Conversations with the epitome of Indian Beauty Waheeda Rehman: “Had I not been an actress I wished to become a Doctor” by: Niilesh A Raje

In recent times "Nosstalgiaaa" had received the invitation to be a part of a vibrant program Penguin Books India invites you at the launch of “Conversations with Waheeda Rehman” with Nasreen Munni Kabir where I got the opportunity to interact and converse with the women known for her natural talent and haunting beauty none other than actress Waheeda Rehman.

One of the first thing that came in my mind when I saw Waheeda Ji in the evening I remembered her toe tapping number so beautifully picturized on her “Rangeela Re Tere Rang Mein Yun Ranga Hai Mera Mann . . . Chhaliya Re Na Bujhe Hai Kisi Jal Se Yeh Jalan . . . Rangeela Re” from the 1970 release “Prem Pujari”.

The song was shot in the exotic location of Switzerland in Hotel Grimsel Hospiz surrounded by mountain peaks just spectacular giving the aristocratic feel. Waheeda Ji is distinctly seen intoxicated, lost in dancing and shaking off her whole body in this lovely number at the party. Her moves provokes actor Dev Anand so much that he throws glass of wine as he could never believe her lover would drink and dance openly in the public.

Produced, Directed and Written by Dev Anand for Navketan Films. Awesome lyrics by Neeraj coupled with melodious compositions by Late S.D. Burman and voice of none other than the “Melody Queen” Lata Mangeshkar.

From the devastating loss of her parents when she was young to making a life in Cinema on her own terms the odyssey of Waheeda Rehman has indeed been a voyage of discovery. Even at the ripe age of 76 septuagenarian and Indian Cinema’s most beautiful women actress Waheeda Rehman is still seen to keep herself busy and occupied.

In this engaging book of conversations with Nasreen Munni Kabir, Waheeda Rehman proves to be a lively raconteur, speaking about her life and work with refreshing honesty, humour and insight: from the devastating loss of her parents when she was young to making a life in cinema on her own terms, from insightful accounts of working with extraordinary film practitioners like Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand to her friendship witstars like Nargis and Nanda. 

A slice of cinema history told through compelling anecdotes and astute observations, Conversations with Waheeda Rehman provides a rare view of a much-adored and award-winning actress of Indian cinema.

Renowned for her natural talent and beauty, Waheeda Rehman’s career spans an astonishing array of key films in Indian cinema, including Pyaasa, Abhijan, Mujhe Jeene Do, Guide, Teesri Kasam and Rang De Basanti.

As soon as I got the opportunity to interact with Waheeda Ji I could not resist my temptation from asking her:

Q: Had you not been an actress which other profession you would have chosen and why?

A: (smiles) Had I not been an actress I wished to become a Doctor. While we were young, medicine was considered to be one of the most respectable profession for Women. I always wanted to work, and I even told my father I wished to become a doctor. I am still fascinated by medicine and the profession would have given me the opportunity to meet and treat people with all my love and faith.

Now whether Waheeda Ji became an actress or Doctor is secondary but one thing Waheeda Ji was very sure off was that all the four sisters would do well in life. She even told her father: “Daddy, don’t worry, one day my photograph will appear in the papers. I don’t know why, but it will.” She had also told him I would own a farm and, many years later, she did. Rightly said, “Things do work when we listen to our inner voice” and Waheeda Ji’s voice of confidence was no exception.

Nasreen Munni Kabir’s ‘Conversations with Waheeda Rehman’ abounds in anecdotes from the iconic life of one of Indian cinema’s most beautiful women actors. Penguin presents the evocative Conversations with Waheeda Rehman By Nasreen Munni Kabir.

The Author: Nasreen Munni Kabir is a reputed documentary film-maker and writer on films. Based in London, she has made several programmes on Hindi cinema for Channel 4 TV, UK, including the forty-six-part series Movie Mahal and The Inner/Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Her several books are, among others, Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema, Talking Films and Talking Songs with Javed Akhtar, A.R. Rahman: The Spirit of Music, Lata Mangeshkar: In Her Own Voice and, most recently, In the Company of a Poet, a book of conversations with Gulzar.

Author       : Nasreen Munni Kabir

Publisher   : Penguin Viking

Pages       : 256

Price         : Rs 499 / -

ISBN         : 9780670086924

Conversations with Waheeda Rehman : by Rajesh Subramanian

“I think all the directors were in love with me”, quipped Waheeda Rehman with an impish smile at the launch of her biography ‘Conversations with Waheeda Rehman’ penned by author cum film maker Nasreen Munni Kabir. We have no two opinions about that. Cause the 76 year old veteran actress, who won the audience with her splendid performance in films like ‘Guide’, 'Pyaasa', 'Kagaz Ke Phool', 'Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam', 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand', 'Teesri Kasam', ‘Reshma Aur Shera’, 'Khamoshi' and ‘Trishul’, epitomizes grace, elegance and class.

           Nasreen Munni Kabir’s latest offering, like her previous books on Bollywood personalities, is a set of candid and clear conversations with Waheedaji about her illustrious life, her journey to stardom, her movies, her friends and contemporaries in the tinsel world, her family and her perception about Bollywood. The author has managed to bring out the best in these conversations that spanned over two years in Waheeda Rehman’s residence at Bandra. Right at the outset Waheedaji maintains that the idea of an autobiography didn’t appeal to her and her private life is nobody’s business. Instead she prefers to call the book a long interview.

          Born in Chengalpattu, Madras Province (Tamil Nadu) Waheeda aspired to become a doctor but due to her father’s untimely demise and mother’s illness she had to squash her dream and join films in order to support the family. A few Tamil and Telugu films happened before ace filmmaker Guru Dutt spotted her and signed a three year contract. With CID, Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool, Waheeda not only found a firm foothold in the film firmament but also caught the attention of others filmmakers like Dev Anand, Basu Bhattacharya, Asit Sen, Biren Nag, Sunil Dutt, Satyajit Ray and Yash Chopra. From mid fifties till early seventies Waheeda’s career graph zoomed with several noteworthy performances.

              The 256 page book deals with many interesting anecdotes spanning from her refusal to change her name to incorporating a clause in her maiden contract to S D Burman’s fascination for pan to Amitabh Bachchan’s professionalism. However the actress is tightlipped on the much anticipated topic of her alleged involvement with mentor Guru Dutt and the two drifting apart. She is all praise for Guru Dutt’s filmmaking techniques, craftsmanship and spotting the spark in her. Talking about Dutt’s demise the actress says “nobody knows why he committed suicide. I dont think he was in depression, as commonly believed, after the debacle of 'Kagaz Ke Phool' because soon after that he made 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand', which was a huge commercial success". Waheeda is extremely proud of Guide directed by Vijay Anand and her portrayal of Rosie. She informs the reader that long before Dev Anand approached her with the role it was Satyajit Ray, who was contemplating of making the R K Narayan classic into a film and offered her the character of Rosie. However she was destined to do the Vijay Anand’s version which went on to become a cult classic.

             The book lives up to its title. With its easy conversational style it makes for delightful reading and the interesting aspects surrounding Waheedaji’s eventful life is bound to grip the reader. If you are an ardent cinema buff then you cant afford to miss this.

Author    : Nasreen Munni Kabir

Publisher: Penguin Viking

Pages       : 256

Price        :  Rs 499 / -

ISBN        : 9780670086924