Nutan- the sophisticated actress of bollywood.

Nutan- the sophisticated actress of bollywood.

Nutan is one of the most sophisticated actresses who had remained sublime in her performances over three decades. In the 50s, she was used by eminent director Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee for playing complex roles which required depth of acting.

She played the role of insane person in the film Seema, who became insane due to social pressure but was reformed in the institution run by Balraj Sahani. The songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi, Lata, Manna Dey, including “baat baat pe rutho na”, “kahan ja rahe ho”, “tu pyar ka sagar hai”, were immortal hits.

She amazed the viewers with her performance in the film Sujata and Bandini, directed by Bimal Roy, where she even expressed the feelings of a woman who commits crime due to provocation and spends time in prison. She brought tears in the eyes of viewers with her lips in the tragic songs composed by SD Burman. Songs like “jalte hai jiske liye”, “mora gora aang laile”, were very successful.


In Anari, opposite Raj Kapoor, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, she played the role of a rich arrogant girl who was touched by the innocence of a middle-class person played by Raj Kapoor. The songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan, had created history, including songs like “banke panchi”, “kisi ki muskurahato pe ho nisar”, “sab kuch sikha humne”, “tera jana”, “yeh chand khila”, etc.

Nutan at the same time acted in hit commercial films like Laatsahab, opposite Shammi Kapoor, Tere ghar ke saamne, opposite Dev Anand, Milan, etc. She even acted in a mute role, in the film Karma, at the end of her career, opposite Dilip Kumar, where the terrorist activities had made her dumb. It was a difficult role and Nutan only had the potentiality to give right expression without dialogues.

Nutan had made notable contribution for more than 40 years in films and could adjust herself in any type of role including comedy role in Delhi ka thug, opposite Kishore Kumar. Her sophisticated style of performance cannot be highlighted in a small article, but the reference reminds people of the golden age where most of her films including Chaliya, Kanhaiya, Dil hi to hai, Paying guest, show her indispensability in the bollywood film industry.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Priyanka Chopra – the romantic actress of bollywood.

Priyanka Chopra – the romantic actress of bollywood.

Priyanka Chopra is one of the most promising actresses of the present time. She had shown her capability in performing in different types of roles. She initially acted in small roles in films like Hero opposite Sunny Deol, where the main role was played by Preeti Zinta, but became prominent with passing of time.

She had impressed the viewers with her dynamic performance in the film Don, opposite Shahrukh Khan. She was acting in the role which was originally played by Zeenat Aman in the original Don, played by Amitabh Bacchan and released in 1978. She had to show both her vengeance as she entered the gang of workers working for Don, only to kill him and take revenge for killing her brother. The moment she came to know, that the new Shahrukh Khan was not the original Don, but a dummy used by the police department to arrest all the criminals, she had to show romantic performance. She was sublime in both the parts and adjusted herself to the modern technology that was used in the new Don. The song “aaj ki raat” was very successful.


She had done well opposite Hithik Roshan in the film Krishh, which was the 3rd version of the two early films directed by Rakesh Roshan titled Kahona Pyar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya. She showed her dancing capabilities opposite Hrithik Roshan, who was blessed with supernatural power in the film. Her performance along with Hrithik Roshan had contributed in the success of the story which was a fantasy.


Priyanka Chopra had done well opposite Salman Khan in the film Salaam-e-isq. She had shown her capability of romantic performance in the film and the film had been successful with hit songs like “salaam-e-isq”. Generally people have the feeling that actresses having background wining awards in beauty contests struggle in bollywood films where they face the test of acting, dancing and other skills. Priyanka Chopra had won prizes in these contests and just like Aishwariya Rai and Lara Dutta had shown that she knows acting and can make major contribution in bollywood films. The viewers expect even better performance in new films in the years to come.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Aishwarya Rai – the dynamic actress of bollywood.

Aishwarya Rai – the dynamic actress of bollywood.

Aishwarya Rai is one of the most dynamic actresses of the present time. She had attracted attention of the viewers by winning beauty contests in India and abroad and then blending her beauty with powerful acting in bollywood films.

She was elegant in her role in Taal, opposite Akshay Khanna and Anil Kapoor, and the triangular love story became hit wih good music composed by AR Rehman, including songs like “isq bina”, etc. She got a challenging role in Hum dil de chuke sanam, opposite Salman Khan, where she was the daughter of music teacher. Salman Khan came to India from abroad to learn Indian classical music and while learning from the guru, he fell in love with Aiswarya. She had faced the criticisms of society which encouraged arranged marriages and was engaged with Ajay Devgan. The rural background of Rajasthan and songs like ‘hum dil de chuke sanam”, “dhol baje”, etc. all made significant contribution for the success of the film and Aishwariya became a leading actress of bollywood.


