50 Years of Mela

 

Released on 30 June 1971, Mela was a hit film of that year. This was the first time the two Khan brothers, Feroz Khan and Sanjay Khan appeared together in a film. Mumtaz was the heroine of the film. This film was the second directorial venture of Prakash Mehra after Haseena Maan Jayegi (1968).

The film is a lost and found story, a very popular subject of the 70s. It was based on a rural background where a Shahri Babu(Sanjay Khan) comes and falls in love with a village girl(Mumtaz). There is a dacoit Shakti Singh(Feroz Khan who does not permit anyone to plow his land as he believes that his evil paternal uncle(Randhir) forged documents to make him the owner, and he blames himself for losing his brother, Kishan, during a Mela 20 years ago. Kanhaiya buys the land from his uncle in the city who dies soon after out of shock upon receiving such a large sum of money.,Now Kanhaiya comes with his foster mom to reside at the Uncle s home in the village.

The music of the film was given by R D Burman and the lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Few of the songs were popular but none of the songs is great.

  

Soundtrack

#	Title	Singer(s)
1	"Dekho Re Hua Lahoo Se Lahoo Kaise Judaa"	Manna Dey
2	"Ek Baar Rakh De Kadam Zara Jhoom Ke"	Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
3	"Gori Ke Haath Mein Jaise Ye Challa"	Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
4	"Kya Soch Raha Re"	Lata Mangeshkar
5	"Meri Sakhiyo Bolo"	Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
6	"Rut Hai Milan Ki Sathi Mera Aa Re"	Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi

Songs of Mela 1971

50 Years of SAFAR

This film was released on 31st July 1970. It was the tenth highest-grossing film of that year. Rajesh Khanna was the hero, who was at the peak of his career. This being one of the seventeen consecutive hit films between 1969 and 1971. It won one Filmfare Awards and four BFJA Awards. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore, and Feroz Khan in lead roles. 
This was the second film of Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore Jodi, they appeared together in many films after this film. Sharmila was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress Award for this film. This is also one of the movies for which Rajesh Khanna shall be remembered forever. 
Safar  is a story of common people grappling with staggering challenges and compromises. Sharmila Tagore plays a doctor she works under the guidance of Dr. Chandra (Ashok Kumar), who tells her that however hard doctors might try, sometimes a patient wouldn't survive. Rajesh Khanna is a cancer patient. Both of them studied together in college.  Though he admires Neela(Sharmila Tagore) very much, he never talks about love or marriage. Everyone thinks that it's because of his financial status, but it is later revealed that he has terminal cancer.
Feroz Han plays Shekhar,, he falls in love with Neela. He goes to propose marriage with her and meets her brother, Kalidas, but is told that he should instead meet with Avinash. So Shekhar introduces himself to Avinash, tells him of his intentions, and Avinash instantly approves of him, and subsequently, Shekhar and Neela are married. 
Neela regularly visits her brother's house where Avinash was a frequent visitor. Shekhar slowly grows suspicious of Neela and Avinash and asks his younger brother to spy on her. Shekhar comes to the conclusion that Neela is in love with Avinash and confronts her, they quarrel, he drinks his medicine and passes out. The next day the police arrest Neela on the charge of murder. With Avinash nowhere to be found, Neela has now to face life behind bars - or even the death sentence.

The soundtrack of the film contains 5 songs. The music is composed by Kalyanji Anandji, with lyrics authored by Indeevar.

#	Song	Singer(s)
1.	"Hum The Jinke Sahare"	Lata Mangeshkar
2.	"Jeevan Se Bhari"	Kishore Kumar
3.	"Jo Tumko Ho Pasand"	Mukesh
4.	"Nadiya Chale Chale Re"	Manna Dey
5.	"Zindagi Ka Safar"	Kishore Kumar

Song of Safar 1970

Song of Safar 1970

Song of Safar 1970

Song of Safar 1970

Song of Safar 1970

Feroz Khan - The Original Khan of Bollywood.

