Happy birthday to Mithun Chakravarty.

Happy birthday to Mithun Chakravarty.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Mithun Chakravarty on 16th June, 2010. He had contributed in bollywood films for more than 30 years and had also contributed in Bengali films as well.

He brought revolution in the world of dancing in bollywood films. His film Disco Dancer, was related to the struggle of a young man in establishing him in the world of dancing. The music of the film composed by Bappi Lahiri played a big role in the success of the film. All the songs in the film became super hit including “I am a disco dancer”. Kishore Kumar, (Bappi Lahiri’s own relative), and Bappi Lahiri contributed a lot in the success of Mithun Chakravarty.

Mithun Chakravarty acted in successful films in the 80s, including Dance Dance, Pyar Jhukta Nahi, etc. Some of films were dance oriented films, while the other ones were action oriented. Although Mithun’s husky voice was criticized at times, his action sequences had always been appreciated.

Mithun Chakravarty won a number of national awards for his excellence in Bengali films, mainly related to films of intellectual directors like Mrinal Sen and Buddhadeb Dasgupta. His performances in films like Mrigaya and Tahader Katha require special mention. At the same time he acted in many commercially hit films like Anyay Abhichar and Kalankini Kankabati.

In the last 5 years, Mithun had kept his mark in character roles. Last year his performance in the role of a solicitor in the film Yuvvraaj was appreciated. He did a fantastic job in Akshay Kumar’s Chandni Chowk to China released this year. His emotional performance had made a lot of viewers cry. He tried to convince Akshay Kumar that those who tempted him to go to China and create name and fame were not his friends or well-wishers but were flatterers. Mithun had matured over the years. These days whenever he is given any character role, he uses his long experience for the last 30 years in giving expression to the respective character. He played the role of the ancestor of Salman Khan in the film Veer, for two generations he maintained the bravery and glory of the pindary clan.

Mithun had also acted in negative characters and did a great job in those roles as well. His comedy performances in films like Agnipath can inspire many new actors of modern days. Besides Mithun had also been a great human being as he contributed in relief operations during natural calamities and human causes like raising funds for Thalasemia patients or people suffering from cancer, etc.

The viewers expect him to continue the brilliant work that he started years back.

Shiulibari was a noble venture.

Shiulibari was a noble venture.

Shiulibari was a noble venture by director Pijush Bose. Pijush Bose learned work from eminent director Tapan Sinha. The story of the film was written by Subodh Ghosh.

Tapan Sinha wrote the script of the film on behalf of his assistant director Pijush Bose. Uttam Kumar and Arundhuti Debi was given the main roles or the lead casts. Uttam Kumar was the illegitimate son of the zamindar named Rudrababu. Uttam Kumar came to know about this fact after he grew up.

He left the place and went to Palamou in Bihar. Everyone came to know Uttam Kumar with the name Matibabu. He came in association with Arundhuti Debi whom he loved from childhood. Both married each other. They lived in a house which was named Shiulibari.

Uttam Kumar created his own name and fame in Palamou. But when the question came as to the marriage of his daughter Suchanda, again his illegitimacy of birth created controversy. Director Pijush Bose addressed this issue in style.

Uttam Kumar and Arundhuti Debi were excellent in respect of their performance. Pijush Bose later developed as one of the most outstanding assistants of Tapan Sinha who flourished with the same art of story-telling like Tapan Sinha. His films Sanyasi Raja, Bikele Bhorer Phool did excellent business in the mid-70s.

Shiulibari should be preserved and restored for his innovative story, strong direction, powerful casting and brilliant performance of Uttam Kumar and Arundhuti Debi.

Pritam has more responsiblity in 2010.

Pritam has more responsibility in 2010.

Composer Pritam Chakravarty, better known as Pritam has more responsibility in 2010. He had competed against the classy composers of bollywood films like Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Vishal Shekhar, Anu Malik, A R Rehman, Salim Sulaiman, Sajid Wajid and created a name for himself within the short career. He is the son of Probodh Chakravarty who runs a music school in Kolkata.

Pritam got involved in a bangle band called Chandabindu and another band called Jotugriher Pakhi and became popular in Bengal with his musical experiments. He joined the Film and Television Institute in Pune and learned sound engineering and at that time he got an offer to compose music in a film made by Hungarian filmmaker Istvan Gaal.

He created a partnership with Chandrajeet Ganguly who is better known as Jeet and composed music for the film Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai. Pritam stormed bollywood with his successful music for the film Dhoom after which did not have to look back.

He has been one of the judges of the Zee TV Saregamapa music competition and has been a familiar personality along with Shankar Mahadevan, Himesh Reshamiya, Adesh Srivastav, Aditya Narayan who are judges and conduct the program for the last few years.

In 2006, his music in the film Apna Sapna Money Money became super hit. Ritesh Deshmukh and Koena Mitra did well in the comedy film. Pritam’s composition for Amit Kumar titled “dekha jo tujhe yaar dil me baji guitar” became super hit. Pritam again struck box-office with his westernized tunes in the film Dhoom 2. The songs composed by him for Suniti Chauhan like “crazy kiya re” picturised on Aishwarya Rai and Hritik Roshan became super hit. All the songs of the film became extremely successful and the film did equally good business just like its music.

In 2007, Pritam’s music in the films Bhoolbhulaiya and Jab We Met became super hit. The songs in Bhoolbhulaiya like “ami je tomar” and in Jab We Met like “mouza re mouza”, “na gara na gara”, etc., contributed a lot in the success of the film. Kareena Kapoor even received filmfare award for best actress for her performance in the film Jab We Met.

The dream run of Pritam also continued in 2008. His music in the film Race had become super hit. Songs like “pehli nazar me aisa jaadu kar diya”, “alla duhai hai” had become some of the most popular songs of the year with the strong screen presence of Katrina Kaif, Akshay Khanna and others. The classy music was followed in the film Singh is Kinng with songs like “dil kho gaya ho gaya kisika”, “singh is king” which again had become bumper hits.

Pritam’s composition for the film Golmaal Returns in 2008 also stormed bollywood with the song “golmaal, golmaal, everything is going to be golmaal”. In 2009, his composition in Ranbir Kapoor Katrina Kaif starrer film Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani had mesmerized the audience. All the songs sung by Atif Aslam like “tera hone laga hoon”, “kaise batayun”, etc., became super hit.

