Mamta Kulkarni’ controversial photoshoot for Stardust in the 90’s
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Kahan gaye woh log? Khalid Mohamed on movie stars who have vanished from the scene.
Faisal Khan was noticed for a fairly competent performance in Mela, in which he featured with his elder brother Aamir Khan. Followed forgettable performances in forgettable films. Rumours circulated that he was hospitalised for acute mental stress for nearly six months. A broken marriage compounded his condition.
Now, talk is that he has remarried,is better but keeps out of the public glare. When a journalist contacted his father for information, the door was slammed on the fact raker.
After Naach tanked, and her debut directorial film Mr Ya Miss produced under the umbrella of Ram Gopal Varma’s Factory, was panned, Antara Mali is uncontactable. It’s conjectured that she has become a recluse.
A national craze after the success of Maachis, Chandrachur Singh was last seen in a Hyderabadi biryani titled Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya. After that, no news. It’s said he has shifted far away from the madding showbizcrowd to New Delhi.
Anu Agarwal, the Aashiqui heart-throb, after a grievous road accident, is believed to be seriously into yoga. Some say she is at the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata.
Hard luck stories abound in Mumbai show business. If you’re not hot, then you might as well opt for the cool climes of anonymity and hopefully, peace of mind.
Every individual has his or her own compulsionsand real world to deal with. Women more often than not, lock up their vanity kits, for marriage and motherhood. A few long to return to the bright lights and do so triumphantly. Conversely, others shudder, “I’m very happy, thank you, away from the pancake and premieres.”
Out of the limelight, out of public mind. Only the rare nostalgiaphile cares to expend a passing thought for the men and women who once entertained him for the price of a ticket. Forgotten songs are rescued from the audio archives and replayed as bhule bisre geet. But yesterday’s stars – mega and mini – are mere curiosities on the re-runs of the golden oldies on telly.
Perhaps that jungle hit Tarzan doesn’t show up frequently on TV, but Kimi Katkar’s Jumma chumma act in Hum with Amitabh Bachchan, does. The pressure of a round-the-clock career and it seems a mother with irrepressible ambition, caused Kimi Katkar to retire mid-career. Marriage to ace photographer Shantanu Sheorey and their son Siddhant, caused the high cheek-boned actress to call it quits..and migrate to Australia.
Among her last films were Humlaa, Sarphira, Siyasat and Zulm ki Huqumat which were as tacky as their titles. “Never, never, never. Are you joking?” she would say affronted, on being asked about a possible comeback.
For a movie geek, there has been a sense of loss, too, over film personalities who disappeared from the corridors of the heart – without so much as a by-your leave. Like Nivedita, a porcelain beauty, who featured with Sanjeev Kumar in the black-and-white Jyoti. Initially, assigned the screen name of Liby Rana, she was a woman of grace.
Run into Nivedita at the Taj Mahal Hotel bookshop, summon up the courage to tell her you recognise her and she wants to run the other way. “No, no, you’re mistaken,” she insists. On sensing your disappointment, she concedes, “Okay yes, I was in the movies once. It was fun but you can’t hang on unless you want to suffer on a Sunset Boulevard.”
Parmendra, a bhakt of Dharmendra, danced and sang with the frontline heroine Mala Sinha in Holi Aaee Re. When it flopped, like every thing he touched, the robust hero returned to the Punjab wheatfields.
Tariq, the spry guitar strummer of Yaadon ki Baarat and Vijay Arora, a Pune Film Institute graduate, also in the baarat-naama, faded into obscurity. Bids to return to stardom were in vain.
Sameer Khan, blood brother to Feroz, Sanjay and Akbar Khan, was believed to have moved to Dubai. Very few recollect his rendezvous with Simi Garewal in the breezy but underappreciated Pasand Apni Apni andSaawan Kumar Tak’s overwrought Gomti ke Kinare, with Meena Kumari and Mumtaz.
There were the unconventional heroines, too, who didn’t look like Barbie dolls, but who could act up a storm. Director Kishore Sahu’s daughter Naina Sahu quite Mick Jaggerish in Hare Kaanch ki Chooriyan and Vasant Joglekar’s daughter Meera in Ek Kali Muskayee, scored single hits. Full stop.
Oomphy magazine cover girls of the sexy ‘70s could give the Mallika Sherawats a sprint for their money. Like Komilla Wirk who is said to be settled in London today, working around the zodiac clock as a fortune teller. Faryal, the former airhostess, who figured as a heroine with Shashi Kapoor in Biradari, is a hazy memory. Leena Das, who steamed up the vamp scene in Bindu’s Mera naam hai Shabnam heyday, no longer lives in an upscale Bandra bylane.
