𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻
@yansan • 3,765 subscribers
What if I slept a little more and forgot about all this nonsense
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Sultana Begum,the widow of Mirza Bedar Bukht and great-granddaughter-in-law of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, currently resides in a humble slum in Howrah. An upcoming documentary directed by Soumya Sengupta offers a poignant glimpse into her solitary struggle against the system as she seeks to reclaim her rights to her ancestral property - the Red Fort. The documentary promises to be a moving narrative, capturing the resilience of an elderly woman caught in a lone battle to honor her lineage and secure her legacy. #LostQueen directed by Soumya Sengupta.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻1,566,891 görüntüleme • 4 ay önce
In 1971, a group of Indian musical stalwarts gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York to perform. As they began tuning their instruments before the main set, the crowd,primarily Americans and rock enthusiasts accustomed to short bursts of sound,erupted in thunderous applause. The lead musician chuckled, leaned into the microphone, and wittily remarked: "If you like our tuning so much, I hope you will enjoy our playing more." He was Pandit Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury, known to the world of music enthusiasts as Pandit Ravi Shankar. A sitar maestro and perhaps the most influential Indian musician of the twentieth century, he successfully bridged the gap between East and West. Let's remember him on his birthday today. Here is his musical piece from the famed movie 𝘎𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘪. #PanditRaviShankar *no copyright infringement intended*
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻60,350 görüntüleme • 2 ay önce
Ever feel like everyone in 70s Bollywood was either an "Angry Young Man" or a dramatic hero? Enter Basu Chatterjee, the director who reminded us that most of us are just... normal. While others were busy fighting villains, Basuda’s heroes were busy catching the bus to work. Think Amol Palekar in 𝘊𝘩𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘪 𝘴𝘪 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘵 or 𝘙𝘢𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘢. He wasn't bashing up ten guys; he was a fumbling bundle of nerves trying to talk to his crush or worrying about office politics. His movies were basically a love letter to the daily grind. Whether it was riding a Lambretta, taking a Mumbai local, or walking through the rain-soaked streets of Marine Drive (𝘙𝘪𝘮𝘫𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘯 🌧️), he made the ordinary look cinematic. Basuda loved letting the music tell the story in the background. It made the scenes feel like real life,no sudden backup dancers, just a guy lost in thought while a soulful Mukesh song played. His characters didn't want to save the world; they wanted to fix a galvanometer, get a promotion, or figure out how to navigate a quirky Christian family dynamic in 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘯. Basu Chatterjee’s legacy is that "unhurried 70s" feeling. He proved that you don't need a cape or a gun to be the lead of your own story - sometimes, just surviving the Monday morning rush is enough. Yesterday marked the birthday of Basu Chatterjee. To a generation that takes pride in the violent, misogynistic, and hypermasculine spectacles of modern cinema, the legacy of Basu Da may remain elusive. His work belongs to a different era of grace,one that they may never fully understand.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻97,168 görüntüleme • 4 ay önce
In 1921, a boy named Abdul was born in Ludhiana, Punjab. His father was a wealthy and powerful landlord, but he wasn't exactly a "family man." He was arrogant, unkind, and had a habit of collecting wives,12 of them, to be exact. Abdul’s mother was wife number eleven, and despite the crowded family tree, Abdul was the only son the man ever had. His father didn't care much for love or the women he married, he only cared about having an heir. When Abdul’s mother finally couldn't take his cruelty anymore, she decided to leave. Had she left by herself, he probably wouldn't have blinked, but she took the boy with her. That was a dealbreaker. The father threatened to kidnap the child and dragged the whole mess to court. Eventually, the judge looked at young Abdul and asked who he wanted to live with. The boy didn't hesitate - "My Mother." From that day on, it was the two of them against the world. She sold her jewelry to pay for his school and keep them afloat. Abdul traded a life of luxury for a life of integrity, and it clearly paid off. He grew up to be one of India’s most famous poets, taking the pen name Sahir and adding Ludhianvi to honor his hometown. Even as he became a superstar, his bond with his mother stayed at the center of his life. He looked after her with total devotion, never forgetting that she chose his freedom over her own comfort. Sahir was also a bit of a troublemaker for the authorities. He was a vocal communist, and after writing an article that the Pakistani government didn't appreciate in 1949, an arrest warrant was issued. He headed back across the border to the side where he was born and spent the rest of his life using his lyrics to fight for secularism and socialist values. He was even the first lyricist to stand up to big music companies and demand royalties. Today, on his birth anniversary, we remember the rebel who turned his struggles into the songs we still hum today. "Kabe me raho ya Kashi me raho..." Movie : Dharmputra
