Waheeda Rehman on Guru Dutt - Page 2

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The Gorgeous Lady in her Earlier Days.

Waheeda Rehman

Waheeda Rehman like many other contemporary actresses began her career in the South Indian cinema. She was born in the erstwhile state of Hyderabad in a Muslim family on 14th May 1936. Initially, Waheeda had dreamt of becoming a doctor. But destiny willed otherwise and she could not undergo proper schooling, due to some infection in her lungs. Prodded on by her helpful parents, she hit the silver screen with Jaisima, a Telghu film in 1955. However, it was her stellar role in 'Rojulu Marayi' released the same year that brought her in limelight. The late Guru Dutt spotted her talent and brought her to Mumbai. Raj Khosla gave her the role of a courtesan in his directorial venture C.I.D. (1956). Being an accomplished Bharatnatyam dancer Waheeda created a magical spell with her song 'Kahin Pe Nigahein Kahin Pe Nishana' as she played the wily seductress to lure the villain away. Soon after she was cast in Guru Dutt's epoch making film Pyasa. Here again she played a prostitute albeit differently. She is shown to possess a heart of gold. Pyaasa made Waheeda Rehman a sought after entity of Filmistan. It is said that at this point she got involved in an unsuccessful love affair with the tragedy king Guru Dutt. Kagaz Ke Phool (1959) depicted the story of the forlorn lovers – Dutt and Rehman. Slowly, the famous relationship started waning and ended with the death of Guru Dutt in 1964. By this time, she had appeared in numerous movies like Solva Saal, Twelve O' Clock, and Kaala Baazar. Satyajit Ray, the doyen of Indian filmdom caste her in his flick Abhijaan (1964). But it was Guide in which she played a nymph, opposite Dev Anand that Waheeda Rehman touched the zenith of her career. Guide won her international critical claim as an actress. Her captivating performances in Pathar Ke Sanam (1967) and Neel Kamal (1968) affirmed her as an undisputed monarch of her domain. Shakil Badayuni's immortal verse "Chandi Ka Chand Ho…" found its embodiment in flesh and blood in Waheeda Rehman which remains her most successful film and named after the same song. Among her other famous films are Ram Aur Shyam, Kabhi Kabhi, Bees Saal Baad, Prem Pujari, Mujhe Jeene Do, Kohra, Teesri Kasam, Khamoshi, Reshma Aur Shabnam, and Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam. In these films, she played roles ranging from spectacular to very average ones. In 1974, Waheeda married a fellow actor and a businessman Kamaljit and settled for a quiet life on a farmhouse adjacent to Bangalore. Waheeda was blessed with two children Sohail and Kashvi. Post marriage she appeared in Kabhi Kabhie, Adalat, Namak Halal, Chaandhi and Lamhe. She was to figure in the latest multi-starrer flick 'Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gaam' but the sad demise of her husband could not make it happen. But to the delight of her fans, she did make an appearance in Om Jai Jagdish, where she played the mother of trio Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan and Abhishek Bachan. And now people are waiting for the release of her satirical comedy Brides Wanted – based upon the effects of neo-socio- cultural transformations that are taking place in the social structure of NRI Diaspora. Waheeda Rehman got the Filmfare award for Guide in 1967 and Neel Kamal in 1969. She got the National Award for Reshma and Shera. Perhaps the greatest compliment, she has ever received is from her daughter, who during the course of her cinematography study, phoned her from Toronto to tell her that she had seen her film 'Pyasa'. When Waheeda remarked that how it had taken such a long time for her to see her classic, Kashvi revealed that it was part of academic course at the University of Toronto! And at top of the compliments, she has received remains the remark by Big B on many occasions that Waheeda Rehman is the most beautiful woman, he has ever come across in his lifetime. To date Waheeda remains energetic, bubbly and full of life as ever. She looks after her family besides, lending a helping hand to a Mumbai based charity called Pratham.

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Dinesh Raheja

Rati Agnihotri confides breathlessly, "I was overjoyed when I got a chance to work with my favourite Waheeda Rehman in Mashaal. On the first day, I entered her makeup room and told her I was just going to sit there and gaze at her. That's precisely what I did."

Waheeda is also on the favourite heroines' list of both Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan.

Waheeda's simple beauty and refreshingly natural style of acting gave her an edge over the carefully-lacquered bouffant brigade of the 1960s. She did have a penchant for picking three-hanky melodramas (Palki, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Aadmi, Neel Kamal), but even there, Waheeda consciously steered clear of glycerine overdoses and hysterianics.

