Herman Benjamin was a

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

of dance numbers in various Bollywood movies from the late 1950s through to the early 1970s. Also known as "Harman", he started his career as a choreographer in the popular 1958 film ''

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' () is a 1 January 1958 Indian musical comedy film directed by Satyen Bose. Starring Madhubala with the Ganguly brothers —Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar, and Kishore Kumar— the film revolves around a middle-aged man who ...

''. He choreographed a great number of movies featuring

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...

. He also appeared onscreen as a dancing extra in several of the songs he choreographed. Among his most well known songs is

Jaan Pehechan Ho "Jaan Pehechan Ho" ("Let's Know Each Other") is an Indian rock, Indian rock & roll Music of Bollywood, Bollywood song, sung by Mohammed Rafi, composed by duo Shankar Jaikishan, and with Hindi-Urdu lyrics by Shailendra (lyricist), Shailendra. It ...

which he also performed onscreen for the hit 1965 film ''

Gumnaam ''Gumnaam'' (translation: ''Unknown'' or ''Anonymous'') is a 1965 Indian Bollywood thriller film directed by Raja Nawathe, starring Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Pran, Helen and Mehmood. The film is a loosely-inspired adaptation of the 1939 mystery n ...

''. The song gained international popularity 36 years later when it was featured in the opening scene of the American movie '' Ghost World'' in 2001. He died in 1968 and several films he had choreographed dances for released after his death until 1971. The family of Benjamin was among those of other late choreographers that received awards on their behalf from the Indian Film Dance Directors Association (IFDDA) on January 9, 2012, for their contribution to the field of choreography. A complete listing of the movies that Herman Benjamin worked on is below.

Movies

* 1971 '' Jawan Muhabat'' (choreographer - as Late Harman Benjamin) * 1970 ''

Pagla Kahin Ka ''Pagla Kahin Ka'' (''Such a Fool'') is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Helen and Prem Chopra, all of whom had earlier starred in the huge hit Teesri Manzil (1966). The f ...

'' (choreographer - as Late Herman) * 1970 ''

Suhana Safar ''Suhana Safar'' is a 1970 Bollywood drama film directed by Vijay. The film stars Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore. Plot Sapna (Sharmila Tagore), flying back to India from the USA is involved in an airplane engine "flameout". She loves poetry ...

'' (choreographer - as Late Herman) * 1970 '' Tum Haseen Main Jawan'' (choreographer - as Late Herman) * 1969 ''

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

'' (choreographer - as Harman) * 1969

Pyar Hi Pyar ''Pyar Hi Pyar'' ("Love, only love") is a 1969 Bollywood film produced by Rajaram and Satish Wagle, and directed by Bhappi Sonie. The film stars Dharmendra, Vyjayanthimala, Pran, Helen, Madan Puri and Mehmood. This was the only movie of Dhar ...

'' (choreographer) * 1969 ''

Pyar Ka Sapna ''Pyar ka Sapna'' () is a 1969 Bollywood film starring Ashok Kumar, Mala Sinha, Biswajeet, Helen and others. The film was produced by T.C. Dewan and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with music by Chitragupta, lyrics and dialogues by Rajendra Kr ...

'' (dances) * 1969 '' Vishwas'' (choreographer - as Late Herman) * 1969 ''

Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati ''Ek Shrimaan Ek Shrimati'' is a 1969 Indian Bollywood film directed by Bhappi Sonie and produced by Surinder Kapoor. It stars Shashi Kapoor and Babita in pivotal roles. Plot Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati is a story about Pritam (Shashi Kapoor) and D ...

'' (dances - as Late Herman Benjamin) * 1968 '' Abhilasha'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1968 '' Brahmachari'' (dance director) * 1968 '' Izzat'' (choreographer) * 1968 ''

Jhuk Gaya Aasman ''Jhuk Gaya Aasman'' ''( The Skies Have Bowed)'' is a 1968 romantic comedy film directed by Lekh Tandon. It stars Rajendra Kumar, Saira Banu, Rajendranath and Prem Chopra. The music is by Shankar Jaikishan. The film is a remake of the American ...

