Jaan Nisar Akhtar
Jan Nisar Akhtar (18 February 1914 – 19 August 1976) was an important 20th century Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood. His career spanned four decades during which he worked with music composers including C. Ramchandra, O.P. Nayyar, N Dutta and Khayyam and wrote 151 songs. Notable among them were songs from his breakthrough film, AR Kardar's Yasmin (1955), Aankhon hi Aankhon Mein in Guru Dutt's CID (1956), Yeh dil aur unki nigahon ke saaye in Prem Parbat (1974) and Aaja re in Noorie (1979) and his last song, Ae Dil-e-naadaan, in Kamal Amrohi's Razia Sultan (1983).
His poetry works include Nazr-e-Butaan, Salaasil, Javidaan, Pichali Pehar, Ghar Angan and Khaak-e-dil. The latter ("The Ashes of Heart") was a poetry collection for which he was awarded the 1976 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.
Jaddan Bai
Jaddanbai Hussain was born in 1892 she was brought up as a Muslim by her mother and stepfather. Historians allege that Jaddanbai's biological father was Motilal Nehru, who had engaged in an illicit affair with Jaddanbai's mother Daleepbai Begum. Daleepbai and her husband later migrated to Punjab and later to Chilbila Village in Allahabad, where she worked as a tawaif. Her step father died when she was five. Jaddan Bai moved to the city and became a singer but had difficulty due to her lack of formal training. She later approached Shrimant Ganpat Rao (Bhaiya Saheb Scindia) of Calcutta and became his student. Shrimant Ganpat Rao died in 1920 while she was still a student, so she completed her training under Ustad Moinuddin Khan. Later she also trained with Ustad Chaddu Khan Saheb and Ustad Laab Khan Saheb. Her music became popular. She began recording ghazals with the Columbia Gramophone Company. She started participating in music sessions. She was invited by the rulers of many states like Rampur, Bikaner, Gwalior, Kashmir, Indore and Jodhpur. She had also rendered songs and ghazals at various radio stations in the country. She later began acting when the Play Art Photo Tone Company of Lahore approached her for a role in their movie Raja Gopichand in 1933. She played the role of the mother of the title character. Later she worked for a Karachi based film company, in Insaan ya Shaitan. She worked in two more movies, Prem Pariksha and Seva Sadan, before starting her own production company called Sangeet Films. The company produced Talashe Haq in 1935, in which she acted and composed the music. She also introduced her daughter Nargis as a child artist. In 1936 she acted in, directed, and wrote the music for Madam Fashion.
Her first marriage was with a Hindu man Narottamdas Khatri alias Bachi Babu who converted to Islam and adopted the name of "Nazeer Mohammad" their son was Akhtar Hussain. Her second marriage was with Ustaad Irshad Meer Khan and they had a son Anwar Hussain. Her third marriage was to Mohanchand Uttamchand Tyagi alias Mohan Babu, originally a Mohyal Saraswat Brahmin Hindu who converted to Islam and adopted the name Abdul Rashid. Film actress, Nargis (real name, Fatima Rashid) was their daughter.
Jagdeep
Jagdeep started his film career as a child artist extra in B. R. Chopra's Afsana, then became a child artist in Ab Dilli Door Nahin, K A Abbas's Munna and AVM's Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke. Then came Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin with which he started playing comic roles. Some hit songs are picturised on him like Paas baitho tabiyat bahal jayegi from Punarmilan, In pyar ki rahon mein from the same film, Chal ud ja re Panchhi and Chali Chali re Patang from superhit movie Bhabhi where he is paired opposite Nanda, Aa Gaye Yaaro Jeene Ke from Phir wohi Raat.
He is also known for his appearances in many horror Movies, especially in projects of Ramsay Brothers. He appeared in famous hits like Purana Mandir.
Along with Naved Jafri and Bollywood actor Jaaved Jaaferi, Jagdeep has one more daughter (Muskaan Jafri) from his second wife Nazima. Naved and Javed were hosts of the popular show Boogie Woogie.
He has appeared in more than 400 films. He is especially known for his comic roles. He played Soorma Bhopali in Sholay (1975), Machchar in Purana Mandir (1984), Salman Khan's dad in Andaz Apna Apna (1994) and directed a movie Soorma Bhopali with this character as the protagonist
Jagdish Raj
Jagdish Raj Khurana (1928 – 28 July 2013) was a Bollywood actor who holds a Guinness World Record for being the most type-cast actor. He played a police inspector in 144 films. Some of his popular movies include Deewar, Don, Shakti, Mazdoor, Imaan Dharam, Gopichand Jasoos, Silsila, Aaina and Besharam. He also played Aditya Pancholi's father in Naamcheen (1991). Although Raj occasionally played a villain and a couple of times played the role of a judge, he was best known for being cast a record 144 times as a police officer. After Shafi Inamdar, he holds the Limca Book of Records record for Most memorable policeman ever. His daughter Anita Raj was also a Bollywood actress.
P. Jairaj
Paidi Jairaj (born Paidipati Jairula Naidu - 28 September 1909 – 11 August 2000) was an Indian film, superstar, director and producer known for his works primarily in Hindi cinema, Marathi, Gujarati language films, and Telugu theatre. During the talkie period, from 1931 onwards, he started with Shikari in Urdu and English languages. Subsequently he became one of the leading actors for about two decades along with Shantaram, Prithviraj Kapoor, Motilal etc. He was starred in about 170 feature films in a variety of roles. He directed a few films like Mohar, Mala (1943), Pratima, Rajghar and Saagar (1951) which he produced. In 1980, He was honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award the highest award for films in India, for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Jal khambatta
Jal Khambatta is an actor, known for Lal-e-Yaman (1933), Balidan (1927) and The Court Dancer: Raj Narkati (1941).
Jayant
Jayant was born on October 15, 1915 in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British India as Zakaria Khan. He was an actor, known for Madhumati (1958), Himalay Ki Godmein (1965) and Leader (1964). He died on June 2, 1975 in India.
The name Jayant was given to him by film director and producer Late Vijay Bhatt. He acted in many Indian films under his professional name in films Jayant until he died in 1975. His son Late Amjad Khan was also a popular film actor.
Jayashree
Born 1921 in China Town, Calcutta, India
Died October 19, 2004 in Bombay, India
Jayashree was an accomplised Bollywood actress, and had acted in other Indian language movies as well. She married noted Rajaram V. Shantaram. She was the second wife of Rajaram V. Shantaram. She had two children, a daughter, namely the famous Bollywood beauty, Rajshree, and one son, Kiran Shantaram, who at one time was the Sheriff of Bombay. Her husband, Rajaram V. Shantaram, passed away in October, 1990.
Jayshree T
Jayshree T was only 5 years old in 1958 when she made her debut in Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959). After appearing as a child artiste in a few other films, she made her debut as a cabaret dancer in Abhilasha (1968). After that, she went on to dance in more than 500 movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She got married in 1989 to film director Jayprakash and she gave birth to a son in 1991. She now appears in many soap operas on mainstream Indian TV.
Jayshree Gadkar
Jayshree Gadkar (21 February 1942 – 29 August 2008) was a noted Marathi and Hindi movie actress and a star of Marathi cinema from the 1950s up to the 1980s.
She began her career as a child dance artist. She entered films as a tamasha dancer in movies. Her first role was that of a group dancer in V. Shantaram's Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje in 1955 which featured Sandhya as the leading lady. Later, well known Marathi film Director Dinkar D patil cast her in a small role with dance in his Marathi film "Disat Tasa Nasat" opposite Raja Gosavi. This was followed by Sangtye Aika, a tamasha-based movie which was the first in which she played a leading role. This helped her gain fame and recognition and she started doing heroine roles. She eventually became one of the most successful and prolific heriones in the history of the Marathi film industry.
Jayshree acted in about 250 films over a period of four decades. Her filmography was varied and included a rich repertoire of tamasha stories as also mythologicals in addition to socials and love stories. In later years, Jayashree turned film director. Her directorial efforts include Saasar Maher and Ashi Asavi Saasu. She also acted in Ramanand Sagar's TV Series Ramayana as Kaushalya (mother of Rama) along with her husband Bal Dhuri, who was Dasharath (father of Rama). Her home is adorned with the photo of both in Ramayana costume. Her Autobiography Ashi Me Jayshree published in 1986.
Jaidev
Jaidev was the first music director to bag 3 National Award. Ali Akbar Khan took Jaidev as his music assistant, in 1951, when he composed music for Navketan Films's Aandhiyan (1952) and 'Hum Safar'. From film 'Taxi Driver' on, he became assistant to music composer, S. D. Burman.
His big break as a full-fledged music director came with Chetan Anand's film, Joru Ka Bhai, followed by Chetan Anand's next Anjali, both of these films became very popular. Though it was with the film Navketan's Hum Dono (1961) that Jaidev true came into the limelight, with classic songs like, "Allah Tero Naam", 'Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar", "Main Zindagi Ka Saath" and "Kabhi khud pe Kabhi Halat pe". His other big success came with Sunil Dutt star, Mujhe Jeene Do (1963). Though many of Jaidev's films failed at the box office, many of them, such as Alap, Kinare Kinare and Ankahee, are remembered for his imaginative musical scores. He had a unique capability to mix traditional and folk music into Hindi film situations, giving him a unique advantage to other music directors of his times. He also known for his non-film album of the couplets of Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan's classic work Madhushala set to music and sung by singer Manna Dey. He is one of the favourite composers of Lata Mangeshkar besides Salil Chowdhury and Madan Mohan. He also composed music for Nepali film Maitighar .
Jaidev never married, though he remained close to his sister's family, who later settled in the United Kingdom. He died on 6 January 1987, at the age of 68. His last work was for the television series Ramayan.
Jaymala
Jaymala is known for her work on Fashionable Wife (1959), Aaj Ka Ye Ghar (1976) and Harishchandra Taramati (1963).
John cawas
John Cawas (1910 – 4 October 1993) was a stuntman and actor in Hindi movies. Cawas made his debut in the Hindi film Hunterwali (1935), which became a career-defining movie for Fearless Nadia and Wadia Movietone. Cawas himself was famous for his performance of Tarzan in various movies.
Born in 1910 in Jabalpur in a Parsi family, Cawas pursued a career of professional body building and won the 1930 All-India Bodybuilding Championship. The 1930s was an era of adventure movies for Hindi cinema, and Cawas got his first break as a swordsman in Hunterwali along with Nadia and Boman Shroff. This role along with similar roles in subsequent sequel remakes of this movie helped Cawas establish himself as a professional stuntman and actor. His portrayal of Tarzan in Toofani Tarzan movie from Wadia Movietone was a career defining role for him.
Joy Mukherjee
Jai Om Yadav Mukherjee was the son of Sashadhar Mukherjee and Sati Devi. His father was a successful producer and a co-founder of Filmalaya Studios. His uncles were director Subodh Mukherjee, Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar. Joy Mukherjee was educated in Col. Brown Cambridge School in Dehra Dun and St. Xavier College.
Joy debuted opposite Sadhana in the film Love in Simla (1960) directed by R.K. Nayyar. He then starred with Asha Parekh for several hits like Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Love in Tokyo and Ziddi. Some of his films like Door Ki Aawaz, Aao Pyar Karen and Shagird (opposite Saira Bano), Ek Musafir Ek Haseena with Sadhna, Ishaara with Vyjayantimala and Jee Chahta Hai with Rajashree were superhit movies. Most of his movies had hit music. By the late 1960s acting roles began drying up, so he began directing and producing.
He produced and directed Humsaya although neither that film nor his subsequent films as producer or director did well. Despite a late success with home production Ek Baar Muskura Do (1972) with brother Deb Mukherjee and later to be sister-in-law Tanuja, Joy faded from the silver screen.
Joy Mukherjee passed away on 9 March 2012
K C Dey
Krishna Chandra Dey(1893–1962), better known as K.C. Dey, was a Bengali actor, singer, music composer and teacher born in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He was S.D. Burman's first musical teacher and mentor. In 1906, at the age of thirteen, he lost his eyesight and became completely blind. He worked for various theatre groups and finally went on to work for New Theatres in Kolkata until 1940. He is best remembered for his Kirtan songs. K.C. Dey recorded around 600 songs, mostly in Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Gujurati and 8 Naats (Muslim religious songs). Dey sang and composed music for movies from 1932 till 1946. He also acted in movies in the same period. Dey used to travel from Calcutta to Bombay (Mumbai) to take part in movies. In 1942 he moved to Bombay. Dey quit movies in 1946 after the quality of both his music and singing started going down. The blind singer died in Kolkata on 28 November 1962. Famous playback singer Manna Dey was his nephew.
K N Singh
Krishan Niranjan (1 September 1908 – 31 January 2000), known as K. N. Singh in Indian cinema, was a prominent villain and character actor. He appeared in over 200 Hindi films over a long career stretching from 1936 to the late 1980s.
