Just learnt thru rediff that Hrishi Da passed away. May his soul rest in peace.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/aug/27hrishi.htm

here is the news link from rediff

A Shocking news


Another loss


may his soul rest in peace

Doosra jhatka is week ka. Ishwar divangat atma ko shanti aur parivar ko hausla de.
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Excerpts from an article by Vinayak Chakravorty:
-------------------------------------------

In an era when the banana peel slip has come to define 'comedy',
Hrishikesh Mukherji's underplayed jibes at life's ironies may seem out of place.
It's insync with such ironies that his middle-of-the-road ribtickler Golmaal
still stays a staunch favourite telecast option for the local cable wallah. The 1979
film's undying popularity represents a lost world of Bollywood wit that still holds
its own in middle class living rooms.

But Hrishida, as he was fondly known, was more than just about that peculiar
brand of comedy that his name has come to represent.

His repertoire of 46 films also includes Anari(1959), Namak Haram(1973),
Satyakam(1969),Abhimaan(1973) and Bemisaal(1982)--films that introspected life's
deeper hues.

Once he said, probably in 1999, when he lost his youngest son, there was nothing left
in the life.

Another noble soul departed.

Filmography

*1947 Edited Tathapi (Bengali)
*1951 Edited all Bimal Roy films till Madhumati. Also edited and wrote the scenario of Do Bigha Zameen besides working as the chief assistant director.
*1957 Debut as producer and director with Musafir.
Suchitra Sen, Dilip Kumar, Kishore Kumar,Usha Kiron
*1959 Anari Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Lalita Pawar
*1960 Anuradha Leela Naidu, Balraj Sahani
*1961 Chhaya Sunil Dutt, Asha Parekh
*1961 Mem Didi Lalita Pawar, David, Jayant
*1962 Aashiq Raj Kapoor, Padmini, Nanda
*1962 Asli Naqli Dev Anand, Sadhana
*1964 Sanj Aur Savera Meena Kumari, Guru Dutt, Mehmood
*1965 Do Dil Rajshree, Biswajeet
*1966 Anupama Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore
*1966 Biwi Aur Makan Biswajeet, Kalpana
*1966 Gaban Sunil Dutt, Sadhana
*1967 Majhli Didi Meena Kumari, Dharmendra
*1968 Aashirwad Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar,
Sumita Sanyal, Veena
*1969 Pyar Ka Sapna Ashok Kumar, Mala Sinha, Biswajeet
*1969 Satyakam Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore
*1971 Anand Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan,
Sumita Sanyal
*1971 Buddha Mil Gaya Navin Nischal, Deven Verma, Archana
*1971 Guddi Jaya Bhaduri, Sumit Bhanja, Utpal Dutt
*1972 Bawarchi Rajesh Khanna, Jaya Bhaduri
*1972 Sabse Bada Sukh Vijay Arora, Robi Ghosh
*1973 Abhimaan Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri
*1973 Namak Haram Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Raza Murad
*1974 Phir Kab Milogee Biswajeet, Mala Sinha
*1975 Chaitali Saira Banu, Dharmendra
*1975 Chupke Chupke Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri, Om Prakash
*1975 Mili Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri
*1976 Arjun Pandit Sanjeev Kumar, Ashok Kumar,
Vinod Mehra, Srividya
*1977 Alaap Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha
*1977 Kotwal Saab Shatrughan Sinha, Aparna Sen
*1978 Naukri Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Zahira
*1979 Jurmaana Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Vinod Mehra
*1979 Golmaal Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Bindiya Goswami
*1980 Khoobsurat Rekha, Rakesh Roshan, Ashok Kumar
*1981 Naram Garam Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt,
Swaroop Sampat, Shatrughan Sinha
*1982 Bemisal Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Vinod Mehra
*1983 Achcha Bura Amjad Khan, Anita Raj, Raj Babbar
*1983 Namumkin Zeenat Aman, Vinod Mehra, Raj Babbar
*1983 Kisi Se Na Kehna Farooq Sheikh, Dipti Naval
*1983 Rang Birangi Parveen Babi, Amol Palekar, Dipti Naval
*1983 Jhooti Rekha, Amol Palekar
*1999 Jhooth Bole Kauva Kaate Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla
TV Serials: Hum Hindustani, Dhoop Chaon,
Talaash, Rishte, Ujale Ki Oar

This was a day I had dreaded for a long time. I shan't say that we have lost something good. Hrishida is not someone that can ever be lost in the ocean of humanity. I shall say this, however - The manner in which he understood the subtleties of life in India was unparalleled. His craft was imbued with resplendent genuineness. May he continue to live forever.

