Sunday 24 April 2016
Jalte hain Jikske liye - Sujata - Hindi movie
Friday 22 April 2016
Kanan Devi - 100th Birth Anniversary
Thursday 21 April 2016
Saturday 9 April 2016
Shakti Samanta - A tribute
Today is the birth anniversary of Shakti Samanta who left for his heavenly abode on 9th April 2009 leaving behind great films to remember. My tribute to this great personality.
Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as Howrah Bridge, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, Kati Patang and Amar Prem.
He received Filmfare Awards for Best Film for Aradhana (1969), Anuraag (1973) and Amanush, which was also made in Bengali, a language in which he made six films, including an Indo-Bangladesh joint production in 1984. (Source: Wikipedia)
Jaya Bachchan (Jaya Bhadhuri) - Happy Birthday
I wish eminent actress Jaya Bachchan (Jaya Bhaduri) a very Happy Birthday.aya Bhaduri). She is one of my favourite actresses. She gave a very memorable performance in Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed film 'Abhiman'. Let us celebrate her birthday by watching this song sequence from the film 'Abhiman'.
Friday 8 April 2016
Kamli - Telugu movie
Recently I watched the 2006 Telugu movie 'Kamli'. I liked the movie very much especially for its story telling and its excellent climax.
The film is directed by K.N.T. Sastry. Nandita Das was in the titile role of a Lambada girl. The film was showcased at the Busan International Film Festival in Korea and the Asian Film Festival in Mumbai.
Awards:
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu
Nandi Award for Best actress
Wikipedia writes : Kamli was actually inspired by a K.N.T. Sastry's award winning documentary harvesting babies. K.N.T. Sastry wanted to make a feature film based on the documentary about the plight of tribal women selling their babies for a pittance. He actually contacted and wanted to make film with Soundarya as the main female lead of Kamli, but she died in a helicopter crash, and finally made the film with Nandita Das.
Thursday 7 April 2016
Suchitra Sen - Uttar Phalguni
Uttar Falguni was a 1963 Bengali drama film directed by Asit Sen, starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Bikash Roy and Dilip Mukherjee.
Devdas - Dilip Kumar - Suchitra Sen - Bimal Roy
On the sets of Devdas - A rare picture - Director Bimal Roy with Suchitra Sen and Dilip Kumar
Devdas was Suchitra Sen’s debut Hindi film. In 2005, Devdas was ranked by Indiatimes Movies amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films. Devdas was also ranked at Number 2 on University of Iowa’s List of Top 10 Bollywood Films by Corey K. Creekmur.
Wednesday 6 April 2016
Suchitra Sen - Pencil drawing - A tribute
My pencil sketch of one of the greatest actresses of India, Suchitra Sen, on her birth anniversary today. Here is a brief summary on Suchitra Sen (Cooutesy : Wikipedia)
Suchitra Sen (Bengali: সুচিত্রা সেন) (Bengali pronunciation: [ʃuːtʃiːraː ʃeːn] 
listen (help·info)), (born as Roma Dasgupta) ( listen (help·info); 6 April 1931 – 17 January 2014), was an Indian film actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.[1]
listen (help·info)), (born as Roma Dasgupta) ( listen (help·info); 6 April 1931 – 17 January 2014), was an Indian film actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.[1]
Suchitra Sen was the first Bengali actress to receive an award at an international film festival when, at the 1963 Moscow International Film Festival, she won the Silver Prize for Best Actress for Saat Paake Bandha.[2][3] In 1972, she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India.[4] From 1979 on, she retreated from public life and shunned all forms of public contact; for this she is often compared to Greta Garbo.[5][6] In 2005, she refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest cinematic award in India, to stay out of the public eye.[7] In 2012, she was conferred the West Bengal Government's highest honour: Banga Bibhushan.[8]
I understand from one of the interiews Mun Mun Sen gave to media that Andhra Pradesh’s eminent producer D Ramanaidu once said to her : ‘Tell your mother I’ve a blank cheque waiting for your mother whenever she decides to work with me.’ - That was acting prowess of great Suchitra Sen.
I understand from one of the interiews Mun Mun Sen gave to media that Andhra Pradesh’s eminent producer D Ramanaidu once said to her : ‘Tell your mother I’ve a blank cheque waiting for your mother whenever she decides to work with me.’ - That was acting prowess of great Suchitra Sen.
