Rafiology or Songs by Rafi

 Though I am a bigger fan of Kishore Kumar, there are some superb songs sung by Mohammad Rafi that I like a lot. A sample-

1. Nazar na lag jaye kisi ki rahon mein.

2. Gulabi ankhen jo teri dekhi

3. Bekhudi mein sanam

4. Nisultana re pyar ka mausam aaya

5. O haseena zulfonwali jane jahaan

6. O mere shahe khuba o meri jane jhanaana

7. Main kahin kavi na ban jaun tere pyar mein ae Kavita

8. Baharon ki baraat aa gayi..

9. Jiya o jiya o jiya kuchh bol do..

10. Main zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya..

These are a few of my Favourite Things

Exquisite PJs..my first love.

Newspaper. From the days when writer quality was excellent.

Mirchi bajji..all Andhravadus like this.

Sabudana khichdi/vada..all ghatis are fond of this.

Single Malts- an acquired taste.

Tea- Fits me to a 't'- Irani chai is the best.

Biryani- inevitable Hyderabadi addiction

Humour- Love it. Ultimate test of people. Wodehouse and Asterix, ah!

Books- mystery, non-fiction.

Pics- They tell a story.

Chats. FB is fine. Real ones are even better.

Cinema- Bollywood -with all its warts- comes first. Next is world cinema, Bergman, Irani films, Japanese films, Hollywood,..

Gaane- especially Kishore Kumar.

Favourite Songs

Hindi film songs- a list of favourites.

Yeh dil na hota bechara, kadam na hote awara

Dil aaj shaayar hai gham aaj naghma hai

Hai apna dil to awara, na jaane kis pe aayega

Hey, maine kasam li, hey, tune kasam li, nahin honge judaa hum..

Chala jaata hoon kisiki dhun mein.

O mere dil ke chain.

Tum kitni khoobsoorat ho yeh mere dil se poochho.

Tum mile pyar se mujhe jeena gawara hua.

Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jate hain jo makaam, woh phir nahin aate

Aap ki aankhon mein kuch mehke hue se khwab hain

Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat..

Are yaar meri tum bhi ho gazab ghoonghat to zara odho.

Ek pal ka jeena phir to hai jaana.

Aanewala pal jaanewala hai..

Kai baar yun bhi dekha hai yeh jo man ki seema rekha hai

Seene mein jalan aankhon mein toofan sa kyun hai, is sheher mein har shakhs pareshan sa kyun hai.

Kehna hai, kehna hai, aaj tumse yeh pehli baar

Gore rang pe na itna guman kar, gora rang do din mein dhal jayega

Meri neendon mein tum mere khwabon mein tum

Hum the woh thi aur smaa rangeen samajh gaye na..

Meri pyari Bindu..

O mere Raaja, khafa na hona, der se aayi..

Wahan kaun hai tera musafir jayega kahan.

Mehbooba, mehbooba,

Lakhon hain yahan dilwale aur pyar nahin milta

Kuch na kaho, kuch bhi na kaho..

O  haseena zulfonwali jaane jahan..

Jawani janeman haseen dilruba

Parde mein rehne do parda na uthao

Dilruba, aa meri bahon mein aa..

Top Films

I am approaching this top twenty (or more) from a different angle. I will try and list a few films from different genres, and see if they make sense in a list like this.

Simple Tales

Nil Battey Sannata, Rajnigandha, Chitchor

Suspense

Jewel Thief, Teesri Manzil, Ittefaq, Dial M for Murder, Shikaar, Aankhen (both Dharmendra), The Reincarnation of Peter Proud

Serious Cinema

Anand, Arth, Aakrosh, Manthan, Mere Apne, Ingmar Bergman's films, Zorba the Greek

Romance

Bobby, Aradhana, Tere Mere Sapne, Ankhiyon ke Jaharonkhon Se, Casablanca, Amar Prem, Bridges of Madison County

Comedy

Chhoti si Baat, Chashme buddoor, Gol Maal, Chupke Chupke, Namak Halaal, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Padosan, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Finding Fanny, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Silent Movie, History of the World Part 1, The Loves and Times of Scaramouche

Action

Where Eagles Dare, Mackenna's Gold, Sholay

Period Dramas

Mughal-e-azam, Bahubali,

Foreign Films

Many Iranian films like The Salesman, The Separation, Kurosawa films like Red Beard, Seven Samurai, a couple of French and Italian films, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady (this could go into the comedy list too)

Mindless Formula

Hathi Mere Sathi, Seeta aur Geeta, Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Hum Kisise Kam Nahin, Amar Akbar Anthony, Jugnu, Roti, Humjoli, Some Govinda films, Some Telugu films with NTR, James Bond Films with Roger Moore, Tamil films with Prabhu Deva..

