Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna on 29th December, 2010. He had remained one of the most popular actors of 70s, before Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena and gave birth to action films. The other reason why Rajesh Khanna is remembered even today was for the melodious music that he got from Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman, Salil Choudhury, Laxmikant Pyarellal and other composers.

Although he started his career with films like Akhri Khat, Raaz, etc., in the late 60s, he got recognition with Shakti Shamanta’s super hit film Aradhana which was released in 1969. In the 70s, Rajesh Khanna had a dream run with films of different directors including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Shakti Samanta and others.

Most of his films from 1971 to 1973, were super hit. And the music of these films created history. The songs of the film Anand, composed by Salil Choudhury were super hit, including “kahin door jab din dhal jaye”, “maine tere liye hi saat rang” sung by Mukesh and “zindagi kaisi hai peheli” sung by Manna Dey. The songs of the film Aan Milo Sajna composed by LP became super hit including Rafi’s song “aan milo sajna” and Kishore’s song “accha to hum chalte hai”.

The songs of the film Amar Prem composed by RD Burman became super hit including KK’s song “chingari koi bharke”, “kuch to log kahenge”, etc. Amar Prem was the hindi version of Uttam Kumar’s famour Bengali film Nishipadda. Similarly the songs of the film Kati Patang composed by RD Burman became super hit including songs of KK like “ai shaam mastani”, Mukesh’s song “jis gali me”, etc.

Similarly songs of the film Safar composed by Kalyanji Anandji became super hit. Kishore’s song “zindagi ka safar” can be considered as one of the best songs that he sang during his long career. The songs of the film Namak Haram composed by RD Burman, Roti composed by LP, Raaz composed by Kalyanji Anandji, Bawarchi composed by Madanmohan, were all very successful.

Rajesh Khanna created a romantic image and his films opposite various actresses like Sharmila Tagore in films like Aradhana, Amar Prem, Mumtaz in Aap Ki Kasam, Asha Parekh in Kati Patang, Aan Milo Sajna, Tanuja in Mere Jeevan Saathi, Hema Malini in Mehbooba, and others created an era of romantic films. He became a role model for the younger generation.

But from the time Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena he not only dethroned Rajesh Khanna but more than that changed the dimension of bollywood films. He played anti-establishment characters and persuaded other superstars like Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha, Dharmender, Firoz Khan, Sunil Dutt and others to play similar type of roles.

Action films dominated bollywood industry and films like Sholay, Deewar, Kalicharan, Burning Train, Jugnu, Zakhmee, Dharmatma faded away Rajesh Khanna’s romantic films like Soutan, Prem Nagar and other films.

Rajesh Khanna’s wife Dimple Kapadia established herself into one of the most powerful actresses of bollywood films with success in Saagar, Jaanbaaz, Rudaali, Lekin, Krantiveer, etc.

Even then Rajesh Khanna continued acting for another 20 years and is even seen in a recent film in a role of an old person. Even Rishi Kapoor did cast him in his directorial venture title A ab laut chale. He had received filmfare best actor award a number of times and also received lifetime achievement award.

The viewers expect Rajesh Khanna to contribute in character roles the way Big B, Vinod Khanna and other veteran actors have done over the years.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday on 4th August, 2010. Kishore Kumar, the master entertainer had been one of the most colourful personalities of bollywood who just became more and more and more popular over the years, now it is almost 21 years after his demise. In respect of his acting performances hardly any actor even dared to imitate him as his improvisations were spontaneous. The part that is followed by numerous singers all over the country is his singing style.

When KK acted as hero in bollywood films he showed his acting capability even in playback singing like the song “c a t cat, cat mane billi” in the film Dilli Ka Thag. He brought out all the sounds of the animals that were named in the song. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gari, in the song “paanch rupaiya bara ana” he imitated SD Burman and in every paragraph he had created a new style which justified the lyrics. In Half Ticket he showed the childishness in the song “chil chil chillake” composed by Salil Choudhury, which became very popular among children. He even sang the ladies version of the song “o sawariya” in the film Half Ticket, when he was teasing Pran during a song sequence.

All his innovations created history when he concentrated in playback singing only in the 70s. He made the audience realize that he was singing for Dev Anand, or Rajesh Khanna or Big B, to name a few. His songs “gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, “roop tera mastana” from Aradhana, “kuch to log kahenge” from Amar Prem, “tere mere Milan ki” from Abhimaan have created history over the years.

