Bombay & Bollywood Songs

Bombay. Bambai. Mumbai. This city doesn't need any introduction. Some call it मायानगरी while some call it "City of Dreams". Some hate the fast pace of this city while some just don't want to leave this city. Such is the vibe of this city. You can never be in two thoughts about this city. You either LOVE IT or HATE IT. Born and brought up in Bombay (I still love calling it that), this city has been an integral part of my life. The city has taught me many things - to love/hate people, never get bogged down by bad things, never trust anyone other than the person in a mirror & basically it has taught me to embrace life the way it is.

By now you may be thinking what nonsense I am talking of. This is supposed to be an article about films, music & other related things. Why the fuck am writing about Bombay? Aaah... got carried away. Well lets start now. Bollywood which churns out maximum number of films per year in the entire world is based in Bombay. Many directors over the years have tried to capture Bombay/Mumbai in their films & some have also used this city as a character (OUATIM, Shor In The City, Wake Up Sid!) in their films. Visually it has always been captured well by several cinematographers. I can't recollect old films but in recent past films like The Lunchbox, Ship of Theseus, Wake Up Sid!, Kaminey, Aamir, A Wednesday etc. Bombay has been showcased visually stunning.

For me it was always about music & songs. Hence I always used to find out about all those songs that were based on Bombay or depicted Bombay, its lifestyle, hardships of people living here and its madness. But most probably only one song comes to our mind when we think of Bombay and that it is classic Mohd. Rafi number "Yeh hai Bombay Meri Jaan" featured on Jhonny Walker saab. Other than that there are several other songs which describes something or other about Bombay - some are known while some are severely underrated.

So here in this article I will list out all those worthy tracks where lyricists have tried to pen their thoughts to describe Bombay & would also state that part of lyrics that I feel describes Bombay aptly. And yeah... it would always be tough to figure out which is the best song on Bombay, so I've decided to put all the songs in their order of appearance. Here goes the list -

1. Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan (C.I.D. - 1956)

Music - O P Nayyar
Lyrics - Majrooh Sultanpuri
Singers - Mohd. Rafi & Geeta Bali

Probably the first ever Bollywood song on Bombay according to me. I researched a lot but couldn't find any other song about Bombay prior to this. Guru Dutt's protege Raj Khosla's directorial debut C.I.D. was a classic investigative thriller with a brilliant performance by Dev Anand. Interestingly this song was featured on Johnny Walker's character who plays a pickpocketer & important witness in the murder mystery instead of Dev saab. Song is such a classic that it served as an inspiration to several other songs & films in future. Nishikant Kamat used the same song in the closing credit of his critically acclaimed Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008) as a tribute to Bombay's undying spirit. Mohd. Rafi's rendition was brilliant while O P Nayyar kept his music simple yet engaging. But it was definitely Majrooh Sultanpuri's lyrics that makes this song a cult classic and unforgettable. Lyrics had bittersweet quality to it where Sultanpuri brilliantly reflected that era ('50s) with lines like

 कहीं बिल्डिंग कहीं ट्रामे कहीं मोटर कहीं मील, 

मिलता है यहाँ सब कुछ पर मिलता नहीं एक दिल.

Now buildings have been replaced by skyscrapers, trams with Metro & Monorail and mills with shopping malls & multiplexes yet somewhere this city is still soulless. Another great thing about this song is that instead of shooting it in a studio they shot it on a real locations (Marine Drive, VT Station) & you can actually see in that Carriage scene where public is running behind the Carriage trying to get into the frame of camera.

Best Part in Lyrics -

बेघर को आवारा यहाँ केहते हस हस,

खुद काटे गले सबके कहे इसको बिज़नेस,

एक चीज़ के है कई नाम यहाँ,

ज़रा हटके ज़रा बचके ये है बॉम्बे मेरी जान.

2. Do Deewane Sheher Mein & Ek Akela Iss Sheher Mein (Gharaonda - 1977)

Music - Jaidev
Lyrics - Gulzar
Singers - Bhupinder Singh & Runa Laila

The best part about this film is Gulzar's screenplay. It is very simple and explores various human emotions throughout the film. Gharaonda (Nest) is a story of Sudip (Amol Palekar) & Chaya (Zarina Wahab) who belong to middle class section of Bombay and work in the same office. Sudip shares his house with his friends while Chaya lives with her siblings. They soon plan to get married and hence save every penny to buy a new house for them. They go house hunting in Bombay which suits their budget. They finally invest in a flat of an under construction building. But when their dreams were about to come to reality, a tragedy strikes their lives. Director Bhimsain Khurana beautifully explores the situation of several people dreaming of owning their house in Bombay which still remains a dream for many.

Such was the story & setting of Gharaonda that film had not one but two songs on Bombay. Gulzar who wrote screenplay also served as lyricist & trust me Gulzar never disappoints. Film's music was composed by very underrated composer Jaidev. The first song "Do Deewane Sheher Mein" is mostly shot in an under construction building where Sudip & Chaya have decided to buy a flat. Sung by Bhupinder Singh & Pakistani singer Runa Laila, song is basically a conversational number where characters are quite happy about their lives.

 
Best Part in Lyrics -

दो दीवाने शेहर में, रात में या दोपहर में,

आबुदाना ढूंढते  हैं, आशियाना  ढूंढते  हैं,

इन भुलभुलिया गलियों में, अपना भी एक घर होगा,

अम्बर पे खुलेगी खिड़की या खिड़की पे खुला अम्बर होगा.

