Waheeda Rehman, the epitome of elegance in the flashy world of Bollywood, has made her official debut as a wildlife photographer at a group exhibition at the Nine Fish art gallery in central Mumbai.
Her candid, of-the-moment photos convey a certain quietude and in fact appeal for calm and harmonious living, appropriately at a time when the nation is rocked by unrest and protests.
Was this intentional? In the midst of a tea-time conversation with the legendary actor at her tastefully-appointed apartment on the Bandra seafront, she exclaims, “What, there’s no agenda there. But when I see the so-called predatory animals and simple human beings living harmoniously in the wilds all over the world, I do long for such an utopia. I am overcome by the thought:let’s make peace please. It’s possible.”
At the age of 81, Rehman does make a rare appearance on the screen, and on TV reality shows in the company of her friends Helen and Asha Parekh. Concurrently, she has been concerned about water conservation and the preservation of trees:
“Every drop of water counts which is why at restaurants I insist on one plate for all the courses. And if a guest drops by, I serve half a glass of water to prevent wastage. Some say I’m being too fussy. Honestly though, I feel we’re being self-destructive by taking water for granted.”Waheeda Rehman
Vis-à-vis the preservation of trees, the ever-adored actor comments, “The felling of over 2,000 trees at the Aarey Colony shocked me. I was speechless. Forests can’t be reborn, can they? I do wonder if there will be any trees left for my grand-daughter to see in Mumbai when she grows up. As part of the Neem Foundation, I hope to plant as many neem saplings as possible. They have so many valuable medicinal properties. We have been appealing to the Union Ministry of Environment to give the neem the status of a Heritage Tree. Fingers crossed, it will happen.”
To return to the topic du jour – photography – the actor is known to have carried a still camera on her travels since decades. She has a collection of over 25 cameras, ranging from an early Rolleiflex and Pentaxes to the Olympus she currently uses, complete with an array of lenses. “When my husband (late Shashi Rekhi) and I were in New York on our honeymoon, he wanted to buy me a gift,” she recalls with self-bemusement. “When I asked for a Pentax, he was surprised. I had to tell him a a camera can be a girl’s best friend, not diamonds.”
Starting off with nature studies at her Bangalore farmhouse, she moved to portraits and candid shots. As for her own portraits, she remarks, “I don’t like artificial lighting. Maybe that’s why I was averse to photo-sessions where I would have to sit static like a Dresden doll for hours. Yet as an actor, one couldn’t avoid the occupational hazard of looking glamorous.”
She cites Neel Kamal and Dharti as the two films in which delivered the glamour quotient fulsomely, and names Jitendra Arya and Dhiraj Chavda as the photographers who clicked her for magazine cover and photo-spreads most frequently. Harbans Chadha, filmmaker and photographer, had shot her in black and white – which she says has more drama and an interplay of light and shade – but those photographs have gone missing. “The very notion of archiving stills just didn’t exist in those days,”she notes regretfully.
Ask her whether she picked up lighting schemes from the revered cinematographer, VK Murthy whose close-ups of Waheeda Rehman, especially in Pyaasa, Chaudhvin ka Chand and Kaagaz ke Phool are wondrous, and she responds, “Unfortunately, not. I was concentrating on my acting. I was much too young to grasp the intricacies of technique then.”
In the realm of still photography, she picks Henri Cartier-Bresson and Raghu Rai as her all-time favourites. “I have always seen myself as a hobbyist,” she adds quickly, “ I had to be persuaded to be a part of the group show. I suppose I’m hesitant by nature.”
Himanshuu Sheth, the curator of the exhibition titled Mareki, is her son Sohail’s friend. Besides convincing Rehman to exhibit a selection of her wildlife and landscape photos, Sheth also taught her the technical basics and principles of photography. The image of a wildebeest (also known as gnu) clicked in Tanzania, is purportedly out-of-focus. The click of two cheetahs in repose was also captured at dusk in Tanzania. “Passion, patience and perseverance in photography pay,” she alliterates laughingly. “But you know what? I may have hundreds of captures in my stock but I still can’t even think of a solo exhibition, yet. Maybe some day, inshallah.”
The actor is at home with digital cameras, asserting that auto-settings allow her to be flexible, besides deleting the clicks which have gone off the mark.
She has travelled extensively to safari parks and sanctuaries abroad and in India, facing tense moments which could have been life-threatening: at the game reserve Masaai Mara in Kenya, when a group of tigers had leapt close towards her car, and at Ranthmabore, when a lioness was just a foot away, looking at her straight in the eye.
“My heart was in my mouth,” she recapitulates, “but I didn’t budge an inch… and she went away without so much as half of a roar. I may have missed those shots. I have learnt that focusing on the eyes of one’s subject, yields the best results. The rest falls into place.”
In terms of her portraiture, Rehman isn’t ready to show her works yet, conceding, “There’s a rare shot I have of Nargis and Sunil Dutt with Satyajit Ray at the Berlin International Film Festival. The Dutts and I were there for the screening of Rehsma aur Shera.”
Right, are there any current actors, she’d like to photograph? “Oh yes,” she replies rightaway, “Ranveer Singh for his high energy and quicksilver eyes, Deepika Padukone for her classic beauty and Alia Bhatt for her liveliness and that element of mischief in her eyes.”
Being a devout fan of Waheeda Rehman, I can’t help asking: Have there been any dream roles on her wish-list? A micro-minute pause later, the reply: “I was offered Lal Patthar but I don’t know what happened. It was eventually done by Hema Malini. And there’s that wonderful role played by Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice.”
Throughout our conversation, she’s been incredibly poised devoid of any artifice. So where does this elegance come from? She looks at me straight in the eye and says, “Elegance! What elegance? How can I answer that? Just be yourself, I guess.”
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