Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl by Ram Kamal Mukherjee

Author:Ram Kamal Mukherjee
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: null
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2017-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

14

Taking a Different Direction

Two years before her maiden directorial film was released, Hema landed herself a film that would shape much of her journey as a film-maker. Arunaraje’s Rihaee (1990) not only gave Hema her first dyed-in-the-wool parallel film role, it also had her working with a female director for the first time.

‘Apart from a brilliant script and good cast, I was interested in working with Arunaraje. I wanted to learn how a woman director manages her work. So, it was a learning experience for me,’ she says.

The storyline was a sensitive one and the subject would have left most people scandalized, if not downright offended. In a village where most of the menfolk have migrated to cities, the women are alone and lonely. While the men often visit brothels, the women have no such option. Takku Bai (Hema) is one such, married to a carpenter (Vinod Khanna) who is barely ever home. When a stranger from Dubai (Naseeruddin Shah) pays the village a visit, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him. The attraction is mutual and, over time, they fall in love. When Takku Bai conceives his child, her husband is consumed with rage. He refuses to accept the illegitimate baby while Takku refuses to abort. What follows is the story of a woman standing up for herself and her choices before a rigid and patriarchal village panchayat.

Hema being cast in Takku Bai’s role came as a surprise to most. When I spoke to Arunaraje, she told me how Hema had, in fact, not been her first choice. She had always wanted Smita Patil for this movie, an actor better suited and more experienced in the arthouse genre. Smita had also wanted to assist Aruna directorially on this film.

‘The news of Smita’s death came like a thunderbolt. I was shattered,’ Aruna recalls. ‘I thought of not making this film at all. Though my project was sanctioned by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), I was reluctant about doing it with any other actress. But my friends insisted that I complete it, at least as a tribute to my best friend Smita. I was puzzled as to whom I should cast. It was a strong character – a lady who doesn’t speak much, but still stands by her beliefs. I thought of Hema Malini for the role. I saw a certain integrity in Hema-ji. She is not pretentious about her life. She never made bold feminist statements but still lived a life that she believed in. My character Takku Bai in Rihaee was somewhat similar. Hema-ji and I are both Librans; my birthday is just a day after hers. So, we gelled well. She was very excited about the script and she too respected Smita. So, she wanted to do the film.’

Having watched the film, I ask Aruna how she convinced Hema to perform some of the explicit lovemaking scenes. I was surprised to learn that Hema didn’t have any reservations while shooting them. ‘Well, Hema-ji didn’t have any qualms with those scenes,’ Aruna tells me.

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