Dum Maaro Dum
File:Dum Maaro Dum Film.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rohan Sippy
Produced by	Ramesh Sippy
Story by	Shridhar Raghavan
Starring	Abhishek Bachchan Bipasha Basu Rana Daggubati Aditya Pancholi Prateik Babbar Govind Namdeo
Music by	Pritam
Cinematography	Amit Roy
Editing by	Aarif Shaikh
Studio	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Distributed by	Fox Star Studios Ramesh Sippy Entertainment
Release date(s)	22 April 2011 (2011-04-22) (India)
Running time	130 minutes[1]
Country	‹See Tfd› India
Language	Hindi English Russian
Budget	35 crore (US$6.98 million)
Box office	54 crore (US$10.77 million)[2]

Dum Maaro Dum (Hindi: दम मारो दम, English: Take a shot) is a 2011 Hindi crime film directed by Rohan Sippy who is returning to directing after 5 years and starring Abhishek Bachchan, Rana Daggubati, Bipasha Basu, Prateik Babbar and Aditya Pancholi. It was shot in Goa.^[3] Deepika Padukone makes a special appearance in the remix version of the hit song "Dum Maro Dum".^[4] The music has been composed by Pritam. This is the first time a Bollywood film has been mixed in Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound.^[5] The film was released on 22 April 2011 worldwide, and received mixed to positive response from critics.

Plot[link]

The film starts with a footballer, Lorry (Prateik Babbar), who gets admission into an American college. Due to insufficient funds, he is unable to fulfill his dream. On the other hand his girlfriend Tani (Anaitha Nair) got a scholarship to US. Though, he is happy for his girlfriend's achievement, he becomes depressed for not fulfilling his own dream. His friend, Ricky (Gulshan Devaiah), tells him that he can get him into the college, but Lorry will have to smuggle drugs along with him. Lorry agrees and at the airport, successfully passes the X-ray machine.

ACP Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan) is a previously corrupt cop who had accepted a lot of bribes to satisfy his family. However, his family died in a car accident. Several years later, he is offered a job by the Chief Minister of Goa: to flush out all the drug gangsters in Goa, which he accepts. His success leads to a panic among the drug suppliers. The drug dealers gather for a meeting led by Zoey (Bipasha Basu). Zoey guarantees them that their drugs will be in safe hands if they are given to a mysterious person named Michael Barbosa. Kamath decides to chase Michael Barbosa and finds out about Ricky.

When Kamath reaches Ricky, he is already dead. Kamath finds out about his cocaine-smuggling and his girlfriend, Rozanna (Mariah Pucu Gantois Gomes). They reach the airport on the same day Lorry is about to leave. Kamath encounters Rozanna and finds a photo of Lorry in her phone. She is allowed to go due to lack of evidence. Kamath then identifies Lorry as the person he had seen in Rozanna's phone. They detain him and find cocaine stuffed in his bag. Lorry is sent to juvenile jail, where his friend, DJ Joki (Rana Daggubati), tries to get him out. It is then revealed that Zoey and Joki used to date. Zoey wanted to be an air hostess, but failed. Joki introduced her to his boss, Lorsa Biscuta a.k.a. the Biscuit (Aditya Pancholi), who had worldwide contacts. With the help of his contacts, Biscuit got her an international job in airlines, though she had to smuggle cocaine to international regions to repay him. She ended up getting caught and was sentenced to 14 years in jail. Biscuit's contact got her free in 14 days, but to repay him, she had to sleep with Biscuit. She broke up with Joki and led her life into drug-dealing with Biscuit.

Joki meets Zoey and the two end up sleeping together. Zoey gives him a video of Biscuit announcing that he is going to give a rave in neighboring Karnataka, out of Kamath's jurisdiction and that Michael Barbosa will be bringing and exchanging drugs. Joki gives this tape to Kamath. When Biscuit comes to know about Zoey and Joki, he kills Zoey. After recruiting Lorry for help, Kamath attacks Biscuit's party and arrests the drug dealers. Kamath's teammate Rane asks him about Barbosa, Kamath says that he knows the mystery of Barbosa and Rane kills Kamath. It is revealed that Rane was always involved with Biscuit. Joki later finds out about Kamath's death and arrives at the crime scene, fitting together the pieces as Kamath has. Michael Barbosa is not a man but a gravesite Biscuit uses for storing drugs. We see Joki carefully storing the bags of cocaine somewhere, then calling Rane to arrange a meeting. Lorry is now free of the charge and he comes out of jail. Then when Joki and Rane are going to meet Biscuit, Joki kills Rane saying that he knows Rane is the person who kills Kamath. Then Kamath's body is being cremated in an electric furnace owned by Biscuit. We see that this is where Joki has put the drugs, and Biscuit arrives just too late. Having been brought low by the destruction of his stockpile, Biscuit is killed by a woman who may be Rozanna. Lorry comes to a beach party where Joki is singing, and Tani joins him in a joyful reunion. The film ends with Joki is riding on his bike envisioning Kamath and Zoey.

