Bollywood- Part 3 (Modern Hindi Cinema Part 2)

Hey! I am back with the last post about Bollywood!

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, more family-centric romantic musicals were produced such  as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Dil (1990), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), the longest theatrical running movie (and is still running), and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). This period made a superstar generation with actors such as Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan and actresses like Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi and Juhi Chawla.

This picture is the poster of the movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge starring Shahrukh Khan (known as the Badshah of Bollywood) and Kajol.

At that time, action and comedy movies gained more fame and became very popular, with actors like Govinda and actresses like Raveena Tandon and Karishma Kapoor starring comedy movies, and Akshay Kumar gained (and is still gaining) popularity for performing martial arts in his movies (and for doing his own stunts). He is well known for his Khiladi movie series and other action and comedy movies.

The 2000s saw a growth in Bollywood's popularity all around the world. This pushed the nation's filmmaking to another level in terms of production values, cinematography and story lines as well as technical advances in areas such as special effects and animation. The largest production houses are Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions. Some popular films from that decade are Koi...Mil Gaya (2003), Kal Ho Naa Ho(2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Dhoom (2004), Dhoom (2006), the sequel of Dhoom, Krrish (2006), and Jab We Met (2007). The mid-2000s saw the rise of popular actors like Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, as well as actresses like Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Aishwarya Rai (Bachchan), Kareena Kapoor (Khan), and Priyanka Chopra.

Hrithik Roshan (The Greek God and currently the best dancer in Bollywood)

Priyanka Chopra. She is currently doing an American serial called Quantico, and has released three singles and is Miss World 2000.

While most stars from the 2000s continued their successful careers, the 2010s also saw the rise of a new generation of actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan and Siddhart Malhotra, as well as actresses like Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Shraddha Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma.

                               Some pictures of the actors/actresses mentioned above:

Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. Both of them hold the titles "Best Actor" and "Best Actress". They are a couple and their fans like to call them (also called Deep-Veer).

Alia Bhatt and Siddhart Malhotra. They are rumoured to be a couple, but they have denied it.

 

Holding the title of the "Sexiest Asian Woman" is Katrina Kaif.

These pictures are from a photoshoot with Shraddha Kapoor and Varun Dhawan.

Kahaani(2012) starring Vidya Balan started the trend of women centric movies. In the following years came Queen (2013), NH10(2015), Highway(2014), Mardaani(2014), No One Killed Jessica (2011), Mary Kom (2014) and my all time favourite, Piku (2015). Piku is highly recommended for anyone who hasn't watched the movie. It is light-hearted, simple and bittersweet and will leave your mind open for new ideas. Bollywood is not only about "larger than life" movies now. Bollywood movies are about lives which many people actually live. A lot of Bollywood movies are loved by the people outside India, and therefore a lot of movies make big Box Office hits.
At the first Place is PK(2014) with ₹792 crore (US$120 million).



                                                       This is the trailer of PK.

However, the movie that has recently emerged as a commercial and critical success is Bajirao Mastani (2015). It has already won nine awards for Best Direction, Costumes, Coreography, Actor, Actress, Supporting roles and many more. The Movie has left a mark on Bollywood and it is totally worth a watch!

                               This is the trailer of Bajirao Mastani.

Bollywood- Part 2 (Modern Hindi Cinema/Modern Bollywood)

This song is from the movie Aradhana (1969). The actor is Rajesh Khanna, who is known to be India's first superstar, and Sharmila Tagore. It is an evergreen song. The composers of this song are S.D. Burman and his son R.D. Burman and the singer is Kishore Kumar (also known as Kishore Da).

Hello everyone! Here is the second part of the post Bollywood- part-1 (Golden Age of Hindi Cinema). I have decided to have two parts of this post, so this post will be about modern cinema from 1960s to early 1980s. I will come tomorrow with the second part that will be about modern Hindi cinema from late 1980s till date.

Story time! In the late 1960s and early 1970s, India discovered its first superstar in this period, Rajesh Khanna. Rajesh Khanna enjoyed a huge fan following. His girl fans used to write letters to him with their own blood. His cars used to be full of lipstick marks that belonged to his female fans. It is also said that a lot his fans married his photograph.

