LATA MANGESHKAR - HAI SHARMAAON - MERA GAON MERA DESH 1971

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• published: 28 Apr 2010
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SONG:HAI SHARMAAON MUSIC:LAXMIKANT PYARELAL LYRICS:ANAND BAKSHI SINGER:LATA MANGESHKAR FILM:MERA GAON MERA DESH Mera Gaon Mera Desh is a 1971 Indian film made by Raj Khosla, starring Dharmendra in the lead role and also Vinod Khanna as the villain.As a bandit, Vinod Khanna's role gave him visibility and made him a star. Dharmendra plays a reformed criminal who helps a one armed retired army man protect a village from the dacoits. Asha Parekh played Dharmendra's love interest. However, it was supporting actress Laxmi Chayya who stole the film by dancing circles around Dharmendra and Asha to the evergreen hit "Maar diya jaaye ya chhod diya jaaye, bol tere saath kya sulook kiya jaaye". As the audience holds its collective breath, the sexy vamp cuts the ropes that bind the heros hands after she has drugged the villains. The film is particularly noted for a rural setting, and it became a super hit, taking second place at the box office for 1971. It is also said to have many elements that inspired one of the box office champs of all time, Sholay(1975). The climax fights are still remembered for the realism and are very convincing although a single man is fighting a horde of bandits. LAXMI CHHAYA fact - This charming and beautiful woman never made it big as a heroine. The closest she came was in Mere Gaon Mere Desh, where she absolutely shines as dacoit Vinod Khannas spy who falls in love with the object of her assignment—Dharmendra. she is able to dance to any kind of song: tawaif, night club, village entertainment. Her most captivating feature in my opinion is her smile—it lights up the screen with joy, and theres no mistaking it for anyone elses. Plus, nobody dances like she does—it gives whiplash just watching her sometimes, but she comes through unscathed! When she has an actual role, its always secondary—the heroines best friend, the vamp, etc. The face is unmistakable and unique with big round eyes and a toothy grin. It's Laxmi Chhaya who appeared in a number of Bollywood films of the 60s and 70s. Today she may be the most recognizable Bollywood figure in the West due to her appearance in Terry Zwigoff's "Ghost World" the film based on Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name. Laxmi was the dancer of the Bollywood item dance number "Jaan Pehchan Ho Jeena Aasan Ho " that Mohd Rafi sings in "Gumnaam" [1965]. How ironic is it that it would be Laxmi Chhaya dancing an item number from a second rate Manjol Kumar, Babita, fluff entertainer that would be the first actual Bollywood film footage to be shown in wide distribution on Western movie theater screens? Laxmi Chhaya quite often played bubbly secondary characters and as far as I know she never had a starring role in an A-grade Bollywood film. Her most famous part was in the film "Mera Gaon Mera Desh" [1971] where she was paired with Vinod Khanna. Laxmi had three dance numbers in this film and also does a fair amount of acting. She also appeared in the Shammi Kapoor, Sadhana, film "Budtameez" [1966] where she had a small part as one of Sadhana's best friends. And she had a fairly large secondary part in "Teesri Manzil" [1966]. aaya Sawan Jhoom Ki and Upkar which she appeared in only one song"Gulabi Raat Gulabi.Ram Aur Shyam (1967) ,Raaz (1967) , Mere Humsafar (1970) ,Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati (1969) , Yaadgaar (1970),Parwana (1971) Laxmi Chayya has died in 2004 because of having breast cancer.