Growing up days – 1960s was the coming of age of Hindi movies

1960s was the coming of age of Hindi movies from Bollywood because it was the transition from the black-and-white era to the era of color. And, the movies used to feature stalwarts of the Hindi cinema – names like Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna meant box office stars.

The heroines added the glamour quotient and their running around trees was an integral part of Bollywood movies. Moreover, kissing was and still is taboo in Hindi movies and the symbolic depiction was through a pair of birds nestling close and rubbing their beaks.
There was experimentation and producers began to shift the locales from built-up sets in the studio to more exotic locations both inside the country as well as abroad. Legendary Raj Kapoor set the trend with his 1964 super-hit movie Sangam where he went abroad to shoot some portion of the movie.
Then there was Shammi Kapoor who redefined entertainment in Hindi movies by his exuberance and high level of energy that mixed with beautiful music and lyrics to produce masterpieces – the songs are popular even today after half a century. Raj Kapoor –Jis Desh mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Chhalia (1960), Dil Hi To Hai (1963), Sangam (1964), Teesri Kasam (1966)
Dilip Kumar – Kohinoor (1960), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Ganga Jamuna (1961), Leader (1964), Ram aur Shyam (1967), Aadmi (1968)
Shammi Kapoor – Junglee (1961), China Town (1962), Kashmir ki kali (1964), Raaj Kumar (1964), Janwaar (1965), Teesri Manzil (1966), An evening in Paris (1967), Brahmachari (1968)

Dev Anand – Kala Bazaar (1960), Hum Dono (1961), Asli Naqli (1962), Tere Ghar ke samney (1963), Guide (1965), Teen Deviya (1965), Jewel Thief (1967)
Manoj Kumar – Hariyali aur raasta (1962), Woh kaun thi (1964), Himalaya ki God Mein (1965), Shaheed (1965), Upkar (1967) Rajesh Khanna – Baharon ke sapne (1967), Aradhana (1969), Do Raaste (1969), Ittefaq (1969), Khamoshi (1969), Bandhan (1969) (to be continued …)