers expect her to do well in future.

Priyanka Chopra songs:

2008-06-18T10:41:00.003+05:30

Priyanka Chopra songs

Priyanka Chopra had played notable roles in her short career till now. One of the major reasons for the success of her films include the songs that were picturised on her or her co-stars.

The songs in the film Krish, where Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra played the leading roles were very successful. The songs were composed by Rakesh Roshan and were melodious. The hit songs include “dil de diya”. The excellent dancing skills of Hrithik Roshan in the film require special mention.

The songs in the film Salaam –e –ishq were very successful. There were four different pair of performers who played important roles, including Anil Kapoor, Jhi Chawla, John Abraham, etc., but the lead roles were played by Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra. Two songs in the film caught the attention of the audience including “salaam –e –ishq”, “tenu re”, etc.

The songs of the film Mujhse Shaadi Karoge, became extremely successful. Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar played the lead roles in the film opposite Priyanka Chopra. The song “jeene ke hai char din”, became extremely popular. Also the song “mujhse shaadi karoge”, became extremely popular.

Also the songs of Priyanka Chopra’s film Don, became very successful. Shahrukh Khan played the double role in the film, the same character that was once played by Big B in 1978. Priyanka Chopra played the role of Zeenat Aman which she played in Big B’s Don in 1978. The songs “khaike paan banaraswala”, “aaj ki raat”, became superduper hit. Even the song that was picturised on Kareena Kapoor, titled “yeh mera dil pyar ka dewaana” became successful.

With Priyanka Chopra playing important roles in the films of 2008, including Love Story 2050, the viewers expect that she will do well in the films in future and give good lips in the songs that will be picturised on her.

Wahida Rehman and Raj Kapoor

2008-06-17T19:46:00.005+05:30

Wahida Rehman And Raj Kapoor

Wahida Rehman acted in the films of almost all the established directors of the 50s, 60s and 70s. She acted in only few films opposite Raj Kapoor but the films were successful. In Ek dil Sau Afsana, she played the role of the wife of Raj Kapoor who had to convince her mother-in-law played by Lalita Power who tested her capability of handling household affairs and responsibilities of mother. The songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film including “tum hi tum ho”, became successful.

The most notable film of Raj Kapoor and Wahida Rehman included Teesri Kasam. It was an experiment of notable director of Basu Bhattacharya and the film was produced by legendary lyricist Shailendra.

The film had a very abstract subject. Wahida Rehman was a tawaif who had participated in the major fairs in the villages which were called nautankis. These village fairs were organized to fulfill the tastes of rural masses. Wahida Rehman played the major role in these nautankis as she was the leading dancer.

Raj Kapoor was a bullock -cart driver and earned his livelihood out of the profession. He interacted with Wahida Rehman and realized that she was a respectable lady. The film revolved around the relationship between the innocent cart-driver and the successful dancer.

All the songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Lata and Asha became landmark hits. Songs like “aa aa bhi jaa”, “pan khai saia”, “mare gaye”, not only had good orchestration but also had rural effect. The songs of Mukesh and Manna Dey like “duniya bananewale”, “sajanre jhut maat bolo”, “chalet musafir”, became super duper hits.

Although the film did not get commercial success to the extent of the other films of Raj Kapoor, the critics appreciated the natural performance of Raj Kapoor and Wahida Rehman.These films should be restored for their filmic value.

Review of Mere Baap Pehle Aap.

2008-06-16T11:13:00.001+05:30

Review of Mere Baap Pehle Aap

Priyadarshan had directed a number of successful comedy films in the recent past. That is why the film Mere Baap Pehle Aap had a lot of expectations. The story involves Paresh Rawal, the father meeting his teenage partner Shobhna. His son Akshay Khanna is also involved in romance. His friend Om Puri is also an old person, who is a divorcee and is in search for a girl for marriage.

Paresh Rawal brought up his two sons, Akshay Khanna and Manoj Joshi, after their mother died. But Akshay Khanna acted as the guardian of Paresh Rawal. Akshay Khanna got involved with Sheekha Kapoor who was his old college friend. Very siginificantly Sheekha Kapoor’s guardian was Shobhna, who was the college friend of Paresh Rawal.

Both Sheekha and Akshay tried to arrange for marriage of Paresh Rawal with Shobhna after knowing their past relationship. The entire climax was build on serio-comic angles.

The problem of the films lies with the lack of substance which can make people laugh automatically. Priyadarshan had provided quality films like Malamaal Weekly, where the comedy instincts originated from the innocence of villagers who were involved with lottery tickets. Even in the stories of Hera Pheri, the events related to the innocence of Paresh Rawal made the film interesting.