Cast[link]

• Abhishek Bachchan as ACP Vishnu Kamath
• Bipasha Basu as Zoey Mendonca
• Rana Daggubati as DJ Joaquim "Joki" Fernandes
• Aditya Pancholi as Lorsa Biscuta a.k.a. the Biscuit
• Prateik Babbar as Lawrence "Lorry" Gomes
• Anaitha Nair as Tani, Lorry's girlfriend
• Govind Namdeo as Rane
• Mariah Pucu Gantois Gomes as Rozanna
• Vidya Balan in a Cameo as Mrs. Kamath
• Deepika Padukone as special appearance in song Dum Maro Dum

Reception[link]

Critical[link]

The film opened to mixed positive reviews globally. The Times of India, which gave a three and a half rating, mentioned that "The film slags in places and needs tightening, but the lull is followed by a tangy twist in the tale, which makes up for the occasional yawn. Shridhar Raghavan writes a thrilling cops and robbers tale which has some quirky banter scripted by Purva Naresh. Add to this Goa captured in glowing colours by cinematographer Amit Roy and a peppy music score by Pritam, and director Rohan Sippy gives you a film that keeps the popcorn crackling, till the very end".^[6]

The Filmfare gave a four star rating stating "Dum Maaro Dum has a taut narrative that doesn’t flail till post interval. It keeps you engrossed through an imaginative blend of some stupendous background music, animated cinematography and simple effective storytelling. The characters are introduced with clarity and soon you get a very clear picture of what’s going with whom. As for the performances Abhishek does an earnest and impressive job. Rana Daggubati sure has an impressive screen presence but we must wait to find out if that dead pan expression is restricted only to this film. Pratik looks dazed and you don’t want to take your eyes off him when he is on screen. Bipasha looks suitably traumatised".^[7]

Anupama Chopra of NDTV gave a two and half star rating saying "Dum Maaro Dum has all the ingredients of crackling entertainment. This is one film that should soar but sadly it never quite takes flight. The problem is the writing. has some punchy dialogue-baazi and snazzy action, especially a nicely done shoot-out at a night market. It also features Abhishek’s best performance in recent times. But the narrative slumps in places, the plot has loopholes and the characters just aren’t convincing enough to grab you.^[8]

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film two and half and noted "Film is like fast food that's high on calories, but falls short in the nutrition department. Yes, it's slick, stylish and well-crafted, but the fact remains that it lacks the power [in its second hour specifically] to create a dum-daar impression. however praised the lead performances. Abhishek is super in the role of a tough cop whose life undergoes a U-turn when personal tragedy strikes. Much of the joy comes from watching Rana Daggubati infuse believability into his character. He's easy on the eyes and is a complete natural when it comes to acting. Bipasha shines in several moments of the film.^[9]

Daily News & Analysis gave a three star rating saying "With the body of a modern thriller and the soul of a 1970s masala film, the idea behind the hybridization had potential, but ’Dum Maaro Dum' falls slightly short ". Nevertheless, it still recommended the film.^[10]

Hindustan Times reviewer Mayank Shankar gave it a three star rating and noted "It just about makes for an enticing thriller here. There's probably an even better film when compressed. But if you stay 'susegaad', relaxed, laidback, it's unlikely that you'll regret the promise of entertainment this picture meets in major portions"^[11]

India Today reviewer Kaveree Bamzai gave a three and half rating said that the movie is "With some cutting edge background music and a haunting song by Papon which remains in your head, Dum Maaro Dum is a stylish thriller written as smartly as it is directed".^[12]

Rajeev Masand of CNN IBN gave it a two star rating explaining " It’s watchable, but it could easily have been so much more. The action sequences add style to the story, with more than one smartly-filmed chase scene. The dialogues too pack quite a punch, before it all starts to feel too much. In the end, it’s Abhishek Bachchan who throws you with his sheer presence. He plays Kamath with just the right amount of steely nerve and naked emotions. Unfortunately it isn’t enough to lift this film from an average drugs-drama to a smart and entertaining action thriller. It’s got its moments, but they’re few and far between".^[13]

Githa Vanan of BollySpice gave it a three and a half stars out of five, and said, "With awesome performances, great visuals, a thought out story and easy to understand screenplay, Dum Maaro Dum isn’t a masterpiece but it has merit. And Abhishek Bachchan."^[14]

