Discover Life: July 2012

27 July 2012

Editor's Page: Visitors to ‘Discover Life Site in Alphabetical Order since: 16 June 2012

Here are some of the countries from where our readers visited Discover Life Site from 16 June 2012 to 27 July 2012

© Harish Jharia

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Aarau, Aargau, Switzerland
Abbottabad, North-West Frontier, Pakistan
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India
Aktau, Mangghystau, kazakhastan
Alexandria, Al Iskandariyah, Egypt
Amman, Amman Governorate, Jordon
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Athens, Georgia, United States
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Auckland, New Zealand
Augusta, Georgia, United States
Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India
Bacolod, Philippines
Badlapur, Maharashtra, India
Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand
Banjarmasin, Kalimantan Selatan, Indonesia
Barddhaman, West Bengal, India
Bay, Laguna, Philippines
Bayonne, New Jersey, United States
Beldanga, West Bengal, India
Belgrade, Serbia
Bella Vista, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States
Bellingham, Washington, United States
Bentley, Western Australia
Berkeley, California, United States
Bharuch, Gujarat, India
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India
Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Bialystok, Podlaskie, Poland
Biel, Bern, Switzerland
Bikaner, Rajasthan, India
Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Bronx, New York, United States
Buffalo Grove, Illinois, United States
Cadiz, Andalucia, Spain
Cagnes-sur-mer, Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur, France
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Calicut, Kerala, India
Caloocan, Quezon City, Philippines
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Cebu, Cebu City, Philippines
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Chelles, Ile-de-France, France
Chisinau, Moldova
Clifton Park, New York, United States
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Constanta, Romania
Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States
Coventry, United Kingdom
Danbury, Connecticut, United States
Dhahran, Ash Sharqiyah, Saudi Arabia
Dhule, Maharashtra, India
Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria
Douglas, Isle of Man
Dugny, Ile-de-France, France
Duluth, Georgia, United States
Durgapur, West Bengal, India
Düzce, Bolu, Turkey
Ebenthal, Karnten, Austria
Einbeck, Niedersachsen, Germany
Enfield, Greater London, United Kingdom
Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Faridabad, Haryana, India
Federal Way, Washington, United States
Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Fond-du-lac, Saskatchewan, Canada
Frederiksberg, Sjelland, Denmark
Fries, Virginia, United States
Genoa, Liguria, Italy
Germering, Bayern, Germany
Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, United States
Giesteira, Evora, Portugal
Granada, Andalucia, Spain
Groningen, Netherlands
Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Guwahati, Assam, India
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Haldwani, Uttaranchal, India
Hamburg, Germany
Hanoi, Dac Lac, Vietnam
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Unites States
Herndon, Virginia, United States
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Hoek, Zeeland, Netherlands
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Huntsville, Ontario, Canada
Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Imphal, Manipur, India
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Ingleside, Texas, United States
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Islamabad, India
Islamic Republic of Iran
Ithaca, New York, United States
Izmir, Turkey
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India
Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel
Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Johannesburg, Gauteng, south Africa
Kabul, Kabol, Afghanistan
Kalyan, Maharashtra, India
Kampala, Uganda
Kannur, Kerala, India
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Karaikkudi, Tamil Nadu, India
Kärdla, Hiiumaa, Estonia
Kathmandu, Nepal
King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States
Kitee, Eastern Finland
Koch Bihar, West Bengal, India
Kochi, Kerala, India
Kottayam, Kerala, India
Kozhikode, Kerala, India
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Kundan, India
La Courneuve, Ile-de-France, France
La Ronge, Canada
Laconia, New Hampshire, United States
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Lake Arrowhead, California, United States
Latur, India
Le Blanc, Centre, France
Leawood, Kansas, United States
Leeds, United Kingdom
Leesburg, Virginia, United States
Lima, Peru
Limerick, Ireland
Los Angeles, California, United States
Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Maisuru, Karnataka, India
Makati, Manila, Philippines
Manama, Al Manamah, Bahrain
Maribor, Brezovica, Slovenia
Marietta, Georgia, United States
Miami, Florida, United States
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, United States
Moscow, Moscow City, Russia
Munich, Bayern, Germany
Muscat, Masqat, Oman
Nadiad, Gujarat, India
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Nan, Thailand
Nasik, Maharashtra, India
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Newport News, Virginia, United States
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, United States
Nonthaburi, Thailand
Oleggio, Piemonte, Italy
Oslo, Norway
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Oviedo, Florida, United States
Palo Alto, California, United States
Parañaque, Rizal, Philippines
Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
Parsippany, New Jersey, United States
Pat, Uttarakhand, India
Patna, Bihar, India
Peoria, Illinois, United States
Périgueux, Aquitaine, France
Perth, Western Australia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Phuntsholing, Chhukha, Bhutan
Pitesti, Arges, Romania
Port Louis, Mauritius
Portland, Oregon, United States
Providence, Utah, United States
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Qatar
Quebec, Canada
Quetta, Pakistan
Quezon, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Reuland, Luxembourg
Richmond Hill, Ontario, United States
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Riga, Latvia
Rio De Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
Rohtak, Haryana, India
Rotherham, United Kingdom
Rousínov, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Czech Republic
Rubiera, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Safidon, Haryana, India
Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Sambalpur, Orissa, India
San Francisco, California, United States
Santa Rita, Guam
Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile
Sarajevo, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
Selam, Tamil Nadu, India
Sérrai, Serrai, Greece
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Shiliguri, West Bengal, India
Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Sierra Madre, California, United States
Sint Michielsgestel, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India
Skopje, Karpos, Macedonia
Sofia, Grad Sofiya, Bulgaria
Solon, Himachal Pradesh, India
Sonipat, Haryana, India
Spring Branch, Texas, United States
Starachowice, Swietokrzyskie, Poland
Strumica, Macedonia (FYROM)
Sugar Land, Texas, United States
Sunnyvale, California, United States
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Tagbilaran, Philippines
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Taoyuan, China
Thana, Maharashtra, India
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India
Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia
Troy, Michigan, United States
Tunis, Tunisia
Upland, California, United States
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Valsad, Gujarat, India
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Vapi, Daman and Diu, India
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Vilnius, Vilniaus Apskritis, Lithuania
Wichita, Kansas, United States
Wilmslow, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Windsor, Ontario, United States
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Woodhaven, New York, United States
Wraysbury, Windsor and Maidenhead, United Kingdom
Yongin, Kyonggi-do, South Korea
Zaventem, Belgium

