Let's look into the Philosphy of Dev Anand

Dev Anand was not just the man of success & talent but also a man who had the ability to think. He used to sound like a philosopher. He was well educated and a creative man. His temperament and attitude to face life are extraordinary that made him such a great person. We all talk about his films and songs but in this Blog, I look at the intellect and philosophy of this great hero of Bollywood
In his Auto Biography, he says about becoming an actor "I knew I had that quality, for my mirror always told me, as it lit my reflection in it every time I looked into it, with a chorus of angelic voices, wow! Let the world see you"

On Life.
a philosophy which Dev Anand, a non-smoker, was said to live by. “Har Fikr ko dhue mein udhata chala gaya,” which roughly translates as: “I puff away the worries with the smoke.”

Looking Back on Past

"For me, today is exciting. This moment is exciting. This film I am making is exciting. The past is only where I came from. The present counts.”

On dreams

"You are dead the moment you stop dreaming"

On beauty
I get turned on by anything I find beautiful my greatest necessity is to be activated all the times my strength is my inborn optimism.

On Looks and Style

“There’s no Dev Anand style. If you like yourself, you are going to conquer. That’s self-confidence.”

About a star

A star is a man who is known. That’s all, people look forward to seeing him, listening to him or viewing him. A star is not necessarily a 25, 26, 36-year-old young lad with youth giving him good looks, which will fade away. The first important thing is personality, personality stays.

On his dialogue delivery (Why he spoke so fast). 
“Life is too short,  I don’t have time to speak slowly. My life is without full stop”

What keeps you moving

 It’s the mind which is ticking all the time, if the mind is alert and mind is moving, your mind never gets tired, your body does. My mind is the mind of a creator. One never grows old, one just grows, matures and dies.

On his mannerism

“I speak fast and so I spoke my dialogues fast. I have a stoop and that explains the way I held my body. I walk fast and that explains my movement.”

On Fear

I don’t have any fear... even death... if it comes, I will take it. 

How he finds a story for a film

 Stories are all around us. In newspapers, in trains, in markets… "Wherever there are people, there are stories. 

About discovering Talent

"Dev Anand doesn’t discover anybody. They find Dev Anand". 

On his Flop films

To my mind they are all hits, monetarily, they have not earned big money but that does not mean they are bad pictures.

After a debacle of Ishq Ishq Ishq

"A broken nose sometimes makes a great boxer"

On  youthful spirit
 “My life is the same and I am at a beautiful stage at 88. I am as excited as I was in my 20s.”

On his 88th Birthday
“I am always in a rush because time is slipping away and I am chasing it, chasing it. I have so many stories to tell but where is the time. I wish I am born again as Dev Anand and people will see a young star 25 years later. That will give me some time to finish what I want to do,”

Dev Anand also gave us a most profound philosophy : “Zindagi Ek Khayal Hai Jaise Ki Maut Bhi Ek Khayal Hai, Na Sukh Hai Na Dukh Hai; Na Deen Hai Na Duniya; Na Insaan Na Bhagwan ...Sirf Main Main Main..You have to detach yourself to go further...”.
Let's Watch Some Of the Philosophical Songs from his films

Song of Hum Dono 1961

Song of Munimji 1955

Song of Guide 1965

Song of Guide 1965

Song of Bambai Ka Babu 1960

Song of Nau Do Gyarah 1957

Song of Solva Saal 1958

Song of Kala Bazar 1960

Song of  Baat Ek Raat Ki 1962

Song of Gambler 1971

Song of Joshila 1973

Kashti (Ferry) Film Review

Ferry the film was released in 1954, produced and directed by Hemen Gupta starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali
Ferry is very different from the usual (mainly romantic or noir) films of Dev Anand film. Dev Anand in a Dhoti Kurta and playing the Sarod is surprising to his fans. In this film, Dev Anand plays a widower and father of 8 years child named Raju, on an island off of Bombay's Gateway of India. Raju has not been told of his mother's demise and believes that she will return home by the next boat. He is looked after and abused by Vikas' aunt and manages to run away. 

