It was Devika Rani who gave Kohinoor to Bollywood

Devika Rani who is also known as The First Lady of Bollywood gave us a Kohinoor in the form of Dalip Kumar. It happened when Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan first arrived from Poona in Bombay looking for a job, he met Dr Masani at Churchgate station. The psychologist knew Khan from a lecture he had delivered at Wilson College where the young man had been a student.
Dr Masani introduced Yusuf Khan to Devika Rani who was the owner of Bombay Talkies. Devika Rani asked him if he knew Urdu; Khan did, as he was born and brought up in Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province. Devika Rani then offered him an opportunity to become an actor with the studio for a princely monthly salary of Rs1,250. It was Devika Rani who christened Dilip Kumar. The first film of Dilip Saheb was Jwar Bhata released in 1944 was directed by Amiya Chakrabarti.

Still from Jwar Bhata 1944

Besides grooming him for a career in front of the camera, Devika Rani also helped shape Dilip Kumar's acting and performances, encouraging him to watch Hollywood and foreign films and look for inspiration within himself to improve with each film that he did.
Unfortunately, Jwar Bhata did not fare well at the box office. Yet his talent did not go unnoticed and following India’s independence and partition, Dilip Kumar would go onto make his mark in Hindi cinema. 

Still from Jugnu 1947

However, it was the actor’s fourth film, Jugnu (1947), starring Noor Jehan and Shashikala in important roles, that became his first major hit, and got him noticed. The actor received many movies after this film.  

Dilip Kumar in Andaz.1949

One of the films which elevated him to superstardom was Mehboob Khan’s Andaz (1949) with Raj Kapoor.A story revolving around a love triangle, interspersed with drama and tragedy The film saw him paired opposite Nargis. The film became an instant hit at the box office and enabled Dilip Kumar to establish himself as one of the reigning figures of the Indian film industry.
He had a number of big films in the 1950s. Among his most notable films were Hulchul (1951), Deedar (1951), Daag (1952) and Devdas (1955). Dilip Kumar became the first actor to win the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Daag. He went on to win the award seven times.  His performance as the heartbroken Devdas in Devdas, among other roles, sealed his image as the Tragedy King of Indian cinema. However, he tried to shed this image by taking up lighter roles in films such as Aan (1952), Azaad (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Madhumati (1958), Mughal e Azam (1960) and Kohinoor (1960).
In 1961, Kumar produced and starred in Ganga Jamuna opposite his frequent leading lady Vyjayanthimala and his brother Nasir Khan, this was the only film he produced.His next film Leader (1964) was a below average grosser at the box office.He was the co-director alongside Abdul Rashid Kardar of his next release Dil Diya Dard Liya in 1966 but was uncredited as director. In 1967, Kumar played a dual role of twins separated at birth in the hit film Ram Aur Shyam. In 1968, he starred alongside Manoj Kumar and Waheeda Rehman in Aadmi. That same year he starred in Sangharsh with Sanjeev Kumar.
His career slumped in the 1970s with films like Dastaan (1972) failing at the box office. He starred alongside his real-life wife Saira Banu in Gopi (1970) which was a success. But again in 1974 his film Sagina and Bairag in 1976 failed as a hero.
In 1976, Dilip Kumar took a five-year break from film performances and returned with a character role in the film Kranti (1981) and continued his career playing leading roles in films such as Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). His last film was Qila (1998).He has won ten Filmfare Awards and is the first recipient of the Filmfare Best Actor Award (1954). He was given Dada Saheb falke award in 1994. The Government of India honoured Kumar with the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. The Government of Pakistan conferred Kumar with Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award in Pakistan, in 1998.
My Fav Dilip Kumar's Songs

