There are names that follow the rules and names that write their own. O.P. Nayyar, the self-taught maverick of Bollywood music, belonged to the latter. With his signature white shirt and trousers, black hat and an air of defiance, Nayyar was an industry disruptor.
Before Mithun Chakraborty, there were only two successful Bengali actors in Hindi cinema: Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee. While Biswajeet is still with us, Joy left us early on March 9, 2012 at the age of 73. He died of complications connected with obesity. Food had become an obsession with Joy.
One of Joy Mukherjee’s leading ladies, Asha Parekh, remembers him as a fun loving person and says shooting with him was like a picnic.
Saira Banu described him as a “buddy” who didn’t take care of his health.
The tryst with celluloid Once after watching her perform for a school function, the late Bimal Roy, offered her a small role in his film Baap Beti that featured Ranjan, Nalini Jaywant and Baby Tabassum. But after that, Asha continued with her schooling until Vijay Bhatt, in his endeavour to launch a new girl in Goonj Uthi Shehnai approached Asha Parekh. But as luck would have it, Parekh was rejected because she was no star material according to Bhatt. The role later went to Ameeta.
