Actors From India

"O heart, with the very stones or bricks that some people hurled at you all along, build a wonderful mosque of love with foundation, solid and strong."

"Weary of struggles, I, the great rebel, Shall rest in quiet only when I find The sky and the air free of the piteous groans of the oppressed. Only when the battle fields are cleared of jingling bloody sabres Shall I, weary of struggles, rest in quiet, I am the rebel eternal, I raise my head beyond this world and, High, ever erect and alone!"

"O heart, Ramadan has come to an end, and the happy Eid knocks at the door for all, Come, today give yourself away wholeheartedly, heed the divine call."

"Let's forget today who is friend or foe, and hold each other in caring embrace. Let your love be the magnet to bring the humanity to Allah's grace. Remember those in perennial fast, constantly in hunger and deprivation, Share with the poor, orphans and the destitutes, to make inclusive your celebration."

"I have learned so much from every director and actor I have ever worked with. I have been fortunate to have worked with some of the greats of our era and I was always cognizant of the fact that I was getting a free education every time at bat. I think you learn so much from just observing and being privy to the conversations that move the creative process forward."

"I believe natural beauty stimulates the creative mind and it’s no wonder the residents have always had an affinity to the arts. Growing up I was surrounded by music, dance, theater, literature and given my father owned and operated the only two cinema halls in town, I was a very popular kid on Saturdays when traditionally the two would flock to see the latest “flick” that was playing at either the Capitol Cinema or The Rink (formerly a roller skating rink)."

"Life is a journey which is far more enjoyable when your holding hands with the ones you love"

"And the sun sets on another year. Much to ponder upon, even more to look forward to..."

"I’m constantly searching for right roles, trying to find what suits me the best. Once I find my metier, I’ll elaborate on that, polish my act and then move on. Some actors quickly find a genre they’re comfortable with and then they perfect it. Others do diverse things until they find what suits them. I’m doing the latter. I still haven’t found the role that I can do full justice to. I’m discovering myself as an actor."

"An image does not matter for me. I always break an image that I have created. I don't want to stick to one particular thing and just keep doing it."

"After 'Kasauti Zindagii Kay', I wanted to do something better and more challenging. There was no point doing any ordinary show. I knew the role of Viraaj was a bigger challenge. But at the same time, I was also scared of people hating me because of the negative role."

"Change cannot come from one politician, it has to come from each one of us and not just for today...it's a gradual process. Let's be responsible & work towards it."

"What is destined to happen will happen. Victory and defeat are like light and darkness."

"He introduced educational reforms and laid the foundation for the Telugu Ganga project to provide drinking water to Madras city, apart from irrigating the dry lands of Rayalaseema."

"Cinema unifies us despite caste, creed and race. While watching a movie in a cinema hall, we don't care who is seated next to us. We laugh at the same jokes and cry at the same scenes. We should be proud of Indian cinema for integrating us,""

"He believed that only strong States could make a strong Centre. He convinced the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in this regard which made her change her earlier stance that strong States would mean a weak Centre."

"He became one of the cinema-crazed state's best-known idols. Wide-shouldered, flamboyant and with a proud, hawkish face, Rama Rao made as good a villain as he did a hero, but he is best known for his portrayals of the two gods Krishna and Rama."

"Nandamuri Taraka. Rama Rao [was] the hero of the masses in his reel life, who later became their hero in real life by unseating the nearly century old and well-entrenched Congress, and forming the first ever non-Congress Government in the State."

"Sorry, I don’t understand ragas. Just show me the tune and I sing.” Then sing anything you like, said Boral, and Saigal started singing something in Raag Asawari."

"...a fakir singing a ghazal of Ghalib’s. They sat down and listened and when it was over Saigal put his hand in his pocket and whatever was in it – 5,000 rupees, a great sum in those days – gave to the fakir. And when the friend asked whether he knew how much he had given, Saigal said, “Did Oopar Wala count the money when he gave it to me?"

"Never before had I heard such melody from human throat. It was superhuman. Was he a Gandharva come to earth? No expression on his face. Not much movement of lips. Perfect control over breath. Perfect pauses. Clear pronunciation. I was spellbound."

"The actual star persona of K.L.Saigal strongly relied on a similar unspoken hierarchy between the ‘natural’ and the ‘trained voice’, emphasizing his lack of formal musical training and his ‘natural gift.’"

"He sang in low octaves from the throat which became a fashion and model for many singers. The Hindi films from 1932 to 1946 had the melody of Saigal."

"Even if the childlike, ignorant and careless Saigal committed any blunder, it was hard to get irritated with him. Often it happened that the set was ready…But he would not been seen anywhere. Weary and tired of waiting for him, everybody would prepare for “pack-up’, Suddenly someone would inform us that he had been singing songs at the tune of broken harmonium in a small room at the farthest end, forgetting the world around. After coming so late he would try to make light of the situation by his innocent antics so that no one could ever get angry with him."

