Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Ashish Book Center Book Exhibition at Thane and Churchgate
When: 23 July-9August
Where: Kanti Visariya Hall, Behind Gaondevi Maidan, Opp. Suryoday Hospital, Thane (W)
When: 12 August-23 August
Where: Sunderbai Hall, Behind Income Tax Office, Opp. SNDT College, Churchgate
Timing: 10am-8pm (Open on all days)
Where: Kanti Visariya Hall, Behind Gaondevi Maidan, Opp. Suryoday Hospital, Thane (W)
When: 12 August-23 August
Where: Sunderbai Hall, Behind Income Tax Office, Opp. SNDT College, Churchgate
Timing: 10am-8pm (Open on all days)
As I waited to get into the auditorium to watch a play on the weekend I tuned into FM to listen to Annu Kapoor's program on the Golden Era. By the time the play started I had managed to catch three anecdotes and a couple of songs.
13. The first one concerned a movie called 'Devi' starring Nutan and Sanjiv Kumar. They had worked together in an earlier movie which went on to become a hit. And of course, the filmy magazines of the day were filled with accounts of their budding romance. The shooting for 'Devi' started and one day people were jolted by a loud sound reverberating across the entire set. It was clear that someone had slapped but it wasn't immediately clear as to who had hit whom. People assumed that someone had hit one of the spotboys or a junior female artist must have slapped someone trying to misbehave. But when the truth came out everyone was stunned. A cameraman revealed that Nutan had slapped Sanjiv Kumar who then angrily left the set. Soon the news was everywhere. Neither Nutan nor Sanjiv Kumar ever offered any explanation for this incident but speculation was rife that Nutan had done so to save her marriage because her husband Rajnish Behl, who was suspicious by nature, was upset at the rumors linking her to Sanjiv Kumar.
14. Music director Shankar was working with famous classical singer Shobha Gurtu on one of the songs for film Duriyaa. He told her that at one point in the song she was to employ what is called 'Murki' - which I believe is a particular way of singing. But when the song was recorded, she failed to do that. And she couldn't do it despite multiple recordings. Finally she asked him 'who can do this if I cannot?'. ShankarJi smiled, got hold of a harmonium, closed his eyes and started singing. He made use of the Murki at the exact place where he wanted her to do that. She was taken aback and praised him for his singing abilities.
15. The third anecdote was about the difficult terms and conditions that actor Dharmendra had to work under when he first started working in the film industry. He had bagged films from the likes of Gurudutt and Bimal Roy - after being selected in the talent hunt (which I believe was sponsored by Filmfare). But the shooting for these films was yet to start. And Dharmendra was worried that if they didn't start his career would be over before it ever began. So he decided to accept any and every offer that came his way - no matter the conditions. During the talent hunt, he had met Arjun Hingorani who had promised to cast him in his film. True to his word, he offered Dharmendra a part in his film 'Dil Bhi Tera Ham Bhi Tere' but the producer told Dharmendra that it can happen only if he accepted two conditions. One, he would be given only 60% of the agreed payment. And two, while the shooting is going on, Dharmendra cannot accept any other film without his permission. If he does, he will have to give the producer 50% of his payment from the other film. Dharmendra agreed. After a few days, another offer came his way from Ramesh Sehgal who was quite a well-known name at that time. Interestingly, his offer came attached with the same two conditions. Dharmendra agreed again. When Hingorani came to know about this, he was taken aback. He asked Dharmendra what would happen if the two producers came to know about each other. Dharmendra said he would pay them both as per the condition. Hingorani then asked him what would be left for him. Dharmendra answered that he wasn't worried about money at that point of time. At least he will get to act and his films would be released.
13. The first one concerned a movie called 'Devi' starring Nutan and Sanjiv Kumar. They had worked together in an earlier movie which went on to become a hit. And of course, the filmy magazines of the day were filled with accounts of their budding romance. The shooting for 'Devi' started and one day people were jolted by a loud sound reverberating across the entire set. It was clear that someone had slapped but it wasn't immediately clear as to who had hit whom. People assumed that someone had hit one of the spotboys or a junior female artist must have slapped someone trying to misbehave. But when the truth came out everyone was stunned. A cameraman revealed that Nutan had slapped Sanjiv Kumar who then angrily left the set. Soon the news was everywhere. Neither Nutan nor Sanjiv Kumar ever offered any explanation for this incident but speculation was rife that Nutan had done so to save her marriage because her husband Rajnish Behl, who was suspicious by nature, was upset at the rumors linking her to Sanjiv Kumar.
14. Music director Shankar was working with famous classical singer Shobha Gurtu on one of the songs for film Duriyaa. He told her that at one point in the song she was to employ what is called 'Murki' - which I believe is a particular way of singing. But when the song was recorded, she failed to do that. And she couldn't do it despite multiple recordings. Finally she asked him 'who can do this if I cannot?'. ShankarJi smiled, got hold of a harmonium, closed his eyes and started singing. He made use of the Murki at the exact place where he wanted her to do that. She was taken aback and praised him for his singing abilities.
15. The third anecdote was about the difficult terms and conditions that actor Dharmendra had to work under when he first started working in the film industry. He had bagged films from the likes of Gurudutt and Bimal Roy - after being selected in the talent hunt (which I believe was sponsored by Filmfare). But the shooting for these films was yet to start. And Dharmendra was worried that if they didn't start his career would be over before it ever began. So he decided to accept any and every offer that came his way - no matter the conditions. During the talent hunt, he had met Arjun Hingorani who had promised to cast him in his film. True to his word, he offered Dharmendra a part in his film 'Dil Bhi Tera Ham Bhi Tere' but the producer told Dharmendra that it can happen only if he accepted two conditions. One, he would be given only 60% of the agreed payment. And two, while the shooting is going on, Dharmendra cannot accept any other film without his permission. If he does, he will have to give the producer 50% of his payment from the other film. Dharmendra agreed. After a few days, another offer came his way from Ramesh Sehgal who was quite a well-known name at that time. Interestingly, his offer came attached with the same two conditions. Dharmendra agreed again. When Hingorani came to know about this, he was taken aback. He asked Dharmendra what would happen if the two producers came to know about each other. Dharmendra said he would pay them both as per the condition. Hingorani then asked him what would be left for him. Dharmendra answered that he wasn't worried about money at that point of time. At least he will get to act and his films would be released.
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