In 2010, Pritam got the assignment of composing tunes in 13 films. That is the reason where he has to show his class. He has to balance the quality of music with the quantity. Some of his films had already being released like Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Toh Baat Pakki, Badmash Company. Most of these films received good reviews and the music was also well accepted by the audience.

But the other films are yet to be released like Rajneeti, Khatta Meetha, Golmaal 3, Run Bhola Run, Har Pal, Action Replay, etc. The viewers and listeners expect Pritam to do justice to his name and continue to compose the soft romantic numbers which had swung the hearts of the teenagers in the last few years.

Memsaheb was well directed.

Memsaheb was well directed.

The film Memsaheb, released in early 70s was well directed by eminent director Pinaki Mukherjee. Pinaki Mukherjee became extremely popular amongst intellectuals of Bengal after making the film Chowrangee. Chowrangee was the story of Sata Bose, a brilliant receptionist narrating the story of Grand Hotel during the early 60s. Uttam Kumar’s film released in late 60s ended up being a blockbuster.

The story of Memsaheb was written by Nimai Bhattacharya. The film was made at the backdrop of Bangladesh independent movement. Bangladesh formed part of Pakistan till the early 70s. As East Pakistan, the citizens were unhappy and wanted to sever ties with Pakistan. Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister during the early 70s, send Indian armed forces to help the Bangladesh citizens to fight out for independence. Bangladesh became an independent nation after the war.

Uttam Kumar was a journalist in the film who fell in love with a simple middle-class Bengali girl played by Aparna Sen. Aparna Sen was brought up by his uncle Bikash Roy. She became a Professor of History and inspired Uttam Kumar to be ambitious.

Uttam Kumar got promoted from staff reporter to main reporter, but the newspaper agency in Kolkata during the naxalite period did not do good business. So a number of staff lost jobs due to the company’s inability of paying them. Uttam Kumar also lost his job. Aparna Sen gave her savings to Uttam Kumar to re-establish himself as a journalist by settling in New Delhi.

Uttam Kumar joined a profitable newspaper agency and came to meet the political stalwarts. He got the assignment of covering the Bangladesh war. Both Uttam Kumar and Aparna Sen decided to marry each other after Uttam Kumar returned back to India after the War ended. But at that time, while invigilation relating to exams were in process in a college in Kolkata, Aparna Sen was killed by the bullet of naxalite. The film ended with a tragic note.

The music of the film composed by Ashima Bhattacharya was very impressive. Rabindrasangeet was sung by Ashima herself and Sailen Mukherjee. Manna Dey’s song “aaj khushi” became a big hit. The credit for the success of the film goes to director Pinaki Mukherjee, as he directed the film very well. The film should be restored for the realistic story, brilliant direction and powerful performances of Uttam Kumar and Aparna Sen.

Happy birthday to Amrish Puri.

Happy birthday to Amrish Puri.

The viewers of bollywood films provide their best wishes and wish happy birthday to Amrish Puri on 22nd June 2010. Amrish Puri died few years back and bollywood industry lost one of its indispensable actors ever.

His voice had an universal appeal and initially Amrish Puri was associated with realistic films directed by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini and others. His performance in the films Bhumika, Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Vijeta, Suraj Ka Satwa Ghora, Sardari Begum brought him national and international awards. But he became an indispensable figure in the commercial film industry with his manly body and outstanding voice.

His role JK in Ramesh Sippy’s successful film Shakti, balanced the soft tune of acting of Dilip Kumar as police officer and loud acting of Amitabh Bacchan as a smuggler. He killed Rakhee at the end of the film and was murdered by Big B when he was about to leave India. His act of kidnapping of Big B at a young age led to creation of a barrier between Dilip Kumar and Big B, where Big B thought Dilip Kumar never liked his son, which was untrue. It took Big B the entire film to know that Dilip Kumar loved him just his any other father.

Amrish Puri balanced Dilip Kumar’s personality in Mashal. Dilip Kumar was a journalist in the film and Amrish Puri, an underworld don, evicted Dilip Kumar from his house when he published real news about him. Dilip Kumar’s wife Wahida Rehman died in the streets when they were evicted from their house. Dilip Kumar later became a smuggler and killed Amrish Puri when he tried to murder Anil Kapoor, a young journalist who again reported true events.

Amrish Puri was sublime in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Ghayal. His character Balwant Rai was memorized by even children of India. He killed Raj Babbar and created false case against Sunny Deol. Sunny along with Sudesh Berry and others escaped from the jail and took revenge against Amrish Puri’s men inspite of Om Puri giving protection in the role of Police Officer Desouza. The entire action revolved around Amrish Puri.

Amrish Puri’s character Mogambo in Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr. India gave a new dimension to the character of villains. He dominated the film inspite of Anil Kapoor’s brilliance in using a scientific gazette to remain invisible. Amrish Puri never stuck to one style of acting and never got type-casted like other villains including Jeevan, Prem Chopra or Ajit.

He showed his comedy instincts in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate opposite Anil Kapoor and also David Dhawan’s Mujshe Shaadi Karogi opposite Salman Khan. Amrish Puri’s character role in films like China Gate, Chachi 420, still haunts viewers. He made viewers cry with his performance in the film Ghatak as father of Sunny Deol. He had cancer and died at the end of the film.

Amrish Puri acted in almost 400 films within a span of 25 years which include blockbusters like Big B’s Andha Kanoon, Aaj Ka Arjun, Dilip Kumar’s Duniya, Bidhata, Mashal, Sunny Deol’s Damini, Ghatak, Gadar Ek Prem Katha, Vishswatma, Sanjay Dutt’s Vijeta, Mahanta, to name a few. Critics argue that no other actor other than Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah had shown the dynamism that Amrish Puri had shown over the years. His films should be restored and preserved for the new generation.

Happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty.

Happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty on 8th June, 2010. She had maintained her romantic image and brilliant figure for over 15 years. She had remained indispensable for the last 15 years.

Starting her journey with Shahrukh Khan in the film Baazigaar, in the early 90s, she had acted in different types of films. She acted in romantic films like Dhadkan opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. The film had successful songs like “tum dil ki dhadkan me”. She also acted in action thrillers like Prithvi, opposite Sunil Shetty.

She was also sublime in off-beat films like Tarqueib. Nana Patekar played the role of the crime-investigator in the film. She was the friend of Tabu, the girl killed in the film. She also had speaking terms with Ashutosh Rana who was initially suspected to have murdered Tabu. Nana Patekar at the end of the film found out the murderer. But Shilpa Shetty showed her acting skills while relying to interrogation of Nana Patekar in the film.

