Even before she won recognition as screen actor Kamini Kaushal, Uma Sood (her original name) was auditioned by circumstance to play out a larger-than-life role. The 20-something Uma chose to become mother to her little nieces who had lost their mother in a car tragedy. But this imposition did not imply a closure to her dreams. As Kamini, she struck a balance between hearth and heart and scripted a life that let her soar. A recent recipient of the Kalpana Chawla Award, the 86-year-old actor, surprises you with the lilt in her walk and talk. Her face mirrors the changing climes, the seasons of learning, loving and losing... but never of losing spirit! “Life’s about change, if it doesn’t change it’s not life,” she smiles. What remains unchanged though is her love for puppets. She seems to share a karmic bond with her playmates. And as long as you continue to play... you never really grow old.
“I associate the Ramayana with Dad”
Every time span has left behind indelible hues for the 86-year-old Kamini Kaushal, beginning from her childhood in lush Lahore. “Our bungalow was shrouded with gorgeous eucalyptus and fruit trees,” she says. And though she lost her father, famed botanist Professor SR Kashyap, when she was only six, his image is warm and vivid. “I associate the Ramayana with my father. He’d wear an aaba, a cloak made of camel skin, during winter. I’d climb up on his lap and snuggle close to him as he sat on a chair and recited the epic. That was the coziest feeling a child could ever enjoy!” recalls Kamini, the youngest among two brothers and three sisters.
“I had no time for crushes”
A student of Kinnaird College in Lahore, she was unlike the usual teenager. “I had no time to fool. I didn’t have any crush, I was busy swimming, riding, skating and doing radio plays on Akashwani, for which I was paid `10! I also wrote stories,” she smiles. “Once, while I was cycling back home, one of the boys asked, ‘May I ride with you?’ I retorted, ‘What for?’” But the idyllic life took a dramatic turn as the freedom movement grew fierce. “There were morchas. The mood was rebellious. We then lived through the story of Independence and the Partition,” says the octogenarian whose child-like tonality belies her age. She credits the inflection to her early training as a radio artiste. Incidentally, it was on radio that filmmaker Chetan Anand heard her and offered her a lead role in Neecha Nagar (1946). But before she could be a reel heroine, life took a detour…
“I married my sister’s husband”
Kamini, just out of college, was called upon to play a larger-than-life role when she married her brother-in-law BS Sood (chief engineer at the Bombay Port Trust) because her older sister Usha, died in a car accident leaving behind two girls Kumkum and Kavita. “I loved my sister deeply. I feared my nieces, who were just around two and three, would flounder without a mother.” She’s reluctant to call it ‘a sacrifice’. “It seemed an ideal solution. It was not a sacrifice. I feared whether I’d be able to live up to the responsibility. More so, my husband was a genteel and decent human being.” The couple went on to have three sons Rahul, Vidur and Shravan.
“Chetan renamed me Kamini Kaushal”
Coming back to her debut Neecha Nagar, the film gave her a new identity. “Chetan’s wife Uma Anand was also part of the film. My name also being Uma, he wanted a different name for me. I asked him to give me a name beginning with ‘K’ to match with the names of my daughters Kumkum and Kavita.” And Kamini Kaushal was born. Neecha Nagar was the first Indian film to be sent to the Cannes Festival. It won the Grand Prix Award.
“Raj Kapoor called himself desi tharra”
Soon she bagged two films opposite Raj Kapoor – his maiden home production Aag and Gajanan Jagirdar’s Jail Yatra in 1947. “Raj was like an imp always thick on pranks. He’d say, ‘I am desi tharra (country liquor), you’re just a kid.’ He was full of life, just the way Ranbir Kapoor is. He wanted to make it big from his first film,” she smiles. “I was friendlier with Nargis though. But as I lived in South Mumbai and she in the suburbs, it wasn’t possible to meet often.” She denies any acrimony with peers. “I’m not the sneaky kind. I’ve always been straightforward. I had no time for catfights!”
