March 9, 2009

Favorite Cameos

Many times, I will watch a movie just for a star appearing in a brief cameo. Here are my top 5, in no particular order.

#1- Ijazat: Shashi Kapoor.
The first one that comes to my mind the minute I think of great Bolly cameos. He looks gorgeous, he speaks volumes in a 1 sentence and with those gorgeous eyes.

#2- Teesri Manzil: KN Singh
Such a brief visit, but he looked like he was really having fun. Salman's dad also shows up for a bit.

#3- Gumnaam (1965): Helen
Who can forget "Kitty Kelly" and her purple and white swim suit, so gracefully worn and so brightly done? Just wish (as always) that she had stuck around a bit longer...

#4- Dharavi: Madhuri Dixit
She is Om Puri's fantasy- and offers welcome respite both for him and the viewer from the harsh realities of the surrounding Dharavi, that threatens to swollow us into its grime along w/ Om.

#5- Welcome to Sajjanpur : Divya Dutta and Ila Arun
They both have really brief roles, and are amazingly effective, funny and high impact. Both lovely, both talent powerhouses.

Alright now, what are your favs?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know if i'll count Helen in Gumnaam as a Cameo. She had more screen time in Gumnaam than in most movies she did way back then

dunkdaft said...

Only movie I've seen frm ur list is Teesri Manzil. But just cant remember the cameo.

By far i can remember, Kajol's so short cameo in 'mahi ve..-kal ho na ho' was superb. (which became regular later in k.jo/yashraj movies).
Also I loved SRK/Tabu pairing in Saathiya.

When u dont know they are coming on screen, that makes it more enjoyable.

Bollywood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nicki said...

Good list!! I have yet to see Teesri Manzil, I do have it though. Maybe I'll watch it after my Southie filmfest. :)

I have Welcome to Sajjanpur but haven't watched it either.

Hmmm, my favorite cameos? I'll have to think about it. :)

Bhargav Saikia said...

I loved all the cameos in Luck By Chance.

Amitabh Bachchan in Paheli, which was absolutely fantastic!

dunkdaft said...

Agree with theJuhiFan. Oops..theTabuFan...oh..theBollywoodFan. :-)

Juhi and Neelam were too good. (Neelam show, yo!!!)

ajnabi said...

I'm with Darshit; I love the SRK/Tabu jodi in Saathiya. (Also Tabu's 3-second unglam appearance in MHN.) Oh, and I also liked Rani's "Maahi Ve" appearance when they did the "Say Shava Shava" dance for, like, 3 seconds.

Anonymous said...

Divya Dutta and Ila Arun are hardly cameos in Welcome To Sajjanpur - more like special appearances! I was so pleased to see Ila Arun after all these years. :-) Agreed about all your other picks too (dont remember K. N. Singh in Teesri Manzil - need to rewatch! :-D) though except for Shashi's role in Ijaazzat, I'd call them guest appearances or special roles, rather than cameos!

I loved all the cameos and Hrithik's "special" appearance in Luck By Chance, SRK-Tabu in Saathiya, Vinod Khanna in Prem Kahani, all the star cameos in Chhoti Si Baat and Dharmendra's guest appearances in Khamoshi (the 1969 one - you dont even see his face and yet his presence haunts the whole movie) and Kinara (you could totally understand Hema's unwillingness to forgive Jeetandra for causing his death!).

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Bollywoodewaana: That's actually a very good point- it may have qualified as a cameo if it was any other actor, but for Helen, it was otherwise, I agree :D

Darshit: Omg SRK-tabu was truly super in Sathiya- I had forgotten! thanks! re: Teesri Manzil- KN's 1 superfast appearance made me watch that scene like 6 times :D- he is the "drunk manager" who handles the cottage for Prem Nath.

TBF: I agree w/ all except the one for Tabu- that one just makes me angry- she is SO amazing- that role gives her nothing! :( sadness

Bhargav: Ah yes- I had forgotten Amitabh in that- it was a lovely little bit, I agree!

Ajnabi: Agreed on Saathiya. I am trying to understand though- do appearances in songs count as cameos any more? esp with all the "item" numbers by all the stars that have become so popular? Its an interesting q, and I am probably going to think it to death.....

Bollyviewer: yeah perhaps that'd be a better discription- they do show up multiple times. And OMG I ALMOST put down Dharam in there from Khamoshi- he is so damned effective, when we never even see his face! amazing! See Teesri- he comes in when when Shammi discovers PremNath's cottage- as the "Drunk Manager."

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

These are all great! How about Rani's picture in the phone booth in Main Hoon Na? :) Since I rewatched it for the umpteenth time tonight and just noticed him: Prem Chopra in Bunty aur Babli!

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Beth: Prem was in Bunty Aur Bubli??? I need to see that movie properly!

dunkdaft said...

Oh yes, I remember Prem was in B'n'b. But can't remember the situation. And hey !! Tabu was there in MHN?? [I was so busy watching Sush in Saree....] Help me, which scene??

Luck by Chance's all cameos were superb. Despite I am an Aamirian, I loved SRK's cameo in that.