The Punjabification of Bollywood

Bollywood has been open about merging cultures and ethnicity. Before independence, the influence of Mythological and Bengal was visible in Hindi films and Hindi film music. The film like Devdas influenced most of the producers."After Partition, several of the Punjabi filmmakers moved to India from Lahore. The Chopras, the Sippys, the Kapoors, are all Punjabis. It's obvious that they will make movies about what they know. Besides Punjabi two other community, Bengalis and Muslims rule the Bollywood. only 10% are from outside of this trio. 
Punjabification of Bollywood isn't a new trend which is evident only within the latest Bollywood movies. The upbeat and celebratory Punjabi culture has constantly been an overplayed theme in Bollywood. It was B.R Chopra. and Raj Kapoor led the 'Punjabification' of the Indian film industry.  Punjabi music was first introduced by Gulam Haider. In the 50s and 60s, we saw the influence of Urdu and Muslim influence in Hindi songs and films besides Bengali. It's just that earlier, the hero-heroine never had the last name. Initially in the 50s, though many heroes belong to Punjabi community like Dharmendra, Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar, In the past, Bollywood movies with Punjabi actors and South Indian actresses used to portray characters from the Hindi region of India peppered with lots of Hindi songs and dance. Actors even used to change their names to appear more Hindi instead of Punjabi or any other non-Hindi ethnicity. Bollywood is a family/community dominated industry where whom you know and which family you belong to matters more than talent. Bollywood like Hollywood is meant for thrilling people where talent matters little. It is like some kind of an exclusive club where you can only become a member if you belong to a particular group. More than 80% directors, actors, producers etc are related to one another in one way or the other. The late 90s where the majority of the Hindi films were being produced and directed by Punjabis with Punjabi actors playing Punjabi characters in Hindi movies. This was a big shift in the Bollywood formula. Punjabi was in Hindi was liked by the audience. This was followed by Bollywood songs and dances having more Punjabi than Hindi influence. Thanks to Yash Chopra and Johars who gave a new trend in Hindi Cinema.Since Bollywood relies more on formula and masala rather than innovation. As the Punjabi masala was successful, everybody is following it.

 Today's generation is very fond of those rocking songs as composed in the Punjabi language. They like the beats which these Hindi songs have, they do not care about the lyrics whether they understand the Punjabi words or not they just want peppy beats. The sound of dhols and beats make the songs more energetic. Here are some of these songs. My first song on the list is the song from Yamla Jatt released in 1940 sung by Noorjehan

Song of Yamla Jatt 1940

Song of  Jagte Raho 1956

Song of New Delhi 1956

Song of Naya Daur 1957

Song of Naya Daur 1957

Song of  Shaheed 1965

Song of  Sawan Ki Ghata 1966

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Daag 1973

Song of  Pratigya 1975

Song of Dada 1978

Song of  Maachis 1996

Song of Arjun Pandit 1999

Song of Gadar 2001

Song of  Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum 2001

Song of Monsoon Wedding 2001

Song of Jab We Met 2007

Song of  Desi Boyz 2011

Song of  Rockstar 2011

Song of Queen 2014

Mala Sinha - One of the most sought-after actresses in the 1950s, 1960s

Mala Sinha (Born on 11th Nov 1936) was the highest-paid actress from 1958-65 with Vyjanthimala, Recall the song 'Aapki nazaron ne samjha, pyaar ke kaabil mujhe..'from Anpadh which was Lip-synced by Mala Sinha became so popular, made her the darling of millions of people of film lovers. She became one of the superstars who ruled the celluloid from the era of the 50s to 70s, the actress never defied from taking up roles which her contemporaries feared to touch back then.
As per Mala Sinha Pyaasa 1957 was the turning point of her career. After Pyaasa, her major successe was Phir Subah Hogi (1958) She then appeared in Dhool Ka Phool 1959 where she played the role of an unwed mother, which made her a star.
It was Geeta Bali who introduced her to Kidar Sharma who cast her as a heroine in his Rangeen Ratein. Her first released Hindi film was Badshah opposite, Pradeep Kumar, She was the heroine of many successful films from 1958 to the early '60s such as Parvarish (1958), Ujala, Main Nashe Main Hoon, Duniya Na Mane, Love Marriage (1959), Bewaqoof (1960), Maya (1961), Hariyali Aur Rasta, Dil Tera Deewana(1962), Anpadh and Bombay Ka Chor (1962).
She was regularly paired with Pradeep Kumar but later she paired with Biswajeet.  She worked with many newcomers of her era including Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt, Sanjay Khan, Jeetendra and Amitabh Bachchan.Her character's power was as much as the heroes and most of the time her roles were more powerful than the hero. In most of her films from the 1960s, 
Her pairings opposite Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Biswajit and Manoj Kumar in woman-oriented films were appreciated by audiences, with her work opposite Biswajit being the most popular. With Raaj Kumar, she gave box office hits like Phool Bane Angaare, Maryada and Karmayogi and opposite Manoj Kumar, gave commercial successes like Hariyali Aur Rasta, Apne Huye Paraye and Himalaya Ki God Mein. The hits with Rajendra Kumar were  Dhool Ka Phool, Devar Bhabhi, Patang, Geet and Lalkar.
With Biswajit, her popular movies include Aasra, Night in London, Do Kaliyaan, Tamanna, Nai Roshni and critically acclaimed films Pyar Ka Sapna, Paisa Ya Pyaar, Jaal and Phir Kab Milogi. She did ten films with Biswajit. 
In 1966, Mala Sinha went to Nepal to act in a Nepali film called Maitighar when the Nepali film industry was still in its infancy. This was the only Nepali film she did in her career. The hero was an estate owner called Chidambar Prasad Lohani with whom she married in 1966.
Some of her best-remembered performances were in  Bahurani (1963), Gumrah, Gehra Daag, Apne Huye Paraye, Nayi Roshni and Jahan Ara.

