Nostalgia......yesteryear Actresses

Begum Para was a B-Grade actress mostly paired with Sheikh Mukhtar in films like Ustad Pedro etc. After partition she along with Mehboob Khan and some other established film stars visited Karachi-Pakistan to see if the condition was right to work there. But seeing the non-existent film industry they all went back to India. Although Mehboob Khan's younger brother Pyare Khan and Begum Para's sister stayed back. Here is the detailed interview of Begum Para

MS OOMPH - by V Gangadhar

Somewhere in 1953, Fort Cochin in Kerala was hit by a bomb. I was then in school there and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The bomb was called Begum Para. And it came packaged in a Hindi film, Ustad Pedro, produced and directed by the then well-known actor, Sheikh Mukhtar. Mukhtar was tall, well-built and ruggedly handsome. But he had very stiff competition in Begum Para, unanimously acknowledged to be Bollywood's sex bomb.

The film magazines called her the oomph girl, the girl with 'it'. Whatever she had, Para set my blood flowing. She had sultry, come-hither looks, an eye-popping figure, one she was not afraid to show off. She wore trousers, tight dresses and danced enticingly to the tunes of western music.

Ustad Pedro was a fun film. It was packed with action, romance, stunts and, of course, that wonderful, curvaceous woman. As Sheikh Mukhtar carried off the prized heroine at the end of the film, all the boys watching the film sighed enviously.

Hindi screen had its quota of women with smouldering good looks, who dressed seductively and who were ready to respond positively to a pass from the admiring male. But such women were normally cast as vamps because most heroines had to look virginal and god-fearing and play second fiddle to the heroes.

Not Begum Para. Her sexuality on the screen was electric. Film magazines of those days wrote endlessly about the frank utterances and open lifestyles of Begim Para and her sister-in-law, Protima Dasgupta. She was not a hypocrite, she always called a spade a spade.

I learnt this when I dropped in at her small flat in suburban Versova. The cool breeze from the sea was welcome, but not the stench of drying fish. The drawing room was full of photographs. Of Para's late husband Nasir Khan, her two sons and daughter. There are books everywhere. Enid Blyton for the grand-daughter along with classics -- theIliad, the Odyssey, the works of D H Lawrence as well as pulp fiction by Ludlum and Collins.

The passage of time had taken its toll. Begum Para had bloated up, the hair has greyed and she moved around with difficulty. There was little sign of who she once was. But once she began to speak, the old magic reappeared like abracadbra.

She had endured a lot in recent years. Nasir Khan died in 1974. He was just 49 and she had to bring up three children on her own. For years there was a long misunderstanding with her brother-in-law Dilip Kumar (she refused to talk about it) and the family bungalow on upmarket Carter Road had to be sold. One son, Ayub, works in films (he was most recently seen in Mrityudand), another son and her daughter are in advertising. Life had not been easy for the family, but then Begum Para, by all accounts, had always been a fighter.

The early days, though, were peaceful and happy. The family came from Jalandhar but moved to Bikaner, where her father Mian-Ehsan-Ul-Haque became the chief justice. The family was large, 10 in all, but they had lots of fun and the indulgent parents often joined in.

Para went to school and then college at Aligarh. Hostel life was quite pleasant. While sticking to tradition, her family was quite broad-minded. "We never wore purdah or anything like that," she explains.

"We were allowed to watch films and I enjoyed the experience." One of her earliest heroes, was the debonair Motilal. "I wrote fan letters to him, and he always replied. Later, when I joined films, we became good friends."

Still in her early teens, Begum Para came to Bombay to spend her holidays with sister-in-law Protima Dasgupta who was already acting in films like Court Dancer. Her home was frequented by film people. Perky, pretty Para invited instant attention and producers promptly offered her roles. Dasgupta persuaded her to accept some of the offers.

"My family was not very happy," recalls Para. "But finally, Protima and I convinced them." Born plain Para, she added a Begum to her name.

Thus it was that a nervous, excited, young girl of 17 faced the camera for the first time in her life on the sets of Chand. Her co-star was Prem Adib, a famous hero in those days. The film was shot at Prabhat Studio in Pune and was a family social.