She acted in successful films like Umrao jaan, in the same role in which Rekha had made significant impact 25 years back. The songs in the new version of Umrao Jaan was also appreciated. In contrast to her traditional docile image she had also acted in dashing roles like the one she played in Dhoom-2, opposite Hrithik Roshan where she displayed her westernized aggressive expressions. Her performance in item numbers have also being remembered by the audience like the one in Bunty aur Babli, with the song “kajra re”.


Aishwarya Rai had acted in a number of Hollywood films and the international recognition had led to building her wax image in Madam Tussadd’s museum in London along with Big B, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan. She had modified herself according to the requirements of the films and that is the reason why she had got diverse roles like the one in the film Guru opposite her husband Abhishek Bacchan. This year one of the historical films titled Jodha-Akbar, is going to be released, where she is playing the historical role opposite Hrithik Roshan. The film-lovers have a lot of expectation from her and wish her to do even better in bollywood and Hollywood films.


Aishwarya Rai Photo Gallery


Related Reading

• Aishwarya Rai – the dynamic actress of bollywood.
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• Aishwarya Rai's Hollywood Films
• Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bacchan
• Aishwarya Rai’s negative roles
• Aishwarya Rai in 2008
• Aishwarya Rai and Anil Kapoor
  

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Madhubala – the romantic actress of bollywood.

Madhubala – the romantic actress of bollywood.

Madhubala is one of the most beautiful actress ever to grace Indian silver screen. She survived for a sport span of time but kept her mark in the films she had acted in. She impressed the film-lovers by creating suspense in her role of ghost in the film Mahal opposite Ashok Kumar, in 1947. Lata’s song “ayega anewala” composed by Khemchand Prakash gave her the identity which made her unparallel in the world of playback singing.

Madhubala was well accepted by the audience as pair of Dilip Kumar, and their film Tarana, stormed the silver screen. She had played the role of a rich girl coming from an affluent family in the film Mr Mrs 55, opposite Guru Dutt. The film had melodious songs composed by OP Nayyar and ended up being a blockbuster. She also acted in films opposite Raj Kapoor including Do Ustad, and Dev Anand including Kala Pani.


She had probably acted in one of her most romantic roles in Barsaat Ki Raat, opposite Bharat Bhushan in 1960. The music of the film composed by Roshan, was extraordinary with songs likeshe “zindagi bhar nahi bhulenge who barsaat ki raat”, “yeh isq isq”, etc. Sahir Ludhiyanvi could write the classical lyrics due to the historical presence of Madhubala in the film. At the same time made the character ‘anarkali’ immortal by acting opposite Dilip Kumar, in the epic film Mughal-i-azam. K. Asif’s grand venture had left people speechless and recently being transformed into coloured film due to public demand. The romance between Salim and Anarkali had classical dimension and reached the hearts of millions of film-lovers due to majestic performance of Madhubala and Dilip Kumar. Naushad’s superlative composition of music and Lata’s melodious songs “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat me nandlal”, became immortal with passage of time.


Madhubala had also contributed in comedy films opposite Kishore Kumar, including Chalti ka Naam Gari, Jhumru, Half-ticket, etc. Chalti-ka naam gari dealt with a story of motor mechanic who maintained an old car, which won him races and helped in catching criminals, etc. The songs in these films including “haal kaisa hai janaab ka”, “thandi hawa yeh chandni suhani”, “aankho mai hi tum hi tumho”, became evergreen hits. Madhubala had other successful films like Howrah Bridge, Phagun, etc. Madhuri Dixit, one of the successful actresses of the 90s, initially impressed the film-lovers due to the fact that she had resemblance with Madhubala. Madhubala’s screen presence had given her a separate identity among all the actresses of 50s and 60s, and she is still alive in her memorable roles that she played during the golden age of bollywood films.

Article By: CR Chatterji.

Lara Dutta – the promising actress of bollywood.

Lara Dutta – the promising actress of bollywood.

Lara Dutta is one of the most promising actresses of bollywood who had acted in a number of successful films for the last 10 years. She had attracted the attention of viewers by excelling in beauty context and broke the myth that those who have good looks are weak artists.

