Salil Chowdhry - A Creative Genius

It was his ambition to achieve greatness in everything he did. He was a Composer, Music Arranger, Poet, Story writer and many more. But at times, his confusion was fairly evident: “I do not know what to opt for: poetry, story writing, orchestration or composing for films. I just try to be creative with what fits the moment and my temperament”Overall he was a Creative Genious.
Very few know that Bimal Roy's classic film Do Beegha Zameen was written by him. He also gave the music of this film. With this film,this film took his career to new heights when it became the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award and won the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Bollywood got a genius like him. 
Salil Chowdhury was born on 19 November 1922 in a village called Harinavi in West Bengal. Salil's childhood was spent in the tea gardens region of Assam. His father was reputed to stage plays with coolies and other low-paid workers of the tea-gardens^[2]. From an early age, he listened to the Western Classical collection of his father.
The first Bengali film in which Salil Chowdhury composed music was Paribortan, released in 1949. The first Hindi film was Do Beegha Zameen in 1953. Next year he gave music for Bimal Roy's "Naukri".One of the notable songs from the film was "Ek Chhoti Si Naukri Ka Talabgaar Hoon Main", sung by Kishore Kumar, Shyam Mitra and Shankar Dasgupta, which reflected the young man's search for jobs. The other songs of note were "Arzi Hamaari Yeh Marzi Hamaari" and "Chhota Sa Ghar Hoga", both sung by Kumar. 
In 1958 released Madhumati, it was once again Bimal Roy's film  It earned ₹40 million in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, and one of the most commercially successful and influential Indian films of all time.The music of the film was even bigger hit All the songs became immortal songs.. It won nine Filmfare Awards; including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematographer—the most awards for a single film at that time. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
After this film released another Bimal Roy's film "Parakh" in 1960, the music of this film once again popular.remember the immortal song of Lata "O Sajna Barkha Bahar Ayi".

After working for about 20 years in Bengali and Hindi films, he entered Malayalam film industry and in 1964 composed music for the movie Chemmeen.

He went on to compose for over 75 Hindi films, 41 Bengali films, around 27 Malayalam films, and a few Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Oriya and Assamese films.

Salil was a fan of Mozart, he used to listen, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and others every day. He used their symphony in many of his songs. Recall the Talat Mahmood's song from Chhaya " Itna Na Mujhse Too Pyaar Badha"  was inspired by Mozart symphony.

Another important fact about him was his superiority in Background Music. We all know that Salil must have been the only composer who besides composing all the songs in films in 10 languages, composed the title music and the background music for all his films, TV serials and documentaries since the '50s. In fact, he was so good at it that other composers asked him to compose the background music for their films. Some of the noted film directors used his background music without any acknowledgement. Recall the film Kanoon, it was a film with no song the background was the highlight of the film, The Background music was given by Salil Da. Some of his notable films were Bandhini, Pather Panchali.Jagte Raho,Ittefaq,Sara Akash,Anokhi Raat,Mausam and many more.

Songs of Salil Da

Song of Do Beegha Zameen 1953

Song of  Naukri 1954

Song of Jagte Raho  1956

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Parakh  1960

Song of Kabuliwala 1961

Song of Chhaya  1961

Song of Maya  1961

Song of Half Ticket  1962

Song of Prem Patra  1962

Song of Anand  1971

Rishi Kapoor - Never came out of Lover boy Image

Rishi Kapoor's entry in the film industry was very sensational with the Blockbuster film Bobby in 1973. He became the craze and superstar with that film. Since then he played the romantic lead in 92 films, which include 41 multi starrer films.
Rishi Kapoor in an interview said that "  I was not allowed to show my range. Everybody wrote a romantic hero for me. I tried to break free but the word they used for me was cute. My pet name, Chintu, added to that image. No doubt, I was good at singing songs and romancing young heroines on screen, but that didn’t mean you make me do the same thing for 25 years. Sirf gaane gaata raha. Only the locations changed – from Ooty to Switzerland to Kashmir valley,” 
Rishi Kapoor had 51 films as the solo lead hero from 1973 to 2000, but 40 of them were box office flops and only 11 managed to hit. These were Bobby , Laila Majnu (1976 film), Rafoo Chakkar , Sargam, Karz, Prem Rog, Nagina, Honeymoon, Chandni, Heena and Bol Radha Bol.
In 1999 he directed the film Aa Ab Laut Chalen, starring Rajesh Khanna, Aishwarya Rai and Akshaye Khanna in the lead roles. His last film as a romantic lead was the delayed Karobaar: 
In this Blog, I am posting some of his most popular songs.

