PEOPLE WE LIKE: TanujaTHE GAMINE ONE
While most people in the industry take advantage of their lineage, Tanuja’s problem was that her own identity was lost in the lustre of her very talented family. She was always known Shobhana Samarth’s daughter, Nutan’s sister, Shomu Mukherjee’s wife and later, Kajol’s mother. When, by herself, the gamine, husky voiced beauty and natural actress could have amounted to much more than she eventually did.
PEOPLE WE LIKE: NutanOF INNOCENCE AND FORTITUDE
Had the stoical Kalyani from Bimal Roy’s Bandini (1963) become the prototype for the Hindi film heroine instead of the ever-suffering Radha of Mother India (1957), the depiction of women in our cinema wouldn’t have been as drab as it is. In my opinion, Kalyani, as portrayed by Nutan, is the embodiment of Indian womanhood. She has the ability to adapt to every situation in life, but not with the attitude of a sacrificial lamb. Instead, she takes responsibility for her actions -- which include murdering her lover’s wife in a fit of passionate rage -- repents her crime and is gracefully reconciled to a life in prison.
PEOPLE WE LIKE: Sanjeev KumarENDURING IMAGE
Sanjeev Kumar was one of the rare star-actors, who never let himself be chained by an image. While his contemporaries were busy playing games of one-upmanship, he went for the meaty parts, grabbed all the awards and left behind a legacy of unforgettable roles and films. Born Haribhai Jariwala, and starting his acting career on the stage, Sanjeev Kumar rose to become one of the best actors of Hindi cinema, tackling all kinds of roles with relish and constantly springing surprises on the audience.
PEOPLE WE LIKE: Balraj SahniTHE ACTIVIST ACTOR
Balraj Sahni was unarguably one of the best actors Indian cinema ever produced. If he hasn’t got his rightful place in the pantheon of stars, it was because he was always an actor and a gentleman, and, unfortunately passed away before the celebrity-worshipping culture came into being.
PEOPLE WE LIKE: Smita PatilMY SCREEN GODDESS
To say that I have been obsessed with Smita Patil for 25 years would be an understatement. But that’s the only way to describe my love affair with an actress whose shocking death in 1986 left an inexplicable void in my life. I’ve spent the next 23 years gathering any scrap of information I can get hold of about her and watching her films over and over again to rationalise my fixation. Yet, when it comes to Smita, reason fails.
PEOPLE WE LIKE: Hrishikesh MukherjeeTHE ETERNAL HUMANIST
“Someone once told me, you should spend half an hour every night sitting on the terrace, staring at the stars. That’s when you’ll see how small and insignificant you are. I used this line in Satyakam.” – Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Reminiscing about Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s cinema is like looking through a personal album of memories. For someone who has worshipped his films and held them close to heart at various moments of crisis, indecision, sorrow and joy, it is impossible to speak or write dispassionately about Hrishida and his work.
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