Contents
[hide]Personal life and education[edit]
Suchitra Sen was born in Sen Bhanga Bari village of Belkuchi Upazila, now in Sirajgonj District, Greater Pabna in the present dayPabna District of Bangladesh, on 6 April 1931.[9][10] Her father Late Karunamoy Dasgupta was the headmaster of the local school, and her mother Late Indira Devi was a homemaker. She was their fifth child and third daughter. Ms Sen is a Grand Daughter of Famous Poet Sree Rajonikant Sen.[11] She received her formal education in Pabna. Partition brought her family and her to West Bengal,[12] where she married Dibanath Sen, son of wealthy industrialist Adinath Sen, in 1947,[13] and had one daughter, Moon Moon Sen, who is a former actress. Her father-in-law, Adinath Sen, was supportive of her acting career in films after her marriage.[14]Her industrialist husband invested a lot in her career initially and supported her in all possible ways.[15]
Sen had made a successful entry into Bengali films in 1952, and then a less successful transition into the Hindi movie industry. According to persistent but unconfirmed reports in the Bengali press, her marriage was strained by her success in the film industry .[16]
Career[edit]
Suchitra Sen made her debut in films with Shesh Kothaay in 1952, but it was never released.[17] The following year saw her act opposite Uttam Kumar in Sharey Chuattor, a film by Nirmal Dey. It was a box-office hit and is remembered for launching Uttam-Suchitra as a leading pair. They went on to become the icons for Bengali dramas for more than 20 years, becoming almost a genre unto themselves.[18] She has acted in 30 of her 60 films with Uttam Kumar. She received a Best Actress Award nomination for the filmDevdas (1955), which was her first Hindi movie. Her Bengali melodramas and romances, especially with Uttam Kumar, made her the most famous Bengali actress ever.[19] Her pairing with Bengal’s King of Hearts Uttam Kumar created classic romantic hits (Agnipariksha, Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Pathey Holo Deri,Kamal Lata, Indrani, Sabar Upore, Suryatoran, Shaare Chuattor, Sadanander Mela, Jiban Trishna, Ekti Raat, Chaawa Paawa, Shapmochan, Bipasha, Naborag, Trijama,Rajlakshmi Srikanto, Har Mana Har, Alo Amar Alo, Ora Thakey Odhare, Grihaprabesh and others) that have enjoyed ageless popularity and are watched, loved and admired even to this day.
The skyrocketing popularity of this romantic pair created a benchmark that remains unchallenged to this day. No other romantic pair in Bengali cinema in the subsequent decades have been able to match up to the magic created by Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar.[20]
It must be mentioned here that much of the duo’s popularity was contributed by the songs that showed them together. The team of Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Geeta Dutt was a very successful combination that brought melody and romance in the perfect tandem of melodrama that was portrayed in the Uttam Suchitra movies so effortlessly. Songs like Ei poth jodi na sesh hoye from Saptapadi, Tumi je amar from Harano Sur showcase their effortless chemistry with each other, immortalizing them in the hearts of their fans.[21]
Her films ran through the 1960s and '70s. She continued to act in films even after her husband died in 1970 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, such as in the Hindi film Aandhi (1974).Aandhi was inspired by India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[22] Sen received a Filmfare Award nomination as Best Actress, while Sanjeev Kumar, who played the role of her husband, won the Filmfare as Best Actor.[23]
One of her best known performances was in Deep Jwele Jaai (1959). She played in a character name Radha Mitra, a hospital nurse employed by a progressive psychiatrist, Pahadi Sanyal, who is expected to develop a personal relationship with male patients as part of their therapy. Sanyal diagnoses the hero, Basanta Choudhury, as having an unresolved Oedipal dilemma. He orders Radha to play the role though she is hesitant as in a similar case she had fallen in love with the patient. She finally agrees and bears up to Choudhury's violence, impersonates his mother, sings his poetic compositions and in the process falls in love again. In the end, even as she brings about his cure, she suffers a nervous breakdown. The film is noted for its partly lit close-ups of Sen, which set the tone of the film.[24] Asit Sen remade the film in Hindi as Khamoshi (1969) with Waheeda Rehman in the Suchitra Sen role.[25]
Suchitra Sen's other landmark film with Asit Sen was Uttar Falguni (1963). She plays the dual role of a courtesan, Pannabai, and her daughter Suparna, a lawyer. Critics note that she brought a great deal of poise, grace and dignity to the role of a fallen woman determined to see her daughter grow up in a good, clean environment.[26][27][28]
Suchitra Sen's international success came in 1963, when she won the best actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival for the movie Saat Paake Bandha, becoming the first Indian actress to receive an international film award.[29]
There is a scene in Saat Paake Bandha where Suchitra Sen has to tear the vest that Soumitra is wearing. Later, at a party thrown to celebrate the film's success, she did a repeat of the scene and tore Soumitra's shirt, much to the amazement of those present. Something that no one but her, could have even imagined doing in that age![30]
A film critic summed up Suchitra Sen's career and continuing legacy as "one half of one of Indian cinema's most popular and abiding screen pairs, Suchitra Sen redefined stardom in a way that few actors have done, combining understated sensuality, feminine charm and emotive force and a no-nonsense gravitas to carve out a persona that has never been matched, let alone surpassed in Indian cinema"[31]
In retirement[edit]
Suchitra Sen refused Satyajit Ray's offer due to a scheduling problem. As a result, Ray never made the film Devi Chaudhurani based on the novel written by Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya. She also refused Raj Kapoor's offer for a film under the RK banner.[32]
Sen continued to act after her husband's death in 1970, but called it a day when Pronoy Pasha flopped,[33] and retired from the screen in 1978 after a career of over 25 years to a life of quiet seclusion. She was to do a film project Nati Binodini, also starring Rajesh Khanna,[34]but the film was shelved mid-way after shooting when she decided to quit acting.
