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 wh ...

''. 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 which he also performed onscreen for the hit 1965 film '' Gumnaam''. 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 Jawan may refer to: *''Jawan'', a term of Persian origin, meaning "young" in several South Asian languages * A junior soldier A soldier is a Salvationist who is at least 14 years of age and has, with the approval of The Salvation Army Pastoral ...

'' (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 fi ...

'' (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 ''Tum Haseen Main Jawan'' () is a 1970 Hindi movie directed by Bhappi Sonie. The film stars Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Pran, Helen and Rajindernath. The film was remade in Kannada as ''Tuvvi Tuvvi Tuvvi'' in 1999. Plot Raja Sahib dies leaving a ...

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

Prince A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in s ...

'' (choreographer - as Harman) * 1969 Pyar Hi Pyar'' (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 ...

'' (dances) * 1969 '' Vishwas'' (choreographer - as Late Herman) * 1969 '' Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati'' (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 ...

'' (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. The music is by Ravi. The film became a big hit at the box office. The film idea was suggested by Manoj K ...

'' (dances) * 1966 ''

Rustom Kaun Rustom may refer to: * ''Rustom'' (film) (2016), a Bollywood film starring Akshay Kumar and Ileana D'Cruz *''Rustom (1982 film)'', a Bollywood film starring Tanuja, Dara Singh and Rajendra Kumar *DRDO Rustom, an unmanned combat air vehicle *Elie Rus ...

'' (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, He ...

(choreographer - as Harman) * 1966 ''

Husn Aur Ishq Al Husun ( ar, الحصن, also Romanized as Al Husn, Hisn and Husn) is a town in northern Jordan, located north of Amman, and about south of Irbid. It has a population of 35,085. The region has fertile soil which along with the moderate clima ...

'' (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 '' Gumnaam'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1965 '' Tu Hi Meri Zindagi'' (dance director - as Herman) * 1964 '' Daal Me Kala'' (choreographer: Vancouver - as Harman Benzamin) * 1963 '' Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke'' (choreographer - as Herman) * 1961 '' Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai'' (choreographer: additional choreography - as Herman) * 1961 '' Jhumroo'' (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 fa ...

'' (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