Remembering LALITA PAWAR-The Leading Actress of Silent Era of Bollywood

Born Amba Laxman Rao Sagun on 18 April 1916, into an orthodox family in Yeola in Nashik,Lalita Pawar started her acting career at age nine in the film, Raja Harishchandra (1928), and later went on to play lead roles in silent era and 1940's films.

She changed her name to Lalita and in the 1930s acted in a series of successful daredevil silent films like Himmat-e-Mard ("A Brave Man"), Chevorlet and Captain Kishore..
LALITA PAWAR played the squint-eyed, scheming and vitriolic mother- in-law to perfection in scores of Indian films in an acting career that spanned nearly 60 years in Bollywood appearing in over 700 films.She was not a born squint in fact she became squint eyed in an accident while shooting in a film.
In 1942, as a part of a scene in the movie Jung-E-Azadi, actor Master Bhagwan was to slap her hard. Being a new actor, he accidentally slapped her very hard, which resulted in facial paralysis and a burst left eye vein. Three years of treatment later, she was left with a defective left eye; thus she had to abandon lead roles

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She later became famous as a character actress, in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema.Her other memorable roles were in film, Anari (1959), Shri 420 and Mr & Mrs 55, and the role of Manthara, in Ramanand Sagar's television epic serial, Ramayan
She was given Best Supporting Actress Filmfare Award for Anari 1959,She was also given the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting in 1961.She was a powerful performer met a sad and lonesome end.Her death was unnoticed for two days when her family was in Mumbai for her husband's throat surgery.She died on 24 February 1998 in Aundh, Pune, where she had been staying, for a while.

Song from Gharana

Scene from Anari

Scene from Shri 420

Scene from Mr & Mrs 55

A Tribute to BALRAJ SAHNI-The Most Gifted Actor

Balraj Sahni is amongst the legends of bollywood. Movies like Do Beegha Zameen and Garm Hawa are the highlights of his career. He was born on May 1, 1913 and died on 13 April 1973,
He was highly qualified person of Hindi Film Industry.He did his Bachelor’s degree in Hindi from Punjab University and Master Degree in English Literature from Punjab University and latter went to study in Harvard also.Sahni completed his education and married Damayanti. Afterwards, both of them went to join Rabindra Nath Tagore. He also worked wth Mahatma Gandhi for a brief period. He started his acting career with the plays of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). Balraj Sahni entered bollywood with the movie Insaaf and went on to be at the pinnacle of hindi cinema. Before that he joined the BBC-London’s Hindi service as a Radio Announcer from 1939-43.
He played lead roles in some legendary movies like Do Beegha Zameen, Waqt, Dharti Ke Lal etc. Garm Haa was his last movie and he died the very next day he completed dubbing for this movie.
Balraj Sahni was an eminent writer also. His works in Punjabi literature are considered to be the epics in the field. He initially wrote in English also. Mera Pakistani Safar, Mera Rusi Safarnama and Meri Filmi Aatmakatha (autobiography) are some of his legendary works.
In this blog I am taking few excerpts from his Biaography.
Balraj Sahni recieved many awards in his lifetime,he earned the ‘Soviet Land Nehru Award for his book Mera Rusi Safarnama in 1969,the same year he got PADAM SHRI.

Song from Do Beegha Zamin 1953

Song from Waqt

Song from Kaabuliwala 1961

Song from Neel Kamal 1968

Song from Ek Phool Do Maali 1969

Happy 75th Birthday Jeetendra -The Jumping Jack

Jeetendra was born Ravi Kapoor in Amritsar, Punjab in 1942.His father was in Immitation Jwellery business and used to supply jwellery to film industry. While supplying jewellery to V. Shantaram, he was cast as Sandhya's double in the 1959 movie "Navrang."
He got his first big break when Shantaram cast him as hero in Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne (1964). Since then, he has appeared in almost 200 films.

He came into the spotlight in 1967 with Ravikant Nagaich's Farz, which went on to become a golden jubilee success. The tee shirt and white shoes he picked up from a retail store for the "Mast Baharon Ka Main Aashiq" number in Farz (sung by legendary Singer Mohd Rafi) became his trademark. His vigorous dancing in the films won him the epithet, ‘Jumping Jack of Bollywood.
After the success of Farz he gave many Silver jubilee hits like Aulad,Mere Huzoor,Dharti Kahe Pukarke,,Jeene Ki Raah,Jigri Dost,Waris,Khilona,Humjoli and Carvan

He has done nearly 200 films as the main lead, a feat matched by just a handful of his peers since the inception of Hindi cinema. Initially Jeetendra was frequently paired with Mumtaz,Hema Malini(12 films),Rekha(24 films),Latter on with Sridevi(14 films) or Jaya Prada(21films) for remakes of Telugu films by Rama Rao Tatineni, K. Bapayya and K. Raghavendra Rao; these included Sanjog, Aulad, Majaal, Justice Chaudhry, Mawaali (1983), Himmatwala (1983), Jaani Dushman (1979) and Tohfa (1984). He also did many remakes in Hindi of Krishna's Telugu movies and had very close association with him. 

