Zarina Wahab Birthday Special: 5 Lesser Known Facts About The Veteran Actress You Aren't Aware Of

Zarina Wahab, the bright-eyed, sweet smiling girl, became quite famous in the mid-1970s. Her doe-eyed personality in Basu Chatterjee's Chitchor won her a lot of adulations and interest in the industry. Post that she did a lot of movies in the same genre and impressed everyone with her talent. She always wanted to be in the movies. In an interview, she informed, "'I was still in school when I saw an ad about an acting course that was to start at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. I immediately applied and moved to the city, and two years later, came to Mumbai looking for a break in Hindi films.' Unfortunately, these days, she is either trying to save her son Sooraj Pancholi from hate or is called out for being with a husband who apparently cheated on her. PM Narendra Modi Biopic: Barkha Bisht Sengupta to Play Modi’s Wife, Zarina Wahab Roped in as His Mother

However, that hasn't rob her of the talent she possesses. Many of you must remember Zarina Wahab from Dil Dhadakne Do where she played Rahul Bose's mother and did a fab job. On her birthday today, let us tell you a bit more about her without the mention of the chaos Pancholi men make.

#Raj Kapoor called her Bhangan

Raj Kapoor had once called Wahab Bhangan which basically means ordinary or ugly. But the actress took it as a compliment. Speaking to Filmfare, she said, "Raj saab often visited the FTII. Once, he happened to call me ‘bhangan’. I wondered what he meant. He later explained, ‘I call Waheeda (Rehman) bhangan’. I adore Waheedaji and to be compared to her by Raj Kapoor is the finest compliment of my life."

#Backup plan

As per a website called Cineplot, Wahab had a backup plan ready in case films didn't work out for her. She was almost joining an airline as an Air-hostess but luckily films beckoned her.

#Jaya Bachchan to the rescue

In her interview with Filmfare, Wahab mentions how Jaya Bachchan helped her get out of a tricky film contract. "Those days, I had signed a film contract with a particular producer. Not knowing English well, I didn’t understand the clauses. When I told Jayaji about it, she asked me to get the contract. It mentioned that for five years only a minimum portion of my earnings would come to me. The rest would go to the producer. Jayaji called up the producer and asked him to cancel the contract. I can never forget her gesture,” she recalled.

#Married in 15 days

Zarina and Aditya Pancholi got married within 15 days of meeting each other. They met on the sets of Kalank Ka Tika (1986) and are still together. In the same interview, she revealed, "Aditya (Pancholi) and I fell in love while shooting it. Within 15 days we got married. My mother was upset as it was an inter-caste marriage. I told her, ‘You’re a devout Muslim. Don’t you believe that nothing happens without God’s will?’ She had no answer to that.”

#Malayalam debut and tears

Wahab debuted in Malayalam with Kamal Haasan's Madanolsavam (1978). Salil Chowdhury who composed music for the film had recommended her to Haasan. But the language made her cry. "On the first day, I couldn’t mouth a single word and started crying. I offered to return the signing moment. Kamalji came to my make-up room and urged me to try for a day. He said, ‘You don’t have to dub. Just give the correct lip movement’. I managed to do it," Wahab recollected in the interview.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2020 01:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).