Hum tum ek kamre mein band ho

Song of Bobby 1973

Tumko mere dil ne

Song of  Rafoo Chakkar (1975)

Khullam khulla pyar karenge hum dono

Song of Khel Khel Mein (1975) 

 Tere Chehre Se Nazar

Song of  Kabhie Kabhie 1976

Bachna ae Haseeno

Song of Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977)

Parda Hai Parda

Song of  Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

  Dafli Wale Dafli Baja

Song of  Sargam 1979

 Om Shanti Om

Song of Karz (1980)

 Chal Mere Bhai

Song of  Naseeb 1981

Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun

Song of Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1982)

Chehra Hai ya Chaand Khila Hai

Song of  Saagar (1985)

Tu Tu Tu Tu Tara

Song of  Bol Radha Bol.1992

O Nigahen Mastana – the most romantic songs ever created by any music director.

We all know that S.D.Burman was a great composer. He also understood the art of picturising of songs. According to the situation of the song he used to make a tune and then ask his lyricist to write words for his tunes. Vijay Anand in an interview said that Dada took an interest in picturization of the song in most of the Navketan's songs. He also suggested many times about the situation of the song.

One of the most marvellous experiments that Sachinda carried out was in the song O Nighahen Mastana (Paying Guest -1957). It is a duet of Kishore Kumar and all Asha Bhosle does in it is hum. And how! Not only is the humming exquisitely melodious, the performance by Nutan to emote that humming is so real that many people thought she had done it herself!
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:

Basti ke diyon ko bujh jaane de, 
Lehraake na ruk-ruk jaana, 
Chaahat ka labon pe na aane de, 
Yehi pyaar ka hai zamaana

Watch the song video carefully. As these lines are being sung, the heroine closes her eyes and starts daydreaming. No sooner is the last line over, the music stops and there is a momentary silence, with Nutan moving forward, expecting to be kissed. That is when Dev Anand playfully shakes Nutan by her ears, bringing her out from her reverie. And now, the music and Kishore’s singing both pick up with a bang in the third Antara. What a great example of composing a song frame by frame. Watch minutely after 3.0 minutes you will find the efforts of S D Burman for making this song immortal.

This was the first film of Nutan with Dev Anand and what a chemistry was seen in this song as if they know each other very well.

What a romantic effect this creates! No wonder girls used to swoon and fall in love with Dev Anand.

It is one of the most romantic songs ever created by any music director.

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Sadhana - One photograph that changed her life!

Sadhana (2 September 1941– 25 December 2015) is known as one of the finest and iconic film actresses in the history of Hindi cinema, She started her career with a Sindhi film titled

 Abaana (1958) playing sister's role of the heroine. Very few know that In 1955 she got her first little break. She played a chorus girl in the song "Mud mud ke na dekh... mud mud ke" in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420.

The above photograph was published in the famous film paper "Screen" publicizing the Sindhi Film "Abaana".Shashdhar Mukherjee the owner of Filmistan studio noticed it and immediately contacted her for the heroine of his upcoming film "Love in Shimla"  The film was declared a hit at the box office and was listed in the top 10 films of 1960. Her fringe haircut became popular during the 1960s and came to be known as the "Sadhana cut"

Sadhana was signed by acclaimed director Bimal Roy for his satirical film on Indian democracy; Parakh. She portrayed a simple village girl in this multi-award-winning film. In 1961's other hit, Hum Dono, she played the love interest of Dev Anand.   In 1962, she was again paired with Dev Anand in Asli-Naqli by director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The same year saw director-screenwriter Raj Khosla cast her opposite Joy in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina. Khosla would again work with Sadhana to make a suspense thriller trilogy  Woh Kaun Thi 1964,  Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967) thus making her famous as the "Mystery Girl". Sadhana was the highest paid actress of her time. During a career spanning over two decades, Sadhana starred in over 30 films.  

