Thursday 31 March 2022

The Most Exploited & Unlucky Woman-Meena Kumari

 



Veteran journalist Vinod Mehta wrote the biography of Meena Kumari in 1972. In this book, he wrote about the exploitation of Meena Kumari whoever came close to her. She was first exploited by her family. She started out as Baby Meena, a child artist and a breadwinner of the family. As a child, she wasn't interested in a film career, and would rather attend school. In spite of this, her parents started peddling four-year-old Mahjabeen(Real Name of Meena Kumari) to film studios for work opportunities so she was deprived of her childhood.



One of the major blows in Meena Kumari's life was the death of her mother. She was only 14 then. In the film Industry also she struggled initially, though she was getting work but paid poorly.It was only after Baiju Bawra in 1952 she got recognition.
On May 21, 1951, Meena Kumari was involved in a motor car accident while returning from Mahabaleshwar to BombayShe was admitted to Sasoon Hospital in Poona, injured around the left hand. Kumari went through bouts of depression.This accident left Meena Kumari with a banded left pinky which remained banded throughout her life, and she used to cover her left hand with a dupatta or saree during shoots. During this time Kamal Amrohi used to visit her in the hospital. For four months this hospital affair continued and love blossomed.



She married at the age of 18 Kamal Amrohi at that time he was 34. It was his third marriage. After their marriage, Kamal Amrohi allowed Meena Kumari to continue her acting career, but on the condition that she should not remit anyone in her makeup room but her makeup artist and return home in her own car by 6:30 every evening. Meena Kumari agreed to all terms, but with passing time she kept breaking them.
Meena Kumari was a patient with chronic insomnia and was on sleeping pills for a long time.As an alternative to sleeping pills, she started drinking. She was interested in Urdu poetry, this brought her close to another poet Gulzar. Once she was slapped on the set of  Pinjre ke Panchhi,by Kamal Amrohi's assistant, Baqar when she allowed Gulzar to enter her makeup room. After this incident in 1964, they divorced.



Dharmendra was the next person in her life. He signed Purnima as her Hero, he was a fan of Meena kumari,it was his dream to act opposite Meenaji. When he was introduced to her, she was warm and friendly and welcomed him with kind encouragement. Coincidentally, at this particular moment of her life, Meena Kumari required a stable and devoted man: big and strong, someone on whom she could literally rest her head, and someone who was not too famous. 

Dharmendra was almost a daily visitor at Janki Kutir. Together they would open a bottle and spend a few hours. These were the good times. Meena Kumari insisted her Producers to take Dharmendra as his Hero, both of them worked in 7 films. Dharmendra established himself as a hero because of Meena Kumari. However, a much younger and already married Dharmendra had nothing to offer in terms of the love and security Meena was searching for. They were intimate for three years.
Meena Kumari had a strong love for children, she wanted her own child here too she was deprived by her husband Kamal Amrohi.

She died on 31st March 1972, On a Good Friday, Meena Kumari died, after a long and painful battle with cirrhosis of the liver. She had been admitted to St Elizabeth’s Nursing Home in Bombay on 28th March and died three days later surrounded by the people who had played an important part in her life, both personal and professional. Her sisters Khursheed and Madhu; her estranged husband Kamal Amrohi; and various luminaries of the film world, including Begum Para and Kammo, from whose house the Aab-e-Zamzam (holy water from Mecca) was fetched to be spooned into Meena Kumari’s mouth as she was dying.

Song from Baiju Bawra 1952


Song of Tamasha 1952


Song from Azaad 1955


Song from Yahudi 1958


Song from Dil Apna Preet Parai, 1960



do sitaron ka milan hai aaj ki raat from kohinoor



Song from Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan 1961



Song of Aarti (1962)



Song of  Dil Ek Mandir (1963)

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Thursday 3 March 2022

50 Years of Bombay To Goa

 


Bombay To Goa completed 50 years, was released on 3rd March 1972. It was Amitabh Bachchan’s big break and the beginning of his illustrious career in the film industry over the span of 4 decades or more. The film was directed by S. Ramanathan, starring MehmoodAmitabh Bachchan, and Aruna Irani, with Shatrughan Sinha in a supporting role.  Mehmood and brother Anwar Ali were the principal players in this comedy that gave Amitabh Bachchan his first big break as the hero of a movie.

 What makes Bombay to Goa memorable is, as the title itself suggests, the bus journey from Bombay to Goa in which the majority of the story actually takes place. This adventurous and comic journey introduces us to a totally mixed bunch of passengers from all over India, from different religions and cultures. Two significant characters are those of Rajesh, the bus driver, and Khanna, the conductor - two characters played by real-life brothers, Anwar Ali and the great Mehmood, respectively. The list of travelers includes, among others, a married couple named Amma and Appa with their fat son, a sleeping passenger (Keshto Mukherjee), a chubby and heavily made-up woman (the wonderful Manorama) sitting at the back of the bus with her daughter, and an elderly noisy woman named Kashibai (Lalita Pawar). The most surprising passenger was  Kishore Kumar's appearance as himself.

This movie will always be remembered for its catchy songs composed by R D Burman, giving us the hit song "Dekha Na".Another song is a medley of old rock-n-roll tunes, sung in English, by an Indian woman in a nightclub.  The same medley also included a portion of "Fever," of Boney M fame also sung in English.

Soundtrack

  1. "Dekha Na Haye Re" - Kishore Kumar
  2. "Tum Meri Zindagi Mein" - Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
  3. "Listen To The Pouring Rain" - Usha Uthup
  4. "Dil Tera Hai Main Bhi Teri" - Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
  5. "Haye Haye Yeh Thanda Paani" - Asha Bhosle
  6. "Yeh Mehki Mehki Thandi Hawa" - Kishore Kumar

  7. Songs of Bombay to Goa 1972
Songs of Bombay to Goa 1972

Songs of Bombay to Goa 1972
Songs of Bombay to Goa 1972

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