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âœI gave a zabardast thappad to a famous writerâ - Poster girl of the â70s Rehana Sultan

SoftwareTechIT November 19, 2021
Sprawled in bed, the liquor emboldening her, Seema bares her seduction game on her reluctant customer. Unreciprocated, she stands up, the camera spotlighting her legs with the man in the frame looking away… The outrageous scene from B.R. Ishara’s Chetna (1970), featuring newbies FTII graduates Rehana Sultan and Anil Dhawan, made it to every billboard in town. Shaking sexual morality out of its conceit, it changed the cinematic idiom forever.
While Chetna had her play hooker Seema, Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Dastak, released the same year, had Rehana play newlywed Salma, yearning for intimacy with her husband. That she’s mistaken for being a courtesan is an irony of circumstance. If Chetna was prosaic, Dastak was poetry. But both hinged on the objectification of women, stripping sexual predatory to the bone. Generous acclaim and awards later, Rehana hailed as the mascot of New Wave cinema, found herself trapped by the typecasting syndrome...
In the ’80s, she married mentor and maverick B R Ishara, her senior by several years. From muse to mate, hers was an abiding commitment until he passed away in 2012. His memories still turn her misty. His philosophy brings her solace. Away from the limelight, the 69-year-old Rehana values the afterglow of a life lived with integrity…
Dastak and Chetna, both in 1970, brought you instant fame.
I had signed Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Dastak while at the FTII itself. We began shooting it later. However, Chetna (1970, directed by B.R.Ishara) was released first. Bedi saab taught me the nuances of women in the lower-middle-class families of North India. They use a lot of gestures while talking. Newlywed Salma pines for her husband (Sanjeev Kumar). I had to express that. Dastak was an author-backed role. Sanjeev was an extremely fine actor and I tried my best to compliment him. The film’s songs Baiyan na dharo, Hum hain mata e, Tumse kahoon ek baat and Mai ri were beautifully filmed.

Rehana pics for her birthday article

You must have been surprised to win the National Award for Dastak…
I was shooting for a film when Sanjeev Kumar called me up and said, ‘Do you know you have won a National Award for Dastak? It’s like an Oscar.’ I couldn’t believe I had won it. I became emotional and began crying. In a celebratory mood, the unit announced a pack-up. This was my first introduction to success. I never imagined I’d become famous overnight.
How did Chetna come about?
Bedi saab was shooting Dastak in black and white so that the starkness of a middle-class family could be brought out. Initially, people thought it was an ordinary film. I developed a complex about that. So when a still photographer friend, Rakesh, said that director B.R.Ishara wanted to meet me for Chetna, I asked whether it was a black and white film. As he wasn’t sure, I was not keen on the narration. He said the director was writing the film in a hotel in Churchgate and that I’d have to meet him there. I didn’t want to go to the hotel as I’d heard stories about filmmakers calling heroines there. I asked them to come home. I entered the hall, my demeanour showing my disinclination. One glance at me and Ishara saab told Rakesh, ‘She’s my Seema (Rehana’s character in Chetna)’. He liked my naak unchi attitude! But I wasn’t keen.


Rehana pics for her birthday article

How did you finally relent?
Ishara saab was sitting with his legs on the sofa. I was appalled at the sight. Plus, he was smoking, the smoke filling the room. I hated it. This was the second disaster. I was 100 per cent sure I wouldn’t do his film. Out of courtesy, I asked whether they’d have tea. Ishara saab said, ‘Haan chai toh ho jaye!” I was taken aback at his informality in the first meeting itself.  Anyway, he began the narration. By the end of it, I had tears in my eyes though I didn’t want anyone to notice it. I said, ‘I am doing your film. When are you starting?’ Ishara saab said, ‘You’ll have to wear your own clothes.’ I agreed. He added, ‘You may have to get food for all from home.’ I agreed to that also. My only condition was that I’d give first priority to Dastak as I’d signed it first. I was playing a simple middle-class wife in Dastak and a call girl in Chetna. Given the contradictory characters, Bedi saab feared his film would be ruined. Thankfully, nothing of that sort of happened.
Was it uncomfortable shooting the famous ‘legs scene’ in Chetna?
At the institute, we’re taught to get into the skin of the characters. I tried to acquire the body language of a prostitute. I prepared myself scene-wise. Of course, I was nervous about shooting the bedroom scene. I’d keep asking Ishara saab, when he’d be shooting it. One day he got irritated. I explained to him that if I’m informed about it, then my hairdresser, Maria Sharma, would style my hair in a manner that would cover my body. My character is shown standing with her back to the camera. The front portion was covered with my hair left loose. I wore a saree petticoat and just pulled it up to show my legs. So actually, I was fully covered. But the way it was shot made a dramatic impact. I felt conscious saying the famous dialogue, “Hamne zinadgi mein itne nange mard dekhein hai, ke kapde pehne huwe mardon se mujhe nafrat ho gayee hai!” I gave many retakes but finally did it.


Rehana pics for her birthday article

What response did Chetna garner?
I wanted to watch Chetna with my colony friends. I went to book the tickets. At the counter, I was told it’s an adult film and I couldn’t get the ticket. I was embarrassed. I told my friends that the ticket issuer had said, ‘Since you’re the heroine, tickets ki kya zaroorat hai!’ While we were watching the film, I was nervous about the public reaction. The ‘legs’ scene is the interval point. But there were no whistles, no catcalls… I felt relieved. In fact, people appreciated my performance.
With acclaim also came the hazard of being typecast. Right?
Yes, there was always an attempt to typecast me. I wanted to play different roles but producers expected me to play similar roles. Haar Jeet (1972) was an emotional film. There was nothing sexy about my character. But they put a huge picture of mine with the pallu dropping on the hoardings. If the performances are good, sex or no sex makes no difference to a film. But they tried to exploit my image, which caused more harm instead. The audience felt cheated. Films like Savera (1972), Dil Ki Raahen, Prem Parbat (both in 1973)… won appreciation but didn’t do well commercially. The songs Yeh dil aur unki nigahon ke saaye (Prem Parbat) and Rasme ulfat and Aap ki batein karein from Dil Ki Raahein are still popular.
An unsavoury incident you recall in your career?
No one misbehaved or tried to take advantage of me. Except for one incident with a famous writer. He had visited my house a few times. I was familiar with him and respected him. So, when a meeting was arranged with me at Holiday Inn, I couldn’t refuse. It was a morning story session and the writer was already drunk. Throughout the narration, he would sometimes put his hand on my shoulders, sometimes on my head and finally on my leg. Furious, I got up to leave. I moved towards the door when he put his arm around my shoulder. I turned around and slapped him hard – ek zabardast thappad! He fell on the floor, drunk that he was. Somehow the story leaked and appeared in the Blitz newspaper. The article didn’t mention any names. But referred to me as a ‘thappad marne wali heroine!’
What pulled you towards B.R.Ishara and finally marry him?
Ishara saab had fine qualities. He was hardworking, truthful, and sincere. I saw the image of my father in him. But my father was against the marriage. He wanted a ‘suit boot wala ladka’. Ishara saab toh chappal wale the. Gradually, dad developed a fondness for Ishara saab and they became friends. Ishara saab and I had a huge age gap between us. I was around 26 and he was in his late 40s when we got married in 1983. I never felt the difference though. He was in love with films. He’d say, ‘Cinema is my first wife. You’re my second. You’ll remain No.2.’ In all these years he never spoke to me harshly or ever raised his voice. He was a fine human being.

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