50 Years of Padosan (1968)

The title “Padosan”  brings a smile to every face. Produced by Mahmood and N.C. Sippy, the film is one of the best entertainers of all times. The film that immortalises Kishore Kumar and Mehmood as master entertainers. The film is also known for the behind-the-scenes rivalry in the song, “Ek Chatur Naar”, between Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. The film was released on 29 th Nov 1968 and was a super hit. It is among the Top 50 classics of Hindi Cinema.
The film was based on a Bengali story, ‘Pasher bari' (next-door neighbour) written by Arun Chowdhury and adapted in Bengali in 1952, in Telugu as “Pakkinti Ammayi” in 1953, in Tamil as “Adutta Veetu Penn” in 1960 and again in Telugu as “Pakkinti Ammayi” in 1981. 
The film was  Directed by Jyoti Swaroop. The movie stars Sunil Dutt and Saira Banu in lead roles. Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Raj Kishore and Keshto Mukherjee played the supporting roles. Mehmood as the South Indian musician and rival to Sunil Dutt is among the highlights of the film. It was considered one of the best comedy movies made in Hindi film history. Mehmood's portrayal of a south Indian music teacher was one of his noted performances and a key highlight of the film. Kishore Kumar's character of a comical theatre director was also well received.
The music of the film was composed by Rahul Dev Burman and the lyrics were written by Rajendra Krishan.R.D. Burman's hit music gave us all-time great songs like “Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein” (Kishore Kumar) and “Ek Chatur Naar Karke Singaar” (Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar) not to forget “Main Chali Main Chali”, “Sharm Aati Hai Magar”, “Bhai Batur” (all Lata Mangeshkar), “Bindu Re Bindu” and “Kahna Hai Tumse Ye Pahli Baar” (both Kishore Kumar).

Padosan is a story of a simpleton named Bhola (Sunil Dutt) who falls in love with his neighbour Bindu (Saira Banu). To impress her he wants to sing to her. However, he isn't a good singer and so seeks the help of his friend, Guru (Kishore Kumar). Guru, a famous singer, agrees to help his friend.

To impress Bindu, Guru sings in the background and Bhola mouths the words. Bindu is charmed by what she thinks is Bhola's singing. They become friends and fall in love. Bindu has a music teacher named Master Pillai/Masterji (Mehmood) who is also in love with her and keeps proposing to her. Bindu loves Bhola and hence refuses Masterji.
One day Bindu finds out about Bhola's lie. She decides to marry Masterji instead. Bhola thinks of a way to get Bindu back. So on the wedding day, Guru gets an idea. He makes Bhola pretend to have committed suicide.
Guru goes and tells the news to Bindu. She is shocked. She leaves her wedding altar and runs to Bhola. She reads the note and starts to repent. Bindu then tries to wake Bhola up. Bhola wakes up and Bindu is delighted. She tells Masterji that she wants to marry Bhola and he agrees. Bhola and Bindu get married. 
With brilliant performances and enduring songs, “Padosan” can be watched any number of times. 

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of Padosan 1968

Nargis Dutt- Her love story was nothing less than a fairytale.

Nargis and Sunil Dutt came from very different backgrounds when they first met each other. Nargis was the daughter of Mohan Babu and Jaddanbai, and Sunil was the son of a Punjabi land-owning family. The two actors met on the sets of Do Bigha Zameen. At that time, Sunil Dutt was an aspiring actor and student while Nargis was already an established star.
Sunil and Nargis Dutt crossed each other’s paths at many film gatherings but were officially introduced to each other on the sets of their film Mother India by filmmaker Mehboob Khan. Khan thought it was important for Nargis, who played the title role in the film, to befriend the other actors, particularly Sunil Dutt, who played her errant son Birju.

Everyone is aware of their dramatic love story that was triggered by a fatal fire on the sets of Mother India in 1957, where Sunil Dutt sensing danger, jumped into raging flames without a thought for his own life to save Nargis and won her heart. She visited him every day at the hospital after shooting.  She nursed Dutt back to health for two weeks. In that time, the two got very close, and she even opened up about her past to him. and a few weeks later, when Sunil Dutt proposed marriage to her, she agreed immediately.
The two started dating, and wanted to get married, but they played mother and son on screen in Mother India, and the news of their relationship would be disastrous for the film, so they maintained a low profile. In 1958, they got married in a secret ceremony and didn't make the news public for nearly a year. Even after getting married, they stayed with their respective families. They'd meet late into the nights and communicate through letters and telegrams. In 1959, after making the news of their marriage public, they held a reception, and moved in together. 
Sunil Dutt was once asked about Raj Kapoor and Nargis' equation, to which he had said, "I never knew there was a romance. The only thing I knew was that she came into my life. I was not concerned about her past. I know these questions arise. But I am concerned about the person who comes in my life; what matters from that day on is how true the person is to me. The past is nothing to me."
Nargis left films to look after Dutt saheb.The mother of 3 – Priya, Namrata and Sanjay Dutt, Nargis took up the full time job of being a mom and gave up stardom while she was at the peak of her career. She was the one with a modern approach and yet juggled her life amidst the work part, where she was involved in her husband’s production venture and also formed Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe.

