A Very Happy 2009, everyone!
I had a great two weeks in Vilaayat and cant figure out where all the time went! There wasnt time enough to sample all the delights UK had to offer and I definitely need to go back there – preferably for a few years. Right now though, I am still jet-lagged and distinctly unhappy at being back at work. So, I have spent some productive time on youtube (Psstt… dont tell my boss!) and guess what I found – a time machine that takes us back to 1969. You can see Bollywood’s beautiful and hopeful, all gathered for the premiere of B. R. Chopra’s thriller Ittefaq. The premiere seems to be a rather simple event by today’s standards when even a music launch has more pomp attached to it! In terms of eye-candy and star-gazing though, nothing has changed. Enjoy the stars and Ameen Sayani’s distinctive voice introducing them in his own inimitable style:
That was so much fun! I loved his intro for Shashi--"Rrrowr!" LOL And wasn't Mumtaz cute?
ReplyDeleteLovely :-) This is a favorite for sure...
ReplyDeleteWelcome home, even if you'd rather still be on holiday!
Happy new year! I am dying to get home from wk so that I can re and re and re view this :D
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year - and so good to have you back! And thank you ever so much for that link. Ittefaq is one of my favourite movies (probably because it's so different from the run of the mill 60's Bollywood), so this is something that's right up my street.
ReplyDeleteAjnabi, I did wonder why Shashi got such special treatment! And he (Ameen Sayani) claimed that Sadhana was dropping thunderbolts - thought that should have been Mumtaz's description.
ReplyDeleteMemsaab, thanks! Youtube comes up with such amazing things - I had no idea that premieres were filmed with commentary, back when there was no TV to telecast these!
Shweta, it is a fun thing to re-watch - in my last re-watch I thought I caught a glimpse of Shatrughan Sinha but Sayani didnt announce that, so I might be wrong.
Dustedoff, thanks! Ittefaq was such a big surprise for me the first time I saw it - so unusual and definitely a surprise ending.
Welcome back!!! I love YouTube. It is definitely amazing. Thanks for sharing the video.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing this one out. I loved the "dialogue" for Waheeda and Nanda, Nanda did do that typical pout! And she was sooo popular at the time but has worn off easier than others...
ReplyDeleteIf you want some star watching, see how many you can see squeezing into chairs and the room for this live Mukesh/Lata singing..(awful sound quality esp. for Mukesh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpKDWjT0joM
Rafi's son talking about his father
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4WhqGVKxbo
Some more
ReplyDeleteRafi at home..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgZPcIjLPts
Nicki, thanks! I love all these unexpected things that keep showing up on youtube.
ReplyDeleteBawa, those are great links. Mukesh's voice sounds very strange but ya, the stars are great! And its great to hear trivia about Rafi. In all the years I've admired his voice I've seldom seen his pics and never heard his speaking voice! I followed your links to youtube and have spent the better part of the day checking out videos of other Rafi recordings. His speaking voice is so soft that its surprising those incredibly high notes also come from the same throat!
Totally true about Rafi, I was fascinated by these videos, as you hardly knew about any singer esp. as a person. Rafi's wife looks so sweet...
ReplyDeleteSometime ago I saw another youtube clip of a premiere in the 50's, with Lata, Geeta Dutt, Nargis, etc. etc.
But I can't find it anymore or how I came across it. If you spot in your "researches" do post it please!
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ReplyDeleteBawa, now thats one video I'd love to see. Sadly for youtube viewers, videos have a nasty habit of disappearing permanently, pretty often! :-(
ReplyDeletetheBollywodFan, Amin Sayaani was fun, wasnt he? The exaggerated speech, the drawn out consonants - he does that in English too, while his face remains largely immobile!
And I've never seen a wedding video from the 60s and 70s. :-(
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ReplyDeleteYou're so fortunate, tBF. My parents and lots of aunts and uncles got married in the 70s, but all I've ever seen is sepia or colored pictures!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. Salil Choudhury is the music director of the movie, but the film has no songs.
ReplyDeleteHey Information Junkie, welcome to OiG. Great trivia about Salil Choudhary on your post (have you disabled comments or did I miss the comments link?) - I had no idea that he was a poet and singer, too. I do know he wrote the story for Parakh, and I love his music. Ittefaq had no songs but maybe he composed the background music?
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't the video workinggggg? I want to see iiiiitt!
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