Mumbai, Sep 30
Bollywood star Jackie Shroff remembered legendary filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee on his 104th birth anniversary on Wednesday with a heartfelt tribute.
Sharing a portrait of the late filmmaker, Jackie posted a simple message on his social media account that read, “Remembering Hrishikesh Mukherjee ji on his birth anniversary,” accompanied by folded-hands emoticons.
Jackie also chose a classic song, ‘Itna Na Mujhse Tu Pyaar Badha’, as the background score for the post. Sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mahmood, the song was composed by Salil Chowdhury with lyrics by Rajendra Krishan, and is from the 1961 film ‘Chhaya’, starring Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee was born on September 30, 1922, in Calcutta, and was often referred to as Hrishi-da.
The legendary filmmaker Mukherjee carved out a distinctive and fine space between mainstream commercial cinema and the more realism of parallel cinema. His films mostly revolved around family, relationships, morality, friendship, illness, ambition and the everyday struggles of the Indian middle class, making it apt for family audiences .
A filmmaker, editor and screenwriter, Hrishikesh Mukherjee began his career as an editor and worked closely with Bimal Roy before making his directorial debut with ‘Musafir’ in 1957.
His career went on to include classics like ‘Anari’, ‘Anuradha’, ‘Chhaya’, ‘Asli-Naqli’, ‘Aashiq’, ‘Saanjh Aur Savera’, ‘Anupama’, ‘Gaban’, ‘Do Dil’, ‘Biwi Aur Makan’, ‘Majhli Didi’, ‘Aashirwad’, ‘Satyakam’, ‘Anand’, ‘Guddi’, ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Buddha Mil Gaya’, ‘Abhimaan’, ‘Namak Haraam’, ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Mili’, ‘Chaitali’, ‘Alaap’, ‘Khubsoorat’, ‘Gol Maal’, ‘Jurmana’, ‘Bemisal’ and ‘Namak Haraam’, among many others. His final directorial film was ‘Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate’, released in 1998, starring Juhi Chawla, Anil Kapoor, Reema Lagoo, Amrish Puri, Sajid Khan.
Among his many collaborations, his association with the the Bachchan family remains particularly significant. For the uninitiated, it was Hrishikesh Mukherjee who gave Jaya Bhaduri her breakthrough with ‘Guddi’, while Amitabh Bachchan's association with the filmmaker began with ‘Anand’.
The two went on to work together in films including ‘Abhimaan’, ‘Namak Haraam’, ‘Chupke Chupke’, ‘Mili’, ‘Alaap’, ‘Jurmana’ and ‘Bemisal’. Amitabh has previously described Mukherjee as his “godfather” in the film industry and praised his ability to tell simple stories in an engaging manner.
For Jaya Bachchan, the relationship went well beyond that of an actor and filmmaker. She has always fondly remembered Mukherjee as “Hrishikaku” and has described him as a father figure who guided her throughout her career.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee passed away in Mumbai on August 27, 2006, aged 83. He had been seriously ill for many years and was undergoing dialysis after being diagnosed with chronic renal failure.
