Friday 21 May 2021

Subodh Mukharjee- Freedom Fighter to the Leading Filmmaker of the Golden Era

 


Subodh Mukharjee ( away from the nationalist movement and engaged him film making. He started as a continuity assistant and writer He was given the first film as an independent director Munimji (1955).  The film was a hit. The song "Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Rahi," sung by Kishore Kumar, became a super hit. The next film he directed was Paying Guest(1957), which was again a hit.

He started his own banner 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 three films were hit. The next film under his direction and production house was Junglee with Shammi Kapoor. The film was a super hit. He was then a leading Filmmaker of Bollywood.

 After Junglee he made April Fool in 1964 and Saaj Aur Awaz in 1966, both the films were average in Box Office. In both the films, Saira Banu was the heroine, who was introduced by him in the 1961 film Junglee.
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, Sharmilee(1971) was directed by Sameer Ganguli, and the other film Abhinetri(1970) was directed by him.

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. He produced 8 films and directed 9 films in his career. The last 2 films were Teesri Aankh 1982 and Ulta Seedha in 1985

He died on 21st May 2005,he was suffering from Blood cancer.

Song of Munimjee 1955

Song of Paying Guest 1957

Song of Love Mariage1959

Song of Junglee 1961

Song of Shagird 1967

Song of Abhinetri 1970

Song of Sharmilee 1971

















Wednesday 19 May 2021

Nainital and ils Bollywood Connection



Nainital, the most favorite hill station of the North Indians has been a favorite location for Bollywood Filmmakers. The first Bollywood film shot in Nainital and nearby places was Madhumati released in 1958. But before that Guru Dutt and Zohra Sehgal, who were disciples of Uday Shankar, established the 'Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre', at Simtola, near Nainital.

 In the 1950s, three future Bollywood stars were studying in Nainital: Amitabh Bachchan at Sherwood College.  Danny Denzongpa at Birla Vidyamandir, Naseeruddin Shah at St Joseph’s College, and Film director Karan Johar’s mother was a hosteller at St Mary’s Convent.

B R Chopra's Gumrah (1963) starring Ashok Kumar, Sunil Dutt, and Mala Sinha was a super hit movie, Its song “In Hawao Mein, Inhi Fijazo Mein” was shot in Nainital.

Song of Gumrah 1963

The next song is from the 1964 film Shagun starring Waheeda Rehman and Kamaljeet. The film was shot at Mehboob Studios in Bombay and Nainital.This song was shot in Nainital
Song of Shagun 1964

Song of Waqt 1965

Song of Bheegi Raat 1965

Song of Anita 1967



Song of EK KALI MUSKAYEE 1968



This song made Nainital more popular among tourists
Song of Kati Patang 1971

Song of Masoom 1983




Song of Sirf Tum 1999


Song of  Abhi Toh Jee Le 1977 



Song of Koi Mil Gaya 2003


                                       


Saturday 15 May 2021

Aaja Nachle with Madhuri Dixit

 


Madhuri Dixit is one of those few actresses who is aging so gracefully that with every passing year, she only ends up looking even more beautiful. She has given us some iconic songs like, Ek Do Teen, Tamma Tamma Loge, Kay Sera Sera that are definitely going to stay with us forever. she is blessed by the Gods of dance and in the industry that heavily relies on its culture of song and dance, she became a goddess.

Madhuri Dixit gave Bollywood some of its biggest hits in the 90s. From Choli Ke Piche Kya Hai To Dhak Dhak to Dola Re Dola, Bollywood's dancing diva had many hits to her name. Today, we take a look at some of her dance hit songs in a career spanning over three decades.

In this blog, I have selected 15 dance songs by Madhuri Dixit.

Song of Tezab (1988)


Song of  Kishen Kanhaiya (1990)

Song of  Sailaab (1990)

Song of  Thanedar (1990)



Song of  Beta (1992)

Song of  Khalnayak (1993)

Song of  Anjam (1994)

Song of Hum Apke hain Kaun (1994)

Song of Raja(1995)

Song of Yarana (1995)


Song of Dil Toh Pagal hai (1997)

Song of Pukar (2000)

Song of Lazza (2001)

Song of Devdas (2002)

Song of Aaja Nachle (2007)




































Friday 14 May 2021

The Great Muslim Socials of the Golden Era of Bollywood

 


Muslim Social is one of the genres of Bollywood. Many films were made in this genre and many of them were great hits too. The 1950s to ’70s were the decades when the popularity of the Muslim social opened a window to a world both exotic and familiar at the same time. 

Pukar released in 1939 was made by Sohrab Modi was based on  Mughal emperor Jahangir, the Muslim social drama genre reached its peak with Mehboob Khan’s Najma (1943) starring Ashok Kumar and Sitara. After the success of this film, many films on Mughals were made including Humayun (1945) by Mehboob KhanShahjehan (1946) by A R Kardar.

in the 50s the  Social drama of Nawabs and other top-class people of the society was made. In 1960 Guru Dutt produced and acted in Chaudhvin Ka Chand which became a hit opening the window for more such films. Here is the list of few such films.

Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)- One of the top-grossing films of 1960, produced by Guru Dutt, directed by Mohammed Sadiq, starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Rehman.The setting is the city of Lucknow in UP, Aslam (Guru Dutt) and Nawab (Rehman) are the two friends caught in a love triangle with Jameela (Waheeda Rehman). 

Song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)

Mere Mehboob is a 1963 Indian film directed by H. S Rawail and starring Ashok KumarRajendra KumarSadhanaNimmi. The film became a blockbuster and took the number one position at the box office in 1963.  It drew a background from Aligarh Muslim UniversityAligarh and traditional Lucknow. The famous song "Mere Mehboob Tujhe Mere" was shot in the University Hall and in a couple of places, one gets to see the University. 

