Free Conversations with Waheeda Rehman by Nasreen Munni Kabir, Waheeda Rehman

actress so he will project her as the most beautiful woman in the world. Considering the kind of romantic stories we make, this is a must.
    Guruduttji was good to me and to many people, including Sadiq Saab and Johnny Walker, whom he introduced to films. In fact he was sensitive to everyone’s needs. He helped me in many ways and guided my career. He was caring and protective. But in truth, he looked out for everyone.
    NMK: Do you remember when you worked with Guru Dutt for the last time?
    WR: It must have been in 1961 or 1962. I don’t remember theexact date—but it was during the filming of the final scene in
Sahib Bibi
. Jabba is waiting for Bhoothnath in a carriage in the haveli ruins. That was the last time we worked together. He never offered me another role after
Sahib Bibi
.
    I was in Madras when Guruduttji passed away. I had gone there for a charity cricket match with a group of stars. Dilip Saab was there too. The actress Shammi Rabadi, who is a close friend of mine, came and told me she had some very bad news. She said: ‘Guru Dutt is no more.’ Oh my God, I was completely stunned. I knew he had tried to commit suicide before, but it was still a terrible shock. I immediately flew back to Bombay. This was on 10 October 1964. There were many people at the funeral, including Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. It was a very sad day.
    NMK: Do you recall when you last saw him? Or spoke to him?
    WR: Abrar, my sister Sayeeda and I had gone to the Berlin Film Festival in June 1963 where
Sahib Bibi
was screened. Guruduttji joined us there. No one liked the film in Berlin. They found it slow, despite the fact that a shorter version was screened there on the evening of 27 June. The festival director asked me: ‘If Chhoti Bahu is so unhappy with her husband, why doesn’t she go away with Bhoothnath?’
[laughs]
I said: ‘It doesn’t happen like that in our culture.’
    Their culture is totally different. I tried explaining why the aristocrats of that time could do no such thing. In fact, whenChhoti Bahu steps out of the house for the first time, she is murdered for having broken with tradition. Besides, Chhoti Bahu is not in love with Bhoothnath and neither does he love her—it is her sadness and beauty that fascinate him.
    Guruduttji was present at the screening, but he left Berlin the following day.
    NMK: The Berlin Film Festival was held between 21 June and 2 July 1963. So that means you did not meet him for a whole year, and then you heard he had passed away in October 1964. Is that right?
    WR: Yes. The last time I saw him must have been in Berlin. We did not work together after
Sahib Bibi
.
    Losing someone is always upsetting. Even though Yash Chopra was eighty his death was a shock to me. I met Yashji at Amitabh Bachchan’s seventieth birthday party about ten days before Yashji passed away. He hugged me and said he was feeling tired and wanted to go home. His wife, Pamela, thought they should stay at the party a little longer. I think Yashji was admitted to the hospital a few days later. The next thing I heard was that he had passed away. I was very sad.
    So you can imagine what a shock Guruduttji’s death was for his family, for me and for all the people who worked closely with him.
    We must, however, think of the amazing respect he has in the world today. No other Indian director after Satyajit Ray has, Ibelieve, that kind of international recognition and admiration.
    NMK: That is true. It is ironic that Guru Dutt’s fame spread after his death—something he predicted in
Pyaasa
as being the fate of some artists. But few Indian film-makers have as enduring a power as he has.
    I also believe if popular Indian cinema had been better known in the West in the 1950s, Guru Dutt would have most certainly been counted among world cinema’s finest directors. He had such a singular voice and vision.
    WR: I am lucky to have worked in his films. I don’t believe they will ever be forgotten.
    NMK: You have contributed to many