I was flipping through the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema last night and spotted something unexpected in this still from director V. Shantaram's 1939 film Manoos. The glamorous beauty in the foreground is Marathi actress Shanta Hublikar, but look closer and you'll notice a qipao-clad calendar girl behind her. Those Shanghai ladies sure got around!
Look what I found when I was browsing through my copy of A Century of Thai Cinema the other day. I totally forgot that I had placed these two Bollywood actress prints between the pages of the book late last year in order get the curl out of them. I love surprises like this!
I've only dipped my toe in the vast ocean of Indian cinema (thanks to the nudging of my friend Todd), but it was enough to convince me that I could easily devote myself to the Hindi films of the 1950s and 60s — that is, if I weren't so stuck on Hong Kong movies.
Nevertheless, I think you will agree that the Bollywood stars of that era were just as beautiful and glamorous as those of Hong Kong. Click on the links below the pictures for more information about the actresses.
Thanks to the encouragement of Todd over at Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill! I've recently started sampling some classic Bollywood films from the 1950s and 60s. One that I really liked is Howrah Bridge (1958), which according to the Enclyclopaedia of Indian Cinema "was one of the first to assimilate the Hong Kong cinema's influence". I don't know how true that is, but it definitely piqued my curiosity about a possible Bollywood–Hong Kong connection.
I never knew that Calcutta — where Howrah Bridge was set — had a thriving Chinatown of about 50,000 residents at one time. It's very likely that Hong Kong movies were being imported and screened there. I'd love to know if they were popular with Indian audiences.
Another connection shows up in the 1960 movie Singapore, made by Howrah Bridge's director Shakti Samanta. Starring in the film is Maria Menado, one of the stars of the Cathay-Keris Studio. Like the Shaw Brothers, the Cathay Organization made Malay movies in addition to Chinese movies, and many of these Malay movies were directed by filmmakers recruited from India.
Yet another link appears out of left field in the People's Republic of China, where Indian films were very popular during the 1950s. One movie in particular, Awara (1951) aka The Tramp, was a huge hit and reputedly one of Mao Tse-Tung's favorite films. Even today, Chinese who grew up during the 50s fondly remember the film and its theme song "Awara Hoon" ("I'm a Tramp").
More recently, Peter Chan recruited Bollywood choreographer and director Farah Khan to work on Perhaps Love (2005), his attempt to revive the Chinese musical. But instead of tapping the delightful Hong Kong musicals of the 50s and 60s, he channels Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, and the result is a dour lead-weight-of-a-film. Where's the joy? I wish Chan had instead followed in the footsteps of Hong Kong's dancing diva Grace Chang and Bollywood's "Cabaret Queen" Helen, seen below performing the very catchy "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" ("My Name is Chin Chin Chu") from Howrah Bridge.
