Bollywood Masala Mix
Gopi Krishna is one of the most outstanding exponents of the Banaras Gharana of Kathak. His performances are marked by individualistic interpretation, showmanship uncanny tempo and imaginative temperament.
Born at Calcutta, on August 22, 1935, Gopi Krishna was brought up by his maternal grandfather, the late Pandit Sukhdev Maharaj, who was a noted maestro of the particular Banaras Gharana of Kathak style of dance. Gopi was the son of Tara Devi, a renowned singer and eldest daughter of Sukhdev Maharaj. He had his early schooling in Bombay.
Although he started dancing naturally from the age of four, the training began under his maternal grandfather in Calcutta at the age of 11. Panditji was not only his mentor but also his guiding spirit. Gopi Krishna's training under the great master therefore meant strict discipline and arduous practice for seven to eight hours a day. He also took training from Shambhu Maharaj, and does not believe blindly in following any tradition.
Gopi Krishna also learnt Bharat Natyam from Guru Mahalingam Pillai and Govind Raj Pillai from the school of Sri Raj Rajeshwari Bharat Natya Kala Mandir. His main interest is in the use of classical dancing in Indian films.
His first film success came with “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje”, a full length film by V. Shantaram. Gopi Krishna was only 17 then, but his role in the celebrated film gave to classical dancing a new status and new dimension. The film was a landmark in the history of India's dancing and cinema, for it showed how classical dancing when properly used by film makers, would yield rich dividends. The film brought him fame all over the country.
He choreographed for many other films such as Mehbooba, Dastaan, Umrao Jaan, Mughal e Azam, Amrapaali and The Perfect Murder.
He has provided Kathak training to many Indian actresses, among them, Madhubala, Vijayanthimala, Mumtaz, Sandhya, Zeba Bakhtiyar, Manisha Koirala, Raveena Tandon, Baby Naaz, Mala Sinha, Anita Raj, Padma Khanna, Twinkle Khanna, Asha Parekh, Dimple Kapadia, Reena Roy, Somi Ali, Shilpa Shirodkar and others.
At 32, he was the recipient of many distinctions and honors. He was awarded the titles of Natraj (King of Dancers) at the age of 15 at All-Bengal Music Conference, and in 1966 the Prayag Sangit Samiti Allahabad honored him with the distinction of Nritya Samrat. He was honored with the title of Kala Prapurna by the Local Arts Association of Hyderabad in the year 1967. He has also been awarded the Padma Shri title as well.
Gopi Krishna toured East Africa and Western countries. He has been directing dances for the films, besides his own performances in them. His dance direction carries a unique, individualistic touch. Equally significant is his contribution in the field of choreography. He has composed a number of solo dance ballets. He is first to divide the continuous Kathak style repertoire into distinctive items, which practice is now followed by other exponents of Kathak.
He gives a brilliant demonstration of the same rhythm in three percussion instruments, namely, Tabla, Pakhawaj and Chanda.
He died of a heart attack on 18th February, 1994 in Bombay.
While Shabana was initially admitted to MGM Hospital in Panvel, the actor was later shifted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.
“Veteran actor Shabana Azmi has been admitted at Kokilaben Ambani hospital. She is stable and under observation,” Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital CEO & Executive Director Dr Santosh Shetty said in a statement.
Shabani Azmi’s spokesperson told PTI the actor ‘is fine’ and there is ‘nothing to worry about’.
With films like Arth, Khandhar, Paar Godmother and Masoom among more to her credit, Shabana is considered one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema. After her debut in 1974 film Ankur, she went on to become one of the prominent faces of the parallel cinema movement. She has also acted in plays and television shows.
Besides five National Film Awards, Shabana Azmi was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1988.
Apart from being a powerhouse in the Indian film industry, Shabana is also a social activist.
She married celebrated screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar in 1984.
Shabana Azmi was last seen in the 2017 historical drama The Black Prince. Her upcoming film is Sheer Qorma, which also stars Swara Bhasker and Divya Dutta in the lead.
Now, the actor has given an update on his health. Taking to his blog, Big B wrote, "… the neck the ham string the lower back the wrists decomposed .. seated long distressed .. the fever condition .. the advice of the medical for rest and recoup and no travel .. the missing National Award .. a certain discovery of the cinematic unseen .. and the physio unabated .... days and time do pass in comparison to the ‘left for work’ information in some regularity .. different .. but so it is .... a mass of communication to acknowledge the birthday and the Award, takes ink .."
"good to be able to swipe the pen, than the black buttons .. keeps the writing hand in practice, though the signs of scripting misadventures do occur .. we are now in the realm of that which has and have immediate answers and solutions to the unknown .. for the moment … in time perhaps or so they say the mere thinking of it could produce the required result .... think and be done .... so back to the medical .. the ham string injury hinders the walk and the sitting .. long hours of which need respite .. so to the standing table be lured .. not now .. the fever constraints prevail .. but the positioning has been done, when the fever reduces." the excerpt from Amitabh Bachchan's blog.
Amazon Prime Video event.
At the end of their conversation last Thursday evening, Shah Rukh got up and asked Bezos to repeat after him the iconic dialogue, “Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai”, from his hit film Don.
For the billionaire’s convenience, the superstar replaced ‘Don’ with Bezos and the Hindi word ‘namumkin’ with its English translation ‘impossible’.
“Jeff Bezos ko pakdana mushkil hi nahi impossible hai,” Bezos finally said.
During the conversation, Jeff Bezos also revealed that he had “begged” for a role in Star Trek movies for a really long time and his wish was finally fulfilled with the 2016 movie Star Trek Beyond.
“I got that role by literally begging… For years, I would go to them when they were making a new Star Trek film. And I would say, ‘I would like to be in the film’ and they would say no. I just kept after it,” he said.
The billionaire had appeared as a Starfleet official in the Justin Lin-directed sci-fi movie.
Jeff Bezos called Shah Rukh Khan one of the most humble people he had met, prompting the actor to say, “It is because my last few films have not worked.”
The billionaire further said he does not like it when he is over-scheduled as he likes some time to think and have some freedom of movement.
Cine stars Kamal Haasan, Vidya Balan and her producer-husband Sidharth Roy Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Ritesh Deshmukh and wife Genelia, Pankaj Tripathi and Vivek Oberoi were among those who turned up for the event.
Shah Rukh Khan and Zoya Akhtar’s chat with Jeff Bezos was followed by a performance by music maestro AR Rahman.
Bezos was on a three-day visit to India. He kick-started it by visiting Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat.
At Thursday’s event, Jeff Bezos said that Amazon Prime Video is doing better than expectations in India and he has decided to double down the investment for the streaming service in the country.
The streamer also unveiled seven more shows that will soon be joining its exclusive Indian content slate.
The shows are Dilli, Bandish Bandits, Paatal Lok, Gormint, Mumbai Diaries-26/11, The Last Hour and Sons of Soil- Jaipur Pink Panthers.