Tanqeed Film Festival: Anand

When Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee) thought of doing Anand, he had signed Ramesh Deo. I had met Hrishida before my marriage, at a film premiere, and had told him I wanted to work with him. He had said that some day we will work together.

So, when he was making Anand, he asked Rameshji, ‘How does Seema look after her marriage? Has she put on weight?’

Rameshji said, ‘She is not fat but, yes, she has put on some weight’.

Hrishida told him, ‘Get her tomorrow; we can cast her for your wife’s role.’

When I went on the sets, Hrishida said there was no need of any test, but I would have to wear a nine-yard sari. The shoot started with the wedding anniversary of Rameshji and my characters.

Rameshji and I were ready and waiting. Amitabh (Bachchan) was nothing at that time. He was also waiting. I asked Rameshji, this guy wants to become an actor? He is so tall and thin, he looks like a giraffe.

Rajesh Khanna was a great artiste but he never came on time. We were all ready with make-up from 10 am and he came at 2 pm with a big box of sweets that his driver distributed to everyone.

Dada told Rajesh Khanna, ‘Kaka, yeh koi waqt hai aane ka? Yeh log sab baithe hai kabse inko koi kaam nahi hai? That lightman travels from so far. The shift is at 9:30, at the most you should come by 10:30 -11.’

Rajesh Khanna caught his ear and promised he would come on time and the shooting started.

After pack-up, Dada told Rajesh Khanna, ‘Tomorrow you will come sharp at 8:30am. If you are going to come at 2 pm tell me first. I will call everybody else also at 2.’ He promised to come on time but came at 1:30pm the next day.

But once he came on the sets, he was the best. There was no need to do any make-up, he had such a good colour that if you rubbed his cheeks he would turn pink and looked so good. Once he started acting, everyone would forget his late coming, he was so good.

He couldn’t remember the lyrics of any song, so there would be a prompter sitting on the sets to tell him the lyrics; he would listen to each line and then lip synch it, but no one realised this.

Amitabh always came on time and good with his work.

In the film, there is my wedding anniversary scene where Rajesh Khanna comes to give me his blessing, and says, ‘Main kya tujhe aashirwad doon behen, tujhe yeh bhi nahi keh sakta ki meri umar tujhe lag jaye.’

He did that scene so well that I went out of the shooting field and started crying (there are tears in her eyes as she recounts this now). Like he said in the movie, in real life also he died of cancer.

There was a time when there were seven different films of Rajesh Khanna playing in the theatres at the same time. All were hits. I met him two years ago at a Marathi function to felicitate him. When I saw him, I had tears in my eyes.

He looked so sick and frail, he was wearing pyjama and kurta and an old red sweater, and his hair colour was red too. He came and sat beside me and asked me, ‘Kaisi ho, Bhabhi.’ At that time, I did not know he had cancer.

Seven days before he died, Rameshji said we should go and meet him. I said I can’t see him in this state, you go and meet him, just the way I’d said in Anand.

Rajesh Khanna was admitted to hospital twice but it was his last wish to die at home. He also wanted his funeral to be grand. He had said, ‘Mera funeral raja ki tarah karna’ and Akshay Kumar (Khanna’s son-in-law) did that.

https://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-when-rajesh-khanna-apologised-to-anand-director/20130124.htm#1