MUMBAI: Remember the 1951 hit song 'Bholi Surat Dil Ke Khot' made by producer, director and the unconventional hero, Bhagwan Dada? This song has been reinterpreted now, which is after sixty years of its original release. The track will feature in the upcoming Marathi biopic of Bhagwan Dada, 'Ekk Albela'.

In the song Marathi actor Mangesh Desai is seen as Bhagwan Dada and Vidya Balan as Geeta Bali. C Ramachandra had added Gujarati folk tune to give shape to this number but the timelessness of this track still continues as it is repackaged by singers Anwesshaa and Vinay Mandke. The song is released by Saregama India Ltd.

Here are a few lesser known facts about Bhagwan Dada.

·    He was an ace comic actor with love for wrestling.

·    Bhagwan Abhaji Palav also known as Bhagwan Dada was born in Amravati, Maharashtra in 1913 and began his working career in a textile mill as a laborer.

·    The upcoming Marathi feature 'Ekk Albela' is a biopic of Bhagwan Dada who rose to fame with the 1951 Hindi film Albela, which became the third-highest grossing film of its time.

·    'Ekk Albela' traces the journey of Bhagwan Dada's film career as an actor and director.

·   'Ekk Albela' is a classic journey of a man who came up from nothing and went on to become a Legend, leaving behind a legacy that will entertain us forever.

·     Began his foray into the world of cinema through silent films which included small bit part roles.

·      First film of notable significance was a movie called Criminal.

·     Signature dance moves soon became a sensation of his time and was perhaps the first to combine different dance forms such as Ramba, Samba, Disco, Rock-N-Roll and other dance forms to Hindi cinema. In short, free styling to the tunes in his own unique way.

·     He was among the few male stars to break into an inner elite circle of actors/dancers which was dominated by female dancers.

·       As his acclimatization with cinema grew strong, he steadily infused himself into the art of directing and made his directorial debut in a film called ‘Bahadur Kisan’. This was co-directed with Chandrarao in 1938.

·      Post Bahadur Kisan, he went on to direct a number of films in the next decade where he also directed a Tamil film, ‘Vana Mohini’, starring M. K. Radha and Thavamani Devi which became quite popular and shot him into greater prominence.