Station Hollywood

Remembering Sanjeev Kumar on 9th July, 2009.

2009-07-03T16:41:00.003+05:30

Remembering Sanjeev Kumar on 9th July, 2009.

The viewers of bollywood films would remember Sanjeev Kumar on his birthday on 9th July, 2009. He was one of most gifted actors that bollywood films had produced and still remains immortal in his memorable works. He was sublime in the role of a deaf and dumb character in Gulzar’s film Koshish. He received national award for his brilliant performance and also inspired Jaya Bacchan to reach the same level of excellence in the film.

In Sholay he played the epic role of Thakur of north Indian village. His personality in the film amazed the Indian viewers and many aspects he superseded Dharmender and Big in the same film where they were sublime. His personality matched the cruel instincts of Amzad Khan in the role of Gabbar Singh in the same film. Again his role in the film Aandhi opposite Suchitra Sen in 1975, showed his softer side. He could feel the emotions of his wife who was a popular political leader but was corned by many members of the opposition. He received filmfare award for best actor in 1975 for his epic performance in Aandhi.

Gulzar probably had made the best use of the versatile actor. His role in the film Mausam was full of reflections. He recollected his past experience with Sharmila Tagore when his car ascended the roads to his destination in Darjeeling. Bhupinder Singh’s song “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din” written by Gulzar and composed by Madan Mohan matched him ideally. Probably Bhupinder Singh’s deep voice suited Sanjeev Kumar better than no other actor in bollywood . He gave elegant lips in the film Parichay in the song “bite na bitai rehna”.

Besides, Sanjeev Kumar kept his mark in comedy films like Seeta Aur Geeta opposite Hema Malini, also Angoor opposite Moushumi Chatterji. He was sublime also in films like Satyakam and Shikar. Critics argue that he was the most versatile actor after Dilip Kumar and Balraj Sahani and he showed his variation in films like Naya Din Nayi Raat. All the nine roles were different and Sanjeev Kumar treated each of the them with separate andaz. His role in Khilouna showed the characteristics of a mad person and was worth mentioning. He gave elegant lips in Rafi’s song “khilouna jaan kar mujhko”.

The works of Sanjeev Kumar should be preserved and actors of the new generation learn from his versatile performances.

The nation remembers Guru Dutt on his birthday.

2009-07-03T11:38:00.003+05:30

The nation remembers Guru Dutt on his birthday.

The nation remembers Guru Dutt on his birthday on 9th July, 2009. He had died more than 40 years ago, yet his reference comes whenever history relating to thoughtful films is revisited. Guru Dutt was innovative as a director and from the time he created Baazi with Dev Anand in 1951, he showed his spark. As an actor his films Aarpar with Shyama gave a new team in bollywood films with OP Nayyar, Rafi, Geeta Dutt, Johny Walker and others. The song in the “kabhi aar kabhi paar” became super hit.

From that time onwards Guru Dutt created his identity in picturising song sequences and was regarded by the film community after Raj Kapoor. In CID, all the songs of the film like “ay dil mushkil jeena yahan”, “ankhon hi ankho me ishara ho gaya”, “leke pehla pehla pyar” became super hit. Johnny Walker became a leading comedian in the 50s, due to his brilliant relationship with Guru Dutt and Mohammad Rafi and their combination gave numerous hits for the next ten years.

Mr and Mrs 55 was Guru Dutt’s super hit project opposite Madhubala. All the songs in the film became successful including “thandi hawa kali ghata”, “jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji”, etc. Rafi’s songs for Johnny Walker and Guru Dutt like “sun sun sun sun zalima”, “muhobbat karlo aji karlo”, “dil pe kiya aisa jadu” remained everlasting hits and still is considered as some of the most innovative creations of OP Nayyar. The songs of the film 12 O Clock were also hit including “mai kho gaya” sung by Rafi.

From 1957, the viewers saw thoughtful Guru Dutt in films like Pyaasa and Kagaz Ka Phool. Both the films were based on eternal truth. Pyasa was related to recognition of a poet in a materialistic world. Kagaz Ka Phool was related to story of directors and performers in celluloid, their rise and their fall due to ungratefulness of opportunists in society. The music composed by SD Burman in both these films were of high standard. Also the lyrics of Sahir Ludhiyanvi were very meaningful. The notable songs included “yeh mahalon yeh takhton yeh tajon ki duniya”, “sar jo tera”, “bichar gaya bari bari” sung by Rafi, “waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam” sung by Geeta Dutt, to name a few.

Guru Dutt and Wahida Rehman’s onscreen chemistry was accepted by viewers in the film Chaudavi Ka Chand. The title song “chaudavi ka chand ho, ya aaftab ho” sung by Rafi and composed by Ravi can be considered as one of the ten best ghazals composed in the history of bollywood music. Guru Dutt bought colour in the song sequence. The film did great business. Guru Dutt as an actor did great job in films like Bharosa, Saheb Bibi Aur Ghulam, Saanz Aur Sawera, etc. His early demise in the mid-60s led to huge loss in the film industry as his works were filled with deep thoughts. The viewers pay respect to the departed soul on his birthday and want the restoration of his works to acknowledge his creativity as a director, producer and actor.

Elizabeth Taylor - one of the greatest actresses of Hollywood.

2009-07-02T17:46:00.004+05:30

Elizabeth Taylor – one of the greatest actresses of Hollywood.

Elizabeth Taylor was considered one of the greatest actresses of bollywood films of all times. If the golden era, that is the 50s and 60s is associated with everlasting performances of towering actresses like Sofia Lorrain, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Marylyn Monroe, etc, then Liz Taylor (Elizabeth Taylor) can be considered the superstar who ruled the industry inspite of performance of the other beautiful actresses.

Liz Taylor, the other name of Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, was born on 27th February, 1932, in Hampstead, UK. Her parents Francis Lenn Taylor and Sara Viola Warmbrodt were Americans who settled in UK. After the second world war II, Liz Taylor settled in Los Angeles, California, US. Hedda Hopper, a famous columnist entered Liz Taylor’s father’s art gallery and recommended her to known directors of Hollywood films. After being introduced to Andrea Berens, John Considine, Liz Taylor got a scope of performing in the film There’s Born Every Minute, at an age of nine years. In 1941, she signed a six month’s contract with Universal Pictures.

Her notable films during young age included National Velvet, Life with Father (1947), A Date with Judy (1948). With short time she got adult roles and stormed Hollywood with her matured performances. Her journey in the 50s started with romantic comedy Father of the Bride. In 1954 she acted in the film Rhapsody, opposite Vittoria Gasman. Her following films included blockbusters like Giant (1956) opposite Rock Hudson, Raintree County (1957) opposite Montgomery Clift, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) opposite Paul Newman. In 1963, she acted in the epic film Cleopatra opposite her husband Richard Burton who played the role of Mark Anthony. She became the highest paid Hollywood actress of all times. Taylor won the academy award for best actress for her performance in the film Butterfield 8, in 1960, where her husband Eddie Fisher acted opposite her. She married a number of times, but the marriage with Richard Burton created the greatest gossip of all times.

