How Harikishan Giri Goswami became Manoj Kumar?

 

He was eleven years old when he saw his first film 'Shabnam'(1949) starring Dilip Kumar and Kamini Kaushal. This film and its hero Dilip Kumar created magic on the young Harikishan Giri Goswami that he decided to adopt the name of Dilip Kumar's character from the 1949 film as his screen name.

The story of the film was of the refugees of the 1942 Rangoon war, Shanti (Kamini Kaushal) and Dilip Kumar( Manoj)who fall in love while on the way to Bengal. He too was a refugee from Pakistan, the film made a long-lasting impact on the young Harikishan. In an interview, Manoj Kumar said "It is because of him that I became a fan of cinema. I fell in love with his character in the film whose name was Manoj. I must be 11-year-old then but I instantly decided that if and whenever I become an actor I will keep my name as Manoj Kumar," 

Manoj Kumar (born on 24 July 1937) his family had to migrate from Jandiala Sher Khan Pakistan to Delhi due to the Partition His family lived as refugees in Vijay Nagar, Kingsway Camp, and later moved to Old Rajendra Nagar area of New Delhi. His fascination for films brought him to Bombay. He took part in the first Filmfare Talent Hunt competition hed in Bombay. Dharmendra was also one of the contestants.

Manoj Kumar got his first role in the film 'Fashion' released in 1957, the hero was Pradeep Kumar. Manoj Kumar played the role of an 80-year-old beggar in the film. This was a very small role. After this he got another small role in the 1958 film 'Sahara' starring Meena Kumari.

Manoj Kumar got his first leading role in Kaanch Ki Gudia (1961) opposite Saida Khan.Its song 'Saath Ho Tum Aur Raat Jawan; was a hit but not the film.Before this another film 'Honeymoon'(1960) with the same lead was released first 

Hariyali Aur Rasta (1962) was the first hit film of Manoj Kumar, but subsequent films were flop In 1964 he got a major hit 'Woh Kaun Thi' After this film he never looked back. In 1965 his film Shaheed got him branded as a patriotic image. His directorial debut Upkaar (1967). In this award-winning film, he played both a soldier and a farmer. The film was also noted for the famous song "Mere Desh Ki Dharti", written by Gulshan Bawra, composed by Kalyanji-Anandji, and sung by Mahendra Kapoor. Upkaar was declared a blockbuster and won him his first Filmfare Best Director Award. 

He appeared with his idol Dilip Kumar in the 1967 film Aadmi, he was nominated  Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Again in 1981 he directed him in the film 'Kranti'

After Kranti in 1981, Kumar's career began to decline, when the films he did with him in lead role like Kalyug Aur Ramayan in 1987 and later Clerk in 1989 failed at the box office. In 1989, he cast Pakistani actors Mohammad Ali and Zeba in his film Clerk. He quit acting after his appearance in the 1995 film Maidan-E-Jung. He directed his son, Kunal Goswami, in the 1999 film Jai Hind which had a patriotic theme. The film was a flop and was the last film Kumar worked on.

Here are some forgotten and rare songs of Manoj Kumar

Song of Honeymoon 1960

Song of Kaanch Ki Gudiya 1961

Song of Hariyali Aur Rasta 1962

Song of Dr Vidya 1962

Song of Shaadi 1962

Song of Apna Bana Ke Dekho 1963

Song of Ghar Basake Dekho  1963

Song of Apne Huye Paraye 1964

Song of Phoolon Ki Sej 1964

Song of Picnic1964

A Look into the Special Appearances of Rajesh Khanna in Bollywood Films

 

Rajesh Khanna the Super Star who gave 15 consecutive hit films from 1969 to 1972 was the most sought-after hero. He appeared in 30 films as Special Appearance. In most of the films, he sang a song in the film. In 8 films he appeared as Rajesh Khanna, the hero. The first special appearance was in the 1968 film Shrimanji and he then appeared in the 1971 film 'Andaz' just after the success of Aradhana. and Do Raste  The song 'Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana' became a rage.