The son of Chandi Prasad Singh, an erstwhile Indian prince and a prominent criminal lawyer, K.N. Singh was a sportsman who once dreamt of being in the army. Born in Dehradun, Singh was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a lawyer. However, his father's skillful defence, which saved an obviously guilty man from the gallows, turned him away from the profession. Turning his energy to sports, K.N. Singh came to excel in Javelin throw and Shot Put. He was selected to represent India in the 1936 Berlin Olympics before circumstances compelled him to go to Calcutta to attend on his ailing sister. There he met his family friend Prithviraj Kapoor, who introduced him to director Debaki Bose, who offered him a debut role in his film Sunehra Sansar (1936). K.N. Singh enjoyed limited success until the release of Baghban (1938), in which he played the antagonist. Baghban was a golden jubilee hit, establishing Singh as one of the leading villains of the era. Through the 1940s and 1950s, Singh appeared in several iconic movies of the era, including Sikandar (1941), Jwar Bhata (1944) (Dilip Kumar's film debut), Humayun (1945), Awara (1951), Jaal (1952), CID (1956), Howrah Bridge (1958), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Amrapali (1966) and An Evening in Paris (1967). As opposed to playing angry mobsters, he mostly played a white collared gentleman villain, dressed in a fine suit and smoking a pipe, with a calm cold delivery. His suave style, baritone voice and menacing eyes became legendary so much so that on one occasion (in his own words) "Even off-screen I was a bad man. One day on my way back from shooting, I had to deliver an envelope at an address given to me by my friend. I pressed the doorbell and, from the moving curtains, I could see a woman hurrying to open the door. When she saw me standing in front of her, she screamed out in fright and ran inside leaving the door open." As an actor, Singh's thirst for learning was legendary. For example, he studied the style and mannerisms of carriage riders to prepare for the role of a horse carriage driver in Inspector (1956). Singh played prominent roles in movies like Jhoota Kahin Ka (1970), Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) and Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972). His last prominent role was in the 1973 film Loafer. With advancing years, Singh became less active, particularly from the mid 1970s onwards. Many of his roles from the late 1970s onwards were mere cameo appearances, arranged with the sole purpose of ensuring that actors turned up on time- such was his stature that actors would never turn up late when K.N. Singh was in the sets.His last appearance was in Woh Din Aayega (1986). Singh became completely blind in his last years. He died in Mumbai on 31 January 2000 aged 91 was survived by his adopted son Pushkar, who is a producer of television serials.
K narain Kale
K. Narayan Kale was born on February 24, 1904 in Dayal, Maharashtra, India. He was an actor and director, known for Dharmatma (1935), Dharmatma (1935) and Amar Jyoti (1936). He died on February 20, 1974 in Bombay, Maharashtra.
kamal Hassan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954)[4][5] is an Indian film actor, director, screenwriter, producer, playback singer and lyricist who works primarily in Tamil cinema. Kamal has won several film awards including three National Film Awards, the second-most by any Indian actor, and nineteen Filmfare Awards. His production company, Rajkamal International, has produced several of his films.
He started as a child artist in the 1960 Tamil language film Kalathur Kannamma, for which he won the President's Gold Medal. He met director VaaranamVijay who is frequently credited for shaping Kamal's acting skills. His breakthrough as a lead actor came in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, directed by K.Balachander, in which he played a rebellious youth who falls in love with an older woman. He won his first National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless schoolteacher who cares for a childlike amnesiac in Moondram Pirai (1983). He was noted for his performances in Mani Ratnam's Nayagan (1987) and S. Shankar's vigilante film Indian (1996), which saw him playing dual roles of a father and a son. Since then he has appeared in a number of films including Hey Ram (2000), Virumaandi (2004), Vishwaroopam (2013) which were his own productions and Dasavathaaram (2008) in which he played ten different roles.
Kamal was awarded the Kalaimamani award in 1979, the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016.[6]
Kammo
Kammo, along with Cuckoo, Minoo Mumtaz, Helen, Kum Kum and Sheila Vaz, was one of the top dancers during the 1950s. She started her career probably around early 1950s and appeared as a Goan dancer in Guru Dutt’s Jaal (1952) and Arabian dancer in N. Bhatt’s costume-drama Sindbad the Sailor (1952). Later she appeared in innumerable films throughout the ’50s including House No 44 (1955), Howrah Bridge (1958), and Solva Saal (1958).
She married character actor Balam and settled down in Bandra, India.
Karan Dewan
Karan Dewan (born Dewan Karan Chopra; 6 November 1917 - 2 August 1979) was an Indian cinema actor in Hindi films. He worked in over seventy films from 1941–79.[1] He started as a journalist while still in college,[2] editing a film-based magazine in Urdu.[3] His brother was a film producer and director, Jaimani Dewan.[4]
His decisive film was Rattan (1944)which was produced by his brother Jaimini Diwan and this movie had turned out to be the biggest hit of 1944.[5] He also sang songs in this movie under the music director Naushad and his song "Jab Tum Hi Chale Pardes" became popular.[6] He sang in films like Piya Ghar Aaja (1947), Mitti Ke Khiloune (1948), and Lahore (1949).[7] His other important films were Zeenat (1945), Lahore (1949), Dahej (1950), Bahar (1951), Teen Batti Char Raasta (1953). Known as a "jubilee star", about twenty of his films are stated to have been jubilee (twenty-five weeks or more) hits.[3]
Dewan married co-actress Manju in 1944 following the release of Rattan in which she had a character role.[3] By 1966, he was working as a casting agent for the film unit of Maya (1966).[8] He continued to work in the 1960s and 1970s playing supporting parts in films like Apna Ghar (1960), Shaheed (1965), Jeene KI Raah (1969), Nadaan (1971), with the last film in which he was credited being Sohanlal Kanwar's Atmaram (1979).
Karuna devi
Known for Amar Jyoti 1936, Wahan 1937, Gopal krishna 1938
Kedar Sharma, producer/director
Keshavrao date
Khemchand Prakash
Kishore Sahu
Kishore Sahu was born in Raigarh district in Chhattiagarh. His father was the Prime Minister under the Raja of Raigarh. He joined the University of Nagpur and took part in the "freedom struggle", completing his graduation in 1937.[10] An interest in writing short stories brought him in contact with cinema, where he initially started as an actor.He appeared in 22 films between 1937 and 1980. He directed 20 films between 1942 and 1974.
His directorial venture Kuwara Baap was one of the winners for the BFJA - Best Indian Films Award for best film for 1943. His film Raja "remains a milestone of art and skill in motion pictures".His film Verr Kunal was huge box office success.He directed Dilip Kumar with Kamini Kaushal in Nadiya Ke Paar, which became the sixth highest grossing Indian film of 1948. His 1954 films Mayurpankh entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Prize of the Festival. Sawan Aya Re did well commercially, with Baburao Patel of Filmindia remarking in the 1949 May edition that Sahu's estimate had risen due to the "original treatment" he gave to an "otherwise ordinary" story. He was also known for the Meena Kumari starrer, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960).
Krishna dewan
Kumari Kamala, dance in chori chori
L V Prasad
Lalita pawar
Laxmi Chhaya
Laxmi Chhaya (7 January 1948 – 9 May 2004) was an Indian actress and dancer who appeared in more than 55 Bollywood and Marathi films in the 1960s and 1970s, including Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Teesri Manzil, Naunihal (1967), Baharon Ke Sapne, Mere Huzoor (1968) and Duniya.She may be best known in the United States as the masked dancer in the dance segment Jaan Pehechan Ho from the 1965 movie Gumnaam, portions of which were included in the opening credits of the 2001 U.S. film Ghost World. Chhaya's film career extended from 1961 through at least 1982. After retiring from cinema, Chhaya taught dancing to indigent children. She died of cancer in Mumbai in 2004 at the age of 56.
Libi rana/Nivedita
M S Subba lakshmi
Mac mohan
Madan Puri, Captain Nirala
Madhumati
Madhumati was born in 1938 in a remote village near Maharashtra. She made her debut as a dancer in 1957 in an unreleased Marathi movie. Madhumati got married at the early age of 19 to Manohar Deepak. She busied herself throughout the 1960s by dancing in Punjabi, Marathi, Hindi, Bhojpuri and South Indian movies. She was often compared to the great dancer Helen in terms of her dancing abilities and looks. She made her exit in 1977 and made a comeback in 2001. After the passing of her husband in 2002, she now occupies herself by running the Madhumati dance academy in Mumbai.
Madhuri
mahipal
Manchi Thoothi
Mandakini Phalke
Manhar desai
Manmohan
Manorama
Master Mohammad
Master Shankar Vazre
Maya devi
Meena kapoor
Meenakshi shirodkar
Minoo The Mystic
Mohd hussain farooqi
Moni chatterjee
Mubarak
Mumtaz Ali
Mumtaz Begum
Murad
Nadira
Nalini Tarkhad
Narang, Sahara
naushad, music composer
Nazima, dillagi (1966)
Nazir, Maa baap Ki Laj
Neena
Nusrat fateh ali khan
Om Prakash
P E Pithawala
P Jairaj, Actor
Pahari Sanyal, Actor
Parul Ghosh,singer
Peace Kanwal-Active Years – 1950s – 1960s-Debut Film – Dil-e-Nadaan (1953)
Last Film – Chambal Ki Kassam (1980)
In the early 50s, A.R. Kardar launched an ‘All India Beauty Contest’ to search for a new leading lady. The contest was sponsored by Kolynos toothpaste and Peace Kanwal was the winner of the contest. She was introduced as one of the leading ladies opposite Talat Mahmood in Dil-e-Nadaan (1953). Like her contemporary Chand Usmani, who was also a winner of Kolynos toothpaste contest, Peace’s career as a leading lady didn’t last very long. She was soon reduced to supporting roles in films like Barsaat Ki Raat (1960), where she played Madhubala’s friend. Aarti (1962) was her last film from the first phase of her career. After the release of Aarti (1962), she turned to painting and copper work and held several exhibitions abroad. After a gap of 18 years, she was seen in Chambal Ki Kassam (1980) in a supporting role. Chambal Ki Kassam was perhaps the last film of her career before she disappeared from the film scene.
Courtesy - cineplot.com
Pramod Chakravorty director
Prem Adeeb, ActorPrem Nath, Actor
Prithvi raj kapoor, Actor
Profulla roy
protima devi
Pushpa
Radha, daughter of M S Subbalakshmi
Radha Rani
Radha saluja
Ragini
Rajasulochana,as bhagwan dada's wife in Chori chori
Rajni,sagar
Raj kumari, Actress
Raj kumari Shukla, Actress
Rajendra nath
Raj mehra
Ram Avtar
Ramayan Tewary
RAMESH SHASTRI (2 August 1935-30 April 2010) , poet & Lyricist, on his Birth Anniversary today. He wrote a very popular song from Film Barsat “Hava me udata jaaye”. Rajkapoor issued an advertisement for songs of his film Barsat.(1949). Dr.Ramesh Shastri who was in Benaras showed his poetries and Raj Kappor selected ” Havame udata jaaye” for his film. For ‘ Har Har Mahadev” he wrote -Kankar kankar se puChhu shankar mera kaha He – and – Gunjan karata Bhavara ( Geeta Dutt – Avinash Vyas).
He hailed from a village Diyor from Bhavnagar state (gujrat) He was born on 2nd August 1935. He left home and went to Benaras to study Sanskrit from where he got degree of Visharad,He then came to Gujrat and studied in St.Xaviers – college (Ahemadabad) later on he became Ph.D. in Sanskrit.He served in Ayurvedic colleges at Bhavnagar,Baroda and Ahemedabad. He retired in 1990. Though he wrote such lyrics in films he was not very ambitious about film industry mainly because of his Pure religious thinking. He was invited by Raj Kapoor many times but could not think of settling down in Mumbai and ignored his invitations. His Bhajans under pen name of ‘Ramsharan’ were aired from
Radio Ceylon. He suffered cerebral Palsy and was handicapped for ten year. He died on 30th April 2010 in Amdavaad.
Ramprasad Sharma,born in 1900,belonged to Gorakhpur in United provinces(today's U.P.) seeing his love for music,he was brought to Bharatpur State by the king's bandmaster.he played Trumpet here,then played in Agra Military Band and ended up joining a Circus as a Band Master himself.He toured Delhi,Lahore and Calcutta ,where he settled for some time.he married a local Post Master's daughter and also worked for Columbia and New Theatres.By now he was an expert in 10 instruments and knew all Ragas.
He came to Bombay in 1938 and played in many studios.His first film as MD was Nayi Baat-1947,then Shakti-48,Banu and Bedard in 49 and finally Dolti Naiyya-50.His knowledge of Music was so deep that many Composers like,Kalyan ji,Roshan,Uttamsingh.Hridaynath Mangeshkar etc came to him to learn notations in which he was a master. Probably,having played as a Band Master helped him.Those days very few musicians knew how to write music in Notations. This art was carried further by his another son Ganesh. Despite his knowledge of music,he failed as a composer himself and worked/plaed for other Music Directors like Naushad,K.Dutta,C. Ramchandra etc. Pt.Ramprasad will be remembered by many composers as their teacher.though his music was melodious,his Luck was not so.His 2 sons Pyarelal and Ganesh became famous composers. Pt.Ramprasad died on 22-8-1995 at Mumbai.Rampyari-Milap (The Union) is a 1937 Hindi/Urdu social drama film directed by A. R. Kardar.Produced under the Moti Mahal Pictures banner, it had music composed by K. C. Dey. Milap was a big success for the actress Rampyari.The film was famous for being the first to show the prototype of a "vamp" in Indian cinema. Rampyari was shown wearing "an off-shoulder dress" and using a cigarette-holder, with the intent of seducing the hero Prithviraj Kapoor. The scene was later used by Raj Kapoor on Nadira in his film Shree 420 (1955) for the song "Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh"The co-stars included M. Ismail, Yakub, Bimla Kumari, Dev Bala and Anees Khatoon.
