Happy birthday to Golden Hero Jeetender.

Happy birthday to Golden Hero Jeetender.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jeetender, the golden hero of the 60s on 7th April, 2011. He has been considered as one of the most consistent actors who had steady box-office in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

In the early 60s, he started his career with the success in the film Geet Gaya Pattharone, opposite Rajashree. Bollywood industry was flooded with actors at that time including Showman Raj Kapoor, Tragedy King Dilip Kumar and the other matinee idols like Rajender Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan and others. He had to face very strong competition to stay in the competition at that time.

Within a short period of time his dancing skills were cultivated by the directors and his films started making profits. His film Farz in 1967, opposite Babita, became super hit. The songs composed by LP and sung by Rafi created storms, including “mast baharon ka mai ashiq”, “baar baar din yeh aye”, etc. Besides, Jeetender’s dance performance in most of the songs entertained the viewers to a big extent. From that time onwards, Jeetender had a great combination with LP, Rafi and Anand Bakshi. All the songs of the film Humjoli, Jeegri Dost and Banphool became superhit. Prominent songs included “mere desh me”, “dhal gaya din”, etc. Initially critics called Jeetender jumping jack, but his dancing skills followed by his acting skills made him a ruler in the 70s and 80s. He was blessed with romantic songs of Rafi and the composition of many brilliant composers of 60s and 70s. The songs of his film Mere Huzoor were equally romantic. Jeetender with his dancing skills was sublime in the film Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari where Shankar Jaikishan. All the songs in the films were super hit including “tu nari mai brahmchari”sung by Rafi and Manna Dey. He was equally brilliant in the film Waarish. Rafi’s songs in the film were brilliant including “ek bechara pyar ka maara”. He was successful in the film Kathputli as well.

In 70s, he was probably the only romantic actor other than Rishi Kapoor, he survived the period relating to action films, when Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughu Sinha and others gave hit action films one after the other. The hit films of Jeetender in the 70s include Karwan, Nagin, which continued in the 80s with the success of films like Asha opposite Reena Roy. Jeetender also played a crucial in off-beat films of Gulzar like Parichay, Khushbu and Kinara where the intellectual audience had appreciated him. He gave very elegant lips in brilliant songs of Bhupinder Singh like “naam gum jayega”, “meethe bol bole”, etc.

He transformed himself from an excited, energetic, youth to a reserve personality in Parichay, Khusbu and Kinara. Jeetender’s in the 80s had compelled producers to launch him opposite young actresses like Sri Devi and Jaya Prada who were much younger than him in films like Himmatwala or Dharm Adhikari. After the launching of his son Tushar Kapoor in modern films, he had reduced acting in contemporary films. But the viewers expect him to still continue in modern films in character roles just like before.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor on 4th September 2010. He had remained as one of the most romantic actors that bollywood had ever produced.

He started his career as a child artist in Raj Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker in 1971. He stormed bollywood films with his romantic performance in the film Bobby in 1973. The film did great business and Rishi Kapoor received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in Bobby. Raj Kapoor as producer and director started a new innings with a new team of Laxmikant Pyarellal as against Shankar Jaikishan after the death of Jaikishan in 1971. LP had huge contribution in the music of the films of Rishi Kapoor for the next ten years.

From that time onwards Rishi Kapoor remained one the most romantic actors in bollywood films. His films Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, Laila Majnu in 1977 and Sargam in 1978 were the greatest musical blockbusters of the 70s. The songs composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, Jaidev and Madanmohan in these films became everlasting hits. The notable songs of Rafi and Lata in this film included “koel boli”, “parda hai parda”, “dafliwale”, “barbad muhobbat ki dua”, “is reshmi pazeeb”, to name a few. LP received the filmfare award for the best composer for 3 Rishi Kapoor’s films namely Amar Akbar Anthony, Sargam and Karz from 1978 to 1980.

Rishi Kapoor’s extraordinary capability of giving lips in these songs separated him from other actors of that era. His films Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi and Karz created history. He showed his dancing skills in every type of songs of Rafi and Kishore including “hai aga dushman zamana”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “dared dil”, “om shanty om”, “puchona yaar kya hua”, to name a few. RD Burman and Laxmikant Pyarellal probably gave their best music to Rishi Kapoor in the 70s and 80s.

In the 80s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Duniya, Sitamgar, Saagar, Chandni, Cooli, Naseeb, did fantastic business. He got the opportunity of acting opposite stalwarts in the industry namely Dilip Kumar in Duniya, Dharmender in Sitamgar, Kamal Hassan in Saagar, to name a few. In fact due to presence of Rishi Kapoor, producers and directors created romantic stories during an era when Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha dominated bollywood with action films. Even in the 90s, Rishi Kapoor’s films Bol Radha Bol, Damini, etc., were appreciated by the audience. He was successful opposite young actresses like Juhi Chawla, Meenakshi Sheshadri, who were one generation younger than him.

