25 MUST-SEE BOLLYWOOD MOVIES (Part II)

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BOBBY (1973) . This was the launch vehicle of Raj Kapoor’s son Rishi Kapoor and a 14 year old girl who became a teen-sensation-Dimple Kapadia. One of the sweetest love stories in Hindi cinema ‘Bobby’ is about a school going girl who falls in love with a lonely, rich young boy. It’s the rich-poor formula but the freshness of the lead pair was the clincher for ‘Bobby’. The music of the film was a smash hit with songs like ‘ Hum tum ik kamre mein band ho’ and ‘Jhooth bole’ becoming anthems for the youth. Dimple Kapadia with her short dresses and knotted teeny weeny tops became the darling of the nation. The screen chemistry of the hero and heroine was so amazing that when Dimple made a comeback more than a decade after ‘Bobby’, Rishi Kapoor was signed opposite her. . . . GARAM HAWA (1973) . ’Garam Hawa’ is one of the most sensitively made films on the Indo-Pak partition. It doesn’t have the usual melodrama and Pak bashing. ‘Garam Hawa’ was based on an unpublished story by Ismat Chughtai and adapted for the film by Kaifi Azmi. Director M.S. Sathyu strayed away from the mainstream formula of the 70s to recreate the agonizing past that nobody had dared to touch. The film was about a Muslim family that decides to remain in India post-partition. It explores how partition affects them socially, emotionally and economically. The main protagonist, a middle aged shoe manufacturer in Agra was played by Balraj Sahni, one of the finest actors to have graced the Indian silver screen so far. Ustad Bahadur Khan evocative music helps lift the film even more. The film not only won accolades from the critics but was also lapped up by the common man. It also won the National Award that year. . . . PAKEEZAH (1972) . Kamal Amrohi’s ’Pakeezah’ acquired a legendary status soon after its heroine, the ‘Tragedy Queen’ Meena Kumari passed away. The film has a larger than life feel and is grand is appearance. The story of a courtesan played by Meena Kumari in arguably her best role ever, ‘Pakeezah’ was made by her husband Amrohi and took a long time to make. The film showcases the elegant past of the privileged class of Uttar Pradesh; their refined culture and grandeur yet at the same time their hypocrisy and decadence of the bourgeois society. Ashok Kumar and Raj ‘Jaani’ Kumar play the suitors of Meena Kumari who has a double role in the film. The incredibly lyrical songs or mujras in the film are breathtaking. The costumes and sets are gorgeous. As the film took long years to make due to the differences between the husband –wife team of Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi, Meena looks young and fresh in some scenes and in some painfully haggard and sad. But she covers it all up with her stunning histrionics and dialogue delivery. . . . ANAND (1970) . Rajesh Khanna was the first official superstar of Hindi cinema. He gave a slew of hits in the late 60s and 70s, ’Anand’ being the most important one of them. It was a lighthearted melodramatic tale with deeply tragic undertones. Rajesh Khanna plays Anand, a man suffering from cancer, yet never seen unhappy or crying. Ironically the character is shown to be full of life and laughter. Amitabh Bachchan played his doctor in the film with whom he spends his last days. The film made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee who gave us delightful films like Gol Maal, Chupke Chupke, Mili, Abhimaan and Bawarchi is a true masterpiece. Many dialogues and scenes from the film became popular specially the way Rajesh Khanna said ‘ Babumoshai ’ . Add to all this some beautiful songs and you have a film that stays with you forever. ‘Anand’ won the Filmfare Award in 1972. . . . PADOSAN (1968) . Arguably the best Hindi comedy of all times, the mere mention of ‘Padosan’ makes you guffaw. The two uncrowned ‘Kings of Comedy’, Kishore Kumar and Mehmood are at their best. Add to this an excellent performance by Sunil Dutt as a harebrained young man and you have a super entertainer. Bhola (Sunil Dutt) falls in love with a lovely girl, Bindu (Saira Banu), his ‘padosan’ whom he admires from his window every day. Bindu flirts with her music teacher, Master Pillai (Mehmood). Bhola, with the help of his friends Vidyapathi (Kishore Kumar) and his cronies plans to win her over. Vidyapathi runs an acting school and is a singer as well. He turns into a ‘Dr. Love’ persona for Bhola and Bindu ultimately falls for Bhola. It has some hilarious numbers like ‘ Ik chatur naar karke singaar’ and ‘Mere saamne waali khidki mein’ . Kishore Kumar with paan dripping from the side of his mouth, his hair parted at the center with the edge of his dhoti in one hand and a paan box in the other is an enduring image from the film. His impeccable comic timing and the ability to generate fun even from a simple gesture and a word, is remarkable. One simple “Bhole” uttered by him sends you rolling with laughter. If this wasn’t enough there is Mehmood too as a south Indian music teacher with a choti hanging on his clean-shaven head. The