The emotions of both characters were so beautifully expressed through these lines specially the last one. And for your simplicity आबुदाना stands for food & water while आशियाना stands for a home. The second song "Ek Akela Iss Sheher Main" is kind of a sad version of previous song but its Gulzar who makes that sadness even more beautiful. Song comes at that point in a film when tragedy has stricken Sudip's life and Chhaya is now no more in his life (that doesn't mean she is dead, plot twist is brilliant. I don't wanna spoil it. Just watch the film) to support him. Even song is conceived superbly by showing crowded Bombay with streets full of ambassadors, trains, high buildings & Amol Palekar's character is just wandering alone in all these places. It subtly shows that even this crowded city sometimes we are still all alone.

Best Part in Lyrics -

  इन उम्रो से लंबी सडको को, मंजिल पे  पहुँचते  देखा नहीं,
बस दौड़ती फिरती रहती है, हमने तो  ठहरते  देखा नहीं,
इस अजनबी से शहर  में, जाना पहचाना ढूंढता  हैं.

3. Seene Mein Jalan (Gaman - 1978)

Music - Jaidev
Lyrics - Shahryar
Singer - Suresh Wadkar

Even Before Muzaffar Ali made hugely popular & National Award winning Umrao Jaan (1981), he made his directorial debut with this lesser known film called Gaman (Departure). Gaman is a story of a migrant Ghulam Hasan (Farooque Sheikh) who has migrated from his village in UP to improve his living in Bombay. How he faces hardships but finally settles down in the city is the basic story of Gaman. Film is very underrated (even I am yet to watch this one) and soundtrack again by Jaidev is even more underrated. In spite of winning National Award for best music, songs never became that popular. Jaidev's classical base to the song was fascinating & Suresh Wadkar just nailed this song with his flawless rendition. It was I guess Wadkar's debut in Bollywood. But 2 brilliant aspects of this song again is its lyrics & the way it is shot. Shahryar's lyrics were just brilliant & showcased protagonist's trying to understand the lifestyle & fast life of this city. This song shows busy city life of Bombay in '70s like no other film in that era did with amazing aerial shots showcasing Bombay's skyline. Watch out for that aerial shot post 2 minutes in the video. Its simply awesome.

Best Part in Lyrics -

सीने में जलन, आँखों में तूफान सा क्यूँ है,

इस शहर में हर शख्स परेशान सा क्यूँ है.

4. Ee Hai Bambai Nagariya (Don - 1978)

Music - Kalyanji Anandji
Lyrics - Anjaan
Singer - Kishore Kumar

Another popular song that comes to our mind when we think about Bombay. Farhan Akhtar's version of Don may be stylish but it will never be as iconic as Chandra Barot's original. Vijay is a simpleton who earns some money by doing such street acts & feeds 2 foster kids. One thing that Farhan Akhtar smartly did in his remake was that he didn't make SRK do something like this & instead made him do that Ganpati Visarjan track. Because in today's time hardly anyone has time to stop in their busy life & take a look at such street acts. And now-a-days they are almost extinct at least in metros. Kalyanji Anandji's music had a folk feel with dholaks & shehnaai. Even though Anjaan tried to weave the theme of "Attraction for Bombay by outsiders" through his lyrics but real star of song was definitely Kishore Kumar's vocals. His singing had that slight UP twang which very well established Vijay's character and goofiness. Its a fun song on Bombay which is very well directed by Chandra Barot.

Best Part in Lyrics -

देखो दूर दूर से, लोग दूर दूर से,

इहाँ आते है दाव लगाने, इहाँ आते है दाँव लगाने,

देस गाँव  छोड़ के, प्रीत प्यार तोड़ के,

सोया सोया नसीबा जगाने, सोया सोया नसीबा जगाने.

I am not into much of '80s & '90s Bollywood music. Baring few soundtracks, most of the music in those decades was bland & unimaginative. There were some songs on Bombay during those times too but I chose not to write on those songs because I didn't find them that exciting. Some of them were  -

5. Mumbhai (Bombay Boys - 1998)

Music, Lyrics & Vocals - Javed Jaffrey

Even before Kaizad Gustad made crapshit films like Boom (2003) & Jackpot (2013), he made a nice English language indie dark comedy called Bombay Boys (1998). It was a story of 3 NRIs - Ricardo (Rahul Bose), Krishna (Naveen Andrews) & Xerxes (Alexander Gifford) who have come to Mumbai for a purpose. Ricardo is in search for his missing brother, Xerxes wants to make music & Krishna is here to act in Bollywood. How their lives affects each other forms the story of the film. But one character I totally loved was of Bollywood producer/Gangster Don Mastana played brilliantly by Naseeruddin Shah. It was like Delhi Belly of '90s set in Bombay. In spite of been critically acclaimed film never became that famous. Instead what became famous was this song by Javed Jaffrey. Song is a part of end credits & has gained tremendous cult following over the years with its tapori/bhai style lyrics. Javed Jaffrey's music may not have anything worth talking of but what really is commendable is his lyrics & brilliant rap sections. Another reason this song is perfect about Bombay is the way Jaffrey dons various bambaiya characters like bhai, muslim butcher, SoBo guy, eunuch, marvari businessman & parsi guy all effortlessly. Watch out for that brilliant last part & some typical tapori words like रापचंदुस, पंगा, त्रास, खोपचा & nudding.

