Happy Birthday SHASHI KAPOOR

Born on 18 March 1938,Shashi Kapoor turns 79 today.He is the 3rd and the youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor; the younger brother of Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor.

From the age of four, Shashi Kapoor acted in plays directed and produced by his father Prithviraj Kapoor.He first appeared in films in the 1948 film AAG where he played the younger version of the characters played by his eldest brother Raj Kapoor and then he appeared  in Sangram (1950), where he played younger version of Ashok Kumar. He worked in four Hindi films as a child artist from 1948 to 1954.
He made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film Dharmputra and went on to appear in 116 Hindi films, including 61 films as the solo lead hero and 55 multi star-cast films, 21 films as supporting actor and special appearance in 7 films.He also acted in English language films, which include The Householder and Shakespeare-Wallah. 

He was a very popular actor in Bollywood during the 60s, 70s and until the mid 80s.He made a hit Jodi with Amitabh Bachchan in the 70s.The two co-starred in a total of 12 films: Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974), Deewaar (1975), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Immaan Dharam (1977), Trishul (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979), Suhaag (1979), Do Aur Do Paanch (1980), Shaan (1980), Silsila (1981), Namak Halaal (1982),.

In the 60s he was paired with Nanda and both gave many Hit films, Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965) was prominent among them.Later he formed on screen pairs with Raakhee, Sharmila Tagore, Zeenat Aman from the late sixties to the mid eighties.
In 1978, he set up his production house, Film Valas, which produced critically acclaimed films such as Junoon (1978), Kalyug (1981), 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), Vijeta (1982) and Utsav (1984).In 1991 he produced and directed a fantasy film titled Ajooba which had his frequent co-star Amitabh Bachchan and nephew Rishi Kapoor in the lead.
In 2015, he was awarded the 2014 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, making him the third member of his family to receive the highest award in Indian Cinema after Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.He got theFilmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1976 for Deewar.He also recieved  Filmfare Best Movie Award for Junoon 1980 and Kalyug 1982.He got National Film Award for Best Actor for New Delhi Times in 1986

He met English actress Jennifer Kendal in Calcutta in 1956 while both were working for their respective theatre groups. Shashi was both assistant stage manager as well as an actor for his father's theatre group, Prithvi Theatre. Geoffrey Kendal's Shakespearean group was also present at the same time in Calcutta and Jennifer was Geoffrey's daughter. After their subsequent meeting, the couple fell in love and after facing initial opposition from the Kendals and support from sister-in-law Geeta Bali, they got married in July 1958. They had three children: Kunal Kapoor, Karan Kapoor and Sanjana Kapoor. Jennifer and Shashi established Prithvi Theatre on 5 November 1978 in Mumbai. Jennifer died of cancer in 1984 which shattered him.After that he was not active as an Actor.
For the last few years his health is not permitting him to appear in Public,He recieved Dada Saheb Phalke Award on Wheel Chair assisted by his daughter.

Some of Shashi kapoor's Hit Songs

Song from Jab Jab Phool Khile 

Song from Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare 1966

Song from Haseena Maan Jayegi 1968

Song from  Pyar Ka Mausam 1969

Song from Sharmilee 1971

Song from Aa Gale Lag Jaa 1973

Song from Chor Machaye Shor 1974

Song from Chor Machaye Shor 1974

Song from Fakira 1976

Song from Trishul 1978

Song from Suhaag 1979

Holi Songs in Bollywood

 Happy Holi to all my friends.May this festival of  colours fill your lives with joyful celebrations and pouring streams of happiness. Let the colours flow, and brighten up the canvases of life.
Songs and music are immersed in every thread and every breath of the life of our culture. And when it is HOLI, the excitement and the verve that it creates within, never fails to express itself in delightful songs.Bollywood movies have contributed some memorable Holi songs that have become must play songs during Holi years after years.
The songs of Holi in Bollywood go as far back as 1931, when the sounds and the music and consequently the film songs, made their first appearance in films. The earliest Holi song that I could find in the Geet Kosh is from the 1931 film ‘Ghar Ki Laxmi’. The song goes like – “Mo Pe Daar Gayo Saari Rang Rang Ki Gaagar, Kaisa Dhokha Diya. . .”.
The first Holi Song under this Theme comes in my list is this song from film ‘Aurat’ from 1940. ‘Aurat’ is a magnum opus by producer director Mehboob, 

