Rajeshwari Sachdev on Shyam Benegal: My wish to work with him as a dancer will remain unfulfilled

For actor Rajeshwari Sachdev the dream to work with the legendary film maker Shyam Benegal for the one last time and portray the role of a dancer will now remain unfulfilled.

“I used to always tell him, ‘Aapne singer pe film bana di, ek dancer pe bhi bana do, taaki mera jee bhar ke nachne ka bhi sapna poora ho jaye’,” recalls the actor who worked with Benegal in 11 projects including the famous film the Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda way back in 1993.

Sachdev credits Benegal for her rewarding journey in the industry to ace director. “Be it playing a 14-year-old in Hari Bhari (2000) or a just a scene in Mammo (1994) to then winning the National Film Award for Best Supporting actor for Sardari Begum (1996). It was his confidence in me that I could pull off just any role. There was never a time when there was a doubt or a test. It was always that ‘this for you’ and I used to live those characters on screen as per his vision. He was the actors’ director, hume pata hi nai chalta tha hum sab kaise kaam kar jaate thhe.”

Recalling an incident that is still vivid in her memories, Sachdev says, “While shooting for Hari Bhari in Hyderabad, once work done, the team used to sit together talk and sang along, kisi ek baar hamari awaz zyada unchi nikal gyi. Next day, at breakfast he was like, ‘Aise hota hai kya, subah shooting hai and tumlog raat bhar gaane ga rahe ho, people complained, aapke actors shor kar rahe.’ There was a pin drop silence, and then he just looked at me and said, ‘Lekin maza aya tha na’ and I was like ‘haan bahut.’ And, we all had a hearty laugh!”

The actor calls it tough for her to accept that her mentor is no longer there in this world. “I am blank! Apart from having done so much work with him, he was like an elder in the family, my Shyam uncle. Zindagi mein jitni baar bhi mujhe guidance ki zaroorat thi, har choti se choti baat ke liye, I used to go to him straight away without thinking twice. Even for some of really big things in my life, he was just a call away. Ek kahlipan sa reh gya hai.”