Other popular actors from that period are Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra and Sashi Kapoor. Popular actresses from that time are Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz and Asha Parekh.

This picture is taken from the song Roop Tera Mastana from the movie Aradhana, starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore. This song made history in Hindi cinema as the first single-take song.
Rajesh Khanna films were known for its chartbuster songs and the actor used to personally sit in the Music studio and select tunes. The song is sung by Kishore Kumar and the Composer of this song is S.D. Burman. Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman (S.D. Burman's song) were his best friends.

Fun fact! As a struggling actor, Rajesh Khanna had his own MG sports car, and even rich producers at that time couldn't afford that! His debut movie, Akhri Khat, was India's official Oscar entry in 1967.

The most popular pair of that time is Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz with hundred percent success rate.

This song is starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz and is from the movie Aap Ki Kasam. It is a fun song with their crazy dance. It is sung by the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. It was composed by R.D. Burman.

In the mid-1970s, a lot of violent films about gangsters, gamblers and thugs were produced. Amitabh Bachchan, the star known as the "Angry Young Man", rose to stardom. Actors like Mithun Chakraborty, who was known as the "Disco Dancer", Anil Kapoor and Sunny Deol (son of Dharmendra) were very popular at that time. Famous actresses from this time were Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha.

The 1970s was the rise of commercial movies with a movie named Sholay(1975) starring Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Amjad Khan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan. It is about a retired police chief, Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), who in order to take Down the bandit in his village, Gabbar (Amjad Khan), enlists two criminals, Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) who are partners in crime and also BFFs. It was the first Indian Movie with the longest theatrical run until Dilwaley Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).



Here are some funny scenes from the movie, Sholay.

Deewar(1975) was another movie starring Amitabh Bachchan which became a big hit. It was directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim-Javed (they also wrote the story of Sholay). It was about two brothers; one police officer and one a gang-leader. It was based on a true story.
The dialogues of the movie is still remebered by the nation.

                                                    Part 3 will be posted tomorrow!

Bollywood- Part 1 (Golden Age of Hindi Cinema)

                                                   This song is from the movie Shree 420, and this movie was the "highest grossing movie of 1955" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shree_420). The lyricist of this song is Shailendra and the singer is Mukesh. This song became a patriotic symbol of newly independant India, and is therefore still very popular.

Fun fact! This song is played at the beginning of Deadpool. In the first chapter of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, Gibreel sings the first lines of the song while falling to the ground.

Hello everyone! Today, I have chosen the topic "Bollywood", but because there are so many things to include in this topic, I have decided to divide this topic into three; part 1, 2 and 3. I was sitting and wondering which topic I should write about, and then my eldest daughter suggested that "Mama, why don't you write about Bollywood? Bollywood is in the country's veins! You can't forget that!".


After India's independence, the period from the late 1940s to the 60s is regarded by historians as the "Golden Age of Bollywood". Some of the most critically acclaimed movies were made during this period. Some of those movies are Pyaasa (1957), which is a love story between a prostitute, Gulabo, and an unsuccessful poet, Vijay, Kaagaz ke Phool(1959), which is mainly about the differences in social classes and how they affect relationships, Awaara (1951), presents the city as both a nightmare and a dream, Shree 420 (1955) and Aan (1952).

The song "Awaara hoon" is from the Movie "Awaara". The movie became a senstation in South Asia, and became popular not only in India, but in Soviet Union, East Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The song is loved by the people from India, Soviet Union, China, Turkey, Afghanistan and Romania. The lyricist of this song is also Shailendra, and was sung also by Mukesh. "Awaara hoon" means "I am a vagabond". The film was also nominated for the Grand Prize of the Cannes Film Festival (1953). The film is now nominated for the most successful Movie of all time. In 2012, Awaara was on the list of "All-Time 100 greatest films" by TIME.

Some of the most epic movies were also made in this period like Mother India (1957), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Madhumati (1958), which made reincarnation as a theme popular in the Western culture.

