POLL: Female Directors

I was in the middle of reminiscing about the Bollywood-related things I experienced during my first trip to India (you can read about the non-Bollywood related things here, here and here) – but I’ve decided to interrupt programming to bring you the latest poll on this blog… the last two polls were all about two of Bollywood’s male icons (Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan) who have ruled Hindi commercial cinema since the 1970s. I promised that the next poll would be female-oriented, and here it is…

I have a great deal of admiration for the female film-makers that have taken on the mantle of director and made their mark in Indian cinema. Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ is still making big money at the box office, and several other female film-makers have also been very successful at their craft.

The question for this poll is: which of the 12 listed female directors is your personal favourite? (I have given some examples of their work as well, as I realise some may be more familiar with the films than their directors). Your answer may be based on the quality of the films they’ve made, the way their films have affected you, their commitment to film-making, the bold subjects their films have addressed, their personal philosophies, their life stories – really, your choice may be based on whatsoever criteria you consider important at the moment.

PLEASE vote – this poll has got me much more excited than the last two – and I am so eager to see who comes out on top. Have fun voting – I know I will have fun tracking the votes; and I am REALLY looking forward to doing the results post at the end of the poll… because I have a lot to say about each of these ladies.

As usual, please do leave your comments on the subjects of the poll… and if I’ve omitted any of your favourite female directors of Indian origin, please let me know…

… will be back with the rest of my reminiscences soon…

POLL RESULT: SRK'S Leading Ladies

I was going to finally do my Bollywood-related-stuff-from-my-trip-to-India post next... but erm... it's not quite ready. (If you'd like to check out non-Bollywood photos from my trip, there are loads on my other blog, check them out here, here and here.) In the meantime, it's time to talk about my latest poll.

Thank you SO MUCH to all you for voting in the SRK-leading-lady poll. I loved the results because they were a little surprising in a good way – the margins were slimmer than I thought they’d be, and our winner didn’t cart off quite as many votes as I’d anticipated. Thanks again for voting.

This is the results post… this has been such a fun poll to watch, and a new one will be going up as soon as I hatch a suitable idea… I hope to come up with something radically different (and female-oriented) for the next one.

The question again was which of 11 listed female actors you consider to share the best onscreen chemistry with Mr. Shahrukh Khan…

KAJOL: No surprises here. The unibrowed-one captured 54 of your votes, to win this poll. SRK and Kajol have actually only done a handful of films together, but almost all of them have been super-hits (some have even attained iconic status), with the pair leaving an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of audiences worldwide. From ‘Baazigar’ to ‘Karan Arjun’ to ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (DDLJ), to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH)’, to ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (K3G), this couple has always struck just the right note.

I think what makes the SRK/Kajol work is that they look great together (two unconventionally attractive and interesting-looking people), they are both good at expressing the emotions of their characters, and they have a great vibe between them – so that whether its humour or trauma or passion or drama; they just bounce off each other and make their jodi both believable and lovable. I have loved all the SRK/Kajol pairings that I’ve seen, and I have a very soft spot for the picturisation of ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ from K3G, a film which (ironically) is not one of my favourite SRK/Kajol films (for me, DDLJ and KKHH are much better films) – I simply love SRK and Kajol in that song.

RANI MUKERJI: Again, this actress has made just a few movies with Shahrukh Khan, but apparently those few movies have made such an impact that Rani has received a very decent score of 32 votes in this poll, second only to her cousin Kajol. I think Rani is a very different kind of actress from Kajol; where Kajol is more instinctive and gives freer rein to the emotions of her characters, Rani is more thoughtful and controlled. But I think SRK is equally adept at creating a vibrant and interesting dynamic between himself and each of the very talented and lovely Mukerji cousins.

In her first pairing with King Khan, Rani played Tina, the third character in the KKHH love triangle. Since then, she’s had memorable performances opposite him in ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ (KANK), ‘Paheli’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’ (as you can see from my screencaps, I love the picturisation of ‘Tauba Tumhare’ to bits). And I should also mention ‘Veer Zaara’ – I think Rani and SRK did a great job together even though they weren’t THE couple of the film.

JUHI CHAWLA: I have to say I love SRK and Juhi together. In fact, if I were to vote alone in this poll, Juhi and Kajol would tie for first place, and Rani would be second. Kyun ki I absolutely love Shahrukh Khan with Juhi. I think they are just excellent together. What I like best about this jodi is the sheer fun and joy that they exude together in most of their films together (with the exception of ‘Darr’, of course, in which SRK’s character basically hunted ‘K-k-kiran’ down – I actually liked them both in ‘Darr’ as well).

