Remembering Smita Patil
- Rajesh Subramanian
She was barely 31 when death rudely snatched her away. At the peak of her professional career and just two weeks after giving birth to her first child, Smita had every reason to smile. But destiny had other agenda. On 13th December 1986 reports filtered in that the actress was sinking due to childbirth complications. And then at midnight the untoward happened. Smita was gone. A lull prevailed in filmdom. There were reports that she had died due to gross medical negligence. But the fact was India
With her intense eyes, dusky smouldering looks, vivacious attitude and radiant smile Smita Patil was undoubtedly one of her kind. Filmmakers, who got an opportunity to work with her, unabashedly claimed that no actress could match her histrionic ability. Born in Pune, to Maharashtrian politician Shivajirao Patil and social worker Vidyatai Patil, Smita’s first tryst with the camera was when she was selected as a newsreader for Doordarshan. Though Dev Anand wanted to cast her in Hare Rama Hare Krishna so did Manoj Kumar in Roti Kapda Aur Makan but her parents wanted her to complete her studies.
An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Smita made her film debut with Shyam Benegal's Charandas Chor in 1974. Manthan shot her into public focus but it was the heroine oriented Bhumika that brought her into the limelight, fetching her Best Actress award. This was the time when parallel cinema was gaining momentum in India
Her sparkling performances in art house cinema had an incredible impact that even commercial filmmakers trained their sights on her. But Smita remained faithful to parallel cinema. In one of her interviews the actress had stated, "I remained committed to small cinema for about five years. I refused all commercial offers. Around 1977 - 78, the small cinema movement started picking up and they needed names. I was unceremoniously dropped from a couple of projects. This affected me a lot. I had not bothered to make money. I turned down big, commercial offers because of my commitment to small cinema and what did I get in return. They wanted names and so I decided to make a name for myself and ventured into commercial films."
Her mainstream films included Shakti, Namak Halaal, Arth, Dard Ka Rishta, Qayamat, Ghulami, Aakhir Kyun, Aaj Ki Awaaz. Initially her discomfiture at mouthing banal dialogues, striking inane poses and wearing brazen costumes showed, but soon she adapted herself to the prerequisite of masala films. Her fans, too, grew with her newfound stardom.
Like every girl Smita too was yearning for an ideal relationship. It was in Rourkela in Orissa, where she had gone to shoot for Satish Misra's film Bheegi Palken that she met Raj Babbar for the first time. It laid the foundation of a relationship which later bloomed into a romantic alliance. Together they worked in a series of films like Tajurba, Bheegi Palken, Awam, Aaj Ki Awaz, Hum Do Hamare Do. When Raj Babbar left his wife Nadira Babbar to marry her, she drew severe criticism from the media. Known as a strong feminist, Smita was labeled a ‘home breaker’. It clouded her personal life as she found herself at the receiving end of volleys of barbed criticism. On the film sets she appeared chirpy and spontaneous but inwardly she was sad, desolate and a tormented soul.
An extremely down to earth person, Smita’s heart went out for the poor and needy. She helped women in distress and lend financial support to kids belonging to poor families. Very few are aware that she donated her National award prize money, which she won for Bhumika, for a noble cause. In a career spanning a decade Smita had 75 odd films to her credit, two National awards and a Padma Shree. She had every thing going her way, before the ironic final cut entwined her life from sight to memory. And the loss, even after 26 years, remains irrevocably ours.
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