A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating – or indoctrinating – citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue into the language of the viewer.

Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.

The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including ''picture'', ''picture show'', ''moving picture'', ''photo-play'' and ''flick''. A common name for film in the United States is ''movie'', while in Europe the term ''film'' is preferred. Additional terms for the field in general include ''the big screen'', ''the silver screen'', ''the cinema'' and ''the movies''.

History

Preceding film in origin by thousands of years, early plays and dances had elements common to film: scripts, sets, costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, and scores. Much terminology later used in film theory and criticism apply, such as mise en scene (roughly, the entire visual picture at any one time). Owing to an absence of technology for doing so, moving visual and aural images were not recorded for replaying as in film.

In the 1860s, mechanisms for producing two-dimensional drawings in motion were demonstrated with devices such as the zoetrope, mutoscope and praxinoscope. These machines were outgrowths of simple optical devices (such as magic lanterns) and would display sequences of still pictures at sufficient speed for the images on the pictures to appear to be moving, a phenomenon called persistence of vision. Naturally the images needed to be carefully designed to achieve the desired effect, and the underlying principle became the basis for the development of film animation.

With the development of celluloid film for still photography, it became possible to directly capture objects in motion in real time. An 1878 experiment by English photographer Eadweard Muybridge in the United States using 24 cameras produced a series of stereoscopic images of a galloping horse, is arguably the first "motion picture", though it was not called by this name. This technology required a person to look into a viewing machine to see the pictures which were separate paper prints attached to a drum turned by a handcrank. The pictures were shown at a variable speed of about 5 to 10 pictures per second, depending on how rapidly the crank was turned. Commercial versions of these machines were coin operated.

By the 1880s the development of the motion picture camera allowed the individual component images to be captured and stored on a single reel, and led quickly to the development of a motion picture projector to shine light through the processed and printed film and magnify these "moving picture shows" onto a screen for an entire audience. These reels, so exhibited, came to be known as "motion pictures". Early motion pictures were static shots that showed an event or action with no editing or other cinematic techniques. The first public exhibition of projected motion pictures in America was shown at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in New York City on the 23rd of April 1896.

Ignoring W. K. L. Dickson's early sound experiments (1894), commercial motion pictures were purely visual art through the late 19th century, but these innovative silent films had gained a hold on the public imagination. Around the turn of the 20th century, films began developing a narrative structure by stringing scenes together to tell narratives. The scenes were later broken up into multiple shots of varying sizes and angles. Other techniques such as camera movement were realized as effective ways to portray a story on film. Rather than leave the audience with noise of early cinema projectors, theater owners would hire a pianist or organist or a full orchestra to play music that would cover noises of projector. Eventually, musicians would start to fit the mood of the film at any given moment. By the early 1920s, most films came with a prepared list of sheet music for this purpose, with complete film scores being composed for major productions.

The rise of European cinema was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I when the film industry in United States flourished with the rise of Hollywood, typified most prominently by the great innovative work of D. W. Griffith in The Birth of a Nation (1914) and Intolerance (1916). However in the 1920s, European filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, F. W. Murnau, and Fritz Lang, in many ways inspired by the meteoric war-time progress of film through Griffith, along with the contributions of Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and others, quickly caught up with American film-making and continued to further advance the medium. In the 1920s, new technology allowed filmmakers to attach to each film a soundtrack of speech, music and sound effects synchronized with the action on the screen. These sound films were initially distinguished by calling them "talking pictures", or ''talkies''.

The next major step in the development of cinema was the introduction of so-called "natural color", which meant color that was photographically recorded from nature rather than being added to black-and-white prints by hand-coloring, stencil-coloring or other arbitrary procedures, although the earliest processes typically yielded colors which were far from "natural" in appearance. While the addition of sound quickly eclipsed silent film and theater musicians, color replaced black-and-white much more gradually. The pivotal innovation was the introduction of the three-strip version of the Technicolor process, which was first used for short subjects and for isolated sequences in a few feature films released in 1934, then for an entire feature film, Becky Sharp, in 1935. The expense of the process was daunting, but continued favorable public response and enhanced box-office receipts increasingly justified the added cost. The number of films made in color slowly increased year after year.

In the early 1950s, as the proliferation of black-and-white television started seriously depressing theater attendance in the US, the use of color was seen as one way of winning back audiences. It soon became the rule rather than the exception. Some important mainstream Hollywood films were still being made in black-and-white as late as the mid-1960s, but they marked the end of an era. Color television receivers had been available in the US since the mid-1950s, but at first they were very expensive and few broadcasts were in color. During the 1960s, prices gradually came down, color broadcasts became common, and the sale of color television sets boomed. The strong preference of the general public for color was obvious. After the final flurry of black-and-white film releases in mid-decade, all major Hollywood studio film production was exclusively in color, with rare exceptions reluctantly made only at the insistence of "star" directors such as Peter Bogdanovich and Martin Scorsese.

Since the decline of the studio system in the 1960s, the succeeding decades saw changes in the production and style of film. Various New Wave movements (including the French New Wave, Indian New Wave, Japanese New Wave and New Hollywood) and the rise of film school educated independent filmmakers were all part of the changes the medium experienced in the latter half of the 20th century. Digital technology has been the driving force in change throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. 3D technology increased in usage and has become more popular since the early 2010s.

Theory

Film theory seeks to develop concise and systematic concepts that apply to the study of film as art. It was started by Ricciotto Canudo's ''The Birth of the Sixth Art''. Formalist film theory, led by Rudolf Arnheim, Béla Balázs, and Siegfried Kracauer, emphasized how film differed from reality, and thus could be considered a valid fine art. André Bazin reacted against this theory by arguing that film's artistic essence lay in its ability to mechanically reproduce reality not in its differences from reality, and this gave rise to realist theory. More recent analysis spurred by Jacques Lacan's psychoanalysis and Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotics among other things has given rise to psychoanalytical film theory, structuralist film theory, feminist film theory and others. On the other hand, critics from the analytical philosophy tradition, influenced by Wittgenstein, try to clarify misconceptions used in theoretical studies and produce analysis of a film's vocabulary and its link to a form of life.

Language

Film is considered to have its own language. James Monaco wrote a classic text on film theory titled "How to ''Read'' a Film". Director Ingmar Bergman famously said, "[Andrei] Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [director], the one who invented a ''new language'', true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream." Examples of the language are a sequence of back and forth images of one actor's left profile speaking, followed by another actor's right profile speaking, then a repetition of this, which is a language understood by the audience to indicate a conversation. Another example is zooming in on the forehead of an actor with an expression of silent reflection, then changing to a scene of a younger actor who vaguely resembles the first actor, indicating the first actor is having a memory of their own past.

Montage

Parallels to musical counterpoint have been developed into a theory of montage, extended from the complex superimposition of images in early silent film to even more complex incorporation of musical counterpoint together with visual counterpoint through mise en scene and editing, as in a ballet or opera; e.g., as illustrated in the gang fight scene of director Francis Ford Coppola’s film, ''Rumble Fish''.

Criticism

Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films. In general, these works can be divided into two categories: academic criticism by film scholars and journalistic film criticism that appears regularly in newspapers and other media.

Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media mainly review new releases. Normally they only see any given film once and have only a day or two to formulate opinions. Despite this, critics have an important impact on films, especially those of certain genres. Mass marketed action, horror, and comedy films tend not to be greatly affected by a critic's overall judgment of a film. The plot summary and description of a film that makes up the majority of any film review can still have an important impact on whether people decide to see a film. For prestige films such as most dramas, the influence of reviews is extremely important. Poor reviews will often doom a film to obscurity and financial loss.

The impact of a reviewer on a given film's box office performance is a matter of debate. Some claim that movie marketing is now so intense and well financed that reviewers cannot make an impact against it. However, the cataclysmic failure of some heavily promoted movies which were harshly reviewed, as well as the unexpected success of critically praised independent movies indicates that extreme critical reactions can have considerable influence. Others note that positive film reviews have been shown to spark interest in little-known films. Conversely, there have been several films in which film companies have so little confidence that they refuse to give reviewers an advanced viewing to avoid widespread panning of the film. However, this usually backfires as reviewers are wise to the tactic and warn the public that the film may not be worth seeing and the films often do poorly as a result.

It is argued that journalist film critics should only be known as film reviewers, and true film critics are those who take a more academic approach to films. This line of work is more often known as film theory or film studies. These film critics attempt to come to understand how film and filming techniques work, and what effect they have on people. Rather than having their works published in newspapers or appear on television, their articles are published in scholarly journals, or sometimes in up-market magazines. They also tend to be affiliated with colleges or universities.

