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She is last of the Mohicans, belonging to a golden era of music, and is the only flag bearer left perhaps in whole of the world who has seen music evolve from basic instruments, to melodies, to synthetic instruments, to club music and what not! You name any new adaptation in music, and Asha Bhonsle’s association with that genre will immediately pop up.

But whatever be the genre in which she is going to render her vocal prowess, one thing is for sure, her voice will not falter to a node. This is perhaps one of the reasons why when Naushad, who had a wonderful sojourn with Asha Bhonsle in the black and white era and till the sixties, when he came back to give music in Dharamkanta (1982) chose Asha Bhonsle to give voice over to his Tawaif song. Naushad who hailed from Lucknow, had said that his choice...

Pran Kishan Sikand

Pran Kishan Sikand dreamt of becoming a professional photographer. Little did he know that a measly, humble ‘paan’ (betel leaf) would change his life and set him on his destined path. It was 1939 or thereabouts. Pran was at a ‘paan’ shop at Lahore, enjoying a munch with his friends when a stranger approached him and asked whether he wanted to act in films. Pran was amused and asked his name. Stranger introduced himself as Muhammad Walli, a renowned film maker in the flourishing film district of Lahore. He said he was making a Punjabi film and Pran looked a perfect fit for the role of a villain in the film. Pran just brushed him off. Walli kept insisting that he pay a visit to the studio, and pushed a piece of paper with his address into Pran’s hands. The film was Yamla Jat (1940), a runaway hit that year.

The Dirty Picture is due to set screens alight on Dec 2nd, when audiences can be transported back to the 80s when item girls stole the hearts of the nation. In the Balaji production, Vidya Balan plays the role of Silk, an up and coming item girl of southern cinema and follows her rise to fame. Although current actresses like Katrina Kaif and Mallika Sherawat have lit up screens in item songs in recent years, Ekta Kapoor looks to the 80s for her next film production where item girls were considered ahead of their time. Lets take a look at some of those item girls of indian cinema who inspired the rising 80s stars and and those who inspired the makers of The Dirty Picture.

Helen (Richardson Khan), of Anglo-Burmese origin, was both October 21st 1939 and is best remember as the Bollywood item dancer of the 60s and 70s. During...

The death of Shakti Samanta has triggered off an unexpected yearning for the Bengali filmmaker's cinema. At least three major filmmakers in Mumbai including the maestro of poetic cinema considered by many to be the best filmmaker of the post-Raj Kapoor generation are seriously looking at remakes of Shakti Samanta's 1971 classic Amar Prem. The enterprising Pritish Nandy Communications has already got the ball rolling. They have roped in actor-director Rajat Kapoor to direct an animation version of Shakti Samanta's 1958 thriller Howrah Bridge. The project has long been in pipeline. Producer Pritish Nandy feels the time to pay an animation homage to one of Hindi cinema's most endearing and enduring creators is now. "A straightforward remake is a long stretch. Where will get an Ashok Kumar and Madhubala to do a new-age feature version of Howrah Bridge? Rajat Kapoor has directed A Rectangular Love Story for us. And...

The death of Shakti Samanta has triggered off an unexpected yearning for the Bengali filmmaker's cinema. At least three major filmmakers in Mumbai including the maestro of poetic cinema considered by many to be the best filmmaker of the post-Raj Kapoor generation are seriously looking at remakes of Shakti Samanta's 1971 classic Amar Prem. The enterprising Pritish Nandy Communications has already got the ball rolling. They have roped in actor-director Rajat Kapoor to direct an animation version of Shakti Samanta's 1958 thriller Howrah Bridge. The project has long been in pipeline. Producer Pritish Nandy feels the time to pay an animation homage to one of Hindi cinema's most endearing and enduring creators is now. "A straightforward remake is a long stretch. Where will get an Ashok Kumar and Madhubala to do a new-age feature version of Howrah Bridge? Rajat Kapoor has directed A Rectangular Love Story for us. And...

Click above for more stills Shakti Samanta, the name that was responsible for giving many Bollywood classics like Howrah Bridge, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening In Paris etc, is no more amongst us, as he took his last breath in his residence around 6 pm on Thursday. Before joining Bollywood, Shakti was working as a teacher in Dapoli, a small village in Mumbai. In 1948, he took his first step in Bollywood by assisting directors like Gyan Mukherjee, Satish Nigam and Phani Majumdar at the famous Bombay Talkies. After that, there was no looking back for this legendary man. Shakti Samanta has also been the proud recipient of innumerable Filmfare and other awards for his work in films like Aradhana, Anuraag, Amanush etc. Bollywood Hungama whole heartedly prays for this talented filmmaker's soul to rest in eternal peace!

Click above for more stills Shakti Samanta, the name that was responsible for giving many Bollywood classics like Howrah Bridge, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening In Paris etc, is no more amongst us, as he took his last breath in his residence around 6 pm on Thursday. Before joining Bollywood, Shakti was working as a teacher in Dapoli, a small village in Mumbai. In 1948, he took his first step in Bollywood by assisting directors like Gyan Mukherjee, Satish Nigam and Phani Majumdar at the famous Bombay Talkies. After that, there was no looking back for this legendary man. Shakti Samanta has also been the proud recipient of innumerable Filmfare and other awards for his work in films like Aradhana, Anuraag, Amanush etc. Bollywood Hungama whole heartedly prays for this talented filmmaker's soul to rest in eternal peace!

Ace filmmaker Shakti Samanta died at his residence in Mumbai at 6pm on Thursday. He was 83. Samanta was not keeping in good health for quite sometime.His son Ashim Samanta who is also a filmmaker was by his side at the time of his father’s death. Ashim said, "My father suffered a stroke about two months ago and was recovering from it. On Thursday evening, while he was undergoing physiotherapy, he suffered a cardiac arrest. He left us at 6 pm.'' Samanta's contribution to the Hindi film industry was incredible and he will be best remembered for his films like Howrah Bridge (1958), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), An Evening in Paris (1967)...

Veteran film maker Shakti Samanta passed away at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday evening following a two months long illness. He is survived by his wife, two sons Aushim Samanta, Sameer and his Grand children. His Choutha (Shaanti Sabha) will be held on Monday 13th April 2009. Shakti Samanta has given some of Bollywood's classic hits like Aradhana, Amar Prem, Kati Patang, Amanush, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, The Great Gambler, Howrah Bridge, Chinatown and...