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Did you know?
Shyam Sunder (1932), was the first film to celebrate its silver jubilee, in the history of Indian cinema. Directed by Bhalji Pendharkar for Saraswati Cinetone, it was also the first film to be made in Pune. Shyam Sunder ran continuously for 27 weeks in Mumbai's New West End Theatre. It was also the first film to introduce the marketing technique of adding a new sequence after the release of the film, to attract a repeat audience. The sequence which was added later was about the slaying of Kans. The film also launched Shanta Apte and Shahu Modak as child actors. "Yaad na kar dilein hanji/Bhuli huin kahaniyan..." was Surendranath's first song as a playback singer for the film Deccan Queen (1936). Directed by Mehboob Khan for Sagar Movietone, the film also marked his debut as an actor. The music was scored by Pransukh Naik while the song was written by Zia Sarhadi. Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, directed only one film in the sound era --Gangavataran (1937). Born on April 30, 1870, in Trymbakeshwar, Nasik, his real name was Dhundiraj Govind Phalke. An old and ailing Dadasaheb came out of his retirement in 1934, to make this film at the invitation of Shahu of Kolhapur. With a massive budget and two year's shooting, Dadasaheb made this mythological spectacle, full of miracle and fantasy scenes with special effects. The film failed at the box office and took the studio down with it. In the film Tamanna (1942), Suraiya (Baby Suraiya) and Nargis (Baby Rani) acted together as child artistes. The film was directed by Phani Muzumdar for Laxmi Productions, Mumbai. Bhedi Bangla (House of Mystery), (1949), directed by Bhagwan was the first horror film made in India for Jagruti Pictures. Bhagwan also played the lead role in the film. Lata Mangeshkar won the first Filmfare award for "Kahin deep jalen kahin dil/Jara dekh le aakar parwane" from Bees Saal Baad (1962), directed by Biren Naag. The musicwas scored by Hemant Kumar and the songs were penned by Shakil Badayuni. Devika Rani was the first film star to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which was instituted in 1969. Shabana Azmi's first film was Ishq Ishq Ishq (1974), directed by Dev Anand. The daughter of poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi and a graduate from FTII, she played her first major role in Shyam Benegal's Ankur (1975). Nana Patekar's real name is Vishwanath Patekar. Nana who started his acting career with Marathi theatre, graduated to a character actor and finally became a popular film hero with N Chandra's Ankush (1985).Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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