Her performance in the film Auzaar opposite Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor, also require special mention. Salman Khan was a CBI investigator in the film and was given the task of investigation the unlawful business affairs of Sanjay Kapoor. In fact the underworld involvement of Paresh Rawal, the father of Sanjay Kapoor was at issue. Shilpa Shetty bridged the gap between Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor, after Salman convinced her that he concealed his identity for the benefit of Sanjay Kapoor, his friend. Shilpa gave brilliant lips and danced well in the songs “oye oye oye oyeoye”, and other songs composed by Anu Malik.

Shilpa Shetty had shown her comedy instincts in a number of films like Chor Machaye Shor. She played the role of the daughter of Paresh Rawal, and got attached with Bobby Deol, who was a subordinate of Paresh Rawal. He pretended to be twin brother, one having a moustache, the other without a moustache. In that comedy drama, Shilpa Shetty should her innocence and comedy instinct along with Bipasha Basu, who also played a significant role in the film.

Even at her middle age she had shown dance numbers which could have made young actresses envious about her. For example, in Dostana, released in 2008, she performed in a dance number opposite John Abraham, which amazed the viewers. After marrying Raj Kundra she had reduced signing in as many number of films as she used to do earlier. She also had bought major share of Rajasthan Royals team which played IPL cricket in 2010. She should be followed by the new generation of actresses who want to stay fit and contribute in bollywood films for more than 20 years.

Suchitra Sen and Bikash Roy were unparallel in Surjotoron.

Suchitra Sen and Bikash Roy were unparallel in Surjotoron.

Director Agradoot gave hit romantic films one after the other in the mid-50s. Very significantly most of those films involved the eternal pair of Bengali celluloid namely Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and that too during the early phase of their career. All the films, Agniparikkha, Sabar Upare, Pathe Holo Deri, Sagarika did great business in the mid-50s.

Surjotoron was written by eminent lyricist Gouri Prasanna Mojumdar. Surjotoron was related to the story of a young architect engineer played by Uttam Kumar who dreamt about creating a huge building named Surjotoron for the slum-dwellers. The idea was that of Suchitra Sen who was an eminent writer in the film and daughter of huge builder Kamal Mitra.

Uttam Kumar learned architecture from an old engineer played by Kali Banerjee. But Kamal Mitra, an eminent builder gave a number of projects to Asitboron, who was also an architect engineer, but very incompetent in work. He destroyed the goodwill of Kamal Mitra in the market, and Bikash Roy bought all the shares of Kamal Mitra in the real estate sector.

At the end of the film, Uttam Kumar did build Surjo Toron. Bikash Roy committed suicide to allow Uttam Kumar to marry Suchitra Sen. He left his voice recorded in a record player which expressed the reasons for his death. He was evicted from his slum during infancy, by the eminent builders. He spend his teenage in prison. He became a big builder later on and wanted to marry Suchitra Sen. With the work of Uttam Kumar in building Surjotoron, a huge flat complex, build to accommodate the slum-dwellers, his dream was fulfilled. He never wanted to survive any more.

Although Uttam Kumar was the hero of the film, the performance of Bikash Roy and Suchitra Sen did outcast him. Bikash Roy’s mellifluous voice left the viewers spellbound. Suchitra Sen gave able lips in Sandhya Mukherjee’s brilliant songs “amar jibone nei alo, ache aleyar hatchani”, and “e aral aar sohite parina ogo akaron”, which had fantastic orchestration relating to piano.

The film should be restored for the uncommon story and powerful performance of Bikash Roy and Suchitra Sen.

Kites did not get a good opening.

Kites did not get a good opening.

Hrithik Roshan’s new film Kites did not get a good opening after it was released last week. There was huge expectation from the film, with Rakesh Roshan being involved in production and Anurag Bau in direction. Anurag Basu, the director of the film experimented with a remote subject where the entire affair between Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori did take place without each of them knowing the language of the other.

The love story had a number of twists and turns with able support from the new actress Kangana Ranaut. Although Hrithik Roshan had played the role of a romantic character, the depiction of romance has been done in a serious manner. The film has been shot in different parts of USA and India.

Critics had argued that the reason why Kites got a slow opening was because most part of the film had the Spanish language and the English language. The affair between Barbara Mori and Hrithik Roshan took place in the Spanish and English language.

So viewers from the states in India who prefer the hindi language, like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, etc., could not accept the film in its totality as the language stood as a barrier. Hrithik Roshan played the role of a dance teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hrithik Roshan entered into deal with Kangana Ranaut who wanted to marry him. Kangana Ranaut was the daughter of Kabir Bedi, a rich casino owner in the place.

Kites had been released in the English version as well with the title Kites: The Remix. The music was composed by Rakesh Roshan. The songs “zindagi do pal ki”, “dil kyun yeh mera”, sung by KK got good response. The song “fire” sung by Vishal Dadlani also got good response.

Hrithik Roshan had shown a number of acrobatic stunts. There were many hot scenes between Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori.

The viewers should appreciate the film. As far as technical matters are concerned the film had been excellent. Let us hope that the film do good business in the days to come.

Badmash Company is doing great business.

Badmash Company is doing great business.

The film Badmash Company, which had been released very recently, is doing great business. It had been directed by Parmeet Shetty and produced by Aditya Chopra.

Four youngstars namely Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Meiyang Chang and Vir Das wanted to start a business after graduation. Their idea was to smuggle foreign goods and bring them in India and avoid heavy import duty.

Initially they did business in Bangkok. Then they did business in America. Shahid Kapoor fell in love with Anushka Sharma. But due to differences first Chang left the company. Then Vir Das left the company too. Anushka Sharma did not like concealing of facts which was done by Shahid Kapoor. She left the company too.

Shahid Kapoor was later arrested and imprisoned for 6 months. After he came out of prison he led an honest life. Anushka was carrying Shahid Kapoor’s child and then mitigated the differences. Chang and Vir Das also returned. At the end of the film they started a public sector company named “friends and company”.

The music of the film had been composed by Pritam. Recently Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Vir Das and Chang came to Indian Idol show to promote their own film. Chang was well received by the judges Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant as he was one the finalists in Indian Idol Show held in previous years.

The songs “badmash company” sung by Benny Dayal, “chaska” sung by Krishna, “fakeera” sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, had become very popular. Shahid Kapoor is having a dream run from the time of acting in the film Kaminey.

He had continued the successful run in 2010 with the hit film Badmash Company. The viewers expect him to do even well in the films in future.

