Welcome to India’s first superhero; and as that, Krrish does remarkably well. Rakesh Roshan’s films have always been fairly entertaining, including the ill-fated Kala Bazar and King Uncle. And now, he has improved vastly on the technical side which makes viewing more pleasurable.

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Today is Madan Mohan’s Birth Anniversary. Any superlative falls short of capturing even an iota of the genius music maker that he was. His tunes have survived the onslaught of time, in more ways than one. While his recorded songs continue to regale music lovers, even his unused tunes held a life of their own. Perhaps he is the only music composer whose even leftover tunes were re-constructed in a film made thirty years after his demise.

With Lata Mangeshkar he held a special bond, which resulted in those innumerable solos without which the singer’s ouvre would have been woefully empty. And Latadi reciprocated to her ‘Madan Bhaiyaa’ in providing that superior quality of sweetness which is entirely impossible to describe. Each song is complete in itself, away from the films they were embedded in (which were largely box office duds) and not dependant on the artiste’s charisma (which were wooden heroines like Priya Rajvansh in many cases). Madan Mohan’s music truly embodies what Hindi film music should sound like – fit into the story, yet retain its individuality to stand out of it. Perhaps that is why, in his case no one bothers to find out about the film or the heroine!

While Madan Mohan was known more for his ghazals, earning him the sobriquet of ‘King of Ghazals’, yet he has a vast array of other genre numbers as well, some which I highlighted in an earlier post.

Time and again I tried to list out MM-Lata Mangeshkar combine songs, but every time I failed and the post remained incomplete – that’s because it is very tough for me to select just a handful, and remove the others.

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Today is World Music Day – and I cannot let this day pass without saying a prayer and thanks to the musical legend who has been one solid constant in my life; one who epitomises music; one who has inspired generations – LATA MANGESHKARji, aap ko shat shat pranaam. You are the beginning and end of music!

On this day I also remember and bow before other legends who have colored my life with their golden voices: Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar and Manna Dey. My thanks to Asha Bhonsle for her songs, and also praise to some contemporary voices like Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Shreya and Sonu Nigam.

A day dedicated to music cannot be completed without a mention of three of my most favorite composers – Madan Mohan and Shankar-Jaikishan.

However, there are many others whose contributions have had significant impact on me viz. Naushad, Anil Biswas, Husnlal Bhagatram, SD Burman, C. Ramachandra, Chitragupt, Sardar Mallik, Kalyanji-Anandji, RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri. My sincere thanks to many contemporary music composers as well , listing them out will not be possible here.

Words add beauty to music. Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Rajendra Kishan, Raja Mehndi Ali Khan, Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi, Javed Akhtar and Gulzar and to many others I have missed out to mention – thanks for your invaluable words which have touched my heart and soul.

Listing out every artiste of each music field is impossible. But everyone’s contribution is always important, and somewhere it does make an impact.

Lastly, my reverance to Goddess Saraswati, who gave this priceless gift to mankind called music!

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The following are some never-seen and never-thought-of pictures that will make your eyeballs pop out. Sensationalism finds a new height. Whether these pics are real or morphed or not, one cannot tell. But as of now they present the zenith of unimaginable intent.

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I was tagged by Silky Moon, with the alphabet ‘K’ – this was a tough one, coz I hardly could much from this alphabet from my life.

Here are a few of them: 

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The answers are as follows:

1. Akayla -  I saw it with friends after a gruelling college lecture. It was difficult to decide which was bad – the lecture or this film. Coming from Ramesh Sippy, with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead, and stable actors like Shashi Kapoor and Jackie Shroff as supporting casts, calling it a ’let-down’ is an understatement. For long I believed this was the worst Amitabh Bachhan movie ever made – till the time I saw Lal Badshah and Mrityudaata; thankfully, for the latter two I didn’t waste time and money at a theater, and also had the option of a remote control in my hand!

2. Bunty Aur Bubli -  Nothing, simply nothing, had prepared me for this - in spite of Ashish warning me about it, I still held hope that the film will be passably entertaining. The jokes failed to make me laugh. And the way the cons were executed, and presented in a stupid collage, put me off completely. By the time the useless and unwanted number ‘Nach baliye’ came on, I threw up my arms – and self out of the theater! This answer would have been easy for Ashish and Anubha to answer, since I had called them up during that song!

Now when I see the song I feel it is quite pleasantly choreographed (Shiamik Dawar at work). And it is aurally above average too.

The film was shown as part of a promotional program which our company had organized for our channel partners in Nepal. Thankfully, like the rest of India, everyone lapped up the movie and enjoyed it.

So, this was a quick and short quiz. The winners will be announced shortly.

Coming up next – An alphabetical tag!

Movie-watching is a passion. And its very rare that I will ever walk out of a theater – however bad the film might be. I dont like missing any part of the film, hence I never walk out on the songs even. For me a movie is not even enjoyable if I miss the advertisements and trailors at the beginning.

Yet, it has happened – not once, but twice over. So, you can imagine how boring these films would have been.

Well, the quiz is – can you guess which two films am I talking about?

Hint One – For long (precisely till 2005), this was the ‘lone’ film that had the dubious distinction in my life for being the one wherein I could not bear to sit through. It was towards the climax when I lost all patience and even forced my friends to leave the theater. Surprisingly it starred my most favorite actor - the superstar of all times, and even currently going strong in his sixties! The film had some hideous songs, one revolving around the hero’s car – a yellow Volkswagon. Name the film!

Hint Two – Can you beat this? The second film I walked out mid-way in a song actually starred the hero of Hint One Movie’s son in the lead role. Admittedly, I returned after the song to sit through the whole movie – but I felt that particular song was really badly placed, and it tested my patience no end. The film went on to become one of the biggest grossers of 2005; the song was quite a big hit, so much so it had a game-show based on its title - though it was the other song from the same film, that starred another heroine in a guest appearance, which rocked the nation! Name the film! (And if possible, the song in which I left the theater).

I think the hints are good enough, no?

Answers to be mailed at quiz@deepakjeswal.com

Last date – June 6th 2006 1900 Hrs.

Warning : For those who havent seen the movie – the review contains spoilers!

Subhan Allah! They still make movies with an old-worldly charm, which is like having a tasteful and lovingly served meal that leaves a lingering aftertaste of flavor and fulfillment. Fanaa is a fantastic follow up by Kunal Kohli to his other emotional mellow-drama Hum Tum ; and as a director he displays a natural maturity progression in his craft and subject, tackling a deeper version of romance than his previous two films.

Fanaa is definitely not for GenNow. They will not understand the leisurely pace; nor the hushed unfolding of a tender romance between a blind girl Zoonie Ali Beg (Kajol) and her guide Rehan Quadri (Aamir Khan) set against the backdrop of Delhi’s historical heritage – who suddenly leaves here with love, eyesight and a child; neither would they gauge the strained undercurrents between Zooni and Rehan when they finally meet again, constrained by a storm raging outside, destroyed by a storm blasting within.

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