Rakhi Sawant signs Aditya Raj Kapoor's next
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 Rakhi Sawant is all set to sizzle in Aditya Raj Kapoor’s (son of Shammi Kapoor) next venture titled Baltidevi, Queen of South hall. Aditya Raj Kapoor, known for making conventional cinema is highly impressed by Sawant’s personality.Aditya is confident about Sawant for the lead role, as she easily fits the bill. He adds that, the film revolves around the woman going from rags to riches in South hall and Sawant would do justice to such a kind of role. Sawant is on the cloud 9, and commented that she is fortunate to work with Shammi Kapoor’s son and claims that she won’t be exposing in any scene in the film. In spite of getting lead roles, she does not have any qualms in calling herself ‘an item girl’. Produced by Bala Kumar and Rajeev Agrawal, the film will go on floors by December |
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Mimoh paired with Miss England in Aditya Kapoor's India Rocks
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 Mithun Chakravarthy�s son Mimoh will mark his debut with Raj Sippy�s Jimmy. Interestingly Jimmy was Mithun�s screen name in his biggest hit Disco Dancer. �It just happened unknowingly. It wasn�t a planned move to name the film after my father�s character Jimmy in Disco Dancer. But then we realized that it might just work as a plus point too�, comments MimohAnd even before the release of his debut film, Mimoh has his hands full for the next few months. �I am doing four more films besides Jimmy�, Mimoh sounds excited. The first film will be directed by Shammi Kapoor�s son Aditya Raj Kapoor and is titled India Rocks. Aditya�s debut film Don�t Stop Dreaming starring singer Taz (of Stereo Nation fame) with Rishi Kapoor (Aditya�s cousin) released recently in US and disappeared without a trace. However Mimoh is quite charged about Aditya�s first Hindi feature film. �I am playing the role of a young boy who works in London as a sweeper and subsequently he becomes a superstar. It�s a musical film and emphasizes a lot on dance and music�. Mimoh is lucky to romance two girls in this film. It will introduce Miss England 2006, Eleanor Glynn in a prominent role. The other leading lady is Riya Sen. �Basically it�s a journey of a man and how this British girl comes in his life.� India Rocks is produced by Sudhir Mukherjee under the Filmalaya banner. The film will go on floors in May and will be shot in London. Meanwhile Mimoh has already completed his second film with Raj Sippy titled Hamilton Palace. The film was earlier titled The Murderer. �It�s a murder mystery produced by Salim. Then I am doing a film for Anjum Rizvi called Fast Forward. It has got two heroes and two heroines, but the cast isn�t finalized as yet. And the last one is a film by the producer of Chandni Bar, R Mohan. He has taken a Punjabi director who has done a lot of films in Punjabi and has won many awards too. There are also talks going on for the remake of Satte Pe Satta by Raj Sippy. Raj wants Sanjay Dutt to play Amitabh Bachchan�s role with me playing one of his siblings�. Meanwhile what happens to his other film He � The Only One. Wasn�t it supposed to be his launch pad? �Yes, it was supposed to be my first film. We did the mahurat and also started shooting. But during the course of the shoot, the Padmalaya film producers had a major rift between them. That�s the reason the film is on halt. Jimmy was my second film but because He � The Only One is on hold Jimmy will release first. I shot nearly 60 percent of the film�. |
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Apathy towards yesteryears superstars and filmmakers
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 It is distressing to see the apathy displayed towards yesteryears superstars and filmmakers by today's stars and filmmakers. It was really sad to see all these famous yesteryear personalities getting a rather lonely funeral. Except a handful of persons from Bollywood no super stars of Bollywood were visible at the burial of some famous Bollwood personalities like Ramanand Sagar, Gulshan Rai, Pramod Chakravorty, Vijay Anand, Johny Walker, Parveen Babi, Nadira, etc died. Not many Bollywood personalities, past or present, attended their funeral. And today's stars mouth that inane line time and again �Bollywood is one big family�. This is pure hogwash. The reality is that the moment old Bollywood personalities hang up the boots and are away from media glare they are forgotten by Bollywood. This proves that relationships in Bollywood are purely need based and materialistic.
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Shammi Kapoor's son directs Rishi Kapoor!
