In the history of Indian cinema there are a few milestones which paved the path and future of our Cinema. Some of these moments have been forgotten over time but others still shine bright. Here is a list of the most iconic milestones to treasure in our memory and pay respect to:

First Indian Short Film (1899) - "The Wrestlers" was the first ever motion picture made in India by Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar AKA Save Dada. Save Dada was among the first Indians to witness the movie pioneer Lumiere Brothers unveiling of a new mode of entertainment and communication on their global tour in Bombay with their first motion picture “La Sortie des ouvriers de l'usine Lumière” (“Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory”). After experiencing this new art form he decided to buy a movie camera and projector and started making short films in India. He is considered India’s first documentary film maker as he started shooting scenes from daily life and important events.

India’s First Full Length Film (1903) - "Ali Baba and Forty Thieves" is considered India’s first ever full length movie of a stage play recorded by Hiralal Sen. Hiralal saw a stage show captured on.film called “The Flower of Persia” in Calcutta and decided to make his own movies. He founded the Royal Bioscope and made more than 40 short films over the next decade. He lost most of his money over the years leading to the eventual closure of Royal Bioscope and unfortunately all his films were lost in a fire in 1917 before his untimely death. Hiralal is also considered India’s first advertising film maker.

India’s First “Feature Film” (1912) - "Shree Pundalik" is in fact the first 22 min feature film shot based on a script and released in India by Dadasaheb Torne. Since it was shot by British cinematographers, processed in London and is considered a recording of a play, it is not recognized as India’s first film by the Government of India despite being released a year before Raja Harishchandra.

First Authentic Indian Film (1913) - "Raja Harishchandra" is the movie we all know as India’s first film. It may have not been the actual “First” Indian film but it is definitely the first truly authentic Indian film made and processed completely locally. The Father of India Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke got inspired by the film “The life of Christ” in 1911 and travelled to London to learn about film making. On his return he founded the Phalke Films company, imported the required equipment to shoot

51 years ago today on Jan 14th, a movie was released which shocked and changed Bollywood in many ways. The high of psychedelic hippy music and culture invaded India through this movie about conservative values, bathing in the youthful sounds of Pancham and colorful Images of the evergreen Dev Anand. Dev was trying to reinvent himself as an actor-director however unlike his very successful director brothers, his first attempt at direction "Prem Pujari" was met with dismal results at the box office. This second directorial venture was going to be make or break for his survival in the industry as a director.

In his new reincarnation Dev Anand changed everything that worked for him in the previous decades. He cast Mumtaz instead of his usual leading ladies from the 50s and 60s. He also introduced Miss India Asia Pacific, Zeenat Aman to the movie industry in the role of his sister in the movie. The biggest change happened when his guru in music S.D. Burman refused to compose the music for the movie due to its western hippie culture influence. Dada Burman's son "Pancham" would step in and infuse his dynamic music to create a masterpiece which would give Dev Anand his biggest hit as a director as Pancham touched new heights with the music.

Dev also introduced a singer he saw in a club in Chennai named Usha Iyer AKA the legendary Usha Uthup in HRHK. Usha was originally supposed to sing the iconic “Dum Maro Dum” which was too catchy a song for Asha Bhosle to pass. Usha ended up singing in the background of “Dum Maro Dum” and voiced “I Love You” which is an English version of “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” introducing Bollywood to her exceptional distinctive vocals as she pairs up with Asha Bhosle’s contrasting vocals. Dev emerged an established hit director with an eye for new talent, Zeenat became the first of many beautiful discoveries from the romantic Anand.

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Guru Dutt was one of the greatest icons of Indian cinema, a man ahead of his time and the creator of ageless masterpieces, who contributed to the golden age of Bollywood. Though he has made less than 50 films in his entire career, Dutt left a deep impact on the Indian film industry. Two of his works Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool were included in Time magazine’s ‘All Time 100 best movies.’

Check out this Dev Anand Interview on Guru Dutt from 2011

Dev Anand | 31 May, 2011

In 1946, I was on the payroll of Prabhat Film Company and was playing the lead in my first film, Hum Ek Hain. One day, as I was walking out of the studio, I saw a young man of about my age entering, and we exchanged polite hellos. “Are you doing the main role in the picture?” he asked, and I replied, “Yes.” He offered me his hand. “Well, my name is Guru Dutt and I’m an assistant director. Great to meet you. I hope to see you here more often,” he said. He gave me a beautiful smile and started to leave. A few seconds later, he turned and stared at my shirt. I looked at his. I realised he was wearing my shirt and I was wearing his. Obviously, the washerman had interchanged them. We had a hearty laugh and embraced each other. We were to be friends for all times.

That was how I first met Guru. We promised each other that the day I became a producer, I’d take him on as a director, and the day he directed a film, he’d cast me as a hero. And I’m not a promise breaker. I did launch Guru as a director in Navketan’s Baazi in 1951. He even appears in the beginning of the film.

Nobody’s ever known Guru better than me. He would travel by buses and trains to pick me up from my home in Pali Hill and take me to his place in Matunga. His mother would take us into her kitchen, make chapattis and serve us food. Often, he’d bring his camera with him and photograph me in Pali Hill, at a gold club that doesn’t exist anymore. Guru was fond of taking pictures, of making pictures. He was hardworking and intelligent. Later, I discovered he was also fond of acting. But I don’t think he was a great actor. He was a better director. He used to waste a lot of footage.

We had different personalities, but connected in many ways. He suffered from melancholia. He was a good man, a good thinker, but a back bencher. He never wanted to be part of a crowd. He was shy, but good at his work. However, he couldn’t take failure. Look, everybody meets with success, but you also face failure. Not every film is a m

(By Sukanya Verma | September 28, 2017)

Every time she breathes, she makes music and the applause follows.

For more than half a century, the beautiful, lilting, hearty quality of Lata Mangeshkar's singing has regaled changing generations of listeners. The fact that it's not merely tough but impossible for anybody to name just one favourite song of hers says a lot about her stature.

In her incredibly long and flourishing career as India's most treasured songstress, she's voiced a myriad of emotions. On her 86th birthday today, we celebrate the legend's 25 distinctly different moods.

Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya - Mughal-E-Azam

• Mood: Defiant

• Music: Naushad

K Asif's grand epic achieves its most memorable high in Madhubala's spellbinding performance around the glittery Sheesh Mahal-inspired sets and Latatai's rebellious assertions that would go on to resonate powerfully among aspiring romantics.

Aaj Kal Paon - Ghar

• Mood: Dreamy

• Music: Rahul Dev Burman

Would Rekha's starry-eyed state have the same impact in the absence of Lata Mangeshkar's measured, mellifluous rendition of Gulzar's fond words? Negative.

Piya Bina - Abhimaan

• Mood: Heartbroken

• Music: Sachin Dev Burman

She's sung a lot of despondent ditties but her deep understanding of Jaya Bachchan's character - of a wife hurting over hubby's disgruntled behaviour while keeping her emotions in check as a professional playback singer in Abhimaan - contributes significantly to Piya bina's simplicity and sorrow.

Naam Ghum Jayega - Kinara

• Mood: Philosophical

• Music: R D Burman

Meri awaaz hi pehchaan hai...perfect lines, perfect melody, perfect Lata Mangeshkar.

Aa Jaane Jaan - Inteqam

• Mood: Seductive

• Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Proving sexy songs aren't just younger sister Asha Bhosle's forte, Lata Mangeshkar turns the heat on and how for the smouldering Helen cabaret.

Allah Tero Naam - Hum Dono

• Mood: Devotional

• Music: Jaidev

The songbird offers the ultimate prayer for humanity with characteristic grace and sensitivity for this Hum Dono gem.

Mose Chhal Kiye Jaaye - Guide

• Mood: Angry

• Music: S D Burman

While a luminous Waheeda Rehman expresses disgust for her beau on screen, Lata Mangeshkar injects soul to her injury off it in the refined melodies of Guide.