Industry

The making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit almost as soon as the process was invented. Upon seeing how successful their new invention, and its product, was in their native France, the Lumières quickly set about touring the Continent to exhibit the first films privately to royalty and publicly to the masses. In each country, they would normally add new, local scenes to their catalogue and, quickly enough, found local entrepreneurs in the various countries of Europe to buy their equipment and photograph, export, import and screen additional product commercially. The Oberammergau Passion Play of 1898 was the first commercial motion picture ever produced. Other pictures soon followed, and motion pictures became a separate industry that overshadowed the vaudeville world. Dedicated theaters and companies formed specifically to produce and distribute films, while motion picture actors became major celebrities and commanded huge fees for their performances. By 1917 Charlie Chaplin had a contract that called for an annual salary of one million dollars.

From 1931 to 1956, film was also the only image storage and playback system for television programming until the introduction of videotape recorders.

In the United States today, much of the film industry is centered around Hollywood. Other regional centers exist in many parts of the world, such as Mumbai-centered Bollywood, the Indian film industry's Hindi cinema which produces the largest number of films in the world. Whether the ten thousand-plus feature length films a year produced by the Valley pornographic film industry should qualify for this title is the source of some debate. Though the expense involved in making movies has led cinema production to concentrate under the auspices of movie studios, recent advances in affordable film making equipment have allowed independent film productions to flourish.

Profit is a key force in the industry, due to the costly and risky nature of filmmaking; many films have large cost overruns, a notorious example being Kevin Costner's Waterworld. Yet many filmmakers strive to create works of lasting social significance. The Academy Awards (also known as "the Oscars") are the most prominent film awards in the United States, providing recognition each year to films, ostensibly based on their artistic merits.

There is also a large industry for educational and instructional films made in lieu of or in addition to lectures and texts.

Associated fields

Derivative academic Fields of study may both interact with and develop independently of filmmaking, as in film theory and analysis. Fields of academic study have been created that are derivative or dependent on the existence of film, such as film criticism, film history, divisions of film propaganda in authoritarian governments, or psychological on subliminal effects of a flashing soda can during a screening. These fields may further create derivative fields, such as a movie review section in a newspaper or a television guide. Sub-industries can spin off from film, such as popcorn makers, and toys. Sub- industries of pre-existing industries may deal specifically with film, such as product placement in advertising.

Terminology used

Although the words "film" and "movie" are sometimes used interchangeably, "film" is more often used when considering artistic, theoretical, or technical aspects, as studies in a university class and "movies" more often refers to entertainment or commercial aspects, as where to go for fun on a date. For example, a book titled "How to Read a Film" would be about the aesthetics or theory of film, while "Lets Go to the Movies" would be about the history of entertaining movies. "Motion pictures" or "Moving pictures" are films and movies. A "DVD" is a digital format which may be used to reproduce an analog film, while "videotape" ("video") was for many decades a solely analog medium onto which moving images could be recorded and electronically (rather than optically) reproduced. Strictly speaking, "Film" refers to the media onto which a visual image is shot, and to this end it may seem improper for work in other "moving image" media to be referred to as a "film" and the action of shooting as "filming", though these terms are still in general use. "Silent films" need not be silent, but are films and movies without an audible dialogue, though they may have a musical soundtrack. "Talkies" refers to early movies or films having audible dialogue or analog sound, not just a musical accompaniment. "Cinema" either broadly encompasses both films and movies, or is roughly synonymous with "Film", both capitalized when referring to a category of art. The "silver screen" refers to classic black-and-white films before color, not to contemporary films without color.

The expression "Sight and Sound", as in the film journal of the same name, means "film". The following icons mean film: a "candle and bell", as in the films Tarkovsky, of a segment of film stock, or a two faced Janus image, and an image of a movie camera in profile.

"Widescreen" and "Cinemascope" refers to a larger width to height in the frame, compared to an earlier historic aspect ratios. A "feature length film", or "feature film", is of a conventional full length, usually 60 minutes or more, and can commercially stand by itself without other films in a ticketed screening. A "short" is a film that is not as long as a feature length film, usually screened with other shorts, or preceding a feature length film. An "independent" is a film made outside of the conventional film industry.

A "screening" or "projection" is the projection of a film or video on a screen at a public or private theater, usually but not always of a film, but of a video or DVD when of sufficient projection quality. A "double feature" is a screening of two independent, stand-alone, feature films. A "viewing" is a watching of a film. A "showing" is a screening or viewing on an electronic monitor. "Sales" refers to tickets sold at a theater, or more currently, rights sold for individual showings. A "release" is the distribution and often simultaneous screening of a film. A "preview" is a screening in advance of the main release.

"Hollywood" may be used either as a pejorative adjective, shorthand for asserting an overly commercial rather than artistic intent or outcome, as in "too Hollywood", or as a descriptive adjective to refer to a film originating with people who ordinarily work near Los Angeles.

Expressions for Genres of film are sometimes used interchangeably for "film" in a specific context, such as a "porn" for a film with explicit sexual content, or "cheese" for films that are light, entertaining and not highbrow.

Any film may also have a "sequel", which portrays events following those in the film. ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is an early example. When there are a number of films with the same characters, we have a "series", such as the James Bond series. A film which portrays events that occur earlier than those in another film, but is released after that film, is sometimes called a "prequel", an example being ''Butch and Sundance: The Early Days''.

''Credits'' is a list of the people involved in making the film. Before the 1970s, credits were usually at the beginning of a film. Since then, the credits roll at the end of most films.

A Post-credits scene is a scene shown after the end of the credits. ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' has a post-credit scene in which Ferris tells the audience that the movie is over and they should go home.

Preview

A preview performance refers to a showing of a movie to a select audience, usually for the purposes of corporate promotions, before the public film premiere itself. Previews are sometimes used to judge audience reaction, which if unexpectedly negative, may result in recutting or even refilming certain sections (Audience response).

Trailer

Trailers or previews are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a film programme. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the theater after the films ended, but the name has stuck. Trailers are now shown before the film (or the A movie in a double feature program) begins.

Film, or other art form?

Film may be combined with performance art and still be considered or referred to as a "film", for instance, when there is a live musical accompaniment to a silent film. Another example is audience participation films, as at a midnight movies screening of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', where the audience dresses up in costume from the film and loudly does a karaoke-like reenactment along with the film. Performance art where film is incorporated as a component is usually not called film, but a film, which could stand-alone but is accompanied by a performance may still be referred to as a film.

The act of making a film can, in and of itself, be considered a work of art, on a different level from the film itself, as in the films of Werner Herzog.

Similarly, the playing of a film can be considered to fall within the realm of political protest art, as in the subtleties within the films of Tarkovsky. A "road movie" can refer to a film put together from footage from a long road trip or vacation.

Education and propaganda

Film is used for education and propaganda. When the purpose is primarily educational, a film is called an "educational film". Examples are recordings of lectures and experiments, or more marginally, a film based on a classic novel.

Film may be propaganda, in whole or in part, such as the films made by Leni Riefenstahl in Nazi Germany, US war film trailers during World War II, or artistic films made under Stalin by Eisenstein. They may also be works of political protest, as in the films of Wajda, or more subtly, the films of Andrei Tarkovsky.

The same film may be considered educational by some, and propaganda by others, such as some of the films of Michael Moore.

Production

At its core, the means to produce a film depend on the content the filmmaker wishes to show, and the apparatus for displaying it: the zoetrope merely requires a series of images on a strip of paper. Film production can therefore take as little as one person with a camera (or without it, such as Stan Brakhage's 1963 film ''Mothlight''), or thousands of actors, extras and crewmembers for a live-action, feature-length epic.

The necessary steps for almost any film can be boiled down to conception, planning, execution, revision, and distribution. The more involved the production, the more significant each of the steps becomes. In a typical production cycle of a Hollywood-style film, these main stages are defined as:

# Development # Pre-production # Production # Post-production # Distribution

This production cycle usually takes three years. The first year is taken up with ''development''. The second year comprises ''preproduction'' and ''production''. The third year, ''post-production'' and ''distribution''.

The bigger the production, the more resources it takes, and the more important financing becomes; most feature films are not only artistic works, but for-profit business entities.

Crew

A film crew is a group of people hired by a film company, employed during the "production" or "photography" phase, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. ''Crew'' are distinguished from ''cast'', the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film. The ''crew'' interacts with but is also distinct from the ''production staff,'' consisting of producers, managers, company representatives, their assistants, and those whose primary responsibility falls in pre-production or post-production phases, such as writers and editors. Communication between ''production'' and ''crew'' generally passes through the director and his/her staff of assistants. Medium-to-large crews are generally divided into departments with well defined hierarchies and standards for interaction and cooperation between the departments. Other than acting, the crew handles everything in the photography phase: props and costumes, shooting, sound, electrics (i.e., lights), sets, and production special effects. Caterers (known in the film industry as "craft services") are usually not considered part of the crew.