"Oh, I had no acting experience at all," she laughs. "But director B D Kashyap was very understanding and patient, and made me feel at ease."

Did you have any love scenes, I asked. "Oh, very innocent ones," she smiled. "The lead pair looked at each other, sang songs and perhaps held hands. Films in those days were so different. But everyone on the sets, including Prem Adib, were very co-operative."

Chand was fairly successful. Para did not look back and settled down to a film career in Bombay, sharing a flat with her sister-in-law at Worli Sea Face. From 1945, for over 10 years, she made several movies -- Sohini Mahiwal, Mehendi, Shama, Pedro, Dada, Dara, the last three with the swashbuckling Sheikh Mukhtar. The films did well at the box office.

"I played emotional roles and also essayed roles of fashionable women," she remembers. The "it" image was a big thing in those days. Para often wore pants and jeans, dressed provocatively and championed an unconventional lifestyle. Naturally, she was regularly featured in film magazines.

"I had a good figure, and I knew I had one," she laughed. "And if the magazines wanted to feature me in provocative poses, I did not mind".

While her career was going strong, she met Nasir Khan (Dilip Kumar's brother) on the sets of Lootera. Nasir had made a name for himself with some good films with Nutan. "We liked each other, but it was not love at first sight."

They began meeting more often and got married in 1958. Did their families support the marriage, I asked.

"Oh, we were old enough to do what we wanted." she replied diplomatically.

Nasir Khan did not want her to act and she quit the screen. "I was quite happy to stay at home and look after the family," she says. Nasir Khan had a heart condition which he chose to neglect, and a heart attack claimed him in 1974.

It was a shattering blow and she had to face the crisis alone. For about 18 months, she went to Karachi and lived with her sister, who had settled down in Pakistan. "But India was my home and I was back to bring up my children," she explained.

It was then she missed her work in films. As long as Nasir Khan was alive, life had been smooth. But now many adjustments had to be made. But she managed to bring up her children and settle them in life.

Looking back on her career in films, she says she had not taken it very seriously. "It was fun and interesting while it lasted."

She cherished her friendships formed during those days. Nargis and Geeta Bali were close friends. So were, Motilal, Nimmi, Nirupa Roy, Nadira, Shyama and Manorama.

A couple of days before our meeting. Nirupa, Nimmi and Shyama had dropped in for a chat. "We meet quite often," laughed Begum Para. "We talk, gossip, laugh... They are wonderful people". While I was chatting with her, the telephone rang. It was another friend, kathak queen Sitara Devi. They agreed to meet later that evening.

She thinks highly of Motilal, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah. Among today's heroines, she says Kajol is the best. "Oh, that girl lights up the screen with her presence," she exclaims.

It was time to leave. We had chatted for nearly two hours. But I was certain about one thing. In my book of interesting people she goes down as Genuine Stuff!

CINEMA

The return of Begum Para

V. GANGADHAR

The siren of the 1950s Hindi cinema talks of her comeback to the silver screen — as a grandmother this time.



The sparkle remains: Begum Para in her heyday.

IT'S probably the longest ever break from acting? The news is that Begum Para, the sex siren of the 1950s, is returning to Bollywood. Though the sparkle in her eyes remains, the svelte, sexy figure is gone; so have the quicksilver movements. These do not matter as Begum Para is playing a grandmother in Sanjay Leela Bansali's next film, "Sawariya" starring newcomers, Ranbir Rishi Kapoor and Sonam Anil Kapoor. She has not faced the camera after her last film, "Kar Bala" with Bhagwan Dada in the early 1960s.

While still at the peak of her career, Begum Para married Nasir Khan, Dilip Kumar's brother, in 1958 and quit acting. Nasir saab died in 1974 and Begum Para had a tough time bringing up her three children. Today, son Ayub Khan is in films while the former star lives with her daughter and grandchildren in Versova, Mumbai.

No regrets

She has no regrets at the disruption of her career. Begum Para never thought of a comeback because she had heard reports of star tantrums and lack of respect to senior actors on the sets. "I had heard horror stories on this topic," she observed. "But Sanjay Bansali, whom I had known from his childhood, assured me nothing like that would happen on his sets and I agreed."