In this blog, I have selected only those films in which he gave a special appearance.

Song of Andaz 1971

Song of Anuraag 1972

A Scene of Badhti Ki Naam Dadhi 1974

Song of Aakraman 1975

A Scene from Aaina 1977

Song of Tinku 1977

Song of Muqablq 1979

Song of Naseeb1981

Song of Suraag 1982

Song of Disco Dancer 1982

Song of Mamta ki Chhaon Mein 1989

Qawwali of Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladoun - 1976

The Iconic Mirror Scenes of Bollywood

Recall this scene from Amar Akbar Anthony when  Anthony (Amitabh Bachchan) has been bashed up by Parveen Babi’s boyfriend in the song My name is Anthony Gonsalves, in a drunk state he talks to his reflection and tries to apply for the medicine, not on himself but his reflection in the mirror. This scene became immortal in Bollywood history. 

Another iconic mirror scene was in the 1960 film Kohinoor performed by Dilip Kumar and Jeevan. This was the copy of a Hollywood film 'Duck Soup' released in 1933, performed by Harpo Marx and Groucho Marx. The same scene was repeated in the 1985 film 'Mard' performed by Amitabh Bachchan and Prem Chopra.

Scene from Kohinoor 1960

Original scene from Duck Soup 1933

Mirror Scene of Amae Akbar anthony 1977

In 1977 film there was a fight sequence in which the hero is surrounded by many mirrors that prevent him from locating the villain. This scene came earlier in the 1973 film Enter the Dragon in which Bruce Lee is surrounded by mirrors  His solution: to break the mirrors with his bare fists. 
Like Bruce Lee, Vinod shatters every surface with his hands, but then seems to be felled by one of Chacha’s bullets… Or not. Sometimes, the mirror lies too.

Tinnu Anand’s Kaalia (1981) incorporates reflective surfaces in the climax, where Kaalia (Amitabh Bachchan) bursts into the den of Shahani Seth (Amjad Khan) and shoots him – only to realize it’s a mirror image.

Scene from Kaalia

Omkara: released in 2006  Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) is enraged about not being made a baahubali by Omkara (Ajay Devgn). Saif apparently sees his reflection of what he was and was supporting and serving Omkara day-in and day-out and realizes he needs to shatter this image and move up the ladder of success. This is his transformative moment in the movie. What follows the next moment is, he literally shatters the mirror with his arm and applies the blood on his forehead signaling vengeance.

Scene from Omkara

No Smoking:The central character of the movie K (yeah, just K, John Abraham) is a narcissist and thus talks to himself in the mirror admiring his lean physique speaking ‘Nobody tells me what to do’ over and over again. Mirror has been very smartly used here as a medium to show his narcissistic traits.

Scene from No Smoking

Ghazni mirror scene

Tamasha is a 2015 movie where Ranbir Kapoor is always looking in the mirror and his reflection is depicting what he desires from all his heart. Remember the dialogue at the beginning of the movie where the clown (Deepika Padukone) says ‘Main hoon na, iske dil ki aawaz’ 

Scene from Tamasha

Filmindia - The Film Magazine Known for Harsh & Cruel Words

 

Filmindia was perhaps the first and most popular film magazine started in 1935 by Baburao Patel, who was known for its film reviews & cruel words that sharply cut through films, actors, directors and didn’t seem to spare anyone. Dev Anand once said “He made and unmade stars. He established or destroyed a film with just a stroke of his pen.

On reviewing 'Jwar Bhata', the debut film of Dilip Kumar, it described Dilip Kumar as  “the new anemic hero”. His appearance on the screen creates both laughter and disappointment. His acting effort in this picture amounts to nil.” Who would have thought Dilip Kumar would have ever faced such withering criticism?

Reviewing Navketan's first film Afsar(1950), Patel wrote  “Avoid Afsar ( Dev Anand movie) on health grounds”, Dev Anand’s 1956 noir film CID was described as an “unpleasant but stupid crime tale” where “Dev Anand fails to look like an inspector even for a single second”,

The magazine was immensely sought-after and Patel’s reviews carried a lot of weight. Habib Tanvir was the first assistant editor of the magazine and Manto also used to write for this magazine.

