Waheeda Rehman - Beauty with Talent

In an interview, Waheeda Rehman said, "I never considered myself beautiful in my younger years. I only considered myself to be photogenic. I looked beautiful mainly because of the good lighting and makeup. I never considered myself beautiful."
The reality is that  Waheeda Rehman was known for her classic combination of Islamic beauty and extraordinary grace, talent and an appeal that ranked her among the top of Bollywood's elite actresses. 
Her sophistication remains unparalleled to date and who is considered to be one of the most beautiful women that Indian cinema.
She was born on 3rd Feb 1938 into a Muslim family in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
  Her father was a district commissioner who died in 1948 when Waheeda was only 10 years old. Her dream was to become a doctor but, due to circumstances of illness of her mother, she abandoned this goal. Instead helped by her supportive parents, she hit the silver screen with Telugu films Rojulu Marayi (1955), followed by Jayasimha (1955) and Tamil film K.aalam Maari Pochu (1956). 
In the success party of Rojulu Maaraayi, Guru Dutt noticed her and decided to groom her and have her act in Hindi films. Waheeda considered Guru Dutt as her mentor. Dutt brought her to Bombay and cast as a vamp in his production CID (1956), directed by Raj Khosla.. After the success of C.I.D., Dutt gave her a leading role in Pyaasa (1957). Their next venture together was Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), 
Waheeda's successful films are Pyaasa (1957), 12 O'Clock (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1961). Her other notable works include Solva Saal (1958), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962), Kohra (1964), Bees Sal Baad (1962), Guide (1965), Teesri Kasam, Mujhe Jeene Do (1966), Neel Kamal and Khamoshi (1969).

Waheeda Rehman established a great working relationship with Dev Anand, and together as a pair had number of successful films to their credit. The box office hits of the pair include CID (1956), Solva Saal (1958), Kala Bazar (1960), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962) and Guide (1965); box office duds were Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961) and Prem Pujari (1970). 
Besides Dev Anand she delivered hits opposite Dilip Kumar in three successive years; Dil Diyaa Dard Liyaa in 1966, Ram Aur Shyam in 1967 and Aadmi in 1968.

 She reached her peak with Guide (1965) and was much in demand. Her career continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her roles in Guide (1965), and Neel Kamal (1968), but despite excellent offbeat roles in subsequent films, including a National Award-winning performance in Reshma Aur Shera (1971), some of the films failed at the box office. Seeing her films being successful, Waheeda decided to experiment with roles at this stage of career. She accepted Reshma Aur Shera, opposite her old co-star Sunil Dutt, with whom she had previously in the sixties had hits like Ek Phool Char Kaante, Mujhe Jeene Do, Meri Bhabhi and Darpan.
She played pivotal roles  Kabhi Kabhie (1976),Trishul (1978), Jwalamukhi (1980), Namkeen and Namak Halaal (1982),Mashaal (1984), Chandni(1989), Rang De Basanti(2006). She played the central character in the Mahesh Bhatt directed film Swayam that starred Akash Khurana and Anupam Kher. 
After her marriage to Shashi Rekhi (screen name Kamaljeet whom she paired in 1964 film Shagoon )on 27 April 1974, she shifted to a farmhouse in Bangalore. She has two children named Sohail and Kashvi, who are writers. On 21 November 2000, her husband died following a prolonged illness. She moved back to her ocean view bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai where she currently lives.
In recent years she made a comeback playing elderly mother and grandmother roles in Om Jai Jagadish (2002), Water (2005) and Rang De Basanti (2006), 15, Park Avenue, Delhi 6 (2009), Love in Bombay (2013) and Vishwarupam (2015) which were all critically acclaimed.
She has received a Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality, a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Film Award for Best Actress and two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.

