50 Years of Bawarchi

 

One year after the release of Anand, this film 'Bawarchi' remains a special collaboration of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Rajesh Khanna. Both were at the peak of their career. The film rests on Khanna’s inherent charm and even feeds off of his manic energy that was on full display previously in Anand.

The movie opens with Bachchan saying that this story is set anywhere in India. He then introduces the Sharmas, who live in Shanti Niwas — the family home that should, as one of them jokes, actually be called Ashanti Niwas, given the amount of chaos and squabbling that takes place within its confines on a daily basis.

Produced under the banner of Rupam Chitra by N C Sippy, Romu Sippy, and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Based on a story by Tapan Sinha and inspired by his original “Galpa Halo Satyi” (1966) in Bengali

Shivnath (Harindranath Chattopadhyay) is the head of the Sharma family, who are so thoroughly argumentative that they employed. So when plucky young chef Raghu (Rajesh Khanna) shows up, nobody expects him to last long. To their surprise, however, he proves remarkably adept at satisfying everyone's independent needs. No sooner do they think him their savior than all the jewelry suddenly disappears.

A simple but profound, absorbing film with characteristic Mukherjee comic interludes, it had a somewhat, probably redone, unconvincing, simplistic climax. Scripted by the director himself with some very engaging, profound dialogue by Gulzar, the film had songs with  lyrics by Kaifi Azmi — “Bhor aai gaya Andhiyara” (Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Nirmala Devi, Lakshmi Shankar), “Kahe Kanha karat barjori” (Lakshmi Shankar), “Mast pawan dole re” and “More naina bhaven neer” (Lata Mangeshkar), “Pahle Chori Phir Seenajori” (Kumari Faiyaz) and “Tun bin Jeevan” (Manna Dey) set to hummable classical tunes by the much under-rated Madan Mohan.

The film won comedian Paintal his first Filmfare trophy and ranked 8th on the box office hit chart of the year. So if you have not seen it, go and enjoy the movie

Song of Bawarchi 1972

Song of Bawarchi 1972

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50 Years of 'Anand'

 

The characteristic of a great film is a story well presented on screen so as to grab the attention as well as the emotion of the audience. Anand had all the ingredients of a great film. Produced and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee,, co-written and dialogue by Gulzar starring Rajesh Khanna in the lead role, with a supporting cast including Amitabh Bachchan.

The film was released on 12th March 1971  won several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 1972.  The film was a super hit and the third highest-grossing film of 1971. It has since gained a cult following and is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made.

Besides getting the Best Film Award, it also got: Best Actor: Rajesh Khanna.  Best Supporting Actor: Amitabh Bachchan,  Best Dialogue: Gulzar,  Best Editing: Hrishikesh Mukherjee,  Best Story: Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film also got National Award for the Best Hindi Film.

The film has everything excellent. Acting, direction, story, music, dialogues etc... everything is fabulous. It has drama, humour, emotions in dollops. It is a story of a dying man who looks at life with a positive attitude and enjoys his time knowing fully well his disease is incurable and that he is going to die soon.

Rajesh Khanna as Anand was absolutely brilliant, Amitabh Bachchan was fantastic as Babumoshai. Another highlight was its music by Salil Chowdurywho comes up with an absolutely fantastic score and singers Mukhesh and Manna Dey do complete justice to his tunes.

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Lyricist	Duration
1	"Kahin Door Jab" (Male)	Mukesh	Yogesh	05:52
2	"Maine Tere Liye"	Mukesh	Gulzar	03:09
3	"Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli"[14]	Manna Dey	Yogesh	03:30
4	"Kahin Door Jab" (Female)	Lata Mangeshkar	Yogesh	03:48
5	"Na Jiya Lage Na"	Lata Mangeshkar	Gulzar	03:22
6	"Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai"	Amitabh Bachchan	Gulzar	00:47

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Hrishikesh Mukherjee- 'Anand 'was one of his Masterpieces

 Hrishikesh Mukherjee was a brilliant director. The films he directed could make you cry, they could make you laugh, and they could make you laugh even while you cried. Some of his most notable films include Anari(1959), Anuradha (1960), Asli Naqli(1962, Anupama(1966), Aashirwad(1968), Satyakam(1969))., Guddi (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Abhimaan (1973), Namak Haraam (1973), Mili (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), Gol Maal (1979), Khubsoorat(1980) and Anand(1971)