She started her career in the film Andaz along with Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra and impressed the audience with her effortless performance. She had acted well in the film No Entry, which was a seriocomic film based on extramarital affairs. She played the role of the wife of Anil Kapoor in the film, who was suspicious towards any woman who interacted with Anil Kapoor. Anil Kapoor was loyal towards his wife until Salman Khan advised him not to show unnecessary loyalty and he had been successful to maintain both a wife and a kept. Bipasa Basu was given the challenge of breaking Anil Kapoor’s loyalty for a huge sum of money and she had suceeded in doing so. The film was shot at colourful locations and the songs like “no entry”, the performance of other actors in addition to Lara Dutta contributed for its success.


Lara Dutta had done well in the film Partner with Salman Khan along with Govinda and Katrina Kaif. She had provided stylish performance in addition to the comedy impulse shown in the film, which was not easy keeping in mind the funny performance of Govinda and Salman Khan.

She had done well in the film Kaal, which was a suspense thriller, and she had brought out the feelings as required in the film. She had acted in the film Zinda, which was an action thriller with Sanjay Dutt providing a memorable performance and her choreography in the song “zinda hon mai” was well appreciated.


Although the film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom did not create a significant impact in the minds of the viewers inspite of the presence of Bobby Deol, Big B, Preety Zinta and Abhishek Bacchan, Lara Duta received credit for her performance in the film. These days she appears in music competitions held in television channels as judge along with Javed Akhtar and AR Rehman and encourages upcoming singers with optimistic statements. With a number of her films to be released in 2008, the viewers wish her good luck and expect better performance in future.

Preeti Zinta – the stylist actress of bollywood.

Preeti Zinta – the stylist actress of bollywood.

Preeti Zinta is one of the most stylist actresses of the contemporary period. Whenever producers look for characters born and brought up in foreign countries, Preeti Zinta, comes in their mind automatically. She had dominated bollywood films for the last 10 years by performing in challenging roles.

She started her career by acting in the film Soldier, opposite Bobby Deol, depicting a girl who was born and brought up in Australia. She showed her choreographic skills in the songs “soldier, soldier”, “mere sason me jo aye”, etc. She acted in a challenging role in the film Kya Kehna, where she entered into an affair with Saif Ali Khan and gave birth to a child even before marriage was solemnized. Her husband never accepted the child and advised her to go for abortion, and her parents did not support her too. But she gave birth to the child against all the barriers created by society. Her performance was well appreciated by the audience.


In Veer-Zara, she acted in a cross-border love story opposite Sharukh Khan, ho saved her life when she came to India to fulfil her grandmother’s wishes. She being a Pakistani girl, entered the Indian village, appreciated the life of simple villagers and went back to Pakistan with the help of Shahrukh Khan. But due to wrong charge against him, he had to stay in prison for anti-national activities, and Preeti stayed in India to fulfil the dreams of her father-in-law who wanted to open a primary school of children in that village. She met Shahrukh Khan after he was released by Rani Mukherjee after proving before the court of law that the charge framed against him was false. There was good music in the film too.

She had done well in Koi mil Gaya, opposite Hrithik Roshan, which was based on fantasy. She was sympathetic towards a handicapped person who later got strength from extra-terrestrial beings. Although there can be debate relating to acceptance of the subject matter, there is no doubt that there was total entertainment in the film and the Director Rakesh Roshan should be given credit for that.


In Salaam namaste, she acted as a radio jockey, opposite Saif ali Khan, and brought out the advantages and disadvantages of theory of live-together. She never married her boyfriend, but shared the responsibilities as wife and husband. The entire film was shot in Australia.

She had performed well in Dil Chahta Hai, opposite Amir Khan, where she convinced him that people never learn how to love each other, it comes from within, which was evident in the song “jane kyu”. It is difficult to highlight all her performances in a small article. But with films like Hero, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, she had proved her metal as an actress and can be an inspiration for new actresses.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Vidya Balan – the new prospect of bollywood.

Vidya Balan – the new prospect of bollywood.

Vidya Balan is the one of the innovative stars of the recent times who have potential for good performances in future. She had impressed the film lovers with her soft performance in the film Parineeta. Parineeta is the story written by Sarat Chandra Chatterji, which was based on the life of Kolkata during the British rule. Although it was a family drama, the events depicted the society of the contemporary period.

Pradeep Sarkar had shown courage to take up such an old subject and the film became successful due to strong performance of Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Vidya Balan had shown the submissive soft character of the middle-class bengalies existing at that period of time. The music of the film was successful with songs like “piyu bole, piya bole,” the Moulin Rouge song, etc.