Hits

Just looking at the list provided by Mahesh Sharma reminded me of what memorable films he gave us and what a rich legacy he left behind.

May he rest in peace .


Anil

One of my favourite directors, without any doubt......from Musafir to Golmaal, I have many of his movies.

God bless him...may his soul rest in peace

Sri

May his soul rest in peace.

hrishida's films were always appreciated by everyone.

my favourites- chupke chupke, abhiman, bawarchi, golmaal, mili,aanad, budhha mil gaya and many others.

also excellent music was integral part of his every movie.
reminding myself few of his songs-

chupke chupke, ab ke sajan - (chupke chupke)
ab to hain tumse, piya bina (abhimaan)
more naina bahaye neer, kahe kanha, bhor aayi gaya andhiyara and tum bin jeevan.. (bawarchi)
aanewala pal, ek bat kahoon (golmaal)
maine kahaa phoolonse (mili)
aayo kahanse ghanshyam, raatkali ek khwab mein, joya na lage mora (budhdha mil gaya)
kuchh dil ne kaha, ya dil ki suno and dheere dheere machal (anupama)
na jiya lage na, kahin door jab din (anand)

and many more...

may his soul rest in peace...

Zindagi ...kaisi hai paheli, haaye
Kabhi to hansaaye kabhi ye rulaaye
Zindagi...

Kabhi dekho man nahi jaage peechhe peechhe sapno ke bhaage
Ek din sapno ka raahi chalaa jaaye sapno ke aage kaha
Zindagi...

Jinhone sajaaye yaha mele sukh-dukh sang-sang jhele
Wahi chunkar khaamoshi yu chali jaaye akele kaha
Zindagi...

May his Soul rest in peace.

N

praying for the peace of his soul, a great dicrector as well as a very good human being.
khudaa unke aatmaa ko shaanti de. aise mahaan kalaakaar ko hum naman karte hai ...
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if you wanna watch the video on cnn-ibn, then visit this link:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/filmmaker-hris...ad/19858-8.html

************* CNN-IBN speaks about him ****************

Mumbai: Legendary filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who had been battling ill health for two months, died
on Sunday at central Mumbai's Leelavati Hospital.

He had been admitted two months ago and was reportedly on dialysis, hospital sources said. Mukherjee
suffered from kidney failure.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee, a Dada Saheb Phalke recipient, was born in Kolkata on September 30, 1922. More
popular as Hrishida, he was one of the most popular and beloved filmmakers in Indian cinema.

His magic lay not in the glamour or largeness so often associated with cinema, but in its simplicity and
warmth.

He leaves behind three daughters and a son. His granddaughters Tapur and Tupur Chatterjee are
well-known models.

Hrishida began his career in Bombay in 1951 as an editor and assistant director to Bimal Roy, another great
director.

His first directorial venture, Musafir (1957), was all about an old house where three unrelated stories dealing
with birth, marriage and death occur in a series. While the film was a disaster, director Raj Kapoor was
impressed with the film and he later recommended Hrishida as a director for Anari (1959), which had Kapoor
himself and Nutan on the star cast.

Other notable films of Hrishida include Anuradha (1960), Asli-Naqli (1962), Anupama (1966), Aashirwad
(1968), and Satyakam (1969).

Anand (1970), a classic film that gives a complex but compassionate look at the balance between hope, fear,
life and death.

The film also saw Rajesh Khanna's greatest performance ever as a terminally ill man who wishes to live life
to the full before he dies, is considered Hrishida's masterpiece.

Hrishida went on to direct some memorable hits, including Guddi (1971), Abhimaan (1973) and Chupke
Chupke (1975).

Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate in 1999, which starred Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla as the lead pair was Hrishida's
last movie.

************** Times of India speaks about him ***************

MUMBAI: Veteran film maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who directed several memorable movies including
"Anand" that launched Amitabh Bachchan on the path to superstardom, died here at a hospital here following
protracted illness.

He was 84.

Mukherjee was admitted to the Leelavati hospital in June in critical condition following chronic renal failure,
pneumonia and sepsis, hospital sources said, He had been coming to the hospital regularly for dialysis. The
end came at 1630 hours.

Mukherjee's funeral is likely to be held tomorrow or day after tomorrow on return of his son from the United
States.

Mukherjee directed many a blockbuster Hindi movie, regaling the audience with his typical `Hrishida' touch.
He won the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke award and Padmavibhushan.

