IRFAN KHAN- An Acting Powerhouse

This Acting Powerhouse was first spotted by Mira Nair when she cast him in Salaam Bombay in 1988 but he had to wait for 15 years till Tigmanshu Dhulia cast him in Haasil(2003). He won his first Filmfare Award for this film. The very next year he appeared in Maqbool(2004) with a powerful performance.

The successful drama Life in a... Metro (2007) marked a turning point in Khan's career, earning him praise and several awards including the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He rose to prominence with his portrayal of Paan Singh Tomar in the acclaimed biographical sports drama Paan Singh Tomar (2012), which garnered him the National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. His performance in the BAFTA Award-nominated romance The Lunchbox (2013) earned him universal acclaim by the critics and audiences. 

Internationally, he had worked in a number of international projects, such as The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2008), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016).

In 2014, Irfan Khan ( 7 January 1967 – 29 April 2020) appeared in Gunday, which was a moderate box office success. He also made guest appearances in the films The Xpose and Haider, playing an important role in the latter. In 2015, he played the lead role in the film Piku alongside Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan, he also appeared in the acclaimed thriller Talvar in which his performance was praised. He appeared in Jazbaa in October 2015 alongside Aishwarya Rai which was very well received by critics.

In 2017, Khan appeared in two films, Hindi Medium which was commercially and critically successful. Khan's portrayal as Raj Batra in Hindi Medium earned him several accolades, one of which was the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

In 2018, Khan appeared in Karwan, he also appeared in Blackmail opposite Kirti Kulhari, the same year. His last film appearance was in Angrezi Medium, directed by Homi Adajania, which was released on 13 March 2020

He died at a young age of 53 on 29th April 2020

KN Singh- The Looks That Sent Shivers to Audience

 

Recall the personality on the Black & White screen, immaculate in his dress - a suit, overcoat, hat, and cigarette. A peculiar style of his own, raising his bushy eyebrows, tough looks, loud and nasty talk, and horrible laugh, cultured, and soft exterior.  He appeared in over 250 Hindi films over a long career stretching from 1936 to the late 1980s.

Yes, I am talking about K. N. Singh (1 September 1908 – 31 January 2000) who was a prominent villain and character actor of Hindi films. He appeared in several iconic movies in the 40s and 50s including Sikandar (1941), Jwar Bhata (1944) (Dilip Kumar's Debut film), Humayun(1945),, Awara (1951), Baazi(1951) Jaal (1952), CID (1956), Howrah Bridge (1958), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Amrapali (1966) and An Evening in Paris (1967).

He was selected to represent India in the 1936 Berlin Olympics before circumstances compelled him to go to Calcutta to attend on his ailing sister. There he met his family friend Prithviraj Kapoor, who introduced him to director Debaki Bose, who offered him a debut role in his film Sunehra Sansar (1936). According to his nephew in an interview, his first film was Hawai Daku where he was the protagonist. No records exist of this movie now.

After that, he appeared in Karodpati(1937), Vidyapati (1937), Anand Ashram, and Milaap, all these films he did in Calcutta. He came to limelight after the release of Baghban 1938  in which he played the antagonist. The movie was super hit and his role also became super hit. His suave style, baritone voice, and menacing eyes became legendary.KN Singh and his friends Prithviraj Kapoor and KL Saigal were considered the pioneering stars of the Bombay talkies.

He appeared in many R K Films and Navketan films. He was in Barsaat(1949) as Bholu, Awaea(1951) as Jagga. He was in Baazi as Rajni's father, in Jaal as Carlo, in House No 44 as captain. He was in Aandhiyan, Funtoosh, and almost all the earlier films of Dev Anand. He was also a favorite actor of Guru Dutt, who took him in Baazi, Jaal, Baaz, and CID. He played General Barborosa in Baaz(1953)

As an actor, Singh's thirst for learning was legendary. For example, he studied the style and mannerisms of carriage riders to prepare for the role of a horse carriage driver in Inspector (1956).He played prominent roles in movies such as Jhoota Kahin Ka (1970), Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) and Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972). His last prominent role was in the 1973 film Loafer.

He had the distinction of working with three generations of the Kapoor family. He acted with Patriarch Prthiviraj Kapoor in Bidyapati (1937), with Raj Kapoor in Awara (1951) and Rishi Kapoor in Rafoo Chakkar (1975).

