NUTAN,THE LEGEND OF HINDI CINEMA BORN JUNE 4,1936

NUTAN,THE LEGEND OF HINDI CINEMA 
BORN JUNE 4,1936

1.The actress NUTAN,was unconnventional who won the title of Miss India(1952) at the age of 16,

2.The actress who wore BIKINI swim suit in hindi cinema
n the 1958 film Dilli Ka Thug .

3.Actress Nutan was a professional hunter and has hunted a panther!

4.Nutan also wanted to work with Dilip Kumar. what happened that Nutan refused.. ..to be cast opposite her favorite actor?
This mystery is still a mystery.

5.Nutan slaps Sanjeev Kumar:

Soon after the slapping incident, there was a Bollywood party. Sanjeev was there and all the actors kissed his cheek that was slapped by Nutan.

Nutan won the Miss India title in 1952 and rose to cinematic fame with films like Seema, Bandini and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki. She won several Filmfare Best Actress Awards was later awarded a Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1974.

The brilliant actress of yesteryear, Nutan is widely acclaimed for her sober and women oriented roles. Making her debut with SEEMA, Nutan later did many hard-hitting sensitive roles in movies like SUJATA, BANDINI, MILAN, SARASWATICHANDRA, SAUDAGAR etc. She continued doing such roles till the fag end of career in movies like MAIN TULSI TERE AANGAN KI and MERI JUNG. Thus the viewers generally saw her on screen portraying weepy and poignant roles.

However readers would be surprised to know unlike her ‘reel’ roles Nutan was vibrant, extrovert and an adventurous woman in ‘real’ life. While celebrities of her time had favorite past-time hobbies like painting, fashion designing or enjoying filmy parties, Nutan in stark contrast loved to spend her quality time hunting!

Readers may note that hunting in those days was a legal and was the favorite hobby of rich and famous. Nutan, along with her husband, Colonel Rajneesh Behl, a naval officer, would spend their holidays hunting.

What may stun readers is that Nutan was not an amateur hunter but she was quite professional as she has the distinction of hunting a panther!

Speaking about her strange hobby Nutan in an interview informed, "I have been bold and extrovert since childhood. However the credit for developing interest in hunting and training me into a gallant and proficient hunter goes to my husband. He was a skilled hunter and always took me for hunting and during these stints he taught me the nuance of hunting so well that one day I hunted a panther myself!"

"What’s more even my son Mohnish Behl, who use to accompany us, learned hunting and has hunted many animals," added Nutan

It is being 25 years veteran actress Nutan says goodbye to the world.

The actress who won the title of Miss India(1952) at the age of 16, got married to naval Lieutenant-Commander Rajnish Bahl in 1959 and after two years of marriage, she gave birth to a son Mohnish Bahl.

Veteran actress Nutan’s granddaughter Pranutan was recently all over the internet for her good looks and her striking resemblance to her legendary grandmother.

Pranutan, who recently completed her degree in law, is now keen on entering Bollywood. Speaking to a daily, she said, “I am very keen on being an actor. As far as offers are concerned, they were coming through my studying years but at that time, I wanted to focus on education. Now, I have got a few offers but there is nothing concrete.” (Also Read: Mohnish Behl may sell bungalow where infant’s dead body was found)

Her father and actor Mohnish Bahl says that whatever film his daughter does, it has to be worthy of her family’s legacy. “The offer should be worthy of the legacy that comes with Nutan’s name. She is very particular of not putting that down in any way. I think the media was buzzing so much about her images because of her family background and the fact that she looks so much like her grandmother. She is very interested in a film debut, but her priorities are firm and she wanted to complete her education first,” said Mohnish.

This tale is of an old time..
..of the time when Dilip Kumar..
..was being recognized as the tragedy king. 

Every actress of the Indian cinema..
..was anxious to work with Mr. Dilip.
Nutan also wanted to work with Dilip Kumar. 

That is why such a director was needed..
..who would cast Nutan opposite Dilip Kumar.
K. Asif was shooting for the film 'Anarkali' at that time..
..for which he had finalized Nutan. 

Mr. Asif also had six songs made for Nutan.
In this film, Dilip Kumar was finalized as the hero.
It seemed like Nutan's wish will come true. 

But before the shooting of the film began..
..Nutan suddenly refused to do the role of Anarkali.
K. Asif couldn't understand the refusal. 

