Sharmila Tagore talks with Subhash K Jha about her iconic film Aradhana, that also featured Rajesh Khanna, which released in 1969, returning to theatres.
One of your most important films, Aradhana, is back in movie theatres?
Yeah, I was taken as a serious actor in Hindi cinema after that. Before that, I did a lot of glamorous roles like An Evening in Paris and Kashmir. I also did Devar and Anupama before Aradhana, which were very performance-oriented characters.
No, no, so it would be wrong to say that Aradhana was the first time when you were taken seriously by Hindi audiences ?
But the depth of the audiences’ appreciation…. I remember when that scene was shown, you know, the first time the audience sees me as the old person in the jail and the entire hall started giggling. Yes, yes, that happened. My director, Shakti Samanta, left the hall saying that Sharmila Tagore had not been accepted. And then this scene between the jailer and myself. But at the end, you could hear people sniffling. So, there was immediate acceptance after that two-minute scene. So then Shaktiji came back into the theatre, and then, of course, the rest is history. That moment was very defining. So, I managed to convince the audience.
Yes, you did.
There were lots of tears. But I think at that time, people liked that, you know, this kind of emotion. I think people resonated with my character, Vandana’s grief, and her loss. Right now, today, I don’t think people like crying at all. I mean, they don’t want their actors to cry too much. I think at the moment, people feel that we want to go to the movies to laugh, to have a good time, not to hear about other people’s grief. Anyway, let’s not judge others. I mean, I don’t know, there must be a lot of other films that also make you cry. Maidaan was very good. But Maidaan, it wasn’t a tearjerker as such. But you empathize, and you feel for the character. You feel a lump in your throat.
Okay, so, Sharmila ji, when you were offered Aradhana, let’s go back to that a bit. Was there any trepidation because you had to play an older woman?
No, no, I wanted to act in that. Shaktiji wasn’t very convinced, so I sort of said, “No, I want to do that role.” I was very convinced that I wanted to do it. He got convinced when the film came out and people finally got around.
But you must have been very scared that suppose people…
Everybody was, especially with Rajesh Khanna playing a double role and playing my lover and my son. Quite a risky thing to do. That’s why they made me look so old. I mean, Shaktiji also took a risk. Let’s say I was about 22 when I played Rajesh Khanna’s character’s beloved. So, I must be in my 40s when I become a single mother. They made me look much older to convince audiences. Otherwise, imagine Rajesh Khanna and I’m looking middle-aged. That wouldn’t have worked. It would have looked too young. So, for convincing them, I had to look, you know, like grey-haired and like that.
And what was Rajesh Khanna like at that point of time when he had just started?
He was very good, and I saw it recently. And he’s acted so well. You know, that second character, that youthful energy. He just lifts the second half totally. You know, because the way he talks and then. And it’s just wonderful energy. And I realized how good… Oh, and the music by Sachin Dev Burman is just evergreen. It also lifted the film to another level altogether. Every song will continue to have a shelf life. I mean, they’re evergreen.
Shakti Samantha’s rapport with Sachin Dev and his son RD was unbelievable. In fact, ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ in Aradhana was actually composed by R.D. Burman?
Because Sachindev Burman was not well at that time.
And ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani’. There’s a story behind that?
Yeah, that was cheating. We had to shoot me and Rajesh Khanna separately. That was cheating. That was really not nice. I mean, if I had been there, it would have been that much better. Because it looked a little artificial, you know. Yeah, it did look like a studio thing. It did look like a studio, yeah.
If you had to change anything in Aradhana, would you do ‘Mere sapnon ki rani’ in an actual train rather than in a studio??
Yeah, perhaps I would. But, you know, that time it was… Either Ray’s Aranyar Din Ratri or that song in Aradhana. The dates were clashing. Manikda(Ray) ‘s film was start to finish. And this was just part of the film. So I think… Yeah, it was naughty of me.
It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t as if you were playing truant or anything?
No, no, no. I mean, Shaktiji understood that. Because he knew that I couldn’t say no to Manikda(Ray).
And Aradhana was released when the war with Pakistan had just started, right?
No, that was Amar Prem. The army had a premiere. And they must have known about the war during the premiere of Amar Prem. And the next day, war was declared. And the chief of army Sam Manekshaw was there. He must have known about it. But he just wanted to cheer the army up.
So, between Aradhana and Amar Prem, you know my choice. But which one do you think is a better film?
I think Amar Prem. In Aradhana, the overriding emotion actually carry the film.
