Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Ten of my favourite Zeenat Aman songs

Zeenat Aman, as she turns 58 today, here's wishing her a very happy birthday!!!!



Upon making her debut in Bollywood, Aman was credited with bringing the Western heroine look to Hindi cinema and she revolutionized the portrayal of Indian Women in its cinema.

1. Chura liya hai tumne (Yaadon Ki Baaraat, 1973) : She pursued Vijay Arora by strumming her guitar singing "Churaliya hai" in the Nasir Hussain's hit film "Yaadon Ki Barat" and she looked so gorgeous!!!



This film stands apart for the amazing soundtrack composed by R D Burman. The album shines with songs like Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Meri Soni, Lekar Hum Diwana Dil, Churaliya Hai Tum Ne and Aapke Kamare Mein all of which are chart-busting scores.

2. Maine poochha chhand se (Abdullah, 1980) : This movie was dirrected by Sanjay Khan, starring - Raj Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Zeenat Aman and himself in the lead role. R D Burman composes the fabulous music with lyrics by Anand Bakshi.



3. Yashomati maaiya se bole nandlala (Satyam Shivam Sundaram, 1978) : Zeenat Aman is a revelation in this Raj Kapoor's film, which also stars Shashi Kapoor and Padmini Kolhapure. Laxmikant Pyarelal's music is an asset to the film and the soul stirring songs by Lata Mangeshkar are wonderful.



4. Dum maro dum (Hare Raama Hare Krishna, 1971) : Dev Anand offered Zaheeda (his second heroine in Prem Pujari) the role of sister in Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Not realizing the importance of this secondary role, Zaheeda wanted the lead female part (eventually played by Mumtaz), and she opted out. Aman was chosen as a last-minute replacement. Upon completion of shooting, Zeenat began packing bags to move to Malta with her mother and German step father (Mr. Heinz) for his job posting. When Dev Anand received feedback on rushes for the film, he insisted that Zeenat and her parents hold off on the move until the film is released and its fate decided, with reluctance they agreed.



The film was an instant hit and Zeenat walked away with all the accolades shunning Mumtaz - never before had the Hindi cinema seen a newcomer overshadow the reigning queen. She won the Filmfare Award as Best Supporting Actress. For the first time, the Indian audience accepted a woman who played a 'less than pure' role in a movie.



5. Do lafzon ki (The Great Gambler, 1979) : Amitabh Bachchan arrives in dual role in this fast paced action thriller. Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh play the female lead. The film is directed by Shakti Samanta. Music by R.D. Burman is good and the evergreen song Do Lafzon Ki Hai, Pehle and Tum Kitne Din are classic song by all standards.



6. Panna ko tamanna hai (Heera Panna, 1973) : R D Burman scores are gleaming for this film. Produced and directed by Dev Anand this romantic film has Rakhee and Zeenat Aman (as sisters) in the lead cast other than himself. Anand Bakshi pens the beautiful lyrics. Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar are in their best with Bahut Door Chale and Panna Ki Tamanna.



7. Hum dono do premi (Ajanabee, 1974): R D Burman is once again at his best with wonderful songs like Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein, Ek Ajanabee Haseena Se, and Hum Dono Do Premi.



8. Main na bhulunga (Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, 1974): One of my favourite Lata-Mukesh duets.



9. Laila main laila (Qurbani, 1980) : The song and the video says it all!!! She was a real diva.





10. Jiska mujhe tha intezaar Don (1978) : 1978 could have been a disaster year for Zeenat, because of the diminishing box office returns of Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Shalimar, but it was Don that came to the rescue and set her career soaring again. Her role of a Westernized revenge-seeking action heroine contributed to the film's huge success.



Aman's sultry persona was a contrast to many of the more conservative stars of the era. At a time when heroines were obedient wives and lovers on screen, Aman was drawn to more unconventional roles - she was cast as the opportunist who deserts her jobless lover for a millionaire (Roti Kapda Aur Makaan), the ambitious girl who considers aborting her baby to pursue a career (Ajnabee), the happy hooker (Manoranjan), the disenchanted hippie (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), the girl who falls in love with her mother's one-time lover (Prem Shastra), and a woman married to a caustic cripple but involved in an extramarital relationship (Dhund). She managed to balance these roles with acting in more conventional films such as Chori Mera Kaam, Chhaila Babu, Dostana, Insaaf ka Tarazu and Lawaaris, which is considered by many to be a landmark in Indian Cinema.







