Meet the people who live and breathe Bollywood - Hindustan Times
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Meet the people who live and breathe Bollywood

ByAnanya Ghosh and Rachel Lopez
Apr 27, 2016 08:42 PM IST

A trivia-filled look at the people who track the backstory of Bollywood – the films, songs, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and the colourful characters.

It’s sometime in the late ’80s. A whole nation is tuning in to Doordarshan to catch the Sunday evening Hindi film, Aradhana, a tale of a secret romance, a woman’s sacrifice and a son’s reunion with his mother. All threads of the story tie into a neat little bow at the end. For one young boy in Kolkata, however, one question remains: What is that book Sharmila Tagore is reading on the Darjeeling-bound toy train as Rajesh Khanna sings Mere sapno ki rani from the open jeep alongside? His mother has told him it’s a novel by Alistair MacLean, but she’s not sure which. A quest is born.

Anandmath was shot some days in Bombay city and some days in Goregaon. The entire crew, musicians and all, had to keep shuttling between city and suburbs. It was very tedious. So when the music director got all the musicians to sing for Anandmath’s biggest song, Vande Mataram, they protested in a musical way. They sang “One day Bombay, one day Goregaon”. Thankfully, their voice was drowned by other vocalists who sang the right words. (Image provided by SMM Ausaja; trivia courtesy Madhulika Liddle)
Anandmath was shot some days in Bombay city and some days in Goregaon. The entire crew, musicians and all, had to keep shuttling between city and suburbs. It was very tedious. So when the music director got all the musicians to sing for Anandmath’s biggest song, Vande Mataram, they protested in a musical way. They sang “One day Bombay, one day Goregaon”. Thankfully, their voice was drowned by other vocalists who sang the right words. (Image provided by SMM Ausaja; trivia courtesy Madhulika Liddle)
The most hard-to-acquire Amitabh film poster, more expensive than Sholay and Deewar, is of Rakesh Kumar’s classic comedy Do Aur Do Paanch (Image and trivia courtesy: SMM Ausaja)
The most hard-to-acquire Amitabh film poster, more expensive than Sholay and Deewar, is of Rakesh Kumar’s classic comedy Do Aur Do Paanch (Image and trivia courtesy: SMM Ausaja)
There’s an easy way to tell the good guys from the bad in Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2. Just keep your ears open. Most characters use their mobiles and their ringtones give them away: Nawazuddin’s plays Nayak nahi khalnayak hoon main, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s is a bhajan. Assistant director Neeraj Ghaywan picked them all out himself. (Trivia courtesy: Diptakirti Chaudhuri)
There’s an easy way to tell the good guys from the bad in Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2. Just keep your ears open. Most characters use their mobiles and their ringtones give them away: Nawazuddin’s plays Nayak nahi khalnayak hoon main, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s is a bhajan. Assistant director Neeraj Ghaywan picked them all out himself. (Trivia courtesy: Diptakirti Chaudhuri)
Mother India is a remake. Director Mehboob Khan had the same story in Aurat, 17 years earlier. And guess who played Radha’s husband Shamu (later essayed by Raj Kumar)? Govinda’s father, Arun Kumar Ahuja (Image provided by SMM Ausaja; trivia courtesy Amborish Roychoudhury)
Mother India is a remake. Director Mehboob Khan had the same story in Aurat, 17 years earlier. And guess who played Radha’s husband Shamu (later essayed by Raj Kumar)? Govinda’s father, Arun Kumar Ahuja (Image provided by SMM Ausaja; trivia courtesy Amborish Roychoudhury)
Naseeruddin Shah has a role in Maachis. He has no scenes but he dubbed for the actor who played the police officer in the opening moments. So Maachis opens with Naseer’s voice. The cop was actually played by a real-life police officer from Rajasthan cadre, Anand Vardhan Shukla, currently the state’s DIG. (Trivia courtesy: Pavan Jha)
Naseeruddin Shah has a role in Maachis. He has no scenes but he dubbed for the actor who played the police officer in the opening moments. So Maachis opens with Naseer’s voice. The cop was actually played by a real-life police officer from Rajasthan cadre, Anand Vardhan Shukla, currently the state’s DIG. (Trivia courtesy: Pavan Jha)
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