Actor Vijay Arora Passes Away
Afzal A. Khan
Just heard that actor Vijay Arora passed away.
He was 62. Details are awaited.
Afzal
Afzal A. Khan
Here is a report from Mid-Day :
Actor and cinematographer Vijay Arora, best known for his
performance in the film Yaadon Ki Baraat passed away at his residence
today, his family said.
The 62-year-old actor had been suffering from an intestinal ailment for
the past few months and passed away due to complications arising out of
it, they said.
Arora has acted in over 50 films and was a cinematographer of over 20
movies, but lingers in public memory for his performance in the 1973 hit
Yaadon Ki Baraat featuring music by R D Burman in which he starred
alongside actress Zeenat Aman.
A 1971 acting graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India,
Arora featured in many television serials as well, notably in the
Ramanand Sagar production of Ramayana where he portrayed the character
of Meghnath.
In 2001, he was seen in two serials, Lakeerein and Talaash.
Besides acting, Arora was also a cinematographer and had done films like
the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Viruddh, Vaastav starring Sanjay Dutt and
Dus which featured a bevy of actors including Abhishek Bachchan and
Shilpa Shetty.
Arora is survived by his wife and a son.
Afzal
Asif
May his soul rest in peace (Amen). This news was really shocking. As
soon as I saw the heading on Afzal's post, I said 'what?'. He was
truly talented, but unlucky to have arrived alongside Rishi Kapoor.
Anyway, I will also always remember his nice performance in Yaadon Ki
Baraat (1973) - he made a perfect pair with Zeenat Aman in the film.
It was wonderful to see him enacting all those beautiful songs in the
film with an amazing grace and energy. My favorite song featuring him
remains 'Meri soni meri tamanna' from the same film.
Besides romancing Zeenat in this big hit, he also paired with other
popular heronies of his time: Parveen Babi (36 Ghante, 1974), Jaya
Bhaduri (Phagun, 1973), Tanuja (Insaaf, 1973), Asha Parekh (Raakhi Aur
Hathkadi, 1972), Reena Roy (Zaroorat, 1972) and an unfinished film
titled Dushmani Yaar Ki, Shabana Azmi (Kadambari, 1975), Bindiya
Goswami (Jeevan Jyoti, 1976), Sarika (Anand Mahal, 1978), and Moushumi
Chatterjee (Naatak, 1976).
However, once the action films established roots, there were no takers
for Vijay Arora and his romantic image and he soon slipped into
oblivion. I still remember my shock and sadness when I suddenly saw
him years later in a tiny role in Souten (1983). The sheer
embarrassment of having fallen from grace was clearly visible on his
face in this film. It feels good to know he sustained himself by
working as a cinematographer.
Asif
veekay
Sad indeed. Was a fine actor. I liked his performance better in one
off beat movie (dont remember the title) most prbly a Tarachand
Barjatya production, in which he acted a simple pure hearted village
guy inclined to poetry.
Am not sure but remeber having read somewhere when he just arrived on
Hindi film scene, that he was a topper from Film Institute of India,
Pune, from where he graduated with acting diploma. may his soul rest
in peace.
veekay
Hema
> soon as I saw the heading on Afzal's post, I said 'what?'. He was
> truly talented, but unlucky to have arrived alongside Rishi Kapoor.
Its my turn to say "what?". No offense to the departed but comparing
Vijay Arora and Rishi Kapoor is like comparing a Hershey bar to
Godiva.
Hema.
UVR
Your post does grave injustice to the "tastes" of those
who happen to like Hershey as much as (or, perhaps,
more than!) Godiva. Just because a 'company' (RK
studios) that puts its name behind a 'product' (Rishi)
doesn't mean the product is better than another. your
post reminded me of this blog article that I came across
about a month ago:
http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78
It's LO...ONG, but if you like chocolate, it's a must-read.
Speaking of Vijay Arora vs. Rishi Kapoor, I happen to
agree with Asif: Vijay was not a worse 'actor' than Rishi.
-UVR.
yeskay
>
> - Show quoted text -
I think he made a comeback of sorts on the small screen. He became
a household name as the Meghnath of Ramayan, which probably got
him more fame than YKB.
Hema
> On Feb 2, 8:49 am, "Hema" <h...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > On Feb 2, 10:17 am, "Asif" <alvi.a...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > soon as I saw the heading on Afzal's post, I said 'what?'. He was
> > > truly talented, but unlucky to have arrived alongside Rishi Kapoor.
