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Celebrating Shashi Kapoor’s birthday anniversary, the brilliant Shabana Azmi speaks with Subhash K Jha about her “crush” on him and fondly remembers working with the esteemed actor that arguably every woman loves.

Shashi Kapoor’s birth anniversary today…how do you remember him?

He was my teenage crush. I used to skip food that was allowed to me for pocket money and buy a photo of him. Then when he came with family to visit Papaji (Prithviraj Kapoor) who was our neighbour, I would shyly give him the photo for his autograph and then run away.

Eventually, he was your co-star in quite a few films, including the outstanding Junoon?

I couldn’t believe I was working opposite him in Heera Aur Patthar! Then several films followed and he used to tease me constantly. He was definitely the most good looking hero of all times.

Was working with him a learning experience?...

When Shashi Kapoor Took A Dig At Zeenat Aman And Shabana Azmi (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Today (March 18) marks the birth anniversary of yesteryear actor Shashi Kapoor. He was known for his charming screen presence and scintillating good looks. However, did you know that the late actor was also not the one to mince his words? Despite working closely with actresses like Zeenat Aman and Shabana Azmi, he had once taken an unmissable dig at them.

In a throwback interview with Filmfare in 1975, Shashi Kapoor was reminded of his comments on Zeenat Aman and Shabana Azmi. To this, the Deewar actor said that he often speaks without thinking whatever is on his mind. He went on to say, “I’ve told Zeenat that to her face. Yeah! I told her she’s a good-looking woman, but she can’t act for peanuts. So what’s the big fuss about?” For the unversed,...

Mumbai, April 22 (Ians) Veteran actor Puneet Issar, who is best known for his role of Duryodhana in B. R. Chopra’s ‘Mahabharat’, will now be seen essaying a patriarch Bhanupratap in the new show ‘Vanshaj’.

Talking about his role, Puneet said: “As one of the living elders of this family who has witnessed the ascent of the empire, Bhanupratap has held it together and prevented it from crumbling despite the undercurrent of family dynamics.”

Puneet has been part of a number of films and TV shows. He acted in films like ‘Chandra Mukhi’, ‘Prem Shakti’, ‘Ram Jaane’, ‘Border’, ‘Refugee’, ‘Krrish’, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, ‘Ready’, among others. He was also part of TV shows such as ‘Param Vir Chakra’, ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’, ‘Junoon’, ‘Noorjahan’, ‘Choti Sarrdaarni’, ‘Bigg Boss 8’, and many more.

The 63-year-old actor further said that the values and ideals of his on-screen character are quite relatable and he personally finds a connection with Bhanupratap.

The youngest of Bollywood’s famous Kapoor brothers, he did not have their one defining and enduring cinematic image – Raj’s naive "tramp" identity in the Charlie Chaplin tradition or Shammi’s Elvis-like jiving, rebellious "playboy" persona, but went to surpass both in sheer diversity of his acting.

With his copybook good looks, rakish smile, infectious charm, toothy grin and languid drawl, or the air of earnestness, playing romantic roles, be they of businessmen, police inspectors, college students, et al came naturally to him, but Shashi Kapoor went on to play more ‘common man’ roles, decadent princes, aging poets and even angels with the same charm and intensity.

Born on March 18, 1938 in the then Calcutta to Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsarn ‘Rama’ Devi, Balbir Raj ‘Shashi’ Kapoor was destined to walk in his family’s footsteps on the silver screen.

Though he first appeared on screen as a child artiste in...

The Randeep Hooda starrer ‘Sarbjit’, is based on a real life story and also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Richa Chaddha. The film has been directed by Omung Kumar who’s last successful film was ‘Mary Kom’. The music of ‘Sarbjit’, has been composed by a mixture of composers (surprise, surprise!) namely Amaal Malik, Jeet Ganguli and also features a host of new composers such as Shail-Pritesh, Tanishk Bagchi and Shashi-Shivamm.

The film features a very sensitive storyline which also has a lot of pain surrounding it, and this has been well reflected in all of the songs in the album. Despite the album having wide range of composers, all of the songs do carry the same ‘sound’.

