Raza Murad comes from a family of actors and is known for his astounding voice. He started his career with the film 'Ek Nazar' in 1972 and became famous for his versatility, especially in villain roles. He has worked in over 200 films and has been featured in several popular Bollywood films, including Prem Rog, Henna, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, and Ram Lakhan. He continues to leave his mark with roles in films like Gangubai Kathiawadi, Padmaavat, Jodhaa Akbar, and Bajirao Mastani.

In this Mumbai edition of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Veteran Actor talks about his journey into Bollywood. He shares insights into how the Hindi Film Industry has changed over the last 50 years.

He also shares stories about legends like Raaj Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Rajesh Khanna, and Raj Kapoor. He discusses his experiences working with directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ashutosh Gowariker and how they tell their stories on the silver screen.

More on why Bollywood movies aren’t clicking as much today and what stardom truly means.

Audio Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

00:35 - Working with Amitabh & Rajesh Khanna

11:55 - Experience with Hrishikesh Mukherjee

22:21 - Raj Kapoor as a Director

25:26 - Regret of not interacting with Raj Kapoor

30:08 - Raza Murad’s voice: Asset or drawback?

33:31 - Media favoritism towards actors

36:20 - Did Raaj Kumar commit a crime?

40:44 - Funny stories about Raaj Kumar

48:41 - Working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali

55:56 - Upcoming projects with Sanjay Leela Bhansali

57:18 - Collaboration with Ashutosh Gowariker

59:21 - Why was Mughal-e-Azam never remade?

01:01:21 - Why aren’t films succeeding today?

01:03:49 - Controversy during Padmaavat release

01:05:51 - Old actors vs. today's stars

01:08:01 - Teaching at FTII

01:09:14 - Ranveer Allahabadia controversy

01:12:41 - Raza Murad’s childhood love story

01:14:47 - Raza Murad’s wedding

01:18:16 - Maintaining relationships in cinema

01:20:19 - Zeenat Aman’s second marriage

01:21:45 - Battling Depression in Bollywood