Actresses From India

"Depend on yourself and you will never be let down."

"Acting is a bit like cycling. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you just peddle on."

"I find it funny to praise myself, but I think I am beautiful, just like Chandramukhi."

"I have never been a part of the numbers game. We are not racing horses, who should be numbered. Either the work you do is good or bad."

"When Hussainji narrated the script [on Gaja Gamini] to me, I couldn´t understand it. And I told him so. So, he worked out a storyboard and then I could visualize the whole film. You know the film is like a painting on celluloid."

"I adore the concept of being in love with one guy and spending the rest of my life with him."

"My family gives me enough security and warmth. I don’t have to look for it outside! After achieving so much success and fame I’m apprehensive about people’s motives. I want to be sure that people want to be friends with me and not my fame!"

"Madhuri was crowned the queen of Bollywood and her star status reached a level where she was called the ‘female Amitabh Bachhan’. Her stage shows sold out and fans flocked to her shootings to catch a glimpse of the ultimate star. She has ever been called the peace maker between India and Pakistan as a Pakistani official joked to a national newspaper on his visit to India "You can keep Kashmir, give us Madhuri"."

"Nightingale of Parliament."

"Madhuri is an excellent dancer. She is in the same league with actresses like Waheeda Rehman and Meena Kumari as far as dancing is concerned. She dances with a lot of grace. I think she is the best dancer in Indian cinema after Waheeda Rehman. She reminds me of her,"

"I worked with her for the first time in 1997 for a dance sequence where actor (Shah Rukh) is playing the drum in another room and she dances on those beats."

"It has been more than 15 years but her dedication towards dance is the same. She grasps quickly and is a genius dancer. Her expressions are just perfect."

"Madhuri has kept the tradition of classical dance in cinema alive. Be it Devdas's 'Kahe Ched Mohe' or dance sequence of DTPH , she has performed brilliantly."

"For a woman to be complete, she has to be a blend of Paro and Chandramukhi [the two women who love Devdas. I feel that I am that woman."

"I was called the ‘Ugly Duckling’ of Hindi films because of my dark complexion and South Indian features. I used to feel deeply hurt when people compared me with the leading heroines of the time and said I was no match for them. I was determined to make it big on sheer merit."

"The real turning point in my life came when I performed my best in Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan. After reading the script, I felt I had Umrao in me — the character influenced me so much. I put my soul into each minute aspect of my performance. I was thrilled when I won the National Award for Best Actress for Umrao Jaan."

"My teaming with Amitabh taught me many practical aspects of life and the film world. He’s one of the most versatile actors of Indian cinema."

"After reading the script, I had a strange feeling that I had Umrao in me. And the film created history.… I gave a performance which is one of my personal favourites."

"It was my first chance to rub shoulders with the immensely talented Amitabh Bachchan and we went on to become a super hit pair"

"How is this dark, plump and gauche actress ever going to make it?"

"She would be the darling of the masses for years to come."

"Rekha fashioned herself as an actress with a signature look very different from her early years as a struggling actress. This transformation was often referred to as as that of an ugly duckling. In interviews and film magazines Rekha claimed that she had achieved this by changing her lifestyle, healthy eating practices, and doing yoga. Soon she had inspired a whole fashion trend and had film magazines raving about her affair with Amitab Bachhan. Such publicity added to her image as a symbol of seduction and glamour. She was seen as a woman who could challenge patriarchal norms by remaining single and being famous."

"The celebrated Hindi film actress has a cult of personality surrounding her that is unparalleled among other actresses and is often the subject of particularly fascinating urban legend."

"Rekha, a photogenic girl with seductive eyes, languished in insubstantial roles. The audience was floored when there was a swift change in her screen personality, as well as her style of acting. She paid painstaking attention to her make-up and acting technique. She improved her dress sense and recorded albums to promote physical fitness. What Jane Fonda did for aerobics in America, Rekha did for yoga in India."

"She is a dreamer... she lives in her own world. She imagines a lot of things that suit her psyche as an actor. She is a very genuine, warm and a very sensitive person... And no denying the fact a very good learner. It has been an amazing experience to work with her; she is a perfect actress."

