45 Years of Anand

 

On March 5, 1971 Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand hit the screens. The movie starred Rajesh Khanna who was the reigning superstar of Bollywood. Along with him starred a scrawny young actor Amitabh Bachchan. This was his third acting job. Little did anyone know that Anand would be a life changing movie for not just Amitabh Bachchan but would also be a landmark event for Bollywood.

 

Anand went on to become a huge hit thanks to the wonderful writing, memorable performances by the lead actors and of course the soul stirring lyrics of Gulzar and Yogesh set to music by Salil Chowdhury. Anand won the National Award for the best Hindi movie. It also won the Filmfare awards for best film, editing and story (Hrishikesh Mukherjee), lead actor (Rajesh Khanna), supporting actor (Amitabh Bachchan), dialogues (Gulzar). 

 

Interesting facts about Anand

 

The opening credits of the movie dedicates the movie to the city of Bombay and Raj Kapoor. 

 

Hrishida lost the best director Filmfare award to Raj Kapoor who got it for Mera Naam Joker.

 

The movie was originally planned with Mehmood and Kishore Kumar. Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were also offered the lead role of Anand.

 

Babumoshai is the first name that comes to mind when Anand is mentioned. In real life Raj Kapoor used to call Hrishikesh Mukherjee Babumoshai.

 

Before Salil Chowdhury, Hrishikesh Mukherjee approached Lata Mangeshkar to compose music. But Didi politely refused and said that she was happy being a singer.

 

Kishore Kumar was the musical voice of Rajesh Khanna post Aradhana but for this movie Salil da insisted that Mukesh sing for him the song ‘Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye’, Rajesh Khanna considered this his favourite song. Mukesh also sang ‘Maine Tere Liye Hi Saat Rang Ke Sapne Chune’.

 

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My favourite song from the movie is ‘Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli’ sung by Manna Dey. Yogesh penned the lyrics.

Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haaye Kabhi ye hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaye

 

Kabhi dekho nahi jaage, peeche peeche sapnon ke bhaage
Ek din sapnon ka raahi, chala jaaye sapnon ke aage kahaan 

 

Jinhon ne sajaaye yahan mele, sukh dukh sang sang jhele
Wahi chunkar khamoshi, yun chale jaaye akele kahaan

Lost My Heart on the sets of Dilwale!

t was an exciting day when I packed my bags to travel from Chennai to Hyderabad, my first ever trip to the Charminar city. But my destination was not the city of the Nizam, but the dream destination for movie shooting, Ramoji Film CIty. And I was there to meet the one and only King Khan!

DDLJ to Dilwale

After the super success of Chennai Express, Rohit Shetty and Shah Rukh Khan join hands once again for Dilwale. This Red Chillies production also brings together on screen the amazing on screen pair of SRK and Kajol. What coincidence that the day I met the lovable duo -October 20th, 2015 - also marked the day when 20 years ago the history making blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge hit the screens.

It was a long wait before I came face to face with the Dilwale team. Of course I was not the only one waiting, there were many more like me, media persons from TV, print, web... each one of us eagerly awaiting the moment to talk to SRK. And finally when it did arrive, it was nothing short of spectacular. First we were treated to some amazing footage from the movie followed by an informal and fruitful interaction with Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.

Before I share some of the interesting bites from the interaction, here is a sneak peek into the movie:

1. Dilwale showcases some amazing locations. Rohit Shetty for the first time moves out of India namely Bulgaria and Iceland. Of course his favourite location, Goa takes centre stage as always.

A cute pair

2. Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon make a cute couple. The SRK-Kajol chemistry rules, but the young stars definitely add to the charm of the movie.

3. The action in the movie is top-notch. It is a Rohit Shetty movie, so you have your share of cars and chases, but I must say with Dilwale every single element is bigger and better than seen before.

So what did the four actors talk about?

"I do not like that Kajol does so few movies. I miss working with her." - Shah Rukh Khan

"Every time I saw Shahrukh sir and Kajol ma'am, it was a learning experience. I am honoured to be a part of this movie." - Varun Dhawan

"Shah Rukh and I go a long way back. And it was his persistence and the chance to do something out of my comfort zone that forced me to do Dilwale." - Kajol

"I am inspired by the amount of energy that Varun has. It was comfortable working with him and it shows on screen as well." - Kriti Sanon.

It was a day that I did not want to end. But like all good things, it was time to return to Chennai. On my way back, i reminisced about the time spent on the sets, the courteousness and patience of SRK, the Red Chillies PR team which was an amazing host and of course the entire cast and crew of Dilwale who made it a memorable experience.

Eagerly looking forward to the trailer of Dilwale and for the release of the movie on December 18, 2015.

Another blockbuster in the making

Poetic Doodles

Khamoshi mein bhi aahat hai, Doori mein bhi chahat hai
Aapka aana mere humdum, Waqt se pehle kayamat hai

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Jis kisi naam se pukaro, Maa toh maa hoti hai
Aankhon mein khuda ka aks, Hothon pe dua hoti hai

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Hothon pe shikayat hai mere, Dil mein dard chupa rakha hai
Is tarah jaane se tumhare, Aankhon mein intezaar ki barkha hai

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Khuda ko hum dhoonte hain, Eent paththar ke makan mein
Khuda ka ehsaas toh basa hai, Har dhadaknewale dil mein

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Zindagi ke bhag daud mein, Rukkar socho yeh kabhi
Hum logon ke saath hain, Phir kyon hain hum ajnabi

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Tinke tinke se bana gharonda, Hawa ke ek jhonke se na toota
Lamhe lamhe se bana rishta, Ek choti si baat pe kyon choota

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