Strong & Woman Oriented Films Of Bollywood

Over the years, women portraying central characters in Hindi cinema have been few and far between. Those portrayed, including the protagonists, are rarely holistic and mostly subject to ingrained biases. Today the scene has changed more and more woman oriented films are being made. 30 movies in last three years where females play central role in plot have been released,the success of Queen,English Vinglish, Piku, Neerja. Kahani and Marry Com has led the way to this new trend.

  Rarely have films like Kunku presented women as strong women who can raise their voice against injustice, who can rebel in their own way and make their own political statement.Kunku (Marathi title) was a 1937 Marathi classic social drama film directed by V. Shantaram, and based on the novel, Na Patnari Goshta by Narayan Hari Apte, who also wrote film’s screenplay.The film was also released in Hindi as Duniya Na Mane (The Unexpected).Shanta Apte played the role of Nirmala.

Each decade has presented its own brand of women in Hindi cinema. Mother India is a strong political statement on a woman who can do anything to establish that justice has been done even while remaining within the framework of marriage and motherhood. She defies the micro state of being a biological mother in order to fit into the framework of becoming the mother of the nation when she shoots down her own son to save the honour of a woman of the village.

Before Mother India in 1955 Nutan played a role of a teenager Gauri ( in Seema) who goes to live with her paternal uncle, Kashinath, and his wife. She is ill-treated there, made to do all the housework, and verbally abused by her aunt. She is made to work as a servant for meager wages in another household, and her earnings are taken away by her aunt. One day, Kashinath is summoned to the Police Station where he is told that since Gauri has been convicted of stealing a necklace from her employer, she is placed under his care for 12 months. Kashinath undertakes to look after her, but she manages to escape, and beats up Bankelal, who had originally accused her of stealing the necklace. The Police are summoned again, and this time Gauri is placed with Shree Satyanand Anathalaya, an orphanage run by a compassionate Manager, Ashok. Gauri revolts against all the rules imposed upon her and she is placed in solitary, where she ends up breaking all the windows and furniture. Then one day she escapes, beats up Bankelal severely, and returns.

 The character of Rosie played by Waheeda Rahman in this 1965 classic film Guide showed women in a different light. At a time women were expected to be dutiful and follow their husbands even when unhappy, Rosie left her cheating and unsupportive husband and decided to choose her passion for dancing and someone who valued her as a person
. 

Smita Patil gives a strong performance of transforming from a vivacious teenager to a wiser but deeply wounded middle-aged woman in 1977 film Bhumika.It tells the life story of an actress, Usha (Smita Patil), who is the granddaughter of a famous female singer of the old tradition from Devadasi community of Goa. 

The 1988 film Khoon Bhari Maang has Rekha who played the role of Aarti and Jyoti is also one such role where woman play the central role .for this role she got Filmfare Award.
If there is one character which touched everyone’s heart, it was that of Rani played by Kangna Ranaut in Queen. Rani’s transformation from a once shy and timid girl to a confident and liberated lady was amazing.

The story of a middle-aged woman played by Sridevi in English Vinglish living in the shadows of her family who gets a chance to step out and do something for herself. This is when she learns English and shuts up everyone who had ever doubted her confidence in life.

 Vidya Balan in Kahaani plays  a pregnant woman who is on a mission to find out her husband's murderer. She's strong and not willing to give up. This is a movie with one of the best climax scenes in the recent times.

Rani's role played by Kangana Ranaut touched everyone’s heart. Rani’s transformation from a once shy and timid girl to a confident and liberated lady was amazing. The natural, innocent and effortless acting made Rani look like a real life character and had the ability to inspire many girls to come out of the shadows and feel confident about themselves.

Deepika Padukone in 2015 film Piku showed the struggles of a young independent woman juggling her personal and professional life, but in a fresh manner. Piku loved both of these aspects of her life and wanted to give up on none of them. She was a loving (at times irritated) daughter and a brilliant professional, depicting the reality of many working women today

Mary Com, Priyanka Chopra puts life into Kom's role and is just as energetic and hardworking as Kom is in real life. A wife, a mother and a fighter, she is the modern wonder woman. 

