This BLOG is about the Past of Hindi Films Specially Black and White Cinema We will refresh your memories by bringing out forgotten or unseen songs and clippings of film scenes We will try to give you as much information as we gather from our research.
This Blog was started as a one-man’s passion for film history but has now become an addiction for many music lovers who are equally passionate about Hindi films
No doubt she was a Style icon of the 60s. Her hairstyle and her dresses were copied by the girls. There was a time when mothers taking their little girls to the hairdresser for a ‘Sadhana cut'. She created a fashion of the fusion churidar-Kurtis and Mojris she wore in Waqt(1965). In an interview, Sadhana told about her famous Sadhana Cut Hairstyle.
She narrated how she got the famous ‘Sadhana fringe’. “I had a broad forehead, which showed prominently in photo tests. It would then be covered with a patch of hair. When we were about to start Love In Simla, the director RK Nayyar said the patch wouldn’t do. Those days Audrey Hepburn’s Roman Holiday (in which she sports a fringe) had just released. So I was promptly rushed off to a Chinese hairdresser and given a fringe.
Regarding her Churidar Kurtas, she told that she wore those conventional Kurtas in the 1963 film Mere Mehboob which were liked by the girls but she now wanted some changes in her wardrobe. She asked Bhanu Athaiya, the Oscar-winning costume designer to create a fusion of the traditional churidar and modern Kurti for my personal wardrobe. One day Yashji (Chopra) happened to come home to discuss my costumes in Waqt when I walked in wearing a sleeveless, gold-embroidered Kurti, churidar, and Mojris and a chic hairstyle, he went, ‘Wow! What you’re wearing is exactly what I want for my film.’ “The style went on to become a craze.”
Sadhana (2 September 1941– 25 December 2015) started her career with a Sindhi film titled
Abaana (1958) playing the sister's role of the heroine. Very few know that In 1955 she got her first little break. She played a chorus girl in the song "Mud mud ke na dekh... mud mud ke" in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420. She got her first Hindi film Love In Simla released in 1960 but she played a simple girl in her next film Parakh of Bimal Roy. Recall the popular song of this film 'O Sajna Barkha Bahar Aayi'.
In 1961's other hit, Hum Dono released, she played the love interest of Dev Anand. The song 'Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar' remains the most romantic song to date. In 1962, she was again paired with Dev Anand in Asli-Naqli by director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The same year saw director-screenwriter Raj Khosla cast her opposite Joy in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina. Khosla would again work with Sadhana to make a suspense thriller trilogy Woh Kaun Thi 1964, Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967) thus making her famous as the "Mystery Girl".Sadhana was the highest-paid actress of her time. During a career spanning over two decades, Sadhana starred in over 30 films.
Sadhana got married to R K Nayyar, the director of her first film in 1966. After marriage, Sadhana worked sporadically and went on to do Ek Phool Do Mali, Intaqam , and Geeta Mera Naam (she even directed it). She quit after Geeta Mera Naam. she was not keeping good health (she was suffering from a thyroid disorder). She was diagnosed with cancer in her old age that led her to her death on 25 December 2015.
Many classic songs were picturized on her, here are a few
Feroz Khan made his debut in Homi Wadia’s low-budget flop, Reporter Raju (1962), With no godfathers to back him, Feroz worked in a bunch of low-brow flicks through the mid-1960s to survive. That included playing second fiddle to Dara Singh in Samson. In side roles he always managed to hold his own against more famous co-stars: Raj Kumar (Oonche Log, a moderate success), Rajendra Kumar (Arzoo), Rajesh Khanna (Safar), Dharmendra (Aadmi Aur Insaan, for which he got Filmfare’s Best Supporting Actor award) and Sunil Dutt (Pyaasi Shaam). In his role as the wayward younger brother of Raj Kumar, he was noticed in the black and white film Oonche Log (1965), Feroz Khan comes across as a young, vulnerable and charming youth in Mohammed Rafi numbers “Haye re tere chanchal nainwa , kuchh baat karein ruk jaayein” and “Jaag Dil-e-Deewana, Rut jaagi wasl-e-yaar ki”.
After this film came Arzoo, in which he had a chunky role, one could see Feroz Khan at his romantic and emotional best. He had some beautiful scenes in Kashmir opposite the exceptionally pretty heroine, Sadhana. With this, Khan started to receive A-list second leads. With the film Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), Khan won his first Filmfare award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1970 released Safar, in this film the Hero was Rajesh Khanna but Feroz Khan played an important role in this film. In 1971 he appeared in 2 films as the 2nd lead to his younger brother Sanjay Khan( Mela and Upasana).
To improve his career opportunities as a leading man he started his own Production Company.He became a successful producer and director with the 1972 film Apradh, Mumtaaz was his co-star in this film. Apradh was the first Indian movie showing auto racing in Germany,it was a moderate success at the box office. After that, he produced, directed and starred in the 1975 film Dharmatma, which was the first Indian film to be shot in Afghanistan and was also his first blockbuster hit as a producer, director and star and marked the appearance of actress Hema Malini in a glamorous avatar. This movie was inspired by the Hollywood film The Godfather.