Technology

Film stock consists of transparent celluloid, acetate, or polyester base coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive chemicals. Cellulose nitrate was the first type of film base used to record motion pictures, but due to its flammability was eventually replaced by safer materials. Stock widths and the film format for images on the reel have had a rich history, though most large commercial films are still shot on (and distributed to theaters) as 35 mm prints.

Originally moving picture film was shot and projected at various speeds using hand-cranked cameras and projectors; though 1000 frames per minute (16⅔ frame/s) is generally cited as a standard silent speed, research indicates most films were shot between 16 frame/s and 23 frame/s and projected from 18 frame/s on up (often reels included instructions on how fast each scene should be shown). When sound film was introduced in the late 1920s, a constant speed was required for the sound head. 24 frames per second was chosen because it was the slowest (and thus cheapest) speed which allowed for sufficient sound quality. Improvements since the late 19th century include the mechanization of cameras – allowing them to record at a consistent speed, quiet camera design – allowing sound recorded on-set to be usable without requiring large "blimps" to encase the camera, the invention of more sophisticated filmstocks and lenses, allowing directors to film in increasingly dim conditions, and the development of synchronized sound, allowing sound to be recorded at exactly the same speed as its corresponding action. The soundtrack can be recorded separately from shooting the film, but for live-action pictures many parts of the soundtrack are usually recorded simultaneously.

As a medium, film is not limited to motion pictures, since the technology developed as the basis for photography. It can be used to present a progressive sequence of still images in the form of a slideshow. Film has also been incorporated into multimedia presentations, and often has importance as primary historical documentation. However, historic films have problems in terms of preservation and storage, and the motion picture industry is exploring many alternatives. Most movies on cellulose nitrate base have been copied onto modern safety films. Some studios save color films through the use of separation masters: three B&W; negatives each exposed through red, green, or blue filters (essentially a reverse of the Technicolor process). Digital methods have also been used to restore films, although their continued obsolescence cycle makes them (as of 2006) a poor choice for long-term preservation. Film preservation of decaying film stock is a matter of concern to both film historians and archivists, and to companies interested in preserving their existing products in order to make them available to future generations (and thereby increase revenue). Preservation is generally a higher concern for nitrate and single-strip color films, due to their high decay rates; black-and-white films on safety bases and color films preserved on Technicolor imbibition prints tend to keep up much better, assuming proper handling and storage.

Some films in recent decades have been recorded using analog video technology similar to that used in television production. Modern digital video cameras and digital projectors are gaining ground as well. These approaches are preferred by some moviemakers, especially because footage shot with digital cinema can be evaluated and edited with non-linear editing systems (NLE) without waiting for the film stock to be processed. Yet the migration is gradual, and as of 2005 most major motion pictures are still shot on film.

Independent

Independent filmmaking often takes place outside of Hollywood, or other major studio systems. An independent film (or indie film) is a film initially produced without financing or distribution from a major movie studio. Creative, business, and technological reasons have all contributed to the growth of the indie film scene in the late 20th and early 21st century. On the business side, the costs of big-budget studio films also leads to conservative choices in cast and crew. There is a trend in Hollywood towards co-financing (over two-thirds of the films put out by Warner Bros. in 2000 were joint ventures, up from 10% in 1987). A hopeful director is almost never given the opportunity to get a job on a big-budget studio film unless he or she has significant industry experience in film or television. Also, the studios rarely produce films with unknown actors, particularly in lead roles.

Before the advent of digital alternatives, the cost of professional film equipment and stock was also a hurdle to being able to produce, direct, or star in a traditional studio film.

But the advent of consumer camcorders in 1985, and more importantly, the arrival of high-resolution digital video in the early 1990s, have lowered the technology barrier to movie production significantly. Both production and post-production costs have been significantly lowered; today, the hardware and software for post-production can be installed in a commodity-based personal computer. Technologies such as DVDs, FireWire connections and non-linear editing system pro-level software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas and Apple's Final Cut Pro, and consumer level software such as Apple's Final Cut Express and iMovie, and Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker make movie-making relatively inexpensive.

Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of production have become more democratized. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a movie, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer. However, while the means of production may be democratized, financing, distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. Most independent filmmakers rely on film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution. The arrival of internet-based video outlets such as YouTube and Veoh has further changed the film making landscape in ways that are still to be determined.

Open content film

An open content film is much like an independent film, but it is produced through open collaborations; its source material is available under a license which is permissive enough to allow other parties to create fan fiction or derivative works, than a traditional copyright. Like independent filmmaking, open source filmmaking takes place outside of Hollywood, or other major studio systems.

Fan film

A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by professional filmmakers as film school class projects or as demonstration reels. Fan films vary tremendously in length, from short faux-teaser trailers for non-existent motion pictures to rarer full-length motion pictures.

Distribution

When it is initially produced, a feature film is often shown to audiences in a movie theater or cinema. The identity of the first theater designed specifically for cinema is a matter of debate; candidates include Tally's Electric Theatre, established 1902 in Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh's Nickelodeon, established 1905. Thousands of such theaters were built or converted from existing facilities within a few years. In the United States, these theaters came to be known as nickelodeons, because admission typically cost a nickel (five cents).

Typically, one film is the featured presentation (or feature film). Before the 1970s, there were "double features"; typically, a high quality "A picture" rented by an independent theater for a lump sum, and a "B picture" of lower quality rented for a percentage of the gross receipts. Today, the bulk of the material shown before the feature film consists of previews for upcoming movies and paid advertisements (also known as trailers or "The Twenty").

Historically, all mass marketed feature films were made to be shown in movie theaters. The development of television has allowed films to be broadcast to larger audiences, usually after the film is no longer being shown in theaters. Recording technology has also enabled consumers to rent or buy copies of films on VHS or DVD (and the older formats of laserdisc, VCD and SelectaVision – see also videodisc), and Internet downloads may be available and have started to become revenue sources for the film companies. Some films are now made specifically for these other venues, being released as a television movie or direct-to-video movies. The production values on these films are often considered to be of inferior quality compared to theatrical releases in similar genres, and indeed, some films that are rejected by their own movie studios upon completion are distributed through these markets.

The movie theater pays an average of about 50-55% of its ticket sales to the movie studio, as film rental fees. The actual percentage starts with a number higher than that, and decreases as the duration of a film's showing continues, as an incentive to theaters to keep movies in the theater longer. However, today's barrage of highly marketed movies ensures that most movies are shown in first-run theaters for less than 8 weeks. There are a few movies every year that defy this rule, often limited-release movies that start in only a few theaters and actually grow their theater count through good word-of-mouth and reviews. According to a 2000 study by ABN AMRO, about 26% of Hollywood movie studios' worldwide income came from box office ticket sales; 46% came from VHS and DVD sales to consumers; and 28% came from television (broadcast, cable, and pay-per-view).

Animation

Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a special animation camera. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of continuous movement (due to the persistence of vision). Generating such a film is very labor intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process.

Because animation is very time-consuming and often very expensive to produce, the majority of animation for TV and movies comes from professional animation studios. However, the field of independent animation has existed at least since the 1950s, with animation being produced by independent studios (and sometimes by a single person). Several independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional animation industry.

Limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered by UPA and popularized by Hanna-Barbera, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television.

Although most animation studios are now using digital technologies in their productions, there is a specific style of animation that depends on film. Cameraless animation, made famous by moviemakers like Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage, is painted and drawn directly onto pieces of film, and then run through a projector.

Future state

While motion picture films have been around for more than a century, film is still a relative newcomer in the pantheon of fine arts. In the 1950s, when television became widely available, industry analysts predicted the demise of local movie theaters. Despite competition from television's increasing technological sophistication over the 1960s and 1970s such as the development of color television and large screens, motion picture cinemas continued. In fact with the rise of television's predominance, film began to become more respected as an artistic medium by contrast due the low general opinion of the quality of average television content. In the 1980s, when the widespread availability of inexpensive videocassette recorders enabled people to select films for home viewing, industry analysts again wrongly predicted the death of the local cinemas.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the development of DVD players, home theater amplification systems with surround sound and subwoofers, and large LCD or plasma screens enabled people to select and view films at home with greatly improved audio and visual reproduction. These new technologies provided audio and visual that in the past only local cinemas had been able to provide: a large, clear widescreen presentation of a film with a full-range, high-quality multi-speaker sound system. Once again industry analysts predicted the demise of the local cinema. Local cinemas will be changing in the 21st century and moving towards digital screens, a new approach which will allow for easier and quicker distribution of films (via satellite or hard disks), a development which may give local theaters a reprieve from their predicted demise. The cinema now faces a new challenge from home video by the likes of a new high definition (HD) format, Blu-ray, which can provide full HD 1080p video playback at near cinema quality. Video formats are gradually catching up with the resolutions and quality that film offers; 1080p in Blu-ray offers a pixel resolution of 1920×1080, a leap from the DVD offering of 720×480 and the 330×480 offered by the first home video standard, VHS. Ultra HD, a future digital video format, will offer a resolution of 7680×4320. However, the nature and structure of film prevents an apples-to-apples comparison with regard to resolution. The resolving power of film, and its ability to capture an image which can later be scanned to a digital format, will ensure that film remains a viable medium for some time to come. Currently the super-16 format is seeing use as a capture medium, with digital scanning and post-production providing good results. Despite advances in digital capture, film still offers unsurpassed ability to capture fine detail beyond what is possible with digital image sensors. A 35 mm film frame, with proper exposure and processing, still offers an equivalent resolution in the range of 500 mega pixels.

