I am a fan of Amitabh but do believe that he has been a great star but not a great actor. He has not displayed the kind of versatility that some others including some from southern cinema have. I shall avoid getting into names lest I stir a north- south debate.

In his recent blog that is as popular of mine –according to a secret poll conducted by my detective friend Alphonso—he writes something that proves that Amitabh and I are in the same street even if he travels by a Rolls Royce and I am ferried by a humble auto rickshaw. He pays warm tributes to his dear friend and occasional co-star Waheeda Rehman :

‘Devoted’ Amitabh fetched Waheeda’s chappals
TNN 13 October 2009, 10:00am IST
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Amitabh Bachchan is going down memory lane, as he visits Delhi, and has dinner with friends, which includes a surprise guest, his favourite actress Waheeda Rehman.

On Monday evening, he says, “Dinner followed thereafter among a small group of common friends, a surprise being the presence of my favorite Waheeda Rehman. Now aged and well within her years, she to me described what the conventional Indian woman ought to be in look and behaviour. Those early films ‘Pyaasa’ and ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’ and ‘Chaudhavi ka Chand’ and ‘Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam’ are unforgettable for the charm and grace and childlike softness of an ethereal looking Waheeda ji, alluring and dynamic by the intensity of her simple and endearing looks and performance.”

The superstar blogs, “I was and still am her great admirer and fan. She signified to me the epitome of Indian grace and culture. She possessed in her the mischievous streak of that precocious village belle and the spirited movement of a Shiv Tandav. She looked vulnerable and lost, searching for protection in one moment, yet acknowledged and mature in another. You felt like protecting and guarding her from all the evil of the world and to gently wipe away any frayed eyebrows that may have accumulated on her face. Her performances were pure and clean, without effort and deliberate design. They were just a part of her - simple and soft.”

The fun of our work in the heated confines of a brutal desert, the escapades with other unit members and crew and the absolute delight of being a part of the story that involved the great and divine, Waheeda Rehman. My moment of glory being the day when I was asked to carry her ‘chappals’ to her in the hot sands that were scorching her bare feet. I could have kept doing that for the rest of my life. Such was the passion of my devotion.”

He also remembers another great beauty leaving her imprint on him, “Schedule after schedule in Pochina followed. Every festival was celebrated there, until finally the film was ready for release and the premiere marked by the presence of the great Meena Kumari, who after my somewhat insignificant performance in the film ended, came up and complimented me. I think I hit the ceiling!”

Bachchan’s association with Waheeda continued, “Then one day Waheedaji was with me as my leading lady in ‘Adaalat’ and more as my wife in ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ and my mother in ‘Namakhalal’. But no matter in what form she came along with me she always remained that gentle and soft spoken warm and endearing person. She has been with Abhishek in two films and I was happy to see that he too shared similar feelings towards her.”

Now I don’t know about you but I am convinced that the Bollywoood heroines of an earlier era had a uniqueness about them that stands in stark contrast to the sameness that is seen in today’s girls. Hey days I confuse one from the other and my young nieces berate me for that. The ethereal Waheeda, the teary eyed Meena Kumari, the luscious Vyjayanti Mala, the winsome Sadhana the come hither Helen, the doe eyed go thither Hema, the elusive Nanda, the dimpled Sharmila, the…I can go on and on...

What is even more admirable is the way those of this group who are still around have aged. Their inner beauty shows in their personality even today. Most of them are so fit they can outshine today’s girls. You have only to see Sridevi on the ramp — yes on the ramp – to realise how well she has aged [SEE HER SNAP ON THE RAMP TAKEN A FEW DAYS AGO]. As for Hema – she is 60 - I must tell you this. I asked her after her 3 hour grueling dance recital how she kept fit She looked so beautiful her daughters looked like her sisters. ‘Three to four hours of exercises every day’ she replied to a guy like me whose only exercise is to sleep.

About Sridevi I WILL stir up what may be a north south debate. Bollywood continues to this day to treat her as just another good looking good Madrassi girl with thunder thighs.

Let me state SHE IS ONE OF INDIA’S MOST GIFTED ACTRESSES WHEN GIVEN A CHANCE. PROOF? Just forget all the silly bollywood films - especially with that piece of wood Jeetendra – and see some of her Tamil films like PADINAARU VAYADINELA. MEEDUM KOKILA to name just two. In each of these she had to face Kamalahasan frame by frame and she matched that great actor every inch.

As for Rekha her stunning looks have not done justice to her talents, having got meaty roles in only a few movies like Umrao Jaan. I know I have referred to the north south divide. Let me tell you something very interesting. I wrote a blog on how P.T Usha was treated with scant regard at a sports meet at Bhopal. In response to this I received a response from as Australian:

Dear Ravi,

Well, well, well. So it goes on and on without end. And who is willing to bell the cat? I can plainly see that India is a country divided. In all my conversations with Indian students here in Australia (nearly all of whom come from the Hindi speaking Northern states), I was flabbergasted to find that most gave the impression that TN and the other Southern states belonged to a different country!

The South should secede from India as soon it can! And what fun the world will have pointing their fingers at India, when it is discovered that it cannot host the 2010 Commonwealth Games as it was too busy with caste matters!

As Amktabh might say I say this to those who are sharpening their knives to attack me in print.

K.R.RAVI