Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sidey bhi kabhi hero tha



We associate Sujit Kumar more with roles where he was invariably the good friend of the hero, stepping in at right times to push the story forward.  Most notable example, Aradhna.  He was there at the begining of the movie, sitting beside the hero, playing the mouth-organ and driving, while the hero flirts with the girl in the train.  Oh yes, the iconic song, 'Mere sapno ki rani'.  He was there at the end of the story to call out an anguished 'Bhabhi' at the sight of a widowed Sharmila, and help tie the loose ends.


I was song hopping on You Tube an hour ago when I came across a lovely Rafi song, 'Haseen Vadiyon' from Lal Bangla.  I was amused to see our favorite sidekick of the late 60s and 70s Sujit Kumar gamely dancing on the slopes of Kashmir (I am quite sure its Kashmir) with the heroine (Jayanti) simpering beside him.  In fact, he dances more than the girl, and, as the saying goes, dances like no one is watching.  Do click on the link to watch the song on You Tube.  Embedding has been disabled, sigh.



Found an embedable version.  Hope it works.

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I love this song and have watched the video many times. :-)
    I first saw Sujit Kumar in a hero role in a movie "Gunda" way way back when I was probably 7 or 8. Here's a song from that film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqw-lR_Tv4o

    He may have been a sidey in Hindi films but he was the biggest star of Bhojpuri films in the 1970s.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That was a surprise! I've heard the song often enough, but hadn't seen it. Sujit Kumar's huge furry gloves were creepy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't see the song but I remember Sujit Kumar features in almost all Rakesh Roshan movies

    ReplyDelete
  4. Raja, I loved the song a lot and heard it often on the radio, but this is the first time I saw the video. I loved his 'hero' attitude a lot. I am checking out the Gunda song as well. He is wearing almost the same dark glasses there too. Maybe it was his favorite pair.

    Now I know he used to be a big hero in bhojpuri films, after I checked out his wiki page.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Madhu.. those gloves! They would have been apt if he were playing Yeti. He seems to enjoy his accessories a lot, those dark glasses, those gloves!

    I was bowled over.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Smita, sorry you could not see the song. Its been linked to the phrase 'dance like no one is watching.

    try karo nee..

    Its a good song

    ReplyDelete
  7. This was picturised on Sujit Kumar! Wow!
    It is scary to see his furry gloves!
    As his hand with the glove appeared, a thought went through my mind: What the f*** Chewbacca (from Star Wars) is doing in this film?

    A great song, so much of Shammi in it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Harvey - Chewbacca! haha. That is great. But still, I loved his hero-giri.

    I guess after Shammi, it was mandatory for all heros to channel him in their songs.

    ReplyDelete
  9. In "Aankhen"(1968), he had a major part, but Dharmendra after "Phool Aur Paththar"(1966) was like a demigod those days. Poor Sujit Kumar couldn't be cast as the second lead.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Shashi, I am sure many heros hogged the roles of their 2nd lead. Poor sidey's were sidelined, and did not rise to their full potential.

    Thanks for stopping by,

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes it's Kashmir, Off-place Gulmarg. Sujit reminds me of Deven Verma; lovely side-kicks

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kitna in logo ne mehnat kiya hoga. But they did not get the same fame or due as the hero. As Shashi mentions, the heros probably even stepped in to cut their roles.

    ReplyDelete