Juhi and SRK are so cute together, adorable really; and they always just seem to be laughing and having a blast, making me (the viewer) want to jump right in and join them. Their real-life friendship really shines through. SRK/Juhi have shared the spotlight in films like the oh-so-fun ‘Yes Boss’ (‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaon’ is one of my favourite Hindi movie songs ever, and I just think SRK and Juhi are tres cute and charming in the film), ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘Duplicate’, ‘One 2 Ka 4’, ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hindustani’ and ‘Ram Jaane’. The cute Juhi garnered 28 of the votes cast in this poll, to come in third… very close to Rani.

MADHURI DIXIT: The gorgeous Mrs. Dixit-Nene grabbed 15 of all the votes cast in the poll, putting her in fourth position. I’m a huge fan of Mads, I think she is so awesome – she’s just a star in every sense of the word. And one of the great things about her is her professionalism, the way she throws herself into every performance and does her best to create the right dynamic between herself and her leading men. Sometimes the chemistry is so convincing that it’s unforgettable, as in the otherwise-unmemorable ‘Dil’ with Aamir Khan; but even when it’s not quite that striking, it’s still thoroughly convincing.

I’ve liked Madhuri and SRK together in the films I’ve seen in them in together (not as much as I’ve liked either of them with other actors though), and I think that’s down to their hard work, professionalism and star quality. Films which have featured Ms. Dixit and Shahrukh Khan in lead roles include ‘Koyla’ (I really liked them together in this), ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (which I loved more for the Madhuri/Karisma dynamic than for the Madhuri/SRK jodi, actually), ‘Devdas’ (not a great pairing here in my opinion, but a great performance by Madhuri), the oft-criticised ‘Anjaam’ and the pretty darn awful ‘Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’.

PREITY ZINTA: As far as I know, SRK and Preity have only co-starred in a movie thrice – they’ve shared the marquee in ‘Veer Zaara’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ (KHNH) and KANK. In KANK, they aren’t a romantic couple even though they’re playing a married couple, so I would guess that Preity earned 12 of the votes cast in this poll (placing her in fifth position) on the strength of her memorable pairings with Shahrukh in ‘Veer Zaara’ and KHNH.

I am not a HUGE fan of Preity, but I do think she’s a good actress given the right roles, and I think her performance as Zaara in ‘Veer Zaara’ was one of her best. SRK also handed in a superb performance. One striking thing about this couple is the way they were able to portray such a strong emotional bond so well… there wasn’t too much physicality or even sentimentality about them in the film, but they still made you believe in their prem kahani. Great job by both actors. I am less enamoured with Preity’s performance in KHNH (and with the film in general) – I really liked Saif Ali Khan’s dynamic with SRK in the movie, but I was less taken with SRK and Preity as a couple. I still think that they were still pretty good together in the film – and I actually loved the melodramatic scene in the storm (after Preity’s character discovers the truth).

SUSHMITA SEN: Up next is the gorgeous Ms. Sen, in sixth position with 7 of the votes cast. She and Mr. Khan (in a nice, age-appropriate pairing) burned up the big screen in ‘Main Hoon Na’. I remember thinking how nice it was to see these two more mature characters together, both just enjoying their mutual chemistry and doing the whole silly-serious thing. I also thought they were too cute together with the whole sexy-teacher thing and the spontaneous-bursting-into-song thing… I just thought they were great together and played off each other well. Ram and Miss Chandni were really into each other and they were also having fun. Works for me.

AISHWARYA RAI: In seventh position, we have the poised and beautiful Aishwarya Rai, with 5 votes. The lovely Mrs. Bachchan has co-starred with SRK in films like ‘Devdas’, ‘Mohabbatein’, and ‘Josh’ (in which they play siblings). This jodi also had a very memorable dance number together in ‘Shakthi - The Power’. The thing that struck me about this number was that although both dancers were technically brilliant (two of my favourites, actually) and executed some very difficult moves extremely well, the whole thing just didn’t move me. It was like a very beautiful work of art that just doesn’t speak to your heart. I think this is true of a lot of the work SRK and Ash have done as co-stars – beautiful but sorta ‘soulless’ and just not very interesting or compelling. I think they just don’t make a very good couple for some reason. (But she was great opposite Hrithik Roshan in 'Dhoom II' and Akshaye Khanna in 'Taal' (well the first half of it, anyway)).

