Showing posts with label Hindi Cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hindi Cinema. Show all posts

Tuesday 19 May 2020

The Changing Face of Indian Cinema- Bioscope to OTT


Film Exhibition is an important part of any Cinema Industry. It is the foundation of the revenue of this business. For decades, the theatrical release window has been a valuable model for exhibitors and producers alike. It has traveled from the single theatres to the multiplex age. From the video parlors to the digital era and Satellite Releases.on your mobile phone. 

Though film production commenced in India in 1913, the progress of the film business started in 1896, the historical year when Lumiere Bros' films were exhibited at Watson Hotel in Mumbai. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar was the first Indian to import a Cine-camera from London at a price of 21 guineas and made a topical in 1897. “Return of Wrangler Paranjapee”- first Indian Actually Film shot by Bhatvadekar. Hiralal Sen stars working in Bengal by filming extracts from stage-plays.
J.F. Madan (1856-1926) launched his bioscope show in a tent at Calcutta Maidan in 1902. Later in 1904  Manek D Sethna started exhibiting cinema regularly. He started to move from one place to another with his projector. In 1907 
the First Cinema hall in India was built by J.F. Madan in Calcutta in 1907 and it was named Elphinstone Picture Palace it was later called as Chaplin Cinema. By the time the first Talkie movie started many cinema theatres started working in many parts of India.,
With the emergence of TV, cinema finds new media to exhibit. Expansion of TV network all over India in the early eighties brought the films in our drawing rooms. This was the decade when Film piracy was at its peak. Pirated video cassettes were easily available, people stopped going to cinema halls and started to watch movies at their homes. 
By the end of the last century,. Indian cinema started a crossover from analog to digital. For distributors and exhibitors, one of the most evident benefits of this technological shift was the convenience factor. The content in the digital format does not have to be frantically shuffled between theaters but it can simply be delivered by way of satellite or hard drive. 
As digitalization has grown, so has the technology behind it. Over the decades there have been different types of digital projectors in use. With the emergence of multiplexes India, too, is taking rapid strides towards asserting this trend Soon all of India will be watching digitally transmitted movies. 
The main benefit of digitization is that there can be multiple pan-India releases.  A digital print can be sent anywhere via satellite. The first major Bollywood film Singh is Kinng was released via digital distribution. The film had released simultaneously in around 400 odd digital theatres. In 2008, Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan, released with the maximum number of prints in India – 1,200 (both digital and analog versions). In 2013, Dhoom 3 released with 4,500 prints, and almost all were digital.
Under the present circumstances of a complete lockdown in India due to Coronavirus, all the cinema halls are closed. Now the producers whose films are ready for release are now thinking to release their films directly to OTT a new platform for the young generation. Several big firms have lined up for a digital release, ditching the traditional route of a theatrical opening. This has led to a tug of war between producers and exhibitors. Direct-to-OTT could become an increasing reality in the near future. This platform bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content. This platform could be accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players (including video game consoles), or televisions with integrated Smart TV. 
it`s the dawn of a new era where both patterns of release will probably find a way to co-exist. Many big films are now ready to get released on this platform in India.Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer "Gulabo Sitabo" and Vidya Balans "Shakuntala Devi" are among the first.
Here are a few OTT platforms in India. Voot, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Sonyliv, etc.



Saturday 2 May 2020

50 Years of Sachaa Jhutha


Released 50 years ago on 1st May 1970 was a blockbuster film. It was the second-highest grosser of the year. It was an action-comedy film directed by Manmohan Desai. Rajesh Khanna was the hero with a double role as Ranjith & Bhola. The performance of Rajesh Khanna was critically acclaimed and he won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for 1971.
This film was initially offered to Shashi Kapoor but he refused the film because he did not want to work with Mumtaz. At the time Mumtaz was working in a lot of B Grade stunt films. Shashi did not want to work with a small heroine.

Bhola (Rajesh Khanna) is an innocent band musician who lives with his physically challenged sister Belu(Naaz) in a village. He needs more money for his sister's marriage and he sets off to Bombay. In Bombay, there is a wealthy Jewel Merchant as well as a smuggler Ranjit who is a look-alike of Bhola is suspected by the police 

inspector Pradhan(Vinod Khanna). The inspector has no evidence and searches for that. He creates a plan with Rita (Mumtaz) to attract Ranjith and to know his secret plans.
Bhola and Ranjit paths cross at a costume party Bhola in his original costume of a band player surprises Ranjit, he immediately conceives a plan. He takes Bhola to his place and reveals himself. He convinces Bhola to act like Ranjith in front of society as he is suffering from cancer and requires treatment. Until his return from treatment, Bhola has to make trust with everybody that he is Ranjith. Actually, Ranjith makes him himself so that he can continue with his diamond smuggling, meanwhile, there will not be any evidence, as Bhola is going to be Ranjith everywhere. But he did not reveal the reason for him. He also promises that he would give money for his sister's marriage. Innocent Bhola believes him and agrees to the plan.

