The Pakistani actress, who made her Bollywood debut opposite Rishi Kapoor in Henna,recalls her fondest memories of the actor and the days of the shoot
Richa Shukla (BOMBAY TIMES; May 8, 2020)

Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar made her film debut in 1991 with the movie Henna, opposite Rishi Kapoor. Sharing her fond memories of the time spent with the late actor, Zeba says the news of Rishi’s demise is yet to sink in.

“It was an unfortunate day when I woke up to this news. I got a call from a journalist, who informed me about Rishi’s death. It was heartbreaking. All the good old memories came flooding back. I’m yet to believe that my dear friend is gone. He will always remain a mentor to me,” she says. The actress had been in regular touch with Rishi through phone calls and messages. She tells us, “Whenever Ranbir’s film released, Rishi would ask me to watch it. The last I met him was almost a decade ago, in 2010, in India. He was as charming and jovial as ever.”

Recalling her debut with Rishi, Zeba shares, “Henna will always hold a special place in my life. It was a dream come true for me. The title role demanded a girl from Pakistan and for authenticity, Raj sahab and Randhir, too, wanted an actress from Pakistan. In 1989, I was in London when I got a call from Randhir, who asked me to come to Mumbai for a screen-test.” She adds, “I didn’t know much about Bollywood then, but I had seen Rishi’s films and loved Bobby. I was literally in awe of him! At the screen-test, Randhir introduced me to him and our bond grew stronger with time.”

Praising the actor and his family for making her feel at home during the shoot, Zeba says, “From day one, the Kapoors became my extended family. Away from his stardom, Rishi was a very kind-hearted and warm person. I remember we went to Austria to shoot a few songs there, Rishi’s family, too, accompanied us. It became like a family holiday for all of us.”
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Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 8, 2020)

Pakistani actor Zeba Bakhtiar remembers being intimidated by her immensely popular co-star Rishi Kapoor on the sets of her debut film, Henna. In this 1991 drama, helmed by Randhir Kapoor, Bakhtiar played the titular role. While working on the project, the Pakistani actor came close to the Kapoor family and found friends in both the Kapoor brothers.

The news of Rishi Kapoor’s demise came as a shock to her. Kapoor, 67, died in Mumbai on April 30. “I spoke to Randhir two days before this happened. He said, ‘Chintu is getting better’…Nobody saw this coming. After his treatment (in the US), he was so happy to be back home,” says Bakhtiar.

It was Kapoor’s “honesty and strong demeanour” that made Bakhtiar “respect” him all the more. “He was straightforward yet funny. He had a very active mind, knew about all kinds of films being made, newer technologies and techniques that were being used. He was knowledgeable,” says the actor who worked with Kapoor again in Mohabbat Ki Aarzoo (1994).

Reminiscing the days of making Henna, Bakhtiar, 57, shares, “While Randhir was collected and chill, Rishi was electrifying and full of energy. I was new then and he would help me with my performance.”

The last time they spoke this year, they had plans of catching up, she reveals. Bakhtiar shares that Kapoor is hugely popular in Pakistan and they were “devastated with the news as he was the ultimate romantic hero who everybody would miss”.

Rishi Kapoor opens up on why his upcoming film Mulk is relevant today
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; August 2, 2018)

Rishi Kapoor, on several occasions, has expressed how he has been fortunate to find challenging roles in the second innings of his career. In what could well be another significant part, the veteran will be seen playing the patriarch of a Muslim family that is trying to reclaim its lost honour in his upcoming release, Mulk. Apart from the creative satisfaction he derived from essaying the layered role, Kapoor is glad that the Anubhav Sinha-directed film unflinchingly puts the spotlight on a subject that few dare to discuss — communal conflicts in India.

"There is a general belief that every terrorist is a Muslim. But one has to understand that not all Muslims are terrorists. With Mulk, we are trying to challenge that misguided belief," says the actor, adding, "Muslims are looked upon with a suspicious eye, all over the world. Our film is based on a Muslim family, but it can be true for any community. It's a human saga that is throwing light on the happenings in our society."

At a time when lynching and mobocracy is unfortunately on the rise, the senior actor feels that it is only apt that cinema reflect the grim reality that we live in. "Mulk is a film that needs to be seen. The film shows people's attitude towards each other in society. After all, a country is made by the people living in it. So essentially, we are responsible for what happens here. Lynching has become common these days. The world is progressing, and we are still fighting over communal issues."

Satisfied as an artiste, Kapoor says the only dream he harbours at 65 is to visit his ancestral home in Peshawar. "I have been fortunate enough to visit Pakistan [he shot Henna there in 1990], but I would love to go there again. It's been 70 years and we are still fighting over Kashmir. Pakistan should realise India will never give Kashmir to them."