She acted opposite Burton in other films like The VIPs (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), The Comedians, etc. She also acted opposite superstar Marlon Brando in the film Reflections in a Golden Eye. After The Only Game In Town, in 1970, she reduced her performances in Hollywood films. With eight husbands, some having died, while the other divorced, Liz Taylor was in the media even after she left acting in films. Critics argue that apart from her beauty, Liz Taylor can be considered one of the best five actresses that Hollywood had ever produced. Her films should be preserved.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

2009-07-02T10:01:00.004+05:30

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury was one of the most gifted creators of Bengali modern songs during the golden age. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his base in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

2009-07-01T12:40:00.003+05:30

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best music out of Lata Mangeshkar and their combination had created evergreen gems which are cherished over the years. In 1959, Salil Choudhury’s composition for Lata “jare jare ure jare pakhi” created sensation in Bengal.

Lata’s melodious voice enchanted the viewers and the east –west blend of Salil Choudhury as usual created new dimension in Bengali modern songs. The other 1959 creation included “na jeona. In 1960, Salil Choudhury composed “o banshi hai” and “ogo aar kichu to nai”. Those songs captured the romantic andaz of Lata.

In 1961, Salil Choudhury came out with Sri Lankan folk song in his creation for Lata titled “saat bhai chompa jagore”. The other song in that year “ki je kori, dure jete hai” was another creation in a somber mood. In 1963, Salil Choudhury’s creations “keno kichu kotha bolona”, “o tui nayano pakhi” were everlasting hits and had not lost their appeal even today.

In 1967, Salil Choudhury created “ke jabi aye” and “nishidin nishidin baje” in a unique style. Till this period Salil Choudhury’s orchestration used to include light orchestration. The song “Jodi baron koro” had such a brilliant interlude where Salil Choudhury showed his excellence in the part “birohini udashi” where Lata was matchless. “o jhar jhar jharna” was a fast number composed in the same year.

In 1969 only, Salil Choudhury created two gems “na mono lagena” and “ore o mon moyna”. The early 70s brought out Salil Choudhury’s experiments with the notations of piano, like “pa ma garesa’ sung by Lata. Lata also sang “o projapoti projapoti pakhna melo”. Another Salil Choudhury’s masterpiece included “antabiheen katena ar jeno” and “kichu to chahini aami” in 1972.

Salil Choudhury’ s “o mor moyna go” in 1975 for Lata, showed his jugglery with the guitar. The other song “jhilik jhilik jhinuk khuje pelam” was innovative too.

Some of the other masterpieces included “aaj noi gungun gunjon preme” and “aaj tobe eituku thak”. Salil Choudhury was solely responsible for Lata’s dominance in Bengali modern songs, although media had brought other names whose contributions are negligible in comparison to Salil Choudhury. In fact the Indian audience was not matured enough to appreciate Salil Choudhury’s experiments including calypso, Hungarian folk, etc. Otherwise he would have been ranked as one of legend of legends like Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of Lata and Salil Choudhury should be restored.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya - the legendary classical singer of bengal.

2009-06-30T19:18:00.002+05:30

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya – the legendary classical singer of Bengal.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya was the one of the legendary classical singer of Bengal of the 50s and 60s, who showed his excellence in films songs, Bengali modern songs and shyamasangeet. He did not get the recognition he deserved as the major attention of the media was focused only towards Hemant Kumar, the romantic singer of Bengal, but along with Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Akhilbondhu Ghosh, Satinath Mukherjee and others, Dhanonjoy’s classical touch inspired the composers to compose pure classical and semi-classical songs.

Dhanonjoy’s evergreen modern songs included “matite jonmo nilam” composed by Prabir Mojumdar, “kabir kheyale premomoy tumi samrat shahjahan” composed by himself, “jhanana jhanana baje” composed by Salil Choudhury, “ei jhir jhir jhir batashe” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, “ruma jhuma jhum” composed by Rotu Mukherjee, “antabihin oi andharater” composed by Salil Choudhury, “shilpi moner bedona”, “tandra elo bolo jaagi kemon kore”, “chameli melona ankhi”, “bashorer deep aaj” to name a few.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya acted in Bengali films like Pasher Bari (which was remade in hindi with the title Parosan where Kishore Kumar played his role), nobo bidhan, etc. His brilliant songs in Bengali films included “jagannath swami gamanapathagami bhabatue” sung in the film Nilachole Mahaprobhu, composed by Raichand Boral, “jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir borosha” in the film Pasher Bari, composed by Salil Choudhury, “katharo aghate chinno paye rokto jhare” in Uttam Kumar’s film Sabar Upare, composed by Robin Chatterji, etc. He made major contribution in Uttam Kumar’s film Nabajanmo, Uttam Kumar’s film Shilpi, etc.

Besides, Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya had sung more than 200 shyama sangeet (devotional songs sung for Goddess Kali). Some of his legendary shyama sangeet included “e maya proponchomoy” in the Uttam Kumar’s film Share Chuattor, “gaya ganga prabashadi” in the film Rani Rashmoni, also major songs in the films Sadhok Bamakhepa and Joto Mot Tato Poth. His brother Pannalal Bhattacharya became a legend in the world of Shyama sangeet.

Dhanonjoy died in the early 1990s, after leaving a huge treasure of classical songs and still remains a king (samrat) in the minds of numerous music lovers in the country.

Kangana Ranaut has a busy 2009.

2009-06-30T11:01:00.002+05:30

Kangana Ranaut has a busy 2009.

2009-06-30T11:01:00.000+05:30

Kangana Ranaut has a busy 2009.

Kangana Ranaut was a very happy actress in 2008 after bagging the filmfare award for the best supporting actress for her performance in the film Fashion. She was as prominent as Priyanka Chopra in the film and had been appreciated by critics as well.

2009 had been a very busy year for Kangana Ranaut. She did a marvelous job in the film Raaz – the mystery continues. That film started the series of horror films in bollywood in 2009. She played the role of a girl who was suffering from diseased due to the unsatisfied soul of Jackie Shroff being there in her body. Jackie had died and wanted to let the world know about the cause of his death. At the same time Imraan Hashmi knew about the entire thing. He was a painter and whatever was supposed to occur in future used to come in his mind and he used to paint it. At the end of the film Kangana was successful in letting the world know about the truth relating to murder of Jackie.

Kangana Ranaut was appreciated for her bold performance in the films Gangster and Life in a Metro. In fact she won the filmfare award for the best debutant for her performance in the film Gangster. Those films did fantastic business in India and the overseas market.