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26 July 2012

Audio Message of Rajesh Khanna: Rajesh Khanna left a recorded farewell message for fans ‎

Superstar Rajesh Khanna Is No More: He Leaves Behind a Recorded Message for His Admirers

- Harish Jharia

Here is the brief, edited and compiled transcript of the historic message recorded by Rajesh Khanna, somewhere before he breathed his last....
This recording was first played at the time of his ‘chouth’ (4th day after death) and released to the media, by his family members for the visitors who visited them for offering their last respect to the departed soul:

मेरे प्यारे दोस्तों, भाइयो और बहिनों, नास्टेल्जिया में (यादों के सहारे) जीने की आदत नहीं है मुझे. हमेशा भविष्य के बारे में ही सोचना पड़ता है. जो दिन गुजर गया है, बीत गया है, उसका क्या. सोचना. लेकिन, जब जाने पहचाने चेहरे अनजान से एक महफ़िल में मिलते हैं, तो यादें वापस ताज़ा हो जाती हैं.
मेरा जनम थियेटर से हुआ, मैं आज जो कुछ भी हूँ... ये स्टेज... ये थियेटर की बदौलत हूँ. मैं जब फिल्मों में आया तो मेरा कोई गाडफादर नहीं था, कोई रिश्तेदार नहीं था, कोई सर पर हाथ रखनेवाला नहीं था.
मैं आया था यूनाईटेड प्रोड्यूसर्स फिल्मफेयर टैलेंट कांटेस्ट के थ्रू. हमको बुलाया गया था टाइम्स आफ इंडिया में. वहाँ पर बड़े-बड़े प्रोड्यूसर्स थे. चाहे वो चोपड़ा साहब थे, बिमल राय थे, शक्ति सामंत थे... बहुत सारे थे.
उन्होंने कहा कि हमने आपको डायलाग भेजे थे, वो याद किए आपने?
मैं सामने बैठा था और वो एक बड़ी सी टेबिल पर लाइन में बैठे थे. मुझे ऐसा लग रहा था कि कोर्टमार्शल हो रहा है, जैसे अभी ये बन्दूक निकालेंगे और मुझे मार देंगे.
मैंने कहा कि डायलाग तो याद है लेकिन ये जो डायलाग है, ये आपने नहीं बताया कि इसका कैरेक्टारईजेशन (चरित्र-चित्रण) क्या है, कि ये हीरो जो है वो अपनी माँ को बताता है कि “मैं एक नाचनेवाली से शादी करना चाहता हूँ और उसको तेरे घर की बहू बनाना चाहता हूँ.”
मैंने कहा, आपने ना कैरेक्टर बताया माँ का, ना हीरो का, कि भाई, अमीर है, गरीब है, माँ सख्त है, कड़क है, नरम है, मिडिल क्लास है, आदमी पढ़ा-लिखा… अनपढ़ है?
तो चोपड़ा साहब ने झट से कहा कि “आपाप थिएटर से हो?” ये तो कोई स्टेज का एक्टर ही बोल सकता है.
“हाँ जी” मैंने कहा “डायलाग तो आपने भेज दिया कि किस तरह माँ को कन्विंस करना है; डायलाग बोलना है; मगर आपने कैरेक्टराईजेशन (चरित्र-चित्रण) नहीं बताया”.
तो बोले “ठीक है… अच्छा है तुम कोई अपना ही डायलाग सुनाओ”.
अब काटो तो खून नहीं, पसीना छूट रहा था. मैंने कहा क्या डायलाग बोलूँ. मेरे सामने सब बड़े-बड़े लोग, जिनकी पिक्चर १०-१० बार देखे हैं... प्रोड्यूसर-डायरेक्टर हैं.
