People From India

"You have come a long way to talk to me, but I have a surprise for you: I have worked out most of the details already...."

"Whenever God has pointed the way with his finger, he also cleared the way with his mighty palm."

"The halo of Fr. Damian was before me,[he said] and I knew that Sadhana would nurse me."

"I am upset I am very much disappointed when I see within myself a wrong image of myself.... A man can live without fingers, but he cannot live without self-respect....That is why I took up leprosy work. Not to help anyone but to overcome that fear in my life. That it worked out good for others is a byproduct. But the fact is I did it to overcome fear."

"The image of that dying leprosy patient was burning me like a branding iron and would not give me a moment’s rest. From that moment on I was out to conquer fear....Where there is fear there is no love. Where there is no love there is no God."

"I rushed across and started putting such handful of coins into the tin which he held out to me that it almost fell from his hand with the weight. ‘I am only a beggar, young sir, don’t put stones into my bowl'. 'These are not stones but coins. Count them if you wish’. I said. He sat and counted and then recounted sorting out the coins on that tattered cloth. He just could not believe it. He went on counting and feeling the coins. It made me so sad. I ran home in tears."

"We all felt happy and excited because it was Diwali. My mother had saved lot of small coins from her shopping and gave them to me to buy crackers Stuffed full with sweets and feeling that life was grand I ran towards the market. Then I saw a blind beggar. He sat in the hot sun by the edge of the unpaved road while gusts of wind raised clouds of dust and rubbish over him. ‘Andhalalya paisa dey, Bhagwan’, he kept on saying to the passers , ‘Give one paisa to this blind man, oh! Bhagwan.’ In front of him there was a rusty cigarette tin. It struck me alongside my bright happy world there was a world of misery and pain."

"The common man, he is the uncommon man"

"…richness of heart of the poor people [and to despise] the poverty of heart of the rich."

"That microscopic look at village life taught me to hear the heart-beat of reality. To me the common man’s society is a maskless society. He does not carry that thick mask which the professional people, the upper classes, wear so that they might look nice and beautiful. Very often they do not dare to say what they really think and feel."

"A client would admit that he had committed rape, and I was expected to obtain an acquittal. And worse still, when I succeeded, I was expected to attend the celebration party."

"I was charging fifty rupees for arguing for fifteen minutes while a labourer was getting only three-quarters of a Rupee for twelve hours of toil. That was what was eating into me."

"I, who had never had planted single seed in the estate was expected to enjoy the comfort of a beautiful farm house, while those who had toiled there all their lives had only the meanest hovels."

"There is a certain callousness in families like mine. They put up strong barriers so as not to see the misery in the world outside and I rebelled against it."

"I don't want to be a leader. I want to be one who goes around with a little oil can and offer help when I see a breakdown."

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

"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"

"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)."

"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."

"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."

"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 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 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, 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."

"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 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."

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

"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 up with Amitabh Bachchan in Do Anjan earned me fame as an intense actress. Then it was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Khubsoorat in 1978 that established me as an actress of repute."

"When I started out, Indians did not have much interest in chess…Now India seems to spawn new chess academies every day."

"He must make sure Magnus is out of his comfort zone, he needs to direct the positions. It needs to be a mess. He needs to get Magnus into a brawl."

"It's going to be important for him to start ducking and weaving and playing different positions."

"In one sense Vishy has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If he beats Magnus, people are going to say, 'my God, he really is one of the all-time greats!' and, if he loses, they will say, 'well, if only the ages had been reversed."

"I wasn't expecting him to be a gracious, so fair enough. The winner can say anything when he wins... so I guess we will just have to swallow it for now."

"Magnus has many good qualities... he is very versatile and he can play a lot of positions at a very high level. He's also very flexible. And he has this amazing talent for grinding on, as you say. So that combination I was unable to deal with."

"The fact is he outplayed me. He just proved to be stronger."

"I felt I had I worked hard enough and I felt confident I had done the right kind of work and the right amount of work. But when you talk of preparations, the measure of success is whether it works or not. In that area, I failed completely. I did not stay the course. When you hit the right spot, the sweet spot, it feels great and you feel the preparations have been ideal, but I never got there."

"Age is part of it. For instance, I recognise that [Carlsen] is going to do certain things because he's 22 and there are certain things I can do because I'm 43."

"I can relate to many of the emotions they describe...But personally I just like to get on with the job of playing chess. I understand that if I win, I'm probably crushing my opponent's ego but it's not like I do that with great satisfaction. So I don't really look for conflict around the game … It's true that someone like Kasparov has this sense of history, and I'm talking world history rather than chess history. He has a sense of himself being in it, which, for me, is very hard to understand or even relate to in any way."

"Anything unusual that you can produce has quadruple, quintuple the value, precisely because your opponent is likely to do the predictable stuff, which is on a computer."