'If I count how many films I refused and how many heroines got awards in those films...'
'Most of us try to be good human beings; he was genuinely a good person.'
'I don't regret anything I've done in my life.'
It is impossible to discuss Asha Bhosle without mentioning the word 'versatility', notes Dinesh Raheja.
'Today, if 50 songs are composed, one or two work. In the 1970s, all 50 would work.'
'When you reach a good point in your life, you should never forget the struggle that got you there. I haven't. That is why I have not become swollen-headed.'
Meena Kumari would nudge a blushing Suraiya on the sets of Sanam and whisper 'Aa rahe hai... aapke' when Dev Anand sauntered onto the sets.
According to reports, she succumbed to cardiac arrest, and was at her home when the end came.
In this special series, Dinesh Raheja explores prominent music duos, and the dynamics that went into the making, and the unmaking.
'Sulakshanadidi was never the same after Sanjeev Kumar turned her down.'
The song that best encapsulates Geeta Dutt's unfairly abbreviated life would probably be: Yaad Karoge, Yaad Karoge, Ek Din Humko Yaad Karoge. On her 95th birth anniversary on November 23, Dinesh Raheja pieces together the life of this talented singer.
S D Burman is that unique composer who remained successful right up to his death with his creative engines never running on empty.
Veteran playback singer and actress Sulakshana Pandit passed away on Thursday evening after a prolonged illness, her family said. She was 71.
Veteran actor B Saroja Devi passed into the ages on Monday, July 14, in Bengaluru.
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.
'I fell in love with Suraiya and that was my first real gafla. The more I couldn't get her, the more I wanted her. When I couldn't marry her because the world didn't want it, I cried for the first time.'
'If Mithun Chakraborty can do it, so can anyone else. It is okay for the common man like me to have dreams. They do come true.'
'I was blessed that I had seen him very closely. There was a time when he was trying to direct a film with me when I was a teenager'
Shyam Benegal passed into the ages on December 23, leaving behind a rich legacy. We look back at some interesting moments from his life.
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.
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.
When Kamini Kaushal passed away at 98, she missed being a centenarian by just two years. But there is very little else that she missed out on in her long, rich, creatively fulfilling life.
Nanda says of Manmohan Desai: 'I wanted a husband who doesn't bow down before anyone else.' 'He has worked with Amitabh Bachchan in so many films but it's always on a one-to-one basis. I admire that.'
'That a song can carry the weight of a people's dreams and move hearts across the world.' On Bhupen Hazarika's 99th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays rich tribute to the legendary singer and composer.
Asrani may have never been a marquee name up in sparkling lights or on outsized posters but the sheer proficiency with which he realised his characters has unleashed gales of laughter over five decades and made a significant contribution to several landmark films. Dinesh Raheja salutes the iconic actor.
In this special series, Dinesh Raheja explores prominent music duos, and the dynamics that went into the making, and the unmaking.
'Those were not kind days for a woman with a break-up. The world has changed; today, nobody cares.'
Dinesh Raheja salutes Sandhya, the acclaimed dancer who passed into the ages on October 4.
S D Burman enjoyed a productive partnership with Dev Anand's production house Navketan for two decades, but their collaboration reached its apogee with Guide.
As the nation bid farewell to one of its beloved actors, we take a look at Dharmendra's remarkable life through pictures.
Bollywood is full of interesting stories and anecdotes. We bring you some fun facts!
'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.'
'Abrar uncle said he had started drinking from the afternoon on that fateful day. And he continued drinking till late at night.' 'Thereafter, he must have consumed some sleeping pills, as was his habit.' 'I think that combination went fatally wrong.'
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.
'I always considered him as a director, never an actor. Do you know he always considered other actors for his films first?' 'For Pyaasa, he wanted to cast Dilip saab; only when Dilip saab refused did Guru Duttji decide to do the role himself.'
Can anyone forget S D Burman's classic songs in Devdas, Sujata and Bandini?
'I have heard big stars, who are a part of Gen Z, demand not only food of their choice but also insist on taking food home for their family. And I am talking about stars who charge anything from Rs 40 crore to Rs 100 crore.'
'Zarine spent her last autumn this year with my sister in Kashmir.' 'There, almost as a gentle premonition, Zarine said to my sister, "When I go, let my ashes be scattered across this valley".'
'The way Helen ma'am grooves, she's so seductive.'
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