By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On Her Death Anniversary
जींद ले गया वह दिल का जानी
यह बूत बेजान रह गया
जींद ले गया
Samita Patil, one of the most talented actresses in the genre of Shabana Azmi, though not as beautiful as her contemporaries in the matter of physical attributes, was surely more talented as far as her acting potential was concerned or mattered. Indeed, she had germs of acting in her blood. No wonder, she won National Award For Best Actress for her performance in ” Bhumika” (1970),”Chakra” ( 1980) and Filmfare Award for “Chakra” later in 1984.
She vibed beautifully with Om Puri who also won National Award for Best Supporting Actor in “Ardh Satya” opposite Samita Patil. The actress’s best year was 1982 when a number of her movies- Mahesh Bhatt’s “Arth”, Prakash Mehra’s “Namak- Halaal” Sagar Sarhadi’s “Bazaar” and Ramesh Sippy’s “Shakti” were released. Naturally, therefore, she was welcomed in the mainstream cinema, rubbing shoulders with other leading ladies of her time.
During the shooting of film “Amrit” (1986). also starring Rajesh Khanna & Rajesh Puri, I was was present on the sets & had clicked a roll or two of the actors present thereat. It later proved a huge Box Office success. Rajesh Khanna was earlier cast in the lead opposite Shabana Azmi in “Avtaar” (1983), also a critically acclaimed & successful film by the same director Mohan Kumar of Anpadh, Anjaana & Aai Milan Ki Bela fame.
I happened to meet her during the outdoor shooting of Ravinder Peepat’s “Waaris” ,in a village near Karnal, where I was posted in SBI in 1985. As she was rumored to have married Raj Babbar, media persons were not allowed to interview her. I could manage because of having earlier met Raj Babbar and also because I had published his articles in Film Mirror & Patriot about which he was well aware of. We reached the venue during Lunch. I was accompanied by a colleague Pran Budhiraja. I asked a few questions relating to her role before switching over to Babbar and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
