MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA AUGUST 01 , 2011 05.30 P. M.
This is the 27th edition of my Film Diary.
First six months of 2011 are over and it was fairly successful. Second half started with a bang with a path-breaking film ” Delhi Belly “ . ” Ready “ and ” Singham “ continued the dream run at the box office. Please go through the twitter handles of eminent trade analysts Mr. Taran Adarsh and Mr. Komal Nahta for better understanding of the trade picture.

















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Obituary :
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Daan Singh :
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A talented music composer Daan Singh died last month. But the news came late and I was not aware of his death , so could not write about him last month in my June Diary.
Daan Singh passed away on June 18 , 2011 in Jaipur after a long illness. He was 78 at the time of his death.
He gave music for many films but only three films got released. ” Toofan ” [ 1969 ] , ” My Love ” [ 1970 ] and ” Bawandar ” [ 2001 ] . Among these three films ” My Love ” [ 1970 ] is his most famous film. This Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Kapoor starrer has some beautiful melodies written by Anand Bakshi , which are still remembered by the connoisseurs of film music. Two songs of Mukesh ; Zikr hota hai hai jab qayamat ka , tere jalvon ki baat hoti hai………. and Woh tere pyar ka gham………….. and one of Mohammad Rafi ‘s ; O my love panchi wango………… are still famous . Dara Singh starrer stunt film , ” Toofan ” [ 1968 ] also had some melodies. Zindagi men aaya toofan……………… sung by Mohammad Rafi is still famous and I am unable to forget this song even though I watched the film years ago .
His yet to be released film ” Bhool Na Jaana “ [ 1973 ] fortunately got its music released. Mukesh gems like ; Gham – E – Dil kisse kahoon …………….. Pukaro mujhe naam lekar pukaro [ Lyrics Gulzaar ]……………… and Gora gora mukhada [ Lyrics Gulzaar ] are still famous. Geeta Dutt’s Mere hamnasheen Mere hamnawa …………… is available on YouTube and is favourite of music lovers.Incidentaly this film had a child artiste called Tutu Sharma , who is now known as Pradeep Sharma , a producer and is married to Padmini Kolhapure. Producer of ” Bhool Na Jaana “ Jagan Sharma was incidentally Tutu Sharma’s father.
It is sad that a talented music director like Daan Singh left this world unwept , unheard and unsung.
Mani Kaul :
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An Avant-Garde film-maker , and an alumni of Film & Television Institute of India , Mani Kaul , died of cancer in his Delhi residence on July 06 , 2011. He was 66 at the time of his death.
He made films like ; ” Uski Roti ” [ 1969 ] , ” Ashadh Ka Ek Din ” [ 1971 ] , ” Duvidha ” [ 1973 ] , ” Ghashiram Kotwal ” [ 1979 ] , ” Satah Se Uthata Admi ” [ 1980 ] , ” Nazar ” [ 1989 ] , ” Idiot ” [ 1992 ] , ” The Cloud Door ” [ 1995 ] , ” Naukar Ki Kameez ” [ 1999 ] and ” Bojh ” [ 2000 ] . In between he also made documentaries like ; ” Dhrupad ” [ 1982 ] , ” Mati Manas ” [ 1989 ] and ” Siddheshwari ” [ 1989 ] . Incidentally , Shah Rukh Khan was the star of ” Idiot “ , a fact , strangely , he never acknowledged. Mani Kaul’s ” Duvidha ” was also remade by Shah Rukh Khan as ” Paheli ” .
Filmfare instituted a new award known as Critics Award for Best Film and ” Uski Roti “ was the first recipient of this award. His most notable work was his documentary ” Siddheshwari ” , which won the National Award for Best Documentary film in 1989.
Mani Kaul , apart from being a path-breaking film-maker and writer , was also a teacher of cinema and used to teach cinema in colleges of U. S. A. and Netherlands. He was a trained Dhrupad singer and a versatile painter. He also acted in Basu Chatterjee’s ” Saara Akash ” .
I don’t know whether it is proper to tell or not but in 1972 when I came to Mumbai to struggle in films , I once went to his apartment to ask for work . I got rebuked and was told by his wife in very insulting and terse tone not to come ever again without proper appointment.I had gone to many places , met many legendary people and asked for work but never got rebuked or insulted. I was a huge fan of Mani Kaul’s work so this behaviour came as a shock.
Rasika Joshi :
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A prolific stage , film and television actor Rasika Joshi died of cancer on July 07 , 2011 in Mumbai.She was only 39 at the time of her death.