Sonam Kapoor in 2016 film Neerja played the real life incidents of the very courageous Neerja Bhanot, a Pan Am flight attendant who lost her life while saving several others when her aircraft was hijacked. 

INDEEVAR- The Most Underrated Lyricist

Indeevar who wrote more than 1000 songs for Bollywood Films was not given his due he deserved.He had a wide range,penning emotionally uplifting songs, Indeevar also wrote peppy numbers including Nazia Hassan’s sung “Aap Jaisa Koi” and Feroz Khan’s Qurbani song “Laila O Laila”. 
Indeevar was born on 1st Jan in 1924 as Shyam Lal Babu Rai  and grew up to become a freedom fighter. He wrote under the pseudo name of Azad for which he was imprisoned by the British. He became a household name with the release of the song "Bade Armano Se Rakhha Hai Pehla Kadam"  from Malhar in 1949.

It was singer Mukesh who gave him the break as a lyricist from the film Malhar(1949) which was produced by him and composed by Roshan.He along with Music Director Kayanji Anandji gave many hit & memorable songs.

It was Indeevar with whose lyrics Laxmi-Pyare made their debut in ‘Parasmani’ I don’t have to quote the songs. They were so beautiful. In ‘Madari’ too the Lata song, ‘Pyar mera majboor pardesi piya’ was a big hit.. In ‘Dulha Dulhan’ Indeevar wrote that classic Mukesh number: ‘Jo pyar tu ne mujh ko diya hai’ and ‘Hum ne tum se pyar kiya hai jitna kaun kare ga itna’.

The songs of ‘Chotey Babu’, ‘Himalaya Ki God Mein’ and Saheli were also big hits. But Upkar came as a major hit in his career too. How can we forget, among other hits of the movie, that sad number by Manna Dey for Pran: ‘Kasme wade pyar wafa sab baaten hain baton se kya’

In ‘Poorab aur Pachchim’ too Indeevar created havoc with his lyrics, specially the song, ‘Koi jab tumhara hridaya tod de, ‘

He wrote for almost all the music directors of his time except S D burman.With the arrival of the disco beat and the Bhappi Lahiri wave, Indeevar put poetry on the backburner and stood up to the task of delivering mindless lyrics. There was a preset combination for all these Southern-style 'pots-n-pans' hits: Jeetendra, Sridevi, Jaya Pradha, Bhappi Lahiri and Indeevar. All the way from Himmatwalas' (1983) ‘Nainon Mein Sapna’ to Tohfa's nonsensical title song, Indeevar willfully accepted and adapted to the changing trends in film music.

Towards the end of his career, he notched up a few hits with actor-turned-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan such as Karan Arjun (1995) and Koyla (1997). But even as he was trying to redeem himself as a poet, Indeevar passed away on February 27, 1999, leaving behind his words :

Song from Malhar 1951

Song from Malhar 1951

Song from Baadbaan (1954)

Song from Parasmani (1963)

Song from Dulha Dulhan 1964

Song from Himalay Ki God Mein (1965)

Song from Saheli (1965)

Song from Upkar (1967)

Song from Dil Ne Pukara (1967)

Song from Saraswati Chandra (1968)

Song from Safar (1970)

Song from Johny Mera Naam (1970)

Song from Sachha Jhutha (1970)

Song from Purab Aur Pachhim (1971)

Song from Amanush (1975)

Song from Qurbani (1980)

Song from Jurm (1990)

