In the age of social media, celebrities certainly appear more ‘accessible’. But there’s something to be said about the old-world charm, where your favourite celebrities were not just a ‘tweet’ away.
At least that’s the world Alt News co-founder Sam Jawed brought alive, with a Twitter thread about her late aunt’s letters to yesteryear Bollywood stars.
As a young girl growing up in a small town in 1950s and 60s, she was completely enamored by movies. Much to the disapproval of her mother, she spent her free time writing fan mail to movie stars and over a time, built up quite a collection of autographed pictures and letters. 2/n
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 24, 2021
And this is how she used to keep her cherished photographs… a hand embroidered cover for her main family album. pic.twitter.com/qvETqfVU5j
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 27, 2021
Sam shared a thread with copies of letters her late aunt posted to Bollywood stars from the 1950s and 60s, along with the responses from the stars.
Dharmendra -1962
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 24, 2021
The pic is damaged but the good looks are intact!
5/n pic.twitter.com/thUcMWmpOS
From personal inquiries to beautifully penned responses to information about upcoming films, the responses are truly a treasure trove, giving a beautiful glimpse into a different era of Bollywood.
Biswajit
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 24, 2021
7/n pic.twitter.com/oHRjBQm3JE
Asha Parekh – 1963
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 24, 2021
9/n pic.twitter.com/UmnXCt8EiY
While Sunil Dutt responded to her letter in Urdu, Tabassum responded with a hand-written letter.
Saira Banu
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 24, 2021
The letter doesn’t have a date but it is from the same time which means she must be around 18 yo in the pic
11/n pic.twitter.com/vGr7cDrN6L
And even though some of the images have been damaged by the passage of time, their charm is certainly everlasting.
Raaj Kumar – 1961
— SamSays (@samjawed65) February 24, 2021
17/n pic.twitter.com/l17hZFTlbr
Many people shared the thread, while thanking Sam for sharing such an invaluable treasure:
This is so special, I loved going through her collection. Thanks for sharing ❤️ https://t.co/PVbI0OuqWl
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 25, 2021
how utterly butterly lovely sam
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) February 25, 2021
Your aunt* was doing fan twitter before it was cool.
— 42 🔗 (@Memeghnad) February 25, 2021
This thread is amazing!
What a gorgeous thread! I am flushed with admiration for the wonderfully humble and courteous bollywood stars of yesteryear. Our present day ‘stars’ need to learn how to respect fans from those legends! https://t.co/EOMLSvPzdU
— Kasturi Shankar (@KasthuriShankar) February 25, 2021
Beautiful thread https://t.co/JZIILGqbXu
— Tessa Dare (@TessaDare) February 25, 2021
This thread is goldmine. https://t.co/elrEmqi4mn
— Atul Chaurasia (@BeechBazar) February 25, 2021
What an absolutely beautiful thread! These letters and pics are priceless!! That era was truly the “golden era”. Your Aunt must be smiling from heaven looking down on you, to see the all attention her hobby is getting now that it always deserved! Thanks for sharing this treasure
— DocSam (@docsamusa) February 26, 2021
I loved the letter heads of these stars…. And came to know the real spelling of “Rajinder Kumar ” … awesome collection… thanks for sharing
— Shweta (@Neelkanth0206) February 25, 2021
No words ! Your tweet has taken thousands of us to our own days with fantasies for these movie stars. Everyone had one from your collection that remained their fantasy , hero or ideal for life. These stars and their humble beginnings & successes taught us to dream , dream big.
— Madan Rattan (@mmrattan) February 25, 2021
Wow, a wonderful collection of beautiful movie stars from back in the day. A lovely nostalgic look back at the stars I saw in movies as a child with my parents, thank you so much for sharing 🎥🇮🇳
— Mastani 💚 (@Bandierarossa7) February 25, 2021
OMG! can’t thank u enough for sharing them with us – took me back in time when the beauty was at its rawest, no collagen no size zero no flashy makeup and the stars had the courtesy to write an acknowledgement and appreciation to their fans!!!
— Shareen Khan (@Shar33nKhan) February 25, 2021
These Indian film star letters are amazing. Hand-written/typed and seemingly customized! https://t.co/7d8cTtquaB
— ShriramKrishnamurthi (@ShriramKMurthi) February 24, 2021
OH this is lovely https://t.co/sSq2Xboo5K
— Jenny Colgan (@jennycolgan) February 24, 2021
This thread is pure love https://t.co/JIDLjKly7c
— Gaurav Sabnis 🇮🇳🇺🇸 (@gauravsabnis) February 24, 2021
Now that’s what you call a blast from the past!