Song from Aurat 1940 (only Audio)

When we talk about 40s Music,how can we miss K L Sehgal Ji He sang 3 Holi songs "Mein Jo Dinan Ki Thhoree",“Hori Ho Brijraaj Dulaare” and “Jin Jaao Ree Gori. . .”, In this blog posting the first one which is Rare and NFS

Here is a Rare song from the movie Insaaniyat which was sung by Lata. It was a dance song as well as a Holi song which was written by Rajinder Krishan and music was composed by C Ramchandra.It is one and only film in which Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar worked together. One can see all the lead actors of this movie in the picturisation.

Song from Insaaniyat 1955

The most memorable Holi Songs were created in the 50s.The first of these memorable Holi songs was from Mother India.Listening to this song, one can realise how important lyrics used to be in those days. The words penned by Shakeel Badayuni are so wonderful.

Song from Mother India 1957

 This is the second Iconic of all well known Bollywood Holi songs. This song from “Navrang” is nearly 60 years old by now.

Arre ja re hat natkhat

Song from Navrang 1959

Like 50s we saw many Iconic Holi Songs in 70s,If the iconic movie of 1957 (Mother India) had a memorable Holi song, then the same was the case with the iconic movie of 1975 (Sholay).

Song from Sholay 1975

Another Iconic Holi Song "Aali Re Aali Holi"from Zakhmee released in the same year 1975 sung by Kishore Kumar picturised on Sunil Dutt is a must in this post

Song from Zakhmee 1975

This is also an Iconic Holi Song from Kati Patang released in 1971 sung by Kishore Kumar and Picturised on Rajesh Khanna

Song from Kati Patang 1971

This Holi song of the movie SILSILA in fact became amazingly popular, and there are many who would call it the best Holi song.This song was written by Hariwansrai Bachchan and sung by Amitabh Bachchan.

Song from Silsila 1981

Another Iconic Holi Song from Amitabh Bachchan is from the film Bagbaan released in 2003.I think this song will ensure that Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini will be remembered by future generations too, especially during Holi festival

Song from Baghbaan 2003

From the iconic Rang Barse in Amitabh Bachchan's baritone - which is almost synonymous with Holi songs - let's move to the more recent Balam Pichkari, Bollywood has done its bit to capture the essence and spread the flavour of Holi through films.

