43 Years of Amar Akbar Anthony

This film was released on 27 May 1977 and earned ₹155 million at the Indian box office, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of that year. Amitabh Bachchan in his blog said that 'Amar Akbar Anthony' is estimated to have made Rs 7.25 crore in those days. Inflation-adjusted, it crosses the collections of Bahubali 2—The Conclusion today! The film ran for 25 weeks in 25 cinema Halls in Bombay alone which is a record.
You would be surprised to note that when the film was in pre-production, Manmohan Desai thought of shelving it but his wife encouraged Manmohan Desai to complete it. He was not sure of the success of the film. On the day of release, Manmohan Desai got very nervous and sick. When he heard "House full" boards were being put at cinema halls he became well and happy. 
Regarding the title of this film, he said that it was an unusual title at that time. In the '70s when film titles revolved around 'Behen Bhabhi' and 'Beti', this one was so out of place. The director Manmohan Desai got the idea of this film while reading a newspaper! He read a news piece of a drunk man named Jackson, who was fed up of his life and hence decided to drop his three children in the park. Similarly, in the film, Pran takes his children and drops them in a park at the beginning of the film.

The lesser-known fact is from one of the songs from the movie. We are referring to the song 'My name is Anthony Gonsalves...' Audience loves to listen to the song even today, especially, the starting lines which go, 'Sophisticated rhetorician intoxicated with the exuberance of your own verbosity,' uttered by Anthony after he emerges from the huge Easter egg. The words are a quotation from a speech given by Benjamin Disraeli in 1878. 

Another lesser-known fact is that initially, Amitabh's character name was Anthony Fernandes when Manmohan Desai met lyricist Anand Bakshi, and the song "My name is Anthony Fernandes" was written, it didn't go well with Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Composer Pyarelal then recalled his violin teacher, composer Anthony Gonsalves, and suggested an alternative "Anthony Gonsalves", which would be finalized as the character's name.
The soundtrack of the film, composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal with lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi, proved as popular and successful as the film itself. For the song, "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai", four leading playback singers, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, and Lata Mangeshkar sang together for the first and only occasion in their careers.

The film stars Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, and Rishi Kapoor opposite Shabana Azmi, Parveen Babi, and Neetu Singh in the lead roles. The film was scheduled in such a way that the entire cast, including the three titular stars, didn't have to shoot together except for the climactic sequence and the title song, "Anhoni Ko Honi Karde", where they all perform together. It was shot over a period of a month at Ranjit Studios in Mumbai.
There was an interesting goof in the film. In the introduction scene between Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, Rishi's character Akbar Illahabadi calls Neetu Singh's character Dr Salma by her real name and not with her character's name. This goof is noticeable enough, but no efforts were taken to correct it in the movie. This is the scene when Akbar comes to Dr. Salma for a health check-up and he refers to Dr. Salma as Neetu. 
Recall the cult scene wherein Amitabh Bachchan mouths a dialogue looking into the mirror? The dialogue 'Pakka idiot lagtaa' is still fresh in everyone's mind. It was after Amitabh did the mirror scene that Manmohan Desai became a life long fan of Amitabh. Manmohan saw the scene later on and told Amitabh that if he ever wants to leave Manmohan Desai it will be fine, but he (Manmohan) would never leave him.who later formed a hit combo.
You would be surprised to note that Manmohan Desai had met Amitabh in 1972. Salim Javed had introduced him to Manmohan. Desai was not impressed with Amitabh and stated "The only role I will ever offer him is a CHICKEN ROLL !"

Rishi Kapoor in his biography revealed that he was shooting for Laila Majnu 1976 when he got a call from Manmohan Desai that he would like him to play the role of Akbar in his next movie, he thought that Akbar would be someone like Akbar Baadshah the kind of role his grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor played in Mughle Azam 1960 and Rishi Kapoor said to Manmohan Desai he won't be playing that role which his grandfather had played after further discussion he came to know the character was about three heroes belonging to different faiths.
The role of AMAR was originally offered to Dharmendra, but he declined it because of his busy schedule. It was then Vinod Khanna was signed. In the original script, Vinod Khanna did not have any heroine opposite himself he insisted Man Mohan Desai to cast and actress opposite him as his co-stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor had actress paired opposite them. Shabana Azmi was cast at the last moment.

