Wahida Rehman - powerful actress of bollywood

Wahida Rehman – the versatile actress of Bollywood.

Indian bollywood is generally dominated by actors and heroes for the last 50 years. But due to the sheer brilliance of some powerful actresses female dominated films also gained prominence. Wahida Rehman, the powerful actress of 50s, 60s and 70s belong to that category, where depth of acting had outplayed her glamour and choreographic skills. Born on 14th May, 1936, she made her debue in film CID, 1956, where Guru Dutt was the producer. It was the role of a vamp girl, but ultimately Wahida Rehman helped the hero to unearth the truth relating to a murder mystery.

After performing in films like Solwa Saal with Dev Anand, Wahida Rehman got the scope of acting in the role of a tawaif in Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, 1957. The story depicted the evil effects of materialism, where the brothers were not prepared to recognise their relatives unless there was any monetary consideration. Wahida Rehman even being a tawaif, had shown the spark of humanity in a society where the fellow students (Mala Sinha) failed to show the same spirit.

She also dramatised the character of a heroin in Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ka Phool, 1959, which depicted the darker side of filmworld. When one or two films become successful, the celebrities became exceedingly popular and the moment one film fails, the same persons loose recognition. It has been an eternal truth. Geeta Dutt’a song “wakt ne kiya kya haseen sitam” in the same film picturised on Wahida Rehman became a big hit. Her combination with Guru Dutt was well appreciated in the film Chaudavi Ka Chand, 1960, where she depicted the purdanashin character of muslim educated society.


Wahida Rehman’s ability to go deep into the characters she had played compelled Satyajit Ray to cast her in the film Abhijan, 1961, where she played the role of the wife of a car driver, and showed the fate of rural women in the state of Bihar and its outskirts. She used broken Bengali, and critics across the world acknowledge the fact that she had hardly acted in the film, everything was natural.

In the 60s, with the advent of coloured films, Wahida Rehman, transformed her image into glamourous heroin and contributed in musical blockbusters. She had shown her dancing capabilities in Dev Anand’s Guide, 1965, where songs like “piya tose naina lage re”, “aaj phir jine ki tamanna hai” were super hits. In Raj Kapoor’s Teesri Kasam, 1966, she blended her classical dance skills into the rural dance theme used in fairs (nautankis) held in rural India. Shankar Jaikishan’s composition and Lata and Asha’s songs including “a a bhi ja”, “mare gaye gulpham”, “pan khai saiwa”, etc., were super duper hits. Wahida Rehman balanced Dilip Kumar’s outstanding performance in the films Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram aur Shyam, Aadmi, 1967, etc., with her romantic performance. In all these films she also displayed her choreographic skills. She played significant roles opposite Rajender Kumar in the film Palki, Dharti, etc. Besides she had also displayed a weird character in the film Neel Kamal opposite Raj Kumar and Manoj kumar.

Besides Wahida Rehman had the record of choosing challenging roles throughout her career. In 1961, she performed in a ghostly character opposite Biswajeet, in the film Bees Saal Baad, where the Bengali role was played by Manju Dey, in Jighansa, an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of Baskervilles”. Again she performed the role of nurse who treated insane patients by showing them that she was their better half and became insane at the end of the film Khamoshi, 1969. She had also showed the character of rural women in the background of Rajasthan in the film Reshma Aur Shera, 1971, and received national award for best performance.

In the 70s and 80s, she had acted in character roles, and her performance in Kabhi Kabhi, 1975, opposite Amitabh Bacchan, was well appreciated. In the 80s, she played a significant role in Gulzar’s film Namkeen, where she portrayed the character of a mother of three children who interacted with a truck driver who showed sympathy for the family. She showed the anxiety of a widow in a needy family and kept her mark opposite Sanjeev Kumar, Shabana Azmi, Sharmila Tagore, who were the co-performers in the film. Besides her performance opposite Dilip Kumar, in Mashal, 1984, where she supported her husband as a middle class journalist, and died in the film for lack of treatment out of poverty, is worth mentioning.

If Madhubala is remembered for her glamour, Vaijayantimala is appreciated for her dancing capabilities, then Wahida Rehman is sublime in her experimental roles where characters became lively due to her strong performance. Wahida Rehman’s films should be restored in an archive to show that popularity can be achieved by sheer brilliance of performance.