Best Part in Lyrics -

नेता, अभिनेता या हो कोई builder,

भाई को देगा सुपारी करवाता है murder,

हाथ में उसका power है, सब उसका आगे झुकता,

उसका खोपड़ी सनक गया तोह पूरा मुंबई रुकता.

6. Ye Kaisa Hai Sheher (Paanch - 2002)

Music - Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyrics - Abbas Tyrewala
Singer - Dominique Cerejo

Having penned Satya which is definitely one of the finest Underworld films of Bollywood set in Bombay, Anurag Kashyap knew Bombay right since early '90s when he first landed in this city. His still unreleased directorial debut Paanch was also set in Bombay and explored the life of 5 individuals who form a rock band & are very much involved into drugs, sex & smoke. This song about Mumbai comes at that point when band wants to earn some good money & a bit of fame. Set in a posh lounge where band performs this song. Music composer Vishal Bhardwaj took the entire song into wonderful Jazz/lounge space with brilliant use of trumpets, guitars & mouth organ. Dominique Cerejo who later sang popular songs like Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein (Rock On!!) & Dhoom Again (Dhoom 2) did a wonderful rendition to this song. But song definitely belongs to lyricist Abbas Tyrewala who in his pre-Aditi days (Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Na) did some amazing work. He wrote screenplay for Maqbool and served as lyricist/dialogue writer for films like Paanch, Munnabhai M.B.B.S. and Main Hoon Na. He superbly explores the loneliness, hustle bustle, selfish attitude & madness of the Bombay through his lyrics. Paanch even had a classical song called "Ankhiyan Chipki" sung by legendary Ustad Sultan Khan. Do watch out for that too.

Best Part in Lyrics -

क्या दिन क्या रात है यहाँ पर, के साला दोनों बराबर,

ना रास्ते कभी हो खाली, ना बंध होती है गाली,

माँ बेहन की याद सबको आती हर पहेर,

हल्ला गुल्ला शोरगुल ये कैसा है शेहेर.

7. Sahi Hai Re (Jhankaar Beats - 2003)

Music - Vishal Shekhar

Lyrics - Vishal Dadlani

Singer - Udit Narayan

Sujoy Ghosh's directorial debut Jhankaar Beats was an out and out tribute to musical maestro R D Burman. Composer duo Vishal Shekhar whose previous works like Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999) & Supari (2003) were liked by few but it was their soundtrack for Jhankaar Beats that made them instantly famous. Their soundtrack complimented the film's premise brilliantly and even won them Filmfare R D Burman Award for New Music Talent. In a flawless soundtrack which boasted some extremely popular songs like Tu Aashiqui Hai, Humein Tumse Pyar Kitna, Suno Na & Ruk Ruk Rukna Na; there was this underrated yet awesome song called Sahi Hai Re dedicated to Mumbai. Penned by Vishal Dadlani himself, song was focused on transformations in the city from Bombay to Mumbai yet everything was same here. Only thing that changed was name. Vocal percussion & Udit Narayan's singing are reasons enough to listen to this underrated track.

Best Part in Lyrics -

Building है, बस्ती है, tension है, मस्ती है,

जितनी महंगाई है जान उतनी सस्ती है,

दुनिया के शेहेरो को देखा फिर भी ऐसा और नहीं है रे,

है ये जैसा वैसा भी सही है रे.

8. Boombai Nagariya (Taxi No. 9211 - 2006)

Music - Vishal Shekhar
Lyrics - Vishal Dadlani
Singer - Bappi Lahiri, Nana Patekar & John Abraham

Another Vishal Shekhar entry in this list. In spite of being loosely based on Hollywood film Changing Lanes (2002), Taxi No. 9211 was an entertaining film thanks to terrific performance by Nana Patekar. One thing I really liked in this film was that it seamlessly fused different lifestyle of two unknown people very well. In fact, I love such films where various strata of society are thrown together for a cracking story. For eg. Sudhir Mishra's Yeh Saali Zindagi (Old Delhi & New Delhi were nicely fused together), Raj & DK's Shor In The City and Abhinay Deo's Delhi Belly. Here it was a wealthy young businessman & a poor Taxi driver disguised as an Insurance agent. The reason song became instant hit was due to inclusion of famous dialogues by lead actors, Bappi Lahiri's rendition & peppy tune. Song which forms the cool opening credits of the film is also well shot & edited. Though entire song is great but my favourite lyrics here are from 2 different paragraphs.

Best Part in Lyrics -

लाख लाख रोज़ आके बस जाते है,

इस शहर से दिल लगाके फस जाते है,

सोने की राहों में सोने को जगह नहीं,

साला इधर तोह footpath भी housefull है.

उतर जाए रगों में जो तो ये नशा है,

इसकी आदत जो पड़ गयी तो ये सज़ा है.