Despite the threshold of responsibilities, she was very much active in her individual self which included swimming, watching movies, shopping, getting a massage and constantly being on the phone. She also ditched the burqa and would enjoy paani puri from the street vendors. Yes, she was very much like the young girl inside every woman.Nargis never followed the bandwagon of her contemporaries and was always in sync with global fashion trends. She sported a short haircut when others would go for their long tresses. She ditched jewellery and wore only cotton saris for which she was dubbed as the Lady in White.

Sunil Dutt was not the first love of Nargis, but their years of marriage never once fell in doubt about Dutt being her second love. Nargis and Sunil Dutt loved each other and supported each other during their marriage.Their love was pure and forever.

Years later, Nargis was detected with cancer, and went through a lot of treatments for many years. Sunil was always by her side during her struggle. He even took her to America for the treatment. However, she could not win her battle against cancer and died on May 3, 1981.

Song from Andaz (1949)

Song from Barsaat (1949)

Song from Awara (1951)

Song from Chori Chori (1956)

Song from Mother India (1957)

Song from Adalat (1958)

Sunil Dutt-Much More Than an Actor

Life for him was one crisis after the other — his early struggles as an actor, bankruptcy as a producer, the death of Nargis, his wife, battle against son Sanjay’s drug addiction and, later, TADA arrest.He bounced back time and again from personal tragedies which would have pulled down a lesser man. In public life, Dutt  symbolises the never-say-die spirit.
 With an ear to the ground and a hand on the pulse of the people, Sunil Dutt lived by his convictions and led from the front.He  arrived in Bombay at the age of 18 with two pairs of clothes and Rs 25 in his pocket, determined to bring back the good times for his family which had lost everything during Partition. Holding a clerical job with the Bombay Bus Service and sharing a room with six others, which often necessitated sleeping out, Dutt studied in Jai Hind College and made some extra money by anchoring cultural shows. He interviewed film stars over Radio Ceylon. His good looks and deep voice prompted producer Ramesh Saigal to offer him the hero’s role in the film Railway Platform.
 The turning point came in 1956 when producer Mehboob Khan signed him to play the son of leading lady Nargis in Mother India. For Nargis, it was the role of a lifetime.As we all know that he rescued his leading lady from a fire in the sets, they discovered they were in love and got married. Three children followed.

He was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful films which included Sadhna (1958), Sujata (1959), Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), Khandan (1965) and Padosan (1967). His collaboration with B.R. Chopra proved to be successful in films such as Gumraah (1963), Waqt (1965) and Hamraaz (1967). 
He admired Jawaharlal Nehru, who had suggested that the film industry should do something for the jawans. Dutt and Nargis formed the Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe and, roping in leading actors and singers from the film industry, held stage shows at border areas.The Dutts donated Rs 1 lakh to the National Defence Fund and grew closer to the Nehru family. Nehru enjoyed watching Sujata, which dealt with untouchability. The Dutts bonded well with Indira Gandhi too. Nargis was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1980, and was urged by Indira to take up the cause of spastic children. The former actress became the chairperson of the Spastics Society of India.

He was appointed the Sheriff of Bombay in 1981, Dutt was persuaded by the Gandhi family to enter politics and contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bombay Northwest. His reputation and clean image helped him win successive Lok Sabha elections, defeating formidable opponents like famous criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani and Shiv Sena stalwarts such as Madhukar Sarpotdar.
In 1982, he set up the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation in New York which began to collect funds for cancer equipment in Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. In 1984 he was elected on a Congress ticket from Mumbai North-west to the 8th Lok Sabha.

Thereafter, barring one election, he contested from the same constituency and won convincingly, Shocked by the violence in Punjab, Dutt turned into a padyatri with no political agenda. During his 76-day, 2500-km walk from Bombay to the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1987, Dutt overcame terrible heat, a bout of jaundice and blistered feet to address more than 500 roadside meetings. He stressed that violence would not help any cause. The police warned him that he was a target for terrorists but he shunned security and marched to the Golden Temple, where he was accorded a rousing reception.

