HERA PHERI (1976)

HERA PHERI (1976)

Released on 10th September 1976 completes 46 years today 

The second movie of Prakash Mehra and Amitabh Bachchan together with Vinod Khanna ( Their first proper pairing after Zameer ) out of the six they did together.

The narration opens with two conmen, Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) and Ajay (Vinod Khanna) who, though friends, put up a mock fight inside an Irani hotel to fool others. The scene then shifts to a casino, where Ajay again successfully cons the opponent through card sharping. The breakup between friends takes place when Vijay discovers that Ajay’s long lost father named PK, now masquerading as Seth Ghanshyam Das, the crime kingpin, is actually his own dad’s killer. Ajay ostensibly sides with his father until he discovers the truth, and surprises even Vijay with his actions towards the extended climax. Vinod Khanna is his usual competent self, and rises to the occasion frame-by-frame against the more versatile Amitabh Bachchan who provides yet another outstanding performance with a mix of Comedy, Anger and Anguish .The two leading ladies, Saira Banu (playing Kiran Singh) opposite Bachchan and Sulakshna Pandit (playing Asha), opposite Khanna have little to do, especially the latter. However, Saira looks effervescent, stunning in a limited role, and performs well apart from getting many one liners. Sulakshana Pandit is Pretty.

Pinchoo Kapoor is competent (in a singular Double Role), as also the subsidiary cast of Ram Mohan as Sherry. Unfortunately, Asrani is wasted Now this is the limit). Shriram Lagoo as the Police Commissioner runs through his role disinterestedly. Stunts are limited to a bare minimum, though fights and fisticuffs are in abundance.

Kalyanji Anandji have provided apt music.

Vinod Khanna received the Filmfare nomination for the Best Supporting Actor that eventually went to Shreeram Lagoo (who had also starred in the film) for Gharonda.

The film was a success and one of the highest grossers of the year.

Kalyanji Anandji gave some good songs.. Mujhe Pyaar Main Khat Kisi Ne Likha Hain, Title Song , Barson Purana ye Yaarana, Kaun Anjaane Ulfat and Aap Ka Sarkar Kya Kuch Kho Gaya Hain (the last on lines of Diljalon Ka Dil Ka Dil Jalake from Zanjeer in a similar set up )

are all hummable if not sheer melody.

This bonding of Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna with Prakash Mehra was carried forward to Khoon Pasina and Muqaddar ka Sikandar.

Sheer Memories..

BRAMHASTRA.. A Review

One is pleasantly surprised when you go to a movie with least expectations & with a bias ultimately finding that it isn't Bad but belying expectations is watchable even if it's not a masterpiece .

The director Ayan Mukherjee would definitely be a Harry Potter and Marvel comics fan and decided to showcase that Bollywood can match them clubbed with Hindu Mythology.

The period in making is told to be almost 8 years and is one of the most expensive Indian films made till date with a whopping budget of Rs 410 crore. Considering the time and money put into the project – planned as a trilogy – one finds that possibly it could have been better with a bit more of soul than the Special effects.

The cinematic universe of Brahmastra is built around a secret society of rishis – known as the Brahmansh – who possess the powers to control different astras. The most powerful of these astras is the Brahmastra which was broken into three pieces years ago. 

Shiva (Ranbir Kapoor) is a DJ, based in Mumbai, and lives a carefree life. He's an orphan; he lives with orphan kids and dotes on them. He comes across Isha (Alia Bhatt) and falls for her instantly in a Dashera Mela. She, too, gets attracted to him, especially while learning about his way of life. All is going well when suddenly Shiva starts getting flashes. He sees the evil Junoon (Mouni Roy) killing a scientist, Mohan Bhargav (Shah Rukh Khan) and snatching a rare artefact from him. Before dying, Mohan blurts out under pressure that the other part of the artefact is with an artist named Anish Shetty (Nagarjuna Akkineni), who stays in Varanasi. Shiva sees all of this and realises that Junoon is all set to target Anish next. Shiva decides to head to Varanasi to warn Anish of the impending danger. Isha, too, joins him. In Varanasi, Shiva and Isha rescue Anish at the nick of time. Thanks to Anish, they find out that the artefact stolen from Mohan is a part of ‘Brahmastra’. There are two more parts of it and Anish has one part. He hands it over to Shiva and Isha and asks them to go to the ashram of Guru (Amitabh Bachchan).A terrific car Chase follows and what happens next forms the rest of the film.

Does this Astraverse also have a connection with Shiva’s life? What is the backstory? Who is Shiva?

See this in 3D on the large screen , the 3D effects are truly high class.

