Sajan Ki Galiyan - An Incomplete Film of Dev Anand

Sajan Ki Galiyan, 1966. The film, besides Sadhana and Dev Saab, was to be the launchpad of Zaheeda, Nargis’ niece, who later was introduced in Prem Pujari (1970). This was the 3rd film of Dev Anand and Sadhana together after Hum Dono(1961) and Asli Naqli (1962).
The film was to be produced cinematographer Fali Mistry (Guide, Hare Rama Hare Krishna) and to be directed by Raj Khosla,

 If there is one director Sadhana worked with extensively, it was Raj Khosla. The two teamed up for four films – Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Khosla’s unforgettable mystery trilogy with the actress – Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967). 
The music of Sajan Ki Galiyan was being composed by Shankar-Jaikishan. Fortunately (or unfortunately as one rues what might have been), two songs from the film can now available on YouTube. One is the deliciously romantic Mohammed Rafi solo, “Humne Jinke Khwab Sajaye” a signature S-J composition written by Hasrat Jaipuri. The other clip is a short scene and a song featuring Dev Saab, Sadhana and Zaheeda – “Hum Khoob Jaante Hai”, sung by Mohammed Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur and Geeta Dutt.

This film was to be made in color. It was the second color film after the Guide for Dev Anand.The clips of the songs of this film are featured in Film Hi Film (1983), which wove scenes from incomplete films into the storyline of an old-time filmmaker (Pran) training newcomers for a film he is making in a bid to recapture his long lost glory. Pran coaches them for the intended movie by showing them various scenes from unfinished films.

Song of Sajan Ki Galiyan

Song of Sajan Ki Galiyan

Hindi Films With Cities/Places In The Title

The trend of keeping the Title of a film in the name of cities or places is not a new trend but it is very old. Since the 40s such titles were in use. In 1941 two films with such titles were released. Bambai Ki Sair also known as Holiday in Bombay was a Bollywood social comedy film. It was released in 1941 The film starred Shobhna Samarth (mother of Nutan and Tanuja). The other was Bambaiwali (The Girl from Bombay). This film was directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. It starred Fearless Nadia,
There are many hit movies with such titles in the following years. Few of them are Bombai Ka Babu, Love in Shimla, Love in Tokyo, Ab Dilli Door Nahin, etc. In this blog, I am discussing a few such films.

In 1945 released the film  Kurukshetra. The film was cited as an offbeat film of K. L. Saigal, directed by a relatively unknown director; it's stated to be a "forerunner" to later Art Cinema

Song of Kurukshetra (1945 film) Audio only

Baghdad Ka Chor was another Bollywood film. It was released in 1946 directed by Nanubhai Vakil. starring K L Saigal

Baghdad Ka Chor 1946

Dilli Express was a film released in 1949 starring Fearless Nadia and Prakash It was a musical thriller with the music by Chitragupta

Hyderabad Ki Nazneen was a film released in 1952, The star cast includes  Manhar Desai, Nigar Sultana, Wasti, Murad, Durga Khote,

Chandni Chowk was a 1954 classic Muslim social drama film directed by B. R. Chopra. The film starred Meena Kumari, Shekhar, Kumar, Jeevan, Smriti Biswas and Achala Sachdev

Song of Chandni Chowk 1954

Marine Drive (1955) It was the first film that G. P. Sippy released under his production house Sippy Films. The film starring Ajeet and Bina Rai

Song of Marine Drive (1955)

Ab Dilli Dur Nahin  is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Amar Kumar and written by Rajinder Singh Bedi The film was produced by Raj Kapoor and starred Yakub, Anwar Hussain, Motilal, Nand Kishore, and Jagdeep

Song of Ab Dilli Dur Nahin  1957

 Miss Bombay was a 1957 movie directed by Kedar Kapoor featuring Nalini Jaywant, Ajit.

Song of Miss Bombay  1957

Howrah Bridge is a 1958 film directed by Shakti Samanta. It features the well known Hindi song "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" Starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala

Song of Howrah Bridge  1958

Dilli Ka Thug is a 1958 Hindi comedy film. It stars Kishore Kumar, Nutan, Madan Puri, and Iftekhar. 

Song of Dilli Ka Thug  1958

Bombai Ka Babu is a 1960 Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla and written by Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Dev Anand and Suchitra Sen in a rare appearance in the Hindi cinema.

Song of Bombai Ka Babu  1960

Love In Simla is a 1960 romantic Indian Hindi film, produced by Sashadhar Mukherjee. The actress Sadhana made her Hindi movie lead debut in the film and became a star

Song of  Love In Simla 1960

Mr. X in Bombay,, was a 1964 Indian science fiction thriller film starring Kishore Kumar, Kumkum and Madan Puri.

