MUMBAI: Tanuja was a big name during the 60s and 70s. Her films like Mere Jeevan Saathi, Haathi Mere Saathi, Anubhav and many more are still very memorable. The actress was quite ahead of her time and did what her heart desired. Her daughters Kajol and Tanisha have got their bindass and bohemian attitudes from their mother who never bothered that ‘log kya kahenge’ unlike her contemporaries of her time.
The veteran actress who recently celebrated her 80th birthday, spoke to a news portal about how she got into acting and her attitude toward acting and life in general. She said, “I’ve never done what I didn’t want to do. This is me, take it or leave it. If you criticise me, it’s your problem.” The actress began her journey into showbiz at the tender age of 5 in the 1950 film Hamari Beti where her mother Shobna Samarth wanted her to play the role of a young Nutan. However after seeing the first rushes of the film, Tanuja told her mom, “Abhi merko kaam nahi karna hai, meri awaaz ek dum chuhiya jaisi hai” Shobna was not one to give up and made her complete the rest of her shots by promising her a glass of lemonade.
At the age of 16, her mom sent her to Switzerland to an English school but was called back soon after due to the family going through some financial strains. Speaking about finally choosing acting as her profession, Tanuja told a news portal, “When I finished school in 1960 and came home on holiday, I found that financial conditions were a little strained in the family. My sister had already got married, so it would not have been fair to sort of expect her to look after the family, and as I came next in line, it was on me to look after the family. That’s why I started work. I had a younger brother and sister, who were still in school and my mother wasn’t well. So, I just came into the profession, not by choice, but because of financial reasons.”
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Tanuja was finally noticed in the 1961 film Hamari Yaad Aayegi by Kidar Sharma. She credits the latter for teaching her how to speak Hindi and face the camera. Tanuja said that she will never forget how the director slapped her for laughing continuously when she actually had to cry for a scene. She adamantly told the director, “I am not in a mood to cry today.” Upset and angry with her tantrums, he slapped her and Tanuja was in tears instantly. After Tanuja narrated the incident to her mother Shobna, the latter after listening to her slapped her again and took her crying to the set and told the director, “Now she is crying. You can resume the shoot.”
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Credit-Indianexpress
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