Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) Television celebrities Juhi Parmar, Ulka Gupta, Munmun Dutta, Arti Singh, and others on Sunday greeted their dads on Father’s Day, expressing their love for their ‘papa.’

‘Bigg Boss 5’ winner Juhi Parmar took to Instagram and shared photos with her father.

The actress wrote: “Papa, you are that rock that keeps us all going! I still love it jab aap mujhe daante ho, because kids truly will always remain kids for their parents. And Samairra’s answer to everything is her Nana. The two of your projects are endless! We are blessed to have you fill in every gap in our lives with infinite love! Happy Father’s Day, Papa!”

Ulka Gupta, who plays Janvi in Zee TV’s show ‘Main Hoon Saath Tere,’ said in a statement: “My dad has always been my best friend and the best guide for my career. One of the best memories that I have with him is having theatrical classes with him at home as he is a trained theatre artist himself. Our common love for acting got us very close to each other.”

“The best gift or the blessing I have received from him is that he never differentiated between me and my brother, brought both of us up in the same way and gave us wings to fly. The love that I have for him is unparalleled and I love him from the bottom of my heart. Now that I have shifted to another house in Mumbai since its closer to my current set, but I visit him often. I have bought something special for him this Father’s Day, I hope he likes it,” added Ulka.

‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ actress Munmun Dutta wrote: “June 11 was 6 years since he passed away…and it still feels fresh…Best Dad.”

Jasmin Bhasin dropped a photo in which her father can be seen kissing the diva’s cheek. She wrote: “Happy Father’s Day papa.”

Screenwriter and TV host Haarsh Limbachiyaa was tagged in his son Laksh’s post, which included unseen pictures of the father-son duo.

The caption read: “My hero, my best friend, aur mein jaise bolta rehta hoon… ‘Mere papaaaaa’.”

Arti Singh, who recently married businessman Dipak, shared photos with her late father and her brother, Krushna Abhishek.

She wrote: “I miss you both.. wish u were there to see the biggest day of my life. But I know u both and mom was around to bless me. I love u daddy and papa. To hv 2 fathers and still hy none of them I don’t know what to say . I love u both so much.”

Anita Hassanandani shared photos with her husband and son from their recent vacation.

She wrote: “Swipe to know the sole purpose of my marriage!! #happyfathersday Best weekend 2024.”

Reem Sameer Shaikh penned a note, saying, “Happy Father’s Day@sameer_instagrm I don’t need to write much, you already know how much I love you. (Main hu papa ki pari).”

–IANS

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Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) Bollywood celebrities such as Karan Johar, Shilpa Shetty, Ananya Panday, Bipasha Basu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jackky Bhagnani, and others on Sunday wished their dads on the occasion of Father’s Day by sharing unseen photos on social media.

Filmmaker Karan Johar posted a photo on Instagram with his late father, Yash Johar, who was the producer and founder of Dharma Productions. The photos show a young Karan adorably holding his father, and another photo features Karan with his children, Yash and Roohi.

He captioned it: “Forever using your love, grace, ambition, humility, and compassion to guide me in every aspect of my life, papa… especially with Yashi and Roohi.”

Shilpa Shetty, who was last seen in the web series ‘Indian Police Force’, shared a montage video on Instagram stories.

The video features throwback photos of Shilpa with her late father, Surendra Shetty, along with glimpses of her husband Raj Kundra, their children Viaan and Samisha, and her father-in-law.

The actress captioned the video: “Celebrating the incredible fathers in my life… My amazing husband, my late father who watches over us, and my wonderful father-in-law. Your love and legacy continue to inspire us every day. Happy Father’s Day.”

Rakul Preet, who is married to filmmaker and actor Jackky Bhagnani, shared a video of childhood pictures with her father, wedding photos, and snaps of her father-in-law.

The actress wrote: “Happy Father’s Day to the man who taught me strength, integrity, and the power of standing up for what’s right. You’ve been my greatest inspiration and the guiding light in my life, pappppppi. I love you. Thank you for being our constant in everything we do…”

“To my wonderful father-in-law, you welcomed me in this family with open arms and a heart full of warmth. Your kindness, wisdom, and unwavering support mean the world to me. Thank you for being an amazing father-in-law. I feel so blessed to have you both in my life,” added Rakul.

