Nobody knows RakhiNot really. Not even Gulzar Saab, to whom she is still married on paper. They are still a family – Gulzar Saab, Rakhee and their only daughter and grandson.
But she doesn’t depend on anyone. She has learned to be self-sufficient the hard way. It’s not easy to be self-sufficient. Rakhee GulzarRakhee Gulzar’s husband. It’s not easy being Rakhee Gulzar. It’s certainly demanding, like all good things. Kamal Haasan, who was a fan, was full of praise for his love interest and described her as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Despite the melancholic aura she conveys, Rakhee is actually a very entertaining storyteller. Her stories about the peculiarities of the film world can leave anyone with their mouths open.
Without a doubt, the pièce de résistance of Rakhee Gulzar’s career was Yash Chopra’s work. never everChopra wrote the role for Rakhee. Sahir Ludhianvi wrote an entire song in praise of her beauty. Yash Chopra insisted that he would not do never ever with any other actress. There was just one problem: Rakhee had recently gotten married and had promised her husband, the great Gulzar, that she would never act again.
When Rakhee married Gulzar, Yash Chopra became her neighbour. Gulzar and Rakhee used to visit Yash Chopra’s house regularly. During one of these social visits, in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, Yash Chopra played the song Sometimes a thought comes to my heart And Mrs. Yash Chopra declared, “This song is for Rakhee.” Here’s how never ever was offered to Raakhee.
never ever destroyed Raakhee Gulzar’s marriage.
Yash Chopra was eternally fascinated by Rakhee. The first time she worked with Yash Chopra was in Joshila in 1972, where she played the female lead opposite Dev Anand. Even before Joshila Yash came to Rakhee with Frequently Asked QuestionsShe couldn’t play the unconventional role of a woman who murders her husband because she was committed to doing so. Jeevan Mrityu with director Satyen Bose as his debut film.
Joshila The beginning of Rakhee’s long-standing relationship with two of her favourite film characters, Dev Anand and Yash Chopra. When Chopra directed Daag, his first independent film after parting ways with his brother BR Chopra, he gave Raakhee the role, backed by the author. Her character was taken from novelist Gulshan Nanda’s novel Maili Chandni. People liked her character in Chandni and their connection continued.
Rakhee did not have a single song in DayBut she didn’t care. The unconventional route had always fascinated her. In Aparna Sen Some Rakhee played a wife in a traditional Bengali family who has an affair with a fashion photographer. Her kiss with Mukul Sharma (Aparna’s husband) shook the traditionalists.
Shooting for never ever It wasn’t easy. Initially, Rakhee had to do intensely romantic scenes with Amitabh Bachchan. That was a problem as Amitabh and Jaya called her “Bahurani”. On the first day of shooting, Amitabh Bachchan had to sing Sahir’s romantic lines to her. Rakhee felt uncomfortable. Yash helped her overcome her awkwardness.
By the way, all the jewelry Rakhee wore for her… sunny night sequence in never ever They were her own jewels from her own wedding!
After never ever rakhee did it Trident with Yash Chopra and while filming for Trident Raakhee shot for Doosra Aadmi, which Yash Chopra produced and Ramesh Talwar directed. Rakhee had a very bold role in Second man. She had to smoke, drink and woo Rishi Kapoor.
The shift to mother roles came effortlessly. Subhash Ghai and Rakesh Roshan offered Rakhee the role of the author-endorsed mother. Ram Lakhan and Karan ArjunShe soon grew bored of the monotonous matriarchal roles and quit altogether. Rakhee Gulzar now lives a solitary life, away from the limelight, refusing all the lifetime achievement awards offered to her.
She refuses to accept lifetime achievement awards because, and I quote, “I haven’t achieved anything and besides, my life is not over.”
That is the quintessential Raakhee, with or without the poetic ‘Gulzar’ attached to her name. A recluse, a nun in the guise of a martyr, a mother who seduces her children with her cooking, a free spirit chained to her loved ones – she is all that and much more.
Rakhee shares her birthday with Independent India.
“India was liberated at midnight on August 15. My freedom ended that very day… the day I was born I was chained to my family, my loved ones, my dreams and desires,” she once told me, and then laughed that hearty laugh that strengthens the life that is hers and hers alone.
“From my friend, veteran actress Shammi, I learnt to laugh from the heart instead of from the throat,” she said.
There was a time when birthdays were special for Rakhee. “Not anymore,” she sighed when I called her on August 15 to wish her a happy birthday. “When my mother was alive and my house was filled with laughter and fights between relatives, Maa would cook my favourite dishes for my birthday. Now there is no one to cook for me. So I cook for my staff and their family. When their children eat and smile happily, I feel happy.”