Favourite Films- Hollywood

Though I have seen a few Iranian and French (and Japanese) films that are very good, I will list out some favourite Hollywood films here.

1. My Fair Lady based on Shaw's Pygmalion, about making a lady out of a flower-girl. Classic.
2. The Sound of Music. One of the best in all departments-conceptualisation and execution. Immortal.
3. Psycho. A classic in its genre from the master, Alfred Hitchcock.
4. Zorba the Greek. To me, a major philosophical book and film. Top ten for the book too.
5. The Omen. I generally dislike horror, but Gregory Peck warrants an exception.
6. Mackenna's Gold. Brilliant outdoor film. Omar Sharif in a great role.
7. Where Eagles Dare. Spectacular war-time film of a daring rescue. Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and the scenery were amazing.
8. Silent Movie. Mel Brooks' spoof on Hollywood studios.
9. The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. I liked it for the way the mystery was handled. Unlike Karz, which was inspired by it.
10. Come September. Rock Hudson in a romantic comedy with Gina Lollobrigida. A fun film, that probably was the inspiration for Jungle Mein Mangal.
11. Dances With Wolves. A convincing film about America's native (Red) Indians. I think it starred Kevin Costner.

Comedies
As a genre, I like comedies best. I will include most movies made by Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, To Be Or Not To Be, History of the World Part 1, Spaceballs) for their goofy humour, Woody Allen (for the sardonic humour), and a few other independent films like The Loves and Times of Scaramouche in which there is a funny Napoleon,  A Fish Called Wanda, and The Naked Gun.

Favourite Foods

These are not my favourites, but of fictional characters/celebs.

Bruce Lee- Idli

James Bond- A Bonda

Daler Mehndi- Vadda Paav.

Mika- Makke di roti

Now, for some of mine.

Biryani-Hyderabadi

Mutton curry- red coloured/Kashmiri

Chicken Chettinad

Fish Molee (from Kerala)

Ginger-garlic Prawn

Baingan ka bharta

Lasagna

(Greek) Moussaka

Spahetti with meat balls

Keema pav

Seekh kabab

Tunde kabab (Lakhnavi)

Crab curry (from Karwar)

Dal tadka

Palak paneer

Goan fish curry

Thali (set meal) from Tamilnadu

Thai soups (most of them-including Tom Yum)

Sushi rolls with spicy accompaniments

Bun-maska with Irani chai

Yet to try Cambodian, Australian, New Zealandian, Brazilian, ...

My favourite heroines

This I will begin by describing some heroines from earlier years-my major movie-going ones.

I liked Mumtaz for her vivaciousness. She came across as a regular girl, unlike the heavenly Madhubala (who is also a favourite, like 100 percent of the male population who has ever watched her films), and had quite a few roles where she acted well. Khilona, for instance, where she takes care of a mad Sanjeev Kumar, and Apradh, where she has a vampish role with Feroz Khan. Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand are two others with whom she did well on screen. Tere Mere Sapne and Roti (Gore rang pe na itna gumaan kar was a favourite song of mine, from Roti) were two with these guys I remember well.

Hema Malini was and is the most beautiful of the heroines for the last 40 years. She actually got the correct label of Dream Girl in her first film, and it stuck. Her romance with Dharmendra was of course one aspect, but she was fantastic teaming up with Dev Anand (Johny Mera Naam is my favourite here, particularly the duet O mere Raja). Sholay's Basanti was a classic too.

I liked Saira Banu for her exotic looks and her good role in the film Padosan, which I think is a film that is hard to beat on many counts-humour being the foremost. Her solo songs, and the innocence she brought to her role was fantastic.

Rekha was another favourite, particularly her roles in the films Muqaddar ka Sikandar and Khubsoorat. Particularly the latter, where she espouses the cause of freedom and delight- nirmal anand.

Smita Patil was another gorgeous woman of substance. Any role she played got elevated a few notches by her presence. I saw quite a few of her films, and liked her in art and commercial films (Namak Halaal, Chakra).

Vidya Balan and Kajol will probably round up the list. Vidya was capable of much more than we saw of her in films like Kahani. Kajol was like a breath of fresh air-completely original. Gupt and Dilwale Dulhaniya are two of my favourite films of hers, apart from Baazigar.

Some others who might make it to the list are Tanuja, and Chitrangada Singh. The former in Hathi Mere Sathi, Jewel Thief, and the latter in Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi were great.

Shriya Saran and Tapsee Pannu are two recent heroines I liked in one film each that I saw of theirs. And Deepika Padukone, in most films. Queen's heroine Kangana also gets an honourable mention. She was good in Tanu Weds Manu also.