The story and the content could have remained the same -- but those were the days when iconic stars - the comedians such as Mehmood, Deven Verma, Johny Walker and the likes of Rajendranath made all the differences to the final products.
And who will forget the 'Angrez ka zamaney ka jailer - played by hilarious Asrani in 'Sholay'.
And when it came to acting as a drunkard - none could match Keshto Mukherjee.
Asrani also had memorable roles as Prashant in 'Chupke Chupke', Chandru in Abhimaan, and Nagesh in 'Chhoti Si Baat'.
His real name is Govardhan Asrani.
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| Johny Walker |
Many may not know Johny Walker's real name was Badruddin Jamauddin Kazi.
He used to give life in films such as Chhoo Mantar, Chori Chori and Milap.
In 'Anand' - he had a cameo role -- but Issabhai Suratwala's one-liners were magical.
"Chela marte marte guru ko jeena sikha gaya (As the disciple was dying he taught the teacher how to live.)
And the other one was not something to laugh about --
"Even on his death bed, the student taught his master about life. Deal with sorrow yourself, but share your joy with others"
In many films Johny Walker was said to be the hero's 'best friend' ever !
Of course, Boman Irani came in much later to attain success. But no youngster can forget the character called 'Virus' (Three Idiots) or that principal in 'Munna Bhai MBBS'.
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| Boman Irani |
Among the old timers was a much talented - Bhagwan Dada.
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| Bhagwan Dada |
A passionate actor he created a record. The story goes was back in 1942, as part of a scene, he had to slap actress Lalita Pawar hard. He accidentally slapped her too hard, which resulted in facial paralysis and a burst left-eye vein.
After three years of treatment, Pawar was left with a disabled left eye.
He gave unique dancingsteps to 'Shola Jo Bhadke' and 'Bholi Surat' and the fans loved it.
Even Amitabh Bachchan was so inspired by that dance style.
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| Deven Verma |
Deven Verma was another star who could make people feel what trickles the most.
In film 'Kissi se na Kehna', explaining the meaning of world “antique” he tells his girlfriend/lover ....
“Ghisi-hui, purani, bekaar si cheezen — jaise tumhare pitaji (Old, faded, useless things — like your father)".
The film 'Angoor' is Gulzar-made Deven Verma and star actor Sanjeev Kumar’s laugh fest. Deven Verma plays the faithful servant (double role) based on Shakespeare's brilliant 'Comedy of Errors'.
Deven also won the Filmfare award of Best comic actor for the role.
Mehmood on a postal stamp
Mehmood was virtually the national comedian of India for years.
Famous American actor, Gregory Peck is said to have stated once that Mehmood was too handsome to be a comedian. But he was !
According to actor Satish Kaushik, Mehmood's iconic role in 'Padosan' inspired him to become an actor.
Kaushik paid homage to Mehmood by recreating a similar role in 'Saajan Chale Sasural' (co starring with Govinda), and for which he won a Filmfare Award too.
In 1961 came Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai with Rajendra Nath playing the role of Poppat Lal, a name which stuck with him for years.
Dressed in a frilly nighty he appears in the famous song 'Jiya O, jiya O Jiya Kuchh Bol Do', which Dev Anand sings while standing on the roof of a train.
Rajendranath was brother of established star actor Premnath and their dad was IG police in Madhya Pradesh. Originally the family belonged to Peshawar - now in Pakistan.
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| Rajendranath |
Among the women cemedians - we must take the name of TunTun.
Tun Tun (11 July 1923 – 24 November 2003) was the screen name of playback singer and actress-comedienne, Uma Devi Khatri.
She was Hindi cinema's 'first-ever comedienne". In her career spanning five decades, she acted in about 198 films in Hindi/Urdu and other languages like Punjabi.
She paired with top comedy stars Bhagwan Dada, Agha, Sunder, Mukri, Dhumal, Johnny Walker and Keshto Mukherjee.
Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast role, many said Keshto was a teetotaller !
However in an interview as probably reported in 1981, he was quoted as saying that
- "I drink a lot. I started boozing when I left my home town and came to Bombay to become a film hero. I lived in a dingy room in the railway quarters with nothing to eat, but lots to drink. I drank because I was frustrated".
He played a drunk-man in Desh Drohi (1980), Loafer (1973) and Hathkadi and many others. In Bachchan's first mega success 'Zanjeer', he bribes Amitabh (inspector Vijay) and that brings twist in the plot as Amitabh goes behind bars.
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| Enjoy your ..... :: Your Time will come, prepare well; to be ready' |
MERRY CHRISTMAS !! Laugh a bit
ends
Lovely article Niren 👏 👍
ReplyDeleteIt makes a good reading. But you missed many other stalwarts. As comedian or someone who makes you laugh -- try to analyse the works of Paresh Rawal. From Bengali cinema - take the likes of Utpal Dutt, Rabi Ghosh. In down south Mohanlal was a great performer. Mohanlal played his first comic lead role in an ensemble cast in the 1984 comedy 'Poochakkoru Mookkuthi', directed by Priyadarshan, as a young man in love with a girl whom he mistakenly believes to be rich.Together, Mohanlal and Priyadarshan worked for over 40 films. -- Kumar Neel
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