वो डायलाग, जिसकी वजह से मैं फिल्मों में आया, मुझे जी.पी. सिप्पी ने चांस दिया ४० साल पहले, वो था ... “हाँ कलाकार हूँ, हाँ मैं कलाकार हूँ ... ... ... क्या करोगे मेरी कहानी सुनकर... ... ... ”.
फिल्मों में आ तो गया, लेकिन आने के बाद, वो खूबसूरत कामयाबी की सीढ़ी चढने का मौक़ा मिला, यह सेहरा आपके सर है. वो आप हैं जिन्होंने मुझे एक्टर से स्टार बनाया, स्टार से सुपर स्टार बनाया. किन अल्फाजों में आपका शुक्रिया अदा करूँ, मुझे समझ नहीं आया.
प्यार आप मुझे भेजते रहे, वो प्यार मुझे मिलता रहा. उस प्यार को मैं कभी वापस लौटा नहीं पाया. लेकिन जो भी कहना चाहूँगा, जिन अल्फाजों में भी... मैं आपका शुक्रिया अदा करना चाहूँगा, वो मेरे दिल की सच्चाई होगी, मेरी ईमानदारी होगी, मेरा ज़मीर होगा.
आज मेरा दिल हल्का हुआ, आपसे बात करके, कि आपका मैंने शुक्रिया अदा किया. मुझे खुद को अच्छा लग रहा है, कि चलो इस बहाने आपसे मुलाक़ात हुई.
जिसे अपना कहें, कोई इस काबिल नहीं मिलता,
यार पत्थर तो बहुत मिले हैं, मगर दिल नहीं मिलता.
दोस्तों, आपका एक हिस्सेदार मैं भी हूँ. और जैसे मैंने पहले भी कहा “हां...! कि आप अपना कीमती वक्त निकालकर आए... और आपका ये प्यार था कि इतनी बड़ी संख्या में आप मौजूद हुए.
मैं यही कहूँगा कि बहुत-बहुत शुक्रिया, थैंक यूं और मेरा बहुत बहुत सलाम.

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24 July 2012

Editors Page: Discover Life crosses 100,000 mark of Visitors

I am thankful to our honorable visitors who spared their valuable time for visiting our site 'Discover Life' and helped us to cross the magic figure of 100,000 of visitors today 24 July 20122 at 9:00pm.

Please look at the live visitors counter that is counting visitors who visit this site. The figure shown on the counter is the total visitors count from 28.10.2009 to date...

Web Counters

Harish Jharia
24 July 2012

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22 July 2012

Pranab Mukherjee Elected As India's 13th President: Shrewd UPA wins and Lackluster NDA Loses

Pranab Mukherjee, 13th President of India

© Harish Jharia

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pranab Mukherjee has won the presidential election, beating NDA supported PA Sangma by a huge margin scoring more than 558,000 votes, crossing the required 50% mark of 5,25,140 votes. Pranab Mukherjee will be administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India on July 25 at the Central Hall of Parliament at 11:30am.

