Tribute to Raakhee: Star in her day, recluse in her twilight, legend forever

Farhana Farook
·Columnist
·7-min read

Tujhe zameen pe bulaya gaya hai mere liye… She gave Sahir Ludhianvi’s enigmatic beloved a tangible face in Kabhi Kabhie, her poignant beauty merging with the scattered chinar leaves…

Chal kahin door nikal jaayen… the power woman in slinky chiffon, sunspecs thrown over her short waves, wine-red eyes brimming with love’s intemperance and … in Doosra Aadmi.

Amitabh Bachchan and Raakhee in Kabhi Kabhie
Amitabh Bachchan and Raakhee in Kabhi Kabhie

As Sheetal the wife and mother, the adhesive to the fractured relationship between father and son in Shakti, the negotiator in their combat… hers was a heartrending performance. Silver in her hair, grey in her heart… her plaintive voice articulated her torment.

As Parama, ironically meaning the ‘ultimate woman’, Raakhee brought out the dichotomy of her character mired in the maze of mores. Traditional pooja saree with the vermillion pallu over her head, lush sindoor, shanka bangles bordering her ivory wrists, eyes limpid with unspoken dreams… 40-year-old Parama, appeared goddess-like... albeit of clay. She yields to the summer of ’42 in her life when she falls in love with a young admirer. She loses her all… only to find herself…

Early in her career, Raakhee established that she was not the regular preening and prancing heroine. Her sex-appeal lay in her prismatic eyes, in her marinated-in-emotion tone, in her disregard for stereotypes, in her choice to portray ‘real’ women with abandon, without aggression…

Her personal life too adopted an unusual trajectory. Her marriage to poet/filmmaker Gulzar may have been short-lived but her bond with him has endured the decades. In fact, it can best be surmised with Gulzar’s own lines, “Pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do, koi naam na do…”

A loner, who enjoys conversations with herself and nature, Raakhee’s sanctuary is her ‘animal farm’ at Panvel. ‘Queen of the ivory tower’ she truly is. A sovereign revelling in her solitude. “I am not public property,” is her refrain.

Liberating herself from the trappings of showbiz, she carries her short and free much like her rustic spirit. “I am a peculiar, different person – an odd type, perhaps not fit for this industry,” she self-confessedly stated in an interview to scroll.in.

But to connoisseurs of her beauty and art, the 74-year-old is ever intelligible through her timeless cinema…

Raakhee in Kaala Patthar
Raakhee in Kaala Patthar

BENGAL TO BOMBAY

Raakhee was born on August 15, 1947 in Ranaghat, West Bengal just when India celebrated its freedom. Her love for nature was nurtured in the green environs of the pristine landscape.

A loner, she enjoyed being by herself in a joint family of 19 members. Catching matinee shows of films by V Shantaram, Sohrab Modi, Mehboob Khan and K Asif was her favourite pursuit. While still in her teens, Raakhee got married to Bengali journalist-turned filmmaker Ajoy Biswas. But it was short-lived.

At 20, she debuted with the Bengali film Badhu Baran (1967). Next, came Sunil Dutt’s Reshma Aur Shera (1972) where she played a bride, whose husband is mired in family politics.

In Lal Patthar (1971), she played the beauteous bride of zamindar Raaj Kumar, who becomes a victim of his mistress’ (Hema Malini) jealousy. Her first film as the female lead was Rajshri Productions’ Jeevan Mrityu (1970) opposite Dharmendra. A remake of the Bengali film, Jiban Mrityu (1967), the romantic thriller is remembered for the song Jhilmil sitaron ka aangan hoga. Her double role in Subodh Mukherjee’s Sharmilee (1971) opposite Shashi Kapoor, catapulted her into the big league.

Raakhee appeared with Dharmendra again in Blackmail (1973). The melody Pal pal dil ke paas from the film is striking for its dreamy picturization and Raakhee’s steeped-in-reverie eyes.

The year 1973 also saw her pair with Dev Anand in films like Heera Panna, Banarasi Babu, Lootmaar and Joshila. Yash Chopra’s Daag – A Poem Of Love (1973), apparently an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge, won her the first Filmfare Award for Supporting Actress. She played Rajesh Khanna’s second wife unaware of his past.

M.K.Raina and Raakhee in 27 Down
M.K.Raina and Raakhee in 27 Down

Awtar Krishna Kaul’s National Award winning 27 Down (1974), an adaptation of the Hindi novel Athara Sooraj Ke Paudhe, featured Raakhee as an insurance employee in love with a railway ticket collector (MK Raina). As a working-class woman, who has the guts to follow her heart, she was all about strength.

Rajshri’s Tapasya (1976) had her play a sister, who puts her life and love on hold, to better the lot of her orphaned siblings. It won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and also bagged the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

Yash Chopra’s landmark film, Kabhi Kabhie (1976), cast her as a poet’s (Amitabh Bachchan) beautiful muse, who leaves his life but never his heart. Sahir Ludhianvi’s lyrics set to tune by Khayyam’s music was an ode to her ethereal beauty.

