Stills from Phagun, Trishul

MUMBAI MIRROR (September 6, 2019)

For a recent guest turn on a TV show, Amitabh Bachchan came armed with lesser-known anecdotes from his early days in films. And most of them featured former co-star Waheeda Rehman. The Big B started off by revealing that the senior actress and Dilip Kumar are his two idols.

“The first time I got an opportunity to work with her (was) in Reshma Aur Shera. During the shoot, there was a sequence where Sunil Dutt and Waheeda ji had to sit bare-feet in the desert. I was worried about how she was managing to shoot in high temperature without footwear. So, as soon as the director announced a break, I took Waheeda ji’s juttis and ran towards her,” the 76-yearold actor reminisced, going on to add that she is still the most beautiful woman to him and is the perfect example of an Indian woman.

During the show, Bachchan also shared an interesting trivia about his family. “Waheeda ji has worked with three members of our family and has played the role of mother with all three of us. In Phagun (1973), she played a mother to my wife (Jaya Bachchan), she was Abhishek’s mother in Om Jai Jagadish (2002; right), and worked with me in Trishul (1978),” he said.

Waheeda Rehman, who was on the show through videoconferencing, laughed her heart out. “It feels happy and ajeeb (weird) at the same time. If it continues this way, perhaps I will play mother or grandmother to Abhishek’s kids someday!” she exclaimed.

Neha Maheshwri Bhagat (BOMBAY TIMES; October 19, 2015)