Hasrat Jaipuri

 

Hasrat Jaipuri (April 15, 1922 – September 17, 1999) was a Hindi and Urdu poet and film lyricist in Hindi films, where he won the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist twice.

Jaipuri was born Iqbal Husain in Jaipur, where he studied English till medium level, and then acquired his taalim in Urdu and Persian from his paternal grandfather, Fida Husain. He began writing verse, when he was around twenty years old. Around same time, he fell in love with a Hindu girl named Radha.

In 1940, Jaipuri came to Mumbai, and started working as a bus conductor, earning a monthly salary of eleven rupees. He used to participate in mushairas. At a mushaira, Prithviraj Kapoor noticed Jaipuri and recommended him to his son, Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor was planning a musical love story, Barsaat (1949) with Shankar-Jaikishan. Jaipuri wrote his first recorded song, Jiya Beqaraar Hai for the film. His second song (and first duet) was Chhor Gaye Baalam.
Along with Shailendra, Jaipuri wrote lyrics for all Raj Kapoor films till 1971. After the death of Jaikishan and failures of Mera Naam Joker and Kal Aaj Aur Kal, however, Raj Kapoor turned to other lyricists and music directors. Kapoor initially wanted to call him back for Prem Rog, but later settled for another lyricist, Amir Qazalbash. Kapoor finally asked him to write lyrics for the film, Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Later, he also invited him to write three songs for the movie Henna. Jaipuri alleges that after Raj Kapoor's death, the music composer Ravindra Jain "conspired" to "scrap" his lyrics and replace them with his own lyrics.
When fellow lyricist Shailendra turned producer with Teesri Kasam, he invited Jaipuri to write lyrics for the movie. He also wrote screenplay for the movie Hulchul (1951). His last film as a lyricist was Hatya: The Murder (2004).

• Filmfare Best Lyricist Award - 1972 for Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana (Andaz, 1971)
• Filmfare Best Lyricist Award - 1966 for Baharon Phool Barsao (Suraj)
• Josh Malihabadi Award, from Urdu Conference
• Dr. Ambedkar Award, for Jhanak Jhanak Tori Baaje Payaliya (Mere Huzoor), a Brajbhasha song
• Jaipuri was also awarded a doctorate from the World University Round Table.

Jaipuri invested his earnings in property, on his wife's advice. Thanks to earnings from these properties, his financial condition was sound, and therefore he was not much active as a lyricist. He was survived by two sons and a daughter live in mumbai.

