Bollywood ‘s famous divas talk about why Raksha Bandhan is so special to them.
Lata Mangeshkar: “More than a brother, Hridaynath is the son that I never had. When I sing for my brother, I feel a mixture of elation and fear. He’s such a perfectionist. To work with him is taxing but ultimately very satisfying. When I sing for other composers I’m always unsure about whether I’ve done my best. Hridayanath doesn’t hesitate in ticking me off if I go wrong. Even if I go wrong with one word he doesn’t let me off the hook. He makes me sing it a hundred times over no matter how tired I get. At the most he’ll let me off until the next day. But he must have the flawless recording. I agree with him when he says, ‘Right now only the recordist and I can hear you. But tomorrow the entire world will hear you. How would you feel if listeners pinpoint the errors in your singing?’ He’s a very knowledgeable human being and not just in the field of music. Hridayanath is very particular about the way I sing. And I like that. He is as particular with any singer, whether it’s my sister Asha or Usha. Happily Hridayanath has the knowledge to achieve a high quality in the recording. He not only has a sound base in classical music but also listens to the old songs of my father (Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar) and uses them as a foundation for some of his compositions. I’m always on tenterhooks singing for him. He’s a very learned musician. His knowledge of Marathi literature and poetry is so vast. He’s familiar with both modern and non-contemporary poets. By God’s grace all my albums with my brother have been perennially popular. My first non-film album with Hridayanath was Mogra Phulela 35 years ago. And that’s still selling.
Shabana Azmi: “My brother Baba is most precious to me. He is my son, my friend and guide. Raksha Bandhan is a festival I get most sentimental about. This year I am at my native village Mijwan for Raksha Bandhan. I feel really sorry that I can’t be personally present to tie him the rakhi. I make sure I am with Baba on this day. I think I missed being with my brother for raksha bandhan only 4-5 times in my entire life. Sadly this is one of those years of absence. Baba is my most precious gift. I don’t need anything from him. He doesn’t allow anyone else to tie a rakhi on him. No mooh-boli bahens for my brother! I wouldn’t tolerate them.”
Parineeti Chopra: “My brothers Sahaj and Shivang are my buddies ever since they grew up. I am the eldest. So I am going to be pampering and spoiling them this Raksha Bandhan.”
Pooja Bhatt: “I am older to my brother Rahul. So tradition be damned. I’ll be gifting him this Raksha Bandhan, not the other way around.”
Manisha Koirala: “I have the most precious gift in the world. My brother Siddhartha. I always wish him happiness and success, and not just for Raksha Bandhan but every single day. I consider myself the luckiest sister in the world. More power to my adorable bhaiya.”
Celina Jaitley: “My brother Vikrant is a major in the Indian army. Considering the crisis at the LOC he may soon be deployed as he is on the Special Forces. The only Raksha Bandhan wish I have for him is to be safe. And to have a lil baby of his own soon as he’s newly married.”
Bela Sehgal: “I am very lucky to have a wonderful brother like Sanjay (Leela Bhansali). He is thoughtful caring and loving, understanding and always concerned about my well-being. For Raksha Bandhan I pray for his good health and the super-duper success of Ram Leela. The only gift that I want from him is that he should always continue to love me.”
Divya Dutta: “My brother Dr Rahul Dutta is more a friend than an elder brother. And he knows exactly what I want. The other day I liked a piece of jewellery while window-shopping. Before I knew it, it became my Rakhi gift. He is traveling but will be back in time for me tie the rakhi.”
Minissha Lamba: “My brother is the closest person I have in Mumbai. And just to have him around is gift enough on raksha bandhan.”
Pooja Bedi: “I deeply miss my brother Siddharth who died 15 years ago. And I’m grateful for my brother Adam who is 12 years younger to me. Being so much older I don’t look at him in the traditional role of the protective brother. On the contrary I feel I need to protect him and take care of him. All I expect from him is some time to spend together and oodles of love.”

Exclusive Premium Content
Pink Director’s Next Featuring Yami As A Crime Reporter To Stream From February 16

Anniruddha Roy Chowdhury whose Pink featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu was one of the most important films of 2016, is all set to release his next Hindi film.
Entitled Lost, Anniruddha’s film , based on true events, will see Yami Gautam Dhar(that’s what the actress calls herself after her marriage) as a crime journalist. LOST is an emotional social thriller that represents a higher quest, a search for lost values of empathy and integrity.
Inspired by true events, Lost is a story of a bright young woman crime reporter in her relentless search for the truth behind the sudden disappearance of a young theatre activist.

