Songs Picturised on Sanjeev Kumar

 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..

Shikaar- Film Review

 Stars Dharmendra Asha Parekh, Sanjeev Kumar and Helen. All have strong roles, and an interesting Whodunit with some twists. Rehman as the heroine's Dad also has some meaty scenes. Johnny Walker is good in a supporting role too.

Starts with a killing, and a disappearance within the first few minutes. Then there are good songs like Parde mein rehne do, parda na uthao.. a big rage at the time. Another good song is Main albeli pyar jata kar leleti hoon dil..

Shankar Jaikishan have scored the music, and Atma Ram, Guru Dutt's brother, is the producer/director.

Interesting.. watched it as a tribute to Dharmendra, who died recently.

Are O Sambha

 Kitney aadmi they?

Do, Sardaar.

Iconic stuff, the dialogues of Sholay.

Mausi being 'wooed' for Veeru, by his bosom pal Jai.

The water tank scene, in which mausi goes jail, chakki peesing and peesing.

Asrani's Hitler mouche. And agrez ke zamaane ke dialogue!

Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali, speaking in that lingo..aese hi nahi etc.

Sanjeev Kumar's voice..not sure what they did, but it was deep, and impressive.

Basanti talking non-stop, versus A.K. Hangal's voice full of pathos..

Jai's laconic dialogue delivery.

Gabbar's self-absorbed persona. 

Helen and Jalal Agha in just 3 minutes of mesmerising song and dance.

Hats off to Ramesh Sippy and his team. Dwarka Divecha, the cinematographer in particular. And dialogue writers, Salim and Javed.

Pati Patni Aur Woh- Film Review

I had watched the classic comedy original that starred Sanjeev Kumar, Vidya Sinha and Ranjeeta. That was classy, and the story that the husband makes up was more believable, while having an eye for his secretary. This one's not bad, though it may not reach the level of the original, if only for Sanjeev Kumar's acting in it. And the songs- Na aaj tha, na kal tha by Kishore Kumar listen to it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hqrImIZQmE, and Thande thande pani se nahaana chahiye.

Nevertheless, what impressed me most about this one was the two new actors- the hero's friend, played by Aparshakti Khurana, and the Woh, played by Ananya Panday. The comic situations are mostly funny, and though the end looks a bit contrived, it is an OK way to bring the philanderer's story to a close.

Not a bad way to spend an evening, or afternoon. Bhumi Pednekar seems in form.

Remembering Sanjeev Kumar

This hero was unlike any other. He acted much beyond his age, and also played heroes who were older, like in Aandhi (with Suchitra Sen, with some great songs penned by Gulzar and tuned by R.D. Burman), and in younger roles, romanced Hema Malini (Seeta aur Geeta) and Leena Chandavarkar (Manchali was a delight).

Comedy? Angoor was a classic, with two Sanjeevs and two Deven Vermas. Tragedy? Khilona, where he played a tragically ill man. Nine roles? No problem- Naya Din Nayi Raat was the film.

Father of the hero? Trishul... of the Heroine? Parichay. College kid? Devata (this film had the song Chal baithen church ke peechey). Dashing inspector and then the village thakur who is the centrepiece of the blockbuster Sholay.

Manoranjan was another delightful film where he played a cop who tries to rescue a prostitute because he is in love with her- a remake of Irma La Douce.

Another memorable film of his was Koshish, where he and Jaya Bhaduri played a deaf and dumb couple.

The Many Sounds of Kishore Kumar

He was a mimic from his childhood, and used to perform for guests as a kid. Therefore, it is not surprising that he seemed to possess as many voices as his screen heroes for whom he sang.

He was serious and respectable for Sanjeev Kumar in Aandhi, Romantic and soft for Rajesh Khanna in Kati Patang and macho for Amitabh Bachchan in Laawaris. The songs I am referring to are Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa nahin from Aandhi, Pyar diwana hota hai from Kati Patang and Apni to jaise taise from Laawaris. Of course, he was also boisterous for Sanjeev in O Manchali kahan chali, and serious for Rajesh Khanna in Aap ki Kasam (Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makaam), and playful for Amitabh in Amar Akbar Anthony (My name is Anthony Gonsalves). He had some excellent songs for Randhir Kapoor (Jaane jaan, Yeh jawani hai diwani and Saamne yeh kaun aaya in Jawani Diwani and Gum hai kisi ke pyar mein from Rampur ka Lakshman), and Rakesh Roshan (Aaj unse pehli mulaqaat hoogi, Aankhon aankhon mein dekha hogaye deewane, Gulmohar gar tumhara naam hota). Whatever he did for these heroes, he sounded just right for them.

Some other memorable songs Kishore Kumar sang were Tu laali hai savere wali for Danny, Mere meet bata tujhe mujhse kab pyar hua aur kaise for Sujeet Kumar. Sama hai suhana suhana  for Jalal Agha, Yeh jeevan hai for Anil Dhawan, Teri duniya se hoke majboor chala for Parikshit Sahni in Pavitra Papi, Ghunghroo ki tarah bajta hi raha for Shashi Kapoor. He also sang for Pran in a couple of films (Hum bolega to bologe ke bolta hai, sounding exactly like him and Daru ki botal mein saheb pani bharta hai, phir na kehna Michael daru peeke danga karta hai in Majboor).