Courtesy - Wikipedia

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy - Review

When his father can't be found for two months, Ajit (Anand Tiwari) approaches Byomkesh for help. As far as Byomkesh is concerned, there's no mystery here. Considering how long he's been untraceable, Ajit's father is not a missing person but a dead man and Byomkesh bluntly says as much to Ajit. Net result: Ajit literally punches Byomkesh's lights out. Needless to say, it's the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
Byomkesh takes on Ajit's case partly because he feels bad for Ajit and because Byomkesh's ego demands he find evidence to prove his theory that Ajit's father has been murdered. The investigation quickly swirls towards danger when it turns out that a local politician, his mistress, a scary Japanese dentist and Chinese drug dealers are all players in this nasty affair. Throats are slashed, blood spurts, vamps shimmy in and out, sirens wail — and in the middle of all this is Byomkesh, trying to piece together a gory jigsaw puzzle.
Those expecting a factually-perfect vision of Calcutta in 1942 will be disappointed as will those who are expecting to see Saradindu Bandopadhyay's Byomkesh. Neither are present in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!. Banerjee's Calcutta has none of the ravages of famine and despair that scarred the historical Calcutta of that era. This is not a failing. After all, Banerjee is not making a documentary. He's chosen to go with the imaginary, rather than the factual and more power to him for making that choice. There are few people in Indian cinema — mainstream or otherwise — who have an imagination as rich as Banerjee's. Fewer yet have the ability to translate their visions into reality as beautifully as Banerjee has.
Banerjee's Byomkesh has little in common with the literary Byomkesh. The film credits say the story and characters are based on Saradindu Bandopadhyay's series, but that is Banerjee being polite. He's taken only names and trivial details from the short stories. The blend of history and fiction, the elegant violence and the odes to noir in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy make it uniquely Banerjee's creation. The film has some spectacular moments, like the climax that's shown mostly with shadowplay, which show Banerjee at his most stylish and wicked. Not all the opium in the world would have inspired Bandopadhyay to come up with such sequences.
The hero of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is less like his namesake and more like Mark Gatiss and Stephen Moffat's Sherlock — awkward, socially inept, often foolhardy and somewhat egoistical. He's not a satyanweshi, or truth seeker, like the literary Byomkesh but a puzzle-solver. He doesn't have the literary Byomkesh's razor sharp intelligence. He misses details and takes his time to figure out rather obvious connections. There are also shades of Hercule Poirot and even Inspector Clouseau in Banerjee's Byomkesh. Still, because Banerjee is a wittier storyteller than Bandopadhyay, there are some delightful sequences in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, particularly the ones that show Byomkesh with Ajit, which add a touch of laughter to a largely humourless film.
On paper, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! sounds fantastic. The mix of history and noir is both ambitious and exciting. Unfortunately, it's in the telling that the film suffers. For all its aesthetic wins, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy is felled by one critical flaw: it's a whodunnit in which you don't really care who's done it. And if you've read your share of murder mysteries and watched a lot of CSI (like this reviewer), then you'll figure out who's done it well before Byomkesh does, which is quite a letdown.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is slow and lacks tension, which is criminal for a thriller. The lazy and inept editing makes the entire film suffer and exposes the weaknesses in Banerjee's story. Characters like the vamp and the Chinese drug dealers conveniently disappear and reappear. Bad guys are incredibly open to sharing information with Byomkesh when he needs them to do so. A man goes underground and then it turns out that the neighbourhood taxi driver knew where he was all along. Loose ends are tied up very unconvincingly. There are matrimonial ads with more chemistry and romance than Byomkesh's love story in the film.
For all the beautiful production design, the clever use of contemporary indie music as the soundtrack, and the stylish cinematography, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is Banerjee's most underwhelming film so far. It's still significantly better than the average Bollywood fare, but the standards that Banerjee has set with his past work are high and this film just doesn't meet some very basic expectations.
The other critical failing in the film is in the acting department. Swastika Mukherjee as the vamp is intent upon setting a record for how many times an actress can make the audience roll their eyes. Debutant Divya Menon has a barely-there role and fails to make any impression. The cast includes some excellent actors and two of them deliver superb performances. Neeraj Kabi is fantastic as Byomkesh's landlord, Anukul Guha. In one long scene, all he has to do is laugh manically, again and again — it's a testament to Kabi's acting talent that he's able to keep braying with laughter without making his character seem like a over-the-top lunatic.
Anand Tiwari as Ajit is a delight. Whether it's a serious scene or deadpan comedy, Tiwari's timing is superb. It's also impressive that he convinces us that he's the brawny one, given Tiwari is about half of Rajput's height and width.
Rajput has the weight of the film on his shoulders and while his performance isn't bad, the actor struggles to be the star in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. Part of this may be because Banerjee's Byomkesh lacks consistency. He's a patchwork of character traits taken from other famous fictional detectives. Rajput has shown a lot of promise in past films but here, he lacks charisma and isn't able to hold the audience's attention, especially when he's got actors like Kabi for company.
Also, for reasons best known to Banerjee, there's an attempt to downplay Rajput's looks by giving him a unibrow that looks like it's been coloured in by a toddler with an eyebrow pencil. The actor also looks like he was dunked in brown paint and then rolled in bronzer before each shot. Rather than turning him into an average looking man, this unnatural getup just emphasises the artifice. We never forget that Rajput is in costume and playing a part.

Rating - 3.5/5

Programme Schedule 'April 2015'

DATE/DAY	EVENT	TIME IST
01-04-15  To 30-04-15	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
13-04-15	Birth Anniversary Of Lyricist "Varma Malik" Listen His Lyrics	From 8.00 Hrs Onwards
14-04-15	Birth Anniversary Of Singer "Shamshad Begum" Listen Her	From 8.00 Hrs Onwards
15-04-15	Birth Anniversary Of Lyricist "Hasrat Jaipuri" Listen His Lyrics More about him @ blog	From 8.00 Hrs Onwards
20-04-15	Death Annivesary Of Lyricist "Shakeel Badayuni" Listen His Lyrics	From 8.00 Hrs To 11.00 Hrs
26-04-15	Death Anniversary Of Music Director  "Shankar(Shankar Jaikishan)" Listen Their Melodious Composition & Read more about Shankar @ blog	From 8.00 Hrs

NH10 - Movie Review

A man and a woman find their calm, composed lives upended when they get embroiled among dangerous thugs and goons. If this plot sounds familiar, that's because it is familiar. Films with similar storylines have existed since before honor killings in our society. So it's only right that director Navdeep Singh's film should be a fresh take on the done-to-death concept with an honor killing twist.