Nita Khayani, Shirley MacLaine to Bachchan’s Jack Lemmon in the Apartment remake, Raaste ka Patthar, is a mystery. More poignantly, there are no records of Vimi, who was allegedly murdered, just the way she was in her conundrum of a performance in BR Chopra’s Humraaz.
And there was motor-mouth Mamta Kulkarni who upped and left for a NRI marriage in the US.
Truly, it’s enough to make you believe that there’s no business like show business – here today, gone with the wind tomorrow.
https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_gone-with-the-wind_1048184
Article Dated: 19 Aug,2006
A good read!
always had hots for mamta kulkarni.
Liked the article.. always liked Mamta and Katkar
There was a post called Kahan Gaye Wo Log on PFC which had some really good comments. But its not available now as PFC was closed.
Anyways here is an article from TOI.
“A quick checklist of the heroines who flashed in the Bollywood sky briefly only to disappear into obscurity.
Amita: The star of Tumsa Nahin Dekha , years later, Amita tried to introduce her daughter Sabia into the movies opposite Rajesh Khan in the ’80s. The effort came unstuck.
Babita: After films like Farz and Kal Aaj Aur Kal , Babita settled down to short-lived matrimony with Randhir Kapoor. Today, she’s star mum to cinema’s top-most heroines, Karisma and Kareena Kapoor.
Bina Rai: The strains of Jo wada kiya woh ( Anarkali ) continue to haunt cineastes. Married to actor Premnath, her sons Prem Kishen and Monty were in movies too. More recently, grand-daughter Akanksha’s debut proved a turnip. The reclusive Rai has turned to spirituality.
Begum Para: Ustad Pedro kickstarted her career. Her sexuality on the screen was electric. Film magazines of those days wrote endlessly about her derring-do lifestyle. She was married to Dilip Kumar’s brother Nasir Khan. Her son Ayub Khan acts in the occasional TV serial.
Kalpana: Best known for her roles in the breezy ’60s romances Professor and Pyar Kiye Jaa , she prefers to live in anonymity today.
Kalpana Karthik: Also known as Mona Anand. Kalpana is still remembered for her Aaja panchi akela hain , and Ankhon mein kya ji ( Nau Do Gyarah ). She married Dev Anand and life changed forever. Today, she remains a remote figure.
Kamini Kaushal: Dilip Kumar aficionado. Mother roles. Puppeteer par excellence. And now TV producer. Kamini’s cup overfloweth.
Leela Naidu: One of India’s most beautiful actresses. She was noted for her roles in Anuradha and Householder . She now lives in South Mumbai in total seclusion.
Nadira: Say Aan and the pert Jewish woman comes to the fore. Who can forget her cameos in Julie and Saagar ? The neglected actress is seen in the occasional TV and film role.
Rajashree: After roles in Geet Gaya Pathron Ne and Around the World in Eight Dollars , V Shantaram’s daughter left for the Big Apple to settle into matrimony.
Sandhya: Wife of the late actor-director V Shantaram. She’s known for her proficient dances in Navrang, Jal Bin Machli Nritya Bin Bijli . But, her real triumph was the Marathi film Pinjra .
Shakeela: While Meenu Mumtaz crooned Leke pehla pehla pyar ( CID ), Dev Anand exchanged amorous glances with the recalcitrant Shakeela. Right at this moment, her personal life is shrouded in mystery.
Shammi: Who can forget her wry smile while Raj Kumar and Meena Kumari pined away in Dil Apna Aur Preet Paraye ? She’s also known for her comic cameos in TV serials like Dekh Bhai Dekh .
Shyama: She’s still remembered for Sun sun sun sun zalima ( Aar Paar ) with Guru Dutt. She was seen in two-bit character roles in the late ’60s.
Suchitra Sen: Star of Hindi flicks like Mamta, Bombay Ka Babu and Aandhi . A devotee of the Ramakrishna Mission, Suchitra has now immersed herself in meditation and prayer. She lives in Pondicherry.”
Link
Here you go Sputnik
You might want to save the comments in pdf format. I am not sure how long this web archive would be there.
Kahan Gaye woh log
Do not fear my friends, this is not a repeat of the (in)famous dheeraj Kumar serial that was a rage over a decade ago. With his twisted (literally)smile, he dished out trash and we (due to lack of better options) actually sat and saw it. This was when TV meant doordarshan – or as I put it BC – Before Cable.
I wanted to talk about actors and actresses who came to the silver screen and then just..vanished! And one keeps thinking…where did that guy go? So, here we go.
1) Vidya Sinha: Famous star of the yesteryears – did some great movies – rajnigandha, love story – etc. wonder where she is at the moment?
2) Meenakshi Sheshadri – reining bollywood queen at one time – cast opp the big B in some films – of which Shahenshah was the most famous- I am sure even Raj Kumar Santoshi must be missing her – but I heard sometime back that she was doing classical dance performances and even plans to come back to movies.But, she did disappear without a trace.