Ram Sethi (Pyarelal) entered the Indian film industry in 1969, and started off his career as an assistant to Ravi Tandon (the father of Raveena Tandon). After doing some free-lance work, he joined Prakash Mehra, and was employed as his right-hand man for over 20 years. Here he did many projects with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Shashi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Raaj Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Sridevi, Smita Patil, Parveen Babi, Pran, Amjad Khan and many other new actors. He has worked as an actor/writer/director for many movies in the last 46 years. Along with these skills, he also worked as an assistant director, screenplay writer, dialogue writer & independently directed Ghungroo, starring Shashi Kapoor, Smita Patil, and Waheeda Rehman. He appeared in comical roles with Amitabh Bachchan in several films(Sethi's most notable appearances along with Bachchan includes Namak Halaal, Zanjeer and Kaalia). He currently resides in Versova, Mumbai and is working as an actor, screenplay writer, consulting director and advisor for film-making.
Rani bala, Actress
Ranjeeta kaur
Ranjeeta Kaur started her film career as the lead opposite Rishi Kapoor in the movie Laila Majnu (1976). Subsequently, she acted in hits like Pati Patni Aur Woh (with Sanjeev Kumar) and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (with Sachin). She made a famous team with Mithun Chakravorty in films such as Surakshaa, Tarana, Humse Badhkar Kaun, Aadat Se Majboor, Baazi and Gunahon Ka Devta. She also was one of Amitabh Bachchan's heroines in Satte Pe Satta. Her sister Rubina appeared in Ek Main aur Ek Tu opposite Rajeev Tandon (Raveena Tandon's brother). Ranjeeta was very closely associated with the Rajshri family having churned out so many hits like Taraana, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se etc. She starred with Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran, Deepak Parashar, Vinod Mehra, Amol Palekar and many other heroes, but her most famous pairing was with Mithun Chakraborty. Her last film before her exit from the film industry was Gunahon Ka Devta in 1990. She appeared in a few television serials in the mid 1990s and then took a long hiatus from acting.After gap of 15 years, Ranjeeta returned to films in the 2005 film Anjaane: The Unknown. In 2008 she appeared in Zindagi Tere Naam which reunited her with her frequent co-star Mithun Chakraborty. The film was completed in 2008 but was released in 2012. In 2011 she reunited with Sachin in Jaana Pehchana, a sequel to her 1978 film Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan appeared in more than sixty films between 1949 and 1976. His best roles were played with Late Dev Anand right from Afsar, Navketan Films's first production and went on to work together in hits like Tere Ghar Ke Samne and Kaala Bazar, in which he played key roles.
In other films like Baazi, House No. 44, and Nau Do Gyarah he played smaller roles. All his films with Dev Anand were hits. He acted as "Raddiwala Kaka" in Shree 420 in 1955, alongside Raj Kapoor
Ratnamala
Rattan bai
Rehana Sultan
Renuka devi, sahara
Roshan Ara Begum, Singer
Rose, Actress
S D Burman
Sachin
Sadhana Bose
Shahu Modak (1918 – March 11, 1993) acted in numerous Hindi and Marathi movies from 1932 to 1986.He was famous for the mythological characters that he played. He mostly played the roles of Krishna and Jñāneśvar.He played lord Krishna's character in around 30 movies. He also sang two songs for movie Bharat Milap.
Sarada gupta
Sarada Ukil
Saraswati devi, music composer
Sardar Mansur
Sarojini, (Roshan Jehan), sister of Indurani (Ishrat Jehan)
Sayani Atish
Shakuntala Paranjpye (mother of Sai Paranjpye) was the daughter of Sir R. P. Paranjpye, who was India's first Senior Wrangler (Cambridge) (mathematics), an educationist, and India's High Commissioner to Australia during 1944–1947.In the 1930s and '40s, she acted in some Marathi and Hindi movies. Her most noted role was in V. Shantaram's Hindi social classic, Duniyā Nā Māne.
Shanta Hublikar was born in 1914 in the village Adargunchi, near Hubli. In 1932, fascinated with the screen and armed with an impeccable singing talent, she moved to Kolhapur to pursue her filmic dreams. In 1934, she bagged a minor role in Bhedi Rajkumar (Dir. R.G. Torney) produced by Kolhapur Cinetone. Struggling to get noticed, in 1937 she sang in the Natraj films’ Saathi. Her performance in Shalini Cinetone’s Kanhopatra (Dir. Bhalji Pendharkar) finally grabbed V. Shantaram’s attention. He cast her for the film Mazha Mulga/Mera Ladka (Dir. K. Narayan Kale, 1938). The film was received with mild enthusiasm though Hublikar’s performance and singing was appreciated. The songs of the film became so popular that Young India Records released gramophone discs with Hublikar as the star singer in 1939. At Prabhat, she worked in Manoos/Aadmi (Dir. V. Shantaram, 1939). The film was touted as 'a picture for the intelligent and discriminating filmgoer, the social reformer and intellectual.' Her multilingual song 'Kis liye kal ki baat' was sung in six different languages (Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Gujarati and Bengali) and was a treat for the audiences and ensured her nationwide popularity. Shantaram was applauded for his portrayal of romance between a policeman and a prostitute.In 1941, Hublikar worked in Ghar ki Laaj and Tarun Pictures’ film Prabhat both directed by V. M. Vyas. She acted in a New Huns Pictures comedy film Pahila Palna (Dir. Vishram Bedekar) with Baburao Pendharkar as her co-star in 1942.
SHEIKH MUKHTAR
He was Bollywood‘s first Hunk – one who would have put today‘s WWF hulks to shame. Exceptionally tall and frighteningly hefty, he was endowed with an immense physique. His face was a roadmap of crisscrossing muscles. A sharp jaw line added to the dimensions of his rock-hard face. Hardly ‘star‘ material compared to the Hrithiks and Salmans of today.
Yet, this rugged man was once a hero.
Those were the days when a limp-wristed hero, who could not even unlock the mysteries of the lush curls of his beloved, was universally adored in cinema halls. In such times, Shaikh Mukhtar adorned the garb of a hero. This feat was achieved by movie monarch Mehboob Khan. In ‘Ek hi Raasta‘, or ‘The Only Way‘, a film directed by Mehboobsaab for Sagar Movietone way back in 1939, Shaikh Mukhtar was one of the three heroes. The other two were Arun Ahuja (matinee idol Govinda‘s father) and a certain Harish (who later directed films such as ‘Burma Road‘, he was Tara Harish). Though billed as male lead, Shaikh Mukhtar never fitted into the ‘romantic‘ mould. And why should he? He portrayed an uncouth lover, almost a pre-Neanderthal man, in Mehboob Khan‘s ‘Roti‘ with sensuous Sitara Devi as his beloved. In that film, Shaikh would bring down an aircraft with the mere strike of his spear. When thirsty, he would empty an entire bucket down his throat in one go. Soppy dialogues oozing with maudlin emotions such as love and romance, did not come forth from the super-hunk.
In Wadia‘s ‘Krishnabhakt Bodana‘, Shaikh Mukhtar was the Lord‘s devotee. In ‘Bahen‘, he portrayed the role of Meena Kumari‘s brother. His imposing personality fitted well into ‘period‘ films which dabbled in history. He played the role of ‘Shahenshah Babar‘; went on to become ‘Chengez Khan‘ and then donned the mantle of Sher Afghan in ‘Noor Jahan‘, a film which he produced. He was often teamed with Begum Para, the bewitching beauty of that era. The pair hit it off exceedingly well on the screen. For countless cinema aficionados, the Shaikh Mukhtar-Begum Para pair was a classic case of the beauty and the beast. With pint-sized Mukri, Shaikh Mukhtar had a successful celluloid partnership. Shaikh Mukhtar produced a string of Hindi films, such as ‘Dada‘, ‘Dara‘, ‘Ustad Pedro‘, ‘Toote Tare‘, ‘Mister Lamboo‘, ‘Annadaata‘, ‘Mangoo‘(with another beauty, Nigar Sultan), ‘Do Ustaad‘, ‘Noor Jahan‘, among others.
He wove into his films a variety of songs, from ”Bahaaron ke doli pe aaye hai jawaani‘, a romantic number from ‘Annadaata‘, to naughty ditties, such as ‘Dil ka yeh engine seeti bajaaye‘ from ‘Ustaad Pedro‘, and ‘Namaste, Doctor Paro, hum ko bhi ek injection maaro‘. Shaikh Mukhtar‘s pair of shoes, of twelve number size, (in ‘Do Ustaad‘), summed up his big time existence. His role in this film was widely appreciated. Shaikh Mukhtar showcased his acting talents in the concluding scene of ‘Do Ustaad‘ when he holds his long-lost brother and son to his bosom.
Shaikh Mukhtar blew up his hard-earned money on ‘Noor Jahan‘, his dream project. However, the ‘period‘ film bombed miserably at the box office. And with the film collapsed this mighty man. Debts began to pile up. Income Tax arrears kept multiplying in geometrical progression. Unable to resolve this crisis, Shaikh Mukhtar, who was adored in Bollywood for his integrity and for his firmness to keep vices of every variety at bay, fled to Pakistan with the alacrity of a small-time house burglar. He took with him the prints of his films. But, sadly, the Pakistan film industry offered him no succor. He kept running from pillar to post, visiting government offices with a plea that he be allowed to release his films. A broken man, Shaikh Mukhtar passed away between these fruitless visits. ‘Noorjahan‘, which was released in Pakistan after Shaikh Mukhtar died, kept the box office registers ringing with cash – Shireesh Kanekar ....Courtesy Cineplot.com
sheila Naik
Shamim
Shanta hublikar
Sheela
Shobana samarth
Shohrab Modi
Shyam Sundar, Actor
Siddhu
Sulochana Latkar
Sumitra devi
Sunita Devi, Actress
supriya Pilgaonkar
Surekha pandit, Actress
Surekha Pandit is an actress, known for Mere Sanam (1965), Anupama (1966) Gaban (1966) and Nartakee (1963).यह पं0 बद्री प्रसाद चरित्रा अभिनेता की पुत्री है। जोकि बनारस के रहने वाले थे। शिवाजी पाकॅ पर रहते थे .
Surendra, actor anmol ghadi
Suresh
Suresh started as a child artiste in 1929 as baby Krishna in 'Gopal Krishna' and as a child artiste in 'Nishan-e-Jung' in 1937. His early films were 'Anjan'(1941), 'Naya Sansar (1941) and 'Basant' (1942). In 1950s he was cast as a leading actor opposite the main heroines of those times, including Madhubala, Suraiya, Vyjayanthimala, and a Geeta Bali. He was chosen as a hero by producer/director A.R. Kardar in many of his films, including 'Dulari' (1949) opposite Madhubala, 'Jadoo' (1951) opposite Nalini Jaywant,'Deewana' (1952) opposite Suraiya and Yasmin (1955 film) opposite Vyjantimala. In Qaidi (1957 film),Padmini (actress) was his heroine and in 'Teen Ustad' (1961), he teamed up with Ameeta, as his heroine. Shyama acted as the female lead and Suresh was the hero of 'Char Chand'(1953). Suresh and Nigar Sultana (actress) were the leading pair of 'Rishta'(1954) and Suresh and Usha Kiran acted as hero and heroine of 'Dost'(1954).He is remembered for his role in 'Dulari' (1949), especially in the song 'Suhani raat dhal chuki' by Mohammed Rafi.
Swarnlata,Maa baap Ki Laj
Tanuja, Actress
tarun Bose
Trilok Kapoor, Actor
Trilok Kapoor was an Indian film actor, and a member of the Kapoor family. The second son of Basheshwarnath Kapoor, like his brother Prithviraj Kapoor he entered the budding Hindi film industry (Bollywood), building a career mostly in mythological films. Born in Peshawar, he moved to Calcutta and then to Mumbai. His first role was in Char Darvesh (1933). He played Shiva in Vijay Bhatt's 1954 epic Ramayan. He played many roles in mythological films, and appeared together with Nirupa Roy in eighteen movies, usually he playing Shiva and she Parvati. As a pair, their popularity erupted after the 1950 movie Har Har Mahadev and lasted until Roy moved on to social movies.
Uday Shankar, Actor, Dancer
Ulhas
Usha devi
Utpala Sen
Utpala Sen (12 March 1924 - 13 May 2005) was a prominent Indian Bengali playback singer. She was a very popular playback singer in the 1950s alongside Sandhya Mukherjee, Pratima Banerjee and Alpana Banerjee etc. She has sung numerous duets with prominent male singers such as Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey and also her husband, Satinath Mukherjee.