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 Aditya Raj Kapoor, son of the charming actor of yesteryears Shammi Kapoor, is taking up his second directorial venture in style! Despite being born and brought up in a filmy-family that left its mark in Hindi cinema, Aditya is making yet another English film, studded with some of the industry�s biggest stars.Written and directed by Aditya Kapoor, Don�t Stop Dreaming is a film that features Aditya�s cousin brother, the famous Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor plays a character named Groovy! Groovy is a former Asian pop-star who later gets into the clothes and textile business. But this is not the first time Rishi and Aditya have worked together. Rishi played the role of Om Suri in Aditya�s earlier directorial venture Sambar Salsa. Rishi is not the only one who has worked with Aditya twice in a row. Singer-composer-actor Taz of �Stereo Nation� fame made his acting debut in Sambar Salsa. He didn�t sign any other films until he was offered Don�t Stop Dreaming. The music of this film, which mostly includes club anthems, has also been composed by him. Don�t Stop Dreaming will also mark the international debut of Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty. Reportedly, Suniel only makes a cameo in this film and hasn�t charged a penny for it! The movie also has other multi-cultural cast including Michelle Collins and Richard Blackwood. Collins, who makes her film debut with Don�t Stop Dreaming, plays Rishi Kapoor�s wife. Aditya believes that handling so many stars from varied backgrounds was a big challenge, but all worth the effort. Don�t Stop Dreaming is a musical comedy about a group of young friends who want to leave their mark on the musical front. Set entirely in Birmingham, known as the Bhangra Capital of the world, the story revolves around these youngsters who come together and form a multi-cultural band that fuses eastern music with the western tunes. They start off by performing at a pub but, as the name suggests, they don�t stop dreaming of going higher! Aditya is putting final touches to the film now. It is speculated to release on March 16 in the UK. Although Aditya is more interested in making English films, he plans to work on the remake of his dad�s film Dil Deke Dekho next year. |
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Trip down the memory lane with Mala Sinha
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 Traffic-stopping curves, exotically beautiful Nepali looks coupled with tremendous talent turned out to be her ticket to fame and glory. She was Yash Chopra�s heroine in his directorial debut blockbuster social Dhool Ka Phool , and by teaming up with Guru Dutt in Pyaasa she became part of Indian cinema�s legend. Reigning supreme as a leading lady over two decades, perhaps her greatest achievement has been the sheer longevity of her allure� Screen felicitated her with the Lifetime Achievement Award this year and the glittering trophy stands proudly in her palatial Bandra bungalow in Mumbai where she lives with her daughter and five ferocious dogs. The grand lady rewinds to her Kolkata days where she imitated Nargis and dreamt of dazzling the silver screen�A singing prodigy Born to Christian Nepali parents in Kolkata, she was their only child and they fondly christened her Alda. �But my school mates would tease me Alda-Dalda after the hydrogenated oil brand so my parents started calling me Baby,� she laughs. Her businessman father would take her and her mother along for film shows and young Baby would come home and imitate the song and dance sequences exactly as she had seen those on screen. �Baba (father) spotted the spark in me right there and hired music and dance teachers for me. And it wasn�t too long before I came to be regarded as a singing prodigy. I was often invited to perform at Durga Puja festivities, and at music shows by famous singers like Punkaj Mallik and Gonda Mukherji,� she reminisces. School text-books got blurred whenever she heard songs on the radio; music became the mainstay of her life. Her father, a good singer himself who could not fulfill his wish of pursuing a singing career as he was weighed down with family responsibilities, encouraged his talented daughter whole-heartedly. And when she was offered Roshanara, her first feature film as a child artiste by Ardhendu Bose, a Bengali filmmaker, after he watched her play the title role in the school drama, Chitrangada her father gave her a go ahead promptly much against her grandmother�s wishes who felt it were better to drown the girl than let her join films! Five flops, yet Screen declared Mala a star Her waif-like adolescent form metamorphosed into traffic-stopping curves as she starred in a couple of Bangla films, but it was a stamp-size picture in a Bangla newspaper that turned out to be her ticket to fame in Hindi filmdom, �Director Amiya Chakravorty was already a name to reckon with, when he approached Baba with the heroine�s role in Badshah which was the adapted version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame , we shifted to Mumbai,� elaborates Mala.  