9. Bade Sheher Ke Bade Nakhre (Raat Gayi Baat Gayi - 2009)

Music & Lyrics - Ankur Tewari
Singer - Anushka Manchanda

Coming from Rajat Kapoor's "Low budget high concept" group of films, Saurabh Shukla's Raat Gayi Baat Gayi? sadly went unnoticed just because of bad releasing strategy. Film was released a week after Rajkumar Hirani's mega blockbuster 3 Idiots. Honestly, film was a one time watch experience with excellent mix of art-house actors. Film was basically set in rich society of Mumbai specifically SoBo (South Bombay) and revolved around the themes of infidelity and marital crisis. It had one heck of a catchy soundtrack by Indie composer Ankur Tewari with couple of jazz numbers & several acoustic ballads. If you have heard Ankur's first indie album Jannat, then you will surely get a hang of what kind of music he follows. Acoustic ballads are his forte & soundtrack of RGBG had that in plenty composed by him & other members from his band Ankur & The Ghalat Family. This track was one of the 2 jazz numbers from the soundtrack which was sung seductively by Anushka Manchanda. Ankur Tewari's lyrics described the modern, selfish & rich lifestyle of people in cities & taking potshots on upper class folks' mentality. You can listen to fabulous soundtrack of Raat Gayi Baat Gayi? here.

Best Part in Lyrics -

यूँ अपने में खोये है सब, अपने से अपने को मतलब,

बड़े शेहेर के बड़े नखरे है, समजा ना इनको कोई.

एक दौड़ में भागे हे सब, फुरसत का जाने ना मतलब,

पडोसी भी है पडोसी से अजनबी, होगा अनजाना कोई.

10. Bombay Bombay (Striker - 2009)

Music - Amit Trivedi
Lyrics - Prashant Ingole
Singers - Siddharth

Promotional video

Chandan Arora is a criminally underrated director. His previous 2 films, Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon (2003) & Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh (2005) were moderately successful on box office but no one knew the director. His next, Striker was stuck for 4 years and finally got a theatrical release & simultaneous Youtube premiere in 2009. Though film was a disaster on Box Office but it was well appreciated by critics for authentic production design & performances (Ankur Vikal, Siddharth, Anupam Kher). It also had a terrific multi-composer soundtrack with composers like Vishal Bhardwaj, Amit Trivedi, Blaaze, Swanand Kirkire, Yuvan Shankar Raja & Shailendra Barve. This song "Bombay Bombay" was a promotional song composed by Amit Trivedi & sung by actor Siddharth himself. Thinking of best part in lyrics would be tough because every line written by Prashant Ingole is hard hitting & mindblowing. His choice of words perfectly describe the city Bombay/Mumbai - the City of Dreams & City that never Sleeps.

Entire Song

Best Part in Lyrics -

सपने लेके आते है यहाँ सारे, किस्मत फुटी दुनिया लुटी हारे,

कभी कंधों पे ये बिठा दे, कभी तुझे ये रोंग दे.

साला ये शेहेर भी अजीब है,

जन्नत से दूर पर मन्नत के करीब है,

मांगता मेहनत पर चलता सिर्फ नसीब है.

Building तो सब बहोत solid है यहाँ,

पर रिश्तों में वोह बात कहाँ,

आज इधर कल उधर,

किसको मालूम कल गुजरी रात कहाँ.

The Special One - Boondon Ke Moti (Wake Up Sid! - 2009 )

Music - Amit Trivedi
Lyrics - Amitabh Bhattacharya
Singer - Salim Merchant

Many may complain that lyrics of this song doesn't contain a single word that would describe Bombay but still this track is there on this list. Ayan Mukherjee's excellent coming-of-age debut Wake Up Sid! (2009) was a story of lazy, rich & aimless guy named Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) who realizes his dreams, aims & responsibilities after meeting a free spirited & independent women Aisha (Konkana Sen Sharma). This song was a part of background score (which was never officially released though Karan Johar did plan to do it post terrific success of "Iktara") which was done entirely by Amit Trivedi. Sung by Salim Merchant & penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, song comprised of a wonderful climax leading towards happy ending. These song finds its place in this list only because of 2 reasons - stunning cinematography & classy epilogue by Konkana Sen Sharma. Never before Bombay looked so beautifully in rains with a whiff of Arabian Sea, smell of rains, breezy wind near Marine Drive & realization of love. Totally Awesome!!!

Mumbai जीतनी खुबसुरत है, उतनी सख्त भी,

अपने मंज़िल के पीछे दौड़ते हुए, 

हमारी नज़र कई बातों से हट जाती है.

इसलिए.... कुछ देर के लिए ही सही,

अपनी busy जिंदगी से नज़र हटाये और उस special एहसास को धुन्दिये, 

जो आपके शेहेर, आपकी जिंदगी को .... आपके लिए और भी खुबसुरत बनाता है.

क्या पता आपको भी एक हमसफ़र मिल जाए......

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On Hitch's BirthDay

Even if you have never seen a film by Alfred Hitchcock, you will most probably still be aware of the man. He has become a popcultural icon in the film industry. You may recognise him because of his gaudy frame or maybe because you are aware of the shower scene from Psycho or the crop dusting scene from North by North West. 

'The Master of Suspense' as we know him, was born on 13th Aug 1899. Concocting masterful mysteries and top-notch suspense is a feature we all recognize him with, but he became a cultural icon by his signature cameos. 

The man brought so much to cinema as a whole as well as to cinematography and forever changed the thriller genre. As much strange or wrong it may sound, but Hitchcock never won an Oscar award for best director and had a meagre 2 nominations. His style kept evolving over the long spanning career and his later classics were almost close to scandolous to the audience as well the industry which was still not over the melodramatic 40s and somewhat slow 50s.