"Rekha is nearest to the parallel of Swedish actress Greta Garbo... they both came from poor backgrounds and climbed great heights... As an artist she was first noticed in 'Ghar' and after that she was no more termed as only a voluptuous artist in Hindi cinema because then came films like 'Khubsoorat' and 'Umrao Jaan' that set her apart,""

"She is enigmatic... because she is hard to get She only moves in a small circle of senior film people and she shuns the media. That's also because she is a tragic figure with failed relationships... none of which succeeded, so she has withdrawn into herself. The only place she is now noticed is award functions, which are also picked and chosen. But she still doesn't give any interviews."

"Rekha is a diva... In fact, the term diva (in India) was coined for Rekha. The way she has metamorphosed herself from what she was when she came into the industry is mind blowing... She has worked on her language, body, diction, everything and apart from that she's a fantastic actress."

"There was a special 'Rekha Diet' compiled by Chunky Pande's mother, Dr. Snehlata Pandey. Her looks and style are copied throughout India and she even has her book (on yoga and exercises) called 'Rekha's Mind and Body Temple' (1983). She has remained a mystery and what keeps her a legend is that how she has kept it intact so beautifully. She is a complete Jane Fonda."

"There is no one in the industry to compare with Rekhaji as a beauty and as a performer... she is so good. For me, she is the perfect style icon. Jitna chamak unke face par hai, kisi ke chehre par nahin (the glow on her face is incomparable)."

"She has a perfect nose, pretty eyes and the best part is that she does her make-up on her own. She is in perfect shape. I just love her and adore her. I think she should have a wax statue at Madame Tussaud's"

"I admire her and she is the one actress I look up to. I love her unforgettable films like 'Khoobsurat'. She's a living legend."

"Hindi cinema’s only woman of substance, of late who enthralled the audiences and others with that air of mystery and intrigue while remaining a top heroine for more than 10 years is Rekha."

"She was the most versatile star of her generation… And unmatched in handling comic roles."

"She was just awesome, it was a privilege to act with her"

"Rekha is a rare gem....if only I had a suitable script for her, I would cast her without any delay"

"Indian music is oriented solely to the end of divine communication. If I have done something in this respect entirely due to the grace of the Almighty who has chosen my humble self as a tool."

"Subbalakshmi was indeed the icon who could bring the world to its knees:her rendering moved Yehudi Menuhin to tears, Bade Gulam Ali Khan called her "Suswaralakshmi Subbulakshmi", while Helen Keller once said “You sing like an angel”. She could captivate the people with an occasional lift of an eyebrow and a beatific smile-meant not for the audience but for the divine."

"The singing legend lives on her suprabathams (morning prayer songs) and w:bhajansbhajans."

"M.S. had long ago been anointed Bharat Ratna by the people of India, with her art recognised and cherished by anyone with a modicum of cultural intelligence"

"Lata Mangeshkar called her Tapaswini (the Renunciate)."

"She incandesced as she sang. Her singing voice employed more than the process of phonation, more than the scope of the larynx."

"Sarojini Naidu repositioned her own title of Nightingale of India on to Subbalakshmi’s avian frame, it was because that daughter of Bengal saw the gift of song arriving and alighting on this daughter of India’s south, like a migratory bird from the collective genius of our music."

"Oh! Who am I; a mere Prime Minister before the queen of song."

"Subbulakshmi, when singing, comes closer to God and the same happens to those who listen to her."

"Even if Subbalakshmi merely recited the words of her songs without singing them, he would prefer to hear them than anybody else."

"My greatest fear is giving performances. I feel I am responsible for the audience BUT I am also scared of them."

"It is very strange and saddening to see that when such acts are perpetrated against the minorities, all political leaders rush to issue statements of condemnation. But when persons belonging to the majority are subjected to similar perpetration of heinous crimes, not a single political leader has so far issued a statement condemning this barbaric crime. Such acts of senseless violence should be condemned no matter who is responsible for them and no matter who the victims are. It is not as though a crime is a crime only if it is committed against the minorities and not so if it is committed against the majority community. This should be viewed as a crime committed against humanity...remind all the political leaders in India that it is not only the minorities who enjoy rights under the Constitution. The majority have rights too."

"MGR has been a great influence in my life, I don’t deny that. But now I am my own person. I have evolved. Hereafter, I am responsible only for myself. Never again will anybody influence me to such an extent that all my thoughts and actions and statements are influenced and made in a particular way just because someone else wants it that way."

"On her passion for acting: "I used to feel a sort of emptiness before I started acting but not any longer... If I were not an actress, I’d have gone crazy.""