Feroz Khan (25 September 1939 – 27 April 2009), his father belonged to Tanoli tribe from Ghazni of Afghanistan, He was born and brought up in Bangalore. He moved to Bombay to work in films.
He is one of the few actors, who flaunted his surname, those days changing names or no surname was very common and mandatory to stardom.
Right from the first film, he kept his real name, he is the original Khan. Though Dilip Kumar is also a Khan he too changed his name to get stardom in the Bollywood.
 He made his debut as a second lead in Didi in 1960. Through the 1960s, he appeared in mediocre films opposite starlets in fantastical dramas, including Reporter Raju (Chitra), Samson (Ameeta), Ek Sapera Ek Lutera (Kum Kum) and Char Darvesh (Saeeda Khan). In the Guru Dutt-Mala Sinha starrer Bahurani, he played the baddie. 
In his role as the wayward younger brother of Raj Kumar, he was noticed in the black and white  film Oonche Log (1965), He then played the second lead to Rajendra Kumar in Ramanand Sagar’s Arzoo, to Sunil Dutt in the thriller Pyasi Shaam, It was BR Chopra’s Aadmi Aur Insaan towards the end of the decade, in 1969, where he came into his own. It won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.
In 1970 released Safar, in this film the Hero was Rajesh Khanna but Feroz Khan played an important role in this film. In 1971 he appeared in 2 films as the 2nd lead to his younger brother Sanjay Khan( Mela and Upasana).
To improve his career opportunities as a leading man he started his own Production Company. He became a successful producer and director with the 1972 film Apradh, Mumtaaz was his co-star in this film. Apradh was the first Indian movie showing auto racing in Germany, it was a moderate success at the box office. After that, he produced, directed, and starred in the 1975 film Dharmatma, which was the first Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan and was also his first blockbuster hit as a producer, director, and star and marked the appearance of actress Hema Malini in a glamorous avatar. This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film The Godfather. 
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, he was a leading Bollywood star, directing and starring in many of his films. The 1980 film Qurbani, with Zeenat Aman, was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track "Aap Jaisa Koi". In 1986, he directed and starred in Janbaaz, a box office hit, In 1988, he directed and starred in Dayavan, which was a remake of an Indian Tamil film titled Nayakan. After directing and starring in Yalgaar (1992),He launched his son Fardeen Khan's career with the 1998 film Prem Aggan, which, however, was a box office bomb.  he took a long break from acting for 11 years.
He appeared in over 51 films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and became one of Bollywood's popular style icons His last film as an actor was "Welcome" was a roaring hit in 2007. He died from lung cancer on 27 April 2009 at the age of 69. 
In this blog, I am posting some of his forgotten & rare songs

Song of Mein Shaadi Karne Chala 1962

Song of Reporter Raju  1962

Song of Reporter Raju  1962

Song of Char Dervesh 1964

Song of Teesra Kaun  1965

Song of Oonche Log 1965

Song of Ek Sapera Ek Lootera 1965

Song of Tasveer 1966

Song of Woh Koi Aur Hoga 1966

Song of CID 909 1966

Song of Raat Andheri Thi 1967

 Song of Aurat 1967 

 Song of Aaja Sanam 1968

Song of Anjaan Hai Koi 1969

Feroz Khan- A Successful Journey from Third Grade films to Top Banners

Feroz Khan made his debut in Homi Wadia’s low-budget flop, Reporter Raju (1962), With no godfathers to back him, Feroz worked in a bunch of low-brow flicks through the mid-1960s to survive. That included playing second fiddle to Dara Singh in Samson.
In side roles he always managed to hold his own against more famous co-stars: Raj Kumar (Oonche Log, a moderate success), Rajendra Kumar (Arzoo), Rajesh Khanna (Safar), Dharmendra (Aadmi Aur Insaan, for which he got Filmfare’s Best Supporting Actor award) and Sunil Dutt (Pyaasi Shaam).
In his role as the wayward younger brother of Raj Kumar, he was noticed in the black and white  film Oonche Log (1965), Feroz Khan comes across as a young, vulnerable and charming youth in Mohammed Rafi numbers “Haye re tere chanchal nainwa , kuchh baat karein ruk jaayein” and “Jaag Dil-e-Deewana, Rut jaagi wasl-e-yaar ki”.

After this film came Arzoo, in which he had a chunky role, one could see Feroz Khan at his romantic and emotional best. He had some beautiful scenes in Kashmir opposite the exceptionally pretty heroine, Sadhana.  With this, Khan started to receive A-list second leads. With the film Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), Khan won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
In 1970 released Safar, in this film the Hero was Rajesh Khanna but Feroz Khan played an important role in this film. In 1971 he appeared in 2 films as the 2nd lead to his younger brother Sanjay Khan( Mela and Upasana).