>
> > Its my turn to say "what?". No offense to the departed but comparing
> > Vijay Arora and Rishi Kapoor is like comparing a Hershey bar to
> > Godiva.
>
> > Hema.
>
> Your post does grave injustice to the "tastes" of those
> who happen to like Hershey as much as (or, perhaps,
> more than!) Godiva. Just because a 'company' (RK
No offense meant to hershey lovers of the world. The only reason I
gave the chocolate analogy is because both VA and RK are considered
"chocolate heroes" a phrase that most certainly has not been coined by
me. I think thats why Asif made the comparison in the first place.
Having said that, yes both the comparisons - chocolate and actor - are
subjective and has nothing to do with brand name.
> studios) that puts its name behind a 'product' (Rishi)
> doesn't mean the product is better than another. your
Now this assumption is injustice to my taste. I don't care whose name
is behind the product, the product IMO is excellent in its niche
market. :)
> post reminded me of this blog article that I came across
> about a month ago:http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78
> It's LO...ONG, but if you like chocolate, it's a must-read.
I don't like chocolate that much (10 parts!). :-)
> Speaking of Vijay Arora vs. Rishi Kapoor, I happen to
> agree with Asif: Vijay was not a worse 'actor' than Rishi.
I disagree with you both. I happen to think that Rishi had better
screen presence and acting skills, especially in the romance dept. The
yardstick is the best there is - butterflies in the stomach. :-) Vijay
tried too hard but Rishi seemed a natural.
Asif mentioned the action oriented movies gaining stronghold, but that
should apply to Rishi as well since he was a contemporary. It is no
fluke then that Rishi rode that wave through. And before you mention
the RK name, let me remind you guys that neither RandhirK nor RajeevK
was as successful as Rishi.
Finally, UVR, its friday - chill. Go get yourself a piece of the fine
product thats closer to home - Ghirardelli. :)
And Ketan, yes, nothing in this thread has anything to do with rmim
charter.
Hema.
s.bhouman
did his part to the levels prevalent then, nothing more and nothing
less. It is really amazing to know the man, after three decades or so,
could ressurect from short lived stardom, as a cinematographer. He
must really have had a killer's nerves! Hats off.
Notwithstanding this, it is (gross)^n injustice to compare him with
RK. Rather RK's career throughout suffered due to his lover boy image,
which he could not shed off till the end of his career as hero, except
in a couple of off beat ones like ""Ek Chhadar maili si". He was an
wonderful performer. The sort of quick expressions that used to flash
across his face even in a pot boiler like "Dilwale" or the regular
multi star cast like "Duniya" or many of the hero oriented movies,
where he was content to act the second fiddle, like "Nagin", "Naseeb
Apna Apna". Raj Kapoor first cast him as a juvenile. Ironically, no
body considered him for anything more than this. As some one was
pointing out, if VA had to fade away with the advent of action films,
RK still managed to survive till the late ninetees as hero, and in a
few hit movies also like "bol radha bol". I suppose he must bag the
award for having acted with the maximum number of new heroines.
> Hema.- Hide quoted text -
jyotiprakasguha
Saluja as heroine?
Jyoti Prakash Guha
s.bhouman
was called "new wave movies" in the early seventees.
On Feb 3, 4:44 pm, "jyotiprakasguha" <jyotiprakasg...@rediffmail.com>
wrote:
Asif
***unlucky**** to have arrived alongside Rishi Kapoor.' This sentence
itself clearly means Rishi Kapoor was far superior in many respects,
including luck and screen presence and that Vijay Arora arrived at the
"wrong" time.
And by no means I even hinted that Rishi Kapoor was a lesser mortal.
I just focused on whatever Vijay Arora achieved out of limited chances
and I again say that he was no less talented in acting than Rishi
Kapoor. To believe me, just forget that Rishi Kapoor even existed
(else you are bound to compare him with others) and then watch Yaadon
Ki Baraat. Vijay Arora stood out in the film for his sparkling acting
despite the film being dominated by Dharmendra, Ajit, Zeenat Aman, and
R.D. Burman's music.
Asif
Afzal A. Khan
The leading lady of "Zaroorat" was Reena Roy. Please see
my latest post "A Chance Meeting With Vijay Arora".
Afzal