Remembering Mukesh

Mukesh Chand Mathur was born on 22 July 1923 in Delhi. Amongst the numerous nominations and awards he won, his song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from film Rajnigandha (1973) won him the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. Mukesh is also popular as being the voice of legendary actor Raj Kapoor.

He got his break as a playback singer for actor Motilal in 1945 with the film Pehli Nazar with music composed by Anil Biswas and lyrics written by Aah Sitapuri. The first song that he sang for a Hindi film was "Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De".

Mukesh created his own singing style with the help of music director Naushad Ali, who helped Mukesh to come out of his Saigal style and create his own style. Naushad gave him songs for the film Andaz. Initially Mukesh was the ghost voice of Dilip Kumar in this movie and Mohammed Rafi sang for Raj Kapoor. He delivered many Hits for Naushad in films like: Anokhi Ada (1948), Mela(1948), Andaz (1949). Other composers who used Mukesh voice for Dilip Kumar in Hit songs like Jeevan Sapna toot gaya were Anil Biswas in Anokha Pyar, Ye Mera Diwanapan hai, Shankar-Jaikishan in Yahudi and Suhana Safar and Dil Tadap Tadap ke, Salil Choudhary in Madhumati. 

In 1974, Mukesh received National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from Rajnigandha (1974), and Filmfare Awards for the songs "Sab Kuch Seekha Humne" in the movie Anari (1959), "Sabse Bada Naadan Wahi Hai" in Pehchaan (1970), "Jai Bolo Beimaan Ki" in Beimaan (1972) and "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein", the title song of film Kabhie Kabhie (1976). A total of around 1,300 songs were sung by him. 

Mukesh sang many memorable songs for Kalyanji Anandji music director duo. Mukesh sang more songs with the K-A duo than any other composer. From "Naina hai jadoo bhare..." Bedard Zamana Kya Jane (1958) composed by Kalyanji alone as Kalyanji Virji Shah, and "Main hoon mast madari..." Madari (1959) as the first Kalyanji-Anandji-Mukesh combo, to "Chahe aaj mujhe napasand karo..." Darinda/ 1977, the K-A, Mukesh combination gave numerous popular songs like "Chhalia mera naam...", "Mere toote hue dil se...", "Dum dum diga diga" Chalia(1959), "Mujhko iss raat ki tanhai mein..." Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960), "Hum chhod chale hain mehfil ko..." (Ji Chahta Hai), "Humne tumko pyar kiya hai jitna..." (Dulha Dulhan), "Chal mere dil lehraake chal..." Ishara and "Dheere se chalo..." Johar Mehmood In Goa,"Main to ek khwab hoon..." and "Chand si mehbooba ho..." Himalay ki God Mein(1965),"Waqt kartaa jo wafaa..." Dil Ne Pukara,"Deewanon se yeh mat poocho..." Upkar, "Khush raho har khushi hai..." Suhaag Raat and "Humsafar ab yeh safar kat jaayega..." Juari, "Chandi ki deewaar..." and "Le chal le chal mere jeevan saathi..." Vishwas (1969), "Koi jab tumhara hriday tod de..." Purab Aur Paschim, "Darpan ko dekha..." Upaasna, "Jo tumko ho pasand..." Safar and "Mujhe nahin poochni tumse beeti baatein..." Anjaan Raahein (1970).

Mukesh died of a heart attack on 27 August 1976 in Detroit, Michigan, USA, where he had gone to perform in a concert. That morning, he got up early and went to take a shower. He came out panting and complaining of chest pains. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead. The rest of the concert was completed by Lata Mangeshkar. His body was flown to India by Lata Mangeshkar, where a grand funeral ceremony was held in the presence of several actors, with personalities of the Indian film industry and fans paying tribute. When news of his death reached Raj Kapoor, he burst into tears, and remarked, "I have lost my voice,which is a testimony to the association of Mukesh's voice (in playback) to the immensely popular songs of Raj Kapoor's films. A famous song of the 50s featured on Bharat Bhushan Aa laut ke aa ja mere meet is another example of his earlier melodies, as is Dil tadap tadapke keh raha hai, picturised on Dilip Kumar.

