Ghaalib's Representations on Screen

 

I think that there has been no great ghazal singer who hasn’t sung Ghalib’s work, be it, Mehdi Hasan or Jagjit Singh, most of them have sung his ghazals. He is said to have written his first poem at the age of 11, and by 19, was writing verses that became increasingly incomprehensible to even his contemporaries. 

Ghalib's life was the subject of hundreds of plays regularly performed in Northern India and Pakistan. These plays were based on his life and his personal and professional relationships starting from the Parsi Theatre and Hindustani Theatre days.  He remains the topmost poet whose poems are used as songs in Hindi films but he was not shown much on screen. The first time a full feature film was made in 1954 by V Shantaram named Mirza Ghalib (1954) in which Bharat Bhushan plays Ghalib and Suraiya plays his courtesan lover, Chaudvin. 

Gulzar produced a TV serial, Mirza Ghalib (1988), telecast on DD National that was immensely successful in India. Naseeruddin Shah played the role of Ghalib in the serial, and it featured ghazals sung and composed by Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh

 Mirza Ghalib (1954) made by Sohrab Modi won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film and the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi in the 2nd National Film Awards for 1954. Suraiya's singing (of Mirza Ghalib's ghazals) and her acting was especially applauded by the Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, who remarked to her " You have brought back Ghalib to life", in a special screening of the film in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Gulzar's Mirza Ghalib produced by Doordarshan TV was a masterpiece. Naseeruddin Shah, who played the role of the poet in the TV show Mirza Ghalib, considers it his finest performance at par with movies.

Gulzar, who almost seems to consider Ghalib his guru, often using his lines or concepts in his own work, penned a brilliant poem in his honour to begin the show — Ballimaran ke mohalle ki wo pecheeda daleelon ki si galiyaan.

The 2015 film Masaan contains various examples of poetry and Shayari by Ghalib,

Song of Mirza Ghalib(1954)

Song of Mirza Ghalib(1954)

Song of Mirza Ghalib T V Serial by Gulzar

Song of Mirza Ghalib T V Serial by Gulzar

A Scene from Mirza Ghalib 

If you liked this blog, you would also appreciate my Youtube Channel Bollywood Unplugged, the link is given below

https://youtu.be/BFj560iRLJA

Collection of Bollywood Songs on Ghalib Shayari

Mirza Ghalib is the topmost poet whose poems are used as songs in Hindi films.His poems, his lifestyle, his behaviour everything is a great inspiration. He continues to be one of the best and oft-quoted writers in history. 
Bollywood has paid a tribute to this legendary poet through a film named Mirza Ghalib (1954) in which Bharat Bhushan plays Ghalib and Suraiya plays his courtesan lover, Chaudvin. The musical score of the film was composed by Ghulam Mohammed and his compositions of Ghalib's famous ghazals are likely to remain everlasting favourites
On the 221st Birth Anniversary, I have made a collection of Bollywood Songs on Ghalib Shayari.
In 1954 a film on Mirza Ghalib was made by Sohrab Modi. The film won (1) the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film and (2) the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi in the 2nd National Film Awards for 1954. Suraiya's singing (of Mirza Ghalib's ghazals) and her acting was specially applauded by the Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, who remarked to her " You have brought back Ghalib to life", in a special screening of the film in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib 1954

Song of Mirza Ghalib T V Serial by Gulzar

Song of Mirza Ghalib T V Serial by Gulzar

Sohrab Modi - His films always carried Social or National Message

Sohrab Modi (born 2 November 1897) a great filmmaker of the 1930s 1940s.and 1950s. He launched Minerva Movietone in 1936. His early films at Minerva dealt with contemporary social issues such as alcoholism in Meetha Zaher (1938) and the right of Hindu women to divorce in Talaq(1938). His greatest film was Sikander(1941), which immortalized Prithviraj Kapoor playing the title role.

He started his career as a Parsi theatre actor with some experience in silent films. He earned quite a reputation as a Shakespearean actor, travelling throughout India with his brother's theatrical company and enjoying the tremendous sense of fulfilment every time the curtain came down and the audience applauded.

Sohrab Modi was also known for making Historical films. He made  Pukar (1939),it was based on Mughal Emperor Jehangir. The charisma of its stars, Chandra Mohan and Naseem Bano, and Kamaal Amrohi's oration, with its literary flourish and innate grace, ensured the film's popularity. Following Pukar came Sikander in 1941. The film, due to its underlying theme of nationalism at a time when India was still some years away from freedom, proved a hit among the masses, wherein it was later banned from some theatres.
Prithvi Vallabh was his next film released in 1943, it was based on K.M. Munshi's novel of the same name. The film's major highlights were the confrontations between Modi and Durga Khote, the haughty queen Mrinalvati, who tries to humiliate him publicly but then falls in love with him.
In 1945 he made Ek Din Ka Sultan. The film was a "minor historical" using a small incident from the time of Emperor Humayun's reign. Gangar cites that Ek Din Ka Sultan was hailed as a "well-directed" film with "some beautiful production values.
In 1950, when Sohrab Modi's Sheesh Mahal was being screened at Minerva Theatre in Bombay, the actor was present at the hall. Mr. Modi noticed a man sitting in the front row with closed eyes. Upset with such a reaction, he asked an attendant to let the viewer out and to return his money. The employee came back to say that the person was blind but had come just to hear Sohrab Modi's lines.