Even after trying a lot Nutan was still not convinced.
K. Asif then gave the role of Anarkali to Madhubala..
..and with that the name of the film..
..was changed to 'Mughal-e-Azam'.
'Mughal-e-Azam' is a golden tale.. 

..in the book of the history of Indian cinema.
Not just this generation, but the audience..
..of that time also can't separate Dilip Kumar..
..and Madhubala from 'Mughal-e-Azam'.
The thing to wonder about..

..is that first Nutan was chosen for 'Anarkali'..
..and she herself wanted to work with Dilip Kumar.
Then what happened that Nutan refused..
..to be cast opposite her favorite actor?
This mystery is still a mystery. 

No one knows the reason for Nutan's refusal.

Nutan slaps Sanjeev Kumar: This occurred during the time when Sanjeev Kumar was an upcoming actor. Nutan slapped Sanjeev Kumar in the compound of a studio. Film journals were carrying reports of a romance between Nutan and Sanjeev. It disturbed the marital life of Nutan. Nutan's contention was, Sanjeev is feeding the media with the news to promote his career, and ruining her life. Sanjeev's camp insisted that there was real fire under the smoke of the news of Nutan-Sanjeev romance.

Filmography[edit]
Year Title Character Notes
1950 Hamari Beti Daughter
1951 Nagina
1951 Humlog
1952 Shisham
1952 Parbat
1953 Laila Majnu Laila
1954 Shabaab
1955 Seema Gauri
1956 Heer Heer
1957 Baarish Chanda
Paying Guest Shanti
Zindagi Ya Toofan
1958 Chandan
Dilli Ka Thug Asha
Kabhi Andhera Kabhi Ujala
Sone Ki Chidiya Lakshmi
Aakhri Daao
1959 Anari Aarti Sohanlal
Kanhaiya Shanno
Sujata Sujata
1960 Basant
Chhabili
Chhalia Shanti
Manzil Pushpa
1962 Soorat Aur Seerat
1963 Bandini Kalyani
Dil Hi To Hai Jameela
Tere Ghar Ke Samne Sulekha
1964 Chandi Ki Deewar
1965 Khandan Radha
Rishte Naate Savitri
1966 Chhota Bhai
Chilaka Gorinka Telugu film
Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya Ashoo, Shabnam
Kalapi
1967 Dulhan Ek Raat Ki Nirmala
Laat Saheb
Milan Radha
1968 Gauri Gauri
Saraswatichandra Kumud Sundari
1969 Bhai Bahen Mala
1970 Maa Aur Mamta Maya
Devi Devi
Maharaja
Yaadgaar Bhavna
1972 Anuraag Anu Rai
Grahan
1973 Saudagar Mahjubhi
1975 Jogidas Khuman
1978 Ek Baap Chhe Bete
Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki Sanjukta Chouhan
Saajan Bina Suhagan Asha Chopra
1980 Saajan Ki Saheli Kunti Kumar
Kasturi
1982 Jiyo Aur Jeene Do
1983 Rishta Kagaz Ka Suman
1984 Yeh Kaisa Farz
1985 Yudh Savitri Devi
Paisa Yeh Paisa Laxmi
Meri Jung Aarti Deepak Verma
1986 Sajna Sath Nibhana Shobha Rana
Karma Mrs Vishwa Pratap Singh
Naam Jaanki Kapoor
1988 Main Tere Liye
1989 Kanoon Apna Apna Lakshmi Singh
Mujrim Yashoda
1992 Naseebwala Sharda
1994 Insaniyat Shanti Devi

Photo Caption - Nutan with husband, Rajnish Bahl.

(Rajnish Behl interviewed in 1992).

Nutan - The Wife

How Nutan and I met has been a secret between ourselves. Nobody has ever been told. Nutan wanted it that way. After all, there are a few things that are so personal and private, so dear, that they lose their charm if discussed or disclosed.
But, from the moment we met, we knew we were made for each other. Before that, I had decided not to marry, never hoping to find an ideal. Oh yes, I was 32 when we met. I had decided, that if I did marry it would be with an ideal woman, the best or not at all. There is no satisfaction and happiness really, in dragging along with another person in your life, if you are not well–matched. But then I met Nutan and everything changed.

