Rajesh Khanna-The heartthrob of the young generation of 1970s,

Rajesh Khanna (29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was the first Super Star of Bollywood.He was a craze among women.Women  would wait for hours to have a glimpse of him, marry his photographs and even name their sons after him.Sharmila Tagore said in interview to Indian Express, “Women came out in droves to see Kaka (Khanna). They would stand in queues outside the studios to catch a glimpse, they would marry his photographs,they would pull at his clothes. Delhi girls were crazier for him than Mumbai girls. He needed police protection when he was in public. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name.
 The hysteria he generated was unlike anything seen before and after. As hit followed hit, and women all over the country swooned over him, Rajesh Khanna admitted feeling “next to god”He was the Box Office Badshah at one point of time.He had 15 consecutive super hits between 1969 to 1971, which is still an unbroken record in Indian film history.His greatest acting glory could be marked in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Anand”, in which Rajesh Khanna enacts the role of a cancer-patient who knows that his days are being numbered.
He shared a close relationship with R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. The trio of Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman went on to make a number of popular films, including Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Shehzada, Apna Desh, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, Ajnabee, Namak Haraam, Maha Chor, Karm, Phir Wohi Raat, Aanchal, Kudrat, Ashanti, Agar Tum Na Hote, Awaaz, Hum Dono and Alag Alag

He made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat.but became Super Star only after the release of Aradhna in 1969.He received the Filmfare Best Actor Award three times and the BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) four times.He was also a Lok Sabha member of the Indian National Congress from New Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) from 1992 to 1996
During his career, Khanna played the lead in 74 films that were shown in cinemas for more than 50 continuous weeks (Golden Jubilee Hits) which includes 48 films which ran for 75 weeks (Platinum Jubilee hits) and 22 films that were shown for more than 25(Silver Jubilee hits), but less than 50 weeks.

Khanna died on 18 July 2012, after a period of illness. Khanna has been posthumously awarded India's third highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan.He has also been honored with a stamp and statue in his likeness, and a road being renamed after him.

Song from Aradhana 1969

Song from  Khamoshi 1969

Song from  Kati Patang (1970)

Song from  Andaz (1971)

Song from  Amar Prem (1972) 

Song from  Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972).

Song from Dushman 1972

Song from  Aap Ki Kasam (1974)

Song from Prem Nagar 1974

Song from Kudrat 1981

Song from Agar Tum Na Hote 1983

Sunil Dutt-Much More Than an Actor

Life for him was one crisis after the other — his early struggles as an actor, bankruptcy as a producer, the death of Nargis, his wife, battle against son Sanjay’s drug addiction and, later, TADA arrest.He bounced back time and again from personal tragedies which would have pulled down a lesser man. In public life, Dutt  symbolises the never-say-die spirit.
 With an ear to the ground and a hand on the pulse of the people, Sunil Dutt lived by his convictions and led from the front.He  arrived in Bombay at the age of 18 with two pairs of clothes and Rs 25 in his pocket, determined to bring back the good times for his family which had lost everything during Partition. Holding a clerical job with the Bombay Bus Service and sharing a room with six others, which often necessitated sleeping out, Dutt studied in Jai Hind College and made some extra money by anchoring cultural shows. He interviewed film stars over Radio Ceylon. His good looks and deep voice prompted producer Ramesh Saigal to offer him the hero’s role in the film Railway Platform.
 The turning point came in 1956 when producer Mehboob Khan signed him to play the son of leading lady Nargis in Mother India. For Nargis, it was the role of a lifetime.As we all know that he rescued his leading lady from a fire in the sets, they discovered they were in love and got married. Three children followed.

He was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful films which included Sadhna (1958), Sujata (1959), Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), Khandan (1965) and Padosan (1967). His collaboration with B.R. Chopra proved to be successful in films such as Gumraah (1963), Waqt (1965) and Hamraaz (1967). 
He admired Jawaharlal Nehru, who had suggested that the film industry should do something for the jawans. Dutt and Nargis formed the Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe and, roping in leading actors and singers from the film industry, held stage shows at border areas.The Dutts donated Rs 1 lakh to the National Defence Fund and grew closer to the Nehru family. Nehru enjoyed watching Sujata, which dealt with untouchability. The Dutts bonded well with Indira Gandhi too. Nargis was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1980, and was urged by Indira to take up the cause of spastic children. The former actress became the chairperson of the Spastics Society of India.

He was appointed the Sheriff of Bombay in 1981, Dutt was persuaded by the Gandhi family to enter politics and contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bombay Northwest. His reputation and clean image helped him win successive Lok Sabha elections, defeating formidable opponents like famous criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani and Shiv Sena stalwarts such as Madhukar Sarpotdar.
In 1982, he set up the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation in New York which began to collect funds for cancer equipment in Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. In 1984 he was elected on a Congress ticket from Mumbai North-west to the 8th Lok Sabha.