After Mukesh's death, his newer, hitherto unreleased, songs were released in 1977 in films such as Dharam Veer, Amar Akbar Anthony, Khel khiladi ka, Darinda and Chandi sona. The year 1978 also featured a considerable number of Mukesh's songs in films such as Aahuti, Paramatma, Tumhari kasam and Satyam Shivam Sundaram, where Mukesh sang his last film song Chanchal sheetal nirmal komal for Raj Kapoor's younger brother, Shashi Kapoor.

National Film Awards

1974 - National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from the film Rajnigandha

Filmfare Awards

Won

1959	"Sab Kuch Seekha Humne"	Anari	Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1970	"Sabse Bada Naadan"	Pehchan	Shankar Jakishan	Varma Malik
1972	"Jai Bolo Beimaan Ki"	Be-Imaan	Shankar Jakishan	Varma Malik
1976	"Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein"	Kabhi Kabhie	Khayyam	Sahir Ludhianvi

Nominated

1960	"Hothon Pe Sacchai Rehti Hai"	Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai	Shankar Jakishan	Shailendra
1964	"Dost Dost Na Raha"	Sangam	Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1967	"Sawan Ka Mahina"	Milan	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1970	"Bas Yehi Apradh Main Har Baar"	Pehchan	Shankar Jakishan	Neeraj
1972	"Ek Pyar Ka Nagma"	Shor	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Santosh Anand
1975	"Main Na Bhoolunga"	Roti Kapda Aur Makaan	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1976	"Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar"	Kabhie Kabhie	Khayyam	Sahir Ludhianvi
1977	"Suhani Chandni Raten"	Mukti	Rahul Dev Burman	Anand Bakshi
1978	"Chanchal Sheetal"	Satyam Shivam Sundaram	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi

Bajrangi Bhaijaan - Movie Review

 

It has superstar Salman Khan. It has melodrama. It has song and dance. It has a pretty lead actress. It features two topics of discussion that are favourites with the Indian audience: religion and cross-border tension. And it has a cute little thing that, without saying a single word, will make you laugh and cry.Bajrangi Bhaijaan, as Khan told tabloid! earlier, is just about “love and love and only love”. You will receive an ample dose of every kind from romance to fatherly and brotherly love to the love for one’s country. It is an out-and-out Khan entertainer, such as Dabangg, Ready, Ek Tha Tiger, only this time it has a story which takes the audience at a steady pace through a two and a half hours journey across two countries. And interestingly, there is no item number in the film. It also does not feature the much-hyped Eid song Aaj Party Meri Taraf Se.
Khan plays Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi, your honest-to-the-core local yokel with a tender heart. Chaturvedi happens to be a great devotee of Hanuman or Bajrangi [the monkey deity]. So devout, that he bows down to every stray monkey he sees, and for his kind nature he is lovingly known as Bajrangi. A failure at most things his father shunts him off to Delhi to make something of his life. Here the down-to-earth, very practical Rasika (Kareena Kapoor), the pretty daughter of his father’s friend, falls in love with the kind Bajrangi. When Chaturvedi comes across a little lost girl he makes it his mission to see her safely home. Needless to say he tries all the “right” ways to accomplish this before taking matters into his own hands, even if it means he has to cross the border illegally.
Like most Bollywood films, Kabir Khan’s directorial too turns cheesy, making you laugh or cry depending on what cliched situation is being dealt with on screen. The film touches several social issues, from religious barriers and patriotism (on both sides of the border) to human trafficking and corruption, but without being too preachy. You can easily make out why the right wing political parties would take offense to certain scenes, but the story tries to maintain a balance. Yet, through the film you will only see the ‘chemistry’ between the ‘lead’ pair of Khan and Harshaali Malhotra and not the issues touched.
Despite good performances all around, it is Malhotra who plays Shahida alias Munni who steals the show. Playing a mute girl, Malhotra emotes through her “truck headlight” eyes. Both Khan and Kapoor have been raving about her, even though she herself has been kept away from the media and is not part of the film’s promotions.
Even though it cannot be predicted what happens on July 20 when the Bombay High Court convenes to hear Khan’s appeal, it’s easy to say that once again it’s going to be a happy Eid for Khan with his debut production. This family entertainer has already been predicted to take the biggest opening in India..
Just don’t forget to take that box of tissues with you.
 

