By Patna Correspondent Prem Kumar
From immortal Raj Kapoor-Nargis to modern-day Shah Rukh-Kajol the Hindi film world has spawned numerous onscreen couples who, owing to sizzling performances, created indelible niches for themselves.
The magical chemistry between S.R.K. and the dusky damsel held viewers spellbound for years. ‘Baazigar’, the first movie pairing S.R.K.-Kajol, was released in 1993. Altogether, the duo acted together in seven ventures including the latest ‘Dilwale’. Way back in 1998, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was a tremendous success among youth. The Bollywood badshah was also successfully paired with 1984 Miss India Juhi Chawla. The jodi boasts several films to their credit including ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘One 2 Ka 4’, ‘Yes Boss’, ‘Darr’, ‘Duplicate’, ‘Ram-jaane’ and ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’.
Turning the pages of cine history shows the visages of Dilip Kumar-Vyjayanthimala Bali, Dev Anand-Nutan, Dharmendra-Hema Malini, Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore and Millennium Megastar Amitabh Bachchan-Rekha.
The Dream Girl worked in a total 28 movies with Dharmendra and 14 were super hits. Amitabh acted in nine films with the gorgeous Rekha and eight with Jaya Bhaduri. Raj Kapoor-Nargis delivered a good number of hits including ‘Aag’, ‘Barsaat’, ‘Andaz’, ‘Jan Pahchan’, ‘Awara’ and ‘Chori Chori’. The Showman of Indian Cinema was also paired against Madhubala, Nutan and Vyjayanthimala. That era witnessed the superb acting of Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in ‘Devdas’, ‘Madhumati’, ‘Paigam’, ‘Ganga Jamuna’, ‘Leader’, ‘Sunghursh’ etc. Waheeda Rehman and Meena Kumari teamed up with Kumar sahib. ‘Ram aur Shyam’, ‘Aadmi’, ‘Dil Diya Dard Liya’ and ‘Mashaal’ are some of the Dilip-Waheeda successes.
Tragedy Queen Meena Kumari contributed to ‘Footpath’, ‘Azaad’, ‘Kohinoor’ and others including ‘Zindagi aur Khwab’ also starring Rajendra Kumar. Guru Dutt and Waheeda delivered ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Sahib Biwi aur Gulam’, ‘Kagaz ke Phool’ and ‘Chaudhvin ka Chand’.
The 1975 megahit ‘Sholay’ produced another hit jodi -- Hema and her real life husband Dharmji. The couple featured in other hits including ‘Pratiggya’, ‘Raja Jani’, ‘Razia Sultan’, ‘Alibaba aur 40 Chor’, ‘Baghawat’ and ‘The Burning Train’.
The seventies witnessed the charming pairs Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh, Amitabh-Rekha and Jeetendra-Rekha whereas the eighties saw Farooq Sheikh-Deepti Naval. People loved the sizzling chemistry between Amitabh and Rekha. The duo’s most memorable output was ‘Silsila’ (1981). Other movies include ‘Khoon Pasina’, ‘Mr. Natwarlal’, ‘Suhaag’ and ‘Ram Balram’. Rekha also acted in films with Jeetendra including ‘Suntan’, ‘Judaai’ and ‘Mehandi Rang Layegi’.
Dhak dhak girl Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor delivered superb successes such as ‘Ram Lakhan’, ‘Zindagi ek Juaa’, ‘Beta’, ‘Pukar’, ‘Parinda’ and ‘Jamai Raja’. Anil was also paired with Sridevi in ventures like ‘Mr. India’, ‘Laadla’ and ‘Lamhe’.
In the nineties, the list of super hit jodis include Karishma Kapoor-Govinda who delivered hits including ‘Raja Babu’, ‘Coolie No. 1’, ‘Saajan Chale Sasural’ and ‘Haseena Maan Jaayegi’.
The list of marvelous pairs is virtually never-ending...