Dinesh Kamath talks about how his father Keshav Vaman Kamath inspired him to be a writer

Today I'll tell you how I fell in love with the pen. My father, as I told you earlier, was an intelligence officer. He would do a lot of writing work. He would bring his office works home. He would have with him a lot of blank papers and a pen. He would then go on writing and filling up page after page after page in English language of course. I was a small boy who would keep watching him writing and filling up pages. I too tried to do the same. I took a paper and pen and started writing. After that paper and pen became my best companion. I would simply enjoy writing whatever I could on the paper. My dad should get the credit for instilling in me the love for writing. I was in Goa when I fell in love with paper and pen. Near the place where we were residing. there used to be Marathi stage plays taking place very often. I could see and hear the whole play just by standing in the balcony. I saw many plays and after that I tried to write my own plays. Guess in which language I would write the plays? I would write in Marathi. The Goan school, viz. St Theresa's Convent (Vasco), didn't have Marathi subject. But I had Hindi as one of my subjects. Since the alphabets of Hindi and Marathi are almost the same I learnt to write in Marathi too with the help of Hindi alphabets. In fact, I learnt to read Marathi too by using my knowledge of Hindi alphabets that I had learnt in school. Thus I would write stories, poems and plays in English as well as Marathi. When my dad got transferred to Mumbai in 1970 I found myself among the neighbours (at Bandra) who hardly knew Marathi and who all the time talked in English. It was after I came to Mumbai that I just stopped writing in Marathi but continued to write in English. This love for writing has made me today land in a small newspaper office (Newsband) in a small city (Navi Mumbai) where I'm working as a writer and journalist. I find my knowledge of Marathi too very useful since I come across many Marathi news items which I have to translate into English. I can do that with ease. I've been working for Newsband for more than six years now and during this period I've written much more than 10 lakhs words which are published under my name. I feel great for having performed this feat (if you call it a feat) and I owe this success of mine to my dad who inspired me to weild the pen.
Now my dad was in Intelligence department. People generally are under the impression the Intelligence department consists of physically tough people who hardly do any kind of writing. That's not true. Intelligence department consist of two types of people. One type is physically strong. The other type is very intelligent. The department requires the services of both types of people. My dad belonged to the intelligent type. He was physically quite tough too. He would do lot of writing work. In fact, he would solve cases by writing on the paper. I'm sure that as an intelligence officer he must have done record amount of writing. He wrote mostly on legal matters since he had a powerful legal mind. Whenever he was not writing I would see him reading legal books. In my home there was a cupboard which was full of his legal books and files of his writings. Even in his office, he had legal books kept close to him and the cupboard over there used to be full of his files. I feel he should have become an eminent journalist rather than an unknown intelligence officer. Had he been a journalist, he would have broken all records of writing. He was that powerful a writer. Had he not inspired me to be a writer I would not have become even a small time writer which I am today. I once again say that this little success that I've got as a writer, I owe it to my dad whose name, for your information, is Keshav Vaman Kamath. Bye!

Dinesh Kamath speaks about his favourite film actors

Today I'll talk about actors whom I consider as ace actor. I'll talk about both Bollywood and Hollywood actors. Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar are the best bollywood actors of all times. The most memorable performace of Amitabh was in the film Deewar, while Dilip Kumar gave the most sterling performance in the film Shakti. It is difficult to say as to who between Amitabh and Dilip Kumar is a better actor. Both are superb actors, each in his own way. In Shakti, Dilip Kumar had played the role of Amitabh's father. And what a way he played that particular role! I've no words. No wonder Dilip Kumar is referred to as Marlon Brando of India. Amitabh became a cult figure after his magnificent performance in Deewar. In this particular film, Amitabh is shown as speaking to God in one particular sequence. It appeared as if he was talking to a real God and not a stone idol. That brilliantly he performed in that particular sequence. The film also has scenes where there are verbal clashes between Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh, which just don't fail to impress the audiences. Even in the film Shakti, there is a verbal clash between Amitabh and Dilip Kumar. This is another mrmorable sequence. Both Amitabh and Dilip Kumar exhange dialogues in such a way that you can't make out who between the two is a better actor. Both are outstanding in that particular scene of the film

