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.

Songs in Ranbir Kapoor's films.

Songs in Ranbir Kapoor’s films.

Songs play a very vital role in the careers of leading stars of bollywood films. Whenever the name of Raj Kapoor comes in the minds of viewers the songs namely “mera juta hai japani”, “awara hoon”, “mur murke na dekh”, “o mehbooba” comes in the minds of the viewers. Similarly Dilip Kumar is associated with songs like “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan”, “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “aaj ki raat mere”, etc.

In that respect Ranbir Kapoor is blessed with good songs. He has acted in 4 films till now, namely Sawariya, Bacchna Aye Haseeno, Wake Up Sid, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. All these films had very promising songs. The film to be released on 4th June, that is Rajneeti is also full of meaningful songs.

The songs “sawariya” and “jab se tume dekha” in the film Sawariya, had done great business inspite of the film not doing that well. The songs of the film Bacchna Aye Haseeno composed by Vishal Shekhar created storms. All the songs in the film became super hit.

The notable songs in Bachna Aye Haseeno included “khuda jane ke mai fida hoon”, “bacchna aye haseeno”, “ahista ahista”. The excellent lips of the actresses Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba had helped Ranbir Kapoor to maintain balance in the film. Besides, the exotic locations in the film were also appreciated by the viewers.

Wake Up Sid was a serious film and as such the music did not matter that much. Even then the music was very decent in the film. The performance of Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor was very realistic and that created a separate impression in the minds of the viewers.

Pritam did a grand job in the film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. It had been the greatest hit of the career of Ranbir Kapoor. All the songs in the film became super hit. The leading song included “prem ki naiya”, etc. The onscreen chemistry of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif had made the viewers speechless.

On 1st May Ranbir Kapoor appeared in Indian idol show, along with renowned composer Pyarellal. He encouraged the participants by dancing with them. His songs were played like “sawariya”, “tera hone laga hoon”, etc. He honoured Pyarellal for giving splendid music in the films of his father Rishi Kapoor, like Bobby, Prem Rog, Karz, Amar Akbar Anthony, etc. Everyone in the show including Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Salim Merchant had wished best of luck for Ranbir Kapoor’s new film Rajneeti to be released on 4th June.

The viewers are looking forward to more hit songs in the upcoming films of Ranbir Kapoor in future.

Effect of Jaikishan's death on bollywood films.

Effect of Jaikishan’s death on bollywood films.

Shankar Jaikishan dominated bollywood music for more than 25 years ranging from the late 40s to early 70s. Due to sad demise of Jaikishan in the 70s, the evergreen combination broke up and critics repent about the end of the contribution of the giant composers.

Shankar was very loyal towards the SJ Banner and continued to use it in films after 1971, when Jaikishan died and Shankar had composed the music himself. Jaikishan’s death was a big blow for Shankar who already was shocked about the demise of lyricist Shailendra in the late 60s, who had contributed for the tunes of Shankar. Shankar lost the big banners in the 70s, due to the death of Jaikishan.

For example Raj Kapoor shifted towards the music of Laxmikant Pyarellal from Bobby, in 1973, when Shankar was still alive and gave music in many films in the 70s. Raj Kapoor had never thought about any other composer in his entire career other than SJ, excepting films like Jagte Raho, where he had used Salil Choudhury or Ab Dilli Door Nahi, where Dattaram contributed, who was the assistant of SJ.

The big banner of GP Sippy went to RD Burman after the death of Jaikishan. SJ composed the music for the film Andaz in 1971. But RD Burman got the scope of composing music in films like Seeta Aur Geeta in 1972, Sholay in 1975, Shaan in 1980, Saagar in 1985, all were made under the GP Sippy Banner. Although Shankar continued to compose music in the mid-70s in films of Manoj Kumar like Beimaan or Sanyasi, but the big banner of GP Sippy was lost.

Shankar also lost the banner of Shakti Shamanta after 1971. Previously SJ composed music in Shakti Shamanta’s films An Evening in Paris and Pagla Kahin Ka. But after the death of Jaikishan, RD Burman got the scope of composing music in his films including Kati Patang and Amar Prem which were hit as well.

Whether the music suffered or changed after the death of Jaikishan is another question to be answered, but there is no doubt that Shankar lost most of the big banners in the 70s, after the death of Jaikishan in 1971.

As far as trend of bollywood music was concerned there was a sea change after the death of Jaikishan in 1971. Loud orchestrations were evident in major films because of the trends existing in Hollywood. Beat oriented music prevailed. RD Burman had a beat of his own exhibited in films like Anamika, Jheel Ke Us Paar, Sholay, Shaan, etc. Bappi Lahiri had his own beat exhibited in Disco Dancer, Namakhalal, Sharabi, etc. The composer-duo who did not stick to a beat but shuffled with them included Laxmikant Pyarellal. They were the only duo who compromised with the requirements of the age and transformed their own music in films like Ek Duje Ke Liye or Prem Rog, etc.

