Happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy.

Happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy on 23rd January, 2011. He had been a trend setter in the history of action films in India and was followed by majority of directors of the contemporary period.

Being the relative of GP Sippy, he was associated with hit films from the early part of 70s. The film Andaz with Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini became a musical blockbuster due to the brilliant tunes created for the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed music of the film and the major songs for the film sung by Rafi like “hai na bolo bolo”, “re mamma re mamma”, “dil use do jo jaan de de” became super hit. Seeta Aur Geeta was another super hit film released in 1972. Hema Malini in a double role was as brilliant as Dharmender and Sanjeev Kumar in their respective roles.

In 1975, Ramesh Sippy made the film of his life, which became the most popular entertainer in the entire millennium. The film was related to the dominance of dacoits in the north and central Indian villages. Amzad Khan in the role of Gabbar Singh gave the best performance of his career in the role of the leader of the dacoits. Sanjeev Kumar showed astounding personality in the role of a thakur of the village who lost his two hands and his entire family in his fight against the dacoits. Amitabh Bacchan and Dharmender being two thieves fought against the dacoits and freed the village from their menace. Ramesh Sippy’s casting in the film including heroines like Hema Malini and Jaya Bacchan, comedians like Asrani, Jagdeep was brilliant. The music of RD Burman mesmerized the viewers with songs like “jab tak hai jaan”, “mehbooba mehbooba”, “holi ke din”, etc.

Ramesh Sippy continued his brilliance in another action film Shaan in 1980. Big B, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughun Sinha, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Majhar Khan all were their best in the film. The scene where Sunil Dutt as chased by dogs in the films, was extraordinary and the viewers could not distinguish whether they were seeing Hollywood films or bollywood films. Vindya Goswami and Parveen Babi were at their best in the respective romantic roles. The music of RD Burman was brilliant with hit songs of Rafi, Kishore like “janu meri jaan” and Asha like “pyar karne wale”, to name a few.

Ramesh Sippy was unparallel in the film Shakti, where Dilip Kumar’s personality in the role of honest police officer had outcast angry young man Amitabh Bacchan who played the role of his son and a smuggler in the film. Rakhee played the role of the wife of Dilip Kumar and balanced the two personalities in the film. Amrish Puri played the role of notorious smuggler who was eventually killed by Big B. The film became super hit in the early 80s.

Ramesh Sippy was equally evergreen in romantic films like Saagar. He balanced the romantic performance of Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Kamal Hassan in the same film. The songs of the film composed by RD Burman became big hits. The picturesque locations in the film were also treat for the eyes. It is not possible to highlight the achievements of giant director like Ramesh Sippy in a small article considering his success even in the early 90s in films like Akela.

For more than 20 years he was the path-breaker in action films and his films should be preserved and restored to teach the art of film making for the upcoming directors.

Happy birthday to Kader Khan.

Happy Birthday to Kader Khan.

All the viewers and admirers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the legendary character actor Kader Khan today, on 22nd October, 2010. Also famous as script writer, Kader Khan became a leading villain in the late 70s and early 80s after action films dominated bollywood.

Kader Khan was sublime in his villainous performance in the film Coolie. He tortured Wahida Rehman and made her insane. She was affected to such an extent that she could not even recognize her own son played by Amitabh Bacchan. He had to face Big B at the end and paid for his sins. He also played a villainous character in the film Inquilab. He trained Big B, brought him into politics and got into power. As a politician he behaved with Big B in a most diplomatic manner. Big B brought in all the corrupted leaders and killed one after the other inside the Assembly House.

He was sublime in his role in the film Indrajeet. His own son was involved in the murder of Big B’s daughter Neelam in the film. He tried his best to give protection to his son and his friends who were involved in the crime, but Big B entered the Central Jail and took revenge by killing him.

During the mid-80s Kader Khan switched to comedy roles. There too, he showed his skills. His performance in the film Bol Radha Bol, with Rishi Kapoor, Dulhe Raja with Govinda, Aankhe with Govinda and Chunky Pandey, showed his comedy conception where he gave effortless performances. In Bol Radha Bol, he could not see after sunset. In Aankhe he send his two sons Govinda and Chunkey Pandey out of his own house for their mischiefs.

He also played positive characters in Sunil Shetty’s film Bhai, Jackie Shroff’s film Aaj Ka Daur, Govinda’s film Hero No. 1. He had been one of the indispensable actors in bollywood films. Directors had cast him in different types of roles ranging from Sufi saints to police officers, big industrialists to corrupt politicians and all the different types of roles he showed his acting skills.

Even a number of contemporary villains in bollywood films had benefited by working with him including Shakti Kapoor. There were resemblance of style of tragedy king Dilip Kumar in the acting of Kader Khan in the early part of his career but he created his own identity and skill in the long run. His other successful films included Himmatwala, Aaj Ka Daur, Hero No. 1, Haseena Maan Jayegi, etc. These days his son Sarfaras Khan had been successfully acting in many bollywood films like Tere Naam.

