The reclusive actress Raakhee Gulzar, once celebrated for her incandescent screen presence in films like Sharmilee, Kabhi Kabhie, and Tapasya, is now content in her self-imposed exile from the limelight.“I am happy to be out of the rat race. I like my life of retirement. I gave up all that long ago. Main toh kabhi kisike saath competition mein thi hi nahi (I was never in competition with anyone). When I did Yash Chopra’s Daag, there was an attempt to pitch me against Sharmila Tagore. It was all nonsense. We hardly had scenes together. I came into the story after the interval. She had all the songs. I never cared for these things — ke mera role kitna bada hai, kitne gaane, costume changes kitne hain… I believed in doing what I had to in the given space in every film,” says Raakhee, reflecting on her career.
Birthday Special: Raakhee Gulzar on turning 78, “I’m happy leading a life of retirement”
She recalls her co-stars with warmth. “Especially Shashi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar. Both were diehard foodies. Our equation was simple: I loved to cook, they loved to eat. Shashi’s wife Jennifer used to be very upset as I would break her husband’s diet whenever we shot together. I also shared a fabulous rapport with Amitabh. We did quite a few films together. He would insist on speaking to me in Bengali — and I must say he speaks very good Bengali. We don’t meet often, but when we do, there’s always that mutual respect and affection.”
When asked to name her favourite films, she resists. “Don’t make me do this, Subhash. You know I don’t like playing favourites. Okay, if you insist… I like some of what I did in Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie and Daag. I also like myself in Ramesh Talwar’s Doosra Aadmi. It is rare for a woman above 40 to feel an attraction — and that too towards a younger man. Plus, I was a career woman in Doosra Aadmi. I also like myself in a film called Wafaa where I was cast opposite Sanjay Khan. Tapasya is one of my most popular roles. Lekin itna rona-dhona… I was repeatedly offered weepie roles, but I was never fond of such parts. I like the more fun parts, like Aankh Micholi and Pugli. But they were rarely offered to me. Producers presumed I liked serious roles.”
As for a comeback, she remains realistic. “Where are the roles? I have done a couple of Bangla films recently. The makers were keen, and they cast me in author-backed roles. Even when I was cast as the mother in films like Ram Lakhan or Karan Arjun, I was the central character.”
Also Read: Raakhee Gulzar recalls when Shashi Kapoor saved her from a tiger
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