Besides these south Indian remakes, there was a subdued side of Jeetendra whenever he'd worked with the writer/lyricist Gulzar in films like Parichay, Kinara and Khushboo that had several beautifully penned songs like O Majhi Re, Musafir Hoon Yaaron and Naam Gum Jaayega, composed by Rahul Dev Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar.
His name was involved with his earlier heroines. In her authorized biography, Hema Malini claimed that they almost got married, but she backed out at the last moment.Though Jeetendra was in love with his girl friend Shobha Sippy whom he knew for many years decided to marry her after the release of Bidaai on October 18, 1974,They have two children from their marriage. Their daughter, Ekta Kapoor, runs Balaji Telefilms and their son Tusshar Kapoor is also an actor.

Jeetendra never won the Filmfare Award as an Actor but got  Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.He is also recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award by Govt of India in 2007

Song from Farz 1967

Song from Dharti Kahe Pukarke 1969

Song from Jeene Ki Raah 1969

Song from Waris 1969

Song from Humjoli 1970

Song from Caravan 1971

Song from Parichay 1972

Song from Anokhi Ada 1973

Song from Khushboo 1975

Song from  Dharam Veer 1977

Song from Kinara 1977

Song from Priyatama  1977

Song from Jaani Dushman  1979

Song from Judaai  1980

Song from Himmatwala 1983

Song from Tohfa 1984

Remembering SUCHITRA SEN-The Golden Queen of Bengali Cinema on her Birth Anniversary

The first Indian actress to be awarded at an international film festival (Best Actress award for Saat Paake Bandha in the 1963 Moscow film festival). The reigning queen of Bengali Cinema for several decades started with Shesh Kothaay in 1952, but the film never got released. Her first release was Saat Number Kayedi.

  Her pair with Uttam Kumar became so successful that the two went on to become the icons for Bengali classics for more than two decades.Both of them acted together in 30 films.Some of those films were Agnipariksha, Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Pathey Holo Deri, Kamal Lata, Indrani, Sabar Upore, Suryatoran, Shaare Chuattor, Sadanander Mela, Jiban Trishna, Ekti Raat, Chaawa Paawa, Shapmochan, Bipasha, Naborag, Trijama, Rajlakshmi Srikanto, Har Mana Har, Alo Amar Alo, Ora Thakey Odhare and Grihaprabesh. No other romantic pair in Bengali cinema in the subsequent decades have been able to match up to the magic created by Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar.
She was born on 6th April 1931 in a village of Belkuchi Upazila, now in Bangla Desh.Partition brought her family and her to West Bengal, where she married Dibanath Sen, son of wealthy industrialist Adinath Sen, in 1947, and had one daughter, Moon Moon Sen, who was a former actress.

She made her debut in hindi films with Devdas(1955) where she played the role of Paro.After that she appeared in 2 filmsin 1957 Musafir and Champakali. Later on with Dev Anand in 1960 films Bombai Ka Babu and Sarhad.

In 1967 she came in Mamta doing a double role with Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra.She was nominated for Filmfare award for this film.The last hindi film she did was Aandhi opposite Sanjeev Kumar in 1975.She was nominated  Filmfare Award for this film.In 1972, she was awarded the Padma Shri,In 2005, she refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest cinematic award in India,

Suchitra Sen continued to act after her husband's death in 1970, but called it a day when Pronoy Pasha flopped,and retired from the screen in 1978 after a career of over 25 years to a life of quiet seclusion.She assiduously avoided the public gaze after her retirement and devoted her time to the Ramakrishna Mission. She died at 8.25 am on 17 January 2014, due to a heart attack.
Suchitra Sen acted in 61 films.Among them 22 were blockbusters,13 were superhits,5 made profits above the average and the rest flopped.

