Classifying Heroes

 Most entertaining - Rajnikanth, for sure. 

Handsome? Tie between Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra

Great dialogue delivery- Raaj Kumar

Intensity - Amitabh Bacchhan

Natural- Sanjeev Kumar

Funny- Randhir Kapoor

Youth Icon- Rishi Kapoor (in my youth)

Evergreen Romantic- Dev Anand

Intangible- Kishore Kumar

Others, I was not so fond of

My Heroes

 Both genders are included, just like the word Actor is used for either gender now. My heroes are no longer celebrities of the silver screen, or even sportsmen/women (with a couple of exceptions).

They are, instead, people know to me from personal experience of their qualities. They are usually colleagues, ex-colleagues, friends, alumni of institutions I have worked with, or relatives of some kind.

Why? Mainly because real heroes don't do stuff that the celebrity types do. They are ordinary people who may end up being extraordinary- a very good student, or alumnus/alumna for instance. She may be good at a corporate job or at a non-profit, as an employee or as an independent entrepreneur. Or a housewife raising kids. Or a maid struggling to educate her kid, and succeeding.

Kindness, courtesy, a positive view of the self and surroundings, a sense of humour, a willingness to do something different, are all great qualities to have in a hero, for me. And I have not one or two such people I know, but hundreds of them now.

They don't always save the world, but they make the world around them a better place. May we have more such heroes!

A to Z of Heroes and Heroines

 Trying to coin a one-word description for some of our heroes and heroines (and some other actresses/actors)

Agile- Jeetendra

Ageless- Anil Kapoor

Dancer-Mithun Chakraborty

Macho-Dharmendra

Romantic- Dev Anand

Handsome- Rajesh Khanna

Graceful- Waheeda Rehman

Vivacious- Mumtaz

Natural- Tanuja

Fashionable- Sharmila Tagore

Dusky- Vidya Balan

X-factor- Helen

Ageless (heroine)- Hema Malini

Beautiful-- Jayaprada

Loin- Ajit

Talented-Mehmood

Distinctive-Pran

Menacing- K.N. Singh

All-in-one- Kishore Kumar

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. 

Dadas of Indian Films- Bhagwan and Dada Kondke

 No, these are not mafia dons, nor are they the 'big brothers' of Bengal. They were two icons of films - Bhagwan Dada found fame in Hindi films, and Dada Kondke, in Marathi films. 

Both made superhit films and starred in them as heroes-unlikely ones. Not tall, fair or handsome as tradition required heroes to be then..think Dharmendra, or Dilip Kumar. Bhagwan Dada was actually portly, or rotund, and not what you would call handsome in the conventional sense. But he had a charm, and dancing technique and expressions that would put most actors/actresses to shame. He was and is a delight to watch, and it's tough to take your eyes off him in any of the songs from Albela- Geeta Bali (his heroine) adds to the charm in this case. Amitabh is said to have copied some of his dance steps, with success.

Dada Kondke holds the record, I believe, for nine silver jubilee films in a row. In Marathi. Pandu Havaldar onwards, he made a string of superhits, the envy of any film-maker. And starred in the, mostly wearing half-pants and looking like the Village Idiot. He revelled in double entendre, or double-meaning dialogue, and the audiences lapped them up. His songs were also on the same lines, as were the titles of many films. He forayed into Hindi films with Andheri Raat Mein, Diya Tere Haath mein, I think. That gives you the idea.

I Was Around When...

I was around when-

We did not have Facebook, Google, Orkut, Yahoo, Hotmail, Windows.

We did not have Mobile Phones.

We had only two models of cars and one major model of scooter in India.

We had to wait in line for Sugar, and Dalda (brand of hydrogenated cooking oil).

LPG was introduced as a cooking fuel, and had no takers.

Indian Airlines was the only domestic airline, unaffordable for most.

Hema Malini, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Tina Munim were yet to make their debuts in Hindi films. Aamir Khan and Sreedevi were child stars.