In NH10, the man is Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam), the woman is his wife Meera (Anushka Sharma), and the thugs and goons are led by Satbir (Darshan Kumar). Satbir is in the process of killing his inter-caste-marrying sister and her other-caste husband when Arjun and Meera happen upon them and try to intercede, which you'd know is a huge mistake if you've ever seen a movie in your life. Thereon begins the chase, which turns the couple's night into a nightmare.

The biggest, biggest asset of the film is that director Navdeep Singh and writer Sudip Sharma don't hold back, whether it is in terms of social commentary or the shedding of blood. As one of the characters in the film remarks, the point where the suburbs end is also marked by the end of law and democracy. NH10 holds up a mirror reflecting the lawless nature of our small towns and villages, where killing in the name of caste and religion is as commonplace as a Facebook application on mobile phones today.

NH10 reflects on how circumstances can change perspective, how a person who's life consists of office parties and road trips could so easily turn into a killer to protect herself and her loved ones. And it does all that with a mean streak of gritty, raw violence that hits you with the force of a 1000 iron rods, which is coincidentally the preferred weapon of killing for the film's characters.

NH10 is smarter, faster and leaner than your average road-trip-gone-wrong film, with a higher thrills-per-minute ratio than you'd normally expect. The film blindsides you every now and then with an interesting twist, interspersed with car chases, foot chases, firing guns, knifings and even stone peltings.

The film's biggest achievement, though, is that it makes you care. It makes you root for Meera and Arjun to make it out of this hellhole alive, well and hopefully with all body parts intact. When they try to intercede the honor killing, you know what's about to follow and you plead with them in your mind to just walk away instead. When they're being pursued by homicidal maniacs, you sit in your seat tensely, with your hands cupping your mouth and your legs twitching and shaking like they have a mind of their own. And finally, when the tables are turned and the hunters become the prey, you perform a joyous little jig with a knowing half-smile on your face.

The performances by the main cast is another feather in the caps of both the director and the film. Anushka gives the performance of her life in the role of a woman that has been pushed to the breaking point. She smokes, she curses, she cries, she screams in anguish, she shoots guns and she finally kicks some serious villainous ass. As one of the producers on the film, she has a complete understanding of the film and it's undercurrent of emotions that range from frustration and rage, and it shows in her stirring act. The degree and style of her limp keep changing, but her performance remains consistently impressive throughout.

Neil Bhoopalam gets considerably less screentime than his female counterpart, but is remarkable nonetheless in his portrayal of Anushka's noble-intentioned husband. He proves to be a highly efficient counterfoil, who holds his own in the film's dramatic sequences. But it's Darshan Kumar as the small-town hoodlum who leaves a huge impact with his brutal performance. Be it his Haryanvi dialogues and dialect or him beating men and women alike without batting an eyelid, he is never less than absolutely convincing and is downright scary at most times.

Imagine RGV's intensely stupid Sanjay Dutt-starrer Daud on performance-enhancement drugs and you'll get NH10, a dark and wild ride into the outskirts of our nation with plenty of thrills and gory action. Not meant for the fainthearted and tailor-made for cinema aficionados, Hindi cinema in 2015 hits a new high this weekend. Go get high on NH10.

Rating - 4.5/5

Dum Laga ke Haisha - Movie Review

The film (set in circa 1995 in Haridwar), starts off with a self introduction of a neither qualified nor talented Prem (Ayushmann Khurrana), a high-school dropout and a die-hard Kumar Sanu fan. He confesses that he has only three weaknesses in his life: exam's English question paper, his father's slippers and Kumar Sanu's melodious voice. This eventually leads to his matrimony meet, where his parents meet the parents of the 'B.Ed graduate but fat' Sandhya (debutante Bhumi Pednekar), who wants to become a teacher. Seizing the opportunity, Prem's parents (esp. his father Chandrabhan Tiwari (Sanjay Mishra) gets him married to Sandhya, even though Prem is least interested in her because of her fat figure. When a very disinterested Prem does 'nothing' on their wedding night, this news reaches the ears of both the families, thus making them nervous and also scared about the couple's future relationship. Sandhya, on the other hand, who genuinely loves Prem, on the insistence of her mother Subhadra Rani, even tries to seduce him with a 'foreign waali VCD'. Meanwhile, a certain incident happens between Prem and his friends, in which Prem confesses his utter disliking for Sandhya, which co-incidentally, Sandhya overhears. This leads to her filing for a divorce with Prem. As a legal formality, the court decides a time of 6 months for the couple to spend with each other, in case they have a change of mind. Amidst all this chaos, their village announces annual competition named 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha', in which the husbands have to carry their wives on their back and run till the finishing lines, despite all the manmade hurdles. Again, on his family's insistence, a very reluctant Prem agrees to carry the 'moti saand' (fatso) Sandhya on his back and take part in the competition. Do Prem and Sandhya land up divorcing each other, does Prem win the prestigious 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' competition (which has his idol Kumar Sanu as the chief guest), will Prem ever be able to accept Sandhya despite her physical appearance is what forms the rest of the film. 