scenes where the two suitors of Bindu are competing against each other are riotous. A true masterpiece! . . . TEESRI MANZIL (1966) . ’Teesri Manzil’ is a suspense thriller peppered with glamorous people, glittering sets and a lot of the swinging 60s style songs. The lead pair of Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh featured in a string of hits and this potboiler was undoubtedly their best film together. Shammi Kapoor as Rocky, a drummer at a nightclub with his Elvis Presley suits, hairdo and rock’n’roll style was a delight to watch. He is such a rock-star that you ignore his sometimes funny (read bad) enactment of a drummer. Asha Parekh with her tight churidars, the classic sixties bouffant, heavily made up eyes and fluttering eye-lashes wooed her fans dancing down the slopes in her sleeveless kurtas. And not to forget Miss Ruby played by none other than the ‘cabaret queen’, Helen who has some of the most memorable dances in the film. The sets were bizarre yet unforgettable. The matchless duo of Asha Bhonsle and RD Burman added punch to the sizzling numbers of Helen. . . . GUIDE (1965) . A true classic based on R.K. Narayan's novel ‘The Guide’, Vijay Anand’s ‘Guide’ starred Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman. The film was pretty bold for its time as it showed a guide and a married woman in love and even living together. Rosie played by Waheeda is a dancer who is forced to get married to a middle aged man. She meets an interesting man, Raju who is a guide by profession. The two fall in love and Raju gives Rosie the life that she always craved for. Things don’t work out between them and in a cheating case Raju lands up in jail. When years later he is released he is mistaken as a holy man. He tells the villagers a story of a holy man who had kept a fast for twelve days to bring rain to a drought-hit village. Unfortunately, a drought hits the village soon after. He keeps the fast and slowly grows week and listless. The rains come on the last day of his fast and while the villagers rejoice he dies quietly. ’Guide’ is a landmark films of Indian cinema, way ahead of its time. Dev Anand gives a remarkable performance, perhaps his best winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor that year. But, its Waheeda who brings life to the film, specially in the first half as a free-spirited young woman who doesn’t mind a live-in relationship. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress that year. Another plus-point of ‘Guide’ was S.D Burman’s music with songs like, “ Piya Tose Naina Lage Re”, ”Aaj Phir Jeene ki Tamanna Hai”, “Din Dhal Jaaye”, “Gaata Rahe Mera Dil”, ““Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hai”, “Kya se Kya Ho Gaya” and “Wahaan Kaun Hai Tera”. . . . SAHEB BIWI AUR GHULAM (1962) . According to some, ‘Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam’ was ghost directed by Guru Dutt. The film was set in late 19th century against a feudal backdrop. Meena Kumari has never looked as sensuous as the Chhoti Bahu in ‘Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam’ with a stray lovelock peeping out of her head covered with a silk saree pallu and falling on her forehead adorned by a big bindi. She plays the respectable bahu from an upper class Bengali household, yet when she starts a slurred “ Na jao saiyaan ”, the contrast is striking. The unshed tears in Meena’s eyes make her worthy of her ‘Tragedy Queen’ title. Undoubtedly, Chhoti Bahu is the most spectacular character in tragedienne Meena Kumari’s career; a role that was uncannily similar to her own life. Chhoti Bahu dares to question the system and tries to reclaim her errant husband. Unlike the other women in the house, she is not submissive instead she wants his adoration and time. When in her desperation she turns to alcohol, one is stunned by her passion and desire to win over her husband. Her most forceful dialogue from the film is when she dares to argue with her husband who equates her to the wives of other landowners, " Hindu ghar ki bahu hokar, kya sharab pee hai kissine?” Meena Kumari, like the miraculous sindoor she yearns for in the film mesmerizes you with her acting skills. The role of Jaba was played by Waheeda Rehman and of Bhootnath by Guru Dutt himself. The film remains with you forever simply because of the splendid performance of Meena Kumari. . . . MUGHAL-E-AZAM (1960) . ’Mughal-e-Azam’, a historical, had the grandeur of a Mughal court and a heady defiant note. Each and every scene in the film is a masterpiece moving in front of your eyes. The film took almost fifteen years in the making and cost Rs 1.5 crores in those days. The cast had the superstars of that time including Dilip Kumar, Madhubala and Prithviraj Kapoor. People from all over the country were brought to Bombay to work on the elaborate costumes, props. and sets. It had a grand premiere held simultaneously in 150 theatres all over the country. The filmmaker K. Asif left no stone unturned to make sure that his film becomes a part of the cinematic folklore. Its a classic tale of rebellious love.