Shahida Malik’s smile immediately brings to mind the classic beauty of her more famous sister — the film star Waheeda Rehman. “We have never treated Waheeda as a celebrity, but only as our sister. She also has never wanted it to be any different,” says the Kumbakonam-based homemaker.
It often comes as a surprise to many that one of the finest talents of contemporary Indian cinema is actually from Tamil Nadu. With a scintillating dance sequence that marked her debut at the age of 17 in the 1955 Telugu film Roju Marayi (remade as Kaalam Mari Pochu in Tamil), Waheeda Rehman’s body of work spans several decades of unusual roles. Her career in Hindi started in 1956 with the Guru Dutt production CID .
“Waheeda’s Roju Marayi dance was so famous that people used to throw money at the screen whenever the song came on,” says Mrs Malik. “We were amazed to see the reaction to our sister and so proud of her success.”
Dance career
Born in 1938 to district commissioner Mohamed Abdul Rehman and Mumtaz Begum, Waheeda was the youngest of four daughters. She and her sister Sayeeda learned Bharathanatyam from childhood.
Among her earliest notices was for a Bharathanatyam dance recital in a cultural show organised during a visit by India’s last Governor-General C Rajagopalachari by her father when he was posted to Vishakapatnam (in what was then the Madras Presidency).
“Father was asked to use only local artistes in the programme. Waheeda and Sayeeda were roped in for the dance,” says Mrs Malik. Sayeeda is also trained in playing the tabla and has performed as a classical dancer in Mumbai.
Dancing on stage was considered a taboo in those days and so was a career in films, says Mrs Malik, who is 7 years elder to Waheeda.
“Our father always used to say that dancing was an art that had to be nurtured. He started receiving acting offers for Waheeda soon after that cultural show, but he kept turning them down,” she says.
As mentioned in the 2015 book Conversations with Waheeda Rehman by Nasreen Munni Kabir, the family went through straitened times after the death of Mohamed Abdur Rehman in 1951.
“Our father was transferred constantly, and this affected our studies,” says Mrs Malik. “My elder sister Zahida and I managed to study up to Class 8, but Sayeeda and Waheeda didn’t get even that far. They worked very hard to stand on their own feet,” she says. Zahida and Shahida were already married when their father passed away, with the former migrating to Pakistan with her in-laws.
Sayeeda and Waheeda started doing dance shows to make ends meet. Sayeeda got married in 1953.
Hindi films
Waheeda Rehman’s success in the Roju Marayi song led to a meeting with actor-producer-director Guru Dutt, who eventually signed her up for a 3-year contract with his production house in 1955, persuading Waheeda and her mother to shift to Mumbai from Chennai.
Their creative partnership flourished in films like Pyaasa, Twelve O’ Clock, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Chaudvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam.
Almost all of them are recognised as classics today, though their box-office fortunes were different when they were released.
CID , a thriller starring Dev Anand and Shakila in the lead, had Waheeda playing the slightly vampish character Kamini. Full of chartbusting tunes, here too, the song Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana sung by Shamshad Begum, utilised Waheeda Rehman’s dance skills to move the story forward.
However success was marred by personal tragedy for Waheeda. Her mother Mumtaz Begum passed away in 1957.
“Sayeeda became a companion to Waheeda when she was starting out in Bombay, because her husband was based in Vijayawada, and it was easier for them to come to Bombay often. My husband and I would visit Waheeda once in two or three months,” says Mrs Malik.
With a ringside view on the world of films, Mrs Malik has many memories of her sister’s heyday as a young actress. “There would be sacks of mail coming from fans every day. They’d have messages of love, appreciation and even marriage proposals!” she recalls. “Waheeda’s secretary used to deal with the mailbags, and autographed photographs would be posted to fans.”
There were perks to being a star’s companion. “In 1972, I spent a month in Iran with Waheeda, where she acted in the Indo-Iranian film Subaah-O-Sham [that co-starred Sanjeev Kumar and Iranian actor Mohamed Ali Fardeen]. I also accompanied her to outdoor shoots in Ooty and Kodaikanal for Guide ,” says Mrs Malik.
“The climax scene was done in Ahmedabad, and there was a huge crowd of onlookers that the film crew had to deal with.” Waheeda Rehman won the Best Actress award for her role in the English version of Guide at the Chicago Film Festival in 1965.
Behind the glamour
Fan frenzy has always been hard to control, especially in a movie-mad nation like India. “People don’t seem to understand that actors are also human beings, and they are working. Fans keep crowding around, hunting for autographs and photographs. Waheeda used to be slightly uneasy with all the attention,” says Mrs Malik.
The sisters didn’t compel Waheeda to get married once she became an established star. “After a certain age, you cannot force a young woman to do anything. Besides, Waheeda was busy working, and we couldn’t tell her to drop everything to get married. So only when she felt she was ready, did the issue come up,” says Mrs Malik.
Waheeda Rehman married former actor Shashi Rekhy in Bombay on July 26, 1974.
She gradually withdrew from acting to take care of her children Sohail and Kashvi, before returning to Bollywood in the 1980s to play mature roles.
The sisters and their extended families (the eldest sibling Zahida has relocated to India recently) continue to meet up regularly.
“We plan trips together, usually to celebrate a family milestone, or simply to catch up with our lives. Last year, Waheeda surprised me by turning up in Kumbakonam for my birthday,” says Mrs Malik. “She still has a few friends from the film industry, who keep her busy and grounded. She is a star only for the public.”
