Kishore Da was the natural voice of Dev Saab.

 In his autobiography, ‘Romancing With Life’, Dev Anand says “Ziddi was a milestone in my career, since it was the first film It brought me very close to Ashok Kumar and his youngest brother, Kishore Kumar, who had just arrived from his hometown Khandwa, clad in his kurta-pajamas, with a phenomenal singing voice that years later was going to hypnotize the world with its resonance. The very first song of his career was sung by me on screen in Ziddi 1948
The song became a hit, and people started associating Kishore’s voice with mine, and his playback singing with my acting on screen. We complemented each other. He further says "Before recording, he used to ask me if I want him to sing in any particular way to match my mannerisms. So I used to tell him to keep me in mind while singing and I  used to perform on his style, great synchronisation. I truly miss him,” 
 In the Fifties and the Sixties Kishore Kumar gave playback for Dev Anand in the following prominent movies: Baazi (1951); Jaal (1952); Munimji (1955); Funtoosh (1956); Nau Do Gyarah (1957); Paying Guest (1957); Guide, Teen Deviyaan (1965); Jewel Thief (1967);Mahal (1969) and Johnny Mera Naam(1971)
During this period he sang only for himself and Dev Saab there are few exceptions when he sang for other actors. It is said when he was asked to sing few songs for Rajesh Khanna in Aradhana (1969), he approached Dev Anand for his permission to sing for Rajesh Khanna. After this, his voice became the voice of Rajesh Khanna too.
In this Blog I am selecting the 15 Solo songs of Kishore Kumar sung for Dev Anand.

The first song of Kishore for Dev Anand 

Song of Ziddi 1948

10 songs sung by other singers for kishore kumar

https://youtu.be/1hkzAK9X1wk

Song of Munimji 1955

Song of Funtoosh 1956

Song of Nau Do Gyarah 1957

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Song of Teen Deviyan 1965

Song of Jewel Thief 1967

Song of Mahal 1969

Song of Prem Pujari 1970

Song of Johny Mera Naam 1970

Song of Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971

Song of Gambler 1971

Song of Shareef Budmaash 1973

Song of Amir Garib 1974

Song of Warrant 1975

Watch this Video Click the link Below

https://youtu.be/1hkzAK9X1wk

The Voice that was rejected by All India Radio became the USP of Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan, who had wished to become a radio presenter before he tried his luck in Bollywood, his was rejected by  All India Radio Delhi. He tried in Bombay too by visiting the studios multiple times but failed to make the cut as Ameen Sayaani didn’t clear him. Later in an interview, he regretted denying him an audition.
Amitabh Bachchan was first heard rather than seen. His richly textured voice provides the sardonic voiceover in Mrinal Sen’s satire 1969 Bhuvan Shome.
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, no other actor near him with such a powerful voice and powerful dialogue delivery. 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 20 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.In this blog I discuss some of the films in which he gave his voice 

Bhuvan Shome - Cult Classic Groundbreaking Indian Film - Narrated By Amitabh Bachchan(watch from 7:25 to 8:25 minute)

After Bhuwan Shome it was Hrishikesh Mukherjee who took his voice in 1972 film Bawarchi as narrator. Later Satyajit Ray took him as narrator for 1977 film Shatranj Ke Khiladi. The film was set in the backdrop of the British annexation of Avadh and starred Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan and Saeed Jaffrey in key roles. Also, this may be the only Satyajit Ray film that Amitabh Bachchan has worked for.

J P Dutta also used his services as the narrator in his 1985 film Ghulami. Again in 1989 film Batwara he worked as a narrator. In 1996 in his own production Tere Mere Sapne he was the narrator. In 1999 film Hello Brother his voice was used as the God's voice.

Aamir Khan starrer required a strong and credible voice for Lagaan and there was no one else who could fit the bill other than Amitabh Bachchan. Ashutosh Gowariker who was the director of Lagaan approached Big B yet again for a voiceover in his period drama, Jodhaa Akbar. And this time around, the film starred none other than Aishwarya Rai, who is Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter-in-law in real life.

He also gave his voice for 2005 film Parineeta. He mentioned in an interview how lending his voice for Parineeta made him nostalgic because of his strong connection with Bengali culture and literature.  

In recent years he gave his voice for Ra one and Krishh 3, he will be lending his voice to the Hindi version of 'The Big Friendly Giant', a 2016 American fantasy adventure film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.

