While Amitabh Bachchan's chemistry with his heroines -- from Jaya Bhaduri to Rekha to Hema Malini -- brought sizzle to his films, many of his biggest blockbusters have been powered by his combustible combination with male co-stars.
'Recently a girl who was suicidal was brought to me.' 'When I asked her what was bothering her, she said she and her friend took photos at the same place and posted them on Instagram.' 'While her friend got 23 likes, she didn't get a single like.' 'She said, "nobody likes me, nobody wants me in this world. I am rejected by everybody".' 'And she wanted to end her life.'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wore stunning Banarasi during her India visit. See how fashion became smart diplomacy.
Where Dhurandhar leaned into aggressive bloodlust through its acerbic storytelling, Ikkis moves in the opposite direction, asking us to see people beyond uniforms, slogans, or sides, observes Mayur Sanap.
Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan are an absolute riot in the third episode of Too Much With Kajol and Twinkle as they recall some of the craziest incidents from the 1990s, both personally and professionally.
'Salman has never been given a reason to change his ways.'
'What a talent, what an actor! 'Cast him as anyone, anything, and he is ready for the challenge. I get restless when I don't have him in my film.'
Kamini Kaushal was one of Indian cinema's long-lasting actresses, who went from playing Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand's heroine to Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna's mother.
'Sulakshanadidi was never the same after Sanjeev Kumar turned her down.'
Akshay Kumar, in an interview to Rajat Sharma on INDIA TV, revealed how he wed Twinkle Khanna and thanked Aamir Khan and his movie Mela for it.
Dharmendra's demise means the loss of one of the biggest icons ever in the Hindi film firmament.
In 1973, several major leading ladies like Mumtaz, Raakhee, Jaya Bhaduri, Dimple Kapadia, Tanuja, had married and retired from films. Producers wanted a new heroine as a replacement. Many thought Sulakshana was a Mumtaz lookalike and was soon persuaded to sign on multiple films as a leading lady.
Kamini Kaushal, who began her career with the 1946 classic Neecha Nagar and went on to act in a host of films right till 2022, passed away in her Mumbai home on Thursday night.
'Pahlaj Nihalani came to my rescue. There was no Instagram in those days so I didn't recognise him.' 'I almost fainted when he told me he was Pahlaj Nihalani, the producer of Ilzaam, the hit film that had just made Govinda a star.' 'I told him I was a model and an aspiring actor, and he responded, "You have an interesting face. Come and meet me in the office tomorrow".'
Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar has directed the MMRDA to scrap the proposed Bollywood theme park project under a Metro rail corridor following opposition from citizens groups. The funds will be diverted to other priority development projects.
'Everybody was scared, especially with Rajesh Khanna playing a double role and playing my lover and my son.' 'It was quite a risky thing to do. That's why they made me look so old.'
Ranveer Singh and team unleashed the fierce and ferocious trailer of the action drama, which marks Director Aditya Dhar's return six years after his 2019 blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike.
'I believe that whether it is Rajini sir or Shah Rukh Khan or Dilip Kumarsaab, these stars are blessed with a cosmic energy. It's a phenomenon that is hard to describe, but it makes you fall in love with them.'
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.
'At a time when there was little awareness of world music, playing western tunes on eastern instruments like the flute and the dholak, blending vocal polyphony with Indian folk and contemporary styles, Salilkaku created a new musical genre in Bengal called Gana Sangeet.'
Rajesh Khanna: 'When I saw Namak Haram at a trial at Liberty cinema, I knew my time was up.' I told Hrishida, "Here is the superstar of tomorrow".'
'Asha Parekh once said he never really went beyond the villager he originally was.'
Amitabh Bachchan: 'Success didn't affect me at all.' Rajesh Khanna: 'I felt next to God!'
'It was Kishoreda who suggested to Sulakshanadidi that she should become an actress and sing her own songs in her films. This transformed her life and career.'
'Every film had its challenges, but Mr India, Sadak and Gandhi were the toughest.' 'Mr India needed imagination, Sadak needed sensitivity and Gandhi demanded historical authenticity.'
Because of Mukesh's much-hailed association with Raj Kapoor, it is often overlooked that the singer has also scored hits with almost all major heroes. On Mukesh's 102nd birth anniversary on July 22, Dinesh Raheja recalls some of his classic songs.
'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.'
Character actor Seema Deo looks back at her career in films, and the movie legends she's shared the screen with.
Singer-actress Sulakshana Pandit, 71, passed into the ages on November 6 after a prolonged illness. Besides her acting roles, she leaves behind some beautiful songs to remember her by.
'Madhubala in Kala Pani looks divine and yet, she's not just there for glamour.' 'In Do Raaste, the character of Neelambari (played by Bindu) isn't a heroine in the traditional sense but she has such a pivotal role.' 'That Raj Khosla gave a non-heroine such a central role, instead of the heroine, says a lot about how he valued female characters.'
Dinesh Raheja celebrates Lata's 96th birth anniversary on September 28 by picking some choice examples of her non-typical songs that are tinged with a rare eroticism.
Arthur J Pais remembers the late superstar and a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label that he found waiting in his Chennai hotel room, a gift from the late legend, as he prepared to meet a writer.
'We didn't create the Angry Young Man persona for Amitabh Bachchan.' 'We created the Vijay persona and then Amitabh Bachchan fitted into it.'
Naomika Siva Saran has incredible pedigree -- she is the granddaughter of Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna. And, if the rumours are true, she's trying her luck in Bollywood.
'He knew the world's eyes were on him, and he had to speak directly to the fears that immigrants in New York feel right now.'
'After the first Kantara, when they announced the second one, I kind of knew he will call me. I had this instinct. Then he called me at midnight and I didn't pick up. I was like, I'm not talking to anybody at 12 at night. The following day, I called and we chatted. He said, I have to narrate you something. I said, I know, it's Kantara!'
Kareena has been a leading lady now for 25 years, Deepika for almost two decades and Alia for over a decade. Dinesh Raheja chronicles the changing ways Bollywood has treated actor-moms.
Dr Mukesh Hariawala recounts his experience with the super-talented R D Burman when he performed an Open Heart Bypass Surgery many years ago.
'It was not a love affair, it was much more.'
'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.'