Ranjith's girlfriend Ruby (Faryal) trains Bhola to be like Ranjith. In the meantime, Ranjith continues his underground work of diamond smuggling. And Inspector Pradhan cannot come to a conclusion. Rita moves intimately with Bhola thinking of him as Ranjith, but Bhola falls in love with her. 
During this time in the village, Bhola's sister loses everything due to heavy floods, decides to go to Bombay along with her dog to search for Bhola.
Pradhan meets Belu and helps her to reach the place. Belu is misguided by some men regarding the whereabouts of her brother and tries to exploit her, but Pradhan saves her from them and takes her to his home. Ruby, who follows Belu to Pradhan's house informs Ranjith about her. Ranjith, posing like her brother, goes to Pradhan's home and takes her with him.

Finally, Bhola unravels Ranjit's evil designs and threatens exposure, but is restrained by Belu's captivity. After a series of gunfights, fisticuffs, helicopter landings, dog chases (animal rights activists will feel tormented at the plight of Moti) both Bhola and Ranjit are arrested.
It’s a fun film with Rajesh doing an excellent job differentiating between the two characters. His chemistry with gorgeous Mumtaz as always is great, one year earlier both came together in a super hit film Do Raste and Bandhan.
Another highlight of the film is its music. All the songs were hit especially "Meri Pyari Behaniya Banegi Dulhania". Kalyanji Anandji gave the music with lyrics by Indivar, Gulshan Bawra, and Qamar Jalabadi,

Songs of Sacha Jhutha
#TitleSinger(s)
1"Karle Pyar Karle Aankhen Chaar"Asha Bhosle
2"Dil Ko Dekho Chehra Na Dekho"Kishore Kumar
3"Meri Pyari Behaniya (Version 1)"Kishore Kumar
4"Meri Pyari Behaniya (Version 2)"Kishore Kumar
5"Meri Pyari Behaniya (Version 3)"Kishore Kumar
6"Yunhi Tum Mujhse Baat Karti Ho"Lata MangeshkarMohammed Rafi
7"Ho Kehdo Kehdo"Lata MangeshkarKishore Kumar


Song of Sachaa Jhutha 1970


Song of Sachaa Jhutha 1970


Song of Sachaa Jhutha 1970


Song of Sachaa Jhutha 1970


Song of Sachaa Jhutha 1970



Thursday 30 April 2020

Irrfan Khan- Slow and Steady Won the Race


Starting his film career with a small one and a half minute role as a letter writer in the 1988 film Salaam Bombay, he emerged as the most intense actor of Bollywood. It took him 13 years to get recognition in films with the British film The Warrior (2001) and had his breakthrough with starring roles in the dramas Haasil (2003) and Maqbool (2004). 
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain.in the film Haasil in 2004. His first Bollywood lead role came in 2005 with Rog. His performance was praised by critics;
In 2007, he appeared in the box office hits The Namesake and Life in a... Metro. His chemistry with Konkana Sen was one of the highlights of the latter; it also won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.
He played a police inspector in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he and the cast of the movie won Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
In 2010, he worked on the third season of the HBO series In Treatment, enacting the part of Sunil, who is finding it difficult to come to terms with his wife's death and loneliness after moving to New York. He did Spiderman and Life of Pi in 2012. which became a critical and commercial success worldwide. 
In the same year in 2012 his film Paan Singh Tomar released, he plated the title role for which he was given the National Film Award as Best Actor. In 2013, he starred in The Lunchbox, which won the Grand Rail d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and received a BAFTA nomination and became his highest-grossing Hindi film.
 In 2015, he played the lead role in the film Piku alongside Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan. Khan co-starred in the 2015 film Jurassic World. In the same year, he also appeared in the acclaimed thriller Talvar in which his performance was praised. 
In 2017, Khan appeared in two films, Hindi Medium and Qarib Qarib Singlle. The former was commercially and critically successful, while the latter was an average grosser. Khan's portrayal as Raj Batra in Hindi Medium earned him several accolades, one of which was the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
In March 2018, he was told that he had a rare neuroendocrine tumor and spent several months in London undergoing treatment. It appeared to have recovered from cancer, he returned to India, and in 2019 started shooting his last film, “Angrezi Medium,” a sequel to his 2017 hit “Hindi Medium.” It was released last month,
He was admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on 28th April 2020, he died on 29th April.2020
  Irrfan Khan "young letter writer"First film role 


