Rajinikanth may have made his last Hindi film two decades ago but he can still set the screen alight, blazing away with a gun that has dozens of barrels. As Thalaiva turns 75 on December 12, Dinesh Raheja looks back at his 17 year journey in Hindi cinema.
'They have certainly not spoken to me or to Salimsaab.'
'Once when he was on a flight, the plane hit an air-pocket.' 'The turbulence outside caused it to see-saw violently which caused a lot of panic inside. While his co-passengers were crying and praying for their lives, Salil kaku was writing a song in his head.'
Writer and director Anusha Rizvi returns to cinema after 15 years with warmth, wit and many a laughs.
'The army and all the people we did spend time with, they emphasised the kind of impact Arun Khetarpal has had on one, the Indian Army and two, just the country as a whole.'
The one role Dharmendra wanted to play in life was that of the septuagenarian lover from...
'A most sad moment, filled only now with condolence and prayer.'
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
While Amitabh Bachchan's chemistry with his heroines -- from Jaya Bhaduri to Rekha to Hema Malini -- brought sizzle to his films, many of his biggest blockbusters have been powered by his combustible combination with male co-stars.
Waheeda Rehman and Jaya Bachchan attended the prayer meet for Kamini Kaushal at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai.
'When there is a paucity of time, strangely the maximum work gets accomplished. When there is no paucity of time, work never even gets a start.'
After spinning into the spotlight with the hit song-and-dance number Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu in Howrah Bridge (1958), Helen signed scores of films as a dancer. But Helen was raring to step out of her dancing shoes, and play heroine instead.
Music director duos are a unique Bollywood feature, and many have become iconic. In this special series, Dinesh Raheja explores prominent music duos, and their dynamics.
We look at the longest Hindi movies through the years, and interestingly, most of them have done well.
Film folk said their last goodbyes to Dharmendra, who passed into the ages on November 24.
After being unwell for several days, Dharmendra breathed his last on November 24.
Dinesh Raheja charts the highs and lows of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's creative association with five megastars -- Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra.
'So there I was in a titillating white outfit, with a bit of midriff on display, rolling around in the surf, while Mr Bachchan pranced around me like an ardent bird-of-paradise.'
Dharmendra got his He Man image with Phool Aur Patthar, which was so strong that he never managed to fully shrug it off.
Bappi Lahiri realised disco was a winning ticket and escalated his game with several more dancefloor perennials. Soon, every film producer and music director in town was down with disco fever. On what would have been Bappi Lahiri's 73rd birthday this November 27, Dinesh Raheja rewinds to the late music composer's halcyon days.
'What a talent, what an actor! 'Cast him as anyone, anything, and he is ready for the challenge. I get restless when I don't have him in my film.'
'There is no substantive basis for Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The only real link they can have is mischief, with Pakistan's intelligence agency using Bangladesh to create trouble along our eastern borders.'
'There are tall personalities who have utilised Mumbai and Maharashtra for their career growth, but they never thought it is their responsibility to learn Marathi.'
Dharmendra's oeuvre was so phenomenal that there was never a phase in his professional life when he was in danger of falling into a rut, in terms of either the kind of films he starred in or the sort of co-actors he worked with.
'We expect inbound numbers in 2025 to come close to pre-pandemic levels -- if not fully match them -- by early 2026.'
Dharmendra remained one of the most loved stars of all time, even when his movies tapered off, and age caught up with him.
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
'Every film had its challenges, but Mr India, Sadak and Gandhi were the toughest.' 'Mr India needed imagination, Sadak needed sensitivity and Gandhi demanded historical authenticity.'
'One of the dignified aspects of their relationship is that Hema reportedly told Dharamji that she would never disturb his first family.'
Speaking at the ceremony, Deepti said it was a matter of great pride to address the gathering at the Police Headquarters.
The cricketing fraternity on Monday paid glowing tributes to veteran actor Dharmendra, who passed away in Mumbai at the age of 89.
From emotional showdowns to the ultimate happily-ever-afters, we recap 10 times Bollywood showed us couples fighting their gharwale for their love.
'I don't think it is right to remove him over one lapse. The focus should be on restoring operations, not on removing a key management personnel.'
'I have always broken my image every time I went on screen. I don't know what it means to be a Greek God but people used to call me one.'
'I owe what Shakti became as much to Mr Bachchan as Salim-Javed.'
How cybercriminals used the names and likenesses of celebrities to trick people into scams.
Though Zanjeer is credited as Amitabh's breakthrough film, it didn't immediately enthrone him. Rajesh Khanna countered with a huge hit in Daag that year. But Deewar upended audience's cinematic taste and filmland hierarchies at the very start of 1975. Bachchan emerged as a one man industry, the angry young man who could regulate the thermostat of the entire film industry, recalls Dinesh Raheja.
Govinda and Chunky Panday are an absolute delight in the fourth episode of Too Much With Kajol and Twinkle.
Britain's Prince Edward and former prime minister Rishi Sunak were also at the game.
S D Burman is that unique composer who remained successful right up to his death with his creative engines never running on empty.
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