The wictory was obviously sure as Pranab Mukherjee had the support of the parties of the ruling alliance UPA, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, DMK, Forward Bloc, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal-Secular. In addition to the UPA allies, a couple of parties of the opposition alliance the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena also joined the crowd in support of Pranab Mukherjee.

Before filling up the nomination form as a candidate for the post of the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was the Finance Minister in the union cabinet of Government of India and was considered as the 2nd in command after the Prime Minister. He was the senior most member of the ruling Congress Party and was always considered as the most deserving person for the post of Prime Minister of India.

He missed the chance to become the head of the Indian Government more than once in the past and was expected to be projected as a prime-ministerial candidate in the forthcoming general elections scheduled in 2014. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that Pranab Mukherjee was the most active, sought-after and powerful politician after Sonia Gandhi, he was fielded as the candidate for President, rendering him politically retired. The political analyst and common men of India were caught unawares on knowing about the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee for the President of India.

This election was quite interesting as the ruling alliance lead by Congress Party played a shrewd political trick for fulfilling various scheduled plans of the Congress Party and for achieving the goal, played all sorts of out-of-the-way games for seeking support of other political parties like Samajwadi Party, Trinamul Congress and few others.

At the same time, the opposition alliance NDA lead by BJP displayed the most lethargic action plan, indecisiveness and gross disagreement among their allies. It has also been proved that there is lack of leadership in the NDA as they could not declare their presidential candidate well in time for giving tough fight to the UPA candidate and amass support of their allies and other parties for their candidate.

NDAs indecisiveness in declaring Abdul Kalam as the opposition candidate resulted in a political disaster for the NDA and for BJP in particular. Their main ally Shiv Sena and UPA’s ally Trinamul Congress TMC kept shouting for Abdul Kalam but all that fell on the deaf ears of NDA. Had NDA declared Abdul Kalam as their candidate, there were chances that PA Sangma might have withdrawn from the election and Shiv Sena and TMC would surely have supported NDA.

It would have been better had NDA / BJP declared their own candidate either Abdul Kalam or PA Sangma, rather than declaring support for Sangma after he fielded himself, defying objections from his own party - National Congress Party NCP, an ally of the ruling alliance UPA.

Anyways, Pranab Mukherjee is one of the most suitable and deserving persons for becoming the first citizen of the Republic of India. We congratulate him on winning the presidential election and congratulate him for becoming the President of India. We look forward for a very successful tenure for him and wish, hope and expect that Pranab Mukherjee will definitely take landmark historical decisions without being influenced politically by anybody whom so ever.

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Read more about Presidet of India Election:

President of India Election 2012: Who will be the next Indian President… Abdul Kalam or Pranab Mukherjee? : http://www.discovery-of-life.com/2012/06/president-of-india-election-2012-who.html

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21 July 2012

Health: 8 Foods for keeping Sickle Cell Patients healthy

© Harish Jharia

We know that sickle cell disease is not really a disease because no bacteria or viruses are responsible for it. In fact this is a congenital / genetic / hereditary (जन्मजात / वंशानुगत) ailment that comes along with the patient at the time of birth. The patient carries sickle shaped red blood cells instead of donut type circular shaped ones. Therefore, there are no known medicines to cure sickle cell disease, except for bone marrow transplant.

Nevertheless, sickle cell patients can live a normal life by following certain specific ways of life, taking precautions and eating selected foods. In this article we are going to discuss 8 suitable foods that will help to improve blood circulation and enhance the production of red blood cells to quite some extent.

Sickle cell patients may include at least two of the following 8 foods in their daily food intake. They should completely stop taking all types of fatty foods and red meats and should minimize the intake of fat-less chicken to 4 to 3 times a month.

