Waheeda Rehman - Beauty with Talent

In an interview, Waheeda Rehman said, "I never considered myself beautiful in my younger years. I only considered myself to be photogenic. I looked beautiful mainly because of the good lighting and makeup. I never considered myself beautiful."
The reality is that  Waheeda Rehman was known for her classic combination of Islamic beauty and extraordinary grace, talent and an appeal that ranked her among the top of Bollywood's elite actresses. 
Her sophistication remains unparalleled to date and who is considered to be one of the most beautiful women that Indian cinema.
She was born on 3rd Feb 1938 into a Muslim family in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
  Her father was a district commissioner who died in 1948 when Waheeda was only 10 years old. Her dream was to become a doctor but, due to circumstances of illness of her mother, she abandoned this goal. Instead helped by her supportive parents, she hit the silver screen with Telugu films Rojulu Marayi (1955), followed by Jayasimha (1955) and Tamil film K.aalam Maari Pochu (1956). 
In the success party of Rojulu Maaraayi, Guru Dutt noticed her and decided to groom her and have her act in Hindi films. Waheeda considered Guru Dutt as her mentor. Dutt brought her to Bombay and cast as a vamp in his production CID (1956), directed by Raj Khosla.. After the success of C.I.D., Dutt gave her a leading role in Pyaasa (1957). Their next venture together was Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), 
Waheeda's successful films are Pyaasa (1957), 12 O'Clock (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1961). Her other notable works include Solva Saal (1958), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962), Kohra (1964), Bees Sal Baad (1962), Guide (1965), Teesri Kasam, Mujhe Jeene Do (1966), Neel Kamal and Khamoshi (1969).

Waheeda Rehman established a great working relationship with Dev Anand, and together as a pair had number of successful films to their credit. The box office hits of the pair include CID (1956), Solva Saal (1958), Kala Bazar (1960), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962) and Guide (1965); box office duds were Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961) and Prem Pujari (1970). 
Besides Dev Anand she delivered hits opposite Dilip Kumar in three successive years; Dil Diyaa Dard Liyaa in 1966, Ram Aur Shyam in 1967 and Aadmi in 1968.

 She reached her peak with Guide (1965) and was much in demand. Her career continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her roles in Guide (1965), and Neel Kamal (1968), but despite excellent offbeat roles in subsequent films, including a National Award-winning performance in Reshma Aur Shera (1971), some of the films failed at the box office. Seeing her films being successful, Waheeda decided to experiment with roles at this stage of career. She accepted Reshma Aur Shera, opposite her old co-star Sunil Dutt, with whom she had previously in the sixties had hits like Ek Phool Char Kaante, Mujhe Jeene Do, Meri Bhabhi and Darpan.
She played pivotal roles  Kabhi Kabhie (1976),Trishul (1978), Jwalamukhi (1980), Namkeen and Namak Halaal (1982),Mashaal (1984), Chandni(1989), Rang De Basanti(2006). She played the central character in the Mahesh Bhatt directed film Swayam that starred Akash Khurana and Anupam Kher. 
After her marriage to Shashi Rekhi (screen name Kamaljeet whom she paired in 1964 film Shagoon )on 27 April 1974, she shifted to a farmhouse in Bangalore. She has two children named Sohail and Kashvi, who are writers. On 21 November 2000, her husband died following a prolonged illness. She moved back to her ocean view bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai where she currently lives.
In recent years she made a comeback playing elderly mother and grandmother roles in Om Jai Jagadish (2002), Water (2005) and Rang De Basanti (2006), 15, Park Avenue, Delhi 6 (2009), Love in Bombay (2013) and Vishwarupam (2015) which were all critically acclaimed.
She has received a Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality, a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Film Award for Best Actress and two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.

Song from CID 1956

Song from Pyasaa 1957

Song from Kaagaz Ke Phool 1959

Song from Kala Bazar 1960

Song from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam 1962

Song from Bees Saal Baad 1962

Song from Guide 1965

Song from Teesri Kasam 1966

50 Years of A memorable film DASTAK

Released in 1970, Dastak is a celluloid adaptation of the Urdu play by Rajendra Singh Bedi, Naql-e-Makani  he penned during his All India Radio stint in pre-Independence Lahore and chronicles a blameless married couple’s humiliation and horror over ugly prejudices.
The film is known for its performances by its leading cast, Sanjeev Kumar, and the newcomer, Rehana Sultan, and for its memorable songs by Madan Mohan. A MUST WATCH film.