Song from CID 1956

Song from Pyasaa 1957

Song from Kaagaz Ke Phool 1959

Song from Kala Bazar 1960

Song from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam 1962

Song from Bees Saal Baad 1962

Song from Guide 1965

Song from Teesri Kasam 1966

Nadia- India’s original stunt queen

She was also called as Fearless Nadia or Nadia- The Hunterwali. Born as Mary Ann Evans in Australia, she came to India when she was 5 years old. By the time Mary reached her mid-twenties, she had trained herself in horse riding, ballet, tap dance, and gymnastics. She is most remembered as the masked, cloaked adventurer in Hunterwali, released in 1935, which was one of the earliest female-lead Indian films. 
Nadia proved a huge hit with the audience, whereupon, considering her skills at performing circus and other stunts, J.B.H., by then joined by his younger brother Homi, chose to develop her into a star.

Born on January 8, 1908, she wanted to be a singer and dancer and learned Scottish dances from her father and Greek songs from her mother. She went on to sing in church choirs in school but even as a young girl, she was different. While her classmates played with fluffy soft toys, she spent most of her time with a pony that became her best friend. She also spent time learning fishing, hunting, horse riding and everything normally considered audacious for girls of her age at the time.
Her father died when she was only 15 so she started to look for a job. Nadia tried her hand at several other jobs. From working in a secretarial position, traveling as a theatre artist to performing as a trapeze artist at a circus, she did it all. She also worked hard to train herself as a gymnast and her graceful cartwheels, daredevil stunts and charming presence soon won her a lot of fans.
 Eruch Kanga, a cinema owner from Lahore, spotted her in performance and suggested her name to J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia, the brothers who owned a major production house called Wadia Movietone. Initially, she was given a small role in two of their upcoming movies, Desh Deepak and Noor-e-Yaman. Her cameos as a slave girl in the former and as a princess in the latter were well-liked by the audience.
Her big break came with the 1935 film Hunterwali.  This movie was the first one to showcase Nadia’s fearlessness, her athletic prowess, and her affinity for the stunt genre. The audience loved her. Over the next decade, Nadia went on to star in over 50 films, performing her own stunts in every single film. She went on to achieve great stardom and became one of the highest-paid actresses in the Indian film industry during this period. 
Nadia married Homi Wadia in 1961 and thus became Nadia Wadia  In 1967-68 when she was in her late 50s, she appeared in a James Bond spoof called Khiladi (The Player). That was her last film.
In 1993, Nadia's great-grandnephew, Riyad Vinci Wadia, made a documentary of her life and films, called Fearless: The Hunterwali Story. After watching the documentary at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival, Dorothee Wenner, a German freelance writer, and film curator wrote Fearless Nadia - The true story of Bollywood's original stunt queen, which was subsequently translated into English in 2005. She died on 9th Jan 1996 due to age-related diseases.

Song of Hunterwali 1935

                       Dile Nadan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai - Hunterwali Ki Beti - Fearless Nadia

The First Film of Prita Rajvansh was to be with,Dev Anand

Priya Rajvansh (Born on December 30th, 1939 ) was introduced to Bollywood by the Director Chetan Anand. She was cast opposite Dev Anand in the film Kaafir which was later shelved.
In Chetan Anand’s picture ‘Kafir’, Priya Rajvansh plays the role of a Pakistani Muslim girl in love with a Hindu doctor, a role which may be played by Chetan Anand himself. ^The story of his film was set during the period of Partition of the country when several innocent lives were lost. Four songs on this film had already been recorded and 6 reels of the film were shot but later the shooting of the film was stopped due to some controversies.
Priya Rajvansh was born as Veera Sunder Singh in Shimla. Her father Sunder Singh was a Conservator in the Forest Department. She grew up in Shimla along with her brothers. She passed intermediate from St. Bede's College, Shimla in 1953. Her father was on a UN assignment, so after graduation, she joined the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, UK.
 A movie maker of that time called Thakur Ranbeer Singh belonging to a Rajput Kota family came to know of her. He was a friend of Chetan Anand, he used to stay with Chetan Anand whenever he visited India. It was in 1960s Chetan Anand was lookout fora new girl to be cast in his next film.It was Ranveer Singh who suggested the name of Priya Rajvansh. Could you believe it when I say that he chose her for the role of the heroine in his film even without meeting her?
After the film, Kaafir was shelved in 1962. Chetan promised her that he will take her in his next venture which happened to be Haqeeqat. The film became a hit and is often counted as among the best Indian war-films. Soon she was in a relationship with her mentor, Chetan Anand, who had just separated from his wife.