Kishore Kumar made him sing and dance in his film Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi in 1974. This is a rare occasion we see K N Singh in a cameo role.

Song of Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi in 1974.

K.N. Singh turned completely blind in his last years. He died in Mumbai on 31 January 2000 aged 91 was survived by his adopted son Pushkar, who is a producer of television serials.

A scene from Awara 1951

Scene from Baaz 1953

A K HANGAL- A Class Actor,who was a Freedom Fighter

 

A K Hangal (1 February 1914 – 26 August 2012), was a freedom fighter, he spent 3 years in jail during the freedom struggle He was a stage actor till 1966. and later became a character actor in Hindi language films from 1966 to 2005. He has acted in around 225 Hindi films. He had the rare ability to imbue the smallest and the most ordinary of roles with quality and dignity

We all remember him as Imaam Saab of Sholay (1975). He started his Hindi film career at the age of 52 with Basu Bhattacharya's Teesri Kasam in 1966. He mostly played the roles of a father, uncle, or school teacher in many films. He was a member of IPTA was a friend of Chetan Anand who cast him in Heer Ranjha in 1970. His most notable roles are as Ram Shastri in Aaina (1977), as the Inder Sen in Shaukeen, as Bipinlal Pandey in Namak Haraam, as Anokhelal in Manzil.

Young AK Hangal

AK Hangal in Sholay

 He was cast in roles that demanded piety, playing characters that carried the burden of their virtuous poverty with quiet and kindly dignity. Shaukeen was the film in which he played, along with Ashok Kumar and Utpal Dutt, a lecherous old man. 

A K Hangal in Shaukeen

He did a number of films with Rajesh Khanna (16 films) a few significant ones with the Amitabh Bachchans and many others. The best performances in his later years were in Shararat (2002) his character roles in Tere Mere Sapne (1997) and Lagaan. 

Shambhu-Kaka. of Lagaan

 After 2007, Hangal had been suffering from an illness and could not afford the treatment. Hangal made his last appearance in the television series Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon in May 2012, in which he had a cameo. Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon was a tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema. He also gave his voice for the character of King Ugrasen in the animation film Krishna Aur Kans which was released on 3 August 2012. This was final work in his career before his death. He died on 26th Aug 2012 in Mumbai. The government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Hindi Cinema in 2006.

A Scene from Sara Akash

A Scene from Sholay

A Scene of AK Hangal

Song of Shaukeen

Shammi Kapoor- A Natural Dancer

 

Shammi Kapoor in his Biography said"The sound of any music evoked in me a strong urge to dance. The rhythm didn't take time to seep into me and seek expression in dance. The urge to dance was always there in him. His brother Raj Kapoor was a good dancer but Shammi was different.

He never had a dance director or a choreographer for his dance songs in any film. He danced to his own style and created his own steps and movements. The first time he got the chance of expressing himself in dance songs was in Tumsa Nahin Dekha, this film redefined him and shot him to bigtime stardom.

In his Biography, he tells "From a very early stage, he wanted to learn dancing but there were no professional dancing schools in Bombay at that time. There used to be a hotel in Dadar, whose owner used to teach Tango dance He took a few lessons from him.

Shammi Kapoor said that it was lucky that he got good songs." I think I tried to give physical expressions to music. My choreography was always done here( pointing towards his heart) and I brought it out on the floor. Telling about the picturization of the song' Yahoo' he said "everybody was satisfied with the song Yahoo recorded after the hard work of Rafi saheb and music director Shankar Jaikishan, now it was my turn to make this song an immortal. This song was picturized in Kufri, not in Kashmir. The setting looked ideal with 12 feet deep snow and the breathtakingly beautiful sight around Everybody was in a fix what will I do?, how will I do?

Shammi further said that he was also not made in his mind about how to do it. Yes it was sure that he had to slide on the snow, The next day in the morning at 7 AM the whole unit collected at the spot from where he had to slide, But just when the camera was to roll, the sun disappeared, they couldn't shoot that day due to poor sunlight. This happened for six days, the song couldn't be picturized Finally on the Seventh-day the song was picturized. Shammi Kapoor said that there was no choreographer, no preparation by himself, whatever he did was spontaneous.

After Junglee every producer and director wanted Shammi to perform the song as per his wish. He said in the book" I used to tell my directors to keep the camera flexible, don't freeze the field, play the music, and let me do the act. That is what he did in most of his songs.