Songs from Suchitra sen Films

Song from Saptapadi

Song from Devdas 1955

Songs from Bombai Ka Babu 1960

Songs from Mamta 1967

A Tribute to MEENA KUMARI-The Greatest Actress

Today on 45th death Anniversary we remember Meena Kumari.She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi cinema,Meena Kumari (1 August 1932 – 31 March 1972)-The Tragedy Queen of Bollywood.
Meena Kumari was born with the birth name Mahjabeen into the family of Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum on 1 August 1932/33.Little mehjabeen embarked on her acting career at the age of six, she was immersed in work over next four years, as child artist mostly in Vijay Bhatt productions Leatherface (1939), Pooja (1940), Nai Roshni (1941), Bahen (1941), Kasauti (1941) and Garib (1942).Vijay Bhatt became her mentor and, on the sets of Ek Hi Bhool (1940), rechristened Mahjabeen as Baby Meena
She became heroine at the age of 14,Bachhon Ka Khel(1946) was his first film as heroine.Same year her another film  Duniya Ek Sarai (1946), Piya Ghar Aaja (1947) and Bichchade Balam (1948) performing with credit and winning recognition from all in the industry. 
On 14 February 1952 Meena Kumari age 19 and Kamal Amrohi age 34 secretly married in a simple 'Nikah' Cermoney, in the presence of a Qadi and Kumari's younger sister Mahaleka(madhu). The marriage was kept secret from family and media.Though Kamal Amrohi was already married and had three childrens.

1952 was a milestone in the life of meena Kumari,she not only married that year but also she got stardom with the release of Baiju Bawra. Meena Kumari won the first ever Filmfare Best Actress Award for Baiju Bawra on 21 March 1954 at the Metro Theatre in Bombay.The film celebrated diamond jubilee. The film was a musical, set up in Mughal India of 16th Century, with classical Hindustani melodies set by Naushad Ali.
Some of her best known films were  Parineeta, Baadbaan,Sharada ,Sahara ,Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan ,Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Aarti, Main Chup Rahungi.,Dil Ek Mandir,Kaajal and Pakeezah

Meena Kumari  became addicted to alcohol. Her life and prosperous career were marred by heavy drinking, troubled relationships, an ensuing deteriorating health, and her death from liver cirrhosis in 1972.
She got burried at Shia Cemetry Mazgaon Mumbai.Her real name is carved in Urdu on the marble, her assumed name in English and Hindi is written in black paint.

Some of the Hit Songs of Meena Kumari

Mohe Bhool Gaye  from Baiju Bawra

Kitna Haseen Mausam from Azad

do sitaron ka milan hai aaj ki raat from kohinoor

Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh

jyoti kalash chhalke

Na Jao Saiyan  from Saheb Biwi Aur Gulam

Ruk Ja Raat  from Dil Ek Mandir

Hum Intezaar Karenge Tera Qayamat Tak from Bahu Begum

Duniya Kare Sawal To Hum from Bahu Begum

Mausam Hai Aashikana  from Pakeezah

A Musical Tribute To ANAND BAKSHI on his 15th Death Anniversary

Anand Bakshi (born on 21st July 1920-Died on 30th March 2002) was a Lyricist of Bollywood Films.Anand Bakshi penned some of the most memorable songs that has ever been produced by the Hindi film industry.With over 600 films to his credit and having worked with the best Music Directors in the Hindi film industry,He made a hit Jodi with Lakshmikant Pyarelal and later with R D Burman,in this Blog I am discussing his association with R D Burman.

Anand Bakshi and R D Burman worked jointly in 84 films.The first time they worked jointly in 1965 film Teesra Kaun starring Feroz Khan and Kalpna .The song "Pyar Ka Fasana Bana Le Dil Deewana" sung by Lata and Mukesh became popular.But both of them clicked together with Kati Patang(1970) starring Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh.All the songs written by him were instant hit.After that came Hare Rama Hare Krishna(1971) and the song Dum Maro Dum became the song of the year.This year was very good for both,6 films were released that year,Amar Prem(1971) with the song Chingari Koi Bhadke became very popular.
In 1972, 4 films of them released,songs of Jawani Deewani,Seeta Aur Geeta and Apna Desh were highlight of that year.

After Hare Rama Hare Krishna Dev Anand kept both in his forthcoming films.In fact the combination of kishore Kumar R D Burman and Anand Bakshi became a deadly Combination,this combination created many immortal Songs.

Though Anand Bakshi was writing songs for many Music Directors since 1956  but he had to wait till 1969 for an opportunity to work with SD Burman. It is well known that RD Burman played an important role in the music of Aradhana (1969) After that he went on to work with SD Burman in many other films including Anurag (1972), Jugnu (1973), Prem Nagar (1974) and Chupke Chupke (1975), 

Song from Teesra Kaun (1965) Audio only

Song from Kati Patang (1970)

Song from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971)

Song from Amar Prem (1971)

Song from Jawani Diwani (1972)

Song from Heera Panna (1973)

Song from Namak Haraam (1973)

Song from Aap Ki Kasam (1974)

Song from Sholay (1975)

Song from Mehbooba (1976)

Song from Kasme Vaade (1978)

Song from The Great Gambler (1979)

Song from Love Story (1981)

Song from Shakti (1982)