                    Irrfan Khan's Best Scenes in Haasil (2003)


Irfan Khan in Paan Singh Tomur 2012



Memorable Scenes of Irfan Khan







Sunday 26 April 2020

Five Significant Roles of Moushumi Chatterjee


Moushumi Chatterjee (born 26 April 1948) is an actress who is recognized for her work in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. She made her film debut in the Bengali hit Balika Badhu (1967), and debut as heroine in the Hindi film Anuraag in 1972. Since then she has acted in more than 100 films as the main lead or a character role.
In this blog, we look into some of her memorable roles from Bollywood to Bengali films. She became a household name with the Bengali film Balika Badhu, directed by Tarun Majumdar. She played a child bride in the period drama, which became a platinum jubilee hit with a run of 75 weeks at the box office. In her next film a Bollywood film" Anurag", she played a blind young woman, Shivani, who wants to learn sculpting.
 Balika Badhu (1967) - The film was based on a novel of the same name by Bimal Kar. The film was remade in Hindi as the same name in 1976 also directed by Majumdar. The movie is about child marriage, a custom that still prevails (illegally) among various Indian societies. Set during British Raj in India, the movie tells the story of a village schoolboy Amal, who is married to a younger girl named Rajni. Left together for a few days, as a part of the ritual, the two develop friendship and love. Shortly, Rajni must return to her parents’ house, while Amal continues with his studies at home with Masterji, an elderly teacher. His life is enlivened occasionally when Rajni is permitted to visit.For this role she was given Best Actress for her debut by BFJA


Anuraag (1972) -  is a 1972 Hindi film, directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Moushumi Chatterjee and Vinod Mehra in lead roles. Moushumi plays a blind sculptor in this film. She stays in an ashram and makes friends with a small boy (Satyajit), who is suffering from cancer. She falls in love with Rajesh (Vinod Mehra). Rajesh asks his parents to permit him to marry her, to which his mother agrees, but his father refuses under her present condition. Then, an eye specialist reveals that an eye replacement would cure her. Later, as a dying wish, the young boy donates his eyes to her, thus granting her eyesight for the first time in her life.
The film became a semi-hit while doing extremely well in big cities and won the Filmfare Best Movie Award for the year. Moushumi was nominated for the best actress award.




Song of Anurag 1972



Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974) - was written, directed, and produced by Manoj KumarThe film is about a family for which Bharat (Manoj Kumar) attempts to provide for after falling into a financial struggle. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay, the brother of Bharat, and stars Zeenat Aman as Sheetal, Bharat's love interest, Moushumi Chatterjee as Tulsi, a friend of Bharat in poverty, and Shashi Kapoor as Mohan Babu, a wealthy businessman. Moushumi was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for this film.




Song of  Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974)



Angoor (1982) - Moushumi Chatterjee got the chance to hone her comedic skills and timing opposite Sanjeev Kumar. She played Sudha, wife to Sanjeev Kumar’s Ashok. She meets his well-behaved twin, also named Ashok, and mistakes him for her husband. Sudha tries her best to win him over and gives into her husband’s demands, much to the merriment of the audience. As the clueless wife, she hit every note right.




Song of Angoor 1982


Goynar Baksho (2013) -  horror-comedy, directed by Aparna Sen, involved three generations of women with a priceless box of jewels that links them together. The film starred Moushumi Chatterjee, Sen’s daughter Konkona Sensharma and Srabanti Chatterjee.
Moushumi played a ghost in this comedy film. She won a Filmfare East award for Best Supporting Actress for the part, while Konkona Sen Sharma won Best Actress.




Song of Goynar Baksho (2013)

Saturday 25 April 2020

The Story Behind the Song" Lag Ja Gale"