Song from Yeh Javani Hai Deewani

Remembering QAMAR JALABADI on his 100th Birth Anniversary

When you remember Qamar Jalalabadi the first thing comes in our mind is the Immortal song he wrote for the film Pyar Ki Jeet in 1948 "Is Dil Ke Tukde Hazaar Huye, Koi Yahan Gira Koi Wahan Gira" and "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" from Howrah Bridge 1954 film.He was one of the best  lyricists of the Golden Age of Hindi music 
He was born in a Punjabi family on 9th March 1917 in Amritsar, in a small town called Jalalabad, and was named Om Prakash.He is known as Qamar Jalalabadi which was a Takhallus given by the person Amar who inspired him to write.
After completing his matriculation from Amritsar, Qamarji embarked on his journalistic career journey by writing for Lahore based newspapers like Daily Milap, DailyPratap, Nirala, Star Sahakar. The lure of the Film industry brought him  to Pune in the the early Forties.
 In 1942, he wrote lyrics for his first film Zamindar which was a Pancholi Pictures production and the songs of this film were very well received, especially the song sung by Shamshad Begum "Duniya me garibonko aaraam nahi milta", which also had a line or two written by writer and poet Behzad Lucknawi.
Some of his memorable songs from his early include "sunti nahi duniya kabhi fariyaad kissi ki" (Renuka, 1947) and the ghazal "Dil kis liye rota hai...pyar ki duniya me, aisa hi hota hai" (sung by Naseem Banu for the film Mulaquat in 1947). The noted dancer Sitara Devi performed some of his songs in Chand (1944). Chand was one of the earliest of Qamarji's successful and memorable films.
He  was very versatile. On one hand he wrote mesmeric duets like "sun meri saanwari mujhko kahin tum bhool na jana…" sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd. Rafi (film: Aansoo 1953) and on the other hand he penned comic relief songs like “khush hai zamana aaj pehli tarikh hai” endured with full throttle gusto by Kishore Kumar (film: Pehli Tarikh-1954). This song turned into veritable anthem and was played on Radio Ceylon on the first of every month for decades,
He had a long writing career nearly for 4 decades.In his long career he wrote for almost great Music directors of that time.Starting from Ghulam Haider to G. Damle, Pt. Amarnath, Khemchand Prakash, Husnlal Bhagatram, S.D. Burman, Anil Biswas, Shyam Sunder, Sajjad Hussain, C. Ramchandra, Madan Mohan, Sudhir Phadke, Shiv Dayal Batish, Sardar Malik, Ravi, Avinash Vyas and in the latter phase of his career with O.P Nayyar, Kalyanji Anandji, Sonik Omi, Uttam Singh and Laxmikant Pyarelal as well.
In his personal life, Jalalabadi was a highly religious person and he chanted excerpts from the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran as well as Bible.He died on 3rd Feb 2003 in Mumbai.Though he is no more with us but his words will always be there with us.

The first song of Qamar Jalalabadi from the film Zamindar 1942

 

Song from Pyar ki Jeet 1948

Song from Shabnam 1949

Song from Bazar 1949

Song from Waris 1954

Song from Howrah Bridge 1958

Song from Phalgun 1958

Song from Chhalia 1960

Song from Haseena Maan Jayegi 1968

Remembering Music Director RAVI on his 91st Birth Anniversary

The well Known Music Director Ravi was born on 3rd March 1926 in Delhi.His full name was Ravi Shankar Sharma,had no formal training in classical music but wanted to become a singer. In 1950 he decided to shift to Bombay and become a professional singer but had to strugle for 2 years.
In 1952, Ravi was discovered by Hemant Kumar who hired him to sing backing vocals in Vande Mataram from the film Anand Math.He later became assistant to Hemant Kumar played the tabla for him. 
He played the been for the iconic number ‘Man dole mere tan dole' from ‘Nagin.'  Soon, he started composing as well as writing lyrics. Slowly, he got more work. His song Chandamama Door Ke became a hit. he composed music for several films. Then Hemant Kumar told him to become an independent composer. During that time he got a chance to compose for Vachan (1955) and the other offers followed.
In 1958 his film Dilli Ka Thug released,the songs of this film were instantly hit,Kishore Kumar was the hero of that film and the song C A T  Cat Mane Billi","Hum To Mohabbat Karega"and "Yeh Raaten Yeh Mausam" became immortal.That year his 4 films released,the music of all his movies was apreciated.In 1960 Chaudhvin Ka Chand released,the film became a mega hit ,its music was the highlight,the song Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho was super hit,In fact mohmmad Rafi got Filmfare award for this song.
In 1961 his film GHARANA was released,the film as well as its music was super hit, He won Filmfare awards for Gharana (1961) and latter on for Khandan (1965). His other successful films include Waqt, Neel Kamal,Do Badan , Gumraah,Aankhen,Hamraaz and Nikaah (1982). His songs Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai, Babul ki duyaen leti ja, Doli chadh ke dulhan sasural chali and Mere Yaar Bana Ke Dulha became very popular in wedding celebrations.
Ravi was one of the music directors who shaped the career of Asha Bhosle with songs like Tora man darpan and Sun le Pukar Aai. He was also instrumental in making Mahendra Kapoor a popular singer in bollywood.
Besides hindi films he gave music for Gujarati films and Malyali films,He was the rage in Malayalam cinema. As he had worked his magic in Bollywood, he soon had music buffs in Kerala enshrining him as one of the best in the music industry. Evergreen compositions from his baton adorned films such as ‘Vyshali,' ‘Parinayam,' ‘Oru Vadakkan Veergatha,' ‘Sargam,' ‘Sukrutham,' ‘Ghazal,' and ‘Mayookham.'
Ravi's wife, whom he married in 1946, died in 1986. He had two daughters Veena and Chhaya and a son Ajay. His estranged son Ajay is married to Varsha Usgaonkar who is a Marathi and Hindi film actress.
He died on 7 March 2012 in Mumbai at the age of 86.

