Long before Shahrukh Khan was Trying to recreate the magic of romance in movies and making blockbuster Masala movies which had a strong central love story at its core , with action, drama, comedy all thrown in, much before that, there was a Man who created perhaps the golden era of romance , the man who could express love with just a flutter of his eyes,The man would was hailed as the 1st superstar of Bollywood, The phenomenon, Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna, came in at a time, when Heroes were always shown as creatures who were God's favourites for directing all his wrath with all the might. .The choicest of troubles and frustrations were reserved by the almighty for his chosen ones,The hindi film Hero , Before Rajesh Khanna..
They were shown as poor, helpless, tortured souls who cudnt do a thing about their miserable lIves until God had mercy and course corrected
But then came Rajesh Khanna ...The man who made people sing, swoon and dance..The man who made people forget all their miseries with splendid music and his equally splendid efforts..Rajesh khanna represented the best of both the world's, a blend of old traditional values and and the modern yet cautious approach to life, a welcome combination....People found a balm in Rajesh khanna and his music...The way he could romance the prettiest of heroines just by a simple flutter of his eyes , his soft spoken mannerisms, a voice with great restrain, eyes which packed in huge mystique, a man who looked like he was born to love and spread love and not change the world or trying to create a new world order
Rajesh khanna just wanted to love, sing and romance and not worry about bigger world issues...
The King of romance, a man born to love on screen...
In this post, I will try and bring to you the most famous henchmen of bollywood.The men who were so loyal to the villian, that the heroes would literally give aways their arms to get such loyal friends or followers.Hailing all the henchmen and the side kicks of villians
1 .Mac Mohan
If ever there were to be a category of a superstar in henchmen, Mac Mohan would definitely be the man.The most famous henchman in bollywood, Macmohan had played the loyal follower to many a great villians.Made immortal on screen for his role as Samba from the Cult movie " Sholay".
2 Shetty
Father of Famous Bollywood director ,Rohit shetty..Shetty as he was popularly known , was one of the most menacing henchmen in the 1970s and 1980s..A well built and bulky man, mean and menacing looks with a shiny clean shaven head..Shetty is known for the epic fight scene from movie Trishul
3 Sudhir
A very popular villian back in 1970s and 1980s, Sudhir was a popular sidekick of many villians..He was famous as the eternal rapist, a position envied by his illustrious costar, Ranjeet. Sudhir also played brother to Amitabh Bachchan in the classic movie, Satte Pe Satta.He had a very peculiar nasal tone of talking
4 Sharad Saxena
By far, the most successful henchman turned a proficient character actor, Sharad Saxena has played the henchman in a number of movies...Saxena hit big time with the Aamir khan starrer, Ghulaam, where he played the main lead.Saxena has successfully transitioned into a mainstream character artist in big banner movies with top line stars. He has worked in movies like Baghbaan, Saathiya,Krish
5 Bob Christo
Bob Christo..Man oh Man...I have always wondered why Bob Christo chose Mumbai to be his home and stayed on here to play a sidekick in so many movies..Any movie made in the late 70s and 80s, especially with any involvement of Foreigners, had to have Bob Christo..He has acted in numerous movies ad the "Hindi speaking foreigner henchman" ....Mr India, Qurbaani, Allah rakha, Mard are just some of the memorable movies of Christo
6. Yusuf Khan
No don't confuse this with Yusuf Sahaab.This Yusuf Khan is a famous bollywood henchmen, most popular for his onscreen potrayal of Zibisco in Manmohan desai starrer "Amar Akbar Anthony"..He also had a small but important part in film "Naseeb"..easily one the most handsome and chic henchmen of the Hindi film Industry
7.Mahesh Anand
Tall, muscular , moustached , long locks of hair, a string husky voice, Mahesh Anand can be easily mistaken for a bollywood Hero for his impressive and towering personality.Known for his work as a kick add henchman, Mahesh has acted in numerous movies in the 90s in big banner films.Some of his notable works include Vishwaatma, Vinod Khanna starrer Zurm, sanjay Dutt starrer Kurukshetra
8. Dalip Tahilani
One of the most suave and chic side kicks of the villian, Dilip Tahilani has matured now into a seasoned character artiste , but he started his career as a henchman for the main bad guy ..Tahilani has played such roles notably in films like Jaanbaaz, Tridev.Tahilani hit the big time with the SRK starrer "Baazigar" playing the menacing Madam Chopra
In this post, I would like to mention some of the movies that metamorphised Amitabh Bachchan from the timid Doctor, he played in Anand 1971 to the "Angry young man of 1970s and 1980s", an image that was built by Saleem Javed. Rajesh khannas slip from superstardom from the period 1969 to 1972, created space for the next superstar Hindi cinema was waiting for..While Khanna represented the eternal and conventional lover boy, Bachchan took the role of the dejected and frustrated angry young man, who wanted to be in control of life and society..Here's looking at some of the films in ABs career in the Phase 1 (1973 to 1990)
Zanjeer : 1) directed by Prakash Mehra,this movie marked the beginning of the phenomenon called Amitabh Bachchan..Amitabh, with his brooding intense eyes displayed so much restraint and angst, pitted again the brilliant Ajit...Ajit changed the game as far as villainy was concerned, making it too sophisticated and chic..Zanjeer was the film that made "The Amitabh Bachchan"
2. Trishul
If there is a movie you need to watch for the power of screenplay and dialogue delivery, then Trishul has to be a moview that you must watch.The confrontation scenes between Sanjeev Kumar & AB, for me is one if the epic scenes of Hindi films.
