Showing posts with label Loafer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Loafer. Show all posts
I would lie in Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar’s lap when they would do riyaz-Mumtaz
8:19 AM
Natasha Coutinho (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 14, 2026)
Singer Asha Bhosle died on Sunday at the age of 92 due to multi-organ failure. With a career spanning over eight decades and 12,000 songs, she left a legacy as one of India’s most versatile voices, transforming music across genres.
Now, recalling her final memory of the singer, veteran actor Mumtaz says, “I rushed when I heard she was hospitalized… I wanted to speak to her, but couldn’t as the doctors informed us she is critical. As I was leaving the hospital a few minutes later, her family called to say she had passed away. The next day I visited her home, and when I saw Asha ji, her face had a certain noor.”
The duo has delivered hits such as Koi Shahri Babu (Loafer, 1973) and Duniya Mein Logon Ko (Apna Desh, 1972). “Asha ji would always tell me the song Aaja O Mere Raja has been the most difficult song of her career because of the voice variations,” the 78-year-old shares.
Sharing personal memories from their days as neighbours in Mumbai’s Walkeshwar, she shares, “I remember lying in Asha ji and Lata (Mangeshkar, Bhosle’s sister and late veteran singer) ji’s lap when they would do riyaz with their tanpura.”
Earlier, Mumtaz had shared a video from Diwali 2023 on Instagram, dancing with the late singer that had instantly gone viral.
“We danced at Asha ji’s home… Jackie Shroff (actor) had egged me on to get her on the floor, but she was shy,” the veteran recalls.
1973: The year when Dharmendra created history with 8 releases and 7 big hits
10:21 AM
Box Office India Network
For Dharmendra, 1973 was arguably the greatest year that any actor has ever seen. The other years which are comparable to Dharmendra is Dharmendra himself in 1973 and Amitabh Bachchan in 1978 and 1981. Rajesh Khanna in 1970 and Jeetendra in 1980 deserve a mention but they are probably not at the level of the ones mentioned above.
In 1973, Dharmendra had eight releases out of which only one film did not do well and that was BLACKMAIL but even this film was coverage in the bigger circuits. Also what has to be noted is all the films were practically as SOLO hero flicks with YAADON KI BAARAAT having some newcomers for company.
There are seven HITS out of eight films and four of these films are a big HITS. KEEMAT is good example of many Dharmendra films which were not quite upto the mark in terms of content. This film had a share of 58.40 lakhs in the first six months across India.
At that time, it was called the billing. So, the all India billing was 58.40 lakhs in six months which very average. But by January 1979, this billing was 81 lakhs as the film kept on bringing healthy shares in West Bengal, Bihar, Assa, Odisha, CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan. The business of KEEMAT was less than JHEEL KE US PAAR and JWAR BHATA in the first six months of release but eventually finished above them.
A film which may not have been of great quality and was thumbed down by the trade eventually did HIT business and it was not only KEEMAT but many other films which did the same especially the ones released in the 1965-1975 period. We always talk about reach today as that would give you a bigger audience and the REACH of Dharmendra was insane which showed up in collections as films went into mofussil towns. This was not just action films but even likes of MERE HAMDAM MERE DOST, IZZAT and RESHAM KI DORI.
Dharmendra releases in 1973 were as follows.
Jugnu - Blockbuster
Yaadon Ki Baaraat - Blockbuster
Loafer - Super Hit
Kahani Kismat Ki - Super Hit
Keemat - Hit
Jheel Ke Us Paar - Hit
Jwar Bhata - Hit
Blackmail - Below Average
I entered the Miss India beauty contest from Indore just to fulfill my mom's dream-Disha Patani
7:52 AM
As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 22, 2019)
As a child I was very shy. I didn’t talk to people because I didn’t know what to say. So, I didn’t have any friends till I was 15. Since I was such an introvert I had never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would become a model and actress one day. Maybe I was destined to reach for the stars, but I admit, deep down I’m still a shy girl.My mom wanted to see me wearing the Miss India crown someday. She loved watching beautiful girls sashaying down the ramp wearing their winner sash and crown, and nurtured a similar dream for me. So, I entered the Miss India beauty contest (right) from Indore just to fulfill her dream.
Soon after, I shifted to Mumbai from Bareilly, hoping I could make it at least as a model but uncertain about pulling off this ambition. To my surprise, after just 10 days of moving to the Maximum City, I landed my first big break when I was signed to advertise a hair colour. I just couldn’t believe that I was going to be the face of such a big brand. Within days my posters and hoardings were up, all over the city, and like a kid, I would sit in front of the TV screen for hours watching my commercial play.
Of course, as you do more ads, the initial excitement fades away. I went on to promote everything—from chocolates and skin creams to clothing brands. My family was happy that I was doing something worthwhile in Mumbai and not wasting my time. They were always egging me on to accept more assignments. They had taken a big gamble sending me to a new and unfamiliar city. We didn’t know a single person in Mumbai and that added to their anxiety. So, to see me accepted in the advertising world was a big high for them.
However, because of my hectic schedule, I had to drop out when I was in the second year of college. That was a downer for my academically inclined family. My father is in the police force while my mother is in the medical field. My sister, Khushboo, is in the army. In the beginning they had expected me to pursue something similar, but seeing that I was artistically inclined, they trusted me enough to let me take up modelling and acting as a fulltime profession.
While I was working as a model, I would audition for films. I also enrolled for dance and martial arts classes to learn the essential attributes of an actress and improve my skills as a performer. In 2015, I landed a Telugu film, Loafer, opposite Varun Tej. The following year, I bagged my first Hindi film, M S Dhoni - The Untold Story. I played Priyanka, MSD’s first love who died in a tragic accident. To my delight, my performance was accepted. The same year, my single with Tiger Shroff, Befikra, also released. Since then, I have been lucky, I’m getting a lot of interesting work. Acting is a job I absolutely love. It keeps me on my toes and is creatively challenging because no two films are the same.
This Eid, I have one of my biggest films coming out, Atul Agnihotri and Bhushan Kumar’s period drama, Bharat. The Ali Abbas Zafar directorial features Salman Khan as the protagonist, and through his journey he mirrors the history of the country. I play a trapeze artiste.
There’s also Mohit Suri’s thriller, Malang, which I’m currently shooting for. In this film, every character has shades of gray and the story is full of unexpected turns. Life sure is unpredictable and fun.
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