Dr. Mandar V. Bichu
A paediatrician, originally from Mumbai, currently settled and practicing in Sharjah since 1993. Also a freelance journalist regularly writing on movies, music and medicine in UAE-based publications. Editor/Webmaster of http://cinemasangeet.com http://videogeet.com and http://rightparenting.com Published books- Gaaye Lata Gaaye Lata (1996), Doctorki (1999), Suur Manaatale (2001) and Right Parenting (2008).

 

Dr. Mandar V. Bichu's Blog

  • Blast From The Past – Meeting Usha Khanna
    Author with Usha Khanna Remember the popular soundtracks like ‘Dil Deke Dekho’, ‘Hum Hindustani’, ‘Aao Pyar Kare’, ‘Hawas’ , ‘Saajan Bina Suhagan’ and ‘Sautan’? Remember the chart-buster classics like Rafi’s ‘Hum Tumse Juda Hoke Mar Jaayenge Ro Ro Ke’, Lata’s ‘Maanjhi...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at October 2nd, 2009 at 02:10 am
  • Classic Revisited – Papillon (1973)
    Papillon (1973) Cast: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman “We are not going to reform you. We are not priests, we are processors. We process dangerous men into harmless ones. We will break you physically, spiritually and up here!” With this brutal philosophy the French ran their penal colony in ‘Guiane’ (French Guiana, South America). Insensitive, inhuman and...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at September 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 am
  • Tingya – an experience to behold
    Tingya (2008) Writer/Director: Mangesh Hadawale Tingya belongs to that rare category of films, which not only touches your heart but also stirs your soul deep within! Watching this film is realizing how little do we know or care for the lives of millions of poor and underprivileged Indian farmers and their families. After being rejected by 40 producers, (some of whom...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at August 26th, 2009 at 12:08 am
  • Blast From The Past: Meeting O.P. Nayyar!
    June 6, 2003. It’s almost 9.30 p.m. The goal is simple. We want to meet O.P.Nayyar – the legendary music maestro, the creator of some of the most scintillating tunes in Hindi film music. The setting is extremely informal. We have gathered in the drawing room of Shobhana and Chandramohan-Dubai-based singers-cum-event organizers. Me, my dear friend Shekhar (Dr.Chandrashekhar)...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at August 4th, 2009 at 09:08 am
  • New York (2009)
    New York Director: Kabir Khan Cast: Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Irrfan As the first major big banner release after the resolution of producer- multiplex owner dispute, New York was supposed to woo the audiences back into the theatres. But after watching it on the big screen, I am not sure that the film would manage that feat! Earlier director Kabir Khan’s...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at June 29th, 2009 at 01:06 am
  • Tarang (1984)
    Tarang Year: 1984 Writer/Director: Kumar Shahani Cast: Amol Palekar, Smita Patil, Shreeram Lagoo, Rohini Hattangadi, Om Puri, Kawal Gandhiok If you want to know why the so-called Parallel Cinema movement in Hindi cinema died down in the 1980s, then go and watch this movie- at your peril of course! The only reason I saw it was to listen to Lata Mangeshkar’s superb rendition...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at June 27th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
  • Sanjeev Kohli: From Veer Zaara to Tere Bagair
    Sanjeev KohliThe name ‘Sanjeev Kohli’ has been on my interview- radar since quite a few years. As a hard core movie- music buff, it is but natural to be curious about a man who not only happens to be legendary composer Madan Mohan’s eldest son but who has also played an important role in shaping the corporate identities of India’s biggest entertainment banners-...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at June 20th, 2009 at 12:06 am
  • Masti Bhara Hai Sama- Dattaram reminisces
    #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } Today, Dattaram Wadkar...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at May 31st, 2009 at 12:05 am
  • Pyarelal on Lata : LP musical equation
    Flashback: It is 2005. Pyarelal (the famous second half of Laxmikant- Pyarelal) is in Dubai to attend a tribute show. I along with Kaustubh- (KCP for the PFC readers!), we are dutifully chaperoning him to various TV and radio-stations for various interviews. We enter a studio of a famous Pakistani TV- channel. The host happens to be a veteran Pakistani TV-presenter, who...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at April 27th, 2009 at 02:04 pm
  • Salaam Bombay to Slumdog Millionaire
    In 1988, a film centered on Mumbai’s slum-street-kids attracted international attention. It won quite a few awards at major film-festivals and even got an Oscar nomination as the best foreign film. That film was Hollywood-based director Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay. 20 years later, British director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire portrayed the same world and did even...
    by Dr. Mandar V. Bichu at April 21st, 2009 at 08:04 pm