His dialogues were equally famous as his acting and he made contribution in the field of dialogue writing in more than 200 films. Besides he gave quality lips in some of the songs like “yeh paisa bolta hai” in the film Kala Bazar. It is not possible to include all the films of an actor who had contributed in more than 400 films, but it can be said that all his admirers want him to continue his good work and explore himself in the new films to come.

Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha.

Happy birthday to dashing star Rekha.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dashing star Rekha on 10th October, 2010. She had dominated bollywood films of the 80s.

Being the daughter of Legendary South Indian actor Gemini Ganeshan on 10th October, 1954, Rekha created a separate place for herself in bollywood film industry. She was better known as Bhanurekha Ganeshan. In 1969 she acted opposite Biswajeet Chatterjee in the film Do Shikari. She got the her lead role as heroine opposite Navin Nischal in the film Sawan Bhado.

In the early 70s, Rekha had to fight for her place in the bollywood industry, at a time when Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore were dominating the industry. But she acted in many landmark films during that period including Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Rampur Ka Laxman opposite Randhir Kapoor, etc.

From the late 70s her films opposite megastar Big B changed her career. Most of the films ended up being super hit including Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Silsila, etc. Rekha gradually developed her acting and became one of the most versatile actresses of the 80s.

She received national award for her memorable performance in the role of a mujrewali in the film Umrao Jaan. She received filmfare award for best actress in her dashing role in the film Khoon Bhari Maang in 1988. She played landmark roles in off-beat films like Gulzar’s Ghar and Ijaazat, Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug, Govind Nihalini’s Vijeta, etc.

Even her films in the 90s like Kamasutra and in 2000 onwards in films like Lajja and Koi Mil Gaya, she showed her metal as a very talented actress. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in character roles in future.

Happy birthday to dashing star Vinod Khanna

Happy birthday to dashing star Vinod Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vinod Khanna on 6th October 2010. He had remained a versatile actor and contributed in bollywood films from the 70s.

He started his career as an anti-hero.He started his career in Sunil Dutt's film Man Ki Meet in 1968. Then he acted in landmark films like Purab Aur Paschim, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Saccha Jhoota. He played the role of a villain in the film Aan Milo Sajna, where Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor. He also acted in negative role in Shammi Kapoor’s film Jaane Anjane opposite Leena Chandravarkar. He acted in landmark roles in Gulzar's film Mere Apne in 1971. In Gulzar's film Achanak in 1973, his film was based on the real life story of KM Nanavati versus State of Maharashtra, the story of an army officer who was enraged by grave provocation.

With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Vinod Khanna became a dominating figure in bollywood films. Big B’s appearance in the film Zanjeer created a fair competition between Vinod Khanna and Big B.

Both of them featured together in the film Zameer. Both of them showed their action skills against the other actor. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Vinod Khanna played the role of a police officer while Big B played the role of a smuggler. In that film the action skills of Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan was balanced by the romantic style of performance of Rishi Kapoor. Vinod Khanna’s smartness in the role of police officer amazed the viewers. All three of them played the role of the three brothers who were separated earlier but met together at the end of the film. Pran played the role of the father of the three actors.

In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Vinod Khanna played the role of the friend of Amitabh. Big B sacrificed his life at the end of the film after preventing Amzad Khan from creating any harm to Rakhee. The songs of the film became superhit. Vinod Khanna acted along with Big B in other films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Paseena, Pavarish, etc.

The other notable films of Vinod Khanna included Qurbani with Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played the role of his friend who sacrificed his life to save Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played a very significant role in the film Burning Train, where Dharmender played the role of his friend. He was the engineer who built the super fast train, but Danny conspired to put a bomb in the train which exploded and burned the train. At the end Dharmender, Jeetender and Vinod Khanna rescued the passengers.

His films Jurm and Satya Mev Jayate also received very positive criticisms. Just like Amitabh Bacchan he established himself as action star, and delivered in action films even in the late 90s, 20 years after his earlier action movies.

After launching his son Akshay Khanna in the film Himalay Putra, Vinod Khanna switched to character roles and got busy with politics. He also joined the Rajnish Ashram in the early 80s. In 2009, he was very impressive in Salman Khan’s super hit film Wanted where he played the role of his father. In 2010, again he played the role of the father of Salman Khan in the blockbuster film Dabaang. His sharpness in respect of acting had not withered away and he just like Amitabh Bacchan had matured into a more composed actor. The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work in the years to come.

Big B, Ananya Chatterjee, Rituporno Ghosh won National Awards.

Big B, Ananya Chatterjee, Rituporno Ghosh won National Awards.

The 57th National Awards had been announced. Big B won the award for the best actor for his remarkable performance in the film Paa. He played the role of progeria patient who died at the end of the film. The actress Arundhuti Nag received the award for the best supporting actress.