In 1963, Sadhana played her first role in the technicolour film; Mere Mehboob, directed by H. S. Rawail. The film was the blockbuster of 1963. She was in `1965 blockbuster film "Waqt". Her other notable works in the 1960s include performances in Rajkumar (1964), Dulha Dulhan (1964),Arzoo 1965, Gaban (1966) and Budtameez (1966). Her other successful movies were Intaquam (1969), Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee (1971), Dil Daulat Duniya (1972) and self-directed film Geeta Mera Naam (1974).

Sadhana died on 25 December 2015 in Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai after being hospitalised with a high fever.

Filmography of Sadhana source Wikipedia

Year	Movie	Role	Note
1955	Shree 420[8]	Chorus girl	Cameo role in the song "Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh"
1958	Abana[8]		First Sindhi film
1960	Love in Simla[8]	Sonia
1960	Parakh[8]	Seema	Hit Song "O Sajna Barkha Bahar"
1961	Hum Dono[8]	Mita	Hit Song "Abhi Na Jao Chodkar"
1962	Prem Patra[8]	Kavita Kapoor
1962	Man Mauji[50]	Rani
1962	Ek Musafir Ek Hasina[8]	Asha
1962	Asli-Naqli[50]	Renu	Hit Song "Tere Mera Pyar Amar", "Tujhe Jeevan Ki Durse"
1963	Mere Mehboob[8]	Husna Banu Changezi	Hit Song "Mere Mehboob Tujhe Meri"
1964	Woh Kaun Thi?[8]	Sandhya / Seema (Double Role)	Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress Hit Song "Lag Ja Gale Ke Phir", "Jo Humne Dastan Apni", "Naina Barse Rim Jhim"
1964	Rajkumar[8]	Princess Sangeeta	Hit Song "Aaja Aai Bahar"
1964	Picnic		Not released[51]
1964	Dulha Dulhan[50]	Rekha / Chanda
1965	Waqt[8]	Meena Mittal	Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1965	Arzoo[8]	Usha	Hit Song "Bedardi Balma Tujhko"
1966	Mera Saaya[8]	Geeta / Nisha (Raina) (Double Role)	Hit Song "Jhoomka Gira Re", "Mera Saaya Saath Hoga"
1966	Gaban[50]	Jalpa	Hit Song "tum bin sajan"
1966	Budtameez[50]	Shanta
1967	Anita[8]	Anita
1969	Sachaai	Shobha Dayal
1969	Intaquam[8]	Reeta Mehra	Hit Song "Hum Tumhare Liye, geet tere saaz ka"
1969	Ek Phool Do Mali[8]	Somna
1970	Ishq Par Zor Nahin[52]	Sushma Rai	"yeh dil deewana hai, sach kehti hai duniyaa"
1971	Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee[50]	Neena Bakshi	Hit Song "Mujhe Teri Mohabbat Ka"
1972	Dil Daulat Duniya[50]	Roopa
1974	Geeta Mera Naam[8]	Kavita / Neeta / Geeta (Double Role)
1974	Chhote Sarkar[53]	Radhika
1975	Vandana[54]
1977	Amaanat[55]	Suchitra
1981	Mehfil[52]	Shalini / Ratnabai (Double Role)	Delayed Release
1994	Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzeelein[56]		Delayed release

Song of Shree 420 (1955)

Song of Parakh 1960

Song of Hum Dono 1961

Song of Asli Naqli 1962

Song of Mere Mehboob 1963

Song of Woh Kaun Thi 1964

Song of Rajkumar 1964

Song of Aarzoo 1965

Song of Mera Saaya 1966

Song of Inteqam 1969

Song of Geeta Mera Naam 1974

Ventriloquism in Hindi Films

Last year Akshay Kumar was hosting a comedy show on TV. He was so impressed with a comedian-ventriloquist that the actor himself decided to master the art. We know Ramdas Padhye is India’s one and only Professional Ventriloquist, Puppeteer and Puppet maker who has performed his widely acclaimed ventriloquial and puppetry acts in India and abroad. He was seen in the Hindi film Mahaan released in 1983.