Chanda mama Door ke from Vachan 1955

Song from Dilli Ka Thug (1958)

Song from Dilli Ka Thug (1958)

Song from Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan (1959)

Song from Chaudhvin Ka Chand 1960

Song from Ghunghat 1960

Song from Gharana1961

Song from China Town 1962

Song from Gumrah 1963

Song from Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke (1963)

Song from Bharosa (1963)

Song from Grahsthi (1963)

Song from Door Ki Awaaz  (1964)

Song from Shehnai   (1964)

Song from Kaajal (1965)

Song from Waqt (1965)

Song from Do Badan (1966)

Song from Dus Lakh (1966)

Song from Hamraaz (1967)

Song from Neel Kamal   (1968)

Song from  Aadmi Sadak Ka (1977)

Song from  Nikaah (1982)

A Tribute To TALAT MAHMOOD-A Legend with Velvet Voice

Remembering Today on  His Birth Anniversary

Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) is considered one of the greatest male Indian non-classical and semi-classical singers. He was a born singer with an intuitive sense of beauty, charm and grace, he was one of the most important and significant singers of the Golden Era of Hindi film music.. 
Talat apprenticed classical music under Pandit S.C.R. Bhat at Marris College of Music, Lucknow.He  began his singing career at the age of 16 in 1939 when he began singing the Ghazals of Daag, Mir, Jigar etc. on All India Radio, Lucknow. His voice had a quality distinct from all the other singers. HMV was quick to notice this and offered Talat his first disc in 1941 Sab din ek samaan nahin tha, Bun jaoon ga kya se kya main, Iska to kuch dhyan nahin tha.
In 1944 came the hit Tasveer teri dil mera behela nah sake gi. Its popularity was so phenomenal and unrivalled that even today it remains one of the top selling non-film discs.This disc brought Talat the fame throughout India and soon he was beckoned by the Calcutta film industry. Talat made cameo appearances and starred in about 16 movies, for both the Calcutta (film hub of the 1940s) and Bombay Film Industry.
In 1949 Talat moved to Bombay, to sing for the Hindi film industry. His name and fame had already preceded him and soon he was flooded with offers. His big break came with the song Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho composed by music director Anil Biswas for the soundtrack of the movie Arzoo. 
Besides being a gifted singer, Mahmood was quite handsome as well. He acted in over a dozen films with top actresses of the time like Nutan, Mala Sinha, Suraiya and others.Some of the films were  Rajlaxmi 1945,Tum Aur Main 1947, Araam with Dev Anand and Madhubala in 1951,Thokar  with Shammi Kapoor in 1953,his last appearance was in Sone ki Chidiya (1958) opposite Nutan. Later he decided to give up acting to concentrate on singing.
Talat Mahmood was probably the pioneer of international concert tours – his first tour was to East Africa in 1956. Music directors felt that Talat, busy with his films and overseas concerts, wouldn’t be available to sing playback. Music directors who had earlier given him plum assignments now began favouring other singers. SD Burman, for whom Talat had rendered the sublime Jaaye toh jaaye kahan wanted Mohammed Rafi for the plaintive  Jalte hain jiske liye, and it was only on Bimal Roy's insistence that Talat got to sing it.
By the 60s, things had taken a turn for the worse. There seemed to be no place for Talat’s voice by this time .Talat’s career never quite recovered. Except for the odd song in a few nondescript films, Talat Mahmood retired graciously from film music, preferring to focus on his non-film records and live shows, until ill-health saw him leave the limelight completely.
Talat recorded his first track way back in 1941 and sang around 750 songs in 12 languages. 
My Tribute to this Great Singer
First Song for Hindi film Rajlaxmi 1945 