In 2009, Kangana’s three films will be released including Roshan, Kites and Happy New Year. Already Kites had created new much before its release. Barbara Mori, the bold actress in the film already entered into an affair with Hrithik Roshan for which the media became very curious. It was even published that the relationship of Hrithik Roshan with his wife became worst due to those events.

Director Rakesh Roshan always gave ample scope to the actors and actresses to show their skills in his film. Kangana Ranaut also has been used to perfection in the film Kites. It is a big budget film and the entire nation is waiting anxiously for the release of the film.

Happy New Year and Roshan are also interesting ventures and Kangana Ranaut will create good impression with her performance. Let us hope for the best.

Manobendra Mukherjee in the 70s.

2009-06-29T09:32:00.002+05:30

Manobendra Mukherjee in the 70s.

Manobendra Mukherjee was considered as the greatest classical singer that Bengal had ever produced during the golden age. He had the weighty bass like Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya, classical control like Satinath Mukherjee and Akhil Bondhu Ghosh, variation and modulation like Manna Dey. To a big section of Bengali listeners he used to be considered the Neil Harvey of Bengali modern songs. Just as Neil Harvey used his wristy stroke play to establish himself as the greatest stylish batsman of all times, Manobendra Mukherjee used his classical touch, (in musical terms called harkat) in such a stylish manner that he emerged as the most romantic singer of the golden age during an era when melodious singers like Shyamal Mitra, Hemanta Mukherjee, Subir Sen, Tarun Banerjee were big names. His emergence in Bengali musical arena created a dimension which may be called romantic saga which in turn swayed the innate emotions of middleclass Bengali listeners of the golden age in the world of melody.

His song “emni kore porbe mone baki jiban dhore”, sung in the mid-50s flabbergasted the Bengali audience and brought a new expression for plutonic romance. The lyrics in interlude including “sabai bole bhalobashar moron naaki nei, proti rate tara hoye dei je dekha sei” created everlasting impact in the world of romance which listeners cherished for the last 50 years. Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor, Bankshall Court, a great admirer of Manobendra Mukherjee had echoed the emotions Manobendra himself, when he interviewed the legendary singer in a musical function organized in Beerpara (Paikpara) in 1986, where Manobendra admitted that if “nai chondon lekha” created his romantic debut in Bengali musical arena, “emni kore porbe mone” was the most romantic song he had sung in his illustrious career.

While the 60s showed Manobendra’s skillful compositions both in Bengali films and Bengali modern songs, the 70s showed his jugglery in classical creations. His notable creations in the 60s included Uttam Kumar’s Mayamrigo, 1960, Biswajeet’s Godhuli Belai, 1964, Bosonto Choudhury’s Bodhu, 1962, Bosonto Choudhury’s Koshtipathor, etc. His modern songs “Jodi amake dekho tumi udashi” composed by Abhijit Banerjee, “rimjhim baje monjiro kar” composed by himself, “koto je soyechi betha” composed by Chinmoy Lahiri, “bare bare ke jeno dake” composed by Sailen Mukherjee, “mayur kanthi ratero nile” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, “ami parini bujhite parini” composed by Salil Choudhury, “amar pather panthe” composed by Satinath Mukherjee, to name a few.

The 70s was marked by the decline of Bengali modern songs. When Manobendra saw that composers like Robin Chatterji or Anil Bagchi were no more in the 70s, he composed most of the songs himself. Quality lyricists like Shyamal Gupta, Pulak Banerjee, Pabitra Mitra provided the romantic lyrics for him during that age. His landmark songs during that period included “ei ganga ei padda”, “borosha klanto o duti nayan mele”, mone pore jay koto shriti mayabhora”, “hajar jonom dhore”, “jaak na megher araale chand”, “jolke tora jaabi jare”, “halka megher palki chore chandrakola jay”, “ami je mondo tate”, “phiria dekona mahua bonero pakhi”, to name a few. He was such a dynamic singer that 700 to 800 songs sung by him were composed by himself.

Even in the film arena Manobendra contributed in films like Uttam Kumar’s Joy joyanti (for which he won different awards including Indira Gandhi award for excellence in music composition), Soumitra Chatterji’s Sudur Niharika, Joto Mot Tato Bath, Sadhok Bamakhepa, to name a few.

One of the biggest achievements of Manobendra was bringing junior artists from grass root level and reaching them to limelight with his tunes. His landmark tunes for other singers included “kemone janabo bolo e pranero bedona” sung by Shefali Chakrabarty”, “champakali go koto name dekechi tomay” sung by Tarun Banerjee, “ami sundar bole tai to bondhu besecho bhalo amay” sung by Alpona Banerjee, “gane gane ami je khuji tomay” sung by Supriti Ghosh, “kuasha ghera neel pahare” sung by Bani Ghoshal, to name a few.

Manobendra Mukherjee showed his excellence in so many diverse fields that separate articles can be written on his nazrulgeeti, bagbajarer gaan, puratoni, ragprodhan, kirtan, bhakti geeti, shyama sangeet, etc. His death in early 90s, had brought huge loss to Akashbani Kolkata, Kolkata Doordarshan, all the record companies of Bengal and music journals where he was an indispensable figure. His songs and compositions should be restored, preserved and revisited.

Kate Winslet - a sensational actress.

2009-06-28T18:05:00.005+05:30

Kate Winslet – a sensational actress.

Kate Winslet had been a sensational actress of Hollywood films. She is one of the other actresses who was born in England and dominated Hollywood films after Elizabeth Taylor. Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born on 5th October, 1975 in Reading, Berkshire, UK. Her father Rodger John Winslet and Sally Ann were jobbing actors. Kate joined Redroofe Theatre School at the age of 11 years.

Kate acted in children’s fiction serial Dark Season in BBC in 1991. She acted in the film Heavenly Creatures in 1992 under Peter Jackson and won Empire Award and London Critics Circle Film Award for her brilliant performance. In 1996, she acted in the films Jude and Hamlet. She played the role of a young woman involved with suffragette leanings who loved her cousin. Kate won the second Empire award for her performance in the film Hamlet.

In 1997, Kate acted in James Cameron’s epic film Titanic opposite Leonardo Decaprio. She made the viewers all over the world spellbound with her majestic performance. The film became the greatest hit ever after doing a business worth $ 1.8 billion. Kate became one of the most popular stars all across the world.

In 2001, she acted in the successful film Enigma opposite Dougray Scott in the role of a warrior of Second World War. In 2004 she acted opposite Jim Carrey in the successful film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. She played the role of a neurotic woman whose previous memories relating to affairs with her friends were erased.

Her husband Sam Mendes directed the film Revolutionary Road and she acted opposite Leonardo Decaprio once again in 2008. She received Golden Globe Award for best actress for her performance in the film.