Our fondness for each other grew very fast. Nevertheless, our courtship lasted a long time before we finally got married. All the time we were together, I was unaware of her status. All I knew was that I was with a very beautiful girl but I never felt that I was with a girl of such high repute. Because she never behaved extravagantly. On the contrary, she was very victorian and demure. She was like the girl next-door in her simplicity. I just thought she was a very ideal person. And, she reciprocated the same about me. She never told me much about her standing as an actress, because she presumed I knew, having won thrice the Filmfare best actress award. Her age then, was 23.

Till then, I had only seen two Hindi films in my life — Yahudi Ki Beti, way back in 1936-37, which my father took me to see and Mother India, which I had gone to watch along with some officer friends, just to pass an evening. Besides, most of my life has been spent at sea. From 1943 to 1952, I was in the British Navy and after that, till I retired in 1965, I served the Indian Navy. So, my knowledge of films and fan craze was almost nil.

She was a very witty girl and yet, very much to the point. You can see when a person has tremendous, inherent intelligence. It was a lot of fun to be with her. We shared many laughs and happy ecstatic times together. And her being an actress and a star didn't bother my family at all.

On the contrary, my folks believed that her talent shouldn't be stifled. She should continue with her career. Our family is somewhat reputed in Punjab. My father was Sir Pratap Chand Bahl, and my mother's lineage can be traced directly to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. So, in a way they were a traditional, conservative sort. But not where Nutan was concerned. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my parents loved her so much that while I could do no right, Nutan, where they were concerned, could do no wrong. My mother cared for her deeply, which was surprising, her being a mother-in-law. She has difficulty putting up with her other daughters-in-law, but Nutan was the exception. In fact my mother, she is 87, just called me two days ago. She said, "mujhe Nutan bahut yaad as rahi hai, tabhi mein tujhe phone kar rahi hoon." We never lived together after marriage, I mean my parents, Nutan and I. They live in Delhi and we stayed with them only whenever we went there.

After we got married, I was taken to see all her films. We'd go for trials and sometimes for premiers. And she would tell me the story, situations and details of her roles in them. Initially, I was quite surprised to see that she could act so well because I always thought acting was for the extroverts and she was quite the opposite. When I asked her how she could act so well, she said, "well, for me it's easy, because I become the person I am ­playing. I know exactly how she feels in that particular scene or shot. I observe people and nurture the actress within me!" Nutan was a very keen observer of human nature. She could read people's faces with uncanny accuracy and she was surprised that I could do the same too. I think, fine actors and actresses reach a stage when things they see are unconsciously registered in their minds and they can recall expressions whenever required. Oh yes, I remember, we have a terrace where a lot of pigeons would alight and play about. Nutan could actually act out the love-life of these pigeons, with all the actions. How this mustanda (macho) pigeon came and there was this poor little darling and all sorts of things. She would keep us in splits. She was a hilarious entertainer off-screen too.

Sometimes, she went to see her movies at the theatre. But she never wore a burkha or anything. Hers was a kind of open disguise. She'd change her walk, her manner of talking and her way of looking at people. One day she'd look like a school marm and on the next, like any family woman. And believe it or not, people coming out after seeing her film, would pass her by, but fail to recognize her. She found this whole charade very amusing. Once I couldn't accompany her, so she went to see Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki with my friend Anil Kumar and to his surprise, no one looked at her twice. She could do such things to amuse herself, with effortless ease.

Nutan adjusted effortlessly with my naval lifestyle. I wouldn't say I had money as such. I was a naval officer and comfortable in my pay because the rupee had some value then. It was enough for me to have, say, two cars, one was a jeep for my shikar (hunting) purposes. Nutan had 3 to 4 cars at home, all top quality and imported. One day, during the courtship period, when we returned home, her mother asked her, "Nutan, how did you enjoy your drive in Sonny's (me) car?" She said, "oh mummy, it was fantastic. Everything made noise except the horn." "But how did you go about without the horn?" her mother enquired. "That's another fantastic thing," she said, "he had his daughter along with him. She sat between us. Everytime someone came in front of the jeep, she'd go 'woof, woof." That was Nutan's sense of humor. She was obviously referring to my dog! Nutan loved dogs immensely like me. There were around 16 dogs in Nutan's house at one time. Afterwards, the 'sone log' (beautiful people) as she would call them, were kept on our farm at Thane.

