The Immortal Song"Man Dole Tan Dole"

Nagin (1954) is a film directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal and loosely inspired by Bijon Bhattacharya’s play Jiyankany and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It stars Vyjayanthimala and Pradeep Kumar, and has a hit musical score by Hemant Kumar.  It included thirteen tracks, including the hit "Man Dole Mera Tan Dole", whose "Been Music" was performed by Kalyanji on clavioline and by Ravi on harmonium, who once worked under Hemanta Mukherjee's direction and later became independent music directors.
Nagin was a box office hit, and the popularity of its music would boost the careers of the personnel involved in the production, especially Vyjayanthimala, who being a gifted dancer trained in the classical style of Bharata Natyam, offered an outstanding visual complement to Lata Mangeshkar’s voice. Nagin also propelled Kalyanji’s career, despite his apparently secondary role as the performer of the ‘Been music’ theme, which moreover was arranged by Ravi, on the Clavioline.
The first time Kalyanji used the Clavioline to recreate the sound of the been was in S.N. Tripathi’s Naag Panchami (1953). Tripathi then recommended Kalyanji to Hemant Kumar, who was able to take advantage of the novelty effect that the synthesized snake charmer’s sound could still achieve, due to the relative lack of success of Naag Panchami – at least as compared to Nagin. 
Hemant Kumar skyrocketed to fame with Nagin. All the songs were hit but the song "Tan dole mera man dole. became immortal.One of the reasons for the appeal of Nagin’s music is the seamless integration of the" Been sound" with the main melody.
The reason being actual "Been" instrument not used in the song because the "been" is constrained and can only move from one note to an adjacent note. It cannot jump suddenly from a note to another note which is not adjacent. Also, you cannot produce short, staccato sounds on the been. 
It is said that when “Nagin” was released, snake charmers entertained the crowd outside the cinema halls during the intermission. It is also said that some theatre owners would engage these snake charmers to keep an eye just in case the tune from inside the hall ‘attracted' a reptile in the neighborhood.
The ethereal Vyjayanthimala, barely 18, illuminates the screen with her stunning beauty, moving around daintily from one song to the other; from the bewitching “Man Dole Mera Tan Dole” to the poignant “Mera Dil Ye Pukare Aaja…” Of course, the soul of the movie remains Lata Mangeshkar's voice and Hemant Da's unforgettable composition to some impeccable lyrics by Rajinder Krishan. Simply unmatched…
Vyajayantimala in an interview told that Man Dole Tan Dole Snake dance created a sensation,crowds thronged to see those snaky gyrations to Lata  Mangeshkar hit.This dance is inspiring today's generation too as well as western youth.
Here are some Dance Videos on the Nagin Song

Song from Nagin 1954

Modern Nagin Dance

                        Colombian Belly Dancer- Nagin Music- MAN DOLE TAN DOLE

                                              Man Dole Tan Dole || Nagin || Bollywood Snake Dance

                                       Nagin mix-"Been" -man dole - Instrumental & Vocal-Nagin (1954)

The Shirtless Heroes of Bollywood

Dara Singh, the first He-Man of Hindi cinema who had the distinction of going shirtless for nearly all his films. It was mandatory for Dara Singh to expose in every film poster as he was the undisputed wrestling champ of India. Those days Bollywood actors were not always known for their bodies, the primary focus was on their acting skills which dominated the screen.
When we look back to see the old heroes shown shirtless the first film comes in my mind is Mr & Mrs 55 in which Guru Dutt actually makes his first cameo–as a shirtless fisherman.The most famous Shirtless was Dharmendra in Phool Aur Pathar.

Dharmendra

The first time that showed a popular hero going shirtless on a movie poster was none other than Dharmendra in OP Ralhan’s ‘Patthar Ke Phool’ in 1966 and in Anil Sharma’s ‘Elaan-E-Jung’ in 1989. He was considered the most handsome looking he-man hero who could make his female fans swoon over him.The poster of ‘Patthar Ke Phool’ raked up a storm among the crowd as it was for the first time that an ‘A’ grade movie playing a common man went shirtless standing near a heroine.
Sanjay Dutt

After many years a hero appeared as He Man was Sanjay Dutt.In his debut film Rocky he was shown shirtless but shirtless body was displayed in Feroz Khan’s ‘Yalgaar’ poster. Salman khan in an interview said that he was inspired by Sanjay Dutt's body and started making under his guidance. 
Sunny Deol

.Contemporary to Sanjay Dutt was another hero Sunny Deol,the son of the original He Man
Dharmendra.Like his father Dharmendra was a fitness freak who played strong men characters in action films. He did strip in a couple of scenes in his debut movie ‘Betaab’ and Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Ghayal’ and ‘Ghatak’ but never on a poster. JP Dutta’s ‘Kshatriya’ was probably the first poster where he went shirtless along with Sanjay Dutt.
Salman Khan

