Cinema: The Magic Lantern!!

Punjab is a land of great gurus, sages, seers and peers. When we talk about art and culture, an angel of music Mohammed Rafi was born in a small village Kotla Sultan Singh of Amritsar. The singer of the millennium, Rafi with rich tonal voice, versatility and crystal clear intonations rendered thousands of unique heart-warming songs varied from fast peppy numbers to classical songs, lamenting melodies to highly romantic songs, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans to patriotic songs. He had poignantly brought in emotions in his renderings with his exquisite melodious and mellifluous voice for over seven decades . Goddess Saraswati’s abode was in his sublime divine voice. In  Baiju Bawra,  he demonstrated his virtuosity and range and in ‘ Pyasa’,  the evocative power he could bring to the lyrics. Though he did make a partial transition to a more youthful and playful style as in  Junglee,  he was too closely wedded to the classical tradition to wander too far from ...

8th Remembrance Day (18 July, 2020) The lovable and charismatic Rajesh Khanna explored a wide range of characters but his enduring identity is of a great romantic hero. He effectively conveyed the fragility of emotions with his expressions, body language and tonal variations. Rajesh Khanna was to Hindi films what the Beatles were to British pop music. He had very unique mannerisms: the tilt of head, winking of eyes at the most appropriate moment, a trademark gesture of hand, an appealing hairstyle and soft dialogue delivery. No wonder he was the original ‘King of Romance’. He was a soft, uncannily romantic hero at a time of Dharmendra-like masculinity. He was a male love object and that men wanted to be as ‘lucky and enviable’ as he was and that ‘women imagined landing him.’ His magnetism was so mesmerizing that the stories of girls having married his photographs by slashing their wrists and applying the blood as Sindoor, kept him under the spotlight. He knew how to squeeze those...

Rajendra Kumar had penchant for onscreen tragedy, without his handy bottle of glycerin. He was known to indulge in heavy melodrama and wept buckets of tears playing the ever-sacrificing hero. His ability to charm women in musical romances with his bashful smile invariably reached his lovelorn eyes. His gestural style of acting flailing his arms became a signature, as did his quivering lips and emotion-laden voice. His acumen in spotting winning films had been vindicated time and again. Golden streaks rarely come more lustrous Rajendra had an incredible six consecutive hits with not a single flop: Mere Mehboob (1963), Zindagi, Sangam and Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), Arzoo (1965) and Suraj (1966). With his knack of choosing the right kind of projects, he delivered volley of non-stop hits. C ourtesy his Midas touch, he was crowned with a hat tip “Jubilee Kumar”. The producers wanted a tragedian in the Dilip Kumar mould at an affordable price and...

The baby-faced, twinkly-eyed bon vivant Rishi ushered in a new era of romance in Hindi Cinema. He had all the passion of a Shakespearean hero with a generous dollop of innocence. The cute scion of the biggest dynasty of Indian Cinema, Rishi forged his own path, building an illustrious career with oeuvre of 150 odd films and creating his own legacy. He was a versatile performer with vast acting range and skill. His films often had impassioned declaration of love, innocence, humour and serenading the loveliest of ladies to the strains of some of the most enduring songs. He was mischievous, rebellious, and passionate who could feel without being maudlin. His effervescence and flamboyance instantly set him apart from his contemporaries. From his hysteria-inducing debut in ‘Bobby’ to his turn as the principled patriarch in Mulk, he gave hits on his own and maintained his fan following. He was the Dorian Gray of Indian cinema, an ageless, immortal icon of youth stunning good-looks and e...

The cultural icon, Nargis Dutt with her charismatic style, poise and cheerful screen presence is known for enacting a variety of roles ranging from shy coquette to westernized woman. In all her stellar roles, she reinvented herself as a woman who could be desired and deified. The moment she lifted her ghoonghat, she blazed the silver screen with her portrayal of strong women protagonists. ‘ Mother India’ (1958) is proof of Nargis’s unmatched ability to summon up inner reserves of inspiration and propel herself to new levels of excellence. She brought naturalness, authenticity and a degree of self-assurance to every role that she embodied on the silver screen. The brilliance of Nargis's screen image lay in that it oscillated between the simple and the chic with equal ease. Not a ‘Tragedy Queen’ like Meena Kumari nor as beautiful as Madhubala, she had no dancing prowess like Vyjayantimala or the delicacy of Nimmi but still she was exquisite and incomparable. She was the nimble an...