Song of Mela 1948

Song of Andaz, 1949

Song of Arzoo 1950

Song of Deedar 1951

Song of Sangdil 1952

Song of Footpath 1953

Song of Azaad 1955

Song of Naya Daur, 1957

Song of Madhumati, 1958

Song of Kohinoor, 1960

Song of Ganga Jamuna, 1961

Song of Leader, 1964

60 Years of Madhumati

Madhumati was released on 12 September 1958. It earned ₹40 million in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year and one of the most commercially successful and influential Indian films of all time. It was one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation. Directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles, with Pran and Johnny Walker in supporting roles.  
 It won nine Filmfare Awards; including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematographer—the most awards for a single film at that time. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Bimal Roy who made Devdas in 1955 with the same star lead was looking for a hit. His 1955 film Devdas was commercially unsuccessful, jeopardising his company Bimal Roy Productions; he needed a commercial success to survive. The film opened at the Roxy theatre near Opera House  Bombay.“It was a fabulous evening, glamorous and glittering, just like the film premieres on screen.” Like all great movies, this one too inspired a genre of its own, the re-incarnation genre. 

The soundtrack of Madhumati became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 1958. Salil Chowdhury won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen is one of the most popular songs by recording artist Mukesh and is regularly played at dandiya functions. The Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhury. Shailendra wrote the lyrics and Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, Mubarak Begum, Asha Bhosle, Sabita Chowdhury, Ghulam Mohammed and Dwijen Mukhopadhyay provided the vocals.
It is one of the greatest Hindi movies ever made. It’s top notch in terms of cinematography, directing, music, acting and dancing. I rank it among Top 10 Hindi films.Bimal Roy's classics like Sujata, Bandini, Do Bigha Zameen or Devdas, still bears the mark of a master craftsman. And it’s good entertainment value.
The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.
The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.
The film begins on a dark and stormy night (a recurring motif in the film: all the most dramatic events occur on stormy nights). Two friends – an engineer, Devendra (Dilip Kumar) and a doctor (Tarun Bose) are travelling by car along a mountain road when a fallen tree forces a halt. The driver advises the two men to take shelter in the nearby mansion while he goes off to find help. Devendra and his friend go off to the mansion, which turns out to be a spooky place, dusty and seemingly deserted.

The film was shot at a hill station. It had a six-week schedule at a location in Ranikhet, Nainital. Some scenes were filmed in Ghorakhal near Nainital. When the negatives were developed, most of the footage was found to be fogged. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand was not possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri. The art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to match the location in Nainital.A large part of the film was filmed in Aarey Milk Colony, a small forested area in Mumbai. A scene in which Dilip Kumar looks for Vyjayanthimala in the woods was filmed in Igatpuri. The foggy effect was recreated using gas bombs.
Commercially it was the biggest hit of Bimal Roys's career. It wiped out his losses of Devdas released in 1955. The fact that it scored over movies like Kala Pani, Sadhana, Phir Subah Hogi, all released the same year, speaks for its power to captivate the audience and hold its attention for long. More than anything, Madhumati, forever, will be remembered for its music.

Think of gems like ‘Suhana Safar Aur Ye Mausam Hasin’, ‘Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Keh Raha Hai’, ‘Aaja Re Mai To Kabse Khadi Is Paar’, ‘Chadh Gayo Paapi Bichua’, ‘Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi’, ‘Toote Hue Khwabon Ne’ and ‘Ghadi Ghadi Mera Dil Dhadke’, and you know instantly what melody stood for.

Madhumati' is primarily an entertainer but one doesn't think of it as a masala film, and there's a lot to like about it. Wonderful visuals and songs, very good performances, a nicely developed romance, and it's strong on atmospherics as well. It fully delivers on its promise and is quite a charming film.