The most "mainstream" directors of this period are: Mehboob Khan, Guru Dutt (he was an actor too), Raj Kapoor (he was an actor too), Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.

The most renowned actors in this period were Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt. The most renowned actresses were Nargis, Vijayanthimala, Meena Kumari, Nutan, Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha.

Here are my favourites from the Golden Age:

Dev Anand (1923-2011)

Nargis (1919-1981) and Raj Kapoor (1924- 1988)

Dilip Kumar- The Tragedy King (1922- )

Vyjayanthimala (1936-)

and last, but not the least

Madhubala (1933- 1969)

Story time! When I was named Madhu, my grandfather added a middle name, Bala, so my name was Madhubala Rana. My grandfather loved me more than anyone. I guess, the reason behind that is that  I was his first grandchild, so he wanted to name me. As I grew, I understood why he had named me that (because he was a big fan of Madhubala). I wanted to change my name, so my grandfather gave me another middlename, Rani (meaning: Queen), but then I rejected it. I used Madhu Rana officially at that time, and then I got married, so my name is now Madhu Jaswal.

                           

This song is from the one of the most epic movies in Hindi cinema, Mughal-e-Azam and costed approx. Rs. 10 million  at a time when a film would be produced for less than a million, as per a report on imdb.com. The song was picturized at Mohan Studios on a set which was built as a replica of a Sheesh Mehal (A room of Mirrors- In my opinion, it is the most beautiful part of any Palace). The song was sung by the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar and created by Nushad. The song title means "I have loved, so what is there to fear?".  The actress in the movie is Madhubala (playing the role of Anarkali) and the actor is Dilip Kumar (playing the role of Salim).

                                 I will post the second part of this post tomorrow!

Social and Cultural Aspects of India

As you have understood, I am going to focus on the social and cultural aspects of India. This video is from a Bollywood Movie named Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and the song's title is "Balam Pichkari". In this music video, they were celebrating the festival of love and colors, Holi.





The main points of the post are:

1. Western Portrayal of India in Film             

2. Religion

3. Social Structure

4. Politics

5. Gender Equality Today?





Western Portrayal of India in Film

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) is a British drama by Danny Boyle. You must have heard of it! The movie is mainly about poverty and slum. Is this a sterotype of India's poverty and underdevelopment? Many people have labeled it as poverty porn. A man named Shyamal Sengupta commented that "It is a white man's imagined India, a poverty tour". Well, my opinion is that the movie is imbalanced and overly stereotypical.

Religion

There is a lot of diversity in India. In India, you have freedom to practice religion, and that is Your fundamental right. A lot of People have misconception about the state religion. They they think that the state religion is Hinduism, but that is not true. There is no official state religion. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism have Indian origin. In daily life, a lot of peoplefrom different religions live in peace and harmony. They follow each other's traditions and rituals as well. 

From personal experience, I went to a church in Chandigarh to celebrate Christmas eve, and there I saw a lot of hindus, sikhs and muslims celebrating. I was positively surprised.

                     Here you can see muslims celebrating the hindu festival, Diwali.


Social Structure

Your "standing" in the society is determined by how much power and which class you belong to (like in many other countries).

The country is experiencing economic growth, and therefore the middle class is growing fast. India has a big middle class that consists of doctors, engineers, IT-Professionals and many more.  Although, India has a big middle class, the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest is still huge.

For those who haven't seen the previous post, this skyscraper is a private Residential property which belongs to India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. It is after Buckingham Palace the most expensive residential property. It is named "Antilia", and is located in South Mumbai (Mumbai, Maharashtra).

This is one of the biggest slums in the world, Dharavi, and is located in the same city.