Film Duets were a personal thing between the hero and heroine running around trees, and not with two hundred guys and gals straining their muscles in unimaginable contortions around them.

"Kutte, main tera khoon pee jaoonga" was a violent dialogue.

Kissing on-screen was taboo.

There were three IIMs, known as A, B, C.

Lasting Contributions of Bollywood Heroes and Heroines

This is a TIC (tongue-in-cheek for backward people) look at lasting contributions of Bollywood Celbs of my time and yours-

Alia Bhatt- the jokes, of course. After Ajit (a villain), these are the most formidable.

Jeetendra- the white shoes are his legacy.

Mithun-da- Turning, twisting, gyrating, redefining Newton's Laws of Motion.

Rajesh Khanna- the look, a romantic one.

Dharmendra- Main tera khoon pee jaaonga . The dialogue.

Jaya Bhaduri- her laugh

Dev Anand- his scarves, and the delivery of dialogue without punctuation. The way he said, ..well, anything.

Madhubala- the crooked smile which floored the straight guys.

Helen- Her slimness in a world of overflowing adipose tissue. Amazing.

Mehmood- His anti-Fair and Lovely anthem in Gumnaam. Hum kaale hain to kya hua dilwale hain.

Shatrughan Sinha- Khamosh! One-worder rather than one-liner. But also had one liners like "Tum jis school mein padhte ho, hum uske Headmaster hain"

Om Prakash- his facial expressions were classic.

Navin Nischal- not sure, he didn't last too many Sawans or Bhadons, took the Victoria no.203 and went away..

Raj Kapoor- The Charlie Chaplin walk, look,..

Zeenat Aman- The glam quotient. Paved the entry to non-actresses with hot looks, that continues to this day.

Parveen Babi- Gave (Namak) Halal a sizzle that was as good as the steak (Advertising fraternity might get this one..)

Lalita Pawar- a blueprint for all Ekta Kapoor successes.

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).

There is no Superman

As you grow up, you discover things about the world. At first, you think there is a Santa Claus. He comes every Christmas, and brings you gifts. Then, you discover that he does not exist.

Then, you discover that Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy also don't exist.  Would be fun to have a talking mouse and duck, I think. Would beat some of the boring humans I know.

By and by, you also discover that Richie Rich exists, but that it is not you.

But you still believe in Superman. For saving the world, there is no one like him. But then, it is a big blow to discover that he is a figment of someone's imagination.

The consolation is that you find people who are changing the world, and that you can do it too, in a small way.

Lesser Mortals in Bollywood

Bollywood has had its heroes and heroines who stole the show over the years. But smaller roles were played by many with aplomb and sometimes these roles were critical to the storyline. I mean, classy villains like Pran and Ajit, or leery ones like Prem Chopra or Manmohan. Or unique ones like Gabbar Singh.

But I also mean character role players (as if the heroes were without character) or bit role players, for instance, Ashok Kumar, Om Prakash, Mukri, Keshto Mukherjee, Asrani, Mehmood, David, Deven Verma, Aruna Irani, Nazneen, Bindu, Helen.

Jagdish Raj typically played inspector, while Iftekhar was usually a higher-up such as the Commissioner, IG or DG of Police.  He probably did not play any other role so well, except in Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye, where Madan Puri also had a delightful role, and stole the thunder from the hero.

A.K. Hangal, who passed away recently, was also a good character actor. Amrish Puri, Danny Denzongpa, Abhi Bhattacharya, Durga Khote, Anupam Kher, were some other powerhouses though in smaller roles. Jagdeep played a good foil to Mithun Chakraborty in his James Bond roles. His Soorma Bhopali in Sholay was also a classic.

Ashok Kumar was a great actor in any role he got, and conveyed a variety of emotions with minimum effort. Another actor that comes to mind is Om Puri. Satish Shah was also good, so was Shafi Inamdar.