Our childhood hero (Shriman Prithviraj)

If I remember correctly, it was in standard seven. One day, we all came to school with a big smile on our face. The first thing that we friends asked each other on entering the classroom after the assembly prayers were over was whether we saw Shriman Prithviraj the previous night on national television. The reply was unanimous. Yes, said all. And then it started. The dissection and bisection of every scene. The constant repetition of the funny one-liners. The feelings for the pre-pubescent Rashik were enumerated. The joys at the union of Rashik and Amalabala was pronounced. In short, an entire classroom of 58 odd students chirped and bonded over this 1973 Tarun Majumdar masterpiece. Such is the fan following of this cult classic that even today when we school friends meet over a cuppa, we relive that day in class seven when this film was the topic of discussion for an entire week.

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Spooky spin (Yeh Raat Phir Na Aaygi)

When you have to share screen space with Prithviraj Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Nana Palsikar and Mumtaz, you better be good in your job. But sadly, Biswajit's Suraj is so not up to the mark. The tale's spooky, the drama's spinechilling, the score's fantastic and the suspense is thrilling. But, Suraj looks lost (well, sometimes he is expected to!) all the time. He carries the same expressions throughout Yeh Raat Phir Na Aaygi, a brilliant 1966 thriller directed by Brij. When he is flummoxed to see the apparition, when he is flirting

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Wrong pair (Mere Sanam)

Bengalis have a thing for Bengalis. But, my love for films is not parochial. If that had been the case, I'd be swooning over the likes of Biswajit and Joy Mukherjee. Instead, I find myself drawn to the flamboyance of the very Punjabi Shammi Kapoor, and Dev Anand. One, a robust romantic and the other a naughty charmer.
True, Mukherjee and Biswajit were two of the top draws in their times, but they fail to floor me. In fact, I feel these screen idols were plain lucky. They got to act in wholesome family dramas, made by talented directors, embellished with fantabulous music (many memorable Rafi songs) and got to romance pretty ladies.
One such film is Amar Kumar's Mere Sanam. This 1965 technicolor entertainer stars Biswajit and Asha Parekh, with some great support from Pran, Achla Sachdev, Laxmi Chhaya, Nazir Hussain and Mumtaz. Though the plot is slightly borrowed from

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