Famous songs picturised on Waheeda Rehman
Song Film Singer
Kahin pe nigahen CID Shamshad Begum
Jaane kya
tune kahi Pyaasa Geeta Dutt
Waqt ne kiya Kaagaz Ke Phool Geeta Dutt
Bhanwara bada nadaan Sahib Biwi
Aur Ghulam Asha Bhosle
Kahin deep jale kahin dil Bees Saal Baad Lata Mangeshkar
Parbaton ke
pedon par Shagun Mohammed Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur
Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai Guide Lata Mangeshkar
Paan khayen saiyya Teesri Kasam Asha Bhosle
Humne dekhi hai in aankhon mein Khamoshi Lata Mangeshkar
Rangeela re Prem Pujari Lata Mangeshkar

Probably Waheeda's early training under mentor-director Guru Dutt, a cinematic genius, stood her in good stead. Her emoting was understated but effective, her thrush-sweet voice subdued in the loudest of scenes. Perhaps it was also a reflection of her own quiet personality. In Pyaasa, there was a scene where she hears of Guru Dutt's death and has to scream. Waheeda opened her mouth. No sound came out. Guru Dutt started laughing, saying she was the first girl who couldn't scream.

Guru Dutt signed on Hyderabad-based Waheeda for a Hindi film. She had worked in Telugu films like Jayasimha and Rojulu Marayi. Dutt gave her a vampish role in his production, CID (1956). The Bharata Natyam exponent stepped on the rungs on the ladder of stardom with her fleet-footed dancing to the Geeta Dutt hit, Kahin pe nigahein kahin pe nishana. Impressed, Guru Dutt promoted her to playing one of the leads in Pyaasa.

Dutt had the author-backed role of an emotionally spent, penniless poet in Pyaasa (1957), but Waheeda left an indelible mark too as Gulab, the sweet-faced streetwalker who comforts the poet stung by societal barbs.

After Pyaasa, Waheeda's thirst for work was amply slaked. She had a contract with Dutt but he magnanimously permitted her to work in outside films (Solva Saal, Twelve o'Clock, Kaala Bazaar).

Dutt next cast his muse Waheeda as the solo heroine in his cinemascope epic, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959). A scathing comment on the transient nature of stardom, the film was however rejected by the audience. Waheeda and Dutt's next collaboration, a purely commercial Muslim social, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), fared better at the box office. The title song has endured over four decades.

Fired by her critical successes, Waheeda was keen on playing the doomed and drunken Chhoti bahu of Dutt's Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). But Dutt deemed her too young for the role and cast doyenne Meena Kumari. Waheeda was a breath of fresh air in the heavy film; Meena's role was, of course, unforgettable.

This was Waheeda and Dutt's last film together. Ironically, their Kaagaz Ke Phool had also talked of the distance that develops between a mentor and his discovery after her success.

After breaking free from Dutt's banner, Waheeda continued to flourish. She won critical acclaim for her role of a danseuse in love with a dacoit (Sunil Dutt) in Dutt's home production, Mujhe Jeene Do, and struck gold with the spooky Bees Saal Baad.

Waheeda teamed up with thespian Dilip Kumar in Dil Diya Dard Liya (inspired by Wuthering Heights), Aadmi and Ram Aur Shyam. But Dil Diya... proved to be an expensive flop. And Ram Aur Shyam was a double treat of Dilip Kumar --- her contribution to what was probably the biggest blockbuster of her career, was limited.

Waheeda reached her acme in the Dev Anand-produced Guide (1965), based on R K Narayan's classic novel. The film over the years attained an exalted cult status.

Waheeda's producers were aghast when she accepted the role of an adulteress in Guide: "Aap apne pairon pe kulhadi maar rahi hain." The English version of the bilingual Guide (directed by Ted Danielski) didn't create many ripples but the Hindi version (directed by Vijay Anand) is a cinematic milestone --- S D Burman's mood-enhancing musical score, Dev's best ever performance and Waheeda.

Hers was a soul-in-her-eyes performance as Rosy, a danseuse who walks out on her impotent and imperious husband for a career and a new life with an encouraging guide (Dev Anand). Rosy's life is no bed of roses. The guide too exploits her emotionally and financially. Besides giving her a chance to break the taboo against grey-shaded roles, Guide also showcased Waheeda's dancing expertise --- watch her on a precarious ledge to the strains of Shailendra's life-affirming, Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, aaj phir marne ka iraada hai.