 When Vikas goes to work one day, villagers find an unconscious female and bring her to his house. She is looked after, and Raju believes that his mother has returned. When Vikas returns, he decides to let this female, whose name is Juhi, live with them - little knowing that she is a runaway prostitute.

The most interesting in the film is an instrumental Jugalbandi by Geeta Bali and Dev Anand playing the Sitar and Sarod respectively (Originally played by Pt. Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan). Music by Hemant Da.

                            An instrumental jugalbandi in the movie 'Ferry' (1954)

Song of 'Ferry' (1954)

Song of 'Ferry' (1954)

Song of 'Ferry' (1954)

Song of 'Ferry' (1954)

Song of 'Ferry' (1954)

Sudha Malhotra- The magical voice

Born in New Delhi on 30th Nov 1936( There is a confusion on her date of birth in one video 30th Jan is mentioned), she was discovered as a child artiste by Master Ghulam Haider (a prominent music director of the 1940s). Her first break came with Mil gaye nain,composed by Anil Biswas, for the film Arzoo. Salaam-e-Hasrat Qubool Karlo and Kashti ka Khamosh Safar hai a duet with Kishore Kumar is the other songs she is often remembered for.
Upon the recommendation of music composers Husnlal-Bhagatram, she took classical singing lessons from Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan and began singing playback with the film Arzoo (1950).
She also acted in some Bollywood films and as a playback singer, worked in popular Bollywood movies in the 1950s and 1960s, like Arzoo, Dhool Ka Phool, Ab Dilli Door Nahin, Girl Friend, Barsat Ki Raat, Didi, Kala Pani, Prem Rog and Dekh Kabira Roya. 
There is another interesting little-known aspect of her life. She is one of the rare female singers to have sung a self-composed song. Sudha has not only given the music for Tum mujhe bhool bhee jao from film Didi, but also sung it with Mukesh.

She sang ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ first with Geeta Dutt composed by Khayyam for a Chetan Anand film. The film was never made but it was eventually reused for the Yash Chopra film.
The most saddening part of her career was that by singing more of children songs and motherly numbers in movies like Ab Dilli Door Nahin, Andher Nagri Chaupat Raja, Jeevan Saathi and Masoom, Sudha was labelled as a "typed singer". But determined Sudha proved everybody wrong. Her bhajan in Kala Pani 'Na Main Dhan Chahun..' became immensely popular. She sang the famous qawwali 'Ishq Ishq..' in the film Barsat Ki Raat. This song was recorded for a period of twenty-nine continuous hours. She was awarded the Kala Bhushan award by Gyani Zail Singh, the then president of India. She was awarded the Padma Shri by Government of India in 2013
She has sung 264 songs in 155 films.She was last heard in Raj Kapoor's Prem Rog (1982) in the song "Yeh Pyar tha ya kuch aur tha". Apart from Hindi songs, Sudha sang many popular Marathi songs (Bhavgeet) with Arun Date.
The poet-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi was said to be infatuated with Sudha Malhotra, 15 years his junior, when  they first began working on Bhai Behen (1959). Malhotra’s dulcet voice brought alive many of Ludhianvi’s songs in film, and ‘Salaam-E-Hasrat Qubool Kar Lo’ was no exception. Composed by Roshan in the raga Yaman, the song was picturised on actresses Shubha Khote and Azra in the Muslim social, Babar (1960).

Song of Babar 1960

Her first song was composed by Anil Biswas for Shaheed Latif’s Arzoo (1950). The film was written by Latif’s wife Ismat Chughtai and hero Dilip Kumar. The melodious song, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, was picturised on an equally young Shashikala. 

