Remembering Farooque Shaikh: When the actor became the host and gave us the iconic Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai

Here are some of the best episodes from Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai:

1. Shah Rukh Khan

This was Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’s premiere episode and it was with this one that we were charmed by Farooque Shaikh’s unique hosting style. With a lot of guests from the film industry and many from Shah Rukh’s childhood, this episode set the stage for a long-running series.

2. Sanjay Dutt

One of the best episodes from the series, this one had Sanjay narrating his life story right from his boarding days. His father Sunil Dutt was one of the guests and there were many from Sanjay’s professional life and a lot of his friends. Before one goes for the Dutt biopic, this episode could serve as a crash course.

3. Sharmila Tagore

One of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars, Sharmila Tagore was the guest of honour in this episode. The first guest on this show was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. The husband-wife duo shared a lot of anecdotes from their early days and watching this episode today, makes one feel like they were the Anushka-Virat of the 60s.

4. Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya was the reigning queen of Bollywood back then and her admirers were in abundance. Her colleagues and friends from her modeling days and many from her childhood were in attendance. Not many know that Aishwarya is a wonderful singer and it was in this episode that the audience got a glimpse of the same.

5. Jagjit Singh

The Ghazal maestro was loved across the world and in this episode, the audience got a chance to watch his life’s story. His wife Chitra Singh made an appearance in this episode and they both shared their love story with the audience. The audience got to know about Jagjit Singh’s early days and this episode left all with a smile on their face.

6. Anil Kapoor

This was a star-studded episode. Everyone from Jackie Shroff to Satish Kaushik was there to celebrate Anil’s life. His family, who is also in the film business, including his brothers Sanjay and Boney shared anecdotes from Anil’s childhood. Javed Akhtar also shared memorable moments from Anil’s early days.

7. Naseeruddin Shah

This episode begins with Naseeruddin’s wife Ratna Pathak Shah in attendance. Farooque and Naseeruddin did a lot of films together back in the day and thanks to the same, the two had lots of beautiful moments to talk about. Many of Shah’s colleagues from his drama days were there and the audience got a chance to know more about him.

8. Johnny Lever

The audience has not seen many of Johnny Lever’s interviews and therefore, this one was special. The 90s were when Johnny Lever ruled the silver screen with his spot-on comic timing and Farooque Shaikh’s interview with this comic actor is still one of the best.