Vande Mataram, Anand Math

• Mood: Patriotic

• Music: Hemant Kumar

Her passionate chants of Vande Mataram continue to evoke instant nationalist fervour even after six decade

"Pushpa, I hate tears” is enough to paint the picture of this timeless classic. Rajesh Khanna’s melancholic and drunk character delivering this line to a crying yet beautiful Sharmila Tagore along with R.D. Burman’s haunting melody and Kishore Kumar's soul touching vocals fill this image with such pathos, desire and love rarely felt in a movie. Shakti Samanta’s hat trick of superhits of Aradhana, Kati Patang and Amar Prem made Kaka an Icon. His unparalleled and unbeaten 17 consecutive movie hit spree in 3 years at the Box office made him “The superstar". Shakti Samanta’s Aradhana started the 17 movie hit spree which ended with the box office disappointment of “Badnaam Farishte”. “Amar Prem” was the movie which marked his return to the top and continue his reign as Bollywood’s superstar till the angry young man eventually dethroned him in the mid 70s. Surprisingly Kaka wasn’t the movie’s lead as he played second fiddle to the movie’s main character of Pushpa played flawlessly by Sharmila Tagore.

Amar Prem (1972)
Directed by Shakti Samanta
Produced by Shakti Samanta
Starring - Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, Om Prakash, Madan Puri and Vinod Mehra
Written by Arabinda Mukhopadhyay based on Hinger Kochuri by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay
Music by R.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - INR 0.8 Crore/INR 3 Crore (INR 350 Crore adjusted for inflation)
Awards - 6 Filmfare Award Nominations with 2 awards for Screenplay and Sound
IMDB Rating - 8.2/10 
RT Rating - 81% 
My Rating - 10/10

This is a movie that has everything, a brilliant storyline, great acting, superb direction, memorable dialogues and the finest lyrics and songs ever recorded. The movie was based on a novel called Hinger Kochuri by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay whose first novel which is often considered an autobiography by many was none other than “Pather Panchali”. "Pather Panchali" was the story that introduced the world to Satyajit Ray and his beloved character of Apu and created cinematic history putting Indian cinema on the world map. Hinger Kochuri was his story about relationships which have no name and was brought to the silver screen by Arabinda Mukhopadhyay who wrote and directed the hit Bengali movie “Nishi Padma”. Shakti Samanta was so impressed with the movie that he asked Arabinda to write a script for a Hindi adaptation of the story. Since Arabinda wasn’t fluent in Hindi, he wrote the script in English and Shakti Samanta

His name unspools vignettes of tenderly written numbers like Chingari koi bhadke (Amar Prem), Saawan ka mahina (Milan), Bindiya chamkegi (Do Raaste), Main shayar to nahin (Bobby), Woh kya hai (Anuraag), Khilona jaan kar (Khilona), Teri pehli nazar ko salaam (Ek Duje ke liye) and more recently Tujhe dekha toh (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge), Le gayi, le gayi (Dil To Pagal Hai), Taal se taal mila (Taal), in your mind. And like the Everready batteries, he’s still charged. And raring to go. Long after the others have fallen by the wayside.

With over 4000 songs under his belt, 38 Filmfare nominations, four Filmfare Awards in a career spanning 45 years, his is no mean achievement. At 70, Anand Bakshi’s certainly the most prolific lyricist of our times.

It all began in Rawalpindi during pre-partition. Cinema was still a nascent medium. Anand Bakshi reminisces, “There were times when I would sell my books in order to buy a movie ticket. My parents would scold me. But that never stopped me. I dreamt of coming to Bombay and doing something in films. Though I wasn’t clear what.” His natural talent for music made him popular among his friends. He’d entertain them by singing film, Punjabi folk songs and ghazals. But contrary to his literary image, Anand Bakshi studied only upto the eighth standard. “The situation were such that I had to drop out,” he recalls. “I have no formal training in writing songs.”

After serving the army for 2-3 years, Bakshi chucked it all up to come to Bombay in 1952. After three years of fruitless struggle, a depressed Bakshi returned to his old job: the army. “But I was restless,” says Anand Bakshi. “So after three years, I came back to Bombay once again. By then I’d married and had a daughter. My wife and my parents thought I was simply wasting my time. They told me to stop dreaming and to concentrate on my job. But I was adamant.”

In Bombay, Bakshi once again began his struggle, meeting people, hopping from one studio to another. To make matters worse his money was over in about three months. ” I was at the end of my tether,” he grins today. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought I should return home. But I was embarrassed to do so. What would my family say?”

Soon his struggle bore fruit. Bakshi heard that Bhagawan Dada was launching a film, Bhala Aadmi. “I went to his office at Dadar,” Bakshi flashbacks. “I told him I was a song writer. Right away he told me to write four songs. I was paid Rs 150 for those songs. It was a whoppi

(Published: May 2013)

One of the biggest successes of 2013 was Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani, a fantastically crafted thriller which told the story of a heroine (played by Vidya Balan) navigating through the murkiest, most shadowy bits of Kolkata - a city that refused to pronounce her name right.

Ghosh, who got his story spot on, tells Raja Sen about the 10 Hindi film plots he absolutely loves.

Khamosh

• Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

• Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Amol Palekar, Shabana Azmi, Pankaj Kapoor

Khamosh is my favourite, favourite, favourite, favourite, favourite, favourite thriller.

My basic yardstick for how much I like a movie is how engrossed I am in the film. The film kept me engrossed and kept me thinking. And I thought Khamosh being (set) within a film set was a unique way of presenting a detective story. And the tricks being employed to evade the police, in order to get away from the cops, to confuse them. That was pretty cool.

One of my life's ambitions became to get a dog to chase me so I could run an '8' around trees and confuse it.

Achanak

• Director: Gulzar

• Cast: Vinod Khanna, Lily Chakravarty, Farida Jalal, Asrani

I thought that was a pretty clever movie. A nice thriller with emotion attached to it. That's what you don't get in thrillers. It was nice and emotional.

Somewhere, the character was sad about killing his wife. There was something very sentimental. And it was a very engrossing film. It taught me something new.

The best thing about Achanak was it was a small movie, length-wise. A mean, packaged film.

Jewel Thief

• Director: Vijay Anand

• Cast: Dev Anand, Vyjayanthimala, Ashok Kumar, Tanuja

Jewel Thief is the father of us all. That is the baap for movies like Kahaani. When we write, that is the reference, that one day we will be Jewel Thief.

Ittefaq

• Director: Yash Chopra

• Cast: Rajesh Khanna, Nanda

One very short film that I really like is Yash Chopra's Ittefaq. I hadn't seen anything like that, and it was very unlike a Hindi film. Set in one night. It was very good.

Trishul

• Director: Yash Chopra

• Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Raakhee

It was one of those rare movies when we saw a son and a father, but in a different relationship, a totally different space.

Aakhri Raasta

• Director: K Bhagyaraj

• Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Jayaprada

It was a uniquely plotted revenge drama. It was very interesting. We didn't see it com

Chandramukhi’s role in Bimal Roy’s Devdas (1955) was rejected by Nargis, Bina Rai and Suraiya. Vyjayanthimala, who finally did the role refused to accept Filmfare’s Best Supporting Actress Award for Devdas, stating that her role was as important as Paro’s. Years later, Reena Roy too, rejected Filmfare’s Best Supporting Actress trophy for Apnapan (1978), citing that her role was leading and not supporting.

Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen (1953) remains a landmark film that has influenced several films including Lagaan (2001). One can find echoes of “Hariyala sawan shol bajata aaya…” from Do Bigha Zameen in “Ghanan ghanan ghir aayee…” from Lagaan.

Raj Kapoor’s Shree 420 (1955) was a tremendous hit in India and overseas, especially in Russia, Egypt, Middle-East etc. “Ichak dana…” and “Mera joota hai japani…" were rewritten in the languages of various countries and sung as local songs.

V. Shantaram’s Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) was inspired by the story of an ‘Open Prison’ experiment in Satara. The film portrays a young jail warden, Adinath, who rehabilitates six deadly prisoners released on parole into persons of virtue. During the shooting of the film, V. Shantaram battled with a bull and hurt his eyes and affected his vision. During the period of temporary blindness, he visualized some unseen colours of life which resulted into the making of his colourful Navrang (1959).

Dilip Kumar initially refused to be part of Naya Daur (1957) but then, his friend Ashok Kumar, who heard and loved the story, convinced him to accept it. Madhubala was the female lead in this movie but when B.R. Chopra decided to shoot the movie in Bhopal, Madhubala’s father, Ataullah Khan, refused to let her go citing personal reasons. Finally, Madhubala had to be replaced with Vyjayantimala who entered a new phase of her career with the super hit – Naya Daur.

Guru Dutt wanted Dilip Kumar to play the leading role in Pyaasa (1957). The Tragedy King declined because he thought this role was similar to his Devdas (1955). So, Guru Dutt himself decided to play the role. Similarly, Madhubala and Nargis were his first choices for the leading ladies, which were eventually played by Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman. Pyaasa went on to become a cult film in the history of Indian cinema.

Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), was the colour remake of his own Aurat (1940) which featured his wife Sardar Akhtar. Aurat was inspired from Pearl S. Buck’s novel “The Mother”. Nargis got the role of her lifetime

Gangs of Wasseypur is the movie that changed the landscape of Indian movies in the 21st century in more ways than imaginable. It took the level of realism in cinema to a whole new level, introduced a new generation of actors, made eccentric storytelling commercially acceptable and made colorful language a norm. It has been callled India’s own “Godfather” and is listed as one of the most influential movies of world cinema of the 21st century,

Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) 
Directed by Anurag Kashyap
Produced by Anurag Kashyap, Atul Shukla and Deepak Bohra
Starring - Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Richa Sharma, Huma Qureshi, Pankaj Tripathi, Reema Sen, Piyush Mishra, Rajkummar Rao and Tigmanshu Dhulia
Written by Zeishan Quadri and Anurag Kashyap
Music by Sneha Khanwalkar
Budget/Box Office - Rs 35 Crore/Rs 154 Crore
Awards - National Award Special Jury Award and Critics Filmfare Award for Best Film, Actress and Dialogue (4 Awards) and Cannes Film Festival Screening
IMDB Rating - 8.2/10 
RT Rating - 97%
My Rating - 10/10

“Gangs of Wasseypur” was based on multiple true stories which Zeishan Quardri shared with Anurag Kashyap regarding the gang wars surrounding the coal mafia of Dhanbad. Intrigued by these real stories, they would collaborate to author the story for GOW. Kashyap almost lost the script of the movie when it got misplaced with his bag during air travel and was luckily found after a 2 day search. The movie was shot as a single 5 hr and 21 minute epic story and became the first commercial Indian movie to be screened at Cannes Film Festival during the director’s fortnight segment. No Indian movie theater was ready to play the 5 hr 21 min epic so in an unusual move, Anurag Kashyap would release the movie in 2 parts separately with a gap of 2 months. The movie surprisingly earned more than 150 crore and became recognized as a piece of art, worthy to be listed with masterpieces like Godfather, Good Fellas and Once upon a time in America.

Anurag Kashyap was on no talking terms with Manoj Bajpai for a few years but he could only see Bajpai in the lead role of the movie. So he would set aside his pride and call Bajpai, who would immediately leap at the opportunity to mend their relationship and star in one of the best movies of his career. This movie would be the face that launched a thousand ships of bright careers in Bollywood of the 21st century. What would the 2010s landscape o

Kishore Kumar, after Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi and Talat Mahmood was among the last singers to leave a lasting impression on the minds of his listeners. His sudden death on October 13, 1987, created a void that hasn't been filled ever since.

Kishore's acting, however popular, will always be dwarfed by his versatility as a singer. He could sing a frivolous composition (Main hoon jhoom jhoom jhoom jhoom jhumroo in Jhumroo), a romantic song (Meri neendon mein tum in Naya Andaz) or a doleful number (Dukhi man mere, sun mera kehna from Funtoosh) with equal ease.

It is unfortunate that his versatility and the comic roles he essayed were exploited by music directors in frivolous numbers such as Ek ladki bhigi bhaagi si in Chalti ka Naam Gaadi, Mere saamne wali khidki mein, ek chand ka tukda ehta hai in Padosan or in Nakhrewali (New Delhi).

It is this image of a fun guy and yodeller that overshadowed the more real and relevant side of Kishore Kumar.

As an ardent devotee of the legendary singer, K L Saigal, he preferred the profound and the sentimental to the light and frothy numbers he was saddled with, proof of the pudding being songs like Panthi hoon main (Door ka Rahi) and Jeevan se bhari teri aankhen (Safar).

But a singer is just a tool in the hands of the composer and cannot pick and choose to satiate his inner urges. So his ability to emote musically was rarely exploited, especially in the last 10 years of his life.

When he died, it almost appeared as if he had lost a reason to live, more so as a singer.

The last memorable song he got to sing was a pathos-ridden Mere naina saawan bhadon (Mehbooba) in Raag Shivranjani. That was in 1975, about 12 years before he passed into the ages.

Small Beginnings

Kishore Kumar Ganguly, a Bengali, grew up in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. He had no formal training in music but was blessed with a melodious voice and a keen ear. Even as a boy, he was enamoured of Saigal's style of singing. Like Saigal, he too had natural instinct and talent on his side.

Being 18 years younger than the star of the yesteryear, Ashok Kumar, Kishore was no stranger to filmdom. He used to frequent the Bombay Talkies Studio and, at times, joined the chorus under music director Saraswati Devi.

Kishore was barely 19 when he was initiated into playback singing by composer Khemchand Prakash, his first song being the melancholy Marne ki duaen kyon maangu in Ziddi, which starred Dev Anand. One could not help but feel the influ

Jatin-Lalit’s music in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge plays an important role in making the movie as popular as it has become.

Lalit Pandit shares some little known facts about the making of this memorable music with Subhash K Jha.

Your songs in DDLJ are fresh and hummed by a generation that wasn’t even born when the film was first released in 1995.

It’s I and my brother Jatin’s good fortune to be part of this milestone of a movie.

Imagine, 1000 weeks! Nowadays, no film even celebrates a silver jubilee. We used to see plenty of those during the days when our sister Sulakshna Pandit was a leading lady.

How did you bag such a prestigious project?

No one knows this, but Asha Didi (Bhosle) was instrumental in getting us this assignment.

My brother and I had gone to meet her when R D Burman passed away. She asked if we had worked with Yashji (Chopra). We said we had met him and were keen to work with him. She dialled and spoke to Yashji then and there.

Asha Bhosle sang one song, 'Zarasa Jhoom Loon Main' in DDLJ.

Yes, we had to get her for that song. Yashji wanted Lata Mangeshkar for all the female vocals and we were very happy with that. But considering Ashaji’s role in getting us this project, we wouldn’t have been able to show her our face if she hadn’t sung at least one song in DDLJ.

This was the last song to be recorded and it was to be sung by Lataji. We had to be very clever with Yashji to convince him that Ashaji could do justice to 'Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main'.

Did you feel guilty when she came for the recording?

When she arrived she walked up to us and said, ‘Kyun? Sab gaane kar liye?’

We didn’t know where to look.

She sang 'Zara Jhoom Loon Main' so beautifully.

Doesn’t the Udit Narayan sung 'Ruk Ja Ae Dil Diwane' seem inspired by 'Bachna Ae Haseenon' in Karz?

Adi (the film’s director Aditya Chopra) wanted a song like 'Bachna Ae Haseenon', but the way Shammi Kapoor would do it. Our song had the same flavour as Bachna.

Would you agree that the music of DDLJ played a big part in its success?

Undoubtedly, DDLJ was the highest point of our life. All the radio stations tell us that the melody and the sound-quality of the music make it a favourite for airplay.

You got to work extensively with Lata Mangeshkar in this film.

When we had just started out, we were doing the music of Venus’ Khiladi. Like every aspiring composer, we were keen that she sing a song for us. We approached her to sing

Son of lyricist Ram Bharadwaj (Jurm Aur Saza, Zindagi Aur Toofan), Vishal Bharadwaj has composed brilliant music for films like Gulzar's Maachis and Hu Tu Tu, Ram Gopal Varma's Satya, and Vinay Shukla's Godmother. He even won the Filmfare R D Burman Award for Maachis in 1996.

Now, the music director takes a step forward into film direction. Makdee, starring Shabana Azmi in the unique role of a witch, opens November 15.

The children's film has been selected for Spotlight on India, a special section at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival.

The debutant film director chats with Subhash K Jha.

Makdee is a short film - just an hour-and-a-half long...

Yes. It will be screened at multiplexes in Mumbai where small film - and I don't mean only in terms of budget - have found an ideal outlet. Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham (an hour 40 minutes), and Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding (two hours), got a wide release in India through these downsized theatres.

Why not Makdee? Multiplexes want shorter films so they can run five instead of four shows.

Do you think smaller the film, the better?

Yes. It is better to hold an audience for 90 minutes than to bore them for three hours. Indian filmmakers need to snap out of the three-hour mentality. They feel they are offering audiences value for money when, in fact, they are only drowning them in tedium. In Hollywood, the length of a film is dictated by the theme. An average film is an hour and 45 minutes. In India, quantity matters over quality.

In Makdee, everything works in collaboration. My small film was sold at a better price than Harry Baweja's so-called sex film Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai and the new Govinda comedy Waah! Tera Kya Kehna in some territories.

