Among Hindi cinema's leading men of the last century, Sunil Dutt, who passed away 16 years ago on May 25, did not hesitate in doing women-oriented films which addressed the issues of their upliftment, empowerment and equality.
'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.'
Leading Bollywood personalities, directors and producers were among the thousands who turned up for the funeral at Santacruz crematorium.
'Ram Mukherjee was kind, gentle and attentive. He knew his job even though Hum Hindustani was his directorial debut.'
'It was not a love affair, it was much more.'
'I would like to feel that he had a special place in his heart for me as I do in my heart to this day.'
'You might hate him, but it will be an honest portrayal.'
'I don't think my troubles would have happened if she was with me. I kind of lost my way after she was gone,' Sanjay Dutt once told Subhash K Jha about his mother Nargis, the legendary actress who passed away this day 41 years ago.
Readers share experiences of the times they met Sunil Dutt.
'My stay in Mumbai was taken care of by Vinod Khanna, food by Daisy Irani, work was provided by Feroz Khan, and Sunil Dutt paid me without my doing any work. My wife is 12 years younger than me. She was a child artiste. I got the title Shakti Kapoor: Cradle snatcher. But she was too good so I decided to marry her. I will marry Shraddha off after three years. I don't want her to be an older heroine or marry at 40. I want her to marry at the peak of her career. But I will not force her.' Straight talk from Shakti Kapoor.
'I remember Madhuri Dixit was very scared to do a rape scene with me in Prem Pratigyaa. After the shot, she said she couldn't even feel me touching her.' Ranjeet gets candid about his 'villainous' career.
'Eddie Murphy was approached for Sanjay Dutt's role, Omar Sharif for Jackie's Shroff's. The title of Khalnayak was Be Negative then. I had started working on the screenplay with Hollywood writers. And then after three-four months...
'Sushant was our first choice for Lakhna.' 'Apart from looking desi, I wanted an actor who had a lot of physical energy.' 'Sushant came on board very quickly because he really liked the story.'
The most awaited trailer of the year has been released and it looks amazing.
Aamir Khan speaks about his unusual trek in Indian cinema, why he didn't agree to play Sunil Dutt in Sanju, and more...
We know Ranbir plays Sanjay Dutt. But who else stars in the biopic?
Raju Hirani on making Sanju.
'The 17-year-old boy, who pulled out Nirbhaya's intestines, should have got the harshest punishment because he was not human at the time.' 'Instead, he was given a sewing machine and some money to have a new beginning!' 'Are we giving out incentives?' 'Are we telling our unemployed youth that if they do something like this, the government will give them jobs?'
'Aamir has bigger goodwill than even the Tatas and Birlas.' 'The Sanjay Dutt biopic is amazing because of Rajkumar Hirani, because of Abhijat Joshi's writing and because of Ranbir Kapoor's acting.'
'I sometimes fight with God and tell him, "Bahut ho gaya yaar, I should go now, call me".'
Barring a Shah Rukh Khan, an Akshay Kumar or a Preity Zinta, it is near impossible for most Indians to break into Bollywood's exclusive club of star children. Hearteningly, it is still possible for Indians born in middle class homes to become star technicians like 3 Idiots director Rajkumar Hirani. Patcy N and photographer N V Reuben traveled to Raju Hirani's home town Nagpur last week to discover how his journey to directorial superstardom began.
