Raveena Tandon Instagram
1. Raveena made up her mind to become an actress very early in her life, at age 15. However, unlike other star children she did not get a launch by her filmmaker Dad, the very successful Ravi Tandon, who had produced a slew of hits in the 1970s. When it came to his own daughter Ravi Tandon moved back gracefully. Recalls Reveena, “Both Dad and I were very clear on this. I’ll make it on my own. My first film Patthar Ke Phool came my way independently…no family recommendation, no sifarish. In fact my Dad worked with half the film industry but not with me.”
2. Raveena’s brother Rajeev was launched by their father Ravi Tandon in a 1982 film titled Ekk Main Aur Ekk Tu, which despite some zingy tunes by R D Burman, sank without a trace. Rajeev was paired opposite Rubina Kaur, Ranjita Kaur’s kid-sister. No more of the Tandon heir’s acting aspirations was heard.
3. During her busiest phase in the 1990s Raveena would shoot for 4-5 film simultaneously. Recalls Raveena, “I was so busy that I was in and out of studios all day long. There was no time for anything else. No time for any of the things that girls my age do normally. I was in and out of studios sometimes shooting for 10-12 hours.” Finally Raveena took a conscious decision to cut down on her work. Much to the relief and happiness of the other heroines of her generation.
4. Raveena’s two most popular songs are easily Mohra’s ‘Tu cheez badi hai mast mast’ and ‘Tip tip barsa pani’. Both coincidentally with Akshay Kumar. Says Raveena, “I love singing and dancing. My favourite singing-and-dancing partner was Govinda. We had such a ball doing songs like ‘Ankhiyon se goli mare’ (Dulhe Raja) and ‘Kisi disco mein jaayen’(Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan).” The myth spread by the marketing machinery was that Govinda liked Karisma as his dancing partner the best. This is not true. Govinda himself told me he enjoyed dancing with Raveena the most.
5. Raveena counts Sanjay Dutt among her pals in Bollywood. They did several films together in the 1990s, none memorable. Then after several years when Ram Gopal Varma wanted to bring them together again in Department, Dutt said he wanted someone “younger”. Stay young forever, Raveena.
Happy Birthday!
