There have been some great songs picturised on him, just like they were On Rajesh Khanna or Dev Anand or Sanjeev Kumar.
Shaadi ke liye razamand kar li, maine ek ladki pasand kar li
O manchali kahaan chali
Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa nahi
Is mod se jaate hain
Tum aa gaye ho, noor aa gaya hai
Dil dhoondhta hai phir wahi fursat ke raat din
Jadugar tere naina
Meri bheegi bheegi si
Hawa ke saath saath ghata ke sang sang
Khilona jaan kar tum to..
These are Hindi film songs, translated into English. We played this game when young and stupid.. ha ha.
1. Ok, I am going. See you again tomorrow.
2. Stop stop stop, stop my dear..
3. Smoke your joint, sorrows get wiped out..
4. Where will you get such a chance again?
5. Today tomorrow our love story is on every tongue..
6. Your dreams and mine are one colour now
7. Two words only, story of the heart..
8. In the window opposite mine, lives a piece of the Moon.
9. A clever woman, after decking up..
10. A wet, wet girl, sleeps at night as if awake..
A fun, satirical play about a clampdown on Art and Theatre by a state in India. Great cast, farcical comedy and good acting made it a great experience. Third play by World of Performing Arts in Pune.
A takeoff on Shakespeare's Hamlet was the highlight for me.. the actor uttering "To be, or not to be.."
I happened to watch completely a serial with 164 episodes! Originally Turkish, with subtitles, though a few words seemed familiar as we have derivatives in Urdu/Hindi.
The actors were very good, so was the characterisation. That helped me when I thought of giving up. The plot was OK, but got a bit repetitive. The major themes were love and betrayal, with an Al Capone type villain who controls almost everything, killing people at will and corrupting everyone who is willing.
Love triumphs, of course, like in Indian movies, but after several tribulations, and ups and downs-even though the hero is a police officer in Istanbul.
Some good acting, and scenic views of the Bosphorus- the heroine is rich- also helped. Black Money Love is the serial, on Netflix, if you are wondering..
Usually, an effect is the result of many causes, acting independently. But we simplify matters by attributing a single cause to an effect. The world is generally multivariate, or has multiple forces acting simultaneously.
Sometimes, two or more things have to happen simultaneously to produce an effect that we notice. As an example from films, Hindi films, the fact that Rajesh Khanna acted out songs sung by Kishore Kumar in a film called Aradhana (composer SD Burman) benefited both immensely, and each became a superstar in his domain. Both had some success individually, more so Kishore Kumar when he sang for Dev Anand earlier in the sixties, but the success multiplied manifold when he teamed up with Rajesh Khanna in a string of superhit songs. Dev Anand had equal success with songs sung by Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar over his lifetime in films. Sometimes, like in Guide, both sang for him.
Rishi Kapoor initially had Shailendra Singh singing for him in his debut and a few subsequent films, but the songs he performed in films where Kishore Kumar sang for him (Khel Khel Mein, Hum Kisise Kam Nahi, Karz, were some) took him to dizzying heights of popularity. The music in this case was by RD Burman for the first two and Laxmikant Pyarelal for the third-they also played a role.
Just a couple of examples to show that many variables -acting together (interaction effect) or independently-may result in a particular effect.
I have grown up with film music-Hindi. And still love the older songs. Added some ghazal and non-film music due to various influences, but film songs continue to be my first love, due to the longer association. I am a regular radio listener, and as I write this, am listening to Amit Khanna, lyricist, present a special Jaimala on Vividh Bharathi.
He is most known for songs like Chalte Chalte, mere ye geet yaad rakhna (Bappi Lahiri tuned it), and I like many of his songs from Des Pardes or other Dev Anand films. Dev Anand persuaded him to come into Mumbai, and films.
Songs that made an impact on me were mostly Kishore Kumar in my younger days. It may be a coincidence, but I am only 3 hours from where he grew up-Khandwa.
Nobody who watched Hindi films in the 70s and eighties can forget Ajit. He was suave, well-dressed and had a way with dialogue delivery.
He became a legend because of his lackeys and moll. That means, unlike some contemporary villains, he was inclusive. Only Gabbar after him can claim some credit for mentioning his team members in dialogues.