She won Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' and was nominated for Filmfare Best Actress for 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' and 'Insaaf Ka Tarazu.'

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Ten of my favourite Mala Sinha songs

11th Nov, the day marked the birth anniversary of two very versatile bollywood personalities : Mala Sinha and Johnny Walker.
Now that I have found a new hobby of blogging, I wanted to do list on both of them. Since dustedoff has done such a great job of listing Johnny Walker's songs that I dont even want to give it a try . I’ll have to copy-paste the entire post otherwise :-)
So I'm concentrating only on Mala Sinha. And here I go..............But before I proceed further, I would like to mention that this walk down Mala Sinha's memory lane, wouldnt have been possible without giving credits to lots of other people - Directors, Producers, Music Composers, Lyricist but most important of all Lata Mangeshkar and Geeta Dutt.



1. Aap ke nazaron ne samjha (Anpad, 1962) : It's such a great composition - this is one of my all time favourites. This song has it all...the anxeity, comfort, excitement and happiness of being in love and being loved in return



2. Milti hai zindagi mein mohabbat kabhi kabhi (Aankhen, 1968) : Love the way she pursues her hero, Dharamji in this song.



3. Tere Pyar Ka Aasara Chahta Hoon (Dhool ka Phool, 1959): A playful number from Dhool Ka Phool, where both Rajendra Kumar and Mala Sinha are singing on the stage in college. They flirt, sing compliments and tease, both trying to outdo each other. This was yash Chopra's directorial debut and one of Mala ji's first major successful films.



4. Mujhe kitna pyaar hai tumse (Dil Tera Deewana, 1962) : Mujhe kitna pyaar hai tumse apne hi dil se poocho tum....the lyrics by Shailendra is so simple and yet so meaningful, Shankar Jaikishan's music is lovely. And the voice of Lataji and Rafi saheb on Mala and Shammi - simply amazing. This song is so very romantic.



5. Basanta nai basna khojchha (Maitighar, 1966) : Maitighar means Mayaka (in Hindi) and girl's parents house (In English). As far as I know this is the only Nepali movie of hers. Couldnt find a song on youtube with subtitles but the first 2 lines mean :
Basanta Nai basna khojcha yaha lolaero
yo ho mero pran bhanda pyaro Maitighar

[This is the place that Spring (season) always wishes to stay, this is the place that I love more than my life, my maitighar]



C.P Lohani, her hero in this movie is her real life hero as well. After working on this movie together, they fell in love and got married. Here's a pic of their wedding :




6. Hum aapke aankhon mein (Pyaasa, 1957) : A ligh-hearted flirty and teasing number in otherwise a very intense and serious movie. Geeta Dutt and Rafi saheb singing for Malaji and Guru Dutt, a gem of a song.



7. Dheere dheere chal chand gagan pe (Love marriage (1959) : Highly romantic song picturised in such a funny way that it will definitely bring a smile on your face and leave you wanting to fall in love :-)



8. Bol meri taqdeer mein (Hariyali aur Rasta, 1962) : Very beautiful song. They sound so helpless-ly in love. Had fallen in love with the starcast, songs, music and story...actually with everything in this movie, the very first time I saw it (yes, I have seen it couple of times). Songs added to the story in those days, they had a purpose and what a situational song this is.



9. Chup ke se dil de de (Maryada, 1971) : Hero actually threatening the heroine to give him her heart!!! Picturised on Mala ji and Rajesh Khanna, this is a very cute song.



10.Taaron ki zubaan par (Nausherwan-E-Adil, 1957) : Havent seen this movie yet, had heard this song on radio (Vividh Bharati) long long ago but have always liked it. Such a melodious song!



Movies like Gumrah, Geet, Himalaya ke God Mein, Phir Kab Milogi, Phir Subah Hogi, Gyarah Hazaar Ladkiyaan, Pooja Ke Phool, Do Kaliyan, Mere Huzoor etc have such great numbers. Listing only 10 of her songs is a tough job. I could easily have made a list of 50 songs, but thought that I will need them for the years to come as well.

Happy Belated Birthday!!!!

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