Yaaaahhooooo!!! Part II

As Shammi Kapoor Week ends, I leave you with more of Shammi Kapoor's famous songs. I couldn't think of anything better that more songs! When I looked over the first Yaahhooo post, I remembered more of Shammi Kapoor's energetic, fun, romantic and soulful songs.

So without further delay here are 20 more Shammi Kapoor Hits:

1. Govinda Ala Re

2. Bachke Jane Na Dungi

3. O Mr. Banjo

4. Isharon Isharon Mein

5. Dekho Ji Dekho (2:20)

6. Janabe Ali

7. Masoom Chehra

8. Rangat Teri Surat

9. Dhadakne Lagta Hai

10. Akele Akele

11. Yeh Rang Na Chutega

12. Chakke Mein Chakka

13. Kahin Na Kahin

14. Jane Bahar Husn

15. Dilruba Dil Pe

16. Hum Aur Tum Aur Yeh Sama

17. Hai Duniya Usiki

18. Yeh Umar Hai Kya

19. Deewana Mujhsa Nahi

20. Deewane Ka Naam

Watching these songs brings back so many memories from my childhood. I re-live all of the fun times over again. I think back to when I first started watching Shammi Kapoor films and dancing to his songs (even though I thought the dancing was weird!). I had a lot of fun going back and coming up with these posts for Shammi Kapoor Week. Hope you had just as much fun reading them and dancing along to his fun-filled masti-full songs!

Shammi Kapoor's Leading Ladies

Over the years, Shammi Kapoor has worked with many of the leading actresses of Retro-Bollywood. These are some of his most notable Leading Ladies (according to me).

Nutan

Shammi Kapoor acted with Nutan very early in his career. They starred in Laila Majnu (1953). The young Shammi Kapoor and the fresh-faced Nutan made a lovely pair onscreen portraying eternal lovers Laila and Majnu. They acted together again in Laat Saheb (1967).

Helen

Helen and Shammi Kapoor first starred together in Miss Coca Cola (1955). Since then, they have starred together in multiple films. Each time they came together, they created magic. In fact, most of Shammi Kapoor's masti-ful dance numbers almost always include Helen accompanying him. I remember watching an interview of Helen, where she talked about the relationship she had with Shammi Kapoor. Every time they had a song together, they would compete to see who had the most fun.

Asha Parekh

Asha Parekh started out her career as a leading lady with Shammi Kapoor in Dil Deke Dekho (1958). Since then she has starred with him in Teesri Manzil (1966), Pagla Kahin Ka (1970) and Jawan Mohabbat (1971). In an interview, Asha Parekh talked about the relationship that she shared with Shammi Kapoor. She was very close to him and his first wife, Geeta Bali. She used to call him Chacha, which means uncle.

Sharmila Tagore

Just like Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore started out her career in Bollywood with Shammi Kapoor in Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), which instantly made her a popular actress. She later acted with Shammi Kapoor in An Evening In Paris (1967), which once again became an extremely successful film further establishing her as a Bollywood leading lady.

Rajshree

Rajshree acted with Shammi Kapoor in two films, namely Bhramachari (1968) and Janwar (1965). Just like Shammi Kapoor, Rajshree was known for her dancing ability as well as her acting ability. Needless to say, both Shammi Kapoor and Rajshree set the screen on fire!

In an interview, Shammi Kapoor mentioned that though he acted with several leading ladies during his day, he considered Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore and Rajshree as the easiest to work with. Apart from these three ladies, Shammi Kapoor shared the best musical hits in his career with Helen, while he started out his career with Nutan.

20 Must Watch Shammi Kapoor Films

So far I have talked Teesri Manzil and Andaz, two of my most favorite Shammi Kapoor films. I as thinking long and hard about what my next post in Shammi Week should be a about. That's when I decided why not make a list of the Top 20 Shammi films?! This is my take on the Top 20 Shammi films to watch.

Out of the 20 films in this list, I remember watching only 5 or 6. Being a Shammi fan, I just have to watch all of the films on this list. (Now that I have a list I know which DVDs to keep an eye out for!)

Andaz - From Shammi Kapoor To Rajesh Khanna

I've talked about Teesri Manzil and the effect that it had on me. Shammi Kapoor was at the top of his game when he starred in Teesri Manzil. He was stylish and flamboyant, unlike the other leading men in 60s Bollywood. Slowly but steadily, time and tragedy took its toll on Shammi Kapoor. By the end of the 60s and early 70s Shammi Kapoor's career as a leading man began to end. New actors like Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan emerged, taking the place of of those from the previous generation. It was during this time that Shammi Kapoor starred in Andaz, one of his last movies as a leading man.

