By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His Birth Anniversary
Vijay Arora & Reena Roy both debuted with B. R.Ishara’s “Zaroorat” ( 1972 ).The film was publicized as a sex-oriented film which brought the upcoming starlet into instant limelight. The film begins when a taxi driver finds two men molesting a young girl at a secluded place. He offers his shirt to the victim and makes the goons run away. He later drops the girl to her home. The girl Reena Roy was publicized as ‘Zaroorat Girl’ & this tag remained attached to her for years until she eventually changed her image to a homely and talented actress. His hero in the film was Vijay Arora, a handsome lad then in his late twenties.
A gold medalist from the Film and Television Institute of India in 1971, Arora hit the bull’s eyes with Nasir Hussain’s 1973 hit “Yadon Ki Baraat” opposite guitar strumming beauty Zeenat Aman singing “Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko,Nazar Nahi Churana Sanam” also featuring Dharmendra,Neetu Singh, Aamir Khan & Tariq.The film had music score by R. D. Burman. “Yadon Ki Baraat” proved a stepping stone or launching pad for Neetu Singh,Aamir Khan & Tariq. The film also prompted many other film makers to make similar masala films in the years that followed.
The actor later appeared in “Rakhi Aur Hathkadi” with Asha Parekh. Hrishikesh Mukjherjee cast him in the lead in “Subse bada Sukh”( 1973).He worked with with Parveen Babi in “36 Ghante”( 1974), Moushumi Chatterjee in “Natak” (1975)& with Shabana Azami in “Kadambari” ( 1976). He also appeared in supporting roles in a number of films like “Roti” (1974), featuring Rajesh Khanna & Mumtaz,”Nishan”,” Sauten”,”Awam” , “Sargam”, “Naseeb” & “Bade Dil Wala”. He also appeared in a cameo in blockbuster” 100 Days”( 1991) ,a suspense film featuring Madhuri Dixit & Jackie Shroff. He was last seen in “Indian Babu” in 2003. “Ek Mutthi Aasmaan” opposite Radha Saluja and Satyan Bose’s “Mere Bhaiya” were his other worth mentionable movies.
