The Invisble Men of Bollywood

The idea of invisibility has always fascinated cine-goers. The idea of an invisible man originated from the novel by H. G Wells published in 1897. The first movie in this novel was made in 1933 in Hollywood by Universal Studio. Since then many films are made on this subject. 
The invisible man has been a runaway success in Bollywood too. This formula has wowed the masses through the generations in Hindi Film Industry. The first film on this subject was made in 1938 as "Mr. X", produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt. The second film was also Mr. X in 1957 played by Ashok Kumar. The third film was "Mr. X in Bombay" released in 1964. Another film on this subject was Mr. India in 1989.
It is definitely a very cool superpower to possess and the success of all these films only shows that this subject is a money-spinner.
Mr. X (1957)

Song of Mr X 1957

Sippy films made Mr.X in 1957, starring Ashok Kumar, Nalini Jaywant, Pran and Johny Walker, produced by G.P.Sippy, Directed by Nanabhai Bhatt, Music by N.Dutta and Lyrics by Majrooh, Hasrat, Tanvir Naqvi and Bharat Vyas.
The film was made in a small budget and was a hit. The song Laal Laal Gaal picturized on Johny  Walker was a super hit.

Mr. X in Bombay (1964)

Song of Mr. X in Bombay (1964) 

A comedy film directed by Shantilal Soni featuring Kishore Kumar, Kum Kum. The music for this film was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi and Asad Bhopali. The song "Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi" of this movie became an evergreen hit.

Elaan  (1971 )

Song of Elaan  (1971 )

Its F C Mehra's film, directed by K. Ramanlal. The film stars Vinod Mehra, Rekha, Vinod Khanna, and  Madan Puri. The character played by Vinod Mehra finds himself locked in a cellar alongside an old man who claimed to have invented an ''atomic ring'', which can make a person invisible. He gives it to Mehra by literally tearing off his leg and extracting the ring, which the latter has to supposedly put in his mouth and take off all his clothes to turn invisible. The film was an average hit.

Me. India (1987)

Song of Mr India 1987

 Mr. India remains a cult classic in India. It had all the ingredients of an entertainer and the formula was bang on. T.Produced by Boney Kapoor and directed by Shekhar Kapoor, based on a screenplay written by Salim-Javed. It stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. Amrish Puri, as Mogambo. The film was the second highest-grossing Indian film of 1987 

Chamatkar (1992)

Song of Chamatkar (1992)

It's an F C Mehra's film directed by Rajiv Mehra. It cast Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan and Urmila Matondkar in pivotal roles. The film was quite popular among children.  The film had Shah Rukh Khan as a cricket coach and Naseeruddin Shah as the 'ghost' who was killed and buried in the same cemetery, where a homeless Shah Rukh seeks refuge


Gayab  ( 2004 )

Song of Gayab  ( 2004 )

 Produced by Ram Gopal Verma, It stars Tusshar Kapoor and Antara Mali as the lead protagonists. The film became a moderate box office success. There is nothing new to Gayab. The invisibility trick was slicker in Mr. India. The film contains the antics of Vishnu enjoying his invisibility and trying to win Mohini’s heart (with the insertion of a side-plot here and there).


Mr. X (2015)

This Emraan Hashmi-starrer wasn`t well-received by the audiences despite made in 3D. The actor played a dedicated government officer, who gets charred in a factory during an assignment and is given an untested potion by his friend's sister, which causes a complete cell regeneration from the scratch causing him to become invisible in all lights except neon light and direct sunlight. 

