Sunday, November 11, 2012

100th Post : Dev Anand who else !

Café Reminiscence



















I have finally  reached my 1st milestone i.e. 100th blogpost , feel good , happy , nostalgic , what else , don't know .
One thing was sure 100th post heading would be Dev Anand , whom I always admired , followed , A Legend forever , never say die attitude .Earlier I used to carry cassettes of his songs while on tour or during  long stay outside , which is now replaced with USB ,> 100 songs Kishore/Rafi , Lata/Asha..his songs are always part of my travel , specially on long drives , his songs or voice is must , that gives me a sense of relief ,a sense of attachment,belonging .During my school days when everybody was following Rajesh Khanna, then AB , I used to search morning & noon show movie schedule in old Mohan talkies , where they used to show old , even B&W movies , sometime Naresh has accompanied me , knowing my fondness for Dev.
Recently I was very happy to see re  release of  "Hum Dono" Rangeen in a multiplex , theater was surprisingly nearly house full , nice , so many Dev fans.
1970 : My mother was admitted to JagjivanRam hospital at Bombay central area  for appendicitis operation , as she was a teacher in Railway school , we also got small apt near Maratha Mandir ,provided either by hospital or Railways , i don't exactly remember , the only thing i remember is that  her operation  was successful & afterwards me ,Dad , dada, n  both sis had extensive Bombay tour & enjoyed our stay in Bombay.All lamp posts , hoardings were displaying posters of 2 new releases ,i.e. Johney Mera Naam & Mera Naam Joker .Arch rivals Dev & RK Amne Samne , don't think so , but believed by many ,I feel  they both have different fan following , also are totally in contrast with each other.We came to know that JMN premier was held at Maratha Mandir only .Dev Anand , so close !!.
JNM became super hit , which was produced by Gulshan Rai's Trimuti films , not Navketan & directed by Goldie , the master craftsman , JNM became trend setter for different type of action movies a.k.a.Smuggling rackets & well dressed villain in big dark glasses  , JNM also known for famous Padma Khanna bold dance ,Hema Malini's beauty and super hit songs,which  topped the Binaca geetmala charts.Movie also beat 4 Rajesh Khanna hits for the same year as told by RK himself.
It is not good to keep on remembering the dead, reminiscences brings some sort of sadness , emptiness n u wish , ah wo thoda auur der saath hote , same for mom n dad , thoda auur...
With time I also followed other actors like BigB, Sanjeev , Vinod Khanna, Vinod Mehra ,Dharmendra , Danny , Firoz Khan..etc but liking and admiration is different ,Evergreen , Debonair Dev is always special , just luv him.
I remember his speech at IIFA Johannesburg , intelligent , full of life . His interviews are always watchable , no negativity , no complaints , no rift with anyone , never used to talked about others , always in search of something ,new theme , new places ,  he was specially fond of mountains ( Ex. Ishq Ishq Ishq) .He is also referred as style icon by many ,his westernized approach ,his scarves , mufflers, jackets and various caps, berets/fedros hats , cap like Jewel Thief , which he bought from Switzerland ,I still remember he wore Red trouser in AmirGarib song "mein aayaa hun", bold it was  , He was well educated & well aware of world politics , art , cinema &   always had international approach whether association with Pearls Buck for Guide , or his meetings with many international stars like Italian director Vittorio de Sica" of " Bicycle Thieves" fame ,Gregory Peck ,Charle Chaplin in Russia in 1954,Danny Kaye,Russian director Cherkasov,Ted Danielewski (Guide English), author Irving Stone, Kirk Douglas,Frank Capra and many many more , he had been to many film festivals in almost all parts of the world like Venice, Berlin Prague, Moscow , US,Cannes etc.He was also felicitated with many awards by various governmental organisations and  other societies world wide for his outstanding contribution to the world cinema.(Seen long list at wikipedia) I mean to say he was always international in his approach and was not just an Indian actor & was well versed with global art & cinema .I strongly recommend readers to buy n read his autobiography which is one of the most published bio's by any film celebrity , an awesome bio, I finished  reading 400 pages  in few days , specially 1st half is too good , but his career after Des Pardes or Manpasand  is just forgettable , prefer to avoid .

I had requested my son to name my grandson as Dev , at least neck name , short n sweet , Dev in my house , ahaa  , hope so .Then I will also call one day Dev aan , as his father used to call him , the best part in his bio , pls read also linked with my previous post.

"Romancing with Life"  : One day as I proudly jingled the marbles bulging out of my pocket , some of them spilled out , rolling down a slopy patch of ground .As I started chasing after them , I heard my father calling out " Dev-aaan "and there he was......................."  

Disclosure:Information gathered from his autobiography " Romancing with Life" and from other internet resources.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

99th Post :Zindaagi Rocks @ Bacardi NH7 Weekender Music Fest Pune


Café Reminiscence:Bacardi NH7 Weekender

Café Reminiscence:Bacardi NH7 Weekender


Café Reminiscence:Bacardi NH7 Weekender


Café Reminiscence:Bacardi NH7 Weekender




It was not planned , while having morning tea & scrolling thru news papers on leisure last Saturday morning  , Sid suggested for this Musical extravaganza @Pune, I said Yes , Nicx as usual, was ready for any outing nd long drive, she was too excited for her 1st ever music live fest..I was not knowing that it may turned out to be one of the best Weekend or rather memorable weekend ,I ever experienced  In fact after reaching home back on Saturday night at 2 AM after 4+4 hrs long drive , we again got up Sunday morning & went for Grand Finale  & reached the venue on time @4:30 PM.

What a place "Amanora Park" signature Hiranandani dome building , artificial lakes ,Thai huts (pic) with legs submerged , 6 stages , parallel shows , for which I was not happy as we had to choose between 2 fav. performers  i.e. Indus Creed Vs Kailash Kher as both were schedule for the same time slot , anyways ..
Food stalls , 2 Bars by Bacardi & Eristoff , Food stalls ,Music store & other handicraft & merchandises, accessories ,lush green garden , just sit there in groups n enjoy ,pleasant November weather, what else one can expect .

OK that was about the venue , now the show ,Million watts of thunderous blast , Piccadilly lighting , Lasers ,Variety of musicians from India & abroad ,We specially liked Australian "Karnivool" for their high voltage music n  well Synch lighting  ,Buraka Som Sistema fr Portugan with their fusion Techno beats with Afro-Kudroro genre music,  Bombay Metal Project  , for their high octane metal sound with non understandable lyrics,Rob The Bank DJ for dance ,DJ Michal Merent ,Indus Creed was rather not up to the mark, 
Vir Das"Alien Chutney was good in  well timed jokes & funny Lyrics e.g. Pappe you're a dude if u got the Man boobs & comparison between Delhi & Bombay girls , funny Harry potter and Himesh Reshm'a etc.

Whole environment was electric , charged , Young beautiful well dressed guys n gals in shorts , minis , almost  a fashion fiesta .Here we feel proud of being part of the well behaved Bombay Pune crowd as there was not a single awkward or indecent incident happened in spite of close proximity , darkness , booze , smoke etc. etc. Luv u Bombay ...Fantastic.

Such a great satisfying rocking experience , Yahhooooooooooo.

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