But Shankar Jaikishan’s blend of east and west faded away in the 70s. Also the utilization of folk music in films like Shree 420, Teesri Kasam, reduced down.

The compositions of Shankar Jaikishan should be restored and preserved.

Combination of Rafi with Rishi Kapoor.

Combination of Rafi with Rishi Kapoor.

Mohammad Rafi virtually ruled bollywood music during the 50s and 60s. Therefore his contribution was unique in the career of all the leading stars of the golden age including Dilip Kumar, Rajender Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Pradeep Kumar, Bharat Bhushan, Guru Dutt, Pradip Kumar, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Dharmender, Jeetender and others.

But in the 70s, Rafi did not get the same amount of songs from the upcoming composers if compared with his domination in the 60s. He made his existence felt in style with romantic combination in the films of Rishi Kapoor. Two factors went in his favour. Firstly Rishi Kapoor was the leading romantic actor of that age who balanced the action films of Big B, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha and others with his romantic films. At the other hand Laxmikant Pyarellal, the composer who was loyal to Rafi till the last day of his life was the main contributor in Rishi Kapoor’s films.

In the film Badalte Rishtey, Rafi’s song for Rishi Kapoor “woh woh na rahen” reminded the viewers about the romantic andaz that he displayed for the previous 30 years. Besides the song “yeh duniya ke badalte rishte” was equally impressive. Madan Mohan and Jaidev combined together to compose the songs for Rishi Kapoor’s epic film Laila Majnu.

Laila Majnu flabbergasted the viewers with the flavor of music of middle-east, the area related to the subject matter of the film. Each song of Rafi had a class of its own including “ mai tere dar pe aya hoon”, “barbad muhobbat ki dua saah liye ja”, “is reshmi pazeeb ki jhankar ke sadpe” (sung by Lata and Rafi), “likhkar tera naam zamee par” (sung by Lata and Rafi).

Rafi and Rishi Kapoor continued the romantic combination in the film Sargam. All the songs in the film were backed by very loud melodious orchestration. Rafi’s songs with Lata became super hit including “ramjiki nikli sawari”, “dafliwale dafli baja”, “koel boli duniya doli”, to name a few. Rafi’s solo numbers in the film like “hum to chale pardes”, “kahan tera insaaf hai”, appealed to the masses. Rishi Kapoor’s excellent lips were complimented by Jaya Prada’s classical dance in the film. Rafi was brilliant as ever.

Rishi Kapoor and Rafi combination entertained the viewers and listeners in the film Amar Akbar Anthony as well. All the songs composed by LP for Rafi created sensation. The qawalli “parda hai parda” was considered to be the last conventional qawalli composed in the 70s which faded away in the 80s and 90s due to absence of Rafi and had been revived in recent times. The other songs “shirdi wali saibaba” required high pitch which Rafi provided in style. Rafi sang the song “humko tumse ho gaya hai pyar kya Karen” with Kishore and Mukesh in the same film.

The Rafi Rishi Kapoor combination continued in the film Karz. The song “darde-dil darde-jigar” had remained one of the leading songs that are played on Valentine’s day for years. LP’s strong insistence for Rafi with Rishi Kapoor also motivated RD Burman to use Rafi in films of Rishi Kapoor. The song “pucho na yaar kya hua” showed Rafi’s elegance in westernized songs where Rishi Kapoor gave brilliant lips. Also Rishi Kapoor gave able lips in the qawalli sung in the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi in late 70s. Rafi was outstanding by every musical standard.

It was a huge tragedy that Rafi died in 1980, otherwise he could have sung many romantic songs for Rishi Kapoor who gave adequate expression in the songs sung by Rafi. Although Rafi’s songs for Rishi Kapoor did not have the class that was evident in the songs of the 60s as giants of giants like Naushad, Roshan, Ghulam Mohammad, Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Madanmohan were at their zenith during that age, the combination of Rafi and Rishi Kapoor still has importance because it came at a time when action films eroded the requirement for soft romantic songs in films. For those reasons the songs and the films should be preserved.

Films like Dosti were path-breakers in Indian film history.

Films like Dosti were path-breakers in Indian Film History.

Bollywood films had been known for the entertainment they had provided over the years. Entertainment had compelled the producers and directors to make formula films where there was equal share of romance, comedy and action. There were other directors who believed in making films out of classic literature.

Satyen Bose, the director of Dosti experimented with the literature of Nihar Ranjan Gupta who wrote the story for the Bengali film Lalu Bhulu, the story of a blind and a handicapped boy. Sudhir Kumar and Sushil Kumar, were the two artists who played the role of the blind and handicapped boys. In this film the blind boy had an elder sister who declined to identify him. The sister worked as nurse.

