Two Engimatix Stars Born on 9.7

9th July..

Two deeply impactful personalities were born today

Guru Dutt & Sanjeev Kumar.

Even though they belonged to entirely different Bollywood eras, it is no mere coincidence that Guru Dutt and Sanjeev Kumar, two of Hindi cinema’s greatest legends, were born on the same day . 

As you will find out, Guru Dutt and Sanjeev Kumar have a few things in common starting, undeniably, with their tragic young deaths. Gripped by depression Dutt committed suicide at 39, leaving behind not only a rich legacy of popular classics such as Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam but also a handful of unfinished films, including Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi which was ultimately released with Dharmendra as his replacement.

On the other hand, Sanjeev Kumar, who excelled at playing older characters complete with salt-and-pepper hair, languid gait and a shawl draped gracefully over his sturdy, manly shoulders, died catastrophically young at 47. 

Like Guru Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar also left several incomplete productions and several projects that were released after his demise.

One of them was K.Asif's Love and God in which he replaced Guru Dutt.

(Some irony).

Like Guru Dutt whose birth name was Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone, Sanjeev Kumar was born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala, popularly known as Haribhai in the Hindi film circle. In Kaagaz Ke Phool’s iconic and poignant ending, we see Guru Dutt as a shawl-clad old man doddering about the film studios where he spent his salad days. This was to become, many years later, Sanjeev Kumar’s adopted look in several hit Bollywood films of the 1970s and 80s. Of course, it’s too far-fetched to say that Kumar was inspired by Dutt. He may have been, who knows, but there’s no evidence to suggest that.

Guru Dutt made his own identity in both acting and direction in Hindi cinema. The fact in itself suffices to gauge Guru Dutt’s talent that Guru Dutt’s films ‘Pyaasa’ and ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ were ranked by Time magazine among the 100 best films of the world. ‘Chaudhvi Ka Chand’ and ‘Saheb Bibi Aur Ghulam’ are also kept in his best films. His  collaborations were regularly with Abrar Alvi, Sahir Ludhianvi.

Sanjeev Kumar, mostly in collaboration with Gulzar, essayed at times, sensitive, tragic, poetic and at others, light-hearted and breezy comedies, in films like Koshish, Aandhi, Parichay, Mausam, Angoor and Namkeen.

One write up cannot do justice to bothe these stalwarts.

I have read their Biographies and believe me they are "unputdownable."

May they be together in heaven. 🙏

Sarkar Vs Godfather

Late Post

On 1.7 Sarkar completed 17 Years.

Sarkar supposed to be an adaptation of GODFATHER which recently completed 50 years

Even before the opening credits of his movie ‘Sarkar’ Director Ram Gopal Varma credits Coppola and ‘The Godfather’ for influencing his career as a filmmaker, and presents his film as a tribute to the classic.

Both ‘The Godfather’ & ‘Sarkar’ are about a man, working above the law to maintain an elaborate criminal enterprise, while still employing a certain moral code within his kingdom. The story focuses on his downfall due to co-conspirators around him, resulting in his youngest son, standing up to defend his father, and reluctantly taking over the crown.

Certain scenes in both films are exactly alike, with modifications reflective of the industry & culture of each respective film. The opening scene of ‘The Godfather’ shows a helpless father asking the Godfather for justice for his abused daughter, after the courts failed to punish the men responsible. This sequence sets the tone for the character as being a respected and intimidating man who can do things that the system can’t. ‘Sarkar’ replicates this scene exactly, but with more of an intense musical flourish, as is the Indian Director’s trademark.

Sarkar is the tale of crime, greed, family relationships and revenge. Subhash Nagre AKA Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan) rewrites laws. When the system fails to serve justice, people knock on Sarkar's door. Sarkar is an institution and will not shy away from adhering to violence to punish the wrongdoers. Sarkar’s righteousness has gained him a lot of enemies, who are just waiting to strike. Subhash has two sons, Vishnu (Kay Kay Menon) and Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan). While Vishnu is rash and resents his father’s way of handling things, Shankar has returned from the States and is someone who doesn’t aspire to be a part of all this. However, fate has something else in store for all three of them.