Shikar was a passion with me. Being in the navy, I had been confined into small spaces on war ships for many years, and was most of the time at sea. I longed for land and wide open spaces. Shikar was ideal in that sense. Besides, I was quite a sporstman. We'd get 60 days leave every year and I 'd spend 30 in the jungle. Only, the first time, I went hunting with friends. After that, I'd always go alone with just a servant to do my cooking. Finally, I acquired enough proficiency to shoot tigers on foot. After marriage, Nutan accompanied me on shikar and later toddler Mohnish too. We'd go to Madhya Pradesh or Saurashtra. I was obsessed with tigers and Nutan could see that. She once wrote a poem called 'Smiley and Me'.

`Smiley' was a tigress and 'me' was Nutan. In it, she said how jealous she was of the tigress, because her loved one (that's me) would leave her to go to his other love. How he cares more for Smiley because of her lovely swinging walk and her voracious kisses. This poem, I think, was published in a magazine way back in 1969. She wrote in English, Hindi (she's written some wonderful bhajans) and also in Sanskrit. My father and she would often banter in Sanskrit, leaving the rest of us out in the cold.

Hunting tigers on foot is perhaps the most dangerous undertaking the world offers. But Nutan insisted on coming along. In fact, once when we were hot on a trail, a friend of mine who was hunting in the same jungle spotted us. When he saw Nutan beside me, he was shocked and angry. He gave me a hell of a lecture. But Nutan just laughed and said, "don't worry about me, I am enjoying myself." She had tremendous faith and confidence in me. All the tigers she has seen shot, were on foot and none further than say eight yards i.e. 20 feet.

I remember one particular incident. It was very late in the night, around one o'clock and we were returning from a day in the jungle. Suddenly, in the headlights of the jeep, we saw an animal walking leisurely, swinging its tail. The driver said, "saab bachhada hai." Bachhda means the young of a cow. By then I got out of the jeep to get a steadier shot. Just then he took a little turn and there it was, a full grown tiger. Nutan got very excited. She frantically whispered in my ear, "darling, shoot shoot." I gave the tiger a shot. It went up several feet in the air and then turned around all set to charge at us. This time I put in the second shot. He got hit in the side and dived into the bushes. I decided not to go after him. It was dark and if he was not dead, it could have proved dangerous. So I said we return to the rest house. Nutan was disappointed, but eventually saw wisdom in it, said, "we'll come after it in the morning." I said, " what do you mean 'we'? You are not coming. I am going alone." "Alright, alright," she muttered and we returned. No sooner had we reached the forest cottage, she made up a song and started singing,"hai baalam ye raat kaise guzregi, my love is out there but I can't go to her..." She was teasing me. She knew I was itching to go after the tiger. Later, I quietly slipped out and by morning returned with the animal. I found it dead in the jungle, not far from where we had shot it.

Over the years, Nutan too had become a fine hunter. She has hunted a few panthers herself. She was very good at skinning the animals too. I was quite happy to give the charge of that to her, it being a very tedious process. When Mohnish grew up and could handle weapons, he always blamed his mother for shooting the animals he had meant to shoot and had taken split second longer. But he didn't realize that it may have escaped, had Nutan not shot it.
During the years of our marriage, Nutan had just two passions — films and us. She involved herself wholeheartedly in anything we, our son Timmy (Mohnish) and I, the only two loves ever in her life, did.

When we bought this farm at Mumbra near Thane, she asked me to build a temple for her in it. She was a spiritual girl from the beginning. When I asked her why she wanted a temple built, she replied that she was told to do so, in her dream. The exact location and the size of the mandir, she got from a pundit who consulted the Bhrigushastra. She spent a lot of time there.

We often entertained in our farm which was our retreat. But our parties were not like the ones given by the film personalities, usually large and extravagant. Ours were more homely and informal. We liked to call over good friends from all walks of life. Nutan was excellent at mixing people. She'd seat together two rival politicians at the table. And I've never seen any of her arrangements go wrong. People with diverse interests enjoyed themselves. I've never known an invitation sent and the person not turning up.

Her rapport with her colleagues was excellent and because she was a very private person, she was very selective. One close friend was Dolly Vyas, another Indira Thaddani and my sister-in-law, Pearl. It was very easy for Nutan to make friends with people young at heart. But she could not tolerate people who were superficial or hypocritical. She often encountered society women who went to parties all the time and talked of their trips abroad and how they spent a hundred pounds on a pair of shoes. She never got along with them. She liked genuine persons, be they from any strata of the society. Because she herself was a very sincere and genuine person. Her other sisters are not quite like that. She had a tremendous sense of duty and love towards our family too.