MANMOHAN DESAI-The Miracle Man Of Bollywood

Manmohan Desai(26 Feb 1937-1 Mar 1994)-The Uncrowned King Of Bollywood in the &70s and 80s.On one occasion, in 1977, three of his fast-paced extravaganzas were released over a 52-day span, and all of them became runaway successes. One of them, Amar, Akbar, Anthony.He was one of India's most successful film directors and producers, was known as the 'Miracle man of Bollywood'
He was a Producer Director of the masses,he was often criticised for his absurd themes and story lines - blind people in his films suddenly regain sight and twins separated at birth are reunited under bizarre circumstances.He along with Amitabh Bachchan  gave Hits after hits. Such was their magic that film distributors snapped up Desai's films for astronomical sums the day they were offered for sale. 
He was a son of a moderately w ell known producer and director of entertaining stunt films. After school Desai attended St Xavier's College, in Bombay, but left before graduating for a career in films.
He started his career in 1960 with the film Chhalia starring Raj Kapoor,he wanted to become a great showman like him.His next film, Bluff Master, was a commercial disaster but he went on to direct a series of reasonably successful films like the amusing Budtameez and Kismat, a racy spy thriller.His big break came in 1970 with Sucha Jootha, a thriller with good music and one which effectively used a double-role routine with Rajesh Khanna playing the main part.
He became a great Showman only after the release of Amar Akbar Anthony followed by Naseeb,Suhaag,Coolie and Mard.
Out of the 20 films that Desai directed in his career span of 29 years (1960–1989), as many as 13 films were stupendous hits. His success ratio was 65 percent in an industry where flops abound. His favourite playback singer was Mohd Rafi. In most of his movie, Mohd Rafi was used to sing songs.
Towards the end of his career, Desai's previously successful stories and style began to lose favour with audiences. He met his tragic end on March 1st 1994. He fell from the balcony of his flat when it collapsed. It remains unclear if this was accident or suicide. 
A Tribute To Manmohan Desai

Song from Chhalia 1960

Song from Bluff Master 1963

Song from Budtameez 1966

Song from Kismat 1968

Song from Sachaa Jhutha 1970

Song from Aa Gale Lag Jaa 1973

Song from Roti 1974

Song from Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song from Parwarish 1977

Song from Suhaag 1979

Song from Naseeb 1981

Song from Coolie 1983

Tribute To Sridevi

The legendary actress Sridevi died on Saturday night after a cardiac arrest.She Bollywood debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan but  she gained commercial success with Himmatwala starring with Jeetendra.Both of them working together gave many hit films in the 80s. She also received critical acclaim for commercially successful movies such as Sadma(1983), Nagina (1986), ChaalBaaz (1989), Lamhe (1991), Khuda Gawah (1992), Gumrah (1993), Laadla (1994) and Judaai (1997). Sridevi has won five Filmfare Awards and has been nominated ten times.In 2012, Sridevi returned to films after a 15-year-long hiatus with English Vinglish.Recently she was seen in revenge-drama — Mom — opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna.

Most Popular Songs Of Sridevi

MADHUBALA-Whose Life Was Just As Tragic As Anarkali’s

Madhubala (February 14, 1933 - February 23, 1969) the woman who was born on Valentine's Day and became India's sweetheart struggled to find true love all through her life is one of the most gorgeous actresses to have graced the screens of Bollywood.Madhubala is an epitome of beauty, who had an unbeatable charm. She is admired for her looks and work even by the present day generations.
At a tender age of 9, Madhubala, then known as Mumtaz Begum, was signed in for the film Basant in 1942. It was only a matter of time that Madhubala shot to fame and her work in the 1949 film Mahal got her the success she rightfully deserved. She was just 16.
Her life was full of struggle,when she was 9 as her father lost his job. She was one of five children in the family and her earnings helped the family to survive hard times.  Her first film as child artist was Basant (1942), was a box-office success.As a child actress she went on to play in several movies. Actress Devika Rani was impressed by her performance and potential, and advised her to assume the screen name 'Madhubala'.
By the time she turned 14, Madhubala was playing the leading lady (in ‘Neel Kamal’) with Raj Kapoor in 1947.

It was in 1954 when the gorgeous Madhubala was shooting for SS Vasan’s film Bahut Din Huwe and during the shooting, she vomited blood, reportedly, for the very first time. She resumed shooting soon after being treated and everybody presumed that she was perfectly alright until she fainted while shooting with Raj Kapoor for the 1957 film Chalack. 
It was diagnosed that she had a serious condition of cyanosis and poor oxygen perfusion, colloquially referred to as a “hole in the heart”. And it’s our collective loss that during that time, the medical community’s understanding of the condition was in its infancy and there was no available treatment.
On the one hand, she was fighting for her life and doing justice to her art, and on the other, she was traversing and struggling with her personal life. Madhubala was engaged to the legendary actor Dilip Kumar. However, their relationship reportedly went south because Madhubala’s father wasn't happy with it.