Song of Arzoo 1950

Another unforgettable number is the prayer song ‘Darshan Do Ghanshyam’ that Sudha Malhotra sung along with Hemant Kumar and Manna Dey. Composed by music composer Ravi

Song of Narsi Bhagat (1957)

It was the only time Sudha Malhotra composed a song in her career on request. ‘Tum Mujhe Bhool Bhi Jao’, written by Sahir Ludhianvi, is a duet sweetly sung by Malhotra and Mukesh. 

Song of Didi (1959)

In 1960's Girl Friend, Sudha Malhotra got to sing a beautiful duet with Kishore Kumar for music composer Hemant Kumar.

Song of Girl Friend (1960)

SD Burman compiled a wide array of singers from Mohammed Rafi to Asha Bhosle to Manna Dey. In this bhajan written by Shailendra, SD Burman chose the voices of Geeta Dutt and Sudha Malhotra. Their voices complemented each other perfectly. 

Song of Kala Bazar (1960)

The famous qawwali was sung by Sudha Malhotra, Manna Dey, and Asha Bhosle from PL Santoshi’s Barsat Ki Rat (1960), ‘Na To Karwan Ki Talaash Hai’, penned by Sahir Ludhianvi, was masterfully composed by Roshan

Song of Barsat Ki Rat (1960)

She was persuaded to return to playback singing for Raj Kapoor’s Prem Rog (1982) with the duet ‘Yeh Pyar Tha Ya Kuch Aur Tha’ with the singer Anwar. This remains her last song.

Song of Prem Rog (1982)

The Great Bollywood Songs in Disguise

There are many situations in Hindi films where the hero comes in disguise to the heroine's house or vice versa. Sometimes the hero comes in disguise to kill the villain and his henchmen? And the dumb villain enjoys the song thoroughly. No wonder, with such low IQ they all get killed in the end.
There are many songs where the hero is in disguise of a girl or girls in disguise of a man, sometimes hero in disguise teasing the heroine. Many such song situations have given us many hit songs.
The first song in my list is from Jaali Note (1960)

Song of Jaali Note (1960)

Song of Kohinoor (1960)

Song of Half Ticket (1962) 

Song of Dil Hi To Hai (1963)

Song of Bluffmaster 1963

Song of Aarzoo (1965)

Song of Pyaar Kiye Jaa 1966

Song of Kismet (1968)

Song of Aankhen (1968)

Song of Jaane Anjaane (1971)

Song of Apna Desh (1972) 

Song of Anokhee Ada 1973

Song of Dharma 1973

Song of Amir Garib 1974

Song of “Rafoo Chakkar” (1975)

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

Song of Lawaris 1981

Helen - The Original Dancing Diva of Bollywood

Started her career as a Chorus Dancer Helen became the first Dancing Diva of Bollywood. It was the dance song Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu from the film Howrah Bridge in 1958 made her the Cabaret Queen of Bollywood. She changed the entire scenario of dance in Hindi cinema from the early 50s to the late 70s to emerge many years later as a character actress in a few chosen films. 
She was born in Burma (21 Nov), now Myanmar, to a Burmese mother and Anglo-Indian father. The famous dancing star Cuckoo was a family friend. She introduced her as a dancer in the chorus in Shabista in 1951.  She got  her first hit song-and-dance number in Baarish (1957), Mr John, Baba Khan ya Lala Roshandaan Jo Bhi Dekhe Mera Jalwa Ho Jaaye Qurbaan. 

She was initially trained in the Manipuri style. Then she learnt Bharat Natyam from P.L. Raj, one of the leading choreographers of the time. Kathak followed this. She was the one who introduced the cabaret and the belly dance in Indian films.  
Helen vamped three generations of men, Prithviraj Kapoor (Harishchandra Taramati), Raj Kapoor (Anari (1959)) and Rishi Kapoor (Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan (1977)).
Hindi cinema found many uses for Helen. Since she was an outsider in almost every sense – by name, by national origin, by heredity – she could be anyone. And so a million fantasies were pinned on to one single form. She could be an Italian countess (Prince (1969)) or a German one (Ek Se Badhkar Ek (1976)) or an Anglo-Indian gold-digger (Gumnaam (1965)) or a tribal (Baadal) or an aboriginal Maharashtrian Koli fisherwoman (Inkaar (1977)) or a Chinese woman (Howrah Bridge (1958)) or a Roman Catholic Jenny (Imaan Dharam (1977)).