Song of Pyaasa 1957

Song of Phir Subah Hogi 1958

Song of Parvarish 1958

Song of Ujala 1959

Song of Love Marriage 1959

Song of Dhool Ka Phool  1959

Song of Maya 1961

Song of Dil Tera Diwana 1962

Song of Anpadh 1962

Song of Hariyali Aur Rasta 1962

Song of Gumrah 1962

Song of Jahan Ara 1964

Song of Himalaya Ki God Mein 1965

Song of Aankhen 1968

Song of Geet 1970

Song of Maryaada 1971

Usha Uthup - A Journey from Night Club to Bollywood

Usha Uthap( 8th Nov 1947) came in at a time when people thought that ladies' voices should be pretty and gentle. She became the first female Pop Singer of India. She started her singing career as a Night Club singer in Madras. After that, she began singing in Calcutta at nightclubs such as "Trincas"
I was in my teens when I listened to her very popular song "Scotch and Soda".Those days she was known as Usha Iyer and she used to sing cover versions of many popular songs. In 1968, she recorded covers of two pop songs in English, "Jambalaya" and The Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar", on an EP. Her deep husky resonance roused the passions of a million young hearts 
https://youtu.be/Io2a0jnwYTI

No one expected a woman in a saree singing in a nightclub but that was the fact. People were surprised to see a typical South Indian Girl singing Pop Songs. After Trincas, her next engagement took her to Delhi where she sang at the Oberoi hotels. Here in Oberoi Hotel once Shashi Kapoor and few unit members of Navketan heard her singing the English songs and were influenced with her unique voice.
As a result, she started her Bollywood career with Ivory-Merchant's Bombay Talkies (1970) in which she sang an English number under Shanker-Jaikishan and then Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Originally, she was supposed to sing Dum Maro Dum along with Asha Bhosle for Hare Rama Hare Krishna. However, as a result of internal politicking on the part of other singers, she lost that chance but ended up singing an English verse.
Uthup sang several songs in the 1970s and 1980s for music directors R D Burman and Bappi Lahiri. She also reprised some of R.D. Burman songs that were sung by others such as Mehbooba Mehbooba and Dum Maro Dum and popularised them to a distinct end.
She has 200 albums under her belt and soundtracks for 150 Hindi and regional films. She has sung French, Spanish, Italian, Swahili, Zulu, Russian, Creole, Hebrew, Sinhala and Chinese. 
Usha married Jani Uthup, who was her fan in Kolkata. The couple has a daughter, Angeli and son, Sunny. The diva is a grandmother now

Summertime by Usha Iyer

Fever by Usha Iyer

Song of Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971

Song of Shalimar 1978

Song of Shan 1980

Song of Pyara Dushman 1980

Song of Wardat 1981

Song of Arman 1981

Song of Disco Dancer 1982

Song of 7 Khoon Maaf 2011

Rahi (1952) - India's First Film to Venice and Moscow International Film Festivals in 1954

The film starred Dev Anand and Nalini Jaywant with Balraj Sahni produced and directed by K A Abbas. The film was based on Mulk Raj Anand's novel "Two Leaves and a Bud". It was produced as a bilingual in Hindi as Rahi and in English as The Wayfarer, under the Naya Sansar banner. It was also dubbed in Russian. The Russian version called Ganga was released in the USSR

The story revolved around an ex-army man played by Dev Anand, who takes up a job in a tea estate, only to get disillusioned with the management, and his situation. Nalini Jaywant played his love interest as a tea leave picker. Her acting was appreciated in the film getting "great critical acclaim".

