Fifty-three years after playing a part in her first Bengali film (Abhijan, directed by Satyajit Ray), Waheeda Rehman is back to working in one, this time with Aparna Sen. She recalls her experience of working with Ray with much glee. “When Abhijan was offered to me, I did not know Bengali at all. But Ray saab insisted on me playing the role. He convinced me saying my character spoke a mix of Bhojpuri, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. I agreed only because he had faith in me.”
The actress tells us that contrary to an actress’ popular perception, she has low self-esteem issues. “I always feel I won’t be able to carry off what the directors require of me. Luckily, I manage. I really enjoyed my short stint with Aparna in Kolkata. The entire unit was very nice. The young actors were very sweet. I didn’t have scenes with the Bengali hero Dev, who plays the romantic lead. Rittika who plays my grand daughter was very sweet. Roopa Ganguly, also very talented, plays my daughter.”
While Bengali films are good, Waheedaji thinks that the time is right for Aparna to do another Hindi film. “There are so many fabulous heroine-oriented projects happening in Mumbai — whether it was Kahaani, Bobby Jasoos, Queen or Mardaani. Women never had it so good in Hindi cinema. Reputed producers such as Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are also backing reasonably budgeted, sensible films. The lines between commercial and art films are slowly, steadily blurring. This is the best time for a filmmaker like Aparna Sen to make a film in Hindi.”