Sarkar stars Amitabh Bachchan in the titular role and frankly, no one would have been able to pull off the role as well as he has. Comparing Marlon Brando and Amitabh Bachchan will be a heinous crime here because we know both are just splendid in their own way. While Al Pacino played the role of Vito Corleone’s (Brando) son, Michael, Abhishek Bachchan features as Sarkar’s (Big B) younger son, Shankar.

Sarkar’ is a true adaptation in the sense that is pays homage to ‘The Godfather’, but distinguishes itself from it’s source by embedding cultural variations and setting along with modifications to the story to maximize the dramatic impact for the audience of a different sensibility.

Sarkar was followed by sequels

Sarkar Raj in 2008 and Sarkar 3 in 2017

Jug Jug Jeeyo : A Review

When we have Karan Johar producing a comi-family drama.

One can expect anything.

I went to see Jug Jug Jeeyo with least expectations and frankly wasn't disappointed.

The plot starts by establishing how problems seep into the lives of childhood lovers, Kukoo (Varun Dhawan) and Naina (Kiara Advani), after 5 years of marriage now in Canada, and in a weak moment they decide to part ways,on their anniversary itself. They decide to hold the news as Kukoo's sister Ginne ( Prajakta Koli ) is getting married.

Enter Kukoo's parents..Bhim (Anil Kapoor) and Geeta married for 35 years. In a father son moment where Kukoo plans to tell him about the planned seperation,Bhim confesses that he is also would like to part ways to save himself from the "Vegetarian Sherni" in his life .Why and for whom is to be seen in the film..

This makes Kukoo pause for a while & rethink about the mess going on in his family. What will he do next is what the rest of the story is all about.

Director Raj Mehra (who had also directed Good Newzz) marries comedy with drama and emotions and is a full on package that will entertain the audience.

All the actors have given a competent performance.

Manish Paul gets the funny lines and he carries it off well.

All said and done, JugJugg Jeeyo delivers – harmless fun while being a family drama & if you’re expecting anything more than that, it’s on you.

Madan Mohan and R.D.Burman

Madan Mohan & R.D Burman..

Both share their Birth Anniversaries 2 days apart..25th June and 27th June ( But 15 years apart )..Both died young Madan Mohan at 51 and R.D.Burman at 54...

You may think it odd, but when I think of Madan Mohan, I can’t help but think about the parallels between his career and RD Burman’s.

Both Madan Mohan and RD Burman had to work hard to make a mark in their careers..

Both struggled for many years before seeing some success. It took them both about six years before they saw their first hit – Teesri Manzil (1966) for RD Burman and Bhai Bhai (1956) for Madan Mohan. Towards the end of their career, both Madan Mohan and RD Burman grew disillusioned with their careers and died before they could enjoy the success of their last films – Mausam (1975) and Laila Majnu (1976)for Madan Mohan and 1942 – A Love Story (1994) for RD Burman.

Madan Mohan was also awarded for Veer Zara .( Which was a collection of his unused songs by his son Sanjeev Kohli)

Both Madan Mohan’s and RD Burman’s legacies have grown by leaps and bounds after their deaths. While RD Burman’s legacy grew mostly because of his fan base, Madan Mohan’s legacy had help from his family. But in Both Cases Melody was supreme.

The class of Panchamda ( R.D.Burman) won only 3 Filmfare awards.. The last after he passed away..out of 17 nominations..and one as best play back singer.

and The Agony is that the Musical magic of Madan Mohan had 4 nominations and never won the award in his lifetime.

There is the key similarity between R. D. Burman and Madan Mohan as trailblazers both.Both never overcame their fascination for Lata Mangeshkar even if Asha Bhonsle was Pancham's wife.

One can go on with song comparisons but I rest my case with this 

Classic Cassette Cover..

Mausam and Ijaazat.

Haseena Maan Jaayegi

Yesterday Evening I mentioned I was going to see 1968 film

Haseena Maan Jayegi.

Earlier I had compared old and new Hera Pheri so it came to mind let's compare the old and new

Haseena Maan Jayegi.

The 1968 one had mother Babita

The 1999 one had Daughter Karishma.

