Raksha Bandhan Bollywood style

Dharmendra, the heartthrob of the 1970s, incongruously collected as many sisters as giddy female fans on his way to stardom. When the good-looking man from Haryana arrived in Mumbai, his only relatives were hope and grit.

Women used the rakhi to get closer to him. Today, the 73-year-old actor has graduated to a ‘paji’ (elder brother) to three quarters of the industry. Shashi Kapoor, the endearing flirt of the 1970s, also wore the most rakhis on his wrist on Raksha Bandhan.

Karisma and Kareena don’t tie their cousin Ranbir a rakhi, but they share a warm camaraderie with him. Chunky Panday jokes, “I used to hide on Raksha Bandhan day because I didn’t want attractive heroines to tie me a rakhi.”

For Priyanka Chopra, her brother Siddharth is the apple of her eye. “I constantly look for his approval on most matters,” says didi Priyanka. “He is not only my kid brother, he is also a close friend.”

Sisters like Mallika Sherawat and Manisha Koirala have gone out of their way to extend unconditional support to their brothers Vikram and Siddharth. While Vikram manages Mallika’s career and is a producer, Manisha has supported her brother’s decision to be an actor.

Clearly, in this industry, the brother-sister bond and its traditional ties are reversible. Punam Sinha, wife of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who has been tying Subhash Ghai a rakhi for many years now, should know. Ever since Ghai stopped working with Sinha, the duo share a terse relationship. “Sinha often takes witty potshots at his saala (wife’s brother) Ghai,” says an industry insider.

However, Ghai says, “I’m extremely fond of the Sinhas and despite all our ‘differences’, we share a warm relationship. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photograph of Punam tying me a rakhi in my albums. We have maintained the sanctity of the relationship and I didn’t think the media would one day ask me about it.”

Singing sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle have the highest number and the most popular of film personalities on their list of rakhi brothers. India’s Nightingale tied a rakhi to the late Sunil Dutt and Tamil superstar Sivaji Ganesan. Lata, who is currently in London, usually ties a rakhi to Yash Chopra and also thinks of Dilip Kumar as her brother.

Then there are others who use the rakhi as a tool to further their careers. The rakhi bond is also used to lay to rest rumours. Heroines have assuaged the fears of their co-stars’ wives with the line — ‘He’s like my brother’.

The old Indian habit of adding a prefix of relationship to a familiar name does not necessarily stop at a brother. The general impression is that Govinda’s wife Sunita ties David Dhawan a rakhi. But she says, “He is like a father-figure to me.”

According to Sunita, she respects him as much as her dad. A trade insider confirms that Dhawan feels so strongly for Sunita and the kids that he has taken it upon himself to resurrect Govinda’s career.

source- www.dhangout.com