To improve his career opportunities as a leading man he started his own Production Company.He became a successful producer and director with the 1972 film Apradh, Mumtaaz was his co-star in this film. Apradh was the first Indian movie showing auto racing in Germany,it was a moderate success at the box office. After that, he produced, directed and starred in the 1975 film Dharmatma, which was the first Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan and was also his first blockbuster hit as a producer, director and star and marked the appearance of actress Hema Malini in a glamorous avatar. This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film The Godfather. 

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, he was a leading Bollywood star, directing and starring in many of his films. He also starred in the Punjabi film Bhagat Dhanna Jat (1974). The 1980 film Qurbani, with Zeenat Aman, was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track "Aap Jaisa Koi". In 1986, he directed and starred in Janbaaz, a box office hit, In 1988, he directed and starred in Dayavan, which was a remake of an Indian Tamil film titled Nayakan. After directing and starring in Yalgaar (1992),
He launched his son Fardeen Khan's career with the 1998 film Prem Aggan, which, however, was a box office bomb.  he took a long break from acting for 11 years.
His last film as an actor was "Welcome" was a roaring hit in 2007. He died from lung cancer on 27 April 2009 at the age of 69. He was buried in Bangalore near to his mother's grave at Hosur Road Shia Kabristan.
He appeared in over 51 films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and became one of Bollywood's popular style icons 

Song of Unche Log

Song from CID 909 1967

Song from Safar1970

Song from Apradh 1972

Song from Khote Sikkey 1973

Song from Dharmatma 1974

Song from Qurbani 1980

Song from Jaanbaz 1986

Flop Sons of Hit Dads Of Bollywood

Every parent wants their children to walk on their footsteps and follow the legacy.Bollywood stars too want their children to make a career in acting and rule the industry the way they did.Bollywood is a piece of cake for star kids. But there are few who enjoy success in the industry and make their own identity. Here are some of the ‘flop sons’ of Bollywood’s ‘hit father’.

Let's start with Dev Anand,whose son Suneil Anand was introduced from the film  Anand aur Anand (1984).could not succeed.Similarly Raj Kapoor's Son Rajeev Kapoor(Chimpu Kapoor) who was introduced in 1983 with Ek Jaan Hain Hum couldn't succeed in films.

Parikshit Sahni- Son of great Balraj Sahni started with 1968 film Anokhi Raat along with Sanjeev Kumar. got  an independent film as Hero in 1970 Pavitra Paapi opposite Tanuja as his heroine could not make it big in Bollywood.Though he worked as Character actor in many films but he was not as successful as his father.He has also appeared in three of Rajkumar Hirani's blockbuster films Lage Raho Munna Bhai, 3 Idiots, and PK.

Puru Rajkumar- the son of veteran actor Raj Kumar. He was launched in the 1996 film Bal Bramhachari, which was released only a few months after his father’s death, but unfortunately flopped. After a three-year gap, Puru returned with a negative role in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, which was a hit. He also had a cameo in Mission Kashmir in the same year (2000). But his career went downhill after that .

Kumar Gaurav -Rajendra Kumar's son who made his debut with a super hit film Love Story in 1981.After that he came as hero in many films like Star (1982) Lovers,Romance in 1983,Hum Hain Lajawab, All Rounder and Divorce in 1984.None of his films clicked at Box Office. He has been successfully paired with almost all young ladies of ’80s – Poonam Dillon, Rati Agnihotri, Neelam, Vijeyta Pandit, Madhuri Dixit and Padmini Kolhapure. Yet his pairing with Vijeyta Pandit in their debut movie is still remembered most. His revival project, Phool with the top actress Madhuri Dixit, couldn’t give success though its melodious songs were noticed.He produced his earlier films Janam and Naam, his father tried to revive his career with the 1993 film Phool which also had his father and father-in-law Sunil Dutt in supporting roles. However, it didn't bring him any luck either.

Kunal Kapoor-Son of the late actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal,Made his debut with  Ahista Ahista (1981 film) opposite Padmini Kolhapure as well as Vijeta (1982 film).He could not succeed,In 1985, he stopped acting after Trikal to set up his own company, Adfilm-Valas, to producing and direct television commercials. His younger brother Karan Kapoor who got fame from modeling also came in Bollywood with Sultanat (1986) opposite Juhi Chawla as well as later in Loha (1987 film)with Dharmendra but he too could not make it big in bollywood. Karan now runs a photography company in UK.

