Portrait of a Lady
The moon never imagined that its celestial luminescence would have an earthly equivalent. The epithet Chaudvin ka chaand given to her by Shakeel Badayuni is Waheeda Rehman’s for eternity. Her soft feminine beauty not only enthused directors but also set poets afire. Kaifi Azmi’s Waqt ne kiya kya haseen situm, a timeless lament about timebound love, owes much to its eloquence as it does to her fluent eyes, betraying the ravages of life. Shailendra’s Kaanton se kheench ke yeh aanchal, hailed as a dirge of liberation, was brought alive in Waheeda’s Rosie, who casts aside bondage to bond with her dreams. In an era of coquettish hard-sell, Waheeda relied on her demure dignity. Always conversant with truths, she never allowed the elegies to haze her reality. In doing so, inadvertently she brought ‘going silver’ in vogue, heartening women to revel in the autumnal years. What’s more at 80-plus she’s given expression to a longstanding hobby – photography. Once the cynosure of the camera, she’s now gone behind it to turn wildlife photographer and recently held an exhibition of her pictures. Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai… is her soul cry for sure…
“SUCCESS AND FAME IS TEMPORARY.
