SHAKTI SAMANTA'S MEMORIES REMAIN STRONG

SHAKTI SAMANTA'S MEMORIES REMAIN STRONG WRITTEN BY: RAJESH V. GAUR AND SUNEEL V. GAUR EMAIL: sunrise607@rediffmail.com  Noted film maker Shakti Samanta’s birth anniversary falls on 13th January .. In a career that straddled five decades, Samanta directed numerous hits;.Samanta was quiet and reserved. and was a man of of few words with people he was not comfortable with. A straightforward man, his clarity of thought could never be disputed. Remarkably, this unassuming man had been responsible for spinning skeins of cinematic magic. Born in Burdwan, now in West Bengal on January 13, 1924. He grew up at his uncle’s place in Dehra Dun. At an early age he was bitten by the acting bug . With little money and big dreams, he took up the job of a school teacher in Dapoli, about 200 kilometers from Mumbai. He would make a weekly trip to Mumbai r. He made his rounds of the studios when Bombay Talkies was on top and as it turned out, Bombay Talkies at the time was overflowing with Bengalis. It was Ashok Kumar, then the top star at Bombay Talkies, who advised him to become an assistant director and not chase stardom, After a few odd jobs be became an assistant director to writer Vrajendra Gaur who was making a film called Kasturi in 1953.. Gaur and Samanta shared a tremendous rapport and Gaur did not direct a film again despite Kasturi doing well . He passed on the subsequent offers to Shakti Samanta   and that’s how he [Shakti] got his break as an independent director with Bahu (1955). Vrajendra Gaur’s and Shakti’s friendship was well known in the film industry and Gaur went on to write Shakti’s China Town, Bahu, Howrah Bridge, Singapore, Jaali Note, Sawan KI Ghata, Insaan Jaag Utha, Kati Patang, Anuraag, The Great Gambler, Charitraheen, etc. Shakti started his independent career with Bahu but it was with the super hit crime thriller Howrah Bridge [ 1958]. with Madhubala seductively swaying to 'Aaiye meherban' and Shammi Kapoor playing a double role in China Town [ 1962] that established Samanta's crednentialss as a filmmaker.                                                          Shakti Samanta with his dear friend and writer Vrajendra Gaur     Samanta's career can be divided into three phases. In the first, he made crime thrillers like Howrah Bridge (both with Ashok Kumar) and Jaali Note (Dev Anand). His China Town had the good Shammi Kapoor being dumbstruck by his bad twin's famous dialogue [by Vrajendra Gaur] : 'Mike ka doosra naam China Town'. Even Amitabh Bachchan’s Don was said to be inspired by China Town. Once, Shakti Samanta's choice of hero signaled the status of Bollywood's leading men. In the 1960s, he helmed a string of successful films with Shammi Kapoor in the lead; but after Samanta's Aradhana became a blockbuster in 1969, he made films with the new superstar Rajesh Khanna. And after Khanna's career fizzled, Samanta segued to working with Amitabh Bachchan in The Great Gambler (1979) and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981). It is to Samanta’s credit that he  could work his alchemy even with newcomers. Sharmila (Kashmir Ki Kali), Rajesh Khanna (Aradhana), Helen (Howrah Bridge) and Moushumi got their first taste of Hindi film stardom, thanks to his films. It was Shakti Samanta's Anuraag that made her a star."                               Shakti’s career can be divided into three parts. In the Crime and action films like Howrah Bridge and China Town followed by musicals like musicals like : Kashmir Ki Kali, Sawan Ki Ghata, An Evening In Paris. After Samanta delivered the three films he made Aradhana (1969), and he entered the third phase of his career emotional dramas. Aradhana was unforgettable, amongst other things for Rajesh Khanna ‘s performance which propelled him to superstardom and Kishore Kumar songs which took him to unparalleled heights of playback singing and in the process dethroning Mohd Rafi from his number one position forever.Kati Patang Amar Prem and Anuraag followed Aradhana, and went on to become big hits. In the process making Shakti Samanta became a topnotch film maker.."                                                                          Vrajendra Gaur and Shakti Samanta younger days By the late 1970s, Samanta had a hit-and-miss run. He tried reteaming with Rajesh Khanna after a seven-year break with Awaaz ('84) and Alag Alag ('85), but the Samanta-Khanna-Burman magic sadly failed this time. After the Jeetendra-Rekha starrer Geetanjali in 1993, Samanta quit Hindi films. Shakti Samanta's son Ashim too is a talented director with many films to his credit , under his home banner. In the last few decades, Samanta was an industry elder. He was the Censor Board Chief. Shakti . Samanta is no more ... but his memories remain strong.      WRITTEN BY: RAJESH V. GAUR and SUNEEL V. GAUR