Prakash Mehra- Who Gave Hindi Cinema a New Definition .

Prakash Mehra(13 July 1939 – 17 May 2009)  was a true entertainer. He changed mainstream Hindi cinema with his sense of drama, Indian emotion, and above all his ear for great music. His songs are still thriving, despite being decades-old. He started off his career with Haseena Maan Jayegi starring Shashi Kapoor and Babita, followed by Mela, and Samadhi which were the perfect formula for a commercial hit. 
With Zanjeer, he started his own banner.  His combination with Amitabh Bachchan proved lethal at the box office. After Zanzeer seven films of this combination ruled the Box office.
He seemed to know the magic of Amitabh the actor which he successfully used in films like 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar', 'Laawaaris', 'Namak Halaal' and 'Sharaabi', all of them major hits, one bigger than the other. 
Amitabh Bachchan once told that he was a dreamer and was never afraid of taking risks. He wanted to make big things in life. He had a film in his mind to cast the boxing legend, Mohammad Ali, with him. He even scheduled a meeting with him and Ali, at the sports icon's US home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
He was the first filmmaker to name Amitabh as Vijay in 'Zanjeer'. Amitabh was Vijay in more than twenty films, some of them made by Manmohan Desai and Yash Chopra.
Music was the strong point of all his films. He always had the veteran music directors Kalyanji- Anandji to score the music for his films but had Bappi Lahiri in two of his most successful films 'Namaak Halaal' and 'Sharaabi' He himself used to write poems, In fact in many of the songs of his films, he wrote the first few lines which formed the themes of the songs and left the rest of the lines to be written by Anjaan, In his first film Haseena Maan Jayegi, he wrote the hit song "O Dilbar Janiye" sung by Mohammad Rafi.
Prakash Mehra also directed & produced Zindagi Ek Jua with actor Anil Kapoor in 1991, which was not a commercial success. In 1996, he introduced veteran actor Raaj Kumar's son Puru Raajkumar in Bal Bramhachari which was also unsuccessful. This was the last film he directed.
 He died on 17 May 2009 in Mumbai of pneumonia and multiple organ failure. 

Song of Haseena Maan Jayegi 1968

Song of Zanzeer 1973

Song of Ek Kunwari Ek Kunwara (1973)

Song of Haath Ki Safai (1974)

Song of Hera Pheri (1976)

Song of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)

Song of Laawaris (1981)

Song of Namak Halaal (1982)

Song of Sharaabi (1984)

Manmohan Desai - The Film Maker that Ruled the Box Office

Manmohan Desai, the Ace Director could achieve the impossible with confidence. The man who firmly believed in the “Lost and Found” formula left behind an indelible mark in Bollywood film history, with films that spun magic with great music, top order performances and thoroughly enjoyable storylines that worked even with a touch of incredulity.
He started his career with a love story Chhalia but he is known for the action-packed multi-starrers such as Amar Akbar Anthony, Naseeb, Suhaag, Parvarish, Coolie, Mard, Desh Premee and Dharam Veer. 
His association with Amitabh Bachchan became legendary. the duo delivered a string of hits – Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish, Suhaag, Naseeb, Desh Premee, Coolie and Mard, with only their last film together Ganga Jamuna Saraswati failing at the box-office.
 Out of the 20 films that Desai directed in his career span of 29 years (1960–1989), as many as 13 films were stupendous hits, a remarkable success ratio for an industry where box-office disasters abound despite huge budgets and star casts.
Apart from Bachchan, Manmohan Desai worked with other leading male stars such as Raj Kapoor in the 1960 film Chhalia, Shammi Kapoor in "Bluffmaster" (1963), Rajesh Khanna in Sachaa Jhutha (1970) and Roti (1974), Randhir Kapoor in Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972), Shashi Kapoor in Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Dharmendra in Dharam Veer (1977). 1977 was an exceptional year for him. All four of his films released that year were huge hits: Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Chacha Bhatija and Dharam Veer. 
As an acknowledgement of Desai's goodwill and his box-office supremacy, stars from Raj Kapoor to Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra made a special appearance in the Desai-directed Naseeb.
Manmohan Desai met his tragic end on March 1st 1994. The man behind megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s career in Bollywood fell to his death from the balcony of his flat when it collapsed. It remains unclear if this was an accident or suicide. Many say he took his life as he could not cope up with failing health and declining career( His last 2 films with Amitabh Bachchan flopped badly).
Beside Hit films he also gave great songs in his films.