Gaurav Malani of Indiatimes gave it a positive review, saying, "In the bigger picture, the story of Dum Maaro Dum isn't something one hasn't witnessed before. A corrupt cop turns honest on losing his family. He is summoned to purify a polluted province. A white-collared kingpin operates at large in the region. An innocent chap is engulfed in the nexus. The cop has to liberate the innocent and convict the guilty. Doesn't this sound like a standard scheme of an 80s potboiler? But what makes Rohan Sippy's film entertaining is its smart storytelling, sincere setting and slick treatment." He also praised Abhishek's performance, saying that his childhood friend Rohan Sippy clearly knows how to best use the actor.^[15]

Subhash K. Jha of nowrunning.com gave it three and a half stars out of five, and called it "an edgy thriller."^[16]

Tushar Joshi of mid-day entertainment gave it three stars out of five. He criticized the film for its length and was unimpressed by Bipasha's performance, saying that she was lacklustre. But he added that for all its drawbacks, the film is nevertheless worth a watch because of its gripping storyline and stylish treatment of the same.^[17]

The eminent, National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan gave it a very positive review, saying, "....golden-age masala-movie lovers will find lots to enjoy – the setting up of a lovable character who’s sure to die horribly, the writing in blood at the back of a card, and the dialogues." He praised the background score, calling it "terrific" and "so full of unusual sounds and so marvellously attuned to mood." Though he felt that the some of the scenes do not quite affect the viewer the way they are supposed to, the film is consistently engaging . Overall, he called it well worth checking out.^[18]

Deepauk Murugesan of New Indian express praised the film, commenting, "At its core, Rohan Sippy’s film is about two love stories coming together to salvage the future of a third. It is a uniquely male fantasy and grossly idealistic, but its excess is well cloaked in the blood-soaked grittiness that permeates the film."^[19]

Pankaj Sabnani of Glamsham gave it three stars out of five, calling it "a 'dumdar' thriller with a riveting plot and splendid performances."^[20]

Box office[link]

Dum Maaro Dum managed a decent opening weekend of 16.5 crore in India^[21] and 6.3 crore in the overseas market.^[22] After four weeks, the film grossed 31.57 crore in India.^[23] In India Dum Maaro Dum has managed to gross 32.6 crore (appx). It has released across 1200 screen. Reportedly, the film has fared well in the southern territories like Andhra Pradesh, Nizam, Mysore and Karnataka. At the International Box Office, Dum Maaro Dum collected $1.4 million approximately. In US the film earned $360,000, UK – $157,000, Mid-East – $300,000 and Australia – NZ – $150,000.^[24] The film was declared an above average grosser at the box office.

According to Vijay Singh, the CEO of Fox Star Studios, the film "recovered its cost of production of Rs 35 crores in the first weekend from theatrical (domestic and International), music (including overflows) and satellite, thus ensuring it to be a profitable venture."^[22] The film grossed 54 crore (US$10.77 million) worldwide.^[25]

Controversy[link]

There was controversy over the theme of the film. One particular promotional dialogue from the film "Liquor is cheap here and women are even cheaper here" caused quite a stir.^[26] Media professional Savio Rodrigues filed a petition to Goa Bench of Bombay High Court seeking a permanent ban on the movie stating that the wrong portrayal might attract sex offenders, drug launderers and criminals to Goa.^[27]

Soundtrack[link]

Director Rohan Sippy launched the song Dum Maaro Dum during the 2011 India – South Africa ICC Cricket World Cup match on 12 March 2011.^[5] The music of the film has been composed by Pritam and lyrics were penned by Jaideep Sahni.

Awards and nominations[link]

The awards it won are highlighted in bold.

Zee Cine Awards[link]

• Zee Cine Award for Best Male Debut – Rana Daggubati

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Dum Maaro Dum at the Internet Movie Database
• Dum Maaro Dum at AllRovi
• Dum Maaro Dum at Box Office Mojo
• Dum Maaro Dum at Rotten Tomatoes

Dum Maro Dum may refer to:

• Dum Maaro Dum (film), 2011 Hindi film
• "Dum Maro Dum" (song), from the film Hare Rama Hare Krishna and sung by Asha Bhosle

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone promotes 'Cocktail' on DLF IPL's Extraaa Innings.
Born	(1986-01-05) 5 January 1986 (age 26) Copenhagen, Denmark
Occupation	Actress, Model
Years active	2006–present

Deepika Padukone (born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.^[1]

Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film Aishwarya.^[2] The following year, she made her Hindi film debut in Om Shanti Om, for which she earned the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. It also remains her biggest commercial success so far. She subsequently appeared in films such as Love Aaj Kal (2009) and Housefull (2010). While the former earned her a Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category, the latter emerged as a commercial success.^[3]