Thereafter, barring one election, he contested from the same constituency and won convincingly, Shocked by the violence in Punjab, Dutt turned into a padyatri with no political agenda. During his 76-day, 2500-km walk from Bombay to the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1987, Dutt overcame terrible heat, a bout of jaundice and blistered feet to address more than 500 roadside meetings. He stressed that violence would not help any cause. The police warned him that he was a target for terrorists but he shunned security and marched to the Golden Temple, where he was accorded a rousing reception.

The padyatra was repeated some time later, when protesting against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Dutt Saab marched from Hiroshima to Nagasaki, demanding a ban on nukes. "Did God create the world for it to be destroyed by his own children?" he asked. "Each one of us should do our bit to fight nuclear proliferation.

Sunil Dutt was a recipient of numerous awards, including the Padmashree in 1968, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award for National Integration and Communal Harmony in 1997, the Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Award for International Peace, Communal Harmony, Unity and National Integration in 1997 and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 1998.

 In Congress politics, even while keeping away from different groups, he remained a trusted aide of Sonia Gandhi and was among the first ones to receive a ticket for the Lok Sabha poll.

Dutt’s popularity cuts across party lines. He is equally at home with people from all sections of society, be they slum dwellers, glamorous film stars, professionals, Rotarians or the Page-three crowd. His appointment as Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports has been well received.He was a minister when he died on 25th May 2005 at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai.

Songs from Sunil Dutt's Films

Song from Mother India (1957)

Song from Sujata (1959)

Song from Hum Hindustani (1960)

Song from Chhaya (1961)

Song from Milan (1967)

The Great Ghazals Of TALAT MAHMOOD

Talat Mahmood is known as The King Of Ghazal a title  he consolidated over the period of years to become the greatest name in ghazals He began his music career at the young age of 16 when he began singing the ghazals of Ghalib, Dagh, Mir and Jigar on All India Radio, Lucknow. His  first disc was released in 1941, "Sab din ek samaan nahin tha, ban jaoonga kya se kya main, iska to kuch dhyan nahin tha"
In 1944 came the smash hit "Tasveer teri dil mera behela na sakegi". It took the country by storm. It's popularity was so phenomenal and unrivalled that even today it remains one of the biggest non-film hits! This disc brought Talat fame throughout India and soon he was beckoned by the Calcutta Film Industry, which was then the premiere hub of film production in the 40's. 
He came to Bombay in 1949,His name and fame had already preceded him and people in the Mumbai Film Industry were already aware of this handsome and talented young singer and soon he was offered the song "Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho" composed by the then reigning music director Anil Biswas and picturised  on the great Dilip Kumar. The song was a great hit,it layed the fpoundation of a new trend of Ghazal in Bollywood.The mellowness, sweetness and pathos in his voice set him apart from all the other singers. Here was a voice that was fresh !  The style absolutely new !!  He was unanimously hailed as "The King Of Ghazals"
Towards the late 60's the filmi ghazals and good romantic songs gave way to the electronic rhythms of the disco generation. Disliking the new trend towards loud meaningless music, Talat decided to cut down his film singing assignments but continued his non-film ghazal recordings. 
 His last soundtrack recording, in 1985, is the song "Mere Shareek-e-Safar", a duet sung with Miss Hemlata, from the movie "Wali-e-Azam" composed by Chitragupt and written by Ahmed Wasi.He  influenced a whole generation of young singers who succeeded him; including legendary ghazal singers Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas (who always honors him with the title of Shahenshah-E-Ghazal), singer Sajjad Ali and playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya.
My Favourite Ghazals Of TALAT

Song from Aarzoo (1949) Aye Dil Mujhe Aisi Jaga Le Chal

Song from Baabul (1950) Milte Hi AAnkhen Dil Hua Deewana

Song from Madhosh (1951) Meri yaad me tum na

Song from Daag (1952) Aye mere dil kahin aur chal 

Song from Foothpath (1953) Sham-E-Gham ki qassam

Song from Dil-e-Nadaan (1953) Zindagi dene wale sun

Song from Taxi Driver (1954) Jayen to jayen kahan 

Song from  Mirza Ghalib (1955) Dil-E-Nadaan tujhe hua kya hai

Song from  Sujata (1959) Jalte hain jiske liye 

                                                         

