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

Two Great Bollywood Stars Born on the Same Date

 

Guru Dutt and Sanjeev Kumar,  the two legendary actors of Bollywood were born on 9th July of 1925 and 1938 respectively. What a coincidence that both died prematurely. Both started their career early in their life. Guru Dutt got a job under a three-year contract with the Prabhat Film Company in Pune when he was just nineteen years of age. Sanjeev Kumar also started his acting career as a stage actor, starting with IPTA in Bombay and later joining the Indian National Theatre. At the age of 22, he played an old man in a play, an adaptation of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. In the following year, in the play Damru directed by AK Hangal, he again played the role of a 60-year-old with six children.

Guru Dutt acted in a small role as Sri Krishna in Chand in 1944. In 1945, he acted as well as assisted director Vishram Bedekar in Lakhrani, and in 1946 he worked as an assistant director and choreographed dances for P.L. Santoshi's film, Hum Ek Hain.. Sanjeev Kumar made his film debut with a small role in Hum Hindustani in 1960.

Even though Guru Dutt and Sanjeev Kumar never worked together, they do share a curious link – K Asif’s Love And God. The film had a long and troubled production history with shooting starting in 1963 with Guru Dutt as Kais and Nimmi as Laila. However Guru Dutt's sudden death in 1964 left the film incomplete and it was shelved. Then, Asif recast Sanjeev Kumar as Kais and resumed production of the film in 1970. Unfortunately, the director K. Asif died on 9 March 1971 at the age of 48/49 and the film was once again left incomplete. Fifteen years later, Asif's senior widow Akhtar Asif decided to release the incomplete film with the help of producer-director-distributor K. C. Bokadia. In a few months, they managed to salvage some usable portions of the incomplete film from three different studios and pieced them together. This cut-paste incomplete version was finally released on 27 May 1986. By the time of the film's release, several of the film's cast members had died, including its leading actor Sanjeev Kumar, who died in 1985.

Guru Dutt in Love &  God

Sanjeev Kumar in Love &  God

Another similarity both had was their love life, both had a troubled love affair. Though Guru Dutt was married to Geeta Roy but fell in love with Waheeda Rehman. Sanjeev Kumar proposed to Hema Malini in 1973 and they remained in touch even after he suffered his first heart attack in 1976. Later an actress Sulakshana Pandit started liking him and proposed for marriage, but both of them remained unmarried. Kumar refused to marry her, as a result of which Sulakshana vowed to never marry anyone.

Their turbulent, tragic, and unlucky-in-love personas haunted the two stars throughout their life, one went in depression and comitted suicide and the other died of heart attack.

Songs of Guru Dutt

Song of Aar Paar 1954

Song of Mr & Mrs 55 1955

Song of Pyasa1957

Song of Kaagaz Ke Phool 1959

Song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand 1960

Songs of Sanjeev Kumar

Song of Anokhi Raat 1968

Song of Raja Aur Runk 1968

Song of Khilona 1970

Song of Seeta Aur Geeta 1972

Song of Manchali 1973

Song of Aandhi 1975

The Tune that Mesmerized Raj Kapoor

 

It is the famous waltz 'Waves of the Danube' composed by the Romanian Josef (or Ion) Ivanovici in 1880. This tune has been used in many films over the years – Josef von Sternberg’s Dishonored, Akira Kurosawa’s Stray Dog, and Emir Kusturica’s When Father Was Away on Business, to name a few – but its most famous film incarnation is as The Anniversary Song from The Jazz Singer(1927)

 Raj Kapoor first heard this tune when he saw The Jolson Story (1946) rather than coming across a recording of the original waltz. He was so mesmerized by this tune, he decided to use this in his film Barsaat. When he used this tune in Barsaat, he was approached by the copyright people for breaching the copyright. He had to pay something like 35,000 rupees, a handsome amount in the 40s. 

Since he purchased the tune, he used this tune in RK films – Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Sangam (1964), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Bobby (1973), Biwi O Biwi (1982) – either as background music or in song interludes.

This tune remained an integral part of the film. Raj Kapoor, who plays Pran in the film plays this tune on the violin throughout the film. Nargis (Reshma), who keeps referring to the instrument as a “sitar”, finds herself inextricably drawn to this haunting melody. In a crucial scene towards the end, when the lovers have been separated, Reshma again hears the tune and rushes off towards its source. She lands up in a posh club (with, apparently, not very sound-proof walls) and falls at the feet of the man playing the violin. But it is not Pran. The shocked violinist kicks out at her.  

Song of Barsaat 1949

                    Losif Ivanovici - Donauwellen Walzer (Waves of the Danube Waltz)

Raj Kapoor & His Songs are Immortal

 

For him, the songs were truly not only audio but audio-visual. He saw music as it were; and only when he could how the song could be filmed, did he okay it's recording. His use of elaborate sets, of light and shade to convey sombreness and technicolor to project joy, were all part of his visual perception.

He was very fond of composing tunes, he composed tunes with Ram Ganguli with whom Shankar, Jailishan used to play Harmonium and Tabla. It was there the birth of the Team of Shankar Jaikishan and Raj Kapoor took place, that entertained the music lovers. He had a sharp music sense. Raj Saab was a complete musician. He played the tabla, the harmonium, and the piano. He composed songs and sang them in his own voice before handing them over to professional playback singers.

His music journey started with Papaji (Prithviraj Kapoor) in theatre in Calcutta. When he came to Bombay he learned classical music playing Harmonium, Tabla, and Sitar at Narayan Rao Vijay Academy. He was also with Anil Biswas for some time.