The performance of Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and others in Mere Baap Pehle Aap, were not that great, and the script was not too supportive also. The only hope is the general demand of the viewers for comedy films over the last few years. The audience expect Priyadarshan to direct better films in the future.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterji.

2008-06-15T20:04:00.005+05:30

Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterji.

There was a popular debate in the 60s about who was a superior actor of Bengali films Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterji. The debate did arise because Soumitra acted in the films of one of the greatest directors of world cinema Satyajit Ray. His performance in the films Apur Sangsar, Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, Abhijaan, were highly appreciated by the intellectual audience.

Where as Uttam Kumar was the greatest charishmatic hero who could perform in any type of role including zamindar in the film Stri, Sanyasi Raja. He played the role of king in the film Zinder Bandi. Who played the double role in Bhranti Bilas and in the serio-comic subject matter showed his comedy skills. No Indian actor had given better lips in songs like Uttam Kumar. He received even national award for best performance in the film Antony Firingi where all the songs sung by Manna Dey were master-pieces.

In fact the entire Bengali film industry revolved around Uttam Kumar, as Hemant Kumar, Shaymal Mitra, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar got success in Bengali films by giving playback for Uttam Kumar. The best directors of Bengal like Ajoy Kar, Tapan Sinha, Pinaki Mukherjee, Agradut, Agragami could experiment in Bengali films only due to Uttam Kumar. The careers of best actresses of Bengali films like Suchitra Sen, Arundhuti Debi, Sabitri Chatterji, were related to Uttam Kumar as they complimented his powerful performances. Lastly the tremendous performance of Chabi Biswas, Bikash Roy, Kali Banerjee were associated with epic films where Uttam Kumar played the central character.

Soumitra Chatterjee was a very cultured, educated, soft personality and is still respected for his selective performances by every section of the society. But Uttam Kumar was the uncrowned monarch and the debate was resolved by Satyajit Ray himself by casting Uttam Kumar in the epic film Nayak, where he showed he was unparallel matinee idol. Instead of proving the greater worth of both actors, the viewers should appreciate their performances and their films should be restored and preserved.

Riya Sen –the young performer of bollywood.

2008-06-13T11:49:00.003+05:30

Riya Sen –the young performer of bollywood

Riya Sen, the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen, had started her career in the early 1990s, with the film Vishkanya, where she played the role of young Puja Bedi. She had a lot to prove as her grandmother had dominated Bengali films and acted in dignified roles in bollywood films under the direction of legendary directors like Bimal Roy, Gulzar, etc.

Riya Sen acted in the film Jhankaar Beats which was related to compositions of RD Burman, with other performers like Shayan Munshi, Rahul Bose, Juhi Chawla, Sanajy Puri, and others. She got partial success in the film Shaadi No. 1, where she herself, Aarti Chhabria and Sophie Chowdhury influenced Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan and Sharman Joshi and that led to problems in their marital life. Their wives Esha Deol, Ayesha Takia and Soha Ali Khan were informed by Sanjay Dutt, about the activities of their husbands. Sanjay Dutt helped all these husbands to maintain their wedlock and be loyal to their wives. Although Riya Sen’s role was small, she kept her mark in her performance

She acted in small roles in the films Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Qayamat, Plan, etc., in small roles, and got a prominent role in the film Apna Sapna Money Money. In that film she acted along with other performers like Ritesh Deshmukh, Celina Jaitley, Anupam Kher, etc. The film was serio-comic in nature and Ritesh Dehsmukh disguised himself as a music teacher who came to Anupam Kher’s wife to teach music and marry his daughter.

She also performed in musical videos, and also acted in Malayalam film titled Ananthbhadram which was critically acclaimed. Inspite of all these performances she is still in search of landmark roles in bollywood films, which can establish her in the competitive film industry. Even her sister Raima Sen got scope of acting in good films like Godmother with Shabana Azmi

The viewers expect Riya Sen to do well in good roles in future and continue the legacy that was built of monumental performances of her grandmother Suchitra Sen.

Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala.

2008-06-12T19:34:00.002+05:30

Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala

Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala were probably the most popular stars of the golden age of bollywood films including the 50s and 60s. The dancing skills of Vaijayantimala balanced the tragic andaz of Dilip Kumar and most of the films were legendary hits. In Devdas, Vaijayantimala played the role of Chandramukhi who tried to reform Devdas but failed as he died for his unsuccessful affair with Parbati, which was played by Suchitra Sen. Madhuri dixit played the same role of Vaijayantimala in Shahrukh Khan’s Devdas.

In Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, Vaijayantimala was a village girl who was loved by Dilip Kumar who was officer who took the charge of the hills. Their romance ended unsuccessfully as Pran killed Vaijayantimala. Dilip Kumar met another girl having resemblance with the girl whom he loved. The songs composed by Salil Chowdhury in the film like “aaja re”, “daiare daiare”, “suhana safar”, “dil tarap tarap”, etc., were masterpieces and the film stormed bollywood in 1958.

With the advent of colour Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala amazed the audience with their powerful performance in the film Ganga Jumna. Dilip Kumar was a dacoit in the film and took Vaijayantimala with him after he was wanted by the police. He used his weapons for the good the people at large. The Bhojpuri songs composed by Naushad including “nain lad jaihe”, “dhundo dhundo”, etc. sung by Rafi and Lata became big hits.

Both of them were sublime in the film Leader. All the songs in the film composed by Naushad including “tere husn ki”, “apni azaadi ko”, “ek shahenshah ne”, etc., were masterpieces and Rafi and Lata were at their top form, and their songs were given adequate expression by strong performance of the legendary pair.

They were probably the most popular pair of bollywood films in the 60s and their successful films one after the other including Paigham, Naya Daur, Sunghursh, had established the fact that the audience had associated themselves with their realistic performance. These epic films should be preserved for the next generation.

Aishwarya Rai’s negative roles.

2008-06-12T10:34:00.007+05:30

Aishwarya Rai’s negative roles.

Aishwarya Rai had played different roles in her successful career in bollywood films. She was sublime even in her negative roles that she had played over the years. In the film Khakee, she joined Big B’s team of police officers who were involved in a mission of escorting supposed terrorist Iqbal Ansari from Chandergarh to Mumbai.

The team included Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar and Tushar Kapoor who had experience and were brave enough to fulfill the mission. Before the team reached Mumbai they faced a number of encounters and in a serious encounter in a cottage near Mumbai the team was outnumbered. Akshay Kumar was also killed by Aishwarya Rai and Ajay Devgan. The viewers were surprised to see Aishwarya Rai in such a negative role.

In Dhoom -2, she acted again in a negative role opposite Hrithik Roshan, where both of them were international criminals involved in theft and other notorious activities. Abhishek Bacchan chased them and thought he had killed Hrithik Roshan. But it was play acting, as he later found both of them in a different country involved in a different occupation.

He left both of them after they disclosed the place where they did hide all the stolen property and assured him that they were living the life of law-abiding citizens. The viewers liked the role of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai and they impressed the crowds even with their negative characters.

These days many actresses take up the challenge of performing in negative roles including Kajol, Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor. Aishwarya Rai also did well and the viewers expect her to continue her good work in all types of films in future.

Aishwarya Rai Photo Gallery

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Jatin Lalit – the melodious composers of bollywood.

2008-06-11T10:53:00.001+05:30

Jatin Lalit – the melodious composers of bollywood.

Jatin Lalit, the sons of Chitragupt Pandit, brought a melodious flavor in bollywood music in the late 90s, when track-oriented music dominated Indian films. In the film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, picturised on Amir Khan, their composition “pehla nasha”, sung by Udit Narayan caught the attention of the music-lovers of India.

In the film Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, the songs picturised on Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla became very successful. Songs like “I’m the best”, “tum aye to”, became everlasting hits at the time when the film was released.

Their songs in the film Khamoshi, were very meaningful and melodious. In the film Manisha Koirala was the only member of a deaf and dumb family who could speak. Salman Khan had an affair with Manisha and supported her in her struggle to become a recognized singer. Songs like “aaj me upar, aasma niche”, sung by Kavita Krishnamurty became a landmark hit.

Their composition in Karan Johar’s film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, required special mention. The song “kuch kuch hota hai”, “ladki bara anjana hai”, “koi mila gaya”, picturised on Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee, all became immortal hits. The film had a strong storyline and the music had also entertained the audience.

Similarly their composition in the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, became successful. Salman Khan and Twinkle Khanna played the leading roles in the film. The songs sung by Udit Narayan, Lata and Kumar Shanu, became hits, including songs like “pehli pehli baar”, “o jana”, etc.
The list of successful films of Jatin Lalit includes Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Chalte Chalte, Hum Tum, Fanna, etc. Although they did not receive as many numbers of awards as received by AR Rehman, Anu Malik, etc., the viewers had appreciated their compositions. They are expected to continue their good work.