With the invasion of Audio CDs and Mp3s and Winamp et al, gone are the days of painfully rewinding a song for exactly a mentally calibrated 1.5 minutes to get to the start of your favourite song to listen to it again. “MONO” was as standard as Dolby-Digital is now and even with these technological hindrances which possibly did not unleash the composer’s brilliance to the fullest extent, there were melodies which overcame these hindrances. One such melody is SD Burman’s “Ab Ke Sajan Saawan Mein“.
From Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s cutesy, romantic simplistic 1975 comedy Chupke Chupke, this movie has lots to flaunt about. A stellar cast – Amitabh Bachhan, Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri, Om Prakash, Asrani and above all – Keshto Mukherjee 
And whenever one mentions Chupke Chupke, Ab Ke Sajan.. is definitely one of the first things that cross my mind [ apart from Dharam jee's mind-bending Hindi vocabulary and his tussle with clever Jeejaajee - Om Prakash ].
I vividly remember hearing it for the first time on Chitrahaar and quite instantly, fell in love with it.And after almost 20 odd years, I can say for sure, that it wasn’t just a mere infatuation. After all, what’s not to love about it. The teasing, naughty chedh-chaadh lyrics by Anand Bakshi written in simplistic Hindi is a perfect example of how less is more. Check out the lyrics on the second verse..
[Continue Reading…]
This section pays homage to those immortal single frames which have succeeded to create an indelible impression in our minds by their sheer excellence. Yes, no words, no moving pictures, no dialogues – just a single frame, and it speaks volumes. Jai Ho Bollywood!
And what better way to start Freeze Frame with the Diva herself. Just embrace her beauty and bow down Mr. to her gracefulness, Parveen Babi.
Her gracefulness, Parveen Babi
This frame is taken from one of the genre-defining movies of the 80′s – Shaan. Now, to discuss Shaan, I guess, I’ll require far more than a single post just because of all the awesomeness that is packed into it. But I am here to speak of this one frame. What story does it tell us? What tale does it depict?
Well kids, this is what Wednesday Chitrahaar climaxed with. This is what made Rangolis rangeela (colourful). And this is what made the One Knight STAND in absolute attention and salute to Indian cinema’s DIANA ROSS. Now, c’mon don’t be so sensitive that I compared her to someone else. You know it within you, that Parveen Babi’s Diva look was very much influenced by the Disco revolution of the 80′s. Yes, all the Boney M and Bee Gees, and the shiny Disco Balls and the glittering outfit. Of course the dance moves and the microphone is all Diana.
Another interesting fact is that, Shaan was supposedly influenced by the style of Bond movies, The Spy Who Loved Me(1977) to be precise. And of course, who doesn’t remember the extremely popular Bond 77 theme from that movie eh! And club in Saturday Night fever looks, and we have indeed got the look of Pyar Karne Waale.
But I am deviating from the point now. Parveen Babi’s Diva status is all personified in this one single frame. She embodies the sexy and sultry Bond-woman (not girl) image as well as the sophistication and seduction of a graceful popstar of epic proportions. Not only is this one of the highest points in her illustrious film career ( the other one being of course – Namak Halal ), but also one, which millions of her fans remember her for. And although Panchamda and Asha ji were the soul behind Pyar Karne Waale, Parveen Babi is not just be the face of the song. Even today when we hear that song played at a late night show on an FM channel, or watch it whilst randomly surfing through the telly, we stop and we see and we listen.
Want to relive that moment again, hit the jump and watch the video I say.
[Continue Reading…]
Filmfare Awards was recently aired on Telly. And apart from the usual fart jokes that floated around with SRK and Saif in the hosting shoes, the highest point of this year’s show was the Lifetime Achievement Award honoured to none other than Balbir Raj Kapoor or as we popularly know him – Shashi Kapoor.
Now, I am a big fan of Shashi jee. But when it comes to fandom, I am miles away from it, considering the existence of fangirls such as Beth whose Shashi fandom [ Beth's house of Shashi ], can give the Twilight Tweens a run for their money. But the body of work that Shashi Kapoor has done over his life speaks for itself. From commercial to international cinema to producing some of the best of Indian cinema, Shashi Kapoor adds up to one word – Uncompromising. While his peers and contemporaries gave in to the Ooty revolution and Ketchup bloodshed, Shashi Kapoor gave us Utsav, New Delhi Times, Junoon and 36 Chowringee Lane. Yes, he gave us Ajooba as well, but then, that is a classic too in a whole another level [and I know most of you'd agree].
Filmfare’s lovely Lifetime Achievement Award this year couldn’t have been more justified. And I couldn’t resist posting a whole post dedicated to the Awesome Shashi Kapoor. So without any further ado, I give to you the lovely screencaps I managed to pull from the Filmfare montage piece. [ Go hit the jump to see the awesome pics ].
[Continue Reading…]
First post of the decade. And we are looking back at the 80′s. No not the 90′s or the Noughties, but the 80′s. Coz that was when I was born. I AM a child of the 80′s.
Right, so I just got one big affirmative answer to the question of how many people love the Bollywood of 80′s. The answer of course is a Big-Ass YES!! I did this post on one of my most favourite cinema blogs called PassionForCinema.com [Please read the post if you haven't. It's titled : Essential Eighties -Tezaab (1988) ]. The post was a tribute to one of the milestone movies of the 80′s and most importantly the one that launched Madhuri Dixit to her Dancing Diva status – Tezaab. Much of that has already been discussed on the post, but more than that people have commented at length about how much they loved the 80′s[and the music associated with them]. I am absolutely thrilled to see the amount of fundoo trivia knowledge that these people have, and it makes me feel very happy to be in their company. While I will be discussing more on Tezaab in a follow up post on PFC, here I am continuing my ‘Khujlee’ on my long-forgotten Say What section. And this time, it is Tezaab ki baari.
Now be warned. This post contains language which could be too colourful for your taste.
And yes, spoilers if you haven’t watched the movie yet. [Never thought I would say that for a 1988 movie]
So, the Kahani begins like this. Shyamlal[Anupam Kher] pours Acid on plants. His daughter Mohini sings Ek Do Teen to make money. Shyamlal owes money to Lotiya Pathan. Lotiya Pathan kidnaps Mohini. Mohini’s lover – Munna is on a Tadipaar.. out of Bombay. But he’s still good at heart. He is the typical 80′s ka dude – much like Robin Hood – Less on personal hygiene, more on sympathy. And yeah! Kick the arse of villains with funny names – like Mukut Bihari. If villains in today’s era in Mumbai had such names, first of all they would have to deal with MNS and Shiv Sena 
[Continue Reading…]