Actress Ananya Chatterjee won the national award for the best actress for her performance in the film Abohoman. She was surprised with the decision and excited too. Ramesh Sippy, the legendary director being member of the jury, took very bold decisions. It was very significant that Ramesh Sippy himself never won any national award inspite of making blockbusters like Sholay, Shaan, Shakti and Saagar.

Director Rituporno Ghosh won the national award for the best director for the film Abohoman. Rituporno Ghosh won it a number of films. It was a good gesture on the part of the jury to judge regional films on merit.

Viewers feel that there were a long list of talented actors and actresses who never won one national award. Actor Balraj Sahani never received one single national award, actor Dilip Kumar never received one single national award inpsite of landmark performances in Aadmi, Shakti, Mashaal, etc.

Actress Meena Kumari never got any award in her illustrious career. The best actress award was also a question mark in the career of actress Nutan. Therefore those who won the awards should also consider themselves very lucky as whenever two or three artists performed well in the same year, the award went to only one recipient.

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

Happy birthday to Rakhee.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rakhee on 15th August, 2010. She had contributed in bollywood films for more than 30 years. She had contributed both as a leading actress and also as a character actress.

Rakhee came to limelight with her successful film Sharmilee opposite Shashi Kapoor in the early 70s. The songs of the film composed by SD Burman became very successful, including the songs “khilte hai dil yahan”, “megha chaye aadhi raat”, etc. Rakhee played a double role and created attention.

In the mid-70s Rakhee acted in landmark roles including the one in the film Kabhi Kabhi opposite Big B and Shashi Kapoor. She loved a poet played by Big B, but had to marry Shashi Kapoor. The poetry of Big B created a great impact in the life of Rakhee. The songs of Mukesh and Lata composed by Khayyam in the film including “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” made the viewers spellbound.

Rakhee acted in many landmark films opposite Big B including Shakti Shamanta’s Bengali film Anusandhan, hindi film Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Kala Patthar, Kasme Wade, etc. In the early 80s Rakhee played the role of her lifetime opposite Dilip Kumar in the film Shakti. She played the role of the mother of Big B, who faced the hostility between Dilip Kumar and Big B, one being the protector of law, while the other being the lawbreaker. The scenes where she praised her law-abiding husband her performance had outcast Big B, and viewers said that Rakhee’s performance was as brilliant as Dilip Kuma in Shakti. The film became super hit.

In the 90s, Rakhee played many character roles in films like Anil Kapoor’s Ram Lakhan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan’s Karan Arjun, Bobby Deol’s Soldier, to name a few. She had acted in more than 100 films and continues to act in many contemporary films.

Rakhee had also acted in many character roles and challenging roles. Her performance in Aparna Sen’s film Parama requires special mention. She had affair with a middle-aged neighbour. When the truth relating to her extra-marital affair was known to her husband, she lost her value in the family. She showed the helplessness in the respective story. She had performed in both commercial films and parallel cinema and in both forms of films she had kept a mark.

The viewers expect her to continue the good work in the years to come.

The Filmfare awards were reproduction of Star Screen awards.

The Filmfare awards were reproduction of Star Screen awards.

The 2010 Filmfare awards were absolute reproduction of Star Screen awards. Big B won the award for the best actor for his performance in the film Paa. Vidya Balan won the best actress for the performance in the same. Amir Khan’s performance in The 3 idiots went in vain.

It is nothing new that Big B never won any award for versatile performances in the films Akhree Rasta, Indrajeet, Akela, etc., but when the name got converted into brand name the awards had been running after him. Same thing had happened with AR Rehman. When he composed music for Roza, or Bombay, or Saathiya, there was innovation the main yardstick of awards. These days whenever even if he creates mediocre music in Delhi 6, he gets awards. Neither is there any promotion of new talents, nor recognition for good work. Pritam, Shantanu Moitra had just created good music in the films Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani and The 3 idiots.

Among the list of manipulated awards some rewards for genuine good performances included the award won by Boman Irani for best supporting actor in the film The 3 idiots. He has potential of the same lights of Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. Also Ranbir Kapoor won the critics’ choice award for his performance in the films Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, etc.

The male and female singer award does not prove anything. Kavita Seth and Rekha Bharadwaj had won the awards for the film Delhi 6. The songs were ordinary by every musical standards. Also Mohit Chauhan’s award proves nothing.

The sad part of these filmfare awards is that it had huge heritage of stalwarts like Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Balraj Sahani, Raj Kapoor winning the awards under different categories in the past. Critics even argue that there is hardly any justification of the best actor, the category should have been best hero.

The national awards still have some relevance. Filmfare awards had been a tool, either purchased or manipulated or rigged.

The 55th Idea Filmfare awards have nothing new.

The 55th Idea Filmfare awards have nothing new.

The 55th Idea Filmfare awards nominations 2009 have nothing new. It seems that the nominations that were there in Starscreen Awards and Stardust Awards, the same nominations are made in filmfare.