 She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award in 1965 for her role in Gumnaam. She played dramatic roles such as the rape victim in Shakti Samanta's Pagla Kahin Ka (1970).It was  a role in Mahesh Bhatt's film Lahu Ke Do Rang (1979), for which she won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. In 1999 Helen was given India's Filmfare lifetime achievement award.
Helen officially retired from movies in 1983, but she has since then appeared in a few guest roles such as Khamoshi: The Musical (1996) and Mohabbatein (2000). She also made a special appearance as the mother of real-life step-son Salman Khan's character in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.. She also appeared in Humko Deewana Kar Gaye in 2006.

Helen was selected for the Padma Shri awards of 2009 along with Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar.

Song of Baarish 1957

Song of Howrah Bridge 1958

Song of China Town (1962)

Song of Gumnaam (1965)

Song of Teesri Manzil (1966)

Song of Talaash (1969)

Song of Intaquam (1969)

Song of The Train (1970)

Song of Caravan (1970)

Song of Sholay (1975)

Song of Don 1978

Runa Laila - The Melody Queen Beyond Borders

In her decorated career, Runa Laila has achieved such height of fame and recognition that most artists can only dream of. She has voiced the magical lyrics of some of the globally renowned lyricists and performed the duet with singers at the similar altitudes of success.
She was born in East Pakistan, was educated in Pakistan, settled down in Bangladesh after the creation of the state in 1971, has worked in India and travels the world with her shows. Where does she really belong?
The colourful journey of her career has taken her all over the world. From Madison Square Garden to Sydney Opera House, from Europe to Africa – the veteran has stepped on proudly carrying the legacy of Bangladesh and mesmerized her audience in India and Pakistan. She has lent her melodious voice to over 10,000 recordings, in 18 languages.
She was born (17 th Nov 1952) in Sylhet to Syed Mohammed Imdad Ali, a civil servant posted in Karachi, and Amina Laila. In 1966, she made her breakthrough with the song Unki Nazron Sey Mohabbat Ka Jo Paigham Mila for the Urdu film Hum Dono. She used to perform on PTV In a show called Bazm E Laila.

Her tryst with Indian films came about after a chance meeting with music director Jaidev in Delhi, at a party hosted by businessman and music connoisseur Ashok Khanna. He gave her a chance to sing at the inauguration of Doordarshan. For a few years, she used to sing in Doordarshan. She became famous among viewers by her song Damadam Mast Kalandar. Her first recording was with Kalyanji-Anandji for the title song of Ek Se Badhkar Ek. She gained popularity in India with the songs O Mera Babu Chail Chabila and Dama Dam Mast Qalandar . After that, she sang two songs for Gharonda"Tumhe ho na ho" and "Do deewane shaher mein " composed by Jaidev.
She shares a close association with Bappi Lahiri too. In fact, Bappida recorded a pop album in her voice called Superuna in London. The singer remembers it all fondly. “We recorded at the Abbey Road Studios, made famous by The Beatles and I think we were the first people from the subcontinent to have done so. It was a spectacular experience. The songs are still popular and I perform them at my shows even now.” The songs were indeed so popular that Bappida used the hit single, De De Pyar De in the film Sharaabi (1984). 
Her name has been written on the Guinness World Records for recording 30 songs within 3 days. In 1982, she won Golden Disk Award as her album Superuna composed by Bappi Lahiri was sold over 1 lakh copies on the first day of its release.
Runa has also sung versions of Mehdi Hassan’s ghazals, which became quite famous. In October 2009, she released Kala Sha Kala, a collection of Punjabi wedding songs, in India. In 2012, Laila served as a judge on the show Sur Kshetra, an Indian television contest show for amateur singers. She described her relationship with fellow judge Asha Bhosle as that of sisters. In 2014, she collaborated with Sabina Yasmin on a song for a television play "Dalchhut Projapoti", the first time they worked on a song together

