Song in Guide was first feminist anthem: Waheeda Rehman

BENGALURU: When she said 'puraani yaadein taaza ho gayi', actor Waheeda Rehman might have been echoing the sentiment of every audience member who had come to watch her and Sharmila Tagore talk about their years in the film industry in The Rendezvous, a live chat accompanied by music held on Saturday.

Looking as elegant as always, Waheeda hatted with filmmaker Brahmanand Singh about her career and colleagues.

"Guru Dutt thought I looked like a girl, too young to play the wife in Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam. And looking back, I think he was right," recalled Waheeda Rehman who described Dutt as "a passionate filmmaker whose constant thought was making movies. He sent VK Murthy to London so that he could watch the shooting of Guns of Navarone and learn from it".

Waheeda sparked nostalgia by sharing her memories of shooting Guide with Dev Anand. "It's my favourite. The story is evergreen, and the characters have so many shades. They are not villains or saints," she said, adding that she had been warned "not to take on the role of a woman who was married and having an affair".

"Recently when I visited Bhuj, a guide pointed out to me that the song Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai may have been the first truly feminist song in Hindi cinema," she said.

In fact, feminism and the film industry's need to make actresses conform to patriarchal stereotypes was something Sharmila Tagore spoke at length as well. Articulate and candid, she didn't flinch from critiquing her peers.

"Director Shakti Samanta told me I couldn't be seen in a bikini because it would make me seem 'frivolous'. Another time, at a success party that Dev saab threw for Guide, I danced with the choreographer and once again Samanta told me, 'A heroine is not supposed to talk in public, smile in public, or dance in public. She is supposed to sit quietly in a corner," Sharmila recalled.

She was equally eloquent talking about issues close to her heart: From her CBFC chairmanship days - "I viewed the department as a bridge between civil society, the industry and the government," Sharmila said - to her role as a Unicef goodwill ambassador. "A lot needs to be done at the grassroots level for women's empowerment, but the fact that we are talking about it suggests things are changing for the Indian woman. I think 'equal opportunity' is what true woman's empowerment stands for," Sharmila said.

What held these engaging conversations together throughout the evening were hit songs of the actresses sung ably by Sinchan Dixit, Madhura Datar, Gaurav Bangia, Shurojit Guha, Anjana Padmanabhan, among others. The Rendezvous was organized by MAAM Entertainment.