Danny Denzongpa - The name Danny was given by Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan

 

His original name is Tshering Phintso Denzongpa became famous as Danny from Bollywood. He was born on 25th Feb 1948 in Sikkim. He got admission to Armed Force Medical College Pune and went there to study Medicine but his interest was in Art. When he came to know about Pune Film & Television Institute, he shifted to an acting course.

Jaya Bhaduri was his classmate, who suggested him to change his name to 'Danny'.He also became a good friend of Amitabh Bachchan, they used to play tennis together in the early 70s. He got his first role in Zaroorat(1972) but got his major break in Gulzar's Mere Apne (1971), where he had a positive role. He had his first played an antagonist in B.R.Chopra's Dhundh (1973), where he played the role of a crippled and frustrated husband.

He is also a good singer, he was first given a chance to sing, 'Mera Naam Aao' by S.D. Burman in the film Yeh Gulistan Hamara in 1972. later he sang in a few films. He has sung with Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. 

With Asha Bhosle, he sang a duet "Suno Suno Kasam Se" in the Hindi film Kala Sona in 1975 picturized on him, became a hit, He also sang with Mohammad Rafi "Mujhe Doston Tum Gale Lagaa Lo" from Naya Daur 1978, in the same film he sang a duet with Kishore Kumar "Botal Khaali Hone To Do"

He has sung a Nepali duet with Asha Bhosle, "Aage aage topai ko gola pachhi pachhi machinegun barara" in 1976. This song was shown by Danny to Rajesh Khanna who liked the song tremendously. Then Rajesh Khanna requested R.D. Burman to compose the song – "Sang Mere Nikle The Sajan" from the 1981 film Phir Wohi Raat, which was directed by Danny himself 

His most applauded negative characters are in Bandish (1980) as Kapil Kumar, Phir Wahi Raat as "Ashok", Dharm Aur Qanoon (1984), as SP "Kader", Kanoon Kya Karega (1984), as "Raghuvir Singh", Andar Baahar (1984), as "Shera", Oonche Log (1985), as "Thakur Maan Singh", Aandhi Toofan (1986), as "Balbir" Bhagwaan Dada (1986), as "Gangwaa", Agneepath (1990), as "Kancha Cheena", Hum (1991), as "Bakhtawar", Ghatak: Lethal, as "Kaatya", Krantiveer (1994), as "Chatur Singh", Pukar, (2000) as "Abhrush" and Indian, as "Shankar Singhania". He was pitted against Pran in the film Sanam Bewafa, Paap Ki Duniya, Gurudev and 1942: A Love Story. His command over the Urdu language came in handy in films such as Sawan Kumar's Sanam Bewafa and Mukul Anand's Khuda Gawah.

In recent years he appeared in Jai Ho (2014), co-starring Salman Khan and Bang Bang (2014), co-starring Hrithik Roshan.

He was nominated 5 times as the Best Villain and 5 times as Best Supporting actor and won it twice in Sanam Bewafa(1992) and Khuda Gawah(1993). He was also given Padamshri by Govt of India.

Song of Yeh Gulistan Hamara 1972

Song of  Kala Sona 1975

Song of Naya Daur 1978

Song of Naya Daur 1978

Read More >>

Pran- Started his Second Inning from the film Ziddi(1948)

 

Ziddi(1948) was the first hit film of Dev Anand and was also the first Bombay film of Pran. Before this film, Pran was working in Lahore Film Industry. His first film was Yamla Jatt, a Punjabi film released in 1940. His first Hindi film was Khandan made in Lahore was released in 1942, he was the hero of this film and Noorjehan was his heroine.

He had acted in 22 films from 1942 to 1946 in Lahore; 18 were released by 1947. After the partition of India, he moved to Bombay and had to struggle for livelihood.  For a few months, he looked for acting opportunities while doing other jobs. He worked in Delmar Hotel, Marine Drive for eight months, after which he got a chance to act in 1948. He got this opportunity because  of his friendship with  writer Saadat Hasan Manto and actor Shyam, 

Within a week of Ziddi's success, he had signed three more films – S M Yusuf's Grihasti (1948), which became a diamond jubilee hit, Prabhat Films' Apradhi (1949) and Wali Mohammad's Putli (1949). By then, Wali Mohammad, who was responsible for Pran's first role, had come to Bombay and became a producer, setting up an office at Famous Studios, near Mahalaxmi Racecourse.

As a villain, Pran's initial successful films were Ziddi and Bari Behan (1949).  He became the favourite of the directors like M. V. Raman, Nanabhai Bhatt, Kalidas, Ravindra Dave, I. S. Johar and Bimal Roy repeatedly cast him in the 50s. He was now regularly offered the role of the main villain or of a negative character in films with Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor as the lead hero in the 1950s and 60s. Some of his memorable films with  Dilip Kumar in the 50s  Pran's trademark blowing of smoke rings first appeared in the latter film. were Aan (1952), Azaad (1955), Devdas (1955), Madhumati (1958), with Dev Anand were Munimji (1955), Amar Deep (1958), and with Raj Kapoor were  Aah (1953), Chori Chori (1956), Jagte Raho (1956), 

In the 50s he was also offered many films as hero,  Pilpili Saheb (1954) and then Halaku in 1956, were his hit films as a hero. . He had roles in several genres, like as a pirate in Sindbad the Sailor (1952) and Daughter of Sindbad (1958); He played comic roles with Kishore Kumar in Chham Chhama Chham (1952), Aasha (1957), Bewaqoof (1960), Half Ticket (1962) and Man-Mauji (1962).