Utpala Sen was born on 12 March 1924 in Dhaka, Bangladesh in a Hindu family. She took her first lessons in music from Hiranbala Devi and then from Ustad Gul Mohammad Khan. She first sang publicly at the age of 11 in Dhaka Radio in 1935. She recorded her first song in 1939. In 1941, she got immense popularity with the devotional song "Ek Hatey Mor Pujar Thali" which was composed by Sudhirlal Chakraborty. The song "Mahishasur Mardinir Shanti Dile Bhari" added her popularity. During the early 1940s, she migrated to Kolkata and since then became associated with Radio Akashvani. In 1944. she made her debut with the film Meri Bahen. Then she played back in a few Hindi films till 1954. She sang total 17 songs in 11 Hindi films. She usually sang Tagore songs in films such as Amar Mallikabane in 'Bicharak' (1959). The song "Prantateri Gaan Amar" in 1953 film composed by Salil Chowdhury gave her eternity and is considered to be her best work till date. She also sang some Adhunik songs, most of them with Satinath Mukherjee. She sang "Saptaranger Khela" with Shyamal Mitra in 1957.
She married her co-singer Satinath Mukherjee. He died on 13 December 1992. Utpala was suffering from cancer for five years and finally died on 13 May 2005.
V shantaram,Jayshri was his second wife...First one was vimla tai...Third is sandhya aka vijaya deshmukh
Vanamala
Vanamala's first film was “Lapandav” in Marathi in which she played the role of an uninhibited social sophisticate who could ride a horse, play tennis or appear in a swimming suit. Vanmala did not need a double for she had been doing all this since her childhood. Her performance brought her the offer to play the lead role of Ruksana opposite Prithviraj Kapoor in the title role of “Sikandar”. It was a well-matched team and they never stopped admiring each other’s talent.Prithviraj used to call her Diana the Moon Goddess. The lyrical Pahari Sanyal used to call her “Mala”. Motilal was more-down-to-earth and called her just plain “Bright Eyes”. In fact, it was her eyes that got her the role of Ruksana and it put her in the front rank of Indian film stars with the success of “Sikandar”. It was one of the early successes of Minerva Movietone and it has made film history in India.
Vasanti
Veera,sagar
Veena, Actress
Vijay Anand, actor, director
Vijayalakshmi
Vijayalaxmi is an actress and director, known for Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Aah (1953) and Shola Aur Shabnam (1961).
Vishnupant Pagnis
Vishnupant Pagnis began his career at the age of ten on the stage at the Marathon Music Theater (" Sangeet Natak "). He was a member of the theater group Swadeshi Hitchantak Natak Mandali in Kolhapur and specialized on women's roles such as Sharada and Shakuntala .
When his stage career as a female actor had come to an end as a grown-up man and he could not secure a future as an adult man, Pagnis tried to make his living with the film. His first films were in Kolhapur at Maharashtra Film Company in Baburao Painter's Surekha Haran (1921) and in Pune at Deccan Pics in Warerkar's Poona Raided (1924), an elaborate historical spectacle on Shivaji's defense of the city of Pune against an attack by the Great Mogul Aurangzeb . There were no further engagements for the time being; He earned his living as a music teacher at a state school.
His singing skills brought him back to the film business - probably on the occasion of the mediation of Tembe. Rather by chance, he was given the title role of the mysticist Tukaram in Sant Tukaram (1936). For Sant Janabai (1938), he wrote the music. In the following year, he portrayed the mystic Tulsidas with Leela Chitnis as his wife by his side in a kind of recapitulation of his tukaram role. Pagnis was seen in Vijay Bhatts Narsi Bhagat (1940) and Mahatma Vidur (1943).
Wahidan bai
Wasti
Yasmin, Actress
Yasodhara Katju, Actress
Zahur raja, anmol ghadi
Zeb Rehman alias Priti Bala is an actress, known for Ankhen (1968), Fariyad (1964) and Ustad 420 (1969) Nartaki 1963 (Aaj Duniya Badi Suhani Hai song was picturised on her )
Zohra bai Ambalewali
Zohra sehgal
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Together they did 16 films out of which films like 'Barsaat', 'Awara', 'Shree 420', 'Chori Chori' and 'Andaz' are considered to be their finest works. 
Mother India, which is said to have played continually in one part or another of the country since its release, is one of the great classics of the Bombay cinema. It is the story of the trials of the peasant woman Radha, who spends her life battling the malign forces of nature and humanity and who assumes the mythic stature of the matriarch by the film’s end. A devoted wife and the mother of four boys, she toils heroically at home and in the fields, enduring poverty and the rapacious extortions of the village moneylender, Sukhilala. Her husband loses his arms in an accident and forsakes his home, unable to bear the shame of his dependence on her. After floods have killed two of her sons and devastated her home and her harvest, the moneylender proposes to feed her children in exchange for making her his mistress. Sorely tempted though she is, she prizes her laaj (chastity) above all else and manages to rebuild her life. She raises her sons on her own and becomes “the mother of the whole village,” keeping the villagers from fleeing their home after the floods. As she sings to them, in the name of Mother Earth, a map of pre-Partition India forms on the screen. In the second part of the film, Radha is older, her sons grown. Her older son, Ramu, is domestic and law abiding; her younger and rebellious son, Birjoo, is passionately devoted to her, a devotion that is intimately bound up in his keen sense of the wrongs done to her and to the village by Sukhilala. Becoming a bandit, he kills Sukhilala and attempts to abduct the moneylender’s daughter in an attempt to counter the insult offered earlier to his mother’s honor; but his mother, who regards the chastity of the village women as her own, kills him rather than letting him bring disgrace to the village.
Raj Kapoor and Nargis
Together they did 16 films out of which films like 'Barsaat', 'Awara', 'Shree 420', 'Chori Chori' and 'Andaz' are considered to be their finest works. Raj Kapoor often shared the incident of meeting Nargis for the first time. It was a wonderful memory where Raj Kapoor went to her house to sign her for his directorial debut film ‘Aag’ (1947). The moment he rang the bell, Nargis was frying bhajias in the kitchen and came to open the door as there was no one else at home. The sight of Raj Kapoor made her bit nervous, due to which she ended up smudging dough across her forehead. Though the media was not fascinated by this story and kept speculating rumours related to Raj Kapoor's affair with Nargis. This gossip faded out by the release of Raj Kapoor's directed film 'Bobby' (1973)
Nargis’s mother, Jaddanbai, was a professional singer and performer. Jaddanbai moved to Bombay in the mid-1930s and established herself as a film producer, music director, and actress She was soon to become a Bombay institution, attracting many of the leading figures of the film world to her home and to the studio where she worked. Nargis appeared as a child actress in Talash-e-Haq (1935). She performed her first adult role at fourteen in Mehboob Khan’s Taqdeer in 1943. She appeared in several more films in the 1940s, achieving star status by the time she was approached by a then comparatively unknown Raj Kapoor, to play opposite him in his first production, Aag (1948). After a number of hits, which featured her opposite some of the best-known leading men of the day, especially Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, she became one of the most important luminaries of the newly emerging star system in Bombay cinema; she was routinely billed above her male leads, and, for some years in the 1950s, she commanded higher fees than any of them did. The international success of some of the films (Awaara, 1951; Shri 420, 1954) that she had made with her lover, Raj Kapoor—which were runaway hits in the Soviet Union, West Asia, and North Africa—added another kind of nuance to her star image, as she became, in these post-Independence years, the ambassador of “Indian culture” on a world stage.
It was her appearance with Raj Kapoor that thrilled audiences. Their romance had an appeal that nothing else could rival. The love scenes in Barsaat in particular were marked by intensity hitherto unseen in the Bombay cinema. Critics have pointed to the unorthodox camera work and sound effects in the love scenes, with their lingering close-ups and a low-decibel pitch that intimates intimacy. In the mid-1950s, when Nargis realized that her near-exclusive association with RK Studios was keeping her from important roles, she let Mehboob Khan know that she was available for Mother India. A remake of Mehboob’s 1940 classic, Aurat (Woman), Mother India was more self-consciously epic and nationalist.
Mother India, which is said to have played continually in one part or another of the country since its release, is one of the great classics of the Bombay cinema. It is the story of the trials of the peasant woman Radha, who spends her life battling the malign forces of nature and humanity and who assumes the mythic stature of the matriarch by the film’s end. A devoted wife and the mother of four boys, she toils heroically at home and in the fields, enduring poverty and the rapacious extortions of the village moneylender, Sukhilala. Her husband loses his arms in an accident and forsakes his home, unable to bear the shame of his dependence on her. After floods have killed two of her sons and devastated her home and her harvest, the moneylender proposes to feed her children in exchange for making her his mistress. Sorely tempted though she is, she prizes her laaj (chastity) above all else and manages to rebuild her life. She raises her sons on her own and becomes “the mother of the whole village,” keeping the villagers from fleeing their home after the floods. As she sings to them, in the name of Mother Earth, a map of pre-Partition India forms on the screen. In the second part of the film, Radha is older, her sons grown. Her older son, Ramu, is domestic and law abiding; her younger and rebellious son, Birjoo, is passionately devoted to her, a devotion that is intimately bound up in his keen sense of the wrongs done to her and to the village by Sukhilala. Becoming a bandit, he kills Sukhilala and attempts to abduct the moneylender’s daughter in an attempt to counter the insult offered earlier to his mother’s honor; but his mother, who regards the chastity of the village women as her own, kills him rather than letting him bring disgrace to the village.Raj Kapoor was born on December 14, 1924 in a town called Samandru in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). His family left Peshawar and came to Bombay in 1929. Raj Kapoor's father Prithviraj Kapoor himself was a well-known actor. Raj Kapoor was the eldest of the four children. His other two brothers Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor also are well-known actors. Raj Kapoor started his career as a clap boy assisting Kidar Sharma. In 1935, at the age of eleven, Raj Kapoor appeared in his first film Inquilab. In 1946, Raj Kapoor married Krishna Malhotra, his aunt and his father's second cousin. Raj Kapoor's big break came in 1947, when he played leading role in the film Neel Kamal, directed by Kidar Sharma. In 1948, at the age of twenty-four, Raj Kapoor established his own studio, R. K. Films, and became the youngest film director of his time. His first movie as a director was Aag (Fire). The film was an instant success. Thereafter, Raj Kapoor directed several films. He also acted in most of them. Some of the famous films directed by Raj Kapoor are Barsaat (1949), Awaara (1951), Shri 420 (1955), and Sangam (1964). He formed a hit pair with Nargis. Raj Kapoor depicted the story of common man in his films and his films appealed to every section of the society. Raj Kapoor had great sense of music and the music of his films was very popular not only in India but in countries like Russia too. Film historians have characterized Raj Kapoor as the "Charlie Chaplin of India," since he often himself played a tramp-like figure who, despite adversity, could still be cheerful and honest. After the commercial failure of his ambitious film Mera Naam Joker in 1970, Raj Kapoor's films took a turn toward sensuality. In 1973, Raj Kapoor released Bobby, which started the trend of teenage romance in Indian cinema. He introduced Dimple Kapadia in Bobby who later went on to become a mega star. The film showed Dimple Kapadia in bikini, which was a bold attempt considering societal standards at that point of time. He further pushed the boundaries of sensuality in his other films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). Raj Kapoor's film carried social message too. For example, his film Premrog (1982) advocated widow remarriage. For his contribution to Indian cinema Raj Kapoor was honored with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1987. He died on June 2, 1988 due to asthma related complications. At the time of his death he was working on the film Henna, based on a love story between an Indian boy and Pakistani girl .The film was later completed by his son Randhir Kapoor and was a major commercial success.
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When I decided to do some research about famous on-screen pairs, the very first pair which came to mind was super hit couple of Bengali film industry Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. They did 30 films together, 20 odd films in the 50’s and rest thereafter. The prominence and stardom they got cannot be matched by any other star couple.
There were whispers that the much married actor had a roaring affair with his co-star Nalini Jaywant. Apparently, the duo had even eloped. But it was S Mukherji, his partner and brother-in-law, who threatened him of dire consequences and brought Ashok back to his senses.
They acted together in 11 movies, 10 during 50’s and 1 in 1966
When I decided to do some research about famous on-screen pairs, the very first pair which came to mind was super hit couple of Bengali film industry Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. They did 30 films together, 20 odd films in the 50’s and rest thereafter. The prominence and stardom they got cannot be matched by any other star couple.On the background of the mass migration from the then East Pakistan to Calcutta, the Uttam-Suchitra pair gave expression to the yearnings of a new, transformed city. They played out on screen the new desires of a young audience trying to come to terms with industrial modernity and a new form of urban existence. The stylized, black-and-white romanticism of landmark Uttam-Suchitra films of the 1950s like "Agni Pariksha", "Shapmochan", Sagarika (1956), Shilpi(1956), or Harano Sur, Indrani, Sabar Uparey, Surjyo Toron reflected a novel, youthful urban desire to break free from the confines of the feudal joint family and set up a nucleated, private space for the couple in love. In contrast to the earlier phase of Bengali cinema mostly dominated by the dramatized style of the New Theaters' films (in the 1940s), the Uttam-Suchitra films were marked by a more naturalistic acting style, a bit dramatic-stylized, soft-focus black-and-white cinematography with chiaroscuro effects, and a more popular and modern form of music that broke away more decisively from earlier dependence on classical types.