He made Jhansi Ki Rani in 1953. It was  India's first technicolour film, Modi had technicians flown in from Hollywood. Mehtab starred as the young queen of Jhansi who took up arms against the British during the Mutiny of 1857 with Modi playing the role of the Rajguru, her chief advisor. The film was notable for its authenticity in creating the right period and delineating historical events, its spectacular battle scenes and Mehtab's stirring performance though she was far too old for the role. 

Next year released his another film Mirza Ghalib. The film, based on the life of the great Indian poet who lived during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the Mughal Emperors, won the President's Gold Medal for Best Feature Film of 1954. 

Modi's later films did not reach the heights of his earlier work though Kundan (1955), Nausherwan-e-Adil and Jailor (1958) had their moments. The last he made was Mera Ghar Mere Bachhe released in 1969 but he was acting here and there in very selected films till 1983. he last appeared in Kamal Amrohi's Razia Sultan.

Sohrab Modi received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1980. He was the tenth recipient of the award. He suffered from cancer of the bone marrow and succumbed to the disease on 28 January 1984.

Song of Sikandar 1941

Song of Jhansi Ki Rani (1953)

Song of Mirza Ghalib (1954)

Song of Mirza Ghalib (1954)

Bollywood Actors with Forceful Voice and Dialogue Delivery

Bollywood had many Actors with a powerful voice and great dialogue delivery.As per my knowledge these people may or may not be equally big stars but their voice had an impact.In the present scenario Amitabh Bachchan remains the No one actor with a powerful voice and powerful dialogue delivery.A strange thing is that his voice was rejected by All India Radio for the Job of Announcer before joining Bollywood.In fact he made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome.
Among the earlier actors Sohrab Modi, Prithviraj Kapoor,Murad,Jayant, Ajit and Raj Kumar were the actors with a powerful voice. Raj Kumar became popular for his dialogue delivery.
Sohrab Modi
He launched Minerva Movietone in 1936.He  became famous for its trilogy of historical spectaculars that were to follow - Pukar (1939), Sikandar (1941) and Prithvi Vallabh (1943), wherein Modi made the most of his gift for grandiloquence to evoke historical grandeur.In Prithvi Vallabh he was paired with Durga Khote Both of them many confrontation scenes with very powerful dialogues.

Scene from Prithvi Vallabh 1943

Prithviraj Kapoor

Most of us remember him with his powerful performance in Mughal e Azam but his most powerful performance was in 1941 film Sikandar. It was a Sohrab Modi film. Undoubtedly Modi's dream of making Sikandar would have remained unfulfilled had he not roped in another actor with equally powerful voice,Prithviraj Kapoor,to play the role of Alexander .His body language,modulation of voice and dialogue delivery made his role immortal.Prithviraj Kapoor used his booming voice to great effect that is extremely impressive,and continues to haunt film lovers.

Scene from Sikandar 1941

Murad

He  was an Indian character actor who appeared in more than 100 Bollywood films from the early 1940s through to the end of the 1980s playing character roles of a father, police officer, judge and an emperor. His son Raza Murad is also an actor in the Bollywood industry who is known for playing mostly villain roles and also have a powerful voice.His career began in the early 1940s when he made his acting debut in the 1943 film Najma which was directed by Mehboob Khan. The film featured him playing the father of Ashok Kumar despite being only a year older than him. He became a regular with director Mehboob Khan's films such as Anmol Ghadi (1946), Andaz (1949), Aan (1952) and Amar (1954). His other notable film roles included Do Bigha Zamin (1953) as a cruel landowner, Devdas (1955) as Devdas's father

 

Murad as King in'Yahudi'1958 with great Sohrab Modi,Dilip Kumar and Meena kumari

Jayant

His real name was Zakaria Khan.He was tall and had a deep voice.  He played lead role in many movies like Bombay Mail (1935), Challenge (1936), His Highness (1937) and State Express (1938)Tody's generation will better know him the father of Amjad Khan(Gabbar Singh of Sholay).Some of his well known films were Amar(1954),Insaniyat (1955) as Zangoora, Madhumati (1958) as Pawan Raja (Madhumati's Father) and Haqeeqat (1964) as Indian Army Commanding Officer

                               Angry Madhubala has an argument with Jayant in  Amar(1954)

Jayant (Zakaria Khan) the father & Amjad Khan the son sing Pashto songs in Hindi movie

Ajit

 He acted in over two hundred movies in almost four decades.Initially he played the lead roles in  movies such as Nastik, Bada Bhai, Milan, Bara Dari, and later as a second lead in Mughal-e-Azam and Naya Daur. In the middle of 1960s he switched over to play the villain. His first movie as a villain was Suraj, followed by films such as Zanjeer and Yaadon Ki Baaraat.His famous dialogues included the "Mona darling" bit in Yaadon Ki Baraat, "Lily don't be silly" in Zanjeer and the one about a "Lion" in Kallicharan.