Still the news of her return took fans by surprise. Suddenly TV channels were focusing on her career and her image as a sex symbol. Sometime back, I met her for a long chat and found her charming and articulate. "I had a good figure and did not mind wearing trousers, skirts and shirts which emphasised it," she explained. "I always had some kind of a bindaas image." Film magazines focused on her "oomph and smouldering "come hither" look. As a schoolboy in 1953, I watched "Ustad Pedro" and envied the swashbuckling hero, Sheikh Mukhtar, who carryied her away at the end!

Heroine at 17

A native of Jalandhar but brought up in Bikaner, Para (she added the `Begum' later) belonged to a liberal Muslim family. "No purdah for us," she recollected. "We were even allowed to watch films. I wrote fan letters to my favourite, Motilal, later a good friend." During a holiday in Bombay, Para's sister-in-law Protima Das Gupta — who was already in films — persuaded her to accept offers to act. Her family reluctantly agreed. At 17, she was the heroine of "Chand" where the romantic scenes with hero, Prem Adib, included looking into his eyes and holding hands briefly! "I had absolutely no acting experience," admitted Begum Para. "But it was fun, the director, co-stars were all very kind and co o perative."

Settling down in Bombay in 1945, Para acted in dozens of films including, "Sohini Mahiwal", "Mehendi", "Shama", "Pedro", "Dada" and "Dara" — the last three with action hero, Sheikh Mukthar. The glamour in the films of those days was reserved for the vamp and prevented Para from getting more A-grade films where the long-suffering heroine had to be a "Sati-Savitri".

Para always dressed according to the latest fashion and was a photographer's delight. She was a hit with male audiences and her arrival on the screen was always greeted with wolf whistles. "It was fun," she recollected. "You see, I did not take my career seriously and accepted whatever roles came my way."

On the sets of "Lootera" Begum Para met Nasir Khan. It was not love at first sight but they got married, which meant the end of her career. After Nasir's death, she spent sometime with her sister in Pakistan but India was home. Because of her independent nature, she did not get along with Dilip Kumar, though now the misunderstandings have been sorted out.

Wonderful friends

Bollywood brought her wonderful friends like Shyama, Nadira, Nargis, Motilal and dancer Sitara Devi. I spotted a wide variety of books in the flat — Enid Blyton, classics including The Iliad and The Odyssey, D.H. Lawrence, Robert Ludlum...

Begum Para now spends much of her time with her grandchildren, watching movies. The current excess of violence and sex in movies, the suggestive lyrics do not appeal to her. Most of the heroines look alike and wear too much make up, she says, but she admires Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah and Kajol. "How she glows on the screen," she exclaims. Though Begum Para is excited about "Sawariya", she has no long-term plans for her comeback. "I just want to have some fun," she smiled. That had always been her approach to acting.

kamini kaushal,usha kiran(she did few films as leading lady,later played om parkash s wife in chupke chupke) n who is last one

She is from Maharashtra. Born in 1915. Participated in freedom struggle also.
Was very close to Aruna Asaf Ali. Still alive. She has to her credit one
of the best Marathi Movie for which she recieved Presidential Award.
Played a historical characted "RUKHSANA" in the hindi block buster.

I tried searching the net with the clues you gave, still have no idea. I have never seen her before, otherwise I would recognize. If you are talking about some blockbuster movie in regional language, then it would be hard to guess. I thought she worked in some hindi blockbuster movie of the 40s. Taking few other random names... Shanta Apte, Durga Khote, Shobhana Samrath... all three were Mahashatrians... but I dont think this woman is anyone of them...

Is it the lady who acted in Uran khatola in the queen's role...

She is Vanmala...heroine of the movie "Sikandar( 1941)". Her marathi movie was
"shyamchi aai". You have surely seen her. I had uploaded the videos of the songs
from her movie "parbat pe apna dera (1944).

I never wud have guessed her name Mahesh. Thanks anyway.

Noorie

Still going strong n pretty