Vidya Balan impressed the viewers with her performance in Lage Raho munnabhai as well. The film shows how Sanjay Dutt, who was known for criminal activities with his group of men who helped rich businessmen for doing unlawful work, was motivated by Gandhigiri, and the character of Vidya Balan had significant impact on his transformation. She helped the old persons in the society who were neglected by their children to live together in an old age home and kept them in good spirit with love, fun and light activities.

She conducted radio program and her way of addressing the audience by saying good morning Mumbai had become a trend setter for radio-jockeys across the country. The romantic song in the film “pal pal” sung by Sonu Nigam and others had created a long-lasting impact. She had also done well in the film Eklavya, along with Big B, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali khan.


Last year she had acted in a role of ghost in the film Bhool Bhoolaiya, opposite Akshay Kumar, where it was shown that the soul of singer had entered her body and she was killing other persons whenever that soul compelled her to commit such an act. Akshay Kumar had cured her at the end of the film after studying the inner mind of the character. Although these stories are not believed by majority of the audience but the suspense in the film was kept intact by the director throughout the film.

Vidya Balan had shown her capability to act in different roles in her short career till date, and the audience expects powerful performance from her in the coming days.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Bobby Deol: The dashing hero of 90s

Bobby Deol: The dashing hero of 90s.

Bobby Deol brought a new style of acting in the 90s with his brilliant performance in action films. His first film Barsaat, opposite Twinkle Khanna showed his capability in terms of dialogue delivery and romantic performance.

He amazed the film lovers with his European style of acting in Gupt, which was a suspense thriller. His father Raj Babbar, was killed by someone and he was found at the scene of occurrence with the murder weapon and was arrested imprisoned. He escaped from the prison and inquired in the relevant places including the souses of the ememies of his father to unearth the truth. In the meantime he fell in love with Kajol and Manisha Koirala and provided good lips in the songs composed by Viju Shah including “bechaiya”, “gupt”, etc. He had adopted decent dancing skills and that added to the success of the film. Besides Om Puri’s performance as the investigating officer and Kajol’s performance as a villain astonished the viewers.


Bobby continued his European stunts in the film Soldier, opposite Preeti Zinta, which was shot mainly in Australia. He took revenge against all the offenders who had killed his father and humiliated both his father parents with false charges. The music composed by Anu Malik was excellent with songs like “soldier, soldier”, “saajan”, “mehfil me barbar”, etc. all becoming big hits. Bobby was successful in exhibiting his comedy skills, action skills and powerful personality in the film. Preeti Zinta also created her westernized image in the film for the first time.

Bobby Deol had the challenge of matching the level of excellence reached by his father Dharmender and brother Sunny Deol. He was successful to create a unique identity for himself which was totally different from them. His action films like Bicchu and Badal, opposite Rani Mukherjee where he acted as terrorist showed his depth of acting and his anti-establishment image.


He was also successful in films like Ajnabee where he faced false allegations for alleged conspiracy of Akshay kumar and Bipasa Basu and unearthed the truth relating to such conspiracy. He matched the set performance of Kareena Kapoor in the film and the songs and the action sequenced well appreciated in the film.

Bobby had acted in a number of films by this period of time including Aur pyar ho gaya, Chor machaye shor, Jhoom barabar jhoom, etc. he film lovers expect even better performances from him in 2008 and the coming years.

Article by: CR Chatterji.

Hema Malini – the powerful dancer of 70s and 80s.

Hema Malini – the powerful dancer of 70s and 80s.

Hema Malini is one of the few legendary dancers of bollywood who has created an institution of their own by providing memorable performances in the 70s and 80s. She had acted in films directed by different types of directors including Ramesh Sippy, Gulzar, etc.

Her performance opposite Raj Kapoor in the film Sapno Ka Saudagar, in the early part of her career was well appreciated by the audience. In that film Raj Kapoor used to create illusions in the minds of people and say that the dreams will come true. She supported this simple man with an amazing vision. In the early 70s she got a double role in Seeta aur Geeta, where one of the sisters was ill-treated by her relatives and exploited to get the regular income derived from the ancestral property kept by her parents and the other sister took revenge against the oppression. The film was directed with a serio-comic dimension with Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmender doing justice to their respective roles. She had also done well in Johny Mera Naam, opposite Dev Anand, and Gora Aur Kala, opposite Rajender Kumar.


In 1975, Hema Malini acted in the most successful film of her career titled Sholay. Most of the characters of the film had become immortal and the names of the characters are memorised by the viewers for generations, including her character Basanti. She also displayed her powerful dancing skills in the songs “jab tak hai jaan”, “holi ke din” etc. Her comedy performance in the film also requires special mention.

