Iconic Hindi cinema actor Waheeda Rehman has been chosen for the highest honour in the field of Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced.
On Tuesday, I&B minister Anurag Thakur took to X to announce the selection.
“I feel an immense sense of happiness and honour in announcing that Waheeda Rehman ji is being bestowed with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award this year for her stellar contribution to Indian Cinema,” he posted.
From playing a street sex worker in Guru Dutt's black and white celluloid gem Pyaasa to the rebellious Rosie in Vijay Anand's Guide opposite Dev Anand, Rahman had essayed roles which were unconventional and ahead of her time.
Praising the iconic actress, Thakur added, “Waheeda ji has been critically acclaimed for her roles in Hindi films, prominent among them, Pyaasa, Kaagaz ke Phool, Chaudhavi Ka Chand, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam, Guide, Khamoshi and several others. In her career spanning over 5 decades, she has essayed her roles with extreme finesse, leading to a National Film Award for her role as a clanswoman in the film Reshma and Shera.
"A Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, Waheeda ji has exemplified dedication, commitment and the strength of a Bharatiya Nari who can achieve the highest level of professional excellence with her hard work.”
“At a time when the historic Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has been passed by Parliament, her being awarded with this lifetime achievement award is a fitting tribute to one of the leading ladies of Indian Cinema and one who has dedicated her life after films to philanthropy and the greater good of society. I congratulate her and humbly pay my regards to her rich body of work that is an intrinsic part of our film history,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Waheeda Rehman on being conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award. Hailing her as a 'beacon of talent, dedication and grace', Modi said Rehman's journey in Indian cinema has left an indelible mark.
Notable Works
Wahida Rehman, 85, worked mainly in Hindi films, but began her acting journey way back in 1955 with Telugu film Rojulu Marayi.
Acclaimed for her roles in iconic films like Guide (where she plays the female rebel as she abandons her archeologist husband to live together with tour guide Dev Anand) and Reshma Aur Shera, she is also known for films like Kaagaz ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Chaudhvin Ka Chand.
Her 1959 film Kaagaz Ke Phool by Guru Dutt was commercially a failure but it is hailed as a masterclass in the craft of cinema. Starring opposite Guru Dutt, the married actor-director with whom she was romantically linked in real life, Kaagaz Ke Phool tells the story of a filmmaker and his muse (Waheeda), the heroine he gave break and created but whom he deserts as she becomes a popular star.
Some of her other notable works are Neel Kamal, Ram Aur Shyam and Khamoshi among others.
Rehman worked with Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray in his 1962 Bengali film Abhijan. She played Gulabi, a demonstrative and beautiful village widow, who fancies taxi driver Narsingh, portrayed by Soumitra Chatterjee, and wants to be involved with him physically. The film won All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film.
She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her work in the 1971 film Reshma Aur Shera.
She also acted in critically-acclaimed 15 Park Avenue, a 2005 English-language Indian film directed by Aparna Sen.
The Madhya Pradesh government also honoured the veteran actress with Kishore Kumar Samman in 2020.
Personal Life
In 1974, Rehman married her co-actor in the film Shagoon—Shashi Rekhi also known by his screen name Kamaljeet. Her two children, Sohail Rekhi and Kashvi Rekhi, are writers.
After her marriage, she lived in a farmhouse in Bangalore but after the death of her husband on 21 November 2000, she moved back to her sea-view bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai, where she currently resides.