This film was full of entertainment but was also full of illogical facts such as the scene where all 3 brothers giving blood directly to the mother. A miracle in medical science and also in the last scene when Neetu Singh catches Parveen's wrist to find out whether she is pregnant. It became a joke that Manmohan Desai is entertaining but you have to leave your brain at home to see his films.
This film truly belonged to Amitabh Bachchan. He received his first Filmfare award for this film. The film crowned Amitabh Bachchan as a ‘One Man Variety Show’ 

Songs of Amar Akbar Anthony

	Title	Time
1.	"Ye Sach Hai Koi Kahani Nahin"	Mohammad Rafi	02:22
2.	"Amar Akbar Anthony"	Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, Shailendra Singh	05:52
3.	"Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar"	Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar	07:33
4.	"Taiyabali Pyar Ka Dushman"	Mohammad Rafi	04:40
5.	"Parda Hai Parda"	Mohammad Rafi	07:59
6.	"Shirdi Wale Sai Baba"	Mohammad Rafi	05:52
7.	"My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves"	Amitabh Bachchan, Kishore Kumar

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

50 Years of Humjoli

Recall the badminton song "Dhal Gaya Din " which was later recreated in a song of 2007 film"Om Shanti Om"  Another song Haye Re Haye Neend Nahin Aye and Tik Tik Tik performed by Jeetendra and Mumtaz made this movie a musical hit in 1970.
The highlight of the film was the unforgettable comedy of Mehmood, who played a triple role of grandfather, father, and son mimicking Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, and Randhir Kapoor.
The film was produced by Prasan Kapoor under the Tirupati Pictures banner and directed by T. R. Ramanna. It stars Jeetendra, Leena Chandavarkar in the lead roles with Pran and Mehmood, and music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. 

Village-based Gopalnath (Pran) had always dreamed of becoming rich. On a visit to Bombay city, his dreams are fulfilled when he agrees to marry plain-looking Roopa, the sole heiress of a wealthy man (Nazir Hussain). Unknown to Roopa, Gopalnath loves fellow-villager, Shyama (Shashikala). After the passing away of Roopa's dad, Roopa gives birth to a baby girl, Ranibala. Gopalnath arranges to have Roopa killed; marries Shyama, and lets Ranibala lives in a hostel. Years later, his past comes to haunt him in the shape and form of Shyama's relatives, and Ranibala's suitor, Manmohan, who will not leave any stone unturned to blackmail Gopalnath for the rest of his life.

Great performances from everyone as well as excellent songs and picturization make Humjoli an entertaining watch. Mumtaz appears for the catchy song 'Tik Tik' where Mumtaz and Jeetendra's dancing makes Leena shed tears of jealously. 

Songs of Humjoli

#	Title	Singer(s)
1	"Haye Re Haye"	Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
2	"Dhal Gaya Din Ho Gayi Sham"	Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle
3	"Chal Shuru Ho Ja"	Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar
4	"Ho Tu Tu Tu"	Kamal Barot, Asha Bhosle
5	"Yeh Kaisa Aaya Zamana"	Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Mahmood
6	"Tik Tik Tik Mera Dil"	Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi

Song of Humjoli 1970

Song of Humjoli 1970

Song of Humjoli 1970

Song of Humjoli 1970

Song of Humjoli 1970

Song of Humjoli 1970

"YAHOO" The Yell that Shook the Nation

This iconic foot-tapping song from film Junglee introduced a freestyle dancing by Shammi Kapoor. His sky-breaking scream ‘Yahoo!’ depicts a freedom-seeking soul. This song became a cult song.  The idea of "Yahoo" itself was Shammi Kapoor's who had used it earlier in "Tumsa Nahin Dekha" (1957) and "Dil Deke Dekho" (1959).
You would be surprised to know that the iconic yell "Yahoo!!" in this song was not rendered by Mohammad Rafi. In fact, Jaikishan the music director of this film had planned on using his voice for the scream but when he couldn't pull it off, he asked the writer Prayag Raj who happened to be in the. studio and gave that memorable shout. Shammi Kapoor once said it was only Rafi saheb who could sing on such a high scale.
Shammi Kapoor hurt himself while picturizing this song. He badly bruised his knees when he came hurtling down a snow-covered hill while shouting his signature call -- "yahoo" - This song was picturized at Pahalgam in Kashmir.
 It is this musical number alone that solidified Kapoor's reputation as an untamed screen presence (in the style of Dean and Presley) and set the tone for his future movies. 
After picturizing this song, when Rafi saheb saw the song, he hugged Shammi Kapoor and said that he thought of him while singing this song and you have exactly done that. After this song Rafi became his voice in films. 
Junglee was 1961 film which was in color, it was an attraction to those days. Shammi Kapoor was not sure that this film would be such a hit, especially this song. This song became a craze and Shammi Kapoor became a Superstar after this film. Kapoor steadily amassed a huge following that reached its zenith with this film.
This movie was first offered to Jagdeep before played by Shammi Kapoor. Jag deep 'Surma Bhopali' from Sholay fame famous for the comic role did some serious role in his early movies

