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The Dancing Dev Anand

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In the 40s and 50s,  the Hindi film hero seldom danced.  On the rare occasion that he did, like Raj Kapoor in ‘Mud mud ke na dekh’ or in ‘Dil ka haal suney dilwaala’ in Shree 420,  Dilip Kumar in Naya Daur.  Dev Anand though not a good dancer tried dancing in many songs.  He  relied solely on his facial expressions and the inimitable way in which he moved his head to enact most of these songs.   The first time we can see him dancing a few steps in the song  ‘Mere Labon Pe Dekho Aaj Bhi Taraaney Hain’ (Baazi), ‘Chaahey koi Khush Ho Chaahey Gaaliyaan Hazaar De’ (Taxi Driver) or ‘Oonche Sur Mein Gaaye Ja’ (House No.44),  Ladhi Aankh Se Aankh - Pocket Maar(1956),  Ae Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa from Funtoosh(1956) in most of the films he danced in his own style. In the early 60s, Dev Anand was seen in many films, singing, and dancing such as Sarhad. Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Love Marriage were a few of these.  H e had some surprisingly awk...

Noorjehan- The First Female Singing Superstar of Hindi Films

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  Noorjehan (   21 September 1926 – 23 December 2000   ),    was renowned as one of the greatest and most influential singers of all time, especially throughout South Asia.  .   American   Queen of Pop   Madonna  once   said that "I can copy every singer but not Noor Jehan". She  made her debut as a heroine in Khandan (1942) opposite Pran as the hero.  The songs of Khandan (1942) composed by Ghulam Haider became instant hits and established her as the leading singer of films in India. Its success saw her immigrating to Bombay. At that time Shanta Apte was ruling the Hindi Films  as a singing heroine. Noorjehan got her first film in Mumbai as the second lead to Sharda Apte in the 1943 film Duhai,  where she shared melodies with the singing star Shanta Apte. She had 2 solos in that film.  After that, she gave 3 hits in a row.  She became the darling of the masses .  In 1945, she became the first Asia...

The Rare & Popular Songs of Talat Mahmood

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                                                              Part 1   Talat Mahmood began his singing career at the age of 16 in 1939, when he began singing the  Ghazal s of Daag, Mir, Jigar etc. on  All India Radio , Lucknow. His voice had a quality distinct from all the other singers.  HMV  was quick to notice this and offered Talat his first disc in 1941  Sab din ek samaan nahin tha, Bun jaoon ga kya se kya main, Iska to kuch dhyan nahin tha.  His reputation as a  ghazal  singer was not limited to his hometown of Lucknow, but it reached the city that proved to shape his destiny – Calcutta. He acted in 3 Bengali films before coming to Bombay in 1949.  His big break came with the song  Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho  composed by music director  Anil Bi...

Qawwali Songs were once an Important Ingrediant for the Success of a Film

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  Qawwali   is a form of  Sufi  Islamic  devotional singing   Originally performed at Sufi shrines or  dargahs  throughout South Asia, It became popular among the masses when these were introduced in films. Qawwali has apparently found in films since it became Talking. The earliest evidence was a Qawwali 'Allah Hu ' in the 1935 film Talash-e-Haque. Another very popular Qawwali was ' Aahen Na Bhari' from the 1945 movie 'Zeenat' sung by Noor Jehan. Phir Aah Dil Se Nikli Tapka Lahu Jigar Se composed by Naushad and sung again by Zohrabai Ambalewalli in Mela (1949) also became a craze. During the Golden Era, Qwawali was in its peek, almost every film used to have at least one Qwwali, The success of the qawwali ' Hame to Loot Liya Milke Husn Walon Ne' from the 1958 film Al Hilal sung by the professional  Azad Qawwal, opened the gate for other Qawwals like Shakeela Bano Bhopali, , Jaani B Qawwal   Ismail abu Qawwal,  Aziz Nazan,  Nus...

50 Years of Mere Apne - Simple but Impactful,

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  The first film of Gulzar as a director.  This movie covers the topic of unemployment, anger, the rivalry between two groups, social problems, still relevant after 50 years.  A remake of the 1968 Bengali Movie 'Apanjan'.  Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha, both were new at that time, in fact, it was the first film of Vinod Khanna as a hero, it was also the first film of Danny  The story revolves around an old lady (Meena Kumari) who is trying to make peace between two gangs. Vinod Khanna is the leader of one gang, but a very kindhearted person. The flashback story of his and his lost love Yogita Bali was the best thing in the whole movie, that turns his life upside down. Shatrughan Sinha is the leader of another gang. The movie shows lots of street wars between these gangs. Meena Kumari cares for all of them, and teaches them to stop fighting, The character of Shyam and Chhenu so well played that you will remember after so many years. A great movie and on par w...