Out of the 30 films it is very difficult to select a few. The choice of 3 films detailed here does not mean they are the top 3
Agnipariksha: Tapasi, a well-educated girl, goes to a hill station for a holiday and meets a rich young man, named Kiriti. They fall in love. However, Tapasi had already married Bulu, a teenage village Zamindar, although her mother could not accept the wedding and brought her back home. Tapasi's guilt stays with her. She decides to get married again, but her brother reminds her about her past. Tapasi approaches her grandmother for advice. Her grandmother reminds her about Sita's "Agni pariksha" in the Ramayana, and how Sita triumphed over every obstacle. She hopes Tapasi will also emerge victorious after going through a similar test. Tapasi is determined to face the truth and she returns to her old village. She tries to meet Bulu, but sees Kiriti in front of her. She realises that Kiriti is Bulu, her long-lost love
Harano Sur: An amnesiac after a train accident, Alok Mukherjee (Uttam Kumar) is rescued on escaping from the asylum where he is admitted by doctor Roma Banerjee (Suchitra Sen) who takes him to her father's (Pahadi Sanyal) country house in a village called Palaspur. There, while treating him she falls for him and he for her. They marry but a second accident makes him recall his life as a rich businessman in Calcutta and forget the memories spent with Roma. Roma follows him to Calcutta and meets him there but he doesn't recognize her. He hires her as governess to his niece instead. Roma keeps trying to simulate Alok's memory but is looked at suspiciously by Lata, Alok's fiancee in Calcutta who thinks Roma is snatching Alok away from her and who complains to Alok's mother. The latter has Roma kicked out. Alok realizing she is from Palaspur and that is where he got back his memory goes there and regains his memory of times spent with Roma there. All's well that end well.
Saptapadi The story takes place in pre-independent India (early 1940) when young Indian students were competing equally with Anglo-Indians in all fields whether it be education or sports. Krishnendu (Uttam Kumar), a young Bengali Hindu medical student falls in love with an equally talented and attractive Anglo-Indian Christian woman named Rina Brown (Suchitra Sen). Both students are at the Calcutta Medical College and become close while meeting at many sports and cultural events. There is an interesting rendition of Othello within the movie; that portion of the movie was directed by Utpal Dutt. However marriage is not on the cards for them due to their differences in religion, It is particularly opposed by Krishnendu's dad, a staunch, conservative Hindu, and they go their own ways only to unexpectedly meet again later in life. Most of the movie is presented in flashbacks with Krishnendu pondering over the past after unexpectedly encountering a drunk and passed out Rina in a military hospital.
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They acted together in 11 movies, 10 during 50’s and 1 in 1966
Sangram (1950),
Samadhi (1950),
Saloni (1952),
Saloni (1952),
Nav Bahar (1952),
Kafila (1952),
Kafila (1952),
Jalpari (1952),
Naaz (1954),
Naaz (1954),
Lakeeren (1954),
Sheroo (1957),
Sheroo (1957),
Mr X (1957),
Toofan Mein Pyaar Kahan (1966)
Toofan Mein Pyaar Kahan (1966)
His other leading ladies:
Devika Rani
He made altogether 7 movies with her during 30’s
Jeevan Naiya (1936), Janam bhoomi (1936), Achhut Kanya (1936), Savitri (1937), Izzat (1937), Vachan (1938), Nirmala (1938)
Leena Chitnis
Though he acted with Leena in 8 movies, 4 were made in 40’s in which he was the hero, and the other 4 were made in 50’s and 60’s in other roles
Bandhan (1940), Azad (1940), Jhoola (1941), Kiran (1944), Dhool ka Phool (1959), Dharamputra (1961), Pooja ke Phool (1964), Intequam (1969)Madhubala
Mahal (1949), Nishana (1950), Ek Saal (1957), Howrah Bridge (1958), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)
Meena Kumari
Pareenita (1953), Bandish (1955), Shatranj (1956), Ek Hi Raasta (1956), Savera (1958), Aarti (1962), Chitralekha (1964), Benazir (1964), Bheegi Raat (1965), Bahu Begum (1967), Jawab (1970)
Beena Rai
Shole (1953), Sardar (1955), Talash (1957), Bandi (1957), Daadi Maa (1966)
Nargis
Humayun (1945), Aadhi Raat (1949), Deedar (1951), Bewafa (1952)
Nutan
Lighthouse (1958), Bandini (1963), Meherban (1967), Bhai Bahen (1969), Maa Aur Mamta (1970), Anuraag (1972), Hifazat (1987)
Kanan Devi
Chandrasekhar (1948), Maa (1952)
Suraiya
Khiladi (1950)
He also acted with Shyama, Leela Mishra, Veena, Vani, Mala Sinha & others------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kishore Kumar & Madhubala acted together in 5 movies:
Half Ticket (1962),
Jhoomroo (1961),
Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960),
Chalti Ka Naam Gadi (1958),
Dhake Ki Malmal (1956)
Madhubala married Kishore Kumar in 1960 after Kishore Kumar converted to Islam and took up the name Karim Abdul,
Kishore Kumar
After Ashok Kumar became a star of Hindi films, the Ganguly family visited Mumbai regularly. Abhas Kumar changed his name to Kishore and started his cinema career as a chorus singer at Bombay Talkies, where his brother worked. Ashok wanted Kumar to be an actor like him. Kumar starred in Bimal Roy's Naukri (1954) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's directorial debut Musafir (1957).
Salil Chowdhury, the music director for Naukri, was initially dismissive of Kumar as a singer when he found that Kumar had no formal training in music. However, after hearing his voice, Chowdhury gave him the song Chhota sa ghar hoga, which was supposed to be sung by Hemant Kumar.
In the movie Half Ticket, for one of the songs - Aake Seedhi Lagi Dil Pe - the music director Salil Chowdhary had a duet in mind and wanted Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar sing the song. However, since Lata Mangeshkar was not in town and Salil Chowdhury had to record that song before Lata Manageshkar could return Kishore Kumar solved the problem by singing for both the male and female versions of the song himself. The duet is actually for Pran and Kishore Kumar on the screen dressed as a woman. It just turned out to be fine as he did admirably well singing as both the male and female.
Music director S. D. Burman is credited with spotting Kumar's talent for singing. During the making of Mashaal (1950), Burman visited Ashok's house, where he heard Kumar imitating K. L. Saigal. He complimented him and told him that he should develop a style of his own, instead of copying Saigal. Kumar eventually developed his own style of singing, which featured yodeling, which he had heard on the records of Tex Morton and Jimmie Rodgers.
Burman recorded in Kumar's voice for Dev Anand's Munimji (1954), Taxi Driver (1954), House No. 44 (1955), Funtoosh (1956), Nau Do Gyarah (1957), Paying Guest (1957), Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967), Prem Pujari (1970), and Tere Mere Sapne (1971). He also composed music for Kumar's home production Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). Some of their songs were; "Maana Janaab Ne Pukara Nahin" from Paying Guest, "Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke" from Nau Do Gyarah (1957), "Ai Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa" from Funtoosh, and "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" and "Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka" from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958).[10] Asha Bhosle and Kumar performed duets composed by Burman including "Chhod Do Aanchal" from Paying Guest (1957), "Ankhon Mein Kya Ji" from Nau Do Gyarah (1957), "Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka" and "Paanch Rupaiya Baara Aana" from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and "Arre Yaar Meri Tum Bhi Ho Gajab" from Teen Deviyan (1965).
Music director C. Ramchandra also recognized Kumar's talent as a singer. They collaborated on songs including "Eena Meena Deeka" from Aasha (1957). Kishore Kumar's work includes "Nakhrewaali" from New Delhi (1956) by Shankar Jaikishan, "C.A.T. Cat Maane Billi" and "Hum To Mohabbat Karega" from Dilli Ka Thug (1958) by Ravi, and "Chhedo Na Meri Zulfein" from Ganga Ki Lahren (1964) by Chitragupta.
In the late 1960s, Rahul Dev Burman worked with Kishore Kumar on the soundtrack of the film Padosan (1968), in which Kumar sang "Mere Saamne Wali Khidki Mein" and "Kehna Hai."
In 1969, Shakti Samanta produced and directed Aradhana. He sang two songs in the film; "Meri Sapnon Ki Rani" and "Roop Tera Mastana". Shakti Samanta suggested that Kumar sing the other songs. When the film was released, Kumar's two songs established him as a leading Bollywood playback singer.Kishore Kumar won his first Filmfare award for"Roop Tera Mastana".
In the 1970s and 1980s, Kumar sang for Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Dev Anand, Shashi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Vinod Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor, Aditya Pancholi, Naseeruddin Shah, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan, Pran, Sachin, Vinod Mehra, Rajini Kanth, Chunky Pandey, Kumar Gaurav, Govinda and Jackie Shroff.
On 13 October 1987—his brother Ashok's 76th birthday—he died of a heart attack in Mumbai at 4:45 pm. His body was taken to Khandwa for cremation. Kumar had recorded his last song, Guru Guru—a duet with Asha Bhosle for the film Waqt Ki Aawaz (1988) composed by Bappi Lahiri for Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi—the day before he died.
Madhubala
Madhubala (14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) (born Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi) was an Indian film actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi cinema. She was active between 1942 and 1960.
Madhubala's first movie, Basant (1942), was a box-office success. She acted as the daughter to a mother played by actress Mumtaz Shanti.
Her first lead role, at the age of 14, was with producer Kidar Sharma when he cast her opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947). This was the last film in which she was credited as Mumtaz before assuming her screen name 'Madhubala'. She achieved stardom and popularity in 1949 when she was cast as the lead in Bombay Talkiesstudio's Mahal – a role intended for well-known star Suraiya. Following the success of Mahal, Madhubala appeared in the box office hits Dulari (1949), Beqasoor(1950), Tarana (1951) and Badal (1951).
Madhubala's co-stars Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rehman, Pradeep Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand were the most popular of the period. She also appeared with Kamini Kaushal, Suraiya, Geeta Bali, Nalini Jaywant, Shyama and Nimmi, notable leading ladies. The directors she worked with, Mehboob Khan (Amar), Guru Dutt (Mr. & Mrs. '55), Kamal Amrohi (Mahal) and K. Asif (Mughal-e-Azam), were amongst the most prolific and respected. Madhubala also became a producer with the film Naata (1955), in which she also acted. She also produced Mahlon Ke Khwab (1960) and acted in it.
Along with her contemporaries Nargis and Meena Kumari, she is often regarded as one of the most influential personalities of Hindi cinema. [4] She is also considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses to have worked in the industry and is highly regarded as "The Venus of Indian Cinema" and "The Beauty with Tragedy".
Often drawing comparison from American actress Marilyn Monroe, Madhubala received wide recognition for her performances in films like Mahal (1949), Amar (1954), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Barsaat Ki Raat (1960). Madhubala's performance in Mughal-e-Azam established her as an iconic actress of Hindi Cinema. Her last film, Jwala, although shot in the 1950s, was released in 1971. Madhubala died on 23 February 1969 after a prolonged illness
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Soumitra Chatterjee and Madhabi Mukherjee have worked together in the following 17 movies. The list includes all types of association of Soumitra Chatterjee with Madhabi Mukherjee in movies.Hing Ting Chaat 2010, Swartha 2009,Chandragrahan 1997, Boumoni 1995, Mon Mane na 1993,Anthradhan 1992, Ekti Jiban 1990, manasi 1990, Matir swarga 1982, Gandebata 1979, Parisodh 1968, Ajana Sapath 1967, Joradhigir Chowdhury Pariwar 1966, Kalpurush O mahapurush 1965, Ek-i-ange eto rup 1965, kapurush mahapurush 1965, Charulata 1964.
Madhabi Mukherjee née Chakraborty (originally Madhuri Mukherjee), was born on 10 February 1942, has won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the Bengali film Dibratrir Kabya. She has acted in some of the most critically acclaimed films in Bengali cinema.
Her major role was the title role of Charu in Satyajit Ray's masterpiece Charulata. Her impact was such that Madhabi Mukherjee is still considered among the all-time greats of Bengali cinema.
As a young girl, she became involved in the theatre.She worked on stage with doyens like Sisir Bhaduri, Ahindra Choudhury, Nirmalendu Lahiri and Chhabi Biswas. Some of the plays she acted in included Naa and Kalarah. She made her film debut as a child artist in Premendra Mitra's Kankantala Light Railway (1950).
Madhabi first made a major impact with Mrinal Sen's Baishey Shravan (Wedding Day) in 1960. Her next major film was Ritwik Ghatak's Subarnarekha (The Golden Thread) made in 1962 but released in 1965. In the early 1960s, she was recruited by Satyajit Ray to portray the role of Arati in the 1963 film, Mahanagar (The Big City). She plays Arati who takes a job as a saleswoman due to financial constraints in the family. The large joint family is horrified at the thought of a working woman. For Arati, going door to door selling knitting machines opens up a whole new world and new friends and acquaintances including an Anglo-Indian friend, Edith. Earning money also raises Arati's status in the family especially when her husband (Anil Chatterjee) loses his job. When Edith is sacked unfairly, Arati resigns in protest.Madhabi's towering performance as Arati dominates the film. This film was soon followed by her portrayals of Charu in Charulata (The Lonely Wife), the 1964 film based on Rabindranath Tagore's novella Nashtanir (The Broken Nest, 1901). Mukherjee's stunning portrayal of Charulata, a bored and neglected housewife of Calcutta in the 19th century, is undoubtedly a towering performance in the history of Indian cinema.