After Haqeeqat Priya was the heroine of every film of Chetan Anand. In fact, she starred only in Chetan Anand films, in which she was involved in every aspect- starting from story to scripting, lyrics, and post-production.

Her next film, Heer Raanjha came out only in 1970, where she acted opposite the rage of that time, actor Raaj Kumar, and the film was a hit.  Hanste Zakhm, arguably the finest film of her career, in 1973. Her other noted films were Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973), with Raaj Kumar, and Kudrat (1981), paired opposite Rajesh Khanna , where she had a parallel role with Hema Malini as the lead. She also starred opposite Dev Anand in Saheb Bahadur in 1977. Her last film Haathon Ki Lakeeren came out in 1985, after which she ended her film career.She did only 7 films from 1962 to 1997.

She died on 27 March 2000 in Chetan Anand's Ruia Park bungalow in Juhu, Mumbai, India. Police charged Chetan Anand's sons Ketan Anand and Vivek Anand along with their employees Mala Choudhary and Ashok Chinnaswamy with her murder

Song of Haqeeqat 1964

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Hanste Zakhm 1973

Song of Sahib Bahadur 1977

Happy Birthday to the two of the most charismatic actors of Bollywood

Apart from sharing great chemistry in the films Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore also share their birthday 0n the 8th of Dec. The first film they worked together was Anupama in 1966 directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
The same director-actor trio joined together for a second time to give us Satyakam in 1969. The third time the same trio gave us the Hindi cinema's one of its all-time great comedy films Chupke Chupke in 1975.
They worked together as Hero and Heroine in films like Devar, Mere Humdam Mere Dost, Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka, and Yakeen.  Their last film together was Sunny in 1984 Directed by Raj Khosla, the film had Dharmendra playing father to his real-life son Sunny Deol while Sharmila played the prostitute giving birth to Sunny Deol 
Dharmendra, who was born on 8th Dec 1935, debuted with Arjun Hingorani's Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere in 1960. He became a star with Phool Aur Patthar (1966), He formed a successful pairing with Meena Kumari and shared the screen in 7 films namely Main Bhi Ladki Hoon (1964), Kaajal (1965), Purnima (1965), Phool Aur Patthar (1966), Majhli Didi (1967), Chandan Ka Palna (1967) and Baharon Ki Manzil (1968). 
His most successful pairing was with Hema Malini, who went on to become his wife.^[The couple played together in many films including Raja Jani, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sharafat, Naya Zamana, Patthar Aur Payal, Tum Haseen Main Jawaan, Jugnu, Dost, Charas, Maa, Chacha Bhatija, Azaad, and Sholay
Sharmila Tagore is 9 years younger to Dharmendra She is born on  8 th December 1944. She debuted in Bollywood with Shakti Samanta's Kashmir Ki Kali in 1964. Later she did many films with Shakti  Samanta. Samanta cast her in many more films, including An Evening in Paris (1967), in which she became the first Indian actress to appear in a bikini, Samanta later teamed up Sharmila with Rajesh Khanna for movies such as Aradhana (1969) and Amar Prem (1972). The pair of Khanna-Sharmila gave 7 box office hits like  – Aradhana, Safar, Amar Prem, Chhoti Bahu, Daag, "Raja Rani" and Avishkaar

