तेईस मार्च की तारीख एक बार फिर आ गई लेकिन किसी चैनल या रेडियो स्टेशन पर से भगत सिंह, राजगुरु या सुखदेव के सम्मान में कोई एक पंक्ति भी श्रद्धांजलि के रूप में प्रसारित नहीं हुई जब की निकृष्ट और लुंज पुंज से नेताओ के जन्मदिन या पुण्यतिथि पर सारा मीडिया-तंत्र कसीदे पढ़ता रहता है. किसी राजनेता या अभिनेता को भगत सिंह या उसके साथी याद नहीं आये क्योंकि वो शायद बिकने लायक विज्ञापन नहीं हैं और ना ही किसी राजनितिक वोट बैंक का हिस्सा.
If looks could kill, Shashi Kapoor would have been booked for ‘knocking out’ millions with his lethal charm. Alongside Dharmendra, he was the finest looking Indian actor and while both the large-hearted, Punjabi gentlemen could make cinegoers swoon by just their adorable smiles, it was Shashi who had a greater ability to carry the garb of a villager and a suave urbanite with finesse. Just as the golden sunshine of throat qualified Rafi Sahab as God’s own voice, Shashi’s endearing persona made him seem as nature’s symbol of eternal youth and it is not surprising that his gorgeous charm made him a darling of national and international cinema.
Inspiration is the greatest influence on any life and mine too is no exception. While I love umpteen number of great films from “Pyaasa”, “Mother India”, “Mughal-e-Azam” and “Gunga Jamuna” to “Dil Ek Mandir”, “Hum Dono”, “Dosti” and “Guide” that have deeply impacted my soul, it is Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s effervescent “Anand” which inspired me with profound truths of life. Undoubtedly, “Anand” had a great story, screenplay, lyrics and music besides commendable direction and acting, but it is the film’s deeply spiritual message of humanism that resides within me till date ever since I first saw it at Mayur cinema in Jaipur on 14th March 1971. I must admit that the film’s story as well as the peculiar circumstances of that moment helped me adopt “live-love-laugh” as my life mantras forever.
Astrology may be a serious business but it provides enough humour to last a life time! Just as television news is unadulterated nonsense that needs to be avoided like plague, the bizarre predictions by hordes of astrologers nowadays are akin to the “theatre of the…
Daring to express the most complex human emotions, poets are God’s special creatures. Go down the lanes of history, words of rulers have died with them, but verses of poets remain alive as they communicate everlasting truths that most are unable to hear and imbibe….