Madhabi's third and last film with Ray was Kapurush (The Coward) in 1965. The film looks at Amitabha Roy (Soumitra Chatterjee), a screenwriter whose car breaks down in a small town. He lodges with a local resident, Bimal Gupta (Haradhan Bannerjee). Bimal is married to Karuna (Madhabi Mukherjee), who was a past girlfriend of Amitabha, a fact which Bimal is unaware of. Despite playing out predictably, Kapurush still has a great deal of charm, most notably in the wordless acting prowess demonstrated by Soumitra and Madhabi.
Her major films post Kapurush include Calcutta 71 in 1972 by Mrinal Sen, Biraj Bou in 1972 by Manu Sen, Streer Patra in 1972 by Purnendu Patri, Ganadevata in 1978 by Tarun Majumdar, Bancharamer Bagan in 1980 by Tapan Sinha, Chokh in 1982 then Chhandaneer in 1989 by Utpalendu Chakrabarty and Utsab in 2000 by Rituparno Ghos
Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay (Shoumitro Chôttopaddhae),(born 19 January 1935) is best known for his collaborations with film director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films, and his constant comparison with the Bengali cinema screen idol Uttam Kumar, his contemporary leading man of the 1960s and 1970s.Starting with his debut film, Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959), the third part of Apu Trilogy, he went on to work in several notable films with Ray, including Abhijan (The Expedition, 1962), Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964), Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest, 1969); Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973); Sonar Kella (The Fortress, 1974) and Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God, 1978) as Feluda, Ghare Baire (The Home and The World, 1984) and Ganashatru (Enemy of the People, 1989).
Meanwhile, he also worked with other noted directors of Bengali cinema, with Mrinal Sen in Akash Kusum (Up in the Clouds, 1965),Tapan Sinha in Kshudhita Pashan (Hungry Stones, 1960), Jhinder Bandi (1961), Asit Sen in Swaralipi (1961), Ajoy Kar in Saat Pake Bandha (1963), Parineeta (1969), and Tarun Mazumdar in Sansar Simante (1975) and Ganadevata (1978). He acted more than 210 films in his career till 2016.
Entering the 1980s and 1990s, he started working with contemporary directors, like Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen, Anjan Das and Rituparno Ghosh, and even acted on television. In 1986, he played the role of a swimming coach in film Kony (1986) directed by Saroj Dey, who was part of the film collective Agragami.
After a two-decade long busy career as a leading man of Bengali cinema, he returned to theatre in 1978, with his production Naam Jiban, staged at Biswarupa Theatre in Kolkata. This led to other plays like Rajkumar (1982), Phera (1987), Nilkantha (1988), Ghatak Biday (1990) and Nyaymurti (1996), beside notable plays like Tiktiki (1995), an adaptation of Sleuth and Homapakhi (2006). Besides acting, he has written and directed several plays, translated a few and also branched out to poetry reading in recent decades.
In 2012, he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
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Smita Patil
Smita Patil, born on 17 October 1955 was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Patil appeared in over 80 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.Her first tryst with the camera was in the 1970s as a television newscaster on Mumbai Doordarshan, when Shyam Benegal discovered her. Her work includes films with parallel cinema directors like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, G. Aravindan and Mrinal Sen as well as forays into the more commercial Hindi film industry cinema of Mumbai. Her performances were often acclaimed, and her most notable roles include Manthan (1977), Bhumika (1977), Chakra (1981), Arth (1982) Chidambaram (1985) and Mirch Masala (1985).
Smita Patil comes across as an artiste with a thousand expressions in Manthan. As Bindu, one moment she leaves you speechless with a tongue-lashing she gives to Girish Karnad’s Dr. Manohar Rao who has come to collect a milk sample for the cooperative dairy project. Another moment, she is all simmering sensuality as she bathes outside her hut. Dressed in a one piece, off-shoulder gown — a lecherous old man looks, greed written over his face — she conveys it all with not a single line, no pouting lips, and no suggestive camera angles.
This facet of Smita is also brought out in one of her earliest movies Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika. The adaptation of Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar’s life was again as much an exploration of the whimsical ways of showbiz as much as it was a voyage into a woman’s troubled journey. Barely 22, her portrayal mirrored the acute insecurities of women taking a stance without being unnecessary judgmental. Bhumika is as empowering as its moving.
In Rabindra Dharmaraj’s Chakra she tries to grapple a combative son and her various paramours. Smita’s body language and sadness was as much a reflection of the sordid squalor in the slums as it was about the moral squalor in relationships.
In Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth, one can experience the pain when you see her character of Kavita Sanyal begging Pooja (Shabana Azmi) to leave Inder (Kulbushan Kharbanda )
As Muniyadi’s wife Shivkami in Chidambaram, a Malayalam movie, she moves from the brown, barren landscape of Tamilnadu to the green, undulating meadows of the farm immediately after her marriage and wonders at the colourful surroundings, and her expressions of wonder and joy are priceless.
Her arguably greatest (and unfortunately final) role came when Smita teamed with Ketan Mehta to play the feisty and fiery Sonbai in Mirch Masala. Smita won raves for playing a spirited spice-factory worker who stands up against a lecherous petty official.
On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, Forbes included her performance in the film on its list, "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". In 2011, Rediff.com listed her as the second-greatest actress of all time, behind Nargis. On the occasion of 100 years of the Indian cinema, a postage stamp bearing her face was released by India Post to honour her on 3 May 2013.
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Hiralal Sen was an Indian photographer generally considered one of India's first filmmakers. He is also credited with creating India's first advertising films. In 1898, a film troupe en route to Paris screened a certain Professor Stevenson's short film along with the stage show, The Flower of Persia at the Star Theatre in Calcutta. Borrowing Stevenson's camera, Sen made his first film, "A Dancing Scene" from the opera The Flower of Persia. With assistance from his brother, Motilal Sen, he bought an Urban Bioscope from Charles Urban's Warwick Trading Company in London. In the following year, with his brother, he formed the Royal Bioscope company.[ In a creative career that extended up to 1913, Hiralal Sen made over forty films.
JF Madan was an Indian theatre and film magnate who was one of the pioneers of film production in India, an early exhibitor, distributor and producer of films and plays. In 1902 he founded Elphinstone Bioscope Company, and began producing and exhibiting silent movies. He started bioscope shows in a tent in Maidan, Calcutta along with similar shows in Corinthian Theatre. The equipments used were procured from Pathé Frères of Paris. Most of the films shown in those shows were from Pathé Productions. These bioscope shows were organized under the banner of Elphinstone Bioscope Company. Elphinstone Bioscope Company produced a number of short films. He also started film shows in Alfred Theatre, which he bought in the same year. In 1907, he established Elphinstone Picture Palace which was the first permanent show house in Calcutta. He also opened Madan Theatre and Palace of Varieties (now known as Elite Cinema). In 1919, his film production business became a joint stock company with the name of Madan Theatres Limited. Madan Theatres and its associates had great control over theatre houses in India during that period. In 1919, Madan produced the first Bengali feature film, Bilwamangal. It was first screened in the Cornwallis Theatre (now known as the Sree Cinema).The Electric Theatre (now known as Regal Cinema), Grand Opera House (currently known as Globe Cinema) and Crown Cinema (now known as Uttara Cinema) were all owned by Madan Theatres.
Ardeshar Irani was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was renowned for making films in Hindi, Telugu, English, German, Indonesian, Persian, Urdu and Tamil. In 1905, Irani became the Indian representative of Universal Studios and he ran Alexander Cinema in Bombay with Abdulally Esoofally for over forty years. It was at Alexander Cinema that Ardeshir Irani learnt the rules of the art of filmmaking and became fascinated by the medium. In 1917, Irani entered the field of film production and produced his first silent feature film, Nala Dayamanti, which released in 1920. In 1922, Irani joined Bhogilal Dave, the former manager of Dadasaheb Phalke's Hindustan Films, and established Star Films. Their first silent feature film, Veer Abhimanyu was released in 1922 and starred Fatima Begum in the female lead. In 1925, Irani founded Imperial Films, where he made sixty-two films. By the age of forty, Irani was an established filmmaker of Indian cinema. Ardeshir Irani became the father of talkie films with the release of his sound feature film, Alam Ara on 14 March 1931
Chandulal Shah was a famous director, producer and screenwriter of Indian films, who founded Ranjit Studios in 1929. Amarchand Shroff, a friend of Shah, brought him to Kohinoor Film Company. The first film independently directed by him at Kohinoor was Typist Girl (1926) starring Sulochana and Gohar which was made in 17 days. The film did extremely well at the box-office leading Shah to direct another five films for the studio all featuring Gohar. Of these, the most famous was Gunsundari (1927).In 1929 Chandulal Shah founded Ranjit Studios at Bombay, Maharashtra. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The company began production of silent films in 1929 under the banner Ranjit Film Company and by 1932 had made 39 pictures, most of them social dramas. The company changed its name to Ranjit Movietone in 1932 and during the 1930s produced numerous successful talkies at the rate of about six a year.
Debaki Bose was a top director, writer, and actor of Bengali cinema/Indian cinema. He is known for his innovative use of sound and music in Indian Cinema. He worked first under the banner of British Dominion Films of Dhiren Ganguly and later with Pramathesh Barua's Barua Pictures and finally he joined New Theatres banner in 1932. He started his own production company, Debaki Productions, in 1945. Chandidas (1932), directed by him, contained background Music for the first time in Indian Cinema. Music Director was Raichand Boral, also known as R.C. Boral. Seeta (1934), made under the banner of East India Film Company, was the first Indian talkie shown in any international film festival. It was shown in Venice Film Festival, where it won an Honorary Diploma. He was the 1st Indian director to receive any international award.[3] Sagar Sangamey (1959) was nominated for Golden Bear at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival (1959).This film got National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the6th National Film Awards ceremony in 1959.[
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Shobhna Samrath's first film was "Orphans of Society" (1935) also called Nigahe Nafrat or Vilasi Ishwar for Kolhapur Cinetone.She left Kolhapur Cinetone and joined Sagar Movietone (Sagar Film Company), she acted in Do Dilwale (1936) and Kokila (1937). By the end of 1937, Shobhana left Sagar and joined General Films, acting in Industrial India (Nirala Hindustan)and Pati Patni (1939).By 1939 she had joined Hindustan Cinetone making four films with them, which included Kaun Kisi ka (1939) Saubhagya (1940) Apni Nagariya (1940) and Ghar Javai (1941)In 1942 came her career-defining film Bharat Milap, followed by Ram Rajya in 1943.Samarth later produced and directed a pair of movies that launched the careers of her aughters, Nutan and Tanuja
Jaddan Bai was an early singer, music composer, actress and filmmaker of Bollywood and one of the pioneers of Indian cinema. She was the mother of well-known actress Nargis. She was the first female music director in the Indian film industry, followed by Saraswati Devi. She later began acting and her films were Raja Gopichand, Insaan ya Shaitan, Prem Pariksha and Seva Sadan, She started her own production company called Sangeet Films. The company produced Talashe Haq in 1935, in which she acted and composed the music.
Sabita Devi is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema. A Jew by birth, she changed her name to find acceptability in Hindi cinema like the other Anglo-Indian and Jewish actresses of her time. After initially working with British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta, she shifted to Bombay and performed mainly in films produced by Sagar Movietone with her co-star in most films being Motilal. Some of the popular films with Motilal were Dr. Madhurika (1935) and Kulvadhu (1937). One of the top directors of the time she worked with doing social genre films was Sarvottam Badami. She formed her own production company, Sudama Pictures, in collaboration with Sarvottam Badami along with the assistance of Ranjit Studios. From 1935–1943 Sabita acted in fifteen films, all directed by Badami. Some of the comedy films she acted in like Aap Ki Marzi (1939) and Ladies Only (1939), turned out to be big box-office successes.[
Jamuna was married to the legendary actor director Pramathesh Barua, or P.C. Barua, who died in 1950. She began her acting career in her husband's famous production Devdas in 1936 and was the film's lead character Parvati or Paro. She went on to make a number of memorable movies in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi, notably Amiri, Mukti, Adhikar and Sesh Uttar. She stopped acting after Barua died.
