“Remembering our dad, K.Amarnath, today on his 102nd Birth Anniversary”
My dad, Mr. K. Amarnath was fascinated and inspired by Hollywood movies right from his college days in the early 1930s. With this strong passion for movies in his heart, at a young age of 17, he ventured miles away from his home, first to Calcutta then to Bombay to seek his fame & fortune in the star-studded movie industry.
He directed over 35 movies and after watching some of the movies, decades after they had first been released, I realized that he had projected on the big screen his exemplary views & beliefs, regarding Family, Religion, Patriotism, Morals & Ethics, which he also practised in real life.
His love of Hollywood also got manifested into some of his movies. Since he was highly influenced by Hollywood movies, he incorporated some of the memorable scenes into his own movies, especially those which involved Boxing, Swordfighting and Dance. In fact, in some of his movies, reference was made to “Hollywood” by the actors themselves who seemed to be echoing my dad’s love of Hollywood !!
“Hollywood Hollywood” – this is what my father would occasionally say at the end of every successful take in the early years of his career, to express his extreme satisfaction with the performance of the actors.
Since love of Hollywood movies started my father’s career, I thought it would be fitting to end this Tribute with some scenes from his movies that reflect this passion.
Below is a YouTube video of clips compiled from 7 of his movies made from 1949 to 1964
that reflect the Hollywood influence on my dad, K.Amarnath.
Madhubala had been always compared to Marilyn Monroe.
Madhubala was popularly known as the ‘Venus Of Indian Cinema’ &
Marilyn Monroe, coincidentally was called the ‘Venus Of Hollywood’.
Both of them were at the height of their careers in the 1950s.
Marilyn and Madhubala both wanted to be acknowledged as serious actresses but their mesmerising iconic beauty overshadowed their acting talents.
Both their personal lives were very tragic and both passed away at a very young age of 36.
Both, Madhubala and Marilyn Monroe, have commemorative postage stamps featuring them.
This desire to go to Hollywood, as expressed in this movie, is still prevalent in many of the stars of Bollywood to this day.
BOXING MATCH
Baraat (1960)
The boxing match between Ajit and his opponent in “Baraat” shows perfect boxing “stance & strike skills” used to attack, defend or grapple. The toughness, endurance, finesse and power of the opponents is captured on the screen till the end of the bout.
SWORDFIGHTING DUELS
Bara-Dari (1955) &
Kabli Khan (1963)
K.Amarnath has shown perfect techniques such as co-ordination, reflexes, distance, timing and adversarial perception portrayed by the actors in the swordfighting duels between Ajit & Pran in Bara-Dari and again between Ajit & Jayant and Ajit & Samson in Kabli Khan.
DANCE SCENES
Bazar (1949)
Watch Cuckoo, the dancing queen of Hindi cinema of the 1940s & 50s in this clip from the movie Bazar.
And Yakub expressing his desire to go to Hollywood.
Naya Andaz (1956)
See Meena Kumari and Kishore Kumar dance gracefully (ballroom dancing) to the soft romantic song from Naya Andaz, “Meri neendon mein tum mere khwaabon mein tum” !!
Ishaara (1964)
In order to mislead and confuse the police, watch Vyjayantimala, Joy Mukherjee, Pran and Azra break into a western style dance in the middle of a fight scene.
Everything in Life comes Full Circle and so has my Tribute which was penned with nostalgia, fond memories and inputs from relatives, friends and well-wishers whom I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart.
“Find & Follow your Passion – Pursue your Dreams.”
Love & Respect to our dad, Mr. K.Amarnath, a great man and a greater father.