Tapen Chatterji had been remembered on expiry.

Tapen Chatterji had been remembered on expiry.

Satyajit Ray’s grand creation Gupi Gayeen died on 25th May, 2010. Tapen Chatterji suffered a massive heart attack and died in Kolkata on 25th May, 2010.

He was an automobile engineer. He worked in Bikaner in Rajasthan for some time. Poet Subhas Mukherjee took Tapen Chatterji to the office of Sandesh Publication House. Sandesh was edited by Satyajit Ray at that point of time.

Satyajit Ray did cast Tapen Chatterji in the film Gupi Gayeen Bagha Bayeen released in 1963. The story of the film was written by Ray’s grandfather Upendra Kishore Ray Choudhury. The rest was history. Tapen Chatterji gave lips in leading songs in the film sung by Anup Ghoshal, namely “bhuter raja dilo bar”, “maharaja tomare selam”, “tham theme thak”, “ek je chilo raja”, “dekhore nayan mele”, to name a few.

Gupi Gayeen won national and international awards under different categories. Satyajit Ray again did cast him again in the film Hirak Rajar Deshe in 1980. Again he played the role of Gupi Gayeen along with Robi Ghosh playing the role of Bagha Bayeen. In Gupi Gayeen Bagha Bayeen, Tapen Chatterji stopped Jahar Ray from attacking Shundi kingdom and killing Santosh Dutta. In Hirak Rajar Deshe he brought the end of the evil regime of Utpal Dutta who played the role of Hiraker Raja.

But apart from Satyajit Ray’s Gupi Bhagha series, he did get chance only in very few landmark films. One of them included Arobindo Mukherjee’s film Dhanni Meye. Uttam Kumar played the lead role in the blockbuster released in 1971. Tapen Chatterji played the role of the brother in law of Uttam Kumar and gave able lips in Manna Dey’s song “sab khelar sera bangalir tumi football”.

Tapen Chatterji’s other notable films included Sadhu Judhisthirer karcha, Shriman Prithviraj, etc. But viewers remember the tall actor in the immortal role of Gupi Gayeen. Children all across the country mourn the death of their larger than life character gupi gayeen, who had come out of child literature and made the character immortal. Tapen Chatterji’s soul should rest in peace.

Uttam Kumar's Chowrangee astonished the literary community

Uttam Kumar’s Chowrangee astonished the literary community.

Uttam Kumar’s acting versatility reached the intellectuals of Bengal by mid-60s. His films including Tapan Sinha’s Jotugriha, Satyajit Ray’s Nayak, Ajoy’s Kar’s Saptapadi, ended up being cine-classics which had paved the way for thoughtful filmmaking in the later years. Chowrangee was the landmark literature of writer Shankar which was given expression by director Pinaki Mukherjee.

Released in 1968, the film was related to the life of Grand Hotel in Kolkata. Uttam Kumar was the receptionist of the five star hotel, better known as Sata Bose. Subhendu Chatterji got a job as another receptionist in Grand Hotel, who was groomed and trained by Uttam Kumar.

The striking part of the film lied in the depiction of numerous weird characters in the film who visited Grand Hotel during the 50s and 60s and whose activities could be predicted by Uttam Kumar with his profound experience in the hotel industry. Utpal Dutta played the role of Marco Polo, one of the members of the management of Grand Hotel. He gave the job to Subhendu Chatterji due to request of Dipak Mukherjee whom he knew very well.

The character artists played significant role in the film. Biswajeet Chatterji played the role of Mr. Pakrasi, the son of Deepti Ray, who fell in love with Supriya Choudhury in the film. Bhanu Banerjee played the role of employee in Grand Hotel, Jahar Roy played the role of Chief Chef in the film, Prashanto Kumar played the role of the Violin Player in the film.

Uttam Kumar fell in love with Anjana Bhowmick, an air-hostess who came to visit Grand Hotel a number of times. But at the end of the film when Uttam Kumar left the job and planned to go and settle in Mumbai after marrying Anjana Bhowmick, the last flight of Anjana Bhowmick crashed and the hopes of Uttam Kumar also crashed with the accident.

Ashima Bhattacharya, the producer in the film composed a landmark song for Manna Dey. The song was titled “meghero khela akasho pare”. The remained as one of the greatest hit songs sung by Manna Dey for Uttam Kumar.

The film Chowrangee should be preserved and restored for the classic literature, powerful direction, realistic performances and brilliant music.

Happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia.

Happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia on 8th June, 2010. She had been considered as one of the most dynamic actresses of bollywood films after Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil.

She started her career with a bold, sizzling demeanor in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby in 1973 opposite Rishi Kapoor. Raj Kapoor introduced the concept of teenage romance in the 70s and his effort got justice due to brilliant performance of both Dimple and Rishi Kapoor. Dimple’s smart, dashing lips in the songs “hum tum ek kamre me bandh ho”, “jhoot bole kowa kate”, “mujhe kuch kehna hai” sung by Lata and composed by LP just flabbergasted the audience of the 70s. Viewers thought both Dimple and Rishi Kapoor were made for each other.

But after Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia, he stopped her acting, and bollywood films lost one of the most promising actresses for 13 years. Again she made a classic comeback in Ramesh Sippy’s Saagar. The film showed a triangular love story with Kamal Hassan and Rishi Kapoor. The brilliant locations, powerful music composed by RD Burman, all contributed for the success of the super hit film. Rishi Kapoor was always considered to be the most romantic actors produced by Indian films. He proved it again in Saagar. Dimple balanced the sacrificing performance of Kamal Hassan who died at the end of the film to save Rishi Kapoor and allow Dimple marry her. All the three performers were brilliant in the lips given in the songs “o maria”, “saagar kinare”, “yeh to bata tera naam kya”, etc., sung by Lata, Bal Subhramanium, Kishore Kumar, etc.

In the mid -80s, Dimple acted in most of the successful commercial films opposite leading stars like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, etc. She was brilliant in Feroz Khan’s Jaanbaaz. In fact her smart performance balanced the cowboy image of Anil Kapoor in the film. She was sublime opposite Jackie Shroff in the film Kaash.

In the late 80s, producers and directors experimented with her in challenging roles. She was exceptional in Gulzar’s film Lekin. Lata’s songs “yara silli silli”, Suresh Watkar’s “surmai sham” composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar were landmarks of classical music in Indian films. Dimple Kapadia portrayed the character of rajasthani folk community who were used for crying in funerals in the film Rudaali. She played the role of her lifetime and got national and international awards. Her lips in Lata’s song “dil hum hum kare” composed by Bhupen Hazarika, still haunts the listeners 20 years after its creation.