Even though this is director Sharat Katariya's second film (the first one being the forgettable (10 ML LOVE), his directorial spark shines throughout the film. One has to appreciate and applaud him for paying heed to even the minutest of the detailing that has gone behind every character. However the story of the film leaves a lot to be desired. Sharat, who seems very confident with the camera and its angles, is definitely one name to watch out for in the days to come. Even though the film has its 'could-have-been-better' moments, the film scores on the director's ability to extract performances from the star cast. The only problem, however, is that the film starts lagging in places, which could have been taken care on the editing table. 

Of the performances, even though Ayushmann Khurrana carries Bhumi Pednekar on his shoulders towards the end of the film, the fact of the matter is that, it's actually Bhumi Pednekar who 'carries' the whole film on her shoulders. Ayushmann, whose last film HAWAAIZAADA failed to take off at the Box-Office, does a commendable job in this film, even though his performance looks a bit stereotyped at certain places. Otherwise, he is decent in the film. As far as the film's heroine Bhumi Pednekar is concerned, she is a perfect example of 'It's the performance and not the size that matters'. Call it her naturally endearing screen presence or her flawless acting; she does add 'weight' to her character (absolutely no pun intended here!). As far as the rest of the cast is concerned, the ones who come out winners include Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa and Sheeba Chaddha (in top form as Prem's nagging bua). While the rest of the cast help in carrying (and not 'pushing') the film forward, Kumar Sanu's presence in the cameo is hardly felt. 

On the whole, DUM LAGA KE HAISHA is a simple film that will make you smile.

Rating - 4/5

Movie Review - Badlapur

 

Director Sriram Raghavan strikes the hammer of genius with BADLAPUR for he buys your eyes and makes you stay glued to the screen right till the end. The biggest highlight of the film is the incredible tussle between two powerful actors Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Varun Dhawan unexpectedly conjoined by the quirky screenplay-labyrinth. The makers have aptly labeled this film as a 'Twisted Entertainer'. Yes, the film is dark, gory and violent, but, at the same time, it's also cerebrally stimulating and entertaining. The artistic values are top notch but it's meant for a select audience that patronizes sensible, sensitive, meaningful cinema.
Misha (Yaami Gautam) and her son Robin are killed by a bank robber Laik (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Misha's cheerful husband Raghu (Varun Dhawan) is devastated and shattered. He tries every possible means to get even with Laik, including forced sex with Laik's prostitute girlfriend Jhimli (Huma Qureshi) to humiliate him. Laik is sentenced to twenty years prison term where he makes several unsuccessful jail-break-attempts. Fifteen years later, Raghu 'facilitates' Laik's premature exit from the jail. The twists-in-the-plot continues, ensuring a roller coaster thrilling ride.
BADLAPUR, which is reportedly based on a true story, sees Sriram Raghavan and Arijit Biswas write a wonderful screenplay. Sriram Raghavan navigates the film in a non linear format, thus, keeping you guessing at many a juncture. The viewer is foxed when the narrative floats between Raghu's 'lunch' with Harman (Vinay Pathak), Koko (Radhika Apte) and Shobha (Divya Dutta).
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is indeed God's gift to cinema. You hate him as if he's a stench and then he changes colours and floors you with another peculiar shade. His character Laik is an extremely deceptive character with a distinct body language that makes him look weak, even though he is as wily as a fox. He becomes a different person when he's interacting with Raghu, Jhimli, policemen and his old mother. Some of his interactions with fellow jail inmate Murli Sharma are hilarious. He will also turn your eyes moist.
Varun Dhawan is a very ambitious actor and his manic energy does full justice to this ambition in BADLAPUR. His transformation from an impressionable teenager and a caring husband to an eerily quiet middle aged lonely-disgruntled-man is simply legendary, to say the least. He gives you an ample display of class as an actor. The fidgety memories, ready-to-roll-tears gradually becoming a parched tsunami of desolateness, the friendship with relentless rage and effortlessly getting infested by cold bloodedness. With this film, Varun emerges as one of the finest actors that we have today, across all age groups.
Yaami Gautam and Huma Qureshi have small roles, which they portray competently. Radhika Apte and Vinay Pathak impress in their cameos. The scene where Varun asks Radhika to lose her inhibitions is devoid of undue salaciousness and that's laudatory on the part of the director. Pratima Kazmi as Nawaz's mother is very good.
Anil Mehta's cinematography is brilliant. Mostly, the film has been shot in dark or indoors, but there's always the right amount of lighting to give it the realistic tinge. The only problem is that while the film grips the viewers in the solid first half, it gets loosened up in the stretched second half. Pooja Ladha Surti's editing is good but had the film been crisper in the second half, it definitely would have propelled up the film's fast-paced-thriller format. Music and background score by Sachin-Jigar provides solid scaffolding. 'Jee Karda', 'Jeena' and 'Judai' are exceptional tracks. The background music is effective in pulling just-the-right strings at opportune time.
After a tepid AGENT VINOD, spoilt by needless item numbers, Sriram Raghavan is back to his non-compromising style with BADLAPUR. There's a clear stamp of his wicked humour, objective, no frills-attached take on human relationships and absolutely no compromise on how he wants to tell the story. Sriram is back with vengeance. Quite literally!
On the whole, BADLAPUR offers you cinematic excellence with a rider that there's violence and gore, which may not be everyone's cup of bitter coffee. You shall be treated to truly unforgettable performances by Nawazuddin and Varun Dhawan. It is a film that will find patrons amidst the multiplex crowd. And yes, it is a film that will continue to live-on in the minds of cinema lovers for a long time to come. 