Now I'll talk about my most favourite Hollywood actors. I can never forget Marlon Brando's fantastic performance in Godfather. What a way he performed! He gave a demonstration on what is genuine acting. In the same movie there was another actor who gave s splendid performance. He was James Caan who played the role of Sonny in that film. James Caan became extremely popular all over the world after his magnificent performance in Godfather. He undoubtedly gave a memorable performance. He played the role of a gangster who is hot-tempered and flirt but at the same time very kind, loving and generous and one who possesses a powerful military mind. He lives like a hero and dies like a hero in the film. There is still one more actor who excelled in Godfather. He was Al Pacino. He played a character called Michael who is just the opposite of Sonny but yet very impressive. Al Pacino was shown as a survivor and he went on to impress the audiences by his performances in two more sequels of Godfather that followed. I liked Al Pacino's performace in the film Scarface too. What a splendid performance it was! In Scar face, Al Pacino played a character who is just the opposite of the character Michael that he portrayed in Godfather. Al Pacino played a gangster called Tony Montana in Scarface. There is still another Hollywood actor who impressed me to a great extent and he is Jack Nicholson whose performance in the film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest was simply brilliant. He played the role of a patient in mental asylum. In this film, Louise Fletcher had played the role of the strict nurse in the smae asylum where Jack Nicholson is admitted. The interactions between liberal Jack Nicholson and strict Louise Fletcher in this film are real treat to watch. The movie was a masterpiece and so also the performances of the two actors I mentioned above. For your information, both Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher received Oscar for this film. The film itself too was given an Oscar.

I'll talk more about the films and actors sometimes later. Bye!

Dinesh Kamath on Friendship

Friendship is the most valuable commodity. Nobody can live without friends. Friendship is more precious than blood even. An outsider who is your friend is much more useful than your blood relative who is not friendly towards you. What I mean to say is that friendship is more important than blood relationship. In the modern world we see most of the people living in nuclear family. A joint family is become a thing of the past. In the past the family members used to be our friends. But ever since the families got divided and this thing called nuclear family has come into existance, man has been feeling isolated. He misses his own people. In such a circumstance, he finds it necessary to cultivate friends. He badly need friends. Man, after all, is forced to be interdependent. No man can be independent all the time. He has to depend on others every now and then. This is a world where we have to help others and be helped by others. Of course, sometimes, we have to help our own selves too.
There are many Bollywood films which have talked about friendship in great details. There was one bollywood movie in which Jeetendra and Shatrughan Sinha were depicted as friends. There was one beautiful song picturised on them. The song was 'Duniya mein Logon, kuch bhi nahi rehta, rehti hai sirf dosti. Zindagi ka naam dosti, dosti ka naam zindagi.' Then there was a song picturised on Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra who had played best friends in Sholay. The song was 'Ye dosti hum nahi todenge, todenge dum magar, tera saath na todenge'. Then there was a song picturized on Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha in the film Dostana. The song was 'Bane chahe dushman zamana humara, salaamat rahe dostana humara'. Then there is a famous song picturised on Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan in the film Namak Haram. The song is 'Diye jalte hai, phool khilte hai, badi mushkil se magar duniya mein dost milte hai'.
There are also Bollywood songs which talk about the betrayal by friends. Those songs are 'Dost Dost na raha, pyar pyar na raha, zindagi hume tera, aitbaar na raha', 'Dushman na kare dost ne joh kaam kiya hai, Umer bhar ka gham hume inaam diya hai', 'Achcha sila diya tune mere pyar ka, yaar ne hi loot liya ghar yaar ka' and so on.
At the end, I would like to say that both blood and friendship is important. But if one has to choose between blood and friendship, then my choice would be friendship. A good friend is more reliable than a bad relative. I'm sure all of you will agree with me.
I'll talk still more about this subject 'Friendship' some other time. Bye!

Dinesh Kamath passes on more information about Rajesh Khanna

I had written last time about my most favourite hero among all the romantic actors who is none other than Rajesh Khanna. Today I would like to tell you still more things about him. There were certain duets of Rajesh Khanna which had appealed to me to a great extent. There was one duet picturised on Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh which was a real master piece. The song was 'Achcha To Hum Chalte Hai, Phir Kab Milogi, Jab Tum Kahoge.....' Then there was a song picturized on Rajesh Khanna and Farida Jalal. The song was 'Bagon mein bahar hai.....' Then there was a song 'Shayad meri shaadi ka khayal dil mein aaya hai, isi liye mummy ne mere tumhe chai pe bhulaya hai' picturised on Rajesh Khanna and Tina Munim (now Tina Ambani). Then there was a beautiful duet picturised on Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz. The song was 'Duniya mein, logon ko, dhoka kabhi ho jaata hai....' Lastly I would like to tell you about two songs which was picturised on Rajesh Khanna alone and which I had forgotten to mention last time. They are 'Goro ki na kalo ki, yeh duniya hai dilwalon ki' and 'Yeh public hai joh sab jaanti hai, yeh public hai'.

