Dev Anand Birth Anniversary

This guy had an indomitable spirit- at any age. Something one can learn from. One of my favourite actors until Des Pardes-I saw only one film of his after this- he went on making films and introducing actors until his last breath.

He acted with Hema Malini in her first big hit, Johnny Mera Naam, though she was introduced earlier. He introduced Zeenat Aman, in a role full of 'dum' in Hare Rama Hare Krishna. He also introduced Tina Munim, among others. She went on to do many hit films.

He had some unique films, and was usually ahead of his time in his choice of subjects. Swami Dada about religious babas, Des Pardes about woes of immigrants, Hare Rama Hare Krishna about drugs, and even a few old films like Love Marriage which in the times of arranged marriages was quite a bold theme. He has acted with heroines ranging from Madhubala and Geeta Bali to Tina Munim many years later, spanning three generations!

His films were a bit tacky with his mannerisms, but he was loved by audiences of both genders. He was an incurable romantic, and this was reflected in his films and music, which were low on violence, and big on romance. Guide was a memorable film of his based on the story by R.K. Narayan, and was also a musical hit. SD Burman gave music to many of his films, and created unforgettable songs, many penned by Neeraj, such as Phoolon ke rang se from Prem Pujari, and Dil aaj shayar hai from Gambler.

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)

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.