The film 3 idiots will compete with Dev D, Kaminey, Paa, Wake Up Sid and Love Aaj Kaal for the best film. If 3 idiots fail to win the award it will be an amazement. AR Rehman will compete with Amit Trivedi, Pritam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Vishal Bharatdwaj for best composer. It does not matter that Pritam has two nominations and one of his compositions in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani did great business only due to the great music. AR Rehman will win the award again it seems.

Amir Khan neither attends awards ceremony nor gets the awards. It is strange that his film 3 idiots did business worth 200 crores. Yet the award will go to Amitabh Bacchan for his performance in the film Paa. It has become a prestige issue to give awards only to Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bacchan. It does not matter that Ranbir Kapoor has two nominations in the films Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani and Wake Up Sid. Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra’s efforts in the films 3 idiots, New York and Kaminey will go in vain as Vidya Balan will win the award for best actress for her performance in the film Paa. It has become a prestige issue to act with Big B and Abhishek Bacchan in the recent years.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will compete against Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Mohit Chouhan, Atif Aslam and Javed Ali/ Kailash Kher for the best singer award. Atif Aslam’s song “tu jane na” in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani was at par with Sonu Nigam’s Shukran Allah in Kurbaan and Sukhwinder Singh’s “dhan tana” in Kaminey. Kavita Seth will compete against Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Alisha Chinoy, Shilpa Rao and Rekha Bharatdwaj for the best female singer award.

Rishi Kapoor, Amole Gupte, Boman Irani, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Neil Nitin Mukesh had been nominated for best supporting actor award. Dimple Kapadia, Arundhuti Naag, Divya Dutta, Kalki Koechlin and Sahana Goswami had been nominated for the best supporting actress award.
The awards do not prove excellence. Whether an actor or actress wins it or not, as long as they receive appreciation for their work from the audience their work gets rewarded.

Happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan.

Happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Abhishek Bacchan on 5th February, 2010. He had entertained the viewers over the last 10 years and is expected to do even better in the years to come.

Being the son of superstars Amitabh Bacchan and Jaya Bacchan, he had a great challenge in terms of proving himself in the early part of his career. He got chance in good films like JP Dutta’s Refugee, Dhai Aksar Prem Ki, Bombai Se Aya Mera Dost, but due to comparison of him with his father, his performance was not appreciated inspite of the success of the film.

Then he formed a fantastic pair with actress Rani Mukherjee and his career took a turn. His film Yuva was very successful. He played a negative character in the film opposite Rani Mukherjee. The film was related to the violent scenario in Kolkata caused by politics in academic institutions and the loss to the students due to such unrest. Ajay Devgan and Vivek Oberoi did extremely well in the film along with Abhishek Bacchan.

Abhishek Bacchan and Rani Mukherjee complimented each other in the film Bunty Aur Babli. Both of them took the recourse of falsehood and duped different people all across the country. Before their plan was unearthed they left the place and got involved in other crimes. The music in the film composed by Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy became super hit with popular songs like “dharak dharak”, “chup chupke chup chupke”, “bunty aur babli”, “kajra re kajra re”, etc. Aishwarya Rai amused the viewers with her item number in the film titled “kajra re”. Big B also did well in the film in the role of police inspector.

Abhishek Bacchan did well in the film Dhoom-2 opposite Hrithik Roshan. He investigated the significant operations carried out by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai who were international thieves and stole expensive items from museums and art galleries. Abhishek Bacchan arrested Hrithik Roshan at the end of the film but did not confine him after he disclosed the places where he stored the stolen items.

His other hit films included Guru, opposite Aishwarya Rai and Dostana opposite John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra. In 2009 his film Dilli 6 had been released where he did extremely well opposite Sonam Kapoor and veteran actors in the film.

At the end of the year he acted in a critically acclaimed film Paa. The film was directed by Balki. Big played the role of the son of Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan played the role of the his wife. Big B died at the end of the film. Big B and Vidya Balan received the best actor and best actress award in 2010 star screen awards for their performance in the film Paa. Abhishek Bacchan played his role of a politician in style.

His tall height and deep voice impressed the viewers over the last few years and the viewers are looking forward to his depiction of the character Ram that he is going to play in director Mani Ratnam’s film Ravan.

Sujit Kumar died at the age of 75.

Sujit Kumar died at the age of 75.

Veteran actor Sujit Kumar died on 6th February, 2010. He was a successful actor both in hindi films and Bhojpuri films.

In the late 60s, he started playing positive roles. He played the role of the friend of Rajesh Khanna in Shakti Shamanta’s film Aradhana in 1969. He played the mouth organ in style in the song ‘mere sapno ki rani” in Aradhana. But in the early 70s he started playing negative roles.

He played the lead villain in Dharmender’s film Resham Ki Dori. In the mid-70s, there was a tradition of using more than one villain in the same film. He played his role as a villain in the action film Jugnu. He was the other villain other than Ajit and Prem Chopra in the same film. The other films where he played negative roles included Ankhen and Charas.