He said for the song Aasman Se Aya Farishta of An Evening in Paris, it was his idea to perform on a helicopter.

His biggest hit Teesri Manzil (1966) broke all kinds of records at the box office — thanks to its music. Composed by R.D. Burman, songs of this movie are considered some of his best works and Shammi’s best dance performances. O Mere Sona Re, O Haseena Zulfonwali Jaane Jahan, and Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyaar Tera are still regularly seen on playlists and heard on the radio.

Looking at just one decade of Shammi’s career, it is clear about the kind of stupendous impact that he has had on Bollywood and its audience. He left a mark like no other and even though many have managed to make a name as great dancers, nobody has come close to him — much like the original Elvis Presley.

Song of Tumsa Nahin Dekha 1957

Song of Dil Deke Dekho 1959

Song of Junglee 1961

Song of Dil Tera Deewana 1962

Song of Professor 1962

Song of Kashmir Ki Kali 1964

Song of An Evening in Paris 1966

Song of Teesri Manzil 1967

Song of Brahmachari 1968

Vyjaynthimala- The Dancing Queen of Bollywood

 

Vyjayanthimala Bali celebrates her birthday on the 13th of August. She shares this birthday with another Bollywood legend Sridevi who was also a multilingual actress with superior dancing prowess. Both the actresses married Punjabi men who left their first wives.

 Vyjayanthimala performed some superhit song and dance numbers in Hindi films, whether it is Man dole mera tan dole (Nagin) or Chadh gayo paapi bichhua (Madhumati) or Buddha mil gaya (Sangam) or Hothon pe aisi baat (Jewel Thief) and not to forget Indian classical dances of Amrapali(1966)

At the age of seven, Vyjayanthimala was chosen to perform a classical Indian dance for Pope Pius XII while her mother was an audience in 1940 at Vatican City. She learned Bharata Natyam from Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai and Carnatic music from Manakkal Sivaraja Iyer. She had her arangetram at the age of 13 and started performing in Tamil Nadu later.

She made her debut in the Tamil language film Vaazhkai in 1949 on the basis of her dance performance of Bharata Natyam in Chennai's Gokhale Hall. The success of her Tamil film Vazhkai in South India inspired AVM Productions to remake it in Hindi as Bahar in 1951. In their first Hindi venture, they decided to cast Vyjayanthimala again in the lead role with Karan Dewan, The film became a hit and also its music and dances. The next film 'Ladki' released in 1953 was opposite Kishore Kumar and Bharat Bhushan.

In 1954, Vyjayanthimala acted in the magnum opus film Nagin with Pradeep Kumar. The film got favorable responses from the audience and became the highest-grossing movie of 1954 where it was labeled as a blockbuster. Her performance as the Nagi tribe's chief got Mala favorable reviews from the critics, as in 1955,

Nagin was a precursor to her rise in Hindi cinema as an iconic actor, who combined her talents, performing and dancing, to rule the screen on her terms... biggest recall values of Nagin are Vyjayanthimala". Post Nagin Vyjayanthimala had established herself as one of the leading actresses in Bollywood because of the film's nationwide success.

Vyjayanthimala's influence on films has been far-reaching. With her, semiclassical dance became an integral part of almost every Hindi film heroine's resume.At her peak, Vyjayanthimala took off to do a series of much-appreciated dance shows in Paris in 1959 besides working for top actors like Dilip Kumar in Paigham (1959) and Raj Kapoor in Nazrana (1961).

Vyjayanthimala has won four awards from five nominations, including a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to Bollywood. She was the first person to decline the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Devdas, as she stated that the roles of Chandramukhi and Paro, played by Vyjayanthimala and Suchitra Sen respectively, were parallel and of equal  importance

In this blog, I am posting a few of her best dance songs.

Song of Bahar 1951

Song of Nagin 1954

Song of Devdas 1955

Song of Naya Daur 1957

Song of Kathputli 1957

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Ganga Jamuna 1961

Song of Sangam 1964

Classical Dance of Amrapali 1966

Song of Amrapali 1966

Song of Jewel Thief 1967

Song of Sangharsh 1968

Manmohan Krishna- The Character Actor of the Golden Era of Bollywood

 

Manmohan Krishna (11 August 1921 – 3 November 1990), a familiar actor of the 50s and 60s.He worked in nearly 250 films, notably Naya Daur (1957), Khandan ( 1965), Sadhana (1958), Waqt (1965) and Hamraaz (1967)^] He won acclaim for his work in Bees Saal Baad (1962) and won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Abdul Rasheed in Dhool Ka Phool (1960), where the song, Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega, Insaan ki Aulaad Hai, Insaan Banega was picturized on him. He was a favorite for B R Chopra and Yash Chopra. Later in his career, he directed the hit film for Yash Raj Films, Noorie (1980),

He started his career as a professor in Physics and held a master's degree in physics. He anchored radio the show Cadbury's Phulwari, a singing contest. 