In her later years, she became more and more spiritually inclined. She read a lot and like all deep thinkers, tried to get to the ultimate truth. She had a very fascinating theory, which is rather deep. She believed that we are images of our dreams which seem so real when we dream, the whole universe is the manifested dream of the supreme power, call him God, Parmatma, whatever you will. His original dream beget more dreams and they gave rise to yet more sub-dreams, so to say. We are just one link in this whole chain. When our link snaps(we die) we are back to the original or the first dreamer – God. I used to rejoin with her from the scientific point of view. But I must admit, I feel there is perhaps a correlation between what she believed and what science has proved. Wasn't there only one large mass of coagulated matter until there was an explosion splitting it into thousands of fragments? Aren't these fragments our different worlds, dreams of the original, one body? And on these bodies were created life forms, with dreams and consciousness, until we humans realized.

One day when we were having our meal and discussing, I mentioned to her, "you know darling, the aim of the scientist and the philosopher is the same. They both want to reach the ultimate truth.The scientist delves into the heart of the matter and the philosopher goes deep into the matters of the heart. You and I are moving towards the same goal but along different paths." She was stunned. "My God," she said, "let me jot this down," and as she had done so many times before, she ran to fetch some writing material. She was a seeker, definitely.

We used to have many metaphysical discussions. And during these I gathered that she believed that we carry forward in our subconscious, certain actions from previous births. I decided to investigate this theory through scientific means. I am on the board of governors at the Einstein Research Institute in America. One of the privileges as the governor is that I can ask for a certain research and it's done. On my request, the institute found that qualified MDs and psychiatrists had regressed through trance state, patients as far back as their previous lives and came up with some startling discoveries which completely fascinated Nutan.

She knew she had cancer. The first time she told me, "darling, I have a lump here(in the chest region). The doctor says it's cancer and it has to be taken out. But don't worry, I'll be alright." That was in 1989. Anyway, they operated on her and took out a very small lump. She was being treated here, yet I called across a team of six French specialists to come with their equipment and clear her out of any possibility of a recurrence. They did that. So, we sat back, a little easy. She was looking more beautiful and radiant than ever. Then our new year present came when on 31st December,1990, she complained of pain in the abdomen. It was three in the morning. I called Dr.Kothari. He examined her and said he suspected cancer of the liver. The next day was the first, a holiday, but we requested the Tata Hospital to conduct the tests and they found it was positive. I didn't tell her it was fatal, because till the very end, I didn't believe it myself. I would tell her and myself, "we'll see you through this." She made me promise that I wouldn't take her abroad for treatment. "All the doctors here know us so well and our country too can provide the best treatment possible. Besides, I want to be in my country," she said. Perhaps, by now she knew her condition was terminal. But I extracted a counter promise.
"Look," I reasoned, "if you are in a coma and the doctors say that there is a chance of you getting better abroad, in such a situation, allow me to decide for you." She agreed. Another wish she made of me was to take care that she was not in pain. So we kept her to that level of medication where the pain was minimum. Once when I asked her if she was in pain, she said, "a little. It feels as if a rod is poking in my side. But it's bearable." She never knew when the end came. Her side had swollen up with water. The doctor decided to puncture the swelling and tap out the water. They put her under anesthesia. And she slipped into a coma. Not because of the anesthesia but because the liver stopped functioning. This gave rise to toxins which entered the blood stream and reached the brain, causing coma. She never came out of it and mercifully, unknown to her, the end came.

At the last stage, the doctor asked me if I wanted to prolong her life and keep her on the support system. We knew there were no chances of survival. Yet it was a very difficult question for me to answer. I asked him if the subconscious felt pain. "We don't know," he said. Just then a senior doctor, Dr.Ud Wadia, came out of her room. He was literally crying. He said, "Commander, please let her go peacefully. Don't prolong it." Timmy hadn't come yet. But, I thought, why let him see his mother like this? She was unconscious, it made no difference to her. "Alright," I said to thedoctor, "let nature take its course." And Timmy arrived a few minutes later from Ooty where he was on assignment shooting and was spared the last moments of our agony and devastation. (Rajnish Behl interviewed in 1992).

Lady Nutan

“1953-54, however was her lean phase. All her films were flopping. That's when I decided to send her to a finishing school in Switzerland. She was a lanky girl and everyone said she was too thin. I thought she could do with a bit of grooming. Before that, in 1952, we had gone to Mussorie and there, just for a lark, she entered a beauty contest. And to everyone's surprise, even her own, she was chosen Miss Mussorie. While she was still in Switzerland, I received an offer for her from S.Mukherjee. I thought it was a good chance because Filmalaya was a big name then. So I called her back from Switzerland. She now looked plump and nice.”