In addition to acting, Padukone is also the ambassador of prominent brands such as Tissot, Sony Cybershot, Nescafe and Kingfisher Airlines.^[4]

Early life and background[link]

Padukone was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a former badminton player of international repute, and her mother is a travel agent. Her father was then training in Denmark in the sport and when she was eleven months old, her family moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, India.^[5] Padukone also has a younger sister, Anisha, born on 2 February 1991.^[6]

Padukone attended Sophia High School in Bangalore, and completed her pre-university studies at Mount Carmel College Bangalore.^[7] While in high school she played badminton at the state level.^[8] However, she was not keen on pursuing a career as a badminton player.^[9] During the time of her film debut she was enrolled with the Indira Gandhi National Open University in Bachelors of Arts (Sociology).^[10][11]

Career[link]

Early Modelling Career, until 2006[link]

While in college, Padukone pursued a career in modeling.^[12] She was spotted in a ramp competition in NLS, Bangalore.^{[citation needed]} Over the years, she has modeled for such Indian brand names as Liril, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, and has been "brand ambassador" for the Jewels of India retail jewelry show.^[13] The cosmetics company Maybelline made her its international spokesperson.^[14]

At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded the title "Model of the Year".^[15] Shortly afterward, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006 and won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards: "Female Model of the Year - (Commercial Assignments)" and "Fresh Face of the Year".^[16][17] Padukone was also chosen as the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines and later Levi Strauss and Tissot SA.^[18] In addition, she appeared in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya's song Naam Hai Tera.

Debut & Breakthrough in Films, 2006-09[link]

Padukone made her cinematic debut in Kannada with Aishwarya opposite Upendra in 2006. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's blockbuster Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film was a re-incarnation melodrama, featuring her in a double role.^[19][20] Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!"^[21] About being cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan, she said,

"When Farah was casting for Happy New Year, she saw my commercials on TV and called my agent. I met her when she was rehearsing at a dance hall in Juhu. When that film didn’t happen, she offered me OSO. Farah took care of me right from the first meeting, introducing me to Shah Rukh Khan and ensuring that I was comfortable with him. Six months prior to shooting, we frequently met up for lunches and dinners."^[22]

Padukone was then seen playing a feisty, modern-day Indian woman, Gayatri, in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba.^[23] The film, which released on 15 August 2008, performed reasonably well at the box office, but her performance drew flak. Adarsh wrote, "Deepika is a sore point. Her role isn't convincing and that's the reason why this performance doesn't work. The only consolation is, she looks gorgeous."^[24]

Deepika Padukone at the premiere of Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

She played a double role again in her next film, Chandni Chowk To China, which released on 16 January 2009. The film, directed by Nikhil Advani, also featured Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Ranvir Shorey in the lead. It was a critical and commercial disaster, with Nikhat Kazmi of The Times Of India commenting, "Deepika looks lost and forlorn for most of the film."^[25]

Padukone's fourth release Love Aaj Kal, released on 31 July 2009 and proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2009.^[26] Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film documented the changing value of relationships among the youth. Padukone played the role of Meera Pandit, a practical and head-strong career woman opposite Saif Ali Khan. Of her performance, NDTV's Anupama Chopra wrote, "Deepika looks fabulous but she isn’t a strong enough actor to breathe life into the character."^[27] Despite this, she received her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination.^[3] The same year, she teamed up with Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan once again for an item number in the Irrfan Khan-Lara Dutta starrer Billu.^[28] She also made guest appearances in the Telegu film Love 4 Ever and in Sohail Khan's Main Aur Mrs Khanna.^[29][30]

Initial Success, 2010-present[link]

Her first release in 2010 was Excel Entertainment’s Karthik Calling Karthik. The thriller featured Farhan Akhtar as Karthik, a troubled schizophrenic man, and Padukone as his supportive girlfriend, Shonali Mukherjee. This time, Anupama Chopra wrote, "Padukone finally seems to be thawing in front of a camera."^[31] The film, however, was a commercial failure.^[32] She then featured in Sajid Khan's multistarrer Housefull with Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Jiah Khan and Boman Irani . She played the role of Soundarya Bhagyalakshmi Venkateshwari Baassappa Rao, Kumar's girlfriend and later fiancée. The film became a blockbuster in India, with a net gross of INR 95 crores in the first week itself.^[33] As for her performance, Taran Adarsh mentioned that "Deepika is a surprise. She carries her part with amazing confidence...Housefull is the film that would make people notice her talent as well as beauty".^[34]

