'Satyajit Ray was somewhat tolerable; you didn't have to hang your head in shame.' 'Sholay is a series of stereotypes and borrowed ideas... And we are still singing praises of that film.' 'What would I make of two grown men behaving in this manner? It's deeply embarrassing.' If you thought Naseeruddin Shah was too frank with his opinions, he'd have to take a back seat to wife Ratna Pathak Shah, who doesn't waste a second, giving you her strong views on matters movies and personal.
'Bappi Lahiri was looking for a break so he and his father would meet me.' 'I told Director Bhisham Kohli about this promising young boy from Kolkata, and Bappi came over with his harmonium.' 'Bappi played this composition and Bhisham liked it immediately.' 'As we were discussing, I said I would give the words, and that's how I wrote this song.'
'Two years ago, people said I was making smart choices -- making films with the likes of Vishal Bhardwaj, Milan Lutharia... But what happened? Nothing. The choices were intelligent but we went wrong in making the films.' Imran Khan talks about his big learnings, and more.
From aadmi to andas, Bollywood songs dispense gyaan for every occasion. But nothing beats its obsession with pyaar.
'They (the characters) are not bad people; they are good people, who make bad choices.' 'The idea was to show that when people are put in a situation, which side of the moral spectrum do they fall on?'
Sukanya Verma celebrates the acting legend.
Filmmaker Mansoor Khan turned his back to the movies, to live a simple life off the land. He has another passion now -- Mother Earth.
'...changed my image, changed everything.' 'Now I make calls with great confidence.' 'Day before yesterday, I sent a message to a director that I heard you are making a film, is there any role for me?' 'I have confidence now. Earlier, I could never do.'
His music was loved by film personalities and political leaders alike, and they took to social media to offer their condolences.
This piece is a tribute to that corner of film criticism that they call subtextual film criticism.
'Today, when I look back, our journey together ajooba lagta hai.'
Here's how India's most successful film star goes about his work.
Sukanya Verma presents a playlist of 100 Lata Mangeshkar songs from different decades of Hindi films -- songs that make me sing, smile, sob and sigh.
How many of these have aged well?
'They are busy making films that suit their purpose. If it suits their purpose to make a Slumdog Millionaire, they will make it.' 'Why are we so upset about not getting an Oscar or producing Oscar quality work? Just look at the quality of work that is venerated by the Oscars. It is not particularly great work. Why are we so desperate to get acknowledgment from the West?'
