Waheeda Rehman: “My heart reaches  out to daily wage earners”

“Akshay Kumar has donated so generously for those affected  by the  current pandemic crisis. So have the Ambanis, the Tatas and so  many others. But where is that  money going? Are the poor  getting any relief? Why have no trains and buses been  organized for  the migrant workers? They’re walking for  hundreds of miles  to their  homes  without food water of  shelter? Where  is the relief work for these poor people?”

Strong words  from the mild-mannered soft-spoken Bollywood diva, the legend among legends Waheeda Rehman who’s as taken aback by the virulence of the virus as we are. “Yeh kahan se aaya. Kyon aaya?  I am told there was a plague which struck before I was  born. But during my lifetime I’ve never seen anything like this. It is frightening and no one knows how to combat it. When there is a war we can identify the enemy. But in this case we don’t know who the enemy is.”

Like all of us Waheeda ji  doesn’t step out of her home. “Luckily I have three in house staff members. Otherwise I’d have been all alone. Not going out is  not such a problem for me. I didn’t go out much in any case unless I had work. Nowadays I spend my time  reading, listening to music, cleaning, and cooking up new recipes in the kitchen. I  also love photography and I am taking pictures of birds and the skyline from my balcony.”

Which of  her movies does Waheedaji recommend during the lockdown?

“How can I recommend my own films? I can tell you my favourite films are Mughal-e-Azam, Sholay and Mother India.”

No Guide in Waheeda ji’s list?

“It is up to you to say Guide is  worth watching. I can only recommend films of other actors,” concludes the modest and shy Diva who enchanted us in Guide, Reshma Aur Shera, Khamoshi, Kagaz Ke Phool and Pyaasa.