The film was known for its unusual storyline set in a red light area. A newlywed couple, Hamid (Sanjeev Kumar) and Salma (Rehana Sultan), unwittingly rent a flat, and thus begins their daily turmoil at the knocks (dastak) on their door. The previous occupant was Shamshad Begum (Shakeela), a famous Mujrewali (nautch girl).

 The music of Dastak stood out for its allegiance to the classical traditions of raga-based melodies by its music director Madan Mohan, who managed to get from Lata Mangeshkar, ostensibly her best performance as a playback singer.

 Madan Mohan won his first National Film Award for it and the lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri. Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the famous film director-turned-editor of this black-and-white film and won a Filmfare Award, his second after Madhumati in 1958.

Song of Dastak 1970

Song of Dastak 1970

Song of Dastak 1970

Song of Dastak 1970

50 Years of Prem Pujari

50 Years ago Dev Anand’s directorial debut was the most awaited film of the 1970.
The music of the film was the highlight of the film . Composed by S.D. Burman and written by Gopaldas Neeraj, the songs were (and still are) a bigger hit than the film, which actually flopped at the box office.
This film cleverly talks about patriotism and the Army — two of today's favorite subjects.
The film progressively takes you from being anti-war to pro-war by not only making you sympathize with the protagonist, but also villainising the other side.
 Songs like Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jaye, Rangeela Re Tere Rang Mein and Phoolon Ke Rang Se, sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar are Immortal. 

Song of Prem Pujari 1970

Song of Prem Pujari 1970

Song of Prem Pujari 1970

Song of Prem Pujari 1970

Song of Prem Pujari 1970

Shakti Samanta - A Filmmaker who gave us many Great Films

Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) a filmmaker of the Golden Era of Bollywood gave us films such as Howrah Bridge, China Town, Sawan Ki Ghata, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, Aradhana, Kati Patang, Amar Prem.and many more.
He wanted to become an actor but became a director. He joined the film industry in 1948 as an assistant director starting with Satish Nigam in Raj Kapoor starrer "Sunhere Din.".  He got his break as an independent director fro the 1954 film "Bahu".
He started his own production company, Shakti Films, in 1957, and the first release of his independent banner was the murder-mystery Howrah Bridge, with Ashok Kumar and Madhubala as the lead, With the huge success of this film, his banner became one of the great banners of the 60s and 70s.
Shakti Samanta was among the directors who worked with Shammi Kapoor in the late 1950s and up to the mid-'60s, then with Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, creating a number of classics such as Aradhana, Kati Patang, Anurodh, and Amar Prem.
He directed 37 Hindi films and 6 Bengali films. He worked with many actors of his time  Most popular among the lot was Ashok Kumar, with whom he did as many as nine films which include Inspector, Shero, Isi Ka Naam Duniya Hai, Howrah Bridge, Aradhana, Amar Prem, Anuraag, Anurodh, and Anand Ashram. 

Shammi Kapoor was also his favorite actor with whom he did 6 films, the first film he did with him was "Singapore" released in 1960. 

China Town was the next film released in 1962  It was a black-and-white movie, starring Shammi Kapoor in a double role, as a gangster and his look-alike. Shakila was the leading lady, alongside Helen in a supporting role.

Kashmir Ki Kali was the next film released in 1964. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore in her debut role, Pran, Dhumal, Nazir Hussain, and Anoop Kumar. It was a great hit and its music became super hit.

An Evening In Paris was the next film released in 1967, it was again a hit. After that Pagla kahi ka and Jane Anjane in 1971

Rajesh Khanna became his favorite hero after the success of Aradhana in 1969. Rajesh Khanna also worked with him in 6 films. Kati Patang was the second film with him and then came Amar Prem in 1971.

He received Filmfare Awards for Best Film for Aradhana (1969), Anuraag (1973) and Amanush, which was also made in Bengali

He died of cardiac arrest at his suburban Santa Cruz residence at approximately 5pm on 9 th April 2009,

Song of Howrah Bridge 1958

Song of Jaali Note (1960)

Song of China Town (1962)

Song of Kashmir Ki Kali (1964)

Song of An Evening in Paris (1967)

Song of Aradhana (1969)

Song of Kati Patang (1970)

Song of Amar Prem (1971)

Song of Mehbooba (1976)

Milap (1955) - Not a Typical Dev Anand Film

Could you imagine a film in which Dev Anand not singing a song? He once rejected the film Zanzeer (which later Amitabh Bachchan did) because there was no song for him in the script.  Hard to comprehend how Raj Khosla could pass a script where the hero does not sing a song. In fact, there is a very beautiful solo song by Hemant Kumar which was also sung by lata Mangeshkar as solo but Hemant Kumar version was not included in the film.