Her other successful films include Ram Lakhan, opposite Jackie Shroff, Krantiveer and Prahar opposite Nana Patekar. Her performance in the off-beat films gave her a special place just like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. Even in her middle-age she amazed viewers with brilliant performance in the film Dil Chahta Hai opposite Akshay Khanna who was at least 15 years younger than her. She again amazed the viewers in character roles opposite Rishi Kapoor in the films Pyar Me Twist and Farhan Akhtar’s Luck By Chance.

In 2010, her film Tum Milo Toh Sahi had addressed the concerns for the middle-aged couples and bachelors in Mumbai. Her performance was as brilliant as that of Nana Patekar in the film. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work and go on astonishing the viewers with dynamic performances like before.

Om Puri and awards.

Om Puri and awards.

Om Puri, along with Naseeruddin Shah used to be considered and is still considered the most versatile actor of all times. Born on 18th October, 1950, Om Puri learned acting from Film and Television Institute of India. He was an alumnus of 1973 batch of Delhi School of Drama along with Naseeruddin Shah.

He was the automatic choice of the greatest directors of Indian films like Satyajit Ray who did cast him in Sadgati, Govind Nihalini who had cast him in Aakrosh, Ardha Satya, etc., Ketan Mehta who had cast him in Mirch Masala, Gulzar, who had cast him in Maachis, to name a few.

But when question came in relation to awards, critics feel that Om Puri, did not receive the recognition he deserved. He received national awards for best actor for his performance in the films Arohan and Ardhya Satya. But there is no justification as to the fact why did not receive a national award for his lifetime performance in the film Aakrosh. He did not have a single dialogue, and in a mute role, he expressed his agony, which was at par with some of the best Hollywood actors of all times.

His performance in Satyajit Ray’s film Sadgati requires special mention. He died at the end of the film while cutting wood for cremation purposes for Mohan Agase in the film. He made the classic literature of Munshi Premchand immortal with his performance. He was sublime in Mirch Masala. He was outstanding in Tamas.

Although he won a number of international awards, that does not justify his immense acting skills. He won the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for his performance in the film Ardhya Satya in 1984. He won Brussels International Best Film Actor award in 1998 for his performance in the film My Son the fanatic.

Even his performance in commercial films like Ghayal or Gupt or China Gate requires special mention. His performance in small roles in landmark films like Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

The viewers and critics feel that Om Puri should continue his brilliant work irrespective of adequate justice being done through the awards, because his actual admirer are the immense number of viewers who had always considered him a genius of genius.

Rajneeti will end up being blockbuster.

Rajneeti will end up being blockbuster.

The film Rajneeti will end up being blockbuster. The film produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Prakash Jha is slated to release in June, 2010.

Rajneeti had been made with the subject relating to politics in India. The film had shown the result of ambitions of individuals to rise to fame in politics in India. Ajay Devgan had been a person who wanted to fight for the country.

Katrina Kaif played the role of a woman who was already there in politics and wished to sacrifice her life for the cause of development of the country. Arjun Rampal was a person, who never wanted anyone to fight for India. He showed the state of mind in the entire film.

Arjun Rampal’s own brother Ranbir Kapoor, who came from foreign country showed a different mindset. He felt interested to help the cause of the country through politics.

A very key role had been played by Nana Patekar in the film. The other major actors in the film included Manoj Vajpai, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah, etc. All had given power-packed performances.

The music had been composed by Pritam, Aadesh Srivastav, Shantanu Moitra and Wayne Sharpe. The music had been very meaningful.

The film has all the ingredients for being successful. Katrina Kaif had shown that if she gets opportunities she can show her acting potentials. She had added acting in the list of positive attributes which previously was only restricted to height, complexion and beauty.
The acting capabilities of Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Manoj Vajpai do not require any new introduction. Prakash Jha had used his team of actors and actresses very well.

The film will address both the intellectual audience and the commercial audience. Viewers are expecting the release of the film in June.

Salim and Sulaiman are great composers.

Salim and Sulaiman are great composers.

Both the brothers Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant, known as Salim Sulaiman are great composers during present period of time. They rose to fame after composing music for Kaal. The songs were very meaningful and added flavor in the suspense thriller.

In Neal ‘n’ Nikki, Salim Sulaiman gave catchy tunes. Their title song “chak de o chak de india” stormed bollywood. The song ended up being theme song of hockey players and other players.

They composed brilliant music in the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Shahrukh Khan played the roles of Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, etc., in the song “hum hai rahi pyar ke”. Sonu Nigam sang the song after bringing the flavor of all the leading singers of bollywood during 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s. While that song took the viewers by surprise, the song sung by Sukhwinder Singh titled ‘haule haule ho jayega pyar” became another super hit number.

They also gave successful music in the film Fashion. Although Madhur Bhandarkar’s film was related to negative traits in the fashion industry, the music of Salim Sulaiman captured the off-beat theme.

Salim Sulaiman won a number of awards for giving background scores. They won starscreen awards for providing best background music in the films Bhoot and Dhoom. They won the IIFA award for giving best background score in the film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. They won the filmfare award for the best background score in the film Krissh.

These days Salim Merchant is seen as judge in Indian Idol Show in Sony Television Channel, along with Anu Malik and Sunidhi Chauhan. Salim’s immense musical knowledge had helped in bringing out the musical voices in the country.
The viewers expect Salim Sulaiman to independently give even better scores in future in bollywood films.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Roshan.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Roshan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajesh Roshan on 24th May, 2010. Being the son of Roshan Lal Nagrath, Rajesh Roshan had a great task of matching the great performance of his father as a composer.

He was born in 1955. Although his compositions did not have the classical touch, he composed catchy tunes which attracted the attention for the viewers. He received the filmfare award for the best composer for his brilliant composition in the film Julie in the mid-70s.

He gave good music in Big B’s film Yaarana. Kishore Kumar’s song “chukar meri manko” became big hit. From the 1990s, he concentrated more on composing music in his brother’s films, that is Rakesh Roshan’s film. All the songs of the film Karan Arjun became super hit including “suraj ki peheli kiran se”, “bhangra bole”, etc. The film also became super hit.