After the debut of his son Ranbir Kapoor in the film Sawaariya, Rishi Kapoor switched to character roles. In 2009 also Rishi Kapoor did well in films like Dilli 6, Pyar Me Twist, Luck By Chance. He received Star Screen award for the best supporting actor in 2010 for his performance in the film Love Aaj Kal. In 2010 he is busy with the films Chintuji and Sadiyaan.

The viewers expect him to continue the high standard of acting in the years to come and continue the legacy created by Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.

Rafi's soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

Rafi’s soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

Rafi had sung 341 songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan during his illustrious career with 216 solos. Very significantly 3 of the filmfare awards that Rafi received during 60s had been composed by Shankar Jaikishan. They included “teri pyari pyari surat ko kiski nazar na lage” from the film Sasural, “baharon phool barsao” from the film Suraj and “dilke jharoke me mujhko bithaker” from the film Brahmchari.

But in the list of songs sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, at least half of the total sungs were composed for Shammi Kapoor. Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan worked together for around 22 films, most of which did great business in the 60s.

If Rafi’s songs sung for Shammi Kapoor are remembered for the loud music and melo-dramatic dance numbers, there were lot of songs which were ever romantic and touched the hearts of the viewers. In the film Junglee, Rafi’s songs “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” and “meri yaar shabba khair” had very melodious appeal and the sweetness of Rafi haunted the listeners for years.

In Shammi Kapoor’s Professor, the songs “awaz deke hume tum bulayo”, “mai chali mai chali”, probably had set the mood of the film. From that time Rafi, Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan created magic in one film after the other. In Raj Kumar, Rafi’s soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor like “yeh rang badalti duniya me”, “tumne kisiki jaan ko jate hue dekha hai” made the viewers speechless.

Even the western numbers of Shankar Jaikishan for Rafi stole the hearts in the 60s. In the film Janwar, Rafi’s number “meri muhabbat jawan rahegi” and “humko hai tumse pyar” had been the most romantic songs in the film, where the landscape of Kashmir and Rafi’s melodious voice complimented each other. In the film An Evening in Paris, Rafi’s songs “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho” and “raat ke humsafar” were the most romantic numbers which were more melodious than the loud numbers which equally became hits.

In Shammi Kapoor’s Brahmachari, probably the best songs included “mai gayun tum so jayo” and “dil ke jharoke mai”. “mai gayun tum so jayo” was sung twice by Rafi in the film, one with a even slower rhythm. Shankar Jaikishan’s background music was as brilliant as Rafi’s singing style for Shammi Kapoor. In the film Tumse Accha Kaun Hai, Rafi’s soft number “janam janam ka saath hai” had remained evergreen and melodious for years. In Latt Sahab, Rafi’s romantic number with Asha Bhosle titled “aye chaand zara ruk ja” haunted the listeners for years after years. Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan combined together in other films of Shammi Kapoor like Prince, Buttameez, Laat Sahab, Bluff Master, Ujala, Chote Sarkar, Hong Kong, etc. There were many more romantic numbers of Rafi sung for Shammi Kapoor, which cannot be covered in a small article.

In Shammi Kapoor’s Jawan Muhabbat, the song “jawan muhabbat jahan jahan hai” was very romantic. The last film where Shankar and Jaikishan worked together for Shammi Kapoor included Andaz. The songs “dil use do jo jaan de de” and “re mamma re mamma re” were brilliant both in form and orchestration. It was very unfortunate that Jaikishan died in 1971,and after that Shammi Kapoor also added weight and switched to character roles in films like Zameer, Parvarish, etc. The magical combination of Shankar Jaikishan, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi ended and the era of romantic songs also suffered a set back.

Some section of listeners argue that Rajender Kumar probably received the more romantic numbers sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, but Shammi Kapoor’s combination with Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was phenomenal which swept the youth and took them to a different inspite of Shammi Kapoor being called a rebel star and Shankar Jaikishan providing the most loud bomblastic numbers for Rafi.

The songs and the films of the legendary combination of Shammi Kapoor, Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan should be preserved.

Jeetender's evergreen combination with Rafi.

Jeetender’s evergreen combination with Rafi.

Jeetender was one of the bollywood stars who maintained his stardom with successful films for over 30 years. Born in 1942, his success started in the 60s and continued till the 80s. Rafi had sung innumerable number of golden songs which had remained timeless gems.

Although he started his career with Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne in 1964, he created attention with his dancing skills in the film Farz in 1967. All the songs composed by LP and sung by Rafi became smashhit. The successful songs included “mast baharon ka mai aashiq”, “baar baar din yeh aye”, “tumse wo haseena”, to name a few. The Rafi Jeetender combination continued in the film Jeene Ki Raah. All the songs of the film became successful including “aap mujhe acche lagne lage”, “ai mare humjoli aa” and “ek banjara gaye”.