I still remember the first time I watched Andaz. At first I did not know that Shammi Kapoor also starred in the movie because Zindigi Ek Safar Hai Suhana, the most popular song from the movie, featured Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini. So I assumed that the movie starred just them. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Shammi Kapoor was in fact the leading man while Rajesh Khanna just had a guest appearance. Along with Rajesh Khanna, Simi Garewal also had a guest appearance. Most importantly, I really liked the unconventional story in which the main characters were a widow and a widower rather than a playboy and a college girl.

The story is that of a young widow, Sheetal (Hema Malini) and a widower, Ravi (Shammi Kapoor). Sheetal has a young son, Deepu while Ravi has a young daughter, Munni. Both children go the same school where Sheetal teaches. The children become fast friends and play an integral part in bringing their parents together. Just as Sheetal and Ravi begin to fall in love, complications occur. Whether Sheetal and Ravi get over those complication and come together makes up the rest of the story.

Apart from the unconventional story, Andaz also had an excellent soundtrack by Shankar-Jaikishan.

Song 1. Zindigi Ek Safar Hai Suhana - Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle. This song showcases the relationship between Raj (Rajesh Khanna) and Sheetal. I really like the meaningful lyrics of this particular song.

Song 2. Re Mama Re Mama - Mohd. Rafi. This song highlights the father-daughter relationship between Ravi and Munni. I like the way Ravi goes out of his way to make sure Munni forgives him.

Song 3. Zindigi Ek Safar Hai - Asha Bhosle. Here, Sheetal sings to her son Deepu a song that his father sang to her. I like the way the lyrics are used in this version of the song.

Song 4. Dil Usse Do - Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle. This song highlights the relationship between Sheetal and Ravi. Both Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini are adorable in this song.

Song 5. Zindigi Ek Safar Hai Suhana - Mohd. Rafi, Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle. Ravi sings to Sheetal, trying to give her strength and reassurance during tough times. I like that Mohd. Rafi sang Shammi Kapoor's portions emphasizing the difference between Ravi and Raj.

Song 6. Mujhe Pyas Aisi Pyas Lagi Hai - Asha Bhosle. This song essentially introduces the audience to Badal (Roopesh Kumar), the villain.

Just as films like Teesri Manzil, for example, showcased an actor at the top of his game, Andaz showcases an actor who was on the brink of passing on the role of the romantic leading man to a younger lot of actors. Even then, Shammi Kapoor still managed to give an excellent performance as a doting father, loving husband and strong companion.

Teesri Manzil - My Take...

I've mentioned earlier how watching Teesri Manzil instantly made me a Shammi Kapoor fan. So it's only fair that I talk about the movie and why it had such a effect on me.

Let me start by saying, I love watching murder mysteries and thrillers ever since I was little. I just love the way the story comes together after a crime has taken place. I enjoy being completely engaged and engrossed in the plot. Last but not the least, when the villain is revealed, I like being surprised! Teesri Manzil was the second Retro-Bollywood murder mystery I watched (the first was Madhumati). It had everything going for it - great music, wonderful cast, interesting story and novel direction.

The movie starts out with a suicide taking place at a hotel. It is later revealed that the victim was a guest at the hotel and was deeply in love with one of the musicians performing at the hotel under the name, Rocky. Witnesses say that before the victim killed herself, she begged him to confess his love for her and when he asked her to leave, she killed herself by jumping from the Teesri Manzil (third floor) of the hotel. When the police examine her remains and room, they find a suicide note in her room and a bejeweled coat button in her palm.

Cut to the present, the victim's sister, Sunita, decides to go to the hotel and deal with Rocky her own way. In her quest, she meets and befriends Anil, another guest who is staying at the same hotel and claims to be Rocky's friend. It turns out that Anil, is in fact Rocky and pretends to be Rocky's friend to prove his innocence to Sunita.

During their time together, Sunita and Anil fall in love. It is then that he reveals to her that he is in fact the 'Rocky' that she came to meet. He tells her everything that happened the night her sister died. She realizes that Anil was not responsible for her sister's death and explains to him that her sister would never kill herself.

While speaking to the police investigating the suicide, it is revealed that she was in fact murdered. The police also show Anil and Sunita the bejeweled coat button that was found in her sister's palm. How Anil and Sunita solve the mystery makes up rest of the story.