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Devika Rani was called the first lady of Indian cinema. In the 1930s, Bombay Talkies produced several women-centric films with Devika Rani playing the lead role in all of them. In majority of the films produced by the studio, she was paired opposite Ashok Kumar. Some of her notable films are Karma (1933), Jawani Ki Hawa (1935), Achhoot Kanya (1936), Prem Kahani (1937), Nirmala (1938), and Durga (1939) Anjaan (1941) Hamari Baat (1943). In 1958, the Government of India honored Devika Rani with a Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour. She became the first ever recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the country's highest award for films, when it was instituted in 1969.other leading ladies of 30’s
Kanan Devi From silent film roles as a child artist Kanan made the successful transition into talkie films and was noticed with Jorebarat (1931), Manomoyee Girls School, Khooni Kaun and Maa (1934) The films of New Theatres established her as a super hit singer and her films ran to packed audiences. During her years with New Theatres, Calcutta from 1937, she played the lead in Barua's Mukti (1937), which was perhaps her finest performance, making her the studio's top star. Apart from Mukti, she did Vidyapati, Saathi (1938), Street Singer (1938), Sapera (1939), Jawani Ki Reet (1939), Parajay (1939), Abhinetri (1940), Lagan(1941), Parichay (1941) and Jawab (1942). She became known as Kanan Devi from this point. She worked with the biggest names in Indian cinema from K. L. Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Pramathesh Barua, Pahari Sanyal, Chabi Biswas and Ashok Kumar.M.P. Productions's Jawaab, was perhaps her biggest hit. Her song Duniya Yeh Duniya, Hai Toofan Mail was well received. She repeated the same feast in Hospital (1943), Banphool (1945), and Rajlakshmi (1946). Kanan Devi's last Hindi film was Chandrashekhar (1948) with Ashok Kumar.She was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1976
Kanan Devi From silent film roles as a child artist Kanan made the successful transition into talkie films and was noticed with Jorebarat (1931), Manomoyee Girls School, Khooni Kaun and Maa (1934) The films of New Theatres established her as a super hit singer and her films ran to packed audiences. During her years with New Theatres, Calcutta from 1937, she played the lead in Barua's Mukti (1937), which was perhaps her finest performance, making her the studio's top star. Apart from Mukti, she did Vidyapati, Saathi (1938), Street Singer (1938), Sapera (1939), Jawani Ki Reet (1939), Parajay (1939), Abhinetri (1940), Lagan(1941), Parichay (1941) and Jawab (1942). She became known as Kanan Devi from this point. She worked with the biggest names in Indian cinema from K. L. Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Pramathesh Barua, Pahari Sanyal, Chabi Biswas and Ashok Kumar.M.P. Productions's Jawaab, was perhaps her biggest hit. Her song Duniya Yeh Duniya, Hai Toofan Mail was well received. She repeated the same feast in Hospital (1943), Banphool (1945), and Rajlakshmi (1946). Kanan Devi's last Hindi film was Chandrashekhar (1948) with Ashok Kumar.She was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1976
Leela Chitins worked at Prabhat Pictures, Pune and Ranjit Movietone before going on to be the leading lady in Bombay Talkies. Bombay Talkies was having limited luck at the box office. But it bounced back with Kangan ("Bangles", 1939), which introduced Chitnis playing the lead role. With Kangan's success, Leela replaced Bombay Talkies' ravishing leading lady Devika Rani. Leela made a particularly good partner with Devika Rani's leading man Ashok Kumar for a series of box-office hits such as Azad (Free, 1940), Bandhan (Ties, 1940) and Jhoola ("Swing", 1941) that broadly deal with societal issues. Ashok Kumar was so impressed by her acting abilities that he admitted to having learnt how to speak with his eyes from her. In 1941 Chitnis, at the height of her popularity and glamour, created history of sorts by becoming the first Indian film star to endorse the popular Lux soap brand, a concession then only granted to top Hollywood heroines.
Leela Desai, aka Lila Desai, was a famous Indian actress in the 1930s and 1940sShe acted in 11 Indian movies and was the associate producer of the movie, Kabuliwali in 1961.Her notable films are 'Didi' (a Bengali film of 1937) Badi Bahen (1937) President (1937) Jiban Maran (1937) Dushman with K.L.Saighal.In the film 'Kapal Kundala'(1939) she acted as 'Kapal Kundala'.Nartaki' was a film having two versions and in both of them Leela Desai handled heroine role as 'Roop Kumara'.'Tamanna' was a Hindi film directed by Phani Majumdar in 1942.Leela Desai, Krishna Chandra Dey, P.Jairaj, Jagdish Sethi etc acted in it. 'Nagad Narayan' was a Hindi film which was directed by Vishram Bedekar in which Leela Desai, Kusum Deshpande and Pratima Devi acted. In 1944 she acted in the film 'Kaliyan'. She was associate producer of the movie ‘Kabuliwala’ in 1961.
Akhtari Bai‘s good looks and sensitive voice made her an ideal candidate for a film career in her early years. After the advent of talkie era in India, Beghum Akhtar acted in a few Hindi movies in the 1930s. East India Film Company of Calcutta approached her to act in "King for a Day" (alias Ek Din Ka Badshah) and Nal Damayanti in 1933.Like others of that era, she sang her songs herself in all her films. She continued acting in the following years. Her notable films are Roti (1942) and Jalsaghar (directed by Satyajit Ray).
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Silent Era
Devdas, a silent film produced by Eastern Films Syndicate, Calcutta, and directed by Naresh Mitra was the first celluloid version of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous story. It starred Phani Burma as Devdas.It was later to be remade eight more times in Indian Cinema with the most popular version still cited as P. C. Barua’s Devdas in 1935 starring K. L. Saigal. Bhakta Vidur directed by Kanjibhai Rathod and produced by Kohinoor Film Company was the first Indian cinema film to face a ban, leading to a "major censorship row". Cited by Rajadhyaksha and Willemen as "One of the most famous silent mythologicals", the film featured Vidur in Gandhian attire complete with Gandhi cap and the Khaddar shirt. The film was banned in Karachi and Madras.
Other interesting Films of 20's
Bilat Ferat or Bilet Pherat a.k.a. England Returned was the acting debut of Dhirendranath Ganguly who co-directed and produced the film under his Indo-British Film banner. The film is the first full length Bengali feature film. It was also stated to be the first "love story" shown in Indian cinema.
Bilat Ferat or Bilet Pherat a.k.a. England Returned was the acting debut of Dhirendranath Ganguly who co-directed and produced the film under his Indo-British Film banner. The film is the first full length Bengali feature film. It was also stated to be the first "love story" shown in Indian cinema.
Mahasati Ansuya also called Sati Ansuya was directed by Kanjibhai Rathod for Kohinoor Film Company. It starred Sakina and Vaidya. According to Rajadhyaksha and Willemen, the film was a success at the box office and "gained notoriety for a nude shot of Sakina".
Nal Damayanti, a mythological, was one of the notable films of 1921. Directed by Eugenio de Liguoro for Madan Theatres, it starred Patience Cooper, E. D. Liguoro and D. Sarkari. It was cited to be the first international co-production with Italy.
Surekha Haran was directed by Baburao Painter for Maharashtra Film Company. Painter hired V. Shantaram, who had been employed by the studio doing all-purpose jobs, to play the role of Krishna.[11] Shantaram's acting in the film brought him into prominence leading to several small roles till Savkari Pash where he was cast in the main role.
Pati Bhakti also called Human Emotions was directed by J. J. Madan for his banner Madan Theatres Ltd. The film was based on a play by Harikrishna Jauhar. The Madras censors "demanded" the removal of an "obscene dance" scene. It made actress Patience Cooper, who starred in the film, "one of the biggest star of that time".The film also featured some of the earliest kissing scenes.
Patni Pratap, a Madan Theatres Ltd. production and directed by J. J. Madan, had actress Patience Cooper playing the first "double role" in Indian cinema.
Savitri also called Savitri Satyavan is cited as India’s "first international co-production". Directed by Giorgio Mannini and produced by Cines (Rome) and Madan Theatres, it was based on the mythological tale of Savitri Satyavan. Rina De Liguoro played the role of Savitri, while Angelo Ferrari acted as Satyavan. The film was "promoted" as Italy’s most "daring" film.
Gul-E-Bakavali was directed by Kanjibhai Rathod for Dwarkadas Sampat's Kohinoor Film Company banner. Made as a fantasy, the film was a big success breaking records and running in theatres for fourteen weeks.
Prithvi Vallabh directed by Homi Master was based on K. M. Munshi's Gujarati novel bearing the same title. The film was a success at the box-office and was "widely acclaimed".
Savkari Pash directed by Baburao Painter for Maharashtra Film Company, Kolhapur, was the acting debut of V. Shantaram. The film was the "earliest example" of parallel cinema in its realistic depiction of social issues.
The Light of Asia was directed by Franz Osten with assistance from Himanshu Rai; it starred Rai in the role of Siddhartha (Buddha). The film was adapted from Edwin Arnold's epic poem The Light of Asia (1861).
The Telephone Girl was noted as a film that made "Pioneering use of real locations", It was directed by Homi Master for Kohinoor Film Company and was the debut film of real-life telephone operator, Sulochana (Ruby Myers).
Balidan based on a play by Rabindranath Tagore, was directed by Naval Gandhi for Orient Pictures Corporation. It was a social reformist film, which involved a "progressive, rational king and an orthodox, ritual-bound priest". The film was hailed as "An excellent and truly Indian film" by The Indian Cinematograph Committee, 1927. It has been cited by P. K. Nair as one of the top ten lost films of Indian Cinema.
Durgesh Nandini directed by Priyanath Ganguly and produced by Madan Theatres Ltd, was based on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name. This was one of the three films based on Chattopadhyay's stories that Seeta Devi acted in, the others were Krishnakanta's Will(1927), and Kapal Kundala (1929).
Madhuri directed by Rama Choudhary for the Imperial Film Company, and Anarkali, also called Loves of a Mughal Prince directed by Charu Roy and Prafulla Roy for Great Eastern Corporation, were successful films starring Sulochana (Ruby Myers). Both films were made into Talkie versions later, with Madhuri in 1932 and Anarkali in 1935.
Melody of Love (1928), a Universal production in English, was the first Talkie film shown in India at Elphinstone Picture Palace in Calcutta.
Gopal Krishna directed by V. Shantaram was the first film produced under Shantaram's newly formed Prabhat Films. The film show-cased the opposition to the British rule in the guise of a "Hindu mythology" film.
Prapancha Pash also called A Throw of Dice was directed by Franz Osten and financed by British Instructional Films Ltd. and the UFA Studios, Berlin. The film starred Himanshu Rai, Charu Roy and Seeta Devi. Devika Rani, who worked as an assistant set designer on this film, married Himanshu Rai the same year.
Kapal Kundala directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly, was the first Indian film to achieve a "silver jubilee" run of 25 weeks.
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Zubaida-Leading Lady of First Talkie Film
Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in Kohinoor. Through the 1920s she made infrequent appearances on screen along with Sultana who, by then, had become one of Indian cinema's loveliest leading ladies. One of the films to star the two sisters was Kalyan Khajina in 1924. They had also shared the screen in Zubeida's first blockbuster, Veer Abhimanyu released two years earlier, that also had their mother, Fatima Begum, playing an important role.In 1925 Zubeida had nine releases, amongst them Kala Chor, Devdasi and Desh Ka Dushman. A year later she starred in her mother's film, Bulbul-e-Paristan. 1927 was memorable for her with movies Laila Majnu, Nanand Bhojai and Naval Gandhi's Sacrifice which were very successful movies at this time. Zubeida starred in a string of silent films before Alam Ara proved to be the turning point in her career and was her biggest hit. She suddenly was highly in demand and got wages high above the standards for a woman in the film industry at that time.Through the '30s and early '40s she made a hit team with Jal Merchant and starred in several successful mythological films playing characters like Subhadra, Uttara and Draupadi. Zubeida was one of the few actresses to make a successful transition from the silent era to the talkies.
Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in Kohinoor. Through the 1920s she made infrequent appearances on screen along with Sultana who, by then, had become one of Indian cinema's loveliest leading ladies. One of the films to star the two sisters was Kalyan Khajina in 1924. They had also shared the screen in Zubeida's first blockbuster, Veer Abhimanyu released two years earlier, that also had their mother, Fatima Begum, playing an important role.In 1925 Zubeida had nine releases, amongst them Kala Chor, Devdasi and Desh Ka Dushman. A year later she starred in her mother's film, Bulbul-e-Paristan. 1927 was memorable for her with movies Laila Majnu, Nanand Bhojai and Naval Gandhi's Sacrifice which were very successful movies at this time. Zubeida starred in a string of silent films before Alam Ara proved to be the turning point in her career and was her biggest hit. She suddenly was highly in demand and got wages high above the standards for a woman in the film industry at that time.Through the '30s and early '40s she made a hit team with Jal Merchant and starred in several successful mythological films playing characters like Subhadra, Uttara and Draupadi. Zubeida was one of the few actresses to make a successful transition from the silent era to the talkies.Other notable heroines:
Durgabai Kamat was a Marathi actress, who was the first female actress of Indian cinema. In the early 1900s, acting in film or theatre was a taboo for women, so much so Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, had to use male actors to female role in first Indian film, Raja Harishchandra, however with its success, female actress were encouraged, thus he introduced Kamat in his 1913 second movie Mohini Bhasmasur as a leading lady Parvati.
Fatma Begum was an Indian actress, director, and screenwriter. She began her career on the Urdu stage. She later shifted to films and debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film, Veer Abhimanyu (1922).Begum became the first female director of Indian cinema with her 1926 film, Bulbul-e-Paristan. While no known prints of the film currently exist, the high budget production has been described as a fantasy film featuring many special effects. If true, the film places Begum among early pioneers of fantasy cinema such as George Melies. While continuing to produce and appear in her own work, Fatma worked for Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios until her last film in 1938, Duniya Kya Hai? She directed many other films, her last being the Goddess of Luck in 1929.
