This BLOG is about the Past of Hindi Films Specially Black and White Cinema We will refresh your memories by bringing out forgotten or unseen songs and clippings of film scenes We will try to give you as much information as we gather from our research.
This Blog was started as a one-man’s passion for film history but has now become an addiction for many music lovers who are equally passionate about Hindi films
Being a big dreamer doesn’t mean that you walk around with your head in the clouds. It means that you’re seeking a purpose for your life. Raj Kapoor was the person who dreamt big and went after them, At the age of 24, he was a director and a studio owner His first film Aag was released in 1948
As a filmmaker, Raj Kapoor produced 16 films and directed 9 of them under his R.K. banner. Most of his films were successful films and received appreciation from critics and the audience. Mera Naam Joker was his biggest dream project He made it but the film was a failure at the box office putting Raj Kapoor into a big financial crisis.
He didn't stop dreaming, he came up with an idea to get out of this debt. He released the film 'Bobby' in the year 1973. With this film, he launched his 18-year-old son Rishi Kapoor. This trick proved to be really effective and Bobby proved to be a blockbuster hit of that era. After this, along with Raj Kapoor, the days of the whole family and family went back. The film had Dimple Kapadia in the lead role along with Rishi Kapoor.
He had a dream to make a film Henna, for nearly two decades, the showman carried around Henna as an idea, like a dream. In fact, when Raj Kapoor died in 1987, only the title, the story, and two songs: chitti and mai der karta nahin hoon, der ho jati hai. were ready
His dream lived on when his sons decided to complete the film and got it released on 28th June 1991. This film for the brothers Kapoor was a tribute to Raj Kapoor. It took them 3 years to fulfill the dream of their father. IT wasn't easy. The Cassandras of the film industry labeled the film a non-starter but the sons had the genes of Raj Kapoor of not backing out.
Raj Kapoor had another film on his wishlist, the title of the film was 'Rishwat' the story was ready and was working on its screenplay. Another dream project was a film on Ajanta caves.
Dilip Kumar was not only one of the earliest superstars of Hindi cinema, but also one of the few legendary artists India has seen. Dilip Kumar's resume contains many of Indian cinema's landmark, genre-defining roles. His performances as the drunken, doomed lover in Devdas and the rebellious royal son in Mughal-e-Azam have been endlessly referenced by his successors on-screen. In Madhumati, he set the trend for reincarnation films. In Ram Aur Shyam, he established the twins-separated-at-birth formula. He became the first-ever winner of the Filmfare Best Actor award for Daag in 1954 and went on to win the award another seven times.
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, was 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) Let's look into the performance of Dilip Kumar in these films
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 in 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 stepbrother Jagat Narayan refused.In a dramatic turn 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 films hits in the decade. After so many films Dilip Kumar played alight-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.
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 characterizations 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 learned 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 Jamuna1961
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 into 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.
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The first film of Ashok Kumar was Jeevan Naiya (1936), a Bombay Talkies production. It was a sheer fluke that he became an actor. He didn't want to become an actor. Those days, actors were really looked down upon. They were believed to come from the lowest strata of society. He came to Bombay to become a director. So he joined Bombay Talkies as a technician. he worked in the camera department. Later, he was made a lab assistant. He worked as Lab Assistant for 8 months, suddenly Himanshu Rai, the owner of Bombay Talkies made him the hero of the film Jeevan Naiya replacing the existing hero Najam-ul- Hussain.
Initially, he was not comfortable in acting but later gathered confidence in his second film Achhut Kanya (1936), where he again paired with Devika Rani became a smash hit established him a great actor. After that, he was a permanent hero of all Bombay Talkies movies In 1943 he played the first anti-hero role in Indian cinema. The film Kismet(1943) was the first super duper hit of Indian cinema, It was the first film that collected more than a crore rupees at Box office. Post Kismet, Ashok Kumar became the most bankable star of the era, delivering a succession of box office successes with movies like Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944), Shikari (1946), Sajan (1947), Mahal (1949), Sangram (1950) and Samadhi (1950).
, Ashok Kumar has ruled the silver screen and melted millions of hearts with his charismatic screen appearance and personality. He was the first superstar of Hindi cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero. He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful career as a character actor.
He produced several films for Bombay Talkies during the final years of the company including Ziddi (1948), which established the careers of Dev Anand and Pran, Later on, he quit the Bombay Talkies and started Filmistan Studio with Shashdhar Mukharjee, his desire to return to Bombay Talkies was always there." He re-bought Bombay Talkies in 1947. "Devika Rani had left by then. But the Talkies had fallen on bad days. The debts amounted to Rs 28 lakhs. We made movies like Majboor, Ziddi, Mahal, and Mashal to repay the debts."
With the advent of the 1950s, Ashok Kumar switched over to more mature roles, with the exception of the 1958 classic Howrah Bridge. Despite the arrival of a younger crop of stars like Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar remained one of the stars of the era with hits like Afsana (1951), Nau Bahar (1952), Parineeta (1953), Bandish (1955) and EK Hi Raasta (1956). His most successful film of that era was Deedar (1951), in which he played second fiddle to Dilip Kumar.
Ashok Kumar played an important role in several landmark movies in the 1960s and 1970s, including Jewel Thief (1967), Aashirwad (1968) (for which he won a Filmfare Award as well as National Award in 1969), Purab aur Pashchim (1970), Pakeezah (1972), Mili (1975), Chhoti Si Baat (1975) and Khoobsurat (1980).
Ashok Kumar's last film role was in the 1997 movie Aankhon Mein Tum Ho.
. Altogether, he starred in over 275 films. He has done more than 30 Bengali dramas in Dhakuria.He was honored in 1988 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India and also received the Padma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
He died at the age of 90 in Mumbai on 10 December 2001 of heart failure at his residence in Chembur. The then Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee described him as "an inspiration... for many generations of aspiring actors.
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