As her career progressed her alias changed for the final time from Alda to Baby to Baby Nazma to Mala Sinha. But life wasn�t going to be easy for the plump young Mala who spoke only Bangla; she faced flops and failures early in her career. �Five flops in a row was no joke! Badshah, Seema, Ekadashi(a mythological!), Riyasat and Kishore Sahu�s dream project Hamlet in which we wore gowns crashed in quick succession. But I remember even though Hamlet failed, Screen gave me a glowing review declaring �A star is born�. After watching Hamlet, Geeta Bali recommended me to Kidar Sharma in Rangeen Raatein opposite Shammi Kapoor. But for Geetaji, we had all but packed our bags to return to Kolkata,� she admits with a shrug.Raj Kapoor spoke in Bangla to put her at ease Mala had grown up on a staple diet of Raj-Nargis romances, hoping that she would replace Nargis in Raj Kapoor�s arms one day. She would tie two pleats with ribbon bows just like Nargis and would be delighted when her schoolmates started calling her Nargis, �With my oval face-cut and aquiline nose, I really believed them! So picture my excitement when I was offered Parvarish opposite my dream man Raj Kapoor. I didn�t sleep the night before the shoot; I rehearsed my scene with Baba through the night. I didn�t know a word of Hindi then, I would write my lines in Bangla script and mug them up,� she confesses bemusedly. She developed cold feet the next morning when faced with her screen god, but Raj Kapoor was not just a performer par excellence but also a compassionate co-star. He sat down with her before the take and spoke to her in Bangla to put her at ease. �Rajji noticed that during a dramatic scene in which I was talking and emoting, the director had trained the camera on his face and on my back in accordance with our star status, Rajji advised the director to shift the shot and focus on me. He was not only a great artiste but also a director within,� she acknowledges gratefully. She was paired twice more opposite Raj Kapoor in Main Nashe Mein Hoon and Phir Subah Hogi. She also co-starred with reigning superstar Dev Anand in Love Marriage and Maya. Compassionate and caring Guru Dutt When young Mala was offered the role of Guru Dutt�s sweetheart who spurns his affections and opts to marry the richer man Rehman, she never thought she was to be a part of an all time classic Pyassa. �I was in awe of Guru Dutt, if he asked me to report on the sets at nine, I would be there with full make-up on at six! But he was never overbearing, in fact he gave me full freedom to enact my scenes,� she reasons. She recalls the maverick maker as someone who would often be lost in his creative thoughts and looking at the skies through his viewfinder. A strict, no-nonsense director who called the shots but also a compassionate and caring boss who would personally supervise that each and every unit member was well-fed. �The most challenging scene in the film was the unspoken-conflict elevator scene where Guru Dutt and I come face to face for the first time since I have ditched him for the rich man not realizing that he is there seeking the help of my publisher husband. Guru Dutt�s only instruction to me was to feel the emotions which I did,� she stresses. She also featured in Suhagan and Bahurani with Guru Dutt.  The first Yash Chopra heroineIf the yardstick of a heroine�s success is a Yash Chopra banner today, Mala heads the list of Chopra charmers. She played the unwed mother who abandons her illegitimate child in Yash Chopra�s path-breaking directorial debut Dhool Ka Phool. It was a huge moneyspinner and her �bold� role went down well with the masses. But the role was no cakewalk for the young director-heroine team as Mala recalls, �I accepted the role as a challenge and things were going on pretty well until the day I had to enact the delivery scene in the forest. When I asked Yash how to emote labour pains, he scratched his head and admitted that he had no clue either, �Ask your mother,� he advised. My mother told me that the pain came in waves and when it hit you just saw stars in the daylight,� she laughs, �And that is how it was to be the first Yash Chopra heroine.