Song of Junglee 1961

The Invisble Men of Bollywood

The idea of invisibility has always fascinated cine-goers. The idea of an invisible man originated from the novel by H. G Wells published in 1897. The first movie in this novel was made in 1933 in Hollywood by Universal Studio. Since then many films are made on this subject. 
The invisible man has been a runaway success in Bollywood too. This formula has wowed the masses through the generations in Hindi Film Industry. The first film on this subject was made in 1938 as "Mr. X", produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt. The second film was also Mr. X in 1957 played by Ashok Kumar. The third film was "Mr. X in Bombay" released in 1964. Another film on this subject was Mr. India in 1989.
It is definitely a very cool superpower to possess and the success of all these films only shows that this subject is a money-spinner.
Mr. X (1957)

Song of Mr X 1957

Sippy films made Mr.X in 1957, starring Ashok Kumar, Nalini Jaywant, Pran and Johny Walker, produced by G.P.Sippy, Directed by Nanabhai Bhatt, Music by N.Dutta and Lyrics by Majrooh, Hasrat, Tanvir Naqvi and Bharat Vyas.
The film was made in a small budget and was a hit. The song Laal Laal Gaal picturized on Johny  Walker was a super hit.

Mr. X in Bombay (1964)

Song of Mr. X in Bombay (1964) 

A comedy film directed by Shantilal Soni featuring Kishore Kumar, Kum Kum. The music for this film was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi and Asad Bhopali. The song "Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi" of this movie became an evergreen hit.

Elaan  (1971 )

Song of Elaan  (1971 )

Its F C Mehra's film, directed by K. Ramanlal. The film stars Vinod Mehra, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, and  Madan Puri. The character played by Vinod Mehra finds himself locked in a cellar alongside an old man who claimed to have invented an ''atomic ring'', which can make a person invisible. He gives it to Mehra by literally tearing off his leg and extracting the ring, which the latter has to supposedly put in his mouth and take off all his clothes to turn invisible. The film was an average hit.

Me. India (1987)

Song of Mr India 1987

 Mr. India remains a cult classic in India. It had all the ingredients of an entertainer and the formula was bang on. T.Produced by Boney Kapoor and directed by Shekhar Kapoor, based on a screenplay written by Salim-Javed. It stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. Amrish Puri, as Mogambo. The film was the second highest-grossing Indian film of 1987 

Chamatkar (1992)

Song of Chamatkar (1992)

It's an F C Mehra's film directed by Rajiv Mehra. It cast Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan and Urmila Matondkar in pivotal roles. The film was quite popular among children.  The film had Shah Rukh Khan as a cricket coach and Naseeruddin Shah as the 'ghost' who was killed and buried in the same cemetery, where a homeless Shah Rukh seeks refuge


Gayab  ( 2004 )

Song of Gayab  ( 2004 )

 Produced by Ram Gopal Verma, It stars Tusshar Kapoor and Antara Mali as the lead protagonists. The film became a moderate box office success. There is nothing new to Gayab. The invisibility trick was slicker in Mr. India. The film contains the antics of Vishnu enjoying his invisibility and trying to win Mohini’s heart (with the insertion of a side-plot here and there).


Mr. X (2015)

This Emraan Hashmi-starrer wasn`t well-received by the audiences despite made in 3D. The actor played a dedicated government officer, who gets charred in a factory during an assignment and is given an untested potion by his friend's sister, which causes a complete cell regeneration from the scratch causing him to become invisible in all lights except neon light and direct sunlight. 

