One of the finest minds in theatre, besides being an exceptional actor and filmmaker. She showed me just how much I still had to learn and understand.'
'My fans don't mind me hamming.'
'Heroes get private chartered planes while we don't even make as much money. Unfortunately, that discrimination still exits.'
'Producers were ready to pay me obscene amounts of money because after Rangeela, they thought if they took A R Rahman and Ahmed Khan, the film would be a hit.' 'There were no imported cars then, no mobile phones or online shopping, no house to run or any big kharcha. I was rocking!'
'I can feel people around me thinking that this guy was about to die, and now he's back.'
'Without sugar coating things, I could tell Akshay (Kumar) and Rajpal (Yadav) aisa mat kar (don't do that), remind Anna (Suniel Shetty) that it was a just a 'back' shot and point out to Paresh (Rawal) bhai that since he was not in focus, so he didn't have to give too many expressions.'
'Horror keeps me safe. When I tried to do something else and abandoned the spirits, I landed up in prison.'
'She brought to life every song she sang, whether it was a soft, romantic track, a swinging, cabaret number or a heart-wrenching song.' 'There were so many emotions in her voice, so many variations.'
'(Mahesh) Bhattsaab had wisely recommended him for the lead role, but I was young and stubborn then, and would instinctively push back against a producer's suggestion. I insisted on casting Shiney Ahuja as Daya Shankar. While he was excellent, in retrospect, I realise Irrfan would have taken the character to a different level altogether.'
Madras Café is the only feature film he has acted in. I told him simply, "Sir, will you do this role?" and he agreed immediately.'
'She was the last of the diggaj kalakaars after Lataji, Kishoreda, Rafi saab and Mannada and with her demise, the golden era of Hindi film music has truly ended.'
'When I met him on the Bigg Boss set, he greeted me in the same way that he would during Dabangg, 'Aur Chedi Singh, kaise ho?''
'Salman is a very hard-working actor whose diligence I have to commend despite the fact that during the shoot, my heart was in my mouth.'
'Once when he was on a flight, the plane hit an air-pocket.' 'The turbulence outside caused it to see-saw violently which caused a lot of panic inside. While his co-passengers were crying and praying for their lives, Salil kaku was writing a song in his head.'
'The stamina and junoon you see in him, for acting, singing, dancing, working out, just about everything, makes age just a number as far as Salman Khan is concerned.'
'He's been doing something we don't talk about much, working with acid attack survivors.' 'He supports them not just emotionally, but also financially.' 'His Mir Foundation helps them with the surgeries they have to go through to step out again and get back their lives.' 'He doesn't talk about it and I only learnt about this when we were in Kolkata once and some of the girls had come to meet him at the hotel.'
Late one evening, strolling around Mehboob Studio's car park, he was darkly introspective, admitting that marriage had been on his mind a few years ago. But despite his anger and tears, his possessiveness and wisdom, the person had moved away and he had let them go.
'It was amazing how he controlled the crowd, not with force or even star power, but with sheer love.'
'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.'
'The second Sunday after Sholay's release, Amjad and Shehla had taken Shadaab to Juhu beach. They were strolling leisurely when, to Shehla's shock, he suddenly picked up their son, grabbed her hand and pulled her along, urging her to run. They raced towards their car and had just managed to get in and lock the doors when all hell broke loose. Hundreds started banging on the car, shouting, 'Gabbar Singh bahar niklo!''
Roshmila Bhattacharya shows us just why India has lost her Mr Bharat.
'I kept urging Salman to see Pokiri, and one day, past midnight, he finally turned up at a Mumbai preview theatre to see it. Nervously, I waited for Salman's reaction to Pokiri. After watching it, he walked past me without a word. I followed anxiously, and before sitting in his car, he just signalled thumbs up.'
As the year draws to a close, Rediff's Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya takes a look at the hits and misses, the highs and lows, the newsmakers and the dealbreakers in alphabetical order.
'Back then, Shah Rukh Khan had no style, but he understood his strengths.' 'He knew he was appreciated for his energy and that boosted his confidence.' Rediff celebrates Shah Rukh Khan's 60th birthday on November 2 with a special series that introduces us to the man behind the superstar.
'For him what's important is relationships, his role, and, of course, the script.' Rediff celebrates Shah Rukh Khan's 60th birthday on November 2 with a special series that introduces us to the man behind the superstar.
'It is his understanding of the human condition, fostered by the loss he experienced so early in his life.' Rediff celebrates Shah Rukh Khan's 60th birthday on November 2 by a special series that introduce us to the man behind the superstar.
'What's amazing is that many of his fans are not Indians.' 'Even in countries where they don't speak or understand Hindi, Shah Rukh is hugely popular.'
'I wanted to do something different, so I turned Dharamji into Hardy, making him waddle with Naseer's stick-like Laurel.' 'People enjoyed seeing him in these avatars. When you work with an evergreen superstar like Dharamji, you can make such 'items'.'
'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.'
'Vivek Vaswani came over to discuss Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman which he was producing with Aziz Mirza as the director.' 'When I asked who was playing the lead, Raju, he said it was an actor called Shah Rukh Khan. "He looks just like Aamir Khan," Vivek added.' 'It was a shock when I met Shah Rukh on the first day of the shoot.' 'He was thin and tanned, with a fat nose and thick lips.'
'Lots of people fade away from our memory after they die, but he will stay on forever.'
'His belief that he is touched by the Almighty reflects in his performances.'
'I'm totally focussed on finding the right energies around me. A lot of the treatment is psychosomatic, as my mother keeps reiterating, if you think positive, positive things will happen to you.'
'Shah Rukh is such a generous person, such a giver, that I can only wish for life to give him all the love and happiness he deserves.'
'For all you know, in the next five years there could be a path-breaking cancer treatment and I may be absolutely fine. Or maybe I won't be. I have to live with both scenarios.'
'Today, Shah Rukh is sitting so high up that it will have to be something really spectacular for him to jump up and say, "Hey, yes, let's make this film!".'
'The way Helen ma'am grooves, she's so seductive.'
'I'm a guy who is sure of what he wants and confident of getting it.' 'Jab prem kiya, I knew that one day, I would marry the woman I love and spend my life with her.'
'Panchamda created an exclusive theme music for Gabbar Singh, which is used throughout the film every time the dacoit makes an appearance, and in both concept and sound, is so eerie and evil.'