He played significant roles in the late 70s and early 80s as well. In Big B’s the great gambler, Sujit Kumar played the negative character under Prem Chopra who implicated Big B. In Shaan he worked under Kulbhushan Kharbanda. He had a strong action scene with Shashi Kapoor in the film Shaan.

In the late 80s and early 90s, he played character roles. He played the role of the father of Anil Kapoor in the film Kala Bazar. He was a clerk who led his life with honesty. When he faced charges of corruption, he could not bear it and committed suicide. Anil Kapoor took revenge against the perpetrators of crime in the film.

Sujit Kumar also produced notable films. One of them included Champion, where Sunny Deol and Manisha Koirala played the lead characters. The film was related to the fear created by a villain in the eyes of a small boy who was protected by Sunny Deol. Sunny had to kill the person to drive out the fear from the minds of the little boy.

Sujit Kumar played a very long innings in Bhojpuri films right from the 60s to the 90s. He did not get very prominent roles in his illustrious career. But an actor who had acted in more than 150 hindi films and Bhojpuri films deserve respect from the film fraternity and the viewers. His films should be restored.

Starscreen awards do not prove excellence.

Starscreen awards do not prove excellence.

Starscreen awards were given in 2010. Although some good awards were given for the performance of films in 2010, Some of the other categories surprised the viewers.

Raj Kumar Hirani received the best director award for his film The Three Idiots. The film did business of more than 100 crores and the best director award was justified. The Three Idiots was also adjudged the as best film.

But to everyone’s surprise AR Rehman received the award for the best composer for the music of the film Delhi 6. The film’s music was very ordinary compared to the music of the films Saathiya or Roza, etc. On the other hand Pritam having nominations in three films did not receive any award. In fact the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani did great business due to the brilliant music of Pritam. It is very strange that Sonu Nigam did not receive a nomination for the best singer inspite of singing brilliantly the song “zubi zubi” in The Three Idiots. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan received the best singer award. Shantonu Moitra did not receive even a nomination for his music in the film The Three Idiots. Kavita Seth also won the best female singer award surpassing Shreya Ghoshal to everyone’s surprise.

Amitabh Bacchan and Vidya Balan won the best actor and actress award for the film Paa. These days Big B wins awards due to only his brand name. It is very sad. Ranbir Kapoor did not win best actor award inspite of giving versatile performances in the films Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. Salman Khan was not there is the nomination also inspite of Wanted doing a business of more than 70 crores. Vidya Balan is a very natural actress. But in respect of her box-office, she is neither a competitor of Priyanka Chopra, nor Katrina Kaif, nor Kareena Kapoor. These days it has been a fashion that the moment an actress acts in a film with Big B or Abhishek Bacchan, she automatically wins an award.

Starscreen thinks that Shahrukh Khan requires an award even if he does not perform in any particular film. None of his films were released this year. Yet he won the award for the Jodi of the decade with Kajol. Similarly Big B and Abhishek Bacchan won the award for the best Jodi. These days it has been a fashion to give best awards to two male performers. Raj Kapoor Nargis, or Dilip Kumar Vaijayantimala would have fainted to see the best Jodi award. Boman Irani’s award for best villain for The Three Idiots is well justified. Also Omi Vaidya’s award for the best comedian is well justified.

Rishi Kapoor’s award for the best supporting actor in the film Luck By Chance is well justified. At the same time Sharman Joshi and R Madhavan should have an award in some category for their best performance in the film The Three Idiots. Neither the awards proven any level of excellence, nor the awards show popularity. Kareena Kapoor won the award the most popular actress for her performance in the film The Three Idiots. Katrina Kaif won the best entertainer award.

If filmfare also follows the same trend it will be a very sad precedent. The awards do not mean anything when stalwarts like Om Puri or Naseeruddin Shah are neither nominated nor receive anything, the hit films like Wake Up Sid, or Wanted, or Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani are left behind.

Happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy

Happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Ramesh Sippy on 23rd January, 2010. He had been a trend setter in the history of action films in India and was followed by majority of directors of the contemporary period.

Being the relative of GP Sippy, he was associated with hit films from the early part of 70s. The film Andaz with Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini became a musical blockbuster due to the brilliant tunes created for the film. Shankar Jaikishan composed music of the film and the major songs for the film sung by Rafi like “hai na bolo bolo”, “re mamma re mamma”, “dil use do jo jaan de de” became super hit. Seeta Aur Geeta was another super hit film released in 1972. Hema Malini in a double role was as brilliant as Dharmender and Sanjeev Kumar in their respective roles.