Some of his memorable films include "Anand", starring Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh among others,
"Abhimaan", featuring Amitabh, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri, "Chupke Chupke" with Amitabh, Jaya and
Dharmendra in the cast and "Khubsoorat starring Rekha.

Having done apprenticeship under legendary Bimal Roy, Mukherjee started his career with "Musafir" in 1957
and his last work was "Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate" starring Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, released in 1998.

In a career spanning over half a century, Mukherjee gave cinema lovers some memorable films like 'Anand',
which brought to the centre stage Bollywood's future superstar Amitabh Bachchan, 'Anuradha', 'Chupke
Chupke', 'Bawarchi', 'Guddi' and 'Rajnigandha'. All these films have become milestones in Indian cinema.

Mukherjee also worked as writer for 15 films, including 'Namak Haram', 'Abhimaan', 'Bawarchi' and 'Guddi'.
He was also involved as editor with 15 films.

************** Indian Express speaks about him ****************

Mumbai, August 27: Veteran film maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who made directed several memorable
movies including Anand that launched Amitabh Bachchan on the path to superstardom, died at a hospital
following protracted illness. He was 84.

Mukherjee was admitted to the Leelavati hospital in June in critical condition following chronic renal failure,
pneumonia and spesis, hospital sources said, he had been coming to the hospital regularly for dialysis. The
end came at 1630 hours.

Mukherjee's funeral is likely to be held tomorrow or day after tomorrow on return of his son from the United
States.

Mukherjee directed many a blockbuster Hindi movie, regaling the audience with his typical ‘Hrishida’ touch.
He won the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award and Padmavibhushan.

Some of his memorable films include Anand, starring Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh among others, Abhimaan,
featuring Amitabh, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri, Chupke Chupke with Amitabh, Jaya and Dharmendra
in the cast and Khubsoorat starring Rekha.

Having done apprenticeship under legendary Bimal Roy, Mukherjee started his career with Musafir in 1957
and his last work was Jhooth bole Kauwa kaate starring Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, released in 1998.

May his soul rest in peace. One of the few directors who made simple and touching cinema.

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May he rest in peace.

He was one of the few directors whose movie I can go to watch and
recommend with confidence knowing there won't be any disappointment
regardless of the actors. Bolywood will definatley miss him.

Ramesh

He was probably one of the greatest directors that we have had.All his films were so realistic that one could easily identify with them.He will always be remembered for both his movies and the great music that was part of all his movies
May his soul rest in peace

He will live on through his films, a legacy to be cherished. Thank you for the news and the articles, a sad day for the industry and the fans.

What a huge loss to the Bombay film industry and us movie lovers. I have so many cherished memories of scenes from his films where he has captured some nuance of Indian life so aptly and with such a light yet assured touch.

The classic no one remembers

February 12, 2004
by Sukanya Verma

It may have the makings of a classic. A cult subject. An ensemble cast. Superior technical quality and inspired direction. Yet, sometimes, a film fails to receive the recognition it deserves for inexplicable reasons.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Musafir is one such film.

Musafir opens with Balraj Sahni's voiceover and the camera shifting to a scruffy blockhouse: "Lakh lakh makaan aur inmein rehnewale karodon insaan. In karodon insaan ke sukh dukh, hasne rone ke maun darshak hain yeh maun makaan. Theek musafiron ki tarah yahan log aatein hai, rehte hain aur chale jaatein hain. Yahin janam hota hai, vivah hota hai aur hoti hai mrityu. Musafir teen kirayedaron ke jeevan chakron ki kahani hai jo ek ke baad ek is makaan mein rehne aate hain [Scores of people live inside these houses. They are mute spectators to the ups and downs of their lives. People come here like travellers and leave. Some are born here. Some get married here. And some die here. Musafir is the story of three such tenants who came to live in this house]."

Story # 1: A young unmarried couple elopes and rents this house. Their conversation reveals that the girl's uncle was planning to marry her off to an old man. The two marry the next day and begin their new life. But both Ajay (Shekhar) and Shakuntala (Suchitra Sen) wish to be accepted by the former's parents who are against this union. One day, Ajay's parents (Bipin Gupta, Durga Khote) come to the house to disown him. To their surprise, Shakuntala turns out to be an ideal daughter-in-law. All's well that ends well.

Story # 2: An old man (Nazir Hussain) arrives with his widowed pregnant daughter-in-law (Nirupa Roy) and youngest son, Bhanu (Kishore Kumar). The old man is struggling to make ends meet, having just lost his eldest son. All hopes are set on Bhanu. Bad luck continues as Bhanu fails to find employment. In a fit of frustration, Bhanu consumes poison. The next morning when he wakes up, he is alive and kicking. The poison was adulterated. More good news follows: he has a job and his Bhabhi delivers a baby boy.