Subodh Mukharjee - A Filmmaker of Golden Era of Bollywood

The younger brother of the doyen of Hindi films Shashdhar Mukherjee of Filmistan Studio. The studio that gave us Shaheed (1948), Shabnam (1949), Anarkali (1953), and Nagin(1954). Jagriti(1954),  
Munimji 1955, Paying Guest 1957, Tumsa Nahin Dekha 1957 
He directed Dev Anand in Munimji and Paying Guest and later started his own production house with Love Marriage. He introduced Saira Bano and made Shammi Kapoor a superstar with the 1961 film Junglee.
Subodh Mukharjee ( April 14, 1921- 21 May 2005) was a freedom fighter, he was in jail for 3 months. His elder brother Shashdhar pulled him away from the nationalist movement and engaged him film making.He was given the first film as an independent director Munimji The script was written by Nasir Hussain and the music was composed by S D Burman. The film was a hit. The song "Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Rahi," sung by Kishore Kumar, became a super hit. This team of Subodh Mukherjee, Nasir Hussain, Dev Anand, and music director S.D. Burman later got together to make another movie, Paying Guest, in 1957. In the same year,. Looking to this the Filmalaya decided to make another film Tumsa Nahin Dekho was released which was directed by Nasir Hussain, it was also successful so Filmalya gave Nasir Hussain another film to direct, this upset Subodh, e decided to start his own production house, the SMP Subodh Mukharjee Productions
The first film of this house was Love Marriage starring Dev Anand and Mala Sinha. This was the third film in a row under his direction All the three films were hit.
The next film under his direction and production house was Junglee with Shammi Kapoor. The film was a super hit. after Junglee he made April Fool in 1964 and Saaj Aur Awaz in 1966, both the films were average in Box Office.
In 1967 he produced Shagird, the direction was given to Samir Ganguly. The film stars Joy Mukherjee and Saira Banu in lead roles The film was a super hit. He then made two films simultaneously,
Abhinetri released in 1970 was directed by him and Sharmilee directed by Samir Ganguli was a hit. his was the last hit from SMP. 
In the first two decades of his career, he had a high success percentage, but like so many movie-makers of his generation, he floundered from the seventies and quit in 1985. The last 2 films were Teesri Aankh 1982 and Ulta Seedha in 1985.

Song of Munimji 1955

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Song of Love Marriage 1959

Song of Junglee1961

Song of Shagird 1967

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen - The song that was kept on Hold

This song remains one of the most popular songs of Madhumati, released in 1958. The Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhry. Shailendra wrote the lyrics The soundtrack of Madhumati became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 1958. This remains one of the personal favorite songs of Mukesh.
Suhana Safar Aur Ye Mausam Haseen is one of Hindi cinema’s greatest musical scores. An anthem in praise of natural beauty. Mukesh’s inimitable voice emanates the joy with a fantastic echo effect. Salil Chowdhury utilized this quality so adeptly in this composition that listening to it one feels like none but Mukesh could have rendered this song. Charming its way into people’s hearts and rightly securing his position in the league of legends.
It is said that Dilip Kumar, the hero of the film wanted this song to be sung by Talat Mahmood but Talat himself declined to sing saying Mukesh needed that break much more than him, Mukesh was not getting songs during those years and that he was hard up for money.
There is another story behind this song, that Shailendra who was the lyricist for this song couldn’t find a suitable line to follow this particular one “Ye Gori Nadiyon Ka Chalna Uchhal Kar”. So the song was kept on hold for quite some time till one day, he happened to chance upon a little girl who was crossing a lane and singing to herself. This inspired him to write the next line “Ki Jaise Alhad Chale Pee Se Mil Kar”. He immediately went to Salil Da's home and completed the full song. Shailendra has used words like ‘Alhar’, which is seldom used in film songs and it is north Indian rooted word, generally used by village and small-town folks.
Along with the composition of the song and its picturization; the lyrics were unique. Describing the movement of rivers, 
Unlike other films, shot indoors, Roy decided to shoot Madhumati outdoors and at a hill station. It had a six-week schedule in Ranikhet, Nainital. Some scenes were shot in Ghorakhal, near Nainital. In those days there were no monitors, so when the negatives were developed, it was found that most of the footage was foggy. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand wasn't possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri, near Nashik. Art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to matched the location in Nainital.