AB delivers the mean and menacing Angry man with great Panache...The hit dialogue for me
" Main aapse 5 Lakh ka saudaa karne aaya hun aur meri jeb mein 5 phutti kaudi bhi nahi hai"
3. Deewar
Boy o Boy o Boy..how do you even start describing this movie is something thats baffling..Clearly a masterpiece for many artistes..AB, Saleem - Javed, Yash Chopra..The character of AB was lost sketched on the Famous Underworld Don Haji Mastani, showing rise from the docks of Mumbai..Dewear clearly established ABs prowess I'm playing the Angry Young man,who is ready to take on the system to find his way
"Hum jahaan Khadey ho jaate hain line wahin se shuru ho jaati hai"
Or his scene with Iftekhar, Daawar Saab, "Main aaj bhi phaikey huye paisey nahi uthaata"
Or the legendary scene between AB & Shashi Kapoor just below the bridge "Mere pass Maa hai"
4.Sholay
One of the all time great movies of our era, Sholaywas another jewel in ABs crowned cap..Although Amjad khan, Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar had stronger roles, but the role of Jai as the Brooding , intense, no no sense guy cudnt have been delivered by any other actor of the time
The scene where he goes to Basantis mausi to ask for her hand in marriage for Dharmendra is one of the best plain faced comic scene ever..Have a look:
5. Lawaaris
Another Prakash Mehra directed movie, AB had the audience in spellbound with his action and intense perormance..This is the movie where AB hummed probably the most successful song from his playback collection..."Mere Anganey mein" ...
6.Namak Halaal
For me,this is the movie that established ABs versatility..This would also turn out to be a movie that started a great trend that defined the Comedian in bollywood..AB just took to a fish like water playing an out and out entertaining role in a mal halaal
Who can forget his Scene for the Job interview with Ranjit,where he proudly declares English as a very Funny language..watch out
7.Amar Akbar Anthony
Typical Manmohan desai Masala movie...Amitabh playing Anthony Gonsalvez was a treat to watch..The movie had another of Amitabhs innovative scenes, that of a drunkard...where he curses himself after a fight
8. Naseeb : Another mega blockbuster and a magnum opus from Manmohan desais banner, Naseeb was like a casting directors dream come true with the biggest legends of Hindi films sharing screen space
AB,Shatrughan Sinha, Rishi Kapoor, Hema MalinI, Reena Roy, Pran,Amrish Puri, Amjad khan, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Jeevan....One hell of a star studded cast..Never before and never after has a screen boasted of such starr power..Add to that, the famous song of Naseeb, where Manmohan desai had pulled huge number of stars for a special guest appearence for him, and all of the big stars obliged..Have a look at that song
I must mention here that Amitabh was smart enough to sense that multi starrer were the norm of the day and also it made economic sense for Producers as they were assured of a minimum opening and business revenue with multi starters and scripts were made accordingly. AB also worked in a lot of 2 Hero projects which were immensely successful also.Some of the notable ones are
Kala Pathar & Dostana with Shatrughan Sinha
Parvarish,Hera Pheri, Muqaddar ka Sikander with Vinod Khanna
Chupke Chupke, Ram Balram with Dharmendra
Satte Pe Satta with 6 other actors
Some of the other notable solo hits were Coolie, Mard, Yaarana
Probably ABs last hit in his 1st phase was Shehanshah and Khud gawaah, post which he was away from bollywood before engineering a phoenix like rise in phase 2 of his career
In the next post, I will touch upon the Phase 2 of ABs Career post "kaun banega Crorepati"
In this post, I am trying to pen down my all time favourite comedy movies of Bollywood , the movies that made us laugh like crazy
1. Half Ticket
This Madhubala/Kishore Kumar/ Pan starter movie is a laugh riot from the word go..Just imagine, the maverick Kishore Kumar who runs away from his house and tries to flee to far off city on a Half Ticket, hence behaving like a mentally retarded kid who falls in love with Madhubala and at the same time us running away from Pran. ..There is a cracker of a dialogue in the movie, when Madhubala enquires from Kishore Kumar. ..." Kya tum paagal ho" and Kishore Kumar retotrs :: "Nahi Nahi main paagal nahin hun, meraa dimaag kharaab hai"
2. Padosan
Padosan has to be in the list of the greatest laugh riots of Hindi film Industry..Produced by the legendary Mehmood, Padosan is a cult movie for any actor trying to learn nuances of comic timing in acting..Generations to come, can never forget the epic and hilarious "Song fight between Mehmood and Sunil Dutt / Kishore Kumar.Padosan is an institution in itself to learn the art of comedy in movie making
3. Chupke Chupke
