50 Years of Sharmilee

 

Sharmilee was released on 23rd March 1971. The film was a hit with hit music given by S D Burman and lyrics by Neeraj. Shashi Kapoor was the hero and Rakhi was in a double role, one a shy mellow young woman, and the other a spontaneous extrovert.

The film was based on a novel of Gulshan Nanda, who was a very popular Hindi novelist of that time, almost all the films based on his novels were successful. The film was produced by Subodh Mukherjee and directed by Sameer Ganguly

It's the story of twin sisters - Kanchan and Kaamini,  Kaamini is an extrovert, and the ultramodern girl whom any boy may fall for whereas, on the contrary, Kanchan is a shy girl who speaks very less and is hesitant to interact with strangers. 

Shashi Kapoor, the prospective groom and his family members come to see Kanchan decide on a matrimonial alliance, Shashi Kapoor who met Kamini once misunderstood Kanchan as Kamini , he agreed to the proposal. 

When he came to know of the fact it's Kaamini whom he had met and got smitten by, he refuses to marry Kanchan. Kaamini who was earlier ready to marry Shashi Kapoor who was an army officer flees away from her house on the D-Day and it is known after some time that her car met with an accident. Though her dead body is not found, there's enough evidence that she is no more. Now to save the prestige of the family, the parents of the sisters marry Kanchan to Ajit. Though Kanchan tells this fact to Ajit in a letter prior to the marriage, Ajit remains unaware of it because that letter is not allowed to reach him. He marries Kanchan mistaking her for Kaamini and comes to know the truth on their first conjugal night. Feeling betrayed and heartbroken, he returns to the army base, leaving a weeping Kanchan behind.

One fine day Ajit ( Shashi Kapoor) was assigned the responsibility by his superior to catch some traitors spying for the enemy country. These traitors include a young female also and Ajit is shocked like anything to find that her face is the same as that of his sweetheart. Who is she - Kanchan or Kaamini ? 

Shashi Kapoor and Raakhee have done brilliantly in lead roles. Raakhee deserves special mention for her superb performance in the twin roles which are polar apart from each other.

The highlight of the film is its music The film has 7 songs,  Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan is the most popular song sung separately by both Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar for Shashi Kapoor and Raakhee respectively. Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat (Lata singing beautifully in the classical Raag - Madhuranjani), Aaj Madhosh Hua Jaaye Re Mera Mann (Lata-Kishore), Reshmi Ujaala Hai Makhmali Andhera Hai (Asha Bhosle), Kaise Kahen Hum Pyar Ne Humko Kya Kya Khel Dikhaaye (Kishore) and the title track (O Meri Sharmilee) sung again by Kishore Da; all are quality songs 

#	Title	Singer(s)
1	"Megha Chhaye Aadhi Raat"	Lata Mangeshkar
2	"Reshmi Ujala Hai Makhmali Andhera"	Asha Bhosle
3	"Aaj Madhosh Hua Jaye Re"	Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
4	"Kaise Kahen Ham"	Kishore Kumar
5	"Khilte Hain Gul Yahan" (Male)	Kishore Kumar
6	"O Meri Sharmilee"	Kishore Kumar
7	"Khilte Hain Gul Yahan" (Female)	Lata Mangeshka

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Shashi Kapoor - India’s first global star

