Probashi- Cover Story
Probashi- Cover Story
The Tragedy of the Fallen Stars and taken for cremation in a chanawalla’ s thela down the same road on which many years ago she would drive in an Impala with fans following her for a glimpse of the Humraaz heroine. Only nine people were present at her cremation. Bollywood had forgotten Vimi.
A bigger star than Vimi was Bharat Bhushan( 1920‐1992) most remembered for his role in Baiju Bawra( 1952) and Barsaat ki Raat( 1960). The old moviegoers will remember the hit songs like Tu Ganga ki mauj and o duniya ke rakhwale filmed on Bharat Bhushan. He won the filmfare best actor award for 1953. With success came money and some of the best located bungalows were owned by him, along with a fleet of cars. However after ruling the decade of the fifties, the sixties brought in competition in the form of new heroes and Bharat Bhushan’ s career was on the wane. While his films were flopping, his gambling addiction remained unabated and soon his three bungalows were sold to Jetendra, Rajender Kumar and Rajesh Khanna respectively. Bharat Bhushan had to move to a chawl in the slums of Mumbai. An actor who
Bharat Bhushan – a super star who later in life worked as a guard had acted with heroines like Meena Kumari, Vyajantimala, Nutan etc now was reduced to doing miniscule roles as an extra. He shifted to television and small budget films with marginal success. Also a poet and man of fine tastes, he donated the books from his once famed personal library for he had no place to keep them. Towards the end of his career Bharat Bhushan reportedly had to work as a watchman in a film studio to make ends meet. He died in 1992 penniless. A passerby recognised the actor and helped noticing Bharat Bushan request an auto driver near Borivili National Park( in Mumbai) to take him to the hospital. Bharat Bhushan died on the way. It is ironical that the some of the scenes of his blockbuster Baiju Bawra were shot at the Borivili National park.
The song Ayega Aanewala from the movie Mahal( 1949) which was Lata Mangeshkar’ s first hit was composed by Khemchand Prakash( 1907‐1950) who also gave Kishor Kumar his first real break. Some years back his wife was found begging at the Malad railway station in Mumbai.
Almost similar is the case for the people attached with the famous bhajan“ Itni Shakti Hame Dena Data” from the film Ankush( 1986) ‐ its singer Pushpa Pagdhare lives in a one room tenement in Mumbai’ s Machimaar colony, the lyricist Abhilash in a slum and composer Kuldeep Singh makes ends meet by giving music lesson to children. The song however is a morning prayer across schools in India. Meanwhile telephone companies rake in millions by selling ringtones of this song.
Khan Mastana, Mohammed Rafi’ s
Born Khurshid Jaan and married to film producer Roop K Shorey, Meera Shorey was dubbed as the Lara Lappa girl after the song in her superhit movie Eik Thi Ladki( 1949). This movie made her a national sensation. She migrated to Pakistan and in her old age was found begging at a function in Rawalpindi. When she died her funeral was performed through charity money.
co‐singer in the patriotic song Watan ki Raah Mein Watan ke Naujawan Shaheed Ho’, died a beggar at the Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai.
Remember the song“ Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho” from the movie Arth( 1982) where Raj Kiran sings on screen this immortal Jagjit Singh gazal for Shabana Azmi, or do you remember the block buster Karz( 1980) where Raj Kiran plays Rishi Kapoor’ s pre incarnation character. This cultured, genial and down to earth actor was at his peak in the eighties when he suddenly disappeared. Rumours started circulating that Raj Kiran was dead. It was recently that Raj Kiran’ s costars Rishi Kapoor and Deepti Naval started to search and located him at a mental asylum in Atlanta, USA. The chain of events leading to of Raj’ s disappearance then became clear. It all started with Raj Kiran