Gulzar had given her a different identity in the films Khusbu and Kinara, opposite Jeetender. In Kinara, 1977, her husband Dharmender was killed in a road accident aftrer his car struck Jeetender’s car. She was completing the research paper that was left incomplete by Dharmender and in that context told her story to Jeetender not knowing him to be the person who was responsible for her husband’s death. The story has a number of turning points including the point where Hema Malini came to know about the reality and fell down and lost her eyes. In the story she displayed the character of a classical dancer and the songs composed by RD Burman and sung by Bhupinder Singh and Lata and the dance performances were excellent, including songs like “koi nahi hai mera”, “ek hi khwab kaibaar”, “naam gum jayega”, “meethe bol bole”, etc. She formed a legendary romantic pair with her husband Dharmender and both of them provided everlasting hits like Jugnu, Burning Train, Raja Jani, Dream Girl, to mention a few.


She had created a trend which was followed by other South Indian actresses like Jaya Prada, Sri Devi, and others followed. Actresses of the new generation should learn from her performances and get inspiration for better performances in future.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Saira Banu – the sweet actress of 60s.

Saira Banu – the sweet actress of 60s.

Saira Banu is considered as one of the sweet actresses who had glorified bollywood films during the 60s. She had acted in successful films opposite Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet and other leading actors of that age. She started her career with the film Junglee, 1961, opposite Shammi Kapoor where she succeeded in tramsforming the character of Shammi Kapoor, who was arrogant, unmannerly and indecent. The songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan and sung by Rafi and Lata were evergreen hits like “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, “meri yaar shabba khair”, “Kashmir ki kasli hu mai”, etc.

Most of the films of Saira Banu were shot at picturesque locations in India and abroad, and the colour, the music, the camera work all contributed to the success of the films. She acted with Biswajeet in the film April Fool, and Joy Mukherjee in the film Shagird. In Shagird, she was a village girl who was brought up in the hilly regions and I.S. Johar, the teacher fell in love with her, Joy Mukherjee the student of IS ohar, explained to his guru about how to be presentable, and in the process involved in an affair with Saira Banu. The songs composed by LP and sung by Rafi and Lata including “who hair zara khafa khafa”, “bare miya diwane aise na bano”, “hilmil pyar war”, etc, were big hits.


Saira Banu acted in series of films with Rajender Kumar including Ai Milan Ki Bela, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Aman, etc. All the songs in these films were composed by Shankar Jaikishan and were romantic, sweet and had become immortal with passage of time, including “tum khamseen ho”” aha ai Milan ki bela dekho ai”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, “o priya, kaun hai jo sapno me aya”, “surahidaar gardan”, “aaj ki raat”, “kahan chal diye”, etc. Rafi and Lata were at their best and the viewers were impressed with the music, the costumes, the glamour of Saira Banu, the screen presence of Rajender Kumar, the composition of Shankar Jaikishan, and the lyrics of Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra.

Saira Banu had acted with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar during that age and all those films ended up being musical blockbusters. Raj Kapoor’s Diwana, in 1967, is known for good performance of Saira Banu and songs like “ei sanam jisne tujhe chaand sa surat di hai”, “diwanma mujhko log kahe”, “ tumhare bhi jai jai”, “taro se pyare”, etc. Her films opposite Dilip Kumar include Gopi, Bairaag, Sagina, where the rural image presented by Dilip Kumar was balanced by the smart image exhibited by Saira Banu.


She had also provided brave performance in Manoj Kumar’s Purab aur Paschim, and Sunil Dutt’s Parosan. In Parosan, she feel in love with Sunil Dutt, a next door neighbour, for his outstanding singing skills, but later came to know that all the songs were sung by Kishore Kumar and he had just given lips in the songs. The comedy performance of Mehmood and Kishore Kumar require special mention.

In the mid –70s, she acted in films opposite Amitabh Bacchan in Zameer and other films and faded out of the film arena in the 80s. But whenever the sweet memories of the 60s are recollected, Saira Banu appears in the minds of viewers for her smart, sweet, romantic performances. Hr films should be preserved for their cinematic values.

Rani Mukherjee – the versatile actress of bollywood.

Rani Mukherjee – the versatile actress of bollywood.

Rani Mukherjee is one of the most gifted actresses of the recent times. She had shown her capability of performing in any type of roles in the last few years. She had performed in every type of films including romantic films, action films and comedy films.

She impressed the audience with her performance in the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, opposite Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. It was a romantic film and she had expression the different emotions very well. The notable songs in the film include “koi mil gaya”, “kuch kuch hota hai”, etc.