Our rating - 3/5

Movie Review - Roy

The camera lovingly caresses Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal’s sinewy torso and Jacqueline Fernandez’s toned arms in the relationship drama Roy, but we wish that the same attention had been lavished on getting a semblance of a story together.

Roy, which showcases Rampal as maverick filmmaker Kabir Grewal, is high on style and resembles a slick music video rather than a taut psychological drama.

The story is simple: film director Grewal is quite the ladies man. When he isn’t dumping his conquests unceremoniously he’s bashing away at his ancient typewriter completing the script for his next film Guns 3. The third instalment ofGuns, which revolves around a suave thief (Ranbir Kapoor) and his slick robberies, is barely complete when Grewal takes off to a beautiful island in Malaysia to begin filming. There, the reclusive filmmaker, who never socialises with his actors, meets the bodacious beauty Ayesha, a filmmaker with some indie credit.

Grewal, who has women eating out of his hands on a normal day, is struck down by love. After some flirtatious sparring and some sensuous ballet moves on the beach, the two are inseparable.

So what happens next leaves you a bit flabbergasted. After a night of passion, Ayesha decides to break it off with her shabby-chic lover. Without giving the plot away, it’s suffice to say that her reason for conflict and break-up is painfully trivial. Grewal, who up to this point had shown some great sense of self-preservation, hurtles down the path of destruction. He refuses to turn up to work and is on the brink of bankruptcy.

All this would have worked had Rampal’s character been a hormone-riddled teenager. Unfortunately, he’s no such novice. After 22 girlfriends, it’s tough to buy into his act of being a love-sick man. Meanwhile, there’s another love story blossoming between Roy (Kapoor) and Tia (Fernandez in a double role here).Tia’s painted as some kind of rich socialite with an enviable collection of paintings. Roy is out to steal a precious painting hanging in her home, but ends up stealing her heart.

Kapoor, whose role is not a mere cameo, does what is expected from him. He exudes an aura of mystery and gives a tightly controlled performance. In some scenes, he just looks a bit too aloof for our liking.

Rampal, who is on the big screen after two years, looks haggard, but there’s no denying his supreme good looks. Fernandez should ideally stick to doing ballet moves and yoga poses on the beach because her attempt at being alluring looks contrived.

The music, barring the song in which Fernandez breaks out into a dance crooning “O baby, my fair arms”, blends well with Roy.

Watch this if your are in the mood to see a pair of good-looking men act like boys.

Rating - 2/5