Mumbai: Veteran film actress and one of India’s earliest and best loved talk show hosts, Tabassum, died after suffering two successive cardiac arrests on Friday. The artiste, whose career spanned almost 75 of her 78-year lifespan, anchored Bombay Doordarshan’s most popular talk show ‘Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan’ from 1972 to 1993.

Born Kiran Bala Sachdev in Bombay in 1944, she made her debut as Baby Tabassum in 1947. She was married to Vijay Govil, brother of actor Arun Govil. Her son Hoshang reportedly said she passed away at 8:40 pm in hospital where she was admitted for a gastrointestinal ailment. Tabassum had tested positive for Covid earlier in April.

Audiences caught an early glimpse of the voluble child artiste in two Dilip Kumar-Nargis classics. The first was ‘Jogan’, followed by ‘Deedar’ featuring the evergreen horseback song ‘Bachpan ke din bhula na dena’ with another child artiste Parikshit Sahni. In both films, her large emotive eyes and clear speech marked her as an actor of promise.

Sahni said, “Her death is such sad news. I was a novice during ‘Deedar’, she was a child star by then though she was younger than me. But what a nice person! She had a strong command over Hindi and Urdu even at that early age.”

Her other films are ‘Mera Suhaag’ (1947), ‘Manjhdhar’ (1947) and ‘Badi Behen’ (1949). Her last film appearance was ‘Swarg’ (1990). Her noteworthy songs ‘Rekha O Rekha’ (‘Adhikar’) as well as ‘Dekho bijli dole bin baadal ke’ from ‘Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon’, where she played Asha Parekh’s impish friend, are still popular. ‘Pyar Ka Mausam’ and ‘Heer Ranjha’ are also memorable.

Tabassum passed away even as Bombay Doordarshan is celebrating its golden jubilee. Former DD colleagues mourned the end of an era. Manmohan Singh Rawat, who was assistant director in ‘Phool Khile. . . ’ from 1984 recalled Tabassum as a “fine human being, cheerful with an impeccable command over Hindi and Urdu”.

He said, “She had her own performance troupe ‘Tabassum Hit Parade’ which launched the careers of Johny Lever and Sunidhi Chauhan. She even wrote a joke book.”

Former programme executive Anita Rai of ‘Chhayageet’ fame said, “We had a long beautiful relationship. We used to produce ‘Phool Khile...’ where she interviewed famous film personalities with ease and confidence. She was a kind-hearted and jovial person. Tabassum ji respected every person and had an amazing memory. She used to call everyone in the unit by name even if she met them after a gap. Kids used to enjoy her company in a programme titled ‘Story Time’.”

--------------------------------

Hindi cinema has lost its smile. Veteran actor-television host Tabassum, whose association with the screen was as long as India’s Independence, has passed away. Tabassum died on Friday following a cardiac arrest. She was 78.

“She was admitted to a hospital due to gastro problems. She suffered from two cardiac arrests in an interval of two minutes and passed away around 8.40 pm,” her son Hoshang Govil said, adding that the funeral took place on Saturday. Her family has organized a prayer service scheduled for Monday to “celebrate her legacy and beautiful smile”.

At a young age, Tabassum entered the industry with the screen name ‘Baby Tabassum’ in the film Nargis (1947). Her screen presence ensured that she soon became the first choice for younger versions of then prominent actors like Nargis (Deedar, 1951) and Meena Kumari (Baiju Bawra, 1952). Tabassum took a gap from the screen and then returned in the ’60s as an adult actor.

But her relationship with the big screen wasn’t the same anymore. That’s when Tabassum took to television, which was at its nascent stage in the country. She loved movies, not the medium. So, in 1972, Tabassum began hosting Indian TV’s first talk show, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, which featured her interviewing film stars.

Anil Kapoor, who featured alongside Tabassum in the 1986 comedy Chameli Ki Shaadi, which was also among her last film appearances, shares he and his family were big fans of her talk show that they named their 1978 production starring Rishi Kapoor and Moushumi Chatterjee after the show. “That was the impact of her show. She was a lovely lady, always cheerful and positive, smiling and laughing, vibrant, and full of energy. She was one of the pioneers of hosting shows,” Kapoor says.

It was a moment of honour for dancer-actor Sudha Chandran to feature alongside the yesteryear actor in her film, Nache Mayuri (1986). Chandran claims she grew up watching Tabassum’s Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan. The actor shot for Tabassum Talkies (her YouTube channel) a few days before the veteran actor’s sudden death. “Age was just a number for her. She had so many anecdotes to share and was always full of life and cheer. For me, it was like a dream come true to sit and talk to someone with [such an illustrious] career. Although it was 35 years ago that we worked on Nache Mayuri, but I remember being so young and star struck at that time. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. You could listen to her endlessly because she had a great command over language and an unexpected innocence.”

Popular television actor Indraneil Sengupta, who played her grandson in the show Pyaar Ke Do Naam: Ek Raadha Ek Shyaam (2006), remembers her as his grandmother even after the director said cut. While it is common for senior actors to wear a sense of seriousness in their demeanour, Tabassum always carried a child-like glee, says Sengupta. “She was fond of me and Barkha [Sengupta, his wife and co-star]. She never had the aura of a senior [actor] and was always like a grandmother showering you with love. There are many good people, but rarely do you find someone, who exudes positivity 24/7. Tabassum ji was that person,” he says.

Unlike most actors of yore, Tabassum always moved with the times and sought relevance. She was also a connoisseur of cinema, which made her seek a new audience in both old and young. In 2015, she launched her YouTube channel Tabassum Talkies, where she shared untold stories of iconic film artistes.

- Nargis (1947)

- Deedar (1951)

- Baiju Bawra (1952)

- Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan (1972)

- Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

- Tum Par Hum Qurban (1985)

- Naache Mayuri (1986)

- Pyaar Ke Do Naam: Ek Raadha, Ek Shyaam (2006)

- Ladies Special (2009)

- Tabassum Talkies