He was known for Jokes which were partly driven by real stuff from his films, but many were made up. Nobody knows which are which, after so many years..
Voltage badhao was one which was real, while torturing someone in his den. I think.
Michael tum saikal lekar jao. Probably this too-
"Ise liquid Oxygen mein daal do. Liquid use jeene nahi dega, aur Oxygen use marne nahi dega."
Raabert (Robert, in his inimitable style) was the other regular in his stable. And of course, Mona Darling!
Some dialogues/jokes that are probably made up, include-
"Mona, tum Tony ke saath mat sona, nahi to monatony ho jayegi."
Or this dialogue,
"Boss, ye to mar gaya. Iska kya karen?"
""Isko le jaake dafna do. Aur uske side mein ek sui bhi laga do. Phir pulice ise Sui-cide samjhegi."
Great fun!
For a brand of any kind, repositioning involves changing its perception by the targeted market segment.
For Hindi films, these are some examples-
the character of a bandit/daaku/dacoit used to be a dhoti clad, moustachioed character carrying a longish rifle for many years -until Gabbar Singh came along in Sholay. Tht changed the perception of the villager-dacoit. This one was more sophisticated.
The hero never got into comedy..there was always a separate character doing comedy, until Amitabh and his drunken solos came along. The hero became an all-rounder, and did everything himself- dancing, comedy, action.
Same with the heroine, to some extent. She also tried out her vampish side, becoming a grey character, a seductress, etc. And did 'Item' numbers in others' films too.
Indian films themselves used to be technically backward in special effects etc. Bahubali and the recent crop like Robot, RRR etc. have changed that perception too. Though song and dance rules, as before. Natu, natu..
I am part of a music group devoted to Hindi songs, film and non-film. We have a weekly host who runs a theme, around which members have to post songs. I had a theme related to lyricists with place names-Indori, Jaipuri, Bhopali, Sultanpuri etc. This was my report at the end of that week.
Theme Owner Report for
Bhopal se Jaipur.
Behno aur
bhaiyo,
Is hafte
phir JCB jaag utha. An Uttar Bharat discovery tour! Pilibhiti, Kashmiri, three
Jaipuris and a couple of Lakhnavis were unexpected. Ek Hyderabadi bhi nikla,
dhoondhne ke baad. With a tadka from Panipatis and Dewasis and so on.. Gorakhpuri
and Kanpuri were somewhat expected. And some were really far out, unknown to me
at least. Shows how committed to digging our members are- even more than
Bangalore (or Chennai) road-diggers! Came up with gold. Heartening for me were
also the plethora of black and white era songs, most of which were both lyrical
AND tuneful. Naturally! MSMTans ko Soorma (Bhopali) ghoshit kar diya jaaye,
after this sterling performance. Binaca geet mala style bigul bhi bajaaya jaaye,
is Khushi ko zahir karte hue..
I started
out imagining that 5-6 mainstream poets/lyricists would dominate. How wrong I
was, and happy to be! Good to have Indira back, and Ratnamadhavi, adding 4
moons to the theme. Students ki last minute entry ki aadat ab tak barkaraar
hai, ye Ishita ne saabit kar diya. 😊
Admins. ko
salaam, aur sabhi doston ko Ram ram, meri agli theme tak. I am hoping to meet
at least one MSMT member this weekend, magar let it remain a secret till it
happens.. 😊
Rajendra
Jan 29-Feb.
3, 2023
They say old age is like a second childhood. But childhood is quite different, I feel. You are discovering many things for the first time. In old age, you may have made most of your discoveries, but you revert to being a child in some ways, like being dependent on someone. Like a child on its parents.
So coming back to childhood, my favourites were books, mainly, and s couple of good friends who we had in school or back home in the holidays. Learnt to read in the school library, and at home during vacations. Somehow, both places had a stock of books or magazines that I could spend hours on. Also, music took some time, to nurture a taste. Kishore Kumar Khandwawala was an early favourite- I was a teen in the 70s- and listening to the radio was a favourite pastime- it still is.
Comics, of all kinds- Goofy, Little Lotta, Dot, Phantom, Richie Rich, and so on were other favourites, among books. Later, Asterix comics grew on me. Movies- mainly Hindi but some English-were also a favourite pastime when I was in my twenties. I still like the theatre experience, though the frequency has reduced somewhat.