Song of Madhumati 1958

The Changing Face of Indian Cinema- Bioscope to OTT

Film Exhibition is an important part of any Cinema Industry. It is the foundation of the revenue of this business. For decades, the theatrical release window has been a valuable model for exhibitors and producers alike. It has traveled from the single theatres to the multiplex age. From the video parlors to the digital era and Satellite Releases.on your mobile phone. 
Though film production commenced in India in 1913, the progress of the film business started in 1896, the historical year when Lumiere Bros' films were exhibited at Watson Hotel in Mumbai. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar was the first Indian to import a Cine-camera from London at a price of 21 guineas and made a topical in 1897. “Return of Wrangler Paranjapee”- first Indian Actually Film shot by Bhatvadekar. Hiralal Sen stars working in Bengal by filming extracts from stage-plays.
J.F. Madan (1856-1926) launched his bioscope show in a tent at Calcutta Maidan in 1902. Later in 1904  Manek D Sethna started exhibiting cinema regularly. He started to move from one place to another with his projector. In 1907 
the First Cinema hall in India was built by J.F. Madan in Calcutta in 1907 and it was named Elphinstone Picture Palace it was later called as Chaplin Cinema. By the time the first Talkie movie started many cinema theatres started working in many parts of India.,

With the emergence of TV, cinema finds new media to exhibit. Expansion of TV network all over India in the early eighties brought the films in our drawing rooms. This was the decade when Film piracy was at its peak. Pirated video cassettes were easily available, people stopped going to cinema halls and started to watch movies at their homes. 

By the end of the last century,. Indian cinema started a crossover from analog to digital. For distributors and exhibitors, one of the most evident benefits of this technological shift was the convenience factor. The content in the digital format does not have to be frantically shuffled between theaters but it can simply be delivered by way of satellite or hard drive. 

As digitalization has grown, so has the technology behind it. Over the decades there have been different types of digital projectors in use. With the emergence of multiplexes India, too, is taking rapid strides towards asserting this trend Soon all of India will be watching digitally transmitted movies. 

The main benefit of digitization is that there can be multiple pan-India releases.  A digital print can be sent anywhere via satellite. The first major Bollywood film Singh is Kinng was released via digital distribution. The film had released simultaneously in around 400 odd digital theatres. In 2008, Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan, released with the maximum number of prints in India – 1,200 (both digital and analog versions). In 2013, Dhoom 3 released with 4,500 prints, and almost all were digital.

Under the present circumstances of a complete lockdown in India due to Coronavirus, all the cinema halls are closed. Now the producers whose films are ready for release are now thinking to release their films directly to OTT a new platform for the young generation. Several big firms have lined up for a digital release, ditching the traditional route of a theatrical opening. This has led to a tug of war between producers and exhibitors. Direct-to-OTT could become an increasing reality in the near future. This platform bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content. This platform could be accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players (including video game consoles), or televisions with integrated Smart TV. 
it`s the dawn of a new era where both patterns of release will probably find a way to co-exist. Many big films are now ready to get released on this platform in India.Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer "Gulabo Sitabo" and Vidya Balans "Shakuntala Devi" are among the first.

Here are a few OTT platforms in India. Voot, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Sonyliv, etc.

Kaanto Se Kheench Ke Ye Aanchal - An Experimental Song

EVERY song of ‘Guide’ is still fresh in the minds of people who love music. This 3.44-minute song of Lata Mangeshkar is one of her favorite songs  Could you believe that initially, she didn't like this song. This song was recorded in between the shooting of the film. Dev Anand, who was the producer of the film was also not satisfied with the song.
S D Burman experimented in his music in many of the songs of this film. In this song, he started the song with an Antara. Usually, Hindi songs start with a Mukhada but here Dada Burman started with Antara. The Mukada of the song is "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai" which comes after Antra. Probably a feat no other music director will ever be able to ever repeat
After the recording of this song in Bombay, Dev Anand joined the unit that was shooting at Udaipur in Rajasthan. Vijay Anand who was the director of the film now wanted to shoot the song but Dev Anand who was not satisfied with the song was not interested to shoot, Vijay Anand convinced him to shoot this song if even after he didn't like, they will re-record the song.

The song "was shot at Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan. In fact, the reflection of the heroine on one of the mirrors, during the song, is inspired by the legendary tale of Alauddin Khilji catching a glimpse of Queen Padmini on the same mirror in the main hall.
Composer Sachin Dev Burman fell seriously ill during this film and even requested Dev Anand to engage some other composer for the film. But Dev Anand stood firm to his side and said that he would wait till Dada Burman is fit again. Once cured, the masterpiece compositions started to flow; the first song recorded was the evergreen "Gaata Rahe Mera Dil".