The film was released in 1955, the year that saw Dev Anand in great form. “Insaniyat” featured him with Dilip Kumar and he enjoyed hits like “House No 44”, “Munimji” and “CID”. A year earlier, “Taxi Driver” had showcased his acting talents.
 Dev Anand had hits like “Ziddi”, “Baazi” and “Jaal” before “Milap” graced the screen and this was his sixth movie with the hugely talented Geeta Bali.

 Dev Anand playing a dreamy-eyed villager, dressed in shirt-pajama, unthinkable and unacceptable, we miss his mannerism. Lovely and talented Geeta Bali is the heart and soul of this movie.KN Singh makes for a great, slimy, sophisticated villain as always but the Johnny Walker comedy act is a big, big weakness in the film. In particular, the tacky endless sequence with Johnny behind the wheel of the car just seems to go on and on and gets on one’s nerves after a while.
This film was the first film by Raj Khosla as a director, before that he was an assistant to Guru Dutt. The music was composed by Datta Naik, while Sahir Ludhianvi wrote the lyrics for the songs

Song of Milap 1955

Song of Milap 1955

Song of Milap 1955

Song of Milap 1955

Song of Milap 1955

Mahendra Kapoor - The Vibrant Voice of India

He was one of the pillars of the Golden Era of Hindi Music, he had his own style of singing and was different from other singers of his time. Mahendra Kapoor had a very large vocal range, and he is sometimes known as The Vibrant Voice of India. He was the first Indian playback singer to record music in English. He was asked by the group Boney M to sing their songs in Hindi with Musarat from Pakistan, which resulted in the Pop Album M-3.
Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. Best known for the song MERE DESH KI DHARTI from Upkar.He started his career as a playback singer in V. Shantaram's Navrang in 1958, singing Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi, under the musical direction of C. Ramchandra.
 At an early age, he was inspired by singer Mohammed Rafi but he started learning classical music under classical singers like Pt. Hussanlal, Pt. Jagannath Bua, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and Pt.Tulsidaas Sharma.
 He is perhaps most notable for lending his voice to actor Manoj Kumar in most of his films, mainly in the patriotic genre of music.He was a favorite singer for B R Chopra's films. Some of the films of BR Chopra camp were Dhool Ka Phool, Gumrah, Waqt, Hamraaz, Dhund and Nikaah
He sang in a large number of Indian languages and was the playback singer who has performed in the largest number of in Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Marathi movies. He also performed the title song for the TV series Mahabharat. In Marathi, he was very popular for being the voice of Dada Kondke in all his movies. In spite of being associated with Dada Kondke's colloquial style, his singing for Marathi movies was not limited to Dada Kondke's movies only.
.He remained a respected and popular figure across his five-decade cinema career. During his singing career, he sang more than 2500 songs in various languages.In 1972, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
On 27 September 2008, Kapoor died following cardiac failure. He was survived by his wife, children, children-in-law and grandchildren.

Song of Navrang 1958

Song of Dhool Ka Phool (1959)

Song of Ghunghat 1960

Song of Gumrah (1963)

Song of Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966)

Song of Upkar (1967)

Song of Hamraaz (1967)

Song of  Purab Aur Paschim (1970)

Song of Gopi (1970) 

Nadia- India’s original stunt queen

She was also called as Fearless Nadia or Nadia- The Hunterwali. Born as Mary Ann Evans in Australia, she came to India when she was 5 years old. By the time Mary reached her mid-twenties, she had trained herself in horse riding, ballet, tap dance, and gymnastics. She is most remembered as the masked, cloaked adventurer in Hunterwali, released in 1935, which was one of the earliest female-lead Indian films. 
Nadia proved a huge hit with the audience, whereupon, considering her skills at performing circus and other stunts, J.B.H., by then joined by his younger brother Homi, chose to develop her into a star.