Salamat – sung by Arijit Singh & Tulsi Kumar. Music by Amaal Malik. Lyrics by Rashmi Virag

The first song to release from the album was ‘Salamat’. Romantic ballads are still the flavour of season,...

India’s prestigious and one of Asia’s biggest film festivals, Iffi 2015 will be organising a Special Retrospective of this year’s Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winner Shashi Kapoor. In a career spanning over four decades, Shashi Kapoor has given some spectacular performances and has donned many hats as a producer, director, and actor. He appeared in 160 movies including 12 English and 148 Hindi films out of which he played the solo lead hero in 61 films and played lead hero in 53 multi-star cast films. He has also produced 6 films including Junoon, which won National Awards in 1979.

The ace filmmaker, Shyam Benegal who directed Shashi Kapoor in Kalyug and Junoon remembers the actor to be a “thorough professional. He says, “Though, Shashi was one of the biggest stars of his time, he was always punctual. He never made anyone wait even for a minute. He was always ready with his lines and would always...

After having entertained the audiences for years now, the veteran actor Shashi Kapoor has now been righteously awarded with the highest honour in Bollywood: the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award, which will entitle him to a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a shawl. Shashi Kapoor, who just turned all of 77 years this month, will always be remembered for some of the most evergreen performances in films like Kabhi Kabhie, Deewar Jab Jab Phool Khile amongst others. Even though he started acting in films as a child in the late 1940s, he made his debut as a leading man with Dharmputra (1961). He has also been a proud recipient of three National Awards including 'Best Actor' (New Delhi Times), Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for Muhafiz and also the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (as Producer) for Junoon in 1979. Shashi's nephew,...

A Holy Fire is one of the twenty-three films selected for the co- production market of Film Bazaar 2013. We spoke to the director Govind Nihalani:

Tell us about your project. What language will it be in?

Govind Nihalani

Phoolvati, a young widow, 35, immolates herself on the funeral pyre with her dead husband, 72. Instantly, she is elevated to the Goddess- like status of a Sati, the epitome of virtue for being a selfless devoted wife. A grand temple is planned by the town to worship her. Phoolvati is survived by young Vidya, her only child, who idolised her for upholding the traditional values of society. Mother’s death shatters daughter’s world, Vidya herself having been widowed recently.

Soon Vidya’s relatives, particularly the male members, encircle the vulnerable young widow like vultures. Vidya stands up to them and they don’t find her resistance amusing. The confrontation escalates and...

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah turned 63 years today! He is widely considered to be one of the finest Indian stage and film actors. Shah is an influential actor of the Indian parallel (New Wave) cinema and has carved a niche for himself over the years. He has been successful in mainstream Bollywood cinema as well as in parallel cinema.His famous parallel films include Nishant, Aakrosh, Sparsh, Mirch Masala, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai, Trikal, Bhavni Bhavai, Junoon,...

Mumbai, June 11: Shabana Azmi is the most academically qualified actress in India by far and now the veteran actress is all set to receive another doctorate, this time from the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver Wednesday.

This would be the "Masoom" actress's fourth honorary degree. Earlier, she has received the same honour from Leeds University in Britain, the Jamia Millia Islamia and the Jadavpur University.

"It's good to be honoured in a domain away from my home ground. For the academic world to acknowledge my contribution is gratifying. Yes, this is my fourth doctorate," said the actress known for her roles in "Junoon",.

With the sensational news about the dazzling cameos of Priyanka Chopra, Sunny Leone and Sophie Choudry in Shootout At Wadala, having created a splash, the film’s fourth female dimension comes in the form of the heroine, Kangana Ranaut.

Kangana plays the role of Vidya who is Manya Surve’s (John Abraham) love interest. While there is no mention of Vidya in S. Hussain Zaidi’s best-seller ‘Dongri To Dubai’ (from which a part of the film has been inspired), director Sanjay Gupta learnt of her existence through his interaction with the Police while researching the film.

Reveals Sanjay, “The Police know about Vidya. So do the residents of Mumbai’s Dadar and Agar Bazaar areas where she is folklore. Many believe that she betrayed Manya, which led to his encounter. No one knows what happened to her after Manya’s death.”

On his decision to cast Kangana, he adds,...