A unique film was released in 2015 named Shamitabh written and directed by R. Balki. The film features Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara Haasan, in her debut, .Dhanush who plays a deaf and mute junior artiste.He meets assistant director Akshara Pandey (Akshara Haasan) who is impressed by his talent. She shows his video, shot on her phone, to her director, Anay Verma (Ivan Rodrigues), but he rejects casting a mute hero. Akshara's father, a doctor, treats Danish after he gets into a fight with security guards. On his recommendation, Danish and Akshara arrive at Finland to meet his friend who shows Danish their new "Live Voice Transfer Technology", that uses embedded micro-recorders and ear-pieces and enables mute people to communicate via a "borrowed" voice.
On returning to Mumbai meet Amitabh Sinha played by Amitabh Bachchan and ask him to lend his voice to Danish; he accepts, and signs an agreement not to disclose himself as Danish's voice. So in this film, Amitabh voice was used for the hero as well as himself. 

            Amitabh Bachchan lends his voice - Shamitabh

Besides giving his voice for films he sang for himself in many films. Here are some of the songs sung by him.

The first song is sung in a film Mr Natwar Lal

Song of Mr Natwar Lal 1979

Song of Silsila 1981

Song of Laawaris 1981

Song of Silsila 1981

Song of Baghban 2003

Song of Baghban 2003

Song of Nishabd 2007

Song of Shamitabh 2015

                                          Ekla Cholo Re Full Song from Kahaani

                                                            Tu Chal | PINK | 2017

Song of 102 Not Out 2018

Rekha -The Much Maligned and Misunderstood Woman.

 Rekha who epitomises grace and lasting beauty was born on 10th Oct 1954. She was the “illegitimate” and unacknowledged daughter of the polygamous Tamil film star Gemini Ganesan. She was unrelentingly teased in school as a “lotta”, Tamil for the bastard. Such cruelty was to be her fate for years to come. Rekha revealed her secrets in her autobiography released in 2016.
At a shoot for the film Anjana Safar, which later renamed as Do Shikari, producer Kuljeet Pal, director Raja Nawathe and lead actor Biswajeet conspired to force Rekha into a kissing scene. This kiss had never been mentioned to her...The director didn’t call “cut” for five long minutes. Unit members were whistling and cheering. Her eyes were tightly shut but they were full of tears. Rekha couldn’t protest for fear of the consequences...
In this Blog I am bringing some revelations on the life and loves of Rekha, in her words, as told to Khalid Mohamed in her autobiography. Rekha-The Untold Story.

Rekha started her career in 1966 as a child actress in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam, though her film debut as a lead happened four years later with Sawan Bhadon. Her first Hindi film was Anjana Safar but this film couldn't release.
She had no interest in acting and was basically forced to work to sustain her family financially, this was a difficult period in her life. Still, a teenager, acclimatising herself to her new surroundings was an uneasy process. Coming from the South, she did not speak Hindi and struggled to communicate with co-workers, and was constantly missing her mother, who was critically ill.
Rekha recalls  "I was called the ‘Ugly Duckling’ of Hindi films because of my dark complexion and South Indian features. I used to feel deeply hurt when people compared me with the leading heroines of the time and said I was no match for them. I was determined to make it big on sheer merit. In fact, when Navin Nischol found out that Rekha had been signed as his co-star for Sawan Bhadon, he complained to the producer: “From where did you pick out this namoona [character]? Itni kaali-kalooti [So dark and ugly]!”.
She appeared in several commercially successful films at the time, including Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972), Kahani Kismat Ki (1973), and Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974), yet she was not regarded for her acting abilities.

Rekha transformed her body and started paying attention to her make-up, dress sense, and worked to improve her acting technique and perfect her Hindi-language skills. To lose weight, she followed a nutritious diet, led a regular, disciplined life, and practised yoga, later recording albums to promote physical fitness.
She began choosing her film roles with more care; her first performance-oriented role came in 1976 when she played Amitabh Bachchan's ambitious and greedy wife in Do Anjaane. The audience was floored when there was a swift change in her screen personality, as well as her style of acting.

Her most significant turning point, however, came in 1978, with her portrayal of a rape victim in the movie Ghar. She played the role of Aarti, a newly married woman who gets gravely traumatised after being gang-raped. The film follows her character's struggle and recuperation with the help of her loving husband, played by Vinod Mehra. The film was considered her first notable milestone, and her performance was applauded by both critics and audiences.