She then appeared in her second Yash Raj production, Lafangey Parindey which was directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She starred opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh as Pinky Palkar, a blind girl, hell bent on winning a skating competition. Upon release, Sudhish Kamath, of The Hindu wrote, "This really is Deepika Padukone's film though. She exercises considerable restraint, dances, skates, makes you cry and smile."^[35]

Padukone with her Break Ke Baad co-star Imran Khan

Her next release was Kunal Kohli's syrupy romance Break Ke Baad opposite Imran Khan, where she played Aaliya Khan, an impetuous brat. The film was not a commercial success, but won Padukone favorable reviews.^[36] Nikhat Kazmi noted, "Padukone's climactic act seems to be the best performance in her entire career: completely spontaneous, crazy and cute."^[37]

Her final release of 2010; Ashutosh Gowarikar's Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey top-lining Abhishek Bachchan, met with scathing reviews and was declared a flop. The period drama was a retelling of the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid, with Bachchan playing the revolutionary leader Surya Sen and Padukone playing Kalpana Dutta, his lover and confidant.^[38] A review carried by The Hollywood Reporter, however, mentioned her portrayal of Dutta as "impressive".^[39]

She began the year 2011 with an item number in Rohan Sippy's Dum Maaro Dum starring Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu in the lead. Her song was a remixed version of Zeenat Aman's iconic song from Hare Rama Hare Krishna.^[40] The raunchy lyrics and suggestive dancing received mixed reviews. The Deccan Chronicle mentioned her moves as "mechanised gyrations", while Adarsh wrote, "Deepika scorches the screen in the title track. "^[41][42]

Padukone at a promotional event for Aarakshan. Pictured with Prakash Jha

Next, she featured in Prakash Jha's reservation melodrama, Aarakshan starring alongside Amitabh Bachchan, as his daughter, and Saif Ali Khan, as his love-interest.^[43] Pratim D. Gupta noted, "Deepika, though, is again the refreshing thing about a movie. Both her scenes with Bachchan — one where she revolts and the other where she redeems herself — show how she has come of age as an actor."^[44] Padukone next appeared in Rohit Dhawan's Desi Boyz alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Chitrangada Singh. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was an average success at the box office.

In 2012, Padukone is expected to appear in Homi Adajania's Cocktail opposite Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty and will make her Kollywood debut in Soundarya Rajnikanth's Kochadaiyaan opposite Rajnikanth. Following this, Padukone will be seen in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani opposite ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor^[45][46] and Race 2 alongside Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ameesha Patel.

Other work[link]

Philanthropy[link]

As part of NDTV's Greenathon Campaign, Padukone adopted Ambegaon, a village in Maharashtra, that was facing a major electricity crisis.^[47]

In The Media[link]

In 2009, Padukone started writing weekly columns for HT City, the lifestyle supplement of Hindustan Times. These columns appear online on social network, Desimartini.^[48]

She appeared on the cover of lifestyle magazine Vogue on May 2010 and 2011.^[49] She also walked the red carpet at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.^[50]

On November 2010, she appeared on Koffee With Karan, a popular chat show along with Sonam Kapoor. Her comments on ex-flame Ranbir Kapoor lead to a lot of controversy among Bollywood inner-circles.^[51]

Personal life[link]

In March 2008, Padukone began dating Ranbir Kapoor, her co-star from the film Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).^[52] After her high profile break up with Kapoor in November 2009, Padukone has decided to keep her personal life away from media attention.^[53]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Deepika Padukone

• Deepika Padukone at the Internet Movie Database

Usha Uthup
Background information
Birth name	Usha Iyer
Also known as	Didi in Bengali
Born	(1947-11-08) November 8, 1947 (age 64) Mumbai, India[1]
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer, Playback singer
Instruments	Vocalist
Years active	1966–present
Website	Official website

Usha Uthup (born November 8, 1947) is a popular Indian pop, jazz and playback singer. She is well known for popular hits in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.^[2][3]

Early life[link]

Usha was born in Mumbai,^[1] in a Tamil Brahmin family that hailed from Tamil Nadu, in Madras (now Chennai) in 1947.

When she was in school she was thrown out of music class because she didn't fit in with a voice like hers. But her music teacher recognized that she had some music in her and would give her clappers or triangles to play. Even though she was not formally trained in music, she grew up in an atmosphere of music. Her parents used to listen to a wide range from Western classical to Hindustani and Carnatic including Kishori Amonkar and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan on radio and she used to join them.^[4] She used to enjoy listening to Radio Ceylon.

Her next door neighbour was S.M.A. Pathan, who was then the deputy commissioner of police. His daughter, Jamila, inspired Usha to learn Hindi, wear salwar kameez and take up Indian classical music. This fusion approach helped her to pioneer her unique brand of Indian pop in the 1970s. She is married to Mr Jani Uthup from Kottayam, Kerala.

