Re: Sanam Film
Aquarium Morris
Gaurav (Vivek Mushran) lives a wealthy lifestyle, gets everything he wants except the love of his parents and family. Even though he lives with his parents, they love his elder brother Narendra (Sanjay Dutt) more. Narendra is often pronounced by the name of "Hero" by his parents, and goes abroad for his job once a while. When Hero comes back home for a holiday, he goes to a funfair with his family, and witnesses a little girl who is stuck on top of a Ferris wheel, and when Hero gets the chance, he climbs up and rescues her. By the time he jumps off, it is already on fire, which causes it to explode, and blows Hero off with it as well. The whole family is devastated by Hero's death, and since he was the only one who made a name for his family, Gaurav finally feals pity and joins the army to prove to his father that he is worthy to be the Hero's younger brother. While on duty, Gaurav discovers that Angara and General (Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover) are about to plant bombs through the whole of India, and that would just not mean for his parents and friends to die, but also his loving girlfriend, Sanam (Manisha Koirala).
The film was in news because of Dutt's involvement in the 1993 Bombay Bombings.During his statement he said that while he was shooting for the film producers Hanif and Samir arranged the gun from gangster Abu Salem. As a result, Dutt distanced himself from the film and its delayed release.
When I decided to see this film, I had no idea that I was about to see a very good and touching romance. The film caught me completely by surprise. This film is a combination of a great script, great on-screen couple and wonderful performances. The best thing about the film is definitely the casting of what initially appears as a completely opposite and unlikely romantic couple. Harshvardhan Rane plays a rough and tough ex-con while Mawra Hocane plays a dorky librarian who is rejected by grooms because of her appearance.
Sanam Teri Kasam is no less a love story than an Aashique. If you liked Aashiqui 2, I would say you will love Sanam Teri Kasam, which is a better film. The music in Sanam Teri Kasam was apt and the background score was also very good. I think we should also mention the cinematographer and editor who made such smooth and perfect transitions between scenes and shots. I suggest that you catch this film as soon as possible.
Nandini (Rai, in one of her best roles) is the free-spirited daughter of renowned musician Pandit Darbar (Vikram Gokhale) and his wife Amrita (Smita Jaykar). Italian-Indian singer Sameer (Salman Khan, returning from Khamoshi) comes to their mansion to study under Darbar. Nandini and Sameer are immediately attracted to each other and begin an innocent yet forbidden courtship. When Darbar finds out, he expels Sameer and forces Nandini to marry the kind, wealthy lawyer Vanraj (Ajay Devgan). Recognizing how unhappy Nandini is, Vanraj takes her to Italy to reunite her with Sameer.
I was ten years old when this movie came out, and it was huge. HDDCS was the movie everyone saw (it was the third highest grossing Bollywood film of 1999). And that year saw the rise of DVDs, so the movie was ubiquitous after its release. It seemed like every household had a copy of the DVD and the CD. The soundtrack was everywhere too; the film spawned a number of hit songs that are still popular. HDDCS was the right film at the right time. But does it hold up?
Manish lives in Queens, NY and currently hosts It Pod to Be You for the Talk Film Society network. Manish loves Alfred Hitchcock, Pedro Almodvar, and of course Bollywood. He also loves to subtweet about dumb stuff.
During the last lockdown, when Ramayan was re-telecast on Doordarshan, I was surprised to find him playing Sumantra. During the original telecast I was a school boy and had no knowledge of Hindi film personalities, so to identify him as actor Chandrashekhar was impossible.
After I finished my train song series, I got time to research for this post. He has many good and popular Hindi film songs picturised on him. So I thought of paying a tribute to him by memorizing a few of his songs. But I knew nothing about his personal life. When I searched for him on the internet, I found some of his old interviews and was able to learn about him.
He also sang in the chorus for a song when Shamshad Begum heard him singing and recommended his name. He thus entered Shalimar Studios in Pune, in 1945. He got acquainted with Bharat Bhushan during the making of the film, Rangila Rajasthan. The friendship later continued for years. Destiny ultimately brought him back to Mumbai, where he first joined Rajkamal studios, and worked there for a couple of years.
