Movies to Remember- 2

 Hum Kisise Kam Nahi starring Rishi Kapoor and Kajal Kiran was a big musical hit, and its LP record was in stereo- one of the first for Hindi films, maybe. 

The songs were a range, with Bachna ae haseeno and the four songs ensemble with chand Mera Dil and Aa dil kya mehfil hai tere being the pick of the lot for me.

Though the story was run of the mill- a romance with a third angle, the young actors made it work.

Saw it a couple of times again later, and though a bit long in the second half, it remained watchable. RD Burman's music played a big part. Directed by Nasir Husain.

Handsome Hunks of Bollywood

 There were lots of them in Bollywood. I will begin with Dharmendra. He was also well-built, and carried himself well. But he was very handsome, most will agree.

Dev Anand was a typical romantic hero, his speciality being charming the pants off (not literally-just a term) anyone. Was very good till the seventies at whatever he did. 

Shashi Kapoor was handsome in a suave and polished way, and acted in some Hollywood movies as well, apart from the stage.

Rishi Kapoor was probably the second guy I would choose from the clan. He made so many rom-coms in his twenties or thirties, many successful.

Sanjay Khan was very handsome, though he had very few memorable films. He later turned producer and also made The Sword of Tipu Sultan for TV.

Among non-heroes, I thought Pran and Ajit were quite good-looking, and if they were not playing villains, could pass off for heroes. 

102 Not Out- Film Review

This is a cranky Hindi film-meant as a compliment. Unusual, in many ways.

Usually heroes try to pass of as youngsters. Here, a 70 year old plays a 102 year-old, and a 60 year-old plays a 75 year-old.

There are no women in the cast, except for a brief appearance by one or two.

The format of the film is like a mad game, with some method in the madness.

The length of the film is just right.

So many pluses. There are minor negatives like predictability in parts, but overall a good way to pass two hours, and watch Rishi and Amitabh in very different roles.

Hindi Film Dance Numbers

Choreography in Hindi films is very different from that in Western films, where different dance forms are used. We have dances steeped in our tradition, including classical, but also other forms adapted for Bollywood. Western forms have also been used by many music composers, with good results. Here is a list of some of my favourite dance numbers from Bollywood, starting with one of the latest.

1. From Bajirao Mastani, the high-energy dance by Ranveer playing Bajirao..Malhari.
2. Muqabla, muqabla,..Laila..from Humse Hai Muqabla, which I saw in its Telugu version titled Premikudu. AR Rehman's music is awesome, so is the dancing by Prabhu Deva.
3. O haseena zulfonwali..from Teesri Manzil. Shammi Kapoor, Helen and RD Burman.
4. Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche har zabaan par..again, Shammi, with Mumtaz this time. Bramhachari was the film.
5. Rishi Kapoor in Bachna aye haseeno lo main aagaya..in Hum Kisise Kam Nahin.
6. Lekar hum deewana dil, from Yadon ki Baraat..Tariq and Neetu Singh.
7. She is very pretty, from the film Priya. Tanuja with Jalal Agha.
8. Main sitaron ka tarana , from Chalti ka Naam Gaadi. Madhubala and Kishore Kumar
9. Hum the woh thi aur samaa rangeen samajh gaye na..from Chalti ka Naam gaadi..Kishore Kumar with Mohan Choti and Anoop Kumar.
10. Jaane-jaan, ..nisha from sanam Teri Kasam, with Kamalahasan and Reena Roy.
11. Mauja hi Mauja from Jab We Met..Shahid and Kareena Kapoor.
12. Jaan pehchaan ho, jeena  aasaan ho..from Gumnaam.
13. Hum kale hain to kya hua dilwale hain.. Mehmood and Helen, again in Gumnaam.
14. Mera naam chin-chin choo..from Howrah Bridge.
15. Ek pal ka jeena from Kaho na Pya Hai..Hrithik Roshan, Lucky Ali's voice.
16. Duniya haseenon ka mela..from Gupt, with Bobby Deol.
17. Jeena bhi kya hai jeena..Mithun with Salma Agha, one of his best dance numbers..in Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki.
18. Tu mujhe jaan se bhi pyara hai..from Wardaat, Mithun and Kalpana Iyer.
19. Mast baharon ka main aashiq main jo chahe yaar karoon..Jeetendra in Farz.,,and 
20. One of my all time favourites, Shola jo bhadke dil mera dhadke with an endearing pair- Geeta Bali and Bhagwan dada...here is the link if you haven't seen this cute number. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkXVfGi7QVg