There are three actors in eighth position, and each one garnered 1 vote in the poll -

MANISHA KOIRALA: ‘Dil Se’ is a film that is difficult to forget – in addition, it’s not happy viewing, it’s disturbing and leaves you wanting some comfort food or a phone conversation with your mama… it’s very tough viewing – especially at the end. But at the centre of it all, we find two central characters that, when they encounter each other, bring home to us all the pain, longing, angst and suffering that are such a reality of our world. I think Shahrukh and Manisha did some amazing work in this brilliant film – I think Ratnam chose just the right cast for his story. Manisha also acted opposite SRK in ‘Guddu’, which I haven’t seen.

SHILPA SHUKLA: This actress, who played the fiery senior player Bindya Naik from ‘Chak De! India’ handed in a very strong performance. I really liked this young lady opposite SRK, she just did the business and ‘brought it’. No-nonsense acting. Not a single sign that she was over-awed by SRK’s star presence. The scene in the locker room was excellent – the way they eyeballed each other. Loved it! And it seems that at least one of you liked it too.

GAYATRI JOSHI: I really liked this elegant actress with a very restrained mien in ‘Swades’. What I liked about the couple in this film was that both the man and the woman were mature – no silly childish mucking around. Gayatri’s character came to SRK’s character when she was good and ready, and she told him exactly how she felt about him – with no hysterics or unnecessary emotion, but quietly and with conviction – like you would expect from her strong, independent character. She knew what she wanted and I loved that. I really liked Gayatri and Shahrukh together in this film. And at least one person agreed, which is cool.

And finally, down at number nine, we have -

MAHIMA CHAUDHARY: To the best of my knowledge, Mahima and SRK have only done ‘Pardes’ (which my mother calls ‘I love my India’ after the film’s super-saccharine signature number) together… ‘Pardes’ is not that bad, but I didn’t like it much either. For me, it was a one-watch-only kinda movie. It was Mahima’s first film, though, and her performance struck me as being quite young and fresh. I think she and SRK were good together, but not memorable, which I guess explains why she didn’t pick up any votes in this poll.

So that’s it… I would have liked to have Bebo in the poll to see how many votes she’d have picked up, but it skipped my mind until it was too late to include her. I actually liked her opposite SRK in ‘Asoka’. Anyway, we’re done with this poll… another will be up soon! Take care…

POLL RESULTS: Big B's Leading Ladies

So technology is great – we all know that. But sometimes it turns around and gives you a sharp bite in the behind. Like yesterday, when after painstakingly selecting, cropping, resizing and labelling some of the many pictures from my trip to India, with the intention of sharing the said photographs with my friends (yourselves included), my computer did this weird random thingy where it speedily deleted all the pictures I had spent hours working on, leaving nary a trace of them anywhere – and also leaving me with my heart thumping madly and my head spinning with the sheer horror of the moment. Oh well – like the phoenix I shall rise again and do the selection of photos all over – but it will take a while. First I must get over the trauma, and then I must find the time… hopefully I will find it over the coming weekend…

So, instead of posting pictures and commentary from my trip (which I was really looking forward to doing), today I will be doing a long-overdue post on the final results of my first ever poll. The really cool thing is that exactly 100 votes had come in just when I decided it was time to close the poll. Again, many thanks to all of you for voting!

Now, to set the scene, here are some pictures of Mr. Bachchan:

To recap, the question was which of 10 listed female actors had shared the best onscreen chemistry with the Shahenshah of Bollywood (by the way, very belated but sincere 65th birthday wishes from myself to the screen icon). And this is how you voted:

REKHA: The beautiful star of the original ‘Umrao Jaan’ is our winner – Rekha captured a whopping 53 votes. She acted opposite the big B in movies like ‘Silsila’, ‘Mr. Natwarlal’, and ‘Muqaddar ka Sikandar’. I’ve noted before that I don’t really get why the Bachchan/Rekha jodi is so popular, and unfortunately I am no closer to getting it now – perhaps it has something to do with the rumours that swirled around the two actors? I guess watching them together onscreen would be much more interesting if you were also looking for evidence of their real-life relationship at the same time…