Jackky also shared photos with his father and father-in-law, writing: “Dad, you’ve been my hero, my icon, always inspiring me to keep going no matter what. Your strength and resilience have taught me that the show must always go on. Every day I look at you, I learn something new, and I’m grateful for your unwavering guidance.”

“To my father-in-law, your greatness shines through in every action, reminding me of the importance of being strong and righteous. What I’ve learned from you is invaluable. Thank you for being my inspiration. This Father’s Day, I celebrate both of you for the unique ways you’ve touched my heart and enriched my life,” added Jackky, who recently produced ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.’

Ananya Panday posted a photo with her father, actor Chunky Panday, on Instagram stories and wrote: “The best papa in the whole wide world.”

Singer Neha Kakkar shared a series of pictures with her father, captioning them: “My Daddy Strongest and Bestest!! Happy Father’s Day to My papa and every papa in the world.”

Bipasha Basu shared black-and-white photos with her dad, along with some celebratory pictures.

She wrote: “No one like my Papa. Love you Papa. Happy Father’s Day.”

‘Yodha’ actress Raashii Khanna took to Instagram stories and shared a video of her and her father happily dancing and singing.

The post is captioned: “From silly singalongs to cheering me on through life’s performances. You’re the melody to my heart, papa. Happy Father’s Day. Today and every day.”

Sonali Bendre shared a picture of her father and husband, filmmaker Goldie Behl, with the caption: “Happy Father’s Day to the best dads ever.”

–IANS

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Mumbai, June 16 (IANS) Actress Alia Bhatt on Sunday wished her ‘nana’ on his birth anniversary by sharing unseen childhood pictures with her ‘grandpa’, expressing that “you and your stories live on in our hearts forever.”

Alia’s grandfather, Narendranath Razdan, who was born on June 16, 1928, passed away at the age of 93 on June 1, 2023.

Remembering her nana, the ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ actress took to Instagram and shared two snaps.

In the first picture, a young Alia is seen wearing a red dress and sitting with her grandfather. The second picture is a solo snap of Alia’s granddad.

The post is captioned: “My favourite storyteller…happy birthday Grandpa, you and your stories live on in our hearts forever.”

On the work front, Alia was last seen in the movie ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ alongside Ranveer Singh. The romantic comedy, directed by Karan Johar and written by Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan, and Sumit Roy, received positive reviews.

She also featured in the American film ‘Heart of Stone.’

Alia’s upcoming project ‘Jigra,’ which she is also producing, is slated to release in theaters on October 11.

On the personal front, Alia is married to actor Ranbir Kapoor. They tied the knot in April 2022 and have a daughter named Raha.

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) You should have been named Hemant Kumar because you sing so well, the tetchy heroine of the night-long caper film ‘Solva Saal’ (1958) snaps at the interloping hero after being gratuitously serenaded by him in a Bombay suburban train while she is trying to elope with her beau. This was subtle praise for the singer of ‘Hai apna dil to awara’, Hemant Kumar.

The tribute was well deserved for the singer-composer for his prowess spanned Bengali and Hindi films and whose well-modulated baritone was the voice of superstars of both industries, especially Uttam Kumar and Dev Anand. And then, he became the first Indian invited to compose for a Hollywood film – Conrad Rook’s ‘Siddharta’ (1972), based on Herman Hesse’s novel, and also used two of his Bengali songs in it.

Born on this day (June 16) in 1920 in then Benares in a family of modest means, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay was interested in music from his early years and abandoned his engineering education for music.

A rare combination of a gifted musical composer, who wove in classical strains, and a playback singer, with a gently soothing voice, he recorded his first (Bengali) song in 1940 and the first Hindi song a couple of years later.

