NEW DELHI, Aug. 10 -- OVER the years, as the Hindi film industry grew, it brought along actors. An actor was primarily assigned a role because the maker was confident that the said actor suited the role and would deliver. Nobody either rated them or gave superlatives like superstar, megastar and so on.
The media's role in those days was limited to reviewing a film where, of course, envelopes were passed, but that was it. The critics in exchange of these envelopes, were asked to manipulate the headings of the review. Say for instance: 'Sharmila Tagore steals the show', or 'Rajesh Khanna film all the way!' It was a perfect arrangement for all concerned. The heading of a review fed the concerned star's ego while the critic enjoyed bar hopping...