This film Anand was in his mind for many years, he wanted to cast Raj Kapoor as Anand but it couldn't be materialized. He then thought of Kishore Kumar as Anand and Mehmood as Babu Moshai. The term "Babu Moshai" means "a great gentleman." Raj Kapoor often affectionately addressed Hrishikesh Mukherjee with this term, just as Anand addresses Banerjee in the film. There is also a story about how Kishore Kumar couldn't become Anand.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee went to sign Kishore Kumar for the film after discussing the project with him. On reaching Kishore Kumar's house his watchman did not allow Hrishi Da to enter the bungalow. As Kishore Kumar had instructed him not to allow a Bengali man inside the bungalow who would come to meet him. Kishore Kumar had done a musical concert for a Bengali organizer who did not pay him and they both had a fight. His watchman mistook Hrishikesh Mukherjee of being that Bengali man. When the shooting for the film started Kishore Kumar came to know about it and went to meet Hrishikesh Mukherjee and asked him why didn't he come to sign him when Hrishikesh Mukherjee told him the reason. Kishore Kumar went and blasted his watchman. The incident hurt Mukherjee and he decided not to work with Kishore Kumar. Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well.  Rajesh Khanna.was offered the role, by that time he became a superstar. This film was shot in 28 days. Rajesh Kanna was a very busy actor by that time, even then he gave Hrishi Da the uninterrupted dates to him. Rajesh Khanna had great regards for him, he wanted to work with him. He worked with him in his subsequent films Bawarchi(1972) and Namak Haram(1973).

The film was successful and got the National Award as Best Film and also many Filmfare awards such as Best Film, Best Actor,(Rajesh Khanna), Best Supporting Actor(Amitabh Bachchan), Best Dialogue(Gulzar), Best Editor(Hrishikesh Mukharjee), and Best Story(Hrishikesh Da) Seldom do we come across films that get it all right and that is what makes Anand immortal, as Dr. Bhaskar says in the end after writing his book on his inspiration—Anand mara nahi, Anand marte nahi (Anand hasn’t died, people like Anand don’t die)

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

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50 Years of Satyakam

Corruption and Honesty was the relevant subject 50 years ago. Unemployment, continual poverty and rampant corruption are severely undermining institutions all around. This subject is more relevant today but no film on this subject is being made today. Satyakam is a classic movie on this subject released in 1969. This film was produced by Dharmendra and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, based on a Bengali novel of the same name by Narayan Sanyal. The film stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjeev Kumar, and Ashok Kumar. The film was scored by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
This is considered to be Dharmendra's finest acting performance of his career. This film also won the National Film Award For Best Feature Film in Hindi. Today we may laugh at the sarcasm contained in Rajinder Singh Bedi's acrid dialogue in the film: "Yeh aadmi (about dharmendra) bahut hi badmaash aur paaji hai. Rishvat vagerah nahin khaata 

The film opens with Sanjeev Kumar's voiceover describing the plight of the mythical Satyakamjabala who takes on his mother's name because of his questionable fatherhood. While the drama begins in 1946, the narrative actually takes place in post-Independence India.
Satyapriya (Dharmendra)  is raised in an ashram by his grandfather, Satyadarshan Acharya (Ashok Kumar), a staunch nationalist and a Sanskrit scholar. He studies engineering gets a job in United Paper Mill in a princely state soon after Independence but is disillusioned when repeatedly asked to compromise his ideals.

While struggling between his principles and conscience he meets Ranjana (Sharmila Tagore), daughter of a prostitute, who is pregnant after a criminal assault. Satyapriya marries the hapless girl, and soon a son is born. This relationship was not acceptable to his graHe moved He  moved from one town to another, from one job to another because of his unwillingness to compromise his honesty. Destiny lands him a job where he has to work under Narendra's supervision. Narendra(Sanjeev Kumar) was his class fellow in engineering. Narendra's philosophy of life was that to succeed and survive one has to make adjustments.
Satyapriya and Ranjana also have their share of marital conflicts. She tries to lead a normal life and longs to forget her past. Satyapriya is constantly reminded of his failure and appears to make up for it by increasing rigidity about applying his principles in real life. 

Struggling professionally, he is struck by an incurable and fatal illness. In the end, hospitalised and unable to even speak, Satyapriya is pursued by an unscrupulous contractor seeking approval for a badly executed civil project, in lieu of which the contractor would give him a substantial sum that would take care of Satyapriya's wife Ranjana and their child after his death. One moment he thought of accepting the offer but Ranjana, his wife does not want to see him falter at the end stage of his life. She tears apart the documents and finds him smiling at her. Although unable to speak, Satyapriya is clearly happy that he was able to convert at least one person to his idealist worldview.
On learning of Satyapriya's condition, his grandfather "Daddaji" comes visiting him.After his passing, the grandfather makes some excuses about not feeling responsible for Satyapriya's widow and child, and is about to leave for his Gurukula. At that moment, Satyapriya and Ranjana's child (Sarika) publicly speaks out saying the real reason is that the grandfather is unsure of his, i.e. Satyapriya and Ranjana's child's paternity.
Sanjeev Kumar shows all signs of an actor on the rise. He plays the sutradhaar, whose voiceover carries the entire movie till the end. Ashok Kumar in a strong cameo heightens the drama and brings justice to the irony of the climax.