Despite the rise of all-new technologies, the development of the home video market and a surge of online copyright infringement, 2007 was a record year in film that showed the highest ever box-office grosses. Many expected film to suffer as a result of the effects listed above but it has flourished, strengthening film studio expectations for the future.

See also

; Lists

List of film awards

List of film festivals

List of film journals and magazines

List of film topics

List of video-related topics

List of years in film

Lists of films

; Related topics

Cinematic techniques

Digital cinema

Lost film

Web film

Notes

References

External links

Allmovie – Information on films: actors, directors, biographies, reviews, cast and production credits, box office sales, and other movie data.

Film Site – Reviews of classic films

Rottentomatoes.com – Movie reviews, previews, forums, photos, cast info, and more.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) – Information on current and historical films and cast listings.

Category:Art media Category:Media formats

af:Film als:Film am:ፊልም ar:فلم an:Cine as:চলচ্চিত্ৰ ast:Película az:Film bjn:Pélém zh-min-nan:Tiān-iáⁿ be:Фільм be-x-old:Фільм bg:Филм bo:གློག་བརྙན། bs:Film br:Sinema ca:Pel·lícula ceb:Sine cs:Film co:Sinemà cy:Ffilm da:Film de:Film et:Film el:Κινηματογράφος es:Película eo:Filmo ext:Cini eu:Film fa:فیلم hif:Sakis fo:Filmur fr:Cinéma fy:Filmkeunst fur:Cine (art) ga:Scannán gv:Fillym gd:Film gl:Cine gan:電影 hak:Thien-yáng ko:영화 hi:फ़िल्म hr:Film io:Cinemo id:Film ia:Cinema is:Kvikmynd it:Film he:סרט קולנוע jv:Film kn:ಸಿನಮಾ csb:Film kk:Кино sw:Filamu ht:Sinema ku:Fîlm ky:Кино lo:ຮູບເງົາ la:Pellicula lv:Kinofilma lb:Film lt:Filmas li:Film ln:Sindemá jbo:skina hu:Film mk:Филм mg:Sinema ml:ചലച്ചിത്രം mt:Ċinema mr:चलचित्र arz:فن السينيما ms:Filem mwl:Cinema mn:Кино nah:Īxiptlayōlli nl:Film (cinematografie) nds-nl:Film (cinematografie) cr:ᑳᒋᐦᑳᔥᑌᐦᑎᐦᒡ ne:चलचित्र ja:映画 nap:Pellicula frr:Film no:Film nn:Film nrm:Cinnéma oc:Cinèma uz:Film pnb:فلم pap:Pelikula ps:فلم pcd:Chinéma nds:Filmkunst pl:Film pt:Filme ro:Film qu:Kuyu walltay ru:Фильм sah:Киинэ sa:चलच्चित्रम् sc:Cìnema sco:Film sq:Filmi scn:Pillìcula simple:Movie sk:Film sl:Film sr:Филм sh:Film su:Filem fi:Elokuva sv:Film tl:Pelikula ta:திரைப்படம் te:సినిమా th:ภาพยนตร์ tg:Синамо tr:Film uk:Кінофільм ur:فلم vec:Cinema vi:Điện ảnh fiu-vro:Film wa:Fime war:Sine wuu:电影 ts:Film yi:פילם zh-yue:電影 bat-smg:Films zh:电影

name	Lata Mangeshkar
background	solo_singer
born	September 28, 1929Indore, Central India Agency, British India
instrument	Vocals
genre	Film music (playback singing)
occupation	Singer
years active	1942–present }}

Lata Mangeshkar (; born September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of singer Asha Bhosle, and Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Mangeshkar was featured in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974 (30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987, according to the 1987 edition). Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had.

Early life

Lata Mangeshkar was born in Sikh Mohalla, Indore, in the Central India Agency (now part of Madhya Pradesh). Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who belonged to a Gomantak Maratha Samaj family from Goa, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother Shevanti (Shudhamati) who was from Thalner, Maharashtra, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, ''BhaawBandhan''. Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath are her siblings in sequence.

Mangeshkar took her first music lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi). On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school. Other sources cite that she left school because they would not allow her to bring Asha with her, as she would often bring her younger sister with her.

Singing career

Early career in the 1940s

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them.

Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie ''Kiti Hasaal'' (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie ''Pahili Mangalaa-gaur'' (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, ''Gajaabhaau'' (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan Bhendibazaarwale. She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ''Aap Ki Seva Mein'' (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, ''Badi Maa'' (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.” She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, ''Subhadra'' (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan Bhendibazaarwale migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie ''Shaheed'' (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin." An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie ''Majboor'' (1948).

Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkar's Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.

“Aayega Aanewaala,” a song in the movie ''Mahal'' (1949) was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by actress Madhubala.

1950s

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana and Heer), Shankar-Jaikishan, Naushad, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.

Mangeshkar sang many raga-based songs for Naushad in movies such as ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), and ''Kohinoor'' (1960). ''Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa'', a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for composer, Naushad. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan, chose Mangeshkar for ''Aag'', ''Aah'' (1953), ''Shree 420'' (1955), and ''Chori Chori'' (1956). Before 1957, composer Sachin Dev (S. D.) Burman chose Mangeshkar as the leading female singer for his musical scores in ''Sazaa'' (1951), ''House No. 44'' (1955), and ''Devdas'' (1955). However a rift developed between Lata and Burman in 1957, and Lata did not sing Burman's compositions again until 1962.

Mangeshkar won a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for Salil Chowdhury's composition “Aaja Re Pardesi,” from ''Madhumati'' (1958). In the early fifties, Lata Mangeshkar's association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Anarkali, Albela, Asha, Pehli Jhhalak, Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo, Azad and Amardeep. For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like Adalat, Railway Platform, Dekh Kabira Roya and Chacha Zindabad.

1960s

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), composed by Naushad and picturized on Madhubala, still remains famous . The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' (1960) was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturized on Meena Kumari.

In 1961, Mangeshkar recorded two popular bhajans, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant, Jaidev. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from ''Bees Saal Baad'', composed by Hemant Kumar.

On June 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, the People of My Country") in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears.

In 1963, Mangeshkar returned to collaboration with S. D. Burman. She also sang for R. D. Burman's very first film ''Chhote Nawaab'' and later for his films such as ''Bhoot Bangla'' (1965), ''Pati Patni'' (1966), ''Baharon ke Sapne'' (1967) and ''Abhilasha'' (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with Kishore Kumar) and "Piya Tose" from ''Guide'' (1965), and "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967).

During the 1960s, Lata Mangeshkar continued her association with Madan Mohan which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from ''Anpadh'' (1962), "Lag Ja Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from ''Jahan Ara'' (1964), and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966).

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of Mangeshkar's association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career.

She also sang several playback songs for Marathi films, composed by Marathi music directors including Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale, Sudhir Phadke and herself (under the name ''Anandghan''). During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several Bengali songs, composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

In this period Lata Mangeshkar has recorded duets with Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

1970s

In 1972, Meena Kumari's last film, ''Pakeezah'' released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from ''Prem Pujari'' (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from ''Sharmeelee'' (1971), and "Piya Bina" from ''Abhimaan'' (1973).

Lata Mangeshkar's most notable songs in 1970s were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Laxmi-Pyare) and Rahul Dev Burman. She recorded several songs composed by Laxmi-Pyare in 1960s and 1970s, many of them written by the lyricst Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with Rahul Dev Burman in the films ''Amar Prem'' (1972), ''Caravan'' (1971), ''Kati Patang''(1971), and ''Aandhi'' (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar.

In 1973, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film ''Parichay'', composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only Malayalam song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film ''Nellu'', composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by Vayalar Ramavarma. In 1975, she again won the national award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film ''Kora Kagaz'', composed by Kalyanji-Anandji.

From 1970s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar has also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. Her first concert overseas was at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She also released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, ''Chala Vaahi Des'', composed by her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Raachi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 70s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (koli-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of ''abhangs'' of Sant Tukaram composed by Shrinivas Khale.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included Rahul Dev Burman (son of Sachin Dev Burman), Rajesh Roshan (son of Roshan), Anu Malik (son of Sardar Malik), and Anand-Milind (sons of Chitragupt).