The padyatra was repeated some time later, when protesting against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Dutt Saab marched from Hiroshima to Nagasaki, demanding a ban on nukes. "Did God create the world for it to be destroyed by his own children?" he asked. "Each one of us should do our bit to fight nuclear proliferation.

Sunil Dutt was a recipient of numerous awards, including the Padmashree in 1968, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award for National Integration and Communal Harmony in 1997, the Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Award for International Peace, Communal Harmony, Unity and National Integration in 1997 and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 1998.

 In Congress politics, even while keeping away from different groups, he remained a trusted aide of Sonia Gandhi and was among the first ones to receive a ticket for the Lok Sabha poll.

Dutt’s popularity cuts across party lines. He is equally at home with people from all sections of society, be they slum dwellers, glamorous film stars, professionals, Rotarians or the Page-three crowd. His appointment as Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports has been well received.He was a minister when he died on 25th May 2005 at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai.

Songs from Sunil Dutt's Films

Song from Mother India (1957)

Song from Sujata (1959)

Song from Hum Hindustani (1960)

Song from Chhaya (1961)

Song from Milan (1967)

15 Father-Son Jodis of Bollywood

There are many father son Jodis in Bollywood but there are few such Jodis who have shared screen together.The trend can probably be credited to the first family of Bollywood, when Prithviraj Kapoor played father to son Raj Kapoor in Awaara. The audience feels a certain connect with real life fathers and sons playing the same relation on-screen as well.In fact there was a film Kal Aaj Aur Kal in which father, son and grand son shared the screen together.Prithviraj Kapoor played father to real life son Raj Kapoor, whereas Raj played father to real life son Randhir Kapoor in this saga about generation gap.The film was directed by Randhir Kapoor.

Another Legendary Actor was Dev Anand who shared screen with his son Suneil Anand in Anand Hi Anand 1984.This film was produced and directed by Dev Anand himself.

Balraj Sahni was another legendary actor who share the screen together with his son Parikshit Sahni in a film Pavitra Paapi 1970 not as father son.

Shashi Kapoor  who has two sons Kunal and Karan,shared the screen with his son Kunal Kapoor first time in 1972 film Siddhartha as father ans son that time Kunal was a child.In 1978 film he shared the screen with both the sons.Later in 1982 film Vijeta both appeared as father and son.In 1984 film Utsav both appeared again but not as father and  son.

 Rajendra Kumar not only designed a debut movie for his darling son Bunty better known as Kumar Gaurav, which turned him into an overnight phenomena but also played his indulgent father on screen in the 1981 blockbuster, Love Story.They also appeared in two other films Lover and Phool

Sunil Dutt launched his son Sanjay Dutt in Rocky 1981 and even though he played his on screen father in it.They also appeared as  father son in Kshatriya 1993 and Munna Bhai MBBS 2003.

Feroz Khan and Fardeen got together for movies like Janasheen 2003 and Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena 2005 where their characters are not related to each another. But they sure get points for sharing the screen together.

Dharmendra who has two sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol was first seen together with both in Apne 2007 as father sons and also in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2011 and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 in 2013.Dharmendra and sunny appeared together in 13 films and Bobby and Dharmendra in 8 films.In Dharmveer Bobby appeared as a child role of Dharmendra.

Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan shared screen was Sarkar 2005 as father and son There is a unique film PAA in which Abhishek played the role of father of Amitabh.In all they shared screen together in 17 films.Some of the popular films were Bunty Aur babli, Bol Bachchan 2012 and Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna 2006.

Vinod Khanna and his son Akshay Khanna shared one film together as father son in Himalaya Putra 1997 In this typically 1990s hash, they play a father and son oblivious of their blood connection and the drama it all leads up to.

Jeetendra and his son Tusshar Kapoor appeared in 2 films .The first film was Kuchh To Hai in 2003 which was Tusshar's Debut film in which both acted as father and son

Rishi Kapoor and his son Ranbir Kapoor worked together in Besharam 2013 here in this film in the end Ranbir Kapoor is adopted by Rishi Kapoor.

Rajesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan: Although Rakesh Roshan and son Hrithik didn't share any screen space in Koi Mil Gaya, it was only because Rakesh's character dies before the birth of his son. But the father-son jodi was one of the highlights of the film, that won critical acclaim for Hrithik, 

Murad (1910–1997) 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.Both of them shared screen in Johar-Mehmood in Goa 1965

Pankaj Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor have shared screen in one film Shaandaar 2015 where he played the father of heroine.