It was a tragedy that Shankar Jaikishan composed music in few films of Jeetender. But in those films too the Rafi SJ bond was strengthened again. In Mere Huzoor, the landmark songs like “apne rukh par nigah”, “gham uthane ko”, “jo guzar rahi hai”, “phalak pe jitney sitaren hai” were priceless gems. The song “rukh se zara naqab uthalo mere huzoor” can stand out as one of the ten best ghazals sung by Rafi in his illustrious career. LP rocked bollywood with his songs composed for Jeetender in the film Jigri Dost. Rafi was probably at his best in each and every song of the hit film. The most romantic amongst them included “raat suhani jag rahi hai”. Suman Kalyanpur balanced the romantic andaz of Rafi in the film. The other songs like “mere desh me pawan chale”, “dil me kya hai”, “phool hai baharon ka”, were equally melodious and brilliant.

In the early 70s, the LP Jeetender Rafi combination came out of super hit songs. In Banphool, the songs “wo sapno ki raani”, “gulaabi gulaabi ankhose” created the charm of the evergreen combination. In Humjoli, the songs “dhal gaya din” where Rafi sang with Asha, the beat of badminton game was synchronized by LP with the beat of the song. It was very romantic presentation of both Rafi and Asha. The other songs of Rafi like “hai re hai” with Lata and “tik tik tik” had the westernized orchestration and romantic appeal embedded in them.

In the mid-70s, multi-starrer film Jaani Dushman did great business. Jeetender was one of the performers in the horror film aside Sunil Dutt, Shatrughun Sinha, and others. The song “tere haathon me pehnake churiya” sung by Rafi became big hit. Rafi sang notable songs in Jeetender’s film Nagin as well in the 70s including “tera mera yarane”, “tere ishq ka mujhpe hua ya asar”. In the late 70s, Jeetender’s film Asha, had a number of hit songs of Rafi. The music was composed by LP. The hit songs included “ashawon ki sawan me”, “jane hum sadak ke logon”, to name a few.

RD Burman also used Rafi in hit films of Jeetender like Carwa. The songs “kitna pyara wada”, “are ho goriyan kahan tera des re”, “chatdi jawani” were big hits. RD Burman used Rafi successfully in the landmark qawalli picturised on Jeetender in the film Burning Train. The song “pal do pal ka” set the suspense of the film in place, where Asha had contributed well along with Rafi.

Rafi had sung hit songs for Jeetender in other films like Ek Nari Ek Brahmchari composed by Shankar Jaikishan, Badalte Rishte, composed by LP. It is not possible to highlight the combination of Rafi with Jeetender in a small article because both were involved in more than 25 films together and the combination existed for more than 15 years. It was a tragedy that Rafi died in 1980, otherwise the listeners could find the evergreen combination in more films in the 80s. The films and the songs should be restored.

Dharmender and Rafi combination in the 60s.

Dharmender and Rafi combination in the 60s.

Dharmender had a grand combination with musical maestro Mohammad Rafi which contributed the most in the major part of his acting career which glorified bollywood films for more than 40 years. Dharmender and Rafi’s combination was unique for a number of reasons. Firstly Dharmender was not attached to any big banner in the early part of his career like Dilip Kumar with Bimal Roy or Shammi Kapoor with Shakti Shamanta. Secondly Dharmender played prominent roles opposite senior actors in many films in the early part of his career like Balraj Sahani in Haqeekat, Rajender Kumar in Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Raj Kumar in Kajal, to name a few. For those reasons, different composers composed music in the films of Dharmender and most of them were sung by great Rafi Sahab.

In the film Shola Aur Shabnam, composer Khayyam’s soft passionate compositions for Rafi were given adequate expression by Dharmender, like “dhunti yeh ankhen mujhme”, “jeet hi lenge baazi hum tum”, “pehle to aankh milna”, “phool ko dhoonde pyaasa bhawra”. The lyrics of Kaifi Azmi touched the hearts of numerous film lovers. In the film Neela Akash, all the songs composed by Madan Mohan for Rafi were brilliant including “aakhri geet muhobbat ka sunalun”, “pyar who shaye hai aye mere yaaron” and “aapko pyaar chupane ki buri aadat hai”.

In the film Baharen Phir Bhi Aayegi, Rafi’s ghazal “aap ki haseen rukh” composed by OP Nayyar and picturised on Dharmender was extremely romantic and made the audience spellbound in the early 60s. In the film Yakeen, the title song “yakeen karlo”, “baharon ki baraat aa gayi” and “ghar tum bhula na doge” composed by Shankar Jaikishan for Rafi had all its romantic appeal embedded other than the melodious orchestration.

In the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost, all the songs of Rafi composed by LP for Dharmender including “hui sham unka”, “na jaa kabhi aab na ja” and “chalkaye jam” were masterpieces which became super hit in the mid-60s. All the songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan in the film Pyar Hi Pyar for Rafi became super hit including “mai kahin kavi na banjayun”, “abhi salaamat abhi hai zinda”, “dekha hai teri aankhon me”, “tu meri mai teri”, etc. Roshan’s composition for Dharmender in the film Mamta titled “in baharon me akela na phiro” also became super hit.
In the 70s, as RD Burman and SD Burman used other singers for Dharmender, the evergreen combination of Rafi with Dharmender was seen in lesser number of films. But the films and the songs of the hit combination should be preserved.