The man brought so much from his personal life into the films. His failed relationships, his troubles with his parents, it all made him a paranoid but a genius person. 

As a tribute to this great master, here are his 5 memorable works as we remember him on his Birthday.

Meanwhile youtube has a dedicated channel to Hitchcock which has some amazing stuff for fans - http://www.youtube.com/user/cinenetahtv


Rebecca

Rebecca was Hitchcock's first American Project and proving Hitchcock's mettle, it won best picture award at Oscars. Based on eponymous novel, Rebecca is a gritty psychological drama. The best part of movie is Hitchcock showing up near the end, but that was just one of the many cameos to come.







Rear Window

A typical Hitchcock classic with a typical Hitchcock-ian panache, Rear Window is one of Hitchcock's Best. The movie is an adaptation of "It had to be murder". James Stewart was again a part of one high-class Suspense thriller that bagged four academy award nominations.





Notorious

Ingrid Bergman's 'Spy Adventure' venture with Hitchcock is pretty Notorious in its own right. This movie is signified by a two-and-a-half minute stop-and-continue kiss. It touches upon multiple genres combining elements of Gothic fiction (an imprisoned woman), a woman's film (woman in a love triangle with unworthy men), a spy film, and a film-noir with a femme fatale protagonist(cf wikipedia).







Psycho

Psycho is my Hitchcock favorite.It is a perfect Horror-psychological-thriller which a generation of directors look up to for inspiration. Among other things, Psycho is famous for its most epic Shower Scene. Despite absence of a supernatural being, this is a treat for horror movie lovers



Vertigo

Clearly the career defining film of good ol' Alfred starring James Stewart once again. Vertigo replaced Citizen Kane as the best film of all time in the 2012 British Film Institute's Sight & Sound critics' poll. It gave the world "Vertigo (Camera) Effect".









Some of the films which are noteworthy 
The man who knew too much
Murder
Rope
North by NorthWest
Strangers on a train
Birds

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The Essential Robin Williams

The world woke up today with the unfortunate news that it is now a poorer place with the departure of Robin Williams, comedian extraordinaire. He had been a part of our lives through his films for over three decades. He made us laugh, made us cry, made us think, and in some ways changed the way of our life through some of his films.

Filmy folklore states that a lot of Robin Williams' on-screen antics were ad-libbed. This is quite plausible since any comedian is more confident/brilliant with his own material than with reading lines given to him by someone else. Robin Williams was exceptional in his stand-up. He was the best of them, he was brutal, he was unforgiving, and he made you laugh through it all : Have a look at the video below

I am bringing this up because this performance is from a time when his films weren't doing well. The only bits of old Robin Williams was evident in the The Night of The Museum series, the third installment of which would be unfortunately part of his swan song.

Robin Williams will be sorely missed, and today in his untimely demise we look back to celebrate his life with the best of his oeuvre.

1. Good Morning, Vietnam

The words war and comedy do not gel together (except that they should considering the farce that war in general is), this is one of the few films of this particular genre about Vietnam war. And in my opinion this is the best.

Robin Williams starred as Adrian Cronauer, a real life radio jockey who had been flown to Vietnam in 1965 to build up troop morale. Most of the Radio announcements that he made in this film were improvised, and the trademark 'Good Moooooooooooooooorning, Vietnam!' has been imitated by RJs worldwide.

2 Dead Poets Society

This is not a comic film. However this is a very inspiring film. It is about seizing the day, it is about breaking free and it is about ripping out a page from your text book because it does you no good.

John Keating is the teacher you still wish you had when you were back at school. And even today if you watch this film you would still be shedding a tear at Neil's suicide but would also be feeling uplifted overall, you would be tempted to write that story which you had been thinking about for a long time but could never get along to writing, you would want to  travel to that one destination which had eluded you to now, you would want to literally Carpe Diem, and all because of Robin Williams' performance.

3 Aladdin

The writers of the film wrote the character of Genie keeping Williams in mind. Robin Williams was already known for his impersonations, working as an animated character literally gave a freehand to his voice. It is said that he did more than 50 impersonations for this role, the genie anachronistically referencing Jack Nicholson and others, and the makers of the movie must have had a field day matching the genie to Robin Williams.

Like most of his better roles, this too was based almost entirely on improv responses to the situations in the movie. Genie remains one of the best animated disney characters, and tonight I wish to watch Aladdin again only to have a re-look at all of Genie's scenes.

4. Mrs Doubtfire

How did he do it? How did he transform himself for an entire movie into Mrs Doubtfire, how easily he convinced the audience (who wouldn't have been able to discern the man in the wig and make up if they hadn't been in the know). How did he take a formula already done by Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie and make it better?

I remember watching this film for the first time when I was seven, and I remember laughing uncontrollably throughout. This was the movie which made me a fan of the actor (Aladdin released theatrically in India an year later) and even today given a chance I would chose this over many comedy films.

5. Insomnia

This is one of the most unlike Robin Williams roles that he has done in his life. This movie unfortunately set tone for him acting in a lot of serious roles thereafter, but in this particular film he was brilliant.

