The name Suchitra Sen evokes awe and reverence to this day.Gulzar had the rare opportunity to direct her in one of her last films, and that too in Hindi , a language she was never comfortable with.
“True, but some of her best work was in Hindi: Hrishida’s Musafir, Asit Sen’s Mamta, Raj Khosla’s Bambai Ka Babu. You may add my Aandhi to this list,” offers Gulzar Saab graciously.
When his best-buddy Gulzar offered Aandhi to his ‘Haribhai’ Sanjeev Kumar the actor par excellence grumbled goodnaturedly, ‘This is Suchitra Sen’s film through and through.What will I do in it? Tu mera dost hai ya dushman?’ But that was just a budy tantrum.Sanjeev took up the challenge and won the Filmfare award for best actor.
Says Gulzar Saab, “I feel Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen were not given due recognition. Glad that my ‘Sir’—that’s what I call her— got the Dada Saheb Phalke award during her lifetime. Contrary to people’s perceptions, Suchitra Sen is an extremely warm and very very friendly person. I adore and respect her. But she has the right to choose her friends. Surely she’s justified in keeping away from every Tom, Dick and Harry. She’s the only example of such quiet dignity in show-biz. That’s why the media compared her with Great Garbo.”
Gulzar Saab chuckles. “Suchitra Sen was my Sir. I’ll explain. During the shooting of Aandhi she started calling me Sir. Everyone in Kolkata calls her Madame. Since I’m her junior I requested her not to call me Sir. But she insisted. We always conversed in Bengali. So I call her Sir and she calls me Sir.”
Aandhi was one of the very few hand-picked projects that Suchitra Sen did before calling it completely quits from the limelight.
Explains Gulzar Saab, “The whole project came to me in a package. I was told by producer J.Om Prakash to make a film Because Sanjeev was very keen to work with Suchitra. I was made to hear story by the well-known Sachin Bhaumick . It was a run-of-the-mill suspense story. I wondered aloud, ‘Why bring THE Suchitra Sen all the way from Kolkata for this film when this could be done by any actress in Mumbai?’.Sachin Bhaumick readily agreed with me. Then we started searching for another story. J Om Prakash asked me to suggest a story. I narrated the idea of Aandhi to him. Nobody had made a film on a powerful female politician. Indira Gandhi and Tarakeshwari Sinha were the role-models for the character.”
Suchitra Sen, reveals Gulzar, was always choosy. “Yes, Aandhi was one of her rare Hindi films. Her other famous film is Asit Sen’s Mamta. As for the legendary Uttam Kumar-Suchitra pair, it was Nirmal Dey who introduced it. But her most celebrated films were with Asit Sen. Three years before Aandhi I had gone to Suchitra Sen with another script for producer Sohanlal Kanwar. She suggested some changes. I refused, and left . When I went back with Aandhi to Kolkata she said, ‘This time I won’t make any suggestions’. I said her suggestions were most welcome . She rewarded me with such a lovely smile. She loved the story of Aandhi and she offered me cold milk. That remained a ritual between us.”
Recalling the shooting Gulzar Saab says, “We were all outdoors on the outskirts of Bangalore. Raakhee(Gulzar’s wife) was also there. I’ve photographs of my daughter Meghna in Suchitra Sen’s lap.Her daughter Moon Moon was a child then. I believe Moon Moon’s daughters have also grown up and are actresses. They should come and meet me.”
Since the actress had a problem with her Hindi she was turned into a Bengali character. “It was an experience of a lifetime to work with her. After the film was complete, it was not possible for me to go to Kolkata and not visit her. During her final years she spent most of her time at the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. She lived in seclusion.”