Actors · Short Takes

Why Aamir Khan was scared to play his age in Dangal

Tanne chaaro khaane chit kar degi Tere purje fit kar degi Dat kar degi tere daanv se badh ke Pench palat kar degi Chit kar degi, chit kar degi Aisi dhaakad hai dhaakad hai Aisi dhaakad hai Aisi dhaakad hai dhaakad hai Aisi dhaakad hai Once in a supermoon, does a big budget Hindi movie… Continue reading Why Aamir Khan was scared to play his age in Dangal

Actors · Directors · Short Takes

Raj & Nargis: A love that wasn’t

There was nothing subtle or silent about their romance. From the moment Raj Kapoor and Nargis met, in 1947, they were destined to create history. A first meeting that was cherished by Raj and immortalised many years later in his bubblegum love tale Bobby (1972). It was the scene in which Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor meet the first time and she accidentally smears… Continue reading Raj & Nargis: A love that wasn’t

Directors · Short Takes

Why Andaz was a watershed movie for Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Raj Kapoor

They were the original stylish trio of Hindi cinema. The talented players who made the love triangle an affair to remember and repeated forever. The year, 1949. The movie, Andaz. The creator of which was legendary director Mehboob Khan. There is no doubt it proved to be a watershed film in the careers of Dilip… Continue reading Why Andaz was a watershed movie for Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Raj Kapoor

Actors · Short Takes

QSQT: Love at first sight with Aamir Khan!

I take my cinematic love-at-first-sight moments very seriously. The year was 1988 when Doordarshan, Chitrahaar and Chayageet were still my gateways to an imagined heaven. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was about to enter my life. If my memory doesn't fail me, Gazab Ka Hai Din was the first song I happened to watch on Chayageet.… Continue reading QSQT: Love at first sight with Aamir Khan!

Actors · Short Takes

Geeta Bali & Shammi Kapoor Love Story

There is something heartening and hopeful about a timeless love story. So here is my favourite real-life one of Hindi cinema's golden couple Geeta Bali and Shammi Kapoor. They shared a love for nature and fell in love early 1955, around picturesque Ranikhet (close to Nainital) where they were shooting for a movie called Rangeen… Continue reading Geeta Bali & Shammi Kapoor Love Story

Actors · Short Takes

How Guru Dutt discovered Waheeda Rahman

Serendipity in the form of a buffalo helped Guru Dutt discover Waheeda Rehman. A driving accident with a buffalo cart badly damaged his car and Dutt was stranded in Hyderabad for three days with friend and working partner Abrar Alvi. Alvi narrates the story in Sathya Saran's book, Ten Years with Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi's… Continue reading How Guru Dutt discovered Waheeda Rahman