Riya Sen –the young performer of bollywood.

Riya Sen –the young performer of bollywood

Riya Sen, the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen, had started her career in the early 1990s, with the film Vishkanya, where she played the role of young Puja Bedi. She had a lot to prove as her grandmother had dominated Bengali films and acted in dignified roles in bollywood films under the direction of legendary directors like Bimal Roy, Gulzar, etc.

Riya Sen acted in the film Jhankaar Beats which was related to compositions of RD Burman, with other performers like Shayan Munshi, Rahul Bose, Juhi Chawla, Sanajy Puri, and others. She got partial success in the film Shaadi No. 1, where she herself, Aarti Chhabria and Sophie Chowdhury influenced Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan and Sharman Joshi and that led to problems in their marital life. Their wives Esha Deol, Ayesha Takia and Soha Ali Khan were informed by Sanjay Dutt, about the activities of their husbands. Sanjay Dutt helped all these husbands to maintain their wedlock and be loyal to their wives. Although Riya Sen’s role was small, she kept her mark in her performance

She acted in small roles in the films Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Qayamat, Plan, etc., in small roles, and got a prominent role in the film Apna Sapna Money Money. In that film she acted along with other performers like Ritesh Deshmukh, Celina Jaitley, Anupam Kher, etc. The film was serio-comic in nature and Ritesh Dehsmukh disguised himself as a music teacher who came to Anupam Kher’s wife to teach music and marry his daughter.

She also performed in musical videos, and also acted in Malayalam film titled Ananthbhadram which was critically acclaimed. Inspite of all these performances she is still in search of landmark roles in bollywood films, which can establish her in the competitive film industry. Even her sister Raima Sen got scope of acting in good films like Godmother with Shabana Azmi

The viewers expect Riya Sen to do well in good roles in future and continue the legacy that was built of monumental performances of her grandmother Suchitra Sen.

Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala.

Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala

Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala were probably the most popular stars of the golden age of bollywood films including the 50s and 60s. The dancing skills of Vaijayantimala balanced the tragic andaz of Dilip Kumar and most of the films were legendary hits. In Devdas, Vaijayantimala played the role of Chandramukhi who tried to reform Devdas but failed as he died for his unsuccessful affair with Parbati, which was played by Suchitra Sen. Madhuri dixit played the same role of Vaijayantimala in Shahrukh Khan’s Devdas.

In Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, Vaijayantimala was a village girl who was loved by Dilip Kumar who was officer who took the charge of the hills. Their romance ended unsuccessfully as Pran killed Vaijayantimala. Dilip Kumar met another girl having resemblance with the girl whom he loved. The songs composed by Salil Chowdhury in the film like “aaja re”, “daiare daiare”, “suhana safar”, “dil tarap tarap”, etc., were masterpieces and the film stormed bollywood in 1958.

With the advent of colour Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala amazed the audience with their powerful performance in the film Ganga Jumna. Dilip Kumar was a dacoit in the film and took Vaijayantimala with him after he was wanted by the police. He used his weapons for the good the people at large. The Bhojpuri songs composed by Naushad including “nain lad jaihe”, “dhundo dhundo”, etc. sung by Rafi and Lata became big hits.

Both of them were sublime in the film Leader. All the songs in the film composed by Naushad including “tere husn ki”, “apni azaadi ko”, “ek shahenshah ne”, etc., were masterpieces and Rafi and Lata were at their top form, and their songs were given adequate expression by strong performance of the legendary pair.


They were probably the most popular pair of bollywood films in the 60s and their successful films one after the other including Paigham, Naya Daur, Sunghursh, had established the fact that the audience had associated themselves with their realistic performance. These epic films should be preserved for the next generation.