Haseena Maan Jayegi( 1968 )

Directed by Prakash Mehra

As the titles start ( in animation ) ones gets a feel of a comedy.

Rakesh (Shashi Kapoor) comes from a affluent family, but is the biggest Casanova in college. One that he does not impress is Archana (Babita). She rejects him and reports him to the principal when he behaves badly. Unfortunately, it is not Rakesh that gets the scolding, but Kamal Kumar (Shashi Kapoor). He looks just like him, but is just the opposite: a bright student who is willing to learn, whom Archana takes to heart after a few meetings. She wants to marry him even though he is orphaned and her father (Niranjan Sharma) does not like a relationship. Rather, he wants his daughter to marry Rakesh, who is the son of Mahavir's friend Randhir (Hari Shivdasani). After a few funny interludes finally Archana gets permission to marry Kamal.

Rakesh is a sore loser and always talked of taking Kamals place in Archana's life.

Post marriage both Kamal and Rakesh are commissioned to join the Army. They have a scuffle and one of them is killed (?). The survivor gets back to Archana who is intimated that Rakesh is killed. Her predicament starts.What follows is a court drama where it is proved who is who, why and how.

The second part suspense is maintained well.

For an actor, a double role is always appealing because it allows two different characters or at least different facets of a character to be brought onto the screen. Filmmakers and storytellers like to use the script of two similar characters to add drama and create a mix-up story. But here the double role is used differently.

( A little inspiration from Hum Dono and also readapted as Aasman with Rajiv Kapoor in 1984 ).

Shashi Kapoor has done both the roles well ( One sees a lot of Shammi Kapoor style in him ).

Babita has done well in a complicated role. 

Johny Walker has a complete storyline for himself (unneeded as it looks now).

What makes the film memorable is the music by Kalyanji Anandji ( Chale the Saath Milke , Bekhudi main Sanam, Oh Dilbar Soniye are songs fresh even 52 years later.)

Shashi Kapoor has a unique distinction of working with his nephew's wives..

Babita and Neetu Singh and the pairs actually doesn't look out of place.

This was the debut of Prakash Mehra as a director.

Trivia : Babita was in his first film and her daughter Karishma in his last ( Bal Bramhachari )

Worth a watch even today.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Haseena Maan Jayegi ( 1999 )

Directed by David Dhawan.

David Dhawan has never been known for originality.This film is a clear Mix an match..

Theme from 1966 Pyaar Kiye Jaa

Title from 1968 HMJ

The plot of Kader Khan and his to sons Govinda and Sanjay Dutt was quite similar to David Dhawan's earlier film Aankhen 1993.Where his sons Chunkey Pandey and Govinda always put their father in trouble.

millionaire seth Amirchand (Kader Khan) has two spoilt sons; Monu (Govinda) and Sonu (Sanjay dutt). both are very lazy and are used to the rich and easy lifestyle. their father decides to put an end to this by not giving them any more money so both Monu & Sonu try to con their father through numerous pranks, which always backfires.

Seth Amirchand decides to have the two brothers separated in order to have better control and more influence on their lives. Sonu is sent to his father's office in mumbai while Monu is sent to goa to collect an unpaid debt on his father's behalf. while in goa Sonu meets and falls in love with Pooja (Pooja batra). at the same time Monu meets Ritu (Karishma Kapoor), who is staying at a girls hostel while attending medical college, and falls in love with her. both brothers doesn't know that ritu and pooja are sisters.

When Sonu wants to marry Pooja he goes to her father gulzarilal (Anupam Kher) to ask her hand in marriage, but scared of his strict father he tells Gulzarilal that his uncle will come instead making up some excuse why his father cannot come. but who does he find to play his uncle..? his brother monu of course, who disguises himself as an older man. ( Govinda in a creditable take on Kishore Kumar in Pyar Kiye Ja).

A sub plot is added where Gulzarilals Sister ( Aruna Irani ) falls for Chachaji..

There is also a Nepali Gurkha Paresh Rawal who thinks he is a detective.