The music that he composed in Hrithik Roshan’s films became landmark hits. All the songs of Kahona Pyar Hai, were super hit including “pyar ki kashti me”, “haseeno ki mehfil”, etc. All the songs of the film Koi Mil Gaya became super hit including the title song “koi mil gaya”.

All the songs of the film Krissh became super hit including “dil na liya”, “chori chori chupke chupke”, etc. He also won the filmfare award for the best music director for the composition of music in the film Kahona Pyar Hai in 2000.

In 2010, the viewers are expecting super duper performance from Rajesh Roshan as well for the film Kites. It had been produced by Rakesh Roshan with Hrithik Roshan playing the lead role. Always when the dream combination had worked together they had created magic.

The viewers expect the same from the film Kites to be released in June this year.

Khatta Meeta has masala for entertainment.

Khatta Meeta has masala for entertainment.

Khatta Meeta has masala for entertainment. Akshay Kumar after success of Housefull would storm bollywood again this June with Khatta Meeta.

Director Priyadarshan had cast Akshay Kumar and Trisha Krishnan in the lead roles. The main subject matter of the film includes road development. The road development project is subjected to the interference of road mafias.

The contractors who take up road projects are always subjected to criticism. Priyadarshan had given a message to what type of substandard material they provide while making the roads. The strategy is to make weak roads deliberately and thereafter expecting the roads to break. Once they are damaged the same development contract again reverts back to the same contractor.

While the subject matter is serious in nature, Priyadarshan had presented it in a very light-hearted manner. He had directed the film Vellanakalude Nadu in 1989 with the same subject matter. In that way, the film was a remake of the earlier one.

Priyadarshan had composed the music of the film. He had previously provided catchy numbers in Priyadarshan’s films like Billu Barber. Urvashi Sharma and Paresh Rawal had played significant roles in the films aside Akshay Kumar and Trisha Krishnan.

Akshay Kumar is a brilliant start in the year with the success of the film Housefull. Although the film a number of stars together like Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone, Ritesh Deshmukh, yet the credit for the success primarily to Akshay Kumar. He required hit films desperately, as his last year was very average with flop films like Chandni Chowk to China, Kambakht Ishq, 8*10 Tasveer, De Dana Dan, etc.
The viewers expect another entertaining project from Priyadarshan in June, 2010, this year.

Anjana Bhowmick and Bengali films.

Anjana Bhowmick and Bengali films.

Anjana Bhowmick was considered to be sweet actress of Bengali films of 60s and 70s. Born on 30th December, 1944, in Coochbehar, Arati Bhowmick better known as Anjana Bhowmick passed her higher secondary education from Suniti College in Coochbehar. Her father Bibhutibhushan Bhowmick send her to Sarojini Naidu College later.

She started her film career in the film Anushtup Chanda in 1964 directed by Pijush Bose. But she attracted the attention of the viewers in Uttam Kumar’s film Thana Theke Aschi. She along with her family members compelled Madhabi Mukherjee in the film to commit suicide.

She acted the heroine of Uttam Kumar in the film Rajodrohi in 1966. Uttam Kumar gave excellent lips in Shaymal Mitra’s son “kothao amar nei chola thamar”. Anjana Bhowmick’s performance opposite him was absolutely effortless, without any mannerism. The film became super hit.

Gradually leading directors started pairing her opposite Uttam Kumar. Both Nayika Sangbad and Kakhono Megh became super hit. In Nayika Sangbad, Uttam Kumar, the station master fell in love with a film actress played by Anjana Bhowmick. Her train left her, but the hospitality provided by Uttam Kumar persuaded Anjana Bhowmick to accept him as her husband. Sandhya Mukherjee’s hit songs “keno e lagan chanchal holo”, “ei mishit dekho mishti” were picturised on Anjana Mukherjee. Kakhono Megh was a crime thriller directed by Agradoot. Her uncle had a smuggled good which was wanted by Kali Banerjee. He tried to kill Anjana Bhowmick but was saved by Uttam Kumar at the end of the film.

The biggest hit of Uttam Kumar and Anjana Bhowmick came in 1968. The film Chowrangee, directed by Pinaki Mukherjee stormed Bengali films. Uttam Kumar played the role of the receptionist of Grand Hotel in Calcutta. He fell in love with Anjana Bhowmick, an air-hostess. But before both got married, Anjana Bhowmick died in flight crash during her last journey. Manna Dey’s song “meghero khela akasho pare” picturised on Uttam Kumar ended up being one of the best songs ever sung in pensive mood.

Anjana Bhowmick acted in other films opposite Uttam Kumar like Sukh Sari, Roudra Chaya. Anjana Bhowmick married Naval officer Arun Sharma, and left films in mid-70s. She is adored by a majority section of Bengali audience even today. Her films should be preserved.

Happy birthday to Manna Dey.

Happy birthday to Manna Dey.

The viewers of bollywood films and music lovers all across the country wish happy birthday to Manna Dey on 1st May 2010. Born on 1st May, 1919, he had contributed in bollywood films for more than 70 years with his baritone voice. He had brilliant classical training and adorned bollywood music with versatile talent.

He was awarded the dadasaheb phalke award for his immense contribution to music in India. Manna Dey learned music from Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan. He stormed bollywood films with super hit songs in Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420 in 1955, with immortal songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan like “ramaiya vasta maiyya”, “pyar hua ikraar hua”, “mur mur ke na dekh”.

During the golden Manna Dey was probably the only singer other than Mohammad Rafi who had been used by all the leading composers of bollywood music including Shankar Jaikishan in Basant Bahar, the song being “sur na saje”, Madanmohan in Dekh Kabira Roya, the song being “kaun aya mere man ke sware”, Roshan in Dil Hi To Hai, the song being “laga chunari me daag”, SD Burman in Meri Surat Teri Ankhen, the song being “pucho na kaise”, to name a few.

Manna Dey had a very sweet relationship with Sudhin Dasgupta. He was used by almost all the leading composers of Bengal namely Anil Bagchi, Nochiketa Ghosh, Salil Choudhury and others. But probably his westernized andaz was used to the limit by Sudhin Dasgupta.

Sudhin Dasgupta used Manna Dey in Uttam Kumar’s film Goli Theke Rajpoth with the song “lag lag lag lag bhelkir khela”. Manna Dey’s songs “ami agantuk” and “ke prothom kache esechi” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta in Uttam Kumar’s film Shankhabela created sensation in Bengali celluloid in 1966. Manna Dey’s songs “ami kon pothe je choli” and “bachao ke acho” in Uttam Kumar’s film Choddobeshi became super hit as well.

