Saira Bano speaks...
Let me confess that it was with great enthusiasm that I turned the pages of a tabloid a week back, which carried edited excerpts from Vyjayantimala’s recollections ‘Bonding…A Memoir’.
I became Vyjayantiji’s fan when I was a little school-going kid in London. My big dreams then were to follow in my mother’s footsteps and become a movie star and then, of course, to marry Dilip Kumar.
I admired Vyjayantimala, Padmini and Kamla Laxman as classical dancers of immense grace and stature. During one of my holidays in Bombay I accompanied my mother to Mehboob Studios where Vyjayantimalaji was shooting a dance number for the film ‘Asha’ on one of the floors.
I was swept off my feet when I watched her dance. She was in the midst of a Radha-Krishna dance and I was enraptured as she twirled to the rhythm of the song. Her grandmother noticed my awe and she told my mother Naseem Banuji, “Your daughter loves dance. You must show ‘New Delhi’ to her, it has lovely dances.”
Later, when I became a movie star I never missed an opportunity to watch the Dilip Kumar-Vyjayantimala starrers. They made such a good pair on screen. By Vyjayantiji’s own admission it was a huge challenge for her to match the caliber of Dilip-sahab when she worked with him for the first time in ‘Devdas’.
In one of her interviews she has described her nervousness on the first day of shooting for ‘Devdas’. She was apparently shivering. But she went on to say how Dilip-sahab put her completely at ease with his characteristic humility and friendliness. Until ‘Devdas’ fell into her lap, Vyjayantimala was admired only for her talent as a dancer.
I know I am not alone when I make this observation - Vyjayantimala, the actress, blossomed only after she began working with Dilip-sahab.
‘Devdas’ was followed by ‘Naya Daur’. This was followed by a series of memorable movies including ‘Madhumati’ and ‘Ganga Jamuna’. It was ‘Ganga Jamuna’ that gave her the histrionic fame unattained by any actress of the period.
I am taking the pains to narrate all this because I was taken aback by the allegations Vyjayantiji has made in her memoirs about my husband, Dilip Kumar.
She has wantonly stated that she was “caught in the crossfire” of professional rivalry between my husband and Raj Kapoor when she worked simultaneously in ‘Sangam’ and ‘Leader’, thereby casting aspersions on the two legends.
The greatest showman Raj Kapoor’s ‘Sangam’ gave Vyjayantimala yet another high in her histrionic graph. I am amazed that she has disregarded this to say that Raj Kapoor instructed his publicity department to create rumours of a romantic link-up as a publicity stunt.
I am glad that Rishi Kapoor has cleared the facts because no one has the right to misconstrue and malign the name and aura of one of our greatest legends who is no more.
It needs to be clarified that there were no misunderstandings ever between Rajji and Dilipsahab. Their friendship originated in Peshawar and continued through their student years at Khalsa College in Matunga, Bombay and as destiny would have it, they met as upcoming actors at Bombay Talkies.
They were more brothers than friends. One phone call from Rajji and my husband would rush to him regardless of distance and commitments. And vice versa.
On numerous occasions they have stood together and led charity drives organised by the film industry whenever the country faced a calamity.
As families we are still there for one another on happy and sad occasions. As his wife I have proudly observed how Dilipsahab consciously maintains a gentlemanly quiet about his co-stars.
He’d rather speak about his favourite sports, cricket and soccer, his favourite English and Urdu authors or about the music legends he has admired. But his silence and his refusal to be dragged into controversies does not mean that anybody can say anything unjust and get away with it.
Vyjayantiji, writes about Dilipsahab’s “unprofessional attitude” and “lack of ethics.” I would like to tell her a plain fact. The film industry is really small.
Try as you might you cannot draw a veil over facts. It is not a secret that Vyjayantimala had become notorious for her tantrums and moods during the two years or more that ‘Sangam’ was under production. Character artistes, dress men, make-up artists, hairdressers and choreographers, who were witness to her temper and erratic behaviour, would exchange notes in the studios and the stories would circulate to our ears when we would shoot in the studios, especially R.K. Studios.
There was also much talk Rajji’s family being under stress because of her. I am not one to cast aspersions or speak ill of anyone I know.
I am compelled to bring up her not-so-pleasant past because of the nature of her allegations and the disparaging remarks about Dilipsahab and Rajji. It is no wondered that Rishi Kapoor too was compelled to react strongly to her allegations about Rajji.
Dilipsahab was and is a perfectionist. He expected his co-stars to work as hard and faultlessly as he did. The world knows him as a wonderful human being and one of the kindest actors in the profession.
His innate goodness and humility have touched all those who have worked with him and known him closely. He never gave his producers trouble or made unreasonable demands. He respected the wishes of his producers and directors.
It is common knowledge that the producer is the boss and he decides who will work and who will not work in his film for his own legitimate reasons.
We renewed contact with Vyjayantimalaji couple of years ago in Delhi when we frequently ran into her at a common friend’s house. She mentioned to us that her apartment in Bombay was locked up due to a legal issue.
My mother invited her to our home in Bombay and I got our lawyers and solicitors to step in and solve the problem for her. She was so overwhelmed that she called me an angel!
Since then we have been in touch and she met us ever so warmly at the recent preview of ‘Naya Daur’. But surprises in life never cease, I know.
Whatever has made her write the way she has, I would like to say that it is simply not in good taste and certainly not what one expects from a respected senior in the profession.