Dev Anand sans mannerisms delivers a sincere and honest performance, Balraj Sahni shines as usual in his cameo, David proves his brilliance in villainy
The songs melodiously tuned by Anil Biswas are rendered by Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt.

Song of Rahi 1953

Song of Rahi 1953

Song of Rahi 1953

Song of Rahi 1953

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)

The Song "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" was the Last Addition in Guide

You would be surprised to know that this super hit song was originally not in the film. Vijay Anand in an interview said that the song Gata Rahe Mera Dil was inserted later, like a patchwork. We shot that song after the film was completed and then it was added. He said he along with Dev Anand thought that there was no song of Kishore Kumar, in fact, Kishore had not sung for Dev since Paying Guest in 1957.
It happened just like that. Firstly, Kishore Kumar was preoccupied with Madhubala’s health. He was not being able to devote time to rehearsals and recordings. And then with Rafi Sahab, their association was working perfectly. But Dev Bhai was missing Kishore for a long time and so he went to meet him. And then caught hold of him and sort of dragged him to Burman Dada’s home.
 The moment he saw Kishore he said in Bengali, ‘why didn’t you come all these days’ and hugged him. They loved each other a lot. Burman Dada then said let us start the rehearsal, we are going to record a song.
That time S D Burman was composing a song for Teen Deviyan and the song was Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat. This song was the first song Kishore recorded for Dev Bhai after a long hiatus under Burman Dada’s music direction. Kishore sang it so wonderfully, he won everyone’s heart. This is exactly what all of us, including Dev Bhai, was missing. Burman Dada kissed his (Kishore’s) head. He was delighted.
Guide was completed and about to release earlier than Teen Deviyan because there was some work still left with the latter. Besides, Teen Deviyan was being made in black and white and on a much smaller canvas. Guide had been mounted on a large scale and it was in colour and thus it was a much-awaited film. So why not include a song by Kishore in Guide.
So immediately Shailendra was called to write a romantic song thus this song was recorded in a record time. The song was a very big hit. It was the only song of Kishore Kumar in the film.

Song of Guide 1965

S D Burman - A glimpse of his singing career

SD Burman started working as a radio singer on Calcutta Radio Station in the late '20s when his work as a singer-composer was based on Bengali folk and light Hindustani classical music. Consequently, his compositions were mainly influenced by his huge repertoire of folk-tunes from present Bangladesh and later other parts of India and around the world. His first record was also released in 1932
Not many of us know that he sang for other music directors also. He made his film debut singing in Yahudi ki Ladki (1933) but the songs were scrapped and re-sung by Pahari Sanyal. Then in 1934, he recorded some songs for the film ‘Seeta’ produced by the East India Film Co., under the music direction of KC Dey but the recording is not available. As early as 1941, he had rendered a song for a Hindi film under the music direction of Madhulal Damodar Master. This song happened to be his debut song for Hindi films.
The song is ‘Prem ki pyaari nishaani’ from TAJ MAHAL (1941). The film was produced under the banner of Mohan Pictures and directed by Nanabhai Vakil. S D Burman has rendered this song in slow tempo emphasising on phonetics of some words in keeping with the mood of the song. The song does not have any musical interlude.

Song of TAJ MAHAL (1941)

                               Dakley Kokil Roj Bihaney--Sachin Dev Burman (1932)

In 1944, Burman moved to Mumbai, at the request of Sasadhar Mukherjee of Filmistan, who asked him to give a score for two Ashok Kumar starrers, Shikari (1946) and Aath Din. Staying close to KL Saigal, KN Singh and Manna Dey in Bombay, he would sing at private get-togethers with friends. And then on their suggestion, the song “Dheere Se Jaana Bagiyan Mein” was recorded and found immense success with the listening public.

Dheere Se jaana bagiyan mein by S D Burman

                             Jhan Jhan Jhan Manjira - Classical Song by SD Burman

                                             S.D.Burman sings for Anil Biswas

                                 S D Burman-Ummeed Bhara Panchi(Aath Din)-1946

                                  SD Burman Bengali Folk Song - Bandar Chharo 1943

                                                     Biroho Boro Bhalo Lage

                                             Zindagi aye zindagi tere hain do roop

The Original of Hum Bekhudi Mein Tumko Pukare from Kala Pani

                      Ghum Bhulechhi Nijhum Nishithe Jege Thaki -S.D.Burman