On Father's Day, Upala KBR gets nine of the biggest names in the Hindi film industry to tell us why daddy will always be their dearest

Bipasha Basu on Hirak Basu

At home, dad is the stress buster. He makes us laugh. He has given us the best in life, shown faith in all our decisions. He helps me with my investments which he says are important to safeguard my future. He never wanted a son, and he has always treated us like princesses. He is the ideal man who keeps women, whether his wife or daughters, happy. Dad is selfless.

Ekta Kapoor on Jeetendra

Papa is my biggest support system. When I was 17, a nothing and a nobody, instead of forcing me to get married, he gave me the chance to prove myself through a career. I lost a lot of money and that saddled me with guilt. But not once did he admonish me. We should all give our fathers a big hug.

Sanjay Dutt on Sunil Dutt

I miss my dad each and every day ¦ all of us do. He was our strength and inspiration. Dad would have been thrilled to hear that I am going to be a father again. He was a great man but for us he was just dad. I wish he'd been here to guide me when I joined politics.

Kangana Ranaut on Amardeep Ranaut

We are a close-knit family that spends time together and celebrates Father's Day. Dad's a great cook so he would cook for us at least three times a week, and my sister and I would look forward to those meals. One of my most treasured memories is of him dropping us to school in his car or on his scooter. That's an image that's stayed with me.

Akshay Kumar on Om Bhatia

I was a daddy's boy. We were inseparable. He has made me into the man I am. My strength and fearlessness comes from him. And I know no boy that could wish for a more loving and encouraging father than him. He means the world to me.

Even though he isn't here today, I still spend my days trying to make him proud, showing him how well I take care of the family he created. It is always Father's Day in my home. His face is the first and the last when you enter my mother's home, and definitely the most loved.

Karan Johar on Yash Johar

There's not a single day when I don't miss dad. He's a very big part of my life. All his acts of goodness when people were in need of help were need were an organic part of his personality. Dad never thought he was doing something extraordinary.

Dad would tell me no matter what the outcome of a film, you should never have the ill will of people around you. We should treat those we work with well " the crew, cast and those at Dharma Productions. He asked me to promise him that I'd make sure everyone at Dharma was happy.

We were not the average father-son. There was no awkward distance between us. We'd hug and kiss each other goodnight. He had me when he was 39, so I had the love of a parent and grandparent.

Vivek Oberoi on Suresh Oberoi

Dad inspires me to be a good actor and a good human being. He's always been a beacon of truth and integrity. He's my strongest support and my biggest critic.

When I get married and have a family, I'm sure he'll inspire me to be a good father. In spite of being a successful actor, he always made time for family. On weekends, he'd drive his Mercedes to school and would take mom, Meghna and me for a surprise ride.

We never knew where we were going. When I won the Green Crusader Award at IIFA this year, I dedicated it to him because he taught us to be one with nature. I remember running around our Lonavla farmhouse planting saplings in the garden.

Riteish Deshmukh on Vilasrao Deshmukh

The day dad became Maharashtra's chief minister was the happiest day of my life. And the day he lost the elections to the Shiv Sena in 1995, was the saddest.

After my youngest brother Dhiraj was born, dad rose in the Congress ranks. Till then we lived in a small home in Latur. Once we moved to Mumbai in 1982, we'd take four holidays a year and we'd go back to the village by train.

In those days there was no railway station at Latur, so we'd get off at a small town near Sholapur, and drive down to Latur. Now Latur has a station. Recently, when I took the train from Mumbai to Latur, I was more excited than when I boarded a plane for the first time.

Shilpa Shetty on Surendra Shetty

Today's is my mum's birthday, and Father's Day, so it's a double celebration. The most compelling memory is the one associated with his hospitalisation before my wedding. He was down with malaria. It's every girl's dream to have her dad give her away in marriage. Although he didn't attend the sangeet, through sheer will power he made it for the kanyadaan.