Deshdrohi: Movie on anti-immigrant violence in Mumbai

Ham mehmaan ko bhagvaan samajhte haiN
Kabhi UP, Bihar aa kar dekhna....

These are the lines from Deshdrohi, a movie focussing on the anti-immigrant violence in Mumbai, which is making waves across the country.

Though the preview scenes aren't impressive, the movie might just click because of the timing of release. Kamal Khan, the producer of the movie, is also playing the lead role.

The film has already got good publicity. At least, in Northern India, it is already projected to be a hit due to MNS chief Raj Thackeray's tirade against people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The recent killing of a Bihar youth, Rahul Raj, in Mumbai has also been incorporated in the movie. Though the film was in the making for over a year, the sudden spurt in violence against people from UP and Bihar, has come as a short in the arm for the makers of the movie. Even if it looks like a B grade movie and Kamal Khan appears imitating Rajkumar, the promos are amusing.

Kamal Khan, however, says that he made the film not for making money alone but because it was his passion. Replying to a question on NDTV regarding the success the movie might achieve due to the ongoing controversy, Khan said that the film may make a few crores extra due to the controversy, but he is not banking on it alone and is rich enough to pay Rs 12 crore as Income Tax annually.

Other than his interest in movies, Khan runs a successful business.Gracy Singh plays the role of lead actress and it is probably a coincidence that Rahul Raj was already name of a character in the movie. The Censor board has cleared the movie. Barely a week is left for the movie to be released in theatres across the country.

Now Salim Khan attacks Amitabh Bachchan: Shouldn't Big B do soul-searching?

Amitabh Bachchan needs to do a bit of soul-searching now. After all, writer Salim Khan, who scripted the most successful movies for Bachchan, has now attacked the star just a few days after actor-turn-politician Shatrughna Sina fired his salvo at Big B.

Salim, who is the father of Salman Khan, has not just questioned the advertisements which the actor did for Samajwadi Party in the runup to UP elections, but also said that he seems to be surrounded by people who give him foolish advices.

"When he is in doldrums and needs support, Amitabh wants everybody around him but when its an occasion of happniness like the marriage of his son Abhishek, he forgot everybody and sent invitations to just a few persons", wrote Salim in an article published in a local newspaper in Maharashtra.

The celebrity writer, who along with Javed Akhtar, penned scripts for the immensely succesful Zanjeer, Sholay and Deewar that turned Amitabh into a star, wrote further that Amitabh speaks English, which is the lone quality needed in a person to be heard in this country. Those who speak English are considered intelligent in India, he further wrote.

Salim also questioned Amitabh's stand on a variety of issues including the dispute over his land in UP during the current Mayawati regime.

When asked by journalists, Amitabh evaded the questions but appeared uncomfortably by this attack, within days of his former co-star Shatrughan Sinha's outburst.

Shouldn't Amitabh do a little bit of introspection. It is not that everybody is ganging up against him. People of the country love Amitabh.But there has been a bit of arrogance in Amitabh Bachchan (more in Jaya) that is visible to everybody after his second successful innings following the KBC.

Shamshad Begum turns 90

It's ironical that one of the greatest living playback singers, the legendary Shamshad Begum, who is alive and living an obscure life in Mumbai, has been forgotten and many websites on the internet and even Wikipedia page till today declares her 'dead'*.

Ten years ago a wrong report was published and on the basis of that many people believed her to be dead. But Shamshad Begum's family didn't issued a denial and the news agency's report still creates confusion, writes Dainik Bhaskar's features editor Rajkumar Kesvani.

"The air was cleared when I spoke to HMV, the company that pays royalty and they confirmed she was alive and living in Paowai's Hiranandai Gardens. With my friends Suman Chaurasia and Raju I headed for her house".

Kesvani writes how he had to deal with the guard and then persuade Shamshad Begum's daughter Usha and son-in-law Colonel Ratra to get to meet the grand lady of Indian music.

"She was sitting amid half-a-dozen women of the building and at the first sight of her graceful persona, the song, Sunte the naam jinkaa ham bahaar se/dekhaa to Dolaa jiyaa jhoom jhoom ke, came to my mind".

I told her, "Ek arsay se aapki qadam-bosi ki tamanna thii, meri zindagi ke chand khushgavaar lamhe aapki aavaaz ki den haiN....." in chaste Urdu. She appeared delighted. In her Punjabi accent, she spoke to the group and they had a nice discussion.

I promised that on every visit to Mumbai, I would meet her. "unki duaaen maa ki loriyon jaisi thi". The pioneering queen of melody was born in Amritsar on April 14, 1919. Her father was deeply religious but a gramophone in the house on which 'naats' were heard, initiated her into the world of music.

At the age of 12, a youg Shamshad Begam had her first audition for the company of Mater Ghulam Haider, who also gave two other great singers Noor Jehan and Lata Mangeshkar to us. In 1940, her song was recorded in Punjabi movie Yamla Jat.

