Sampada Sharma

Introduction

Sampada Sharma is a Copy Editor at Indian Express Online's entertainment section. She has been writing for Indian Express Online since 2017. She has a keen interest in old Hindi films, and the new ones too. She spends her weekends watching international web shows. Sampada also hosts a podcast called Movie Police which discusses bizarre films and shows. She can be reached at sampada.sharma@indianexpress.com or you can follow her on Twitter @sampadasharma29

Articles by Sampada Sharma

Shammi Kapoor-starrer Teesri Manzil had a superhit album by RD Burman

The Asha Bhosle song that worried her driver enough to take her to the hospital; RD Burman had to audition to grab the gig as Shammi Kapoor ‘behaved like a king’

Sep 08, 2025 11:28 IST

Asha Bhosle and RD Burman worked together on many memorable songs. But Teesri Manzil's 'Aaja Aaja...

Mon, Sep 08, 2025

Shailendra shared a close bond with filmmaker-actor Raj Kapoor

Started as Raj Kapoor’s employee with Rs 500 salary, became his ‘Pushkin’ at whose feet RK always sat; died of a broken heart

Aug 30, 2025 08:55 IST

Shailendra was the man behind the words of songs such as 'Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan', 'Awaara Hun',...

Fri, Sep 05, 2025

With And Just Like That finale, Sex and the City franchise ended its 27-year run

Sex and the City lost its ‘zsa zsa zsu’ years ago, we couldn’t accept it until we saw literal sh*t on screen in And Just Like That finale

Aug 21, 2025 08:08 IST

Sex and the City started to lose its ‘zsa zsa zsu’ when it went on its movie route, and they...

Thu, Aug 21, 2025

Made on a tenth of its budget, this mythological film faced off against Sholay’s tsunami; lead actor observed ‘vrat’ during filming

Aug 15, 2025 07:56 IST

In 1975, Sholay was the biggest hit of the year but there was one film that stood its ground...

Fri, Aug 15, 2025

Meena Kumari was thrown out of the house she bought by her father, paid him Rs 2 lakh to get married; was treated as a ‘meal ticket’ by her familySubscriber Only

Aug 01, 2025 08:06 IST

Meena Kumari passed away at 39 in 1972. She was forced to face the camera when she was just...

Fri, Aug 01, 2025

Guru Dutt dropped Waheeda Rehman ‘like a hot brick’ after he got back together with wife Geeta Dutt; she declared, ‘I won’t let him touch me’Subscriber Only

Jul 09, 2025 11:09 IST

Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman first met in 1955, and by 1962, they parted ways. In these 7 years,...

Fri, Jul 11, 2025

RD Burman passed away months before the release of 1942 A Love Story. He was 54

‘Humiliated’ by Bollywood, how RD Burman created 1942 A Love Story; teared up when music was called ‘bullsh*t’Subscriber Only

Jun 27, 2025 08:05 IST

As iconic as RD Burman was in the 1970s, the composer went through a rather rough patch in the...

Fri, Jun 27, 2025

Kesari 2 minimises Sankaran Nair’s contributions to the freedom struggle, it’s historical fiction presented as an ‘untold story’Subscriber Only

Jun 22, 2025 07:25 IST

Most real-life stories are slightly modified when they are adapted in movies, but if one changes...

Sun, Jun 22, 2025

Mithun Chakraborty became a star in the 1980s with Disco Dancer

Mithun Chakraborty: From Helen’s back-up dancer ‘Rana Rez’ to giving the first Rs 100 cr film, he made it in the worst decade of BollywoodSubscriber Only

Jun 15, 2025 08:26 IST

Mithun Chakraborty, who is now a Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, first became a star in the 1980s...

Sun, Jun 15, 2025

Dimple Kapadia in Kalpana Lajmi's Rudaali

20 years after Bobby, ‘unlucky’ Rudaali changed Dimple Kapadia’s fortune; broke the idea of ‘glamorous’ heroine and established her as an actorSubscriber Only

Jun 08, 2025 07:26 IST

On Dimple Kapadia's 68th birthday, we revisit one of her first celebrated performances in Kalpana...

Sun, Jun 08, 2025

Nargis’ brother beat her up because of her relationship with Raj Kapoor; she lost money, opportunities while he set up his studioSubscriber Only

Jun 01, 2025 07:45 IST

Nargis was ready to sacrifice her career in the name of love. She had a decade-long association...

Wed, Jun 04, 2025

Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in a still from Beta's Dhak Dhak

Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Dhak Dhak’: Plagiarised music, CBFC’s censorship and the song that originally belonged to SrideviSubscriber Only

May 15, 2025 08:00 IST

Madhuri Dixit's 'Dhak Dhak' persona could have easily belonged to Sridevi, for she was the first...