� Meena Kumari passed on Jahan Ara to Mala Mala was on a winning spree, what with a string of hits in a row - Geet, Lalkar, Aankhen, Himalaya Ki God Mein, Suhagan, Bahurani, Anpadh and Hariyali Aur Rasta- Mala was much in demand not only as the oomph girl but also as a sensitive actor. Of her rich and varied repertoire of films, Mala is rather partial to Jahan Ara, a historical that Meena Kumari passed on to her, �Meenaji turned down the role saying that she wouldn�t look the part whereas I would. Given my ignorance of Urdu, I was rather skeptical but Meenaji was convinced that I could do justice to the role. Playing Mumtaz Mahal�s eldest daughter entailed grueling Urdu classes and learning royal tehzeeb. It was hot on the grand sets erected at Ranjit Studio and the film had Madan Mohan�s haunting music. It was a film replete with lyrical moments,� she recalls fondly. Shy Dharam, impish Rajesh, jovial Raj Kumar, child-like Sanjeev, reserved Amitabh� Mala launched many a new hero in her heyday; Dharmendra was but a lanky newcomer when he was cast opposite her in Anpadh. �He was so handsome and well built Hindi cinema�s first he-man. But he was no struggler, he already had a moderate hit to his credit when he was chosen for Anpadh but this was a bigger banner and a better break for him,� stresses Mala, elaborating on how Dharam turned beetroot-red and broke into a cold sweat when their very first scene turned out to be that of the suhaag raat and only 3-4 takes later he got his act right, �But success changes everything, later when we acted in Aankhen, Dharamji became bold and beautiful especially with the fairer sex,� she reveals with a hearty laugh. Her Maryada hero Rajesh Khanna was really naughty and always playing pranks. �We were shooting the song �Chup ke se dil de de ...� in Filmalaya Studios, I was all dressed to kill with a plunging neckline and on my way to the set I heard a piercing wolf-whistle. I turned back to lash out in anger and there I saw Rajesh sitting under a tree telling me mischievously, �My compliments!�. My anger just evaporated,� she recalls.  Raaj Kumar ranked among Mala�s favourite leading men, she remembers him as someone who didn�t change at all with times, �He was the same jovial person I knew from the Nausherwan-E-Adil days. Sohrab Modi directed as well as acted in the film and he was a very strict person with stiff ways, Raj Kumar would mimic his mannerisms and keep us in splits. He was a jolly good man, I have never seen him grumpy,� she relates.Mala is full of fond memories of Sanjeev Kumar, �He was a very sensitive actor, he never acted he just became the character. But off-screen he was very child-like; he dropped by at our place unannounced one day and declared that he would lunch with us. My Baba was embarrassed because we are fish-eaters and we had nothing much to offer a Gujarati vegetarian! But he assured us that he didn�t mind eating fish at all. He ate heartily picking out fish-bones as deftly as we do.� Rivaaz and Zindagi are two of the films in which they co-starred. Amitabh Bachchan, who co-starred with her in Sanjog, was �always a very cultured young man who spoke Hindi flawlessly�, Mala recalls his rich baritone and his true-to-life performances, �Somehow he never opened up to me, perhaps owing to my seniority, but he was always respectful towards me,� she remarks. Adieu Baba, adieu films! During her first Nepali film Maitighar, Mala fell in love with her hero C P Lohani. They were soon married and were blessed with a lovely daughter Pratibha. Domestic responsibilities never came in the way of her career, Mala continued acting even after marriage and child-birth and graduated to substantial character roles with Zindagi, �Which was just like Baghban, perhaps not as glamorous,� she admits. She was last seen in Khel (�91), Raadha Ka Sangam (�92) and Zid (�94). Her heart was no longer in acting, and she missed her father sorely. �Baba took care of everything the banner, the script and even my costumes all I did was to perform; I wasn�t allowed to answer phone calls directly. After he passed away I never felt up to facing the camera again, I missed him too much on the sets. He was my guru, my strength and my source of inspiration, � she states emotionally. Since then she leads a simple, reclusive life in suburban Bandra, and she is often spotted in the market buying fresh-water fish or some furnishings for the bungalow. Sans pretense, sans scandal, she leads a peaceful life, sans any regrets in life. She is philosophical about daughter Pratibha�s none-too scintillating stint in films, �That was her destiny and this was mine. Otherwise tell me how did the little girl from Diocesan Girls High School, Kolkata, land up here in films?� she asks pertinently. |