She is presently a resident of Kolkata, West Bengal.

Career[link]

Her first public singing occurred when she was nine. Her sisters who were already exploring a music career, took her to a musician called Ameen Sayani who gave her an opportunity to sing on the Ovaltine Music Hour in Radio Ceylon. She sang a number called "Mockingbird Hill". After that, several appearances followed through her teenage years.

Singing career[link]

Uthup started singing in a small nightclub in Chennai called as Nine Gems in the basement of the erstwhile Safire theater complex on Mount Road,^[5] when she was 20, wearing a saree and leg callipers. Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week.^[6] After her first night club gig, she began singing in Calcutta at night clubs such as "Trincas". She met her future husband Uthup in Trincas. At about the same time, she also sang at "Talk of the Town", now known as "Not Just Jazz By The Bay" in Bombay (now Mumbai).^[7] After Trincas, her next engagement took her to Delhi where she sang at the Oberoi hotels. By happenstance, a film crew belonging to Navketan unit including Shashi Kapoor visited the nightclub and they offered her a chance to sing movie playback. As a result, she started her Bollywood career with Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Originally, she was supposed to sing Dum Maro Dum along with Asha Bhosle. However, as a result of internal politicking on the part of other singers, she lost that chance but ended up singing an English verse.

In 1968, she recorded covers of two pop songs in English, "Jambalaya" and The Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar", on an EP, Love Story, and "Scotch and Soda", another Kingston Trio song, which sold very well in the Indian market. She also spent some time in London during this early period. She was a frequent visitor to Vernon Corea's BBC office at the Langham in London and was interviewed on London Sounds Eastern on BBC Radio London. Usha visited Nairobi as part of an Indian festival. She was so popular that she was invited to stay on. Singing and quite often nationalistic songs in Swahili made her extremely popular and the then President Jomo Kenyatta made her an Honorary Citizen of Kenya. She sang the famous song "Malaika" (angel) with Fadhili Williams who was the original singer. She produced a record "live in Nairobi" with a local band Fellini Five.

Uthup sang several songs in the 1970s and 1980s for music directors R D Burman and Bappi Lahiri. She also reprised some of R.D. Burman songs that were sung by others such as Mehbooba Mehbooba and Dum Maro Dum and popularised them to a distinct end.

Uthup sang in Chris Perry's Konkani album Chris Perry Presents Usha - 'Meu Amor' .^[8]

She is currently (2011–2012) a judge on Kuyil Paatu, aired in Kalaignar TV, a popular Tamil TV channel, along with Anuradha Sriram.

Filmography[link]

Some of her famous songs for movies (and associated music directors) include:

In addition, she has also sung as a playback singer for the following Bollywood movies: Dhol (2007), June R (2005), Joggers' Park (2003), Jajantaram Mamantaram (2003), Ek Tha Raja (1996), Dushman Devta (1991), Bhavani Junction (1985), Hum Paanch (1980), and Purab Aur Pachhim (1970) among others.^[9]

She is a stage performer and gave performances all over the world and is known for her lively stage presence. She has been felicitated with several awards over the years, some of which include Rajiv Gandhi Purashkar for National Integration for quality music, Mahila Shiromani Purashkar for international peace, and Channel [V] award for outstanding achievement.

Recordings[link]

She recorded her first album with Luis Banks for which she was paid Rs. 3500. Since then, she has recorded numerous albums. Usha's Hindi version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", titled "Chhupke Kaon Aya", can be found on the album Tom Middleton - The Trip (2004). A cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is on another Tom Middleton album, Cosmosonica - Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers Vol. 1 (2005). She recently recorded a song called "Rhythm and Blues" with the Indian rock band Parikrama which appeared on Channel V on April 23, 2007.

Acting career[link]

Uthup is also an actress, often singing and acting in India's signature musical films. In 2006, she acted in the Malayalam movie Pothan Vava as Kurisuveettil Mariamma.

She made a cameo appearance in the movie Bombay To Goa with Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha in 1972. In 2007, she appeared in Bow Barracks Forever directed by Anjun Dutt as herself. Again in 2007, she appeared in Hattrick music video as herself.

She appeared in disguise on Indian Idol 1 and 2. She was one of the co-judges of the 2007 and 2008 & Idea Star Singer Season V (2010) the most rated south Indian reality show as well music oriented reality shows in Malayalam.

She has a minor role in the 2010 Tamil movie Manmadan Ambu, as the mother of Madhavan.

She also acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's 7 Khoon Maaf as a maid. She has also sang a song in the film which released on February 18, 2011. In 2012, she has starred in a Kannada film Parie which is slated for the late April release.