Directed by Chris Nolan and also starring Al Pacino and Hillary Swank, Insomnia gave Robin Williams a chance to showcase a side of him which his fans had never seen. And he did not disappoint. It is because he is such a good actor that he terrifies as the villain of the story. This was perhaps the last good film of his career where he had a starring role.

6. Good Will Hunting

For me, this is the best role of Robin Williams. Sean Maguire is the best guide and confidante that you can wish for. No words that I write here will do justice to the pure awesomeness of this film.


An icon of our childhood/growing up phase has passed away, we know there will never be another like him. The best we can do now is to revisit his films and relive a few of our memories. I am personally going to start with Good Will Hunting.

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Remembering Rafi on his death anniversary

I would like to start with Naushad's quote on Rafi's death

कहता है कोई दिल गया, दिलबर चला गया

साहिल पुकारता है, समंदर चला गया

लेकिन जो बात सच है वो कोई कहता नही

दुनिया से मौसीक़ी का पायांबर चला गया

Had he been alive, he would have been 90 years old now. I could keep on writing endlessly about Rafi but that would kill the point. I am not going to quantify how many songs he sang, or how good were his vocals or how humble he was as a person. Every Rafi fan, everyone knows everything about the greatness of the man. I am just jolting down 5 songs that were remarkable in establishing Rafi at the helm of singing. At the pinnacle of music

5) Soniye ni heeriye ni, teri yaad ni aan sataya

This was Rafi sahab's first song. Music was composed by legendary Shyam Sundar ji and the movie was Gul Baloch - 1944. It was a punjabi song and Rafi sahab was sharing the mic with Zeenat Begum in this duet. Rafi was initially spotted by Feroze Nizami in Lahore who also got him a job with Radio Lahore for some time. Shyam Sundar was aware of Rafi's potential and gave him 7 songs in his next film - Bazaar. However Rafi was still lurking behind in the shadows of Talat and Saigal till now

4) Yahan badla wafa ka

Rafi got his first break in hindi movies with the movie Gaon ki Gori, but he pretty much went unnoticed there. In came Anmol Ghadi and Jugnu. Anmol Ghadi was the moment that was going to shape the music industry for the coming decades. Although Naushad had recognised Rafi's talent much before and their coming together happened in 1944 with the film, Pehle Aap and the song `Hindustan ke hum ham hindustan hamara’. Naushad was the first music maestro responsible for showcasing and presenting Rafi’s awesome repertoire. Anmol Ghadi got Rafi the attention of the music fraternity while the song 'yahan badla wafa ka' from Jugnu made sure Rafi was not going to get lost in the new breed of singers that were coming up during the independence days. The music for the song was composed by Feroze Nazmi and the song garnered enough attention with Yusuf being the face of the song. The duet also had Noor Jahan singing with Rafi

3) Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki

I tried to resist the urge of not putting the live version of Naushad orchestrating and Rafi singing this song, but its next to impossible. The magic of this song has become a popcultural symbol. There have been stories about this song even being national anthem of some Caribbean island country for some time. Whether the myths, the folks attached with the song are true or not still remains clouded in mystery, but whats crystal clear is that this song is pure bliss. Naushad and Rafi carried their magical combination for years before and after this song. The duo hit their highest point in 1952 with Baiju Bawra, but Suhani Raat would always be the song that made Rafi the face of Indian music. Barsaat in 1949 was the most succesful music album and took Mukesh to great fame but Rafi with one single song had the song of the year

4) Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho

Had they had the category for best male playback singer in Filmfare Awards in 1950s, Rafi would have done a clean sweep. It almost becomes unthinkable to compare him with any other male playback singer in 50s. His combination with SD Burman, Naushad, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Shankar Jaikishan and C ramchandra delivered pure gold during the decade. Despite missing out on the inaugral award to Mukesh for Anari, Rafi got his hands on it next year with this classic number from the film of the same name. The Guru Dutt- SD relationship had ended after Kagaz ke Phool and in came the masterful Ravi who delivered a peach of an album with Rafi again bringing the golden touch in the songs. The album was critically acclaimed with Rafi claiming 5 solo songs

5) Kya Hua Tera Wada

If Filmfare were missed in 50s, then national Awards were even more delayed in entering the frame. Rafi surprisingly received only 1 national award during his life but thats more due to the fact that the awards started in 1967 and by that time Rafi had peaked multiple times already and was on a gradual decline with rise of Kishore Kumar and entry of RD Burman in the scene. However it was RD's music which finally got Rafi the award (believed by many including me, to be just a gesture to the brightest star in the galaxy with kind of a consolation. Not a great Rafi song by any stretch of imagination). From the movie Hum Kisi se Kam Nahi in 1977, this song in a way provided closure to Rafi's long, illustrious and succesful career. 

It was not long after that, when Naushad called Manna Day to inform him that Rafi had passed away. Manna was trembling after that. Lata could not get a proper sleep for some nights and the whole of India was in shock

Finally a song to remember Rafi in his entirety 

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6 Underrated Songs of Sonu Nigam

पूत के पाँव पालने में ही नज़र आ जाते हैं.... 

Although Mohd. Rafi is considered by many to be one of the greatest Indian playback singers of the Hindi film industry because of his ability to sing songs of different moods and varieties in a career spanning over 30 years, I am sure that if he would have seen the young Sonu Nigam performing at stage at the tender age of 4, he would himself have given his crown to him. 