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Flashback: Serenading forever � Shammi Kapoor
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 He changed the very concept of the Hindi film hero from the over-chaste under-romantic to the ardour-filled lover who serenaded with passionate aggression without - and that was some tightrope act in those days - outraging the sensibilities of the audience of the late �50s, �60s and early �70s.Quite naturally in the Hindi film context, where emotions are predominantly expressed through music, Shamsher Raj Kapoor, known to the world as Shammi Kapoor, could not have become the modern Icon of Romance without the support of brilliant music. Through the predominant vocals of his peerless vocal soul that was Mohammed Rafi (with Manna Dey at rare second fiddle, and rarer other voices), Shammi inspired simple melodies and rhythms with strong lyrics as the backbone of peppy compositions and crackling orchestration. As Shammi Kapoor celebrated his 75th birthday on October 21, 2006, Screen looks at an imaginary 75-song album of the Rebel Star�s most �note�-worthy songs. In this collection, Rafi�s presence is understood unless another specific singer is mentioned. Intoxication was a Shammi Kapoor leitmotif, and the album must aptly begin with �Jawaniyan yeh mast mast bin piye...� (O.P.Nayyar-Majrooh/ Tumsa Nahin Dekha) from the film that made Shammi Kapoor not just a star but a brand. Three more Nayyar hits must also come in, the title-track (Sahir�s only contribution here), the Punjabi �Sar par topi laal...�(with Asha) and �Chhupnewale saamne aa...�. Though Rafi had sung Shammi right from his debut Jeevan Jyoti half a decade earlier, it was O.P. who set Rafi as the voice on the Rebel Star. We move to Dil Deke Dekho, where Shammi suggested the �Sugar in the morning sugar in the evening...� tune to debutante Usha Khanna for the title-track, which will be our 5th song. �In those days� says Shammi, �Music directors would add their bit to such songs.� In the fifth place stands �Bolo bolo kuch to bolo...� (with Asha) in this second consecutive hit with S.Mukerji-Nasir Husain-Majrooh. �Yaar chulbula hai...� and �Bade hain dil ke kale...� (both with Asha) were other winners here.  A quick rewind to Jeewan Jyoti (1953) finds Shammi Kapoor himself singing two lines in the film, �So jaa re so jaa...�(S.D.Burman, who had also made Raj Kapoor sing earlier). The Rafi-Shammi association, which is to grow to phenomenal heights, begins with the Geeta-Rafi duet �Lag gayi ankhiyaan o more baalam...�. Another popular song was Laila Majnu�s �Aankhon mein hain tu...� (Ghulam Mohammed-Shakeel Badayuni/with Asha).Shammi Kapoor�s association with Shankar Jaikishan began unspectacularly with Ujala (1959). Shammi�s newfound flamboyance as a successful star matched Jaikishan�s, and this probably explained their instant rapport and enduring association, to mark the beginning of which we bring in their first two popular songs, �Jhoomta mausam mast mahina...� (Manna-Lata/Hasrat) and �Ab kahaan jaye hum...�. (Manna/Shailendra). It took S-J and Shammi some more films, however, to find their footing, even if Rafi came in with Boyfriend, College Girl and Singapore. And thus we jump straight to Junglee in which the future president of the Internet Users� Club of India and later office-bearer of �Net-based organizations was ordained by Destiny to use the word �Yahoo� 30 years before it achieved worldwide fame - in the anthem �Chaahe koi mujhe jungle kahe...� (Shailendra). But it�s not just this song that makes Shammi the Yahoo Male, so to speak. Endemic is the only word to describe the popularity of songs as diverse as Shailendra�s atypical outing, �Aiyiyaa karoon main kya...� and Hasrat�s �Ehsaan tera hoga...� In this season when the remake of Don is being released, it is perhaps interesting to know that the earlier version itself was a reprise of China Town, the film that boasts of �Baar baar dekho...� (Ravi-Majrooh), a song that has the distinction of being the first Hindi film song whose rights were brought a West Indies music band! S-J-Shammi hit the charts and hearts again with the Chennai concoction Dil Tera Deewana, with its package of lovelies from which we must include at least three songs, �Dhadakne lagta hai...� and �Nazar bachakar chale gaye ho...� (Hasrat) and �Dil tera deewana...� (with Lata/Shailendra).  