After the huge success of Bombay Talkies film Ziddi and AVM‘s Bahar, Pran became a name to reckon. No big-budget films were complete without Pran. Film starring top stars like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, and Raj Kapoor had Pran as the key villain. For instance, AVM Films Chori Chori, Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, S. Mukeerjee’s Munimji, etc. Similarly in the 1960s…
Many stars including Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar, Vinod Khanna, Feroz Khan, Sharmila Tagore, Saira Banu, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar along with India’s first female prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The greatest throwback pictur we have ever found is this. The best of the 19s stars are in one frame in this picture. This flashback picture gives all the…
Film making may be a director’s craft and a film star’s glitz to pull in the audience into cinema halls but without a sensible ‘producer’ a film cannot be imagined. Hence producers dominated filmmaking in the past. The glorious Prabhat Films founded by actor/director V Shantaram laid the foundation of filmmaking in India in 1929. Prabhat Films made several thought-provoking…
Entered Guinness World Records for the longest-running film in a cinema hall! Yash Raj Films Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) has completed 24 years and seems to be heading to achieve the milestone of running 25 years run at Mumbai’s iconic Maratha Mandir Cinema hall! To date, Maratha Mandir has the distinction of screening Dilip Kumar‘s Mughal-E-Azam (1960) which ran…
In Hollywood, most of the films are adapted from the salable literary works of legendary authors. However, in India, the films made on the literary works of legendary authors have not been successful except few notable authors like R.K. Narayan’s The Guide made by Dev Anand but the author whose literary works has been adapted maximum times on-screen in different…
Just as today India has Corporate Film Studio Companies like Yash Raj Films Pvt Ltd, Dharma Productions Pvt Ltd, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, Eros International Media Ltd etc likewise Bombay Talkies was India’s First Corporate Film Studio that ruled the 30’s and 40’s and launched top stars like Devika Rani, Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and others.…
With the invention of color in Bollywood in the ’60s, Raj Kapoor made Sangam (1964) in Technicolor. To attract the audience to cinema halls Raj Kapoor shot the film in exotic foreign locations like London, Paris, Russia, etc. The movie was a runaway hit! Impressed by the superlative success of Sangam, Pachhi, a close friend of Raj Kapoor insisted Raj…
Two decades later film monarch Mehboob Khan after the huge success of Andaaz (1949) starring Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Nargis decided to make India’s most expensive film. The film was Aan (1952) starring Dilip Kumar and Nadira. To add glitter and glitz he decided to make the film in Technicolor –The color technology used in Hollywood films. Since Ardeshir…
Generally, it is believed that like Naushad few more Music directors of the Golden Era never turned to West for inspiration and were truly original. It is said Music Directors like Madan Mohan and Salil Chowdhury composed pure original tunes. However, it may surprise readers that film historians in their study have found that even these music wizards have stolen…
Generally, it is believed that in Bollywood some stalwart Music directors are highly respected and have no stains of plagiarism (copy –cat). One name that tops the list is the great Music composer S.D. Burman who gave several hits like Gata Rahe Mera Dil.. (Guide), Mere Sapnoon Ki Rani … (Aradhana), Teri Bindiya Re ( Abhimaan), Hum Hai Rahi Pyar…