1980s onwards

From 1980s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar worked with music directors including Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and A. R. Rahman. She recorded some non-film songs, including ghazals with Jagjit Singh.

In 1990, Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the Gulzar-directed movie ''Lekin...''. She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridayanath. During the 1990s, she recorded with music directors including Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan. She has sung for Rajshri Productions, including ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989) and ''Hum Aapke Hain Kaun'' (1994).

Mangeshkar has sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films at that time, including ''Chandni'' (1989), ''Lamhe'' (1991), ''Darr'' (1993), ''Yeh Dillagi'' (1994), ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (1997) and later on ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002) and ''Veer Zaara'' (2004).

A. R. Rahman recorded a few songs with Mangeshkar during this period, including "Jiya Jale" (''Dil Se''), "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" (''One Two Ka Four''), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" (''Pukar''), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" (''Zubeidaa''), "Lukka chuppi" (''Rang de Basanti'') and "O Paalanhaare" (''Lagaan''). She made an appearance in the film ''Pukar'' singing this song.

In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a perfume brand named after her, was launched.

In 1999, Mangeshkar was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha. However, she did not attend the Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah, Pranab Mukherjee and Shabana Azmi. She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.

In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a Christie's auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake relief. Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer Ilaiyaraaja, for the film ''Lajja''; she had earlier recorded Tamil and Telugu songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Lata Mangeshkar's song "Wada Na Tod" is in the film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) and on the film's soundtrack.

On June 21, 2007, she released an album ''Saadgi'', featuring eight ghazal-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.

Non-singing career

Music direction

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for Marathi movie ''Ram Ram Pavhane''. Later in 1960s, she composed music for following Marathi movies under the pseudonym of ''Anand Ghan''.

1960 - ''Ram Ram Pavhana''

1963 - ''Maratha Tituka Melvava''

1963 - ''Mohityanchi Manjula''

1965 - ''Sadhi Manase''

1969 - ''Tambadi Mati''

She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film ''Sadhi Manase''. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.

Production

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films:

1953 - ''Vaadal'' (Marathi)

1953 - ''Jhaanjhar'' (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra

1955 - ''Kanchan'' (Hindi)

1990 - ''Lekin'' (Hindi)

Awards and recognitions

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. She has also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the ''Lata Mangeshkar Award'' in honuor of Lata Mangeshkar. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.

In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in the history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammed Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that Lata Mangeshkar had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.

Although the entry has not been printed in Guinness editions since 1991, reputable sources claim that she has recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000. However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948–1974) was claimed to be exaggerated by other sources, who stated that the number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Hindi films till 1991 was found to be 5250. Mangeshkar herself stated that she does not keep a record of the number of songs recorded by her, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information.

See also

Playback singer

Asha Bhosle

List of Indian playback singers

Bollywood songs

References

Further reading

. A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. . . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.

External links

Category:1929 births Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Marathi people Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:People from Indore Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Malayalam playback singers

ar:لاتا مانغيشكار bn:লতা মঙ্গেশকর de:Lata Mangeshkar es:Lata Mangeshkar fr:Lata Mangeshkar gu:લતા મંગેશકર hi:लता मंगेशकर id:Lata Mangeshkar it:Lata Mangeshkar kn:ಲತಾ ಮಂಗೇಶ್ಕರ್ ka:ლატა მანგეშკარი ml:ലത മങ്കേഷ്കർ mr:लता मंगेशकर nl:Lata Mangeshkar ne:लता मंगेशकर no:Lata Mangeshkar pnb:لتا منگیشکر ps:لتا منګېشکر pl:Lata Mangeshkar pt:Lata Mangeshkar fi:Lata Mangeshkar sv:Lata Mangeshkar ta:லதா மங்கேஷ்கர் te:లతా మంగేష్కర్ th:ลดา มังเคศกร ur:لتا منگیشکر

name	Mukesh Khanna
occupation	Actor, Producer, Director }}

Mukesh Khanna is an Indian television and film actor, best known for portraying strong, dynamic characters. He was born on 22 July 1958. He came into the film industry in 1982. He rose to fame and is still best known for playing Bhishma in B. R. Chopra's ''Mahabharat''. Khanna had a major role as an Indian superhero in the ''Shaktiman'' series, which was successful all over India with children.

He worked in the television series ''Aryamaan'' as the character of the same name on Toon Disney in India. Khanna has worked in many television productions and films depicting him as police inspector such as the film ''Hera Pheri''. He has also worked in a television series called ''Waqt Bataye Ga''. He has played roles in films such as ''Tahalka'' and ''International Khiladi''. He played the father of Bobby Deol's character in the film ''Barsaat''.

He was offered the role of Shantanu in Ekta Kapoor's ''Mahabharat''; he refused. He told the press that Ekta's ''Mahabharat'' is sure to be a flop because BR Chopra's ''Mahabharat'' had actors in it; her ''Mahabharat'' has "models" in it.

Shows

Mahabharat .... as Devvrat/Bhishma/Pitamah

Shaktimaan .... as Gangadhar/Shaktimaan

Maarshal.......as Maarshal a detective

Viraat.......as Viraat

Aaryaman..... as Aaryaman

Saraab..... as Ajay/Vijay

Vishwaas

Chandrakanta..... as Jaanbaaz

Movies

Aagaah (2011) (Under Production)

Gahraee (2011) (Stuck/On Hold)

Chal Chalein (August 7, 2009) ...... Justice Bharat Kumar

The Film (November 25, 2005)

Hanuman (October 21, 2005) ...... Hanuman (Voice)

Mission Mumbai (March 5, 2004)

Plan (January 9, 2004)

Tada (August 29, 2003)

Ek Aur Jung (July 20, 2001)

Censor (April 6, 2001)

Hera Pheri (March 31, 2000) ...... Police Inspector, Prakash

Khauff (March 3, 2000) ...... S.P. Jaidev Singh

Gang (2000) (Released)

International Khiladi (March 26, 1999) ...... Bimillah (Devraj'S Guardian)

Zulm-O-Sitam (September 19, 1998)

Mahayuddh (1998)

Judge Mujrim (September 12, 1997)

Salma Pe Dil Aa Gaya (March 7, 1997)

Nazar (January 28, 1997)

Aakhri Sanghursh (1997) ...... Shakti Singh

Bal Brahmachari (September 6, 1996) ...... Thakur Raghuveer Singh

Himmatwar (June 14, 1996) ...... Inspector Rajeshwar

Himmat (January 5, 1996)

Jagannath (1996)

Barsaat (October 6, 1995) ...... Baba (Badal's father)

Veer (September 1, 1995)

Guddu (August 11, 1995) ...... Vikram Bahadur (Guddu's father)

Taaqat (June 23, 1995) ...... Police Inspector

Raja (June 22, 1995) ...... Rana Mahednra Pratap Garhwal

Nazar Ke Samne (June 2, 1995) ...... Badshahan Khan

Policewala Gunda (May 19, 1995)

Maidan-E-Jung (April 14, 1995) ...... S.P.

Paandav (March 3, 1995) ...... Ashwin Kumar

Jawab (January 27, 1995)

Reshma (1995)

Pathreela Rasta (1995) ...... Inspector Arjun (Gayatri'S Husband)

Hukumnama (1995)

Police Lockup (1995) ...... Inspector Pratha

Aao Pyar Karen (November 25, 1994)

Amaanat (October 14, 1994) ...... Agarwal Seth

Main Khiladi Tu Anadi (September 23, 1994) ...... Arjun Joglekar

Betaj Badshah (April 8, 1994) ...... Balwant Rai

Insaaniyat (March 11, 1994) ...... Narrator

Mohabbat Ki Aarzoo (1994) ...... Rai Bahadur Mahendra Pratap Singh

Rakhwale (1994)

Shaktimaan (July 9, 1993)

Meri Jaan (December 6, 1992)

Rani Aur Maharani (1993)

Kundan (1993)

Meri Aan (1993) ...... Commissioner Ashfaque Khan

Yalgaar (October 23, 1992) ...... Mahendra Ashwini Kumar

Tahalka (August 7, 1992)

Saudagar (August 8, 1991) ...... Gagan

Saugandh (January 25, 1991) ...... Chaudhary Sarang

Mujhe Kasam Hai (1985)

Captain Barry (1984)

Dard-E-Dil (1983)

Waqt Ke Shahzade (September 17, 1982)

Roohi (1981)

External links

Category:Film and Television Institute of India alumni Category:Indian television actors Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian actors Category:Indian Hindus Category:Living people The great maratha : as Ibrahim Khan Gardi

ta:முக்கேஷ் கண்ணா Mukesh Khanna

name	Kishore Kumar| image Gangulybros01.jpg
background	solo_singer
spouse	Rama Devi, Madhubala, Yogeeta Bali, Leena Chandawarkar
birth name	Abhas Kumar Ganguly
born	August 04, 1929Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar
died	October 13, 1987Mumbai, Maharashtra
genre	Playback, Rabindra Sangeet, rock and roll
occupation	Singer, actor, director, musician, producer
years active	1946–1987 }}

Kishore Kumar (, , ; born Abhas Kumar Ganguly 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter. Kishore Kumar sang in many Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam and Oriya. He was the winner of 8 Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and holds the record for most number of Filmfare Awards won for that category.

