Conversations with Waheeda Rehman (23 page)

NMK:
Many people with whom you have worked, and have been close to, have passed away in recent years. It must be very difficult to see your world disappearing around you.

WR:
It is very difficult. I was recently asked to unveil Dev Anand’s statue. It will be placed on Bandstand in Bandra. I felt very emotional. To think I had worked with him in my first Hindi film and there I was unveiling his statue. I couldn’t stop myself from crying.

NMK:
I was at that event and I could see you were very upset.

Bette Davis said something very wise: ‘Old age isn’t for
wimps.’ What do you think are the good and bad things about getting older?

WR:
One is more mature and patient. I think I am more understanding. I take life as it comes. I know everyone has problems—financial, emotional or health related. But when I am faced with problems, I try not to push them away. I think of ways of solving them.

I am not young any more. I am in a hurry to travel and see new places. I love travelling and taking photographs. Last year I went to London with Barota and we bought an Oyster card and sometimes travelled around by bus. If an Indian couple happened to be on the bus they would recognize me. I think Barota felt bad that Waheeda was seen roaming around in a London bus. But I don’t mind. What’s the big deal?

NMK:
You must have heard this question a hundred times before, but do you have a favourite film?

WR:
How strange! While we were having lunch today, Sohail and Kashvi asked me this very question. I said my top favourite is
Gone with the Wind
. My second favourite is
Legends of the Fall
—the one with Brad Pitt. I just love that film and don’t mind seeing it again and again. I think Brad Pitt was very good.

There are many Hindi films that I have liked. The ones that stand out now are the old
Andaz
,
Mother India
,
Mughal-e-Azam
,
Sujata
and
Do Bigha Zamin
.

Among the recent films I like Imtiaz Ali’s
Jab We Met
. I watch it again whenever it is on television. Kashvi always says:
‘Mummy, think of your age.’ So what? What has age got to do with it? I think it is a sweet and charming love story.

NMK:
For actors who are immortalized on the screen ageing can be nevertheless difficult to accept.

WR:
One must accept.

A long time ago when my eyes were getting weak, I had to wear reading glasses. In those days there was only one airline, Indian Airlines, and the flights would often get delayed, so I would always carry a book with me. One day Dev happened to see me reading in the airport lounge and said: ‘Waheeda, why have you got your specs on?’

‘Because I can’t read without them.’

‘That’s not the point! Why can’t you pretend you’re reading?’
[we laugh]

NMK:
You have known fame since 1955, when you first appeared in
Rojulu Marayi
. Did you find managing stardom over the years a difficult thing?

WR:
It is difficult being famous, especially if you become well known overnight. Suddenly all India knows you, all Asia knows you, and even people abroad know who you are. You’re on a high. Wherever you go, people want to meet you and know you.
You have attention, glamour, popularity and money. One film is enough for the world to know who you are. And sometimes it has nothing to do with talent.

Success in any field can change a personality. Maybe it did not affect me because my upbringing was very grounded. When we were growing up, I saw powerful army generals with cars and jeeps and everyone saluting them. But the moment they retired, no one bothered about them. They had to live in small flats and all that
shaan-baan
was gone.

I have always believed fame is here today and gone tomorrow. Who pays attention to you when you’re old? Everything is ultimately transitory.

We actors are popular, and so, to some extent, we’re forced to be artificial. Some of us do get cut off from reality. I accept I am getting old. I can’t turn the clock back. But would I now be asked to play a character like Rosie? No. Could I do the snake dance now? No.

NMK:
Starting as a teenager, you worked in the best Hindi films, and continued to have a hugely succesful career for over five decades. You have an army of fans and are deeply respected for your talent, integrity and grace. But it seems like you never fell for the illusion that fame would last. Am I right?

WR:
No, it doesn’t last.

I have believed in improving myself as a person, to keep learning. My curiosity has kept me alive. There was a time
when I suddenly got the urge to paint. I went on the Net and tried to look for a teacher, but had no luck. I happened to meet Srilekha, my neighbour Sikander Fateh Ali’s daughter-in-law, and asked her to find me an art teacher. She is an artist and, very sweetly, she brought me some paints, a brush and a drawing book. She told me to first train my hand by drawing. It was very kind of her.

I have a positive attitude to life and am peaceful in myself. I don’t like to dwell on problems and negative thoughts. I get up at six, meditate for half an hour, do a bit of exercise, have my coffee and read the papers. I walk up and down the corridor in my house for a bit and then call my sisters, or someone may call me for a chat. I have my bath and get ready for the day. But if you asked me what I do every day to get so busy, I couldn’t tell you. I am just very busy. Thank God.

NMK:
Do you think much about the past?

WR:
I don’t like thinking about the past. But when I do, I think about the beautiful things that have happened—the wonderful moments of my childhood and the things that my parents would tell me.

I don’t honestly believe in living in the past. It is the present that counts. I don’t think about the future either. Maybe that’s what gives me a sense of peace. I don’t worry about what will happen tomorrow. That just isn’t me.

With her son, Sohail, and daughter, Kashvi, at a recent function in Delhi where Waheeda Rehman was honoured as one of the twenty-five global Indians. Photograph courtesy: Taj Palace, Delhi.

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