Song of Anupama 1966

Song of Anupama 1966

Song of Devar 1966

Song of Mere Humdam Mere Dost, 1968

Song of Satyakam 1969

Song of Yakeen 1969

Hema Malini- Became Star with Johny Mera Naam

She got her first Hindi film offer in 1968 opposite Raj Kapoor in Sapno Ka Saudagar, Her 2nd Hindi Film was Waris 1969 with Jeetendra as her Hero. In the next year, her 5 films released but she came into prominence only after Johny Mera Naam 1970. She established herself as No 1 only after Seeta Aur Geeta. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.for this film. In 1975 alone she was part of five successes --- Sanyasi, Dharmatma, Khushboo, Prattigya and most significantly, Sholay, where she was unforgettable as the chatterbox Basanti.
The entire country was now mesmerized by Hema Malini’s beauty so many producers thought of creating a film role as Dream Girl. It was in 1977, the film called Dream Girl was released. The highlight was how good Hema could look in various avatars like a princess, a street girl or a dancer.
Hema Malini paired with top heroes of Industry but she worked maximum with Dharmendra in 28 films, With Rajesh Khanna in 19 films, with Amitabh Bachchan 15 films, with Jeetendra 11 films and Dev Anand 9 films.
In 1980 Hema defied convention and became Dharmendra's second wife. Her spotless reputation and regal demeanor saw her facing little flack for this act of societal defiance.
After her marriage, Malini made films including Kranti, Naseeb (1981), Satte Pe Satta, Rajput, and Ek Nai Paheli (1984). Her works also included Aandhi Toofan, Durgaa (1985), Ramkali (1985), Sitapur Ki Geeta (1987), Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986), Rihaee and Jamai Raja (1990)
In the 1990s, she produced and directed the 1992 film Dil Aashna Hai, starring Divya Bharti and Shah Rukh Khan in the leading roles. She also produced and directed her second feature film Mohini (1995), starring her niece Madhoo and actor Sudesh Berry in the leading roles. She then focused on dancing and television work, only occasionally appearing in films.
After taking a break from films for a number of years, Hema made a comeback with Baghban (2003), Baabul in 2006.Aarakshan in 2011. In 2017 she acted in the film Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi in the role of Vijaya Raje Scindia of Gwalior, with Vinod Khanna as her husband, unfortunately, it was Vinod Khanna's last film. 
Top 10 Songs of Hema Malini

Song of Razia Sultan 1983

Song of Kinara 1977

Song of Mehbooba 1976

Song of Kudrat (1981)

Song of Johny Mera Naam 1971

Song of Kranti (1981)

Song of Satte Pe Satta (1982)

Song of Andaz (1971)

Song of Sharafat (1970)

Song of Sholay (1975)