This iconic song from the 1964 film "Woh Kaun Thi" was almost not recorded. Madan Mohan had composed the song with great care for a haunting romantic situation in the film but the  Director of the film Raj Khosla didn't like the tune, so he rejected it.
Madan Mohan, who was very sure that this song could be one of his immortal songs approached Manoj Kumar, the hero of the film to request Raj Khosla to listen to the tune once again. Manoj Kumar Kumar, who appreciated the tune too felt that this could be a memorable song.
When the second time this tune was played, Raj Khosla got bowled over by the composition. He immediately approved it. He wondered, how could he reject this song. 
This song was written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan sung by Lata Mangeshkar was recorded in 1963. When the film released, this song was not as popular as today. You would be surprised to note that this song was not among the top 32 songs of the 1964 Binaca Geet Mala final. Two other songs(Naina Barse andJo Hamne Daastan )of this film were on that list, not this one.
There are many songs who are liked and become popular with the passing of time. This song is one such exceptional and inimitable. This song remains one of the favorite songs of Lata Mangeshkar.
The song has not only stood the test of time but has time and again been used by Bollywood and other to accentuate an emotional note in several films, in 1966 the tune of this song was kept in a Tamil film Yaar Nee, a remake of Woh Kaun This, this song was picturized on Jatyalalitha sung by Sushila.In the same year the Telugu movie Aame Evaru, it is rendered as "Andala ee reyi". Even contemporary ones like Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil to the new Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3.this song is used, sung by different singers, the tune remains the same.
There are many versions of this song now available on Youtube. Very recently a video of this song sung by e years old toddler went Viral over social media,I present all the versions here including the original.
Song of Woh Kaun Thi 1964



                             Lag Ja Gale | Tamil Version 



Lag Ja Gale by 2 years child


Lag Ja Gale  (Acoustic) Sanam

                          

Lag Jaa Gale from Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster 3

                                        


Lag Jaa Gale from Ai Dil Hai Mushkil


Lag Jaa Gale  by Various Artists (Who Sang It Better?)

                                           

Lag Ja Gale by Anuradha Paudwal



Lag Ja Gale by Shreya Ghoshal










Thursday 9 April 2020

Jaya Bhaduri - Her Iconic and Unforgettable Films


Jaya Bhaduri born on 9 April 1948, who appeared in nearly 50 films remains the Guddi forever. The film Guddi directed by Hrishikesh Mukharjee was her debut film released in 1971. Since then with every film, Jaya Bhaduri broke the mould and stood her ground as one of the finest actresses of her time. 
With Guddi she created the girl-next-door image for her, which she was often associated with throughout the rest of her career. However, she did a glamorous role in Jawani Diwani in 1973 and a negative character of the heroine faking amnesia, in Anamika (1973). She was a favorite heroine of filmmakers like Hrishikesh Mukharjee, Gulzar and Basu Chatterjee.

Song of Guddi (1971)


Uphar (1971) was her next film. The film featured Jaya Bachchan as Mrinmayee (Minoo), who marries a lawyer Anoop (played by Swaroop Dutt). The film covered an innocent and immature love story of two people. The film adorned Jaya Bachchan with Filmfare Special Award.
Song of Uphar (1971)


Koshish (1972), It was a story based on the life of a deaf and mute couple, their conflicts, and their struggle to live in a normal society. She was nominated as the best actress at Filmfare awards.

Song of Koshish (1972)


Abhimaan (1973)  The film showcases Amitabh Bachchan as Subir, who is a struggling singer. He marries Uma (played by Jaya Bachchan), who is also a singer. The film concentrate on the ego clashes between the couple as Uma leads a way to success in her singing career, while Subir faces failure. 

Song of Abhimaan (1973) 


Kora Kagaz (1974) Jaya Bachchan featured in Kora Kagaz which depicts a sad love story of two people, who meet each other while traveling on a bus. She gets another Filmfare Award for this film.

Song of Kora Kagaz (1974)

Mili is a 1975  romantic drama film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It starred Amitabh BachchanJaya Bachchan and Ashok Kumar in lead roles. Jaya Bachchan received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress, the only nomination for the film

Song of Milli 1975


Silsila (1981) Said to be the real-life portrayal of the then-scandalous Amitabh-Jaya-Rekha love triangle. It is considered as one of the iconic romantic movies of Bollywood

Song of Silsila (1981)


 She has appeared along with her actor husband Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer in 1973 and  AbhimaanChupke Chupke, Mili and Sholay in 1975 Following her marriage to actor Amitabh Bachchan she quit acting and gave birth to her children. It is believed that Amitabh Bachchan restricted to her continuing in the films and she returned to action in the 1981 film Silsila and later appeared in Govind Nihalani's Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa in 1998. Since then she appeared in a few more commercially successful films such as ‘ Fiza’ in 2000, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001, Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003 which were critically acclaimed films and she won several awards and nominations again.

Jaya Bhaduri has won eight Filmfare Awards including three for the Best Actress and the Best Supporting Actress. She was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 2007 In 1992 she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Nominated five times for the Best Actress Award Won three International Film Academy Awards Has Won the Bengal Film Journalist Association Awards a special Award for her Debut film Guddi and Fiza. Has won the Anandalok Award for Special Editor’s Award Zee Cinema – Best Supporting Actress for the role in Fiza Sansui Viewer’s Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.