Stars: 4.0 out 5

Guddu Rangeela - Review

 

Guddu aka Gulshan Ram (Amit Sadh) and Rangeela aka Radheshyam (Arshad Warsi) are the orchestra duo in Haryana. Apart from performing at the local events, the duo work as ‘Khabris’ (informers) for the town’s goons. Whilst they try hard not to mess with the law, one incident lands them up in the police station. After fleeing from there, Guddu-Rangeela are offered a special job by Bengali, who calls himself the PR of mafia. They are offered a job of kidnapping Baby (Aditi Rao Hydari) a deaf and mute girl. The kidnapping is expected to fetch them ten lakhs and hence they take it up. Meanwhile, they learn that Baby has some other plans and in fact she is not even deaf or mute. On being probed, she reveals, that Billo Pehalwan (Ronit Roy) is her Jiju and that she seeks revenge of her sister’s death from him. In the meanwhile, we are fed with Billo’s dark side as he heads the Khap Panchayat that supports honour killings. There is also a parallel story of Rangeela’s past that holds importance in the time to come. Billo and Rangeela seek each other’s lives but a certain past will knock them both off.

Amongst the lot, Arshad Warsi once again impresses as an honest actor. He essays Rangeela with all his heart. Arshad quite effortlessly slips into this role. The only problem is that, he and Amit fail to portray the required bromance in the film.

Amit Sadh seemed to have gone AWOL post Kai Po Che. As Guddu, he manages to put up a decent show. Even though his character does not have much meat, he shows great potential. Guddu Rangeela could prove to be a decent addition to his filmography.

Aditi Rao Hydari does not have a sizable role in the film. She shares little screen space in the film. Her act as Baby is not exceptional but average.

Ronit Roy as Billo is the other lead in the film after Arshad Warsi. The actor does a brilliant job as the antagonist and his Haryanvi accent is top notch. Although it is sad to see him getting limited in roles that are similar. Ronit definitely is getting stereotyped and that’s a waste of his talent.

Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Bengali is also impressive in the film.Guddu Rangeela‘s quirky dialogues do not make up for its overly commercial plot. The film loses its meaning thanks to a dragging second half. I am going with a 2.5/5 for this film.

Programme Schedule 'July '2015

DATE/DAY	EVENT	TIME IST
01-07-15 To 31-07-15	Old And New Hits Of Bollywood	From 7.00 Hrs To 7.00 Hrs
Every Sunday	Request Songs From Listeners Around The World	From 09.30 Hrs To  10.45 Hrs Repeat at 15.30 and 20.30 Hrs
14-07-15	Birth Anniversary Of Music Director -"Roshan" Death Anniversary Of Music Director and Singer -"Madan Mohan" Listen Their Composition/Songs, Read More @ Blog	From 08.00 Hrs Onwards
20-07-15	Death Anniversary Of Singer "Geeta Dutt" Listen Her Voice	From 08.00 Hrs Onwards
22-07-15	Birth Anniversary Of Singer "Mukesh" Listen His Songs, Read More @ Blog	From 08.00 Hrs Onwards (24 Hrs)
31-07-2015	Death Anniversay Of Versatile Singer "M.Rafi" Listen His Voice, Read More @ Blog	From 8.00 Hrs Onwards (24 Hrs)

Movie Review - ABCD 2

 

ABCD 2 is a complete entertainer filled with delightful dance performances. Undoubtedly, India’s best attempt at making a wholesome dance film. Every dancer in the crew is pitch perfect and Remo D’Souza deserves a ‘This Is It’. What’s Bad: Whilst Remo makes sure there is nothing missing on the dance front, the plot takes a backseat. In terms of story, the screenplay is mediocre. Also the overstretched run time is a downer for a 3D film.