Remembering SUNIL DUTT on his 12th Death Anniversary

Born on June 6, 1929, Sunil Dutt died of a heart attack on 25th May 2005 in Mumbai.He was Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and Member of Parliament from Mumbai North-West at the time of his death.
He started his career with Radio Announcer in the 50s. His involvement in dramatics got him his first job with Keymers, a British advertising agency that hired him for radio programmes. "Lipton ki Mehfil", anchored by Mr. Dutt and broadcast on Radio Ceylon, at that time the only commercial radio station in the region, became extremely popular. Mr. Dutt interviewed many famous film personalities like Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar.
He was introduced to Bollywood by Ramesh Sehgal in 1955 with the film Railway Platform starring Nalini Jaywant and Sheila Ramani.This film had many hit songs but could not not put him on the fast track to success. His first hit, Ek Hi Raasta (1956), marked the start of a seven-film long association with B R Chopra.His collaboration with B.R. Chopra proved to be successful in films such as Gumraah (1963), Waqt (1965) and Hamraaz (1967)
His real breakthrough came with Mehboob Khan's magnum opus, Mother India (1957). His portrayal of Birju, Nargis' rebellious younger son .He had to face tough competition with the Raj Kapoor-Dilip Kumar-Dev Anand trio and Rajendra Kumar,Shammi Kapoor who were giving hits one after another in the 60s.
He was giving hit films but those were women-oriented films like Sadhna (1958), Sujata (1959) and Main Chup Rahungi (1962) so all the credit of success went to Heroines of those films.
Sunil Dutt turned producer in the early sixties with a couple of offbeat movies - 'Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke' (1963), where heroine Leela Naidu has an adulterous relationship and 'Mujhe Jeene Do' (1963) where he played a dacoit. This film brought him fame and success,he latter made  Yaadein (1964), where he was the only character in the film, however, was found to be too esoteric by most.
Sunil Dutt's sartorial style was markedly different in both these genres of films, but they were all successful. In fact in 1967, he had a hat-trick of hits with Milan, Meherban and Humraaz.The very next year Padosan released which was a hit but once again the credit of success gone to Mehmood  and Kishore Kumar.
In 1968 he produced Man Ka Meet which introduced his brother Som Dutt who was unsuccessful in films.Vinod Khanna was also intoduced by this film. In 1971, he produced, directed and starred in Reshma Aur Shera (1971) which was a huge failure at the box office.After Padosan in 1968 none of his film were hit till 1973,Heera released in 1973 was successful but not a great hit.Another breakthrough came to him after the release of Geeta Mera Naam in 1974.After that he gave many hits like Zakhmee (1975), Nagin (1976),Paapi (1977),Jaani Dushman (1979) and many more.
He launched his son Sanjay's career with Rocky in 1981 which was a success. Shortly before the film's release, Dutt's wife Nargis died of pancreatic cancer. He founded the Nargis Dutt Foundation in her memory for the cure of cancer patients.
Sunil Dutt's life was not smooth he faced many ups and down in his life.He overcame all his problems.
In 1982 he was appointed as the Sheriff of Mumbai, an apolitical titular position bestowed on him by the Maharashtra government for a year.He retired from the film industry in the early 1990s to turn to politics.
 In 1984 he joined the Indian National Congress party at the behest of the late Rajiv Gandhi and was elected to Parliament of India for five terms from the constituency of Mumbai North West.During his short tenure as minister, Dutt was known to take up the cause of sportsperson. He is credited with several programmes to improve the standard of Indian athletes.
Just about a year before his death, Dutt returned to the silver screen for a cameo in last year’s superhit ‘Munnabhai MBBS’ starring his son Sanjay in the lead role. It was his last appearance on screen in a long time ever since he featured in his own ‘Dard Ka Rishta’ in 1983 to highlight the plight of cancer victims.
Sunil Dutt was a recipient of numerous awards, including the Padmashree in 1968, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award for National Integration and Communal Harmony in 1997, the Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Award for International Peace, Communal Harmony, Unity and National Integration in 1997 and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 1998.
He won Filmfare Award as best Hero twice in Mujhe Jeene Do 1963 and Khandan in 1965,Latter in 1995 he got Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
He also got National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Yaadein in 1965
Sunil Dutt was undoubtedly a great actor — he was much more than that — a compassionate human being, a spirited minister, a magnanimous performer,My Tribute to him on his 12th Death Anniversary

Song from Railway Platform 1955

Song from Ek Hi Raasta (1956)

Song from Mother India (1957)

Song from Sadhna (1958)

Song from Sujata (1959)

Song from Insaan Jaag Utha (1959)

Song from Ek Phool Char Kaante (1960)

Song from Hum Hindustani (1960)

Song from Gumraah (1963)

Song from Waqt (1965)

Song from Hamraaz (1967)

Song from Milan (1967)

Song from Padosan (1968)

Song from Zakhmee (1975)