Farooque Shaikh wanted to change the world, says heroine of his Gujarati film

Almost forty years ago, Farooque Shaikh did a rare film in his mother tongue Gujarati. It was called 'Gher Gher Matina Chula'. Its heroine Sushma Verma, a leading lady of regional cinema says, the actor made a lasting impression as a perfect gentleman and a crusader who appeared to want to change the world.
Farooque Shaikh's 67th birth anniversary will be observed on Wednesday, March 25.
Gher Gher Matina Chula (which translates as Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani) was the first Gujarati picture to be produced by Gemini Films, the towering South Indian banner helmed by SS Vasan and SS Balan. Made in 1977, it falls in the period between Shaikh's Garm Hawa (1973) and Noorie (1979). The film did extraordinarily well in Gujarat.
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Sushma Verma is the wife of veteran actor Kiran Kumar and daughter-in-law of leading villain of Hindi cinema, Jeevan Dar. She played the part of Shaikh Sahab's sister-in-law and wife of Arvind Joshi, whose son Sharman Joshi is now a popular actor. Arvind Pandya and Dina Pathak enacted her parents-in-law while Jalal Agha was shown being married to Farooque Shaikh's sister Rajnibala. Rita Bhaduri joined the cast as Shaikh's wife. The film is available for viewing online.
Shaikh and Sushma ji are seen sharing a friendly bond which is misunderstood by Joshi. Prompted by his crafty sister, Joshi looks in through the window as Shaikh extols the virtues of his girlfriend before Sushmaji. Joshi believes his brother is praising his wife. Another time, Shaikh leaves his own marriage ceremony to check on his sister-in-law who has taken ill. As he slips a necklace around her neck that she had kept aside, Joshi peeps in and takes offence, not realising that Jalal Agha is present in the room and is taking family pictures.
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The story unfolds as Joshi falls prey to the charms of Padma Khanna, his former fiancee.
Sushma Verma met TOI at her home in Khar to speak about Farooque Shaikh. "Oh, is his birthday coming up shortly? I remember he had celebrated his birthday during our shoot in Gujarat as well. He had received a big jar of gulkand from home on that occasion," she laughs. "We asked him Farooque bhai, why gulkand? I think his maternal grandmother's house was nearby. He laughed and said his family had sent it for him because he liked it so much. Gher Gher Matina Chula was shot in Halol where the Nadiadwalas owned a studio. The actors lived on set where they were allotted small rooms spread out across the precinct." Sushmaji says, "The first day I arrived on set casually wearing a midi dress when a production assistant came running up to me and said, 'Madam no wear frock. Wear sari.' I explained that I was not shooting just yet, I had merely arrived. He clarified that the producers preferred their heroines to be dressed traditionally at all times to stay in character. I complied. It was a de-glamourised role so I had to pare my nails, wear a braid and wear saris in Gujarati style.''
Adding, "During those days, most pictures were made in one straight schedule lasting maybe a month, and at a common budget of Rs 10-20 lakh. Both my initial films, Ma Baap and Gher Gher... were very successful. Ma Baap I did with Asrani Sahab.''
Neither Sushmaji nor her husband Kiran Kumar are natives of Gujarat, yet both established themselves as leading artistes in that industry. She hails from Punjab while Kiran ji is Kashmiri.
She recalls a resemblance with the later film Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani (1988) featuring Rishi Kapoor and Jaya Prada, as well as the earlier black and white Ghunghat (1960) with Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar and Bina Rai which was also a Gemini production.
Poonam Dhillon had said to TOI how back in the 1970s during Noorie, Farooque Shaikh always arrived with a book on set. His Gujarati heroine bears out that fact. "He was always reading something. In between shots and after pack-up, Farooque bhai would return to his room and pick up his book. I myself was quite a recluse, I still am, and I would do likewise. I preferred light reading though I am not sure what his favourite titles were,'' Sushmaji says.
Gher Gher... was among the first urban family dramas in the Gujarati industry. Before this, Sushma ji says, most pictures were set in the rural countryside and the actors spoke and dressed 'that' ethnic way. "Even then Farooque bhai was very quiet. Not the 'sadu' (dour) kind of quiet," she laughs. "He had a subtle, classy sense of humour, not the ha-ha-ha kind. He relied on wit. He would suddenly say something funny that would have you in splits. I had a lighthearted role which gets progressively intense as events unfold. Those were simple times when we did not extensively prepare for the part, weeks before like today's actors do. But there is one time I remember Farooque Shaikh was reading his lines and getting all worked up. I went up to speak to him but he did not answer. I began to wonder if I had done something to offend him. I said Farooque bhai, main kuchh bol diya? He hastily said nahin nahin, I am merely doing my scene. In that sense he was a perfectionist while I was spontaneous. I did not do method acting."
The two did not get a chance to work together again but Sushma ji appreciated Shaikh Sahab's career graph. "I liked many of his films including Noorie, Bazaar and Umrao Jaan. He gained the image of a royal figure owing to his looks, demeanour and speech so he fit the character of the nawab in Umrao Jaan perfectly well," she says. "But I feel sad to think he never got his due. He deserved much more. When I think of Farooque bhai, I think of a person who wanted to change the world."
She also added, "He had introduced me to Roopa ji, whom he was about to marry, when I came upon them at Warden Road one day. Our daughters attended the same school in Bandra so I would meet him occasionally when he came to pick up his children. He would arrive in his classic white kurta pyjama, wearing the familiar smile we all know so well. Bas dua'a salaam hoti thi.''
Sushma ji was shocked when he passed away so suddenly in Dubai. "Zaahir hai, there was no question of smoking, no drinking -- no paan even. Farooque bhai was a man with no vices. He was a deeply spiritual person. I remember even back then, during Gher Gher Matina Chula, he would regularly pray every single namaz every single day. Batakar jaate the, and we soon got used to it. There was no way anyone could mind, after all he was going to pray not party. Ibaadat ke liye kisi ko naagavar kyon hota. If I had to underline one phrase, I would say Farooque bhai was a thorough gentleman. He did not have overriding ambition to make money or drive luxury cars. I am like that as well. One must be satisfied with one's possessions. The Taj Mahal is the most beautiful monument in the world but it is a tomb, after all.''
LISTEN: Songs of Farooque Shaikh on Gaana.com
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