Shabana Azmi adds a luscious dimension to your project.

Absolutely. If Makdee is getting so widely noticed, it is because of Shabana's presence. If someone else had starred in the film, it would not have been noticed.

I had earlier offered her a film in which she was to play a politician with grey shades. She was very keen. But three days later, she declined saying that [husband] Javed Akhtar had advised her against doing a role that went against her personal ideology as a female politician. But I would love to do that project with Shabana.

When I wrote the role in Makdee, I did not think she would accept the offer. I have known her from the days of her film Godmother, where I scored the music. So I c

17 hours have passed since 12 am but there hasn't been a single Guru Dutt post in this sub. To say that I am shocked would be an understatement since I'd expected hordes of tributes here.

Anyways, today is the 96th Birth Anniversary of the Maestro and I'd like to share a premium Indian Express article on him:

On Guru Dutt’s 96th birth anniversary: Why the Master of Gloom fascinates us even today

The maker of iconic Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool died when he was only 39. Though he made few films and according to many accounts, led a depressed life he continues to intrigue decades after his death.

Dev Anand's Navketan Films launched Guru Dutt as a director with Baazi in 1951. (Photo: Express Archives)

Guru Dutt was born on this day in 1925 and died in 1964, at the age of 39. Between the decades that have whizzed by, the Pyaasa auteur’s reputation has only soared to unimaginable heights. Time has been kind to him, as it usually is to great artists, from Vincent van Gogh to Heath Ledger — lives and careers that were snuffed out young prompting them to fall head-first into the mysterious and undefinable trenches of myth. In Hindi cinema, the 1950s is considered to be the Golden Age and even in an era dominated by such forces as Raj Kapoor, V Shantaram, Bimal Roy, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, B R Chopra and Mehboob Khan, the name ‘Guru Dutt’ was spoken with respect. Of course, like the filmmaker he’s most often compared to — Orson Welles — Dutt’s work started getting its due only after his tragic death. But one assumes that the industry of its time must have taken note of Guru Dutt’s intense obsession with his art and unparalleled attempts at making films his way. So unmistakably artistic they are, packed with glorious music and evocative motifs, that you know it’s a Guru Dutt film when you see one. Dutt, whose real name was Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone, started out as a choreographer. He met three people in the show business who changed his life — for better or worse, we will never know. One was Dev Anand. Dutt and Anand’s friendship goes back to the time when the latter, not yet a big star, was acting in Hum Ek Hain (1946). The newcomer Dutt was a choreographer in the same film. The two met accidentally one day at the Prab

Lata Mangeshkar has lent her beautiful voice to actresses for generations - from Nargis and Mala Sinha to Kajol and Preity Zinta. And the ladies do ample justice to her songs.

In her priceless 2013 calendar, Lataji gives us interesting trivia about the songs - and the women - she has sung for.

Here's a look, in her own words:

#Nargis

Nargis will always be remembered as a talented, beautiful and a popular actress on the silver screen but also a homely woman with a pleasant personality who took up lot of social work during her lifetime.

I still remember our first meet. I had finished recording for the film Mahal. Nargis and her mother, the famous singer Jaddanbai, were sitting outside the studio. Jaddanbai praised my rendition of the song that was just recorded and asked me my name.

I replied: 'Lata Mangeshkar.'

She said: 'You are the daughter of Master Dinanath.'

She used to know my father, Master Dinanath who was a famous actor and singer of the Marathi Theatre. Jaddanbai was particularly impressed with my pronunciation of Urdu words. Nargis was ready with her makeup for the shooting of the movie Lahore for which I had given playback.

In the year 1949, films like Andaaz and Barsaat were released. My songs in those films as well as Nargis's performance were highly appreciated and immensely popular. Since the film Awara, Nargis used to attend my recordings. We started conversing and established a close bond.

I still remember the recording of the song Ghar aaya mera pardesi. The recording started at 9:30 in the morning and finished at 3:50 AM next day! Raj Kapoor and Shankar-Jaikishan took every effort to make this perfect. Once the recording was over, all of us were tired. Nargis had prepared sandwiches for all of us. It was a nice gesture from one of the leading actresses of those days.

Nargis got married with Sunil Dutt in the year 1957. She took a break from films and got busy as a housewife. She was involved in social work. She worked for Sunil Dutt's production house, Ajanta Arts. I have given playback for her film "Raat Aur Din, which was completed by Nargis after hard work and diligence. This film was completed after her marriage.

Nargis's journey from an actress who dazzled the silver screen to a content housewife was witnessed by me. Her untimely death has left a lasting imprint on me.

#Meena Kumari

She was the tragedy queen for Hindi films. She was also a sensitive poetess, blessed with simple but graceful beauty more li

Do your worst!

A masterpiece like this comes once in a lifetime where each character big and small is drawn with such detail and perfection, which has such memorable dialogues that each generation continues to quote them and has songs so iconic that are still hummed by all.

Sholay (1975)
Directed by Ramesh Sippy
Produced by G.P. Sippy
Starring - Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini and Amjad Khan
Written by Salim Javed
Music by R.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 3 Crore/Rs 1,500 Crore (Adjusted for Inflation)
Awards - Filmfare Award for Best Film of last 50 years and BBC India's Film of the Millennium
IMDB Rating - 8.2/10
RT Rating - 92%
My Rating - 10/10

We know all it's characters - Veeru, Jai, Thakur, Gabbar, Basanti, Radha, Mausi, Kaalia, Sambha. Ramlal, Hariram Naai, Soorma Bhopali, Angrezo ke Zamaane Ke Jailor, Imaam Saheb, Ahmed and even the horse Dhano. We have repeated it’s countless iconic dialogues many many times - "Yeh Haath Humko De De Thakur", "Tera Kya Hoga Kaaliya", "Jo Darr Gaya, Samjho Mar Gaya", "Kitne Aadmi The", "Arre Oh Sambhaa!", "Loha Garam Hai, Maar Do Hathoda", "Tumhara Naam Kya Hai Basanti", "Bhaag Dhanno Bhaag", "Basanti! Inn Kutto Ke Samne Matt Naachna", "Hum Angrezo Ke Zamaane Ke Jailor Hai", "Aadhe Idhar Jaayo Aadhe Udhar Jaayo Aur Baaki Hamaare Saath Aao", "Itna Sanata Kyo Hai Bhai", "Holi Kab Hai, Kab Hai Holi" and Veeru’s memorable monologue, "When I dead, police coming ... police coming, Budhiya going jail ... in jail Budhiya chakki peesing, and peesing, and peesing, and peesing, and peesing". Whether it’s Gabbar’s entry, his capture, his revenge, his end, Jai talking about Veeru’s virtues with Mausi, Veeru’s tankee scene, the big reveal of Thakur’s secret, Soorma Bhopali’s tall tales, Asrani’s Jailor and Jai’s iconic death scene which made every fan cry. This was the perfect storm of talent when the director, actors, writing duo, music director, legendary singers and lyricist all reaching the pinnacle of their powers at the same time. BBC recognized this movie as the film of the Millennium, Filmfare recognized it as the best film of last 50 years, BFI, CNN and Time have listed this movie among the best 10 Indian movies of all time. It became the 3rd highest grossing Indian movie of all times earning INR 1,500 crore. The Best Bollywood movie of all time is none other than the Masterpiece “Sholay”. One of my favorite movies, which

It really does, I swear!

For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.

I said "hey look, an escaPEA"

No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!

Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂

They’re on standbi

October 10th, 2021 is 57th death anniversary of Guru Dutt, one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of Indian cinema. He was a prolific film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.

Guru Dutt was one of the greatest icons of Indian cinema, a man ahead of his time and the creator of ageless masterpieces, who contributed to the golden age of Bollywood. Though he has made less than 50 films in his entire career, Dutt left a deep impact on the Indian film industry. Two of his works Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool were included in Time magazine’s ‘All Time 100 best movies.’

Check out this Dev Anand Interview on Guru Dutt from 2011

Dev Anand | 31 May, 2011

In 1946, I was on the payroll of Prabhat Film Company and was playing the lead in my first film, Hum Ek Hain. One day, as I was walking out of the studio, I saw a young man of about my age entering, and we exchanged polite hellos. “Are you doing the main role in the picture?” he asked, and I replied, “Yes.” He offered me his hand. “Well, my name is Guru Dutt and I’m an assistant director. Great to meet you. I hope to see you here more often,” he said. He gave me a beautiful smile and started to leave. A few seconds later, he turned and stared at my shirt. I looked at his. I realised he was wearing my shirt and I was wearing his. Obviously, the washerman had interchanged them. We had a hearty laugh and embraced each other. We were to be friends for all times.