Sultana, also known as Sultana Razaaq, was one of the earliest film actresses from India and acted both in silent movies and later in talkie movies. She was daughter of India’s first female film director Fatima Begum. Zubeida (leading actress of India's first talkie film Alam Ara (1931)) was younger sister of Sultana.
Ruby Myres, the self-named Sulochana,was among the early Eurasian female stars of Indian Cinema.She was working as a telephone operator when she was approached by Mohan Bhavnani of Kohinoor Film Company to work in films. Among her popular films were Typist Girl (1926), Balidaan (1927) and Wildcat of Bombay (1927) where she essayed eight roles including a gardener, a policeman, a Hyderabadi gentleman, a street urchin, a banana seller and a European blonde. Three romantic super hits in 1928 - 29 with director R.S. Chaudhari - Madhuri (1928), Anarkali (1928) and Indira B.A. (1929) saw her at her peak of fame in the silent film era. She received the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1973 for her lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
Patience cooper began as a dancer in Bandmann's Musical Comedy, a Eurasian troupe. She later joined Jamshedji Framji Madan's Corinithian Stage Company as an actress. Cooper first made an impact with Nala Damayanti (1920). Her next film was Vishnu Avtar, released in 1921. De Liguoro also directed Dhruva Chartitra (1921), a mythological based on the legend of Dhruva. The film was made as a bid for an international breakthrough for Madan Theatres and featured many Europeans in the cast along with Cooper who played the female lead, Suniti.One of Cooper's biggest successes was Pati Bhakti (1922). Cooper played Leelavati in the film.The film is regarded as her greatest film and was also involved in a small controversy as in Madras, the censor demanded that a dance number be removed on the grounds of obscenity.Cooper also played perhaps the first ever double roles in Hindi films — Patni Pratap (1923), where she played two sisters and Kashmiri Sundari (1924), where she played mother and daughter.Cooper did films right through to the mid-1930s. One of her last major films was Zehari Saap (1933).
Seeta Devi, born Renee Smith, was one of the early stars of silent films. Himanshu Rai cast Smith, an Anglo-Indian, in Prem Sanyas, the movie which is better known by its English title: The Light of Asia. This was her debut film as Seeta Devi, and it made her a star immediately. Later she acted under the banner of Madan Theatres as well.Three of her most successful films were: The Light of Asia, Shiraz, and Prapancha Pash. All three of these films were made through the collaboration of German film director Franz Osten and Indian actor-producer Himanshu Rai. Three of her other successful films, Durgesh Nandini, Kapal Kundala and Krishnakanter Will were based on popular novels of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
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Indian Cinema before 1913Indian film industry celebrated 100 years of cinema in 2013, counting 100 years from the release of Dhandiraj Govindraj Phalke’s RAJA HARISCHANDRA released on May 3, 1913. D. G. Phalke is acclaimed as the father of the Indian cinema because he laid the foundation for the future of the Indian film industry and because he trained several young film makers in his studio in Nasik.
Some people claim that the first Indian film released in India was Shree Pundalik, a silent film in Marathi by Dadasaheb torne on 18th May 1912 at ‘Coronation Cinematograph’, Mumbai. But this film was not given the honour of being the first Indian film because it was a photographic recording of a popular Marathi play and because the cameraman was a British national and the film was processed in London.
But Cinema was shown for the first time in India by the Lumiere brothers on July 17, 1896 at the Watson Hotel in Mumbai.
Indian cinema thus has more than a hundred years of history, like the European
or American film industry. That first show was just a show of a series of visuals, moving
scenes and nothing more, but it inaugurated a long line of movies made by talented
Indians.
Though the earliest show of moving pictures in India was done in 1896, for the next fifteen years there was no indigenous production of movies.
What happened during these 15 years?
Soon after 1886 Hiralal Sen and H.S. Bhatavdekar started making films in Calcutta and Bombay respectively. India’s first short film ‘Dancing Scenes from the Flower of Persia’ was made by Hiralal Sen in 1898. Bhatavdekar made India’s first actuality films in 1899.
Hiralal Sen is credited as one of India’s first directors when he set up the Royal Bioscope Company producing scenes from the stage productions of a number of popular shows at the Star Theatre, Minerva Theatre and Classic theatre. They were all silent films. Hiralal Sen is also credited as one of the pioneers of advertisement films in India. His ads for Jabakusum hair oil and Edward’s Tonic were india’s first advertisement films.
The first “bioscopes” were shown in theatres in Calcutta in 1890’s. The first Indian chain of cinema theatres, Madan Theatre, was owned by the parsi entrepreneur Jamshedji Framji Madan who oversaw production of 10 films annually and distributed them throughout the Indian sub-continent starting from 1902. He founded Elphinstone Bioscope Company in Calcutta, and opened Elphinstone Picture Palace in Calcutta in 1907.
In 1911, Anandi Bose, Debi Bose and others start the Aurora Cinema Co showing films in tents.
The coronation Durbar of king George V which was held in Delhi was filmed by several Indians.
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Kavi Pradeep (6 February 1915 – 11 December 1998), born Ramchandra Narayanji Dwivedi,was an Indian poet and songwriter who is best known for his patriotic song 'Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo' written as a tribute to the soldiers who had died defending the country during the Sino-Indian War.His first recognition came for his patriotic lyrics for the film Bandhan (1940). His status as a nationalistic writer got immortalised for writing a daringly patriotic song Door Hato Ae Duniya Walo (Move Away O Outsiders) in India's first golden jubilee hit Kismet (1943) because he was forced to go underground to avoid arrest immediately after the film's release that invited the ire of British government.
In a career span of five decades, Kavi Pradeep wrote about 1,700 songs and nationalistic poems including the lyrics for some 72 films, including hits like Chal Chal Re Naujawan in film Bandhan (1940) and Aao Bachcho Tumhein Dikhayen and De Dee Hame Azaadi Bina Khadag Bina Dhaal in film Jagriti (1954) In 1958, HMV, released an album of 13 songs with his lyrics. He was made the Rashtrakavi, (Poet Laureate), and came to be known as, Kavi Pradeep
In 1997, he was honoured by India's highest award in Cinema, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Five of his popular lyrics
1)pi.njare ke pa.nchhii re, teraa dard na jaane koe
Movie: Nagmani, Singer(s): Pradeep, Music Director: Avinash Vyas
Actors/Actresses: Nirupa Roy, S N Tripathi, Trilok Kapoor Year/Decade: 1957
2)tere dwaar kha.Daa bhagawaan bhagat bhar de re jholii
Movie: Waaman Avataar/ Bali Raja Singer(s): Pradeep Music Director: Avinash Vyas
Actors/Actresses: Nirupa Roy, Sapru, Trilok Kapoor Year/Decade: 1955
3)amR^it aur zahar dono.n hai.n ... tere phuulo.n se bhii pyaar
Movie: Nastik Singer(s): Lata Mangeshkar Music Director: C Ramchandra
Actors/Actresses: Nalini Jaywant, Ajit Year/Decade: 1954
4)bigul baj rahaa aazaadii kaa ... kahanii hai ek baat
Movie: Talaq Singer(s): Chorus, Manna De Music Director: C Ramchandra
Actors/Actresses: Sajjan, Rajendra Kumar, Kamini Kadam, Ashwini Year/Decade: 1958,
5)chalo chale.n maa.N sapano.n ke gaa.Nv me.n
Movie: Jaagriti Singer(s): Asha Bhonsle Music Director: Hemant Kumar
Actors/Actresses: Abhi Bhattacharya Year/Decade: 1954,
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This day in 1604, Shakespeare’s Othello was performed for the first time at Whitehall Palace in London.
The Othello play is thought to have been completed sometime in early 1604. Shakespeare appropriated the basic plot, historical context and storyline from Geraldi Cinthio’s popular book, Hundred Stories, the first sentence of which reads, “There was a Moor in Venice”. There were also other books that he probably used to shape the plots details, such as John Leo Africanus’s Geographical History of Africa, published in November 1600, Lewis Lewkenor’s book on the Constitution of Venice, and Philemon Holland’s translation of Pliny’s History of the World.
Peter Ackroyd, author of Shakespeare – The Biography, argues for an additional background source to the plot. He writes of a story about Philip II, the King of Spain, who was allegedly of a very jealous nature, and was said to have strangled his wife in bed after she had inadvertently dropped her handkerchief. If this tale is true, it is too close to the plot of Othello to be a coincidence.
Real life encounters also fed into the play’s storyline. Shakespeare would have come into contact with members of London’s African community, who would have figured in his daily life around the streets of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Silver Street and Turnmill Street, where he lived and socialised. He would have interacted with them as servants, musicians, entertainers and even prostitutes. He would have been aware of their struggles within Elizabethan society, and the racism they endured.
In 1600 Shakespeare may also have met Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun — the olive-skinned Moorish ambassador to the Arab King of Barbary — who is often cited as the inspiration for Othello. He visited the court of Queen Elizabeth, and sat for a portrait. Some suggest that Shakespeare and his troupe perhaps performed for him.
PLOT
Act I
Roderigo, a rich and dissolute gentleman, complains to his friend Iago, an ensign, that Iago has not told him about the secret marriage between Desdemona, the daughter of a Senator named Brabantio, and Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army. Roderigo is upset because he loves Desdemona and had asked her father for her hand in marriage. Iago hates Othello for promoting a younger man named Cassio above him, whom Iago considers less capable a soldier than himself, and tells Roderigo that he plans to use Othello for his own advantage. Iago convinces Roderigo to wake Brabantio and tell him about his daughter's elopement. Meanwhile, Iago sneaks away to find Othello and warns him that Brabantio is coming for him. Brabantio, provoked by Roderigo, is enraged and will not rest until he has beheaded Othello, but he finds Othello's residence full of the Duke of Venice's guards, who prevent violence. News has arrived in Venice that the Turks are going to attack Cyprus; therefore Othello is summoned to advise the senators. Brabantio has no option but to accompany Othello to the Duke's residence, where he accuses Othello of seducing Desdemona by witchcraft. Othello defends himself before the Duke of Venice, Brabantio's kinsmen Lodovico and Gratiano, and various senators. Othello explains that Desdemona became enamoured of him for the sad and compelling stories he told of his life before Venice, not because of any witchcraft. The senate is satisfied, once Desdemona confirms that she loves Othello, but Brabantio leaves saying that Desdemona will betray Othello: "Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:/She has deceived her father, and may thee." By order of the Duke, Othello leaves Venice to command the Venetian armies against invading Turks on the island of Cyprus, accompanied by his new wife, his new lieutenant Cassio, his ensign Iago, and Iago's wife, Emilia as Desdemona's attendant.
Act II
The party arrives in Cyprus to find that a storm has destroyed the Turkish fleet. Othello orders a general celebration and leaves to spend private time with Desdemona. In his absence, Iago gets Cassio drunk, then persuades Roderigo to draw Cassio into a fight. Othello blames Cassio for the disturbance and strips him of his rank. Cassio is distraught. Iago persuades Cassio to importune Desdemona to convince her husband to reinstate Cassio.
Act III
Iago now persuades Othello to be suspicious of Cassio and Desdemona. When Desdemona drops a handkerchief (the first gift given to her by Othello), Emilia finds it, and gives it to her husband Iago, at his request, unaware of what he plans to do with it.
Act IV
Iago plants the handkerchief in Cassio's lodgings, then tells Othello to watch Cassio's reactions while Iago questions him. Iago goads Cassio on to talk about his affair with Bianca, a local courtesan, but whispers her name so quietly that Othello believes the two men are talking about Desdemona. Later, Bianca accuses Cassio of giving her a second-hand gift which he had received from another lover. Othello sees this, and Iago convinces him that Cassio received the handkerchief from Desdemona. Enraged and hurt, Othello resolves to kill his wife and asks Iago to kill Cassio. Othello proceeds to make Desdemona's life miserable, hitting her in front of visiting Venetian nobles. Meanwhile, Roderigo complains that he has received no results from Iago in return for his money and efforts to win Desdemona, but Iago convinces him to kill Cassio.
Act V
Roderigo attacks Cassio in the street after Cassio leaves Bianca's lodgings. Cassio wounds Roderigo. During the scuffle, Iago comes from behind Cassio and badly cuts his leg. In the darkness, Iago manages to hide his identity, and when Lodovico and Gratiano hear Cassio's cries for help, Iago joins them. When Cassio identifies Roderigo as one of his attackers, Iago secretly stabs Roderigo to stop him revealing the plot. Iago then accuses Bianca of the failed conspiracy to kill Cassio. Othello confronts Desdemona, and then strangles her to death in their bed. When Emilia arrives, Othello accuses Desdemona of adultery. Emilia calls for help. The former governor Montano arrives, with Gratiano and Iago. When Othello mentions the handkerchief as proof, Emilia realizes what her husband Iago has done, and she exposes him, whereupon he kills her. Othello, belatedly realising Desdemona's innocence, stabs Iago but not fatally, saying that he would rather have Iago live the rest of his life in pain. Iago refuses to explain his motives, vowing to remain silent from that moment on. Lodovico apprehends both Iago and Othello for the murders of Roderigo and Emilia, but Othello commits suicide. Lodovico appoints Gratiano Othello's successor and exhorts Cassio to punish Iago justly.
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