My father was a gorgeous man with a beautiful voice, says Shabana Azmi

My earliest memory of Abba (Kaifi Azmi) is of him sitting on a writing table in his kurta-pyjama, smoking incessantly and writing till the wee hours of the morning. As a child I was convinced that a poet was a euphemism for someone who didn't have any work. Daddies were supposed to put on trousers, shirts and ties and go out to work. In fact, when people would ask me what my father did, I said he was a businessman and quickly changed the topic. Oh, the follies of innocence! My father was a really gorgeous looking man with this beautiful voice. People don't know this, but he had a tremendous sense of humour. I remember, once I was putting eye-drops in his tiny eyes. The drops kept falling all over his face. He told me about this inept prince who was taught archery and who broke everything in the house during practice. Then he said, 'Put the drops in my ears, they'll go in my eyes.' He said such lines with a poker face. He always made digs at the strange procedure in our films where tunes came first and lyrics were written into them later. 'It's like first digging a grave and then trying to fit a corpse into it. But I constantly keep fitting the corpse into the grave, so everyone thinks I'm a good lyricist,' he said. You know, I took my father for granted, as all children tend to. But as a poet he continues to overwhelm me each day even four years after his death. Whether it was his poem Makaan or Aurat they've been a great source of inspiration. My concern for slum-dwellers started with my father's poem Makaan which talks of the irony of the construction worker who builds a building with his sweat and blood, but isn't allowed to enter it. In Hindi cinema, along with Sahir, Majrooh, Jaan Nissar Akhtar and Shailendra, my father raised the standards of film lyrics. You know what was exceptional about my father He never spoke at home about his work. My most favourite Kaifi Azmi lyrics Koi kaise yeh bataaye ke who tanha kyon hai/who jo apna tha who aur kisika kyon hai/yehi duniya hai to phir aisi yeh duniya kyon hai/yehi hota hai to aakhir yehi hota kyon hai The simplicity of these lines kill me. Imagine, a spouse-deserted woman (in the film Arth) being faced with these lines! That sense of commitment which artistes of my father's generation had, has been missing. But slowly it's coming back in my film fraternity. I like it when film people come out to involve themselves with social issues.

Sons speak Vivaan Shah: I’ve learnt many things from my father (Naseeruddin Shah). But most of all I’ve learnt the importance of kindness and sensitivity towards people. His discipline and dedication have taught me a lot.”

Amit Kumar: In our time, there was no day set aside for mothers and fathers. My father (maestro Kishore Kumar) was from the village and never subscribed to these urban laws of living. His advice to me for the 35 years that I was with him was to believe in simple and high living and to avoid hypocrisy.”

Tiger Shroff: The one main thing that my father (Jackie Shroff) has taught me would be to love and respect my mother. His mother was everything to him. To me, both my parents are everything for me. I can’t choose one over the other.”

Aarya babbar:Everything about life I’ve learnt from my father (actor-politician Raj Babbar). But the one lesson I’ve learnt from him as a professional actor is the value of time. From him I’ve learnt that when a producer pays for an actor’s time he can do what he likes with it. And from that came my biggest lesson: patience.”

Ayaan ali khan: My father (Ustad Amjad Ali Khan) taught me to be good human being. The rest, including good music, would just follow. Also, to be helpful to those in need.”