That was how I first met Guru. We promised each other that the day I became a producer, I’d take him on as a director, and the day he directed a film, he’d cast me as a hero. And I’m not a promise breaker. I did launch Guru as a director in Navketan’s Baazi in 1951. He even appears in the beginning of the film.

Nobody’s ever known Guru better than me. He would travel by buses and trains to pick me up from my home in Pali Hill and take me to his place in Matunga. His mother would take us into her kitchen, make chapattis and serve us food. Often, he’d bring his camera with him and photograph me in Pali Hill, at a gold club that doesn’t exist anymore. Guru was fond of taking pictures, of making pictures. He was hardworking and intelligent. Later, I discovered he was also fond of acting. But I don’t think he was a great actor. He was a better director. He used to waste a lot of footage.

We had different personalities, but connected in many ways. He suffered from melancholia. He was a good man, a good thinker, but a back benche

Raja Harishchandra (1913) - First Indian film

The film marked a historic benchmark in the Indian film industry. Only one print of the film was made and shown at the Coronation Cinematograph. It was a commercial success and paved the way for everything that makes up Indian cinema today.

Alam Ara (1931) - First Indian talkie

The film that gave the medium of cinema a voice was a period fantasy about an ageing king and his two rival queens. The film took months to make because of hazardous recording conditions and the secrecy surrounding the project.

Kisan Kanya (1937) - First colour film of India

Kisan Kanya was a 1937 Hindi Cine colour feature film which was directed by Moti B. Gidwani and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Pictures.The film unfolded the poor plight of a farmer and the consequences he faces for being a peasant.

The film was not a commercial success but is remembered for being the country’s first colour film.

Dhoop Chhaon (1935) - First playback song

One of the most important developments in Indian cinema was the introduction of playback singing. Rai Chand Boral was the first to use the systematic technique of playback singing in the film Dhoop Chhaon.

Prior to this, actors would sing live on the set and that was recorded just like dialogues.

1942: A Love Story (1994) - First Dolby sound film

R.D. Burman's last film as a music composer was also the first film in Indian cinema which had Dolby sound.

Apradhi (1931) - First Indian film to be shot with artificial lights

One of the most iconic personalities in Indian cinema, PC Barua is also noted for being the first to use artificial lights while filming. He observed the production techniques in a London studio and bought lighting equipment used in the studio. The first film from his studio Apradhi, directed by Debaki Bose, was made using artificial lights.

Sangam (1964) - First film to be shot abroad

Raj Kapoor's Sangam had various scenes shot in Europe. The cinema goers at that time would queue up just to see the foreign locales in motion picture.

Awaara (1951) - First dream sequence

Raj Kapoor's classic film Awaara had the first-ever dream sequence in the song Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi. The video was quite surreal for those times.

Roop Lekha (1934) - First Indian film with a flashback

Flashbacks have always been an important part in the telling of cinematic stories and the first movie to use the technique was P C Barua's, *R

His name unspools vignettes of tenderly written numbers like Chingari koi bhadke (Amar Prem), Saawan ka mahina (Milan), Bindiya chamkegi (Do Raaste), Main shayar to nahin (Bobby), Woh kya hai (Anuraag), Khilona jaan kar (Khilona), Teri pehli nazar ko salaam (Ek Duje ke liye) and more recently Tujhe dekha toh (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge), Le gayi, le gayi (Dil To Pagal Hai), Taal se taal mila (Taal), in your mind. And like the Everready batteries, he’s still charged. And raring to go. Long after the others have fallen by the wayside.

With over 4000 songs under his belt, 38 Filmfare nominations, four Filmfare Awards in a career spanning 45 years, his is no mean achievement. At 70, Anand Bakshi’s certainly the most prolific lyricist of our times.

It all began in Rawalpindi during pre-partition. Cinema was still a nascent medium. Anand Bakshi reminisces, “There were times when I would sell my books in order to buy a movie ticket. My parents would scold me. But that never stopped me. I dreamt of coming to Bombay and doing something in films. Though I wasn’t clear what.” His natural talent for music made him popular among his friends. He’d entertain them by singing film, Punjabi folk songs and ghazals. But contrary to his literary image, Anand Bakshi studied only upto the eighth standard. “The situation were such that I had to drop out,” he recalls. “I have no formal training in writing songs.”

After serving the army for 2-3 years, Bakshi chucked it all up to come to Bombay in 1952. After three years of fruitless struggle, a depressed Bakshi returned to his old job: the army. “But I was restless,” says Anand Bakshi. “So after three years, I came back to Bombay once again. By then I’d married and had a daughter. My wife and my parents thought I was simply wasting my time. They told me to stop dreaming and to concentrate on my job. But I was adamant.”

In Bombay, Bakshi once again began his struggle, meeting people, hopping from one studio to another. To make matters worse his money was over in about three months. ” I was at the end of my tether,” he grins today. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought I should return home. But I was embarrassed to do so. What would my family say?”

Soon his struggle bore fruit. Bakshi heard that Bhagawan Dada was launching a film, Bhala Aadmi. “I went to his office at Dadar,” Bakshi flashbacks. “I told him I was a song writer. Right away he told me to write four songs. I was paid Rs 150 for those songs. It was a whoppi

Successful movies which are adored by the fans tend to get remade for newer generations over a period of time but it is a rarity that an unsuccessful movie gets revisited. A Kishore Kumar starrer “Do Dooni Chaar" from 1968 which bombed at the box office got remade into one of the most successful comedies of all time in 1982 because of its writer’s resolve to adapt this masterpiece from the bard. Just like its title “Angoor” (Grapes) the movie was sweet and sour and tickled the audience's funny bone to become one of the most iconic comedies of its era.

Angoor (1982)
Directed by Gulzar
Produced by Jai Singh
Starring - Sanjeev Kumar, Deven Verma, Moushumi Chatterjee, Deepti Naval and Aruna Irani
Written by Gulzar based on Shakespeare’s play "The Comedy of Errors"
Music by R.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - NA/INR 1.5 Crore (INR 25 Crore Adjusted for Inflation)
Awards - Filmfare award for best comedian
IMDB Rating - 8.3/10 
RT Rating - 89% 
My Rating - 9/10

Gulzar had adapted Shakespeare’s play “The Comedy of Errors” in 1968 with Kishore at the helm but the movie had a disappointing run at the box office. Gulzar was extremely disappointed that his interpretation of the Bard’s famous play was largely ignored by the audiences. In the 70s, Gulzar became a highly acclaimed director and created a long list of critically and commercially successful movies, winning audience praise along with National and Filmfare Awards. However the end of the 70s and beginning of 80s wasn’t as auspicious for Gulzar as his movies started to fizzle out at the box office and with critics. That is when he decided to come back with a bang with another re-adaptation of “Do Dooni Chaar” and finally do justice to one of the funniest works penned by the world’s greatest writer.

Like the saying goes, "You are only as good as your last performance”. Gulzar wasn’t hot property in Bollywood in the early 80s after a couple of weak entries at the box office. When he started to look for producers for “Angoor” there were no takers. No one wanted to invest in the next Gulzar movie, especially a remake of a flop movie that he had written. As fate would have it, Gulzar’s script landed at the doorstep of Jai Singh, a Shakespeare aficionado whose favorite stories included “The comedy of errors”. The masterstroke by Gulzar was his amazing casting of his favorite leading man, Sanjeev Kumar along with the comic genius of Deven Verma a

(By Sukanya Verma | September 28, 2017)

Happy birthday, Lataji!

Every time she breathes, she makes music and the applause follows.

For more than half a century, the beautiful, lilting, hearty quality of Lata Mangeshkar's singing has regaled changing generations of listeners. The fact that it's not merely tough but impossible for anybody to name just one favourite song of hers says a lot about her stature.

In her incredibly long and flourishing career as India's most treasured songstress, she's voiced a myriad of emotions. On her 86th birthday today, we celebrate the legend's 25 distinctly different moods.

Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya - Mughal-E-Azam

• Mood: Defiant

• Music: Naushad

K Asif's grand epic achieves its most memorable high in Madhubala's spellbinding performance around the glittery Sheesh Mahal-inspired sets and Latatai's rebellious assertions that would go on to resonate powerfully among aspiring romantics.

