What we see on the Cinema screen is very different from what happens in the background. Filmmaking takes a lot of hard work from actors, directors, producers, musicians and several technicians. I love to gather information about those not-so-popular facts about Bollywood. Control your heartbeat as I share 21 interesting facts about Hindi Cinema, Bollywood.

1. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara as case study

The movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ is enlisted as a case study for the students of Media Management in Spain. After the release of ZNMD, there was a 32% increase in Indian tourists to Spain. That’s great information for Indians to feel proud of.

2. 3 Idiots or Munnabhai MBBS

The delivery scene filmed on Mona Singh was actually planned for the movie Munnabhai MBBS. The scene was outstanding and we think that it would have looked equally good in Munnabhai MBBS;)

3. Drishyam had 10 National Award Winners

10 National award winners are a part of the movie ‘Drishyam’ and that’s a record in itself. Actors Ajay Devgn, Tabbu, Director Nishikant Kamat, Writer-filmmaker and composer, Vishal Bhardwaj, the lyricist Gulzar Saab, the cinematographer-turned-director Avinash Arun, Aarif Shaikh, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, producer Kumar Mangat Pathak and director Abhishek Pathak.

4. Dilwale’s Gerua song filmed on real aeroplane

In the ‘Gerua’ song in ‘Dilwale’ movie, we have seen breathtaking scenes of Kajol and Shahrukh Khan singing and dancing on a broken aircraft. The aircraft is real and you would like to read what SRK said about it,” Long, long ago, a plane had to make an emergency landing near the sea and no one from the plane was dead or injured. Fortunately, the landing was safe and the captain of the plane was lauded for his presence of mind. The plane has not moved since then, and now the place is treated like a museum.”

5. ‘Heroine’ Kareena wore 130 dresses from top designers

Kareena Kapoor starred in Heroine and she is said to have worn 130 dresses by top fashion designers from around the world. Well, Kareena knows how to stay on the trend list and this is just a small effort from the producers of the movie ‘Heroine’;)

6. Mughal-e-Azam was made in three languages

Mughal-e-Azam was a trilingual movie. All scenes were shot in Hindi, English and Tamil. When the Tamil version flopped badly, the makers aborted the English edition immediately.
Who knew that the Hindi version will be one of the most popular films of Indian Cinema?  

7. “Enna Rascala!” Was never said by Rajnikanth

When we think of Superstar Rajnikanth, the phrase ‘Enna Rascala’ reverberates in our minds. To your surprise, Rajnikanth never spoke this tagline. Some dubbed Tamil movies have Rajnikanth uttering this phrase but its origin is not known yet.

8. Aamir Khan’s movie ‘Lagaan’ had the most number of British actors to be ever cast in a Bollywood movie.

Most of you know that Aamir Khan’s 2001 film ‘Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India’ was the official entry to the Oscars. What you don’t know is that Lagaan had the maximum number of British actors ever cast in a Bollywood movie. Considering that there was a cricket match between Indians and the British, the film featured not only Indian actors but also a big number of times Britishers.

9. Saif Ali Khan was the first choice for Shahrukh Khan in Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge

Yes, you read it right! Saif Ali Khan was the first choice for the character of Raj Malhotra in DDLJ. I couldn’t believe it when I first read that Tom Cruise was also considered for the same role.

10. Amjad Khan was almost dropped from Sholay

Hard to believe but Amjad Khan was almost dropped from the movie Sholay because the scriptwriter Javed Akhtar found his voice weak for the role of Gabbar. Imagine, he was the crucial reason for Sholay to turn blockbuster. People remember the movie by his famous dialogue delivery.

11. Cinema was not considered a good profession in the 40s!

The Cinema industry was considered a low profession in the 1940s. Due to this reason, famous music director Naushad was introduced to his bride as a tailor. Ironically, the song that played on his baraat was from one of his movies ‘Rattan’.

12. Raj Kapoor was superstitious

Raj Kapoor went off drinking alcohol and eating non-veg food before the release of his film ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’. I’ve heard that many filmmakers and actors are superstitious. Shekhar Kapoor had vowed not to shave his beard until his movie ‘Mr India’ performed well at the box office.

13. Mohammad Rafi met Mohammad Ali

Legendary singer Mohammad Rafi loved watching boxing. On one of his trips to Chicago, he requested the organisers to get him an appointment with Mohammad Ali who happily proceeded to Rafi’s hotel room after knowing that.

14. Sunil Dutt couldn’t interview Nargis

Sunil Dutt was an RJ at Radio Ceylon in his earlier years in the industry. Nargis was his favourite actress and he set an interview with her. Do you know what happened next? The interview had to be cancelled because Sunil Dutt couldn’t say a word to Nargis. Years later, they fell in love with each other and got married.

15. Jeetendra as a body double?

Jeetendra’s first movie was ‘Navrang’!  Don’t remember him starring in the movie?
He played a body double of the actress ‘Sandhya’.

16. Anil Kapoor and family lived in Raj Kapoor’s garage

During the struggle period, Anil Kapoor and his family lived in Raj Kapoor’s garage for some time. Later they shifted to a room in Mumbai’s suburbs.

17. Sridevi played Rajnikanth’s step-mom

This is true. When Sridevi was just 13, she played the role of the stepmom to Rajnikanth in the movie ‘Moondru Mudichu’.

18. The longest film in the world is a Bollywood film

The Bollywood film ‘LOC: Kargil’ is the world’s longest movie of all time. It is 4 hours 25 minutes long and boasts of keeping you glued to your seats till the end.

19. Salman Khan is a collector of soaps

Superstar Salman Khan has a hobby of collecting handmade and herbal soaps. His favourite soaps are natural fruit and vegetable extract soaps. Wherever he goes, he makes it a point to buy soaps from that particular location.

20.  ‘Kaho Naa…. Pyar Hai’ in Guinness Book of World Records

Hrithik Roshan’s movie  ‘Kaho Naa.. Pyar Hai’ won a total of 92 awards, the maximum at that time. This was the reason the movie was added to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2002.

21. India has fewer Cinema screens than the U.S.

India is known to be cinema-obsessed but the number of screens showing movies is far less than those in the U.S. You can take an idea as the India number is 13,000 as compared to 40,000 in the U.S.

“Trivia question of the day“
Guess the lead actor and the movie from the plot:
Three friends start an academy to train young cricketers. Their lives take a different turn in a chaotic city disturbed with earthquakes, religious disparities, dirty politics and riots.”
The one who answers fastest and correctly will be given a special mention in the next episode of Bollywood Gossip!

The answer to the last post on Bollywood Gossip is Kaalia. The name of the winner is Deepika Sharma! Congratulations!! Stay tuned for another post on Bollywood Gossip:)