Here are the eight foods:

Green leafy vegetables, हरी पत्तेदार सब्जियां: Green, leafy vegetables like Kale (एक प्रकार की गोभी), Spinach (पालक), Bok Choy, Turnip Greens (पत्ते सहित शलगम) and pretty much every vegetable with its leaves are good for keeping you healthy. You may take plenty of vegetables like cabbage (बन्दगोभी), mustard greens (सरसों का साग), onions (प्याज), radishes (मूली, गाजर). They are high in folic acid and help in improving appetite, cell production, growth and red blood cell formation
Beetroots, चुकंदर: Beetroots are high in iron that helps building the blood and oxygenation of the body. Beetroots have an added advantage of detoxifying the kidneys, liver and bladder. This is essentially needed for you since you are on so many ‘other’ harsh medicines.
Brown Rice, बिना पालिश किया चावल: If rice is your staple food, then switch-over to brown rice. This is one of the most energetically balanced foods. It strengthens the lungs and the spleen.
Garlic (लहसुन): Garlic is a great immune system builder. It relieves cramps and helps to expel cold and dampness from your body by increasing your inner body temperature. It is just wonderful and works like a bodyguard.
More Veggies: Diets high in meats (मांसाहारी भोजन) and fatty foods tend to make sickle cell patients go into more problems. You should try to eliminate meat from your diet completely and if required take fatless chicken or fish 4 to 3 times a month.
Lentils and Coarse grains: Also take enough kidney beans (राजमा), lentils (दालें जैसे मसूर की दाल) and the coarse grains like sorghum (ज्वार), millet (बाजरा कोदों, कुटकी जैसा मोटा अन्न) for making a balanced diet for you.
Cayenne Pepper, लालमिर्च: Red chilli (लालमिर्च) is another great detoxifier. It strengthens your immune system, disperses congestion, clears your sinuses, expels cold and helps to calm abdominal pains by dilating (widening) the veins/arteries in the abdomen, increasing blood circulation and thereby improving oxygenation. You might like to sprinkle it on almost everything.
Root vegetables: Root veggies like carrots (गाजर), potatoes (आलू), sweet potatoes (शकरकन्द), yams (जिमीकंद, सूरन, रतालू), yucca root, African yam, cassava and anything from that family are known for preventing sickling. They also help in increasing red blood cell production. You can bake, steam, juice or broil (भूनना) them. As long as you don’t deep-fry them they will help you in fighting the disease. Making indian salads (सलाद), curries (सब्जी) and bharta (भरता) are fine.

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Read more about Sickle Cell Disease:

Sickle Cell Anemia: Disease, Reasons, precautions and care: http://www.discovery-of-life.com/2012/07/sickle-cell-anemia-disease-reasons.html
Crazy ideas: Better Respiratory Conditions for Sufferers of Sickle Cell Disease: http://www.discovery-of-life.com/2012/07/crazy-ideas-better-respiratory.html
A Serious Blood complication : Sickle Cell Anemia (सिकल सैल एनीमिया /हँसिया सैल एनीमिया): http://www.discovery-of-life.com/2012/06/serious-blood-complication-sickle-cell.html

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This article is written based on my personal observations and on the information collected from the media. My intention for publishing the same is to provide healthy reading and intellectual entertainment and not for educating the visitors. No literature or authentic books have been referred for writing the contents of this article. The visitors are advised not to refer the contents of this article for any research or testimony on athletic or legal purposes. The visitors are further advised to consult relevant experts before adapting any information from this article. The author or the website are not responsible for any errors, mistakes, or omissions there in.
- Harish Jharia
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20 July 2012

TV Review: Colors TV serial… Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon

Drashti (Drishti) Dhami

© Harish Jharia

TV viewers might be remembering a serial based on the life of a dwarf woman titled as ‘Baba aiso var deejo’. This was aired on Imagine TV channel that has since been closed. Nautanki films were the makers of that serial. The same production house, Nautanki Films managed by Saurabh Tewari and Abhinav Shukla is coming up with a news show on Colors. The title of the new serial kept changing since it reached in its final stage for telecast. It was initially titled as "Shikhar" subsequently its name changed to “Kathputli” and the makers finally titled it as “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon”.

Vivian Dsena

I am really convinced with the current title of the show ie “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” vis-à-vis the previous couple of titles that were just not impressive and lacked the real boost that was required for attracting attention of the monotonous TV viewers. The makers literally woke up the disgruntled viewers who were fed-up with watching the stereotype prolonged serial shows with the same indoor shots wth repeated slide shows of close-ups of expressionless characters.

Rakhi Vijan

The serial “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” has finally arrived with a bang on a large canvas. When I watched its initial episodes I felt as if I was watching a movie and not a TV show. The serial had all the qualities of a feature film and the most noticeable was the dynamics with which the story moved ahead.

