An exceptional actress who graced the stage & the screen alike. Like Zohra Sehgal she did not care for how many roles or the screen time for the role, she did her best! Her best was the best!!
In 1974, Ebrahim Alkazi cast her as the lead actor in “Look back in Anger” she transformed into Alison Porter, so much that she could not come to take a bow after the play ended. She went beyond delivering dialogues & action.
All the newspapers today have a short but significant column dedicated to her. At 75, she appeared older than her self & delivered the ‘Dadisa’ like none other in “Balika Vadhu’. A Rajasthani matriarch she developed the right accent.
When they were shooting for “Badhai Ho” she could not cope up with the schedule due to her illness, they waited for her. For which she picked up her third National award for the portrayal of the cranky Nani. She is sitting on the bed but she has an excellent grasp of all the household happenings.
I remember our rickshaw-wala saying about his mother, how she would know the cylinder needs to be replaced. We would write the date when the cylinder was replaced & also had the bills with us, with dates. But her prediction was never wrong.
From the class of 1968, she was trained by Alkazi himself. Govind Nihalani “Tamas” was a rage then. The Indian TV changed with it. Powerful story with solid cast made it a milestone. Then in Shyam Benegal’s “Mammo’ which won her National film awards.
At NSD, she had once heard Bennewitz ask actors to ‘Squeeze’ a performance like a lemon to the last drop. She did that, till the end.
Why we need people like her ?To teach us to live till the end. Live life, the laurels are bound to follow!
Asian Entertainment 