Subodh Mukharjee - A Filmmaker of Golden Era of Bollywood

The younger brother of the doyen of Hindi films Shashdhar Mukherjee of Filmistan Studio. The studio that gave us Shaheed (1948), Shabnam (1949), Anarkali (1953), and Nagin(1954). Jagriti(1954),  
Munimji 1955, Paying Guest 1957, Tumsa Nahin Dekha 1957 
He directed Dev Anand in Munimji and Paying Guest and later started his own production house with Love Marriage. He introduced Saira Bano and made Shammi Kapoor a superstar with the 1961 film Junglee.
Subodh Mukharjee ( April 14, 1921- 21 May 2005) was a freedom fighter, he was in jail for 3 months. His elder brother Shashdhar pulled him away from the nationalist movement and engaged him film making.He was given the first film as an independent director Munimji The script was written by Nasir Hussain and the music was composed by S D Burman. The film was a hit. The song "Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Rahi," sung by Kishore Kumar, became a super hit. This team of Subodh Mukherjee, Nasir Hussain, Dev Anand, and music director S.D. Burman later got together to make another movie, Paying Guest, in 1957. In the same year,. Looking to this the Filmalaya decided to make another film Tumsa Nahin Dekho was released which was directed by Nasir Hussain, it was also successful so Filmalya gave Nasir Hussain another film to direct, this upset Subodh, e decided to start his own production house, the SMP Subodh Mukharjee Productions
The first film of this house was Love Marriage starring Dev Anand and Mala Sinha. This was the third film in a row under his direction All the three films were hit.
The next film under his direction and production house was Junglee with Shammi Kapoor. The film was a super hit. after Junglee he made April Fool in 1964 and Saaj Aur Awaz in 1966, both the films were average in Box Office.
In 1967 he produced Shagird, the direction was given to Samir Ganguly. The film stars Joy Mukherjee and Saira Banu in lead roles The film was a super hit. He then made two films simultaneously,
Abhinetri released in 1970 was directed by him and Sharmilee directed by Samir Ganguli was a hit. his was the last hit from SMP. 
In the first two decades of his career, he had a high success percentage, but like so many movie-makers of his generation, he floundered from the seventies and quit in 1985. The last 2 films were Teesri Aankh 1982 and Ulta Seedha in 1985.

Song of Munimji 1955

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Song of Love Marriage 1959

Song of Junglee1961

Song of Shagird 1967

Song of Sharmilee 1971

Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen - The song that was kept on Hold

This song remains one of the most popular songs of Madhumati, released in 1958. The Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhry. Shailendra wrote the lyrics The soundtrack of Madhumati became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 1958. This remains one of the personal favorite songs of Mukesh.
Suhana Safar Aur Ye Mausam Haseen is one of Hindi cinema’s greatest musical scores. An anthem in praise of natural beauty. Mukesh’s inimitable voice emanates the joy with a fantastic echo effect. Salil Chowdhury utilized this quality so adeptly in this composition that listening to it one feels like none but Mukesh could have rendered this song. Charming its way into people’s hearts and rightly securing his position in the league of legends.
It is said that Dilip Kumar, the hero of the film wanted this song to be sung by Talat Mahmood but Talat himself declined to sing saying Mukesh needed that break much more than him, Mukesh was not getting songs during those years and that he was hard up for money.
There is another story behind this song, that Shailendra who was the lyricist for this song couldn’t find a suitable line to follow this particular one “Ye Gori Nadiyon Ka Chalna Uchhal Kar”. So the song was kept on hold for quite some time till one day, he happened to chance upon a little girl who was crossing a lane and singing to herself. This inspired him to write the next line “Ki Jaise Alhad Chale Pee Se Mil Kar”. He immediately went to Salil Da's home and completed the full song. Shailendra has used words like ‘Alhar’, which is seldom used in film songs and it is north Indian rooted word, generally used by village and small-town folks.
Along with the composition of the song and its picturization; the lyrics were unique. Describing the movement of rivers, 
Unlike other films, shot indoors, Roy decided to shoot Madhumati outdoors and at a hill station. It had a six-week schedule in Ranikhet, Nainital. Some scenes were shot in Ghorakhal, near Nainital. In those days there were no monitors, so when the negatives were developed, it was found that most of the footage was foggy. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand wasn't possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri, near Nashik. Art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to matched the location in Nainital.

Song of Madhumati 1958

The Changing Face of Indian Cinema- Bioscope to OTT

Film Exhibition is an important part of any Cinema Industry. It is the foundation of the revenue of this business. For decades, the theatrical release window has been a valuable model for exhibitors and producers alike. It has traveled from the single theatres to the multiplex age. From the video parlors to the digital era and Satellite Releases.on your mobile phone. 
Though film production commenced in India in 1913, the progress of the film business started in 1896, the historical year when Lumiere Bros' films were exhibited at Watson Hotel in Mumbai. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar was the first Indian to import a Cine-camera from London at a price of 21 guineas and made a topical in 1897. “Return of Wrangler Paranjapee”- first Indian Actually Film shot by Bhatvadekar. Hiralal Sen stars working in Bengal by filming extracts from stage-plays.
J.F. Madan (1856-1926) launched his bioscope show in a tent at Calcutta Maidan in 1902. Later in 1904  Manek D Sethna started exhibiting cinema regularly. He started to move from one place to another with his projector. In 1907 
the First Cinema hall in India was built by J.F. Madan in Calcutta in 1907 and it was named Elphinstone Picture Palace it was later called as Chaplin Cinema. By the time the first Talkie movie started many cinema theatres started working in many parts of India.,

With the emergence of TV, cinema finds new media to exhibit. Expansion of TV network all over India in the early eighties brought the films in our drawing rooms. This was the decade when Film piracy was at its peak. Pirated video cassettes were easily available, people stopped going to cinema halls and started to watch movies at their homes. 

