Stardust magazine is a reminder of the ‘golden’ days of pre-Internet paparazzi. Its quirky covers are our backdoor entry into the lives of 90s superstars.

New Delhi: India is obsessed with Bollywood, and anything to do with it, especially when it comes to the ‘stars’. The constant bird-watching of their lives might be our highlight of the day, thanks to social media, especially Instagram, but the lure of ‘gossip’ and ‘scoops’ is not new. And that’s exactly why no Bollywood story can ever be complete without Stardust, the magazine started by Nari Hira in 1971.

Published by Mumbai-based Magna Publishing Co. Ltd., Stardust has an allure for both English and Hindi audiences. But it reached the pinnacle of popularity under noted columnist and author Shobhaa De who was appointed its editor in 1995. No one can lay claim to Hinglish more than her — an avant-garde move that quickly caught on among those who loved Bollywood trivia and gossip.

Today, Filmfare, Cine Blitz and Stardust are the major English language magazines devoted solely to Bollywood. But in the 1990s, their quirky covers and exclusive ‘behind the scene’ photographs became our only entry into the intimate lives of the silver screen superstars. The fact that they have survived the onslaught of Internet and social media bulldozing, speaks volumes about their legacy and what they continue to mean.

Hollywood-inspired desi ‘gupshup’

Bollywood has often looked to Hollywood for ‘inspiration’, but for Stardust, Nari Hira didn’t just want a recreation, he wanted a desi twist. “His vision was based on the popular Hollywood fanzines of the time, like Photoplay, which ran pictorial, ‘gossipy’ stories on the stars,” says Shobhaa De. “He wanted to create a new kind of film magazine that was a mix of masala gossip and exclusive interviews.”

The monthly magazine was a first-of-its-kind and a mega-hit from the launch issue itself with. Rajesh Khanna gracing its cover The biggest question about Bollywood’s ‘original superstar’, as he delivered one successful movie after another in the ’70s, was the infamous ‘shaadi’ one. “Is Rajesh Khanna Married?” asked Stardust and, unlike claims of many primetime anchors, the nation really wanted to know. Getting an exclusive Rajesh Khanna interview might not have been possible back in 1971, so Stardust added the iconic “?” and arrived, literally and figuratively, on stands and in Indian film journalism.

Be it gossip or interview, affairs or mudslinging, Stardust did it all. From the iconic moment of the first issue reveal that has now become the Internet’s source of memes, Stardust has not been without its competition. Stardust also had its own award show that started in 2004 and ran for 13 years straight.

The magazine, priced at Re 1 back then, is available for a yearly subscription of Rs 900.