Dreams and Reality
Tinsel dreams took wing early in Bindu’s life. “I watched my mother on stage. Her play Ladakvayo was a hit.” But her father (Nanubhai Desai), a noted film producer, wanted her to be a doctor. “We were eight of us, seven sisters and one brother (today a brother and a sister have passed away). I used to take part in school plays and won prizes. My friends would suggest that I should act on screen. I too enjoyed the khayali pulav (dreams). I was a Vyjayanthimala fan. I loved her dance, her beauty. She was my role model.” When her father fell ill, Bindu being the eldest was deemed to take charge. “Dad said, ‘You’re my son. Look after the family after I’m gone’. After he passed away I took to modeling to support the family. I was 11 but I looked 16 as I was well-built,” recalls the actor who also featured in documentaries till Mohan Kumar signed her for Anpadh (1962), in which she played Mala Sinha’s daughter.
Teen bride
After this brief stint in the movies she went back to school. “I was at the in-between stage — neither a child nor a young lady.” But soon an adolescent Bindu met her
future husband (businessman Champaklal Zhaveri, deals with outdoor advertising) and a romance ensued. “He was my neighbour in Sonawala Terrace at Tardeo. We had a difference of five years between us. I didn’t fall in love with him immediately. Nor did I give in easily. Maine unko bahut sataya (I troubled him a lot). He’d ask me out. I’d give him a time but never turn up. I did this repeatedly. Naturally, he’d be upset, but never showed it. Or else he’d have lost me. I realised that it was not just lust or attraction on his part. We did face familial opposition but we were firm and eventually got married,” says Bindu who became a bride at 16. “He has been like a father figure since then.”
Shaboo to Mona Darling
At 17 she happened to meet director Raj Khosla at brother-in-law Laxmikant’s (of composer Laxmikant-Pyarelal fame who was married to Bindu’s sister) house. “Khoslaji offered me a role saying, ‘The character is the protagonist of my story but she’s a vamp’. I was a bit hesitant. He gave me 15 days to think it over. My husband said, ‘What’s the need?’ But I thought what’s the harm? It had stirred a longstanding dream in me.”
Bindu was soon called for an audition. “I said the dialogue with confidence. Khoslaji right away said, ‘You’re my Nilambari!’” Incidentally, that was the name of the shrewish character Bindu played in Do Raaste based on Chandrakant Kakodkar’s celebrated novel Nilambari. “The title was changed to Do Raaste, because Khoslaji felt Nilambari sounded like a mythological film.” Even as she was shooting for Do Raaste, Bindu signed Ittefaq, Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke (both in 1969) and Kati Patang (1970). “Shakti Samanta offered me the role in Kati Patang on the condition that I should be able to dance. I rehearsed with Robert Master for three days. Also, I was inspired by Helenji’s dances. She used to fill the screen; I admired her figure, her expressions, her dresses, her movements…” The Bharat Natyam and Kathak dancer did find film dancing ‘a bit loud’. “But on the set I let go of all inhibitions. As a cabaret dancer I couldn’t wear a sari or salwar kameez. I had to wear glamorous costumes. But I took precautions. I wore skin-coloured nylon stitched to my blouse to cover the bare skin.” The hit number Mera naam hai Shabnam in Kati Patang won her the endearment Shabbo and loads of fans.
A spate of glamorous roles followed in films like Mere Jeevan Saathi, Dushman, Garam Masala, Raja Jani, Dharma and Joshilay (in the early ’70s). “I was particular about my diet and exercise.
I don’t remember eating lunch on the sets ever. I’d carry buttermilk, tomato/beetroot soup and fruits. Also, you can’t dance on a full stomach. The tummy shows through your costume,” she states. She recalls an intricate dance sequence she had to pull off during Haseenon Ka Devta (1971) for choreographer Hiralal. “Masterji had flown in from Madras for rehearsals at five in the morning. He was a hard taskmaster and everyone trembled in front of him. He told his assistant Susheela, ‘Amma ko steps sikhao!’