Subsequent hits like Patthar Ke Sanam (1967) and Neelkamal (1968) enhanced Waheeda's star status. But while Teesri Kasam (a rustic love story between a nautankiwali and a yokel) and Khamoshi (a tragic romance between a nurse and her psychologically-affected patient), were artistically satisfying, their black-and-white format in an era of riotous colour curtailed their box office chances.

Early 1970s saw Waheeda's career unravelling. Big-budget ventures like Dev Anand's Prem Pujari and Sunil Dutt's Reshma Aur Shera bit the dust.

In 1974, Waheeda tied the knot with former actor Kamaljeet ten years after they played romantic leads in Shagun. She shifted to a sylvan farmhouse in Bangalore. Two children --- son Sohail and daughter Kashvi --- and a success story in the business of breakfast cereals completed the happily-ever-after family picture.

Waheeda has flown down to Mumbai since to work with big names like Amitabh (Kabhi Kabhie, Adalat, Namak Halal) or Yash Chopra (Chaandni, Lamhe).

After an extended break, Waheeda was set to star in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham but the sudden demise of her husband Kamaljeet on November 20, 2000, had her opt out at the nth hour.

Today, Waheeda lives with her children (now in their 20s) in her sea-facing bungalow at Bandra, Mumbai. She enjoys gardening and gabfests with good friend Nanda over seafood at Mahesh lunch home and is content to do an occasional film (the Anupam Kher directed Om Jai Jagdish).

Waheeda Rehman's Landmark Films
Year Film Hero
1956 CID Dev Anand
1957 Pyaasa Guru Dutt
1959 Kaagaz Ke Phool Guru Dutt
1962 Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam Guru Dutt
1962 Bees Saal Baad Biswajeet
1965 Guide Dev Anand
1966 Teesri Kasam Raj Kapoor
1969 Khamoshi Rajesh Khanna
1976 Kabhi Kabhie Amitabh Bachchan


You might also want to read:
Guru Dutt: The man who couldn't digest failure


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Thanks Qwest. Actually I prefer her looks in the earlier movies, before she sdopted that "mountain" hairstyle. 😆

Classical beauty and legendary actres

Is this film an effort to reinvent yourself?
No. I do films on and off. A new director always comes with a fresh approach.

What inspired you to accept this offer?
First I was hesitant. Then I learnt that Girish Karnad is acting. The work was also for 10-12 days, so it was like a picnic for me.

What kind of a role do you play here?
I play the role of a grandmother who is full of life. She dresses up brightly and wears matching jewelry.

How was it to be part of a young film crew?
It was very nice. They treated me with respect. Once I accept a project I don't argue with the director.

Were you treated with awe on the sets?
Quite professionally. With a lot of respect.

There are two Girishs in the film, Karnad and Acharya. What do you think of them?
I had acted with Karnad earlier. He is a very learned man. Acharya was a newcomer and was obviously very nervous, initially.

Is this film aimed at western audiences?
Can't say. In fact, in this movie the boy from America is shocked that Indian girls are very modern, that they are no longer Sati Savitris.

Don't you think that brides as a subject is a tired one in the Indian context?
No. Don't you see the matrimonial columns?

Do you watch crossover cinema?
I've watched both Hyderabad Blues and Monsoon Wedding.

Do you think today's youth watch the classic films you acted in?
I think so. Lots of 21-year-olds tell me B/W movies are great. Most American movie clubs have old Indian cinema.

Waheeda Rehman

Chaudhvi Ka Chand Ho Ya Aftab Ho,
Jo Bhi Ho Khuda Ki Kasam Lajawab Ho.

Waheeda Rehman is one of the most talented golden era actress. She is considered the epitome of classic Indian beauty. She won the hearts of millions through her elegance, soulful eyes and acting skills. An actress like Waheeda was complete in herself, however untrained and unaware she may have been in the fine art of acting. Her finely chiseled features, her large eyes, her well-modulated voice were capable of expressing a range of human emotions. She was born on 14th May 1936 in Hyderabad. Her first film was Rojulu Marayavi in Telugu. Waheeha's first hindi film was C.I.D. Since then she has worked in more than 70 hindi movies.

Ah! Bobda, now you have put up some lovely photos. Is the copyright owned by our Barnali?

Originally posted by: punjini

Ah! Bobda, now you have put up some lovely photos. Is the copyright owned by our Barnali?

By now Barnali Didi would shoot me no that is not the same Barnali.

Originally posted by: Qwest

By now Barnali Didi would shoot me no that is not the same Barnali.

It must be the same Barnali, that's why she is not shooting you! 😆 Isn't she Barnali Charkraborty?