By the end of the last century,. Indian cinema started a crossover from analog to digital. For distributors and exhibitors, one of the most evident benefits of this technological shift was the convenience factor. The content in the digital format does not have to be frantically shuffled between theaters but it can simply be delivered by way of satellite or hard drive. 

As digitalization has grown, so has the technology behind it. Over the decades there have been different types of digital projectors in use. With the emergence of multiplexes India, too, is taking rapid strides towards asserting this trend Soon all of India will be watching digitally transmitted movies. 

The main benefit of digitization is that there can be multiple pan-India releases.  A digital print can be sent anywhere via satellite. The first major Bollywood film Singh is Kinng was released via digital distribution. The film had released simultaneously in around 400 odd digital theatres. In 2008, Ghajini, starring Aamir Khan, released with the maximum number of prints in India – 1,200 (both digital and analog versions). In 2013, Dhoom 3 released with 4,500 prints, and almost all were digital.

Under the present circumstances of a complete lockdown in India due to Coronavirus, all the cinema halls are closed. Now the producers whose films are ready for release are now thinking to release their films directly to OTT a new platform for the young generation. Several big firms have lined up for a digital release, ditching the traditional route of a theatrical opening. This has led to a tug of war between producers and exhibitors. Direct-to-OTT could become an increasing reality in the near future. This platform bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content. This platform could be accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players (including video game consoles), or televisions with integrated Smart TV. 
it`s the dawn of a new era where both patterns of release will probably find a way to co-exist. Many big films are now ready to get released on this platform in India.Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer "Gulabo Sitabo" and Vidya Balans "Shakuntala Devi" are among the first.

Here are a few OTT platforms in India. Voot, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Sonyliv, etc.

Kaanto Se Kheench Ke Ye Aanchal - An Experimental Song

EVERY song of ‘Guide’ is still fresh in the minds of people who love music. This 3.44-minute song of Lata Mangeshkar is one of her favorite songs  Could you believe that initially, she didn't like this song. This song was recorded in between the shooting of the film. Dev Anand, who was the producer of the film was also not satisfied with the song.
S D Burman experimented in his music in many of the songs of this film. In this song, he started the song with an Antara. Usually, Hindi songs start with a Mukhada but here Dada Burman started with Antara. The Mukada of the song is "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai" which comes after Antra. Probably a feat no other music director will ever be able to ever repeat
After the recording of this song in Bombay, Dev Anand joined the unit that was shooting at Udaipur in Rajasthan. Vijay Anand who was the director of the film now wanted to shoot the song but Dev Anand who was not satisfied with the song was not interested to shoot, Vijay Anand convinced him to shoot this song if even after he didn't like, they will re-record the song.

The song "was shot at Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan. In fact, the reflection of the heroine on one of the mirrors, during the song, is inspired by the legendary tale of Alauddin Khilji catching a glimpse of Queen Padmini on the same mirror in the main hall.
Composer Sachin Dev Burman fell seriously ill during this film and even requested Dev Anand to engage some other composer for the film. But Dev Anand stood firm to his side and said that he would wait till Dada Burman is fit again. Once cured, the masterpiece compositions started to flow; the first song recorded was the evergreen "Gaata Rahe Mera Dil".

Hindi Films with Unusual and FunnyTitles

In Bollywood’s more than 100 years of history, there are a number of films that are still remembered for their unusual and difficult titles such as Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola or Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.
In every decade there are many films with such names, in 1946 there was a film Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani by V Shantaram, Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo in 1952, Alam Ara Ki Beti in 1960 or Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi by Kishore Kumar in 1972.
V Shantaram had a habit of keeping long and unusual titles of his films such as  Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Geet Gaya Patharon Ne (1964), Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti (1967) and  Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli (1971).
Here I am sharing some of the difficult Hindi movie names for our readers.
1 

 Paap Ko Jalakar Rakh Kar Dunga - is a 1988  film starring Dharmendra and Govinda

2  

Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein is a Hindi film made in 1986. The film is well known for its dual meaning dialogues like in all Dada Kondke films.