JAYA BHADURI: Excuse this diversion, but I just have to say that I love Jaya Bhaduri –she is one of my favourite actors – Indian or otherwise. For some reasons, her performances make such a huge impact on me – I just find her mannerisms, her expressions, her enunciation, just spellbinding and powerful in their simplicity and skill. Recently, at an airport, I was browsing over-priced Hindi movie DVDs and thinking that I couldn’t afford any – and then I came upon one of her films, ‘Kora Kagaz’, and quickly made an exception because I love her so much. And when I heard that ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’ was out at my local cinema, I dropped everything and rushed over to see it because of her – I didn’t like the character she portrayed, but she was true to the character and delivered a good performance. I think she is simply a wonderful actor. (Diversion over.)

I was really rooting for Jaya ji in this poll. I personally think that of all the actors I listed, she shares the best onscreen chemistry with her real-life husband. They are both very good actors, they both have this amazing presence – call it star-quality if you like – that makes them really compelling to watch, and they are both good-looking (in an unconventional, and therefore much more interesting way), but it’s more than that - they just have that ‘x-factor’, that ‘flow’, that makes for a great onscreen couple.

From oldies like ‘Mili, ‘Abhimaan’ (those two are my favourite Amitabh/Jaya movies), ‘Sholay’, ‘Chupke Chupke’ and ‘Zanjeer’ to the more recent ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’; I think these two really vibe well together onscreen – I love the fact that despite the contrast in height, their onscreen interactions never place Jaya at a disadvantage – she always rises to meet up and sometimes even towers over him and grabs your attention more – and I think they are just so… interesting together. They just relate really well onscreen, and you (the viewer) can really ‘feel’ their characters and relate to their story and the way they bounce off each other. So (just in case you missed it amidst all my gushing), I think they are great together onscreen.

Jaya got 24 votes, less than half of the number of votes Rekha received – I really wish she’d done better in this poll but hey, she’s in second place so she did pretty good.

HEMA MALINI: A while ago, I did an update on the poll – and since the time of that update, the gorgeous Hema ji has earned more votes than any of the other listed actors, bumping her up to a prestigious third place, with 20 votes (perilously close to Mrs. Bachchan!) Another diversion: how gorgeous is this woman? I saw her in ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’ and just could not believe how youthful and beautiful she looks. One thing I like about Hema is that I somehow get the impression that she holds all this steely resolve, boldness and ambition within an apparently very demure and mild exterior – I feel she is easy to underestimate (not as an actor, but as a contender – in any forum) and that she relishes and takes advantage of the fact that her soft exterior simply veils a true go-getter. I like.

But back to the topic at hand – Hema has co-starred with the Big B in older films like ‘Do Aur Do Paanch’ and ‘Nastik’, and the couple was ‘re-launched’ in the more recent ‘Baghban’ – I thought they were absolutely adorable together as the yearning, inseparable spouses in that film. I also thought they were great as a cute, affectionate, constantly teasing couple in ‘Veer Zaara’, another recent pairing. As for ‘Baabul’… for me, it was such a bad film that I didn’t notice whether or not they were good together. But yeah, I think Amit ji and Hema ji are really cool together – he’s all humour, intensity and/or gravitas, she’s all warmth, spirit, grace and light; they respond really well to each other and look very handsome together – it usually works really well.

PARVEEN BABI: Hema’s fans knocked Parveen out of the top 3 at the last minute – but only by a hair’s breadth. She’s in fourth position, with 18 votes. Parveen provided many memorable moments alongside Amitabh Bachchan in films like ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Deewaar’ and ‘Shaan’. Whether it was comedy or tragedy, these two made a really strong couple and seemed to bring out the best in each other. And speaking of strength, I agree with Carla that there is something strong, vibrant and earthy about Parveen that works quite well with the towering persona that is the Big B.

Next up, in fifth position, it’s a tie between RANI MUKERJI and ZEENAT AMAN, each with 8 votes each. It’s clear from the difference in the number of votes between Parveen and these two; that Rekha, Jaya, Hema and Parveen are the female actors you’ve loved the most opposite Mr. Bachchan. But neither Rani, who did a great job opposite Amit ji in ‘Black’, nor Zeenat, who gave us a fab turn opposite the Big B in ‘Don’, and also co-starred with him in ‘Laawaris’, ‘Pukar’ and a number of other films, have done badly in this poll.