                            Kalicharan - Sara Shehar Mujhe Lion Ke Naam Se Janta Hai

Raj Kumar

Raaj Kumar made his acting debut in the 1952 film Rangili and appeared in films like Aabshar, Ghamand and Lakhon Mein Ek, but it was as Prince Naushazad in Sohrab Modi’s Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) that he became famous. In 1957, he achieved prominence with his brief role as the husband of Nargis in Mother India. He followed this with the unglamorous role of a mill worker in Paigham (1959) alongside Dilip Kumar. In Sridhar’s Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Raaj Kumar played the role of a cancer patient for which he won the Filmfare Award in the Best supporting actor category.He was cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Balraj Sahni in Yash Chopra’s family drama Waqt in 1965.  He became known for his distinct style of dialogue delivery.

                      Humko Mita Sake - Raaj Kumar Most Famous & Cult Dialogue

Amitabh Bachchan

Referred to as the Shahenshah of Bollywood, Star of the Millennium, or Big B, he has since appeared in over 190 Indian films in a career spanning almost five decades.^[Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema as well as world cinema.He is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a narrator, a playback singer, and presenter for numerous programmes.He is the only actor who gave his voice as Sutradhar in more than 15 films.Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Bachchan's voice that he decided to use Bachchan as the narrator in his 1977 film Shatranj Ke Khilari 

                            Best of Amitabh Bachchan dialogues

Shatrughan Sinha

He started as Villain in Bollywood,he was most popular as villain in the initial career in films.He was one of the most unconventional actors in Hindi cinema (the others being Ajay Devgan, Amitabh Bachchan, Irfan Khan, Rajinikanth, Shahrukh Khan, and Sunil Shetty.  He is known for his superb performances and punch dialogues in Mere Apne,Loha, Dost, Dostana, Naseeb, Khilona, Kalicharan, Rakhta Charitra 2, Vishwanath, Shaan, Bombay to Goa,

                                                  Shatrughan Sinha's Best Dialogues

Danny Denzogpa

 His film career spans more than 4 decades.His best known villainous roles are in Dhund, 36 Ghante, Bandish (film)(1980), Jeeo Aur Jeene Do, Dharm Aur Qanoon and Agneepath and is remembered for his performances in positive roles such as in Fakira, Chor Machaye Shor, Devata (1978 film), Kalicharan, Bulundi and Adhikar (1986 film). He got his major break in Gulzar's Mere Apne (1971), where he had a positive role. His most applauded negative characters are in Bandish (film) (1980) as Kapil Kumar, Phir Wahi Raat as "Ashok", Dharm Aur Qanoon (1984), as SP "Karan", Kanoon Kya Karega (1984), as "Raghuvir Singh", Andar Baahar (1984), as "Shera", Oonche Log (1985), as "Thakur Maan Singh", Aandhi Toofan (1986), as "Balbir" Bhagwaan Dada (1986), as "Gangwaa", Agneepath (1990), as "Kancha Cheena", Hum (1991), as "Bakhtawar", Ghatak: Lethal, as "Kaatya", Krantiveer (1994), as "Chatur Singh", Pukar, (2000) as "Abhrush" and Indian, as "Shankar Singhania". He was pitted against Pran in the film Sanam Bewafa and 1942:A Love Story. 

Raaj Kumar & Danny Denzongpa Face Off - Hit Bollywood Movie Scene - Bulandia

Amrish Puri
 He is the most remembered for his role as Mogambo in Shekhar Kapur's Hindi film Mr. India (1987),. He was noticed in the 1980 super-hit movie Hum Paanch in which he played the main villain. After that, he started getting cast as the main villain in other movies. In 1982, Puri played the main villain, Jagavar Choudhary in the Subhash Ghai super-hit film Vidhaata. That same year, he again played the main villain, JK in the movie Shakti starring two legends- Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. Next, in 1983, Subhash Ghai again cast him as the main villain, Pasha in the superhit movie Hero. Puri regularly featured in subsequent Subhash Ghai films.Before coming to films he was a voice over artist.He had a magnificent voice, as you or anybody who has heard him would know. His articulation was excellent.