"…he was impossible to fathom and the most complex creation of God."

"...the golden voice of Kundan Lal Saigal's is literally a transferred epithet, where `golden' and `kundan' are synonyms proclaiming the extraordinary feat of this actor-singer. "Chah barbaad karegi hamen maloom na thha" in a voice so intimate it becomes a part of one's consciousness; a fantastic achievement in an age lacking in sophisticated technology."

"I have no knowledge with me to make you a better singer than you are."

"As an actor, Saigal had a special feel for the scenes he portrayed. The mood especially got reflected in his songs: his Devdas is a case in point. "Dukh ke ab din beetet nahin... " brought out the deep tonal quality in his voice. His was not just a base, guttural voice but an emotionally-charged, husky nasal articulation, descending lower octave with rasping resonance and with an infinite variety of forms."

"The phenomenal singer's lone image of an animated performer transcended the time in which the image was conceived."

"One's all-time favourite has been "Aye katibe taqdeer mujeh itna bata dei, kyon mujse qhafa hai kya mane kiya hai... "."

"...in "Anmol Ghadi," he acted and sang a duet with Noor Jahan, "Awaaz dei kahan hai... *Once again it was the tender emotion of love expressed with an ardour that lent credibility to the song."

"The two hundred or so songs that Saigal sang, touched a popular chord despite their, or perhaps because of their, profundity."

"Devdas is remembered as an all-time classic of Indian cinema, which immortalized New Theatres' R C Barua and K L Saigal. It was epoch-making, and marked the blossoming of Indian cinema; with its depiction of feelings and emotions. It brought films closer to real life."

"Think of K.L. Saigal and a form emerges. Recall the voice, his distinctive personality and slowly, mysteriously, you can hear the inimitable "Nain heen ko raah dikha prabhu, pug pug thokar khaoon main" (show the way to the blind oh Lord, I stumble helplessly), combining both corporeality and spirituality."

"On his acting and singing in the film Devdas"

"Even I used to make fun of Saigal when I was younger, saying naak mein gaata hai (he sings through his nose) because I didn't know better."

"Saigal was a born singer with a perfectly tuned voice and his seemingly effortless talent was the result of a deep, meditative training style nurtured not by any gharana but by intense riyaz and mad passion for the ‘inner world’."

"I was told when he died he was listening to Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya, which I thought was far-fetched, because Saigal never liked his film songs, just his Ghalib compositions. But it was dramatic, so we used it. So imagine my surprise, when after a show in Delhi, a lady came up to me and said she was the niece, Durgesh, seen in that death scene, and her uncle had indeed listened to that song on his deathbed."

"I strongly believe that "Amitabh Bachchan" has the power to influence people and bring all of us together for a greater purpose – of peace, brotherhood and solidarity. By showcasing films from around the world and creating a platform for healthy dialogue, DIFF has taken cinema to its next level of social relevance. Personally, I am humbled by this recognition from Dubai, a city I consider as my second home."

"When they were growing up, I was working from morning to night. When I left, they were asleep, when I came back, they were asleep," once he told a magazine. Even when they were young, he couldn't visit their school as Shweta and Abhishek asked him not to visit them to avoid too much commotion"

"If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as a Third World, dirty-underbelly, developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations. It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Golden Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."

"We had forgotten the art of using silence to convey emotions in our films and that's what you seem to have mastered. You've used silence to great advantage in the film. It's brilliant."

"He never gave us a script and we never asked - we were safe in his hands."

"I believe that cinema picks up ideas from society and not the other way round."

"What kind of journalism do the self-appointed defenders of minority rights want to promote in India that does not give a journalist the right to interview a thrice-elected chief minister simply because the Congress and the Left parties feel threatened by him [Narendra Modi]? Likewise, Amitabh Bachchan was attacked viciously for merely doing an ad campaign for Gujarat’s tourism department."

"One man industry."

"There was a feeling of rebellion in the society and the star with a biggest rebel in celluloid screen Amitabh Bachhan became the icon. His angry young man image caught the attention of all the sections of society. The frustrated youth in his angry young man image saw a window of opportunity to rise against all odds."

"I'd be accused of bias, but worldwide currently Pa [Amitabh Bachchan] is absolutely iconic, he's celebrated, he's respected. He definitely is deservedly iconic, and I say this without any bias, and if I am accused of it so be it."

"It seemed as if all of Cairo had turned out to welcome him at the airport when he came in 1997...We are planning to name the suit, where he stayed, after him."

"This Amitabh Bachchan seems to be more popular than me in Egypt."