Hey young man, can you sing?
Check out the title song from the discofabulous Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), where polka dot shirts and checked dinner jackets merged and threw up an æsthetic. The dancers in minidresses and go-go boots prove Bollywood was every bit as skimpyscandalous back in the day.
One-hit wonder Vijay Arora passed away a year and two months back. Dharmendra sired two sons who carry a fine tradition of silly movies, and still shows up faded at parties. Zeenat abides.
And here’s ‘Lekar Hum,’ one of those wistful, unforgettable melodies from the ’70s.
on Monday, April 21st, 2008, 9:01 pm in Fashion, Film, Video clips › 
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It’s 2007 again? Awesome. Does this mean you get to suffer through Om Shanti Om all over again?
what was pretty awesome is that dharamendar looks like he packs some serious heft. the kids today *snort* seem to have pumped up on the dorsal short fiber muscles but our man had some CORE. he’s broad as a banyan tree and if those seared-in memories from dharam-veer serve me right, he’s got hind quarters worthy of a pack horse.
My memory tells me this is the first Hindi movie I watched. If I had seen another before this, I don’t remember it as well as I do this one. The songs and dances apart, the storyline made an impression on a shy, timid little girl who secretly worried about the death of a parent or being separated from the family. Decades later, with three little kids in tow, I picked up a CD of Yaadon ki Baraat in our local Indian
pirated-goodsgrocery store. Apparently the movie still tugs at my emotions–but in this phase of life I secretly worry about my kids being orphaned and separated from each other. Don’t tell my husband guys, but I have a repertoire of crazy, original, personalized, bedtime songs that I hope will get etched in their emotional memories…Y ki B is one of my all time favorites .Check out the near- finale where Dharmendra watches long lost kid brother sing and clutches a pillar for support - priceless. Zeenat Aman is smoldering in the unforgettable “Chura liya”.
I am a sucker for lost and found - another evergreen favorite is “Waqt” - highly recco’d if you haven’t seen it !
Great memories.
The movie house i saw it in was called El Dorado, which now houses a bunch of “coaching” classes.
Manish,
Dharmendra has two sons, and a daughter (Esha Doel) currently working in Bollywood.
In all, he has two daughters and two sons with Prakash Kaur, and two daughters with Hema Malini
Yes, but only the sons put out winners like Apne.
Unfortunately, I was naive to watch it first during my 20 hour flight to Mumbai. I didn’t dare sit through another Bollywood film for the rest of my flight.
Manish,
I want to echo Malathi’s feelings here. By all standards, YKB was a major major hit. In the 70s, Dharam and Amitabh dominated Indian (or Hindi) cinema. Now, Dharam was not all that bad. This sort of macho male emoting was similar what what MGR did in Tamil movies. It would be unfair to judge YKB by current standards, it had a certain kitsch appeal. Those who saw this movie in India and grew up listening to this tune in radios and during Durga Puga, it left a mark on our imagination and psyche (note: this was the only reality that we encountered, bollywood was the prism through which we viewed the world). Here is another tune that I could not get out of my head:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bqc_u-1110o&feature=related
On an interesting side note, that is Feroz Khan that you see towards the end of the frame, his daughter is married to Hrithik Roshan (Bollywood–it is a small family among a nation of more than billion people).
I think it is hardly an exaggeration to say that Y ki B is the Citizen Kane of the three-brothers-separated-at-childhood-and-united-twenty-years-later-by-a-song genre.
Manish Dude,
I know you are the shepherd of the hip, and snark patrol. You gotta …..in the valley of darkness 24/ 7. For he is truly his brothers’ keeper and finder of lost children.
However,
The 2nd youtube in your post (Zeenat abides) is not with Zeenat Aman, but with Neetu Singh (later wife of Rishi Kapoor). It is great song, no doubt.
