There are so many Shammi films out there still not available on DVD (or even VCD!) that it verges on CRIMINAL.
Get to it DVD-making people! What are you waiting for?! It’s Shammi—and Geeta Bali in drag!
Images from November 1955 Filmindia magazine
I *need* to see this!
28 Comments to “I *need* to see this!”
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“Woman often masquerades to get into the cloisters of another woman’s heart and when she sometimes finds her own man there. she hates the masquerade” could be a plot description for any number of Baroque operas. This sounds irresistible…
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Rosencavalier, anyone? :-D
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It is amazing that there are so many Shammi films not yet on DVD. You need to do a letter writing campaign to all the major Indian DVD companies.
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I don’t get the feeling that they are going to care much what I have to say. I would really like them to work on their quality control first I guess anyway :-)
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Seems to be a 1956 film. Wonder who the heroine is – Mala Sinha or Geeta Bali? Cannot be Chand Usmani. Can she? :-/
In the picture above Mala Sinha seems to be dying. Shammi Kapoor looks shocked. So I’m sure Geeta Bali gets him (as in real life).
Baburao Patel must have called it a stupid film and I want to see it. :-D-
Chand Usmani was Shammi’s heroine in the dreadful Jeevan Jyoti in 1952, but I would bet Mala Sinha is the heroine of this one. But I won’t know unless it somehow makes its way into the light of the twenty-first century, alas! *places back of hand to forehead dramatically*
And would love to know what Baburao said about it :-)
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Doesn’t Shammi look bhaiya Raj in this photo? I thought it was he, and wondered if memsaab had suddenly changed her Raj K’pinion.
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Never!!!!! Never in a million years shall anyone, even his own brothers, replace Shammi!
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Chand Usmani seems to be a character who is “blind” – looking at the two screen caps!
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It’s certainly possible! But we may never know :(
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Don’t even talk about this. It fills my heart with unimaginable pain. To think of all the movies I’m not ever going to be see.
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Especially Shammi movies *breaks down in tears*
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You may remove this comment if you wish as it has nothing to do with Bollywood (I am unashamedly taking advantage of the number of people visiting your blog).
May I add something about what I am currently involved in? Am translator/subtitler (working for free) and general background researcher etc.
Hopefully it should come out soon. At the time of writing, the people subject of the story have been now 14 months out in the “mountain”- they take no financial help from anyone and “earn” their living through “work”: helping people park cars, carry heavy shopping, helping the church in distributing their food bank to the local needy, etc.
Previous to that they have spent on average more than a year, many even 2, in the “temporary” govt. centre in the city.Final aim: to get them moved to the mainland with temporary papers on humanitarian grounds and for govts. to stop turning a blind eye to the human trafficking problems around the globe and for faster processing (not take 2-4 years to deport/keep someone!!)
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So this is the movie, which is written about so much, when they talk about Mala Sinha. Supposedly, Geeta Bali met Mala Sinha on the sets of this film and took a liking for Mala and ‘groomed’ her, whatever that means!
I would like Geeta Bali to get the hero!
Miss her!
miss her smile!
miss her vivaciousness!
miss everything about her!
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This is what http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?showtopic=77025 says about the film:
“Kidar Sharma and Roshan get together to give yet another winning album. During the production of this movie, Shammi married Geeta Bali in a secret ceremony against his parents’ wishes. Parag tells that Geeta Bali had a very minor role (she felt she owed it to Kidar Sharma who discovered her) in the movie where she plays a man! Incredible as it may seem this was not the first time it happened in the history of cinema. There was a Telugu movie that was made in late 40’s where a fully grown female actress (G. Varalakshmi) played the role of young Prahlad. Mala Sinha, who is one of the stars of “Rangeen Raatein”, could hardly speak Hindi in the beginning of her career. (Ms. Sinha’s mother tongue was Nepalese but she could speak fluent Bengali when this movie was in production.) Geeta took Mala under her wings and instilled confidence in her through coaching.”
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Ooh Roshan wrote the music? Even more reason why I *NEED* to see it!!!
Come on KMI! Shemaroo!? Somebody??
I have read that Geeta begged Kidar Sharma to give her this role so that she could go with Shammi to the outdoor shoot…it’s where their romance got off the ground :)
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Yes, many movies are probably not on VCD or DVD. I might(not sure) have seen it onVHS. Char Dil Char Rahen has a minor role for Shammi Kapoor and Kumkum and there is a song-dear johnny darling stella. It’s one of those ‘odd’ movies-could be K A Abbas movie. And when they DO bring them to DVD, they just cut some scenes totally -Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai(Dev Anand and Asha Parekh). Other movies that I have on DVD have also got a few bits-not whole scenes- chopped off. And youtube just suspends accounts. So many people take the trouble to upload old songs-very rare songs. BIG COMPANIES??!! Pray where can we find the dvd’s then huh? Even in India they are not available. And here in Australia? NO HOPE! Angry and frustrated old movies fan, that’s what I am.
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Maybe we can unite and form a club! Or even better, our own DVD manufacturing company!!! There is a bit of a light from companies like KMI in Amsterdam and Shemaroo (although I wish they’d start checking their masters before making a gazillion copies to sell). As someone suggested above, we need to keep pestering them for the things we want to see!
Re: editing etc., I wonder how much of that is necessitated by the poor quality of the original film material…some of these were not very well preserved, I fear…
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Didnt Baburao comment on the title of the movie? Rangeen Raaten – colorful nights – with not one, not two, but three ladies gives material for a lot of colorful speculation on the plot, and I am surprised Baburao ignored such an obvious target!
I am all for setting up a DVD manufacturing company. But if all of us (oldies Bollywood fans) started manufacturing DVDs, then the market will already be gone!
Re: editing, I dont think the problem is always with the source material. Different manufacturers tend to use the scissors with various degrees of generosity, too!
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They should be persecuted for that!!! I have *so many gripes* with Indian DVD manufacturers. We might not sell very many but at least we’d do it right! :-P
Re: Baburao—for the most part he is charitable towards films he is “advertising” (he’s not always very kind to the star pictured though)…
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I just want to thank whoever dreamed up that top publicity photo. Why guess!
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I know! So catchy :)
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Hope this tides y’all over until we get a DVD release … a glimpse!
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Oh beautiful!!! Thanks :) Sounds like Roshan did his usual magic with the songs…
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Thank you! Thank you!, Muz!
If that’s an example of the music in this film then it really deserves to be on DVd for all of us to enjoy it. -
Man, oh man…a poster like that..me want to see it really bad too!!
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Thanks Muz for sharing the video clip. Hope someday we would get the real gems of DVDs
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Hello… had come to this site much earlier and remembered you wanted to see this movie. Here it is now on youtube:
MemsaabStory 