From Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit...

How long can one film director continue to stay relevant, adapt and serve generations of film watchers in India? A good question which has no straight answers. In this column, we will read about one such leading legend, who was born before India became independent and lived till the dawn of the new millennium as he turned 83. His films featured the then heartthrob Madhubala and moved on to super heroines like Sadhana, Vyjayantimala, Leena Chandavarkar, Tina Munim, Kajol and the diva of the 1990s, Madhuri Dixit. His name: Harnam Singh Rawail, popularly known as H S Rawail, born on August 21, more than a century ago in 1921, breathing his last in 2004.

August is a notable month when it comes to chronicling the birth and death anniversaries of Hindi film legends. It has a unique status in that way as two popular playback singers – Kishore Kumar and Mukesh – have their birth and death anniversaries, respectively on August 4 and 27. It’s also the centenary birth anniversary of Mukesh, who was the oldest among the trio of titans who dominated Hindi film music of yore, the other two being Mohammed Rafi , born a year later than him and Kishore Kumar, six years later.

Asit Sen is another successful director whose 22nd death anniversary falls on August 25. Active for 36 years in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi films, he made many blockbusters which featured stars like Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra, Feroz Khan and the then unmatched superstar of Bombay moviedom – Rajesh Khanna.

If Sen gave Khanna a super hit which consolidated his hold on Hindi cinema in the 1970s with ‘Safar’, remembered for its soulful songs, he also was the holder of the dubious record of overseeing the triple-role movie of Dilip Kumar – Bairaag – released in 1976, a box-office dud and the last venture in which the star acted as a solo hero at a ripe age of 54. Sen’s exposure to multi-lingual films made him work with many known faces like Suchitra Sen, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Sharmila Tagore, Saira Banu etc and this ensured he stayed in the A-list, even as his output of films of 15+ films in over three decades were comparatively lesser to his contemporaries. However, his works have withstood the test of time and as mentioned elsewhere in this piece, his successful flicks are still recollected fondly for their songs, the star cast and the nostalgic feel it leaves behind in the hearts and minds of Hindi film fans.