Speaking of ventriloquism as an art, our Hindi films have rarely shown appreciation for the art. Begunah would have been one of the very first films to have it in the core plot. it featured Kishore Kumar as the lead, in a never-before comic role. The film was said to be an exact copy of Paramount's international hit "Knock on Wood" (1954) starring Danny Kaye (a huge influence on Kishore da). The story of BEGUNAAH was written by I.S.Johar. The Directors who were Businessmen from Saurashtra, Gujarat were held Guilty on TWO COUNTS for Plagiarism & violation of Copyright. Within 2-3 days of the Movie’s release, Danny Kaye, Hero of the Hollywood Movie KNOCK ON WOOD’ had come to Bombay for some work & was informed about this Movie. He watched the Film and though he could not follow Hindi, Danny got an idea that much of the Movie has the same story as his Movie. He immediately contacted Paramount Picture in America. Next day their lawyers came to Bombay and with the help of local solicitors, they filed a case in the Court seeking a Ban on the Movie and destroying all Negatives & Prints. Much to the surprise of the Indian Film Industry and the local Lawyers, within a Month, the Verdict was announced.

Another Hindi film was Rajendra Kumar's 'Akeli Mat Jaiyo' had a cameo of a talking doll (performed by Yashwant Padhye, the father of ventriloquism in India). The highlight of the film was its song Chal Chal mere Dil. The picturisation of this song shows Rajendra Kumar with a puppet. Rajendra Kumar sings this song in Mukesh’s voice and the puppet too responds- in Johny Whisky’s voice. Majrooh Sultanpuri is the lyricist. Music is composed by Madan Mohan

In the mid-70s and 80s.Ramdas Padhye was very popular. In 1982 Amitabh Bachchan saw his performance and immediately got Ramdas Padhye on board for his forthcoming film Mahaan, as after watching the action, he wanted to perform the ventriloquism act on Screen and got "talking-doll" part incorporated in the plot of Mahaan. Apart from Padhye's, there was Master Madhu, a music director of silent & vintage era of Indian films, who used to perform with Talking dolls onscreen.

In 2002 a film Dil Hai Tumhaara  had a character of a Ventriloquist. It was directed by Kundan Shah starring Rekha, Preity Zinta, Mahima Chaudhry, Arjun Rampal, Jimmy Sheirgill and Alok Nath. 
Jimmy Sheirgil played a role of Ventriloquist who is accompanied by a puppet called "Rangeela", who was operated by renowned ventriloquist and puppeteer Ramdas Padhye.

Puppets have been part of many Indian films but this is different from Ventriloquism. The first song in my memory was from “Sargam” (1950), it was a comedy song. This song was picturised on Raj Kapoor, Rehaana and others.
Another famous and most popular use of puppets was in the song from Chori Chori 1956. This song begins as a puppet show where two puppets resembling the hero and heroine are seen dancing. Soon they are seen transforming into the real-life Hero and Heroine who sing this lovely duet. It is sung by Lata and Manna Dey. Shailendra is the lyricist whereas Shankar Jaikishan created the wonderful music.
 "Kathpulti" (1957), The film's story was about young Pushpa, an accomplished dancer and singer, who assists puppeteer Shivraj in his puppet show. Pushpa comes from a poor family and is a good dancer and singer. She would like to assist a puppeteer with his makeshift dolls and puppet act. Unfortunately, he meets with an accident and is hospitalized. Some of his puppets were also damaged during this accident. Pushpa approaches Loknath for work, and he gets her to work on stage. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Balraj Sahni in the lead. The film's music was composed by the Shankar Jaikishan duo, with the lyrics penned by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. The most famous song sung by Lata in this film "Bol Ri Kath Putli"
Here I would like to recall my viewers about a hit song sung by Kishore Kumar from the film Kasauti released in 1974. In this song, Pran uses Finger Puppets throughout the song.

Song of Begunah 1957

Song of Akeli Mat Jaiyo 1963

Song of Sargam (1950)

Song of Chori Chori) (1956)

Song of Kathputli (1957)

Song of Kasauti (1974)