dancers-from-india

"Look, everyone tries to do a good job. But if someone acts well, at least it can be said that so-and-so did a good job. That's why an actor survives in the industry. If a film is a hit but the actor lacks talent, that actor won't be able to last long."

"The stars and makers of Bengali films fight with the films in other languages to earn the respect they deserve. But in the South, the audience does that fight on behalf of the makers."

"We are still so accustomed to that old life that my father haggles over a few rupees. I do too. We have fulfilled our desires and aspirations, but our mentality is still stuck there."

"A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves."

"Technology can draw attention to the nuances of art."

"I think, for artists, we need to find our core, and to find the core we should go ashore."

"The grammar of dance should be in your DNA."

"My urge to experiment is not due to laziness or the lack of ability… rather, it opens the scope for creating something new."

"Yes, I always knew it was her. We started dating around August 2012, and by December 2012, I knew that she was the woman. I was very convinced, so I always approached the relationship that way. I nurtured and cultivated it with the feeling that this is forever. Let me tell you honestly, two very big things have happened in my life. First, I became an actor and it was a huge thing for me. Second, I married her. And this is what makes me feel like maine life mein kuch kiya hai. Maybe, it’s my good karma or blessings… I know that I have the best life partner in Deepika and I understood early on, that it doesn’t get better than her. I have been proven right by myself, as during those six years (when they were dating) kuch bhi ho sakta tha, I could have met someone, but I didn’t meet anyone like her. I haven’t met anyone like her, ever."

"Celebrity life is not easy. There is a lot of scrutiny. This is compounded with the coming of mobile phones and smart phones which have a camera. There is constant attention, sometimes too much of it. But this is something you take in your stride. If you decided to be an actor, then with that kind of territory comes a lot of attention and I am only too happy to receive attention."

"Yes, I have, out of immaturity, out of inexperience, out of taking advantage of certain temptations, out of callousness. You realise it now, when you grow up and you value it more why be in a relationship, why be committed to someone when you cannot be committed? I've realised that now. That's why I don't want to jump into a relationship with anybody because ... unless you have a special bond, a special equation with somebody, somebody who you can be committed to, somebody who can trust you, who you can respect, there's no point."

"Both of us are sure about our relationship and if we don't open about it now, it would be showing disrespect to the relationship. I am 33 now and it is time I have my family. Even Katrina wants that. I have grown up in a family where film is everything. So, I know the importance of gossip and my funda is simple. When there is gossip, try not to react and it is advisable not to think too much about yourself."

"Ranveer is definitely my cheerleader…but it’s not just on social media, it’s at home, too, like when I try my hand at gardening or cooking a meal. Even when he meets my parents, he always tells them how proud he is of me. He pays attention to the little things, and that’s what I appreciate about him the most."

"I'm extremely happy about the appreciation I got for my first film. My parents are very proud of me, and that makes me happy. And I'm very happy about my relationship with Deepika. I'm in a very happy place and I want to be this way all the time."

"I was his favourite grandchild. Whenever my mom shouted at me I would call him up and he would fire her. I, being his first grandson, was special. Every weekend, the grandkids used to go to his home in Chembur. He kept a bag of toffees and gave us one every time we salomed him. I once asked him for a suit when he was visiting Russia. He got back two bags of suits in every colour possible. He never shopped for anyone else."

"I don't have a drinking addiction but yes I have a tendency to drink a lot. When I start, I don't stop. I guess it's in my blood; you know how my family is. They are all very fond of alcohol. So, yes it's in my genes to drink."

"Well, I mainly married Neeraj because of love (laughs) and then because I don’t have too many actor friends. Also I always wanted a non actor and I’m glad it happened!"

"I think women should know how to be cultured and traditional, yet independent. That balance is important. Every woman should have the strength to speak for herself."

"Oh I’m glad we’ve finally started to have some scenes together and we share a very great rapport. Siddhant (Karnick) is such a well mannered person who’ll offer his chair to people and keep worrying if you want something. He’s a very sweet guy."

"I don’t think any heroine’s marital status matters. On TV, it’s all about the character. We have so many married actresses playing lead roles on TV shows. We are probably more married on TV than in real life."

"I think she was a diva, an epitome of beauty. I don't think I can ever be remotely compared with her. I don't think there's anyone as beautiful as her in the industry. If and when people see the show, they will realise, it's not about her, so there shouldn't be any comparisons."

"If I have to use an adjective to define myself, then I might use ‘cute’ but I don’t think I’m sexy. If people think that I’m sexy, then I’m happy."

"Madhubala' is just a tribute to the film fraternity, to people from the industry - actors, junior artists, co-ordinators, the families who deal with them. It is an attempt to show how they are in real life and the emotions that they go through. It's about what happens behind-the-scenes, not about one person."