Shashi Kapoor(18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film Dharmputra. He started as a child artist with his brother Raj Kapoor's directorial Aag (1948). He became global with Merchant Ivory productions The Householder (1963),
The Householder was the first collaboration between producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, a documentary filmmaker till then. They went on to make nearly forty films together, many of which were written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Shashi Kapoor worked in seven films made under the Merchant–Ivory Productions banner: The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, Bombay Talkie, Heat and Dust—all directed by James Ivory—and three films by three other directors—The Deceivers, In Custody and Side Streets.
Shooting for the film started in 1961 and was completed in 1963. It was made in two versions, Hindi and English, the latter was picked by Columbia Pictures. It was a huge hit — both with critics and audiences — for a film that was made on a budget of $125,000.
After The Householder, Shashi Kapoor signed their next film, Shakespeare Wallah.It was released in 1965, this was a film about a traveling troupe of actors who perform Shakespeare plays in India. Satyajit Ray gave the music for the film, and Madhur Jaffrey won the Best Actress award (Silver Bear) for 15th Berlin International Film Festival.
Pretty Polly (also known as A Matter of Innocence) was a 1967 British film, directed by Guy Green and based on the short story Pretty Polly Barlow by Noël Coward. It stars Hayley Mills, Shashi Kapoor, Trevor Howard, and Brenda De Banzie.
Bombay Talkie (1970) was the next film Shashi Kapoor did with them. Jeniffer Kapoor, his wife was the heroine of that film. You would be surprised to note that Amitabh Bachchan played a minuscule role in the movie. The music of the film was given by Shankar Jaikishan.
Siddhartha was a 1972 Indo-American film based on the novel of the same name by Hermann Hesse, directed by Conrad Rooks.Shashi played Sidhartha and Simi played Kamla in this film. Simi Garewal's nude scene caused controversy in India. The Indian Censor Board, at that time, did not even permit on-screen kissing in Indian films.
Heat and Dust (1983) was the next film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. It stars Greta Scacchi, Shashi Kapoor, and Julie Christie. Heat and Dust was based on the novel written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, which won the Booker Prize in 1975. The screenplay for the film was written by the writer herself. It  was Merchant Ivory's biggest commercial success 
The other films he acted are Sammy And Rosie Get Laid(1987), The Deceivers (1988), In Custody (1993),Jinnah (1998) and Side Streets(1998),

