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There was a time when I was a teenager that I would watch Guru Dutt’s masterpiece Pyaasa every afternoon. Each time, something new was found in the narrative that was rich with detail and poetry that is right up there with my favourite film ever made, Citizen Kane. The similarities between Orson Welles and Guru Dutt are tantamount. They were both fiercely original and daring filmmakers who had changed cinematic storytelling and mise-en-scene forever. They had their demons of wine and women, but they were tortured artists afflicted by demons that bleed into some of their cinematic gems.

From the opening song ‘Yeh Hanste Hue Phool’ that is beautifully picturized against a bee pollinating the flowers as the poet Vijay (Guru Dutt) looks on at the serenity of this image, before a man stamps down on the bee. It tells us all we need to know about Dutt’s core themes in his films,...

Mumbai, Nov 27: Raju Srivastava, who is known for his rib−tickling comic acts and mimicry, remembers the time when he started mimicking megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Raju says he didn't know that one day this would turn into his profession.

"There was such a big impression of Amitabh Bachchan on me that I started imitating his voice. I did not know that this would one day turn into a profession for me and I'll be known for it. So I used to do it for fun," Srivastava said in an interview.

"During Holi, I used to sing 'Rang barse'. At that time, no one used to mimic Amitabh... it was either Dilip Kumar or Dev Anand or Shatrughan.