By this time, S-J and Shammi were firmly bonded and made for each other. So it was not they got the entire nation listen enthralled to the music of the Professor who made students of film music learn by heart songs like �Ae gulbadan...� (Hasrat), �Khuli palak mein jhoota gussa...� (Shailendra) and �Awaaz dekar...� (with Lata/Shailendra). One song that stood out as different was �Yeh umar hai kya rangili...� in which an �old� Shammi serenaded his girls in Manna Dey�s voice, with Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar singing for the ladies.Probably there are very few heroes whose film titles have been repeated as often as those of Shammi�s film. One such, though obviously taken from a hit song, was Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya, and here is where Ravi went to the opposite spectrum of his China Town hit and delivered the high-pitched lament, �Zindagi kya hai gham ka dariya hai...� (Shakeel Badayuni). Kalyanji-Anandji were rising slowly then, and they used a record three singers (Rafi, Mukesh and the vocally-incongruous Hemant Kumar) for the man in Bluffmaster, and the Maharashtrian folk-based �Govinda aala re...� has transcended the barriers of film music to become synonymous with the state�s Gokulasthami celebrations. Mukesh�s �Socha tha pyar hum na karenge...�, with all its S-J flavour that K-A emulated then, remains the closest Shammi song to the Raj Kapoor ethos. And what was O.P. Nayyar, who gave Rafi and Shammi a �fix� on each other, doing as S-J continued to have an edge in general as well on Kapoor territory? After a few also-ran scores like Mujrim, Nayyar slalomed to the forefront with an all-hit grandslam in Kashmir Ki Kali. �I remember Shakti Samanta, lyricist S.H.Bihari, Nayyar-saab and I opened a bottle of whisky and sat down to make the music of this film,� says Shammi.�Nayyar had 52 tunes and we selected the 9 best!� And from this brilliant score, we simply must have �Deewana hua badal...�, �Ishaaron ishaaron...� and the bhangra �Yeh mere haath mein tera haath...� (all with Asha Bhosle) and the solos �Taarif karoon kya usski...� and �Hai duniya ussiki...�. Kapoor also played an active role in the selection, creation, recording and concept of his music and the final filming of his songs. In consultation with Rafi, the two titans of their respective fields decided that every �Taarif� in the song would be rendered differently and each time the sentence �Taarif karoon...� was repeated it would be enacted with a different and standout step by Shammi! But in that year, S-J also resounded at the charts with the formidable Rajkumar. Shailendra�s �Jaanewalo zaraa hoshiyaar...� and the uniquely-styled �Dilruba dil pe tu...� (with Asha) with the sound of the whip vied with Hasrat�s peaens of passion for Sadhana in �Iss rang badalti duniya mein...� and �Tumne kisiki jaan ko...�.  Changing roles from a Rajkumar to a Janwar was all in the day�s work for the stylized Shammi Kapoor. And S-J backed him up yet again with timeless tunes like �Lal chhadi maidan khadi...� (Shailendra), �Dekho ab to...� (with Asha, Balbir and S.D.Batish/Shailendra) and two very different yet intense winners, �Tumse accha kaun hai...� (later to be the title of a 1969 Shammi hit!) and �Meri mohabbat jawan rahegi...�. And in 1966, Shammi and his music team mischievously played on the title Janwar too with their frothy title-song �Budtameez kaho ya kaho jaanwar...� (Hasrat)!By this time, S-J and Shammi were so inseparable that no other music director was even considered for the actor. But the shrewd Nasir Husain,who had gleaned enough of Shammi�s musical tastes and acumen by allowing him the freedom to choose his music from the Tumsa Nahin Dekha days, got the then-daisy-fresh volcano of talent R.D.Burman to compose tunes and made the musical Kapoor listen with the rider that if Shammi did not approve, his Vijay Anand thriller would go to S-J. Shammi heard - with immense initial scepticism - and the rest was history as R.D., still three years away from big-time, smashed into fame with songs like �Deewana mujhsa nahin...�, the innovative �Dekhiye saahibo...� and the famous trio of Asha-Rafi duets �Aaja aaja main hoon pyar tera...�, �O haseena zulfon wali...� and of course �O mere sona re...�, all written inimitably by Majrooh for Teesri Manzil. Two songs from Laat Saheb - the rambunctious �Savere wali gaadi se chale jayenge...� (Shailendra) and �Ae chand zaraa chhup jaa...