On the acting front Ranbir Kapoor is the main stay and he as the one with special powers breathes life into his role. Ranbir was superb in the climax of the film. Alia Bhatt gives him ample support throughout the film and their chemistry looks cool.

Amitabh Bachchan has been grossly underutilised but as always holds the second part together and is the crux.

One need not say anything more about his acting prowess.

The film is dominated by Junoon 

(Mouni Roy )who is styled in black clothes and a big silver nose stud to emphasise her villainy. She has performed the negative role with elan. ( Thankfully she doesn't have to break into an item number )

The amalgamation of the different Astras and making it into a story looks quite interesting. The core concept by Ayan Mukherjee is good and is set in an interesting backdrop. However he overdoes it to an extent.

As a film, it may be remembered for its technical craft but it’s not going to leave anyone holding their breath for 

Part 2 which is DEV and a Part 3 to follow..

#firstdayreview

#bramhastra

Asha Bhonsle .. Defying Law of Gravity

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHA BHONSLE TAI

What goes up must come down. That is the rule of nature. And when Newton discovered the law of gravity, perhaps, he forgot to talk about the exception. Or how could you explain the rise and rise of Asha Bhosle. The phenomenon is growing by leaps and bounds every day. Yes! One cannot say anything but that she is not governed by the laws of nature.

Playful love songs or lusty cabaret numbers, soulful ghazals or funky pop, Bhosle's trod everywhere, with aplomb. From the early rock 'n' roll Eena meena deeka, to the seductive Burman number Piya tu ab to aaja in Caravan, to the unforgettable ghazals of Umrao Jaan. And at 89, a voice to match oomph for oomph By any count, a hectic vocal pace. A different Asha for every decade, every heroine and vamp or stars on the ramp.

She has sung in the voices of several children in “Nanhe Munhe Bache” (in the film “Boot Polish”), a feat yet to be equalled. She spun off new trends with songs like “Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar” (“CID”) with Mohammed Rafi and Shamshad Begum, “O Mere Sona Re” (“Teesri Manzil”), “In Ankhon Ki Masti” (“Umrao Jaan”), “Mera Kuchh Saaman” (“Ijaazat”) and “Dum Maro Dum” (“Hare Rama Hare Krishna”).

In a world so much in awe of elder sister Lata Mangeshkar, she had to work that much harder. Lata Mangeshkar now says with pride: "Asha's rebellious nature and never-say-die attitude drives her ever young and versatile voice to scale new heights even now. She has earned all her achievements with a lot of hard work." Time has not touched her voice, she can please pop lovers with rap and remix. At the same time, she has the ability to match the tunes of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Gulzar probably defined Bhosle’s success best when he compared Mangeshkar and Bhosle to Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. He said just as Neil Armstrong would always be known as the first man to set foot on the moon, Bhosle, who followed Lata would always be viewed as the younger sister and be compared accordingly.

She shares her birthday with her sister Meena Mangeshkar and also Bhupen Hazarika.

This prima donna of popular music at 89, obviously has no plans to call it a day. "Music is like my breathing. The day it stops, my breath will stop too. There is so much to do and I'm afraid there is very little time left. I hope I can continue singing in my next birth."

She continues

“Like I said, I am truly content today. I have a beautiful family that loves me, and amazing fans who make me feel at home the world over. I can still sing, perform, cook and stand on my own feet at 89. What more could anyone ask for!”

Hard Question:

Personal Favorites ?

Ref : Biography by Raju Bhartan

Hollywood Bollywood

#BollywoodHollywood 

Part 5

CLASSICS ADAPTED :

Some classic Hollywood or International Films have been inspiration for many Bollywood Movies.

1) SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)

 This classic Inspired Gulzar to make Parichay. Just the essence and flavour was similar , taste was different. R.D Burman got an equivalent tune to Do Re Mi with Saare Ke Saare Gama ko Lekar.

Music was the highlight of both the films though 7 years apart.

Jeetendra does a role reversal of Julia Andrews.

Parichay was officially reported to be based on the Bengali novel "Rangeen Uttarain" by Raj Kumar Maitra however the inspiration of Sound of Music was unmistakable.

2) MY FAIR LADY(1964)

My Fair Lady is a 1964 American musical drama film adapted from the 1956 Lerner and Loewe stage musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion.