Madhubala left Dilip Sahab soon after and subsequently, married Kishore Kumar. Well, things were looking up for her but the doctors soon informed her that she won’t live for long. The tragedy only deepened with Kishore Kumar buying her a house in Mumbai, only to leave her alone.

In 1960, Madhubala was at the peak of her career and popularity with the release of Mughal-e-Azam and Barsaat Ki Raat. She did have intermittent releases in the early 1960s. Some of these, like Jhumroo (1961), Half Ticket (1962) and Sharabi (1964).Her last film released was Jwala in 1971.
Isn’t it ironical that the beautiful and charming leading heroine of Indian films, who was growing into a vibrant and serene actor, accumulating recognition around the world, was also slowly and simultaneously degenerating into a fragile being, who’s plight was only known to a few.
Another tragedy was that She acted in 70 films but most of her films were flops.Only 15 films were hit,still she was the most saught after heroine of her time.but another irony was that she spent her last days in depression and loneliness. What was once the most beautiful face to ever grace the silver screen, full of freshness, vibrancy and youth, was left alone to perish.
She succumbed to her illness on February 23rd, 1969, and passed away, leaving behind a timeless remembrance, full of beauty, grit and ‘feathers’.
Best Of Madhubala's Song

Song from Mahal 1949

Song from Amar 1954

Song from Mr. & Mrs. '55 1955

Song from Kala Pani 1958

Song from Howrah Bridge 1958

Song from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi 1958

Song from Barsaat Ki Raat 1960

Song from Mughal-e-Azam 1960

S D Burman- The Pioneer in Experimenting in Music

Few weeks ago I wrote a Blog on R D Burman about his lust for new and different sound for his songs.These genes he inherited from his father S D Burman. Burman Dada as called by those who loved and revered him was the first music director who was always busy in experimenting in his music whether its tunes ,melody or lyrics.  Sometimes, he faced opposition but stood firm, the skeptical falling in line when the experiment succeeded.
Music Maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma said in an interview that While composing a song, Dada would say, ‘Even if my songs flop, I will still create something new’. What Dada meant was, ‘I will not take the beaten path. I will not compose as per the existing trend. Even if my songs flop, I will still do something new’.
 From 1930 to 1936, over these five to six years, he composed music fusing Indian classical music and folk music, which did not resemble anybody else’s. This way,he was able to create his own brand of music”Listen to this Bengali song Mono Dukkhe Mori re Shubol (1934),composed and sung by him.This song is a Kirtan which used to be sung in semi classical style but Sachin Da throws the words in the Bangal dialect that makes it more rural to the roots. The dialect is of East Bengal with some Sanskrit words used. Such songs are sung by boatmen from that part of the world.

Mono Dukkhe Mori re Shubol (1934)

His innovative tendency were visible as early as in 1934 during a Bengal Music Conference in 1934, inaugurated by Rabindranath Tagore, Sachin Dev Burman was asked to sing after Ustad Faiyaz Khan. Ustad Faiyaz Khan had finished with ‘Jhan, jhan, jhan…’, a song that spellbound the audience. Sachin Da began with the same song in Bangla, ‘Jhan, jhan, jhan – manjira baaje’. The audience roared in unison and Karta extended the song to last more than half an hour. Sukla Devi vividly remembers how Ustad Faiyaz Khan came to the stage and hugged Sachin Da.The same tune he used in the Buzdil(1951) song sung by Lata and asked Shailendra to keep same mukhda with a slight change in words.Listen to both version

                                          jhan jhan jhan manjira baje..S D Burman

                                jhan jhan jhan manjira baje by Lata from Buzdil 1951

The biggest contribution that Sachin Da carried out was to create the tune first and ask lyric writer to fill in the words to suit the meter and the situation. Earlier  the film songs was that the film director and the music director would ask the writer to write lyrics based on the situation and the emotion to be conveyed. With Dada’s arrival, it all changed. Gulzar the legendary Lyricist and poet agrees that the music is the soul of a song.He believe that in any song that becomes a hit, the primary factors are the rhythm and the tune. The words follow. In fact, the quality of the words depends on how much it matches the melody and the beat. That is why I consider the role of the lyricist as secondary to that of the composer.

