FAREWELL, TABASSUM

The yesteryears' actress and popular talk show host TABASSUM passed away recently. DEVESH SHARMA offers a brief profile.

She was born to freedom fighter parents, as Kiran Bala Sachdev. Her father S Ayodhyanath Sachdev, named her Tabassum, respecting his Muslim wife, Asghari Begum's sensibilities. She, in turn, named the child Kiran Bala, respecting her husband's Hindu traditions. She was named Kiran Bala Sachdev in official papers but took Tabassum as her screen name when she started acting at the young age of three. After she married actor Arun Govil's elder brother Vijay Govil, she became Kiran Bala Govil officially but still kept her screen name Tabassum when it came to films and TV. One story goes that it was Dilip Kumar who coined the name Tabassum for her. The song Bachpan ke din bhula na dena (sung by Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar), in the Dilip Kumar-Nargis starrer Deedar (1951), brought her much fame. Baby Tabassum, as she was known then, had already featured in films like Mera

Suhaag (1947), Manjdhar (1947) and Bari Behen (1949).

Another role which remains famous till today is of the young Meena Kumari in Baiju Bawra (1952).

She also had a minor role in the 1960 historical epic Mughal-e-Azam, starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.

She continued acting as she grew older. One can see her in films like Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Gambler (1971), Sur Sangam (1985), Chameli Ki Shaadi (1986) and Naache Mayuri (1986), she couldn't really make a transition from a child star to an adult actor.

Her last film was in Rajesh Khanna and Govinda-starrer Swarg in 1990 in which she made a guest appearance as herself.

However, she rose to fame as a talk-show host. Her celebrity talk show Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan which aired from 1972-1993 on Doordarshan made her a household name. She was the industry's first insider host and was known for her soft approach.