The film does have several humorous situations especially whenever Govinda and Sanju trouble Kader Khan, It does have it's share of corny moments like Govinda and Karisma romance. The subplot of Pyaar Kiye Jaa although is humorous and the scenes between Aruna Irani and Govinda are funny. But what follows is identify crisis that will test the two brothers to the limit...

Direction is okay Music is decent, I Love You Bol Daal became famous,title song is good rest are okay

Govinda is simply brilliant in his role as always, Sanjay Dutt is Macho and t

he pairs well with Govinda, this was their comeback film after Taaqatwar,Do Qaidi and Andolan and was their first hit ( followed by Jodi No 1 , Ek aur Ek Gyarah) Karisma Kapoor does her usual act which she repeated in DD films though she entertain,Pooja Bhatra is glam and "stands tall" Anupam Kher hams as always,Aruna Irani is good Ashish Vidyarthi,Razzak Khan are cartoonish villains and apt Kader Khan is hilarious though he repeats his stuff Satish Kaushik is too good,as also Paresh Rawal.

Music is catchy but misses the melody ( Anu Malik ).

So verdict : I leave it to you to decide which is better.

Both Mother and Daughter have entertained .

My Choice : Music : 1968

                    Entertainment : 1999.

Father's Day

Today is

FATHERS DAY

The proverbial dedicated day for father's.

Bollywood has given us many fathers..A look at some of the Father Son/ Daughter Bonds and Types of Fathers in Hindi Cinema.

For me the Father and Son Relationship starts with

SHAKTI

When you talk about a father son relationship Shakti comes out to be the most gracious movie of all this is the first movie that brings veteran actor Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan on screen. The duo play the father and son respectively where Dilip Kumar is a strict police officer who puts his duty first before everything else while his son since childhood has always felt distant from his father and  he starts building a sort of hatred towards his father when he hears  his father dening  to rescue him when he is kidnapped in the name of duty. The movie is all about the impact of that incident on Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan ) will Dilip Kumar put his son before duty or Vice Versa .

One Scene for me is stand out.

After the mother ( Rakhee) is killed 

When Vijay comes home. He just sits next to his father and slowly touches his hand..Gets up wipes his tears and goes out.

That is one of the most Poignant sequences of Father and Son I have seen ( Iam getting Goosebumps as I write this )

PIKU

Piku is the story of a cute, lovable but clingy old man Bhaskor Banerjee played by Amitabh Bachchan who is a cantankerous old man suffering from acute constipation and tends to relate everything to his bowel movements. He is like a needy and attention seeking child constantly clinging to his daughter Piku, played by Deepika Padukone who tries her best to help him but he does not like to listen to her. He is adamant and clingy. Despite everything, his daughter wants to help him. It is a practical movie which depicts the modern nature of father-daughter relationship.

He wants to go to Kolkata to visit his ancestral home and Piku reluctantly agrees to take him there.

The bond that Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika share comes across as genuine. You don’t feel you’re watching two actors at work, they look like real father and daughter.

This is easily one of the best father-daughter movies in recent times!

The end beings tears to my eyes.

MASOOM

This beauty of a film by Shekhar Kapoor had Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi play a perfect couple in a happy relationship with their children until one day his past comes to haunt him. It is discovered he has fathered a child out of wedlock and now has to take responsibility for it. Torn between his loyalties for his wife and his new found attachment for his love child, the dilemma of a father and his subsequent relation with his son is beautiful to watch.

PAA

Paa had Abhishek Bachchan play father to his real life father Amitabh Bachchan. Amol played by Abhishek Bachchan abandons his pregnant girlfriend Vidya played by Vidya Balan. Vidya still decides to raise her child all by herself and decides to name him Auro. Auro, played by Amitabh Bachchan has progeria and very few years to live. He meets his father, Abhishek Bachchan now a successful politician and the rest of the film is about the father-son duo. So much hurt and heart.

GOL MAL

Utpal Dutt portrayal of Bhavani Shankar, a great upholder of traditional values, is actually endearing. He's a strict dad and hates the youth of the country, especially men without a moustache. His bond with daughter Urmila, played by Bindiya Goswami, are the highlights in the cult comedy film.

CHACHI 420

Kamal Hassan plays a father who has seperated from his wife Tabu but is still attached to her due to his daughter.