Another experiment he did with Ghazals.For the Baazi song he asked Sahir Ludhianvi to write Gazal for his tune. Sahir wrote the lyrics and wanted the song to be sung in a mujra style. Burman Dada composed a jazzy tune for this Ghazal. Dada also asked Geeta Roy (Dutt) to sing it. During the rehearsal Sahir didn’t like it one bit and went to complain to the director Guru Dutt, who asked Dada what the matter was. Dada asked Guru Dutt to decide who was the music director, “Sahir or I?” Guru Dutt conveyed to Sahir that Dada will do as he wishes. Sahir then and there decided that he will never write again for S. D. Burman, but changed his mind after the song became super-hit and the film too was a big draw for the audience who used to return again and again.

Song from Baazi 1950

Similar situation happened during the making of Jaal 1951 song Yeh raat ye chandni.He transformed its Ghazal mood giving it a regular stressed beat. When he sang the tune to Sahir Ludhianvi, Sahir laughed.Sahir sugested that it should be sung by Talat but Sachin Da wanted Hemant Kumar.Even when the song was recorded by Hemant Kumar, Guru Dutt wanted to re-dub the song in Rafi Sahib’s voice. Dada stuck on to his choice and the song was a very big hit.

Song from Jaal 1951

One of the most marvelous experiments that Sachinda carried out was in the song O nighahen mastana (Paying Guest -1957). Young Kishore’s voice, supported by Asha Bhosle’s humming and alaap throughout the song, adds tremendous charm to the song.The unique thing about this song is that when the second antara gets over, the interlude music and the lights start fading out till the music can be hardly heard. While the remaining lights dim out, the third antara is sung in a softer tone.It is one of the most romantic songs ever created by any music director.

Song from Paying Guest 1957

In another Navketan production Kala Pani, in  the song Hum bekhudi mein tum ko pukare chale gaye. He used the rhythm of a ghazal in the mukhda and geet in the antara. This song was originally sung by Dada himself in Bengali,every body wanted Dada to sing this in hindi but he felt that rafi's voice  will suit well to Dev Anand in this situation.one finds Rafi’s soothing voice with only a few instruments used by Dada – Sarangi, tabla, gunghroo, khadtal and harmonium.

Song from Kala Pani 1958

Another innovation he did was the use of different singers for the same hero or heroine singing in the same film.In 1949 film Shabnam he used the voice of  Lalita Deolkar, Shamshad Begum and Geeta Roy (Dutt) for Kamini Kaushal.In Jewel Thief 1967 Kishore, Rafi, and Bhupindra Singh sang for Dev Anand.In Abhiman 1973 Kishore, Rafi and Manhar Udhas  sang for Amitabh Bachchan.

 Sacin Da was the composer  who would understand the subject matter, the situation, and choose the voice best suited, before composing a song.Some time he would suggest the Director to change the situation.For the song Khoya Khoya Chand he sugested that Dev Anand should walk fast in the song.In the same film in the song "Apni To Har aah Ek Toofan Hai"Waheeda is travelling in a train along with her parents. Dev Anand, trying to woo her, gets into the same compartment.In this song situation Dada thought of introducing the sound of the engine-whistle in the song. Using his ingenuity, he used a flute to create that sound effect. The result was so good, that the viewers did not realize that a flute had been used. 

Song from Kala Bazar 1960

Another gem of his innovation was Kaanton se kheench ke yeh aanchal, tod ke bandhan baandhi payal  from Guide 1965,the song starts with an antara,it was unique in itself Very rarely would a composer dare.

Song from Guide 1965

In a song "Gum Pe Dhool Daalo" from Prem Pujari he tried a unique thing  He used four different genres in the mukhda. The first two lines  based on folk. The third on classical. The fourth on pop. And the last line based on qawwali

Song from Prem Pujari 1970

In the song O PANCHHI PYARE from Bandini he used the actual sound of wheat and the soop

Song from Bandini 1963

Music Director Uttam Singh who was one of his musician said in interview that In the last 50 years Piya tose naina lage re (Guide – 1965) in ‘Roopak’ taal is the only dance song composed in seven matras (beats). It is difficult, very difficult, to compose a dance song in seven matras, but not for one who is an expert in the field. No one else has attempted it so far. 