But, while well-established in Bengali films in the 1940s, he could not make a simultaneous mark in Hindi films. It was only in the early 1950s that he was called to Bombay to give music for ‘Anand Math’ (1952), and came to national prominence for both his spirited compositions and renditions of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Jagdish Hare, Jai Jagdish Hare’ in it.

His next two films flopped, and a disheartened Hemant Kumar, as he had become on the suggestion of veteran filmmaker Sasadhar Mukherjee, was planning to head back to Calcutta but was convinced to stay on.

‘Nagin’ (1954), with its hypnotically compelling music, especially that snake-charmer melody on a ‘been’ – actually rendered on the clavioline by Kalyanji and on the harmonium by Ravi – both his assistants before they went to become prominent music directors in their own right – cemented his place in the Hindi film industry and also fetched a Filmfare Award for music.

But while he went on to give music – and his voice – for several other landmark films, and also went on to remake gothic literary masterpieces like ‘Bees Saal Baad’ (1962), and ‘Kohraa’ (1964), and that stark drama ‘Khamoshi’ (1969), his impact in Bombay started declining in the late 1960s as his brand of music and his genteel voice did not attract the attention it once had. However, he continued to enjoy a flourishing career in Calcutta, especially for his Rabindra Sangeet renditions, apart from films.

Hemant Kumar, who later on started to dye his hair as he contended that youngsters would not appreciate love songs from a grey-haired man, also became known for refusing a Padma Shri in the 1970s and a Padma Bhushan in the 1980s “as too late,” slowed down a bit in the 1980s due to health issues but went on. In fact, he had returned from a concert in Dhaka in September 1989 before suffering a major and fatal heart attack.

A top-notch music composer and a playback singer, like S. D. Burman, Hemant Kumar differed from the senior Burman, whose songs were more situational, more popular and enduring songs.

Take ‘Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum’, picturised on a dapper Dev Anand, in ‘Patita’ (1953), or the exuberant ‘Main gareebon ka dil hoon watan ki zabaan’, from ‘Aab-e-Hayat’ (1955), which seems another of the Arabian Nights-type escapade that were once Bollywood staples, the ethereal duet ‘Nain se nain naahii milao’ in V. Shantaram’s ‘Jhanak Jhanak Paayal Baaje’ (1955), and the peppy and playful ‘Zara nazron se kah do ji nishana chuk na jaye’ (‘Bees Saal Baad’) are proof.

Then, his own composed and sung ‘Na tum hamen jaano’ from ‘Baat Ek Raat Ki’ (1962), where Dev Anand softly croons a piece of the ‘antara’, rather than the ‘mukhda’ over a sleeping Waheeda Rehman, before beginning the song.

And there was his penchant for the telling pause and change of tone – the nearly indiscernible break before ‘Bichhad gaya har saathi dekar/Pal do pal kaa saath/Kisko fursat hai jo thame deewaanon ka haath’.. and the slight change of tone for ‘Hamko apna saaya tak aqsar bezar mila…’ in ‘Jaane woh kaise log the..’ from Guru Dutt’s ‘Pyaasa’ (1957) and the voice shift in the transition from ‘… jaagte rahenge aur kitni raat ham…’ to ‘Muktsar si baat hai..’. from his Bollywood swan song ‘Tum pukaar lo, tumhara intezaar hai’ in ‘Khamoshi’.

It is no wonder why Lata Mangeshkar and Salil Choudhary dubbed him “Voice of God.”

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) On Father’s Day, actors Chiranjeevi and Allu Arjun shared heartwarming messages for their fathers, accompanied by unseen pictures.

Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi posted a throwback picture with his father, Konidela Venkat Rao.

The actor shared the post on X with the caption: “Father is the First Hero, to Every Child! Happy Father’s Day to All! #FathersDay.”

National Award-winning actor Allu Arjun shared a black-and-white picture with his father, Allu Aravind.

He posted it with the caption: “Happy Father’s Day… to every father in the world.”

On the professional front, Chiranjeevi will next appear in ‘Vishwambhara’, while Allu Arjun will be seen in the now-delayed ‘Pushpa: The Rule’, directed by Sukumar.

–IANS

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