Thu, May 15, 2025

Nargis and Balraj Sahni played husband and wife in Hulchul

Funeral at Nargis’ house made Balraj Sahni feel like a ‘corpse’, got special permission from cops during jail time to shoot a filmSubscriber Only

May 01, 2025 08:10 IST

Balraj Sahni was jailed for six months in 1949 and producer K Asif took special permission from the...

Thu, May 01, 2025

BR Chopra's Mahabharat was a 94-episode series broadcast in Doordarshan

Mahabharat: BR Chopra stood by Rahi Masoom Raza when Doordarshan questioned how a Muslim man could write the show, ‘It’s not Hindu or Muslim’Subscriber Only

Apr 22, 2025 15:52 IST

37 years ago, when BR Chopra made Mahabharat, he hired Rahi Masoom Raza to write the show, and the...

Tue, Apr 22, 2025

Kesari 2: Britain is yet to apologise for the horrors of Jallianwala Bagh while ‘Hitler’ General Dyer’s family remembers him as an ‘honourable man’Subscriber Only

Apr 17, 2025 08:03 IST

Even if the British were to issue an apology now, it wouldn't make up for the thousands of men,...

Thu, Apr 17, 2025

Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan started their career around the same time

Jaya Bachchan has given more stellar performances than Amitabh Bachchan, but he is the tree who casts a shadow over the familySubscriber Only

Apr 09, 2025 08:01 IST

Jaya Bachchan was never the glamorous heroine who played a sidekick in male dominated films, but in...

Wed, Apr 09, 2025

Aamir Khan’s worst movie mistakes: Bollywood-ised Godfather, snake charmers indulging in black magic and cricket with bomb threatSubscriber Only

Mar 13, 2025 07:59 IST

Aamir Khan is turning 60. The actor, known as Mr Perfectionist, has made some not-so-perfect...

Fri, Mar 14, 2025

Bollywood’s crimes against women: Consent proof in TBMAUJ, patriarchy apologist in Mr and Mrs MahiSubscriber Only

Mar 08, 2025 09:00 IST

International Women's Day: Films like Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, Mr and Mrs Mahi, Bawaal,...

Sat, Mar 08, 2025

Sahir Ludhianvi was the rebel before Bollywood understood rebellion.

Sahir Ludhianvi, the original rebel who shook Bollywood: Demanded one rupee more than composer, but never cared about moneySubscriber Only

Mar 08, 2025 09:00 IST

On Sahir Ludhianvi's birth anniversary, recalling the time when he demanded more pay than the music...

Sat, Mar 08, 2025

‘Outsider’ Danny Denzongpa ‘was teased like a puppy’ till Jaya Bachchan suggested a solution, eventually found his place in movies as a ‘generic Indian’Subscriber Only

Feb 25, 2025 18:19 IST

Danny Denzongpa felt like an 'alien' when he first left Sikkim and tried to find his way in the...

Tue, Feb 25, 2025

Sanam Teri Kasam is a hit at the box office and it feels like the worst era of Hindi movies, the 1980s, are backSubscriber Only

Feb 20, 2025 08:04 IST

Sanam Teri Kasam isn't the first 'surprise hit' that we have seen in the last few years but just a...

Fri, Feb 21, 2025

Kanwaljit Singh plays the patriarch of the family in Sooraj Barjatya's Bada Naam Karenge

Bada Naam Karenge: Sooraj Barjatya acknowledges the facade of Hum Saath Saath Hain’s ‘perfect’ family where fear replaces loveSubscriber Only

Feb 19, 2025 08:02 IST

Sooraj Barjatya's idea of a 'happy joint family' found its way to the masses decades ago and while...

Thu, Feb 20, 2025

Madhubala's life was completely controlled by her father Ataullah Khan

Madhubala’s father ‘ruined her life’; pushed her to work even when she vomited blood, fainted on setsSubscriber Only

Feb 14, 2025 08:09 IST

Madhubala's father Attaullah Khan handled all aspects of her life. She wasn't allowed to go out,...

Sun, Feb 16, 2025

Vinod Mehra and Rekha in the 1978 film Ghar

‘Ex-lovers’ Rekha and Vinod Mehra, who were rumoured to be married, came together for Ghar; but stayed trapped in a problematic filmSubscriber Only

Feb 13, 2025 08:02 IST

On Vinod Mehra's birth anniversary, discussing one of his most popular films Ghar, which saw him...

Thu, Feb 13, 2025

‘You need to acknowledge where you come from’: Khushi KapoorSubscriber Only

Feb 08, 2025 18:57 IST

Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor on their film Loveyapa, nepotism and coping with the unrealistic...

Sat, Feb 08, 2025

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