Technically, Sonu Nigam is said to be Gulshan Kumar’s discovery, who in the early 90s have started to re-create golden 70s and 60s song under his banner T-Series where Sonu Nigam sung many covers of Rafi Saa’b . Perhaps because of this, he was called as Rafi Clone during his early years and still today, one can find traces of Rafi Saa’b in his voice. Further when T-Series started to make devotional songs, then Sonu Nigam’s popularity rose and because of his appearances in these songs, people started noticing his screen presence also.

Sonu Nigam’s real stint with popularity came with the TV Show “Sa Re Ga Ma” which he hosted. The show was first of its kind and was the second reality show of cable television after Close Up Antakshari. This was a game changing event for Sonu as during this show, music director started taking him seriously as a singer and he was being given a chance to be the playback voice of actors. 

1997 was an year, that changed Sonu Nigam’s career with two path breaking songs that went on to create history as well as defined his path 

Sandeshe Aate hain – Border

 Dil Deewaana – Pardes

Over the years, Sonu Nigam has become a major force in the hindi film industry. Just, when you think, he has delivered his peak, he makes his comeback with a song more melodious, more soothing than the previous, the latest example of which is “Abhi Mujh me Kahin” from Agneepath(2012). He has not only been a exceptional playback singer, but has tried his hands at pop albums, acting, music direction etc. Not only Hindi, he has recorded songs in almost all regional languages. Besides a musician, he is a top notch performer and has a niche stage presence. Those who have seen his stage performance would have certainly witnessed his witty jokes.

Today, Filmistani would take a dig at Sonu Nigam’s under rated songs that he has sung over the years and because of many reasons, these songs got lost/not much popular these days.

#6: Betab Dil Hai(Phir Milenge) – This 2004 movie starred Shilpa Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan and was directed by Revathi. The movie was allegedly said to be inspired by the Hollywood Movie Philadelphia. The movie dealt with a bold subject AIDS and in 2004, there were no takers for such concepts. As the movie failed miserably at the box-office, the lesser known songs got washed away from the public memory. Enjoy this song here and do let us your thoughts.

#5: Sapne Ki Baat Main Bataun (Indipop Album): Whenever, names of pop albums of Sonu Nigam is taken, there is always mention of Kismat(feat. Tu), Deewana, Jaan, Chanda Ki Doli etc. but, very few people know that before these albums, there was an album called Sapne Ki Baat. It surely was not as immensely popular as Sonu’s other works but it surely boasted of some good music and which was lost because of the popularity of his other works. Enjoy this song by the then lesser known Sonu Nigam who had raw fresh energy. Somehow, I feel the raw fresh power of this song deserves to be listened by more audience.

#4: Zaalima(Jal): This 2013 movie, directed by Girish Malik and starring Purab Kohli  is about an overconfident water diviner, who tries to solve the drought problems in his village, but faces unforeseen circumstances when he tries to help a female ornithologist save flamingos. The film was premiered and received special mention at the "New Currents" section of the Busan International Film Festival 2013 and in the "Indian Panorama" section of the International Film Festival of India. However, there were hardly any takers for the music of this movie because of the lack of a proper production house. As a result, this highly pulsating energetic Sonu Nigam number remained unnoticed.

#3: Phir Mujhe Dil(Toh Baat Pakki) – This 2010 romantic comedy marked the debut of Marathi Filmmaker Kedar Shinde. Although, the movie was produced by Tips Music Films and boasted some known actors like Tabu and Sharman Joshi, the movie was badly promoted and not many people knew about this movie at the time of its release. As a result the movie sunk. Also, the movie was actually scheduled to release in the September 2009 but because of the multiplex strike the movie was delayed by five months and finally released in February 2010 which overall increased the cost of the movie and film makers have then decided not to spend much on its publicity. The music of the movie was given by Pritam and it was not promoted well as you can see this Sonu Nigam song is not known to many people today. This solo song has some extraordinary Alaap and you can feel his vintage voice. (Tips Music: I have a question for you. Are you so obsessed with Aatif Aslam that you will not promote a song sung by other singer.. WTH man..). Enjoy this soothing song and let us know your thoughts.

#2: Sapna Mera (Sooper Se Ooper ) – This 2013 movie was directed by Shekhar Ghosh and starred Vir Das, Yashpal Sharma and Deepak Dobriyal. The movie faced stiff competition in the week of its release with as many as six films releasing on the same day. Despite being promoted as a comedy the film almost never made you laugh.Though the film had an interesting story line with more than praise worthy comic actors, the sad under usage of talent plagued the film and hence it was a total washout. As a result, songs never became popular and this jazzy Sonu Nigam song penned by Shabbir Ahmed was lost in be-wilderness. Let us know your thoughts on this song.

#1: Do Qadam Aur Sahi – I have not mentioned the name of the movie because I know that the moment I mention the name of the movie, people will jump on the bandwagon and will point fingers at me and will say that "Hey Admin! Are you mad? This movie is so popular. How come it is underrated?" I agree friends, this movie is very popular and its songs have crafted a special place in the heart of music lovers over the period of time but unfortunately, this marvelous song is mostly unheard of. Reason being, this movie was directed by M.F. Hussain in 2005 and was a semi-autobiographical. The music of the movie received positive reviews but as the movie bombed at the Box-Office the soundtrack too remained unnoticed. Tracks such as "Yeh Rishta" and "Chinnamma Chillakkamma" became chartbusters when they were reused in the 2008 Tamil movie Sakkarakatti. (Now you must have realized why I called the song an underrated). Listen to this soulful number sung by Sonu Nigam and penned by Rahat Indori. Let us know what you feel about this song.