Railway train and Railway station have never been decoded in any Hindi movie before like they were in Chupke Chupke....The way Dharmendra describes them in Chaste Hindi as "Bhak Bhak Laupat Gamini"...takes your heart away...Hrishikesh Mukherjee at his best, but of all the people Dharmendra was at his funniest best.......This was Dharamjis movie all the way...Professor Parimal Tripathi was a supercool character
4. Jaane bhi Do Yaaron
The Mahabharat scene will have you in splits every time you watch it..Hindi Cinemas greatest performers were sharing stage...Naseerudin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor, Stalwarts like Ravi Vaswani, Neena gupta added great support.Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron is Hindi Cinemas 1st political satire in the real sense
5. Peecha Karo
Not many people would have seen this, as the movie was not a great commercial success..I would rate this movie as a master of great Slapstick and loud comedy, but done with great panache..The inimitable Faruq Sheikh, Ravi Vaswani, Satish Shah and Amjad khan.. A true laugh riot from scene 1
6.Biwi o Biwi
Oh My god...I can see this movie, for another umpteen no of times..Again this movie was not commercially a very big hit, but one cracker of a movie...The Great Sanjeev Kumar was at his Hilarious best, like only he can..Rajinder Nath and the Hero who was made for comedy but did all the wrong roles...Randhir Kapoor, Raj Kapoors elder son.You will hill on to your stomach atleast once watching this one
7. Andaz Apna Apna
This one needs no introduction for sure..Raj Kumar Santoshis mega starrer,although wasn't a commercial success post it's release, but remembered for its fresh approach to slap stick and loud humour
8. Aankhein
Govinda and Kader Khan, both in double role..While this was an action movie with great humour, this finds a mention in the list purely because of Govinda outstanding work in some of the scenes in the 1st half
9. Khosla ka Ghosla
Some of the dialogues and One liners from this movie have already become part of common folk lore and lingo...Like Anupam khers advice to his elder son Bunty. ..."Hold the drink"
Aur the Name ChiraunjiLal Khosla"... a cult movie for our test and generation
10. Bheja Fry
Brilliant dialogues and engrossing screenplay, not to forget, the sheer chemistry of the performers....Bheja Fry belongs to Vinay pathak Completely,as the lovable and affable music afficionado, Bharat Bhushan...A sheer masterpiece of a movie.....Shot in one location and between 2 characters mainly, one hell of a laugh riot
The list is not exhaustive and be all...shall keep updating..Till then, keep laughing
Talking about Akshay khanna may sound a bit unusual, but if I have to pick an actor who is most underrated for his talent, it has to be Akshay khanna
He made his debut with the unimpressive Himalayaputra in 1997.The movie didn't exactly set the box office on fire, hence denying khanna junior a quick chance at stardom, something that his illustrious father, Vinod khanna, enjoyed.Infact Vinod khanna was being touted as the next big superstar, a spot left vacant by Rajesh khannas slip into the backdrop..Add to the fact, that amit abhishek bachchan was never the media's darling in his hey days..Hence Vinod Khanna was the poster boy for media as the 2nd superstar, add to the fact that he was a dashing debonair..Probably the most handsome celluloid actor ever to grace Bollywood
Back to Akshay khanna, while the period from mid 90s.The onwards was about action hero's and gymnasium beefed up bodies were the nor of the day, Akshay khanna didn't fit the action hero mould so well...His 1st commercial success came in the form of Subhash ghai directed Taal...Akshay khannas performance earned him many accolades..I personally feel, that the sincerity and honesty required to pot ray the character of Manav, couldn't have been created by any other actor of the time...The scene where he tells his father Amrish Puri and Anil Kapoor, that they will only get his lover to him
"Agar mere dil mein ishwar hai, agar mere pyaar Sachaa hai, to aap khud, Maansi ko mere pass bhejenge" ..
To my mind it's a scene which actually shows Khannas ability to deliver restrained performances,even in scenes which require great melodrama and histrionics
His next big success was "Dil Chahta hai"...where he plays the character of a painter who falls for an older woman..Dil Chahta hai is clearly a landmark performance in Khannas career, one which makes him stand out as a capable performer and a natural performer
He also did a string of comedy movies with Priyadarshan, a lot of which were not commercially successful films, but great entertainers where Akshay khannas work always stood out
Akshay also did a movie called Gandhi My Father, where he played Mahatma Gandhi estranged Son.
This has been Akshays most memorable work till date..
Khanna has also acted in several movies with the director duo Abbas Must an. .His negative role in Race was well appreciated and he played the villain with great elan and aplomb...
One of the most spontaneous, relaxed and natural actors on screen, Akshay Khanna