Story # 3: The third tenant is a crabby barrister (Paul Mahendra), his widowed sister Uma (Usha Kiron) and her handicapped little boy (Daisy Irani). In the previous two episodes, the mention of a mysterious violin player keeps coming up. Here, his identity is finally revealed. Pagla Babu, as the nearby tea vendor calls him, is a homeless wanderer who plays the violin for his own satisfaction. Pagla Babu aka Raja (Dilip Kumar) turns out to be Uma's ex-flame. Raja is dying of a fatal disease but he gives hope to Uma's son, also named Raja. He promises that the day a red flower blooms outside his window, the boy will begin to walk. And walk he does.

Although episodic in nature, the stories of Musafir are interrelated. A set of characters like the landlord (David), the teaseller (Mohan Chhoti), the neighbouring housewife and her daughter (Baby Naaz) and the postman are common to all the stories. The house itself is an important character playing a pivotal role.

The narrative is rich with motifs. The seed that Shakuntala sows in the first story germinates in the second and flowers in the third. As does life which runs full circle -- marriage, birth and death.

For his debut film as director, Mukherjee assembled quite a cast. Right from the main leads to the smaller characters, he extracted a controlled and convincing performance. The characters are normal and perform naturally without being unnecessarily melodramatic or gregarious.

Also evident is the Bimal Roy school of thought. Mukherjee had assisted Roy in films like Devdas and Madhumati.

If you notice, Dilip Kumar's character is an extension of Devdas. Devdas promises to come to Paro so she can take care of him one last time before he dies. Unfortunately, Devdas dies at her doorstep. Here, Devdas is reborn as Raja and stays with Uma when she insists.

Also, the scene where Shekhar lights a candle to look at Suchitra Sen's face is clearly reminiscent of Devdas and Paro's first encounter as grown ups under a dim lantern.

Technically and creatively, Musafir bears the same aura as Bimal Roy films. The two employed the same technicians like cinematographer Kamal Bose, art designer Sudhendu Roy, writer Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi.

But Hrishikesh Mukherjee's own style evolved brilliantly. Instead of dwelling on darkness and hopelessness, Mukherjee saw the lighter side of despondency. His characters could laugh in the face of adversity. They saw humour in dejection and searched for strength in failure. His stories, just like his characters, were warm, believable, human and identifiable. That is what makes him a master storyteller.

Musafir was released in 1957, decades before Ram Gopal Varma's Darna Mana Hai was promoted as a film with six stories and one ending. Musafir boasted of a house as protagonist years before Nikhil Advani declared New York plays one of the key characters in Kal Ho Naa Ho. This is not to belittle either of the latter films. It is just a statement of the fact that a gem like Musafir was ignored.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee is most known for films like Satyakam, Anuradha, Anand, Guddi, Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke, Bawarchi, Mili , Golmaal, Khoobsurat. People always overlook Musafir.

Musafir came before its time. It didn't work. It should have because it was unique and timeless. This two-and-half-hour film is a must-see. It is a film that should be viewed by upcoming filmmakers to learn the art of storytelling and technique, and film buffs to appreciate and understand cinema better.




source: Rediff.

An excellent article on "Musafir". A rich tribute to the debut movie of one of the greatest film makers of Hindi Cinema !

A small musical note. There is a song in which Dilip Kumar sang with Lataji. "Laagi nahi chhoote rama"

Thanks Nimmiji...

Best Regards
Parag

He was one of my all time fav director. Another big loss to HFM this year after Naushad. Some of my fav movies r (and I have still to see many of his other movies) Anari, Anupama, Aashirwad, Satyakam, Anand, Guddi, Bawarchi, Abhimaan, Namak Haram, Chupke Chupke, Mili and Golmaal.

May his soul rest in peace.

I generally am not very fond of watching hindi films.........though i love the music and some older ones........ i think Hrishikesh Mukherjee like Bimal Roy and Gurudutt was very good.He was excellent in directing comedies,simply loved his 'Chupke Chupke', and ' kisise na kehna'......
Other movies i liked are 'Anupama', and 'Abhimaan'....
I doubt if there can be another one like him or the others? definitely not among the newer lot of directors........

it made me sad to hear this

Veteran Indian filmmaker and legend Hrishikesh Mukherjee passed away on Sunday at Leelavati hospital in Mumbai. He was 84.

