'My mother is a lady with a lot of emotional stability and strength. And wisdom.' 'When I was younger, she would tell me that if I ever refused water to anyone, I would have to drink gutter water.' 'When I grew up, she would say, "Be liberal when you know what you are talking about, and be conservative when you don't".'
Arthur J Pais remembers the time when Manna Dey recorded his first ever Malayalam song for the film Chemmen.
'Laxmikant-Pyarelal called upon Abba to ask him to sing this ghazal. "Please sing this ghazal for us. The producer is keen that only you should sing this ghazal, so that it will have the desired effect. But he doesn't have money enough to pay you".' Abba's heart was bound to melt on hearing this. He consented immediately. His daughter-in-law Yasmin K Rafi remembers the legendary Mohammed Rafi who would have been 91 today.
His music was loved by film personalities and political leaders alike, and they took to social media to offer their condolences.
'Some months before his death, when I had inquired about his health, he was annoyed that people assumed the worst.' '"I am not going anywhere," Rishi snapped as only he could.'
'If I don't act for a week I become edgy, restless and moody.' Subhash K Jha salutes Manoj Bajpayee, actor extraordinaire, on his 53rd birthday.
'Crores are spent on Martyrs Day and on lighting candles, but people don't respect living soldiers who are heroes.'
2019 will be 'a match between the old caste politics and something new which we have not fully understood in UP,' says Aakar Patel.
Warm or warring, back home too Bollywood has depicted many, MANY faces of sisterly love.
On Kishore Kumar's 86th birthday, we revisit a Rediff.com exclusive special by Pritish Nandy on the late legend.
From odd to heartwarming, the best of Twitter conversations in 2014.
'People say my father was scared of Kishore Kumar. That is untrue. There are so many songs that my father told the composers to let some other singer sing because they too are good.'
Dinesh Raheja salutes the legend's versatility in her heyday.
1997: Sukanya Verma offers a recap of its memorable imagery.
'Sometimes the cast wouldn't come together; sometimes I wasn't in a position at the box office to make this film. But I didn't give up,' Sanjay Leela Bhansali tells Avantika Bhuyan after Bajirao Mastani won 7 National Awards.
Jumme Ki Raat singer Palak Muchhal tells us how she found fame.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
She sung a song for every mood, every situation. Sukanya Verma dives into Asha Bhosle's magnificent repertoire and pulls out gems on her 85th birthday.
'... 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.'
Rafisaab's memory is as alive as ever in his devoted fans' minds.
'I got married to Reena secretly through court marriage, with three witnesses. My wedding with Reena was most economical. I took the Bus No 211 and bought a ticket of 50 paise. I got down at Bandra Station West, crossed the bridge, landed in the East and walked towards the highway. I crossed that highway and entered the Griha Nirman Bhavan, where there's a Marriage Registrar Office. So my wedding cost me less than Rs 10!'
In our special series re-visiting great Hindi film classics, we look back at Sanjeev Kumar's Dastak (1970).
Aseem Chhabra lists the elements that he loved and was pleasantly surprised by in the movies.
Here's celebrating Dilip Kumar by re-visiting his best movies.
Amitabh Bachchan talks about Te3n, Aaradhya and actors he would love to work with!