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, he was a leading Bollywood star, directing and starring in many of his films. He also starred in the Punjabi film Bhagat Dhanna Jat (1974). The 1980 film Qurbani, with Zeenat Aman, was the biggest hit of his career and launched the singing career of iconic Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan, with her memorable track "Aap Jaisa Koi". In 1986, he directed and starred in Janbaaz, a box office hit, In 1988, he directed and starred in Dayavan, which was a remake of an Indian Tamil film titled Nayakan. After directing and starring in Yalgaar (1992), He launched his son Fardeen Khan's career with the 1998 film Prem Aggan, which, however, was a box office bomb. he took a long break from acting for 11 years. His last film as an actor was "Welcome" was a roaring hit in 2007.He died from lung cancer on 27 April 2009 at the age of 69. He was buried in Bangalore near to his mother's grave at Hosur RoadShia Kabristan. He appeared in over 51 films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and became one of Bollywood's popular style icons
Dev Anand was the greatest Style Icon of India. He had a fascination for hats or caps. In almost every film we can see Dev Anand in a different cap or headgear. In his personal life too he was very fond of caps, scarfs, jackets, wrist watches and pens. He had a great collection of pens. In an interview his son, Suneil Anand told that “My father had a fetish for hats and pens. It was a part of his style statement. He was very fond of writing and he loved collecting pens. He had a huge collection.” Recall the Jewel Thief cap of Dev Anand. It became so popular by the dashing Dev Anand in the film (1967) almost every youth of that time bought that cap. There is a story behind this cap. Dev himself told in an interview that once he was roaming around the street of Copenhagen he saw this cap in a showroom of a shop. He liked it at the first sight and immediately purchased it. Most of the hats, caps or scarfs he used in his movies were from his personal wardrobe.
In his autobiography Romancing with Life, Devsaab reminisces: “Baazi gave me an image that stayed in the minds of people, and made a genuine star out of me. For the first time, I felt and saw what stardom was in terms of adulation and fan following. I became a phenomenon after the release of Baazi.”
Still from Baazi 1951
After Baazi, this was the second film in which Dev Anand also came through as an actor with a unique style of his own. Dev Anand wears a hat in this film which became very popular those days. Even many film heroes wore the same type of hat in their films.
Still from Jaal 1952
In 1954 film Taxi Driver Dev Anand played a Bombay Taxi Driver. He wears a cap most of the time. This cap later became very popular among the Taxi Drivers of Bombay
Still from Taxi Driver 1954
In Hum Dono Dev Anand wears a Jungle Hat. This hat, he took from one of his Army Officer friend.This hat he wore in the song "Mein Zindagi Ka Saath"
Still from Hum Dono 1961
In this blog, I have selected the images and songs of Dev Anand wearing different headgears this will be interesting for all the Dev Anand fans.
Fashion is a big industry today in India .An early trendsetter in fashion was Bollywood(Hindi cinema).If we look back we will find Dev Anand was the original Trend Setter. He was the style icon of 1950s and 1960s, scripted a fashion statement with his scarves, mufflers,hats Shirt collars and jackets and his singnature puff. Dev saab created style "not only in reel but also in real life. His signature strip black trousers, cap wore on one side, bright cardigans and scarves tied around his neck created sensation."I will consider him as the father of fashion in the lead actors wardrobe. I think that era will never come back because right now people are too much influenced by outside world. Rather than creating their own style, many people are looking at the West. In the 50s there were no fashion designers,Dev Saheb used to create his own style which later becomes a fashion Thanks to his good looks, further enhanced by his stylish wardrobe and on-screen romantic image portrayed in songs like Abhi NA Jao Chodkar, Jia O and Khoya Khoya Chand, Dev Anand had girls swooning over him. In an interview he was asked about fashion he said"I have always had the passion for clothes and what I wear should be perfect. If I like something, I do it. That's how everybody should, and the world should function. Dev Anand likes fashion. I look myself in the mirror everyday and say, "I look good" and don't care what everyone has to say about me as long as I like it. That's what fashion is all about. Fashion is what suits a man, his body, his physique, his appearance. You cannot follow a fashion designer but you can follow your own personality."
Black Suit-His black coat after Kaala bazaar became a trend. His looks were compared to Gregory Pack- the great Hollywood star, his charisma, charm & child like smile was intoxicating & every generation admired, adored and appreciated him. He was asked not to wear black color in public as women would jump from buildings after seeing him dresses in black. Such was his charisma.
Hair Style-Dev Anand’s much-aped hair-style the Puff symbolized an urban chic fashion trend.This trend remained till Pyar Mohabbat released in 1966.From this film onwards he stopped making Puff,soon all the young generation changed their hair style.
His penchant for hats-Like every piece of accessory that defined his wardrobe,his hats became a rage. From the artistic beret to the classic cowboy hat to the sophisticated panama,the Jewel Thief cap very few Bollywood stars could carry a range of hats the way Dev saab did!
His Walk: Mr. Anand was known for his trademark sloping walk, which added to his charisma. Watch the song Khoa Khoya Chand from Kaala Bazar for his walk.
His Sweaters and Jackets-He made the effortless way of wearing sweaters on shoulders a big rage during the 50s,60s and is still the only man you think of when we talk about retro style in Bollywood. Many many years past his hey day,He used a lot vibrant colours and psychedelic hues in his wardrobe when most people during that time didn’t prefer to experiment much. His understanding of colour-coding was phenomenal and personalised it to the hilt. In Guide he challenged all the existing norms with his big floral prints and buttoned up turtle-neck shirts.Dev Anand (inspired heavily by Gregory Peck) draped a sweater over his shoulders, a trend that was replicated years later by Shahrukh Khan in Mohabbatein.
Scarfs and Muffler-He employed a variety of mufflers in range of psychedelic hues quite effortlessly. He paired up those bold and outrageously colourful accessories with big and conspicuous floral motifs. It is said he popularized mufflers in India. Dev Anand’s style was highly individualistic. Though widely imitated,