Rating - 2/5

Movie Review - Dil Dhadakne Do

 

The story basically revolves around the Mehra family. A dysfunctional family helmed by Kamal (Anil Kapoor) whose family business is going under huge loss and in order to raise public credibility in his company AiKa, he and his wife, Neelam (Shefali) organize a cruise trip and invite all their rich buddies. Their daughter, Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) who runs a successful company, an online travel portal, organizes the whole trip but is not given credit for by her parents. Their son, Kabir (Ranveer Singh) wants to be a pilot but the bossy parents insist he take over the family business.

On the cruise trip, Kabir comes across Farah (Anushka Sharma) and they fall in love at first sight. While love is blossoming here, Ayesha realizes that she has no feelings for her hubby Manav (Rahul Bose) and wants to divorce him. She is featured in the list of Top 10 Entrepreneurs in Forbes magazine, in an attempt to make her own name, she wants to come out of the insufferable marriage. At such an odd time enters, Ayesha's hot ex, Sunny (Farhan Akhtar) who joins the cruise trip. Kamal wants Kabir to marry Noorie so her father can invest in his sinking business, meanwhile Noorie is in love with Kamal's enemy's son, Rana. Ayesha wants divorce from Manav, but he is not letting go. Kabir loves a dancer on the ship, but family disapproves. Kamal is having extra marital affairs while Neelam is having weight issues. So with so much of drama happening in one family, how will the Mediterranean cruise ride be like? You'll have to watch the movie to know!

Anil Kapoor steers the wheel of this cruise movie with his bossy attitude while Shefali does a great job being the cold hearted mother to Ranveer and Priyanka. Coming to the youngsters on board, Ranveer does a fab job in essaying this daring but vulnerable character and walks away with the most applause. But it is Shefali and Anil who are simply fabulous in their respective roles which probably no other actor could have done. Farhan looks smoldering enough to convince us, his and Priyanka's karmic attraction. Anushka who supposed to be British has an Indian accent, meanwhile business savvy Priyanka who does a fab job in essaying the role of a strong businesswoman suffering a marriage with a pompous husband fails to get rid of her American accent (Considering she is an Indian in the movie, American accent doesn't help).

Verdict: This high society family drama where there is no place for emotions is super entertaining and is a must watch. A high energy movie that should not be missed, so book your tickets fast!

 

Rating - 4/5

June'15 Program Schedule

DATE/DAY	EVENT	TIME IST
01-06-15 To 30-06-15	Old And New Hits Of Bollywood	From08.00 Hrs To 08.00 Hrs
Every Sunday	Request Songs From Listeners Around The World	From 09.30 Hrs To  10.45 Hrs Repeat at 15.30 and 20.30 Hrs
15-06-15	Birth Anniversary Of Singer "Suraiya" Listen Her. More Info About Her @ Blog	From11.00 Hrs Onwards
16-06-15	Birth Anniversary Of Music Director/Singer "Hemantda" Listen His Composition/Songs, Read More @ Blog	From 7.00 Hrs Onwards
25-06-15	Birth Anniversary Of Music Composer "Madan Mohan" Listen His Compositions. Read Blog for More Info About Him.	From 7.00 Hrs Onwards
27-06-15	Birth Anniversary Of Music Director "R.D.Burman" Listen His Composition, Read More @ Blog	From 7.00 Hrs Onwards