Kunal Goswami-Made his film debut as a child star in Kranti (1981) which was directed by his father Manoj Kumar. He acted in B-grade movies such as Ghungroo, Kalakaar and Paap Ki Kamee.  His acting didn't take off as well as he would have liked, so he went in to the catering business in Delhi. He decided to give acting a second shot, and his father directed him again in Jai Hind (1999).

Bobby Deol - the son of Bollywood actor Dharmendra and the brother of Sunny Deol made  debut with Twinkle Khanna in the 1995 Bollywood film Barsaat, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Deol was awarded the Filmfare Best Debut Award for his role in the 1995 film Barsaat  After that he gave some hit filmslike  Gupt(1997), Soldier (1998), Badal (2000), Bichhoo (2000), Ajnabee (2001), Humraaz (2002), Tango Charlie (2005), Apne (2007), and Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011).

Fardeen Khan-Son of famous actor Firoz Khan, Fardeen Khan debuted in Bollywood in 1998 with his movie ‘Prem Agan’. In his 12 years career of Bollywood, he did movies like ‘Jungle’, ‘Pyar Tune Kya Kiya’, ‘Fida’, ‘Dev’, and ‘All the Best’, but most of his movies couldn’t impress audience much.His cousin brother Zayed Khan son of Sanjay Khan  made his screen debut in 2003 in the film Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne,He is known for his performance as Lakshman a.k.a. Lucky in Main Hoon Na (2004), Aditya Singh in Dus (2005), Vikky Khanna in Fight Club - Members Only (2006), Danny Yuvvraaj in Yuvvraaj (2008), and as Sam/Aditya in Blue (2009).

Tusshar Kapoor-son of veteran actor Jeetendra and younger brother to Ekta Kapoor.made his debut with  the blockbuster Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai,(2001).along with Kareena Kapoor.He received the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his work in the film. He then starred as Rahul in coming of age film Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa alongside Esha Deol.He worked in many commercial hits such as Khakee (2004), Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005), Golmaal (2006), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007) But he has not made it big.

Rahul Khanna-He is the son of actor Vinod Khanna.He made his feature film debut in Deepa Mehta's 1947 Earth (1999), alongside Aamir Khan. His performance earned him several awards including the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. His younger brother is Akshay Khanna made his acting debut in Bollywood in 1997 with the movie Himalay Putra, which was produced by his father and went without much success at box office.After that a string of unsuccessful films followed such as Mohabbat (1997), Kudrat (1998), Laawaris (1999), Love You Hamesha (1999) and Dahek (1999).followed.In 1999, he starred in Rishi Kapoor's Aa Ab Laut Chalen; though the film did average business, he was praised for his acting. He next starred in Subhash Ghai's Taal opposite Aishwarya Rai.In 2001, Khanna appeared in Farhan Akhtar's cult classic Dil Chahta Hai. This marked a turning point in his career: the film was a commercial and critical success and Khanna's performance was particularly applauded, later validated by Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002.

Mimoh Chakraborty- the son of original disco dancer of Bollywood, Mithun Chakraborty. Leave alone not matching up to his father’s  renowned dancing skills, Mimoh’s acting career took a downward spiral after his debut film Jimmy in 2008. The 2013 release Enemmy with father also tanked.

Aarya Babbar-the son of actor turned politician Raj Babbar and theatre personality Nadira Babbar. He started his film career with Raj Kanwar's Ab Ke Baras alongside Amrita Rao in 2002.He has worked with stalwarts like Mani Ratnam, Madhur Bhandarkar and Vikram Bhatt. Also he appeared in films such as Yaar Annmulle, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and Ready.

Pratik Babbar  -The son of late actress Smita Patil and Raj Babbar, he began his career as a production assistant before pursuing an acting career.He made his screen debut with the 2008 film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, and was praised for his performance in the film.Babbar played a variety of roles in 2011, appearing in commercially viable projects such as the crime thriller Dum Maro Dum and the political drama Aarakshan, while drawing the attention of critics for his performances in independent films, including the drama Dhobi Ghat and the romantic comedy My Friend Pinto.