Dharmendra, early in his career did some real solid work, like Bandini-1963, Mala Sinha in Anpadh-1962 and Pooja Ke Phool-1964, Saira Banu in Shaadi-1962 and Aayi Milan Ki Bela-1964 and one of the most influential persons with whom he was associated, Meena Kumari in Main Bhi Ladki Hoon-1964, Kaajal-1965, Poornima-1965 and Phool Aur Paththar-1966 etc (Refer Wikipedia for more details). I am forgetting a name, he did with Sharmilla Tagore where he plays an idealist who marries an ex-prostitute, and is a very well made movie.
Especially with Meena Kumari, he became an icon (was also romantically linked to her in real life at that time). There is a scene with him shirtless looking at widow Meena Kumari in Phool Aur Paththar which is considered to be one of the most wistful scene in Indian cinema. Sholay has given him a permanent place in cinema history.
There is an Australian magazine which did a list of sexiest men alive, sometimes in 80s or 90s……it had only two men from Indian subcontinent - Imran Khan, and Dharmendra.
Also, gold standard for lost brother’s movie is Waqt, and also, in some ways, Akbar Amar Anthony.
Keep your brother’s happy……..ciao.
Hey Manish,
A real good writeup on Dharmendra.
I was talking about Satyakam, which according to the writeup is the best role of his acting career.
Kush,
I think Garam Dharam’s best role was in Chupke Chupke !, followed by Sholay
Yup, that caption goes with the clip above. I know it’s unclear.
The primary reason why all Northies turn out the way they do is because they grow up watching drivel like this. We in the South know how to make movies. Our ferocious men would beat up your men to a pulp.
Or tear you to shreds in argumentation.
Srini,
It is Sanjay Khan’s daughter that is married to Hrithik and not Feroze’s.
I agree with Runa my favorite Dharmendra movie is also Chupke Chupke, I also liked him in Shalimar and there was a movie with him and Shatrughan SInha Blackmail? which I liked too. On a separate note I had no idea Vijay Arora passed away last year.
@Kush Tandon
Does exclusivity of an australian mag selecting of 2 men of subcontinent have to do with any thing?
Is that a way of ‘validating’ looks?
Regarding the video, whats with keeping a guitar and not plucking the strings?
Does exclusivity of an australian mag selecting of 2 men of subcontinent have to do with any thing?
Is that a way of ‘validating’ looks?
No, I was not the publisher of the magazine, and nor maker of the list. The list became quite a news because at that time Imran Khan was the captain of World Cup winning Pakistan team, and was (or started to get) involved (or married) to Jemina Khan (who is part European royalty).
However, I brought this up for a simple reason: Even though Dharmendra did quite a bit of goofy movies. He was in his day was a “veritable” sex symbol (which started from Phool Aur Pathar days and grew from there that reached far and wide, this too quite a contrast to Rajesh Khanna/ Deva Anand/ Raj Kapoor persona, and also angry young man Amitabh Bachchan), and was involved in some classic movies, and very decent projects (Anupma, Satyakam).
Also, he is one of the guys who survived two tsunamis in Bollywood that washed away almost everyone, and those tsunamis were: Rajesh Khanna, and Amitabh Bachchan.
how coincidental (dare i even say, fortuitous?) - i was just listening to om shanti om on my way into work.
sorry, manish, but i love the 70s hindi kitsch - once you stop taking it seriously, or trying to find any sort of purpose/message/substance, it’s great fun. take karz, for example - it has reincarnation, great songs, and rishi kapoor in polyester jumpsuits - what’s not to love? the fun is all in the cheesiness, man…
Thanks for the correction umber desi how could I mix by Sanjay and Feroz :) Hirthik marrying Sanjay Khan’s daughter is that an example of (hindu-muslim bhai bhai?).
Here enjoy Dharam at his Chakki-phising best: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pTw64tyKyXg
We kid because we care.
but of course. and one of the reasons i love this blog - a reliable and constant focus on the kitsch and cheese elements of desi culture (besides, you know, the more important stuff). though, sometimes, it’s a bit too much for the eyes ;)
Smug Lemurians, you can console yourselves as much as you want, now that you’re safely ensconced behind the Vindhyas. We all know who’s going home with the spoils of the war.