Bharat Bhushan: Think of him ? the scene that comes to your mind first would definitely be him rowing a boat singing, Tu Ganga ki mauj main Jamuna ka dhaara. Think of another scene, it’ll be a dishevelled Bharat on the streets singing Tum bin jaaoon kahaan. His USP was his ability to lip songs to such perfection that they looked like he was really singing them. As a hero he is remembered for his songs and his fame remained mainly stuck to just that.

Pradeep Kumar: Taj Mahal, Jo vaada kiya woh nibhaana padega? Tall, hunky and bland faced; but known to possess a ‘princely’ figure, he was always the favourite when it came to playing a prince. Even in later years, when he played distraught husband of schizophrenic Nargis in Raat Aur Din, he looked like a prince, without his royal attire, and as much lost as his robes.

Dharmendra: He was the great action hero (Yeh haath nahin, hathoda hai; Ek-ek ko chunchun ke maarunga), but had some of greatest melodies picturised on him too (Ya dil ki suno, Aaya hai mujhe phir yaad woh zaalim, maajhi chal). Yet, never given his due as an ‘actor’.

Rajendra Kumar: Better known as Jubilee Kumar as almost every film of his, whatever its melodramatic worth, went on to score a jubilee (when a jubilee was a real jubilee, not a multiplex footfall). And every film of his had magnificent melodies giving the erroneous impression that his jubilees were because of his emoting, not lipping.

Manoj Kumar: Another ‘beginner’ like Rajendra Kumar, but someone who quickly went from Woh Kaun Thi? to pop patriotism till he became famous as Mr Bharat, with his face half-hidden in his palm (Aur nahin, bas aur nahin). The rest is history, Mr Bharat ki history.

Shammi Kapoor: Shammi Kapoor. Shankar Jaikishan. Mohd Rafi. The trio that could set any box-office on fire. In Kashmir Ki Kali, although it had .P. Nayyar’s very SJ-like music, a dozen songs, each a superhit, only proved that Shammi the Dancing Hero was the pioneer of Kathak as histrionics.

Joy Mukherjee: An esteemed non-actor, even if Humsaya (Dil ki aawaaz bhi sun) seemed to indicate otherwise. If his guru Shammi had his Kashmir Ki Kali, Joy had his Shagird; after all, Duniya paagal hai!

Biswajit: Part of his makeup was a guitar. Chocolate boy hero considered very good-looking but his luck was even better looking. Laakhon hain yahaan dilwaale, but that was Bees Saal Baad!

Jeetendra: Jumping Jack tried to up Shammi and Joy, better known for the whites he wore on his feet than the warpaint on his face. He rocked right from the start, in Farz, never mind if it was a James Bond film. Sean Connery and Roger Moore could have their Martinis, shaken not stirred, but could any of the Bonds shake and move it like Jeetu, the Evergreen Star? And could any one them dare to strip of their black suits, wear white shirt, white trousers, white shoes and carry that off? Even his son Tusshar, who is a much better dancer, had to fight that challenge, and daughter Ekta could at best make others dance (and sing) to her tune.

Tariq: Kya hua tera vaada, and Tariq of the vapid smile, had his guitar slung around his neck, hands-free, but managed to croon, Yaadon ki baaraat nikli hai aaj, unite the three onscreen brothers, and bring back Mohd Rafi (who even won a Filmfare Award for Kya hua) from near-oblivion after Kishore Kumar had sung his guru out of the recording rooms post-Aradhana.

Deb Mukherjee: About three films didn’t help the younger brother of Joy very much, and like Suniel Shetty after him, was dismissed as more of a body builder than an actor. But he got his credit for being a ‘sensitive’ actor by grimacing and sniffling outrageously to the fantastic tracks of Sambandh. But Chal akela, chal akela after that.

Rahul Roy: What a debut, in Aashiqui! A film that was the turning point in melody returning to Bollywood after the phase of dhishoom dhishoom and the Angry Young Man, and South films’ Tohfas. Nadeem-Shravan, Kumar Sanu, Anu Aggarwal, all went on to become a craze. And so did Rahul Roy of the long locks; so much ahead of his times and John Abs/Dhonis! But the public soon realised that they ought to be singing back to him, Bas ek actor chaahiye, aashiqui ke liye.