She had provided decent performance in the action films Badal and Bicchu, opposite Bobby Deol. In Bicchu, her parents were killed by the terrorists and she had to live with a terrorist who took revenge against the respective officers who were given the duty of maintaining law and order, but who were involved in crimes themselves. In Badal also she got into an affair with Boibby Deol not knowing him to be a terrorist. But in these films she came to know that the environment and real life situations compelled innocent persons to take up ammunition and engage in violence.


She had provided life-time performance in Black, where she was blind and she learnt how to use sign language to express herself from Big B, and what other skills are required by blind people. It was a very difficult role and her performance had impressed the jury and she received a number of awards for the classic performance.

She also impressed the crowd with her performance in Bunty aur Babli opposite Abhishek Bacchan. The film had a different storyline with two genuine characters cheating people everywhere not out of compulsion but out of fear and ultimately gets caught by a police officer who could think in their way. She showed her timing sense in the comedy part of the film. Her lips in the song “chote chote shaharo me” is worth mentioning along with good performance of Aishariya Rai in the song “mera chain wain sab ujra”. She also provided decent performance in her role in Yuva opposite Abhishek Bacchan.


She has a steady box office and her dynamic performances had compelled leading producers and directors in bollywood to cast her in important roles in films like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Laga Chumari Me Daag, etc.

She had also shown her depth of acting in the film Veer Zara, where acting as a lawyer she pleaded for an Indian who was wrongly charged for anti-national activities and who was suffering in prison in Pakistan. She convinced the judge about the innocence of the person played by Shahrukh Khan , who accept the false accusation for her love with an Indian played by Priety Zinta. Her acting potentiality is well known by this period of time, and the audience expects even better performances from her in the years to come.

Article By: Rumi Chatterji.

Madhuri Dixit – the powerful dancer of the 90s

Madhuri Dixit – the powerful dancer of the 90s.

Madhuri Dixit can be considered as one of the powerful dancers of the 90s. She had blended her acting skills with her dancing skills and became the leading actress of the 90s.

Her film Tezaab opposite Anil Kapoor, made her a star with her dance performance in the song “ek do teen” composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal. She also performed well in the film Dil opposite Amir Khan. She got a timid role in the film Jamai Raja where Anil Kapoor, her husband, taught her mother, played by Hema Malini, a lesson. Her mother was a proud lady who had a lot of wealth and due to her financial strength, she had the conception that anyone can be purchased. She also asked husband to leave her house due to differences related to her ego. Anil Kapoor taught her to be submissive and proved to her that money cannot be used to purchase happiness, peace, etc.


In Saajan, she balanced the soft performance of Sanjay Dutt and aggressive performance of Salman Khan with her romantic image. She also brought out the feelings of the woman who loves someone as a poet and later on realises that the person is someone else. She had also acted in hit films opposite Anil Kapoor including Ram Lakhan, Kishen Kanhaiya, Khel, Beta, etc.

At point of time she almost became the role model of dancers in India and the new generation used to imitate her styles in different films. In Subhash Ghai’s Khalnayak, she persuaded a criminal played by Sanjay Dutt to acknowledge her guilt and helped Jackie Shroff to answer all the allegations relating to lack of care shown to prevent Sanjay Dutt from escaping from his prison. She had also acted in crime thrillers like 100 days, where the audience could not understand who was the actual killer till the truth was unfolded.


She had done well opposite Rishi Kapoor in films like Sahebaan, Yarana, etc., where the songs like “kaise jiyunga mai” composed by Shiv Hari became a very big hit. She also acted in character roles along with Shabana Azmi in films like Mrityudand. Her performance opposite Sharukh Khan in the film Dil To Pagal Hai, was well appreciated with her choreographic skills exhibited in songs like “kab tak chup baithe”, “dil to pagal hai”, etc., composed by Uttam Singh. She also acted in Koyla opposite Shahrukh Khan. She won a number of film fare awards for best performance as actress in the respective years. She stopped acting after successful films like Pukar or Lajja, but made a comeback very recently with her film Aja Nacchle. The film lovers expect even better performance in years to come.

Article By: Rumi Chatterji.

Kareena Kapoor – the successful actress of recent times.

Kareena Kapoor – the successful actress of recent times.

Kareena Kapoor, the fourth generation of the Kapoor family, had to face a lot of competition for establishing herself in bollywood. Firstly, her grandfather Raj Kapoor, was not alive, when she started her career, otherwise films made under the RK Banner had helped the actors of the Kapoor family to make a successful beginning in the film arena. For example, Rishi Kapoor got a classic break in Bobby, Rajeev Kapoor had made a successful beginning in Ram Teri Ganga Maili, both directed and produced by Raj Kapoor.