In 1975, Ramesh Sippy made the film of his life, which became the most popular entertainer in the entire millennium. The film was related to the dominance of dacoits in the north and central Indian villages. Amzad Khan in the role of Gabbar Singh gave the best performance of his career in the role of the leader of the dacoits. Sanjeev Kumar showed astounding personality in the role of a thakur of the village who lost his two hands and his entire family in his fight against the dacoits. Amitabh Bacchan and Dharmender being two thieves fought against the dacoits and freed the village from their menace. Ramesh Sippy’s casting in the film including heroines like Hema Malini and Jaya Bacchan, comedians like Asrani, Jagdeep was brilliant. The music of RD Burman mesmerized the viewers with songs like “jab tak hai jaan”, “mehbooba mehbooba”, “holi ke din”, etc.

Ramesh Sippy continued his brilliance in another action film Shaan in 1980. Big B, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughun Sinha, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Majhar Khan all were their best in the film. The scene where Sunil Dutt as chased by dogs in the films, was extraordinary and the viewers could not distinguish whether they were seeing Hollywood films or bollywood films. Vindya Goswami and Parveen Babi were at their best in the respective romantic roles. The music of RD Burman was brilliant with hit songs of Rafi, Kishore like “janu meri jaan” and Asha like “pyar karne wale”, to name a few.

Ramesh Sippy was unparallel in the film Shakti, where Dilip Kumar’s personality in the role of honest police officer had outcast angry young man Amitabh Bacchan who played the role of his son and a smuggler in the film. Rakhee played the role of the wife of Dilip Kumar and balanced the two personalities in the film. Amrish Puri played the role of notorious smuggler who was eventually killed by Big B. The film became super hit in the early 80s.

Ramesh Sippy was equally evergreen in romantic films like Saagar. He balanced the romantic performance of Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Kamal Hassan in the same film. It is not possible to highlight the achievements of giant director like Ramesh Sippy in a small article considering his success even in the early 90s in films like Akela.

For more than 20 years he was the path-breaker in action films and his films should be preserved and restored to teach the art of film making for the upcoming directors.

Happy birthday to Vidya Balan.

Happy birthday to Vidya Balan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vidya Balan on 1st January, 2010. Vidya Balan had shown her potentiality in sophisticated roles in the past.

Vidya Balan attracted the attention of cultured audience through her soft performance in Pradeep Sarkar’s film Parineeta. It was an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s successful novel Parineeta. Vidya Balan reached the depth of the character that was related to life of Kolkata during the 18th century.

Vidya Balan acted opposite Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan and balanced their performance with her own performance. She also gave able lips in the song “piyu bole, piya bole” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal which became super hit.

Vidya Balan was also impressive in the film Lage Raho Munnabhai opposite Sanjay Dutt. The film was based on the story of the transformation of Munna Bhai, who was notorious for his unlawful activities through the dictates of Mahatma Gandhi. He told lies to Vidya Balan about being a Professor, but gathered some courage to tell the truth that he was not a Professor. The songs “pal pal pal” created a theme for the film and he performance of both Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Balan was very impressive.

Although Vidya Balan’s films like Kismat Conection with Shahid Kapoor or Hey Baby opposite Akshay Kumar did mediocre business in the last few years, the viewers had seen her strong performance in the film Bhoolbhulaiya.

She had done a good job opposite Abhishek Bacchan and Big B in the film Paa in 2009. She loved Abhishek Bacchan. Their child Big B suffered from a strange disease. Before death Big B united Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan. Her reserve performance once again amazed the viewers.
She should continue to act in reserve roles which suits her characteristics in the years to come.

Paa will get box-office.

Paa will get box-office.

AB Corporation had produced the film Paa with a view of presenting a realistic film having comedy elements. Whenever the corporation tried to do orthodox business, it failed. But now that the project is related to creative work it is going to definitely sell.

The credit goes to the Director Balakrishnan. He had Cheeni Kum in the past and had the courage to take up bold subjects. In the film Abhishek Bacchan got a very challenging role. He was a successful politician in India having won recent elections and had been a member of the Parliament.

While his aspiring career was at its peak, he got the information that when he was in Cambridge and had an affair with Vidya Balan, his child who was there in the mother’s womb, had survived. He asked his wife Vidya Balan, who was a professional doctor, refused to abort the child who was considered to be abnormal. The news of child who was 12 years old suffering from Projeria, a problematic disease created storm in the life of Abhishek Bacchan.

Genetically the age of the child was 70. Amitabh Bacchan, or Big B, took a peculiar make up, with a bald head, where the external features of the child did not match with the brain of the child. But inspite of the comedy sequences, Big B as a character showed his human feelings. He wanted to unite his father and mother, that was Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan, before he died. His sickness stood in the way and he died at the end of the film.

The viewers would definitely not like see their favourite star Amitabh Bacchan die at the end of the film. For the purpose of the story and realistic point of view there was no other climax possible. Abhishek Bacchan played a very effortless role without mannerisms. Vidya Balan was brilliant as ever. Lastly Big B was also brilliant, because he had shown his level of variations in films like Black. The fact that he is still obsessed with doing more experiments and exploring himself is very phenomenal.

