‘I
was
completely
in
awe
of
him.’
‘After
the
shot
was
okayed,
I
would
quickly
run
back
to
my
chair
and
sit
quietly
till
I
was
called
again.’
On
November
7,
one
of
Indian
cinema’s
finest
actors
and
film-makers,
Kamal
Haasan,
turns
70
and
wishing
her
Ek
Duuje
Ke
Liye
co-star
on
his
big
day,
Rati
Agnihotri
goes
down
memory
lane
with
Rediff.com
Senior
Contributor
Roshmila
Bhattacharya.
Remembering
K
Balachander’s
1981
tragic
romance,
a
cult
film
today,
the
actress
shares,
“Mere
Jeevan
Sathi
was
filmed
inside
the
lift
of
the
Hotel
Taj
Coromandel
in
Chennai.
I
don’t
remember
much
about
the
shoot
except
the
elevators
back
then
were
pretty
small
and
Kamal
and
I
couldn’t
do
much
in
the
cramped
space
except
smile
and
move
the
upper
portion
of
our
bodies
without
going
out
of
the
frame.”
Back
in
Gaiety-Galaxy
The
other
day,
I
went
with
my
son,
Tanuj
(Virwani),
for
the
first
day,
first
show
of
Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3.
The
crowd
at
the
multiplexes
are
too
elitist,
watching
silently
and
leaving
quietly.
Being
from
the
film
industry,
we
wanted
to
experience
the
horror-comedy
with
a
more
interactive
crowd
who
laughed,
clapped,
screamed
and
whistled.
So
Tanuj
suggested
we
go
to
Gaiety-Galaxy
theatre
in
Bandra
(north
west
Mumbai).
I
was
immediately
excited,
remembering
my
earlier
visits
to
the
theatre,
sitting
in
the
box
in
the
balcony
and
watching
one
of
my
films
with
the
audience
to
gauge
their
reaction
first-hand.
After
many
years,
I
was
back,
feeling
nostalgic,
and
was
instantly
recognised
by
the
liftman,
a
wide-eyed,
young
boy,
who
stuttered,
‘Aap
Rati
Agnihotri
hain
na?’
admitting
that
his
mother
was
a
huge
fan.
I
was
in
films
for
less
than
a
decade,
retiring
prematurely
after
I
got
married
when
at
the
peak
of
my
popularity,
yet
some
of
the
films
I
did
as
a
leading
lady
have
kept
me
alive
in
people’s
memory,
among
them
my
debut
Hindi
film.
A
remake
of
K
Balachander
sir’s
1978
Telugu
film
Maro
Charitra,
Ek
Duuje
Ke
Liye
released
in
1981.
Yet,
even
after
40
years,
people
haven’t
forgotten
Vasu
and
Sapna.
It
is
the
love
story
of
a
South
Indian
boy
and
a
North
Indian
girl
and
Kamal
(Haasan)
and
I
were
perfectly
cast
because
he
is
a
Tamilian
while
I
come
from
a
Punjabi
family.
Around
the
world
with
Kamal
I
got
into
films
at
the
age
of
16
quite
by
accident
when
Bharathiraja
sir
saw
me
in
a
school
play
and
convinced
my
father
to
let
me
play
the
lead
opposite
Bhagyaraj
in
his
1979
Tamil
romance
drama,
Puthiya
Vaarpugal.
It
was
a
blockbuster
and
I
did
a
second
Tamil
film
with
him,
Neeram
Maraatha
Pookkal.
There
were
other
films
down
South,
including
Ullasa
Paravaigal
with
Kamal,
which
released
in
Tamil
on
March
7,
1980,
and
a
year
later,
in
Telugu
as
Prem
Pichchi.
It
was
also
dubbed
in
Hindi
as
Do
Dil
Deewane.
Like
many
South
Indian
films,
it
was
a
beautiful
love
story,
way
ahead
of
its
time.
Kamal
plays
Ravi
who,
after
the
girl
he
loves
dies
in
a
fire,
develops
pyrophobia.
I’m
his
childhood
friend,
Nirmala,
who
along
with
his
father
and
friend
Raju,
helps
him
get
over
his
fear
of
fire
and
settle
scores
with
his
villainous
uncle.
The
film
was
shot
in
Germany,
Japan,
France
and
the
US,
among
other
countries,
and
I
got
to
travel
the
world
while
being
paid
handsomely
for
it.
My
mother
accompanied
me
and
while
it
was
pretty
hectic
—
because
every
other
day
we
were
in
a
new
country
—
it
was
fun
too.