Kareena Kapoor had started her career with the film Refugee. It involved a story relating to cross-border romantic affair. The story presented by JP Dutta, depicted the strange impact of partition of a country into two separate dominions and the consequences of the border. The climatic conditions, crops, topography of India and Pakistan are almost the same, even the language spoken in both the countries are similar. Only the line of control had created a manmade barrier which brings hatred instead of love.


Kareena Kapoor got of scope of performing opposite Abhishek Bacchan, and there were powerful performances of Sunil Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, etc, which added to the success of the film. In addition to that, the composition of music by Anu Malik and the songs with good lyrics complimented the good story-telling of the film. The notable songs include “mere humsafar’, “panchi nadiya”, etc.

In the other films like Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Kareena Kapoor had played the role of a girl who was doing research on Indian culture. Her affair with Tushar Kapoor and over all performance in the film was well appreciated by the film lovers. She had done well in crime thrillers like Ajnabee opposite Bobby Deol, where Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu had acted in a negative role.


During the last few years Kareena Kapoor had acted in experimental roles, like the role of a tawaif in Chameli. She had adopted the choreographic skills and other requirements of the successful actresses of the present times to sustain in bollywood. Her performances opposite Shahid Kapoor in a number of films were liked by the audience. She had also performed in historical films like Ashoka opposite Sharukh Khan.

Critics point out that these days it is difficult to get good script, but if Kareena Kapoor gets a decent script she can act well. Let us hope that she will do well in the films that are going to released in future.

Article By: Supriya Chatterji.

Vaijayantimala - the dancing legend of bollywood

Vaijayantimala-the legendary dancer of bollywood.

Vaijayantimala can be considered as one of the greatest dancers of bollywood films who had glorified the films she has acted with her serene performance and notable creative art of choreography. Among all the South Indian actresses, she was probably the path-breakers who blended her acting capabilities with the mudras of Bharatnatyam and other forms of eastern classical dances and inspired the bollywood directors to make films based on those subjects.

She kept her mark in the film Nagin in 1955, opposite Pradeep Kumar, where her performance in the song “man dole” sung by Lata is worth mentioning. She played the role of Chandramukhi in Bimal Roy’s epic film Devdas opposite Dilip Kumar, in 1955. She tried to reform Devdas by preventing him from taking recourse to alcohol for forgetting Parbati whom he loved and was married to another person. The same role was played by another established dancer Madhuri Dixit when Sanjay Leela Banshali remade Devdas in recent years. Vaijayantimala received the film fare award for the best supporting actress in Devdas, and she refused it saying that her role was even more important than that of Parbati. In fact Parbati had led to the death of Devdas, on the other hand, Chandramukhi tried to give him a new life, although she could not succeed in her pursuit.

In Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, in 1958, Vaijayantimala exhibited her class of dancing opposite Dilip Kumar and showed her innocence in a role related to women of hilly region of India. Her performance in songs like “aaja re pardesi”, “dil tarap tarap ke keh raha hai a bhi ja”, composed by Salil Chowdhury had impressed the film lovers, and they lamented her death shown in the film. She also displayed her choreographic skills in the film Katputli, where songs like “bol re katputli” composed by Shankar Jaikishan became big hits.

In the early 60s she displayed the role of village girl in the film Ganga Jumna. She adapted herself to the bhojpuri accent used in the film. If the other films had marked her dancing capabilities Sangam marked her acting potentiality. She had an affair with Rajender Kumar, yet Raj Kapoor married her not knowing her liking, and at the frag end of the film, when Raj Kapoor wanted to sacrifice his love, she questioned his authority to take decision about her, because from the time she married him she fulfilled all the responsibilities of a hindu wife. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life by killing himself. Vaijayantimala received the film fare award for the best actress for performing in the film Sangam.

At the same time she had acted in female oriented roles like Amrapali, where she depicted the role of a devdasi who performed her art in Indian temples.

Her films opposite Rajender Kumar including Zindagi, Aas ka Panchi, Ganwar, Suraj, Saathi, etc., were very successful. She played a very significant part in Vijay Anand’s crime thriller Jewel Thief in 1967. Her brother was kidnapped by the Jewel Thief played by Ashok Kumar and throughout the film she cultivated an image of a character Amar who never existed. Her lips in the song “rulake gaya sapna mera” is worth mentioning.