Shankar Jaikishan-The Duo who molded the Musical Mood of Bollywood

Shankar Jaikishan the music synonym of Bollywood Music.They were the Super Star Music Director of golden Era of Bollywood.They molded the mood and musical mood of masses since the release of Barsat 1949.
Shankar,the more versatile of the two,was a prolific musician with mastery over many instruments,elder of the two was primarily responsible for making this great Jodi and also to build a  dedicated team of  Lyricist like Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri and musicians like Datta Ram and Sebastion.
Shankar was born on 5th Oct 1922.He started his career with a theater group run by Satyanarayan and Hemawati, before shifting to Prithvi Theatre where he played tabla and performed some minor roles in plays. It was at Prithvi theatre that he learnt to play and mastered several other instruments like Sitar, Accordion and Piano etc. Besides his work at Prithvi theatre, he also started working as an assistant to the leading composer duo of Husnlal Bhagatram and nurtured the ambition of becoming an independent music director.
He met Jaikishan at the office of a Gujrati director Chandravadan Bhatt who had promised Shankar a break as a Music Director when he produced a film.Both developed a liking for each other and it was he who then and there assured Jaikishan of the job of a Harmonium player at Prithvi theaters.While working in Prithvi Theaters, Shankar and Jaikishan used to compose tunes and were in touch with Raj Kapoor, who was working as an assistant to the famous director Kidar Sharma and was aspiring to be an actor/director. Thus, the three had met at Prithvi Theater.
Raj Kapoor made his debut as a director with the film Aag in 1948. Its music director Ram Ganguly was assisted by Shankar and Jaikishan. However, during the recording of a song for his new venture Barsaat, Raj Kapoor had some serious differences with Ram Ganguly and decided to assign its music to Shankar who insisted on taking Jaikishan as his partner. Thus came into existence the new pair of music directors named 'Shankar-Jaikishan' who composed the music for the film.
Their early works include Barsaat, Awaara, Badal, Poonam, Nagina, Aurat, Parbat, Kaali Ghataa, Aah, Patita, Shikast, Badshah, Mayur Pankh, Naya Ghar, Seema, Shree 420, Basant Bahar, Halaku, Rajhath, New Delhi, Kathputli, Anari, Chori Chori, Daag, Begunah, Yahudi, Main Nashe main hoon, Kanaiah, Boot Polish, Chhoti Behan, Sharaarat, Love Marriage,Jab Pyaar Kisi se hota hai,Asli Naqli and Ujala.
Shankar-Jaikishan were the pioneers in establishing the role of the orchestra in song compositions as a medium to express and enhance the meanings and feelings of songs rather than using it just as a `filler' as per the prevalent practice before their advent on the scene. They made use of the orchestra and musical instruments (often dozens or hundreds of them) in their songs which consisted of the following format: 
Shankar Jaikishan made a major contribution towards the development of jazz music in India and the new genre Indo jazz. Their 1968 album Raaga-Jazz style is the earliest Indo-jazz recording in India
After Jaikishan's death, Shankar carried on with the banner of Shankar-Jaikishan alone,His most-successful musical hit was Sanyasi in 1975 for which he scored all songs and the entire background score based upon SJ's favorite Raag Bhairavi to prove the point that SJ's Bhairavi was as much Shankar's as that of Jaikishan.
Shankar died on 26th April 1987. His death received nominal media coverage and his funeral was attended only by his family and some friends.
Some of My Favourite Songs of Shankar Jaikishan