In the following year she won the academy award for the best actress for the brilliant performance in the film The Reader. She won 6 nominations for such award which was a unique record for any actress. She had transformed herself into one of all time greatest actresses like Elizabeth Taylor or Audrey Hepburn.

The viewers expect her to explore herself further in challenging roles in future and amaze them as ever.

Michael Jackson - the other name of unlimited entertainment.

2009-06-27T19:57:00.002+05:30

Michael Jackson- the other name of unlimited entertainment.

Michael Jackson, the king of pop songs died few days back in June 2009 out of cardiac arrest. For most of the viewers and listeners of pop music and dance it was shock and disbelief. Although the master entertainer died he had left a huge treasure of music for his admirers all across the world.

Born in 1958, Michael Jackson stormed the world of pop songs with the Album “I wanted you back” at an age of 11 years. Although he was ill-treated by his father at an early age, he became the most popular pop singer and break dancer of the present age. In fact he took out the standard of popularity of Elvis Priestley, John Lennon, Frank Sinatra from evergreen albums to performers stage where he brought acting in his dance and music shows.

Michael Jackson was the seventh son of Joseph Jackson and Kathrene. In his numerous interviews Michael Jackson had repeatedly said that he never had a proper childhood. He was the lead singer in the band “Jackson five” where all his brothers and sisters performed with him. He had to perform in night clubs where sometimes there were events like striptease which had taken away his childhood.

He underwent plastic surgery and had feminine looks later on which was criticized from different quarters of the world. He married a number of times, converted himself into muslim, got involved in child molestation case, but it did not affect his dance and music. His last show would have been titled “this is it”, it was not completed as an album was supposed to have been completed with title and the music companies are facing huge debts.

Indians became great fans when Michael Jackson came to Mumbai and performed in the respective auditoriums. Those who had interacted with Michael said that he was a very down to earth human being. He was interested in charity and donated money for charitable institutions. His album “thriller” is still popular among Indians. Many teenagers still cannot forget Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.

He will remain in the minds of millions of admirers through albums like “heal the world”, why you wanna trip on me” to name a few. His admirers pray for peace for the departed soul.

Can 2009 create positive image for Isha Koppikaar?

2009-06-27T09:34:00.004+05:30

Can 2009 create positive image for Isha Koppikaar?

Isha Koppikaar was considered to be one of the most unfortunate actresses whose acting and dancing skills were acknowledged by the critics but due to success in negative role got nicknamed as “khalas girl”. Last year her film Ek Vivah Aisi Bhi was appreciated by the viewers.

Isha Koppikaar showed his bold nature in most of the films in her earlier part of the career. She played the role of a ghost in Sohail Khan’s Krishna Cottage. The film had a romantic story and Isha Kopikaar’s onscreen chemistry with Sohail Khan always haunted the viewers. But her fantasy dance performance in Ram Gopal Verma’ film Company with the song “khallas” made her villain. Viewers started identifying her as khallas girl. The beautiful actress who acted in lead roles in South Indian films like Chandralekha opposite Nagajuna, got villainish roles in bollywood films one after the other.

She even got a supporting cast in Farhan Akhtar’s super hit film Don. She also loved Shahrukh Khan but was superseded by Priyanka Chopra in her affection towards Shahrukh Khan. She danced even better than Priyanka in the song “sham hai, jam hai, aur hai nasha”, but never got the recognition. Isha acted in the role of the sister of Urmila Matondkar in the film Pinjar. She played a significant role opposite Altaf Shivdasani in Ram Gopal Verma’s film Darna Mana Hai.

She even played a bold role in the film Intequm opposite Manoj Vajpai, in the same style as Sharon Stone played in the film Basic Instinct. She started getting positive roles from mid-2006. Her performance opposite Tushar Kapoor in the film Kya Kool Hai Hum had both comedy and romantic andaz. She got a romantic role opposite Sohail Khan in the big budget film Salaam-e-Ishq.

She was brilliant opposite Arshad Warsi in Salman Khan’s comedy film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya. Her lips in the song “saajan” was fabulous. She was sublime in 2008 in the film Hello opposite Sohail Khan in the role of a girl of a Call Centre. But she revived her image to a big extent in the film Ek Shaadi Aisi Bhi. She acted in a docile role opposite Sonu Sood and showed the viewers that if she was given positive roles she could be as romantic as Katrina Kaif.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

2009-06-27T08:29:00.002+05:30

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham, better known as Rahul Dev Burman, on his birthday on 27th June, 2009. Almost 15 years passed after his death, yet his tunes had kept him alive among the young generations.

Being the son of legendary singer and composer SD Burman, he had a monumental task of proving his identity in the 60s. He came out with innovative tunes sung by Rafi in Mehmood’s film Chote Nawab. From that time onwards critics understood that RD Burman had come to create his unique identity. His biggest in the 60s came in Shammi Kapoor’s film Teesri Manzil in 1966. All the songs sung by Rafi and Asha became landmark hits including “o haseena zulfonwali”, “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera”, “janeman janejaa”, etc. Along with western composers like Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, who were ruling the industry, RD Burman kept his feet on strong platform.

RD Burman and Rafi combination continued in films like Abhilasha with songs like “wadiyan tera daaman”, Jeetender’s Karwan with songs like “kitna pyara wada”, “are chadti jawani”, “are ho goriyan kahan tera des re”, Shashi Kapoor’s Pyar Ka Mausam, with songs like “tum bin jayun kahan”, “ni sultana re”, Rajesh Khanna’s The Train, with songs like “gulaabi aankhe”, “tujshe bhala yeh”, etc. In the 70s, RD took the bollywood industry by storm. With death of Jaikishan, Roshan, Ghulam Mohammad, Vasant Desai, etc., the industry depended on Pancham, Laxmikant Pyarellal and Kalyanji Anandji for best music. They provided stability to the industry for the next 15 years.

RD Burman had monumental contribution in Rajesh Khanna and Big B’s films and gave a new life to Kishore Kumar. All the songs of films like Amar Prem, Kati Patang, Aap Ki Kasam, Namak Haram, Mehbooba, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Shaan, Shakti, etc. Memorable songs included “tere naina”, “kuch to log kahenge”, “ai sham mastani”, “janu meri jaan”, etc.

RD Burman contributed a lot in Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Raj Kumari in 1970. The song “ki holo kabe holo” , created history which was remade in hindi in the film Amar Prem. Critics argue that RD Burman reserved his best music in Gulzar’s films. His songs for Lata in Suchitra Sen’s Aandhi titled “is mor se jaate hai”, Uttam Kumar’s Kitaab, “aa ii masterjiki ho gayi chutti”, Jeetender’s Kinara where Bhupinder Singh and Lata did their best in “naam gum jayega”, “meethe bol bole”, “ek hi khwab”, etc., Sanjeev Kumar’s Parichay, with Bhupinder’s “biti na bitai rehna”, etc.