Fashion style[link]

Usha's trademark is her massive bindi and flowers that she wears in her hair, as well as her Kancheepuram saris that she adhere.

Personal life[link]

She is married to Jani Chacko Uthup who is originally from Manganam, Kottayam, and was formerly married to the late Ramu Iyer. They have a daughter Anjali and a son Sunny, named after the song, "Sunny".^[10]

She currently lives in Kolkata with her husband. She is considered an icon of modern Kolkata and is an active social presence in the city life in this city of joy.

Awards[link]

1. Padma Shri (Padma Shri Awards (2010–2011)^[11]) - fourth highest civilian award presented by Government of India

2.Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer : "Darling" from 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) (Shared with Rekha Bhardwaj)
Nominations for:

• the song "One Two Cha ChaCha" from Shalimar (1978)
• the song "Hari Om Hari" from Pyara Dushman (1980)
• the song "Rambha Ho" from Armaan (1981)^[12]

3. 7th Kalakar Awards for Best Audio Album (Bangla) for the album Door DeepBasini (1999)
4.10th Kalakar Awards for Best Audio Album (Bangla) for the album Chai Silpir Samman (2002)
5.12th Kalakar Awards for Best Playback Singer for the film Joggers Park (2004)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Usha Uthup
• Usha Uthup at the Internet Movie Database
• Video interview of Usha Uthup
• Usha Uthup at Bollywood Hungama
• "Before Darrrling, Usha Uthup sang these hit songs!". Rediff.com Movies. http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-hit-songs-of-usha-uthup/20110217.htm. 

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since July 2007. It may have been edited by a contributor who has a close connection with its subject. Tagged since October 2010.

Anand Bakshi (21 July 1920 – 30 March 2002) was a popular Indian poet and lyricist.

Biography of Anand Bakshi[link]

Early days[link]

Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, in 1920.^[1] His ancestors were from Kurree, near Rawalpindi, and had origins in Kashmir. His mother, Sumitra, died 1940, when he was 20. Bakshi's family migrated to India (Lucknow) on 2 October 1947, in the aftermath of the partition, when he was 27 years old.

Before he established himself as a lyrics writer for Hindi film songs, he served for 2 years in the Royal Indian Navy, (Karachi) and after partition he served 6 years in the Indian Army, based at Jabalpur, with The Corps of Signals, and later with the E.M.E., Infantry.

While in the Army, The Corps of Signals, he wrote an "Aim in Life" for himself. – “Every one in this world, rich or poor should have a definite aim in life. A man without any fixed purpose in life is like a ship without rudder, at the mercy of the winds, powerless to control its course. So a person having no aim in life has nothing by which to guide his actions, or regulate his conduct. I, the undersigned, Anand Prakash Bakshi (AZAD.), intend to study music. For it is my aim in life to become an artist. And to achieve this, I must join films, radio, or theatre, and become a singer, songs composer, music director, director, etc.,.”^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Timeline^{[citation needed]}

• 6 Mar 1943 - He left Cambridge College, (Rawalpindi)
• 12 Jul 1944 - He joined Royal Indian Navy (Post - Boy 1) hoping that his ship (H.M. I.S. Dilawar, and, H.M.I.S. Bahadur) would dock in Bombay, the land of his film dreams, but was disappointed when she did not.
• 5 Apr 1946 - He was dismissed from the Royal Indian Navy after he was arrested and detained in custody, for taking part in Naval Mutiny at Bombay harbor, against the British Empire, on the ship H.M.I.S. Hindustan.
• 12 Apr 1947 - He joined Indian Army, with The Corps of Signals. In his spare time in the army he would write songs and sing to friends. It is his army mates who encouraged him to try his luck in Hindi films as an actor, writer or singer.
• 2 Oct 1947 - The family left Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for India, for Lucknow, at Jubbolpore, (due to the Partition)
• 16 Feb 1951 - Left Corps of Signals
• 1951 - He arrived in Bombay (to find work in films), but did not get work so he returned.
• 02 Apr 1951 - He joined the Indian Army, with The E.M.E. (The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers)
• 2 Oct 1954 - He married Kamla Mohan (his neighbor from Rawalpindi)
• 27 Aug 1956 - He left the Indian Army, E.M.E. to travel to Bombay to join films. He carried a Motor car driving licence as a back up in case he did not find work in films soon.
• Oct 1956 - He arrived again in Bombay, (to again try and find work in films), for the 2nd time, armed with about 60 lyrics/songs, but did not find work, so he would sit in the waiting room of Dadar Station, or the platform bench at Marine Lines Station, and continue write his dreams- songs.