Lost
Says Aniruddha “The shoot of LOST has been an incredible journey. I have been eager for the release of our hard-worked venture. The film is a realistic highlight of media in a social context and I am sure that it will give the audience a compelling watch. I am curious about its release and see the responses it shall get. I hope they will welcome it with open hearts.”
Yami Gautam Dhar who plays the lead of the crime reporter says, “I can’t be happier and more proud of the film’s selection for the opening night at CSAFF. I feel like its one that the people will connect to and will be the one that you cannot miss, especially in the current age and time. I have loved playing this role because it was such a special experience, it allowed me to explore so many layers of emotions as an actor and the entire team has worked really hard on it. I genuinely cannot wait for the film’s release, especially to see the reactions of the audience to it.”
The crime investigation drama boasts a stellar cast. Along with Yami, the film will feature Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and an ensemble of younger talent, including Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpai, and Tushar Pandey, in pivotal roles.
Exclusive Premium Content
Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna who passed away on Friday, shared an uneasy relationship with the Hindi film industry.She did eleven Hindi films including the iconic Milan in 1967 where Jamuna agreed to play the second lead, or the supporting role if you will, to Nutan.
Jamuna as Gauri was the Other Woman who craved for the hero Sunil Dutt’s attention whereas he had eyes and devotion only for Nutan. In later years Aruna Irani played a similar role in Caravan.
In Milan Jamuna was not keen to do a supporting role. Producer L V Prasad tempted her with three chartbusting songs. Besides, Jamuna had played the same role in Mooga Manasulu, the Telugu original of Milan. But it was the songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal which convinced Jamuna to take up the second lead in Milan.
While Nutan had no solo songs in Milan, she did have the chartbuster duet Sawan ka mahina . Jamuna on the other hand, had two splendid Lata Mangeshkar solos: Tohey saawariya naahin khabariya and the magnificent Ghazal Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin.Not only these, Jamuna also had a hit duet with Mukesh based on her character Gauri: Bol Gauri bol tera kaun piya.
But then, fate intervened. After the film released one of Jamuna’s solos, the poignant and memorable Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin was snipped out of the film.
Here is what happened: the Ghazal , one of Lataji’s all-time greats, was very much a part of Milan when it released on 17 March 1967. But then it was seen to hamper the flow of the film and edited out. The beautiful song occurred right after intermission. Producer Prasad, a shrewd filmmaker, got to know that audiences prolonged their loo breaks as there was a song after the break. Hence the sacrifice of a seriously sonorous melody.
Jamuna hardly did Hindi films after Milan. Her last Bollywood appearance was in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Raj Tilak where she was lost in a multistarrer as the royal queen.
Exclusive Premium Content
Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir

The romantic duet in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani which was to be shot in Switzerland and which was delayed due to the film’s leading lady Alia Bhatt’s motherhood, is now being relocated to Kashmir.
Purely out of the love for new mom Alia.
Says a source in the know, “Karan loves Alia like his own daughter. He would do anything for her. He postponed the release of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as the love duet could not be shot before Alia’s maternity leave. Karan had decided to shoot the song in Switzerland after Alia’s maternity love. But now he has relocated the song to Kashmir as Alia doesn’t want to leave her baby girl behind for long stretches.”
And as Karan Johar argued, snow is snow. How does it matter whether it is Switzerland or Kashmir?
This song would be Karan Johar’s tribute to his idol Yash Chopra. Alia would be dressed in chiffon sarees while Ranveer, for a change, would be seen in formals.
Exclusive Premium Content
Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles

After Prakash Jha’s webseries Ashram where Bobby played a sleazy godman, and Love Hostel where he was a ruthless assassin, he is playing the villain to Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Vanga’s Animal.
Bobby says it is not conscious career decision to play negative characters but a conscious decision to play interesting characters. “ I don’t look at characters as positive or negative.When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character.”
Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for Bobby. He admits finding challenging roles is tough. “I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor , Parineeti Chopra. Then I am doing the family film Apne 2 which I am very excited about.”
In an earlier interview with this writer Bobby spoke about his long absence from screen before Prakash Jha’s Ashram. “My fans would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen.And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah , I am in a good space right now.”
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Pathaan Is A Slick Spin On SRK’s Stardom
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Has Mahesh Bhatt Undergone Heart Surgery? Bhatt Clarifies
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
What Happened To Hera Pheri 3?
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Would Gautam Tinnanuri’s Film Save Vijay Deverakonda’s Career?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
On To The Oscar, RRR Team To Focus On Naatu Naatu
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
Chhatriwali So Earnest Yet So Awful
-
Exclusive Premium Content6 days ago
Hema Malini On Working With Ramesh Sippy
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
Mission Majnu: Crossborder Rom-Kaum
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
India Shines bright at the Oscars
-
Exclusive Premium Content5 days ago
No Leading Lady For Akshay Kumar In C Sankaran Nair Bio-pic
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
5 Most Relevant Patriotic Songs
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
“Professionally, What A Year It Has Been For Me,” Raveena Tandon On Her Padma Shri
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
Pathaan Collects 55 crore nett in India On Day 1
-
Bollywood News3 days ago
Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland
-
Exclusive Premium Content4 days ago
Will Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan Break All His Previous Records?
-
Exclusive Premium Content1 week ago
To Avoid Questions On Nepotism, Raj Santoshi Keeps His Daughter Out Of Media interactions
-
Exclusive Premium Content3 days ago
Salman-Shah Rukh’s Hilarious Take On The Khan Hegemony
-
Bollywood News3 days ago
Phil Ivey’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)
-
Topics3 days ago
Movierulz 2021: Download Movies for Free
-
Bollywood News3 days ago
Stephanie Beacham’s Net Worth (Updated 2021)