Raj Kapoor's song sittings were very famous, all the stakeholders of the song used to be invited on the sittings, time was no limit, everyone present cold give his suggestion. He loved to listen to tunes, to prune and trim the compositions, to correct the singers. He also sits with the Lyricist to change a particular line or word which is not matching the tune, he perfected the compositions to suit his taste.

Songs in RK films were never just 'there'; they were seamlessly woven into the fabric of the film, used intelligently and sensibly to complement the narrative.

Song of Aag 1948

Song of Barsat 1949

Song of Awaara 1951

Song of Shree 420 1955

Song of Chori Chori 1956

Song of Anari 1959

Song of Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai 1960

Song of Sangam 1964

Song of Teesri Kasam 1966

Song of Mera Naam Joker 1970

Subodh Mukharjee- Freedom Fighter to the Leading Filmmaker of the Golden Era

 

Subodh Mukharjee ( April 14, 1921- 21 May 2005) was a freedom fighter, he was in jail for 3 months. His elder brother Shashdhar Mukharjee pulled him away from the nationalist movement and engaged him film making. He started as a continuity assistant and writer He was given the first film as an independent director Munimji (1955).  The film was a hit. The song "Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Rahi," sung by Kishore Kumar, became a super hit. The next film he directed was Paying Guest(1957), which was again a hit.

He started his own banner SMP Subodh Mukharjee Productions. The first film of this house was Love Marriage starring Dev Anand and Mala Sinha. This was the third film in a row under his direction All three films were hit. The next film under his direction and production house was Junglee with Shammi Kapoor. The film was a super hit. He was then a leading Filmmaker of Bollywood.

 After Junglee he made April Fool in 1964 and Saaj Aur Awaz in 1966, both the films were average in Box Office. In both the films, Saira Banu was the heroine, who was introduced by him in the 1961 film Junglee.
In 1967 he produced Shagird, the direction was given to Samir Ganguly. The film stars Joy Mukherjee and Saira Banu in lead roles The film was a super hit. He then made two films simultaneously, Sharmilee(1971) was directed by Sameer Ganguli, and the other film Abhinetri(1970) was directed by him.

In the first two decades of his career, he had a high success percentage, but like so many movie-makers of his generation, he floundered from the seventies and quit in 1985. He produced 8 films and directed 9 films in his career. The last 2 films were Teesri Aankh 1982 and Ulta Seedha in 1985

He died on 21st May 2005,he was suffering from Blood cancer.

Song of Munimjee 1955

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Song of Love Mariage1959

Song of Junglee 1961

Song of Shagird 1967

Song of Abhinetri 1970

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Musical Instruments Played by Raj Kapoor on Screen

 

Raj Kapoor had always been interested in music. He was classically trained and capable of playing several instruments reasonably well. He was good in Tabla and Harmonium, he was also excellent in Piano.  He played different instruments on screen, the first time he played an instrument on screen was in a song of Barsaat 1949.

 Kindly recall the iconic pose where Raj Kapoor holds a violin in one hand and Nargis in the other hand. On my research, I have found more than a dozen instruments were played by him on screen.

 He was seen playing the Violin in this song, though he did not sing but played the violin only. If you watch the song 'Mujhe Kisi Se Pyar Ho Gaya' he looked so realistic as if he is actually playing it. .

Song of Barsaat 1949

The next year once again he was seen playing the flute in a song 'Sun bairi balam sach bol re' from Bawre Nain (1950), he was playing the instrument only.

Song of Bawre Nain 1950

The piano remained the favourite instrument of Bollywood Films. In almost every film it was seen in the 50s or 60s films. In many hit songs, Piano was essential Prop. In this song 'Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara' from Anhonee 1952, Raj Kapoor is singing and playing the Piano.

Song of Anhonee 1952

Raj Kapoor plays 'Daph' in this very popular song of Shree 420 (1955)film.

Song of Shree 420 (1955) 

Another song from the same film 'Shree 420' Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua, Raj Kapoor can be seen playing the Penny Whistle

Song of Shree 420 (1955) 

In 3 songs of Shree 420, we can see Raj Kapoor playing three different instruments. In this song, 'Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh' he plays the Trumpet for a few seconds.

Song of Shree 420 (1955) 

The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument from the Indian subcontinent, In this song, Raj Kapoor plays the Sarangi

Song of Parvarish 1958

There is another song from Parvarish where he plays the Tabla. He displays his real skills in this song. He plays the Tabla with his elbow also.

Song of Parvarish 1958

Another rustic instrument played in a song of the 1959 film Do Ustad.  Raj Kapoor playing the been in this song. Generally Been is used by the snake charmers.The Been music was very popular in the 50s, especially after the popularity of the song from Nagin in 1954. Recall the song 'Man Dole Tan Dole'

Song of Do Ustad 1959

'Daph' was the favourite instrument of Raj Kapoor. He played this instrument again in the Songs of Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai 1960

Song of Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai 1960

Song of Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai 1960

Raj Kapoor plays 'Dhol' in the song 'Yeh To Kaho Kaun Ho Tum' from 'Aashiq' released in 1962

Song of Aashiq 1962

Sangam (1964) film had 3 songs in which he played 3 different instruments. He plays the Piano in the song 'Dost Dost Na Raha', Piano Accordion in 'Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega' and Bag Pipe in 'Bol  Radha Bol Sangam'

Song of Sangam 1964

In the 1967 film 'Deewana', he played Shehnai in almost all the songs

Song of Deewana 1967