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

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)

The Trio of DEV ANAND,DILIP KUMAR and RAJ KAPOOR in 1960s

Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand combined to formed the trilogy of the Indian cinema in the 1950’s and 60’s.All the three started their career as Hero before Independence. In the 1950s all of them were in the peak of their career.Each had their own brand value and distinct persona and loyal following. ..
The decade of 1960s was unique for Bollywood in many ways.With the emergence of Shammi Kapoor, Rajender kumar, Sunil Dutt,and, Dharmendra the position of this trio became shaky.Out of the three only Dev Anand gave the tough competition to them
Dilip Kumar
He started his career with Jwar Bhata(1944).In 1949, he co-starred with Raj Kapoor in the film Andaz, which went to become a major success and made him a star. Tragic roles in popular films such as Deedar (1951) and Devdas (1955) earned him the title of “tragedy king”.He gave one hit after another in the 50s. His greatest hit film Mughal e Azam released in 1960,after that came another hit Ganga Jamuna in 1961.In the next 8 years only 5 films of his were released none of the film except Ram Aur Shyam in 1967 did well in the Box Office.In the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, Dilip Kumar acted in fewer films. Newer actors had taken the spotlight. In the 70s also he worked as hero in 7 films out of them Gopi released in 1970 was a hit,rest of the films were average on the Box office.His notable films in the 1980s and early 90s included Kranti (1982), Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991) which were very successful at the box office.

Song from Andaz 1949

Song from Dard 1952

Song from Madhumati 1958

Raj Kapoor
At age eleven, he appeared in films for the first time, in the 1935 film Inquilab. Raj Kapoor’s big break, however, came when he played the hero’s role in Neel Kamal (1947) by Kidar Sharma.In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, he established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time. His first movie as a director Aag (Fire) (1948) was an immediate success.
During the 50s he acted in more than 25 films as Hero and gave many hits.But in the 60s he gave only 2 hits Jis Desh Mein Ganga Nehti Hai(1960) and Sangam in 1964.

In the 70s he acted in 8 films not as hero except Mera Naam Joker.After the box office failure of his ambitious 1970 film, Mera Naam Joker he appeared along with his father Prithviraj Kapoor in Kal Aaj Aur Kal in 1971 directed by his son Randhir Kapoor.His last film appearances was in Vakil Babu (1982) where he appeared opposite his brother Shashi Kapoor

Song from Awara 1951

Song from Shree 420 (1955)

Song from Mera Naam Joker 1970

Dev Anand
He a break as an actor by Prabhat Talkies to star in their Hum Ek Hain (1946). His first success came with Ziddi (1948).In the 50s he appeared in more than 25 films and gave many hits every year.Some of these films are Baazi(1951),Jaal(1952),Taxi Driver(1954),Munim ji(1955),CID (1956),Nau Do Gyarah(1957),Solva Saal (1958) and Love Marriage(1959).

Song from Jaal 1951

In the 60s he appeared in more than 20 films and still giving hit films every year.In the 1960 he gave 2 super hit films Kaala Bazar and bombai ka Babu.In the next year (1961)out of 4 films released his 3 films were super hit(Maya,Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai and Hum Dono).Some of the other hits of Dev Anand in the 60s are Asli Naqli(1962),Tere Ghar Ke Samne(1963).Guide(1965),Jewel Thief(1967),Mahal(1969).In the 70s he appeared in 19 films and gave his career's super hit film Johny Mera Naam in 1970.Other hit films were Tere Mere Sapne(1971),Hare Rama Hare Krishna(1971),Amir Garib (1974) and Des Pardes (1978).

Song from Munimji 1955

Song from Guide 1965

The Most Memorable Performances Of Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar is not only one of the earliest superstars of Hindi cinema, but also one of the few legendary artists India has seen.. Born as Yusuf Khan in Peshawar on December 11, 1922, it’s said that it was Devika Rani who spotted him at Pune’s military canteen. She told him to come to Mumbai and offered him his first film Jwar Bhata (1944).Since then in 6 decades he appeared in 65 films.His span across a staggering 50 + years, is full of some classics and utterly dedicated performances.He won as many as 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Actor (Daag, Azaad, Devdas, Naya Daur, Kohinoor, Leader, Ram Aur Shyam, Shakti)
Daag 1952

Dilip Kumar won the first ever Filmfare Award in the Best Actor category for his performance in this film. The Awards were instituted from 1954. The film fared well at the box office and was declared a hit.Dilip Kumar played the character of Shankar .Who was  addicted to alcohol.He is attracted to Parvati (Nimmi), who also lives a poor lifestyle. Shankar wanted to marry her but being a drunkard her step brother Jagat Narayan refused. In a dramatic turns of events, Jagat Narayan agrees to marry Parvati with Shankar, Shankar quits alcohol and the film finally finishes with a happy ending.

