on this day

Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy (31 May 1943-15 November 2022), mononymously known as Krishna was an actor, director and producer of Telugu cinema. 

Image credit:  https://cinetown.org/people/profile/krishnaghattamaneni

An innovative make-up artist, Somnath Kundu has left audiences awestruck with his work in films like Chander Pahar, Ek Je Chilo Raja and Gumnaami. His grandfather and father were pioneering costume designers, working with the likes of Debaki Bose, Vibhuti Laha and Tapan Sinha. Somnath Kundu speaks about his family's history in films, the art of make-up and it's significance to the filmmaking process. Today is also his birthday.

An iconic movie star, the legendary acting stalwart Soumitra Chatterjee was also an accomplished playwright, theatre actor, poet and painter; an integral part of the Bengali cultural psyche itself. His oeuvre comprised many different films—approximately 300 of them through the course of his six-decade-long career in Bengali language films. He was perhaps best known for his work with the internationally acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray.

Be it the chess obsessed Mir Roshan Ali of Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) or the affable Lallan Miyan in Chasme Buddoor (1981) Saeed Jaffrey's charming but powerful screen presence left quite an impression on the audience. Cinemaazi remembers the veteran thespian on his death anniversary. 

Cinemaazi remembers one of the finest music composers of pre partition India, Feroze Nizami on his death anniversary. Born in Lahore in 1916, Nizami had a flare for music since his childhood and was trained in classical music. He started his career with a local radio station in Lahore and then later transferred to All India Radio, Lahore followed by Delhi and Lucknow. At Delhi he worked closely with Saadat Hassan Manto and Khwaja Khursheed Anwar. Shortly after this he moved to Bombay to work in film music. His first composition was for the film Vishwas (1943) produced under Wadia Movietone. He composed for films like Us Paar (1944), Piya Milan (1945), Sharbati Aankhein (1945), Amar Raj (1946) and Pati Saiwa (1947). However his breakthrough in the industry happened with Shaukat Hussain Rizvi’s Jugnu (1947), starring Madam Noor Jehan. Jugnu is also credited to be Mohammed Rafi's breakthrough film in Hindi cinema, particularly for his duet with Noor Jehan. Later his musical collaboration with Noor Jehan created waves across the subcontinent with films like Chanway (1951), Dopatta (1951) both produced in Pakistan. Indian artists like Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Madhubala, Vyjantimala considered Nizami as a mentor, their Ustaad. After partition he moved to Pakistan with his family and composed music for many hit films in the growing Pakistani film industry. Nizami is considered among the first people to write extensively on music in Pakistan, his book Israar-e-Mausiqi is an extensively researched book on music. He was also elected the Chairman of the Music Department in Pakistan Arts Council. Jugnu is also credited to be Mohammed Rafi's breakthrough film in Hindi cinema, particularly for his duet with Noor Jehan. He passed away on 15th November 1975 in Lahore, Pakistan.

Vidya Sinha's realistic, low-key acting in the Basu Chatterjee classics Rajnigandha (1974) and Chhoti Si Baat (1976) made her a star in the seventies. Cinemaazi remembers her on her birth anniversary.

Director, producer and actor, Arjun Hingorani is regarded as a true mainstream filmmaker, well aware of the pulse of the audience. He is known for his directorials such as Kaun Kare Kurbanie (1991), Kab? Kyoon? Aur Kahan? (1970) and Kahani Kismat Ki (1973). He had a keen eye for talent and is credited with launching the career of popular star Dharmendra with Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere in 1960; he had also directed actress Sadhana’s debut film, Abana (1958), which was India’s first major Sindhi-language production. 

Cinemaazi remembers music composer Datta Davjekar on his birth anniversary. He won the Maharashtra government's Best Music Director award for five consecutive years. He is also credited with introducing Lata Mangeshkar to playback singing.

A dedicated and humble actress, Shyama essayed both lead and character roles  with ease in her career. Married to Fali Mistry, she actually had to hide her marriage for ten years to escape the stigmatisation of married actresses in the industry. Cinemaazi remembers her on her death anniversary.

Beginning her career in the 40s, Veena defied her family's opposition to enter the world of films. She remained a popular face for four decades, putting together an array of memorable performances and acting in over 100 films. Today marks her death anniversary.

Many illustrious artists and dignitaries of other media fields such as literature, theatre, and painting have occasionally crossed paths with Indian cinema. Perhaps none have made such a mark on the popular imaginary as M R Acharekar did. A celebrated painter, especially of commemorative portraits and rural landscapes, Acharekar is primarily known to film lovers for his work with R K Studio films as well as for Guru Dutt’s classic Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959).