He doesn't mind impersonating as a woman babysitter to be closer to his daughter and win back the trust of his wife. That was daddy Kamal Haasan rocking it in the film.

This film has another Father the egoistic Amrish Puri ( of Tabu).

These are randomly selected films where I found the portrayal of fathers a bit different and top of mind.

In recent years ( 2019-20) we have seen Saif Ali in Jawaani Jaaneman, Irfan Khan in Angrezi and Hindi Medium, Sushant Singh Rajput in Chhichhore, Aamir Khan in Dangal, Ajay Devgan in Drishyam play new angles in fatherhood. Going into details will make this too long.

Now if we go in to segmentation we will find some similar charecter's and Actors playing them.

1) Daddy Cool : 

A Dad who is more a friend

Anupam Kher is a perfect example of this . Be it Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, DDLJ, and many more

2) Sanskari

Alok Nath will fall in this segment.

3) Hard to Crack Father 

Amrish Puri will be winner here.

4) Infidel Father

Noone specific but Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd, Rajat Kapoor in Kapoor and Sons are examples.

5) Biased and One track Mind Dad

Anupam Kher in Wake up Sid or Anil Kapoor in Dil Dhadakne Do.

Amir Khan in Akele Hum Akela Tum

Shahrukh in KKHH..

Sunny Deol in Gadar

This can go on and on..

But Bollywood Fathers are a combination of reality and fiction.

Feel Free to add your favourite Portrayal.

Gunmaster G9

16th June 

Today Mithun Chakraborty aka Gunmaster G9 turns 72.

Did you know Mithun Chakraborty’s real name is Gouranga Chakraborty? Well, that’s right. However, he made a transition and in 1973, he graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and started his acting career in Bengali cinema.

He entered Hindi films with bit roles in Do Anjaane , Mukti, Amardeep. 

He did movies like Mera Rakshak and Tere Pyaar Main too.

But the turning point was Suraksha in 1979 which turned Mithun into a star.  The film had him playing an agent of the CBI with a codename Gunmaster G9. He tries to expose a mysterious organization called SSO. He’s assigned by his bosses to find a missing colleague and he is joined in the mission by Jagdeep -- who provides the laughs -- and Ranjeeta, whose father was killed by the goons and she’s looking for revenge. Some of the scenes of the film were straight lifts from Sean Connery’s James Bond films and some were copied from Bruce Lee movies. It was all good campy fun. The film had the hit Mausam hai gaane ka song composed by Bappi Lahiri and sung by Bappi da himself.

The film was followed by a sequel Wardat in 1981.

Wardat was one of the first sequels ever attempted in Bollywood. Ranjeeta was replaced by Kajal Kiran and Kalpana Iyer and Shakti Kapoor played a villain named...Shakti Kapoor. The film was way ahead of its times when it came to plot possibilities. It had genetically modified locusts wreaking havoc on Indian crops, as well as citizens. Modified wheat and rice whose consumption upped your libido, babies wired to machines who would grow up to be a slave army and a hideout straight out of Egypt. Whoever thought of it all was a genius. Our hero Gunmaster G9 (Mithun Chakroborty) moonlighted as a dancer in a nightclub because CBI only pays so much. He’s a secret agent but his car had a Gunmaster G9 logo. Hmm...Lots of  action and stunts again adapted from Hollywood films later, Gunmaster and his gang managed to subdue the chief villain -- who looked like he had walked straight out of a horror film -- and his gang and saved the world yet again. Phew!

Both were directed by Ravikant Nagaich who made many more films with Mithun like Sahas, Laparwah and Tarkieb but they could not get the success of the Gunmaster G9.

Poor man’s Amitabh Bachchan, the film critics called him.

The reality is that he is Bollywood’s first dancing hero. And Bollywood’s first genuine action star.

That’s because the man could actually dance. And he could really fight. I mean, really fight like Bruce Lee did, and not the fake dishum-dishum stuff that other flabby heroes would do. And the muscles on his brawny body were just as real.

Above all he could act too..

National Award on Debut in Mrigaya is proof of that followed by two more in Tahader Katha and Swami Vivekananda.

Wishing Dada a Happy Birthday.