Aaj Kal Paon - Ghar

• Mood: Dreamy

• Music: Rahul Dev Burman

Would Rekha's starry-eyed state have the same impact in the absence of Lata Mangeshkar's measured, mellifluous rendition of Gulzar's fond words? Negative.

Piya Bina - Abhimaan

• Mood: Heartbroken

• Music: Sachin Dev Burman

She's sung a lot of despondent ditties but her deep understanding of Jaya Bachchan's character - of a wife hurting over hubby's disgruntled behaviour while keeping her emotions in check as a professional playback singer in Abhimaan - contributes significantly to Piya bina's simplicity and sorrow.

Naam Ghum Jayega - Kinara

• Mood: Philosophical

• Music: R D Burman

Meri awaaz hi pehchaan hai...perfect lines, perfect melody, perfect Lata Mangeshkar.

Aa Jaane Jaan - Inteqam

• Mood: Seductive

• Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Proving sexy songs aren't just younger sister Asha Bhosle's forte, Lata Mangeshkar turns the heat on and how for the smouldering Helen cabaret.

Allah Tero Naam - Hum Dono

• Mood: Devotional

• Music: Jaidev

The songbird offers the ultimate prayer for humanity with characteristic grace and sensitivity for this Hum Dono gem.

Mose Chhal Kiye Jaaye - Guide

• Mood: Angry

• Music: S D Burman

While a luminous Waheeda Rehman expresses disgust for her beau on screen, Lata Mangeshkar injects soul to her injury off it in the refined melodies of Guide.

Vande Mataram, Anand Math

• Mood: Patriotic

• Music: Hemant Kumar

Her passionate chants of Vande Mataram continue to evoke instant nationalist

Raja Harishchandra (1913) - First Indian film

The film marked a historic benchmark in the Indian film industry. Only one print of the film was made and shown at the Coronation Cinematograph. It was a commercial success and paved the way for everything that makes up Indian cinema today.

Alam Ara (1931) - First Indian talkie

The film that gave the medium of cinema a voice was a period fantasy about an ageing king and his two rival queens. The film took months to make because of hazardous recording conditions and the secrecy surrounding the project.

Kisan Kanya (1937) - First colour film of India

Kisan Kanya was a 1937 Hindi Cine colour feature film which was directed by Moti B. Gidwani and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Pictures.The film unfolded the poor plight of a farmer and the consequences he faces for being a peasant.

The film was not a commercial success but is remembered for being the country’s first colour film.

Dhoop Chhaon (1935) - First playback song

One of the most important developments in Indian cinema was the introduction of playback singing. Rai Chand Boral was the first to use the systematic technique of playback singing in the film Dhoop Chhaon.

Prior to this, actors would sing live on the set and that was recorded just like dialogues.

1942: A Love Story (1994) - First Dolby sound film

R.D. Burman's last film as a music composer was also the first film in Indian cinema which had Dolby sound.

Apradhi (1931) - First Indian film to be shot with artificial lights

One of the most iconic personalities in Indian cinema, PC Barua is also noted for being the first to use artificial lights while filming. He observed the production techniques in a London studio and bought lighting equipment used in the studio. The first film from his studio Apradhi, directed by Debaki Bose, was made using artificial lights.

Sangam (1964) - First film to be shot abroad

Raj Kapoor's Sangam had various scenes shot in Europe. The cinema goers at that time would queue up just to see the foreign locales in motion picture.

Awaara (1951) - First dream sequence

Raj Kapoor's classic film Awaara had the first-ever dream sequence in the song Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi. The video was quite surreal for those times.

Roop Lekha (1934) - First Indian film with a flashback

Flashbacks have always been an important part in the telling of cinematic stories and the first movie to use the technique was P C Barua's,

Guru Dutt is considered one of India’s finest Actor-Producer-Directors of all time. At his peak he was the genius behind gems like Pyaasa, Baazi, Jaal, C.I.D. and Chaudvin Ka Chand that were adored by his fans and critics alike. His so called mis-steps, "Kaagaz Ke Phool" and "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam” were so ahead of their time that it took India time to recognize their brilliance and impact on Indian Cinema. Dutt struggled to bring Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam to the silver screen and after its release was extremely disappointed by the audience's reaction. Despite its commercial failure it was applauded as one of the finest movies of the year winning Filmfare and National Awards in India and international acclaim at film festivals across the globe

Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
Directed by Abrar Alvi
Produced by Guru Dutt
Starring - Meena Kumari, Guru Dutt, Rehman, Sapru and Waheeda Rehman
Written by Abrar Alvi and Bimal Mitra
Music by Hemant Kumar
Budget/Box Office - Rs 45 Lac/Rs 80 Lac (INR 54 Crore adjusted for inflation)
Awards - 4 Filmfare Awards including Best Film, Actress, Cinematography and Director, National Film Award for Best Film, Golden Bear Nominee and India’s Oscar Entry
IMDB Rating - 8.3/10 
RT Rating - 92%
My Rating - 9/10

Guru Dutt fell in love with Bimal Mitra’s Bengali 1953 novel “Sahib Bibi Golam” and wanted to adapt it into a Hindi movie. He tasked his friend and writer Abrar Alvi to adapt the novel from Bengali to Hindi but before that could be accomplished the world changed for Dutt by the end of the 50s. A Bengali adaptation of the story starring the brilliant Uttam Kumar met with great success in the mid 50s, Dutt’s first choice actors Shashi Kapoor and Meena Kumari both declined the movie and Dutt’s passion project “Kaagaz Ke Phool” bombed at the box office. The success of “Chaudhvin Ka Chand” in 1961 reignited the spark in Guru Dutt to adapt the story.

Guru Dutt had decided to cast Shashi Kapoor for the role of Bhootnath and Meena Kumari in the role of Chotti Bahu. Unfortunately the latest Kapoor considering to debut in movies was 2 and a half hours late for his first meeting with Guru Dutt and got quickly removed from consideration. Dutt offered the role to a young Bengali actor Biswajeet who was successfully playing the character in its Bengali theatrical adaptation, unfortunately he declined the role. So Dutt took a razor, shaved his trademark mustache and to

Bimal Roy was one of the early masters of Indian cinema in whose shadow the talents of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Salil Chaudhary and Basu Bhattacharya grew and blossomed to create some of the finest movies and music in the 60s and 70s. The 50s belonged to Bimal Roy’s masterpieces as he won 5 of the first 7 Filmfare awards for best director and 5 national awards during the decade. He ended the decade with another multi-award winning gem “Sujata” which made Nutan a critically acclaimed actress and started her trend of taking on unconventional and difficult roles.

Sujata (1959)
Directed by Bimal Roy
Produced by Bimal Roy
Starring - Nutan, Sunil Dutt, Tarun Bose, Lalita Pawar, Sulochana and Shashi Kala
Written by Subodh Ghosh
Music by S.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - INR 35 Lac/INR 1.3 Crore (INR 110 Crore adjusted for Inflation)
Awards - National Film Award, 4 Filmfare Awards and Golden Palm Nomination at Cannes Film Festival
IMDB Rating - 7.4/10
My Rating - 9/10

Bimal Roy had the unique ability to make socially conscious movies which were presented as fairly entertaining stories not overburdened by their central message. After winning at the Cannes Film Festival with his masterpiece “Do Bigha Zamin”, Roy returned for a Golden Palm nomination with “Sujata”, a masterpiece highlighting social issues of casteism and untouchability. This is the movie where Nutan who had tasted the occasional commercial success till then, would start developing her natural acting style under Roy’s direction and become inspiration for generations of actresses like Sadhana and Smita Patil to name a few.

Sujata is an orphaned baby born in a lower caste family of untouchables. She gets adopted by a middle class family and is raised along with their own daughter. Sujata played impeccably by Nutan is often treated by the father Upen played Tapan Bose like his own daughter but the mother Charu played by Sulochana remains conflicted with the social stigma of untouchability. Rama is the jolly and kind hearted daughter of Upen and Charu played by a surprising Shashi Kala before she started playing negative roles. One night Sujata gets to know about her lower caste when she questions her mother on the world's difference of treatment of the two sisters.  Lalita Pawar’s feisty buaji is very vocal about her eversion of the lower caste Sujata. Buaji’s grandson Adhir played by Sunil Dutt meets Sujata and starts to fall in l

Hrishida was directing two iconic movies at the same time in 1971 named Anand and Guddi. One featured Bollywood’s superstar Rajesh Khanna with an unknown actor with a poor track record named Amitabh Bachchan and the other introduced Jaya Bhaduri in her first lead role after her appearance as a teen in Satyajit Ray’s “Mahanagar” in 1963. Hrishida saw talent in both budding actors but never imagined the role he would play in their lives when he brought them together in Abhimaan, a movie about fragility of love, life and relationships told through some of most beautifully recorded songs of all time.