"That I simply love pani puri and Maggie noodles."

"Not at all. It’s so hectic. On your wedding day, you just wear it for like 6 hours and you’re not even concentrating on it because you’re in another zone. But here, you not thinking of the marriage, you’re just shooting and looking at the watch… oh it’s 9 o’clock, I have to leave. It was nice to wear all this initially, but with time it just gets tiring."

"It is giving out a message saying, that sometimes your decisions probably are not supported by your family, but, if you think you are going in a right direction go ahead with it."

"Of course I see both the things. For an actor you don’t have as many years to work as others do. I cannot work from 18 – 50 years of age. No doubt now there are different genres that are giving equally importance to older woman. It’s like make hay when there’s sunshine. I don’t take up a show for money, I take it up for the concept and then I see if the money is good or not."

"Besides the long working hours, it can get monotonous meeting the same people and saying the samelines."

"A golden opportunity to show the world your talent. Fame, appreciation and love follows."

"I don’t know about that because nobody said anything to me on my face. And if I was being favoured, I would have just come for a couple of hours for the shoot and gone. Instead, I used to be on the sets for more than six hours, rehearsing, performing and then rushing off for my Madhubala shoot!"

"She says she was the only south Indian actress who could speak Hindi without a South Indian accent, at the time."

"I was cast as a college girl and that wasn’t really hard to play as I was very young then. I was treated as a child on the sets. When the movies finally hit the theatres, all the newspapers carried reviews that said, ‘What natural acting.'"

"There were no acting schools or workshops then. What came naturally to you, is all you had. But Bharata Natyam taught me everything."

"I was surrounded by dance, music and religious chants, so it was that kind of a mood. Our family was very culturally-minded, especially my grandmother. She was also quite the disciplinarian. She made sure I practiced daily for hours."

"But first I was made to learn music, because music and dance go together. You can sing, but you can’t dance without music..."

"We came from a conservative family, many of whom had never even gone to school. But I was sent to a convent and everyone was very proud that I was educated. So once while I was performing in Madras, a director from AVM studios spotted me. They were looking for a fresh face and they immediately wanted to cast me, and my grandmother grudgingly accepted."

"If Bharatanatyam helped my movies, I cannot say the same about films helping my Bharatanatyam."

"I couldn’t describe Protima Bedi better. As a mother she was phenomenal. She brought joy into our lives with her constant need to be different and creative. She was determined never to lead an ordinary life."

"I always cribbed about having such a long name and my grandmother would say that nobody else will be called ‘Vyjayanthimala'."

"Two words that were missing in her life’s lexicon were "no" and "regret"; she could not say no to any man who desired her — and grew into a very desirable and highly animated young woman who most men found irresistible. And she did not regret any emotional or physical experience she had."

"Just be the best and the highest expression of who you want to become. Be that. Because if you are that there is no more unhappiness. All frustration and anger comes from being less. People say not everybody can be. But everyone can be. I trust life. The only person who stands in your way is yourself."

"My creativity is over. Now it is only the question of maintenance. I have empowered the girls to look after themselves. To earn their own money, to be somebody. I need to resuscitate."

"The time has come for me to forget my past and live a future that even I am unaware of."

"She abandoned her dance school and other business to become a sanyasin, but death took her unawares: she was killed in a landslide while on a pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar. Oddly enough even as a sanyasin she was accompanied by one of her lovers."

"Protima Gauri (as she renamed herself) had zest for living. She loved her men, her liquor and drugs. She had a large range of her lovers, most of whom she names."

"Firstly I had never touched anyone's feet. So I refused to do that for months. I had never been inside a temple. I refused to go for puja every evening. I said I have only come to learn dance. I don't have to do all that. But the dance brought the devotion and the spiritual understanding. I saw my guru's devotion because everything he did was by example. If I have built Nrityagram today it is because of what I took from him."

"There were so many different characters that I have played. Radha in Sangam was a very sophisticated woman and the setting was very refined, while in Dhanno in Gunga Jumna was rustic, a village belle. Even the language was different."

"I think I was born to dance. That’s what my grandmother told me. So it was always in my system."

"It all came back to my guruji saying bahut kali-ka rup dekhaya tumne. (You have shown a lot of Kali in you). Calm down a little bit. Parvati-ka roop lo. (Take on the image of [[w:Parvati|Parvati)."

"My guru said you are too old. I thought I was young -- I was 26. And he said you can't and I said I can. I'll show you. He said it will take many sacrifices. And I said I'll give up anything you want. I didn't realise I would have to give up my family for that. I realise now if I had not gone for three months to Orissa my husband would not have run off with Parveen Babi. So it was really a giving up. My children had to go to boarding school after that -- there was no family. I had to give up my lifestyle, my friends, my smoking, my drinking."