Later in 1944, she reached Mumbai. It was the era of Amirbai Karnataki, Rajkumari and Zohrabai Ambalewali but soon Shamshad became a household name and her songs were heard across the country. She became the most famous singer of her times.

Wishing her Happy B'day and a long life.

(Excerpts from Mr Rajkumar Kesvani's article)

[*The other Shamshad Begum, who died in 1998, was the grandmother of Saira Banu and the mother of Nasim Bano. She was known as Shamshad Begum alias Chhamia who was a singer but never sang for movies.]

PS: I also checked the Wikipedia page and it seems some netizens have tried to correct the mistake but still there is confusion. Music lovers must take cognisance of such a serious error.

'Khuda ke Liye' released: After four decades a Pakistani movie screened in India, audience laud sensitive film

Shoaib Mansoor's internationally acclaimed movie Khuda ke Liye became the first movie from Pakistan to be released in India after a gap over forty years.

The thought-provoking movie 'In the name of God' deals with the dilemmas of Muslims in the wake of 9/11 and the International War on Terror.

The film succeeds not just because it depicts the trauma of Muslims who are often viewed with suspicion and branded fundamentalists but also because it asks tough questions and forces Muslims to introspect as well.

On one hand it is the liberal father who has no compunction in having a live-in relationship but doesn't want his daughter to marry a Christian and forces her back to the ancestral town in Afghanistan.

And on the other hand there is the story of the man who is wrongly arrested in United States of America (USA) and the police keep him in detention, just because he is a Muslim.

The liberals feel marginalised as they are mocked at by fundamentalists. The latter have their own grievances. But the movie does portray well the complex emotions. Is singing un-Islamic? It targets the stereotype of Muslims--the man wearing skullcap and the kurta-pyjama.

The previews of the film had all been quite positive. The film had been released in Pakistan long back and owing to reviews it was awaited. Shaan and Iman Ali, the lead actor and actress, have done well, apart from Naseeruddin Shah's role.

For the sub-continent, this release is historic. After 43 years an Urdu movie from across the border has been released in India.

The two nations have similar set of problems and this cultural exchange will help citizens of both countries in understanding each other. Recently a couple of Bollywood films including Taare Zameen Par were screened in theatres in Pakistan.


Though its a serious movie and Khuda ke Liye may not become a blockbuster on lines of other song-and-dance movies we are used to watching, it will hopefully attract the cine-watchers for venturing into a tough territory and touching a bold subject. Link to the website of the movie In the Name of God.

Shahrukh-Saif's abusive and indecent remarks at Filmfare award function

It's a bit late to write about the indecency of Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan at the Film Fare Award function, but I feel it is important to write about their poor conduct.

They not only hurled abuses openly but almost spelt out 'maa-behen ki gaali' to critics (saying the first half until maa ki and then stopping short, as everybody cheered).

The issue is not that who they were abusing. Everybody present in the hall seemed amused when they behaved disgracefully. The Urdu word Fakhr (pride) was spelt jokingly to mean the four letter word (fuck).

Shouldn't we expect the so called rolemodels to be civilised. Their behaviour was disgusting but it seems there is nobody willing to say that. Not even critics. Who can risk falling out of favour of these 'King Khans' and 'Chhotey Nawabs'?

And that's the tragedy our times. The dumbing down of generations is complete. Vandana K Mittal wrote about it on Merinews.com. "Shahrukh was out for settling scores and humiliating everyone he had some grudge against. There was no humour there, only poorly veiled animosity. " She wonders if he is so blinded by success and 'power'?

I agree. Shahrukh was cheap. With success a man must get graceful and then only he earns respect. He is yet to learn that and the incident shows him in very poor light. Preferrably he should apologise for making cheap fun of some many actors and actresses from Bachchans to even Vidya Balan.

Sanjay Dutt marries Shahnaz Sheikh alias Manyata

At last, Sanjay Dutt has formally married Manyata, the little-known Bollywood starlet who had performed an 'item number' in Prakash Jha's Gangajal, only to fade in oblivion later.

For the last couple of years Shahnaz Sheikh, who is also known as Dilnasheen, was close to Sanjay. Rumours about their marriage abound in Mumbai.

Ignoring the disapproval of his sisters-Priya and Namrata. Sanjay's daughter, Trishala (from his first wife), was also absent. This is not the first marriage for either Sanju or Manyata.

Sanju has married twice in the past. His first wife died due to cancer and second wife Rhea Pillai sought divorce and is now married to tennis star Leander Paes.

Not much is known about Shahnaz alias Dilnasheen alias Dilnawaz. But she has also married, at least, twice before. Once to Meraj and then to Anees. Her background was a cause of concern to Sanjay's sisters.

His father, Sunil Dutt, had also married a Muslim, Nargis. The class-conscious sisters may not have liked it that a girl who performed a 'cheap item song' would become their 'bhabhi' but the wayward Sanju, ultimately followed his heart.

Nothing has been predictable about Sanjay who has seen lots of ups and downs in his life. Once addicted to drugs, later imprisoned in the Mumbai bomb blast case, he is again found an emotional anchor. Time will tell whether this relationship will last long. We wish it does.