 Many people don't know that Manmohan Krishna started as Hero cum singer from the 1947 film Matwala Shair Ramjoshi (1947), he sang all the songs in that film. The next film he appeared was1949 film Apna Desh where he sang a song. his next song, 'Jhat khol de' in Afsar (1950), a Dev Anand film with music by S.D. Burman. He also sang in 1951 film Aaram where he played a comedian. sang the song 'Yeh Zindagi Hai Yo-Yo'. In the 1955 film 'Railway Platform' he sang a few songs.In this blog, i am posting these rare songs either in audio or video.

Song of  Matwala Shair Ramjoshi (1947)

Song of Afsar 1950

Song of Aaram 1951

Song of Railway Platform 1955

Song of Railway Platform 1955

Song of Dhool Ka Phool (1960),

Bollywood Actors as Siblings and also Lovers in Films

There are many actors who played siblings in one film and effortlessly slipped into the role of lovers in other films and vice versa. Take the example of Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman who played brother and sister in Hare Rama Hare Krishna and then played as lovers in many films.
Dharmendra and Meena Kumari did many films as the romantic lead but in 1964 they did their first film "Kajal" played brother and sister in the film. 

On the cusp of stardom, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini starred as siblings in the thriller Gehri Chaal (1973) but after that, they did many films as lovers.

Nanda played Dev Anand’s sister in Kala Bazar (1960) and later played the romantic pair with him in Hum Dono (1961) and Teen Devian (1965). 

In the 1960 Dev Anand had 2 films released with Suchitra Sen. In Bombai Ka Babu, Suchitra Sen plays the role of sister of Dev Anand and in another film Sarhad, she was in a romantic role with him.

In 1963, the film Gehra Daag had Mumtaz playing Rajendra Kumar’s younger sister while Mala Sinha was paired opposite him. In 1972 the duo came together in Taangewaala, produced and directed by Rajendra Kumar’s brother Narendra Kumar

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Shah Rukh Khan & Aishwarya Rai came together for the first time in Josh (2000), where Shah Rukh Khan is the leader of a local gang in Goa and Aishwarya who plays his twin sister, Later in the same year, they come as lovers in Yash Raj Films’ Mohabbatein.  After this, they were seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas.

In 1987 came an action drama Dacait based on the dacoits, Urmila Matondkar plays the younger sister of Sunny Deol in the film. In 1999,  Sunny Deol directed his first film "Dillagi" starring himself and his real brother Bobby Deol, he cast Urmila as his heroine

In 1989, Jackie Shroff and Madhuri Dixit teamed up as a brother-sister duo in Rajiv Rai’s blockbuster Tridev, In 1992 in a beautiful film Sangeet which had Madhuri Dixit in a double role- that of an older woman and a young blind girl. Jackie Shroff falls in love with the blind Madhuri. 

Nargis played Sunil Dutt's mother in Mother India (1957) and his lover in Yaadein (1964).

Shammi Kapoor was Saira Banu’s lover in Junglee but later became her father in Zameer. 

Similarly, Ashok Kumar who worked with Meena Kimari in many films as his silent lover did play her long-lost father Shahabuddin, in 1972 film Pakeezah.

Waheeda Rehman who is the favorite heroine of Amitabh Bachchan was his heroine in Adalat and Kabhie Kabhie also played his mother in Trishul. 

Similarly, Rakhi who played romantic leads in Kasme Vaade, Bemisal and Barsat ki Ek Raat with Amitabh Bachchan also played the mother role in Shakti

Sharmila Tagore and Amitabh Bachchan

Sharmila Tagore plays mother to Big B in Desh Premee (1982) and his wife in Faraar (1975).

Song of Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971

Song of Heera Panna

Song of Purnima 1965

Song of Bombai Ka Babu 1960

Song of Taangewala 1972

Song of Josh 2000

Song of Mohabbatein  2000

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