Dev Anand and he were like soulmates for a very long time- from Are yaar meri tum bhi ho ghazab and Mana Janab ne pukara nahin, through Maine kasam li, Yeh dil na hota bechaara, to Dil aaj shaayar hai, and Phoolon ke rang se, right until Des Pardes (Tu pee aur jee, Jaisa des waisa bhes). They complemented each other well, and came up with classics almost every time they worked together.

Humshakals- Film Review

This is what can aptly be described as a khichdi film- neither here nor there. It takes too many different gags or elements from too many diverse films, and the resultant brew is tough on your digestive systems.

First, the constant switches between the lookalikes which ought to be a pleasant surprise, get tiresome after they happen once too often. Three of each is a bit 'three' much too. Saif and Riteish are not bad, but Ram Kapoor overacts, and is only in a slightly better position than the three girls, who get to do so little, except plan a stupid scheme to break in to a board meeting. Satish Shah is wasted in a stupid fan-of-Hitler role. He is capable of much more.

Individual scenes are good and bad, some of the good ones being straight lifts from various sources- usually Hollywood or British comedies such as Carry on Doctor, or Mel Brooks' movies. Some scenes are so bad that they evoke yawns rather than laughter. The songs are atrocious, and could have been totally edited out. But I guess Himesh Reshammiya Rozgar Yojana has to go on.

On the whole, you could give it a miss and watch Padosan, Gol Maal, or Angoor again- the last being a classic lookalikes movie, with great acting by Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma.

Sanjeev Kumar- An Actor Par Excellence

This is a random tribute to a great actor I grew up watching. In roles that needed him to do a variety of things. Scream at Gabbar Singh with rage in Sholay (his voice was one of the highlights), act mentally ill and dependent on his caretaker in Khilona, act playful on roller-skates in Seeta aur Geeta (hawa ke saath saath, ghata ke sung sung...maybe the only song on roller skates), act coy in Manchali, but also mischievous (O manchali, kahan chali ..was one of my favourites for its energy).

His nawab who says Shabba Khair (good night in Urdu) in a particular style, in Manoranjan, a comedy based on Irma La Douce, his nine roles in Naya Din Nayi Raat, his tortured self in Trishul, his deaf and dumb act in Koshish, his song in half-pants in Devata (chal baithe church ke peeche), his boss wooing multiple scretaries in office with the same sad story in Pati, Patni aur Woh, were some more memorable roles. I think he also was the bride-killing monster in Jaani Dushman.

And his double role in Angoor, along with Deven Varma in a double role, was one of his best.

He could bring romantic roles to life just as easily as tense ones with gravitas, and his acting was very natural in any situation he played out. In real life, he was Haribhai Jariwala, from Gujarat. One of the truly great actors we have had in Hindi movies.

Irma La Douce- Film Review

Happened to watch this gem of a movie on TV while idly switching channels a couple of days ago. Proves that idling has its uses, if you ever had a doubt!

This movie became famous in India in the 70s or maybe 80s, because it was remade as Manoranjan starring Sanjeev Kumar and Zeenat Aman, with Shammi Kapoor in a pivotal role, and the songs like "Goya ke chunaanche" which became a big hit. The original is Irma La Douce.

This is about an honest cop who falls in love with a prostitute, and to protect her from walking the streets, acts like a Lord from England (Jack Lemmon does a terrific job of this, with words like 'blimey' and all the rest you only read in Wodehouse books). He wears an eye-patch as part of his disguise, and plays cards with her all night to prevent her from seeing other clients. And pays her a bomb. To earn the money, however, he does double shifts.

He gets entangled in his own web, and gets a life term for murdering The Lord (himself) in a misunderstanding caused by a jealous ex-lover of the lady. Shirley MacLaine as the lady of the night is also perfect in her role.

I had also liked the Indian version, with Sanjeev Kumar impeccable in the 'double' role of a cop and a Nawaab, reciting Urdu couplets at the drop of a hat. Zeenat Aman played the female lead in a great role.

Yash Chopra and His Films

Kabhi Kabhi was one of the most poetic films made in Hindi cinema-even more than Silsila. The protagonist was a poet, and sang a song which won the lady's heart at a college gathering. In an age where disco was rampant, this was indeed novel.

Deewar had an undercurrent of violence and revenge, but it was far less macabre than what we have witnessed in recent times. And less crude- much less.

Trishul was actually quite a well-made movie about corporate shenanigans like bidding intrigue. Sanjeev Kumar had a really good role, akin to his Sholay character in age. So did Shashi Kapoor and Hema Malini. Kitaabon mein chhapte hain chaahat ke kisse , haqiqat ki duniya mein chaahat nahin hain, were some good lyrics in the song Mohabbat bade kaam ki cheez hai.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge was an updated version of Sangam (he did not direct it, Aditya did, but his stamp was on it somehow), with a romp through Europe and some melodrama to close the narrative. Very beautifully filmed, and both Kajol and Shah Rukh were awesome.

Ittefaq, a murder mystery, Waqt, a lost and found tale with a zabardast song Ai Meri Zohra Jabeen, and Joshila with a mesmerising song- Kiska Rasta Dekhe, ae dil ae saudai, were some of his films I remember a lot.

Will miss his brand of movie-making. aesthetically pleasing, soft, and powerful.