The film will do well. Viewers cannot associate Paa with commercially hit films released this year like Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, but with the powerful performances of Big B, Abhishek Bacchan and Vidya Balan, Paa is definitely going to bag a number of awards for excellence in bollywood films this year.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant.

Happy birthday to Rajnikant.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajnikant on 12th December, 2009. For the last 25 years he had remained as one of the most popular superstars of South Indian films and carried his stardom in bollywood films as well.

From the beginning of his career he had created an identity in action films. He had his own mannerisms which were liked by South Indian audience and was also new for bollywood viewers. In the film Andha Kanoon, he acted along with Big B. The film was released in 1983. His parents were tortured and killed in the film by Pran, Prem Chopra and Danny. The entire film was related to the revenge that he had taken against all those actors. His sister’s role was played by Hema Malini who was a police-officer in the film. There were romantic sequences in the film as well where Reena Roy contributed opposite Rajnikant, but as the action sequences became predominating there was not much scope for the romantic performance. The film became superhit in the early 80s.

Rajnikant showed his skills in action films along with Kamal Hassan and Big B in the film Geraftar. There he played the role of a friend of Big B, who was killed during an encounter with the villains in the film. The action sequences in the film became famous during mid-80s. Also the music of Bappi Lahiri became popular.

During the mid-80s Rajnikant acted in the superhit film Chaalbaaz which was made in the same line as Ram Aur Shyam and Seeta Aur Geeta. In the earlier films the double roles played by Dilip Kumar and Hema Malini amused the viewers. In Chaalbaaz the double role was played by Sri Devi. Rajnikant and Sunny Deol were the two heroes in the film. As the film was based on comedy of errors Rajnikant used his comedy skills to perfection opposite Sri Devi. Also Anupam kher did an experiment in the negative role in the film.

Rajnikant had been one of the most popular icons of Tamil films for generations and had carried forward the legacy that was created by Shivaji Ganeshan, Jemini Ganeshan and others. The list of his hit films are too long and cannot be highlighted in a small article. Even his latest film that was released in 2008 titled Shivaji had become super hit. He also played a very active role in South Indian politics. He campaigned for the political party Dravida Munetra Khazagham (DMK) under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi.

Filmstars in South India are hailed across all the four states Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as the languages Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam are very close to each other. Rajnikant had remained popular for more than 25 years and the people at large could identify themselves in the diversified characters that Rajnikant had played during his long career.

Whenever the list of South Indian filmstars who had glorified bollywood films comes into question the name of Rajnikant comes at the top along with Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Arvind Swami and others. The All India audience expect Rajnikant to continue his excellent work both in South Indian films as well as bollywood films in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha.

Happy birthday to Shatrughun Sinha.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to successful actor Shatrughun Sinha on 9th December, 2009. He was considered to be one of the leading angry young man of the 70s after Big B.

Although he started his career as anti-hero in films like Khilouna, where the central characters were played by Jeetender and Sanjeev Kumar, within short time, he showed his metal as an action star and ruled bollywood films for another 20 years. He was successful in films like Gaye Aur Gauri opposite Jaya Bacchan, Bombay To Goa, etc., in the early 70s.

Shatrughun Sinha learned acting Pune Film and Television Institute and his lessons went a long way in his illustrious career. Viewers remember his combination with Reena Roy as both played romantic pair in numerous films. Kalicharan was one of the most popular films amongst them.

Whenever Shatrughun Sinha faced Amitabh Bacchan both the actors tried to supersede the other. The viewers enjoyed the rift between the two actors in contemporary films. Both did a fantastic job in Ramesh Sippy’s film Shaan. Shatrughun Sinha’s charishma in the role of a shooter was as elegant as Big B’s angry young image in killing Goga Kapoor’s men in the film.

The other films where Big and Shotgun (Shatrughun Sinha was called by this name) met included Kala Patthar, Dostana, Naseeb, to mention a few. In all those films both the actors complimented each other. Even in comedy films like Naram Garam, Shotgun showed his comedy elements and was appreciated.

Shatrughun Sinha was given an off-beat role by Goutam Ghosh in Bengali film Antarjali Jatra where he played the role of a cremator. He played a marathon innings in films which include commercial success like Goutam Govinda, Dillagi, etc. Even in political career he achieved a lot by working for the people under the BJP banner. He was member of Rajya Sabha and won elections also under BJP ticket. He is called the stylish Bihari Babu by his admirers.

Both Shatrughun Sinha and Vinod Khanna are considered the greatest competitors with Big B and had succeeded in portraying the role of action heroes in India. Their height, voice and stature helped a lot in portraying those characters. The viewers expect Shotgun to continue the great work in films in future.

Happy birthday to Hema Malini.

Happy birthday to Hema Malini.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to dream girl Hema Malini on 16th October, 2009. She was the uncrowned queen of bollywood films of the 70s.