Song from Guide 1965

His penchant & passion for experimenting has kept him at the forefront of the music world even at the last days of his life whereas his contemporaries, all greats, lost their way after certain period of time.Even his last released song “Chal Sapnon Ka Shahar” from Deewangi has unique kind of designing which could only be conceived by SDB.

Song from Deewangi 1979

He was innovative in Background Music also.In a scene in Kala Pani he used the actual sound of Printing press.In that scene he used the sound of Sitar along with the noise of the press.Besides using a single instrument for background music in Kala Pani, Dada used a single instrument for a scene in Bandini (1963).In an interview Music Director Pyarelal of LP, who was a violinist during those days said that his Guru Anthony Gonsalvis who was the music arranger for S D in that film,prepared some music for that scene which everyone liked. But S.D. Burman was not impressed, and rejected it.

Dada kept on thinking but nothing was coming in his mind suddenly he heard flutist Kamal Mitra, who was also getting bored, fiddling with the flute by putting his thumb on the wrong end of the flute and creating a noise, ‘tup, tup, tup’ like that. Dada asked him to do it in front of the mike, and used it as the background music for that scene. This was appreciated by Bimal Roy and everyone else.

Pankaj Mallik-The Singer,Composer Admired By Rabindranath Tagore

It is said that when Tagore heard Mullick sing one of his verses `Diner Sheshey Ghumer Deshey`, the `bard` hugged him and told him that he was free to set tune to those writings of his which he would not be able to accomplish during his lifetime.
The credit of taking Tagore’s songs and music, which have come to be known as 'Rabindra Sangeet', to the masses goes to 'Mukti'. 
The unprecedented popularity of Kanan Devi & Pankaj Mullick songs in 'Mukti' played a major role in creating a mass appeal for this kind of songs which were hitherto unknown. 
Pankaj Mallik was born on 10th May 1905 in Calcutta. He started his early training in Indian classical music under the tutelage of Durgadas Bandopadhaya. An important turning point in his life came when, after finishing his studies, he came in contact with Dinendranath Tagore, who was Rabindranath Tagore's great-nephew. This led to Pankaj Mullick's lasting interest in Rabindra Sangeet. Rabindranath Tagore, in turn, grew fond of him, and soon Mullick became known as one of the leading exponents of Tagore's songs.
He started his career with the Indian Broadcasting Corporation in Calcutta in 1927, the forerunner of All India Radio (AIR), along with composer R. C. Boral, where he contributed as a music director and artist for nearly fifty years.
Along with RC Boral, Pankaj Mullick helped New Theatres dominate the film industry in the 1930s. They worked together on a few films and one of the best examples of their combined brilliance was President. 
He was a man of many talents. Other than composing music, he played the lead role in a few films and was an excellent singer. Undeniably, though, the highlights of his career were the songs he composed for KL Saigal.The two legendary songs in Zindagi were the musical opposites of each other. In ‘Main Kya Janoon Kya Jadoo Hai’and ‘So Ja Rajkumari’, on the other hand, was slow and sonorous. 
Pankaj Mullick innovated not only the Tonga rhythm, but was also the first to breathe the locomotive breath into a Hindi film song. Amazingly, he did both in the same film, Doctor. 
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1970, followed by the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (India's highest award in cinema, given by the Government of India) in 1972 for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.He died on 19th Feb 1978.

Here is my pick of Ten Pankaj Mullick songs that bring out the essence of his talent.

Song from Adhikar 1938

Song from Kapal Kundla.1939

Song from Zindagi 1940

Song from Zindagi 1940

Song from Nartaki 1940

Song from Nartaki 1940

Song from  Doctor 1941

Song from  Doctor 1941

Song from Meri Behen 1944

                                          Ye Ratein Ye Mousam - Pankaj Mullick.