Songs of Bombay Talkie 1970

Songs of Bombay Talkie 1970

Songs of Bombay Talkie 1970

Songs of Bombay Talkie 1970

Songs of Bombay Talkie 1970

Shashi Kapoor - The Man who made many Meaningful Films not Money

Shashi Kapoor spent all his earnings from commercial potboilers in producing memorable films like “Junoon”, “Kalyug”, “Vijeta”  " Utsav" and  “36 Chowringhee Lane”. under his banner Filmvalas. All of these films were critically acclaimed but were commercially unsuccessful. The last film under this Banner was Ajooba starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor was a disaster.
Shashi Kapoor and his wife, Jennifer Kendal, wanted to make accessible arthouse films. They decided to start their own banner, The name was inspired by “Shakespeare Wallah", the title given to Shashi Kapoor’s father-law Geoffrey Kendal. The first film under their banner Film Valas was "Junoon" released in 1978. The film was directed by Shyam Benegal. The film is based on Ruskin Bond's fictional novella, A Flight of Pigeons, set around the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The film's soundtrack was composed by Vanraj Bhatia and cinematography by Govind Nihalani. The film was critically acclaimed and got many Awards. Won National Film Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Cinematography and Best Audiography. The film was an average in Box office. Junoon cost ₹34-odd lakh. It was a happy experience even though he didn’t make any money on it. Junoon eventually covered its investment. It would have even made a profit had he been a good businessman.
After Junoon came Kalyug and 36 Chowringhee Lane both released in 1981. Aparna (Sen) came to him with the story. He loved the script, and he wanted Shyam Benegal to direct it, but she said she was going to direct the film. That was a suicidal film—it was in English, made for between ₹ 18-24 lakh. (Its) cinematographer Ashok Mehta wasn’t cheap to work with. Vanraj Bhatia gave the music—whatever was state-of-the-art had to be used. He never compromised with the budget.
Kalyug was released on 24th July 1981. It was known as a modern-day version of the Indian epic Mahabharat, depicting an archetypal conflict between rival business houses. Kalyug went on to win the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 1982. The film was not a flop but recovered its cost.
Vijeta was the next film of this banner but Utsav was also planned simultaneously. Girish Karnad had written a great script. Shashi wanted Amitabh (Bachchan) to play the part he eventually played. But Amitabh couldn’t do the role. The movie got postponed because of dates. In January 81, Shashi went to Delhi for a film festival, where he met Dilbagh Singh, chief of air staff of the Indian Air Force. The Air Force was celebrating its golden jubilee. Dilbagh Singh said I will give you whatever you want to make a film promoting the Air Force. Govind (Nihalani) too wanted to do something on the Air Force. Vijeta happened overnight. The shooting started in April. The Air Force provided the facilities, but Shashi paid for the film. The film was once again an average earner. It got Filmfare award for Best Cinematographer, Best Editing and best sound recording.
Utsav released in 1984 started on a disastrous note. A set near Udupi in Karnataka was blown off in a cyclone. The income-tax department raided Rekha on the first day of the shoot. It cost ₹2 crore, though it was originally supposed to be about ₹ 1.2 crores. Utsav also had an English version, so there were two takes of everything. Shashi dubbed the film in London. His wife was in a hospital at the time (Jennifer Kendal was suffering from cancer, and died in London in 1984).
Shashi Kapoor was financially wiped out by Utsav. Instead of filling his coffers, it worked him into a completely negative zone. He was in debt, he now wanted to make a commercial film to wipe out his debts. He started Ajooba with Amitabh and Rishi Kapoor this time he directed the film. The film was made in Russian also. This film was produced in association with Gorky Film Studio in Moscow. There are several Russian stars whose speech is not in sync with Hindi dialogues. Supposedly Amitabh Bachchan worked in this film gratis, as a favour to his longtime collaborator and friend Shashi Kapoor. The film had a budget of ₹80 million, which was amongst the highest at the time.
In India, the film flopped at the box office, despite managing to do a net business of ₹45 million. Later, by selling the satellite rights Shashi Kapoor able to recover all his investment and subsequently it became an earner as of today. In contrast, the film was a financial success in the Soviet Union, where it was released in two parts. It was the last successful collaboration between the Indian and Soviet film industries.
Shashi Kapoor's son Kunal Kapoor said in an interview "Ajooba wasn’t and isn’t a good film. We didn’t let him make another one after that. We were so much in debt. Sanjna (Kunal Kapoor’s sister) was still a child. Karan (his brother) and I were supporting the house. I started making commercials. We are all bad businessmen. We are brilliant at spending money".

Song of Junoon 1978

Song of Kalyug 1981

Song of Vijeta 1982

Song of Utsav 1984

Song of Ajooba 1991

Shashi Kapoor-The Great Romantic Hero

Shashi Kapoor’s real romance with wife Kendal, an English actor, remains one of Bollywood’d most enduring love stories.He was considered a great romantic hero next to Dev Anand. Though his brother Shammi Kapoor too considered as a great romantic hero of the 60s but he was one of the first leading men in Bollywood to romance his leading ladies in spectacular backdrops like Shimla and Kashmir.
 Some of his most popular romantic songs were shot at marvelous locations which sprung to life with his stellar performances and unmatched charm.The first film which made him the successful romantic hero image was Jab Jab Phool Khile starring Nanda. Following that they worked together in many films.

Though he did the grinning, romantic-hero parts very well, he showed an unexpected flair for comedy, and had a reassuring integrity in serious, dramatic scenes, he could seem a bit one-dimensional in commercial films. 
He was also the first actor to work in Western films, starring in several Merchant Ivory productions, a company run by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory; the outings included The Householder (1963), Shakespeare Wallah (1965), Bombay Talkie (1970) and Heat and Dust (1982) in which he co-starred with his wife Jennifer Kendal, The Deceivers (1988) and Side Streets (1998).