Pallavi Subhash Chandran

The serial “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” is going on well and is sure to get desired TRP and viewership. The main attraction of the serial is that it is about the lives of the Bollywood strugglers aspiring to become film stars. The serial is showing both the aspects of the lives of the people, like that of the celebrities and of the junior artists, working in Bollywood. The common people and TV viewers are quite curious to know more and more about Bollywood, Indian cinema, the actors, technicians and makers. If the makers of “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” manage the serial carefully it is going to dominate all other TV shows.

Story line:

This is a story of the junior artists who aspire to become film stars. The serial started with the initial background of a family of a village head Raj Zutshi, who is a cruel person an atrocious husband toward his wives. He had killed his first wife because she delivered of a baby girl. He has also made it clear that he might repeat the same crime with his present pregnant wife, suspected to have a baby girl in her womb.

Raj Zutshi

His wife Pallavi Chandran consults her family midwife Sushmita Mukherjee about the child she is expecting and runs away along with her step daughter from her house for saving her life and that of her children. They board a train and eventually disembark on a Mumbai railway platform. They dramatically get shelter in a chaul and Pallavi Chandran started doing junior artists’ jobs on daily basis. She delivers of a baby girl on a film set during a shoot. That girl is named as ‘Madhubala’ by an elderly veteran actor.

The serial then abruptly takes a time leap of 18 years and the story continues with interesting and exciting incidents portraying the lives of strugglers, film stars, the junior artists and technicians.

Review:

The serial is really worth watching. Nevertheless, it requires being more realistic and the dramatization and exaggeration will have to be reduced to a considerable limit. The subject and the storyline are quite new for the TV viewers who are really enthusiastic about knowing all about Bollywood and the lives of the people related to film production.

Nevertheless, the makers of “Madhubala- Ek Ishq Ek Junoon” have made it a bit louder and exaggerated than required. The portrayal of the main lead character RK the superstar is too very loud. He is looking like a villain rather than a popular film star who should be intellectually rich and emotionally sensitive. Similarly, the character played by Raj Zutshi has also been shown too very loud and abnormal. In many shots he looked like a lunatic rather than an illiterate village rustic. I felt bad when I saw an artist with such a huge acting talent, looking like doing ‘over acting’.

I think there is an inevitable requirement of changing the portrayal of these two characters. The superstar should be shown as a darling of everyone across genders and age groups. At the same time Raj Zutshi should be given freedom to display his acting talent suiting to the character and cut-down the exaggeration.

On the other hand, Bhupinder Singh the foster father of the female lead deserves to appear more frequently on the screen. He should be shown a bit more involved in the family affairs equivalent to the character played by Rakhi Vijan and Pallavi Chandran. I think the TV viewer would like to see him more often on the screen doing some worthwhile contribution to the life of Madhubala.

Cast & Crew:

Drashti Dhami: Female Lead character- Madhubala
Vivian Dsena: Male lead character- RK (Rishabh Kumar)
Rakhi Vijan: Roma
Manish Naggdev: Mukund Dixit
Raj Zutshi: Balraj Chaudhary
Indresh Malik: Bittuji (PA to RK).
Shagufta Ali: Badi Chaudhrain
Pallavi Subhash Chandran: Padmini (Madhubala's mother)
Bhupinder Singh: Shamsher Mallick (Madhubala’s foster father)
Lalit Parimoo: Guruji
Sushmita Mukherjee: Dai Maa

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19 July 2012

Superstar Rajesh Khanna Passes Away On 18 July 2012: The Rarest Romantic Phenomenon of Bollywood Vanishes

© Harish Jharia

The 18th July 2012 will always be remembered as the worst day in the history of Indian cinema as it has lost the most loved film star Rajesh Khanna on this day. Succumbing to an undisclosed prolonged illness, probably some chronic liver disease like cirrhosis, he breathed his last at his Bandra home Ashirwad.

His mortal remains have been cremated at Pawan Hans crematorium on the following day at 11am. Rajesh Khanna’s body was kept in a see-through glass casket, placed on an elevated platform on an automobile heavily decorated with white flowers in the funeral procession in the early hours of 19 July 2012. His last journey was arranged in the same grand and royal style as he lived his life.

Thousands of people were lined-up by the side of the road leading to the crematorium. A huge crowd was waiting outside the Pawan Hans crematorium and police had to resort to light ‘lathi-charge’ for making way for Rajesh Khanna’s family members and friends including Dimple Khanna, their daughter, son-in-law Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan etc. Many celebrities including Manoj Kumar could not get entry inside the crematorium because of the jam-packed entrance.

