'We'll Miss Him'

Amitabh Bachchan: Hrishida was like a father figure to me and my wife, Jaya. Working with him was an unbelievable experience because his style of film-making was never to compromise on quality and on the story ideas.He never pandered to any baser instincts, and he set his own path which was neither too artistic nor too commercial.His knowledge of the craft was so immense that we just left ourselves in hishands. We never heard any scripts, never heard any stories - we just came on the sets. He told us to stand there, walk here, say it in this manner, speak like this - that's how he used to direct all of us. So our input was nothing at all. All that you see in his films is entirely his input.His characters were close to reality, and certainly the scenes that were writtenand the situations that we were put in, were so genuine and real and realisticthat they gave great opportunities to actors. His films were full of delightfulsubtleties and became great cinema.

Jaya Bachchan: I will miss him. I shared a closerelationship with him and he was a father figure to me. I feel orphaned. I feelalone at this moment.

Dharmendra: Hrishida was the greatest film director with whom I had the honour to work. I have worked with likes of Bimal Roy but Mukherjee was the greatest of them all. I feel as if I have lost a loving elder brother.He was such a personality that everyone had great respect for him. He respected everyone too. I could never find any minus points in him. He was the sort of director who would take the actual shots needed for a film. He didn't waste time filming something that wasn't needed. He was down-to-earth, and made down-to-earth movies.All his films were very good, but I liked Guddi, where he showed what film stars are all about, and how young girls think about them. When I used to go out, young girls would meet me and say they loved Guddi and wanted my autograph. Satyakam was very special. It got me a nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards. His stamp of class was evident in all his movies. Every role was natural. I also liked working in Chupke Chupke. I hardly realised I was acting in that film; it was all so natural. Even today, when Chupke Chupke is aired on television, I watch it.

Rajesh Khanna: He will be with usforever. Every morning, I will remember him and the thoughts he gave me.Hrishida will continue to live in us forever. Of the two oft-trodden paths ofarts and commerce in filmdom, he adopted a middle path, that of humanity.

Amol Palekar: His films carried the Hrishidastamp and he was there in every frame. I had the honour to work in his films andI can say that the experience was memorable. I am proud that I got to work withhim.

Mrinal Sen: We were friends and grew up together, but when I thought about gatecrashing into Indian cinema, Hrishikesh had already done it. He never spoke much about his work and kept to himself, but his movies had already revealed his persona to the world. 

Deepti Naval: Why do we have to wait tillsomeone goes away? Did any journalist bother to go up to Hrishida when he wasalive and ask him about his style of film making?

Subhash Ghai: When I passed out of FTII, he wasthe first director who gave me work. Later, he would tell me that he always knewI would be a director and watched my films with great pride.

Nitin Mukesh: He was like my father. My latefather (Mukesh) worked with him in some memorable films. My father sang 'Kahindoor jab din dhal jaaye' (in the film 'Anand'). Now, there is sunset over an era inIndian cinema.

Raza Murad: This death has orphaned the film industry. Yes, we are aware that Dada Saheb Phalke is regarded the father of Indian cinema, but he was a father we never saw. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the father we not only saw, but also worked with and loved deeply.