New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) She worked with Prithviraj Kapoor in 1965 and was a regular on the sets of Raj Kapoor’s films and last worked with Kareena Kapoor on her debut film “Refugee”. Junior artist Asha Rani Singh says she has fond memories of her connection with filmdom’s first family.
Walking down the memory lane, the 78-year-old said she still remembers the time spent on Raj Kapoor’s sets, where junior artists were treated with respect and asked for feedback by the showman of Hindi cinema, who she described as a “happy-go-lucky guy”.
“Raj sahab was a great human being and valued and respected junior artists a lot. He would often show his songs to us and ask us to give feedback. He would say, ‘You all are going to determine whether my films and songs will be successful or not’.
“Before the release of the film, he would show us the movie and ask, ‘Tell me honestly what you all think of the song, don’t give me a fake compliment. We would be like, ‘Sir, what are you saying?’ All his films and songs were great,” Asha Rani told PTI in an interview.
The junior artist, who worked in the film industry for 55 years, having appeared in both black-and-white and colour films, said she had a “great equation” with Raj Kapoor, who would have turned 100 on Saturday.
“He was a great director; he would extract good work from everyone, be it acting or dance. I was deeply saddened when he passed away. I did wish he could live for some more years.” She worked with Raj Kapoor on films like “Prem Rog”, “Ram Teri Ganga Maili”, “Bobby”, “Satyam Shivam Sundaram”.
RK Studios used to be a great place to work for female artists as they were given separate make-up rooms and bathrooms, she recalled.
“At RK Studios, there was a huge ladies room which had a makeup room with 15 to 20 mirrors, and a washroom as well. It was not that this room was meant for just artists (actors) but for all junior artists too. He would take care of all the women on the sets. “The respect that he would give his actors, the same amount of respect he would give to junior artists as well,” Asha Rani said.
While they would bring their own food for indoor shoots, outdoor shoots used to be a different affair.
“He would treat all of us so well on outdoor shoots. After the shoot, he would tell us. ‘Get ready, I’m going to show you all a movie’. He would feed us well. He was a very happy-go-lucky man.” She described Raj Kapoor as a tough task master but one that was approachable in times of crisis.
“I remember we were shooting a song with him, ‘Ek Din Bik Jayega Mati Ke Mol’ (from ‘Dharam Karam’) and a few dancer girls were unable to do the steps, there were some retakes.
“He came and said, ‘You girls don’t know how to dance, who sent you here, anyways I will show up how to do it.’ He would always be open to teaching us and would never get angry or upset. For everything he would say, ‘I’m here to help you, don’t be afraid’. He never would say, ‘You won’t be able to do it’.” Asha Rani said she worked with Raj Kapoor’s father Prithviraj Kapoor in a 1965 movie titled “Khakaan”, which also starred Mumtaz and Dara Singh.
Of all the movies of Raj Kapoor that she worked on, she considers “Mera Naam Joker” to be her favourite film.
“He presented the reality of life in the movie. We were disheartened when the film didn’t work,” said the junior artist, who was married to late stuntman Surjeet Singh and has four children.
Not just Raj Kapoor, she worked with many members of the Kapoor family including brothers Shammi and Shashi Kapoor, sons Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor as well as daughter-in-laws Babita and Neetu Singh.
“I’ve played Kareena’s dadi in her and Abhishek’s first movie (‘Refugee’). We were on an outdoor shoot for a month in Bhuj. They both never treated me like a junior artist. They would call me, ‘Asha Aunty’. I remember Kareena would jokingly tell me, ‘Asha ji you worked with all my family members’ and I would be like, ‘I shall work with your kids as well’.” Shashi Kapoor, Asha Rani said, was “jovial and a very good human being’. She also remembers working with Shammi Kapoor in the song ‘Husn Chala Kuchh Aisi Chaal’ from his movie, “Bluff Master”.
Asha Rani also has fond memories of playing the body double for Waheeda Rehman in films such as “Palki”, “Shagun”, and “Guide”.
“Waheeda ji had so much faith in me that she would often say, ‘Asha will go on outdoor shoot (for me)’. Besides, I did movies as a body double of Sadhana ji. They both were good and kind-hearted. Whatever costumes they both had in movies, similar costumes were made for me too.” The other heroines that she worked with include Nargis, Vyjayanthimala, Hema Malini, Rekha, Asha Parekh, Mumtaz and Helen.
“Everyone gave me love and respect and did not treat me as a junior artist.” PTI KKP BK RB RB
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