His first published poem appeared in an Army publication, “Sainik Samachar”, 1950's and this fact boosted his morale and gave him confidence to try in Hindi films. While in the army he would write songs of the films he had seen just to get a feel of if he were the lyrics writer of that film what would he write. He would perform as a singer and actor in the theater plays, Bara Khambas, held on campus and earned the appreciation of his seniors too. All this fueled his dream to leave the Army once again for traveling to Bombay and join films. (Later on, in the late 90’s, he even wrote a special song for the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dhun. He even wrote a song for the Corps of Signals, on their invitation. After his death, the Corps of Signals established a “Bakshi Corner” in their Corps Museum.)

Success[link]

Anand Bakshi came to Hindi films to make a name for himself in writing and singing but ended up becoming more successful in writing lyrics. He got his break writing songs in a Brij Mohan's film titled, "Bhala Aadmi", 1958, acted by Bhagwan Dada. He wrote 4 songs in this film. His first song in this film was "Dharti Ke Laal Na Kar Itna Malaal" which was recorded on 9 Nov 1956.

He found big success only in 1965 (Jab Jab Phool Khile) and went on to work as a lyricist of over 3500 songs and 650 films in the course of his life^{[citation needed]}. He got his first time singing in a film was in Mome Ki Gudiya(1972). The first song he sang was a duet “Baaghon me bahaar aayi hothon pe pukaar aayi”, along with Lata Mangeshkarfor music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. He also sang songs in 4 other films: Sholay (1975) where he sang the quawwali "Chand Sa Koi Chehera" along with Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Bhupinder; Maha Chor (1976); Charas (1976); and, Balika Badhu (1976).

After writing for few movies from 1956 onwards, Bakshi made a mark for himself for writing a quawalli for the 1962 film Kaala Samundar, the song was “Meri Tasveer Lekar Kya Karoge tum”, and the film Mehendi Lagi Mere Haath. He got his real big breakthroughs in 1965 with Himalaya Ki God Mein, and a huge breakthrough again in 1965 with the super hit film Jab Jab Phool Khile, starring Shashi Kapoor; and then again in 1967 with the super hit movie Milan (starring Sunil Dutt).

Anand Bakshi’s association in Hindi films with film Music Composers include appox 302 films with Laxmikant Pyarelal, 99 films with R D Burman, 32 with Kalyanji-Anandji, 26 with Anu Malik, 17 with Rajesh Roshan ans his songs have been sung by singers like Shamshad Begum, Khursheed Bawra, Amirbai Karnataki, Bhushan & Party, Sudha Malhotra and more.

He wrote the first recorded songs of singers like Shailendra Singh, Kumar Sanu, Kavita Krishnamurthy, etc., and he established himself as a versatile lyricist with the song "Dum Maro Dum" in the movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972).

After this, he wrote memorable lyrics in many movies including Bobby and Amar Prem (1971), Aradhana 1970, Jeene Ki Raah, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Aaye Din Bahar Ke, Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay (1975), Dharam Veer, Nagina, Hum (1991), Mohra (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Heer Raanjha, Dushman(film) (1998), Taal (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and Yaadein.

Death[link]

Late in his life, he suffered from heart and lung disease as a consequence of life-long smoking. In 2001, he caught a bacterial infection at Nanavati hospital, during a minor heart surgery. He finally died of multiple organ failure on 30 March 2002, 8:00PM (IST) at Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital, at the age of 82^{[citation needed]}. The last released movie with lyrics by Anand Bakshi was Mehbooba (2008).

Awards[link]

Bakshi received 40 Filmfare Award nominations, and won four Filmfare awards as best lyricist.

The songs awarded the Filmfare award were:

40 nominations of Filmfare awards:

1967 – C.I.D.A.L.C. (Committee International for the Diffusion of Arts and Literature through the Cinema) at the Festival Des Films Asiatiques, Frankfurt (Frankfurt Sur Main 1967).

He also won innumerable Ruby Film Awards, Aashirwad Film Awards, Sushma Shama Awards, 3 Screen awards, and Zee & Stardust Hero Honda Awards.

Bakshi won an award from the SPCA for his hard-hitting lyrics for the song Nafrat Ki Duniya Chhodke Pyar Ki Duniya Mein from the film Haathi Mere Saathi.

Bakshi wrote the most lyrics—for 300 Hindi movies—with the music directors duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal as the movies' composers. Not coincidentally, he was the lyricist on all the occasions they won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, except their first award winning album, Dosti, for which the lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Bakshi also wrote the lyrics for many films whose music was composed by Rahul Dev Burman and their association resulted in many hit songs.

Misc[link]

• Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics for the very first films of several of today's stars, including Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Kamal Haasan, Rishi Kapoor, Amrita Singh, Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, among several others.