As I mentioned earlier, all of the songs in this movie are just plain amazing! R.D. Burman showcases his talent to the fullest extent with this soundtrack. He introduces the audience to the fast beats of Rock & Roll.

Song 1. O Haseena Zulphon Wali - An introduction song featuring Rocky/Anil (Shammi Kapoor) and Ruby (Helen). Mohd. Rafi sang this song superbly and Asha Bhosle adds so much ada!

Song 2. Aaja Aaja - A cute chedkani song where Anil dances with Sunita. Once again Mohd. Rafi and Asha Bhosle create magic.

Song 3. Deewana Mujhsa Nahi - A romantic song where Anil professes his love for Sunita. Mohd. Rafi sings this song and touches the heart of the listener.

Song 4. O Mere Sonare - The classic manana song where Sunita begs for forgiveness for treating Anil badly. Asha Bholse's charming voice and Mohd. Rafi's masti make this song a classic.

Song 5. Main Inpe Marta Hoon - A fun song where Anil explains that main inpe marta hoon! Mohd. Rafi's voice matches Shammi Kapoor's crazy antics perfectly! Asha Bholse adds ada easily!

Song 6. Tumne Mujhe Dekha - A heartfelt song where Anil reveals himself as Rocky. The emotion in Mohd. Rafi's voice adds so much depth to this song.

I hope this post inspires you to watch Teesri Manzil yourself and become a fan of Shammi Kapoor's work.

Shammi Kapoor Unplugged

Shammi Kapoor is probably one of the last remaining actors of an era in Bollywood when things were only starting to get big. He in a way symbolizes changes that the Bollywood Hero underwent over time. From a serious leading man to a fun-loving romantic hero, Shammi Kapoor was one of the first to lead audiences through that path paving a way for the romantic heroes of today.

Recently, Shammi Kapoor launched a series of videos where he takes his audience and fans down memory lane, reliving moments from his life. Here are some of the episodes of Shammi Kapoor Unplugged.

In this video, Shammi Kapoor recounts the effect that the internet has had on his life. He recounts an emotional incident where he received a touching e-mail from a friend who had not heard from in 50 years.

Here, Shammi Kapoor credits his computer-addiction from keeping him getting addicted to other things!

Shammi Kapoor talks about how he gave up smoking. Are you listening Shah Rukh Khan?

Here, Shammi Kapoor talks about the first computer that he ever bought - Apple 2. I was surprised to learn that Shammi Kapoor is so computer savvy!

Shammi Kapoor holds on dearly to his fun-loving attitude despite suffering from renal failure. He has such a positive outlook!

Shammi Kapoor talks about how he happened to star in Tumsa Nahi Dekha, his first biggest hit.

Here, Shammi Kapoor talks about how he got to star in Junglee or Mr. Hitler, as it was originally named.

Thanks to Dev Anand once again, Shammi Kapoor was able to star in Teesri Manzil, one of his well known hits.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know the real Shammi Kapoor a little more, as much as I have.

Yaaahhhooooo!!!!!

It's probably obvious to all of you that I am a huge Shammi Kapoor fan. So it only makes sense that I have a post or several posts dedicated to him. I fell deeply in filmi love when I watched him for the first time in Teesri Manzil and from then on I have become a die-hard Shammi Kapoor fan. Shammi Kapoor is mostly known for his fun-loving, romantic characters but he is just as good playing intense characters. Along with his acting and his charming good looks, I love him most when he's dancing!

So these are my Top 30 Shammi Kapoor Songs!

1. Dil Deke Dekho

2. Sar Par Topi Laal

3. Bade Hai Dil Ke Kale

4. Aaja Aaja

5. Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke

6. O Haseena Zulphon Wali

7. Dil Usse Do Jo

8. Deewana Hua Badal

9. Baar Baar Dekho

10. Mujhe Kitna Pyaar

11. Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee

12. Aasman Se Aaya

13. Mere Yaar Shaba Khair

14. Khuli Palak Mein

15. Laal Chadi Maidan Khadi

16. Raat Ke Humsafar

17. Badan Pe Sitare

18. Suku Suku

19. Tumne Mujhe Dekha

20. Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai

21. Dil Ke Jharoke

22. Dil Tera Deewana

23. Yeh Chaand Sa Roshan Chehra

24. Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujh Par

25. Janam Janam

26. Tumne Pukara Aur Hum Chale Aaye

27. Aye Gulbadan

28. Yaar Chulbula Hai

29. Humse Na Pucho

30. Kis Ko Pyar Karon

Enjoy! Yaaahhhoooooo!!!!