The authorities lastly wakes as much as announce the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for seasoned actor Waheeda Rehman whose grace and gravitas have enamoured and impressed generations. One can’t agree extra with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he writes the actor “embodies the best of our cinematic heritage” on X.
A pure performer, Ms. Rehman has essayed path-breaking roles and understated performances, all putting a chord with movie lovers. Negotiating an area between the idealism of Mother India (1957) and the diffidence of Main Chup Rahoongi (1962), her Rosie (Guide, 1965) and Hirabai (Teesri Kasam, 1966) are deeply conflicted characters who finally sacrifice their flawed relationships in order that their artwork and soul can survive. No much less is her poignant portrait of Reshma (Reshma Aur Shera, 1971), which received her the nationwide movie award. Reshma betrays her love for stopping bloodshed between two clans.
In Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), Shakeel Budayuni describes Ms. Rehman’s magnificence as a shayar’s khwab (poet’s dream). Indeed, she is an image of boundless appeal and magnificence however her poise emanates from her robust convictions and daring selections.
Hailing from a modest South Indian household that had misplaced its breadwinner early, Ms. Rehman declined to undertake a display title and refused to be a ‘yes’ individual in an business dominated by patronising stars and filmmakers. Reminded that it had been the norm, she refused to evolve to a regressive apply. Asked to sport revealing outfits, she put her foot down and resisted enjoying a preening satellite tv for pc to the reigning stars and patronising filmmakers.A logo of our cultural range, the younger Ms. Rehman might communicate chaste Urdu and carry out Bharatanatyam. When Guru Dutt reached out to the 17-year-old after watching her scintillating dance efficiency within the Telugu blockbuster Rojula Marayi (Days Have Changed), the title proved prophetic for the younger Chand, her title of affection at dwelling. The assembly with the maverick filmmaker not solely remodeled her life however she rose on the horizon when Hindi cinema was within the golden age.
In C.I.D., her first Hindi movie, Guru Dutt forged her within the supporting position of the opposite lady who seeks to govern the hero. It was a gown rehearsal for Gulabo, the golden-hearted hooker, the centrepiece of Pyaasa (1957). In arguably essentially the most influential movie of Indian cinema, she, collectively together with her mentor, humanised a courtesan and set a template on which the hooker is not only a one-dimensional object of need with none company. She went on to play enchanting variants of Gulabo in Moni Bhattacharjee’s Mujhe Jeeno Do (1963) and Abhijan (1962), Satyajit Ray’s noirish journey, and Basu Bhattacharya’s Teesri Kasam. Set in rural areas, they let her experiment with dialect and physique language.
Top of the ladder
Before that, in Guru Dutt’s self-reflective Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), as Shanti, a raging movie star, she refuses to be emotionally emasculated. by the truth that she was picked from the road by a genius filmmaker and become an enthralling drive in a single day. Her innate sense of humour and irreverence comes by because the full of life Jaba, a pleasant distinction to Meena Kumari, in Abrar Alvi’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) and her love for journey is on show in Biren Nag’s Bees Saal Baad (1962), a haunting thriller. In Asit Sen’s Khamoshi (1969), as a nurse torn between her career and psyche, she provides a masterclass in understatement.
She as soon as advised this journalist that when she appreciated a narrative, she by no means considered the “repercussions” of enjoying a personality. In truth, when requested concerning the one factor she appreciated about at this time’s movie business, she mentioned the “pressure of being a good person come what may have receded” on the Hindi movie heroine. “Maybe because I never learnt acting, I thought the best way is to feel it. And when you feel it, the emotions come out naturally,” she had mentioned.
She was on the prime of the ladder within the Nineteen Sixties however fame sat straightforward on her slender shoulders. Refusing to be bracketed simply because the Guru Dutt protege, she labored with grasp filmmakers throughout camps. From Dilip Kumar to Amitabh Bachchan and Soumitra Chatterjee to Sanjeev Kumar, she carried out reverse actors of various kinds and generations with distinction. Apart from Guru Dutt, she solid an electrical on-screen chemistry with Dev Anand and Sunil Dutt.
Her dance coaching punctuated her performances however she by no means allowed it to overshadow her appearing. It was solely after the classical Piya Tose Naina Lage Re and the folksy Pan Khaye Saiyyan Hamar grew to become raging hits that the world took observe of her past love. Years later, she put younger actors into the shade when she jived to Sasural Genda Phool.
Ms. Rehman aged like tremendous wine as her appearing by no means grew to become dated. She went on to ship some memorable performances in less-known movies akin to Zindagi Zindagi, Namkeen, and 15 Park Avenue. When Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra was searching for an actor who might justify the girl of fortitude in Rang De Basanti (2006), his solely selection was Ms. Rehman. Playing the girl who sacrificed her husband and son for the nation, it was her candlelight march scene that proved to be the lasting reminiscence of the movie. She described the movie as her “swansong till date” however then there was Anup Singh’s The Song of Scorpions (2017) the place she returned to the haunting deserts after Reshma Aur Shera. According to Mr. Singh, Ms. Rehman was the primary to get into costume and stroll down deep into the desert. “Standing on a dune, she would say aa jaao…let’s start! When I would advise her to rest, she would say, ‘light jaa rahi hai…shoot karo (the light is fading, let’s shoot).’”
Source: www.thehindu.com
