The real Pushpa

Sharmila Tagore who turned 80 this week spoke on her finest Hindi film Amar Prem where she played the real Pushpa

- Subhash K Jha

Q. How did Amar Prem Happen?

A. Right after Aradhana became such a hit, Shakti Samanta offered me Amar Prem. I was more than happy to do it. The entire film revolved around my character.

Q. Did you see the original Bengali film Nishi Padma with Sabitri Chatterjee and Uttam Kumar before doing Amar Prem?

A. I had seen the original Bengali film before doing Amar Prem. Shakti-da had made both me and Kaka (Rajesh Khanna) see it. I quite liked the original film. It was more about the woman and her relationship with the child.

Q. Was the subject relatable?

A. I had recently become a mother, so it was relatively easy for me to do the motherly character. And do you know, Kaka's role was to be done by Raaj Kumar.