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻55,561 görüntüleme • 3 ay önce
Back in 1996, a pretty incredible album called 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 hit the scene. It was a rare meeting of two musical giants, sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and the legendary Asha Bhosle. Together, they pulled together an unprecedented collection of eleven Indian classical pieces dating back to the 16th–18th century Mughal courts. While Asha Ji provided the vocals, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan performed the sarod and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri backed them up on the tabla and pakhawaj. It was a beautiful bridge between eras, and the music world definitely took notice. The album even earned a well-deserved Grammy nomination in 1997. Below 👇 - Miya ki Malhar from the Album. #AshaBhosle
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻24,798 görüntüleme • 1 ay önce
In 1988, Indian television audiences witnessed a monumental achievement by Shyam Benegal - 𝘉𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘬 𝘒𝘩𝘰𝘫, a series based on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's seminal work, "The Discovery of India". This ambitious project aimed to capture Nehru's perspective on India's rich heritage and culture, making it accessible to a broad audience. What's remarkable is that Benegal didn't simply adapt Nehru's work; instead, he added depth by incorporating critiques and alternative viewpoints . This nuanced approach might be challenging to replicate in today's era , making Benegal's accomplishment all the more impressive, even 36 years later.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻134,586 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
35 years ago, Satyajit Ray made a film that critiqued blind faith surrounding religion, exposing the economics driving it and the vested interests of businessmen who exploit religion for profit. The movie was titled "Ganashatru". I wonder, in today's India, would he have been able to make such a film?
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻101,763 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
The date was January 1, 1989. In Jhandapur, a small village on the outskirts of Delhi, the winter chill was in the air as the capital celebrated the arrival of the New Year. Just 15 kilometers from the heart of Delhi, Jhandapur felt like a world apart. Responding to a call from the local workers, the theatre group Jan Natya Manch, led by Safdar Hashmi, had arrived to perform a street play. During the performance, Safdar was brutally attacked by government backed goons. He was struck 23 times on the head. He was only 34 years old. The assault took place on New Year's Day. On January 2, he was declared dead at the hospital. But the incident did not end there. A few days later, as the capital was hosting the International Film Festival at the Siri Fort Auditorium, Shabana Azmi was on stage. From a platform organised by the very same government, she chose to register her protest against the dastardly crime committed by goons of the ruling party. Asked which directors, in her view, had brought out the best in her, Shabana calmly took the microphone and said, "My views on my directors and the new wave can be reserved for another day. What is far more important right now is that we have been distributing some leaflets in the audience. I fear they may not have reached everyone. So I choose this occasion to read out our protest. Please bear with me." And then she took out a piece of paper and read it out publicly, openly critiquing the m€rder of Hashmi. Could something like this happen today? Is there even a single artist now with the spine to speak truth to power from such a platform against the very regime that hosts it? I doubt it. What was once possible and could be seen 35 years ago has come to a halt in this era of crude nationalism, where no one is willing to take a chance against the ruler.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻35,113 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
A formidable leftist activist and an integral part of Bengal’s leftist cultural movement, Karuna Bandyopadhyay needed much persuasion from her classmate turned husband and Satyajit Ray’s colleague, Subrata Bandyopadhyay, before she agreed to portray 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘫𝘢𝘺𝘢 in Ray’s debut masterpiece 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪. When Ray first approached her, she flatly refused. But after much convincing, she finally agreed and went on to deliver one of the most powerful and poignant performances ever captured on Indian cinema: that of a debt-ridden, poverty stricken wife whose quiet endurance spoke louder than words. On this day in 2001, she left us. Yet, movie lovers across the world continue to remember her, through her unforgettable personification of 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘫𝘢𝘺𝘢, the eternal symbol of a mother’s dignity amid despair.