Jubilee Kumar- Rajender Kumar

Rajender Kumar’s contribution to Indian Cinema

Rajender Kumar, better known as Jubilee Kumar, was one of the unsung heroes in Indian films, who entertained millions of film lovers with his soft style of acting during the golden age, but did not receive the recognition he deserved. Rajender Kumar, born on 29th July, 1929, made his debue in the film Jogan in 1950, where the main character was played by legendary actor Dilip Kumar. In the 50s he got recognition in Mehboob Khan’s film Mother India, 1957, where he played the role of the son of Nargis.

But his romantic image was created in the film Dhool Ka Phool, 1959, and Goonj Uthi Sehnai, 1959. He started moulding himself with the image of tragedian like Dilip Kumar, and songs in the film Goonj Uthi Sehnai, composed by Vasant Desai and sung by Rafi including “jeevan me priya tera saath rahe” created an immortal combination of Rafi with Rajender Kumar, which dominated bollywood films for another 15 years.

Rajender Kumar, was successful to portray the poetic community of Aligarh, Lucknow, etc. in the film Mere Mehboob, 1963, where he formed a new romantic pair with Sadhna, and the ghazals in the film “mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam” reached the urdu speaking audience across middle east and stretched beyond India. He did not show any mannerism and sung the song with a microphone at the university hall. In Dil Ek Mandir, 1963 and Sangam, 1964, Rajender Kumar played the role of the central hero who was admired by Meena Kumari and Vaijiayantimala respectively in those films, but had to sacrifice his love for the benefit of the other friends. In both the films Rajender Kumar died at the end of the films. In Sangam, 1964, the film that gave the maximum revenue to showman Raj Kapoor, when Rafi’s song “ki tum naraz na hona” was played at the end of the film, when Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala immersed his ashes in Tribeni waters at Allahabad where river Ganges and Yamuna had met, the filmlovers were all in tears. His image of sacrifice in each and every film made him a legend and he received the title of Jubilee Kumar, as his major films from 1963 to 1966, all ended up in golden jubilees.


Shankar Jaikishan and Rafi had a great role to play in the success of Rajender Kumar. Probably other than Raj Kapoor, Shankar Jaikishan had not shown the amount of devotion towards rich, melodious music, the way it was displayed in each and every film of Rajender Kumar. Rafi’s songs in the film Humrahi, “yeh ansoo meri dil ki zuban hai,” “mujhko apne gale lagalo” were as majestic as Rajender Kumar’s lips and Shankar Jaikishan’s composition. With the advent of coloured films, majority of Rajender Kumar’s films were shot at romantic locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and his costumes, the songs, the colour and location synchronised with each other in most of the films. His soft, romantic films in that age include Chirag Kahan Roshni kahan, Aman, Talash, etc.

His film Aye Milan Ki Bela, 1964, Jhuk Gaya Asman, 1968, opposite Saira Banu, involved soft romantic stories, but the charm of Rafi’s songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan, like “to bura man gaye”, “tum khamseen ho”, “kaun hai jo sapno me aya” all had mesemerised the audience with romantic appeal. In Aarzoo, 1965, Rajender Kumar became handicapped by losing his leg, and tried to forget Sadhna whom he loved and never wanted to marry due to his disability, again the songs and the story telling impressed the viewers. Marriage was arranged with Feroz Khan, but he being a friend, ultimately helped Sadhna to marry Rajender Kumar. Rafi and Lata were at their best in Shankar Jaikishan’s songs “aji ruth kar ab kaha jaiyega”. Besides other songs like “chalke teri ankho se”, “ai nargisi mastana” were all hits.

In the film Suraj, 1966, Rajender Kumar played a royal character being the prince who never knew his background and grew up as a dacoit and the enter film hovered around the theme of finding his actual heritage. His performance opposite Vaijayantimala was well appreciated by film lovers. There were musical competitions in the film with the song “kaise samjhayun bari nasamajh ho” where Lata and Rafi faced each other in classical contest. All the songs in the film composed by Shankar Jaikishan became successful including “baharon phool barsao”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, “titli uri”, etc.

Rajender Kumar acted in diversified subjects including relationship of poets in the film Palki, patriotic subject matters in the film Dharti, role of dacoits in Gora Aur Kala, etc. In the mid-seventies with the advent of action films, Rajender Kumar faded away from the film arena. His films at that period include Aap aye Bahar Aye, Do Jasoos, etc. He acted in character roles in few films where his son Kumar Gaurav played the central character. He did not receive the acclamation during the age for the strong dominance of Dilip Kumar who was unparallel in tragic roles and dominated the film world. His films should be preserved and restored in an archive to recollect the age when soft romantic films dominated bollywood.