The film was one of the best films of Hrishikesh Mukharjee, the only drawback of the film was it's music. The film didn't do well on the Box Office.Like a torch bearer of truth in the darkness of the present age, Satyakam will live on as long as the validity of truth will exist.

Song of Satyakam 1969

Song of Satyakam 1969

Song of Satyakam 1969

A Tribute to HRISHIKESH MUKHARJI on his 94th Birth Anniversary

Poularly Known as Hrishi Da,born on 30 September 1922 at Calcutta.He was  a Bollywood well known Director known for a number of films, 

He started his film career as a cameraman, and then film editor, in B. N. Sircar's New Theatres Calcutta in the late 1940s, where he learned his skills from Subodh Mitter ('Kenchida'), a well known editor of his times.He then worked with Bimal Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951, participating in the landmark Roy films Do Bigha Zamin and Devdas.

His debut directorial venture, Musafir (1957), was not a success, but he persisted and received acclaim for his second film Anari in 1959.
Some of his most notable films include: Anuradha (1960), Asli-Naqli (1962), Anand (1971), Anupama (1966), Aashirwad(1968), Satyakam (1969), Guddi (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Abhimaan (1973), Namak Haraam (1973), Mili (1975), Chupke Chupke (1975), Gol Maal (1979), Khubsoorat(1980) and Bemisal (1982).His last film was Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate released in 1998.
Beside Directing he was also an Editor of many films.Some of the fims in which he was only the Editor were Parineeta,1953,Devdas1955, Garam Coat 1955,Madhumati 1958,Dastak 1970 and Coolie 1983.
Ill-health has increasingly curtailed his activities.  He was admitted to Leelavati Hospital in Mumbai early on Tuesday, 6 June 2006 after he complained of uneasiness. Mukherjee died ten weeks later on 27 August 2006.He has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award,

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was a brilliant director. The films he directed could make you cry, they could make you laugh, and they could make you laugh even while you cried.Here I have selected  Ten masterpieces from the treasure trove that Mukherjee left behind for his fans.
Anari 1959

Anari was a 1959 film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Motilal and Lalita Pawar. The music was by Shankar Jaikishan and the lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri as well as Shailendra. Among the few movies that Lalita Pawar played a positive role and Motilal a role with shades of grey.

The film got 5 major Filmfare Awards.Best Hero to Raj Kapoor,Best Music to Shankar Jaikishan
,Best Lyrics to Shailendra,Best Male Playback Singer to Mukesh and Best Supporting Actress 
to Lalita Pawar.This film got the President's Silver Medal for Best Film.
Asli Naqli

Asli-Naqli  was a 1962 Hindi movie produced by L.B Lachman and L.B Thakur. The film is directed byHrishikesh Mukherjee and stars Dev Anand, Sadhana Shivdasani, Leela Chitnis, Anwar Hussain, Sandhya Roy and Keshto Mukherjee. The film's music is by Shankar Jaikishan and lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. The film became a box office hit.The film is refreshing with brilliant acting by all the cast and is very competently directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.All the songs were well picturised and were very popular.

Anupama 1966

Anupama was a 1966 Hindi film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The movie stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Shashikala, Deven Verma and Durga Khote. 

The film was critically acclaimed and was nominated for several Filmfare Awards and did 'Above Average' business at the Indian Box Office.The music for the movie was composed by Hemant Kumar and the lyrics were written by Kaifi Azmi. The movie includes most popular song such as Dheere Dheere Machalpicturised on Surekha & Tarun Bose, sung by Lata Mangeshkar and composed by Hemant Kumar.

Satyakam 1969

Satyakam is a 1969 Indian Hindi film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, based on a Bengali novel of the same name byNarayan Sanyal. The film stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjeev Kumar, and Ashok Kumar. The music for this film is given by Laxmikant Pyarelal.This is considered to be Dharmendra's finest acting performance of his career.

This film was made in 1969. By this time, disillusionment with post-independence expectations had begun to take root across India. Unemployment, continual poverty and rampant corruption were severely undermining institutions all around. In a way, the film underlines a gradual disappearance of the followers of absolutism.

It won 1971 Filmfare Best Dialogue Award for Rajinder Singh Bedi. The movie also won National Film Award For Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Anand 1971

Anand  was a 1971 Indian drama film co-written and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It stars Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan in lead roles, with Khanna playing the title role. The dialogues were written by Gulzar. The film won several awards including the Filmfare award for best film in 1972.Rajesh Khanna got Best Hero Award for this film.

