A tribute to Waheeda Rehman: The dancer from Chengalpattu turns 86

As Dada Saheb Phalke award winner Waheeda Rehman celebrates her 86th birthday, here is a throwback to a meeting with Guru Dutt that changed the course of her career forever.

Born in the small town of Chengalpattu, which is roughly 60 km away from Chennai, Waheeda Rehman moved to Rajahmundry near Hyderabad, apparently to pursue her career as a dancer, but she was destined to become an acclaimed actress in the 'Maximum City'-- Mumbai.

Over a glittering six-decade film career, the timeless beauty of Indian Cinema has won many accolades including the National Award for Best Actress, civilian honours like Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, before being conferred with the country’s highest award in the film industry – the Dadasaheb Phalke Award – last year.

It is presumed that if you have two sets of skills which complement each other, it invariably helps in shaping one’s career and that is precisely what worked out in Waheeda’s case with her dancing skills proving to be a perfect match for her acting prowesses.

Being a dancer, Waheeda tackled the song sequences on screen with aplomb and grace — classic examples being the Piya To Se Naina Laage Re number from the 1965 masterpiece Guide, Rangeela Re from Prem Pujari and the chartbuster Kahin Pe Nigahein Kahi Pe Nishana from C.I.D, which became such a rage that Waheeda, who was only a supporting actress in the film, stole the limelight from heroine Shakila. Her dancing pedigree also comes to the fore in Pyaasa hit Jaane Kya Tune Kahi which only she could have done, as being a dancer, Waheeda was more than familiar with the power of silent expressions.

How the journey started

Waheeda was the youngest of four sisters, and with her father passing away when she was just 13, the family moved from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh. The move was to help Waheeda master Bharatanatyam. It was then that a close family friend and producer gave Waheeda the first chance in the tinsel world -- a song-and-dance number in a Telugu film. With her impeccable dance performance, Waheeda became an overnight star and then came the meeting with Guru Dutt that changed her life forever.

Accidental meeting!

Dutt, who by then had made a name for himself in the Bombay film industry, was in Hyderabad, looking to remake a Telugu movie in Hindi. When his car broke down, Dutt had to extend his stay in the city and fate played its hand. As Dutt and his good friend Abrar Alvi were sitting in distributor’s office in Secunderabad, there was a big commotion outside.

Sathya Saran narrates in her book Ten Years with Guru Dutt. ‘Guru Dutt was keenly watching some youngsters as they surrounded a car which had stopped over there. The door opened and a girl came out of the car. Guru Dutt looked at the distributor quizzically to which he replied. ‘She is Waheeda Rehman’.

This was around the same time when Dutt was looking for a heroine to play the lead role in what would turn out to be his magnum opus Pyaasa. The rest as they say is history with Waheeda and her mother having a meeting with Dutt soon which would go on to change the fortunes of her life forever.

Mentor and protege

Waheeda has paired with many actors including Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Sunil Dutt, but nothing could match the on-screen chemistry which she shared with Dutt.

As Yasser Usman mentions in his book Guru Dutt; An Unfinished Story, the usually gloomy Dutt seemed like an entirely different person while in the company of Waheeda.

Their relationship was as complicated as some of the characters they portrayed in movies like C.I.D, Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudvin Ka Chand.

The mentor-protege relationship had become the talk of town in the film industry before Dutt’s tragic death in 1964. Their timeless romance finds place even in today’s social media with Facebook handles like Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman- The evergreen Couple of Bollywood.