Her strong dancing skills gave her a separate place in bollywood films. Her performance in the film Sapno Ka Saudagar opposite Raj Kapoor was extremely successful in the late 60s. From there she never looked back. Her film Abhinetri opposite Shashi Kapoor became super hit. Her successful films opposite other stars included Gora Aur Kala opposite Rajender Kumar, Burning Train opposite Dharmender, Johnny Mera Naam opposite Dev Anand, to name a few.

Within short time she formed a brilliant combination with Dharmender and their films started rocking bollywood in the 70s. The pair started off with films like Naya Zamana, Raja Jani and went on to give all time hits like Seeta Aur Geeta, Jugnu, Charas, Sholay, etc. If Sholay is remembered for superlative camerawork of Ramesh Sippy, villainish andaz of Amzad Khan, angry image of Big B, then it is also remembered for tremendous dance performance of Hema Malini. She danced on top of glasses in the song “jab tak hai jaan”.

Hema Malini did extremely well in off-beat films as well. One of her landmark films included Kinara opposite Jeetender and Dharmender. Gulzar’s films was based on dancing and Hema Malini’s classical dance balanced the story line where Jeetender’s car struck Dharmender and killed him on the spot. Dharmender was the husband of Hema Malini in the film and she lived with his memory in the film.

Hema Malini’s films opposite Big B also did great business. Some of their hit films included Desh Premi, Satte Pe Satta, etc. In the last few years Hema Malini had been seen contributing in character roles in bollywood films like Baghban.

The viewers still believe that a lot of dancing skills are still left in Hema Malini and she should still act in bollywood films in future.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna.

Happy birthday to Vinod Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Vinod Khanna on 6th October 2009. He had remained a versatile actor and contributed in bollywood films from the 70s.

He started his career as an anti-hero. He played the role of a villain in the film Aan Milo Sajna, where Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor. With the advent of action films in the mid-70s, Vinod Khanna became a dominating figure in bollywood films. Big B’s appearance in the film Zanjeer created a fair competition between Vinod Khanna and Big B.

Both of them featured together in the film Zameer. Both of them showed their action skills against the other actor. In Amar Akbar Anthony, Vinod Khanna played the role of a police officer while Big B played the role of a smuggler. In that film the action skills of Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan was balanced by the romantic style of performance of Rishi Kapoor. All three of them played the role of the three brothers who were separated earlier but met together at the end of the film. Pran played the role of the father of the three actors.

In Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Vinod Khanna played the role of the friend of Amitabh. Big B sacrificed his life at the end of the film after preventing Amzad Khan from creating any harm to Rakhee. The songs of the film became superhit. Vinod Khanna acted along with Big B in other films like Hera Pheri, Khoon Paseena, Pavarish, etc.

The other notable films of Vinod Khanna included Qurbani with Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played the role of his friend who sacrificed his life to save Feroz Khan. Vinod Khanna played a very significant role in the film Burning Train, where Dharmender played the role of his friend. He was the engineer who built the super fast train, but Danny conspired to put a bomb in the train which exploded and burned the train. At the end Dharmender, Jeetender and Vinod Khanna rescued the passengers.

After launching his son Akshay Khanna in the film Burning Train, Vinod Khanna switched to character roles and got busy with politics. He also joined the Rajnish Ashram in the early 80s. The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

Happy birthday to Amitabh Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to the megastar of bollywood films Amitabh Bacchan. He had been the most popular actor of the entire millennium.

In the 70s his films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Deewar created a new age of action films. His angry young man image created a revolution during an age when corruption became rampant in India. If Zanjeer was related to the obstacles faced by an honest police officer to safely perform his duties, Deewar was based on the contradiction of two brothers of whom one was a police officer, while the other was compelled to be a smuggler due to social compulsions. Sholay was based on the story of domination of the Chambal region of India by dacoits. The Thakur (played by Sanjeev Kumar) of the village employed two brave criminals namely Big B and Dharmender to face the dacoits.


Big B was a very powerful actor and became the choice of all the leading directors of the 70s and 80s. His films included Abhimaan directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sholay directed by Ramesh Sippy, Zanjeer directed by Prakash Mehra, Deewar directed by Yash Chopra, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat directed by Shakti Samanta, to name a few. The other factor which singled out Big B with the other actors in terms of his versatility was his baritone voice which he modulated to perfection.

His comedy films like Namakhalal, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, created new dimensions in Indian film history. His notable films during the 80s included Shakti, Akhree Rasta, Inquilab, etc. Even in the 90s his films like Akela and Indrajeet carried his strong personality forward.

Big B had played a huge innings as a character actor and his films like Black, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, etc., showed the viewers, that after Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar, Big B was an actor with whom the directors could do any experiment. His performance in his son Abhishek Bacchan’s films like Bunty Aur Babli had also been notable. The viewers expect him to continue the great work that he started 40 years back.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

Happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rishi Kapoor on 4th September 2009. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

After the debut of his son Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor switched to character roles. In 2009 also Rishi Kapoor did well in films like Dilli 6.

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.