Early life

Kishore Kumar was born into the Bengali Brahmin Ganguly family in Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar (now in Madhya Pradesh) as Abhas Kumar Ganguly. His father Kunjalal Ganguly (Gangopadhya) was a lawyer. His mother Gouri Devi came from a wealthy Bengali family. Kishore was the youngest of four siblings, the other three being Ashok Kumar (the eldest), Sati Devi, and Anoop Kumar.

While Kishore was still a child, Ashok Kumar became a Bollywood actor. (Later, Anoop Kumar also ventured into cinema with the help of Ashok Kumar). Spending time with his brothers, Kishore also started to take a keen interest in movies and music. He became a fan of singer-actor Kundan Lal Saigal, whom he considered his guru, and tried to follow Saigal's singing style.

Career

After Ashok Kumar became a Bollywood star, the Ganguly family used to visit Bombay regularly. Abhas Kumar changed his name to Kishore Kumar and started his cinema career as a chorus singer at Bombay Talkies, where his brother worked. His first film as an actor was ''Shikari'' (1946), in which Ashok Kumar played the lead role. Music director Khemchand Prakash gave him a chance to sing the song ''Marne ki duayen kyon mangu'' for the film ''Ziddi'' (1948). After this, Kishore Kumar got many other assignments, but he was not very serious about a film career. In 1949, he decided to settle in Mumbai.

Kishore Kumar played hero in the Bombay Talkies film ''Andolan'' (1951), directed by Phani Majumdar. Although Kishore Kumar got some assignments as an actor with help of his brother, he was more interested in becoming a singer. He was not interested in acting, but his elder brother Ashok Kumar wanted him to be an actor like himself.

He starred in Bimal Roy's ''Naukri'' (1954) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's directorial debut ''Musafir'' (1957). Salil Chowdhury, the music director for ''Naukri'' was initially dismissive of him as a singer, when he came to know that Kishore Kumar didn't have any formal training in music. However, after hearing his voice, he gave him the song ''Chhota sa ghar hoga'', which was supposed to be sung by Hemant Kumar.

Kishore Kumar starred in films ''New Delhi'''' (1957), ''Aasha'' (1957), ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958), ''Half Ticket'' (1962), and ''Padosan'' (1968). ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'', his home production, starred the three Ganguly brothers, and Madhubala. The film is about romance between a city girl (Madhubala) and a car mechanic (Kishore Kumar), with a subplot involving brothers.

Music director S. D. Burman is credited with spotting Kishore Kumar's talent as a singer, and advancing his singing career. During the making of ''Mashaal'' (1950), Burman visited Ashok Kumar's house, where he heard Kishore imitating K. L. Saigal. He complimented Kishore, but also told him that he should develop a style of his own, instead of copying Saigal. Kishore Kumar did not have a formal training in music. He kept Burman's advice in mind, and eventually developed his own style of singing, which featured the yodeling that he had heard on some records of Jimmie Rodgers bought by his brother Anoop Kumar.

S. D. Burman recorded with Kishore for Dev Anand's ''Munimji'' (1954), ''Taxi Driver'' (1954), ''House No. 44'' (1955), ''Funtoosh'' (1956), ''Nau Do Gyarah'' (1957), ''Paying Guest'' (1957), ''Guide'' (1965), ''Jewel Thief'' (1967), ''Prem Pujari'' (1970), and ''Tere Mere Sapne'' (1971). He also composed music for Kishore Kumar's home production ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958). Some of their initial films included the songs ''Maana Janaab Ne Pukara Nahin'' from ''Paying Guest'', ''Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke'' from ''Nau Do Gyarah'' (1957), ''Ai Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa'' from ''Funtoosh'', and ''Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si'' and ''Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka'' from ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958). Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar performed duets composed by S. D. Burman including ''Chhod Do Aanchal'' from ''Paying Guest'' (1957), ''Ankhon Mein Kya Ji'' from ''Nau Do Gyarah'' (1957), ''Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka'' and ''Paanch Rupaiya Baara Aana'' from ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958), ''Chhedo Na Meri Zulfein'' from ''Ganga Ki Lahren'' (1964), and ''Arre Yaar Meri Tum Bhi Ho Gajab'' from ''[Teen Devian|Teen Deviyan]'' (1965).

C. Ramchandra was another music director who recognized Kishore Kumar's talent as a singer. and their collaborations include ''Eena Meena Deeka'' from ''Aasha'' (1957). Kishore Kumar's work includes, ''Nakhrewaali'' from ''New Delhi'' (1956) by Shankar Jaikishan, and ''C.A.T. Cat Maane Billi'' and ''Hum To Mohabbat Karega'' from ''Dilli Ka Thug'' (1958) by Ravi.

Kishore Kumar produced, directed, and acted in the film ''Jhumroo'' (1961). He wrote the lyrics for the title song, ''Main Hoon Jhumroo'', and composed music for all the songs in the film. Later, he produced and directed the film ''Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein'' (1964). He also wrote the script and composed music for the film. The film is based on the relationship between a father (Kishore Kumar), and his deaf and mute son (played by his real-life son, Amit Kumar). He made another two films called ''Door Ka Rahi'' (1971) and ''Door Waadiyon Mein Kahin'' (1980).

In the 1960s, as an actor, Kishore Kumar built up a notoriety for coming late for the shootings, or bunking them altogether. His films flopped frequently, and he also landed in income tax trouble. As a singer, his work in this period includes ''Zaroorat Hai Zaroorat Hai'' from ''Manmauji'' (1961), ''Gaata Rahe Mera Dil'' from ''Guide'' (1965), and ''Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara'' from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967).

In the late 1960s, Rahul Dev Burman worked together on the soundtrack of the film ''Padosan'' (1968), in which Kishore Kumar sang the songs ''Mere Saamne Wali Khidki Mein'' and ''Kehna Hai''. ''Padosan'' was a comedy film starring Kishore Kumar as a dramatist-musician, Mehmood as a Carnatic music and dance teacher, and Sunil Dutt as a simpleton named Bhola. Kishore Kumar's character in the film was inspired by the personality of Kishore's own uncle, Dhananjay Bannerjee (a classical singer). The highlight of the film was a musical, comical duel between Kishore Kumar-Sunil Dutt and Mehmood, ''Ek Chatur Nar Karke Singaar''.

1970's and 1980's

In 1969, Shakti Samanta produced and directed the film ''Aradhana'', for which the music was composed by S. D. Burman. S. D. Burman fell ill after recording some duet songs with Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. Afterwards, his son and assistant Rahul Dev Burman took over the recording. R. D. Burman got Kishore Kumar to solo sing the songs ''Mere Sapno Ki Rani'' and ''Roop Tera Mastana''. Kishore Kumar won his first Filmfare award for the song "Roop Tera Mastana".

In 1970s & 1980s Kishore Kumar sang for Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Dev Anand, Shashi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff.

S. D. Burman and Kishore Kumar continued to work together, including ''Phoolon Ke Rang Se'' and ''Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jaaye'' from ''Prem Pujari'' (1969), ''Aaj Madhosh Hua Jaaye Re'', ''Khilte Hain Gul Yahan'' and ''O Meri Sharmilee'' from ''Sharmilee'' (1971), ''Meet na mila'' from ''Abhimaan'' (1973), ''Pyaar Ke Is Khel Mein'' from ''Jugnu''. In 1975, S. D. Burman composed his last song for Kishore Kumar. S. D. Burman went into a coma for the second time, soon after Kishore recorded the song ''Badi Sooni Sooni Hai Zindagi'' for the film ''Mili''.