Politics

The 2014 general election brought new leadership to India. Narendra Modi, a poor teaseller (a chaiwala)  was elected Prime Minister. He is now the ninth most powerful person and one of the most influential people in the world. BJP won a landslide victory with their promise to change Indian politics, to ensure development and that "Good Times Will Come". 
 India has overtaken China as the fastest growing major economy in the world, expanding by 7.3pc and cementing its position as one of the sole bright spots in a flailing global economy.  
Make in India is described as "A MAJOR NEW NATIONAL PROGRAM. DESIGNED TO FACILITATE INVESTMENT. FOSTER INNOVATION. ENHANCE SKILL DEVELOPMENT. PROTECT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. AND BUILD BEST-IN-CLASS MANUFACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE" - (http://www.makeinindia.com/home)   

Digital India is a campaign to ensure that Government services are made accessible to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by:
1) increasing Internet connectivity
2)making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology.
The initiative includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks. Digital India has three components:
1. The creation of digital infrastructure
2. Delivering services digitally
3. Digital literacy 

For women Empowerment there are a lot of governmental campaigns. I will show some of them: 
1. 'Sukanya Smriddhi Yojana' for education of girls under which children can open their own bank accounts where they will be provided an interest of 9.1 percent besides tax-benefits.  

2. Save girl child, educate girl child is a scheme that aims to generate awareness and improving the efficiency of welfare services meant for women. 
The objectives of the campaign are:  
 -Preventing gender based abortion 
-Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child 
-Ensuring education of the girl child 

3.The government has also launched a mobile helpline (181) for women. 

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (English: Clean India Mission)  is a national campaign  covering around 4041 cities and towns, to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country. As you have understood, it is quite difficult to keep up with all the campaigns and things that are happening in India, and therefore a website is made by BJP, so that people who simply want to keep up with all the updates or want to give any suggestions they can do so.

https://www.mygov.in/


Gender Equality Today? 

India’s poor track record in terms of gender equality is another issue. In recent years, stories of rape have caught the world’s attention. Due to the awareness now, people inside the country have started several projects in order to empower women. A lot of non-governmental organizations are doing several campaigns, projects and ads which have caught the attention of international media. Here are two examples:

The first example is of a campaign called “The Abused Goddesses”. This campaign condemns domestic violence.  The slogan is “Pray that we never see this day. Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to.”
Each ad includes a phone number to report abuse to “Save Our Sisters.”

"My choice" is a video made by the magazine Vogue and aims to encourage people to think and act in ways on issues pertaining to women's empowerment. This video stars 99 women who have made a difference in their respective careers.  

I will end this post with a quote from the video:

Wanderings of India- The Starting

A country with 1.3 billion inhabitants is difficult to understand, right? On one side it is poor, dirty, full of pollution and crowded, but on the other side it is also rich, diverse, rapidly developing, vibrant, colorful and most importantly incredible.

                                         (South Mumbai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

Do you see the skyscraper in the middle? It is a private home called Antilia and belongs to India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. This skyscraper requires a staff of 600 people for maintainance. After Buckingham Palace this is the world's most expensive residential property.

(Dharavi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

The slum, Dharavi, is located in the same city. It houses one of the largest slums in the world.  

The media portraits India in the most confusing ways (and sometimes too negative ways), and therefore I have made a blog to make things easier for you; to make India easier for you.

Hello everyone!

I am Madhu Jaswal, and I live in Norway. I was born in India, and have an Indian background. My family lives in Punjab, but I have Rajasthani ancestry. I am interested in politics, literature, cooking and entertainment. My hobbies are badminton, cycling, yoga and dance. I like Norway, but sometimes my soul wanders on the roads of my homeland- India. Wherever you are you will at some point long for your home.

(Lake Palace (Jag Niwas), Udaipur, Rajasthan, India)
That's right! Lake Palace is built on Lake Pichola and it is at least 150 years old. It was built by the Royal Family of Udaipur, but it is now managed by Taj Group

(Golden Temple (Sri Darbar Sahib) , Amritsar, Punjab, India)
This is the holy Sikh temple, called the Golden Temple. The temple is covered with gold hence the name. It was founded in 1755 by the fourth, Guru Ram Das and the fifth guru, Guru Arjan


By blogging about India, I will feel that I am home again.

I am going to focus on Indian politics, history, sports, entertainment, cooking and literature. I will also add my experiences in India, and give you some travel tips.

You will discover it by your own, but I will be your guide. So join me on long wanderings to India. Are you ready?