It is Salman Khan who started the Trend of shirtless in bollywood. Though he was shown shirtless in Maine Pyar Kiya but the real trend started after the song "O O Jane Jana" from 1998 film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. After that  every movie of this super star doesn’t get full stop without the insertion of any shirtless scene.
Ajay Devgan

Ajay Devgan made his acting debut with ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ in 1991 and has come a long since then. He too had a lean physique until he went shirtless for ‘Omkara’ where he pumped iron. The poster of Rohit Shetty’s ‘Singham’ made him strip for the movie poster which was followed up by ‘Action Jackson’
Hritik Roshan

One of the fittest and most handsome hunks in contemporary Bollywood.His first film was Kaho Na Pyaar Hai was released in 2000 but It took almost a decade for Hrithik to go topless in Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ in 2011
John Abraham

John is famous for going shirtless in almost every movie of his. His debut movie ‘Jism’ followed by ‘Paap’ set the trend for all his movies. One of the best bodies in the business, his notable films where he stripped for scenes were in ‘Dostana’, ‘Dhoom’, ‘Race 2’ and ‘Shoot Out At Wadala’, etc

 Now, however, with increasing pressure on looks, actors have to work hard to achieve a chiseled look in order to ‘stay in the game.In today's generation of Heroes Tiger Shroff  and Varun Dhawan are two heroes having good physique.

Tiger Shroff

Varun Dhawan

SONGS

Song from Yalgaar 1992

Song from Bang Bang 2014

Song from Desi Boyz

Song from Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-leela

Folk Dances in Bollywood

We are seeing a controversy in the latest film PADMAVATI,another controversy has emerged about the Ghoomar Dance by Deepika Padukone.In this context I think that Films are more of imagination than the reality,we should see films in that manner and appreciate its creativity.
Bollywood dance is a difficult topic to discuss.It is a mixture of numerous styles.No folk dance shown in films is exactly the same but it has many steps from other folks also.Films before 1960 tended to draw heavily on classical and folk dance.  Since neither "classical dance" nor "folk dance" are homogenous entities.In this blog I have selected some popular folk dances of Bollywood.
The common  folk dances are Bhangra, Rajasthani Folk, Garba, Dandiya, Bihu Lavani etc shown in our films.There are many hit songs and dances in bollywood are worth mentioning.

Song from Khajanchi 1941

Song from  Baadal 1951

Song from Pahli Jhalak (1954)

Song from Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje [1955]

Song from Shree 420 (1957)

Song from Kathputli 1957

Song from Naya Daur 1957

Song from Madhumati 1958

Song from  Mughal E Azam 1960

Song from Ganga Jamuna 1961

Song from Saraswatichandra 1968

Song from Bandhan  (1969)

Song from Bobby 1973

Song from Inkaar 1978

Song from  Lamhe 1991

Song from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 1999

Song from Mission Kashmir 2000

Song from Zubeidaa 2001

Relax & Enjoy your SUNDAY with These BOLLYWOOD FUN SONGS Part 8

Sunday,A day to refuel your soul and be grateful for your blessings.Take a deep breath and relax.Enjoy your family,your friends,a cup of coffee with these Bollywood  7 FUN Songs

Song from Miss Merry 1957

Song from Pati Patni' (1966)

Song from Khilona 1970

Song from Mein Sundar Hoon 1971

Song from Pati Patni aur Woh 1978

Song from Maha Sangram 1990

Song from Stuntman 1996

The Trio of Mukesh,Shankar-Jaikishan and Raj Kapoor

On the 41st Death Anniversary of Mukesh I look back at the Magical Combination of this legendary singer with SJ and Raj Kapoor. Mukesh debuted as (actor-)singer in 1941 with Nirdosh,his association with Raj Kapoor took place in 1949 when he sang for RK in Aag,the song was “Zinda Huwe, Is Tarah Ke Hamen” composed by Ram Ganguli. Raj Kapoor realized that now he found his soul in the voice of Mukesh. In the very next film Barsaat 1950,Shankar Jaikishan made their debut as music director,from this film the trio of Mukesh,SJ and Raj Kapoor formed.After that they gave many immortal songs to Bollywood
.
 Barsaat’s music was dominated by Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh getting two duets with her. But their next venture, Awara (1951), had the title track which became a global sensation making Raj Kapoor-Nargis one of the most recognizable faces abroad, and India’s cultural ambassador. 
In the same year, in a non-RK film Baadal, too, SJ created an outstanding solo, Main raahi bhatakane wala hun, and an equally good duet with Lata Mangeshkar, Ae dil na mujhse chhupa. RK-SJ’s next film Aah (1953) didn’t fire up the box-office, but what great songs Mukesh sang! The two solos, Raat andheri door kinara, Chhoti si ye zindagani, and the two duets with Lata Mangeshkar, Jaane na jigar pahchaane nazar, Aa ja re ab mera dil pukara are among the most loved songs for Mukesh fans.
With Mukesh becoming identified as Raj Kapoor’s voice, in almost all the films of Raj Kapoor whether under RK banner or outside, if SJ were the music director Mukesh was almost invariably the voice for him. And every film had great songs remembered till today:Here are some of the immortal songs of this Trio.