The
unit
stayed
together,
ate
together,
worked
together
and
lived
out
a
dream
together.
The
innocence
of
a
sweet
16
star
I
had
a
pretty
ordinary
and
regimented
life
till
then.
My
dad
worked
for
a
multinational
company
and
we
would
sit
down
to
supper
every
evening
at
7.30
pm
sharp.
Movie
shoots
in
comparison
were
like
a
vacation.
I
got
to
fly
off
to
different
places,
stayed
in
five-star
hotels
and
dinner
was
South
Indian
fare
which
was
a
refreshing
change
for
me
from
the
kali
channa
and
muttur
pulao
I
ate
at
home.
I
was
clueless
about
how
much
I
was
earning,
but
back
then,
even
girls
from
affluence
did
not
want
for
much
and
I
was
happy
if
my
dad
occasionally
let
me
have
sev
puri
and
pani
puri.
Stardom
did
not
spoil
me
and
my
innocence
was
reflected
in
the
characters
I
played.
If
you
recall
that
shot
in
Ek
Duuje
Ke
Liye
where
Kamal
spins
a
top
on
my
navel,
more
than
tantalisingly
sexy,
it
is
girlishly
cute.
Balachander
sir
took
it
in
one
long
shot
without
any
cuts
and
as
the
top
spun,
I
began
to
feel
ticklish
and
started
giggling
which
his
camera
captured
beautifully,
moving
up
to
focus
on
my
face.
Kamal
was
six
years
older
and
back
then,
that
was
an
appreciable
age
difference.
Having
worked
in
films
from
a
young
age,
he
was
also
far
more
experienced,
besides
being
a
huge
star.
I
was
completely
in
awe
of
him.
While
I
laughed
and
danced
with
him
on
screen,
off
it,
I
couldn’t
imagine
even
chatting
with
him.
After
the
shot
was
okayed,
I
would
quickly
run
back
to
my
chair
and
sit
quietly
till
I
was
called
again.
There
was
the
language
barrier
too.
Love
finds
its
own
language
I’ve
done
a
lot
of
films
in
Tamil,
Telugu
and
even
Kannada,
and
while
I
eventually
learnt
these
South
Indian
languages
from
listening
to
the
unit
chatting
around
me
and
coordinating
with
them,
in
the
initial
years,
I
did
not
speak
a
word.
Balachander
sir
would
explain
each
shot
in
detail
and
I
would
do
exactly
what
I
was
told
depending
on
the
situation
and
what
I
had
understood
to
the
best
of
my
ability.
It
seems
like
a
school-girlish
approach
today,
but
at
the
time,
it
was
the
only
way
to
get
things
done
since
I
had
zero
knowledge
of
film-making,
very
limited
exposure
to
the
industry
and
didn’t
even
know
the
language.
If
I
couldn’t
comprehend
something,
Prasadji
(producer
L
V
Prasad)
would
jump
in
to
explain
since
he
was
the
only
one
on
the
set
who
spoke
Hindi
and
English.
Despite
the
linguistic
barrier,
everyone
was
very
affectionate,
caring
and
gentle.
Kamal
too
was
very
helpful,
telling
me
to
take
my
cues
from
him
and
simply
copy
what
he
was
doing
or
react
to
it.
I
did
ask
him
the
meaning
of
certain
phrases
because
I
had
to
know
what
he
was
saying
to
react
appropriately.
Romancing
in
the
lift
Ek
Duuje
Ke
Liye
has
an
evergreen
music
score
by
Laxmikant-Pyarelal.
S
P
Balasubrahmanyam
sir
won
the
National
Award
for
Best
Male
Playback
Singer
for
Tere
Mere
Beech
Mein.
His
first
Hindi
film
also
bagged
him
the
Filmfare
Award
for
the
same
song
while
Anand
Bakshi
took
home
the
Black
Lady
for
Best
Lyricist.
Balasubrahmanyam
sir
also
sang
the
song
as
a
duet
with
Lataji
(Mangeshkar)
who
collaborated
with
Anup
Jalota
for
Main
Solah
Baras
Ki.
Beside
these
two
songs,
there
was
the
title
track,
Hum
Bane
Tum
Bane
Ek
Duuje
Ke
Liye,
the
poignant
Hum
Tum
Dono
Jab
Mil
Jayenge,
the
distraught
Tere
Mere
Beech
Mein
Kaisa
Hai
Yeh
Bandhan
Anjaana
and
the
fun
Mere
Jeevan
Sathi
Pyar
Kiye
Ja.
Mere
Jeevan
Sathi
was
filmed
inside
the
lift
of
Hotel
Taj
Coromandel
in
Chennai.