In the 70s, Manna Dey’s songs “esechi ami esechi”, “lekha porata shikhe phele” and “paye paye joriye rakho” in Uttam Kumar’s film Har Mana Har created sensation as well. Uttam Kumar gave the lips of his lifetime in the film Har Mana Har. While major success of Sudhin Dasgupta came in Uttam Kumar’s films, he made major contribution in Soumitra Chatterji’s films as well. The songs “ei shohor theke aro anek dure”, “hoyto tomari jonyo”, “jibone ki pabona” in the film Teen Bhubaner Pare, composed by Sudhin Dasgupta and sung by Manna Dey showed the westernized orchestration of the giant composer.

Sudhin Dasupta’s songs in Soumitra’s films Prothom Kodom Phul and Bosonto Bilaap were equally successful. Manna Dey’s all round musical skills were used to perfection in these films. Even the song “ogo tomar sesh bichare asay” sung by Manna Dey in bayul andaz in Kali Banerjee’s legendary film Dak Horkora, and composed by Sudhin Dasgupta made the viewers speechless.

Manna Dey sang many numbers of solo numbers as basic discs under the compositions of Sudhin Dasgupta. One of the notable songs included “ami taar thikana rakhini”. The songs of Sudhin Dasgupta and Manna Dey combination should be preserved and restored.
Music-lovers wish Manna Dey to continue singing till his last day of life.

The nation remembered Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2010.

The nation remembered Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2010.

The nation remembered Satyajit Ray on his birthday on 2nd May, 2010. Not only he was the recipient of the prestigious Oscar awards, he was the path-breaker in Indian films who taught the next-generation the art of story-telling.

Society had celebrated the 89th birth anniversary of the legendary director by showcasing some of his notable works like ‘Agantuk’, (The Stranger), ‘Jalsaghar’, (The Music Room), ‘Charulata’, (The lonely wife). The films were shown in Cinemax, Metro Big Cinemas and NCPA. The festival will continue till 16th May.

After the films were shown, the significance of such films was discussed by Bhawna Somayya, ex-editor of Screen, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh and film academicians from all across the country. Besides, discussions were held to highlight the contribution of Ray as a writer, an illustrator, an activist of the film society movement and a filmmaker.

Internationally acclaimed directors like Shyam Bengal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, were greatly influenced by Satyajit Ray’s films like Apu Trilogy, Jalsagar, Nayak, Mahanagar, etc., and they themselves became eminent story-tellers of the following period. The use of nature, the birds, and background, and the use of theme music in translating an unknown event to a group of individuals had enchanted the thoughtful directors all across the world. A personality like Ray could only make a film like Kanchenjungha, where the greatness of the Himalayas overshadowed the ego of a materialistic industrialist played by Chabi Biswas.

An important part of Satyajit Ray’s creations include his literature on diverse subjects. While his Sandip Ray had taken the challenge of converting the Feluda Series into feelings, his literature relating to horror-based subject matters, his series of 12 stories are yet to be converted into films. Sandip Ray’s films Bombaier Bombete, Kailashe Kelenkari, Baksho Rahasya, based on epic literature of Ray had got good response from the viewers.

But Ray’s brilliant stories in the 12 series like Ebaro Baro, Aro Baro, Ek Dojon Goppo, Aro Ek Dojon, Eker Pite Dui, are yet to see the light of celluloid. Ray’s stories like Khagam, based on the theme of human being converted into a snake, Pterodactyler dim, based on the prehistoric era, Fritze, based on the topic of life in a doll, Asomongobabur Kukur, based on the weird mannerisms of dogs, had bewildered the readers.

If such stories are adapted and made into films, the viewers will enjoy them to the brim. The legacy of Ray whether in the form of neo-realistic films like Pather Panchali, or suspense –thriller stories relating to Feluda Series or Professor Shanku, still continues, even 18 years after his death. The stories should be translated in different languages, and films should be preserved and restored.

Mallika Sherawat has lot of expectation from Hissss

Mallika Sherawat has lot of expectation from Hissss.

Actress Mallika Sherawat has a lot of expectation from her upcoming film Hissss. She had been in the bollywood industry for more than 5 years and is looking for roles which can establish her as talented actress rather than the glamour-oriented roles which she had done in the past like Murder, Maan Gaye Mughal-i-azam, etc.

Hissss had been directed by Jennifer Lynch and had been produced by Govind Menon and Vikram Singh. The film had been shot simultaneously in hindi and in English. The story was about a snake woman whose mate was captured by an American hunter. The snake woman decided to take revenge on the American hunter.

Mallika Sherawat played the role of the nagin, the snake woman. Irfan Khan played a prominent role in the film. Jeff Doucette played the role of George States in the film. Divya Dutta had a prominent role in the film.

The major shooting of the film had been done in the forests of Kerala. As a matter of fact, Kerala consists of exotic locations and also horror locations. The forest-based landscape had been used to perfection by the director of the film.

Famous special effects designer Robert Kurzman gave an innovative look of the snake woman in the film. Anu Malik scored the music of the film. Madhu Ambat was the cinematographer.

If we look at the history of bollywood films we will find that whenever films were made with the subject matter of snakes, most of them ended up being super hit films. Vaijayantimala stormed the audience with her performance in the film Nagin in 1955. Reena Roy starrer Nagin in the mid-70s ended up being a super hit venture. Sridevi’s performance in the film related to snakes in the mid-80s also did great business.

So Mallika Sherawat’s performance in Hissss can also create attention. Mallika Sherawat also wants to return back to stardom with a bang with the film Hissss. The viewers are waiting for its release later this year.

Bikash Roy and Bengali films.

Bikash Roy and Bengali films.

During the golden age of Bengali cinema, that is the 40s, 50s and 60s, few actors had glorified silver screen in the most dynamic manner, such that the following generations were inspired by their dynamism. Chabi Biswas was considered to be the greatest character actor ever to have graced Indian screen by Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray. During that period, Bikash Roy was one of the colourful personalities whose mellifluous voice had enchanted audience of All India Radio and Bengali silver screen for more than 30 years.

Born on 16th May, 1916, Bikash Roy did BA from Presidency College in Kolkata and passed Bachelor of Law Exam subsequently. He was a famous lawyer of Alipore Sessions Court and District court. In 1932, he joined All India Radio under the supervision of Birendra Krishna Bhadra. He also worked in Signet Press. After coming in contact with notable director Jyotirmoyee Roy, he made his debut in the film Abhijatri in the 40s. He came to limelight with powerful performances in the film Bhuli Nai and Biyallish. His villainish andaz of dialogue throwing was used to perfection in the film Biyallish, where he played the role of a cruel officer who tortured Pradeep Kumar and Manju Dey, who were freedom fighters.

