Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh.
Shammi Kapoor in his romantic career , had acted with leading actresses of the 50s and the 60s, including Mala Sinha, Rajashri, Saira Banu, Sharmila Tagore, etc. But his combination with Asha Parekh had provided a number of hits in the 50s and 60s.
In Dil Deke Dekho, in 1959, Shammi Kapoor almost created his image of a flamboyant hero for the first time. The music provided by Usha Kiran was very very successful. Rafi’s song “dil deke dekho” picturised on Shammi Kapoor and mesemrised the audience with westernized orchestration.
In Jawan Muhobbat, the same combination had entertained the audience another time. In those days films were picturised in Jammu and Kasmir, and Himachal Pradesh, and the romantic locations added flavour in the romantic classics.
Teesri Manzil, directed by Nasir Hussain, became very successful in 1966. It gave RD Burman also the recognition of an innovative composer. The film was related to the investigation of a murder. Very significantly Premnath who featured as a hero before that film, switched to roles of antihero and he acted as a villain in Teesri Manzil for the first time. The successful songs in the film sung by Rafi and Asha include “aja aja”, “o haseena zulfowali”, “janeman janeja”, “diwana tujhsan nahi”, “o mere sona re sona re”, etc. The rock and roll image of Shammi Kapoor was complimented by successful choreography provided by Asha Parekh.
Both of them also did well in the film Pagla Kahin Ka, directed by Shakti Samanta. Shankar Jaikishan had played a very significant role in the success of Shammi Kapoor. The music of the film was composed by Shankar Jaikishan, with leading songs like “tum mujhe yuh bhula na payoge”, sung by Rafi and Lata. Shammi Kapoor did put on a lot of weight in the early 70s, and started performing in character roles.
The films of Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh should be restored to refresh the memory of old viewers and introduce the new generation to the films of the 60s.
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