He won the filmfare award for the best composer three times. The young generations associate themselves with RD’s tunes even today, in that count he was one of the versatile composers after Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, Madanmohan, Roshan, etc.

Review of Tapan Sinha's Golpo Holeo Satti.

2009-06-26T18:44:00.004+05:30

Review of Tapan Sinha’s Golpo Holeo Sotti.

Tapan Sinha used to be considered a legendary story-teller after Satyajit Ray in the 50s and 60s. His films were related to classic literature of giant novelists. His casting was flawless. He chose actors and actresses who suited the respective role and he was an inspiration for all the directors of India.

Golpo Holeo Sotti was released in 1966, with the message given by human conscience that work was God. Idle life led to disaster. Robi Ghosh played the role of that human conscience. He worked in as servant in a joint family, where Prashad Mukherjee was the elder brother with Chaya Debi, his wife. The second brother and his wife were dead and they left a daughter who stayed in that house. Bankim Ghosh was the third brother with his wife Bharati Debi. Bhanu Banerjee the youngest brother did not marry. Besides Ajoy Ganguly and his wife was the third generation. Prashad Mukherjee’s old father was alive.

Before Robi Ghosh arrived in their house, none of the other servants stuck in their house. Chaya Debi and Bharati Debi failed to do the domestic work, while the brothers Prashad Mukherjee, Bankim Ghosh, Bhanu Banerjee, etc., did none of the household work after they returned from office. Robi Ghosh joined as a cook and taught the women of the house different varieties of dishes. He even negotiated between Partho Mukherjee, a next door neighbor who loved the daughter of the second son. He took the grandfather for morning walk.

More importantly Robi Ghosh united the brothers who were envious about one another. He taught the small son of Bankim Ghosh the song “sukh bole” which meant once this life ends no one can get back their life, so human beings should make the best use of their lives. Robi Ghosh helped the thrives gang of Chinmoy Roy to steal the trunk in the house full of money. Then he asked Partho Mukherjee to return that trunk back to the old man and the family members so that they could get impressed and ask him to marry the second son’s daughter.

The theme music used by Tapan Sinha in the film was extraordinary. All the actors and actresses of the film performed to their limit. Tapan Sinha’s script and camera work were brilliant. Hrishikesh Mukherjee made the hindi version of the film with the title Bawarchi. Although the film where Rajesh Khanna converted it into a romantic film got box-office success, the film reached nowhere near Golpo Holeo Satti in story-telling, acting performance and intellectual treatment.

Tapan Sinha’s Golpo Holeo Satti should be restored for filmic accomplishments.

Expectation of Neha Dhupia in 2009.

2009-06-26T10:09:00.004+05:30

Expectation of Neha Dhupia in 2009.

Some of the actresses of bollywood films who does not have dominating influence like Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif remain dependant on the success of the films for their own growth. Actresses like Neha Dhupia fall in that category. Although she had acted in many hit films and had remained the central character in hit films, neither had she received the recognition that she deserved nor the media coverage that she expected.

She gave a spirited performance in the film Julie. She was sublime in the film Siskiya. In Kya Cool Hai Hum, she was more composed than Ritesh Dehmukh. She had an affair with him, and yet Ritesh never knew the face of the girl he loved. While the affair of Tushar Kapoor and Isha Koppikar blossomed with comedy sequences, Neha Dhupia’s affair was of silent nature.

In Chup Chup Ke, she played a more significant role than Kareena Kapoor. She could speak and persuaded Shahid Kapoor to call the person who was supposed to marry Kareena to break the engagement. Nobody in the house knew that Shahid Kapoor could speak excepting Neha. But she communicated before Neha and Kareena as a friend and solved their family problems in style. When the film became successful the entire credit was given to Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and the character actors like Om Puri, Paresh Rawal.

The same thing happened in the film Shootout at Lokhandwala. Sanjay Dutt and Vivek Oberoi got the focus. Some of the viewers even forgot that Neha Dhupia acted in that film. Singh is Kinng is another film that saw composed performance of Neha Dhupia, inspite of Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar getting the entire attention of the director and the producer. Neha also showed some action stunts in the film as she was the member of gang in Australia which was taken over by Akshay Kumar after her leader fell ill.

2009 is another year where Neha Dhupia has lot of expectations. May be if she continues the standard of performance that she previously had given or excels in her roles, she may get late recognition. Her upcoming films include Cellphone, Hot (a film where she had given bold performance) and Kuch Love Kuch Drama. Besides she has an item number in the film Kabhi Pyar Na Karna.

Let us hope that Neha Dhupia continue her good work.

Review of Uttam- Suchitra's Bipasha.

2009-06-25T17:33:00.002+05:30

Review of Uttam – Suchitra’s Bipasha.

Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen are considered to be the greatest romantic pair that ever graced Indian silver screen. They acted in 30 films together and most of their films ended up being cine-classics. Bipasha was released in 1962 and did fantastic business.

It was a film directed by Agradoot where Robin Chatterji composed the music. Suchitra Sen was named Beas (Bipasha in Bengali) as she was born near river Beas. She lost her parents during riots occurring at the time of partition in 1947. She was saved by Kamal Mitra, a divine soul near Sialkot and reached to relief camp in New Delhi. She studied there and got a job in tribal welfare in Panchet in Bihar.

Uttam Kumar was an engineer who worked in Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) projects. Both Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar met each other and entered into an affair. Suchitra Sen gave able lips in Sandhya Mukherjee’s song “aami sapne tomay dekhechi”. When Uttam Kumar wanted to marry Suchitra Sen, he got a letter from his maternal uncle played by Nitish Mukherjee saying that he was illegitimate son of his mother Chaya Debi.

Uttam Kumar went to Allahabad to find his mother and in her absence attempted to commit suicide. Chabi Biswas, a sanyasi there saved him. He wrote a letter saying that Uttam Kumar (Dibyendu Chatterji) was the son of Saradindu Chatterji (Chabi Biswas). Chaya Debi (his wife) gave birth to him before her marriage. Chabi Biswas went abroad and married another foreign girl. The foreigner filed a suit against Chabi Biswas after she knew that he was already married to Chaya Debi. Their Chaya Debi gave false testimony saying that she was not married to Chabi Biswas, to save her husband. Uttam Kumar came to be known as illegitimate son from that time. After that Chabi Biswas gave the contact details of Chaya Debi. Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen found her and film ended there.

The powerful story was given adequate expression by compassionate performance of legendary actor Chabi Biswas. Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen’s romantic performance just improved from film to film and viewers started thinking that both of them were husband and wife.

It is a pity that Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen did not show their powerful performance in bollywood films, otherwise they would have given very tough competition to Raj Kapoor and Nargis and Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala who ruled bollywood industry in the 50s. The film Bipasha should be restored for its aesthetic value.