RAKHEE: Rakhee Gulzar has co-starred with Amit ji in movies like ‘Trishul’, ‘Kabhi Kabhie’, ‘Kasme Vaade’ and the more recent ‘Ek Rishtaa’. While I am not the world’s biggest Rakhee fan, I think her performances opposite Mr. Bachchan have been quite memorable, and they make a nice couple. Following closely on the heels of the fabulous Rani and Zeenat, here she is in sixth position, with 7 votes.

And finally… we have a three-way tie for the seventh position – it’s BINDU,

AMRITA SINGH, AND SHARMILA TAGORE,

clinching the bottom spot in this poll with 3 votes each. I think all three of these ladies are fabulous – but not the best onscreen chemistry with Amit ji (although I think Amrita rocked opposite him in ‘Mard’). They do deserve an honourable mention, so thanks for giving them some votes and showing them some love. And thanks again to Carla for giving a nod to TABU (‘Cheeni Kum’) and Beth for her nod to NEETU SINGH (‘Parvarish’).

And so those are the results of the Big B leading-lady poll – currently up is the SRK leading lady-poll, and the results are really interesting so far. I am thrilled to see that although Kajol is definitely (and not at all surprisingly) leading the pack, some of the other ladies that I love to see opposite SRK – Juhi Chawla and Rani Mukerji, for example; are making a strong showing as well. Please keep voting. Thank you!

ANOTHER POLL...

THANK YOU to everyone who's participated in the Amitabh Bachchan leading-lady poll so far... the results are still coming in, so the poll will be up for a little while yet (I'll take it down when it runs out of steam). The results are pretty interesting and indicate that more than half of you feel that Rekha and Amit-ji have great onscreen chemistry.

Here's a breakdown of the votes as at today (was going to do this properly with pictures and all, but the image thingy is acting up - so when I take the poll down for good, I will do a proper results post with pictures):

The intense and beautiful Rekha has a whopping 44 votes, 57% of all the votes cast... so the Rekha/Amitabh jodi is definitely a HUGE hit with you all.... When I started the poll I noted that I've only seen Rekha and Amit Ji together in one movie ('Muqaddar ka Sikandar' - I also recall that they had a scene together in 'Kasme Vaade' but I don't think it counts 'cos it was an item number - I've also seen them do the classic song 'Pardesiya' together - not sure what film that's from ('Mr. Nawartlal' or something like that?) - I quite liked that song actually)... I would really love to know why this jodi is so popular, so please, if you voted for Rekha, I'd really love it if you could leave a comment saying which films you've loved them in, and why you think they work so well together... thanks!

Amitabh's real-life wife Jaya-ji (one of my favourite actors ever) has a very respectable 20 votes, 25% of all the votes cast so far (I'm kinda sad about this - I'm sure you've guessed by now that I was rooting for her - and I really didn't wan't her to be in second place behind Rekha - I mean, sheesh...) I've absolutely loved the Bachchans together in films like 'Abhimaan' (wonderful film), 'Mili', 'Zanjeer', 'Chupke Chupke', 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'...

Next up is the gorgeous and sassy Parveen Babi, with 15 votes, 19% of the total... I think she was great with Amit-Ji - loved them together in the fun 'Amar Akbar Anthony' and the wonderful 'Deewaar'...

In fourth position we have the ageless beauty Hema Malini, with 13 votes, 16% of the votes cast so far... Hema-ji and Amit-ji were great together in 'Baghban', and they were paired together again in 'Baabul' which is err... not a good film. But they were also lovely together in films like 'Veer Zaara', 'Do Aur Do Paanch'... I know I've seen them together in at least one more film but can't seem to remember which...

Fifth, with 7 votes (9% of the votes cast) is the uber-babe Zeenat Aman, who I actually thought would do better than this in the poll... she and Mr. Bachchan were great together in 'Laawaris', and although 'Pukar' is such a weird film, they were alright in that too... again, I'm sure I've seen them together in some other films but my memory fails me... (Aha! How could I possibly forget 'Don'??)

In joint sixth position, with 6 votes apiece (7% of the votes cast so far) we have the lovely and talented Rani Mukherji and the accomplished Rakhee. I had a feeling Rani wouldn't do too shoddily in this poll, even though she and Amit-ji are far from being contemporaries and have never acted (and should never act!!) as a romantic pair... but we all remember how good they both were in 'Black' and how well they related onscreen... they've also shared the credits in films like K3G and KANK, but 'Black' was their main gig as co-stars... on to Rakhee - like Zeenat, I thought she would do better. She and Amitabh did quite a few movies together - I've seen them co-star in 'Kabhi Kabhie, 'Kasme Vaade', 'Ek Rishta', 'Muqaddar ka Sikandar', 'Trishul'... I'm actually not a huge fan of Rakhee so I'm not as bummed about her tally as I am about Jaya's, but... a lot of her films with Amit-Ji were really quite memorable...