3  

 Dhoti Lota Aur Chowpatty This movie was made by Mohan Choti a comedian of yesteryears, was released in 1975. Because of the lengthy star cast of this film, the film got a lot of headlines. Despite actors like Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Mahmood, Prem Nath this film emerged as a flop movie on box office.

4  

Chala Murari Hero Banne is a 1977 Bollywood comedy film directed by and starring G. Asrani. The film had a fresh storyline but failed to click at the box office and was declared a Below Average grosser. This is one of the few films where Asrani had a leading role. He mostly played small comedy roles in his Bollywood career.

5   

Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan This film, adorned with artists like Om Puri, Shriram Lagoo, Rohini Hattangadi, Satish Shah was released in the year 1978. The film is directed by Bollywood director Saeed Akhtar Mirza. This film earned Filmfare “Filmfare Award Best Film – Critics” award.

6 

 Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro is a 1989 Indian film directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, with Pavan Malhotra as the lead. The film won the 37th National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1989 

7 

Bandook Dahej Ke Seeney Par This film was based on the social topic of dowry and released in the year 1989. Actors like Shashi Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Raza Murad, Kiran Kumar, Archana Puran Singh, Shekhar Suman, Alok Nath acted in this film.

8  

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local is a 2007 Indian Hindi crime comedy film directed by Sanjay Khanduri, starring Abhay Deol opposite Neha Dhupia in lead roles.

9 

 Manorama Six Feet Under is a 2007 Hindi thriller film directed and co-written by Navdeep Singh. The film features Abhay Deol, Raima Sen and Gul Panag in the lead roles.

10 

 Raja Rani Ko Chahiye Pasina is a 1978 Bollywood film directed by Sulabha Deshpande. The film stars Sushant Ray, Durga, Jasraj.

11  

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola is a 2013 Indian black comedy film produced by Vishal Bhardwaj The film stars Pankaj Kapur, Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma in the titular roles, while Shabana Azmi and Arya Babbar play supporting roles. 

12

  Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana is a 2012 Indian comedy film produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Anurag Kashyap and directed by Sameer Sharma.

13  

Allah Meharban To Gadha Pehalwan is a  1997 film. Kader Khan & Shakti Kapoor appeared in this film in leading characters. The film is directed by Ravindra Arora and Written by Ahsan Bharati. The movie was a big flop at the box office.


14

 Do Ladke Dono Kadke is a 1979 Bollywood drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee. The film produced and music composed by Hemant Kumar.

15

  Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (transl. Sonu's Titu's Sweety) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed and co-produced by Luv Ranjan.

16 

 Anaarkali of Aarah (Anārakalī ŏph Ārā) is a 2017 Indian film written and directed by debutant Avinash Das. The movie has Swara Bhaskar playing the lead role of a small-town erotic folk dancer in Arrah in Bihar. 

17 

 Phas Gaye Re Obama is a 2010 Bollywood satire film directed by Subhash Kapoor and starring Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Sanjay Mishra, Manu Rishi and Amole Gupte in the lead roles.

18  

P Se Pyaar F Se Faraar is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Manoj Tiwari and produced by Joginder Singh under the banner Ok Movies. It features Bhavesh Kumar, who marks his debut in the film, and stars Jimmy Sheirgill, Sanjay Mishra.


19 

 Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film features Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles.

20  

Apna Sapna Money Money is a Hindi comedy film released on 10 November 2006. Directed by Sangeeth Sivan, It is is a tale of several characters who are in a mad race to be rich. The film, produced by Subhash Ghai, is a situational comedy. The film stars Suniel Shetty, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitly.

21

  Saare Jahaan Se Mehnga is a 2013 Bollywood satire film directed by Anshul Sharma starring Sanjay Mishra and Pragati Pandey. 

22  Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film, directed by Sunil Agnihotri and produced by Sunil Agnihotri Productions, Vandana Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd. This film is Mika Singh's first attempt as an actor.

23  Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Aman Sachdeva and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Bejoy Nambiar.

24  Hello! Hum Lallan Bol Rahe Hain is a Bollywood film starring Rajpal Yadav and Preeti Mehra in the lead roles. The film did well in small cities especially in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

25 Crazy Cukkad Family is a 2015 Bollywood, comedy film directed by Ritesh Menon and produced by Prakash Jha The film stars Swanand Kirkire, Shilpa Shukla, Zachary Coffin.Upon release, the movie received mixed to positive responses. Rajkumar Hirani, Sudhir Mishra, and Gauri Shinde praised the performances and the story.