In the late 1960s, Pran played Malang Chacha, a veteran war hero, in Manoj Kumar's film Upkar (1967). The Kalyanji Anandji song "Kasme Waade Pyaar Wafaa" was picturised on him. In this film, Pran played a more sympathetic role. He received his first Filmfare Award for Upkar. Kumar continued to cast him in pivotal roles in films such as Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Be-Imaan (1972), Sanyasi (1975) and Dus Numbri (1976).

From 1969 to 1982, Pran was one of the highest-paid actors of Bollywood. He played the lead role in the film Aurat, (1967) paired opposite Padmini, with Rajesh Khanna in a supporting role. He was paid more amount than Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer(1973). Later he acted with Bachchan in about 14 films with notable ones being Zanjeer, Don (1978), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Dostana (1980), Naseeb (1981) and Sharaabi (1984).

Pran had a six-decade career in Hindi cinema and is one of the most celebrated actors of the industry.r He appeared in over 350 films. At the age of 78, Pran suffered a heart attack in 1998,after which he started rejecting film offers due to age-related problems.

Pran has received many awards and honours in his career. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1967, 1969 and 1972 and was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. He was awarded as the 'Villain of the Millennium' by Stardust in 2000.The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contributions to the arts. He was honoured in 2013 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India.
.He died on 12 July 2013 at the age of 93 of pneumonia after suffering from a prolonged illness in Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital

Song of Munimji 1955

Song from Half Ticket 1962

Song of Upkar 1967

Song of Nanha Farishta 1969

Song of Adhikar 1971

Song of Victoria No 203 (1972)

Song of Zanjeer 1973

Song of  Dharma 1973

Song from Kasauti 1974

Read More >>

Jeevan- The Naarad Muni of Hindi Films

 

Jeevan  (24 October 1915 – 10 June 1987),, played the role of Narad Muni in more than 60 films. Jeevan, born as Omkar Nath Dhar. He has played the role of Narad Muni in more than 60 films. No actor in the history of cinema has played one character so many times.

He wasn’t just Narad Muni, he was also one of Hindi cinema’s most iconic villains. The first time he became a villain in the 1938 film Rajkumari. He is also known for his style of acting and mannerism  He came to Bombay to become a photographer but became an actor. His first film was the 1935 film,

In 1935, he was highly recognized for the role in ‘Romantic India’. In 1942, he was notable for his role in Station Master, and in 1946, he was notable for his role in Afasana.His popularity increased from the 1949 film Mela where he played Mehkoo, who lusts after one of the young village girls. He was also seen in many of Dev Anand's films. Recall him as Heera in Johny Mera Naam. Also, recall his character of Robert in the 1977 blockbuster Amar Akbar Anthony,

Jeevan in Johny Mera Naam

Jeevan in Amar Akbar Anthony

 He also acted in “Naya Daur”, “Rangoli”, “Nagin”, “Do phool”, “Dharam Veer”, “Roti”, “Laawaris”, “Suhaag”, Waqt”, “Darling darling”, “Sangham”, “Naseeb”, “Takkar”, “Chacha Bhatijia”, “Humraaz”, “Aabru”, “ Bandhan”,“Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya” and many other films. His last movie was “Insaaf Ki Manzil” and it was released in 1986 

He died on 10 June 1987 at the age of 71.

Read More >>

Om Puri- The Actor Par Excellence but Awful with the Women in his Life.

 

Om Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an actor par excellence. He displayed his skill in Art as well as Commercial Cinema. He acted in more than 300 movies, bringing many characters to life. He was an unconventional hero, he worked in Bollywood and Hollywood, and British Cinema. He was the first Indian actor to be nominated for the BAFTA award for his role as a Pakistani father in East is East.

As per his biography(Unlikely Hero- Om Puri), written by his wife Nandita Puri in 2011 he had relations with many women but couldn't continue long.In this book, she disclosed that he had sex with his maid when he was 14. He then went on to have another deep, personal, and sexual relationship with another woman who was a caretaker of his ailing, old father.

This was his second marriage to Nandita Puri. His first marriage was with Seema Kapoor, sister of actor Anu Kapoor. This marriage ended in 11 months. After 2 years he married Nandita who was a journalist She was 10 years younger than him, he had a son with this marriage. Their marriage was also not going well. Sema, his ex-wife once again emerged in his life. Before he died Om Puri was planning to divorce her and remarrying Seema again.

Now let's talk about his reel life. He is best known for his author-backed roles in films like Aakrosh (1980), Arohan (1982), Ardh Satya and television films like Sadgati (1981) and Tamas (1987) and also light-hearted roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Chachi 420 (1997). 

His film was Chor Chor Chhup ja, a children's film He made his debut in the mainstream films genre in the 1976 Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal. He came into prominence with Ardha Satya (1982).for which he got the National Film Award for Best Actor;.He had a cameo in the highly acclaimed film Gandhi (1982, directed by Richard Attenborough).In the mid-1990s, he diversified to play character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema, 

His notable roles in commercial Hindi films included Drohkaal, In Custody, Narsimha, Ghayal, Mrityudand, Aastha, Hey Ram, Pyar Toh Hona Hi Tha, Farz, Gadar, Lakshya, Dev (2004), Rang De Basanti, Yuva, Singh Is Kinng, Mere Baap Pehle Aap, Billu, Kyunki, Lakshya, Dabang, Bhaji In Problem, Khap, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Ghayal Once Again. Puri was seen in the role of Mohammad Ali Kasuri in Road to Sangam (2009).

On 6 January 2017, Puri died at the age of 66, after having a heart attack at his residence in Andheri, Mumbai

Song of  Pathar 1985

Song of  Pathar 1985

Song of Saanjhi 1985

Read More >>