Naushad's relationship with Rafi

Naushad’s association with Rafi:

Naushad Ali, is probably one of the grand composers of Indian silver screen who had been successful to bring out the Hindustani ragas that were captivated in the darbars of nawabs and feudal lords and simplified them for the common man. Born in 1919, he did spend his childhood in Lucknow, and learned music from Ustad Ghurbat Ali, Ustad Yusuf Ali and Ustad Babban Saheb.

Naushad had shaped the careers of a number of singing legends in the country including Saigal, but his association with Mohammad Rafi had marked the most golden combination which galvanised the outstanding music composed during the golden age in Indian music, the 50s and 60s. His composition in the film Dulari, 1947, for Mohammad Rafi titled “suhani raat dhal chuki” makes a music lover addicted and it has an appeal even after 60 years of its composition.

Baiju Bawra, with Bharat Bhusha and Meena Kumari, in 1952, marks the best creation possible from any composer, it had bhajans, extraordinary use of Hindustani ragas, folk songs and possibly Naushad had been successful to use the range of Rafi to the fullest extent. Other than “woh duniya ke rakhwale”, “tu ganga ki mauj”, there were many songs which explained the relationship of the ragas with rain, the seasons of nature, etc. Naushad received film fare award for the best music composed in that year.

In Uran Khatola, 1955, Naushad’s composition for Rafi, “woh durke musafir, humko bhi saath lele re” showed his capability of using chorus with eastern effect. Naushad’s composition in Son of India, “dil torneewale”, duet for Rafi and Lata, shows the effective use of instruments in that age when recording was not developed to that extent. In Dilip Kumar’s Kohinoor, 1960, Rafi’s songs “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “do sitaron ka zamee par hai Milan aaj ki raat” marks Naushad’s control over bhajans and songs with chorus effects. In Rajender Kumar’s Mere Mehboob, 1963, Naushad had explained the transformation of nasams into ghazals. His songs “mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam”, “tumse izhaar-e-haal kar baithe”, “ai husn zara jag tujhe isq dikhaye” enchanted the listeners. Naushad’s compositions were as outstanding as Shakeel Badayani’s lyrics and Rafi’s golden voice.

Naushad experimented with his classical control in Leader, 1964, where Rafi’s songs “tere husn ki kya tariff karun”, “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “apni azaadi ko hum hargeez meeta sakte nahi”, had romantic appeal, classical appeal and the symbol of freedom movement embedded in them. Rafi was outstanding in every song in that film. In Dil Diya Dard Liya, 1966, Rafi’s songs “sawan aye ya na aye”, “dilruba maine tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”, “guzre hai” were masterpieces which matched Naushad’s compositions for Lata “phir teri kanani yaad ayi”. Ram Aur Shayam, 1967, the film where Dilip Kumar acted in double roles, had comedy, dance sequences, action and every element for which filmlovers visit cinema halls. Yet Naushad’s composition and Rafi’s songs superseded every other element. The notable songs include “aye hai baharen”, “aaj ki raat mere”, etc.

In Aadmi, 1967, Naushad’s compositions for Rafi including “aaj purani raho par”, “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, showed the depth of thinking of the composer, where the songs matched the sequences of the film where Dilip Kumar amazed the viewers with his performance in wheel chair. Besides, Naushad had used folk songs to a great extent where the subjects in the films required them. For example in the film Ganga Jumna, 1961, his composition for Rafi including “nain lar jaihe” was created with bhojpuri effect, and Rafi had succeeded in pronouncing it in the manner expected from him. Rafi’s songs in Rajender Kumar’s Palki, Ganwar, composed by Naushad were also outstanding.

Besides just like Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad for doing justice to Rafi and Lata, had not done injustice to other singers. He used Bare Ghulam Ali khan in the film Mughal-I-Azam, in 1960, to sing a thumri, the way Shankar Jaikishen asked Bhim Sen Joshi to sing a classical composition in Basant Bahar, 1957. It is tragic that the film industry, could not utilise Naushad’s talent in 1970s and 80s, but if Shankar Jaikishan had utilised Rafi’s range in singing westernised compositions, Naushad had used Rafi’s classical andaz in the best possible manner. He was rightly awarded Dada Saheb Falke for his epic creations in the 40s, 50s, 60s. Rafi’s archive should contain Naushad’s compositions, because his career was given the right direction by legendary creations of the versatile genius.


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