In the 80s, it was KK all the way, when he had no competitors. All his songs in Big B’s film Namakhalal, Sharaabi, became record hits. Even in Rishi Kapoor’s Sagar, his song “sagar kinare” had romantic appeal. Composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan could not think about any composition without KK. He became the legend of legends and all the actors of the 70s and 80s are indebted for his colourful playback.

After his death Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo and other singers had established themselves by following his style of singing. It has not happened with any other playback singer of bollywood. His styles were very entertaining, romantic and filmic.

Articles after articles can be devoted to the master entertainer and it can be said that he had remained alive all over the years in his numerous films and thousands of songs. His films and songs should be preserved.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna on 29th December, 2009. He had remained one of the most popular actors of 70s, before Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena and gave birth to action films. The other reason why Rajesh Khanna is remembered even today was for the melodious music that he got from Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman, Salil Choudhury, Laxmikant Pyarellal and other composers.

Although he started his career with films like Akhri Khat, Raaz, etc., in the late 60s, he got recognition with Shakti Shamanta’s super hit film Aradhana. In the 70s, Rajesh Khanna had a dream run with films of different directors including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Shakti Samanta and others.

Most of his films from 1971 to 1973, were super hit. And the music of these films created history. The songs of the film Anand, composed by Salil Choudhury were super hit, including “kahin door jab din dhal jaye”, “maine tere liye hi saat rang” sung by Mukesh and “zindagi kaisi hai peheli” sung by Manna Dey. The songs of the film Aan Milo Sajna composed by LP became super hit including Rafi’s song “aan milo sajna” and Kishore’s song “accha to hum chalte hai”.

The songs of the film Amar Prem composed by RD Burman became super hit including KK’s song “chingari koi bharke”, “kuch to log kahenge”, etc. Amar Prem was the hindi version of Uttam Kumar’s famour Bengali film Nishipadda. Similarly the songs of the film Kati Patang composed by RD Burman became super hit including songs of KK like “ai shaam mastani”, Mukesh’s song “jis gali me”, etc.

Similarly songs of the film Safar composed by Kalyanji Anandji became super hit. Kishore’s song “zindagi ka safar” can be considered as one of the best songs that he sang during his long career. The songs of the film Namak Haram composed by RD Burman, Roti composed by LP, Raaz composed by Kalyanji Anandji, Bawarchi composed by Madanmohan, were all very successful.

Rajesh Khanna created a romantic image and his films opposite various actresses like Sharmila Tagore in films like Aradhana, Amar Prem, Mumtaz in Aap Ki Kasam, Asha Parekh in Kati Patang, Aan Milo Sajna, Tanuja in Mere Jeevan Saathi, Hema Malini in Mehbooba, and others created an era of romantic films. He became a role model for the younger generation.

But from the time Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena he not only dethroned Rajesh Khanna but more than that changed the dimension of bollywood films. He played anti-establishment characters and persuaded other superstars like Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha, Dharmender, Firoz Khan, Sunil Dutt and others to play similar type of roles.

Action films dominated bollywood industry and films like Sholay, Deewar, Kalicharan, Burning Train, Jugnu, Zakhmee, Dharmatma faded away Rajesh Khanna’s romantic films like Soutan, Prem Nagar and other films.

Rajesh Khanna’s wife Dimple Kapadia established herself into one of the most powerful actresses of bollywood films with success in Saagar, Jaanbaaz, Rudaali, Lekin, Krantiveer, etc.

Even then Rajesh Khanna continued acting for another 20 years and is even seen in a recent film in a role of an old person. Even Rishi Kapoor did cast him in his directorial venture title A ab laut chale.

The viewers expect Rajesh Khanna to contribute in character roles the way Big B, Vinod Khanna and other veteran actors have done over the years.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham on his birthday.

The nation remembers Pancham, better known as Rahul Dev Burman, on his birthday on 27th June, 2009. Almost 15 years passed after his death, yet his tunes had kept him alive among the young generations.

Being the son of legendary singer and composer SD Burman, he had a monumental task of proving his identity in the 60s. He came out with innovative tunes sung by Rafi in Mehmood’s film Chote Nawab. From that time onwards critics understood that RD Burman had come to create his unique identity. His biggest in the 60s came in Shammi Kapoor’s film Teesri Manzil in 1966. All the songs sung by Rafi and Asha became landmark hits including “o haseena zulfonwali”, “aaja aaja mai hoon pyar tera”, “janeman janejaa”, etc. Along with western composers like Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, who were ruling the industry, RD Burman kept his feet on strong platform.