(Clockwise) With husband BS Sood and sons Rahul, Vidur and Shravan. With Raj Kapoor in Jail Yatra and With Prime Minster Lal Bahadur Shastri and Manoj Kumar at the premiere of Shaheed in 1965
“I pulled Ashok Kumar’s hair”
Kamini did several films with Ashok Kumar including Poonam (1952, she even produced it), Night Club (1958) and Purab Aur Paschim (1970). Interestingly, Kamini had met Ashok Kumar long before he romanced her on screen and had even dared to pull a prank on him. “We were to perform for the war relief fund in college. Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitins were the chief guests. After the show we went to meet him. I thought of having some fun. As he stood talking to the students, I pulled his hair from behind. He turned around. I pretended to be unaware and coolly smiled at him. He turned away. I did it again. He was so bewildered!” she laughs. “Years later I confessed about the incident.”
“Suraiya gave me letters for Dev”
Kamini worked with Dev Anand in Ziddi (1948) and Shair (1954). “Dev was shy and quiet. He was serious at work whereas I’d talk, talk, talk...” She was also witness to his ill-fated love affair with Suraiya. “Suraiya wanted me to pass on her letters to Dev. ‘Will you give it to him?’ she asked. I said, ‘Of course’! I felt sorry for them. Their togetherness didn’t work out. Her aunt would always be around. Also Dev was non-aggressive, not someone to put his foot down and say ‘I’ll marry her’.”
“I broke down while doing Biraj Bahu”
A film that won Kamini laurels was Bimal Roy’s Biraj Bahu (1954) based on Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel. Her portrayal of a devoted wife won her a Filmfare Award. “Bimaldawas a sensitive director. Once you got on to his wavelength, you could do a scene without rehearsal. I broke down several times during the film. My character, had a sense of righteousness. She was confident that her husband (Abhi Bhattacharya) would never dismiss her as unfaithful.” The film won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Dilip saab and I were shattered”
A definitive chapter in her life has been her onscreen pairing and off-screen relationship with Dilip Kumar with whom she worked in Shaheed (1947), Nadiya Ke Paar and Shabnam (both in 1948) and Arzoo (1950). “He liked to work on his character. I was spontaneous; I joked around. He’d say, ‘Tu bahut shor machati hai’.” she states. When reminded of their relationship that was not meant to be and the veteran’s reported confession in his biography that he was ‘shattered’ with the parting, she says with quiet dignity, “We were both shattered. We were very happy with each other. We shared a great rapport. But what to do? That’s life. I can’t dump people and say ‘Enough now, I’m going!’ I had taken on the girls. I wouldn’t be able to show my face to my sister. My husband, a fine human being, understood why it happened. Everyone falls in love.” Just recently, Kamini happened to meet Dilip Kumar at the late actor Pran’s chautha. “Saira (Banu) brought him down. They put another chair next to mine and made him sit. But he didn’t recognise me. I was heartbroken. It broke my heart to see him give me a blank look. He looked at me and I looked at him. Actually, he finds it hard to recognise anyone. I felt sad and walked away. What an era we have been through!” she sighs. “I hope he stays well.”
“I Wasn’t obsessed with the mirror”
Going back to her career, Kamini took intermittent breaks to raise a family. Later, Manoj Kumar introduced her to character roles. “Manoj insisted on me playing his mother in Shaheed (1965). I protested because I was so tiny in front of him. But he made such a beautiful film!” says the actor who later did his Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim and Roti Kapda Aur Makan. For Kamini, the transition to playing mature roles was smooth. “I was never obsessed with the mirror. I could do a scene without looking into one. Also I never smoked or consumed alcohol. That kept me fit! Even as a heroine I never made a fuss!” Her second coming included significant roles in Uphaar, Aadmi Aur Insaan, Gumrah, and Chori Chori and more recently Chennai Express.
“Puppets have soul”
Her resume may hold a hundred films and several TV serials including Khel Khilone but what remains close to her heart are her puppet shows. In fact, she was just 10 when she first created her puppet theatre. Also serials like Chand Sitare, Chaat Pani and Chandamama, made by her banner Gudia Ghar Productions, included her puppets.“I had a ball with my puppet shows. I used to give a voiceover for all my puppets. I enjoyed the freedom of doing what I wanted. I made them good, bad, wicked… Puppets have a soul,” she says the shine in her eyes brighter than her silver crown.
THE INTERVIEW WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2012