 He set up Prithvi Theatre, he also set up his own production house, Film Valas, which produced critically acclaimed films such as Junoon (1978), Kalyug (1981), 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), Vijeta (1982) and Utsav (1984), much later, in 1991 he directed his first Hindi film, a fantasy titled Ajooba which had his co-star Bachchan and nephew Rishi Kapoor in the lead. Kapoor was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2011 and the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2015.
He died on December 4, 2017  at the age of 79 .He is survived by two sons, Kunal and Karan, and a daughter, Sanjana, who takes care of the Prithvi Theatre.

Some of his great romantic Songs

Song from Jab Jab Phool Khile 1965

Song from  Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare 1966

Song from Dil Ne Pukara  1967

Song from Haseena Maan Jayegi  1968

Song from Kanyadaan 1968

Song from Pyar Ka Mausam 1969

Song from Sharmilee 1971

Song from Chor Machaye Shor 1974

Song from Fakira 1976

 

Flop Sons of Hit Dads Of Bollywood

Every parent wants their children to walk on their footsteps and follow the legacy.Bollywood stars too want their children to make a career in acting and rule the industry the way they did.Bollywood is a piece of cake for star kids. But there are few who enjoy success in the industry and make their own identity. Here are some of the ‘flop sons’ of Bollywood’s ‘hit father’.

Let's start with Dev Anand,whose son Suneil Anand was introduced from the film  Anand aur Anand (1984).could not succeed.Similarly Raj Kapoor's Son Rajeev Kapoor(Chimpu Kapoor) who was introduced in 1983 with Ek Jaan Hain Hum couldn't succeed in films.

Parikshit Sahni- Son of great Balraj Sahni started with 1968 film Anokhi Raat along with Sanjeev Kumar. got  an independent film as Hero in 1970 Pavitra Paapi opposite Tanuja as his heroine could not make it big in Bollywood.Though he worked as Character actor in many films but he was not as successful as his father.He has also appeared in three of Rajkumar Hirani's blockbuster films Lage Raho Munna Bhai, 3 Idiots, and PK.

Puru Rajkumar- the son of veteran actor Raj Kumar. He was launched in the 1996 film Bal Bramhachari, which was released only a few months after his father’s death, but unfortunately flopped. After a three-year gap, Puru returned with a negative role in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, which was a hit. He also had a cameo in Mission Kashmir in the same year (2000). But his career went downhill after that .

Kumar Gaurav -Rajendra Kumar's son who made his debut with a super hit film Love Story in 1981.After that he came as hero in many films like Star (1982) Lovers,Romance in 1983,Hum Hain Lajawab, All Rounder and Divorce in 1984.None of his films clicked at Box Office. He has been successfully paired with almost all young ladies of ’80s – Poonam Dillon, Rati Agnihotri, Neelam, Vijeyta Pandit, Madhuri Dixit and Padmini Kolhapure. Yet his pairing with Vijeyta Pandit in their debut movie is still remembered most. His revival project, Phool with the top actress Madhuri Dixit, couldn’t give success though its melodious songs were noticed.He produced his earlier films Janam and Naam, his father tried to revive his career with the 1993 film Phool which also had his father and father-in-law Sunil Dutt in supporting roles. However, it didn't bring him any luck either.

Kunal Kapoor-Son of the late actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal,Made his debut with  Ahista Ahista (1981 film) opposite Padmini Kolhapure as well as Vijeta (1982 film).He could not succeed,In 1985, he stopped acting after Trikal to set up his own company, Adfilm-Valas, to producing and direct television commercials. His younger brother Karan Kapoor who got fame from modeling also came in Bollywood with Sultanat (1986) opposite Juhi Chawla as well as later in Loha (1987 film)with Dharmendra but he too could not make it big in bollywood. Karan now runs a photography company in UK.

Kunal Goswami-Made his film debut as a child star in Kranti (1981) which was directed by his father Manoj Kumar. He acted in B-grade movies such as Ghungroo, Kalakaar and Paap Ki Kamee.  His acting didn't take off as well as he would have liked, so he went in to the catering business in Delhi. He decided to give acting a second shot, and his father directed him again in Jai Hind (1999).

