50 Years of Mera Gaon Mera Desh

 

A super hit movie of 1971 starting Dharmendra, Asha Parekh, and Vinod Khanna shot in Rajasthan is sheer eye candy. It has its romance, its moments of comedy, and its melodrama, but ( Vinod Khanna) Jabbar Singh vs. Ajit(Dharmendra) is, eventually, the focus of the film.  it has a lot of the tropes and motifs of the Clint Eastwood films. The film was a huge blockbuster at the box office cementing Vinod Khanna's place as a top actor.

Dharmendra plays Ajit, an orphan, who is reformed by an ex-soldier Jayant. The village is repeatedly looted and savaged by Jabbar’s gang and Ajit stands up to wage a lone fight.

Asha Parekh is the heroine of the film but has nothing to do except singing one or two songs. 

Worth mentioning is Laxmi Chhaya. She gets to lip-sync to three of the film’s most famous songs—Maar diya jaaye ya chhod diya jaaye, Aaya aaya atariya pe koi chor and Apni prem kahaaniyaan—and dances up a storm in each of them. 

Music is the strong point of the film. All the songs were popular but the background score by Laxmikant Pyarelal adds to the ferocity that Jabbar comes to signify. 

Vinod Khanna as Jabbar Singh shall live for all times to come.  I recommend every one who has seen this movie or not ; please watch it again and get mesmerized.

Soundtrack

#
Title
Singer(s)
1
"Aaya Aaya Atariya Pe Koi Chor"
Lata Mangeshkar
2
"Apni Prem Kahaniyaan"
Lata Mangeshkar
3
"Kuchh Kehta Hai Ye Saawan"
Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
4
"Sona Lai Ja Re"
Lata Mangeshkar
5
"Maar Diya Jaye"
Lata Mangeshkar

Songs of Mera Gaon Mera Desh 1971

Rehman- Chhote Sarkar & Chenoy Seth of Bollywood

 

Rehman (23 June 1921- 5 Nov 1984), a man whose majestic voice was his signature in the Golden Era of Bollywood. He was an integral part of the Guru Dutt team, and most known for his roles in films such as Pyar ki Jeet, Badi Behen, Pyaasa, Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, like Guru Dutt he was also signed by Prabhat Studios as 3rd assistant director to Vishram Bedekar during the shooting of Lakharani (1945).

He was the hero of Suraya in Pyar Ki Jeet(1948), and Badi Behan(1949). Hero of Kamini Kaushal & Madhubala in  Paras(1949) and Pardes(1950), as time passed, he accepted supporting roles and made his mark in some hit films like Pyaasa(1957), Phir Subah Hogi (1958), Chaudhvin Ka Chand(1960)and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam(1962).

After college (1942), he joined the Royal Indian Air Force and trained at Poona as a pilot. The Air Force didn't appeal to him and soon left for a career in films at Bombay. His first brush with acting happened almost by chance. Director D.D. Kashyap, whom Rehman was assisting at that time, urgently required someone to play the role of a Pathan in his film ‘Chand’ (1944). Since Rehman was the only one on the sets who could tie a turban the Pathani way, he got this role, for this role he had to speak one dialogue, he had to give 50 takes for this dialogue.
The next film was Hum Ek Hain followed by Pyar Ki Jeet(1948) and Badi Behan(1949) as hero opposite Suraiya. Both films were hit but after these films, none of his films as hero clicked. It was Guru Dutt who offered him the character role in Pyasa 
Rehman also did key roles in ‘Waqt’, ‘Baharon Ki Manzil’, ‘Gomti ke Kinare’, ‘Dushman’, ‘Holi Ayi Re’. Rehman received four Filmfare nominations as Best Supporting Actor for: Choti Bahen (1958), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya (1966).
In 1977, he suffered heart attacks after which he got throat cancer and died after a prolonged and painful illness in 1979. What a tragedy, the man who had an impressive, majestic voice lost his voice and he was unable to speak during his last days in his life. 
The song in which he appeared with Suraiya in Badi Behan will be remembered forever. “Chup Chup Khade ho, Zaroor koi Baat hai”, will always be in our memories.

Song of Pyar Ki Jeet(1948)

Song of Badi Behan 1949

Song of Paras 1949

Song of Pardes 1950

Song of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam 1962 

Song of Waqt 1965

Does the English Title of a Hindi Film Helps a Flm’s Success?

 

English Titles of Hindi films is not a new phenomenon in Hindi Film Industry. During the silent film era, English Titles were very common There was a film with the title 'The Enchanted Pills' directed by S N Patankar in 1920 and another hit film was 'Lady Teacher' released in 1922.

Today, spoken English has become a mix of Hindi and English. In our daily conversations, we use both languages so English titles are not taboo to common people. In fact, English titles connect with today’s public. 

The title of a film actually depends on what the film is all about. If the story connects well with the English title, I guess any director would go ahead with it. Let us take the title 'No One Killed Jessica' which was based on the Jessica Lal murder case, the film could not have had a better title than this.

The title of a film is very important, it attracts people to see the film but if the film is good, it will be a successful film but if it is bad then the Title of the film can not help. Let's take the example of Ranbeer Kapoor's film 'Bombay Velvet'. having an English Title, but failed miserably at the Box Office.

In 2019, 'War' starring Hritik Roshan and Tiger Shroff was the biggest hit and The Accidental Prime Minister was a disaster. Gully Boy starring Ranvir Singh & Alia Bhatt was a hit on the other hand Line of Descent of Abhay Deol was a flop.