Bharat Bhushan insisted him to come to Lucknow to join in for the film, Bebus. The film was directed by R Chandra. He not only acted a small part, but also worked as an assistant director.
He later worked as a junior artist in films like, Nirdoshi, Daag, Farmaaish etc. It was in the early 50s.
But it was his small role in Bebus that ultimately proved to be a game changer. Impressed with his role, he was offered a second lead role by V Shantaram for the film, Surang. The film opened the doors of success for him. His role as a labour union leader was much appreciated.
In 1954, his films, Kavi Mastana, and Meenaar were released. In Mastana, he had the opportunity to work with Motilal, whom he always praised for his natural acting. He was opposite Nigar Sultana as a second lead. His portrayal of a betraying husband was well appreciated.
He was again with his friend, Bharat Bhushan for the film, Meenaar. Made under the banner of Vishwa Bharati films, owned by R Chandra, the elder brother of Bharat Bhushan.
Then came a couple of films, produced and directed by Chandrashekhar himself. He was also credited for the story, screenplay and dialogues of both the films. He obviously was the main lead in both of the movies.
The film is also remembered for a couple of soulful songs, written by Neeraj and sung by Rafi. The songs could be said to be one of the earlier hits of Neeraj. And, instead of adding popular songs, I would add the lesser heard song,
In addition to his acting career, he was also involved in other activities related to the film industry. Chandrashekhar was active in the founding of CINTAA, and he served as President of the Cine Artistes Association (CINTAA) from 1985 to 1996. He was also associated with Federation of Western India Cine Employees, All India Film Employees Confederation. He was the Vice-President of Indian Film Directors Association, and a Member with Film Writers Association, Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association. In all he was an all rounder.
Anupji,
A timely and an apt tribute to the veteran actor Chandrasekhar. Probably he was the senior most surviving actor till his demise. I too knew him as a character actor and only during the net age I came to know about his films as hero. You have gathered and weaved a sufficiently comprehensive account of his life and career. And you have posted a selection of good songs picturized on him.
Thank you Venkatraman ji.His journey is really interesting.
Thank you for sharing the song from Cha Cha Cha. I knew someone will surely mention it. Hence I included a lesser known song along withEk Chameli Ke Mandwe Tale
Glad you liked the post.
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This song has made my memories greener. The writer of this song MAKHDOOM MOHIUDDIN was our family friend in the 50s and 60s till he died in 1969.
Our Hyderabad house was very big and my father had a beautiful garden where there was a big Chameli Mandav on which the Chameli vine was flowering in the seasons.
Actor, director and producer Chandrashekhar, who hailed from Hyderabad and knew Makhdoom saab well, requested for a song for his film and Makhdoom sab wrote the above song for him. But it came in the movie after a lapse of time only.
Makhdoom was a Poet, Dramatist, Teacher and in the last phase of life, a political leader with left inclinations. He was also an MLA.
Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.
Let me start with a confession: I share a love-hate relationship with this movie. I love the music and the songs; the two actresses in the movie (especially Mumtaz) are adorable and Kashmir looks breathtakingly gorgeous. So watching this movie should be an enjoyable viewing experience. But it is not. And the reason is subjective. Every time I see a song from this, there is just one thought that comes to my mind. Mere Sanam SHOULD have starred Shammi Kapoor and no one else as the hero. What a classic it would have then been!
And this is what goes on and effectively ruins the movie for me. Having said that, objectively speaking, Mere Sanam is a decent film to watch. And if you enjoy a typical 60s movie with lilting music, lovely scenery, pretty people, a tad bit of melodrama and a happy resolution, then this movie has all that.
Mr Mehra has decided that Kumar is now of a marriageable age and without asking Kumar, he fixes his match with the daughter of a rich cotton mill owner. Kumar tries to protest but Mehra squashes his protest saying that only money matters and that this will benefit their industrial empire.
Shyam also enlists the help of his old friend, the club dancer, Kamini urf Kammo (Mumtaz, very young, very pretty and absolutely delightful). For a hefty sum of money, Kammo agrees to seduce Kumar and cause a rift between Kumar and Neena.
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