3) avinash Wadhwan – champion of B grade films at one time. Was cast opposite some good actresses if I remember.
4)Sheeba – again, came in some B grade films – though she was introduced by Sunil Dutt. there was a rumour abt her and Akshay Kumar when they were doing films like Mr. Bond. Her last film was “Ms.420″ with that a**h*le – Baba Sehgal.
5) Kumar Gaurav- He was totally missing in Action till kaante brought him back…but then I dont know if he is a recluse by choice or by compulsion.
6) Danny – yes, where is danny nowdays? He isnt too old and I am sure he must be getting roles! BRING BACK DANNY!!!
7) Pran – I understand that he doesnt keep too well. But still, just wondering, where he is and what he would be doing at this stage in life…
8) Asha Sachdev- sex bomb of the 80’s – last seen in Fiza along with Jaya Bachchan – can we have some more of her pls…
10) Kimi Katkar – where is jumma nowdays? we are running out of leading ladies to star against the BIg B!
11) Sudhir – Where is S(h)udhir? Cant forget hisrole from the great gambler as the italian.
12) Sujit Kumar – the other italian from the great gambler – but more remembered for some great movies he did including aradhna.
13) Atul Agnihotri – salmans saala- did a few good and lots of not-so-good films.
14) and the biggest of them all – MAMTA KULKARNI – where is mamta? i want my mamta back….!!!!! I want her to do more films…how could she let kids like payal rohatgi, mona lisa, bipasha, amrita arora, etc usurp her throne????
The list would have been longer but TV gave a fesh lease of life to lots of actors – vivek mushran, rahul roy, mukehs khanna, parmeet sethi, sudha chandran, johny lever, shekhar suman, ravi behl…etc
why dont u guys go ahead and add names to the list…lets see how many of the “forgotten” can actually be remembered!
cheers!
Ah Thanks a lot.
I searched for this on webarchives and it either did not get me the right page or I was not patient enough for the page to load. 🙁
couple more
https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_gone-with-the-wind_1048184
https://www.starboxoffice.com/gallery/gallery.aspx?aid=762
First one is same as this post. Milind just replaced Anu Agarwal’s picture with Mamta’s to spice it up 😉
woulke to know what happened with yesteryear hero sailesh kumar my favo tall handsome actor some of his movies are Aadhi raat ke baat; Pechaan 1970; yeh raat phir na aayegi; bhabhi ki churiyan
does he still lives. his song Teri aankh ka jo ishara na hota to bismil
Actress from Jaan Tere Naam Farheen’s latest interview.
‘I turned down Baazigar opposite Shah Rukh’
She exploded on to the scene in ’92 with Jaan Tere Naam and Bollywood went gaga over the Madhuri Dixit lookalike. A spate of movies followed, including Amaanat, Sainik, Dil Ki Baazi, and a few down South.
Two years later, she met controversial cricketer Manoj Prabhakar and they started a relationship, even though the sportsman was already married and a father. Reports of a secret nikaah followed and then, Farheen disappeared.
Buzz was, after a four-year-long affair and a three-year-old son, Manoj had left Farheen to return to first wife Sandhya and their son. But then in November 2006, a Delhi court settled a dowry harrassment case filed by Sandhya. But Farheen’s whereabouts remained a mystery.
Mirror has now tracked her down to Delhi where she lives with Prabhakar and their two children–16-year-old Raahil and 11-year-old Manavansh. The cricketer’s father and Rohan, his 25-year-old son with Sandhya, plus Rohan’s wife (a match Farheen says she arranged) and baby, complete the family. “So you see I’m already a grandmother,” laughs the 41-year-old who is gearing up for a comeback in the Jaan Tere Naam sequel as the “young” mother of the heroine.
“I couldn’t say no to Deepakji (director Deepak Balraj Vij). I’d do even a bit role for him,” she tells Mirror in a telephonic chat. Quiz her about her sudden departure from the spotlight and she reminisces, “I turned down Baazigar opposite Shah Rukh as the dates clashed with a film I was doing with Kamal Haasan. After Kalignan, I was flooded with offers from the South and I accepted them because the money was good and they wrapped up fast. Then in ’94, I met Manoj.”
Farheen insists that they started off as friends but somewhere along the way, they fell in love. “He was going through a rough patch and he needed me. So, I chose him over my career,” explains the actress who made a hasty exit from showbiz and was soon firmly ensconced in domesticity.
“There were a couple of offers for serials but TV is time-consuming. My children were young and I had to be around. I have a home to run and a herbal skincare business too. Besides, I was happily married, there was no pressure to work two shifts a day,” she says.