R. D. Burman frequently used Kishore Kumar as the male singer, and recorded several songs with him in the 1970s. Some Kishore Kumar-R. D. Burman songs include ''O Maajhi Re'' from ''Khushboo'', ''Yeh Shaam Mastaani'' and ''Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai'' from ''Kati Patang'' (1971), ''Kuchh To Log Kahenge'' from ''Amar Prem'' (1972), "Raat Kali Ek Khwab Mein Aayi" from ''Buddha Mil Gaya ''(1971), ''Musafir Hoon Yaaron'' from ''Parichay'' (1972), ''Diye Jalte Hain'' from ''Namak Haraam'' (1973), ''Meri Bheegi Bheegi Si'' from ''Anamika'' (1973), ''Zindagi Ke Safar Mein'' from ''Aap Ki Kasam'' (1974), ''Agar Tum Na Hote'', ''Humein Tum Se Pyaar Kitna'' from ''Kudrat'', "Mere Naina Saawan Bhadon" from ''Mehbooba'', and ''Chingari Koi Bhadke'' (''Amar Prem''), ''Jab Bhi Koi Kangana'' from ''Shaukeen'' (1986). R. D. Burman also recorded several duets pairing Kishore Kumar with Asha Bhosle and with Lata Mangeshkar. Some of these duets include ''Panna Ki Tamanna'' from ''Heera Panna'' (1973), ''Neend Chura Ke Raaton Mein'' from the film ''Shareef Budmaash'', ''Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai'' from Sanjay Dutt's debut film ''Rocky'' (1981), ''Sagar Kinare'' from ''Sagar'' in [1985], ''Aap Ki Aankhon Mein Kuchh'' from ''Ghar'', ''Jaane Ja Dhoondta'' and ''Nahi Nahi'' from ''Jawani Diwani'', "Kharoshoo" from ''Harjai'' (1982).

Apart from the Burmans, Kishore Kumar worked with other music directors as well. The composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal (L-P) also composed many songs sung by Kishore Kumar. Some of their songs include ''Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi'' from ''Mr. X In Bombay'', ''Mere Naseeb Mein Aye Dost'' from ''Do Raaste'', ''Yeh Jeevan Hai'' from ''Piya Ka Ghar'', ''Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai'' from ''Daag: A Poem of Love'', ''Nahi Mai Nahi Dekh Sakta'' from ''Majboor'', ''Mere diwanepan ki bhi'' from ''Mehboob Ki Mehndi'', ''Naach Meri Bulbul'' from ''Roti'', ''Chal Chal Mere Haathi'' from ''Haathi Mere Saathi'', ''Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai'' from ''Dost'', ''Ruk Jaana Nahi'' from ''Imtihaan'', ''Ek Ritu Aaye'' from ''Gautam Govinda'', ''My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves'' from ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' ''Bahut Khoobsurat Jawan Ek Ladki'' from ''Dostana'' and ''Om Shanti Om'' as well as ''Paisa Yeh Paisa'' from ''Karz''. Laxmikant-Pyarelal also composed several Kishore-Lata duets, including ''Achchha To Hum Chalte Hain'' from ''Aan Milo Sajna'', ''Gore Rang Pe Na Itna'' from ''Roti'', ''Main Solah Baras Ki'' from ''Karz'', and ''Din Mahine Saal'' from ''Avtaar'', ''Tu Kitne Baras Ki'' from ''Karz''. L-P also got Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi to sing duets for the films ''Dostana'', ''Ram Balram'' and ''Deedaar-E-Yaar''. L-P composed a duet with Kishore Kumar and Alisha Chinoy, ''I love you (Kaate Nahin Katate Yeh Din Yeh Raat)'' from ''Mr. India'' in (1987). Salil Chowdhury recorded songs like ''Koi Hota Jisko Apna'' from ''Mere Apne'' and ''Gujar Gaye Din Din'' from ''Annadata''. Ravindra Jain recorded ''Ghungroo Ki Tarah'', and the duet ''Tota Maina Ki Kahani'' from ''Fakira''. Khaiyyaam recorded beautiful duets with Lata Mangeshkar such as ''Hazar Rahein'' from ''Thodisi Bewafai'', ''Aankhon Mein Humne Aapke Sapne Sajaye Hain'', ''Chandani Raat Mein Ek Bar''. Hridaynath Mangeshkar recorded ''Zindagi Aa Raha Hoon Main'' from ''Mashaal''. Kalyanji-Anandji recorded several songs with Kishore Kumar including ''Zindagi Ka Safar'' and ''Jeevan Se Bhari Teri Aankhein'', from ''Safar'', ''Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas'' from ''Black Mail'', ''Apne Jeevan Ki Uljhan'' from ''Uljhan'', ''Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz'' from ''Kora Kagaz'', ''O Saathi Re'' from ''Muqaddar Ka Sikandar'', ''Khaike Paan Banaraswala'' from ''Don'', ''Neele Neele Ambar Par'' from ''Kalakar'' and ''Pal Bhar Ke Liye'' from ''Johny Mera Naam''.

Other composers including Rajesh Roshan, Sapan Chakravarty, Jaidev, Chitragupta (composer), Usha Khanna, Sohnik Omi, Prem Dhawan, Vanraj Bhatia and Bappi Lahiri also worked with Kishore Kumar. Rajesh Roshan's film ''Julie'' featured songs sung by Kishore Kumar, ''Bhool Gaya Saab Kuchh'' (duet with Lata Mangeshkar) and ''Dil Kya Kare Jab Kisise''. Their other songs include ''Chhookar mere man ko'' from ''Yaarana'', ''Tune Abhi Dekha Nahin'' from ''Do Aur Do Paanch'' and ''Kahan Tak Ye Man Ko Andhere Chhalenge'' from ''Baaton Baaton Mein''. Bappi Lahiri also recorded many songs with Kishore Kumar, including ''Pag Ghunghroo Bandh'' from ''Namak Halal'' (1982), ''Manzilen Apni Jagah Hai'' from ''Sharaabi'' (1984) and ''Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet'' from ''Chalte Chalte'' (1976), ''Saason Se Nahi Kadmose Nahi'' from ''Mohabbat'' in (1987) and duets with (Lata Mangeshkar)) like ''Taa thaiya'' from ''Himmatwala'' in (1984), ''Albela Mausam'' from ''Tohfa'' in (1985) and another duet ''Pyar Ka Tohfa'' from the same film.

During the Indian Emergency (1975–1977), Sanjay Gandhi asked Kishore Kumar to sing for an Indian National Congress rally in Mumbai, but Kishore Kumar refused. As a result, the government put an unofficial ban on playing Kishore Kumar songs on the All India Radio or television.

Later years

Kishore Kumar produced and directed some movies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as ''Badhti Ka Naam Daadhi'' (1978), ''Zindagi'' (1981) and ''Door Wadiyon Mein Kahin'' (1980). His last appearance as an actor was in ''Door Wadiyon Mein Kahin''.

With patronage from R. D. Burman and Rajesh Roshan, Kishore Kumar's son Amit Kumar also became a Bollywood singer in the 1980s. Kishore Kumar also continued singing for several actors. He also did some stage shows, apparently to earn money to pay his income tax arrears.

Kishore Kumar stopped singing for Amitabh Bachchan in the mid-1980s, after Bachchan did not do a guest appearance in a film produced by him but called a truce with him by singing for him in ''Toofan''. He also temporarily stopped singing for Mithun Chakraborty, after Yogeeta Bali divorced him and married Chakraborty. However, later Kumar sang for him in many films like ''Disco Dancer'', ''Muddat'', and ''Pyar Ka Mandir''.

In the mid-1980s, Kishore Kumar sang for Anil Kapoor in Kapoor's debut film as a leading man, ''Woh Saat Din'' and also recorded ''Mr. India''. He sang a duet with Alka Yagnik, ''Tumse Badhkar Duniya Mein Na Dekha'' for ''Kaamchor'' in (1986). He also recorded some songs for the film ''Saagar'' with R. D. Burman. By this time, he had decided to retire and was planning to go back to his birthplace, Khandwa.

On 13 October 1987, he died of a heart attack in Mumbai at 4:45 pm. His body was taken to Khandwa for cremation. He had recorded his last song a day before he died. The song was ''Guru Guru'', a duet with Asha Bhosle, for the film ''Waqt Ki Aawaz'' (1988) composed by Bappi Lahiri for Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi.

Kishore Kumar's song ''Pal Bhar Ke Liye'' from the film ''Johny Mera Naam'' (1970) was used in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' titled "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore". His songs have also been featured in several films, including ''Such a Long Journey'' (1998) and ''Side Streets'' (1998). Sony TV organised the television singing contest ''K for Kishore'' to search for a singer like Kishore Kumar.

Personal life

Kishore Kumar married four times. His first wife was Ruma Guha Thakurta aka Ruma Ghosh. Their marriage lasted from 1950 to 1958.

Kishore's second wife was actress Madhubala, who had worked with him on many films including his home production ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958). When Kishore Kumar proposed to her, Madhubala was sick and was planning to go to London for treatment. At this time, she didn't know that she had a ventricular septal defect, and her father wanted her to wait and consult the London doctors first. Nevertheless, Madhubala married Kishore in 1960. Madhubala was a Muslim, and the two had a civil marriage. Kishore converted to Islam and took the name Karim Abdul. The doctors in London told Madhubala that she would not live for long. The marriage lasted for nine years, and ended with Madhubala's death on 23 February 1969.

