Waheeda Rehman is an Indian actress of mainly Hindi films. She was born on 3 February 1938 in Changalpet, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu, India). She has acted in more than 90 films in a span of five decades. She got many awards — National Film Award, Filmfare Awards, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and in 2021, she received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in the field of cinema.
Waheeda Rehman made her debut in the Telugu film Rojulu Marayi (1955). The Hindi filmmaker and actor Guru Dutt made Waheeda Rehman a beautiful star of Hindi cinema. She rose to prominence in films like Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), and Guide (1965) with Dev Anand, which was her masterpiece. For Guide, she got the Filmfare Award. Again, in the film Neel Kamal (1968), she received the Filmfare Award.
Her other films include Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Khamoshi (1969), Reshma Aur Shera (1971). Later on, she appeared in character roles in films like Kabhie Kabhie, Trishul (1978), and Mashaal (1984).
The film Pyaasa made two female entries into stardom — Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman. Mala Sinha had been introduced by Amiya Chakravarty, and Waheeda Rehman was introduced by Guru Dutt. Guru Dutt first saw her in a hospital in Hyderabad after his car met with an accident near Hyderabad. Guru Dutt was captivated by her beauty and asked her whether she wanted to join films. Waheeda replied in the affirmative. Then she went on, along with Guru Dutt, to give superb performances.
Film Pyaasa was one of the best hundred films in the world according to Time magazine. Critics said — Pyaasa is “the most Indian film the Indian people have ever seen.” The lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi made a serious criticism of life and society through his lyrics — “Jinhe naaz hai Hind par, woh kahan hain.” (Those who are proud of India — where are they?). Nehru even raised a Parliament question on this.
Waheeda Rehman gave a superb performance. The main element of Waheeda’s performance is simplicity and a childlike manner (not childish). In the film Bees Saal Baad along with Biswajeet, her childlike acting became more prominent. In other films also, she exhibited childlike roles.
Waheeda Rehman is one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. Mukul Kesavan of The Telegraph talked about her work with Guru Dutt and said — “Waheeda Rehman is Hindi cinema’s greatest actor. But it is a mistake to make that claim, as often happens, on the basis of her work with Guru Dutt’s films. Guru Dutt sprinkled her with stardust; as an actor, she made herself.”
Rehman’s simple beauty and refreshingly natural style gave her the frontline position among Indian actresses. Who can forget the song sequences of Bees Saal Baad — “Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil,” or “Yaad Rakhoge Ya Bhool Jaoge” of Patthar Ke Sanam with Manoj Kumar.
All told, she is a refreshingly Guru Dutt discovery but went on to stardom without looking back.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own.)
Radhakanta Seth is a Former Income tax officer in Sambalpur. He is a Freelance writer and his articles have been published in some Oriya dailies like Sambad, Samaj, Dharitri and English dailies like The Telegraph and in a sociological journal ‘Folklore’ published from Kolkata.
(Photo has collected from net )