Song from Barsaat 1949

Song from Awaara 1951

Song from Aah 1953

Song from Shree 420 (1955)

Song from  Main Nashe Mein Hoon 1959

Song from  Kanhaiya 1959

Song from Anari 1959

Song from Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai 1960

Song from Aashiq 1962

Song from Sangam 1964

Song from Teesri Kasam 1966

Song from Diwana 1967

Celebrating Ganpati Festival in Bollywood Songs

Ganesh Chaturthi is the Birthday of Lord Ganesha.Its an eleven days Celebration,it is one of the few festivals where many households install idol of Lord Ganesh at home, in addition to bigger idols installed in public places. After the end of the festival, all these Ganesh idols are immersed in  sea or in rivers, or ponds. On this auspicious day, devotees chant various religious mantras and songs related to Lord Ganesha Any sort of celebration is not complete without Bollywood tadka. Here we present you Hindi songs to celebrate this Ganesh Festival 

He Ganpati Bappa Morya From Pujarin 1969

This is one of the oldest Bollywood song of Ganpati from Pujarin released in 1969,Starring Vijay Dutt and Rehana Sultan, the song is sung like a bhajan with actors playing cymbals and other hand-held musical instruments while worshipping a huge Ganesh idol in the foreground.

Song from Pujarin 1969

Deva ho deva Ganpati deva tumse badhkar kaun

This song in fact has become a regular prayer to be sung on this occasion.This iconic song from “Hamse Badhkar Kaun” (1981) is sung by Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Shailendra Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Sapan Chakravarty and chorus. Ravindra Rawal is the lyricist. Music is composed by Ram Laxman. 

Song from Hamse Badhkar Kaun” (1981)

Mere man mandir mein tum bhagwaan rahe

This song is sung by Hariharan and chorus. The song is written by Anand Bakshi. Music is composed by R D Burman.

Song from Dard Ka Rishta 1982

Ganpati Bappaa Morya, Pudhachya Varshi Lavkar Ya

 This song is from the 1981 film ‘Saahas’. The lyrics are written by Anjaan and the music composition is by Bhappi Lahiri. The singing voices are of Bhappi Lahiri, Anwar and a chorus of singers. On screen, the song is performed by Bhagwan Dada, Mithun Chakravarty, Jagdeep, and Rati Agnihotri.

Song from Saahas 1981

Ganapati Apne Gaon Chale 

Song from Agneepath 1990

Sindoor Lal Chadayo

Song from Vastav 1999

Maurya Re

Song from  Don 2006

MERA HI JALWA  

Ganpati celebration in Bollywood Style

Song from Wanted 2009

Devashree Ganesha

Song from  Agneepath 2012

Sadda Dil Vi Tu (Ga Ga Ga Ganpati)

A modern Ganpati puja in Punjabi and  peppy beats with the desi feel of a Ganesh Chaturth.Hard Kaur ,the singer infused her rocking rapping essence to the Ganpati Aarti making it modern, without losing any of its devotional quality.

