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Subhash K Jha turne the focus on one of the classic voices of Hindi music films, both as composer and notably a singer, Rd Burman.

Music was a gift bequeathed to Rahul Dev Burman by his father, Sachin Dev Burman. If Burman Dada immortalised himself with his two manjhi songs — ‘O re manjhi’ (Bandini) and ‘Sun mere bandhu re’ (Sujata) — Burman Baba belted out ‘O manjhi teri naiyya se chhoota kinara’ in that long-forgotten river-bank(rupt) bilingual Aar Paar directed by Shakti Samanta. This timeless manjhi song proved that Papa and Burman Jr were sailing in the same boat. Sadly, by the time Rd’s boat sailed into the 1980s, it developed a leak. If the song hadn’t gone unnoticed, Rd would surely have sung more such reflective quasi-philosophical songs.

Doubtless, the distinctive voice of R.D. Burman was capable of conveying the emotional of a lyric as well, if...

There was one occasion when Dev Anand, forced to quit a blue-collar job he depended on for sustenance, ripped his elder brother Chetan Anand of Rs (the then) princely sum of Rs 5,000 to launch a less than moral venture, and if this was not enough, began wooing the girl his younger brother Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand fancied, and eventually in luring her away.

If these sordid revelations shock you, do not think too badly of Dev Anand. For all this did not happen in real life, but in reel life, in the social romantic comedy “Kala Bazaar” (1960), which has several distinctions to its credit but chiefly stands out for being the only film in which all the three Anand brothers acted together.

While Chetan Anand had directed the early Dev Anand films, he had sought to branch out on his own after “Taxi Driver” (1954) to indulge in his own creativity, and...

There was one occasion when Dev Anand, forced to quit a blue-collar job he depended on for sustenance, ripped his elder brother Chetan Anand of Rs (the then) princely sum of Rs 5,000 to launch a less than moral venture, and if this was not enough, began wooing the girl his younger brother Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand fancied, and eventually in luring her away.

If these sordid revelations shock you, do not think too badly of Dev Anand. For all this did not happen in real life, but in reel life, in the social romantic comedy “Kala Bazaar” (1960), which has several distinctions to its credit but chiefly stands out for being the only film in which all the three Anand brothers acted together.

While Chetan Anand had directed the early Dev Anand films, he had sought to branch out on his own after “Taxi Driver” (1954) to indulge in his own creativity, and...

With Yusuf Khan back in Mumbai and his Pune sojourn over, his major goal was to get gainfully employed or target new avenues of earning to share the family burden. He was blissfully unaware that lady luck was about to smile on him. The turn of events propitiously sequenced by providence was to catapult young Yusuf Khan into Dilip Kumar, the megastar of the then Bombay film industry now dubbed as Bollywood.

There are many versions of Dilip Kumar’s entry in the film industry but we shall recount here only the version we believe is the most authentic.

Yusuf commenced his endeavours in the city by helping his Agha ji in his fruits business. His ageing father was becoming rather frail, so Yusuf started travelling to the orchards in the hilly regions of Dehradun and Nainital in north India. Little did the young man know that one of these...

Singer Lata Mangeshkar, dubbed Nightingale of India, turns 90 on Sept. 28 and in honor of the woman who made the Guinness Book of World Records for 25,000 songs recorded we at Variety chose 25 of our favorite tunes from Bollywood. There were many more we could choose, including duets with Hemant Kumar or Mohammed Rafi but we didn’t want the list to become too unwieldy. Mangeshkar started singing professionally at age 14 and Bollywood actresses from the 1940s to 2000s have lip synced to her on screen. Acting legend Dilip Kumar once said of her: “The way the fragrance of a flower has no color, a flowing spring or cool breezes belong to no country, the smile of an innocent child has no religion, similarly Lata Mangekshar’s voice is a miracle of nature’s creativity.”

Laru Lappa Lara Lappa

“Ek Thi Ladki (1949)

The Punjabi duet is the most famous part of “Ek...

“Monsoon Shootout” by Amit Kumar will have a midnight screening at Cannes 2013

There was a time in Indian cinema, the era of the masters like Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy and Mrinal Sen, when it was not unusual to have several Indian films in competition at the Cannes film festival. Take for instance the year 1956 when Ray’s Pather Panchali and Shantaram Athavale’s Shevgyachya Shenga competed in the feature film category. Or the year 1954 when Bimal Roy’s Do Beegha Zameen and Kishore Sahu’s Mayurpankh were in competition along with two short films by Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani. [Read India’s tryst with Cannes]

The last Indian film that got selected in competition was Shaji Karun’s Swaham way back in 1994. Since then, we haven’t managed to catch the fancy of Cannes selectors [Read Why Indian films don't make it to Cannes]. However, this year seems to be a little different. With four films and one project making it to various sections, this certainly...