Dev Anand's tragic love life: Suraiya and Zeenat Aman

Dev Anand twice fell in love, once with Suraiya and later with Zeenat Aman. Suraiya's mother threatened that she would commit suicide if her daughter married Dev Anand. And Suraiya threw the ring given by the actor, into the ocean.

It was after this failed love affair that Dev Anand went into depression and even thought of ending his life. He also fell in love with Zeenat Aman.

Once Raj Kapoor kissed Zeenat in a party and later in another gathering he publicly hugged her. It was Zeenat's passion in the hug which again broke Dev's heart.

A jilted lover, Devanand turned an alcoholic. His recently published autobiography Romancing With Life throws light on his views about love and sex. In another autobiography sometime back, Vyjyanthimala rejects the stories about her love affair with Raj Kapoor.

Only three women came in Raj Kapoor's life--Nargis, Vyjyanthimala and his wife Krishna Kapoor. Had Raj Kapoor loved Zeenat Aman, he would never have revealed her cleavage in a movie like Satyam Shivam Sundram. Raj Kapoor was culturally feudal and in his movies Nargis was never shown scantily dressed or depicted obscenely.

Raj Kapoor's penchant for directing movies, prompted him to also fell in love with the physical attributes of the heroin in every movie. However, Dew Anand remains like Narcissus, who fell in love with his own image and got drowned in the pond while looking at his own reflection.

Jai Prakash Chaukse

(This article first appeared in a Hindi daily)

'Pancham': Remembering RD Burman

If he were alive today, music composer RD Burman would have turned 68. His father Sachin Dev Burman was the scion of a small princely state in Assam but instead ruled over the hearts of music lovers in the sub-continent.

He affectionately called his son, 'Pancham'. RD was just nine when he hummed a tune for 'Aye meri topi palat ke aa' in Devanand's Funtoosh. SD liked it so much that he recorded it after some polishing and the song with the same tune was released.

At the age of 16, Pancham composed the music for the song 'Sar jo tera chakraye' in Pyaasa and on the set he struck friendship with Mahmood. Later Mahmood asked Pancham to compose music for Chhotey Nawab. For the song 'Ghir aaye kare badra', Lata reached Pancham's house and then remembered that she was not on talking terms with Sachin Dev Burman, in those days. And she sat outside the flat, on the stairs, for rehearsal along with Pancham.

In Mehmood's next movie Bhoot Bunglow, Pancham not only composed music but also acted. Amin Sayani was also an actor in this movie. A football freak, Pancham was also addicted to laying chess. He loved to cook. He and his wife Asha Bhonsle kept experimenting with recipes as much as they did with music and songs.

Whether it was blowing air in an empty bottle to create the background music in Sholay or striking the spoon with teacup to create the tune for 'Chura liya hai', Pancham could create music during any activity. After SD Burman's illness and subsequent death, his wife lost her mental balance. And Pancham served his mother with a rare dedication.

Rahul Dev Burman alias Pancham was born in Kolkata (then Calcutta) on June 27, 1934. He gave music in 331 movies apart from four albums. The beat stopped on January 4, 1994.

Jai Prakash Chouskey
(This article was first published in a Hindi daily)

Vanmala: The ethereal beauty

She was so gorgeous that a 10-year-old kid fell in love with her on the movie sets and would stand for hours, intently watching her.

The child was Raj Kapoor and the actress was Vanmala who was acting along side his father Prithvi Raj Kapoor in the movie Sikandar.

Vanmala, who worked in many Hindi and Marathi movies including 'Sharbati Ankhen', 'Vasantsena' & Marathi movie 'Shyamchi Aai' passed away in Gwalior recently.

She was 92. Few were aware that she was still alive and small obituaries hardly did justice to the actress who stole a million hearts in the 30s and 40s.

Sushiladevi Pawar alias Vanmala was born in 1915 and started her career with Minerva Movietone's blockbuster Sikander with Sohrab Modi and Prithvi Raj Kapoor as lead actors in the film.

Oldies still remember the dreamy eyed Rukhsana whose character she played in the movie. A staunch nationalist who was actively involved in freedom movement along with Aruna Asaf Ali and Achyut Patwardhan, Vanmala is best remembered for her role in Marathi movie Shyamchi Aai. She actively participated in the Quit India movement.

In her old age, she was involved in social causes and even when she was in her early 90s, the former actress ran school to train children in culture and traditional Indian arts. Close friends said that she loved her solitude and enjoyed this sort of life. She was a religious person.

Vanmala was daughter of Sardar Bapurao Pawar, who was related to the ruling family of Gwalior (Scindias). After graduation she had started teaching in a school in Pune and later had an unsuccessful marriage with PK Sawant (who later became a state minister).

She acted in 33 movies including Vasantsena, Gharjavai and Shyamchi Aai. In the last she played the role of a doting mother. She had won the President's award for best actress. Susheeladevi Pawar, like many other actresses of yesteryears was living a quiet life and was remembered only in her death.

The 'sharbati aankhein' are closed for ever.