Tribute to Hrisikesh Mukherjee
Dr. Bakul Sultan, Indira Road, Dhaka
Hrisikesh Mukherjee's films were a blend of artistic and commercial Hindi cinema. Bimal Roy brought him to Mumbai where he edited his 'Madhumati'. Hrisikesh was a product of 'Bimal Roy School' of direction. His debut as director was 'Musafir' which was adjudged the best film in Indian national film awards. Dilip Kumar had a role and also play-backed in it. He didn't charge anything. His second venture 'Anari' was a super hit. The film would be remembered for performances of Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Motilal, Lalita Pawar and music of Shanker-Jaikishan. After that there was no looking back for Hrisikesh. He earned respect from all the actors and everybody was eager to work with him at a discount. He gave Rajesh Khanna a once in a lifetime role in 'Anand'. The film will also be remembered for the acting of Amitabh Bacchan and Johny Walker. There was hardly anybody in the audience who didn't have moist eyes after the show. He gave the then struggling actor Amitabh a powerful role in 'Namakharam'. It also starred Rajesh Khanna. Ironically, this film heralded the beginning of the Amitabh era and the decline of the Rajesh era. Dharmendra, the he-man, would be ever grateful to him for the subtle role in 'Anupama'. He brought Utpal Dutta to Mumbai and showed the whole industry what a great actor he was. Utpal Dutta brought a new dimension to comic roles in Hindi cinema in 'Golmaal', 'Naramgaram' etc.Hrisikesh's death has left a huge vacuum in Hindi cinema and it would be hard to fill in the near future.
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