'Chand Chhupa Badal Mein were originally written for a film that Ram Gopal Varmaji was directing.' 'One day he said, "Mehboob, the lyrics that you have written are really beautiful, but the hero of my film is a goon. He cannot sing such beautiful lyrics".'
The news of his passing is sad and sudden but the body of work he leaves behind will neither fade nor be forgotten.
Despite collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Missy Elliot and Ludacris, not to mention a little help from A R Rahman, Ciara's third album, Fantasy Ride remains just that -- a fantasy.
On his 40th birthday on September 28, Sukanya Verma draws up a playlist of 40 riveting Ranbir songs.
Best vs Best. Tiger vs Tiger. Star India, BCCI team up for a high decibel campaign for the cricket jamboree.
'In the last seven years or so, many reigning heroes have stopped working with him because no matter how popular a star they are, irrespective of whether they are playing the lead, it eventually becomes an Amitabh Bachchan film!'
The best analysis of politics does not come out of air conditioned newsrooms, but from the voices on India's streets. Rakesh Kumar Singhal -- once an army jawan, then an ONGC employee, then a tea shopwallah -- reveals why he left the Congress for Modi.
Sukanya Verma looks at 12 times the superstar offered food for thought on subjects as varied as nation building, team spirit and the stupidity of big fat Indian weddings while wolfing down a meal.
I am sad Kundan Shah is no more. I am sad he couldn't make the kind of films he wanted. But I am also grateful. He made me laugh. He made me cry. He made me believe in Hum Honge Kamyab and the power of a shooting star. Sukanya Verma salutes Kundan Shah.
White is pure. White is powerful. And our movies just love to channelise its immaculate energy and enhance a visual's impact.
Sukanya Verma looks at the debutants of that year and how they've fared since.
Bappida's softer more creative work got buried in the noise, rues Subhash K Jha as he picks the late lamented composer's most soulful songs.
'We cannot express the sorrow in words.'
'I somehow escaped the difficulties that a majority of working girls face.'
'Recently, I received a call from A R Rahman.' 'He said, "Someone wants to talk to you".' 'Ahmed Khan was a part of the conference call. He said, 'Mehboob-bhai, I am making Heropanti 2 and you will write the lyrics".' '"Let the three of us create the same magic".'
'Oscar has been given to A R Rahman.' Ringa Ringa Ringa, Choli ki peeche kya hai -- What's the difference? Exactly the same. Also, Jai ho.' 'I did Ramba ho in 1985.' 'Rahman combined three of my songs and got Best Original Score.' 'The Ho came from me.' 'Bappi Lahiri brought the Ho to Bollywood.'
'40 years later, the world is still singing I Am A Disco Dancer.'
Celebrating the maestro, who turned 52, January 6, and his music.
'Among the many composing geniuses, who created beautiful tunes for me to sing, Khayyamsaab was the last to remain alive.'
'Ek ghante ke andar humare paas 78,000 calls aaye.' '78,000!'
Film music flourished in the 1970s. Some old masters did some great work, but it was also the decade of new composers.
A special word for Ayushmann: Hey Mogambo, your acting rocks!
Kishore Kumar didn't become a legend overnight. And even when he did, he had many unfulfilled dreams.
Sreehari Nair attempts to bring you up-close the pleasures of Javed Akhtar's poetry.
'The current government must act sooner rather than later,' asserts Vivek Gumaste.
'There was no time to do all the normal things that children do as they grow up.' 'One day, I was playing with dolls.' 'The next day, I was on a train looking for opportunities to sing at various recording studios.'
Former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar is one of the few Indian police officers to speak to Dawood Ibrahim at length after the fugitive gangster fled India. A gripping excerpt from his new book, Dial D For Don: Inside Stories Of CBI Missions.
Though on the face of it appeared Pasbola was asking a series of odd questions that would be difficult for anyone to answer, there was, it gradually emerged, it seemed, a method to the questioning. Somehow, somewhere instinctively, Pasbola knew there was something not right with Riyaz's account.
The solution to the Kashmir problem does not lie in India speaking to Pakistan; it does not lie in the Indian government speaking to the separatists; it lies in the Kashmiris talking to their inner selves. They need to trace their history to include their rich cultural heritage of Hindu Saivism and Sufi mysticism. Only then will Kashmiris be at peace with themselves, says Vivek Gumaste.
Mekhail hopped off the bench in a hurry and turning his back to Indrani, stood at the window. Indrani ignored him too. Mekhail is getting married later this year. His mother will, of course, not be in attendance. Nor, of course, would he want her to be there, if she could.
'After Lagaan, Aamir would sit up the whole night and drink an entire bottle of Bacardi.'
'There are too many things that haven't gone out of you. So even though the years may have gone by, you are still close to the films in terms of the making.'
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