In the year 1966 a new film actor Rajesh Khanna was noticed on the silver screen in a Chetan Anand’s film Akhri Khat. He again appeared in a Ravindra Dave’s film ‘Raaz’ in the year 1967. Rajesh Khanna was not much recognized by the cine-goers in these films. Nevertheless, they started talking about him that he was the one who was selected in a countrywide star-hunt organized jointly by United Producers and Filmfare Magazine.
In 1960s, there were three big film stars dominating Bollywood. They were Dilip Kumar, Devanand and Raj Kapoor. The cine-goers of that time were so very mesmerized with the larger than life persona of these three actors that it was just impossible to imagine any actor beyond the profiles of them. Whenever some new actor used to appear on the silver screen; he was simply compared with these three actors. Critics used to analyze the new-comer whether he was copying Dilip, Dev or Raj…!

In addition to these three, there were about twenty other film actors like Ashok Kumar, Guru Dutt, Balraj Sahni, Manoj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Raj Kumar, Dharmendra, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Kishor Kumar, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Sanjeev Kumar, Bharat Bhooshan, Feeroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Jitendra, Mehmood etc who were also popular and successfully working in the Hindi film industry.

The Bombay (now Mumbai) film industry was absolutely saturated with about twenty-five male lead actors and it was just impossible for newcomers to get a job (contract) in any Hindi film. The film industry was dominated by production houses controlled by teams of film professionals based on regional, linguistic and community affiliations. Struggling actors had to approach the production houses matching with their own regional, linguistic and community affiliations for getting a job (contract). These were the basic requirements for any newcomer for entering Bollywood.

Thousands of strugglers languishing in chauls, slums and dormitories in suburban Bombay, used to chase the film producers and directors and beg for roles in films. Most of them used to end up as junior artists and some of them died out of starvation rather than getting a break in a film.

In such a critical situation for any new entrant in Bollywood, it was Rajesh Khanna who kept signing one contract after the other and came with a super hit film ‘Aradhna’ in 1969. Paired with Sharmila Tagore, directed By Shakti Samanta and singing songs composed by SD Burman and played back by Kishor Kumar, Rajesh Khanna broke all the previous records at box-office and became a romantic phenomenon overnight.

He became the prince charming of young girls and darling of men and women. Mothers wished to have a son like Rajesh Khanna, sisters hoped to have a brother like him and young girls wished to have him only as their life partner rather than his lookalikes. Girls used to keep his picture under their pillows, wrote letters to him written with their blood and even married with his photographs. Rajesh Khanna was not only the first superstar; he was rather a sensation and a craze among everybody across genders and all age groups.

Thereafter, Rajesh Khanna ruled the hearts of the people and dictated terms to the box office. He gave 15 super-hit movies just in four years between 1969 and 1973. He catapulted the careers of all the 25 plus well established Indian film stars of that era. Film producers used to lineup in front of his abodes and mobbed around him for attracting his little attention. They even resorted to book rooms and private wards of hotels and hospitals, respectively, where Rajesh Khanna used to stay.

Rajesh Khanna kept ascending the ladder of progress, fame and fortune until, out of a spontaneous decision, he married Dimple Kapadia. Dimple Kapadia was a 16 year teenager when they tied the nuptial knot and ventured into a married life. This marriage gave them two pretty daughters and the relation lasted for about 11 years, before they separated. The reason of separation was obviously Dimple’s ambitions of pursuing her career of a film actress that she left abruptly after doing her first blockbuster film Bobby pairing with raj Kapoor’s son Rishi Kapoor.

Dimple Kapadia left her house along with her 2 daughters leaving behind Rajesh Khanna all alone in their house Ashirvad. Rajesh Khanna was caught unawares and slowly went into self-imposed solitude. He kept himself busy with his acting, tried his hand in production and did a term of elected Member of Parliament (MP). Nevertheless, his personal life slowly dilapidated and eventually affected his career severely. He failed in his political career and loosened his grip over his stardom in Bollywood.

His aimless life slowly turned into worthless existence and Rajesh Khanna immersed himself in liquor. Thereafter, Rajesh Khanna’a life came to a standstill. The world kept moving ahead, but, he kept himself away from the world. He squeezed his social life within a few friends who also shared his worries and wines.

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Read more about Rajesh Khanna:

The First Bollywood Super Star Looking Frail: Rajesh Khanna Admitted To Leelavati Hospital, Mumbai

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