Over the weekend of the 9th-10th June, the BFI is honouring Shyam Benegal, one of India’s leading directors. Considered one of the founders of India’s ‘New Wave’, Benegal began his film career in the 1970s. From then to this day, his work has successfully trod the line between Bollywood and art cinema.

The Benegal weekend at BFI will present screenings of two of the director’s masterpieces: Bhumika (The Role, 1977) and Junoon (Obsession, 1978). Based on a true story, Bhumika follows the turbulent life of a Bollywood film actress. Junoon is a tale of love between coloniser and colonised during the 1857 rebellion, adapted from Ruskin Bond’s novel A Flight of Pigeons. On both days, Benegal will be present at the BFI, where he will accept an award from the South Asian Cinema Foundation (Sacf) and give a masterclass on the making of Bhumika.

I had a chance to preview Bhumika,...

Well Done Abba

Well Done Abba has turned out to be a sort of a tragedy. Yes, it’s a satirical take on our system, more particularly how government schemes actually become cash cows for corrupt officials while the targeted beneficiaries – the common man – remain as poorly off as ever. It even raises occasional laughs, if not guffaws, through its ironic representation of all the loopholes in the system that are exploited to the hilt by those who are part of it. The victim being, the common man, in this case Armaan Ali of Chikkatpally near Hyderabad, who ekes out a living by driving the luxurious car of a well-off businessman in Mumbai and has a perky daughter back home to look after. With a gamut of characters that reflect the rot in the system in the backdrop of the growing lack of access to water across the nation, Well Done Abba,...

Nafisa Ali is making a comeback on the big screen after a long hiatus with the film Lahore but the actress has no desires to become a permanent fixture in Bollywood. Ali, shot to instant fame with her portrayal of a mesmerising young British girl in Shyam Benegal's 1979 film Junoon opposite Shashi Kapoor but took a break after shegot married and later became a social activist. "I love doing films but I am just a comet and not a star in Bollywood. I am happy with the limited roles that I do and the appreciation that comes my way," she told ...

After playing a mother in Lahore, a film that she feels will improve relations between India and Pakistan, social activist and actress Nafisa Ali will be seen as Hrithik's mother in Guzaarish. "I am doing Guzaarish where I play Hrithik's mother. It's a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film and to work with him is a magical experience because it is a totally different world of sets and lighting and attention to detail, which is truly magnificent," Nafisa told Ians in an interview here. Nafisa, who has acted in several Bollywood films like Junoon with Shashi Kapoor, Major Saab with Amitabh Bachchan and Life ...

After playing a mother in 'Lahore', a film that she feels will improve relations between India and Pakistan, social activist and actress Nafisa Ali will be seen as Hrithik's mother in 'Guzaarish'.'I am doing 'Guzaarish' where I play Hrithik's mother. It's a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film and to work with him is a magical experience because it is a totally different world of sets and lighting and attention to detail, which is truly magnificent,' Nafisa told Ians in an interview here.Nafisa, who has acted in several Bollywood films like 'Junoon' with Shashi Kapoor, 'Major Saab' with Amitabh Bachchan and 'Life In A... Metro' with Dharmendra, is sharing screen space with versatile Farooque Shaikh in 'Lahore'.Talking about her role in 'Lahore', she said: 'In the film, I play a mother whose both sons are Indian sportsmen and successful at the international level.

None in their senses will ever question a director of the caliber of Shyam Benegal when it comes to making films, but when Shyam Babu (as he is fondly referred to) decided to make a comedy, quite a few .idiots' (in the real sense!) did question his decision. After all this was man who had made such serious films like Mandi, Ankur, Manthan and Junoon etc. to name a few, and so expecting a comedy from him was a bit too much. But creativity knows no bounds and Shyam Benegal proved the...

Deepti Naval in a conversation tells Jyothi Venkatesh that Naseeruddin Shah is part of her psyche as an actor on the occasion of his 59th birthday. Over to Deepti Naval,

“I think that Naseer is a much better actor than a director, because he has not explored that side of his as a director. It is sad that though I have worked with him as a co-actor, in films like Katha, Mirch Masala, Mane, Junoon, Apna Jahaaan and Firaque, I did not get the opportunity to work under his direction when he made his debut as a film director. It is only when you get to see his body of work as an actor that you.