I
don’t
remember
much
from
the
shoot
except
that
elevators
back
then
were
pretty
small
and
Kamal
and
I
couldn’t
do
much
in
the
cramped
space
except
smile
and
move
the
upper
portion
of
our
bodies
without
going
out
of
the
frame.
We
couldn’t
even
use
too
many
lights
because
the
mirrored
walls
would
catch
their
reflection.
I
had
no
costume
designer,
hairdresser
or
even
a
make-up
man.
I
wore
whatever
the
dress
dada
gave
me,
having
no
say
in
the
matter.
Someone
combed
my
hair
before
the
shot
and
dabbed
off
the
perspiration
with
some
powder.
A
touch
of
roll-on
gloss
and
a
steak
of
kajal
that
my
mother
made
at
home
and
I
was
ready
to
face
the
camera.
There
was
no
prep
or
grooming
either.
The
song
was
shot
quickly
in
the
hotel
basement
and
the
limited
area
we
had
access
to,
within
the
few
hours
that
we
had
permission
for,
with
Kamal
urging
me
to
act
as
natural
as
possible.
The
chemistry
between
us,
Anand
Bakshi’s
peppy
lyrics
that
came
from
borrowing
the
titles
of
yesteryear
films,
L-P’s
catchy
tune,
Balasubrahmanyam
sir
and
Anuradha
Paudwal’s
voices
and
Balachander
sir’s
vision
made
Mere
Jeevan
Saathi
unforgettable.
I
was
at
the
right
age
to
play
Sapna,
but
since
I
had
never
been
in
love
myself,
when
I
was
called
upon
to
look
happy,
sad,
angry
or
defiant,
I
simply
followed
Balachander
sir’s
instructions
like
an
obedient
student.
There’s
this
emotional
scene
in
the
film
where
her
mother
burns
a
photograph
of
Vasu
and
Sapna
watches
her
with
tears
streaming.
Then,
she
picks
up
her
father’s
cup
of
tea,
stirs
the
charred
remains
into
it
and
drinks
it
with
the
rebelliousness
of
youth.
Would
you
believe
I
actually
drank
the
ashes
while
filming
the
scene
much
to
the
shocked
disbelief
of
my
parents?
That’s
how
naively
innocent
I
was.
Making
history
Kamal
and
I
did
one
more
film
together,
Dekha
Pyaar
Tumhara,
which
released
in
Hindi
in
1985.
It
was
dubbed
in
Telugu
as
Allari
Mogudu
Anumanam
Pellam
in
1996.
A
crazy
romcom,
it
revolves
around
a
couple,
the
wife
dog-training
the
husband
after
she
suspects
him
of
having
an
affair.
All’s
well
till
Kamal’s
Vishal/Vishy
then
gets
hold
of
the
book
my
character
Anu
has
been
using
and
makes
life
hell
for
her
believing
she
has
been
cheating
on
him.
The
film
also
features
Moushumi
Chatterjee
and
Kalpana
Iyer
as
the
other
woman
Rosy.
Kamal
is
not
just
a
brilliant
actor,
but
an
actor
par
excellence.
I
was
always
very
hard-working
and
sincere
and
you
can
see
the
honesty
even
in
these
early
films.
I
have
evolved
over
time
and
even
won
the
Filmfare
Award
for
Best
Actress
Award
for
B
R
Chopra’s
Tawaif.
I
have
returned
to
this
wonderful
industry
where
I
have
spent
my
best
years
and
it
would
be
wonderful
to
work
with
Kamal
again.
Even
at
70,
he
remains
one
of
our
best
actors.
Till
then,
there’s
Ek
Duuje
Ki
Liye
to
bring
back
memories
of
Sapna
and
Vasu
whose
love
story
ended
on
a
tragic
note,
the
madly
in
love
couple
jumping
off
the
cliff
together
to
embrace
death
after
Vasu
is
badly
beaten
up
and
Sapna
violated.
That
rape
scene
was
scary,
not
just
for
the
audience,
but
also
for
me.
The
location
while
picture
perfect,
was
a
difficult
terrain
to
navigate
with
all
those
jagged
rocks
and
sand.
I
was
left
with
bruised
knees
and
elbows.
Forty-three
years
later,
the
soul-stirring
Hum
Tum
Donon
Jab
Mil
Jayenge,
Ek
Naya
Itihas
Banayenge
still
echoes
in
my
ears.
Ek
Duuje
Ke
Liye
was
one
of
the
biggest
grossing
Indian
films
of
1981
and
a
cult
classic
today.
