Waheeda Rehman remembers Shyama

Waheeda Rehman remembers Shyama affectionately. The actress, who played the lead and the second lead in a slew of sonorous musicals in the 1950s and ’60s including Guru Dutt’s Aar Paar, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat and Sharda, quietly passed away on Tuesday.

“After Nanda and Sadhana, I have now lost another co-star and dear friend. Shyama was a beautiful woman, but more than that, she was always a good human being — warm and affectionate,” she recalls.

Throughout their careers, the actresses worked together for just one production. Recalling this only association, Waheeda says, “Shyama and I worked in only one film together, Dil Diya Dard Liya in 1966, where she played my friend. Though the film didn’t do well, it is remembered to this day for its powerful theme.”

Waheeda remembers Shyama as a fun co-star. “She was an entertaining friend during the shooting. And, we continued to remain friends even after the project. During those days, we formed working relationships that lasted beyond the work place. So, even after Dil Diya Dard Liya, Shyama and I would meet often,” she says.

The Pyaasa actress credits their long-lasting friendship to two main reasons. “One, we lived on the same road, and our homes were opposite to each other. And we would run into one another quite often,” she begins. “Secondly, Shyama was married to the legendary cinematographer Fali Mistry, who worked with me on some of my most well-known works including Guide. Later, Fali Saab also shot me in Neel Kamal and Prem Pujari. There was a bond with Shyama that went beyond the one film that we did together,” she says.

She sadly remembers how Shyama wasn’t too well lately. “And now God has chosen to take her away. May her soul rest in peace.”