Rekha - A Rare Blend of Beauty and Talent

Almost completing 50 years in Bollywood, Rekha when came to Bollywood, was 16years old,  a dusky, obese with a 33-inch waist. No one that time could believe that one day she will become a glamour icon of Bollywood.
On the premiere of Sawan Bhadon in 1970,  Shashi Kapoor uttered in disbelief, "How is this dark, plump and gauche actress ever going to make it?" But as the film released to the public, she became a hit and called the Sex Bomb. Sawan Bhadon was released in 1970 and celebrated a jubilee run in 34 centers across the country including Chennai. And Rekha signed 18 films in a week.
She appeared in several commercially successful films at the time, including Rampur Ka Lakshman (1972) opposite Randhir  Kapoor, Kahani Kismat Ki (1973) opposite Dharmendra, Namak Haram opposite Rajesh Khanna and Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974) opposite Sunil Dutt, yet she was not regarded for her acting abilities. 
Rekha ( Born on10th Oct 1954) appeared as a child (credited as Baby Bhanurekha) in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam (1966)..Her first signed Hindi film was Anjana Safar. but Sawan Bhadon released first. Despite the success of the film, she was often scorned for her looks. She subsequently got several offers but nothing of substance, as her roles were mostly just of a glamour girl.
Rekha recalls that the way she was perceived at that time motivated her to change her appearance and improve her choice of roles: "I was called the ‘Ugly Duckling’ of Hindi films because of my dark complexion and South Indian features. I used to feel deeply hurt when people compared me with the leading heroines of the time and said I was no match for them. I was determined to make it big on sheer merit.
It was in 1974 Rekha began her lifelong obsession with her mirror. Slowly picking up the tricks of make-up, she lost weight and became svelte Rekha got a meaty role for the first time in Dulal Guha's Do Anjaane (1976), her first film opposite Amitabh Bachchan. She made people sit up with her performance as an ambitious wife who sacrifices love at the altar of ambition. The audience was floored when there was a swift change in her screen personality, as well as her style of acting.
In 1978, with her portrayal of a rape victim in the movie Ghar. a turning point came in her career. The film was considered her first notable milestone, and her performance was applauded by both critics and cine-goers. She received her first nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards.
In that same year, she attained fame with Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, in which she co-starred once again with Amitabh Bachchan. The movie was the biggest hit of that year, as well as one of the biggest hits of the decade, and Rekha was set as one of the most successful actresses of these times.
In 1980, Rekha appeared in the comedy Khubsoorat, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with whom she had developed a strong father-daughter bond during their previous collaborations. In a role written especially for her, she won her first Best Actress award. for this film.
 In 1981, she starred in Umrao Jaan, Her portrayal is considered to be one of her career-best performances, and she was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actress for it. Now Rekha was no loger a glamourous item but was being approached for challenging roles.
Rekha starred in Ramesh Talwar's family drama Baseraa, which saw her playing a woman who marries her sister's husband after the latter loses her mental balance. She appeared as Sadhna in the commercially successful Ek Hi Bhool (1981), opposite Jeetendra, playing the role of a betrayed wife who leaves her husband. In 1982, she received another Filmfare nomination for Jeevan Dhaara, in which she played a young unmarried woman who is the sole breadwinner of her extended family. In 1983, she took the supporting role of a lawyer in Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye, garnering another Filmfare nomination in the Supporting Actress category.
Shyam Benegal took her in Kalyug (1981), Govind Nihalani's in Vijeta (1982), Girish Karnad's Utsav (1984) and Gulzar's Ijaazat (1987), were few of her films where her performance was appreciated. Apart from parallel cinema, Rekha took on other increasingly serious, even adventurous roles; she was among the early actresses to play lead roles in heroine-oriented films, one such film being Khoon Bhari Maang in 1988. She won her second Filmfare Award for her performance in the film. 
In the 90s most of the actresses of her generation, like Hema Malini and Raakhee, who succumbed to playing character parts, typically of mothers and aunts, Rekha was still playing leading roles at a time when younger female stars rose to fame. Rekha retained success with her starring role as Namrata Singh, a young woman who joins the police force to avenge her husband's death in K. C. Bokadia's Phool Bane Angaray (1991). The film was a box-office hit and Rekha received a Best Actress nomination at Filmfare for her work.
In 1996 she did,  her first negative role as Madam Maya, a vicious gangster woman running a secret business of illegal wrestling matches in the US, who, during the course of the film, romances the much younger Akshay Kumar. Her portrayal earned her several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Star Screen Award for Best Villain in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi.
In the 2000s, Rekha appeared in relatively few movies. In Rakesh Roshan's science-fiction film Koi... Mil Gaya, Rekha played Sonia Mehra, a single mother to a developmentally disabled young man, played by Hrithik Roshan. The movie was a financial and critical success and became the most popular film of the year; Rekha received another Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Filmfare for her performance, 
From the giggling village belle in Saawan Bhadon to one of the country's reigning actresses, Rekha has come a long way. A  Well, known critic Omar Qureshi once said, "the term diva (in India) was coined for Rekha".

Song Sawan Bhadon 1970

Song of Rampur Ka Laxman 1972

Song of Kahani Kismat Ki (1973)

Song of Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye 1974

Song of Do Anjaane (1976)

Song of Ghar 1978

Song of Mukkadar Ka Sikandar 1978

Song of  Khoobsurat 1980

Song of Umrao Jaan 1981

Song of Ijajat 1987