I tried to find a "plump and nice" photo!

What do you say about this motherly concern?! I wonder if Indian mums now have the same outlook on their girls’ curves… Another part of the testimonial, naturally tuned-down owing to the circumstances of the writing, reveals some of the relationships which were at the origin of their drift during the sixties and seventies – it does seem that, perhaps mother-in-law like, she lays the blame on her daughter’s marriage!

“All this changed once she got married. We grew distant and then came the incident which severed our relationship for twenty long years. Nutan and Tanuja were never really close. Maybe because both were poles apart, temperamentally. One was an introvert and the other an extrovert. Nutan never really approved of anything that Tanu did— "Vedich aahe" (she's crazy) she used to say to Tanu's naughty ways. (…) In 1983, Nutan and I made up. We became close like old times and never once mentioned the feud and the twenty year silence that followed.”

What Gautam Rajadhyaksha, the well-known photographer of Bollywood stars, writes about his long-standing friendship with Nutan is exceptional, because he makes her talk about herself and her family:

“I got a lot very early in life. I feel I have achieved everything in the right time, but I have managed to maintain it a little while longer than many. With actors or actresses, it's a fade out or a fade over to another category in 15 years time. I was a leading lady for over thirty years and my transition was gradual and smooth. Yes. I do feel a sense of achievement. But the credit doesn't go entirely to me. Luck had a big hand in it. I must admit I've had it easy, though. (…)

It’s great listening to what she has to say about the relationship to her parents:

“My parents separated and I met my father rarely. A few months before he died, when he was ill, I got to be close to him. I wish I had spent more time with him. It is one regret and guilt, I can never get over. Not only because I couldn't be the daughter I would have liked to be, but the immense loss that I felt on not being able to spend more years of my life with such a warm, caring and brilliant man. He could have enriched my life so much. I wasn't proud, but rather pleased about being recognized as Shobhana Samarth's daughter. Once during a school show, a teacher who was dressing me up, suddenly said, you look like Shobhana Samarth. Are you related to her?' I stammered, ‘S..s ..she's my mother.' Years later, my mother met someone in Europe and asked her if she was related to an Indian actress called Nutan!

I suppose this is what Mamma called her "lean phase"...

Then she mentions the fact of her being deemed too thin by Indian standards and goes on about her experience in Switzerland, something I’d never heard mentioned in any of her biographies (which makes me wonder whether the cineplot website is all that old):

"I was terribly thin and within the industry there was a joke that if you want to draw Nutan, just draw a straight line. My mother even feared that perhaps I had TB. So at seventeen, despite the fact that I had so many film offers, my mother sent me to a finishing school in Switzerland. The one year that I spent in Switzerland was the happiest in my life. I could play, study, be free and catch-up with what I missed in my teenage years. I did a secretarial course which has paid dividends several times over. I do my typing, accounts, tax matters, every clerical job required to keep my money matters straight. I learnt French, which I can still speak and write. When I returned to India, I was forty pounds heavier and then began a wonderful phase.

Somehow I wonder whether this statement is the real Nutan speaking, and not Nutan the well-brought up young lady who says what her mother wants her to say! But even if down deep she must have known that her weight and figure had nothing to do with her acting skills, she was probably pleased of avoiding the candlestick remarks. Then she speaks about her husband, again for me a territory which until now (as far as I’m concerned) had been completely unchartered on the web:

"Sujata I thought would be my last film, as I was getting married and naturally presumed that house and family would take precedence. But Rajnish said, 'if you were a painter or a writer, I wouldn't have asked you to stop your work and I won't, although you are an actress. Continue, by all means, but do fewer films, choose your roles'. Being a naval officer's wife was a different experience. I hardly socialised or went for film parties. It was just work and home, before marriage. But now, we had naval ship, parties and what have you. Our socializing increased. Almost every night we'd be out.

She also, most interestingly, gives her point of view on the feud which separated her from her busy mother for all that time:

"My career has been long and extremely satisfying. I shunned gossip all throughout and even managed to succeed to an extent. Except for two incidents which really caused massive scandals and caused me great pain. One, was the rift between my mother and me, when I took her to court for mismanaging my funds. It was a very hard decision for me to take. Yes, I had expected the reaction: `How can a daughter take her mother to the court?' But that didn't make the conflict any easier to bear. Yet, I had to do it to protect the future of everyone concerned. Anyway since 1983, all is well between the two families.

The other scandal was the punishment she inflicted on an excessively arduous co-actor:

"My slapping Sanjeev Kumar became a much-talked about incident. He made a very careless, irresponsible statement about having an affair and that made me furious. I have never been linked with scandals and when he said what he did, I flew off the handle. I had to put him in his place. After I said what I had to, I cooled down and said, 'let's finish the love scene', and we did.

She's been in film with all the greats

To finish, she mentions the end of her career, and has a very mature insight about what should/could have been the future of the cinema as she valued it. Her stature as an acute analyser of her own work world is invaluable:

"I loved doing Saraswatichandra and even the South Indian films likeMilan, Khandan and years later Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki. When Saawan Kumar asked me to do Saajan Ki Saheli, after Saajan Bina Suhaagan, I agreed. It was a negative role, but what difference does it make to an actress? I've never understood that. An actor should strive for variety, that's all. Because that will ensure his growth. I remember having a long argument, which continued for several days, with Javed Akhtar, during the making of Meri Jung. I said I would love to do the role of a widow, who once her kids grow up and settle down in life, remarries. He said, the public would never accept it. I fail to see why. That's life, it happens. It's a pity that our makers are not willing to look at life as it is in reality. Films like Aakrosh, Ankur, Ardh Satya will influence the thinking of our filmmakers, our films. At the same time, people who talk about 'our good old days' and decry violence, are wrong. Films have to change. They have to reflect contemporary society. There are many issues, which would provide more material to our writers and directors, if they care to look and expand their horizons. I have been a keen observer of film techniques. I want to direct a film. That's an ardent wish. Because the film is a director's medium after all. I even suggested the idea to Jaya (Bachchan), but her response is not clear. Rajshri films have given me a clear signal, though. Times gone by always seem more rosy. But the old yields place new and there is always something good in every age. For example, I worked with Amitabh Bachchan in Saudagar and I feel he's done the negative role brilliantly. He has so much to give, if only he sheds his image. Then, there are Rishi, Shabana, Rekha, Anil, Jackie—all fine, very hard working artistes. Of course Padmini (Kolhapure) was exceptional. She was a brilliant, intelligent actress. She used to ask so many questions. She reminded me of myself thirty years ago. And now there is Madhuri. Such beauty, talent and not a hint of pride or conceit. She will go a long way."

Wow ! Doesn’t all this shed a brilliant light on both her roles as an actress and on her person ? So much for the legend of the shallow females in cinema who content themselves with securing a position thanks to inherited advantages. To finish about the website, it contains an excellent review of Nutan the actress by Subhash K. Jha. You’ll read about the way he compares the star to the other heroines of her time, how she stands out as a thinking actress and a pragmatic woman, alongside with Waheeda Rehman (I was very pleased to read this pairing – it’s exactly what I think). Here’s what the critic says about her art:

“As is typical of most celluloid greats, Nutan was at her emotive best when given, the least spoken lines. Who can forget the wordless sequence in Bandini when Kalyani mixes poison in her tormentor's tea? Or the sequence in Sujata where the Harijan girl seeks inadequate shelter during pouring rain under Gandhiji's statue? Or the long singular song sequence when Sunil Dutt sings, `Jalte hain jiske liye' to Nutan over the phone? As tears fall silently over the receiver, you can hear the sound of the breaking heart over the line. The enormous eloquence of Nutan's silences was on par with that of Meryl Streep and Katherine Hepburn. Nutan reified the cultivated charm and the muted grace of a westernised Indian woman whose values have been inculcated to the Indian ethos. »

Neither lean nor plump

One last recommendation, and for me a very interesting surprise, the two men who lived with Nutan speak about her: her husband, Rajnish Behl, andher son Mohnish. Her husband says nothing about their difficult marriage and manages not to sound too pathetic about his hunting passion, which Nutan generously tried to endorse. Like others, he witnesses to Nutan’s penchant for spirituality in her later years, something which one day I’d like to delve into in more detail. And he tells a few funny episodes. Mohnish’s account is short in comparison with the others. He doesn’t say so, but he seems to regret not having had a brother or sister, and so perhaps he suffered as an only child. In his own unobtrusive way, his account is rather moving.