Tomorrow marks the 68th birthday of one my favourite bollywood actors Jeetendra, as a fan what makes Jeetendra very admirable to me are his good looks, his energetic and enthusiastic dance moves and his style of acting. Now i wouldn't describe him as the best of actors but i simply enjoy and never cease to be entertained by his melodramatic and camp style of acting, i also admire his work ethic, Jeetendra started his career in the 1960's with Geet Gaaya Pattharone and went ahead to do over 200+ films all through which he didn't earn a single best actor or best supporting actor nomination, however he always gave his best and was eventually recognised for his contribution to hindi cinema when he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2003 filmfare awardsA quick timeline of Jeetendra's Career
60's
Career: Jeetendra is said to have been casted as Sandhya's double in the 1959 V. Shantaram film 'Navrang' but his first leading role came in the V. Shantaram's Geet Gaya Pattharone (1964), though a good launching pad for Jeetendra, Geet Gaaya Pattharone didn't do much for him until 'Farz' the first commercial spy film inspired by James Bond became a blockbuster and made Jeetendra a big star, he aslo starred in drama's like Boon Jo Ban Gayee Moti, Suhaag raat, Muslim social 'Mere Huzoor' he had another big hit towards the end of the decade with 'Jeene ki Rah'
Style: Jeetendra was Prettily handsome in the 60's with Elvis style Pompadours, glowing skin and mod style clothes, he was a treat for the eyes
Jeetendra in his trademark White Trousers and shoes combo
Elvis style Hair & 60's slim cut suits
Famous Pairings: His leading ladies in the 60's were Rajshree, Babita, Nanda, Tanuja & Mumtaz
Jeetendra & Babita in Farz
Mumtaz in Jigri Dost
Facts & Trivia: Jeetendra's high spirited and enthusiastic dance moves as can be seen in the 'mast baharon ka' song from Farz earned him the nick name 'Jumping Jack'
70's
Career: The 70's were a successful period for Jeetendra and further established his superstar status, while Amitabh Bachchan Angry Young man films became the winning formula in the 70's, Jeetendra's career stayed afloat with cute romantic dramas like Humjoli and family drama's like Apnapan, Swarg Narak as well as commercial Hits like Dharam Veer, Caravan, Nagin & Jaani Dushman. His most critically acclaimed work also came in this decade, with films such as Gulzar's Parichay & Khushboo.
Style: The 70's marked a much more masculine look for Jeetendra with lots of visible chest hair, sideburns and less cutesy haircuts
70's
Career: The 70's were a successful period for Jeetendra and further established his superstar status, while Amitabh Bachchan Angry Young man films became the winning formula in the 70's, Jeetendra's career stayed afloat with cute romantic dramas like Humjoli and family drama's like Apnapan, Swarg Narak as well as commercial Hits like Dharam Veer, Caravan, Nagin & Jaani Dushman. His most critically acclaimed work also came in this decade, with films such as Gulzar's Parichay & Khushboo.
Style: The 70's marked a much more masculine look for Jeetendra with lots of visible chest hair, sideburns and less cutesy haircuts
Jeetendra flaunts his Chest Rug
Suave Jeetendra and his 70's style Sideburns
Images coutesy of Karen
Famous Pairings: Leena Chandarvarkar, Neetu Singh, Reena Roy
Jeetendra and Leena Chandavarkar in the 70's
Facts & Trivia: After an attempt to marry fellow superstar Hema Malini failed, Jeetendra married his childhood sweetheart Shobha Kapoor, with whom he had two kids Ekta & Tusshar
Facts & Trivia: After an attempt to marry fellow superstar Hema Malini failed, Jeetendra married his childhood sweetheart Shobha Kapoor, with whom he had two kids Ekta & Tusshar
Jeetendra on his wedding day
80's
Career: The 80's were the most successful period for Jeetendra with numerous back to back box office hits and blockbusters in southern type melodramatic films like Tohfa, these southern type films usually had Jeetendra paired alongside Sridevi & Jaya Parda (two southern beauties who were making their mark in the hindi film industry) as well as music by Bappi Lahiri. This films became a winning box office formula, making Jeetendra one of the most bankable stars in 80's bollywood
Famous Pairings: Sridevi, Jaya Prada, Rekha & Reena Roy
Famous Pairings: Sridevi, Jaya Prada, Rekha & Reena Roy
Jeetendra and Jaya Prada in Tohfa
Style: Leather Jackets with Neatly pressed trousers, aviators, Slim fitting shirts tucked into Slim fitting trousers, Pencil Moustache
Jeetendra with 80's trademark Pencil Moustache
Bad ass Jeetu
Facts & Trivia: Rumour has it that during the filming of Maqsad one of Jeetendra's southern type films, he & Rajesh Khanna are said to have locked Jaya Prada and Sridevi up in a room in a bid to get both actresses to be friendly towards one another, Upon coming back to the room the two actors found both actresses sitting at opposite sides of the room
90's & Beyond
