Age no bar for divas of yore
The screen divas of yore are back in circulation, writes Saibal Chatterjee.
When Rekha sways to the beat of a Shantanu Moitra composition in the nightspot song-and-dance sequence in Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta, she manages (despite the telltale signs of age around the hips) to rewind the clock in one magical sweep and show up today's frenetic item numbers for what they really are - four laboured minutes of cheap thrills.
There is something about the power of nostalgia. It never dims. Rekha may have cut a rather sorry figure in that sad attempt at comedy, Govind Menon's Bachke Rehna Re Baba, but that wasn't entirely her fault. Given a half decent opportunity, she does invariably bring memories of her heydays rushing back. The Parineeta number is probably less than five minutes of the film's running time, but the spell that Rekha casts lingers well after the show is over.
Time was when ageing Bollywood actresses were either forced to retire or banished to the fringes of the industry. They were, at best, given stingy crumbs by way of insignificant cameos. Today, as variety emerges as the spice of moviemaking and a degree of realism seeps into mainstream movies, elderly female characters are increasingly moving into the thick of the action.
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| Actress Sharmila Tagore in Mahesh Manjrekar'sVirrudh. |
Mahesh Manjrekar's
Virrudh
is ready for release and it will mark the return of Sharmila Tagore to Bollywood in what is billed as one of the central characters in the film. In the late 1990s, the last time she was seen in Bollywood films, she put in a couple of special appearances in
Main
and
Dhadkan
. Nothing to write home about.
The times have changed and seasoned actresses like Sharmila are no longer stuck with walk-on parts. A couple of years ago, she was seen in two arthouse Bengali films - Goutam Ghosh's Abar Aranye and Rituparno Ghosh's whodunit, Shubho Muhurat. She went on to win a National Award for her role in the former.
Significantly, Sharmila's gifted contemporary, Raakhee, who hasn't been seen on the screen since she worked in Shubho Muhurat, bagged a National Award for her performance in the Agatha Christie-inspired film that had her playing a Miss Marple-like matronly amateur sleuth.
Hema Malini was not that lucky because the vehicle she was on, Ravi Chopra's Baghban, wasn't quite as artistically oriented as Abar Aranye, but the role she was called upon to played had enough substance for her to be able to dig her teeth into. She proved to be an ideal foil to Amitabh Bachchan. The two seasoned screen performers have been teamed up again for BR Films' next production, Babul.
One veteran actress whose return to the arclights has generated a real buzz is Waheeda Rehman. One of the finest actresses Hindi cinema has ever produced, the lady seems to be in great demand these days, especially among filmmakers who believe in pushing their actors into uncharted territories.
Consider the films currently on Waheeda Rehman's plate - Deepa Mehta's Water, Rakeysh Mehra's Rang De Basanti, Aparna's Sen's 15 Park Avenue and Jahnu Barua's Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara.
Interestingly, the last named film is being funded by character actor-turned-producer Anupam Kher, who was guilty of wasting Waheeda in an insipid mother's role in his forgettable directorial debut, Om Jai Jagadish. Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara is probably a chance for him to make amends.
Rekha, on her part, has continued to be in the limelight thanks to a string of on-screen appearances in the last five years. She played chunky roles in Rajkumar Santoshi's Lajja, Kundan Shah's Dil Hai Tumhara, Rakesh Roshan's Koi Mil Gaya and Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot. Her upcoming assignments include Krrish, which is reportedly a sequel to Koi Mil Gaya.
The screen divas of yore are back in big-time circulation. Age is clearly no bar. Waheeda Rehman is pushing 70, Sharmila Tagore is approaching 60 and Rekha is now past the half-century mark. The advancing years certainly haven't made these wonderful actresses redundant. If anything, age has lent them a vintage sheen that can light up the silver screen with a warm glow.