Abhimaan (1973)
Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Produced by Susheela Kamat and Pawan Kumar Jain (Jaya and Amitabh's secretaries)
Starring - Jaya Bhaduri, Amitabh Bachchan, Asrani, Bindu and A.K. Hangal
Written by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Nabendhu Ghosh and others
Music by S.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 65 Lac/Rs 1.7 Crore (INR 165 Crore adjusted for inflation)
Awards - Filmfare awards for Best Actress and Best Music Director
IMDB Rating - 7.9/10 
RT Rating - 83%
My Rating - 10/10

Jaya was introduced to Amitabh on the sets of Hrishida’s “Guddi" in which he did a Cameo and a spark of love got lit. Amitabh won a Filmfare award for Hrishida’s “Anand" and Jaya received two nominations for Hrishida’s “Guddi" and “Uphaar” in the same year and received a special award for acting. After Guddi’s success Jaya was making movies with Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Jeetendra and Randhir Kapoor delivering hit after hit while Amitabh’s movies kept sinking at the box office. Amitabh even paired up with Jaya for two movies "Bansi Birju” and “Ek Nazar” but both bombed. Despite the failure of Amitabh’s movies, Hrishida was well aware of his acting potential after directing him in Anand. Hrishida followed up his success of “Anand" and “Guddi" with “Bawarchi" where he brought the leads from both his movies, Kaka and Jaya together. Amitabh was also hired to provide narration for the movie. Hrishida saw the two love birds together on the set of “Bawarchi” and decided to bring them together for their first hit pairing on screen in "Abhimaan".

Amitabh and Jaya loved the story so much that they offered to produce the movie. That is how Amiya was born and appeared for the one and only time on any movie poster in Hrishida, Amitabh and Jaya’s labor of love. Ami(tabh and

The 60s was a decade ruled by the Anands as Dev Anand starred in 5 superhit movies directed by his younger brother Vijay Anand like Kala Bazaar, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, Guide, Jewel Thief and Johny Mera Naam. Vijay AKA Goldie became the highest earning director of the decade with an eclectic mix of Romantic, Drama and Crime Thrillers masterpieces. After the incredible success of Guide, Goldie and Dev Anand got back together to make the ultimate “Hitchcockesque” thriller for Indian Cinema.

Jewel Thief (1967)
Directed by Vijay Anand
Produced by Dev Anand
Starring - Dev Anand, Vyjayanthimala, Tanuja, Helen and Ashok Kumar
Written by Vijay Anand (Based on K.A. Narayan’s Story)
Music by S.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 80 Lac/Rs 3.5 Crore (INR 600 crore adjusted for inflation)
Awards - 1 Technical Filmfare Award
IMDB Rating - 8/10 
RT Rating - 86%
My Rating - 10/10

After the success of the iconic masterpiece “Guide”, Goldie was on such a creative high that he decided to make 2 movies together at the same time. The first movie was the super hit Shammi Kapoor starrer "Teesri Manzil" and the second movie was none other than the Mega Hit “Jewel Thief”. Goldie had written the movie as a two hero movie with Dev Anand as main lead and wanted to cast Ashok Kumar in the titular role of the antihero. However, Ashok Kumar wasn’t available after undergoing an operation. Goldie didn’t think that any other actor was capable of playing the titular role of the Jewel Thief. After Dev Anand couldn’t convince Goldie to cast Raj Kumar or anyone else for the role, he approached Ashok Kumar again to reconsider the film. Ashok Kumar agreed to do the movie if Goldie would ensure that he would not have to do any fight scenes and would have a strict regime to start shooting at 11AM, break at 1PM and wind up at 5PM. Goldie jumped up in joy and agreed to all of Dadamoni’s conditions and told him that his character is an intellectual antihero and doesn’t need to use his fists. Goldie also tried to loop in Saira Banu for the lead actress role but she declined to act after her marriage to Dilip Kumar. Vyajanthimala would step in for one of her finest roles. The stage was set and characters in place to create history.

The plan was to repeat the same hit formula of Goldie-Dev-S.D Burman-Shailendra-Kishore-Lata but the team hit a snag when they weren’t able to get hold of Shailendra. The master poet had lost the will to

Nothing hurts more than realizing that something that means everything to you means nothing to the ones you love. The devastation that rejection of a real passion project can cause cannot be underestimated. The failure of “Mera Naam Joker” led to end of the golden era of Raj Kapoor directing himself in movies. An even graver impact was felt by Indian cinema when the audience stood up during the screening of Guru Dutt’s passion project and started throwing eggs, shoes and whatever they could get a hold off at the screen. One of India’s greatest directors Guru Dutt would never direct any movie again and would start drowning into a sea of sorrow and depression till he was no more 5 years later at the age of 39. Kaagaz Ke Phool was his semi-autobiographical passion project at the end of an immensely successful 50s during which Guru Dutt directed 8 masterpieces like Baazi, Jaal and Pyaasa.

Guru Dutt took his fans behind the scenes to show them how the magic of movies is actually created and their instant reaction was that of disappointment. Guru Dutt would have been proud to see the world refining its view of the movie from box office disaster to considering it one of the best movies of all time, a masterpiece ahead of its time and the best lesson in film making. Little did Guru Dutt know that his future was being written and captured on celluloid in this movie. When S.D. Burman who composed the music for Dutt’s Baazi, Jaal and Pyaasa heard the story of Kaagaz Ke Phool, he warned Guru Dutt not to make the movie. When Guru Dutt insisted on making the movie, S.D. Burman told him that this would be the last time they collaborate. Sadly it was not only their final masterpiece together but also Dutt’s last directed movie.

Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
Directed by Guru Dutt
Produced by Guru Dutt
Starring - Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Veena, Johny Walker and Naaz
Written by Abrar Alvi
Music by S.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 35 Lac/Rs 20 Lac
Awards - 2 Filmfare Awards for cinematography and art direction
IMDB Rating - 8/10 
RT Rating - 89%
My Rating - 10/10

Guru Dutt was among the most renowned film makers of the 50s similar to the movie’s Protagonist Suresh Sinha, a famous film director. He was married to Geeta Dutt and very close to Waheeda Rahman, a leading lady he picked from anonymity and introduced to India creating tension in his marriage. Similarly in "Kaagaz Ke Phool", Sinha is married to

Big B ruled the box office in 1979 with Suhaag, Mr Natwarlal, Kala Patthar, The Great Gambler, Jurmana and Manzil for which he got 2 nominations for Best actor. His main competition at the awards were his superstars Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor but none of them would win the award. The best actor would go to the common man’s hero Amol Palekar for one of his funniest and best movies of all time.

Gol Maal (1979) 
Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Produced by N.C. Sippy
Starring - Amol Palekar, Bindiya Goswami, Deven Varma, Dina Pathak and Utpal Dutt
Written by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Sachin Bhowmick
Music by R.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 1 Crore/Rs 7 Crore (INR 340 Crore adjusted for Inflation)
Awards - 3 Filmfare Awards for Best Actor, Comedian and Lyrics
IMDB Rating - 8.5/10
RT Rating - 93%
My Rating - 10/10

Hrishida was the pioneer of India’s middle cinema and made some of the finest movies which brought the best qualities of commercial and art cinema together. The movie which tickled India’s funny bone like no other was the masterpiece Gol Maal. All the top talent in Bollywood wanted to make movies with Hrishida in the 70s. Hrishida made 17 movies in the 70s out of which Big B was in 7, Rajesh Khanna made 4 and Dharmendra starred in 3. All his movies were lighthearted, funny, thought provoking, emotional dramas with great stories, brilliant acting and exceptional music. He ended the decade with two movies in 1979 which had something unique in common…..one same scene.

In Gol Maal when Amol Palekar and Deven Varma’s characters come to a studio, a scene is being shot with Amitabh Bachchan by Hrishida hidden behind the camera. After completing the shot Big B chats with Deven Varma about the movie “Jurmana” for which he was shooting the scene. Jurmana was the 2nd movie made by Hrishida in 1979 and this scene was part of that movie. Hrishida connected both his movies by showing the same scene from "in front of the camera" and "behind the scenes". Such was the genius of Hrishida.