Bobby Deol - the son of Bollywood actor Dharmendra and the brother of Sunny Deol made  debut with Twinkle Khanna in the 1995 Bollywood film Barsaat, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Deol was awarded the Filmfare Best Debut Award for his role in the 1995 film Barsaat  After that he gave some hit filmslike  Gupt(1997), Soldier (1998), Badal (2000), Bichhoo (2000), Ajnabee (2001), Humraaz (2002), Tango Charlie (2005), Apne (2007), and Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011).

Fardeen Khan-Son of famous actor Firoz Khan, Fardeen Khan debuted in Bollywood in 1998 with his movie ‘Prem Agan’. In his 12 years career of Bollywood, he did movies like ‘Jungle’, ‘Pyar Tune Kya Kiya’, ‘Fida’, ‘Dev’, and ‘All the Best’, but most of his movies couldn’t impress audience much.His cousin brother Zayed Khan son of Sanjay Khan  made his screen debut in 2003 in the film Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne,He is known for his performance as Lakshman a.k.a. Lucky in Main Hoon Na (2004), Aditya Singh in Dus (2005), Vikky Khanna in Fight Club - Members Only (2006), Danny Yuvvraaj in Yuvvraaj (2008), and as Sam/Aditya in Blue (2009).

Tusshar Kapoor-son of veteran actor Jeetendra and younger brother to Ekta Kapoor.made his debut with  the blockbuster Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai,(2001).along with Kareena Kapoor.He received the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his work in the film. He then starred as Rahul in coming of age film Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa alongside Esha Deol.He worked in many commercial hits such as Khakee (2004), Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005), Golmaal (2006), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007) But he has not made it big.

Rahul Khanna-He is the son of actor Vinod Khanna.He made his feature film debut in Deepa Mehta's 1947 Earth (1999), alongside Aamir Khan. His performance earned him several awards including the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. His younger brother is Akshay Khanna made his acting debut in Bollywood in 1997 with the movie Himalay Putra, which was produced by his father and went without much success at box office.After that a string of unsuccessful films followed such as Mohabbat (1997), Kudrat (1998), Laawaris (1999), Love You Hamesha (1999) and Dahek (1999).followed.In 1999, he starred in Rishi Kapoor's Aa Ab Laut Chalen; though the film did average business, he was praised for his acting. He next starred in Subhash Ghai's Taal opposite Aishwarya Rai.In 2001, Khanna appeared in Farhan Akhtar's cult classic Dil Chahta Hai. This marked a turning point in his career: the film was a commercial and critical success and Khanna's performance was particularly applauded, later validated by Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002.

Mimoh Chakraborty- the son of original disco dancer of Bollywood, Mithun Chakraborty. Leave alone not matching up to his father’s  renowned dancing skills, Mimoh’s acting career took a downward spiral after his debut film Jimmy in 2008. The 2013 release Enemmy with father also tanked.

Aarya Babbar-the son of actor turned politician Raj Babbar and theatre personality Nadira Babbar. He started his film career with Raj Kanwar's Ab Ke Baras alongside Amrita Rao in 2002.He has worked with stalwarts like Mani Ratnam, Madhur Bhandarkar and Vikram Bhatt. Also he appeared in films such as Yaar Annmulle, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and Ready.

Pratik Babbar  -The son of late actress Smita Patil and Raj Babbar, he began his career as a production assistant before pursuing an acting career.He made his screen debut with the 2008 film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, and was praised for his performance in the film.Babbar played a variety of roles in 2011, appearing in commercially viable projects such as the crime thriller Dum Maro Dum and the political drama Aarakshan, while drawing the attention of critics for his performances in independent films, including the drama Dhobi Ghat and the romantic comedy My Friend Pinto.