RD Burman and Rafi combination continued in films like Abhilasha with songs like “wadiyan tera daaman”, Jeetender’s Karwan with songs like “kitna pyara wada”, “are chadti jawani”, “are ho goriyan kahan tera des re”, Shashi Kapoor’s Pyar Ka Mausam, with songs like “tum bin jayun kahan”, “ni sultana re”, Rajesh Khanna’s The Train, with songs like “gulaabi aankhe”, “tujshe bhala yeh”, etc. In the 70s, RD took the bollywood industry by storm. With death of Jaikishan, Roshan, Ghulam Mohammad, Vasant Desai, etc., the industry depended on Pancham, Laxmikant Pyarellal and Kalyanji Anandji for best music. They provided stability to the industry for the next 15 years.

RD Burman had monumental contribution in Rajesh Khanna and Big B’s films and gave a new life to Kishore Kumar. All the songs of films like Amar Prem, Kati Patang, Aap Ki Kasam, Namak Haram, Mehbooba, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Shaan, Shakti, etc. Memorable songs included “tere naina”, “kuch to log kahenge”, “ai sham mastani”, “janu meri jaan”, etc.

RD Burman contributed a lot in Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Raj Kumari in 1970. The song “ki holo kabe holo” , created history which was remade in hindi in the film Amar Prem. Critics argue that RD Burman reserved his best music in Gulzar’s films. His songs for Lata in Suchitra Sen’s Aandhi titled “is mor se jaate hai”, Uttam Kumar’s Kitaab, “aa ii masterjiki ho gayi chutti”, Jeetender’s Kinara where Bhupinder Singh and Lata did their best in “naam gum jayega”, “meethe bol bole”, “ek hi khwab”, etc., Sanjeev Kumar’s Parichay, with Bhupinder’s “biti na bitai rehna”, etc.

He won the filmfare award for the best composer three times. The young generations associate themselves with RD’s tunes even today, in that count he was one of the versatile composers after Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad, Madanmohan, Roshan, etc.

IIFA awards are action replay of filmfare awards.

IIFA awards are action replay of filmfare awards.

This year’s IIFA awards are announced in June, 2009. Most of the awards were action replay of the filmfare awards given this year.

Hrithik Roshan won the IIFA award for the best actor for his performance in the film Jodha Akbar. He deserved it and viewers are happy that IIFA had acknowledged it. He won the filmfare award for the best actor also for the performance in the same film earlier this year. Ashutosh Gowarikar won the IIFA award for the best director for the direction of the film Jodha Akbar. He received the filmfare award for the best director too earlier this year. Films like Jodha Akbar require lot of hardwork, sincerity and monumental task with cast and crew. It is good that his immense dedication was rewarded.

Priyanka Chopra won the IIFA award for the best actress for the performance in the film Fashion. Shreya Ghoshal won the IIFA award for the best female singer for the song “teri ore teri ore” from Singh is Kinng. Javed Ali won the IIFA award for the best male singer for his song “jashne-bahara” from the film Jodha Akbar.

Javed Akhtar also won the best lyricist award for the lyrics written for songs in the film Jodha Akbar. AR Rehman won the best composer award for his music composition in the film Jodha Akbar. Kangana Ranaut won the best supporting actress award for her performance in the film Fashion. Rajesh Khanna won the lifetime achievement award at the IIFA.

Shahrukh Khan won the male star of the decade award, while Aishwarya Rai won the female star of the decade award. Abhishek Bacchan won the best comedian award for his performance in the film Dostana, while Akshay Khanna won the best villain award for his performance in the film Race.

With few exceptions almost the same recipients of filmfare awards won the IIFA awards. Some of the good work again got unnoticed, for example, for example Pritam’s music in Sinng is Kinng, Vishal Shekhar’s music in Dostana, Amir Khan’s superlative performance in Ghajini.

But again best debutant awards for Farhan Akhtar in the male category ( for Luck by Chance) and Asin in the female category (for Ghajini), are encouraging signs. IIFA should start second best performance awards for all categories to encourage better performances of all the performers in bollywood industry.

Tanuja's success in bollywood films and bengali films.

Tanuja’s success in bollywood films and Bengali films.

Tanuja, the sister of dignified actress Nutan and the daughter of Sobhna Samarth created a unique place in bollywood films and Bengali films. Being the member of a family having legacy of contributing a lot in bollywood films, she had to face acid test.

In the 60s, when bollywood industry was flooded with talented actresses, Tanuja stepped in bollywood films. She had faced Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Wahida Rehman, Sadhna, Vaijayantimala and other classic actresses and yet created her identity in that age.