Prospect of Kareena Kapoor in 2009.

2009-06-25T08:42:00.003+05:30

Prospect of Kareena Kapoor in 2009.

Kareena Kapoor was at the top of the world with the success of her film Jab We Met in 2009. But after that year, most of her films did average business and her dominance in bollywood films diminished. Instead of her success in bollywood films her affair with Saif Ali Khan got amore attention.

Before coming to her prospect in 2009, her successful films require mention. After making her debut in JP Dutta’ s film Refugee, she rocked box-office with the film Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai in 2001. It was the beginning of Tushar Kapoor also. Her films Yaadein opposite Hrithik Roshan and Ajnabee opposite Bobby Deol did average business. The only success at that time was the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham opposite Hrithik Roshan. Her performance in the role of princess Kaurwaki in the film Ashoka opposite Shahrukh Khan got severely criticized and her popularity decreased at that time.

Even her films Mai Prem Ki Diwani Hoon or Mujhse Dosti Karoge could not change her fortunes. At that period her performance in an off-beat role in the film Chameli brought her appreciation from the critics. She played the role of a prostitude in Sudhir Misra’s realistic film. She got the Filmfare Special award for her performance in the film Chameli. She did a series of good films at that including Govind Nihalini’s Dev. She opposite Fardeen Khan, Big B and Om Puri and brought out frustration in a riot oriented locality. She played the role of muslim girl Ayaliya having similarity with Zahira Sheikh, the main witness in Vadodara’s Best Bakery Case. She also acted in an unconventional role in the film Omkara opposite Ajay Devgan.

She acted in a number of hit films including Hulchul opposite Akshay Khanna, Kyon Ki opposite Salman Khan, Aitraaz opposite Akshay Kumar. With success opposite Shahid Kapoor in films like Chup Chup Ke, 36 China Town she gave the best performance of her life in the film Jab We Met. She received the filmfare award for the best actress in the film.

But from the time spend time with Saif Ali Khan again career lost direction. Her film Tashan opposite him was box-office disaster. Her other film Golmaal Returns did moderate business but that was due to joint effort of Ajay Devgan, Tushar Kapoor and others.

In 2009 her films that are either released or about to be released include Kambakkht Ishq opposite Akshay Kumar, Three Idiots opposite Amir Khan, Mai Aur Mrs. Khanna opposite Salman Khan and Milenge Milenge. Kambakkht Ishq had been shot in Universal Studios, Hollywood and has a huge prospect.

None of Amir Khan’s films had failed in the last three years, so Kareena has a lot of hope in Three Idiots. Even Salman Khan is wanting to make a comeback with hit films through Mai and Mrs Khanna. If two of these three films become successful, Kareena can get back her number one spot which she lost in 2008 and her competitors like Priyanka Chopra gained in 2008. Critics had said several times that Kareena Kapoor has much more acting talent than Katrina Kaif, if she chooses right films and does well, she can still be in the rat race. Let us hope for the best in 2009.

Review of Bhanu's Ashite Ashiona.

2009-06-24T08:42:00.003+05:30

Review of Bhanu’s Ashite Ashiona.

Bhanu Banerjee in the 60s gained immense popularity in the Bengali celluloid. Ashite Ashiona was released in the mid-60s with a subject related to dreams. Bhanu Banerjee was eighty years old person who was ill-treated by his sons and daughters – in –law. His wife Ruma Guha Thakurta was seventy years old.

He dreamt that he went for a change to a village named Nagtara. He went with his servant played by Jahar Rai. There he swam in a pond owned by Tarun Kumar. After bathing out he regained his youth. He shaved and returned back to his house. Tarun Kumar took the sample of the water to the Chief Chemists and asked him to test it. Then he dropped an old street dog in the water, which attacked all the chemists. The chemists informed the UN Authorities about the pond.

Bhanu returned back home, but before his elder son Kamal Mitra or second son Asit Boron forcibly made him sign the pond in favour of them, brought Ruma Guha Thakurta to the village. All the old persons of that village flocked near the pond to bath in that water. Robi Ghosh, Gangapada Badu and other authorities created a barbed wire around the pond.

Johor Roy, the servant of Bhanu created a lever by which she threw Ruma like a rocket and she immersed in the pond and returned back as young girl. Robi Ghosh drowned more than six types in the pond and reduced in size. When the police chased Bhanu and Ruma, they tried to escape and ended up being arrested by the police. Bhanu opened his eyes and found that he was dreaming and he stilled remained eighty years old person.

The music in the film composed by Gopen Mallick was fabulous. Manna Dey’s songs “dub diye jao” and “Jodi akaksh hoto” became super hit. As usual Bhanu Banerjee gave brilliant lips in the film. Ruma did well in the role of the old lady. Tarun Kumar as usual contributed well in Bhanu’s film. The supporting actresses like Renuka in the role of the wife of Kamal Mitra did well. Jahar Roy, Shyam Laha and Shital Banerjee did well in their respective roles.

The film should be preserved for the unique subject that was dealt with, that is regaining youth, which everyone in the world strives for.

Happy birthday to Karishma Kapoor.

2009-06-23T17:40:00.001+05:30

Happy birthday to Karishma Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Karishma Kapoor on 25th June, 2009. She had been probably the only descendant of the Kapoor family who did not arrive in the bollywood industry with pomp and show. Her debut was made in a small manner.

She had to struggle hard and got good roles in films like Hero No.1 opposite Govinda. In Hero No. 1 Karishma showed her good dancing skills in songs like “mai to raste se ja raha tha”. Karishma was very impressive in the film Dil To Paagal Hai opposite Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit. The film showed triangular love story and strong music of Uttam Singh. Karishma gave good lips in the songs “le gai le gai”.

Karishma Kapoor ventured in parallel films like Shyam Benegal’s Zubeida. Her performance opposite Manoj Vajpayee amazed the viewers. She was equally impressive opposite Hrithik Roshan in the film Fida. She played a non-glamourous role in the film. She was the sister of Hrithik Roshan. She wanted Hrithik to return back to mainstream society. She did not show any mannerisms in the film.

At the same time Karishma Kapoor played important roles in commercially hit films. In Krishna, her performance opposite Sunil Shetty was appreciated by all the viewers. Her dance performance in the song “jhanjhariya buddhi khanak gayi” was very impressive. Similarly her performance in the song “batti na bujhao” and “hai hooku hai hukoo” opposite Sunil Shetty created sensation in bollywood.

Karishma Kapoor did well in comedy films as well. She was sublime opposite Salman Khan in the film Judwaa where Salman Khan had double role. She did even better in the film Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge opposite Salman Khan. In that film she had to balance the comedy andaz of Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher and Om Puri and she did that in style. Even her lips in the song “jane kya hua hai dekho jiya bekarar” was very impressive.

