The beloved screen `Maa'
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Sensitive and compassionate, Nirupa Roy lent the clichéd role of the mother dignity and charm, writes V. GANGADHAR in his tribute to the star who passed away recently.
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Nirupa Roy
THE `MOTHERS' on the Hindi screen were mushy, treating their grown up sons like toddlers and shedding copious tears all the time. Worse, they were used to lengthen the film by getting trapped by the villain, threatened with death and torture till routinely rescued by the beloved `beta.'
Yet, there was one screen mother, who endowed such hackneyed and badly sketched roles with dignity and charm. That was Nirupa Roy who died in Mumbai last week at age 73. She was featured as heroine and then mother in nearly 300 Hindi and Gujarati films.
It was a pity that Bollywood did not pay enough respect and kept away from the funeral of the most well known screen Maa. In private conversations, however, screen personalities paid handsome tributes to the star.
``She was the real professional," recalled Manoj Kumar, who directed her in ``Kranti" where she played Dilip Kumar's wife. ``If the shot required her to be present at 6 a.m., she would be there on the dot." Added one of her favourite screen `sons', Shashi Kapoor, ``I enjoyed working with Nirupa Roy. She was talented, cooperative and friendly."
Nirupa Roy (Kokila Kishore Chandra Balsara in real life) was lucky that her traditional Gujarati family permitted her to work in films. Perhaps, they were influenced by the fact that she was cast only in mythological films, first in Gujarati and then in Hindi. ``The roles were easy," recollected Roy with a laugh. ``I had to wear glittering costumes and stand with a benign expression on my face next to the screen God, be it Shiva, Vishnu or Brahma."
If she was a victim of type casting, the producers did not worry about it. Films like ``Satyavan Savitri," ``Har Har Mahadeo" and ``Shivratri" turned out to be hits. ``My fans wrote to me asking for my blessings and some of them were ready to fall at my feet because they associated me with my screen godliness," she explained. Her co-stars, `Gods' like Trilok Kapoor and Mahipal admired her talents. There was something serene, majestic and dazzling about her looks.
Nirupa starred in period films like ``Rani Rupmati" playing Rupmati opposite Bharat Bhushan's Baz Bahadur. Embellished with music by S. N. Tripathi, the film was a hit.
Though never in the same league as Nargis, Meena Kumari or Madhubala, Nirupa had her own niche in the industry and was never without work. But she was surprised and delighted when Bimal Roy cast her opposite Balraj Sahni in that classic, "Do Bigha Zamin."
``I was a bit surprised by the offer," admitted Nirupa in a media interview. But Bimalda had seen some of my earlier films and felt that I radiated the compassion, understanding and tolerance needed for the role of the harassed farmer's wife. The film was a great learning experience. If Nirupa Roy expected more meaningful heroines roles of the `Zamin' kind she was disappointed. Her playing the role of a non-glamorous middle aged housewife spelt doom for her career as heroine. Good lead roles dried up and in 1955, she was offered the role of Dev Anand's mother in "Munimji."
The ups and downs in her career finally straightened out in the 1970s when she played `Ma' in a series of stunningly successful films, "Deewar," "Amar Akbar, Anthony," "Khoon Pasina." She was Amitabh's mother in seven successful films and some fans wondered if the relationship was real! Observed Javed Akthar, ``She infused stereotyped roles with a lot of sensitivity and emotion. Shashi Kapoor's unforgettable line in `Deewar,' `Mere Paas Maa Hain' established the unique greatness of Indian screen motherhood." It is only in Bollywood that a Nirupa could play Ma to Dev Anand (only eight years her senior)_ or Amitabh Bachchan, only 12 years younger than her! How did she feel about such casting?
Talking to me at a party some years back, Nirupa explained, ``The Indian screen hero has to be permanently young and chase girls in the gardens. I did not mind `mothering' them if my roles had substance. Critics and viewers agreed. The mother in ``Deewar" and ``AAA" had as much importance as the hero and more mettle than the ornamental heroines.
The screen ``Ma" won great acclaim for chastising her son for pursuing a career in crime in ``Deewar" and there was hardly a dry eye in the theatres when the son died in the arms of the mother. ``These were significant, powerful character roles against top heroes in the industry," declared Nirupa Roy. ``Looking back, I never regretted playing the mother who has a special role in our tradition." Millions of sons all over the nation will agree.
But the screen `Maa' was different in real life. In the company of close friends like Waheeda Rehman and Nanda, Nirupa watched Hollywood movies and enjoyed outings sampling bhel puri and paav baaji. Long drives and card sessions were her other passions
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