Song from Barsat 1949

Song from Awara 1951

Song from Daag 1952

Song from Aah 1953

Song from Patita 1953

Song from Seema 1955

Song from Shree 420  1955

Song from Chori Chori  1956

Song from Anari   1959

Song from Love Marriage 1959

Song from Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai 1961

Song from Sasural 1961

Song from Junglee 1962

Song from Professor 1962

Song from Sangam 1964

Song from Aarzoo 1965

Song from Andaz 1971

Shakeel Badayuni - The Creator of Immortal Love,Romance and Dejection Songs

Shakeel was Naushad’s discovery; it was the composer who got the struggling poet a break in Kardar’s Dard, ending days of poverty for young Shakeel’s large family.He used his experiences of deprivation with painful intensity in his early lyrics.
He confined all his creativity to love, romance and dejection, resisting all temptation to write about social causes. 
Shakeel reached his zenith as lyricist in Mughal e Azam, with each song a lyrical cosmos in itself, the line ‘pyar kiya toh darna kya’ easily the most popular. Another great creation was penning a bhajan as authentic as ‘Man tarpat Hari darshan ko aaj’ from Baiju Bawra.
As the name suggest Shakeel Badayuni was born at Badayun U P on 3rd August 1916.When he joined Aligarh Muslim University in 1936, he started participating in inter-college, inter-university mushairas and won frequently. After completing his BA, he moved to Delhi as a supply officer, but continued participating in mushairas, earning fame nationwide. He was interested in to write songs for films so he moved to Bombay in 1944 where he was introduced in films as lyricist from the film Dard in 1947.
 The songs of Dard proved to be very successful, especially Uma Devi (Tun Tun)'s Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon. Only a few are so lucky that they attain success in their first film, but Shakeel deserved success which started with Dard and continued on over the years. He formed a lasting partnership with Naushad. Together, they would give many hits over the next 25-odd years.
 Among the scores they churned out together, are those of Deedar (1951), Baiju Bawra (1952), Mother India (1957), and Mughal-e-Azam (1960), that stand out. Other films they scored together include Dulari (1949), Shabab (1954), Ganga Jamuna (1961), and Mere Mehboob (1963). Although Shakeel Badayuni worked most extensively with Naushad, he also collaborated with Ravi and Hemant Kumar as well. His lyrics for the song Husnwale Tera Jawab Nahin and Ravi's music score both won Filmfare Awards for the hit film Gharana. His other notable film with Ravi is Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), while Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) is his biggest hit with Hemant Kumar. The title song from Chaudhvin Ka Chand, rendered by Mohammed Rafi, won Badayuni the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist in 1961.He received 3 Filmfare Awards in 1962 for the song husnwale tera jawab nahin in the film Gharana and in 1963 for the song kahin deep jale kahin dil in the film Bees Saal Baad
Shakeel also wrote a substantial chunk of his songs for music director Ravi Sharma. Prominent amongst those were Gharana (1961), Ghunghat,Grahasti (1963), Nartaki (1963), as well as Phool Aur Patthar and Do Badan.
Shakeel Badayuni succumbed to diabetes complications at the age of fifty-three, died on 20 April 1970, at Bombay Hospital.

Song from Dard 1947

Song from Dulari (1949)

Song from Babul (1950)

Song from Deedar (1951)

Song from Baiju Bawra (1952)

Song from Dil - E - Nadan (1953)

Song from Shabab (1954)

Song from Mother India (1957)

Song from Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

Song from Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)

Song from Ganga Jamuna (1961)

Song from Sahib  Gharana 1961

Song from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) 

Song from Bees Saal Baad 1962

Song from Mere Mehboob (1963).

Song from Leader (1964)

Song from Ram Aur Shyam (1967)

Anand Bakshi-The Lyricist who understood the pulse of Cinema lovers

Anand Bakshi was one of the most prominent and successful lyricists of Bollywood.He was not as great poet as Nirala, Sumitranandan Pant or Sahir.He plucked words from the common man's dictionary.His words were simple.He believed that simplicity is the key to reach to.the common man. He would dive into philosophy in the ‘antara’ only after he was sure he had connected with the audience in the ‘mukhra’.

 Anand Bakshi (Bakhshi Anand Prakash Vaid) was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, on 21 July 1930.He came to Bombay to make a name for himself in writing and singing, but ended up becoming more successful in writing lyrics. He got his break writing songs in a Brij Mohan's film titled Bhalaa Aadmi (1958), acted by Bhagwan Dada. He wrote four songs in this film. His first song in this film was "Dharti Ke Laal Na Kar Itna Malaal" .

After writing for a few movies from 1956 onwards, he first found success in 1962 with Mehendi Lagi Mere Haath, which was produced by (LimeLight), Music Kalyanji & Anandji, Music Pub-HMV/Saregama. Bakshi later made another mark for himself writing a quawwali for the 1962 film Kala Samundar, the song was "Meri Tasveer Lekar Kya Karoge Tm". He got his real big breakthroughs in 1965 with Himalay Ki God Mein, and a huge breakthrough again in 1965 with the super-hit film Jab Jab Phool Khile, starring Shashi Kapoor; and yet again in 1967 with the super-hit movie Milan(starring Sunil Dutt). These six hit films within a decade of his entry into films cemented his status as a lyrics writer of immense caliber.

He wrote more than 3500 songs in Hindi and Punjabi films.He worked with almost all the Music Directors of his time He wrote for more than 500 films out of which he worked with Laxmikant Pyarelal in 300 films and R D Burman in 100 films. However it was only with the blockbuster Milan (1967) that he was recognized as a lyricist par excellence, with tunes from the film being hummed all over the country.

His career kept at an all-time high until 30 March 2002, when he passed away in Bombay. He had been quite ill for a few months and had been undergoing treatment for cardiac-related problems. His death was a tragic loss to Bollywood Cinema,

He holds a record of 41 nominations for Best Lyricist in Filmfare Awards but won only three.He holds the record of getting nominated for consecutively 13 years from 1970 till 1982, resulting in 23 nominations 

Some of the Most Memorable Songs of Anand Bakshi

Song from Hariyali Aur Raasta  1962

Song from Jab Jab Phool Khile 1965

Song from Milan 1967

Song from Aradhana  1969

Song from Kati Patang  1971

Song from Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971

Song from Amar Prem 1972

Song from Bobby 1973

Song from Sholay 1975

Song from Mehbooba 1976

Song from Karz 1980

Song from Ek Duuje Ke Liye 1981

Song from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge 1995

Song from Pardes 1997

Song from Gadar: Ek Prem Katha 2001