� (with Asha/Shailendra). By then S-J had split, and Shammi despite his personal friendship with Jaikishan, knew the stuff Shankar was made of not to sideline him altogether. French songs thus went on to form the framework of what many consider to be Shankar-Jaikishan�s finest work-ever for Shammi - An Evening In Paris. This crime thriller was studded with exotic locales and an ooh-la-la Sharmila Tagore in a good-�n�-evil dual role, and the master composers rose splendidly - if separately - to the occasion with sheer exotica like �Akele akele kahaan jaa rahe ho...�, �Deewano ka naam to pooncho...�, �Aasmaan se aaya farishta...� (whose popularity reached the skies thanks also to the vocal coquetry of a swimsuit-clad Sharmila!) and Shailendra�s twin duets �Mera dil hai tera...� and the placid Asha duet �Raat ke humsafar...�. Shammi�s frenzied choreography and the consequent injuries and medications, coupled with his devastation at wife Geeta Bali�s premature death had made the trim leading man put on weight. It was not yet time to quit, but to go a shade mature with Brahmchari. And so as a foster-father to a bunch of kids,the dashing romantic idol of millions sang out his feelings to kids rather than beauties in two diametrically-opposite songs, Shailendra�s boisterous �Chakke pe chakka...� and heartfelt lullaby �Main gaaoon tum so jaao...�. Hasrat Jaipuri�s master-stroke �Dil ke jharonkhe mein...� (yet another future title) and the super-zingy �Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche...� (with Suman/Rajendra Krishan) saw him belt out his heart respectively to Rajashree and the oomph-laden Mumtaz.  The �mature� and the quintessential Shammi blended in Tumse Accha Kaun Hai as Shammi traversed a gamut from �Kiss...kisko pyar karoon...� to the philosophical and secular �Ganga meri maa ka naam...�, both penned by the wonderful Rajendra Krishan as Shailendra�s replacement complement to Hasrat Jaipuri in Shammi-land. Hasrat was there of course, in two sterling numbers, �Janam janam ka saath...� and �Rangat teri surat si...� (with Lata).Later that year, Shammi became a blue-blooded character again, in Prince. though the film was a disaster at the box-office, it boasted of a cavalcade of hits, led by the immortal �Badan pe sitare...� (Hasrat) and that connoisseurs� choice - �Madhosh hawa matwali fiza...� (Farukh Kaiser). In keeping with Shammi�s predilections for Western jazz-n-rock, this was a brilliant reworking - without being a copy! - of the title-track of the classic Hollywood comedy Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines. In Pagla Kahin Ka it was time for Manna Dey to step in with the Shammi-as-loony act in �Mere bhains ko danda kyoon mara...�, with Rafi shouldered the sonorous �Tum mujhe yoon bhula na paaoge...� (both Hasrat). 1971 saw Shammi close shop finally as a hero, but he went with a bang with Andaz and its cult numbers by Hasrat Jaipuri, like �Hai na bolo bolo...� (with Suman Kalyanpur, Sushma Shrestha and Pratibha), �Sun lo sunata hoon...� (with Mala) and the Beatles-adapted �Dil usse do jo jaan de de...� with its simple, yet amazing philosophy. When Shammi returned as a character artiste with Manoranjan, he did much more - he also made his debut as director. With Jaikishan gone, he remembered Pancham from Teesri Manzil, and the composer gave a sledgehammer of a score, from which we choose �Goyake chunaanche...� because it is the only song director Shammi ever filmed on himself, with Manna Dey as his voice, Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar singing for lead pair Zeenat Aman and Sanjeev Kumar, and Anand Bakshi as lyricist. Shammi�s only other film as director, Bundalbaaz (1977), saw Rafi (shockingly missing from Manoranjan) back , but as Rajesh Khanna�s voice in �Naghma hamara...� (with Lata/Majrooh). To round off this landmark Shammi Kapoor album that would be a super-seller if it ever came out, we choose that piquant sole example of Rafi singing - in that same year 1977 - for another artiste in a Shammi Kapoor song, �Hum premee prem karna jaane...� in Parvarish (Laxmikant-Pyarelal-Majrooh)! Shailendra Singh was the voice that went on the Kapoor, while Rafi went on Vinod Khanna, and Kishore Kumar on Amitabh Bachchan! Next would come Rafi�s last song for the artiste who brought out his best - �Naag devta...� (Shalimar/R.D.Burman-Anand Bakshi). And we conclude with two Kalyanji-Anandji-Anand Bakshi hits from Vidhaata, where Suresh Wadkar sang with Anwar-for-Dilip Kumar in �Haathon ki chand lakeeron ka...� and Kishore Kumar with seven female playback voices for Padmini Kolhapure rocked the charts for Shammi just once in �Saat saheliyaan...�. |
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Mahurat of the film'Raama'
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