Song from  ABCD 2013

Song from  Bajirao Mastani  2015

Shammi Kapoor - The Original Dancing Star of Bollywood

Do you know that the Shammi Kapoor we know today became Shammi Kapoor after giving 19 flop films in a row.tThe first of Shammi Kapoor was Jeevan Jyoti but Rail Ka Dibba (1953) was released first.He reinvented himself in Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957), losing his seducer’s pencil moustache and fashioning his hair in typical ducktail style of the 1950sThis new Shammi did what no other hero had done earlier. He swayed, sashayed and sizzled while singing songs on screen. He became the first dancing star of Bollywood. His dance songs were never Choreographed.Today (14th Aug 2017) on his 6th Death Anniversary I look for his dancing style..
Before Tumsa Nahin Dekha, the Hindi film hero seldom danced. How could he, for the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders. On the rare occasion that he did, like Raj Kapoor in ‘Mud mud ke na dekh’ or in ‘Dil ka haal suney dilwaala’ in Shree 420, his actions were characterized by a kind of rhythmic one-two, one-two movement that responded to the beat of the song.
The final song in Tumsa Nahin Dekha, ‘Sar par topi laal’, made a dramatic departure. Early in the song, after Shankar has sung his half of the mukhda, ‘Gorey gorey gaal, gaal pe uljhey uljhey baal, ho tera kya kehna’, he claps along with the junior male artistes for a few seconds, showing a joviality that matches the beat of the song.He is shown dancing on one leg, going back and forth with the male artistes, matching them step for step all the while. He shouts out ‘oh sad ke, oh beliyaa’ and flits across the frame.
In Dil Deke Dekho (1959), Shammi dances his way through most of the film. Shammi’s entire frame features prominently in the songs ‘Megha re bole’, ‘Do ekum do’, ‘Pyaar ho toh keh do yes’ and ‘Yaar chulbula hai’, differentiating him from other mainstream heroes. 
Shammi Kapoor in an interview claimed not knowing how to dance but his energy, verve and rhythm in those songs were unmatched and very different from the norm.
He found stardom with his first colour film, Junglee, released in 1961, which proved a blockbusting hit.After Junglee began a series of box-office hits like Dil Tera Deewana (1962) and the thriller Teesri Manzil (1966) with hit songs and his style of dancing mannerism.The way he smiled, the way he pouted and the way he looked into heroine’s eyes, everything was infectious; simply because it was fresh, fun and flamboyant. Even his famed dances were never choreographed; on the dance-floor, he just needed a catchy melody and a zingy beat and then he rock ’n’ rolled.
Shammi Kapoor-songs have become a genre by itself. Racy, robust, rhythmic and romantic numbers composed by the master composers like O.P. Nayyar, Shankar- Jaikishan, Ravi, Usha Khanna and R.D. Burman added their own magic to this rebel star’s screen persona.

Song from Tumsa Nahi Dekha 1957

Song from Dil Deke Dekho 1959

Song from Junglee 1961

Song from China Town 1962

Song from Professor 1962

Song from Dil Tera Diwana 1962

Song from Kashmir Ki Kali 1964

Song from Rajkumar 1964

Song from Teesri Manzil 1966

Song from An Evening In Paris 1967

Song from Brahmchari 1968

Vyjayanthimala-The Most Loved Actress of the Golden Era of Hindi cinema

 This South Indian beauty was much more than an actress. A Bharatanatyam Dancer, Carnatic singer, dance choreographer and parliamentarian, the actress is celebrating her 81st Birthday today.On this occasion we remember the dance and songs she performed in Bollywood Films,Whether it is Man dole mera tan dole (Nagin) or Chadh gayo paapi bichhua (Madhumati) or Buddha mil gaya (Sangam) or Hothon pe aisi baat (Jewel Thief), Vyjayanthimala performed some superhit song and dance numbers in Hindi films.Most of her Dances and songs were appreciated by the audiences and were crowd puller.

Nagin in 1954 made her super star,the song Man  Dole Tan Dole was a craze that time,the film became the highest grocer of that year.She got her first Filmfare Award for Best  Supporting Role in  the next year release Devdas as Chandramukhi. but she refused to take as she felt that she was the heroine.
In the  1958 film Sadhana  Vyjayanthimala got her first Best Actress Award. B R Chopra cast her in the film when Nimmi hesitated to play a prostitute. Vyjayanthimala played the mercenary prostitute with a no-holds-barred derring do and yet managed to evoke tears with the soul-stirring Sahir Ludhianvi number, Aurat ne janam deeya mardon ko, mardon ne usse bazaar deeya.Same year Madhumati released,she was among the top heroines now.

At her peak, Vyjayanthimala took off to do a series of much appreciated dance shows in Paris in 1959 besides working for top heroes like Dev Anand in Amardeep in 1957,Jewel Thief (1967), Dilip Kumar in Paigham (1959)Ganga Jamuna(1963)  and Raj Kapoor in Nazrana (1961).Sangam (1964).For her role Radha, who caught between her husband and her former lover, Vyjayanthimala was awarded with Filmfare Best Actress trophy. She then co-starred Dilip Kumar for the sixth time in Ram Mukherjee's Leader. The film was comeback film for Kumar whose last film was Gunga Jumna also with Vyjayanthimala.
Vyjayanthimala married Chamanlal Bali in 1968. After marriage, she gave up her acting career and moved to Chennai.However between 1968 and 1970, she shot for those films which she had signed before her marriage, like Pyar Hi Pyar, Prince, Ganwaar. They have a son, Suchindra Bali. In 2007, she published her autobiography, titled Bonding, with Jyoti Sabarwal as co-writer.

Song from Nagin 1954

Song from Devdas 1955

Song from Naya Daur 1957

Song from Kathputli 1957

Song from Madhumati 1958

Song from Ganga Jamuna 1961

Song from Sangam 1964

Dance competition from Amrapali 1966

Song from Amrapali 1966

Song from Jewel Thief 1967