In that same year, she attained fame with Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, in which she co-starred once again with Amitabh Bachchan. The movie was the biggest hit of that year, as well as one of the biggest hits of the decade, and Rekha was set as one of the most successful actresses of these times. The film opened to a positive critical reception, and Rekha's performance as a courtesan named Zohra, noted for a "smouldering intensity", earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Filmfare.
In 1980, Rekha appeared in the comedy Khubsoorat, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with whom she had developed a strong father-daughter bond during their previous collaborations. It won the Filmfare Award for Best Film and Rekha won her first Best Actress award.
In 1981, she starred in Umrao Jaan, a film adaptation of the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada (1905), written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa. Rekha played the title role of a courtesan and poet from 19th century Lucknow.  Her portrayal is considered to be one of her career-best performances, and she was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actress for it.
Rekha has acted in over 180 films in her career spanning over 50 years. She has won three Filmfare Awards, two for Best Actress and one for Best Supporting Actress, for her roles in Khubsoorat (1980), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), respectively. Her portrayal of a classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan (1981) won her the National Film Award for Best Actress.

Earlier in her career, she was very bold, Rekha’s sexual openness, too, was revolutionary, even by modern standards, and won her yet more ire. It is impossible to imagine a young starlet today saying some of the things Rekha said four decades ago: “You can’t come close, really close, to a man without making love”, “It is a sheer fluke that I have never got pregnant so far” and “Premarital sex is very natural. And all those prudes who say that a single woman should have sex only on her suhaag raat are talking bull”!

Rekha had multiple linkups but none beside her at the age of 64. One of the first prominent affairs of Rekha in Bollywood was with the superstar Jeetendra. Jeetendra was known for his casual flirting with his female co-stars. Both Rekha and Jeetendra had done in numerous films with each other. It is said that Rekha was quite serious about him but the superstar was already married to Shobha Kapoor when he had met Rekha. When rumours about their alleged dating started doing rounds, Rekha was termed as a 'home-breaker' by many. Thus, their relationship died a bitter death. 

Her next affair was with Kiran Kumar but it was a short fling. Kiran was also Vinod Mehra’s best friend, whom she had fallen for later. Their relationship went on for a small time before they decided to call it quits.

Next was Vinod Mehra. There was a rumour that they married at a secret wedding ceremony but it did not last long. Rekha however, had denied having any marital relationships with Vinod Mehra in an interview with Simi Garewal in 2004.

Rekha’s affair with Amitabh Bachchan is the most talked about romantic relationship that has ever brewed in Bollywood.

Rekha married Delhi-based business tycoon, Mukesh Agarwal. According to the book, Rekha: The Untold Story, Mukesh was suffering from acute chronic depression and was not at all happy with Rekha’s acting career. To add to that, was their post-divorce trauma. All this led to Mukesh Agarwal’s suicide.

Rekha on her book says I do not invite people into my house. By hook or by crook, those who must find their way in. In fact, my privacy’s worked better than any screenplay. Anything connected with my work, the producers meet me in my office, no one comes into my house except family.

Song of Umrao Jaan 1981

Song of Mukkadr Ka Sikandar 1978

Song of Mr Natwar Lal

Song of Khoobsurat 1980

Song of Izajat 1987

Song of Agar Tum Na Hote 1983

 

Song of Silsila

Raj Kumar- Better Known for his Style and Dialogue Delivery

We all know Dev Anand as Style Icon but there was another stylish actor in the Golden Era that was Raj Kumar. His special type of dialogue delivery is still loved by all of us, He was the only superstar with a royal attitude.
Recall the B.R. Chopra's Waqt, Raj Kumar towered among the stalwarts, his baritone spouting one of the most memorable dialogues in Hindi films: “Chinai Seth , chhuri bachchon ke khelne kee cheez nahin hoti, haath kat jaye to khoon nikal aata hai.” 
In this blog today I have selected the epic dialogues of Rajkumar that can never be forgotten.

If you liked this blog, you would also appreciate my Youtube channel on Bollywood, link is given below

https://youtu.be/QImHqUeYbbo

The Dancing Dev

Most Popular Songs of Raj Kumar

Song from Kaajal 1965

Song of Mere Huzoor 1968

Song from Hamraaz 1967

Song from Neelkamal 1968

Begum Akhtar - The soulful voice that sung Ghalib and Khusroo.