Azaad (1955)

 It was the top grossing Hindi film in the year of its release, and one of the biggest Hindi film hits in the decade.After so many films Dilip Kumar played a light-hearted role and the result was this swashbuckling adventure. The tragic hero was transformed into a Robin Hood character who is also a master of disguises. He uses guile and charm to outwit the villain and woo the heroine played by Meena Kumari who too seemed glad to be out of her three handkerchief roles. 
Devdas 1955

The film had Dilip Kumar in the title role and Vyjayanthimala in her first dramatic role where she played as Chandramukhi, a hooker with a heart of gold and Suchitra Sen in her Bollywood debut as Parvati in the lead. Motilal, Nazir Hussain, Murad, Pratima Devi, Iftekhar and Shivraj were playing other significant roles with Pran and Johnny Walker in extended cameo appearances.
Dilip Kumar played a man driven by unrequited love into being a drunkard to perfection. His eyes are hazy throughout the film and his silences are eloquent. He got so much under the skin of the character that it’s said he had to go to London and consult Harley Street psychiatrists to overcome depression. 

Naya Daur 1957

For this film, Dilip Kumar won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the third time in a row, being his fourth overall.Man Vs Machine was the theme of this pioneering film which made you question the price of progress. Director BR Chopra’s socialist strand was ever present in this humanist drama. Dilip played the rustic Tangewala to perfection, flirting outrageously with his firebrand heroine Vyjayanthimala. 
Madhumati 1958

The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles, with Pran and Johnny Walker in supporting roles. The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.Excellent performances by both Dilip and Vyjayanthimala. It won nine Filmfare Awards; including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Directionand Best Cinematographer—the most awards for a single film at that time. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
Kohinor 1960

Kohinoor cast Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari to play a prince and princess of different kingdoms and was full of sword fights, songs and dances. This film is also notable for some rare comical and funny scenes by Meena Kumari, who is otherwise known as the tragedy queen. Its tone was light and it lacked the intense characterisations of their earlier films. It was a major hit of the year.It had great music by Naushad. Gems like Madhuban mein Radhika naache re (Dilip Kumar reportedly learnt to play the guitar to lend authenticity to the song) and Do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan regale us even today.

Mughal-e-Azam 1960

 Released on 5 August 1960, it broke box office records in India and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, a distinction it held for 15 years.Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between MughalPrince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) and Anarkali, a court dancer. Salim's father, Emperor Akbar, disapproves of the relationship, which leads to a war between father and son.

Ganga Jamuna 1961

The film stars Dilip Kumar, Nasir Khan and Vyjayanthimala in leading roles, and Azra, Kanhaiyalal, Anwar Hussain, Nazir Hussain and Leela Chitnis in supporting roles.The film features real life brothers Dilip Kumar (Muhammad Yusuf Khan) and Nasir Khan in the title roles.  It was one of the biggest hits of the 1960s and one of the most successful Indian films in terms of box office collection, domestically in India and overseas.Dilip Kumar's performance as Ganga is considered one of the finest acting performances in the history of Indian cinema.

Ram Aur Shyam 1967

This was perhaps Dilip Kumar’s last big hit as a solo star and what can be more fitting than the fact that he played a double role in the film? It’s to his credit that he was able to infuse two different personalities to the roles.Dilip Kumar’s capability isn’t limited to performing serious roles. He can play a light-hearted or comical character in a commercial film too with equal ease.
Immortal songs of Dilip Kumar

Song from Andaz 1949

Song from Aarzoo 1950

Song from Tarana 1951

Song from Deedar (1951)

Song from Daag (1952)

Song from Footpath 1953

Song from Azaad (1955)

Song from Naya Daur (1957)

Song from Madhumati (1958)

Song from Kohinoor(1960)

Song from Ganga Jamuna (1961)