Song of Mere Mehboob  1963


Benazir (1964)- The film is a Bimal Roy production.Starring Ashok KumarMeena KumariShashi Kapoor and Tanuja. Directed by S.Khalil and music by Sachin Dev BurmanBenazir, a Muslim family drama, revolves around the film's key characters, Nawab, Anwar, Sahida and Benazir, among others. Nawab and Anwar are brothers who live in an upper-class neighborhood. Nawab is married and has a child. A bachelor, Anwar on seeing Sahida falls in love with her and proposes marriage to her. Although married, Nawab has an affair with Benazir, and keeps her as his mistress.

Song of Benazir (1964)


Bahu Begum is a 1967 Hindi film directed by M. Sadiq, and starring Pradeep KumarMeena Kumari and Ashok Kumar. The film has music by Roshan and lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. This film is known for songs, "Hum Intezaar Karenge Tera Qayamat Tak", sung by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle and "Duniya Kare Sawaal" by Lata Mangeshkar. The film is a Moslem period drama set in the erstwhile Era of Lucknow woven around a mythical story of Bahut Begum's manor.

Song of Bahu Begum 1967


Mere Huzoor is a 1968 film starring Raaj KumarMala Sinha, and JeetendraAkhtar Hussain (Jeetendra) saves the life of Nawab Salim (Raj Kumar) and earns his gratitude. Salim invites Akhtar to come to his palatial home, On the way on a train journey, he meets beautiful Sultanat (Mala Sinha) and falls in love with her. On arrival at Salim's house, Akhtar is treated with the utmost respect, provided employment, and a place to live. Akhtar meets with Saltanat and both plan to get married. Unknown to them, Salim also loves Saltanat, but Saltanat rejects his advances, and proposal, leaving him heartbroken. Soon Saltanat and Akhtar get married and settle down.

Song of Mere Huzoor 1968


Mehboob Ki Mehndi is a 1971 romantic musical film produced and directed by H. S. Rawail. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Leena ChandavarkarShabana, the heroine is able to save herself, and her family, only by educating herself and doing the job of a tutor. 

Song of Mehboob Ki Mehndi 1971 


 Pakeezah is a 1972 film, written, produced and directed by Kamal Amrohi  starring Meena Kumari, Raj Kumar and Ashok Kumar .Meena Kumari's performance as a gold-hearted Lucknow nautch-girl drew major praise. However, this was to be Meena Kumari's last great performance. Set in the Muslim Quarter of Lucknow at the turn of the 20th century, the movie centers on the mental plight of a tawaif and her longing to be loved, accepted and respected by society.

Song of Pakeezah 1972 



Thursday 13 May 2021

50 Years of Navketan's 'Tere Mere Sapne'

 


Recall the song “Hey, Maine Kasam Li” where the hero Dev Anand on a Bicycle and the heroine Mumtaz sitting on the crossbar riding across green fields singing the song with very little action and lots of cuddling. What a picturization.

Tere Mere Sapne is one of my favorite movies. It has substance. Commercially, it did not do very well at the box office but I believe it is one of the most sensitive Bollywood movies by Goldie Vijay Anand. He also acted in this film, he plays a doctor and gave a memorable performance.

 The film is based on the novel “The Citadel” by A.J.Cronin, published in 1937 in UK.  based on his own experiences as a doctor. Dedicated to the medical community, the film starts off with a young, idealistic MBBS doctor Anand Kumar (Dev Anand) moving to a village near a coal mine. He attains his degree in medicine and re-locates to a small village to assist the local doctors there. Upon arrival, he is met by the ailing Dr. Prasad and his wife, and hired on a salary of Rs.250/- per month. He meets with the other doctors namely Dr. Kothari (Vijay Anand), an alcoholic, and Dr. Bhutani, a dentist. Anand finds that he is saddled with all of Kothari's work as well his own due to the reason that Kothari is drunk every night. He nevertheless carries on, aided by the local school-teacher, Nisha Patel(Mumtaz), who he eventually marries. Then one day a proud father, Phoolchand, gives a baksheesh to Anand for the safe delivery of his first-born. This does not auger well with Mrs. Prasad and she fires Anand. Anand and Nisha re-locate to Bombay, and after sometime Anand establishes himself as a leading doctor, is honored for his thesis, and gets to be the personal doctor of a leading Bollywood actress Maltimala. When Dr. Kothari and Dr. Bhutani go to visit them, they find while Nisha is still the same good-natured woman, who is expecting a child, Dr. Anand is a changed individual, who has no time for friends, personal life, or even his wife, and is not even aware that she is pregnant. The two return home disappointed, followed by Nisha, who has decided to separate from Anand.

 There are many beautiful songs and several great dances featuring Hema Malini.  Vijay Anand’s direction keeps things moving along at a good pace. There are so many wonderful characters in this film too. Mumtaz gave a stunning performance. Music by S D Burman and lyrics by Neeraj is superb.

SongSingersPicturised on
"Phurr Ud Chala"Asha BhosleHema Malini
"Mera Saajan Phool Kanwal Ka"Asha BhosleJayshree T.
"Jaisa Radha Ne Mala Japi"Lata MangeshkarMumtazDev Anand
"Ae Maine Kasam Li"Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore KumarMumtaz, Dev Anand
"Jeevan Ki Bagiya Mehkengi"Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore KumarMumtaz, Dev Anand
"Tha Thai Thatha Thai"Asha Bhosle, ChorusHema Malini
"Mera Antar Ek Mandir Hai Tera"Lata MangeshkarMumtaz
"Zamaane Dhat Tere Ki"Manna DeyAgha


 






Song of Tere Mere Sapne 1971