Throwback: Waheeda Rehman impressed India’s Vice-Roy C Rajagopalachari with Bharatnatyam
Throwback: Waheeda Rehman impressed India’s Vice-Roy
C Rajagopalachari with Bharatnatyam
It’s very rare that a Muslim Woman does the traditional Hindu Bharatnatyam dance form. Yes. It was veteran actress Waheeda Rehman who impressed C.Rajagopalachari with the Bharatnatyam dance form. Infact, Waheeda is known for her dance skills.
In Arbaaz Khan’s chat show
“The Invincibles” she talked about her journey in the film industry and shared several known-unknown facts.
When she was just 7 years old she evinced interest and a quest to learn various dance forms.Amid her chat she made it known how she impressed
C.Rajagopalachari, India’s
Vice-Roy with her flawless Bharatnatyam dance and which stunned him that a muslim doing Bharatnatyam.
On her work front Waheeda Rehman made her acting debut with the Telugu film Rojulu Marayi at the age of 17. Dance remained a crucial part of her career. She delivered hits like Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Her last outings were Aamir Khan-starrer Rang De Basanti and Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor’s Delhi 6.
While chatting with Arbaaz about her first dance performance, the 85-year-old actor said she had performed for India’s first viceroy C. Rajagopalachari at a programme in Visakhapatnam where her father was posted at that time. He asked to call Kamala Lakshman and
MS Subbulakshmi.
Then there was a telegram from Delhi saying artist has to be local and nobody outside Visakhapatnam. Yet he searched for a violinist. But the programme organisers said they need local artists for the show but were unable to find any except some sitar players.
Then they said She has to perform the dance. Amid the programme, C Rajagopalachari said Waheeda is a Muslim how can she do justice to an Indian traditional dance form and that he has never heard of a Muslim performing Bharatnatyam.
The organisers persuaded her father that She should perform. After her name was announced in the show, C Rajagopalachari wondered how a Muslim girl is performing Bharatnatyam dance.
She also said that Vice-Roy
C Rajagopalachari also went on to praise the senior actor’s father who served as an IAS officer at the time. She quoted the Viceroy telling her father, that he needs to meet her. would like to meet him. She also recalled that her photo from the event was published the next day on the front page of a newspaper. In the photo, she was seen being presented with a medal for her performance.
News Input K.V.Raman