Shailendra Singh and Kanchan

Rishi Kapoor had a resounding start to his career in Bobby. It was a superhit, and the voice that launched his singing in this film was Shailendra Singh. The songs like Mujhe kuch kehna hai, Main shaayar to nahin, and Hum tum ek kamre mmein band hon, topped the charts for many weeks.

This continued with a few more films, such as Khel Khel Mein in the song Humne tumko dekha and later in a few more like Rafoo Chakker. In Rafoo Chakker, there was also a female singer that was new to Hindi films-Kanchan. Though she sang only in films with Kalyanji Anandji's music, she was very good in some of them, like "Tumko mere dil ne pukara hai bade naaz se"from Rafoo Chakker, and "Laila main laila" from Qurbani. Also, Kya khoob lagti ho from Dharmatma, a duet with Mukesh.

Sharda was another singer who sang only in a few films, but two or three of her songs were very popular. "Titli udi, ud jo chali," for instance. And "Chale jaana zara thehro," from Around The World, with Mukesh. She had a unique voice.

Romantic Icons of the 70s

There were quite a few romantic heroes/heroines of the 1970s whom I grew up watching on screen. The music added a lot of charm to many of their films. Some of those were-

Rishi Kapoor, often paired with Neetu Singh, who dazzled with his rom-com roles in Rafoo Chakkar, Khel Khel Mein, Amar Akbar Anthony, Bobby (with Dimple Kapadia), Hum Kisise Kam Nahin (with Kajol aka Sunita Kulkarni). Don't know why Shailendra Singh stopped singing for him and Kishore Kumar took over.

Dev Anand, the 'evergreen' romantic, was in his element in Gambler (Dil aaj shayar hai), Johny Mera Naam, Prem Pujari (Pholon ke rang se, Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye), and Hare Rama Hare Krishna. His teaming with Hema Malini in Shareef Badmash and Chhupa Rustam worked for both. Tere Mere Sapne with Mumtaz (another cute looker) also was a good film.

Rajesh Khanna, of course, was the king of the 70s with Aradhana, Kati Patang, Aan Milo  Sajna (Accha, to hum chalte hain), Aap Ki Kasam, Mere Jeevan Sathi (O mere dil ke chain), Namak Haram (Nadiya se dariya), Amar Prem, Daag, Prem Nagar (Yeh laal rang kab mujhe chhodega).

Shashi Kapoor was also a good-looking dude and managed to hold his own, though none of his solo films were spectacular. Pyar ka Mausam had some excellent music though (Tum bin jaoon kahaan and Nisultana re, pyar ka mausam aaya).

Dil in Hindi Film Songs

Expectedly, the word Dil figures often in Hindi film songs, as the songs are about matters of the heart, more often than not. Some of my favourites-

Dil aaj shaayar hai, gham aaj naghma hai, shab yeh ghazal hai sanam..from Gambler.

Yeh dil diwana hai, dil to diwana hai, deewana dil hai yeh dil deewaana (emphasis as per spelling on the word deewana)..from an old movie that I don't remember..Ishq Par Zor Nahin?

Phoolon ke rang se, dil ki kalam se..Prem Pujari classic sung inimitably by Dev Anand on screen.

Chupke se dil dede nai te shor mach jayega from Maryada.

Dil tera deewana hai sanam,..mohabbat ki kasam, mohabbat ki kasam..old Shammi Kapoor film.

Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum, a classic Hemant Kumar- Lata Mangeshkar duet from an old Dev Anand- Usha Kiron starrer Patita. Watch it here. What a melody!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YY2pZa22Io

Chand mera dil, followed by Aa dil kya, mehfil hai tere qadmom mein , and then Tum kya jano, mohabbat kya hai, dil ki mefil sanam ...in Hum Kisi se Kum Nahin, the Nasir Husain potboiler with its garish sets that set up a dance competition between Rishi Kapoor and a handsome Tariq..fabulous entertainment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5INCEEMc3MA

Pannu Times

I have a list of heroines/actresses I like from present times. They are- Chitrangada Singh, Aditi Rao, Amrita Rao, Vidya Balan, Yami Gautam, and now I am going to add Taapsee Pannu (that's an odd name, but what the heck, she is cute). Much of the film revolves around her- I am talking (new) Chasme baddoor here- and she pulls it off with her charming presence. Of course there's help from the cutie-pie (for female viewers) Ali Zafar, and a rocking performance from oldies Bharti Achrekar, Rishi Kapoor, and Anupam Kher.

For me, the heroes- all three of them, came second, or third, after all these. David Dhavan has cleverly used take-offs on films and film stars, and inserted his old songs (What is mobile number used to be my favourite for a long time when it first appeared) to add to the fun.

The standout song is of course, Dhickyaon Dhum, dhum.. and it is a very catchy, hummable song. But I think it is a combo of a couple of songs from Khel Khel Mein starring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. Probably Ek main aur ek tu and Khullam khulla pyar karenge hum dono. The musical know-alls can try and figure that one out.

Entertaining, and worth a look, though a bit crass compared with the original. But then, one should not be comparing Deepti Naval and Farooque Shaikh with anyone, to start with. Or the original Lallan Miyan, played so well by Saeed Jaffrey.

Dancing Dudes and Divas

Bollywood has produced many great lyricists and music composers. But it has also given us a number of good dances, in movies across decades. Some actors, actresses and dance numbers stay with you years after the movie. Here is an attempt to list some of my favourites. I am excluding Helen, because she was a legend, and would have to be in a whole post by herself.

Kalpana Iyer with Mithun, in Wardaat. And Koi yahaan naache naache in Disco Dancer.

Karisma with Govinda- What is mobile number, what is your style number? Techno-cool song.

Bindu- Mera naam hai shabnam..in Kati Patang..musicless, almost.

Simple Kapadia- Jab chhaye, mera Jaadu..in Lootmaar

Kamal Hasan and Reena Roy---ahaha..ahaha..nisha, in Sanam Teri Kasam

Disco Deewane..not a film song (originally), but swinging song, by Nazia Hasan.

Zeenat Aman in Laila main Laila, Qurbani

Rishi Kapoor- Hum Kisise Kam Nahin - the competition song, and Bachna ai haseeno

Tariq- Yaadon Ki baarat. He was fab. Lekar hum deewana dil..

Aruna Irani in Bobby- a, a, a, a, phasaa.

Raveena in Tu cheez badi hai mast mast, with Akshay and Paresh Rawal..Mohra

Raveena and Govinda in - Kisi Disco mein jaaye..was it Bade Miya Chhote Miya?

Mumtaz..Zindagi, ittefaq hai, in Admi aur Insaan

Mumtaz in Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche, with Shammi Kapoor in Brahmachari

Shammi Kapoor- aaja aaja, main hoon pyaar tera, in Teesri Manzil, with Asha Parekh

Padma Khanna- the seduction song in Johny Mera Naam- Husn ke laakhon rang, kaunsa rang dekhoge

Shilpa Shetty- Chura ke dil mera, goriya chali, in Tu Anari Main Khiladi, with Akshay Kumar

Kishore Kumar- Meri pyaari Bindu in Padosan, with a gang of comedians (and Paanch rupaiya baara aana in Chalti ka naam gaadi, with Madhubala)

Saif - Jab bhi koi ladki dekhun mera dil diwana bole ole ole..

And my favourite..Prabhu Deva in Mukkala muqabla, with Naghma, (Hindi version of movie called Humse Hai Muqabla, Telugu version called Premikudu and Tamil original was Kaathalan)