Mumbai:
Waheeda Rehman signed the Guidewhen her counterparts in the industry were doing love storiesor family dramas. The yesteryear actress says she took up the1965 film as a challenge because it highlighted the greyshades in her onscreen character.
The 76-year-old legendary actress, whose portrayal ofRosie was appreciated by the audience, said it was tough toplay a rebellious character at that time when the filmindustry was not open for such roles.
"When I signed Guide, my colleagues in the industrysaid that I was doing a big mistake. They even said that thismight be my last film because that was the phase whenactresses in the industry were portrayed as submissive women.We used to do love stories or family dramas where women wereideal in every role.
"But luckily, I had an open mind and took the projectbecause it was a film and not real life. My character was aninspiration for me. When the film became a hit and everyonefound my character interesting, I remember those samecolleagues sent me telegrams appreciating my performance,"Waheeda told PTI.
She started her career in Bollywood with Guru Dutt'scrime thriller CID opposite Dev Anand in 1956 and starred inmany films including Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool.
Hailing from a non-film background, Waheeda said she didnot face any difficulty in establishing herself as an actresswhen the industry was majorly ruled by male actors.
"Call it my good luck or my open-minded nature; I neverfelt that I was overshadowed by my co-stars. I worked withactors like Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor but my character wasequally highlighted."
"I started off my career as a performer and had neverthought about success. I chose those films which I wanted tobe part of and show my performance as an artiste," she said.
Waheeda said she chose Guide because she wanted to showpeople her dancing prowess as very few believed in it.
"As I was born and brought up in a Muslim family, peoplenever believed that I could dance. I am a trained Bharatnatyamdancer and I told Dev (who also happened to be the co-directorof the film) not to cut out my dance sequences while editingbecause it was my dream to work in a dance-based film. Iunderwent rigorous training for 15 days to perform one dancesequence," she added.
Considered one of the most prominent actresses of thegolden era, Waheeda acted in many quintessential classics ofGuru Dutt. She feels sad that his skills were not recognisedwhile he was alive.
"When he used to make films, he never thought that hisfilms will be the classics. He was a very engaging filmmakerand used to put his mind and soul into one project. Peoplenever recognised his importance when he was alive. I feelextremely sad that he got all the recognition and respectafter his death," she added.
Waheeda, who made a comeback into the industry in 2002with Anupam Kher's Om Jai Jagdish, said she finds VidyaBalan very promising among the new breed of actresses.
"All the young actresses are extremely talented. The kindof work Vidya Balan does, she is setting a new benchmark inthe industry. I have watched all her films be it DirtyPicture or Parineeta and have observed that even she hasthe penchant for doing something different from the league,"she said.
The 76-year-old legendary actress, whose portrayal ofRosie was appreciated by the audience, said it was tough toplay a rebellious character at that time when the filmindustry was not open for such roles.
"When I signed Guide, my colleagues in the industrysaid that I was doing a big mistake. They even said that thismight be my last film because that was the phase whenactresses in the industry were portrayed as submissive women.We used to do love stories or family dramas where women wereideal in every role.
"But luckily, I had an open mind and took the projectbecause it was a film and not real life. My character was aninspiration for me. When the film became a hit and everyonefound my character interesting, I remember those samecolleagues sent me telegrams appreciating my performance,"Waheeda told PTI.
She started her career in Bollywood with Guru Dutt'scrime thriller CID opposite Dev Anand in 1956 and starred inmany films including Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool.
Hailing from a non-film background, Waheeda said she didnot face any difficulty in establishing herself as an actresswhen the industry was majorly ruled by male actors.
"Call it my good luck or my open-minded nature; I neverfelt that I was overshadowed by my co-stars. I worked withactors like Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor but my character wasequally highlighted."
"I started off my career as a performer and had neverthought about success. I chose those films which I wanted tobe part of and show my performance as an artiste," she said.
Waheeda said she chose Guide because she wanted to showpeople her dancing prowess as very few believed in it.
"As I was born and brought up in a Muslim family, peoplenever believed that I could dance. I am a trained Bharatnatyamdancer and I told Dev (who also happened to be the co-directorof the film) not to cut out my dance sequences while editingbecause it was my dream to work in a dance-based film. Iunderwent rigorous training for 15 days to perform one dancesequence," she added.
Considered one of the most prominent actresses of thegolden era, Waheeda acted in many quintessential classics ofGuru Dutt. She feels sad that his skills were not recognisedwhile he was alive.
"When he used to make films, he never thought that hisfilms will be the classics. He was a very engaging filmmakerand used to put his mind and soul into one project. Peoplenever recognised his importance when he was alive. I feelextremely sad that he got all the recognition and respectafter his death," she added.
Waheeda, who made a comeback into the industry in 2002with Anupam Kher's Om Jai Jagdish, said she finds VidyaBalan very promising among the new breed of actresses.
"All the young actresses are extremely talented. The kindof work Vidya Balan does, she is setting a new benchmark inthe industry. I have watched all her films be it DirtyPicture or Parineeta and have observed that even she hasthe penchant for doing something different from the league,"she said.