But why the vanishing act, given that a lot of former actresses continue to be public figures? The question draws a laugh: “I did not disappear. It’s just that I’m in Delhi and chose to keep in touch with just a few of my industry friends like Deepakji, Aditya (Pancholi) and Shakti Kapoor. And though both Manoj and I lead very private lives, we do socialise and people here are avid Bollywood fans and have seen my movies. I just didn’t give any interviews before this.”
Sound her out on the rumours about her relationship with Manoj and she clarifies, “Manoj is a part of my life, as are the kids and his family. But I don’t want to comment on his ex-wife or the charges of match fixing levelled against him. He’s still connected with cricket as a commentator.”
Farheen credits her atheletic husband for her youthful looks. “Thanks to him, I’ve never missed out on a gym routine which has kept me in shape after two babies. Since I’m blessed with great skin, I’m told I still look like I am 30,” she says.
And how have the kids reacted to her decision to return to acting? “They show my films to their friends and tell them their mother is the most beautiful woman in the world. They know I gave up my career for them and they’re happy that I’m going back,”she says.
So Madhuri Dixit, who too has made a much talked about comeback, will have competition again? “Madhuri is beautiful, but I think I’m more beautiful, even my sons say so,” she laughs. “Had I not got married I would have given her good takkar. She is an actress par excellence but I had age on my side as I entered the industry seven years after she did. But today, I don’t think I resemble her. My hair is longer now and when I met Shatrughan Sinha recently, he told me that I look like Suchitra Sen. That’s a real compliment.”
Link
In focus: In the jungle with Tarzan and Jane
Kimi Katkar in Adventures of Tarzan (above), the actress romancing Hemant Birje who played Tarzan in the film (top)
After the boxoffice success of Disco Dancer in 1982, followed by Kasam Paida Karnewale Ki two years later, Mithun Chakraborty became a huge star. When his mentor-director, B Subhash, approached him for his next film, Dance Dance, the actor requested him to wait sixseven months so he could clear his backlog before allotting fresh dates. Wondering what to do in the interim, the director hit upon the idea of making a film on the adventures of Tarzan in 3D. After getting Raj Kapoor’s cinematographer Radhu Karmakar on board, Subhash went to Chennai to hire the only available 3D camera in the country.
“Chota Chetan was a hit and suddenly everyone wanted to jump onto the 3D bandwagon. I found Romu Sippy renting out his camera to the many producers waiting in queue for threefour hour schedules. I knew that wouldn’t work for me, so I returned to Mumbai and told my scriptwriter Dr Rahi Masoom Reza that I had decided to shelve the project,” reminisces the film’s director who was assured by Dr Reza that this was a subject which if mounted well, would work even in cinemascope. “His words booted by confidence and this followed by the keen interest of the distributors, urged me to go ahead with Adventures of Tarzan.”
For the title role he was looking for a new boy with a tough body and a soft face and despite calls from A-list stars wanting to play the part, Subhash settled for Hemant Birje who worked with a security outfit. After three months of training, he looked like a convincing apeman. “Hemant used to be a shy, young boy who for a particular scene got badly beaten up by the action director and the stuntmen. He showed me the scratches and bruises on his back and told me that now his captivity in the circus would look natural and convincing,” recalls Subhash.
Kimi Katkar was recommended to him by Danny Denzongpa who had worked with him in Aandhi Toofan. “Danny told me that he’d give me my Jane and sent Kimi to me,” smiles the filmmaker, remembering how on the first day of a shoot, a circus tiger instead of jumping into its cage, clambered on the high bench Kimi was perched on and was seated right behind her as the studio quickly emptied. “Fortunately, the beast didn’t attack and that experience emboldened her. After that she was unfazed when a herd of wild elephants crossed our path in Madhumalai and cobras slithered by when we were shooting in the jungles. Her mother, who was always with her, was the one who was terrified while she waltzed with the circus animals in the song, Mere paas aaoge, mere saath nachoge.”
Those days, a film had to be delivered to distributors on video. There was a leak and suddenly there was a huge buzz in the trade about the film. It released on the same Friday as Raj Kapoor’s Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Manmohan Desai’s Amitabh Bachchan starrer, Mard. All three films were huge hits. But while no one was surprised by the success of the other two given that they had the backing of big banners, the reception to Tarzan with two newcomers took many by surprise, including Rajendra Kumar.
Jubilee Kumar and Subhash took morning walks on the beach together and when the latter had first confided in the star his plans of making Tarzan, Kumar had admonished him, wondering why after two big hits he had chosen such a “C-grade subject”. Subhash assured him that he would turn this “C-Grade subject” into an “A-class film”. “And after its release Rajendra Kumar admitted that I’d kept my word,” Subhash beams prodly, adding that he’s now planning to remake the film in 3D with a new lead pair.
https://www.mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/bollywood/In-focus-In-the-jungle-with-Tarzan-and-Jane/articleshow/47335968.cms
Meenakshi Sheshadri’s current picture