Runa Laila with her Parents and Siblings

After her sister died in 1976 from cancer, Laila held several charity concerts in Dhaka. The money raised was used to build a cancer hospital in Dhaka.Laila was named a SAARC Goodwill Ambassadors for HIV/AIDS. She is the first Bangladeshi to hold this post. She visited New Delhi in 2013 on her first trip as the SAARC ambassador. She met India's External and Health Ministers.

Her playback singing in films – The Rain (1976), Jadur Banshi (1977), Accident (1989), Ontore Ontore (1994), Tumi Ashbe Bole (2012), Devdas (2013) and Priya Tumi Shukhi Hou (2014) - earned her seven Bangladesh National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer.

Song of Ek Se Badkaar Ek 1976

Song of Gharonda 1977

Song of Gharonda 1977

Song of Yaadgaar (1984)

Song of Hum Dono (1966) Pakistani Film

Mera Babu Chhail Chhabila Mai To Naachu re

Song of The Rain 1976  Bangaladesh 

Ghazal  of Runa Laila

Ghazal  of Runa Laila

Runa Laila bengali folk song

Baazi- The Film that was a trendsetter and gave Bollywood many Legends

There are some films which are iconic, Navketan's Baazi released in 1951 is also such film which gave the Hindi Film Industry many legends. The film is notable for two reasons: first, being the directorial debut of Guru Dutt and second, it was the film which inspired many urban crime thrillers in the fifties. This was the second film of Dev Anand's production house Navketan Films, and as per a commitment was given by Dev Anand to Guru Dutt in their days of struggle, the movie was directed by Guru Dutt.

The movie begins with hands being shown gambling, just in case if we viewers missed the point. A look at the credits makes you feel that the ‘who is who’ of the remaining years of the 50s are represented there. First of all this film gave us the Star Dev Anand who in the years to come to become the Style Icon of Bollywood. The second person to become Legendary Director of Bollywood was Guru Dutt.the third legend in making was S D Burman the great composer of Golden Era of Bollywood. Next legendary personality was Kalpna Kartik who later married Dev Anand made her debut with this film.

Kalpana Kartik in Baazi

S D Burman

 Balraj Sahni, who had just returned after a stint with the BBC was entrusted with the story, screenplay and dialogues. Zohra Sehgal was brought in to choreograph the dance sequences. A young poet named Sahir Ludhianvi was given a chance to pen lyrics for the songs who later became a Legendary Lyricist and poet. 

Sahir

Raj Khosla served as an assistant director who became a legendary Director. A bus conductor who Sahni had seen entertaining passengers was called in for a cameo, to play a drunkard, and while the film credits him by his real name Badruddin, after Baazi, the world knew him as Johnny Walker.

The other Legendary personalities were the Cinematographers V Ratra and his assistant V K Murthy who gave memorable cinematography of all Guru Dutt’s films, (including Pyaasa, Sahib Bibi aur Ghulamand Kagaz ke Phool) has earned Murthy a place in the history of Hindi cinema. He was awarded a ‘lifetime achievement award’ by the Indian International Film Academy in 2008. This came as belated recognition by the Bombay film industry for the contribution made to its evolution by technicians such as V.K. Murthy.  

V K Murthy

 In his autobiography Romancing with Life, Devsaab reminisces: “Baazi gave me an image that stayed in the minds of people, and made a genuine star out of me. For the first time, I felt and saw what stardom was in terms of adulation and fan following. I became a phenomenon after the release of Baazi.”
Songs of Baazi 1951