Zeenat Aman and the original he-man

After that absolutely stunning run by Usain Bolt in the 200m (you could have watched the replays all day!), I put my legs up and tuned to another old favourite Hindi film – Yaadon ki Baraat. Have a close look at the TV grabs here (remember the son ‘O meri soni…’?), and notice how svelte and desirable Zeenat Aman looked in her prime! And when you look at that image of Vijay Arora, can you believe he is now no more? Hmm… but those were the 1970s and, yet, like Sholay, Yaadon ki Baarat captivates you even today.

I still remember how years ago, when I watched the film in a theatre in Calcutta, the crowd in the front benches whistled and cheered and threw rupee notes when Dharmendra makes a dramatic appearance, jumping from a bridge on to a running train, and later during the bar sequence when he thrashes one of Shakaal’s henchmen, as only he could have.

Ever since I watched Jugnu, Dharmendra became my favourite hero and films like Yaadon ki Baarat and Sholay only cemented in my mind his image as one of Hindi filmdom’s original he-men with the Greek God looks. Of course, films like Satyakam and Chupke Chupke brought out his softer side. And I’m only too glad that today he marks my 100th blog.