Nazia Hassan with brother Zoheb; Zeenat Aman grooving to ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ in Qurbani

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 5, 2018)

I didn’t need a Google doodle to remind me of Nazia Hassan on April 3 on what would have been her 53rd birthday. The sweet, shy 15-year-old school-going singer had become a household name in 1980 with the Qurbani chartbuster, “Aap Jaisa Koi” and not just because a sexy Zeenat Aman was crooning it in a night club on screen. There was something about this teenager from across the border, who grew up in London and exploded in Bollywood with the Biddu composition in Feroz Khan’s action-drama, that made her a star, albeit a reluctant one.

It was a sensational debut for the young singer and I was surprised to learn from her brother Zoheb, who later became her singing partner, that it almost didn’t happen. “Nazia didn’t really want to sing and had to be persuaded by Feroz Khan to show up at the recording studio where the track Biddu had composed in a rush was played for us and we realised that it was a knockoff of the popular Boney M hit, 'Rasputin'. We were already writing, composing and singing our own music and she didn’t want to be a part of anything that wasn’t original. Biddu stomped out in anger and Feroz Khan sighing over his decision to go against the golden rule to never work with animals and kids, asked Nazia why she was blowing her big chance,” reminisces Zoheb, adding that his sister stuck to her stand despite the filmmaker’s pleas.

Eventually, Biddu returned to the studio and Feroz took him aside, trying to placate him. After a while, the composer walked up to them and asked to listen to their music. Nazia sang, an adolescent Zoheb whose voice was breaking played the guitar. Biddu was impressed. “He told a worried Feroz Khan who didn’t want to delay his film, that between us we would come up with something new and the rest, as they say, is history,” he laughs across the wire from London, going on to add that the filmmaker had been prepared to be diplomatic when “Aap Jaisa Koi” was played for him, but like everyone else he was also bowled over. Nazia was the first Pakistani to take home Filmfare’s Black Lady, the youngest recipient in the best playback (female) category.

A year later, the siblings collaborated with Biddu on their first album, Disco Deewane, which was on the charts in 14 countries to become the best-selling Asian pop record at the time. Over the next decade, the duo released four more albums — Boom Boom, Young Tarang, Hotline and Camera Camera (Nazia’s last solo album) in 1992. “We were very young, still in school, and our parents were determined for us to acquire a degree first before pursuing a career in music. So, we were only allowed to record during summer holidays,” Zoheb points out.

He adds that he also had to turn down all the movie offers he was flooded with at 17 from big filmmakers like Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra and Gul Anand because his parents did not want him to move to Mumbai. “Nazia also got her share of movie offers. Raj baba (Raj Kapoor) was really close to our family and for years he tried to coax a nod out of Nazia for his dream project Henna but she was not interested in acting,” he reveals. The cross-border love story was eventually made by Randhir Kapoor after his father’s death with Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar playing the role RK had in mind for Nazia. Meanwhile, Nazia went on to get a degree in law while Zoheb graduated in economics and financial management.

The turning point in their life came when Nazia was diagnosed with cancer. Zoheb had to record their last album alone even though they had planned plenty of duets because his sister was unwell and undergoing chemotherapy. “She knew she was dying but remained positive, telling me we would go on a tour together. That album, titled Signature, remains special because those were our last months together and she remained a fighter till the end, wanting the doctor to intensify the chemo so she could spend more time with her son, even though she was warned that her frail body might not be able to take it. She wanted to kill the disease and not vice versa,” he says emotionally, flashbacking to when they had just moved to UK and were staying with their grandmother. On the way to school, they would be chased by a gang of students led by a punk of a girl who, for him, was a scary figure with her cut-offs, nosering and denim jacket. “But Nazia was fearless and one day walked up to the older girl, telling her to fight her one-on-one. She beat the girl up, determined to protect me, till the girl ran away and never bothered us again,” he says proudly.

Nazia left the world on August 13, 2000, at the age of 35. Now, Zoheb plans to bring her story to the screen. He has offers from seven companies who want to roll with the biopic. His mother’s illness put the brakes on the project for a few months but now that she is home, he plans to resume work.

He has two daughters, Allyana and Mia, who are 16 and 14, while Nazia has left behind a son, Arez. Will any of them feature in the film? “Arez is into sports. My daughters are the ones interested in music and are working on an album presently. We need established actors for Nazia’s story who can bring the agony, ecstasy and the music that was her life to the screen,” he asserts.