After Ban, How Aandhi Returned…

‘We
were
asked
to
add
a
dialogue
where
the
politician
says
she
admires
Mrs
Gandhi.’

Gulzar‘s
beautiful
take
on
romance
in

Aandhi
completes
50
years
on
February
13.

The
director
looks
back
at
the
Sanjay
Kumar-Suchitra
Sen-starrer,
and
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“Aandhi
is
among
the
films
where
I
made
the
least
mistakes.”

What
does

Aandhi
mean
to
you?

It
means
many
things.

But
if
you
are
trying
to
be
clever
about

Aandhi,
then
let
me
tell
you
it
remains
one
my
favourite
films
from
my
own.
I
am
not
too
fond
of
some
of
what
I’ve
directed.

Which
ones
do
you
feel
not
so
happy
about?

I
am
not
telling
you
that.

But

Aandhi
ranks
really
high.
It
is
among
the
films
where
I
made
the
least
mistakes.

It
was
said
it
was
based
on
Indira
Gandhi’s
life?

Bilkul
nahin!
I
am
surprised
you
are
asking
me
this.

Aandhi
was
never
meant
to
be
Indiraji‘s
story.
But
when
people
started
spreading
the
rumour,
the
film
was
banned
in
its
23rd
week
from
theatres.

How
did
you
get
it
back
into
theatres?

We
were
asked
to
add
a
dialogue
where
the
politician
says
she
admires
Mrs
Gandhi.
We
did
the
needful
and
the
film
was
back.

Sanjeev
Kumar,
who
played
the
politician’s
husband,
won
the
Filmfare
award
but
Suchitra
Sen
did
not.

Sanjeev
always
grumbled
that
I
cast
him
as
an
old
man
in

Parichay,
Mausam,
Aandhi…

Ironically,
he
was
never
destined
to
become
old
in
real
life.

I
think
the
only
time
you
cast
him
as
young
was

Namkeen
and

Angoor.

His
other
quibble
was
that
I
always
gave
the
better
part
to
the
heroine
in
my
films.

But
look
at
the
recognition

Aandhi
got
him!

When
I
offered
him

Aandhi,
Sanjeev
said,
‘This
is
Suchitra
Sen’s
film
through
and
through.
What
will
I
do
in
it?

Tu
mera
dost
hai
ya
dushman?’

What
was
it
like
working
with
the
enigmatic
Suchitra
Sen?

I
called
her
‘Sir’.

Contrary
to
people’s
perceptions,
she
was
an
extremely
warm
and
friendly
person.

Some
of
her
best
works
was
in
Hindi:
Hrishida‘s

Musafir,
Asit
Sen’s

Mamta,
Raj
Khosla’s

Bambai
Ka
Babu.

You
may
add

Aandhi
to
this
list.

I
feel
Uttam
Kumar
and
Suchitra
Sen
were
not
given
due
recognition.

I
adored
and
respected
her
but
she
had
the
right
to
choose
her
friends.

She’s
the
only
example
of
such
quiet
dignity
in
showbiz.
That’s
why
the
media
compared
her
with
Greta
Garbo.

Why
did
you
call
her
sir?

During
the
shooting
of

Aandhi,
she
started
calling
me
‘sir’.

Everyone
in
Kolkata
calls
her
‘Madame’.

Since
I’m
her
junior,
I
requested
her
not
to
call
me
‘sir’.
But
she
insisted.

We
always
conversed
in
Bengali.

So
I
called
her
‘sir’
and
she
called
me
‘sir’.

How
did

Aandhi
happen?

The
whole
project
came
to
me
in
a
package.

I
was
told
by
producer
J
Om
Prakash
to
make
a
film
because
Sanjeev
was
very
keen
to
work
with
Suchitra.

I
was
made
to
hear
a
story
by
the
well-known
Sachin
Bhowmick.

It
was
a
run-of-the-mill
suspense
story.

I
wondered
aloud,
‘Why
bring
*the*
Suchitra
Sen
all
the
way
from
Kolkata
for
this
film
when
this
could
be
done
by
any
actress
in
Mumbai?’

Sachin
Bhowmick
readily
agreed
with
me.

Then
we
started
searching
for
another
story.

J
Om
Prakash
asked
me
to
suggest
a
story
and
I
narrated
the
idea
of

Aandhi
to
him.
Nobody
had
made
a
film
on
a
powerful
female
politician
before.

How
did
you
convince
her
to
accept

Aandhi?

Three
years
before

Aandhi,
I
had
gone
to
Suchitra
Sen
with
another
script
for
Producer
Sohanlal
Kanwar.

She
suggested
some
changes.
I
refused,
and
left.

When
I
went
back
with

Aandhi,
she
said,
‘This
time
I
won’t
make
any
suggestions.’

I
said
her
suggestions
were
most
welcome.
She
rewarded
me
with
such
a
lovely
smile.

She
loved
the
story
of

Aandhi
and
offered
me
cold
milk.
That
remained
a
ritual
between
us.

We
were
all
outdoors
on
the
outskirts
of
Bangalore.
Raakhee
(Gulzar’s
wife)
was
also
there.
I
have
photographs
of
my
daughter
Meghna
in
Suchitra
Sen’s
lap.
Her
daughter
Moon
Moon
was
a
child
then.

It
was
an
experience
of
a
lifetime
to
work
with
her.

After
the
film
was
complete,
it
was
not
possible
for
me
to
go
to
Kolkata
and
not
visit
her.

During
her
final
years,
she
spent
most
of
her
time
at
the
Aurobindo
Ashram
in
Pondicherry.
She
lived
in
seclusion.

The
music
of

Aandhi
is
imperishable.

I
agree.
Do
you
know

Tere
Bina
Zindagi
Se
was
originally
a
Durga
Puja
tune?

I
heard
Pancham
(R
D
Burman)
recording
it
in
Bengali,
and
immediately
started
writing
the
lyrics
in
Hindi
and
Urdu.

If
you
remember,
the
song
stops
midway
for
a
conversation
between
Suchitra
Sen
and
Sanjeev
Kumar.

Pancham
was
upset
about
that.

In
the
song

Iss
Mod
Se
Jaate
Hain,
he
wanted
to
know
what
‘nasheman‘
meant.

Even
Sanjeev
wanted
to
know
what
it
meant.