The magazine reading target was the "elite readership", including college-going youth.It used to be a status symbol to carry the magazine in their own hand, Dev Anand once said about the magazine that in his Lahore college days, "boys in the campus used to carry copies of film India along with their textbooks. It was their Bible".

Baburao Patel was born on 4 April 1904, The young Baburao did not do well and left school without completing his matriculation. The lack of formal education always bothered him, and he had great respect for intellectuals and scholars, but it did not stop him from his pursuit of knowledge. 

in 1926 Baburao joined a newly started Hindi & Urdu film magazine, Cinema Samachar. In 1935, Baburao joined hands with DN Parker, who owned New Jack Printing Press... The magazine, called Filmindia, was launched as a monthly in April 1935, at a price of 4 annas (One-fourth of a rupee)

Before starting his own publication, he made five films in the period between 1929-'35, beginning with Kismet (1929), Sati Mahananda (1933), then Maharani and Bala Joban (1935), and Chand ka Tukda (1933-'35).

Along with the review section, the magazine’s Editor’s Mail section which often ran up to five pages was about how its readers followed the magazine and the witty answers written by Baburao himself to the questions of his readers. It also had a Pictures in Making section where analyses of movies that were currently in production were provided. There was also a Bombay Calling gossip column written under the pseudonym of Judas (which many believed was Patel himself) served as gossip about everyone in the Hindi movie industry.

Baburao Patel also had an interest in politics, along with The Bombay Chronicle‘s Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, launched a nationwide campaign against “anti-Indian” films in 1938 including “empire films” like The Drum (1938) and Gunga Din (1939), which reinforced imperialist stereotypes of the “racially inferior” and “weak” colonized subjects. Filmindia slowly became a more political publication, its pages echoing with the strident sentiments of Baburao’s commentaries. Finally, in July 1960, Baburao announced that since his magazine no longer dealt exclusively with film-related content, it would need to be renamed: Mother India was born two months later.

He fought elections, lost and won, and eventually, became a member of Parliament. His political allegiances veered as time went on, but nothing dimmed his fondness for broadcasting his opinion, however, slanted it was.He lost the 1957 Lok Sabha elections but winning the 1967 elections and becoming an MP. Although the Emergency dimmed his lustre and he died a shaken man in 1982,

 Even after Baburao’s death in 1982, Sushila, his wife continued to publish the magazine until its 50th anniversary in 1985.

Here are some reviews from the Filmindia 

Baazi (1951) - “And if you forget the unholy mess the director (Guru Dutt) and those two new girls (Roopa Verman and Kalpana Kartik) make, Baazi can be seen for its beautiful bits.” 

Devdas (1955) - Vyjayanthimala was assessed as having made an emotional mess of the role 

Shree 420 (1955) - It is a pathetic piece of confusion, a sight of an empty vessel making the most noise, a spectacle of half-baked knowledge emitting odious odor. In the concluding remark, it said  “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Awaaz (1956) - Rajendra Kumar looks stupid and acts stupid. The reasons? He looks stupid because he tries to look like Dilip Kumar and acts stupid because he tries to act like Dilip Kumar.

Kaagaz ke Phool (1959) - Guru Dutt Films’ Kaagaz Ke Phool is a dismal incoherent funeral-,paced picture that has hardly anything more remarkable about it than that it is the first Indian picture to be made in cinemascope

Navrang (1959) - Navrang is a colourless affair. It tells a story, of a sort, but conveys no theme. In his concluding remarks, it said "Mental Masturbation of a Senile Soul!"

Another area of close scrutiny in Filmindia was the female anatomy

Noor Jehan, her face was described as looking aged, having seen two World Wars.

Suraiya called one of the Hindi screen’s ugly ducklings besides being told her nostrils were repulsive 

Kalpana Kartik was referred to as a pigeon-chested heroine.

Mala Sinha called for her ‘potato face.