In 1973, several major leading ladies like Mumtaz, Raakhee, Jaya Bhaduri, Dimple Kapadia, Tanuja, had married and retired from films. Producers wanted a new heroine as a replacement. Many thought Sulakshana was a Mumtaz lookalike and was soon persuaded to sign on multiple films as a leading lady.
'They are as layered and complicated as life itself.' 'There is love, but there is also pain and fire.'
'For him what's important is relationships, his role, and, of course, the script.' Rediff celebrates Shah Rukh Khan's 60th birthday on November 2 with a special series that introduces us to the man behind the superstar.
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.
'Kashmir has so many stories, cultures, and folklore. It should be promoted. We should definitely have more stories out of Kashmir.'
It's been an emotional night for many film folk across India, as they were honoured at the National Awards.
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.
'Whenever we did any scenes together, whatever we did in the film, he never said, "Let's do another take or let's move on".' 'He always asked me, "Parmeet, is it okay?" Till I gave my best, he kept going on.'
Singer-actress Sulakshana Pandit, 71, passed into the ages on November 6 after a prolonged illness. Besides her acting roles, she leaves behind some beautiful songs to remember her by.
Kamini Kaushal, who began her career with the 1946 classic Neecha Nagar and went on to act in a host of films right till 2022, passed away in her Mumbai home on Thursday night.
The lead pair looks good on screen. But each time they look lovingly into each other's eyes, the viewer's eye wanders over to the gorgeous landscape, observes Deepa Gahlot.
The outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent) is anguished over the sorry state of Assamese film industry which has been going through a lean phase. The outfits commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah has blamed the situation on the 'overwhelming invasion' (increasing popularity) of Hindi movies.
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
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.
Dinesh Raheja salutes Sandhya, the acclaimed dancer who passed into the ages on October 4.
From double dates to Demogorgon, it's all there on OTT this week. Sukanya Verma lists them.
While Nishaanchi is not a homerun for Kashyap, there's enough joy in this audience pleaser, notes Mayur Sanap.
'I start filming Call Me Bae Season 2 really soon and we're filled with lots of love from the audience from season 1 so I hope they enjoy this one too.'
With 17 films crossing the Rs 100 crore mark in the first six months, this year relied less on big-ticket blockbusters.
It's good to see Huma Qureshi help create a film which is as charming as it is empowering, without taking on the stridency that so many women-oriented films invariably adopt, notes Deepa Gahlot.
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.
'I wouldn't change a single shot even if I could, the film is just perfect even with a supposedly flawed script!' Celebrating Sholay's 50th anniversary on August 15 with a special series, where contemporary film folk analyse the cult classic.
The gangster saga Nayakan not only earned Mani Ratnam's reputation as a great director, the dubbed version of the film also did well in Mumbai, so much so that Feroz Khan's Hindi remake, Dayavan, starring Vinod Khanna, could not compare, recalls Deepa Gahlot.
Wondering what to watch on OTT this weekend? Namrata Thakker lists options to choose from.
You can proudly show these movies to the impressionable ones!
It's 'not looking like a Diwali lineup, which is usually grand and has superstar movies.'
'Look after your own mother before looking after your neighbour's mother.' 'I don't believe in starving my own mother and feeding sweets to the neighbours.'
'Even if I had the backing of a big corporate house, which I don't, in today's market, I wouldn't want the responsibility of making a Rs 300 crore-Rs 400 crore film.'
Karan Johar gets candid about his films.
Veteran filmmaker Chandra Barot, best known for directing the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 'Don', passed away on Sunday due to cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mumbai. He was 86.
'If you look around the world at people of colour, religion, caste, sexuality or any of the marginalised communities, we are always talking in numbers.' 'We are always assigning them a statistic.' 'That is an easy way to assuage your urban guilt. Because you hide your apathy with hollow sympathy.' 'We are, in a way, making them invisible.'
Divya Nair celebrates the actor's birthday by presenting the path-breaking films and performances that define his career.
Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies has been picked as India's official entry for Oscars 2025.
'Editor M S Shinde deserves full credit because, I'm told, Ramesh Sippy had shot 300,000 feet of footage, which was brought down to 18,000. 'He died in 2012, in a 126 square foot flat in Dharavi, penniless, a forgotten hero.'
'The way the anticipation is built up for Gabbar Singh's introduction scene with sound, image and details of his personality, like the combat boots he wears.' 'The camera comes so close -- not a tele lens shot, but a wide-angle close-up -- that you can almost smell Gabbar's breath.'
R Madhavan's Rocketry: The Nambi Effect has won the National Award for Best Feature Film while Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon shared the Best Actress award for their roles in Gangubai Kathiawadi and Mimi, respectively.
Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster's trailer features up front on this list.
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