Today, on the death anniversary of Pandit Badri Prasad, we remember the multi-faceted film personality—actor, lyricist, singer, music director, producer, and director, who had passed away this day in 1988. Born on November 14, 1902 in Benaras, UP, he moved from acting in Ramlila performances to New Theatres in Calcutta, and eventually the studios of Bombay. He made his acting debut in Navchetan (1932), going on to assist composers, before he composed music independently with Baburao Patel’s Gandharva Cinetone-produced Baala Joban (1934), in which Prasad also acted. He acted in no less than 147 films, including Albela(1951), Bhagam Bhag (1954) and Hum Sab Chor Hain(1956). While he sang 11 songs in seven films including Ahinsa(1979), he also choreographed for no less than 22 films, fromNamoona (1949) right up to Shoor Veer (1988). His work as music director is seen in multiple films including Vishnu Bhakti (1934), Fashionable India (1935),Romantic India(1936), Zambo The Ape Man (1937), Swaraj Ke Sipahi (1937), Badhe Chalo (1937), Yangrilla (1938), Himalay Ki Beti (1938),Double Cross (1938), Zambo Ka Beta (1939), Jhuti Sharm (1940), Vanmala (1941), Madhusudan (1941) and Zevar (1942), which was his last film as a composer. An erudite man with a deep love for books, Pandit Badri Prasad was proficient in Hindi, Urdu, English and Sanskrit. In fact, his title Pandit was a result of his mastery over Sanskrit. He also wrote several plays for All India Radio. Not one to tom-tom his successes or court the limelight, his achievements thus remain largely unrecognised.

‘Lovely to look at and an instinctive actress, she is likeable as ever’—this description by film critic Khalid Mohammed is an example of the standard praise Juhi Chawla regularly won in the course of her career studded with commercial and critical successes. Admired for her ‘unfailing sense of humour’ and ‘comic timing which few can match’, and adored for her lively screen presence, Juhi Chawla was one of the most popular Hindi film actresses from the late 80s until the early 2000s.

Gyan Mukherjee, the eminent filmmaker of Hindi cinema had a completely different life as a science academic before he joined Bombay Talkies as a supervising technician. He finally arrived in the film world through a well-rounded script of Bandhan (1940) and collaborated withKhwaja Ahmed Abbas on the script of Naya Sansar (1941). Some of his notable films were Jhoola (1941), Kismet(1943),  Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944), Sangram (1950), and Shtaranj (1956). He directed stars like Ashok Kumar in Kismet and Jhoola during his time in Bombay Talkies. Chal Chal Re Naujawan was the first production from Filmistan Studios. His filmmaking had a flare of naturalism and was reflective of much psychological complexity as seen in Kismet and Sangram. One of Hindi cinema’s most beloved films, Pyaasa by Guru Dutt was dedicated to him. He passed away on this day in 1956 in Calcutta. Cinemaazi remembers him on his death anniversary.

Image courtesy:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyan_Mukherjee

Known by the title ‘Gana Kokila’ or ‘Gana Saraswati’, today marks the birthday of P Susheela, one of the most prolific and mellifluous singers who has entertained listeners over more than six decades. Recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records for singing the highest number of songs in Indian languages, she has sung a whopping 17, 695 songs in 12 Indian languages. She has sung in languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese. She has been awarded the National film award five times, in addition to other esteemed awards from the governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008. Born on 13 November 1935, in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, P Susheela had early training in music and also completed her Diploma in Music from Andhra University. With her distinct, clear vocals she soon carved a niche for herself, from the time she was signed on for Petra Thai (1952) for a duet. With back to back hits in 1955 in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada industries, her popularity rose quickly. The top vocalist in the 60s across the south Indian languages, she also sang Hindi songs with music directors like KV Mahadevan,Laxmikant Pyarelal, and S N Tripathi. She reigned till 1985, post which she became selective about film songs. Focusing on devotional music and light music, P. Susheela was heard as recently as last year in films like LKG (2019), Aadai (2019) and Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019). We wish the legendary singer continued health and happiness. Here she sings Kaaveri Oram from Aadi Perukku (1962) which starred Gemini Ganesan and B Saroja Devi. 

Image courtesy: upperstall.com

Acting in Hindi films from 1929 to 1979, N A Suresh acted in over 55 films, such as Dulari (1949) in which the popular song Suhani raat dhal chuki rendered by Mohammed Rafi was picturised on him, Sohni Mahiwal (1946), Captain Kishore (1947), Jadoo (1951), Diwana (1952), Bahadur (1953),  Rishta (1954), Dost (1954), Qaidi (1957), Aji Bas Shukriya (1958), and Teen Ustad (1961). He also acted in two Pakistani films – Do Kinaray (1950) and Eid (1951). He was cast as a leading actor opposite top heroines such as Madhubala, Suraiya, Vyjayanthimala and Geeta Bali in the 50s, as well as Shyama, Ameeta, Nigar Sultana and Usha Kiran. He was a popular choice of filmmaker A R Kardar, who cast him in several films.