Rakhee currently spends most of her time on her farm outside Mumbai, where she lives with a Nepalese couple and their two daughters, as well as ten cows that she looks after as if they were her own.
Her day starts early as she strolls through the paradise she created herself and communicates with exotic birds like the shy girl she played. sharmilee… Or like that self-assured and balanced housewife she played in Anil Ganguly’s film. Aanchal singing the immortal song Lata Mangeshkar Before listening to Panchi, wake up and sing the song again…
Earlier, Rakhee lived in her bungalow called Muktangan. She had long since separated from her husband Gulzar and had made peace with loneliness. The upkeep of the bungalow soon became a problem for Rakhee. She sold Mukatangan to real estate sharks on one condition: the skyscraper that was built after her dream home was torn down would be named Muktangan.
Incidentally, another Bengali actress, Bipasha Basu, occupies a floor of the skyscraper that used to be Rakhee’s residence.
Leaving home was a painful breakup for the emotional actress. Leaving her husband’s home was just as difficult. But separation was inevitable. It came soon after her marriage and motherhood, when Rakhee became nervous. But she was reluctant to return to the sets… until her neighbour Yash Chopra made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the movie never ever It ended Rakhee’s marriage to Gulzar Saab. When they got married, he had only put one condition: no more films. But Yash Chopra conceived never ever for Rakhee Gulzar. The entire film was written as a hymn to her beauty. It was too great a temptation for a beautiful and talented woman to resist.
Rakhee recalls, “When I married Gulzar, Yash became our neighbour. He then offered me a place to live. Kabhie Kabhie “After I got married, I think Kabhie Kabhie was conceived with me in mind. I think lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi wrote the songs with me in mind. Gulzar and I used to visit Yash’s house regularly. This was during the time when I was pregnant with my daughter Meghna and Yash’s son Adi was a toddler. One day, in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, a song was played and Pam said, ‘This song is for Raakhee’. That’s how Kabhie Kabhie was offered to me. Yash Chopra said, ‘I would quit the film, but I won’t do it with any other heroine’. Since acting was the only thing I enjoyed, I agreed to do the film even after I got married.”
Rakhee left and never returned to her marriage, though she and Gulzar Saab remain united through their daughter Meghna (Bosky) and Meghna’s son Samay.
It’s not that she spends her days brooding and sulking in her loneliness. There are many myths surrounding her personality. It is said that she wallows in tragedy and has modelled her life and career on Meena Kumari.
Mistaken!
Rakhee says, “People think Meena Kumari is my favourite actress. Actually, my favourite is Vyjanthimala. I adore her as a heroine. When I first met her, I was speechless and got emotional like a fan. She fills the screen like no other heroine. And I wish I could dance like her. Unfortunately, I am blessed with two left feet. Interestingly, I was forced to do roles that made me cry from the beginning. In my first Hindi film, Jeevan Mrityu, I was seen as a widow. Industry experts said that was the end of my career. How could I play a widow in my first film? My most famous roles are those of serious and solemn women like Daag, Tapasya, Trishna, Kabhi Kabhie, 27 Down, Paroma, Ram Lakhan and Karan Arjun. I longed to do comedy, play funny roles. Unfortunately, I could never laugh much in my films.”
Then comes that throaty laugh. When I look at this peaceful retired film legend now I remember many risqué interludes in his life. I remember when I visited the sets of my dear late friend Rituparno Ghosh’s crime thriller. Spree In Calcutta in 2003, Rakhee was filming with – gulp – Sharmila Tagore.
There was a lot of tension in the air. The two Bengali tigresses had shared frosty vibes during the filming of Yash Chopra’s Daag. Later, Sharmila’s proximity to Gulzar saab caused Raakhee a great deal of discomfort. But for those who were expecting to see fireworks on the sets of Rituparno, sorry, the two women were civil, even friendly.
Many years ago, Rakhee was in Patna. She is the only film personality who ever met my parents. She stayed in our house as if she were one of us, cooked fish in our kitchen and told us all the secrets of her life. We took her to Bodh Gaya to see the birthplace of Gautam Buddha. She was happy. Along the way, she ate at roadside dhabas, drank water from hand pumps, tied a dupatta around her famous face and mingled with the crowd.
Rakhee loves being adventurous and free-spirited. But that beast called life ties her down whenever she wants to float free. The song that best describes her is Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bemisal: “Ae ri pawan dhunde kise tera man chatte chalte.”
The song that accompanies Meena Kumar’s song, “Let’s talk to someone who has been found..”
Oops, that Meena Kumar comparison again!
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