28th JUNE 2015 FIRST FILMFARE AWARD FILM -DETAILS DAVID IBRAHIM CHEULKAR RAJ KAPOOR BABY NAAZ

Archive for May, 2010

Nanhe munne bacche teri mutthi mein kya hai?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags avid Abraham Cheulkar, Baby Naaz, Boot Polish, Master Ratan on May 25, 2010 by Neha

“Nanhe munhe bacche teri mutthi mein kya hai, mutthi mein hai takdeer hamari”
Although many of us have never seen this film, and even fewer know the name – I am sure all of us have heard this song as kids and sung along.
The song is from a film called ‘Boot Polish’ poignant but inspirational movie about two urchins who take to a shoe-shining job to earn money and food. It’s a great moral story, especially for kids.
The two kids in question are Baby Naaz and Master Ratan.
This film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film festival in 1955, and Baby Naaz was given a special mention (It was her first film as a child actress by the way!).
Back home, Raj Kapoor, Tara Dutt and David won awards for ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Cinematographer’, and ‘Best Supporting Actor’, respectively.
You all know Raj Kapoor, right? But for those who aren’t sure who David is (and I am sure there are many), David (full name: David Abraham Cheulkar) was the same fellow who always played the role of the ‘friendly uncle’ or ‘sweet old man’ in films like ‘Chupke Chupke’ and ‘Khubsoorat’.
I think he was a personal favourite of Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and with good reason! (He is absolutely adorable)
The song I mentioned above is picturized with him and a whole lot of kids, is a popular number till date, and If you look on the right hand side, you can watch it right now.

Now, something about Baby Naaz – her career as a grown up actress never really took flight. Her real name was Salma Baig. Interestingly, her performance in this movie gave her so much recognition at that tender age, that she was known by the name Baby Naaz throughout her life.
This film was her 10th or so ( can you imagine how TALENTED she must have been to do those many at THAT age?) Apparently, Naaz got this film when Nargis saw her in a show and recommended her to Raj Kapoor. After that, there was no turning back for the girl, who did numerous films, one of which was also Devdas.
It is said that Raj Kapoor was not happy with Prakash Arora’s directorial skills and intervened himself (as he was often said to do) to re-shoot the entire thing himself. The film however, is credited to Arora’s name.
Raj Kapoor’s other venture into children’s’ films was Ab Dilli Dur Nahi.
The other child actor, whose name was Ratan also acted in Do Bigha Zameen. He migrated to Pakistan later and went on to act in lead roles in a lot of Pakistani films.
Well, that’s about it! Cheers to Baby Naaz and Master Ratan and David!

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First film to win the Filmfare Award for Best Film

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Balraj Sahni, Bimal Roy, Do Bigha Zameen,Nirupa Roy on May 21, 2010 by Neha

And not just that, Do Bigha Zameen was the first Indian film to win the International Award at the Cannes Film Festival – specifically the 7th Cannes Festival in 1954.
Do Bigha Zameen, which means 2 acres of land – was a trendsetter in its own right. The story about a poor farmer victimized by zamindars was made on a socialist theme during the 1950s.
Bimal Roy, the famed director admits that Balraj Sahni was not the first choice for the movie and had to eventually cast him for lack of other actors that he had wanted to use in this film.
Of course, we all know how THAT turned out, and I am sure Mr Roy is thankful for his ‘ill-fated’ choice – This role was Sahni’s greatest and most remembered performance, and remains so to date.
Nirupa Roy, the quintessential Indian mother (remember Deewar?) was asked to wear dirty, unwashed sarees from the Chor Bazaar for her portrayal of the farmer’s poor wife.

Some even say that this was the only film for which Nirupa Roy didn’t use even a drop of glycerine (that stuff actors use to ‘create’ tears) for her sad scenes in the film.
That must have been some acting. No wonder, this film is considered to be the turning point of Hindi Cinema and is nothing short of a work of art by Bimal Roy. Kudos!

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