Kishore Kumar's third marriage was to Yogeeta Bali, and lasted from 1976 to 4 August 1978. Kishore was married to Leena Chandavarkar from 1980 until his death. Kishore Kumar sired two sons, Amit Kumar (playback singer) with Ruma, and Sumit Kumar with Leena Chandavarkar.

Kumar is said to have been paranoid about not being paid. During recordings, he would sing only after his secretary confirmed that the producer had made the payment. Once, when he discovered that his dues hadn't been fully paid, he landed up for shooting with make-up on only one side of his face. When the director questioned him, he replied "Aadha paisa to aadha make-up." (Half make-up for half payment). On the sets of ''Bhai Bhai'', Kishore Kumar refused to act because the director M V Raman owed him five thousand rupees. Ashok Kumar persuaded him to do the scene. But, when the shooting started, he walked across the floor and, each time he walked a few places, he said, ''Paanch Hazzar Rupaiya'' (five thousand rupees) and did a somersault. After he reached the end of the floor, he went out of the studio, jumped into his car, and ordered his driver Abdul to drive away. On another occasion, when producer R. C. Talwar did not pay his dues in spite of repeated reminders, Kishore turned up at Talwar's residence one morning and started shouting "''Hey Talwar, de de mere aath hazaar''" ("Hey Talwar, give me my eight thousand"). He did this every morning until Talwar paid him.

The film ''Anand'' (1971) was originally supposed to star Kishore Kumar and Mehmood Ali in the lead. Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the director of the film, was asked to meet Kishore Kumar to discuss the project. However, when he went to Kishore Kumar's house, he was driven away by the gatekeeper due to a misunderstanding. Kishore Kumar (himself a Bengali) hadn't been paid for a stage show organized by another Bengali man, and had instructed his gatekeeper to drive away this "Bengali", if he ever visited the house. When Hrishikesh Mukherjee (also a Bengali) went to Kishore Kumar's house, the gatekeeper drove him away, mistaking him for the "Bengali" that Kishore Kumar had asked him to drive away. Consequently, Mehmood had to leave the film as well, and new actors (Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan) were signed up for the film.

In spite of his "no money, no work" principle, sometimes Kishore Kumar recorded for free even when the producers were willing to pay. Such films include those produced by Rajesh Khanna and Danny Denzongpa. On one occasion, Kishore Kumar helped actor-turned-producer Bipin Gupta, by giving him Rs. 20,000 for the film ''Dal Mein Kala'' (1964). When actor Arun Kumar Mukherjee died, Kishore Kumar regularly sent money to his family in Bhagalpur. Mukherjee was one of the first persons to appreciate Kishore's singing talent.

Many journalists and writers have written about Kishore Kumar's seemingly eccentric behavior. Kishore Kumar had put a "''Beware of Kishore''" sign at the door of his Warden Road flat, where he stayed for some time while his bungalow was being done up. Once, producer-director H. S. Rawail, who owed him some money, visited his flat to pay the dues. Kishore Kumar took the money, and when Rawail offered to shake hands with him, he reportedly put Rawail's hand in his mouth, bit it, and asked "Didn’t you see the sign?". Rawail laughed off the incident and left quickly. Kishore Kumar was a loner, and in an interview with Pritish Nandy (1985), he said that he had no friends – he preferred talking to his trees instead. Once, when a reporter made a comment about how lonely he must be, Kishore Kumar took her to his garden. He then named some of the trees in his garden, and introduced them to the reporter as his closest friends.

According to another reported incident, once Kishore Kumar was to record a song for producer-director G. P. Sippy. As Sippy approached his bungalow, he saw Kishore going out in his car. Sippy pleaded him to stop his car, but Kishore only increased the speed of his car. Sippy chased him to Madh Island, where Kishore Kumar finally stopped his car near the ruined Madh Fort. When Sippy questioned his strange behavior, Kishore Kumar refused to recognize or talk to him and threatened to call police. Sippy had to return. Next morning, Kishore Kumar reported for the recording. An angry Sippy questioned him about his behavior on the previous day. However, Kishore Kumar insisted that Sippy must have seen a dream, and claimed that he was in Khandwa on the previous day.

Once, a producer went to court to get a decree that Kishore Kumar must follow the director's orders. As a consequence, Kishore Kumar obeyed the director to the letter. He refused to alight from his car until the director ordered him to do so. Once, after a car scene in Mumbai, he drove on till Khandala because the director forgot to say "Cut". In the 1960s, a financier named Kalidas Batvabbal, patently disgusted with Kishore Kumar's alleged lack of cooperation during the shooting of ''Half Ticket'', gave him away to the income tax authorities. Kishore had to face a raid at his house. Later, Kishore invited Batvabbal home, tricked him by asking him to enter a cupboard for a "chat" and locked him inside. He unlocked Batvabbal after two hours and told him "Don’t ever come to my house again."

Awards

; Filmfare Awards

Winner:

! Year	! Song	! Film	! Music director	! Lyricist
1969	''Roop tera mastaana''		Sachin Dev Burman	Anand Bakshi
1975	''Dil aisa kisi ne Mera''	''Amanush''	Shyamal Mitra	Indeevar
1978	''Khaike Pan Banaras Wala''		Kalyanji-Anandji	Anjaan
1980	''Hazaar raahen mudke dekheen''	''Thodisi Bewafaii''	Khayyam	Gulzar
1982	''Pag ghungroo baandh ke meera nachi''	''Namak Halaal''	Bappi Lahiri	Anjaan
1983	''Hamen aur jeene ki''	''Agar Tum Na Hote''	Rahul Dev Burman	Gulshan Bawra
1984	''Manzilen apni jagah''	''Sharaabi''	Bappi Lahiri	Anjaan
1985	''Saagar Kinaare''	''Saagar''	Rahul Dev Burman	Javed Akhtar

Nominated:

! Year	! Song	! Film	! Music Director	! Lyricist
1971	''Zindagi Ek Safar''		Shankar-Jaikishan	Hasrat Jaipuri
1971	''Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai''	Kati Patang	Rahul Dev Burman	Anand Bakshi
1972	''Chingari Koi Bhadke''	Amar Prem	Rahul Dev Burman	Anand Bakshi
1973	''Mere Dil Mein Aaj''	''Daag: A Poem of Love''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Sahir Ludhianvi
1974	''Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai''	''Dost''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1974	''Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz''	''Kora Kagaz''	Kalyanji Anandji	M.G.Hashmat
1975	''Main Pyaasa Tum''	''Faraar''	Kalyanji Anandji	Rajendra Krishan
1975	''O Manjhi Re''		Rahul Dev Burman
1977	''Aap Ke Anurodh''	''Anurodh''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1978	''O Saathi Re''	Muqaddar Ka Sikander	Kalyanji-Anandji	Anjaan
1978	''Hum Bewafa Harghiz''		Rahul Dev Burman	Anand Bakshi
1979	''Ek Rasta Hai Zindagi''	''Kaala Patthar''	Rajesh Roshan	Sahir Ludhianvi
1980	''Om Shanthi Om''		Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1981	''Hameh Tumse Pyar''	''Kudrat''	Rahul Dev Burman	Majrooh Sultanpuri
1981	''Chhookar Mere Mann Ko''		Rajesh Roshan	Anjaan
1983	''Shayad Meri Shaadi''	''Souten''	Usha Khanna	Sawan Kumar
1984	''De De Pyar De''	Sharaabi	Bappi Lahiri	Anjaan
1984	''Inteha Ho Gayi''	Sharaabi	Bappi Lahiri	Anjaan
1984	''Log Kehete Hai Main''	Sharaabi	Bappi Lahiri	Anjaan

; Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

Winner: 1971 - Best Male Playback Singer for ''Aradhana'' 1972 - Best Male Playback Singer for ''Andaz'' 1973 - Best Male Playback Singer for ''Hare Rama Hare Krishna'' 1975 - Best Male Playback Singer for ''Kora Kagaz''

See also

Kishore Kumar filmography

List of Indian playback singers

Hindi songs

References

Further reading

External links

Category:1929 births Category:1987 deaths Category:Bengali people Category:People from Khandwa Category:Indian male singers Category:Indian actors Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian film singers Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in India Category:Indian comedians Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Yodelers Category:Bengali musicians Category:Bengali actors Category:Assamese playback singers Category:Indian former Muslims Category:People from Mumbai Category:Hindi film actors Category:Hindi-language film directors Category:Indian film directors Category:Indian film producers

bn:কিশোর কুমার de:Kishore Kumar es:Kishore Kumar fr:Kishore Kumar hi:किशोर कुमार ml:കിഷോർ കുമാർ mr:किशोर कुमार ne:किशोर कुमार sd:ڪشور ڪمار Kishore Kumar sv:Kishore Kumar te:కిషోర్ కుమార్ ur:کشور کمار