Farooque Shaikh had biceps of steel, friend Rakesh Bedi recalls

MUMBAI: On the eve of Farooque Shaikh's 66th birth anniversary which is coming up Tuesday, March 25, his close friend, neighbour and work colleague Rakesh Bedi experiences a surge of emotion as memories of their long association wash over. Both families live in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri.
DD-National will telecast their sunshine comedy 'Chashme Buddoor' at 3.00pm on Sunday, March 23, in honour of Shaikh Sahab.
"Farooque Sahab and I worked in 'Chashme Buddoor', 'Saath Saath' and a few other films that were not completed. But that is not how we became acquainted. We met as members of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), and although I cannot say we did many plays together, we mingled with common friends and visited each other during rehearsals. There was Raman Kumar, Ramesh Talwar and Sagar Sarhadi, and we all enjoyed one another's company,'' says Bedi. "That is the reason the chemistry between the buddies is palpable on screen in 'Chashme Buddoor'.'' From the opening shot where the flatmates share a cigarette to the filmi finale where they settle old debts at the police station, the journey was a laugh riot on set not just on screen.
"In fact in recent times we had not worked together since 15 years but barely a month went by that we did not exchange text messages about important national or international events. I would often share my feelings about a particular outrage and he would reply what he thought about the state of the nation,'' Bedi remembers.
His eyes widen as he recalls a surprising fact that Shaikh Sahab had hidden up his sleeve. "Farooque Sahab always wore kurta-pyjama so even those who saw him at close quarters had little idea of the body structure under the bulky garment. But there is one aspect of his physique that old friends like me marvelled at. Farooque Shaikh had biceps of steel! I tell you, our modern-day heroes would turn green with envy, unhein rashk aa jaye! This is intriguing because his facial features were very soft. I am puzzled to think when he made time to visit the gymnasium, where did he work out. But one only had to feel his arms to grasp the sheer strength and power he had acquired over the years. Par majaal hai jo kabhi numaish ki ho ya kisise kaha ho.''
Each time the old boys met, Bedi would pump Shaikh's forearms and embrace him saying, ""Kya baazoo hain!'' and Shaikh would laughingly reply, "Chhaddo ji!''
Like true buddies, each had given the other a nickname. "Farooque Sahab never called me Rakesh Bedi in my life. He always addressed me as Young Dharam! In turn, I would play a pun on his name and say, 'Farooque diyan sheikhiyan toh dekho!' Honestly, I am becoming emotional just thinking back to the warmth we shared.'' On at least six or seven occasions, the two families had spent New Year's Eve together.

Bedi pauses for a brief while, then says he never met a man like Farooque Shaikh who gave so liberally of his wealth, his time, his effort, the kindness of his heart and the sweetness of his tongue. "The amount of social work and financial charity that Farooque Sahab did is just mind-boggling,'' he says. "Do you know he did not charge a single penny to work in 'Lahore'? He simply asked the director to write a cheque in the name of a certain charity. Main hairaan hoon ki ek shakhs itni neki kare aur uska zikr tak na kare.''
By a turn of fate, their friendship had blossomed under the wings of IPTA and the curtains came down when the troupe had regrouped after a time. "A few of us including Ramesh Talwar were in Uttar Pradesh to stage a play on December 28 when around 5.00am we received the shocking news that Farooque Shaikh was no more. A stunned silence fell upon everybody. We were about to leave for rehearsal but suddenly the world as we knew it collapsed around us. It was a strange feeling, I get gooseflesh just speaking about it with you. Through the day everybody remained silent. Only we knew the show must go on so despite the heartache we were forced to perform," he says.