At number 8, with 3 votes (3% of the total vote so far) is Amrita Singh, Amit-Ji's co-star in the very wacky but kinda wonderful 'Mard'... Amrita and Amitabh were absurd, and deliciously so, in this film... haven't seen them together in any other films but I enjoyed her and Amit enough in 'Mard' to have her on this list.

Oh dear... the bottom of the list, with 2 votes each (2% of all the votes cast)... actually I have to thank the two voters who were kind enough to vote for the vampish and seductive Ms. Bindu - my friend Uzo thought she should've been knocked off the list, and she was probably right - after all she and Amit-Ji never truly co-starred, she was always the naughty item girl trying to steal him away and detract from his steely resolve... she did that (the naughty, seductive part) really well, even if it never quite worked on the super-cool Amit-Ji - Helen also did this really well... and as for the fabulous and cute Sharmila Tagore, whom I've only seen opposite Amit-ji in 'Viruddh'... well, guess she didn't make such a huge impression on y'all opposite the Big B either...

A couple of actresses have earned honourable mention from you - Filmi Geek liked Tabu opposite Amit-ji in 'Cheeni Kum', and Beth thought Neetu Singh was good opposite Amitabh... thanks all for participating, and please vote if you haven't yet - I'm not delusional enough to think Jaya can still win it, but please do vote while the poll's still up...

Ok... so today another poll is up... one thing I really love about Shahrukh Khan (he's one of my favourites for sure) is that he is the quintessential leading man - he always makes you believe that he is in luuurve with his leading lady - he gives her loads of attention, allows her to shine, and is not afraid to be romantic - and I really like that. So which female actor have you liked best opposite him?

Now I think I know who will win this one, in fact I'm 90% sure she will win it, but I still would like you to vote - I'm very interested in who gets second, third, fourth etc place... and who knows? Maybe the obvious isn't quite so obvious after all... so please vote!!! Dhanyavaad... and as before, you can vote for more than one actress; please tell me who's missing from my list (I'm already kicking myself for leaving out Bebo (Kareena Kapoor) who had great chemistry with SRK in 'Asoka'); and also who should really not be on there... and by the way, it's not a typo - Shilpa Shukla played the feisty Bindya Naik in 'Chak De! India'...

PS Isn't it rather disturbing what these 2 polls say about Bollywood? The fact that one male actor can hold sway for years, running through a list of young beautiful leading ladies with rather more limited career arcs? (Of course, this trend is not limited to Bollywood.) Eeeuw... it's sooo wrong.... In the interests of gender equity, the very next poll will be all about the men vying for the lady's hand in some way (I will think of something)... I promise!

POLL: Please Vote!!

I love a good poll... the one on my sidebar is the first one I've done on this blog, and it was inspired by a programme I saw once that proclaimed the duo of Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha Hindi cinema's best couple ever.... According to the programme, their onscreen chemistry in films like 'Silsila' was amazing, and paled only in comparison to the rumoured blazing secret love affair between the two...

Well, having seen the Amit Ji/Rekha jodi in only one film ('Muqaddar ka Sikandar'), I probably am not the most qualified person to pass judgment on this assessment... but for what it's worth, I disagree. I'll tell you who I think shares the best onscreen chemistry with him later, after some votes have come in (readers of this blog will probably already have guessed who my vote goes to... it's actually revealed in a past blog post). And I'll also reveal later which of the actresses on the list I think has shared the least onscreen chemistry with Big B.

But, far more importantly, I'd love to know what you think... please vote in the poll (you can vote for as many actresses as you like)... and leave a comment here if one of the actresses you'd like to vote for isn't already on the list. I can think of one actress who's not on the list but whom I really liked opposite Amit Ji - the gorgeous Shefali Shah (they played husband and wife in 'Waqt - A Race Against Time'). Also, I'd appreciate comments saying whose name you think should be stricken off the list (because there's no chemistry there).

Anyway... enough talk... please vote, I look forward to finding out what you think...