Hrishida as he was fondly known in the industry had been suffering for quite some time. He had been hospitalized for the past couple of months following chronic renal failure, pneumonia and sepsis.

Hrishida made some of the best known films known to Indian cinema including Anand, Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke, Khoobsurat, etc. His last film was the Anil Kapoor-Juhi Chawla starrer Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate in 1998.

Producer Romu Sippy who was associated with Mukherjee in movie like Sadma, Guddi and Golmaal said, “He was like a member of the family. So just for the film industry, it is a personal loss as well. Our association goes back as far as 1964. He was like a member of the family. I was there in the evening with Gulzar when he passed away.”

Veteran actor A. K. Hangal who worked with Mukherjee in films like Bawarchi, Alaap and Abhimaan was quite upset over the incident. “He was a progressive man of the Indian film industry. He gave birth to the excellent comedy films. It's because of him I am here in the film industry. He gave such roles and made me what I am today. He used to call me Munna and when I went to meet him at Leelavati Hospital, I cried as I felt bad to see him in that situation. I think it's not just a loss of Indian film industry but also a great loss of a wonderful era.”, said he.

Funeral details are awaited as Hrishada’s son is supposed to arrive from the U.S. soon.

One of the films I've watched a numerous times is Raj Kapoor-Nutan
starer Anadii, directed of course by the late Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
It was superbley directed movie with superb performance by Raj saab
and well supported by Nutan, Lalita Pawar, and Motilal. Sadly almost
everyone associated with movie including SJ, Shailedra and Mukesh
who combined to give great music for the film.
It was after Anadii that Hrishikesh Mukherjee wanted to make Anand
with Raj Kapoor, which was eventually made with another RK and AB.

Hopefully the new generation of directors will take some inspiration from the greats of bollywood rather than just copy average western movies.

Ramesh

Tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee by Amitabh Bachchan

'We just followed what he said'
By Amitabh Bachchan


I worked with Hrishikesh Mukherjee a lot before the 1973 film Zanjeer in which my so-called image of Indian cinema's "angry young man" was seemingly established.
I have never worked for an image. I continued working with Hrishida, as we all fondly called him, after working with other directors like Salim/Javed, Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai, in a variety of roles.

Hrishida was like a father figure to me and my wife, Jaya. Working with him was an unbelievable experience because his style of film-making was never to compromise on quality and on the story ideas.

He never pandered to any baser instincts, and he set his own path which was neither too artistic nor too commercial.


'Interesting characters'

I will have to admit that most of the interesting characters that I played have been in films that were made by him - be it Anand or Mili or Chupke Chupke, or Bemisal or Namak Haram, or Jurmana.

They were all exceptionally well-etched and, of course, the greatest opportunity to perform for me has been in his films.

His knowledge of the craft was so immense that we just left ourselves in his hands.

We never heard any scripts, never heard any stories - we just came on the sets.



He told us to stand there, walk here, say it in this manner, speak like this - that's how he used to direct all of us.
So our input was nothing at all. All that you see in his films is entirely his input.


If it was a complex character like in Mili, we would sit together and he would give a one-line description and then guide us as the scenes came.


You actually saw your character unfold before you. It felt good - I felt that I had left myself in the hands of a master. One really didn't have to worry because one knew that Hrishida was going to mould you.

He was a master editor and knew his craft incredibly well - he would shoot a scene and you would know nothing about it till you saw it.

And yet when you saw it finished, it was amazing how well he had actually conceived the thing. He could do the last shot first and could put something in the middle days later and it was just marvellous to see a person so gifted.


'Close to reality'

He was the one who used to spot talent, and the one who used to challenge and he's the one who used to guide and direct, we were just followers.

His characters were close to reality, and certainly the scenes that were written and the situations that we were put in, were so genuine and real and realistic that they gave great opportunities to actors.

His films were full of delightful subtleties and became great cinema.

It is difficult to pick one character and say that's the best - there was Anand and Abhimaan, Mili too - all of them unbelievable moments in film-making.

I am often asked whether it is true that in the last shot of Anand I was laughing when I was supposed to cry.

There is hardly any difference in sound when one cries and when one laughs and our faces were not seen in this top angle shot - we were both laughing because my chin was tickling my co-actor Rajesh Khanna's stomach!

The largest number of films that I did with one director was with Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It's a fallacy that it's Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai.

They don't create people like Hrishida any more. I think it's wrong to say his kind of cinema doesn't work any longer. I'm sure if Hrishida were to make those kinds of films again, it would certainly have an audience.

As told to Lata Khubchandani

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/5291914.stm