Song of Chhalia 1960

Song of Bluff Master 1963

Song of Kismat 1968

Song of Sachaa Jhutha 1970

Song of Raampur Ka Lakshman 1972

Song of Roti 1974

Song of Parvarish 1977

Song of Dharam Veer 1977

Song of  Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of  Naseeb 1981

70s - The Decade Of Masala Movies

Bollywood has long been synonymous with all-singing, all-dancing, melodrama and masala. Masala means a spice mix of everything from action to romance, drama, comedy, and pathos thrown in one film.In Bollywood every decade has some thing special so the 70's was a decade of Action packed films.This was the decade when Amitabh Bachchan emerged as the King of Bollywood.This was the decade of blockbusters like Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewaar,Zanzeer,Don and Yaadon ki Baaraat.
It was a time of some of the most fantastic Stories and Screen plays,over the top costumes (not to mention set design, makeup, art direction, and more), and a cinema that was, in every way, much larger than life. There was loads of action, lots of dhishoom-dhishoom. 
The first half of this decade(upto 1974) was about love and Romance but after Zanzeer the action took over the romance.In 1969 after the release of Aradhana Rajesh Khanna emerged as Super star and became the new heart-throb. From1970 to 1972 was his Peak time,he gave one hit after another. In 1973 emerged Amitabh Bachchan with the release of Zanzeer. This year Bobby also released.The film began the phase of Teenage romance which was over shadowed by the action after the release of Deewar and Sholay in 1975.
In this period Indian film industry was introduced by the angry young man The Great Amitabh Bachchan who became a Living Legend. • While Dev Anand , Rajesh khanna,Jitendra and Dharmendra continued to bask in the glory of back to back hits , the actresses were not far behind.Right from the time of,Vyajanti Mala,Nargis,Sharmila Tagore to Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman,Sridevi, Rekha, Smita Patil became the main attraction of Indian film industry.
Dharmendra was another actor who gave many action films in this decade.Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971),Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973),Jugnu (1973),Sholay (1975),Charas (1976) and Dharamveer 1978 were few of the hit action films in this decade.
This decade saw the rise of Manmohan Desai who was known for his family-centered, action-song-and-dance films which catered to the tastes of the Indian masses and through which he achieved great success. His movies defined a new genre called masala films. A common theme in his films were the lost and found plot where family members would be separated and reunited. He was one of the directors who had a special working relationship with Amitabh Bachchan, He had a string of hits with Amitabh Bachchan in the 70s and early 80s which helped cement Bachchan's status as a superstar of Indian cinema. He worked with Amitabh on Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish, Suhaag, Naseeb, Desh Premee, Coolie, Mard and Ganga Jamuna Saraswati; all but the last were box office successes.
The decade had such stalwarts like Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Manoj Kumar and Shashi Kapoor operating at their peak while Rishi Kapoor and Amol Palekar but this decade was of Amitabh Bachchan who single-handedly bulldozed his way to the top. So final and enduring was his domination that he was dubbed “one man industry.”
Since the masala genre burst onto the scene in the 70s, it has evolved a great deal. The various elements portrayed in a masala film have enthralled audiences from various movie genres. Every age group in India has taken a liking to Masala films, and that’s the reason filmmakers love to get creative with this genre.
 The success rate of masala movies has been exceptional. Many movies that belong to this genre have become blockbusters and superhits. This trend continued in 80s and even in 21st century Masala Movies like Dabang, Dhoom and many more like these films rule the Box Office.
While there has been criticism of masala movies being a mishmash of too many genres, the masses in India have enjoyed watching the variety of masala flicks over the years.

Song from Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971),

Song from Yaadon Ki Baraat 1973

Song from Bobby 1973

Song from Jugnu (1973)

Song from Sholay (1975)

Song from Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song from Parvarish 1977

Song from Suhaag 1979

Prakash Mehra- The Man who Created the Recipe of Masala Films

In the 70s Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai gave birth to the 'formula' film. His films  revolving around a predictable plot, but touching on the social and political situation of the time. Being a smart Bollywood director, Mehra knew that a successful mainstream movie should be like a tasty Thaali, blending a host of ingredients.
Between 1973 and 1990, Prakash Mehra worked with Amitabh Bachchan on 8 films. These movies were not just blockbusters. They remain bookmarks of our cinematic memory. Anyone who grew up watching Hindi movies in the 1970s and 80s, movies like Zanjeer, Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Khoon Pasina, Hera Pheri (1976 film),Laawaris, Namak Halaal and Sharabi would surely agree to that.
Prakash Mehra (13 July 1939 – 17 May 2009) started in the late 1950s as a production controller. In 1968, he directed Shashi Kapoor who played a double role in Haseena Maan Jayegi. . In 1973, he produced and directed Zanjeer,from here began the journey of the  super Hit Producer and Director Prakash Mehra..

Mehra made his finest movies with Bachchan. But he also made some interesting films with other actors too. Such as dacoit dramas: Mela (Sanjay, Feroz Khan and Mumtaz) and Samadhi (Dharmendra, Jaya Bhaduri and Asha Parekh). The latter had the track, Bangle ke peeche teri beri ke neeche, which GenNow can identify with for its remixed version.

And who can forget Haath Ki Safai (Randhir Kapoor, Vinod Khanna and Hema Malini, 1974) with the superhit song, Peene walon ko peene ka bahana chahiye.  All these films fared reasonably well at the cash counters.

By the late 1980s, just like his main actor, Mehra seemed to have lost his touch. But while Bachchan reinvented himself and emerged in a new avatar, the producer-director never bounced back.

Mehra will be remembered. Not merely as the man who gave Big B his first big box-office hit. His better films always had something extra, something special. 

Songs from Prakash Mehra films

Song from Haseena Maan Jayegi (1968)

Song from Zanjeer (1973)

Song from Haath Ki Safai (1974)

Song from Hera Pheri (1976)

Song from Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)

Song from Laawaris (1981)

Song from Namak Halaal (1982)

Song from Sharaabi (1984)