Another favourite was card games, rummy, various others including Bezique which my grandmom introduced us to, and Bridge, which my parents introduced us - my brother and I- to. Lost touch with this brilliant game now.
This is a million dollar question, and if any predictive analyst, or fortune-teller can tell, the producer will be eternally grateful. I have been a movie-goer for at least 50 years, and I don't know for sure the answer as to why I watch a particular film.
One is, it is situational. Like a friend and you decide to go out, and a film just appears as a viable option. But which one? You may like a hero/heroine/director and decide on that basis. Or, a good review you read or saw on TV may persuade you. Also, your friends saw it and so you want to.
In the sixties or seventies, there was no TV in India, and we were starved for entertainment. So we ended up watching almost every film - Hindi in my case, and a few Telugu films as I lived in Hyderabad. Many were good, though a bit theatrical, but usually had decent story, acting and production values, though technology was not too advanced, and not digital. They were also long, about 2 and a half to three hours, as they had to deliver value for money.
Anand, Sholay, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Anjaana, Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan, Aadmi aur Insaan (the song Zindagi, ittefaq hai is in this one), Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, Tere Mere Sapne, Zanjeer, Chupke Chupke, Rajnigandha, The Train, Roti, Amar Akbar Anthony, Love in Tokyo, Namak Halaal, were some films I remember from the seventies. Aradhana's songs are still popular. So is Gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi from The Train. Many songs had an impact, and drove people to watch the movie!
Among recent ones, (eighties and later), Ayushman Khurana films, or Sriram Raghavan-directed films have been usually good. Happy Bhag Jayegi was very good, and I watched it because it was shown in our auditorium at IIM Indore. I liked Finding Fanny also, and a few others on diverse subjects-Vicky Donor, about a sperm donor, or Bareilly ki Barfi, about a small-town girl. Bahubali was great for its special effects, and casting. RRR and KGF were watchable and entertaining as spectacles.
So I guess there's no formula, really. Lost and found worked for a while, with Yaadon Ki Baraat, but the film was well-made with great music too...Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko is a classic.
A Hindi play I saw at Rangashankara. I am glad I did! It was absolutely brilliant.
They also get new names/identities, and there are online views to be expressed. For each 'like' in support of their views, they get points. Online wars are fought between trolls of two major thought leaders.
Ends in an interesting manner! Every line of dialogue is either meaningful, or humourous or both. Only two actors carry the whole show for an hour.
Hats off to creativity that is contemporary, and has a message, though not overtly conveyed. Understated, but a satire brilliantly done!
Hilarious things happen when you try and do literal translations.. for example, Putting four Moons is the literal translation of Char chand lagaana ( a Hindi metaphor or idiom).
If you try the reverse, Add a feather to your cap, is literally, Aapki topi mein ek par lagaana. Makes little sense.
A Hot Potato would be a senseless ek garam aloo. Curiosity killed the cat, would literally be, Jigyasa ne billi ki jaan li.
A Devil's advocate would be Shaitaan ka vakil, and so on..you get the drift? Aapko hawa ka rukh pata chal hi gaya hoga?
For me, Lucy, Little Wonder, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Different Strokes, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie and lately Nero Wolfe that I saw on Youtube were some of the best in English. Friends and The Big Bang Theory were good too, of the more recent ones. Murder, She Wrote and Remington Steele were also good, among older ones. So was Three's Company.
In Hindi, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Mahabharat, Hum Paanch, Tehkikaat, and Tu Tu Main Main come to mind readily. I missed some because I was in the U.S. when they ran on Indian T.V. Surabhi was a show about Indian culture that was hosted well by Renuka Shahane.
My top choices from films, Youtube-
Randhir Kapoor as a dancer..his belly pops out from time to time.. in the song Tujhsa haseen dekha na kahin.. in the film Harjaee.
Deb Mukherjee in the film Ek Baar Muskura Do, sings Tu auron ki kyun ho gayi.. a song supposed to be full of pathos... hilarious. Just watch it.
Taher Shah. Angels is the song, and he is funny as hell (that became a pun!) -he was a Youtube sensation, at least for me.