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻28,396 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s underrated 1969 classic 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘮 was based on a short story by writer Narayan Sanyal. The people who mattered in the making of this film belonged to a generation that had witnessed and in many cases participated in the freedom movement. They carried within them a dream of an independent nation, free from corruption, poverty and moral decay. But with time, that dream began to fade. Disillusionment crept in as corruption refused to disappear from society and the moral erosion, despite the vision of our founding fathers, only deepened. In 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘮, Dharmendra delivered one of the finest performances of his career as Satyapriya Bhaduri, an idealist whose unwavering commitment to truth and integrity is relentlessly tested by the corrupt system surrounding him. As Satyapriya, Dharmendra was raw, restrained, and profoundly human. If you haven’t seen it yet, give it a try.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻26,779 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
It was 1971. In Mumbai,then still called Bombay,on Pedder Road, there lived a man in a beautiful, neatly arranged, well kept flat. Early one morning, Kishore Kumar himself arrived there summoned by the master of the house. He had composed a song for the film 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 and wished to present it. With a solemn face, Kishore da settled on the sofa beside the composer. He always listened to melodies with deep, unwavering attention. Sitting on the sofa, harmonium before him, the composer began to sing: "Guzar gaye din din din / Ki har pal gin gin gin / Kisiki hai yaadon mein…" But the moment he sang the last line, Kishore da suddenly slid off the sofa and sat down on the floor with a thud. "What happened? What happened?" cried the anxious host. Kishore da was still on the floor, head bowed. Then he looked up, folded his hands, and said, "Forgive me, Dada. I can't learn this song while sitting at the same height as you. What a composition!" For the rest of the session, Kishore Kumar learned the entire song sitting on the floor. After his passing, Naushad sahab would say, "From our seven notes, one is no more." Did you recognize this legend? He was Salil Chowdhury. A humble tribute on his birth anniversary today. 🙏
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻26,335 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
"Faith is a house with many rooms… with plenty of room for doubt on every floor. Doubt is useful; it keeps faith alive. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it has been tested." His loss still hits like a personal one. Happy Birthday, Irrfan. Rest in eternity. #IrrfanKhan
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻19,753 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
In 1971, he could have been India's second Nobel laureate in literature, but lost out to Pablo Neruda. The news came to light when the Nobel Committee released the names of all 137 nominations after a 50-year embargo on public disclosure. Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, one of the most prolific writers, who was the first recipient of the Jnanpith award in Bengali literature in 1966, was born on this day in 1898 in Labhpur, Birbhum district. Here's a clip from the movie "Hasuli Banker Upakatha", directed by Tapan Sinha. Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay wrote the lyrics for the movie.
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻29,648 görüntüleme • 10 ay önce
"One doesn't have to be a communist to admire Vietnam," says Siddhartha in Ray's Pratidwandi ( 1970 ).
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻35,627 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
"I must say working with Uttam turned out to be one of the most pleasant experiences of my film-making career. I found out early on that he belonged to the breed of instinctive actors. I have worked with the other kind too, the cerebral one, the one that likes to take a part to pieces and probe into background, motivations etc in order to 'get beneath the skin of the character'. But the fact is, there is no guarantee that a cerebral actor will make a more substantial contribution than an instinctive one. I hardly recall any discussion with Uttam on a serious analytical level on the character he was playing. And yet he constantly surprised and delighted me with unexpected little details of action and behaviour which came from him and not from me, which were always in character and always enhanced a scene. They were so spontaneous that it seemed he produced these out of his sleeve. If there was any cogitation involved, he never spoke about it." - Satyajit Ray on Uttam Kumar Remembering 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘬 on his Death Anniversary 🙏
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻24,602 görüntüleme • 10 ay önce
"Raat bhar dard ki, Shamma jalti Rahi Raat bhar dard ki, Shamma, jalti Rahi Gham ki lau, Thar-tharaati Rahi Raat bhar.... " Chhaya Ganguly, born on July 4, 1952, won the National Award for Best Playback Singer in 1979 for 𝘈𝘢𝘱 𝘬𝘪 𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘳𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘳 ( Gaman).Despite her success, she shied away from the limelight, singing in only a handful of films later in her career. A Master's in Botany from Bombay University, she went on to work as a programmer at AIR and Doordarshan, retiring in 2012. Her non-film ghazal albums continue to captivate ghazal enthusiasts to this day. Belated Happy birthday to her!
𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓪𝓻21,166 görüntüleme • 11 ay önce