It is to Vajpayee's credit that he told Dilip Kumar to ignore Thackeray and to follow his own conscience. But the episode -- as indeed, the manner in which Dilip Kumar has been made to pay for being a Muslim throughout his life -- shames us all as Indians, says Vir Sanghvi.
Dilip Kumar remained in demand all through his career because he kept reinventing himself in keeping with the changing times in Indian cinema, argues Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
'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.'
After repeatedly essaying the role of doomed lover, Dilip Kumar, a thinking actor, found it diffcult to break out of in real life. Heeding his psychoanalyst, he flirted with some frothy roles and played the swashbuckling hero with elan, recalls Dinesh Raheja.
'Our onscreen chemistry was always special.'
'... their love was jinxed.' 'His celluloid path to his partner's heart was seldom smooth; it had to contend with greedy relatives and indecisive sweethearts, who were more ready to sacrifice than woo and wed.'
'So I started talking to him in Marathi and everything really changed.' 'There was this spark in his eyes and he smiled.' 'It's unbelievable that a man can be so charming with a single smile at 90.'
'Salilda and my brother Hridaynath would deliberately make my compositions tough.' 'Their logic was, "You can do it, so why should we not compose accordingly?",' Lata Mangeshkar, who would have turned 94 today, September 28, 2023, once told Subhash K Jha.
'I was attracted to her both as a fine co-star and as a person who had some of the attributes I hoped to find in a woman at that age and time,' says Dilip Kumar in his autobiography, Dilip Kumar: The Substance And The Shadow.
B R Chopra was a reformist film-maker, way ahead of his times, says Subhash K Jha.
Beautiful glimpses into Dilip Kumar's life with Saira Banu.
'Not many know I am a Rajput from Jodhpur.' 'My ancestors shifted to Kolhapur as my great grandfather and grandfather were both engineers.' 'They were called by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj to build the city of Kolhapur.'
Veteran actress, television personality and anchor, Tabassum, who has completed 67 years in the industry, shares her insights about the stars of the past.
Varsha Bhosle salutes that effervescent icon of Indian cinema, Dev Anand.
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