‘Those were not kind days for a woman with a break-up.’
IMAGE: Nargis in Shree 420. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
Among the few who knew iconic actress Nargis best is her niece and former actress Zaheeda (Anokhi Raat, Prem Pujari, Gambler).
“The love in her eyes when she looks at Raj Kapoor! I challenge any artiste of today to emote like that with just their eyes,” Zaheeda tells Rediff‘s Dinesh Raheja.
Did you grow up living in the same house as your aunt Nargis?
All of us lived together as one big, happy joint family in Marine Drive’s Chateau Marine building (on Marine Drive, South Mumbai).
Nargisji lived with my grandparents, my father (Nargis’ brother Akhtar Hussain) and his family as well as (actor) Anwar uncle’s family.
It was a huge 3,000 square foot flat, and Nargisji had one bedroom to herself.
IMAGE: Nargis enjoys a glimpse of Marine Drive from her apartment. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
She was already a huge star. Could you walk into her room anytime?
Of course! When I returned home from school, I would enter her room and see the beautiful cotton sari which she had worn to the studio and which was now kept for dry-cleaning.
She never left home without applying perfume, so I would pick the sari and smell the perfume…
How involved was she in your life?
I loved my aunt, and she loved me and my sisters Rehana and Shahida.
She would put me on her shoulders and enter the swimming pool at the CCI, then throw me into the deep and challenge me to swim.
She also taught me ballroom dancing and how to use the soup spoon, dessert spoon etc.
IMAGE: Zaheeda with Nargis. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
Were there no starry airs at home?
She was a simple woman which simple tastes.
Her favourite food was bhindi and she could take a plate and eat while sitting on the floor.
She could take a chatai and sleep on the floor.
She was just Baby which is what she was called by the whole family because she was the youngest.
But we sisters and cousins called her Pappo because when we were young, we couldn’t say Fufi (aunt) and we ended up enunciating it as Pappo.
Nargis never considered living independently?
My father had fixed up a nice apartment for her in a neighbouring building but she didn’t stay there even for one night.
That building was made by G P Sippy (of Sholay fame) and it was my father who recommended that he turn film producer. Now their grandsons (Rohan Sippy and my son Nilesh Sahay) have ganged up to make a film.
IMAGE: Raj Kapoor and Nargis at Oxford Street, London, in 1956. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
You told me you have been re-watching Raj Kapoor-Nargis’ 1950s classics.
I thought chalo, I’ve not seen my aunt in such a long time so I started watching.
Oh my God! As an audience, I could see no vulgarity, just pure innocence and genuine love on screen. The love in her eyes when she looks at Raj Kapoor! I challenge any artiste of today to emote like that with just their eyes.
Do you remember meeting Raj Kapoor?
He would come to our house sometimes. On Diwali, an enormous box of mithai and firecrackers would come from Raj Kapoor.
Dabboo (Randhir Kapoor) would come home with the invitation card to all the RK premieres. And Raj uncle would call and say, ‘Zaroor aana‘.
If I wore my aunt’s sari to the premiere, he would immediately recognise it.
Nargis came across as a strong lady. Was it difficult for her to reclaim her life after she broke up with Raj Kapoor and walked out of RK Studios?
She was hurt.
There was a time when he could have married her, but he didn’t.
Remember, those were not kind days for a woman with a break-up. The world has changed; today, nobody cares.
She soon immersed herself in the epic Mother India (1957). What do you recall of that time?
Her Mother India co-stars, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar and Rajendra Kumar would land up at our home.
My aunt would send us to get sandwiches and pastries from Gaylord and I would say sarcastically: ‘Don’t these people eat at home and come?’
Then there was the famous fire on the set and Sunil Dutt gallantly rescued Nargis.
It was a harrowing time.
When they returned from that outdoor shoot of Mother India, I had accompanied my father to the railway station to receive her.
A part of my aunt’s hand had been badly burnt and there were some burns on her forehead. But Sunil Dutt had been very badly burnt.
IMAGE: Nargis with Sunil Dutt. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
How did their love story develop?
Sunil Dutt was a very shy man.
Whenever he came home, he would stare at the Persian carpet.
He would wait for hours for her to return from the studio.
We would ask if he wanted tea but he would say, ‘Nahin jee, main pee ke aaya.’ Very shareef.
Was theirs a big marriage?
It was a simple marriage.
The family got to know only afterwards, when they came home to seek their blessings.
After marriage, they shifted to a one-bedroom apartment in the Stardust building on Napean Sea Road.
IMAGE: Nargis Dutt with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at Rashtrapati Bhavan, 1958. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
Was it a difficult decision for her to leave films, especially on the heels of Mother India?
She was being offered fabulous amounts of money and stories written around her character.
But Sunil Dutt said, ‘Nahin madam, bas ab ho gaya.’
She had always craved for a family and loved children. Look how she looked after us like her own children.
Did you see her less often after marriage?
She had made it clear to Sunil Dutt that her family meant the world to her and nothing would change that.
She could not live without Chateau Marine; every morning she would be home till evening.
We nieces eventually became more like her sisters, and would regularly meet her for shopping, movies and lunches.
Was she an indulgent mother to Sanjay Dutt?
His mother always had a slipper in her hand to discipline him (laughs).
IMAGE: Shammi, Nargis and I S Johar in Miss India (1957). Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X
His father believed in tough love.
Yes, Sunil Dutt had his quirks.
When he was making Man Ka Meet with his brother Som Dutt, he got angry when his brother refused to jump down from a height.
He told his son to do the jump, and Sanjay obliged.
My aunt said she almost had a heart attack. But his father wanted his son to be a tough boy.
How did she get involved in social work?
If she knew anybody was in trouble, she would go out of her way and use her offices to help.
She helped introduce Amitabh Bachchan and Leena Chandavarkar to so many people in the industry.
She stood by Meena Kumari too during her fatal illness.
When I was shooting in London for (Dev Anand’s) Prem Pujari (1970), I asked Dev for permission to meet Meena Kumari in hospital there.
My aunt had sent woollen coats for Meena Kumari through me because she knew she was in a bad financial situation.
Her health was in a very bad state.
IMAGE: Sunil Dutt and Nargis with their son Sanjay Dutt. Photograph: Kind courtesy Sanjay Dutt/ Instagram
Tragically, Nargis too died young. Only 51. What was your last conversation with her?
Sunil Dutt called and said, ‘Come, your Pappo wants to meet you all for the last time.’
When I went to see her in the ICU, I can never forget the way she looked at me.
She just said: ‘I am finished.’
I said, ‘Please don’t say that.’
She had every religious support at her bedside.
I said they will look after you.
Then I left the room because I didn’t want to burst into tears in front of her.
I miss her and remember her every day so fondly.
I love her children Anju, Sanju and Priya too because she had said before dying: ‘Don’t abandon my children.’