 Akhtaribai popularly known as Begum Akhtar was born on 7th Oct 1914 at  Bada Darwaza, Town Bhadarsa, Bharatkund, District Faizabad U P.She showed interest in music at a very young age and was sent to train under the great sarangi player, Ustad Imdad Khan. Later, she learnt classical music from great exponents of this field like Mohammad Khan, Abdul Waheed Khan and Ustad Jhande Khan Saheb.
Her first public performance was at the age of fifteen.  Her first recording was done by the Megaphone Record Company at the age of Fifteen. The famous poet Sarojini Naidu appreciated her singing during a concert which was organised in the aid of victims of the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. This encouraged her to continue singing ghazals with more enthusiasm. 
Begum Akhtar was very beautiful and her sensitive voice made her an ideal candidate for a film career in her early years. 
Those days only those actors were chosen who can sing also. Begum Akhtar was also approached by many people from Bombay to work in films. So she acted in a few Hindi films She was signed by East India Film Company as a singing actor. Her first film was East India Film Company’s ‘Ek Din Ka Baadshah’ (1933). This was followed by ‘Nal Damyanti’ (1933), ‘Mumtaz Begum’ (1934), ‘Roop Kumari’ (1934), ‘Ameena’ (1934), ‘Jawani Ka Nasha’ (1935), ‘Naseeb Ka Chakkar’ (1936) etc.. In all these films, she sang all her songs herself. 
After staying at Bombay for a few years she came back to Lucknow, where she was approached by the famous producer-director Mehboob Khan, to act in Roti which was released in 1942 and whose music was composed by the maestro Anil Biswas.
In 1945, Akhtari Bai married a Lucknow-based barrister, Ishtiaq Ahmed Abbasi, and became known as Begum Akhtar. However, after marriage, due to her husband's restrictions, she could not sing for almost five years. In 1949 she returned back to the recording studios.She became a regular singer in Akashvani Lucknow Radio station.
 Begum Akhtar was persuaded by Madan Mohan, a famous music director to sing in two movies "Daana Paani" (1953) and "Ehsaan" (1954). The songs "Aye Ishq Mujhe Aur to Kuch Yaad" and "Hamein Dil Mein Basa Bhi Lo" were absolutely melodious and were liked by one and all. Her last movie stint was that of a classical singer in Satyajit Ray's film "Jalsa Ghar". Begum Akhtar was a refined Ghazal singer and was called as Mallika-e-Ghazal or the Queen of Ghazals.
She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music and was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan(posthumously) by Govt. of India. She was given the title of Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazals).

Begum Akhtar performed last in a concert in Ahmedabad. That day she felt that her voice was not up to the mark and raised her pitch. This put much stress on her and her health deteriorated. The situation became critical and she had to be rushed to the hospital. She breathed her last on 30th October 1974, leaving many fans disappointed and heartbroken

.

The Most Intimate Love Making Scene of Dev Anand

Could you believe that how an Intimate Lovemaking Scene has a touch of spirituality in it? It was made possible by the great Vijay Anand in  1972 film Tere Mere Sapne. The scene was picturised on Dev Anand and Mumtaz who played Husband & Wife in the film.
Vijay Anand told in an interview, " It was one of the most difficult scenes I have ever shot. It was a love scene between my elder brother, Dev Anand, and Mumtaz. I was nervous about explaining the scene to him because I was so much younger. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him my requirements. So I rang up Mumtaz and explained it to her instead. How the wife's health is in danger, how the couple has fought and how the fight culminates in intimate love-making that almost has a touch of spirituality to it.The highlight of this sequence is the song Mere antar ik mandir hai tera hai tera piya,  sung by Lata Mangeshkar played in the background. Though the song is romantic but it appears as a devotional song.
Those who've seen this incredible example of Vijay's creativity will agree that the scene remains a highlight due to Lata's unbelievably sensitive rendition!
The film was based on the “The Citadel” a novel by A.J. Cronin, first published in 1937. Staying clear of a didactic approach, Anand had managed to spin together an engrossing tale of a doctor – Dev as Dr Anand! – and his experience in rural India where he finds medical amenities elementary at best. Here he meets a school teacher played by Mumtaz.who helps Anand in his work.
The two get married too but not all stays fine for ever. On false charges, the doctor is shunted out, and the two have to relocate to Bombay which gives the director an opportunity to throw in a love triangle along the way – utterly forgettable Hema Malini as a big star here.
 Dev Anand and Mumtaz seem to share a rare chemistry where they say a lot with their silence, and only a little less with their words.

Song of Tere Mere Sapne 1971

.