Everyone loves a Cinderella story and one that has a ghastly family, a spunky heroine, and one Prince Charming who can be a bit of a dope some of the time! The film, which introduced the lovely Sadhana to the screen, is one of the most fun and charming romances of the 60s. Love in Simla was one of the biggest hits of 1960 and deservedly so, the sparkling repartee and gorgeous cinematography makes it a gem to enjoy even now.

Unlike most Cinderellas who are the docile type, Sadhana plays the plucky and feisty heroine Sonia. She’s the unlucky orphan living with her genial uncle (Kishore Sahu), his tart-tongued wife (Shobhana Samarth), and their beautiful but vain daughter Sheela (Azra). They live in luxury in their Simla mansion, while relying on Sonia as their servant and as a burden. Simla was once the summer playground during the colonial period,...

Breaking myths and telling you everything that you should know about Indian films at Cannes Film Festival 2012

Which are the Indian films at 65th Cannes Film Festival?

Miss Lovely by Ashim Ahluwalia in Un Certain Regard

Peddlers by Vasan Bala in 51st Cannes Critics Week

Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2 in Directors’ Fortnight

Kalpana by Uday Shankar in Cannes Classics

Project ‘The Untold Tale’ by Shivajee Chandrabhushan in L’Atelier

Are Cannes Critics Week and Directors’ Fortnight official selections?

No. They are parallel sections of the Cannes Film Festival.

Then what is official selection?

Cannes Film Festival official selection comprises of Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Special Screenings, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Classics and the Cinéfondation.

The most important of the official selection are the Competition and Un Certain Regard. Films that are representative of “arthouse cinema with a wide audience appeal” are presented in Competition, and Un Certain Regard...

Vikramaditya Motwane’s “Udaan”, the film that made it to Un Certain Regard at Cannes International Film festival after seven years has been the talk of the town lately. With Udaan, Indian cinema’s seven year long jinxed relationship with the premier film festival has come to an end. Murali Nair’s Arimpara was the last film to have made it to Un Certain Regard, the section that carries the second most prestigious award, in the year 2003. Prior to that, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was presented as a special screening out of competition at the festival in 2002.

Come to think of it, India and Cannes have had a cordial relationship right from the start. 1946, the year one of the oldest film festivals began at Cannes, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar was screened as a Feature film in competition. Neecha Nagar was a pioneering effort in realistic Indian cinema and...

Mumbai, Dec 6 (Ians) Legendary actress Bina Rai, who won the Filmfare award for her performance in “Ghunghat” (1960), died of cardiac arrest here Sunday.

She is survived by two sons - Prem Kishan and Kailash Nath. She was married to actor Prem Nath, who was well-known filmmaker Raj Kapoor’s brother-in-law.

Bina, who went on hunger strike to convince her parents to allow her to act in movies, entered Bollywood with director Kishore Sahu’s film “Kali Ghata” in 1951. Later she featured in movies like “Vallah Kya Baat Hai” (1962), “Bandi” (1957), “Changez Khan” (1957), “Durgesh Nandini” (1956), “Marine Drive” (1955) and “Aurat”.

Legendary actress Bina Rai, who won the Filmfare award for her performance in 'Ghunghat' (1960), died of cardiac arrest here Sunday.She is survived by two sons - Prem Kishan and Kailash Nath. She was married to actor Prem Nath, who was well-known filmmaker Raj Kapoor's brother-in-law.Bina, who went on hunger strike to convince her parents to allow her to act in movies, entered Bollywood with director Kishore Sahu's film 'Kali Ghata' in 1951. Later she featured in movies like 'Vallah Kya Baat Hai' (1962), 'Bandi' (1957), 'Changez Khan' (1957), 'Durgesh Nandini' (1956), 'Marine Drive' (1955) and 'Aurat' (1953). But she is still remembered for her roles in 'Anarkali' (1953) and Taj Mahal' (1963).Her last film was L.V. Prasad's 'Daadi Maa' that was released in 1966.Her son Prem Krishen, who had tried his luck in Hindi films with 'Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaye',...