She also performed well in the film Choti Si Mulakat opposite Uttam Kumar which was based on child marriage. They were married together when they were infants but some of the family members did not accept the marriage. Later when they met each other not knowingly to be spouses, they entered into affair and the child marriage stood in their way. Them their identity was disclosed. Vaijayantimala almost acted with all the leading actors of the golden age of Indian cinema. He married Dr. Bali and left films in early 70s. Her success had paved way for other notable South Indian actresses like Hema Malini, Jaya Prada, etc., who made significant contribution to Indian films. Her films should be restored for cinematic, musical and choreographic landmarks they were created during that age.

Jaya Bacchan - the most natural actress of bollywood

Jaya Bacchan – the natural actress of bollywood.

Jaya Bacchan can be considered as one of the natural actresses who made acting look so easy during the 70s and 80s. Born on April 10th, 1948, Jaya Bacchan made her debut in the Bengali film Mahanagar directed by renouned director Satyajit Ray in 1965. She played the role of the sister of Anil Chatterjee, a middle class Bengali whose financial needs compelled his wife to work in a sales office which was remote in those days. She started her hindi career with the film Guddi, directed by Rishikesh Mukherjee. The film depicted the passion of young girls towards bollywood actors whom they used to worship like Gods. In the film she was obsessed towards Dharmender and Utpal Dutt, took his help to make the little girl understand that whatever is shown in the films are untrue and they are customised on larger than life image, in fact most of the heroes and heroins are ordinary human beings without having supernatural capabilities. Jaya Bacchan’s innocence in the film amazed the viewers.

Within short time, Gulzar understood the acting capabilities of Jaya Bacchan and did cast her opposite Sanjeev Kumar in Koshish, in 1972, in a deaf and dumb role. She exhibited the pleasure, pain and other emotions of deaf and dumb only through her eyes and facial expressions. She also displayed the feelings for her father played by Sanjeev Kumar in Gulzar’s film Parichay in 1972. She was the eldest of the 5 children who became orphans and their grandfather Pran brought them to his own house for education. She was hostile towards her grandfather who did not accept her mother as daughter-in-law and compelled Sanjeev Kumar to create his separate establishment who died out of sickness. She influenced the other children who became naughty and stubborn and the film ends with Jeetender’s victory in transforming the children with love and affection. The story has reflections of Hollywood film The Sound of Music and Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Joyjoyanti.


Jaya Bacchan moulded her image into a woman who understood middleclass sentiments and sacrificed her priorities for benefit of her family and the society as a whole. She depicted the image in Rishikesh Mukherjee’s film Abhimaan, where she was asked to perform on stage by established singer played by Amitabh Bacchan who later could not accept her popularity which superseded Big B’s image as singer. She sacrificed her singing for the benefit of the family and the story depicted the helplessness of middleclass women who never can reach their destination for the social taboos. She won the film fare award for the best actress in 1974 for Abhimaan. The next year she again won the film fare award for the best actress for performance in the film Kora Kagaz where again she showed the level of compromise of Indian women who always try to balance and adjust the priorities of the inlaws and their own parents and most often fail in their attempt if the husbands are unreasonable. Her performance in Milli opposite Amitabh Bacchan, where she dies at the end of the film due to sickness, after engaging the entire flat complex with her childish activities, brought tears in the eyes of the audience who were not prepared to see her die at the end.

Jaya Bacchan also provided immortal performances in commercial films like Anamika, opposite Sanjeev kumar, Zanjeer and Sholay opposite Amitabh Bacchan. In Sholay, the flashback showed her youth and exuberance and she became calm, quite after the death of her husband and made a last outburst at the end of the film with the death of Amitabh Bacchan. In the film Naya Din Nayi Raat, she depicted the character of a woman who leaves home for declining to marry the husband who was arranged for her and met 9 different persons in the nine days where Sanjeev Kumar played the character of all those nine persons, including a doctor, a drunkard, a patient suffering from leprosy, etc. Films like Nauker, where she again won film fare award for best actress opposite Sanjeev Kumar, bolstered the myth that she balanced the dynamic acting skills of Sanjeev Kumar and critics claimed that Jaya Bacchan and Sanjeev Kumar formed the most powerful acting pair in bollywood and no other pair excepting Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil, and Om Puri and Shabana Azmi could show the variety of performances that they had shown.

In the mid-80s she faded away from the film arena as she was busy with her family, but she made a comeback in character roles in films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Fiza, etc., where she played the role of the mother of Rithwik Roshan. Jaya Bacchan’s films should be preserved in an archive to inspire the new generation of actors and actresses to know the skill of natural acting.