My Brother, My Jaan: B-Town Divas Celebrate Raksha Bandhan

Parineeti Chopra: My brothers Sahaj and Shivang are my buddies ever since they grew up. I am the eldest. So I am going to be pampering and spoiling them this Raksha Bandhan. 

Minissha Lamba: My brother is the closest person I have in Mumbai. And just to have him around is gift enough on raksha bandhan. 
Celina Jaitley: My brother Vikrant is a major in the Indian army. Considering the crisis at the LOC he may soon be deployed, as he is on the special forces. The only Raksha Bandhan wish I have for him is to be safe. And to have a lil baby of his own soon as he's newly married. 
Shabana Azmi: My brother Baba is most precious to me. He is my son, my friend and guide. Raksha Bandhan is a festival I get mos sentimental about. This year I am at my native village Mijwan for Raksha Bandhan. 

I feel really sorry that I can't be personally present to tie him the raakhee. I make sure I am with Baba on this day. I think I missed being with my brother for raksha bandhan only 4-5 times in my entire life. 

Sadly this is one of those years of absence. Baba is my most precious gift. I don't need anything from him. He doesn't allow anyone else to tie a raakhi on him. No mooh-boli bahens for my brother! I wouldn't tolerate them. 
Manisha Koirala: I have the most precious gift in the world. My brother Siddhartha. I always wish him happiness and success, and not just for Raksha B

andhan but every single day. I consider myself the luckiest sister in the world. More power to my adorable bhaiya. 
Pooja Bhatt: I am older to my brother Rahul. So tradition be damned. I'll be gifting him this Raksha Bandhan, not the other way around. 
Bela Sehgal: I am very lucky to have a wonderful brother like Sanjay (Leela Bhansali). He is thoughtful caring and loving, understanding and always concerned about my well-being. For Raksha Bandhan I pray for his good health and the super-duper success of Ram Leela. The only gift that I want from him is that he should always continue to love me. 
Divya Dutta: My brother Dr Rahul Dutta is more a friend than an elder brother. And he knows exactly what I want. The other day I liked a piece of jewellery while window-shopping. Before I knew it, it became my Rakhi gift. He is traveling but will be back in time for me tie the rakhi. 
Lata Mangeshkar: More than a brother, Hridaynath is the son that I never had. When I sing for my brother I feel a mixture of elation and fear. He's such a perfectionist. To work with him is taxing but ultimately very satisfying. When I sing for other composers I'm always unsure about whether I've done my best. Hridayanath doesn't hesitate in ticking me off if I go wrong. 

Even if I go wrong with one word he doesn't let me off the hook. He makes me sing it a hundred times over no matter how tired I get. At the most he'll let me off until the next day. But he must have the flawless recording.

I agree with him when he says, 'Right now only the recordist and I can hear you. But tomorrow the entire world will hear you. How would you feel if listeners pinpoint the errors in your singing? ' He's a very knowledgeable human being and not just in the field of music. 

Hridayanath is very particular about the way I sing. And I like that. He makes me sing until I achieve the quality he desires. Hridayanath always says, 'In a recording room there're only ten people to hear you. 

Once the song is recorded 10 crore people will hear it. So who loses face? People will say Lata doesn't sing the way she used to. ' He's as particular with any singer, whether it's my sister Asha or Usha.
Happily Hridayanath has the knowledge to achieve a high quality in the recording. He not only has a sound base in classical music but also listens to the old songs of my father (Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar) and uses them as a foundation for some of his compositions.

I'm always on tenterhooks singing for him. He's a very learned musician. His knowledge of Marathi literature and poetry is so vast. He's familiar with both modern and non-contemporary poets. By God's grace all my albums with my brother have been perennially popular. 

My first non-film album with Hridayanath was Mogra Phulela 35 years ago. And that's still selling... 

It wasn't a conscious decision to not work together for so long. Nothing materialized for one reason or another. . . . My brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar's album of Meera bhajans Chala Vahi Des is an all-time favourite. It's fallacy that I refused to sing Meera bhajans for anyone except my brother. 

I sang Jaidev's Main janoon nahin piya ko Milan kaise howe ri in Chand Grahan and Jo tum todo piya for Shiv-Hari in Silsila. I refused to give playback to the film on Meerabai when Gulzar made it. Meera is very close to my heart. I couldn't bear the thought of any actress sing her songs while playing Meerabai. 

Laxmikant-Pyarelal, then R. D. Burman left the project. Then Gulzar Saab brought in Pandit Ravi Shankar. I also love what my brother made me do in Maya Memsaab and Lekin. In the CD of Lekin there's a Ghazal Dil mein lekar which didn't feature in the film. I love that as well. 
Pooja Bedi: I deeply miss my brother Siddharth who died 15 years ago. And I'm grateful for my brother Adam who is 12 years younger to me. Being so much older I don't look at him in the traditional role of the protective brother. On the contrary I feel I need to protect him and take care of him. All I expect from him is some time to spend together and oodles of love.

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Pooja Bedi praises Cocktail

Actress Pooja Bedi had a fun time watching Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty in romantic comedy "Cocktail".

She said that she "absolutely loved 'Cocktail', laughed so much!"

Pooja also has good things to say about the cast and tweeted: "Saif, Deepika and Diana have done a wonderful job! So well written! cocktail of emotions."

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Pooja Bedi in Telugu film Shakti as Egyptian princess

Actress Pooja Bedi is upbeat about her comeback to Telugu cinema. Nearly two decades after featuring in Chittemma Mogudu alongside Mohan Babu, she will now be seen as an Egyptian princess in Junior NTR-starrer Shakti.

With a budget of Rs.45 crore, the film is being touted as the costliest movie in the Telugu film industry. 'I've just finished a Telugu film with Junior NTR. It's called Shakti. It is one of the biggest budget Telugu films, and I play an Egyptian princess with supernatural powers in it,' said Pooja. Without divulging too many details, the 40-year-old said the movie will be 'high on sci-fi and special effects'.

Shakti has actress Ileana D'Cruz in the lead, and features other Bollywood actors Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood and Manjari Phadnis. Best remembered for her Marilyn Monroe skirt act in 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander', Pooja has been missing from the big screen for a long time. She is more active on small screen and participated in reality shows and even got to host her own chat show - 'Just Pooja'.

She participated in dance reality shows Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 1 and Nach Baliye 3. She tried daredevil in the first season of Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi. Recently she featured in Sony TV's Maa Exchange, a twisted Indian version of internationally popular show Wife Swap. Now she is keen on more reality shows and a comeback with her talk show.

'I am getting more offers for reality shows. Let's see what I decide. But I am very hopeful to return with my own talk show where I can be a relationship counsellor for the general people. I think I can handle it really well,' said Pooja.

Pooja, daughter of actor Kabir Bedi and late Odissi dancer Protima Bedi, is a single mother to daughter Aalia, 13 and a son Omar, 10. She divorced her husband Farhan Furniturewalla in 2002, after an eight-year long marriage, and admits it is tough being a single mom.

'My kids were very young when my husband and I took divorce. When I went to (comedian) Rajeev Nigam's house as part of Maa Exchange, I saw him bond with his son. At that point, I did miss the father-child bonding in my house and for a moment I felt that I need a husband now,' she said. Unfortunately, the feeling of settling down was short-lived for Pooja.

'It has been really tough being a single mother. You have to take care of the children - financially, emotionally, so you have to work hard and also spend time with them. It wasn't easy but I am proud of the way my children have shaped up - mature and well-mannered. Their scores are wonderful, the walls of their rooms are full of medals and certificates and they enjoy all sports. Most of all, they respect me and their elders. So I have no complains!' she said.

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