Career: Jeetendra's career took a major nosedive in the 9o's, he was aging plus there was no way he could compete with the new crop of heroes like Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor etc. He did have a few hits most notably Maa & a few other films, it wasn't long then till Jeetendra was assigned to doing only Fatherly roles and later only made special appearances in movies, like the 'deewangi deewangi' number in the 2007 film Om Shanti Om
90's & Beyond
Career: Jeetendra's career took a major nosedive in the 9o's, he was aging plus there was no way he could compete with the new crop of heroes like Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor etc. He did have a few hits most notably Maa & a few other films, it wasn't long then till Jeetendra was assigned to doing only Fatherly roles and later only made special appearances in movies, like the 'deewangi deewangi' number in the 2007 film Om Shanti Om
Over the next 7 days, this blog shall be devoted to Jeetendra's films 2 from each decade apart from the 90's where i shall only be reviewing 1 so it shall be 2 films from the 60's 70's, 80's & 1 from the 90's
Oh, I sooo hate those pointy-toed white shoes!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is not easy to write off Jeetendra. Nothing grand about him or larger than life charisma. But there's something about him and this really needs to be looked into by the critics of finer perception. Even at my ordinary level I say:
ReplyDeleteHe carried forward the style of Shammi Kapoor's impromptu dance steps. They were not natural like Shammi Kapoor's but he established the tradition of a dancing hero, so that the heroes coming after him were expected to shake a little at least.
It was Rajshree who told him that he must shave the hairs that jutted from his nostrils. That transformed him into a chocolate, good-looking hero.
In early career he was often criticised for his expressionless face but his popularity went on rising, especially after FARZ which has its own history. He became a one-man industry probably owing to some latent fear of want.
His best part and popularity were in later years, what with Jaya Prada and Sridevi. But I prefer the younger Jeetendra of Farz, Mere Huzoor, Jeene Ki Raah, Naya Raasta, and Swarg Narak, plus the grouping of Jawaab,Jigri Dost, Aulad, Waris and Ek Bechara. Luckily, he had the backing of good music and voice of Mohammed Rafi who sang like Jeetendra would.
Though not one of my favorites, I do like his films with Gulzar - especially Parichay. Here's hoping that you'll review at least one Gulzar-Jeetendra film in the coming week! :-)
ReplyDelete@ dusted off I actually love them, i see similar shoes all the time down here
ReplyDelete@ Nasir I know there's something about him which i just can't place my hands on as well, i'm still exploring more of his works thouugh so i'm still learning more about him
@ Bollyviewer Unfortunately I still haven't seen any of his Gulzar films although i do have Khushboo on my rental list, but i hope you'll like or at least be interested in at least one of his films that i shall be reviewing
I am glad that you are doing this post! I love those shoes too ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am so busy this week, that I have so many things pending - review of Dil Apna Preet Parai, Sharada, Jeene Ki Raah and Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein . I wanted to do a 10 Favourite Jeetendra songs yesterday but couldn't. Let me see if I can make it today.
Nice top banner. It's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen one Jeetendra film, Parichay, but I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to your reviews this week.
@ Sunehri Yaadein Thanks a lot, i felt i just had to, i have so many of his movies, and now just seemed a good time to watch & review them
ReplyDelete@ Cindy Thanks a lot, i'm yet to see Parichay, its one of his more acclaimed roles
Love this post... Jeetu had longevity... kept going right into the 80s... I need to see more of his films, so I'm enjoying the extravaganza.
ReplyDeleteThanks DADDY'S gIRL, NOT ONLY THE 80'S HE WENT RIGHT UP TILL THE LATE 90'S AND EVEN DID A FEW FILMS IN THE NOUGHTIES
ReplyDeletehi iam a very big fan of jeetendra. i always liked his pairing with rekha. they two had a great chemistry while working together.
ReplyDeletei personally request u to post some of jeetu-rekha images. so that i can save them for my lifetime.
@ Anonymous Thanks for stopping by and commenting , i do not have any pictures of Rekha and Jeetendra at the moment keep checking back though as i'll be reviewing a film they both starred in soon
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this. Please share all about Jeetendra. I thought he was the most handsome man on the screen with elegance and style. One star would agree with me is Mithun Chakravarty who said the same on a television show. I love Shammi Kapoor but Jeetendra is a versatile dancer and way back when his dances on Farz and Humjoli were awesome. There is no dance that he can't do - folks, some classical to all ballroom style dances and rock'n'roll of course. I feel that he is a star who was underrated. thanks again for your efforts.
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