The friendship between Russia and India has not only been diplomatic but has also deepened through films. From the time the people of the Soviet Union (now Russia) first came across Raj Kapoor’s films in the 1950s, till 1991, Indian films held a special place in the cinema culture there.

The love for Bollywood in Russia was so much that people used to stand in queues for hours to buy tickets. In such a situation, let us know about the most popular Bollywood films of all time in Russia and why the people there remember them even today.

These Bollywood films were popular in Russia

1. Stray
Raj Kapoor’s ‘Awara’ was like a revolution for the Soviet people. Raj Kapoor himself acted in it and showed the difference between good and evil in the story. The film was released in Russia four years late and sold 63.7 million tickets. Even the Soviet people adopted it not just as a film but as a culture.

2. Bobby
Raj Kapoor’s son Randhir Kapoor’s ‘Bobby’ also proved to be a huge hit in Russia. 62.6 million people bought tickets to see the love story of a poor girl and a rich boy. The Soviet audience was impressed by the new kind of story and style in this film.

3. Disco Dancer
The most special thing for Soviet boys was ‘Disco Dancer’. In this, Jimmy and the entertaining music forced everyone to dance. 60.9 million people watched it. People were especially impressed by the song ‘Jimmy Jimmy, Aaja Aaja’ and the style shown in the film.

4. Gunpowder
‘Barood’ was a combination of action and romance. A boy named Anup decides to avenge his father’s murder, but the story takes a twist when he falls in love with his enemy’s daughter. Soviet audiences praised it, with 60 million tickets sold.

5. Sita and Geeta
55.2 million people bought tickets to watch Hema Malini’s film ‘Sita Aur Geeta’. The story of two twin sisters touched the hearts of the Soviet audience. The film became so popular that a parent in Kyrgyzstan named their twin daughters Sita and Geeta.

6. Mamta
Suchitra Sen’s ‘Mamta’ was watched by 52.1 million people. The story was about a woman Devyani, who marries without love and then gets separated from her daughter. Soviet people loved its emotions and story of motherhood.

7. Flowers and stones
45.4 million tickets of Meena Kumari and Dharmendra’s film ‘Phool Aur Patthar’ were sold. The story of a sick girl and a thief touched the hearts of the audience.

The Soviet audience did not just see Indian films as entertainment, but also connected the emotions shown in them like good and bad, love and family, struggle and victory to their lives. Even today, Bollywood film festivals and retro shows are organized with great enthusiasm in Russia.

Honey Irani on Divorce with Javed Akhtar: Film writer and lirisist Javed Akhtar married Honey Irani, who was the actress before Shabana Azmi. Both of them got married in 1972 but after 13 years of marriage, they took divorce and separated their paths. Then Shabana Azmi was also accused of breaking Honey’s house. Now years later, Honey Irani has spoken openly on this and has told that the real reason for her divorce was something else.

Honey Irani recently spoke to Filmfare and told how he fell in love with Javed Akhtar. He said- ‘Yes, it is true that I fell in love with Javed Sir during Sita and Gita. Once he asked me to choose the card during the game and he won. He jokingly said that you are very lucky for me, I think I should marry you. We kept dating for seven-eight months.

‘This has never happened because of Shabana …’
Honey Irani further told that she was very upset after divorce from Javed Akhtar. But he dared and handled himself. He also made it clear that Shabana Azmi was not the reason for him and Javed’s divorce. Honey Irani said- ‘I got angry while separating from Javed Akhtar, but I never did a drama. I felt that it was not doing this work and I have always said, it has never happened because of Shabana.

Why Javed-Honey divorced?
The actress further explained the reason for divorce and said- ‘I do not know what to name it. Perhaps he wanted something completely different from me, which I had. Even today we have a lot of love and respect. I know that he will never say anything like this or will not do anything that causes harm to my children. This is such a thing about which I have full faith. Therefore, I think it made everything easy for me.