But she herself slipped whilst teaching me. I got nervous and prayed, ‘God please help me’ and did the steps without a cut. Masterji gave me Rs 100 as bakshish,” she beams. It’s not that she never wished to play the heroine but the dye was already cast. “The stamp of a vamp remained with me. Since I began my career after marriage, I grabbed whatever came my way. I was earning both money and fame. Soon I forgot about being a heroine. I got as much fame as the heroine and surely some gaalis too! The gaalis were my awards. When writers wrote a story they’d just write my name instead of the character’s. That was a compliment. Some fans didn’t know I was married and wrote letters in blood saying ‘I love you’ and ‘Will you marry me?’”
So popular had Bindu grown that often she stole the thunder from the heroine. “Once I had worn a sari of the same colour worn by a lead actress. She wasn’t pleased and the talk reached my ears. But no one dared to tell me anything as I also held my own. You should be confident about yourself. What has colour got to do with your acting?” she asks. In a traditionalist industry a much-married Bindu dared to play a seductress in Imtihan and a nymphomaniac in Hawas (both in 1974). But she was guarded about not being exploited. “Once I refused to do a certain movement with the camera at a low angle. It would have looked vulgar and the Censor Board would have cut it out.”
Remarkably, in 1973, she played diametrically opposite roles, that of the don’s moll, ‘Mona darling’, in Zanjeer and the friend of a fading singer in Abhimaan, the latter being her first positive act. “Hrishida (director Hrishikesh Mukherjee) said, ‘When you make an entry, the viewer’s will expect mischief. But we will surprise them with the twist’,” she recalls.
Not without my hubby
Bindu credits her career to her supportive husband. “It was with his consent that I worked. So there was peace at home. Even Jaya Bachchan once remarked, ‘You’re very lucky’. So did Yusuf saab (Dilip Kumar) with whom I worked in Dastaan (1972). He remarked, ‘Mujhe tumse zyaada tumhare shauhar pasand hai (I like your husband more than you)’. When the wife is the breadwinner and the husband depends on her, that’s when all the trouble starts. But my husband was a successful person in his own right. He could look after me.” On her part Bindu knew the dos and don’ts if she had to balance marriage with a hi-profile career. “My husband took pride when I was showered with compliments. His logic was hai toh meri hi na (she’s mine after all)! The minute pack-up was announced I’d head home. There was no filmi talk at home nor did I share any piece of gossip with him. I never attended parties alone. He accompanied me always. I had learnt how to keep people at a distance. The opposite party can sense just how willing you are. Even your handshake conveys your intention. I never gave people an opportunity to point a finger at me. Though I played bold roles, I was respected.”
Once an editor of a glossy happened to ask her, “How come you’re not linked with your heroes?” “I retorted, ‘Why not link my name with yours?’ He was taken aback and kept quiet,” she shares. Bindu maintains she was friends with her co-stars. “I was friendly with Prem (Chopra) and still am. He has a great sense of humour. I also got along with Amjad bhai (Khan). He kept having chai every five minutes. I’d ask him not to consume so much sugar but he’d say, ‘Main Pathan ka bachcha hoon. Nothing can happen to me’. On the other hand Ranjeet would bring bottles of milk to the sets from home,” she laughs.
The lull
The years between 1977-1980 says the actress were the ‘saddest’ in her life. “We had planned a baby and I was glad to be pregnant. After I completed three months I stopped working. But I had a miscarriage when I was in my seventh month. I was shaken. Yeh muqaddar ki baat hai, har insaan ko har cheez nahin milti. (That’s fate. No one can have everything). You have to be very lucky to get everything,” she muses. “My husband was disappointed too. But he was caring and looked after me. I was back to work after five months. I moved on to mature roles in the ’80s.” Films like Hero, Biwi Ho To Aisi and Kishen Kanhaiya won her notice where she perfected the cruel
mother-in-law/aunt act. In the following years films like Shola Aur Shabnam, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om gave her the chance to show her comic flair. Life today for Bindu has hit a peaceful phase spending time with her sisters. “I don’t want to do TV shows as the pace is hectic. I enjoy watching my old films and travelling instead. My husband and I sometimes do remember our lost child. Had he survived he’d have been in his 30s today. But I have my husband as my best friend... I am nothing without him.”
