After spinning into the spotlight with the hit song-and-dance number Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu in Howrah Bridge (1958), Helen signed scores of films as a dancer. But Helen was raring to step out of her dancing shoes, and play heroine instead.
'Rejection teaches you a lot of endurance, self-trust, and the ability to show up again.'
Music director duos are a unique Bollywood feature, and many have become iconic. In this special series, Dinesh Raheja explores prominent music duos, and their dynamics.
Kamini Kaushal was one of the top three heroines of the 1940s, alongside Suraiya and Nargis. Dinesh Raheja lists 10 songs that defined her career.
When Kamini Kaushal passed away at 98, she missed being a centenarian by just two years. But there is very little else that she missed out on in her long, rich, creatively fulfilling life.
In this special series, Dinesh Raheja explores prominent music duos, and the dynamics that went into the making, and the unmaking.
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.
'Zarine spent her last autumn this year with my sister in Kashmir.' 'There, almost as a gentle premonition, Zarine said to my sister, "When I go, let my ashes be scattered across this valley".'
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.
S D Burman is that unique composer who remained successful right up to his death with his creative engines never running on empty.
S D Burman enjoyed a productive partnership with Dev Anand's production house Navketan for two decades, but their collaboration reached its apogee with Guide.
Can anyone forget S D Burman's classic songs in Devdas, Sujata and Bandini?
Om Puri would have been 75 in October. We look back at his early years through these 16 pictures from his life.
Asrani may have never been a marquee name up in sparkling lights or on outsized posters but the sheer proficiency with which he realised his characters has unleashed gales of laughter over five decades and made a significant contribution to several landmark films. Dinesh Raheja salutes the iconic actor.
'On the set, he was this big personality, the great Om Puri. But at home, he was like a fluffy teddy bear.'
'One is not allowed to smoke on the sets of a Hollywood film even during a break.' 'When I asked an assistant to suggest some place where I could light a cigarette, he recommended the bad boys' corner -- where Jack Nicholson smoked.' 'However, I hesitated.' 'But when I was heading back to my chair after the shot, Jack Nicholson asked me if I wanted to join him for a smoke. We had a long conversation over cups of cappuccino.'
Dinesh Raheja charts the highs and lows of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's creative association with five megastars -- Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra.
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.
Dinesh Raheja salutes Sandhya, the acclaimed dancer who passed into the ages on October 4.
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.
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