Anand was originally supposed to star actors Kishore Kumar and Mehmood in lead roles.The character Babu Moshai was to be played by Mehmood. Mukherjee was asked to meet Kishore Kumar to discuss the project. However, when he went to Kishore Kumar's residence, he was driven away by the gatekeeper due to a misunderstanding.The incident hurt Mukherjee and he decided not to work with Kumar.

The film got National Award for Best Film.

Bawarchi 1972

Bawarchi was a 1972 Indian film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee starring Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Badhuri with Asrani, A.K. Hangal, Usha Kiran and Durga Khote in supporting roles.The movie was inspired by the Bengali film Galpa Holeo Satyi (1966) by Tapan Sinha.

The story is centered around the squabbling Sharma family, headed by their eccentric Daduji (Harindranath Chattopadhyay), which has a dubious reputation of the inability to retain a cook for more than a few months due to their ill treatment of their servants. The family's disrepute spreads to such an extent that no person wants to be employed as a cook in their home, ironically named Shanti Niwas.

Then one day a young man named Raghu (Rajesh Khanna) offers to work as a cook, and is hired. Raghu, however, lives up to this challenge & becomes the apple in the eye of every inmate of Shanti Niwas. 

Abhiman 1973

Abhimaan was a 1973 Bollywood musical drama film starring Amitabh Bachchan; his real-life wife, Jaya Bachchan; Asrani; and Bindu. It was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
The film is perhaps best remembered for its songs, composed and arranged by the late S. D. Burman, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and sung by playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and Kishore Kumar. Film was declared Hit by Trade Guide,

The film was also a turning point for Bindu, who, for the first time, played a sympathetic character. Previously, she was known for playing vamps/cabaret dancers, such as in Amitabh's star-making hit Zanjeer (1973).This film was very popular in Sri Lanka more than in India and was screened continuously for 590 days in the same cinema, Empire, Colombo.
Chupke Chupke 1975

Chupke Chupke  was a 1975  comedy film starring Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, Usha Kiran, David Abraham Cheulkar, Asrani and Keshto Mukherjee. The movie, a remake of the Bengali movie Chhadmabeshi, was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee based on Upendranath Ganguly's Bengali story Chhadobeshi. with music composed by S.D. Burman. This film is highly remembered for Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan's comic act which came in the same year when all time blockbuster Sholay was released.

 “Chupke Chupke” is a classic example of a film where you smile almost all the way through. Nobody drops his pyjamas. Nobody slips over a banana peel. Nobody indulges in innuendos. It is that kind which has humour as its lifeline. Its Hindi-English contests are the stuff of a masterpiece, its one-liners have a timelessness written over them.

Gol Maal 1979

Gol Maal was a 1979 Bollywood comedy movie directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It was produced by Mukherjee andN.C.Sippy with music by Rahul Dev Burman.Along with getting high accolades and praise from several critics, the film became a "Blockbuster" at the box office and gained huge popularity among the masses. Gol Maal, becoming a "Mega Hit" reached the top spot in 1979 in box office collections. It remains popular and is regarded a cult favorite among audiences and also regarded as one of the finest comedies of Indian cinema.

The film highlights the directorial excellence of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. He was a complete filmmaker, who gave tear-jerkers like “Anand” and “Mili” and also sterling comedies like “Chupke Chupke”, “Guddi”, “Khubsoorat” and “Bawarchi”. The background score by Rahul Dev Burman, and of course the four songs, stand out in ‘Gol Maal”, the best being “Aane Wala Pal Jaane Wala Hai”, a glowing tribute to Gulzar, who won the best lyricist award for this lingering Kishore Kumar number. It is an Amol Palekar movie all the way with Utpal Dutt brilliant as ever. It remains a film worth watching many a time!

Hrishikesh Mukherjee had first selected Rekha to enact the heroine's part but felt that he would be wasting a talented actress in film where the hero was the mainstay. He replaced her with Bindya Goswami. The very next year he made Khubsoorat, with Rekha in a pivotal role.

Khubsoorat 1980

Khubsoorat was a 1980  Hindi film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, whose direction together with dialogues by Gulzar.

In Khoobsurat, Rekha played Manju, who shows up at her elder sister Anju's home in Pune soon after Anju is married. Anju's mother-in-law is Nirmala Gupta (Pathak), a stern and no-nonsense lady who makes sure the house runs with clockwork precision. The Gupta household is made up of Nirmala, her husband Dwarka Prasad (Ashok Kumar) and their four sons, of whom two are married and two are unmarried. One of the bachelors is Inder (Rakesh Roshan) and the other is the rock music-loving Jagan (Ranjit Chowdhry).

The film won the 1981 Filmfare Best Movie Award. The lead actress, Rekha, won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role as Manju Dayal .