New York-based photographer Mark Bennington recently released his collection of beautiful photographs depicting the typical Bollywood life in a coffee table book called Living the Dream: The Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor.
'As the burkha-clad beauty Husna in Mere Mehboob, she inspired Shakeel Badayuni to compose Mere Mehboob Tujhe Meri Mohabbat Ki Kasam/Phir Mujhe Un Nargisi Aankhon Ka Sahara De De. Hasrat Jaipuri showered epithets like Nargis-e-Mastaana and Phoolon Ki Rani, Baharon Ki Malika on her in Arzoo.'
'The emotion of love is the same, but we have made it a math calculation, messed up and complicated.'
'There are 15 songs in Manmarziyaan.' 'For the first time in the history of Anurag Kashyap, there are two dancing numbers.' 'Luckily, people are not taking this as a serious Anurag Kashyap cliched film.'
'I kept telling Anurag, "I don't care about anything, I don't want any money. Just get the film made".' 'One day I called Anurag and someone else picked up the phone. He said, "Hello, Sir." I responded, "Hello, but who are you and why are you picking up Anurag's phone?" He said, "I am Ranbir Kapoor Sir". And he told me he was doing the film and he was very excited.'
Veteran music composer Khayyam revisits Umrao Jaan.
'Here was a man who played a major part in helping the Bengalis of East Pakistan create a new nation, secured the merger of Sikkim into the Indian dominion and built R&AW into a formidable outfit, comparable to the best in the world.' Rameshwar Nath Kao shunned the limelight, hated to be photographed and preferred to work behind the scenes. A revealing excerpt from Nitin A Gokhale's much awaited book, R N Kao: Gentleman Spymaster.
His recent films not doing well may have dented his confidence, but Ranbir Kapoor does not let the hurt show. Instead, he opens himself to a barrage of questions, both easy and difficult.
'With Janhvi, we spent a lot of time together during the prep.' 'So by the time we went on the sets of Dhadak, it felt like being on the sets with your best friend.' 'On the sets, we were having too good a time.' 'We were having so much fun that I was worried if we were getting the work done or not.'
Salim-Javed's speciality was conjuring the kind of violence that played on your mind rather than the sort that played out only in front of your eyes.
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
Love at first sight -- happens or not -- Nisha Jamvwal explores the possibilities here.
Mighty Raju is a toned down version of Krrish 3.
36-year-old Sunil Yadav, who works as a garbage collector for the civic body in Mumbai is an inspiration. He chronicles the arduous journey he took to secure his MPhil degree and why he refuses to give up his job despite his education.
'Assault, abuse and exploitation in the name of gender happens everywhere in any industry. This is the state of affairs. I do not believe in jumping the gun and naming people. Then, everyone will have a field day and the point would be lost. You have to go by the law. You need to evidence to name a person. We are living in a country where domestic rape is not illegal.' Intelligent words from Qarib Qarib Singlle actress Parvathy.
'Hrithik is 10 years junior to Shah Rukh, so I know there will be an impact on the box office. Star power matters, they bring in the crowds. But that is only until Sunday. From Monday, the star doesn't work, the film does.' Director Sanjay Gupta talks Kaabil.
'The standing ovation in Cannes was a rare moment where I felt patriotic. I realised that the audience was not clapping for an individual but for the team that came from India with such a beautiful film.' Masaan's leading man Vicky Kaushal takes us through its making.
'People think Salman is ready to remove his shirt for small things but it takes a lot to convince him to take that shirt off.' Sultan director Ali Abbas Zafar tells us what to expect from his film.
Juhi Chawla steals Madhuri Dixit's thunder in Gulaab Gang, feels Savera R Someshwar.
'I have strong reasons to believe that Accused number 4 (A4) Pratim Mukerjea with the assistance of other persons, including Accused no 3 (A3) turned approver Shyamwar Pinturam Rai may have conspired and abducted my daughter Sheena in 2012 and made her untraceable and subsequently destroyed evidence.'
Indore's Ranjeet Singh moonwalks to control the traffic with his iron will and dance moves!
Brijesh Kumar Saroj, the son of a poor weaver, overcame every hardship, to make it to IIT-Bombay. When he cleared the IIT entrance exam, villagers threw stones at his home because he is Dalit. This has only hardened his resolve to 'make it in life'.
'All mothers are the same. Mine came out of the MAMI screening, crying.' 'Recently, a critic compared me to the best debut since Hrithik sir and she was so overwhelmed with that.' 'Someone said 'You are Bhagyashree's son and the innocence is the same.' 'Even if I can even touch the shadow of that in my entire career, I will be very happy.'
'Being a small-town girl has helped me play different characters, feel emotion, and gain from my experiences because I have lived that life.'
A time comes when the distance between words and meaning becomes unbridgeable. Or, words become shells, which hide the real intent of the speaker. To understand how language works in the case of a person like the present prime minister, you'll have to analyse the way language is practiced by the RSS, says Apoorvanand.
Kay Kay Menon gets candid about the film industry.
Amitabh Bachchan talks about PINK, working with younger actors and social media!
'There has been a lot of ups and downs, unexpected highs and unimaginable pain, almost thinking that I'm going to die.'
Watching a Rajnikanth film in Mumbai's Aurora Theatre can only be compared to watching a Salman Khan film in Bandra's Gaiety-Galaxy, but multiplied 100 times over, feels Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Karan Johar describes his relationship with Shah Rukh Khan in his memoir, An Unsuitable Boy.
'The starting point of the Udta Punjab casting was that we didn't think stars would do a film like this, so we'd take non-stars. As the names kept rolling in and we had Kareena Kapoor and Shahid and Alia Bhatt, I was like yaar yeh ho kya raha hai?'
'When it came to S D Burman, a Guide song was completely different from a Tere Mere Sapne song which was completely different from a Sharmilee song. Except for their quality, there is nothing to link them together.' 'Lata was his ultimate voice. He felt there was nobody like Lata. "Give me a harmonium, give me Lata and I will make music," he said.'
'I never imagined I would be a father and complete my family without getting married.' 'I'm privileged that my parents supported me, a lot of people don't have that.'
'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.'
Saurabh Shukla, Piyush Mishra and Sanjay Mishra are not likely to be in the limelight when a film releases, but they are the ones who eventually light up the movie.
'At a time when sports leagues are often smothered by the allure of spurious glamour, it is easy to forget what makes them so exciting in the first place: The sport itself.' 'At its core, the PKL has a fast-paced, engaging sport working for it.' 'Simply put, kabaddi, with its end-to-end action and oscillating fortunes, is almost never dull to watch,' says Dhruv Munjal.
Rafisaab's memory is as alive as ever in his devoted fans' minds.
Hasee Toh Phasee takes a familiar premise -- two people on the brink of tying the knot and introduces a third party to cause expected stir. Only it doesn't happen like it used to, writes Sukanya Verma.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances