Mrinal Kulkarni: I was embarrassed to scold Farooque Shaikh while enacting 'Shrikant'

Around 25 years ago, actress Mrinal Kulkarni was a college student who was making her debut in Hindi television with the landmark serial 'Shrikant'. To her discomfiture, she had to let loose a volley of sharp dialogues against veteran artiste Farooque Shaikh, perhaps the harshest he endured in any role of his career.
Shaikh Sahab's second Smriti Din will be observed Monday, December 28.
Now a veteran actress and director of Marathi movies, Mrinalji nurtures fond memories of Shaikh Sahab whom she admired from her adolescent years. "I was very young, about 18 or 19, when I took up the offer to be Abhaya in 'Shrikant'. Before that I had played the female lead in the Marathi serial 'Swami' opposite Ravindra Mankani. That show had also become very popular," she says.
But 'Shrikant' was a sublime experience. It was based on a novel by noted Bengali author Sharatchandra Chatterji. Mrinalji says, "I was excited to be a part of this project because I come from a literary family. My grandfather G N Dandekar was a well known novelist, and would you believe, his work was deeply influenced by the writings of Sharatchandra. I was awestruck by the coincidence when director Pravin Nischol selected me. It seemed as if I was chosen to receive this special blessing."
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'Shrikant' was made for BBC on 35mm film. It does not have the look of a typical TV serial that one saw either then or now. It was shot in four parts, and Mrinalji's shoot set against a Burmese background lasted well over two years.
She had not yet completed her graduation. "Meanwhile, Farooque Shaikh was a veteran actor, having made all those wonderful films alongside Deepti Naval and Rekha. When I learnt that I would be working with him, I actually exclaimed, 'Oh my God!' I had grown up in Pune where my college friends and I would go to see those wonderful movies he made, like 'Noorie', 'Chashme Buddoor', 'Saath Saath' and 'Rang Birangi'."
"Even back then I adored Farooqueji. He was extraordinarily good looking, and I believe most women of my generation were enamoured by his appearance, his personality, his diction and his acting talent. When I met him I realised there was still more to him. He was passionate about his craft. His fondness for white kurta pyjama was apparent even then. I rarely saw him in jeans or trousers, it was always his favourite white Lucknowi wear," she laughs.
The team of 'Shrikant' included such stalwarts that Mrinalji felt privileged to get this opportunity right in her very first Hindi project. The writer was no less than Ali Raza Sahab and the director, Pravin Nischol. Shaikh Sahab was cast in the title role, Irfan Khan played her husband and A K Hangal and Manik Dutt were supporting artistes. Mrinalji swallowed hard when she read the script and found several lengthy monologues running into a few pages. She says, "It dawned on me that all my co-actors had a rare command over the Hindustani language, particularly Farooqueji and Irfan whose background in Urdu gave them an extra edge. I was a Maharashtrian so my weakness would show. I decided to engage a tutor to teach me Hindi. Thankfully, I do not seem to have done too badly."
Another Maharashtrian artiste Smita Jayakar had also been inspired to learn Urdu from a maulana while working under Farooque Shaikh's direction. Jayakar had played the female lead in the play 'Aazar Ka Khwab' in 2002, which was the only professional stage play Shaikh Sahab directed.
Mrinalji's part in 'Shrikant' was such that she had to scold Shaikh Sahab in a sharp tongue as the story progressed. "I was so embarrassed while doing these scenes. As Abhaya I am shown to hold a grudge against Farooqueji because he knows that my husband Irfan is cheating on me, yet he does not alert me. The first time I meet Farooque Sahab is aboard a ship headed for Burma where I narrate my woes to him. He blesses me that I may find Irfan. But later in Burma, he chooses to remain silent about my husband's infidelity. So I take him to task,'' Mrinalji says. On screen Shaikh Sahab is seen wearing a pained look as he absorbs her self-righteous anger. As the shoot progressed, Mrinalji saw those facets of Farooque Shaikh which colleagues down the decades have held dear. "I will never forget the way he and Pravin Nischol groomed me for the role of Abhaya. There were times I failed to strike the right note. Farooque Sahab would gently take me aside and explain how it could be done. He had a soft, gentle manner that made you comfortable and encouraged you to try one more time to do better than your last shot,'' she says.
She was impressed by his class. "Farooque Sahab was such a popular actor yet he never had any airs about him. He would bring along his books and was always reading between shots. At the time I was studying literature so he would ask me about my syllabus. He was very interested in knowing about Pune where I belong. He would ask many questions about that city. He had shot Katha in a chawl there so he had a fair idea of the milieu,'' she says.
Mrinalji's shoot lasted more than two years. In the meanwhile she got married and was soon expecting a baby. After 'Shrikant' she became busy doing other things. Her CV grew to include a list of historical characters like Jijabai, Ahilyabai Holkar and Ramabai. She acted in TV serials like 'The Great Maratha', 'Draupadi', 'Hasratein', 'Meerabai' and 'Sonpari', and directed two successful films in Marathi, 'Prem Mhanje Prem Mhanje Prem Asta' and 'Rama Madhav'.
She says, "I did not get a chance to work with Farooqueji again, still I followed his career. The shock of his passing was overwhelming for most people. But I remember that he had taken ill a few months earlier."
In fact Mrinalji was among the audience at Prithvi Theatre on June 14, 2012, when a show of 'Tumhari Amrita' was called off owing to Shaikh Sahab's illness. She says, "I had seen 'Tumhari Amrita' before and wanted to see it again. That evening the audience had assembled in their seats when Shabana Azmi came on stage to announce that Farooque Sahab was unwell. Unki tabiyat nasaaz hai, she said, isliye yeh show cancel karna hoga. But she promised they would be back the following week. They did stage the play later but I was unable to attend.''
The actress was in the US when she heard he had passed away. "I think I read the news online. I called Pravin Nischol who was also deeply upset. We knew he had been ill but who believed the end would come so soon."
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