She assiduously avoided the public gaze after her retirement and devoted her time to the Ramakrishna Mission.[9] Suchitra Sen was a contender for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2005, provided she was ready to accept it in person. Her refusal to go to New Delhi and personally accept it from the President of India deprived her of the award.[35]
Death[edit]
Suchitra Sen was admitted to the hospital on 24 December 2013 and was diagnosed with a lung infection. She was reported to have been recovering well in the first week of January.[36] She died at 8.25 am on 17 January 2014, due to a heart attack.[37][38]
Suchitra Sen's death was condoled by many leaders, including the President of India Dr. Pranab Mukherjee, the Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and B.J.P.'s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.[39] A gun salute was given before her cremation, upon the orders of Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal.[40]
Respecting her fierce desire for complete privacy, her last rites were performed at Kolkata's Kaioratola crematorium, barely five and half hours after she died, with her coffin reaching the crematorium in a flower decked hearse with dark-tinted windows. Despite being Bengal's greatest star, referred to as "Mahanayika", she had consciously chosen to step into oblivion and she remained an enigma till her last, although thousands of fans had converged at the crematorium to catch one last glimpse of their idol. Her entire medical treatment had also been done in seclusion and secrecy.[41]
Filmography[edit]
From 1953 to 1978, both in Bengali and Hindi, Suchitra Sen acted in 61 films.Among them 22 were blockbusters,13 were superhits,5 made profits above the average and the rest flopped.
Sunday 3 April 2016
Mukhri-Dilip Kumar
Those who have seen most of the films of Dilip Kumar might have watched Mukhri, the well known comedian of yesteryears, was given an important role. How the relation between the two has developed is an interesting thing to note. Mukhri first started his work as Assistant Director. While on the sets he used to crack jokes to impress everyone. Dilip saab was so impressed with the jokes and features of Mukhri that he wanted him to be on the screen than off the screen. Dilip saab wanted a special character to be created for Mukhri in the storyline of the films in which Dilip saab appeared as hero. Thats how the long lasting relationship developed between Mukhri and Dilip Kumar. (Source : Rangoli programme telecast on DD National on 3rd April,16)
Another story goes like this:
|
Amitabh Bachchan
Is Amitabh going to be the next President of India? It is learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to propose Amitab Bachchan's name. When contacted, Amitabh said, " ... ...I've constantly maintained politics is not my cup of tea. That's unlikely to change. There are many other ways of making oneself useful to the country and society besides politics." (Source : Deccan Chronicle, 2nd April 2016)
You are right Amitabh sir, we want to see you portray many more extraordinary roles on the silver screen till your health permits.
Saturday 2 April 2016
होंठों पर खेलती हैं तब्बसुम की बिजलियाँ, - Chaudvin ka Chand
A part of the lyric 'Chaudvin ka Chand ho' - Great song by Md. Rafi, great picturisation.)
होंठों पर खेलती हैं तब्बसुम की बिजलियाँ,
सजदे तुम्हारी राह में करती हैं कहकशां,
दुनिया-ए-हुस्नों इश्क़ का तुम्ही शबाब हो...
चौदहवीं का चाँद हो..
सजदे तुम्हारी राह में करती हैं कहकशां,
दुनिया-ए-हुस्नों इश्क़ का तुम्ही शबाब हो...
चौदहवीं का चाँद हो..
Friday 1 April 2016
Teaspoon - An excellent Hindi short film.
Its a well made film. Watch it and you will agree with me. India Today writes as under about this short film :
A busy home-maker, a busy husband, and a paralysed father who manages to get his daughter-in-law's attention only after rigorous banging of a teaspoon against his bedstead. If you're expecting this short film to be yet another sappy household drama, you are wrong!
Aban Bharucha Deohans's Teaspoon is a thriller film starring newbie Sree Swara and Bomi Dotiwala (remember the carrom-loving old man in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.?). The movie has already bagged several awards and has been uploaded on YouTube by Candid Creations.
Set against the backdrop of an ordinary middle-class family, Teaspoon revolves around the daily life of Kavita who is bound to stay at home to look after her bed-ridden father-in-law, who gets on her nerve with his relentless banging of a spoon. Though she does attend to him, her frustration is visible and that, one day, gets the better of her, leading her to bring a formidable twist in the tale.
There is, however, more to the story. And you will have to watch it to know how it goes down
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