Take 25 is a book capturing my best interviews with Bollywood actors over two decades. I chose Rekha for the cover because she is an actor I have interviewed in every decade. The conversations over the years document her milestones.

An interview reflects as much about the interviewer as about the interviewee. It is an indicator of the trends of that time and also the star status of the actor. The final responsibility of the spoken word under all circumstances however rests with the actor because the quotable quotes have a way of bouncing back and usually when the star is at a vulnerable phase.

Attached with fresh feedback on the old quotes from every star featured in the book along with their autograph, the book has a preface by Rekha and an introduction by late Lata Mangeshkar.

Take 25 views the actors as human beings and offers rare insights.

The first book is usually unplanned. In 1992 Amitabh Bachchan lifted his 16-year-old ban on the media and by the time he relaunched himself in 1997 I realized I had innumerable interviews with actor, which I still don’t know how and when took the form of a book.

Amitabh Bachchan has played varied roles on screen, but off-screen the actor remains an enigma.  Admired, envied, hated, hounded, his celebrity status transcends national boundaries. 

My debut book Amitabh: The Legend captures the roller-coaster life of a superstar through incisive, introspective interviews.  And the protagonist, Amitabh Bachchan, takes it all head-on, emotional choices, professional commitments, candid confrontation with controversies, allegations et al.

Surviving both, the near-fatal accident on the sets of Coolie, and political cesspool in real-life, his reflective personal accounts are blended with intimate analysis from his directors and his colleagues. A collector’s proud possession. 

In India we celebrate the Teachers Day on 6 September dedicated to our first president, Dr Radha Krishna butUNESCO after a conference convened in Paris on the status of teachers proclaimed 5 October as the World Teachers Day.

I take this opportunity to salute my foremost teacher, my parents, for giving me a strong foundation that has stood me ground all these years. There were no contradictions in their ideology and I feel blessed to have parents who never compromised with truth and values. I also salute all my teachers in school, college and seniors who I met in later life. My colleagues, friends, relatives, contemporaries, even my competitors who imparted valuable lessons of life.

To all those who crossed my path – for short and long duration and provided me an opportunity to expand my wings, learn different things, face challenges. My art gurus who enhanced my aesthetics, my tech gurus who taught me devices, formats and my spiritual guru who brought me closer to myself. I bow my head in utmost gratitude. I am what I am today because of the sum total of my experiences and you have contributed to my blossoming.

World Animal Welfare Day is celebrated around the globe on 4 October to raise awareness for the rights of animals. Indian movies are so culturally evolved that you will find you a reference for every topic. Our movies have been telling stories of animals and birds from time immemorial. They exist in our fables, our mythology and our movies. We have stories about snakes/ Nagin, Nagina, Sheshnaag, stories about birds, about dogs/ Teri Meharbaniyaan, Pariwar, Hum Aaap Ke Hain Kaun, about elephants/ Haathi Mere Saathi that became a blockbuster because the elephant God is revered in our country, about wild animals both lion and tiger/ Mr Natwarlal, Life of Pi.

A South director made a film about a mosquito that became a super success and director Ramgopal Verma established himself as a horror filmmaker with Raat, where a family accidentally kills a cat hiding beneath their car and how the cat comes to hunt the family.

Today is World Nature Day and I am reminded of several Hindi film songs that became popular only because they were picturised in sublime surroundings. On top of my list is The Great Gambler romantic song shot between Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bachchan sailing in a boat in Venice. The song “Do labzon ki” RD Burman music, the kashtiwala, the lyrics and the skyline are mesmerising after all these years. Other favourite song of mine related to nature is Asha Bhosle’s “Phir se aiyo barkha bidesi” where a deaf-mute Mithoo/ Shabana Azmi in Namkeen is spotted strolling in the hills clinging to her kali kamlii/ black shawl.

In Hrishikesh Mukherji’s Anupama the story of the immensely shy Sharmila Tagore surprises the audience when she is singing to the flowers. Not the kind to share her feelings with anyone, Anupama opens up amidst nature and Lata Mangeshkar justifies all her emotions in the heartbreakingly sensitive song “Kuch dil ne kaha, kuch bhi nahi” penned by Kaifi Azmi.

Monsoon in its splendour glory has been a recurrent motif in our movies. Who can forget the beautiful Sadhana singing “O sajna barkha bahar aayin” in Asli Naqli or Nutan confessing her secret to the moon in “Mora gora aang lay le” in Bandini and Aishwarya Rai flirting with the clouds in “Barso re megha ranibarse re” in Guru.

Today is Asha Parekh’s birthday. Parekh’s mother Sudha enrolled her in classical dance class at an early age.Director Bimal Roy spotted her on stage and cast her in Maa and later Baap Beti in 1954. At 16, she was cast in Goonj Uthi Shehnanayi and then rejected by director Vijay Bhatt who claimed she would never make it as a star. Producer Sashadhar Mukherjee signed her almost immediately in a film Dil Deke Dekho written and directed by Nasir Hussain and the rest is history.

Director Raj Khosla broke her frothy image in Do Badan followed by a never to be forgotten musical directed by Goldie Anand Teesri Manzil that came to be regarded as a classic. Years galloped by and Parekh’s track record at the box-office earned her the coveted title of “Jubilee Girl”. The 70s were a down slide for the star but Asha Parekh still managed rave reviews from her critics in Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki and Gujarati film Kulvadhu.

In the coming decades Asha Parekh produced and directed TV serials under her banner Akruti and also served as President, CINTAA and chairperson, CBFC. She set up her dance academy in the early career, her distribution company in her peak time and was crusading for her Asha Parekh Hospital in the later years. In 2023, she was bestowed with Dadasaheb Phalke Award.