Born on January 8, 1908, she wanted to be a singer and dancer and learned Scottish dances from her father and Greek songs from her mother. She went on to sing in church choirs in school but even as a young girl, she was different. While her classmates played with fluffy soft toys, she spent most of her time with a pony that became her best friend. She also spent time learning fishing, hunting, horse riding and everything normally considered audacious for girls of her age at the time.
Her father died when she was only 15 so she started to look for a job. Nadia tried her hand at several other jobs. From working in a secretarial position, traveling as a theatre artist to performing as a trapeze artist at a circus, she did it all. She also worked hard to train herself as a gymnast and her graceful cartwheels, daredevil stunts and charming presence soon won her a lot of fans.
 Eruch Kanga, a cinema owner from Lahore, spotted her in performance and suggested her name to J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia, the brothers who owned a major production house called Wadia Movietone. Initially, she was given a small role in two of their upcoming movies, Desh Deepak and Noor-e-Yaman. Her cameos as a slave girl in the former and as a princess in the latter were well-liked by the audience.
Her big break came with the 1935 film Hunterwali.  This movie was the first one to showcase Nadia’s fearlessness, her athletic prowess, and her affinity for the stunt genre. The audience loved her. Over the next decade, Nadia went on to star in over 50 films, performing her own stunts in every single film. She went on to achieve great stardom and became one of the highest-paid actresses in the Indian film industry during this period. 
Nadia married Homi Wadia in 1961 and thus became Nadia Wadia  In 1967-68 when she was in her late 50s, she appeared in a James Bond spoof called Khiladi (The Player). That was her last film.
In 1993, Nadia's great-grandnephew, Riyad Vinci Wadia, made a documentary of her life and films, called Fearless: The Hunterwali Story. After watching the documentary at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival, Dorothee Wenner, a German freelance writer, and film curator wrote Fearless Nadia - The true story of Bollywood's original stunt queen, which was subsequently translated into English in 2005. She died on 9th Jan 1996 due to age-related diseases.

Song of Hunterwali 1935

                       Dile Nadan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai - Hunterwali Ki Beti - Fearless Nadia

60 Years of Kala Bazar

Today in the period of Multiplexes and Online ticket booking of films, this generation would not believe that there was a time when there used to be black on cinema tickets. On this subject, a film could be made?
. For many of you, the idea of a Kala Bazaar might be alien. but this happened 60 years ago by Dev Anand and Navketan Films.
In Kala Bazar, Dev Anand plays Raghuvir, a common man who becomes a successful black marketer by selling cinema tickets to earn money for his family. Raghuvir's dark trade flourishes and he is able to move into a more comfortable home with his brother, sister (Nanda) and mother (Leela Chitnis).
 Raghuvir meets his match in Alka (Waheeda Rehman), the beautiful girl who stuns him with her idealismThough aware that Alka is in love with someone else, he prodigiously pursues her. The script has plenty of twists, Just when we think that Alka's rejection of Raghuvir will spell the end of their romance, Vijay Anand's character resurfaces and fixes everything. It's awesome how the film shows that a girl is very much capable of falling in love twice. Alka falls in love with Raghuvir.
“Kala Bazar” is indeed a timeless classic. With a director like Vijay Anand to make use of their genius, every actor played his part in a composed manner. Some close to reality sequences in this movie only underlined the importance of his direction. No wonder, Dev Anand regarded his brother “a great asset. The rare part of the film was the presence of the three brothers( Dev, Chetan, and Vijay Anand) playing important characters.

But the most entertaining part is the first scene where there is a real-life premiere show of Mother India, Mehboob Khan's 1957 blockbuster. The camera captures the excitement breeding heavy amongst the audience who are waiting for a rare glimpse of their favorite movie stars. We, sitting on the other side of the screen, also get to catch the likes of Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Naseem Banu, Kishore Kumar, Nadira, Kumkum, Mohd Rafi, Guru Dutt, Geeta Dutt, Raj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Sohrab Modi, and Nimmi. It was the genius of Vijay Anand who thought of creating a unique scene that was followed by many filmmakers.

Vijay Anand's direction and attention to small details contribute to make the movie memorable. There is so much to admire in Kala Bazar, starting with the incredible music by S.D Burman with lyrics by Shailendra. Each innovatively picturized song is a stand-alone classic – Khoya Khoya Chand, Rim Jhim Ke Tarane Leke Aayi Barsaat, Apni Toh Har Aah Ek Toofan Hai and of course Na Mai Dhan Chahoon. 

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of Kala Bazar 1960