Song from Rajlaxmi 1945 (Audio only)

 Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal (Aarzoo/1950)

Song from Aarzoo 1950

Shukriya shukriya ae pyar tera  from Aaraam 1951,He himself acting

Song from Aaraam 1951

Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara. from Anhonee 1952

Song from Anhonee 1952

Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni from Sangdil 1952

Song from Sangdil 1952

 Andhe jahaan ke andhe raaste from Patita 1953

Song from Patita 1953

 Shaam-e-gham ki kasam from Footpath 1953

Song from Footpath 1953

Zindagi denewale sun from Dil e Nadaan 1953 picturised on Talat himself

Song from  Dil e Nadaan 1953

Raat ne kya kya khwaab dikhaaye from Ek Gaon ki Kahani (1957)

Song from  Ek Gaon ki Kahani (1957)

Pyar par bas toh nahin hai  from Sone ki Chidiya (1958)

Song from Sone ki Chidiya (1958)

Jalte Hain Jiske Liye from Sujata 1959

Song from Sujata 1959

Phir wohi shaam  from Jahan Ara (1964)

Song from Jahan Ara (1964)

Remembering IFTEKHAR on his 97th Birth Anniversary

For cinema lovers this name is synonymous with Police Officer, a role he often played on the silver screen. In fact the movie “Ittefaaq” changed his life completely. The cop’s uniform suited his personality so well, that he instantly became a very busy man. He soon bought his own flat in Khar. 

He was born on 26^th February 1922 in Jalandhar and brought up in Kanpur. After completing his matriculation he did a diploma course in painting from Lucknow College Of Arts. 
Iftekhar’s debut film was 1944 release “Taqraar” which was made under the banner of “Art Films-Kolkata”. Heroine of this film was that time star actress Jamuna.
Iftekhar acted in over 400 films in a career that spanned from the 1940s through to the early 1990s.He  had been a lead actor in his youth during the Black & White era of Bollywood in the 1940s and 1950s.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Iftekhar graduated to playing uncle, father, and what came to be his speciality: police inspector roles, doctor or senior advocate. Generally he played 'sympathetic' characters but, on occasion, he played the heavy. One of his most memorable roles as a heavy was as Amitabh Bachchan's corrupt industrialist mentor in Yash Chopra's classic Deewaar (1975).

Besides Deewaar and Zanjeer Iftekar had character roles in many of the classics of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s Bollywood cinema: Bimal Roy's Bandini, Raj Kapoor's Sangam, Manoj Kumar's Shaheed, Teesri Manzil, Teesri Kasam, Johny Mera Naam, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Don, The Gambler and Sholay to name but a few.
70s and 80s were busiest days for Iftekhar During this period he acted in hundreds of movies like “Sharmili”, “Mehboob Ki Mehndi”, “Gambler”, “Kal Aaj Aur Kal”, “Hare Rama Hare Krishna”, “Jawani Deewani”, “Achanak”, “Zanjeer”, “Majboor”, “Deewar”, “Dharmatma”, “Sholey”, “Kabhi Kabhi”, “Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Mann Bhaaye”, “Don”, “Trishool”, “Noorie”, “Kaala Patthar”, “Karz”, “Dostana”, “Rocky”, “Saath Saath”, “Rajpoot”, “Sadma”, “Inqalaab”, “Jageer”, “Tawaif”, “Angaare” and “Awaam”, “Bekhudi” (1992) and “Kaala Coat” (1993) are among the last films.

Iftekhar with his wife

Iftekhar married Hannah Joseph, a Jewish girl from Calcutta,he had 2 daughters.His elder daughter, Salma was born in 1946 and the younger one, Sayeeda, was born 1946.Sadly his younger daughter died in 1995 which completely broken him and he died  on 1st March 1995, a few days after his younger daughter's passing away.

Song(Audio) from Ghar 1945

Song from Rajlaxmi 1945 Audio only 

Song from Aisa Kyon 1947