While Parineeta remains seminal part of Hindi cinema history for having introduced actor Vidya Balan to the industry, it also launched the career of musician Shantanu Moitra. The musical drama completes 20 years in 2025, and several of those involved have been recalling fond memories of the project in recent weeks, and paying tribute to the film’s late director, Pradeep Sarkar. In a new interview, Shantanu recalled an anecdote from the film’s shoot, which involved his first meeting with the legendary star Rekha. She performed a cameo in the song “Kaisi Paheli Zindagaani.”
He told Radio Nasha, “When I found out that Rekha ji was doing ‘Kaisi Paheli’, I was like, ‘Wow’. But let me tell you a story about that. I got a call from Pradeep Sarkar. He called me to the set for the song’s shoot. But I was working on some other songs at the time, so I told him that I was busy. He said that Rekha ji wanted to meet me. I was stunned. They took me to her makeup room. They were shooting the song in the same set where they shoot Kaun Banega Crorepati these days. This was the first time I’d been inside a makeup room, and it had those light bulbs around the mirror. Back to camera, the diva was sitting.”
Shantanu continued, “She looked around and asked, ‘You’ve made the song? It’s amazing, I hope I can do justice to it. I have a small request. I would like you to stay for the shoot.’ She was talking to a first-timer, I will never forget it. She would occasionally make eye-contact with me, as if to ask if it was going alright.” He praised the director painstakingly crafted storyboards, and said that every single shot was designed in advance.
Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha in director Yash Chopra’s Silsila. (Express file photo)
In a recent interview, Vidya opened about Sarkar, and said that she owes her career to him. But they had a falling out after Parineeta’s success, after she refused to work with him on a couple of projects she didn’t believe in. They remained on sour terms until his death, and Vidya said that she regrets not patching things up with him. “Saying no to Dada was very tough, and I used to call him every day to know how he was. It’s so sad that someone who I feel so much gratitude towards, I didn’t manage to keep in touch with. I felt misunderstood, and someone told me that ‘don’t let gratitude become a noose.’ But when he passed away, I was so broken. I wanted to tell him that whatever I am is because of Parineeta,” she told Filmfare.
Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan worked together on several films, and have long been subjected to salacious rumours even though they haven’t collaborated in over four decades. In a 2006 interview with Filmfare for Bachchan’s 64th birthday, she said, “Whatever I am as an actor, I owe 100 per cent to him. I just soaked in whatever he had to offer just observing him… When fans write to me and question why we haven’t worked together after Silsila, the only rational answer that I can think of is that the wait to be able to co-star with Amitji is worth it. That everything happens for the right reason at the right time.”
