Waheeda Rehman

A fellow actor Shashi Rekhi (screen name Kamaljeet) with whom she had appeared in the movie ‘Shagoon’ in 1964 proposed marriage to her and the couple tied the knot in 1974. They had two children, Sohail and Kashvi. Her husband died in 2000.

Waheeda Rehman was born into a Muslim family in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India, on 3 February 1938. Her father was a district commissioner.

She was a talented young girl, who along with her sister learnt Bharatnatyam from some of the most prominent teachers of the dance form. The sisters also performed together on stage.

Tragedy struck her family when her father died in 1948. Her mother too began suffering from ill health and passed away in 1955. Even though she had initially aspired to be a doctor, her family circumstances forced her to abandon her studies.

She began her acting career in Indian regional cinema, appearing in Telugu films ‘Jayasimha’ (1955), ‘Rojulu Marayi’ (1956) and Tamil film ‘Kaalam Maari Pochu’ (1955).

In the success party of ‘Rojulu Marayi’, the beautiful young actress was spotted by Hindi film director Guru Dutt. He took her under his wing and began mentoring her.

She moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) and was cast as a vamp in Dutt’s production ‘CID’ (1956), directed by Raj Khosla. She made her Hindi film debut as a mysterious woman named Kamini, a role that is counted amongst her most seductive ones.

’CID’ was a hit and impressed by her performance, Dutt cast her in the leading role in ‘Pyaasa’ in 1957. The duo went on to work together in other films like ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ (1959) and ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’ (1962), but with time their relations grew strained and they drifted apart. Dutt died in 1964 reportedly from an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol.

Waheeda Rehman formed a very successful on-screen pair with superstar Dev Anand, her co-star in her Hindi film debut. The two acted together in several other hit films as well including ‘Kala Bazar ‘(1960), ‘Baat Ek Raat Ki’ (1962) and ‘Guide’ (1965).

The 1969 movie ‘Khamoshi’ in which Waheeda Rehman starred against Rajesh Khanna is counted amongst her most successful films. Her powerful performance as Nurse Radha earned her much critical acclaim.

’Pyaasa’ is another one of her remarkable films. She played the role of a prostitute who helps a struggling poet in the movie. In 2005, ‘Pyaasa’ was rated as one of the 100 best films of all time by ‘Time’ magazine, which called it "the soulfully romantic of the lot."

She took a bold risk by playing the character of Rosie in ‘Guide’. Her portrayal of a woman who leaves her husband for her lover was well accepted by the audience and the film was a critically acclaimed commercial hit.