After independence in 1948, the film '11 O Clock' with English title was a hit and the same year a film called 'Hip Hip Hurray' starring Nirupa Roy was a flop. It was seen that most of the films of Fearless Nadia had English Titles like Miss Frontier Mail, Diamond Queen, Jungle Princess, and Jungle Queen.

Dev Anand also appeared in many films with English titles. Stage,  Taxi Driver, Ferry, House no 44, Pocketmaar, CID, Paying Guest, Love Marriage, Guide, Jewel Thief, Gambler, Warrant, Bullet, Darling Darling, Gangster,Return of Jewel Thief, Censor, Love at Times Square, Mr Prime Minister, and Chargesheet

Dilip Kumar appeared in only 2 films having English titles,  Footpath and Leader. Raj Kapoor in only one film 'Around the World'

Madhur Bhandarkar has a fascination for keeping English Titles such as Page 3, Corporate, Fashion, Traffic Signal.Jail and Calendar Girl.

Salman Khan has many hit films with English titles like Hello Brother,Love at Times Square, Lucky: No Time for Love, No Entry, Partner,Wanted,Ready, Bodyguard,Kick, Tubelight and Race 3

DAVID- The 'John Chacha' of Bollywood

 

David Abraham Cheulkar (21 June1908– 02 January 1982), popularly known as David, was a character actor of Bollywood. His real birth date is not available on Wikipedia and other websites but I got this date from a photograph of his grave. He was a well-educated person. He was a graduate in 1930 and did LLB during that period. 

He was interested in acting, he made his debut in the 1937 film Zambo as a character artist. In this film, he played the role of a clean-shaven professor. Since then he always remained clean-shaven. He appeared in many films in the early 40s. He got fame as 'John Chacha' from the 1854 film 'Boot Polish'.for which he was awarded the 1955 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

 In a career spanning four decades, he played mostly character roles, starting with the 1941 film Naya Sansar, and went on to act in over 110 films, including memorable films such as Gol Maal (1979), Baton Baton Mein (1979),Chupke Chupke (1975),Satyakam(1969), Shehar Aur Sapna(1963), and Boot Polish (1954), 

In his prime, in the period 1959-1975, David was one of the best and the well-known anchors, compere and the host of the prominent award shows and other functions. In one of the speeches Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister, told any of the events will surely be incomplete without David’s speech.

He died on 02 January 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of a heart attack at the age of 73..He is buried in the Beth Jacob synagogue cemetery. His headstone reads: Here's a man who smiled through his tears and laughed in the midst of a sigh. He mingled his youth with advancing years and was happy to live or die.

Songs of David

Song of Boot Polish 1954

Song of Boot Polish 1954

Song of Pyar Mohabbat 1966

The Cool & Supportive On-screen Dads of Bollywood

 

Father is a synonym for happiness! He has been your rock, your shoulder to cry on, and your protector. There was a time when Bollywood gave us a stoic and strict father. Many films were made on Father and son conflicts. Recall the conflict of Prithviraj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar in Mughal e Azam, Dilip Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan in Shakti or Amitabh and Sanjeev Kumar in Trishul.

Over the last couple of years, the industry has progressed from such roles to progressive ones. Today, our filmmakers are portraying the father as a friend or supportive to his children. In the 2015 film, Piku  Amitabh Bachchan plays the father of Deepika Padukone, advocates for women's rights, and encourages women to be financially independent. In Dangal(2016) Amir Khan plays a father of 4 daughters & goes to ensure that his daughters live a life of dignity rather than staying within the confines of their homes. Let's take a look at a few of these cool and supportive on-screen fathers. 

Angrezi Medium (2020)

Irfan Khan plays the father of a girl, who has always harbored a dream to travel and study abroad. Irfan is strongly supportive of her dream, and, with some effort, she secures a high rank in her final school examinations, enough for her to secure a scholarship from London's Truford University, which has partnered with her school.

102 Not Out (2018)  

Amitabh Bachchan plays a 102-year-old who enjoys life in jovial and fun ways. His 75-year old son, Babulal Vakharia, is his stark opposite. Babulal believes that he is now too old and fragile to enjoy life, and detests how his father acts. This movie amazes us, as a father teaches his son how to live life.

Raazi (2018) 

This movie showcases a different perspective of a father-daughter relationship. A father who is an Indian Spy, trains her daughter to be a spy and asks her to marry a guy from Pakistan. He explains his love for the nation and how important it is.

Dangal (2016) 

It is based on the real story of  Phogat family. Amir Khan plays Mahaveer Phogat, a pehlwani amateur wrestler who trains his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to become India's first world-class female wrestlers. He ensures that his daughters live a life of dignity rather than staying within the confines of their homes.

Piku (2015) 

Piku Banerjee (Deepika Padukone) is a Bengali architect residing in Delhi with her 70-year-old widower father, Bhashkor (Amitabh Bachchan). Bhaskar is a hypochondriac with chronic constipation, who traces every problem to his bowel movements. The film shows how a daughter will leave no stone unturned to remain with her aging father despite having a difference in their ideologies. It also tells us that a daughter will go to any extent to cure his father’s disease.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) 

Farooq Sheikh, plays one of those cool dads who will have a heart-to-heart chat with you if you are feeling low. In the movie, despite his son's tendency to stay away from him and avoid real conversations, Thapar cared for his son in all the small and big ways possible.