Karishma Kapoor suited Govinda’s style of acting the most and contributed a lot in comedy films opposite him including Haseena Maan Jayegi. She balanced the strong dancing skills of Govinda with her own aggressive dancing style.

She left films at a time when she learned acting. The viewers expect her to make a comeback in character roles in future.

Review of Suchitra Sen's Uttar Falguni.

2009-06-22T07:44:00.002+05:30

Review of Suchitra Sen’s Uttar Falguni.

Suchitra Sen was the greatest actress Bengal had ever produced in the history of cinema. She had remained one of the most versatile actresses produced by Indian cinema in the last 60 years.

Uttar Falguni was released in 1963, at a time when Suchitra Sen was ruling the Bengali silver screen. While romantic performance in 30 films opposite superstar Uttam Kumar established her as the queen of Bengali cinema, her performance in female dominated films like Deep Jele Jai created a new dimension in the world of creative arts.

Uttar Falguni was directed by Asit Sen. The music was composed by Robin Chatterji. Suchitra Sen played the role of the girl Debjani, who loved Barrister Manish (played by Bikash Roy), but due to repayment of loan of father Jahar Ganguly, married a characterless person Rakhal Bhattacharya played by Kalipada Chakravarty. Bikash Roy went abroad and asked Suchitra Sen to wait till he returned to India. But due to compelling circumstances Suchitra Sen married Kalipada Chakravarty.

Suchitra Sen gave birth to Kalipada Chakravarty’s daughter and to rear her up became Pannabai (a singer who earned money by performing in mujras). She admitted her daughter in a missionary school and promised before the principal that she would never disclose her identity before her daughter. But her husband Rakhal Bhattacharya used to visit Suchitra Sen’s house and take money with the threat that he would find out her daughter and disclose his identity before her.

Bikash Roy came back to India, went to Lucknow to meet Suchitra Sen. He even agreed to marry her but Suchitra Sen said that it was too late. Instead she asked her to take the responsibility relating to education of her daughter. Bikash Roy send Suchitra Sen’s daughter Suchorita (also played by Suchitra Sen) abroad. She became a Barrister and returned back with young barrister played by Dilip Mukherjee.

But when Sucharita was seen in Kolkata High Court with Bikash Roy, her father Rakhal Bhattacharya blackmailed her mother saying that he would disclose the fact that Suchitra Sen’s mother was a baijee. Debjani (Suchitra Sen) killed Rakhal Bhattacharya by firing 6 bullets.

When the murder case was tried in Court of law, Sucharita compelled Bikash Roy to disclose his relationship with Debjani. That was the most delirium scene of the film. Bikash Roy told the entire history of the sacrifice of Debjani and all her efforts to make her daughter a barrister. Sucharita pleaded before the court to acquit her mother as the murder did occur out of adequate provocation. Her mother died at the witness box itself.

The film was remade in hindi with the title Mamta. But it miserably failed to match the epic performance of the stars in Uttar Falguni. Undoubtedly it was the best performance of Suchitra Sen in her double role. Bikash Roy also rose up to the occasion in an Uttam Kumar production, where Uttam Kumar did not play the role but left it upto the experience of respectable Bikash Roy.

Uttar Falguni had been a milestone of Indian classic cinema and should be preserved for the following generations.

Review of Satyajit Ray's Jalsaghar.

2009-06-21T17:16:00.004+05:30

Review of Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar.

Satyajit Ray enlightened the viewers of the 50s with the end of feudalism in Bengal with the film Jalsaghar. The film was released in 1958. It was based on the epic literature Jalsaghar written by Tarashankar Banerjee.

Chabi Biswas gave the lifetime performance in the role of Biswambhar Roy in the film. He was an aristocrat zamindar whose 3 generations carried the legacy of the feudal legacy. Biswambhar Roy had passion towards music and brought established classical artists from Lucknow and Benaras to perform in his Jalsaghar.

While Chabi Biswas’s zamindari declined, Gangapada Basu’s zamindari thrived. He was a businessman whose fortunes did shine after 2nd world war. Chabi Biswas gave the thread ceremony of his lone son in front of his wife Panda Debi with pomp and grandeur. But the earnings of his estate decreased due to non- production of crops and increased poverty of farmers.

By selling his wife’s jwellery Chabi Biswas organized the last Jalsaghar in his house. Again the luminaries of the village and Gangapada Basu were invited. Roshanara Begum was invited to perform. Begum Akhtar gave brilliant performance of her classical song. Gangapada Basu tried to throw his jwellery at the feet of the performer, but Chabi Biswas stopped him saying the first person to award the performer in jalsaghar should be the host.

At the end of the film when Chabi Biswas came to realized from Kali Sarkar, his servant that there was no money to light his lamp (jhar lanthan), he travelled on the horse named Tufaan, and died out of horse-riding. Chabi Biswas’s dignity and aristocracy ended in glory with his death.

Satyajit Ray portrayed the film for the western world to show them the history of feudalism during the colonial rule. Zamindari ended after India’s independence. Satyajit Ray in his interview before Doordarshan had said in the 80s, that Chabi Biswas was the greatest actor who had graced Indian silver screen.

Chabi Biswas proved his indispensability in the role of zamindars in the film Jalsaghar. Character artists like Kali Sarkar, Gangapada Basu, Padda Debi did well in their respective roles. The film received many national and international awards. The film should be restored for its filmic value.

Will Barbara Mori storm Indian films with Kites?

2009-06-21T10:28:00.005+05:30

Will Barbara Mori storm Indian films with Kites?

Barbara Mori had created news in the Indian media for creating scandal with Hrithik Roshan during the shooting of upcoming film Kites. The Indian viewers still have to know the background of Barbara Mori.

Barbara Mori was born in Montivedio, Uruguay on February 2nd, 1978. She had Mexican, Japanese and Uruguay heritage. Due to divorce of her parents, her childhood was disturbed. While she worked as waitress at the age of 14, she was discovered by Fashion Designer Marcus Toledo. She learnt acting in El Centro de Estudios de Formacion Actoral. She started in Mexican Telenovela Al norte del Corazon. She also performed in comedy series Tric Tac and Mirada de mujer. She got the best new actress award for this film Mirada de Mujer.

She came to limelight in 1998 with the notable role ‘Azul’ in the series ‘Azul Tequila’ with Mauricio Ochmann. Her combination with Christian Meier was well appreciated in the series Me Meuro Porti in Miami. She also gave a landmark performance in the Mexican film Inspiracio in 2000. The other landmark performances included Amor Descerado and Rubi.

The following films of Barbara Mori made her superstar. In 2005 she gave a starring performance in blockbuster film La Mujer de mi hermano. Her viewers started recognizing her with the character Zoe. She gave scintillating performance in the film Pretendiendo.