Raakhee shared a dignified chemistry with Amitabh Bachchan where sentiments took precedence over sexuality. She played his secretary and conscience-keeper in Trishul (1978), a doctor who heals him with love in Kaala Patthar (1979), his blind wife in Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, his estranged beloved in Jurmana (both in 1979) and ‘sakhi’ (friend), a soulmate, in Bemisal (1982). Flowing natural tresses and sarees both indigenous and handpicked, became her trademark during this period.

Within the commercial framework, Raakhee featured in women-centric films. Ramesh Talwar’s Doosra Aadmi (1977) cast her as an architect, who’s drawn towards her young employer because he reminds her of her deceased lover.

If Shradhanjali had her playing the avenging angel then in Basera (both in 1982) she was the elder sister, who feigns insanity to restore sanity in her younger sister’s (Rekha) marital life.

Parama
Parama

Aparna Sen’s Parama (1985) was pathbreaking. As a 40-year-old married woman, Parama (Raakhee) has a tempestuous affair with a much younger photo-journalist, in the process breaking the glass ceiling and also her heart.

STAR MOTHER

In the ’80s, Raakhee ventured into unconventional territory. She had no qualms playing mother/bhabhi to heroes whose love interest she played in other films. In Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti (1983), Dilip Kumar and Raakhee played Amitabh Bachchan’s parents.

Shakti
Shakti

“People told me my career was doomed – I said to hell with my career, here’s a chance to act with Dilip Kumar (in Shakti),” Raakhee reportedly (scroll.in) said. The same year, Raakhee and Amitabh, were paired as romantic leads in Bemisal and sensitively conveyed an esoteric relationship.

She also played mother to actors including Anil Kapoor (Ram Lakhan 1989 – won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress), Sanjay Dutt (Khalnayak 1993), Akshay Kumar (Saugandh 1991), Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan (Karan Arjun 1995) and Shah Rukh in Baazigar (1993) and Baadshah (1999).

Shubho Mahurat
Shubho Mahurat

Mention must be made of Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudaali (1993), which had Raakhee essay a professional mourner and called for intense histrionics. Much later came Rituparno Ghosh’s Shubho Mahurat (2003) with arch rival Sharmila Tagore. As Ranga Pishima, an elderly woman who solves a murder mystery sitting at home, she bagged the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Goutam Halder’s Nirbon (adaptation of Moti Nandi’s novel Bijolibalar Mukti) was premiered at the Kolkata International Film Festival in 2019. Raakhee portrayed 70-year-old Bijolibala, a staunch Hindu Brahmin. Her bigotry transforms into humanism, when she rents out a room to a couple with the wife being a Muslim.

SEPARATE NOT APART

Raakhee married poet/filmmaker Gulzar on May 15, 1973. Apparently, it was Gulzar’s love for Bengal and its rich culture that brought them close. They separated just one year after the birth of their daughter Meghna.

Apparently, the relationship soured when Raakhee wished to return to films, Kabhi Kabhie being the deal-breaker. Gulzar reportedly dubbed Raakhee as, ‘the longest short story of my life...’

The couple, however, did not divorce and embraced the important phases in their life together – be it raising their daughter or now looking after their grandson Samay (filmmaker Meghna Gulzar is married to investment banker Govind Sandhu).

“We have been together through it all — disagreements, fights and happy times. If this is not being together, then I don’t know what is,” said Gulzar (hindustantimes.com).

Raakhee seconded the sentiment saying, “We deserve an award for the best split couple. We are more well-adjusted than most married couples. Gulzar and I are there for each other. He treats me as if I were still his wife. He calls and tells me, ‘I’ve called four friends for dinner… So quickly send some jhinga (prawn) curry’. His other favourite is kheer.” (Stardust)

BACK TO ROOTS

Reclusive by nature, Raakhee often retreats to her farm near the Karnala Bird Sanctuary and Patalganga river. Named Roots, it’s a sanctuary for dogs, cows, birds, snakes... Raakhee, who enjoys reading books on botany and marine life, also grows vegetables there.

“I have no neighbours. Cooking is my stress buster… whenever I get tense, I go into the kitchen. I like to keep experimenting with recipes. I also love listening to music, especially old Hindi film songs,” she said (scroll.in).

Enjoying her privacy, she once said, “Why should I be in the public glare?… I love my independence. There is nobody to question me. For the longest time now, it’s been my farmhouse near Panvel and my animals. I may have belonged to the animal kingdom in my past life… I am happy and contented.” (Times Of India)

Expressing her desire to venture into new realms, she was quoted saying, “Films, films, films – there should be another dimension too… Now, I want to do other things, like travel... You hardly have any time left. You want to see the beautiful world before you kick the bucket.” (scroll.in).

Indeed, a beautiful thought from a beautiful person!

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