Pygmalion is a legendary Greek character. As per Ovid's narrative poem - Metamorphoses, Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with the idol of a woman he had carved out of ivory. Taking an inspiration from the character of that sculptor, renowned playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote a play titled as Pygmalion in 1912 which was a sarcastic commentary on the British society and culture as prevailing in that period. In that play, Professor Henry Higgins enters into a bet with a friend of his that he can turn a bedraggled girl from the lower strata of the society into such a well-cultured girl wearing a veneer of gentility that she will pass for a duchess at a party hosted by an ambassador. And he actually succeeds in doing so by turning a flower girl - Eliza Doolittle into a well-mannered lady who by all means appears to belong to aristocracy and therefore acceptable in the so-called high society and thus wins the bet. But this girl is a flesh and blood human-being and not a lifeless idol as made by Pygmalion. She has a heart filled with womanly feelings. Can she be discarded now and thrown back to the class that she was initially picked from ?

My Fair Lady With a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner and directed by George Cukor, the film depicts a poor Cockney flower-seller named Eliza Doolittle who overhears an arrogant phonetics professor, Henry Higgins, as he casually wagers that he could teach her to speak "proper" English, thereby making her presentable in the high society of Edwardian London.

Audrey Hepburn plays Eliza and Rex Harrison plays Prof Higgins.

It's a complete musical.

Now how can a topic so charming not be adapted by Indian Cinema.

The first inspiration was seen in the 1972 film Raja Jaani ( which was actually a remake of the 1956 film Anastasia). Dharmendra who needs to find a Princess lost in Childhood gets a gypsy dancer and trains her to act and behave like a princess.

1979 saw a second influence in Hum Tere Ashiq Hain.

Jeetendra trains a flower seller girl to become a Princess.

In both these adaptions the Lady in question is Hema Malini.

A year Later came Basu Chatterjee Directed 

MAN PASAND

Man Pasand can be called an official Remake of a Marathi Drama

"Tee Phulrani" written by P.L.Deshpande and was an adaptation of Pygmalion by G.B.Shaw.

This is version of My Fair Lady, a great musical that was. In this Movie Dev Aanand and Girish Karnad (both sworn middle aged bachelors) play as two friends who while traveling suburban train discover a lady selling datun (toothbrush made from branch of Neem Tree) - played by Tina Munim and Dev bets that he will make her a not only a high society lady but also an accomplished singer!

How he does it is the story. There is good direction and polished performances. There a some good songs like "Logon ka dil agar haan jeetana hai tumko to bas meetha meetha bolo!" By Rafi Saab(with Tina Munim shouting loudly in between to sell her datuns)! and "Manmani se hargiz na daro kabhi shadi na karo!" (sung by Kishor Kumar)

Music by Rajesh Roshan

You can add to the remakes of these two classics and comments welcome.

Kumar Gaurav: He had it He Lost it

Manoj Kumar Tuli..Aka

Kumar Gaurav turns 62 today.

Launched by his father Rajendra Kumar in 1981 in Love Story

He turned an overnight Super Star.From the very first film, Kumar achieved the level of success that actors have to wait for many years to get. 

Infact the second star son launched in the same year Sanjay Dutt in Rocky also wasn't such a big hit.

(It was ironical that Kumar Gaurav subsequently married Sanjay Dutta sister and they became best friends).

Vijeta Pandit who played Gaurav’s leading lady in Love Story, recalled, "I’ve never seen such hysteria for any actor. Wherever we would go, Kumar Gaurav was mobbed by hundreds of fans".

After Love Story, Kumar Gaurav became the most talked about superstar of Bollywood. Producers were falling over each other to sign Gaurav. And he took on projects as though there was no tomorrow.

15 months after Love Story came Teri Kasam . It was a better film than Love Story specially in the music department .

He made a great pair with Poonam. But Teri Kasam wasn't a monster hit it almost bombed

The film’s failure shook Gaurav and his father, the latter was known as ‘Jubilee Kumar’ in his heydays for his uninterrupted string of hits in the 1960s. Rajendra Kumar left no stone unturned to sustain his son’s initial stardom. After Teri Kasam came Star, a full-on musical with music by Biddu and vocals by Nazia and Zoheb Haasan, the Disco Deewane musical sensations of the 1980s but

Star bombed and so did other big budgeted Gaurav vehicles like Lovers, Romance, Hum Hain Laajawab, All Rounder…and many more.

Finally in 1986 came Naam but Brother in Law Sanjay Dutt stole the show .

In 1993, Rajendra Kumar tried again to resurrect his son’s lost glory in Phool. Madhuri then a big star was roped in as the leading lady. Rajendra Kumar not only produced Phool, but also got his samdhi Sunil Dutt to also play a pivotal role.

Again Phool flopped. It was nearing the winter of Gaurav’s career. He retired from the rat race soon after Sanjay Gupta’s Kaante.

However he did do some good films like Janam, Aaj.

He is now a businessman and three years back his daughter Siya got married.(The news read Sanjay Dutt's niece getting married!!).

He had it all.

He Lost it all..

Life's like that .

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