“How can you today expect attachment in the film industry when in the first place there is no attachment at home itself?”

It is with great sadness that I write this article on the veteran actress Shashikala who died today on Sunday at her Colaba residence at the age of 88 years old.

The actress is fondly remembered for her supporting roles in films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum, Aarti, Gumrah and Baadshah etc - JYOTHI VENKATESH

Not just this, she was also the recipient of the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri Award, for her contribution to Indian cinema.

To pay her a humble tribute, we reproduce this rare interview of Shashikala, whose real name was Shashikala Bawalkar by Jyothi Venkatesh which appeared for the first time nearly twenty one years ago in issue dt 31st July, 2000 of Asian Age.

Shashikala Jawalkar, better known as a femme fatale , has seen it all in her time. Name, fame, call it what you may.

And as a ‘mean minded home breaker’ on the screen, she has caused many a heart to flutter.

Over a period spanning around 54 years, she has acted in over 200 movies, right from the time she was just a 13 year old girl.

In 1955, Shashikala got a chance to work with the then superstar in Daku. She also worked in several other films like V Shantaram's Teen Batti Char Raasta and Bimal Roy's Sujata but struggled to get lead actress' roles in the film industry.

Her fortunes turned in the 1960s when she got a chance to act in a major role in Tarachand Barjatya's Aarti.

Starring alongside Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar, Shashikala was widely praised by fans and critics for her performance of a negative role.

Today Shashikala may be old, but she is certainly not down and out. At 67, she looks after herself like a rich American lady.

She lives all alone in her Goregaon flat, and keeps herself busy by working in TV serials like Romesh Sharma’s Bacharad Mard, Chandar Bahl’s Apnapan, Pawan Kumar’s serial with co-star Kabir Bedi and a serial called Khauff. She is also working in a pilot made by Shobna Desai.

Her husband Om Prakash Saigal is looking after their farm in Nainital. “I make it a point to visit him once in a while.

Whenever I feel the urge to meet him and spend some time with him”, Shashikala says. She has two grand-daughters and two grandsons and two daughters, one of whom is no more. Her other daughter stays in Kolkata.

From among her former colleagues, she is in touch mostly with Nirupama Roy and Shyama.

“Sometimes I call up Yash or B.R. Choprasaab and keep chatting with them, talking about the good old days when there was a family attachment among artistes and filmmakers and making money wasn’t the only criterion.

How can you today expect attachment in the industry when in the first place there is not attachment at home itself?” Shashikala asks.

Believe it or not, Shashikala had opted for social service after chucking her career and also loved in Mother Teresa’s ashram in Calcutta for a few years.

“Before I was inducted into the ashram for three days I cleaned the toilets of the inmates of the mental asylum. I was also asked to clean the dormitory.

I used to dress the leprosy patients. There were 350 people in the asylum. I spent nearly two months looking after them. I used to lift dead bodies too but never was I infected.”

Today, Shashikala spends time by watching a lot of old movies on her television set, all alone. She is a great fan of Madhuri Dixit and Kajol.

”Isn’t it sad that both of them have retired after marriage?” she sighs. “They should have continued to work in films even after their marriages.”

She’s quite fond of Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan too. “I am proud that like me, so many Maharashtrian girls have entered films”, she says.

Shashikala has no complaints about the actors today.”Karisma Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and all others are very respectful.

Before they start facing the camera, these kids come up to me and do their pranam if they find me on the sets.”

About herself, she continues. “If you are in demand as an actress, you are never forgotten.

If I am permitted, I may even add immodestly that I have staged a comeback in films not once or twice but three times because I have caliber.”

Shashikala admits that today most of the actors work hard on their bodies. “In our times, Dharmendra was the only actor who bothered to maintain his figure.

But then today, every actor is very intelligent and has made himself or herself secure with the right investments. In our times, most of the earnings of the stars were taken away by their families and nothing was left for them.”

At one stage in her career, Shashikala confesses she had even tried her hand at producing a film.

“I made a film called Karodpati with Kishore Kumar and myself playing the leads because the production bug bit me.

The film took six long years to make, even though it was in Black & White. I ended up as a kangalpati after the film was released.

My only regret till date is that though I have worked in around 200 films till date, I could never click as a heroine”.

Shashikala’s one grouse is that people were under the impression that she led a fast and loose life, just because she played the vamp to perfection.

“I have not touched liquor all my life”, she says. “In Bedaag, I did a drunken scene with Lalita Pawar.

And my mum was shocked to see me doing the scene. She even thought that I had really got drunk.

People also think that I had a lot of boyfriends during my heydays but that is far from the truth.”

Shashikala considers Ashok Kumar as her guru as far as acting is concerned. “Dadamoni continues to be my most favorite actor till date”, she says.

According to Shashikala, her best films are V. Shantaram’s Sarang, Tarun Mazumdar’s Rahgir, Phani Mazumdar’s Aarti, O.P. Ralhan’s Phool Aur Paththar and last but not the least B.R. Chopra’s Gumraah. She also remembers her role in Paisa Ya Pyar as one of the turning points in her career.

Shashikala had started her career as a junior artiste in Zeenat directed by Shaukat Hussain, Noorjehan’s husband.

But it was her vamp’s role in Tarachand Barjatya’s film Aarti that stamped her as a pucca vamp.

“Though initially I told Sethji that I wasn’t ready to do the role of the vamp, I later relented and agreed to do the film when Dadmoni convinced me that a role is a role, whether it is negative or positive.

The film starred Dadamoni, Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari who were the top stars of the day.

Shashikala signs off by stating that with the film Aarti, my days of struggle came to an end and I started tasting stardom.