Tanuja’s prominent films in the 60s include Baharen Phir Bhi Ayegi, with Dharmender, Memdidi, Sapno Ka Saudagar, opposite Raj Kapoor, etc. Within 3 to 4 years, she was cast opposite leading actors of bollywood films. Her performance opposite Dev Anand, in the film Jewel Thief was appreciated by film-lovers.

Jewel Thief was crime-thriller director by Vijay Anand. Tanuja’s innocence in the film and spontaneous presence impressed the viewers. Besides Tanuja’s lips in Ahsa Bhosle’s song “raat nashili hai” was very impressive.

In the early 70s, Tanuja switched on to serious films like Basu Bhattacharya’s Anubhav opposite Sanjeev Kumar. Her lips in Geeta Dutt’s song “mera dil jo mera hota” and other songs showed the acting class of Tanuja. She did even better in Dharmender’s film Izzat. Dharmender had double role with one son being the illegitimate child of Balraj Sahani. Her performance in the song “loote dil pe diya jalta nahi hum kya Karen” sung by Lata and Rafi made viewers spellbound. She was equally impressive in the film Pabitra Papi.

Tanuja was involved in super hit films like Haathi Mera Saathi opposite Rajesh Khanna, Mere Jeevan Saathi opposite Rajesh Khanna, Ek Paheli, opposite Feroz Khan, to name a few.

In respect of Bengali films, Tanuja showed a great spirit in adapting Bengali language and adjusting herself opposite Uttam Kumar in the 60s and 70s. Deya Neya, Anthony Firingi and Raj Kumari stands out as the biggest hits of Tanuja opposite Uttam Kumar. All these films were musical blockbusters and the lips of Tanuja in leading songs in these films require special mention.

Shyamal Mitra composed music for the super hit film Deya Neya. Tanuja was sublime in her lips in the song “madhabi madhute holo mitali”. She was brilliant in the two songs of Sandhya Mukherjee in the film Anthony Firingi, titled “ami je jalsaghare”, and “champa chameli golapero bage”, composed by Anil Bagchi. Raj Kumari marked the beginning of musical career of Bengali musical sensation RD Burman. Songs like “ki holo, kabe holo” creates shivers in the spines of many listeners even today.

Tajuna was sublime in other successful films like Prothom Kodom Phool, Teen Bhubaner Pare, Madhuban, etc. She is considered more versatile than her daughter Kajol who got success by performing opposite Shahrukh Khan in hit films in the 90s. The viewers expect her to continue the great work in character roles in bollywood films in future.

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna

Happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Rajesh Khanna on 29th December, 2008. He had remained one of the most popular actors of 70s, before Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena and gave birth to action films. The other reason why Rajesh Khanna is remembered even today was for the melodious music that he got from Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman, Salil Choudhury, Laxmikant Pyarellal and other composers.

Although he started his career with films like Akhri Khat, Raaz, etc., in the late 60s, he got recognition with Shakti Shamanta’s super hit film Aradhana. In the 70s, Rajesh Khanna had a dream run with films of different directors including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Shakti Samanta and others.

Most of his films from 1971 to 1973, were super hit. And the music of these films created history. The songs of the film Anand, composed by Salil Choudhury were super hit, including “kahin door jab din dhal jaye”, “maine tere liye hi saat rang” sung by Mukesh and “zindagi kaisi hai peheli” sung by Manna Dey. The songs of the film Aan Milo Sajna composed by LP became super hit including Rafi’s song “aan milo sajna” and Kishore’s song “accha to hum chalte hai”.

The songs of the film Amar Prem composed by RD Burman became super hit including KK’s song “chingari koi bharke”, “kuch to log kahenge”, etc. Similarly the songs of the film Kati Patang composed by RD Burman became super hit including songs of KK like “ai shaam mastani”, Mukesh’s song “jis gali me”, etc.

Similarly songs of the film Safar composed by Kalyanji Anandji became super hit. Kishore’s song “zindagi ka safar” can be considered as one of the best songs that he sang during his long career. The songs of the film Namak Haram, Roti, Raaz, Bawarchi, were all very successful.

Rajesh Khanna created a romantic image and his films opposite various actresses like Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Asha Parekh, Tanuja, Hema Malini and others created an era of romantic films. He became a role model for the younger generation.

But from the time Amitabh Bacchan entered the film arena he not only dethroned Rajesh Khanna but more than that changed the dimension of bollywood films. He played anti-establishment characters and persuaded other superstars like Vinod Khanna, Shatrughun Sinha, Dharmender, Firoz Khan, Sunil Dutt and others to play similar type of roles.