Both the boys used to come to meet a small girl played by Baby Farida. Sanjay Khan was the elder brother of the small girl who never liked the presence of the two boys. The handicapped boy got admission in a school where Abhi Bhattacharya was the headmaster. Nana Palsekar who was a reputed teacher in the institution got inpressed with the brilliance of the handicapped boy and taught him.

Nana Palsekar took him to his own house for education as the colony where the boy stayed was full of mischievous boys. But his friend Mohan got deprived out of it. He collected money by singing songs in the street and paid the fees for his Board Exam. Hi friend stood first in the exam.

In the film music played a very important role. Laxmikant Pyarellal had composed only in the film Parasmani before Dosti. Dosti was undoubted their best creation. Mohammad Rafi was as brilliant as ever. The lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri made the viewers weep. The songs “janewalo zara”, “rahi manwa dukh ki chinta kyun satati hai”, “chahunga mai tujhe saanz sawere”, “mera to job hi kadam hai” sung by Rafi were milestones in Indian film history. In the Bengali version Lalu Bhulu, Robin Chatterji composed the music, Sailen Ray wrote the lyrics while Manobendra Mukherjee sang the tragic songs “dukho amar shesh kore dao probhu”, “jar hiya akasher”, “ei pran jharona jaglo”, “dukher pothe naamli Jodi”, to name a few. The film had message relating to morality, public policy, etc.

Dosti did brilliant business without any renowned hero like Dilip Kumar or Raj Kumar, a classical dancer like Vaijayantimala. The viewers appreciated classic films in those days and the film was a path-breaker in its true sense of the term.

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.

Laxmikant Pyarellal v. RD Burman in the 70s.

Laxmikant Pyarellal v. RD Burman in the 70s.

There is a big debate about who dominated bollywood music in the 70s, was it Laxmikant Pyarellal or was it RD Burman? Before dealing with the debate a brief introduction is necessary about the status of composers in the early 70s. Composers like Jaikishan, Roshan, Madanmohan, SD Burman, died in the late 60s or early 70s. Composers like OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, Naushad, Vasant Desai, Ghulam Mohammad, C. Ramchandran either left films or faded away from the industry.

So there was three-fold competition between RD Burman, LP and Kalyanji Anandji. Some of the films of KA were hits, others received critical acclaimation. There major films included Dev Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam, Dilip Kumar’s Gopi, Big B’s Zanjeer, Don, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Firoz Khan’s Dharmatma, to name a few. But the young actors were inclined to both LP and RD Burman.

The other factor that counted in the industry was that Kishore Kumar created a big competition for Mohammad Rafi who dominated bollywood films in the 60s and 70s. Firstly Rajesh Khanna’s films had the music of both RD Burman and LP. On one hand RD Burman’s music in films like Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, stormed bollywood, on the other hand LP contributed with his music in Rajesh Khanna’s films like Aan Milo Sajna, Roti, Hathi Mere Saathi, etc.

With the appearance of Rishi Kapoor in bollywood films again musical films got predominance in the mid-70s. On one hand LP introduced new singers in the industry like Shailendra Singh and created a partnership with Rishi Kapoor which started with Bobby and went on in films like Badalte Rishte, Sargam, Karz, Amar Akbar Anthony, etc. RD Burman also contributed heavily in Rishi Kapoor’s films like Khel Khel Me, Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, to name a few. Very significantly both Rafi and Kishore were used by RD and LP successfully.

Both RD Burman and LP contributed equally in Big B’s films. While LP contributed in films like Ek Nazar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Naseeb, etc., RD Burman contributed in films like Dewaar, Sholay, Shaan, etc.

Even in the films of Dharmender both LP and RD Burman contributed a lot. LP gave music in films like Jeevan Mrityu, Aya Sawaan Jhumke, Izzat, Loafer, etc., while RD Burman contributed in films like Yaadon Ki Baraat, Jheel Ke Us Paar, Burning Train, etc.

LP contributed more than RD Burman in films of Jeetender. The list starts with Farz and includes Banphool, Badalte Rishte, Jeegri Dost, Humjoli, Aasha, etc. RD Burman also made notable contribution in Jeetender’s films like Karwa, Burning Train, Parichay, Khusbu, Kinaara.

LP had composed music in other significant films like Manoj Kumar’s Shor, Sanjeev Kumar’s Khilouna, Rajender Kumar’s Gora Aur Kala, Aap Aye Bahar Aye, while RD Burman was sublime in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Sanjeev Kumar’s Aandhi, Uttam Kumar’s Kitaab.

It is difficult to infer who actually had an edge in music composition in bollywood films in the 70s, whether RD Burman or LP, it can be said that RD Burman had gained popularity many years after his death as many of his songs are still sung by modern bollywood singers like Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo, who had imitated Kishore Kumar to create their fanbase in bollywood. LP was only used by the industry for more than 35 years, and just like Shankar Jaikishan, always had remained unwept, unsung, unlamented, unrecognized.