Indian producer and director Rakesh Roshan utilized her immense talent in the film Kites to be released this year. She already created news by getting involved in emotional relationship with Hrithik Roshan. Viewers wonder whether Barbara can take the Indian audience by storm. Already Katrina Kaif had come from London and shaken up entire bollywood. Those who initially pointed their fingers at the hindi intonation of Katrina Kaif had been admirers themselves of the western beauty.

Barbara Mori had created a great level of curiosity for the viewers which can help Rakesh Roshan’s film a lot. The viewers expect a power pact performance from both Hrithik and Barbara in the film Kites and fantastic entertainment. Let us hope for the best.

Demise of magician of Sarod - Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

2009-06-20T09:38:00.003+05:30

Demise of magician of Sarod – Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

The nation pays homage to the departed soul of Magician of Sarod – Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, who died yesterday at an age of 87. He died in his own house at Sanfransisco due to failure of kidneys. He had glorified India’s face in the international arena with his brilliance in the classical instrument Sarod.

His father Alauddin Khan was a genius with maihar gharana. Ali Akbar Khan was born on 14th April, 1922 in the village Shibpur in Kumilla. He learned classical music at an age of 3 years. He learned it from his father and uncle Fakir Abtabuddin. He first performed in a show in Allahabad at an age of 13 years.

In 1956 he created Ali Akbar College of Music in Kolkata. Later he opened more branches of the same college of music in US and Switzerland. From 1965, he regularly took musical classes in US. At the same time with his unique creations in the world of classical music he attracted attention of legendary directors of India like Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha.

Satyajit Ray used the brilliant skills of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in Chabi Biswas’s film Debi. In that film Ustad Ai Akbar Khan was the music director. Chabi Biswas saw Goddess Kali in the body of Sharmila Tagore, his daughter in law in the film. Ali Akbar Khan’s theme music in the film was appreciated within India and abroad.

In the early 60s, Ali Akbar Khan created wonders as music director in Tapan Sinha’s film Khudito Pashan. Tapan Sinha experimented with Tagore’s epic literature. Arundhuti Debi, the powerful actress in the film came in the dreams of Soumitra Chatterji. Ali Akbar Khan’s music reminded people of the medieval period during the rule of many nawabs.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan also composed music in Bartalucchi’s film Little Buddha, Ivory Merchant’s film House Holders and Chetan Anand’s film Andhia. He left a lot of brilliant students of Sarod including Nikhil Banerjee, Ashish Khan, Alam Khan, to name a few, who are carrying forward his legacy.

Ali Akbar Khan created gems with Pandit Ravi Shankar, the magician of Sitar. Their combined performances made the intellectual audience speechless in different parts of the world. He even composed music for eminent classical singer Ustad Amir Khan. The listeners all across the world pay homage to the genius of Sarod who had made India proud with his brilliance in creative music.

Ravina Tandon left films at a time when she learned acting.

2009-06-19T18:03:00.002+05:30

Ravina Tandon left films at a time when she learned acting.

Ravina Tandon left films at a time when she learned acting. When she joined bollywood films her glamour appealed before the viewers more than her acting. She came to limelight with her appearance in the action film Mohra opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. The song “tu cheez bari hai mast mast” became super hit in the mid-90s.

From that time onwards her films opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty always became super hit. Examples include Officer and Vinashak opposite Sunil Shetty and Dava opposite Akshay Kumar. He learned few action stunts also for sustaining in those types of films. The other hit films were opposite Sanjay Dutt like Vijeta and Aatish. In both these films her lips in leading songs like “sherry mai ho gaya diwana” became very popular.

But her maturity in acting came about in the later part of the career. She gave a lifetime performance in the film Shool, opposite Manoj Vajpai. Manoj Vajpai was a fearless police officer and faced the hardles from the ruling political parties in the state of Bihar. As the ruling party was corrupted they never wanted the police to investigate freely. When Manoj Bajpai was injured in the process Ravina Tandon gave moral support to him.

Ravina Tandon continued her good work in the film Jago opposite Sanjay Kapoor. Her daughter was raped in a local train in Mumbai. When the case was taken up by Manoj Bajpai he faced problems in getting testimony of witnesses who had seen the event. People feared the underworld gang who were involved with the atrocities. Ravina Tandon submitted before Court of Law that she was disgusted with the conscience of passersby in trains who had seen a small child being raped and yet failed to cooperate with the police to get the wrongdoers addressed and imprisoned.

Ravina Tandon got the national award for best performance in female role in the film Daman. When she left films around 10 years back, she was matured the most. The viewers expected that her enhanced standard of performances would enrich bollywood films. But she got married and begot a daughter and stopped acting. She is seen in television shows where she adjudicates dance performers.

But viewers expect her to make a comeback and still contribute in character roles.

Review of Sanjay Dutt's Vijeta.

2009-06-19T08:03:00.001+05:30

Review of Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta.

Sanjay Dutt used to be considered the action king of bollywood films in the 90s, before he was arrested in relation to TADA Act and his career got affected. He entertained the viewers with many memorable action films like Sadak, Aatish, Yalgaar, etc.

Vijeta was one of his successful films with Raveena Tandon (directed by K. Muralimohan Rao) which had entertainment all along the film. He was a lawyer who was guided by Alok Nath an eminent lawyer who treated him like his son. While Alok Nath took the brief of an upright officer, Paresh Rawal, an eminent builders of the city with his men killed Alok Nath and took the evidence by force.

Sanjay Dutt first killed Paresh Rawal’s men one by one and then Paresh Rawal at the end of the film. Ravina Tandon was a police investigator who worked under the supervision of Amrish Puri. But Amrish Puri was also involved with Paresh Rawal and the unlawful group of promoters.

Ravina Tandon tried to stop Sanjay Dutt from killing Paresh Rawal’s men who had killed his guide Alok Nath. But she failed. Lastly she arrested Sanjay Dutt and imprisoned him. When he was in jail she went to arrest Paresh Rawal and Amrish Puri.

She got beaten up by the men of Paresh Rawal and Amrish Puri and Sanjay Dutt had to escape from the jail and he burned Amrish Puri when he tried to escape. Amrish Puri gave another spirited performance in the film and was the probably the best actor of the film. Besides there were character artists in the film like Annu Kapoor, who did well. Annu Kapoor’s own son who was a constable, was killed by Amrish Puri.

The music in the film given by Anand Milind was very impressive. The song “sherry mai ho gaya tumhara” was very impressive with foreign locations. Sanjay Dutt was the only action star other than Sunny Deol who was accepted by the viewers in the 90s and had been an inspiration for new action stars like Bobby Deol, Hrithik Roshan and others who did well in the last 10 years.

The film Vijeta should be restored for its powerful action sequences.