I still can’t get over this maddening malady which is driving writers and filmmakers round the bend. Some of the films which have been completed or are on the verge of completion or are ready to be released will give you an idea about what kind of films are being made in certain quarters. Their titles say so much for them. They are the creations of some great minds who are trying to bring in a new whiff of fresh air into Hindi cinema which they feel is going to rot the way the films made with big stars are falling by the way. But just look at some of the ads, these "experimental" films and then look at some of their titles which will make you, who are on the lookout for good films roll in shock, because what their titles mean and what they are going to show in their films are going to be shockingly painful. They can’t be anything else, I am sure.

Let’s take a look at some of the titles: Kaala Mandir (a film about superstition), Saamri (another film about superstition), Kothewali, Khooni, Killer Jumbo, The Revenge of Geeta Mera Naam, Goonda No.1, Sundari, Dolly Darling, Oh Darling, Raat Ke Darinde, Band Kamre Mein, Pyar Karenge Pal Pal, Mita Bindiya Utha Bandook, Sardar, Jalte Badan, Daku Kali Bhawani, Kaama Devi, Chandani, Chudail Devi, Kaam Pustak, Kaali Ki Saugandh, Khooni Bistar, Murde Ki Maut, Raat Ka Shikaar and many others. You have to see their designs promoting their films in all the trade magazines in some of the most outrageous and obscene poses. I wonder how they make these films, how they find the artists to act in these films, how they find the directors who make these certainly dirty films pretending to carry serious messages to the people, how they find the producers to shell out their money to make these bad and brash films and finally how they find the audiences to see these films which are not blue or black or white or in colour but have a colour by themselves, a colour which is beyond my understanding. Can someone enlighten me?

Shirish Gupte, Pune
Will the great thespian, Dilip Kumar, not act in films again?
He has the will. He has the spirit to fight but he has to be in perfect health, he should get the roles which will be perfect to his stature. He will never say no till he is forced to say no, he says. And moreover, he is determined to release his first film as a director-actor, Kalinga.

ShaAd ali, Mumbai:
What’s happening to your first film as a director?
I have been hardly let down by a case of sheer betrayal by some of my friends (and that is what I believed). They have gone ahead and started the film without my name anywhere. God be with them. I wish them all the best. Now I will direct my own films and that will be sometime soon. I always believed that I know the industry and its people. I know nothing. How can I claim to know everything when I couldn’t know my friends and partners who ate from the same plate - Lekin, you know, ooparwallah sab kuch aur sab ko dekhta hain.

Danny Upadhyay, Mumbai:
What is my namesake, Danny Denzongpa, doing these days?
If you ask me he is the happiest man around. He signs select films on his terms and conditions and when he finds the time and if there is no satisfaction in his work he flees to the hills, his favourite place. As an actor he is as good as any good actor in the world. There can only be one Danny Denzongpa, great man.

Norman Lewis, Goa:
I am a Christian. I have spent a lot of time learning acting. I think I can speak very good Hindi (which is a rare thing among Goans) and above all, I am a good actor who have acted in several plays. Do I stand a chance to be an actor like you?
I don’t know whether you can make it like an actor like me but since you have so much confidence in yourself I think you can try and I hope you succeed.

Somesh Vyas, Ahmedabad:
We are waiting for Dilip Kumar to make his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha. How long will we have to wait?
He has taken leave for some time on health grounds but he will be very much there during the next session and has already prepared his great speech which I am sure will shake up the otherwise generally sleeping ward.

Ramesh Bhandari, Mumbai:
I came to Mumbai to work as an actor. I did a course in acting too but I am still working in the night shift in the kitchen of a five-star ho-tel and making my rounds as a struggler during the day. When do you think I will succeed?
My good wishes are with a hard-working man like you. Keep trying, you may succeed, keep trying you must succeed. Your place is not in the kitchen of a five-star hotel. Your place is before the camera. You must succeed. People like you must succeed because if you don’t succeed people may lose hope in working hard.

Gautam Adhikari, Jaipur:
A friend of mine who lived like a king went to Mumbai and tried to be an actor for five long years. He came back as a pauper and has now gone back to try his luck to play the king again. I have not learned from his experience. I am determined to go to Mumbai and try my luck to be an actor. What do you say?
Luck, yes luck is the right word for you. Come, try and keep trying. You may succeed if luck is with you still. Luck actually was on your friend’s side. He was determined to be a king. He will always remain a king. He can not be a star now. It is too late.

Jamini Dharmadhikari, Pune:
Is our Govinda really playing a negative role in N Chandra’s Shikari. We are shocked?
There is no reason to be shocked. Govinda is a complete actor. He has been wasted as a comedian in so many films. It is high time he went in for a change. And that is what he is doing. He is playing a negative role which will shock us people “Ki Chi chi yeh bhi kaam kar sakta hain”.

Sunidhi Sutarkar, Ratnagiri:
We are all waiting for your acting school to start. Your delay is delaying our careers.
You know, it is very difficult to start an acting school. And as I have always said the school I am goi-ng to start is not like all the other schools. It will be Anupam’s school built to his complete satisfaction, that’s why the delay.

Joyce Reyo, Mumbai:
What do you think about the casting couch?
It’s very much there. There are some who believe in it because there are some who are ready to fall for it. As long as there is a demand for it, it will be there.