Dinesh Kamath speaks about his favourite hero Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna was my favourite actor once upon a time. I would never miss any of the film in which he played the lead role. He is the best romantic actor of all times. Only other Bollywood actor who can give him a tough fight for the position of 'Best romantic actor of all times' is Rajendra Kumar and nobody else. There are many movie goers who are unable to decide whether it is Rajesh Khanna or Rajendra Kumar who is the best romantic actor. Of course, Rajendra Kumar too had his own typical style of playing his romantic roles. What makes Rajesh Khanna score over Rajendra Kumar is his style of deliviering dialogues, his superb voice quality and the way he modulates his voice while delivering romantic dialogues. Rajesh Khanna, for your infomation, was the first actor who was referred to as super duper star. He had many female fans who simply adored him and even worshipped him. He would receive those days love letters from his fans written with their blood. To that extent Rajesh Khanna was admired and loved. Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz pair was very popular those days, and so also Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore pair. There were two films in which Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan played the role of best friends. One was the film 'Anand' in which Rajesh Khanna portrayed a character who was suffering from terminal ailment, while Amitabh Bachchan played the role of his doctor. Another film in which the two were included was 'Namak Haram' in which Amitabh was shown as the son of a rich industrilaist, whilae Rajesh Khanna portrayed a character who is poor and yet Amitabh's best friend. The film 'Namka Haram', I remember, had one beautiful song which was 'Diye jalte hai, phul khilte hai, badi mushkil se magar duniya mein dost milte hai'. What a way Rajesh Khanna had sung it! I like many songs which were picturized on Rajesh Khanna. Some of them are 'Mere naseeb mein hain dost, tera pyar nahi', 'Ye reshmi zulfein, ye sharbati aankhen, inhe dekhkar jee rahe the kabhi', 'Dil ko dekho, chehra na dekho, chehrone lakhonko loota, dil sacha aur chehra Jhoota', 'Yeh jo mohabat hai, unka hai kaam, mehboob ka jo bus lete hue naam, mar jaaye, mit jaaye, ho jaaye badnaam', 'Yeh kya hua, kaise hua, kab hua, kyon hua, jab hua, tab hua, O chodo ye na socho', 'Kuch to log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna', 'Zindagi Ka Safar, hai ye kaisa safar, koi samjha nahi, koi Jaana nahi', 'Jeevan se bhari, teri aankhen, majboor kare jeene ke liye', 'Rup tera mastana, pyar mera deewana', 'Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne choone', 'Kahi door jab din dal jaaye, saanj ki dulhan badan churaye, chupke se aaye, mere khayalo ke aangan mein kohi sapno ke deep jalaye', 'Ek Ajnabee Haseena se jo mulakat ho gayi', "Nadiya se dariya, dariya se saagar, saagar se gehra jaam', 'Bye bye miss good night', Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, yaha kal kya ho kisne jaana and so on. There are many popular duets too which were picturized on Rajesh Khanna along with heroines like Mumtaz, Sharmila Tagore, Zeenat Aman and so on. Rajesh Khanna era was indeed one of the best eras in the history of Bollywood. If there is anyone who intends to be a top romantic hero in Bollywood films, he should do thorough study of all the works of Rajesh Khanna since there is no better romantic hero than Rajesh Khanna. Bye!

Dinesh Kamath's articles on Movie and TV World published in Newsband Daily

Dinesh Kamath writes about his two saddest moments

Today I'll tell you about my two saddest moments. The first saddest moment was when my dad had expired. He had passed away on 18 February 1982 at around 8 am. On 26 January 1982 my father had received the news of him having been conferred upon the President of India Award for rendering meritorious service to Customs department for 33 years. The whole family was in a rejoicing and celebrating mood. But just a few days later the atmosphere in my house became one of extreme sorrow when my father suffered the first heart attack. He was rushed to Nanavati Hospital at Vile Parle where he was kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). But in a matter of few days he suffered three more strokes and on February 18 he breathed his last. His funeral was attended by many custom officers - all in white uniforms. They offered him their final salute. I personally felt all shattered after his death but slowly and gradually I recovered and started living life normally as before.
My second saddest moment was when my elder brother expired just recently. He passed away on 26 February 2009 at around 3 am. My brother had one valve of his heart which was damaged. Just few days before his death, he had got it replaced by a metallic valve at Bombay Hospital. It was a very expensive operation. The surgeon who had operated him had told me that he would survive for another 25 years after the operation. But he didn't survive for more than two years after he got operated. His death was another shattering moment for me.
Just a few days back, I had told you about my two happiest moments. I had forgotten to mention my third happiest moment. My third happiest moment was when My neice (my brother's daughter) became a new guest at our home. In fact, she came into this world just a few months before my daughter was born. Her name is Pragnya and she is today coming closer and closer to becoming twenty. I like her as much as I like my own daughter. I would like to see both - my daughter and her - settle down in life in most comfortable manner. Today both are coming closer and closer towards completing their academic education. I wish both of them best of luck for the future. Bye!