NTR in his later films (Telugu) cavorting with females half his age was fun to watch on screen. I enjoyed the entertainment on offer.
The English dialogues in Telugu films were also a source of mirth- like "Rutherford, look up once" from Alluri Sitaramaraju, a good film otherwise.
You may have your favourites..
A confession- I haven't watched any other original web series so far. So I don't have benchmarks, unlike movies and TV shows which I may have watched a few of. Having said that, this series kept my interest alive so that I actually wanted to see Season 2.
Season 1 was taut, and had a lot more heft, in my view. Manoj Bajpayee and JK (Sharib Hashmi?) made a great pair, complementing each other like any pair should. The 'family' of the Family Man also played their parts well, including the two kids. The suspense was built up much better in the first season, mainly because they had no idea of the target or the method that would be used, for a long time. The Sajid character was played well. So was the commando who loses his life towards the end.
The second part had Muthu played well, and of course, Chellam Sir who has become a sort of cult figure among Series-watchers! I was personally not very impressed with the storyline which often showed the cops (specialised anti-terrorist cops) as bumbling idiots who don't shoot or take evasive action when they ought to, go into dangerous territory without adequate preparation, multiple times. Anyway, the proceedings are interesting, due to good editing and dialogue, and of course, acting. Uniformly good acting is a great plus point. The terrorists are menacing! That's a big success. Compared to political drama, I would any day go for this genre, if I had to watch a Web Series again. Might watch season 3.
Attempting some literal translations.
-Want to tell you, tell you, Today I want to tell you for the first time..
Kehna hai kehna hai, aaj tumse
-I was going by the road.
Main to raste se ja raha tha.
-Mad fellow has come bearing a song of the heart
Deewana leke aaya hai dil ka taraana
-Look mother, your boy is getting spoilt
Amma dekh, tera munda bigda jaaye
-From your world, I am going away helpless
Teri duniya se hoke majboor chala..
-Other than me, how many admirers do you have?
Hamare siwa, tumhare aur kitne deewane hain?
-When my magic is in the air, nobody can escape.
Jab chhaye, mera jadu, koi bach na paaye
-Each better than the other, I've got gifts galore
Ek se badh kar ek, main layi hoon tohfe anek
Repositioning of the fashion labels from around the world. Inspired by Bollywood, these could be their desi 'fashion statements' - some are in Hindi, naturally.
Louis Vuitton- Ui amma ui amma..
Versace- Kanchi re kanchi re, preet meri sachi
Armani- Hum aapke armaan poore karte hain
Coco Chanel- Not Loco, Coco
Calvin Klein - Bold, not Kleindestine!
Donna Karan (DKNY) - Tere kaaran, tere kaaran..
Yves Saint Laurent - An Yevening in Paris
Jimmy Choo - Mujhe chhoo, mujhe chhoo.
How would a Hyderabadi lyricist have approached the following?
Kuch to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna? Chhodo bekar ki baton mein kahin beet na jaye raina?
My guess- Kuchh to bolinge logaan, apan kaiku sunna? Bekar ke baataan hai, raataan kaiku kharaab karna?
Kehna hai, kehna hai, aaj tumse yeh pehli baar tum hi to layi ho jeevan mein mere pyar pyar pyar
and its equivalent- Kabse ki bolna bolke sochrun tha, tumich laye meri zindagi mein pyar bolke.
-Main na bhoolunga, in rasmon ko in kasmon ko in rishte naaton ko..
Maybe this-Kabbi nahin bhooltun, ye rasma, yeh kasma, ye rishte, kuch bhi nahi bhooltun.
Aloo ki bhaji, baingan ka bharta bolo ji bolo kya khaoge
probably, Kya khate bolo, baingan ke baataan mat karo, bolrun main.
Ten is an arbitrary number, but maybe I will expand it another day. My personal favourites-
1. O mere dil ke chain
2. Chala jaata hoon kisi ki dhun mein
3. Yeh shaam mastani
4. Gum hai kisi ke pyar mein
5. Chingari koi bhadke
6. Musafir hoon yaaro
7. Dum maro dum
8. Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jate hain jo makaam..
9. Aaj unse pehli mulaqaat hogi
10. Kiska rasta dekhe