In Jighansha in 1951, noted director of all times, Ajoy Kar cast Bikash Roy in the role of an insane botanist who later turned out to be the murderer. The film had similarity with Arthur Conan Doyle’s epic novel The Hound of Baskervilles. Bikash Roy was the member of the Princely Estate, who could not inherit the property of his ancestors and went on killing one generation after the other by employing his relative Manju Dey who seduced the prince played by Biren Chatterji to a marshy land and were planned to be killed. Sishir Batabyal, the actor who played the role of Sherlock Holmes in the film unearthed the mystery. Bikash Roy’s modulation of voice rocked Bengali silver screen and from that time he became one of the leading stars of Bengali cinema. Bollywood film Bees Saal Baad was the remake of Jighansha.

He acted in the role of hero in the film Ratnadeep opposite Anubha Gupta in 1951 directed by Debaki Kumar Bose, Chele Kar opposite Arundhuti Debi in 1954 directed by Chitta Bose, Sajghar opposite Suchitra Sen in 1955 directed by Ajoy Kar, Bhalobasha opposite Suchitra Sen in 1955 directed by Debaki Kumar Bose, to name a few. But within short period of time his ability to play diverse types of characters established him as a powerful character artist. He had contributed in more than 100 films of Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar.

He played the role of eminent barrister in Suchitra Sen’s epic film Uttar Falguni in style. He was the husband of the Suchitra Sen, who was a baijee named Panna Bai, and defended her in a murder case where she killed Kalipada Chakravarty on provocation. He won the BFJA award for the best supporting actor for his dynamic performance. In the 60s, he played different type of roles and most of the performances had been versatile. Some of his landmark performances came in the film Surjotoron opposite Suchitra Sen, Sreeti Tuku Thak opposite Suchitra Sen, Jibon Trishna opposite Deepti Roy, Neel Akasher Neeche opposite Manju Dey, to name a few.

Viewers also remembered Bikash Roy for his stylish English accent that he used in landmark films like Sapmochon, Abhayer Biye, Jotu Griha, Shesh Anka, Chaddabeshi, etc. In some of these films the style was connected with comedy, while in others it had villainish mannerisms attached with it.

He had acted in films of noted directors of Bengal, including Tapan Sinha in the films Aarohi and Jotugriha, Mrinal Sen in Neel Akasher Neeche, Ajoy Kar in Jighansha, Rajen Tarafdar in Jiban Kahini, Haridas Bhattacharya in Indranath Srikanto and Annadadidi, Arogyo Niketan directed by Bijoy Bose, Chaya Surjo directed by Partho Pratim Choudhury. Besides, Bikash Roy made meaningful films as director.

Most of the films he directed were critically acclaimed like Raja Saja, where Uttam Kumar played the main role, Carey Saheber Munshi where Chabi Biswas played the main role, Basant Bahar where Bosonto Choudhury played the main role, Morutirtha Hinglaj where Uttam Kumar and Anil Chatterji played the main roles, etc.

Bikash Roy acted in more than 200 films, and articles after articles can be devoted his different styles of performances in various films. With his death in 1987, Bengal lost one of the versatile actors whose style and diction had remained unparallel.

Happy birthday to Madhuri Dixit.

Happy birthday to Madhuri Dixit.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to beauty queen Madhuri Dixit on 15th May, 2010. She ruled bollywood films in the late 80s and 90s. In fact after her retirement of films no single actress of bollywood films could be associated with the number one position.

From Tezaab, she dethroned Sri Devi from the number one position and created sensation in bollywood. Her dance performance in the song “ek do teen” in Tezaab, surprised the viewers. Her pair with Anil Kapoor was well accepted by the viewers. The hit films of the immortal pair include Ram Lakhan, Khel, Jeevan Ek Sunghursh, Zindagi Ek Jua, Parinda, etc. In the late 90s, she proved herself in every type of film and was cast by different directors and producers. The successful pair had produced both commercial masala films like Ram Lakhan directed by Subhash Ghai, and also off-beat films like Parinda, which was made for the intellectual audience.

Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit stormed bollywood with romantic performance in the film Saajan. It was the musical blockbusters of early 90s which shook the industry. All the songs of the film were hit including “jiye to jiye kaise”, “mera dil bhi kitna paagal hai”, “mai shayar hoon”, etc. Madhuri Dixit was considered the best dancer of the country at that time. Even her performances in the other films opposite Sanjay Dutt were also impressive including Thanedaar, Khalnayak and Mahanta.

In off-beat films like Nana Patekar’s Prahar and Parinda, Prakash Jha’s Mrityudand, her performance impressed the intellectual audience. She acted in those films with hardly any make up and still created her impression. She received the filmfare award for the best actress a number of times. Viewers remember her notable performance in the film Beta opposite Anil Kapoor. She fought against her mother-in –law to get justice for her husband.

Her other hit films include Dil opposite Amir Khan, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun opposite Salman Khan, Aarzoo opposite Akshay Kumar, Koyla and Dil To Paagal Hai opposite Shahrukh Khan, to name a few. In fact, her film Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, opposite Salman Khan had remained as one of the greatest blockbusters of all times. She became such a phenomenon in the mid-90s, that the producers associated the success of the film with her more than the heroes of those films.

In Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Lajja, in a multi-starrer film Madhuri Dixit was not cast opposite the leading actors like Jackie Shroff, or Anil Kapoor, yet her performance stands out as one of the best performance of the film. Her womanhood in the film attracted every type of audience.

Also her performance in crime-thrillers like 100 days attracted viewers. It was a murder mystery, where Jackie Shroff, the boyfriend of Madhuri killed her sister Moonmoon Sen. Madhuri Dixit expressed the anxiety and horror in the film to perfection.

Even her performance opposite Anil Kapoor in the film Pukar requires special mention. Anil Kapoor got national award for the best actor for the performance in the film. It was a film related to patriotism and Madhuri Dixit was probably the only actress in bollywood who could match Anil Kapoor in his struggle against terrorists.

She acted in few films few year back like Aaja Nachle, but the films did not create the same magic as that of the 80s and 90s.

Viewers consider her as the best actress of the last 30 years and want her to make a comeback in character roles in future.