Pan Nalin’s much-loved coming-of-age Gujarati language drama Last Film Show (Chhello Show) is in the news for being shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards. As the Oscar fever builds up, the film has now emerged as an odds-on favourite and is being seen as a top contender for the nominations. After Priyanka Chopra lent her support for the film and hosted a screening for Academy members in Los Angeles, Variety’s renowned Awards Editor and Senior Vice President Tim Gray has listed the filmamong his top 5 predictions for the Oscar nominations.

Lead actor 13 year old Bhavin Rabari  is creating ripples too and it is because the film tells the story of a cinema-obsessed boy, Samay (Bhavin Rabari), in rural Gujarat and his coming of age as he moves forward to realise his dreams. The film is inspired by director Pan Nalin’s own childhood and his friendship with a local projectionist and has been praised by critics worldwide ever since it had its premiere at the TriBeCa film festival.

Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur Dheer Momaya and Pan Nalin and released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the US and by Roy Kapur Films in India, Orange Studios is releasing the film in France, while Shochiku Studios and Medusa are bringing it to Japanese and Italian cinemas respectively.

In the 70s and the 80s the actors styled themselves.  Rekha was the first to learn her makeup and also to style herself.  She was the first among the celebrities to run on the beach and practice yoga.  She was the first fitness freak show business knew of so clearly my early grooming tips as a cub reporter came from the diva herself!

I remember her asking me to give up sugar and oil forever and stop using pillows to sleep. Pillows give you wrinkles, she said and my daily routine must include adequate exercise, adequate sleep, five almonds and a large fruit every single day. Gallons of water will guarantee healthy skin and hair. I am certain she follows all this and more and the results are apparent.

Yes, Rekha is ravishing but beauty is skin deep and behind the arresting face Rekha hides a golden heart that values affection and relationships.

The story of life lessons learnt is long, soon another feature on the subject, on another day perhaps?

Hema Malini believes that life throws opportunities to everyone but most of us are too absorbed in our daily lives to recognize the signals. She says she was fortunate to be blessed with opportunities very early in life when she began dancing on stage.  As she grew older, the opportunities turned bigger. From the stage, she was launched on the screen and ruled the box-office for more than two decades.  

In years to come, Hema Malini turned filmmaker, even joined politics but her passion for dance continued.  From pure classical form, she evolved to perform mythological ballets and continues to experiment with the art after so many decades. Hema Malini says that life is enriching because she was born as an artiste and had it not been for her dance/ music/ art, life would have been very drab and boring. I agree.

Sharmila Tagore is the first of her generation to get married, have a baby and return to the screen   with a bang! She broke the myth that heroines turn matronly post marriage. She was prettier, sexier in Aaradhana and more importantly, the film was a super success!! Tagore juggled her marital and paternal responsibilities with her commitment as an actor and was fortunate to have a support system from both her mother and her mother-in-law. She said it is never easy for a new mother to leave her baby in the initial years but it is equally important that she resumes work as early as possible.

From Sharmila Tagore I learnt that it is all about striking a balance between work and family and it is possible if the family is supportive. Those who are unable to define boundaries experience an aching vacuum in later lives so it is better to be conscious and work on oneself constructively.

Asha Parekh is a prime example of redefining herself with time. When lead roles stopped coming her way, for a while Parekh flirted with character roles but the dynamics were different and not comfortable. She opted out of the race and embraced new opportunities.  She was already a film distributor and now launched her own production house.  Gradually she turned a director and in time to come, was ready to shoulder bigger responsibilities.  She headed CINTAA (Cinema & Television Artistes Association) and was chairperson, CBFC (Censor Boarad Film Certification) and in the meantime, her personal commitments to her own hospital and to the extended medical institutions she was attached with continued.

From Asha Parekh I learnt that you have to embrace all the challenges that come your way and find a way to conquer them.

During the 70s and the 80s Helen was a part of all multi starrer films and we invariably bumped into her whenever we visited the studios and she was always extremely polite and courteous. There were times she was in the middle of a rehearsal or dressed in an uncomfortable costume and wig, but this never came in the way of her behavior. She always had a smile for all her fans and her friends. She seldom gave interviews to the journalists but nobody held that against her because she always won us over with her smile.

I met Waheeda Rehman for the first time on the sets of Anupam Kher’s directorial debut Om Jai Jagdish. She was returning to movies after a long break and a bit nervous because the film revolved around her character. She was anxious but not overwhelmed by the responsibility because Waheeda Rehman believes that there is more to life than just cinema. She is an avid reader, part time painter, photographer, chef and more. She is the first actor to accept her grey streaks and age gracefully. Today, 80 plus Rehman believes that age is just a number.

To be continued next week

Vyjayanthimala had moved to Delhi soon after her retirement from films but made frequent trips to Mumbai in the 90s when her son, Sachindar Bali was struggling to become an actor. She purchased a plush apartment for her son in the suburbs of Mumbai but refused to call her colleagues for help. “I may have been a superstar in my time but that does not mean that I can get a role for my son in films. This is show business and everyone has to make a path for himself.  If Sachindar has it in him he will make it as an actor if not there are many options in life”. She was right. Sachindar continued to struggle for another year or two and packed up to return to Delhi forever.

I was walking down the Film City makeup room corridor one day when veteran actor Lalita Pawar, mistaking me for an actress, invited me to her room. A journalist had come visiting her and Pawar was clearly disappointed with the encounter. “Why are journalists so distracted and why do they come for an interview if they are not interested in listening to the actor? They ask questions but when I am answering they are looking somewhere else”. I heard her out in silence. When I got up to leave, I told her I was not an actor but a journalist.  She smiled.  Lalita Pawar taught me to value my seniors and to always listen without interruption.

To be continued

It was sometime in the winter of 1978 I think, when I first spotted Nargis Dutt sitting in the veranda of their preview theatre, Ajanta Arts, eating bhelpuri. As journalists we frequently visited the theatre for screenings but seldom met up with the family. This was a rare occasion when Nargis Dutt was going to be watching the film with us. I can’t remember the film but it was an unusually boring film and I was restless! Nargis Dutt sensed my exasperation and during the interval called me by her side. She gently explained to me that no matter how boring any film is, I must never express my restlessness and give due respect to the creator.  I have remembered that…

Nutan in my opinion, was among the first actors to reprimand reporters who arrived for interviews without doing their homework. She said it was unfair to waste precious time of artistes and editors of publications should be responsible about this. She disapproved of visitors on the sets who whispered in the middle of a ‘take’ that destroyed the mood of an actor. I remembered all this and when I became an editor myself, I personally coached my team before packing them off to a film set.

To be continued