Basically a Marathi stage and film actor Rasika Joshi was seen in few Hindi films and serials also. Ram Gopal Varma’s ” Ghayab ” , ” Darna Zaroori Hai ” , ” Vaastu Shastra ” , ” Ek Haseena Thi “ and Priyadarshan’s ” Malamaal Weekly ” and ” Bhool Bhulaiyaa “ were her some memorable films. She also worked in Shah Rukh Khan’s ” Billu “ and Ekta Kapoor’s serial ” Bandini “ . Ram Gopal Varma’s soon to be released ” It’s Not A Love Story “ is her last Hindi film.
Bhagwan Das Garga :
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Renowned film historian and documentary film maker Bhagwan Das Garga, died on 18th July , 2011 in Patiala. He was country’s most renowned film historian.
He was assistant to legendary film maker V. Shantaram. Afterwards he made his first documentary ” Storm Over Kashmir “ in 1948. In total he wrote , produced and directed more than 50 documentaries. He was also a member of Government of India’s film advisory board. He earlier worked at the Mosfilm Studios in Moscow.
He wrote a book ” From Raj To Swaraj : The Non-Fiction Film In India “ in 2007. This book won the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema. He wrote two more books ; ” The Art of Cinema : An Insiders Journey Through Fifty Years Of Film History “ and the last one ” Indian Cinema : A Passage To Bollywood ” .
Sunil Rege :
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A popular Hindi and Marathi actor Sunil Rege died on July 27th , 2011 at the age of 63 in Pune.
His films are : ” Aashiqui ” , ” Aks ” , ” Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo ” , ” Devdas ” and ” Shikhar ” .
Serials , he worked in , are : ” Tara ” , ” Darar ” , ” Kurukshetra ” , ” Raahat ” , ” Andaz ” and ” Saath Saath ” .
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New Hindi Releases & Me :
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First Week – July 01
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1 – Delhi Belly……………………………………………….Imran Khan
………………………………………………………………….Shenaz Treasuryvala
………………………………………………………………….Anusha Dandekar
2 – Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap……………………………Sonu Sood
………………………………………………………………….Shekhar [ Vishal-Shekhar ]
Second Week – July 08
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1 – Murder 2…………………………………………………Emraan Hashmi
………………………………………………………………….Jacqueline Fernandez
………………………………………………………………….Sudhanshu Pandey
………………………………………………………………….Yana Gupta
2 – Chillar Party…………………………………………….Ranbir Kapoor
Third Week – July 15
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1 – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara…………………………….Hritik Roshan
…………………………………………………………………..Katrina Kaif
…………………………………………………………………..Nandinii Sen
2 – Pyar Mein Aisa Bhi…………………………………….x
Fourth Week – July 22
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1 – Singham……………………………………………………Sudhanshu Pandey
……………………………………………………………………Harry Josh
Fifth Week – July 29
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1 – Khap………………………………………………………..Ashok Kumar Beniwal
2 – Bubble Gum………………………………………………x
3 – Gandhi To Hitler…………………………………………x
In total…………. 10 ……….films got released this month. Out of these ……………………. 10 ……….films , my ………………. 16 ……………. students appeared in …… 07 ……. films. Out of these…….. 16 ……………. students ………………… 15 …………… are actors and ………… 01 …………….. Shekhar [ Vishal – Shaekhar ] is the music director .
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New Regional Films & Me :
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1 – Bengali : PriyangshuChatterjee is essaying an important role in ” Iti Mrinalini ” .
2 – Bhojpuri : Swati Varma is playing an important role in ” Dushmani ” .
3 – Telugu : Allu Arjun and Anushka Shetty got Best Actor Male and Female Filmfare Award respectively for ” Vedam “ .
Daisy Shah is doing main lead in ” Bhadra “ .
Ram Charan Teja starrer ” Magadheera “ completes 2 years [ 730 weeks ] uninterrupted run in Hyderabad.
Out of various regional films , my students were there in ……….. 03 ……….. regional languages. In total …………….. 03 …………….. actors trained by me are working in these films.
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T. V. Trivia & Me :
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1 – Lisa Ray is anchoring a show , ” Oh My Gold ! “ on TLC .
2 – Sonali Bendre Behl is judgeing the show ” India’s Got Talent , Season – 3 “ again on Colours T.V. She was a judge in Season – 2 also.
Out of many serials running on various channels …………. 02 …………. shows have ………………….02 ……………… students of mine essaying anchor’s roles . Both the serials are reality shows.
VIDUR
MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA
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