By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Friday,
November
16,
2007
Begum
Para
seen
as
Sonam
Kapoor's
spirited
grandmother
in
Sanjay
Bhansali's
Saawariya
did
films
like
Shama,
Mehdi,
Pedro
and
Dada
in
the
1940s.
She
then
took
the
longest
break
ever
after
marrying
the
legendary
Dilip
Kumar's
lesser-known
brother
Nasir
Khan.
"That
was
in
1958," Begum
Para,
now
a
full
80,
laughs
throatily.
"Now
I'm
back
in
2007
in
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali's
Saawariya.
This
has
got
to
be
the
longest
lay-off
in
the
history
of
show
business…You
know,
in
our
film
industry
there's
this
old
habit
of
typecasting
actors.
I
was
typecast
as
the
so-called
liberated
woman.
The
roles
were
not
interesting
enough
for
me.
They
stamped
me
as
the
smoking
libertine
who
ends
up
insulting
her
father,"
she
laughs.
"I
didn't
much
enjoy
that
image.
I
was
doing
roles
like
Saira
Banu
in
Manoj
Kumar"s
Purab
Aur
Paschim.
I
just
lost
interest.
Then
I
got
married
to
Nasir
Khan
(Dilip
Kumar's
brother)."
Saawariya
is
her
comeback
after
50
years!
"The
privilege
and
pleasure
of
working
with
Sanjay
Bhansali
egged
me
on
to
take
this
on.
He
never
ties
me
down
with
his
ideas.
I'm
allowed
to
say
my
dialogues
the
way
I
want.
He
gave
me
so
much
space!
It
was
a
real
pleasure.
Saawariya
was
an
astonishing
experience."
Hadn't
her
acting
skills
got
rusted?
"I
don"t
think
they
ever
get
rusted.
I
just
needed
to
practice
my
acting
again…It
was
very
sweet
of
Sanjay
to
have
even
think
of
me.
Initially,
I
was
nervous
for
a
couple
of
days.
But
once
I
settled
down
before
the
camera
I
had
a
whale
of
a
time.
Bahut
mazaa
aaya.
It's
like
coming
home.
I'm
open
to
more
offers
provided
they
make
me
comfortable."
She
warms
up
on
the
topic
of
Salman
Khan
who
co-stars
with
her
in
Saawariya.
I"ve
known
him
since
childhood.
I'm
very
friendly
with
his
father
Salim
Saab.
I
was
apprehensive
about
how
today's
generation
behaves.
When
I
expressed
my
misgivings
to
Sanjay
Bhansali
he
assured
me.
'Just
come
and
see
how
we
work.'
And
he
was
right.
They
all
gave
me
so
much
love
and
respect.
They
were
so
sweet.
Of
course,
technically
cinema
has
advanced.
But
people
are
still
the
same.
Jab
insaan
door
rehta
hai
to
pataa
nahin
kya-kya
sochta
hai.
But
after
my
return
before
the
camera
I
felt
I
had
never
gone
away."
She
goes
back
in
time
to
her
prime.
"It
was
a
great
era.
Not
like
today
when
roles
have
become
so
ambivalent.
There
were
definitely
defined
roles
these
days…There
was
the
hero,
heroine,
vamp,
father,
mother,
villain…very
nice
and
uncomplicated.
Yes,
I
was
bold
.
Humlog
ke
zamaane
mein,
people
used
to
be
in
awe
of
stars.
Today
of
course,
the
active
media
has
brought
stars
inside
homes."
She
has
kept
in
touch
with
a
number
of
people
in
the
industry.
"Nirupa
Roy,
Nadira,
Nimmi,
Shyama,
Smriti
Mishra…we
used
to
meet
once
a
month.
Sadly,
Nirupa
and
Nadira
are
gone.
They
were
such
fine
human
beings.
I
miss
them
both.
Nadira
was
so
warm
and
exuberant,
Nirupa
was
sweetness
personified.
I"ve
kept
in
touch
with
Nirupa's
family."
Begum
Para's
son
Ayub
Khan
is
seen
in
cinema
and
on
television.
"I
feel
he
hasn't
got
his
dues.
If
you
meet
him
you'll
realize
he
isn't
a
filmy
boy.
When
I
urge
him
to
meet
producers
he
says,
'Whatever
has
to
come
my
way
will
come
way.
By
my
going
here
and
there
I
won"t
achieve
anything.'
He's
such
a
nice
and
gentle
boy,
comfortable
with
what
he
has."
About
her
mythic
war
with
her
brother-in-law
Dilip
Kumar,
Begum
Para
laughs,
"That's
gone
and
done
with.
Now
we're
cordial
and
we
do
meet
occasionally.
Yes,
we
did
have
our
differences.
I
suppose
I
was
too
independent-minded
for
him.
If
he
was
THE
Dilip
Kumar
I
was
THE
Begum
Para….He
was
very
close
to
my
husband
Nasir
Khan.
" She
giggles
over
an
anecdote
about
her
husband
and
Meena
Kumari
while
they
were
playing
the
lead
in
Kamal
Amrohi's
Daera.
"Meena
Kumari
was
in
the
foreground
and
he
was
in
the
background,
so
far
away
that
he
stood
on
his
head
and
nobody
noticed."