It feels like Hrishida made several movies with Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt but in fact they only partnered in 2-3 movies and Gol Maal was their first adventure together. Hrishida wrote the movie with Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt and Rekha in mind and all three immediately came onboard. However Hrishida felt that he would be underutilizing the talent of Rekha in this movie which primarily focuses on Amol P

“Main Aaj Bhi Feke Hue Paise Nahi Uthaata”. “Aaj Khush To Bahut Honge Tum”, “Tum Log Mujhe Dhoond Rahe Ho Aur Main Tumhara Yahaa Intezaar Kar Raha Hoo”, “Tu Itna Ameer Nahi Hua Beta Ke Apni Maa Ko Kharid Sake”, “Mere Paas Maa Hai”. These are some of the Iconic dialogues which are sufficient to introduce my next entry into the top 100 Indian movies. Everything about this movie was epic…..its acting, its story, its characters, its dialogues, its music, its direction, its…everything. This is the stuff legends are made of. This is the movie that crowned Big B as the new superstar and truly changed Indian cinema.

Deewaar (1975)
Directed by Yash Chopra
Produced by Gulshan Rai
Starring - Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Neetu Singh and Parveen Babi
Written by Salim Javed
Music by R.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - INR 2 Crore/INR 7.5 Crore Lac (INR 600 Crore adjusted for Inflation)
Awards - 7 Filmfare Awards including Best Film, Director and Story
IMDB Rating - 8.1/10 
RT Rating - 84%
My Rating - 9/10

Salim Javed were the hottest writing talent in Bollywood of the 70s but before they achieved epic success with Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Barsaat, Sholay, Trishul, Don and many many more blockbusters, they were two young writers with a hit movie named Seeta Aur Geeta in 1972. Inspired by the sibling rivalry of Ganga Jamuna and Mother India, the duo wrote a story with Shatrughan Sinha in mind. They approached Yash Chopra and Gulshan Rai to make the movie and asked for an astronomical fee of INR 1 Lac and their names on the poster. Chopra and Rai laughed at the writing duo and continued with their planned production of Joshila with Dev Anand and Hema Malini. On May 11th 1973, Salim Javed’s Zanjeer released with a relatively unknown actor named Amitabh Bachchan. Before the day ended, the box office was on fire and the legend of the angry young man was born. Rai and Chopra immediately went after the script of Deewaar before Sippy or Mehra got their hands on it. Salim Javed’s fee for the story had gone up from INR 1 to 3 and eventually 8 Lacs for the complete script which Rai paid to the writing duo and put their names on the poster. Deewaar was a rare movie when the actors were given the fully completed script at their first reading.

Rai immediately signed superstar Rajesh Khanna, Navin Nischol and Vyjayanthimala for the main roles of Deewaar. However Salim Javed didn’t have a good relationshi

Dilip Kumar is considered as one of the greatest actors that India has ever seen. His spectacular career and distinct style of acting earned him the highest number of Filmfare awards for acting. His dramatic performances earned him the title of the Tragedy King, the superstar of the golden era and the first Khan. He was royalty in the highest grossing movie of all time “Mughal-E-Azam”, a poor Tongawalla in the critically acclaimed “Naya Daur”, a reincarnated protagonist in the genre defining “Madhumati”, Vidhaata’s Godfather, Kranti’s freedom fighter, Karma’s Jailor and Big B’s worthy competition and father in “Shakti". It would be fitting to honor his legacy by remembering one of his most iconic roles of all time. A role so iconic that the name of the protagonist is synonymous with all tragic, depressed "failed in love” characters in India.

Devdas (1955)
Directed by Bimal Roy
Produced by Bimal Roy
Starring - Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Vyjayanthimala and Motilal
Written by Nabendhu Ghosh (Based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novella)
Music by S.D. Burman
Budget/Box Office - Rs 50 Lac/Rs 1 Crore (Rs 540 Crore adjusted for Inflation)
Awards - National Film Award, Filmfare Award for best actor, supporting actor and supporting actress
IMDB Rating - 7.9/10 
My Rating - 9/10

Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 novella Devdas has been brought to screen more than 16 times. The first adaptation was in the silent era in 1928 which was followed by 3 versions by P.C. Barua in Bengali, Assamese and Hindi. Barua cast himself as Devdas in the 1935 Bengali version but his direction of the 1936 Hindi version with star power of K.L. Saigal was his most memorable version. One of the cinematographers on the Saigal version was none other than future maestro director Bimal Roy, who impressed by the story had already decided to create his own version someday. 19 years later Bimal Roy would finally bring his version of Devdas to screen with Dilip Kumar in a career defining role. Roy’s version is still considered the most faithful adaptation of the story and Dilip Kumar’s Devdas overshadowed all others. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s glamorous high budget adaptation with SRK made almost Rs 100 crore but didn’t sparkle as much as the Tragedy King’s version considered by many as the ultimate Devdas. SRK made his version with Dilip Kumar’s blessings but he himself felt that it was foolish of him to try to r

For my 99th review, I will go to the movie that changed the landscape of Indian movies in the 21st century in more ways than imaginable. Dubbed as India’s own Original Epic “Godfather” and listed as one of the most influential movies of world cinema in the 21st century, “Gangs of Wasseypur” was based on multiple true stories. It was shot as a single 5 hr and 21 minute masterpiece and became the first commercial Indian movie to be screened at Cannes Film Festival during the director’s fortnight segment. Anurag Kashyap met writer Zeishan Quadri in 2008 who narrated several gripping stories about the gang wars surrounding the coal mafia of Dhanbad. Intrigued by these real stories, they would collaborate to author the story for GOW. Anurag Kashyap was on no talking terms with Manoj Bajpai for a few years but he could only see Bajpai in the lead role of the movie. So he would set aside his pride and call Bajpai, who would immediately leap at the opportunity to mend their relationship and star in one of the best movies of his career. Kashyap almost lost the script of the movie when it got misplaced with his bag during air travel and was luckily found after a 2 day search.

This movie would be the face that launched a thousand ship of bright careers in Bollywood of the 21st century. What would the 2010s landscape of movies and web series look like without the talent of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadha, Pankaj Tripathi, Jaideep Ahlwawat, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Piyush Mishra, Rajkummar Rao, Jameel Khan and even Vicky Kaushal to name a few who will always be in GOW’s debt for introducing or kick starting their careers. The brutality and reality of the scenes and story along with the authentic and explicit dialogues and songs was a major jolt to the Indian cinema viewers, censor board and movie makers. The movie was shot in real slaughter houses, coal mines and on actual locations of the movie’s true stories which added to the authentic look of the movie. Movies and series before and after GOW have a marked difference in the realism and authenticity in portrayal of their characters. No Indian movie theater was ready to play the 5 hr 21 min epic so in an unusual move, Anurag Kashyap would release the movie in 2 parts and release them separately with a gap of 2 months. The movie surprisingly earned more than 150 crore and became recognized as a piece of art worthy to be listed with masterpieces like Godfather, Good Fellas and Once upon a time in America.

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Some interesting stats from my Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Reviews:

• Decades with highest number of top soundtracks - 70s (31), 60s (21) and 80s (17)
• Music Directors with highest number of top soundtracks - R.D. Burman (14), S.D. Burman (10), Shankar Jaikishan (9), Laxmikant Pyarelal (8), Kalyanji Anandji (7)
• Singers with highest number of top soundtracks with their songs - Lata Mangeshkar (68), Asha Bhosle (40), Mohammed Rafi (33), Kishore Kumar (33) and Mukesh (20)
• Lyricists with highest number of top soundtracks - Anand Bakshi (21), Shailendra (10), Majrooh Sultanpuri (10), Hasrat Jaipuri (9), Gulzar (8) and Javed Akhtar (8)
• Directors with highest number of top soundtracks - Vijay Anand (6), Raj Kapoor (5), Yash Chopra (5), Hrishikesh Mukherjee (5) and Basu Chatterjee (5)
• Actors with highest number of top soundtracks - Amitabh Bachchan (12), Rishi Kapoor (9), Rajesh Khanna (8), Dev Anand (7), Shahrukh Khan (5)
• Actresses with highest number of top soundtracks - Waheeda Rehman (7), Zeenat Aman (6) and Jaya Bachchan (6)

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Links to all my soundtrack reviews

1. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Safar

2. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Pakeezah

3. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Amar Prem

4. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Hum Dono

5. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Dosti

6. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Karz

7. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Aashiqui 2

8. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Chitchor

[9. Top 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Review - Saajan](https://www