'' (choreographer - as Harman) * 1968 '' Duniya'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1967 ''Aag'' (dances - as Harman) * 1967 '' Latt Saheb'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1967 '' Raat Aur Din'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1967 '' Raaz'' (choreographer - as Harman Benjamin) * 1967 ''

Upkar ''Upkar'' () is a 1967 Indian Hindi film directed by Manoj Kumar. The film held the top spot at the box office in 1967. It was Manoj Kumar's directorial debut film. Then India's prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri suggested Kumar to make a film b ...

'' (dances - as Herman) * 1966 '' Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi'' (dances - as Herman) * 1966 ''

Do Badan Do Badan (English: Two Bodies) is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla, and starring Manoj Kumar, Asha Parekh, Simi Garewal and Pran (actor), Pran. The music is by Ravi (music director), Ravi. The film became a big hit at the box office. Th ...

'' (dances) * 1966 '' Rustom Kaun'' (choreography - as Herman) * 1966

Teesri Manzil ''Teesri Manzil'' (English: "Third Floor") is a 1966 Indian musical thriller film directed by Vijay Anand and produced by Nasir Hussain. It starred Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh, along with Laxmi Chhaya, Premnath, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Hele ...

(choreographer - as Harman) * 1966 '' Husn Aur Ishq'' (dances - as Harman) * 1965 '' Jab Jab Phool Khile'' (choreographer) * 1965 '' Janwar'' (dances - as Herman) * 1965 ''

Mere Sanam ''Mere Sanam'' (English: ''My Lover'' hi, मेरे सनम) is a 1965 Hindi film starring Biswajeet, Asha Parekh, Mumtaz, Pran and Rajendra Nath. The film was a hit at the box office, especially because of the musical score by Majrooh Su ...

'' (choreographer) * 1965 '' Shreeman Funtoosh'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1965 ''

'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1965 '' Tu Hi Meri Zindagi'' (dance director - as Herman) * 1964 ''

Daal Me Kala ''Daal Mein Kala'' is a 1964 Hindi-language film starring Kishore Kumar, Nimmi and Agha. On the run for unpaid bills, an unemployed slacker is mistaken for a professor Plot When Bombay-based Rajaram and Rajendra Kumar are unable to pay thei ...

'' (choreographer: Vancouver - as Harman Benzamin) * 1963 ''

Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke ''Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke'' () is a 1963 Hindi film starring Sunil Dutt and Leela Naidu in the lead roles. This film was Sunil Dutt's debut production, directed by R.K. Nayyar, with music composed by Ravi. Premise Dutt's favourite writer Agha ...

'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1961 ''

Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai ''Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai '' () is a 1961 Hindi-language musical comedy film that became a box office hit. It was written, produced, and directed by Nasir Hussain. The first film Hussain ever produced, it featured Dev Anand and Hussain fixt ...

'' (choreographer: additional choreography - as Herman) * 1961 ''

Jhumroo ''Jhumroo'' is a 1961 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Shankar Mukherjee. It stars Madhubala and Kishore Kumar in lead roles, with Chanchal, Anoop Kumar, Lalita Pawar and Jayant appearing in supporting roles. The screenplay ...

'' (choreographer) * 1960 ''

Ek Phool Char Kaante ''Ek Phool Char Kante'' () is a 1960 Hindi film directed by Bhappi Sonie in his directorial debut. The film stars Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Johnny Walker, Gopi and Tun Tun. The film's music is by Shankar Jaikishan. The film included the f ...

'' (choreographer) * 1959 ''

Dil Deke Dekho ''Dil Deke Dekho'' is a 1959 Indian Hindi romantic comedy film. It was Nasir Hussain's second film as a director after '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (1957), which became a big hit and gave star Shammi Kapoor a new image as a comedic, dancing hero. Huss ...

'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1958 ''

References

External links

Blog on Herman Benjamin the Choreographer.
* *http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/1400943/

*http://memsaabstory.com/2008/12/14/trivia-time-33/#more-5821 Indian film choreographers Indian choreographers Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{India-dance-stub