Action films dominated bollywood industry and films like Sholay, Deewar, Kalicharan, Burning Train, Jugnu, Zakhmee, Dharmatma faded away Rajesh Khanna’s romantic films like Soutan, Prem Nagar and other films.

Even then Rajesh Khanna continued acting for another 20 years and is even seen in a recent film in a role of an old person. Even Rishi Kapoor did case him in his directorial venture title A ab laut chale.

The viewers expect Rajesh Khanna to contribute in character roles the way Big B, Vinod Khanna and other veteran actors have done over the years.

Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore

Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore.

Rajesh Khanna had been extremely popular in the 70s and most of his films stormed bollywood with their strong storyline and powerful music. His films with Sharmila Tagore had been very very successful.

His film Aradhana, in 1969 had been a big hit. It was directed by Shakti Samanta and he was given a double role. Sharmila Tagore was sublime in her performance in the film which involved tragic performance. The music composed by SD Burman in the film became successful. Kishore Kumar’s song “mere sapno ki rani”, “roop tera mastana” became superhit. Also Rafi’s song “gunguna rahi hai bhawar” became hit.


The film Amar Prem, directed by Shakti Samanta was also successful. It was the hindi version of Uttam Kumar’s Bengali film Nishi Padda, where Sabitri Chatterji played the role which was played by Sharmila Tagore in Amar Prem. The film was related to tawafis and their life and it was shown that many of them led such a form life because of circumstances. The songs in the film were composed by RD Burman and they were extremely successful.


Some of the songs lint her film like “kuch to log kahenge”, “chingari koi bharke” have not lost their flavour and popularity even today.

The other successful films include Daag and Safar. Safar was the hindi version of the Bengali film Chalachal where Arundhuti Debi played the role that Sharmila Tagore in the hindi version. Rajesh Khanna was a painter in the film and was loved by Sharmila Tagore. The music in the film composed by Kalyanji Anadji became extremely successful. Songs like “zindagi ka safar” sung by KK became super hit. It was ably directed by Asit Sen.


They also acted in the film Avishkar which was off-beat film.

The films and the songs should be restored for the next generation.

Rajesh Khanna – the superstar of the 70s.

Rajesh Khanna – the superstar of the 70s.

Rajesh Khanna made significant contribution in bollywood films in the 70s and most of his films are still remembered for strong storybase and good music. He impressed the viewers with his performance in the film Aradhana, opposite Sharmila Tagore, in 1969, which was directed by Shakti Samanta. The songs composed by SD Burman and sung by Kishore including “roop tera mastana”, and Rafi “gunguna rahi hai bhwar” became everlasting hits.

Rajesh Khanna acted in films having realistic stories like Khamoshi, which was the hindi adaptation of Suchitra Sen’s legendary film Deep Jele Jai, where he was insane and had been cured by Wahida Rehman by pretending to be his better half. His film Anand, directed Hrishikesh Mukherjee, also had a unique story, where the cancer patient is being treated by Big B, and the person knowing that he is not going to survive for a long period, makes everyone laugh and entertains the patients and doctors in the medical centre. Salil Chowdhury had provide immortal tunes like “kahi door jab din dhal jaye” and “maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune” sung by Mukesh, and “zindagi kaisi hai paheli” sung by Manna Dey, and the songs contributed to the immense success of the film.


His film Bawarchi, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the hindi adaptation of Tapan Sinha’s film “golpo holeo satti”, where he acted as the cook in the house who taught the members of the house to be hardworking and help each other for the successful running of the joint family. His film Safar, was the hindi adaptation of Arundhuti Debi’s film Chalachal, where he is the painter who has an affair with Sharmila Tagore. The songs in the film composed by Kalyanji Anandji including “zindagi ka safar”, sung by Kishore Kumar had touched the hearts of filmlovers.


His film Amarprem, was the hindi adaptation of Uttamkumar’s film Nishipadda, where he was sympathetic towards a tawaif played by Sharmila Tagore, who had to accept the trade due to social circumstances. The songs composed by RD Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar including “chingari koi bharke”, “kuch to log kahenge”, have not lost their appeal, and are sung by contestants in the musical competition titled “K for Kishore” in TV channels these days. In fact RD Burman, Laxmikant Pyarellal and Kishore Kumar had a major contribution in the success of Rajesh Khanna’s films. His films like Roti, Aap ki kasam, Aan milo sajna, Kati Patang, Hathi Mere Saathi, have become everlasting hits and are seen even today, by the present generation when shown in different TV channels.

By: Rumi Chatterji.