Hope you like the list. Do let us know your comments.

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Naseer Saa'b - The top 5 performances

They say him A Man of All Seasons. When he speaks, we all listen. He is a true master when it comes to acting. Naseeruddin Shah, unlike the rest of the Bolly Land, is honest, candid and qualified. Born in 1950, and educated in National School of Drama, Delhi, he has worked hard to cement his place as the iconic face of new Indian cinema (from 80s to till date). Indeed, he is arguably one of the finest actors of the world today.  Though his use of hesitant speech and casual gesture to signify psychological complexity sets him apart from the mainstream actors, he has gained fair amount of success in mainstream movies too. Tridev, Mohra and The Dirty Picture are to be named a few of the commercial successful movies of him. Naseer Saa’b was first noticed by Shyam Benegal and the rest is history now.

Today, Filmistani would like to list out 5 memorable performance of Nasser Shah, in no particular order. And yes we are not counting his iconic Mirza Ghalib series (as I think, that is something which can not be put in a list with any film ever)

1) Nishant: 'Poot ke paanv paalne me hi dikhayi de jate hain'. This could not have been truer in any sense of the world than Nasser Saa'b's debut movie Nishant. Directed by the pioneer of art-house and parallel cinema, Shyam Benegal and based on a story by legendary Vijay Tendulkar, Nishant is a deep and disturbing experience. Outlined by incredible performances by a stellar cast consisting of Girish Karnad, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Sadhu Meher, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Anant Nag, Mohan Agashe and Satyadev Dubey; Nishant went on to win National award that year. In a small yet powerful and challenging role, Nasser saa'b plays the character of Vishwam, youngest son of Amrish Puri and portrays the character of a shy, confused and submissive individual who is confronted by his own destitute for accepting his love. The movie will never be known as a Naseeruddin Shah movie because of the power driven by other actors in the film, but it nonetheless remains a classic

2) Masoom
Masoom can be quoted sometimes to be the movie that established Nasser saa'b at the forefront of Indian Cinema. Before this as well he was an academic artist being studied in the realms of alternate cinema but Masoom made him a household name by establishing him in mainstream with the contemporaries. Masoom touches a very sensitive topic of extra-marital affair and lovechild (It is a retelling of Eric Segal's Man, Woman And Child though). Playing the central character of DK, Nasser Saa'b churned out a masterful performance. As a man driven by grief, regret as well as love for the child, he was at his best when he does the 'evocative proximus'. The movie caps an impeccable performance from Shabana ji as well and is tuned melodiously by RD Burman

3) Sparsh
Sparsh will always be the movie which I personally think, showcased the acumen of Naseeruddin Shah at its full potential. The kind of definitiveness and exactitude that he brought to the role is unbelievable. Playing the role of Anirudh, a blind man with an imperative amount of confidence and zeal which stopped him from getting pitied by the world but at the same time being hyper sensitive to the nuances of his condition and the world outside. He gives you the feeling of a sore loser as well as a man who should be considered an iron pillar at the same time. It is an absolute gem of a performance; powerful and emotive; and deservingly got him the National Award for the best actor in 1980. The movie again has amazing chemistry between him and his favorite co star Shabana Azmi.









4)Aakrosh

1980 was indeed a remarkable and life changing year in terms of Naseeruddin Shah's career. Aakrosh featured him in a character poles apart from what he played in Sparsh, the same year, and also brought forward the versatility and power of Nasser saa'b. The movie was set in the backdrop of a world ruled by people in power with law and order at mercy of these powerful few. Sounds like a usual Bolly flick!! But what made this movies a monster film is the treatment by Govind Nihlani which converts it into a dark and depressing saga where every character is relatable, every story is believable and every scene is impeccable. It features Om Puri in a career defining role and one of his most acclaimed as well but the show stealer is indeed Naseer. Playing the character of Lawyer Bhaskar Kulkarni, Nasser Saa'b plays a low tuned and uncharacteristially restrained character. The movie also outlines a lot of socio economic undoings and the struggle of one man against a system which is beyond his control. It is also a must watch movie for another of Amrish Puri's limited but impactful character

5) Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho
Well its impossible to do a top 5 list for Nasser Saab but its even tougher to have written 4 and finalise the 5th one. Mohan Joshi Hazir ho completes the Saeed Akhtar Mirza trilogy for me with Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai and Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, However it is the most underrated of all the three. It is one of the most subtly handled satires in Indian cinema. The movie again featured an ensembled cast of Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Shah, Dina Pathak, Amjad Khan, Bhisham Sahni and Rohini Hattangadi. Nasser effortlessly plays the character of a slimy lawyer who manipulates his clients for long periods, mocking the judicial system in India. Also the wig he is wearing is one for the collector's edition

A top 5 will never be sufficient to salute the genius of Naseeruddin Shah and some of his other monumental work includes Jane Bhi do Yaaron, Katha, Junoon, Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyun Aata hai, A Wednesday, Mirch Masala and Ishqiya

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