Song of Mr. X in Bombay  1964

Love In Tokyo is a 1966 Hindi film The film stars Joy Mukherjee, Asha Parekh, Pran, Mehmood, 

Song of Love in Tokyo  1966

Kashmir Ki Kali (lit. The Bud of Kashmir) is a 1964 Indian romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore in her debut role, Pran, Dhumal, Nazir Hussain, and Anoop Kumar. The music was composed by O.P. Nayyar 

Song of  Kashmir Ki Kali 1964

Johar Mehmood in Goa is a 1965 Bollywood comedy film directed by I. S. Johar with he himself, along with Mehmood and Simi Garewal playing the lead roles

Song of Johar Mehmood in Goa  (1965)

Bombay to Goa is a 1972 adventure-comedy film directed by S. Ramanathan, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aruna Irani in lead roles,

Song of  Bombay to Goa 1972

Here are a few more films

Jhansi Ki Rani (1956)

New Delhi (1956)

Kya Yeh Bombay Hai (1959)

China Town (1962)

Bombay Race Course (1965)

Himalay Ki Godmein (1965)

Johar in Bombay (1967)

Road To Sikkim (1969)

Bombay by Nite (1979)

36 Chowringhee Lane 1981

Salaam Bombay! (1988)

Bombay (1995)

Bhopal Express (1999)

Mission Kashmir (2000)

Calcutta Mail (2003)

Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost (2003)

Bombay to Bangkok (2008)

Chandni Chowk to China (2009)

Delhi-6 (2009)

Delhi Belly (2011)

Chennai Express (2013)

Madras Cafe (2013)

Bombay Velvet  (2015)

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Madhubala- A Journey from Baby Mumtaz to Madhubala

Madhubala (February 14, 1933 - February 23, 1969) the woman who was born on Valentine's Day as Mumtaz Jehan Begum in Delhi. She was one of the five children in the family. At the age of 9, she became the bread earner of the family. She was signed in for the film Basant in 1942 as a child artist as Baby Mumtaz.In this film, she sang two songs and one of them " Mere Chhote Se Mun Mein Chhoti Si Duniya Re "became immensely popular and got many films as a child artist.
 Actress Devika Rani was impressed by her performances and potential and advised her to assume the name Madhubala. At the age of 14 she got her first film as a heroine opposite Raj Kapoor who was debuting as a hero in the 1947 film" Neel Kamal"In this film her screen name was Madhubala. The film was not a commercial success, but her performance was received well. It was only a matter of time that Madhubala shot to fame and her work in the 1949 film Mahal got her the success she rightfully deserved. She was just 16.

Baby Mumtaz(Madhubala) in Basant 1942

As Baby Mumtaz, she worked in 5 films, Basant(1942) was her first film but her second film " Dhanna Bhagat" came after 3 years in 1945.. In 1946, her 3 films got released. Pujari released first in this film also she sang a song, the next release was "Phoolwari". It was the third highest grossing Indian film of 1946. The film was directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi for Ranjit Studios and is cited as one of the important films of actor Motilal. The third film of that year was Rajputani.

Madhubala in Neel Kamal 1947

Her first film as Madhubala was Neel Kamal which was released in 1947. The next year, she starred in a number of films, namely ‘Parai Aag’, ‘Lal Dupatta’, ‘Desh Sewa’ and ‘Amar Prem’. However, none of them did much to promote her career as an actress, in fact, she appeared in 12 films after Neel Kamal none of the films clicked in Box Office.
It was in the year 1949 that success finally came Madhubala’s way. She starred in Bombay Talkies production, ‘Mahal’, opposite seasoned actor Ashok Kumar. The film went on to become a major success and established her as a star. She was applauded not only for her talent, but also for her enigmatic screen presence and beauty. Following ‘Mahal’, Madhubala was seen in a number of successful films.

Madhubala in Mahal 1949

After Mahal, Madhubala's film Dulari was released the same year that stars Madhubala, Geeta Bali, Shyam, Jayant and Suresh. The song has the hit song "Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki" sung by Mohammed Rafi and featuring Suresh. Dulari was the year's eighth-highest-grossing.

Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam 1960

During the career span of 22 years, Madhubala was known for her roles in more than 70 films of variety of genres such as Mahal (1949), Dulari (1949), Beqasoor (1950), Tarana (1951), Amar (1954), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Howrah Bridge (1958) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960) with actors such as Dilip Kumar, Guru Dutt, Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Kishore Kumar and many more as her co-stars. Out of 73 Hindi films, only fifteen of them were successful at box office. She received her only nomination for a Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
Madhubala had a long relationship with actor Dilip Kumar, but instead, she married her Chalti Ka Naam Gaadico-star Kishore Kumar in 1960. Together they had worked in films such as Dhake Ki Malmal (1956), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Jhumroo (1961), Half Ticket(1962). Madhubala's life and career were cut short when she died on 23 February 1969 from a prolonged illness at the age of 36 thus ends the journey of Madhubala.
Madhubala is, by far, the most iconic silver screen goddess India has produced.

Watch Madhubala as Baby Mumtaz singing in her own voice 

Song of Basant 1942

Song of Neel Kamal 1947

Song of Mahal 1949

Song of Dulari 1949

Song from Tarana 1951

Song from Mr &Mrs 55 1955

Song from Phagun 1958

Song from Kala Paani 1958

Song from Howrah Bridge 1958

Song from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi  1958

Song from Barsaat Ki Raat  1960

Song from Mughal-e-Azam  1960