Padmini Kolhapure remembers veteran Shashikala

Veteran actor Shashikala Om Prakash, popularly known as Shashikala, who was a part of over 100 films and has essayed many memorable characters, passed away at her Mumbai residence on Sunday. The 88-year-old actress was seen in movies like V Shantaram’s Teen Batti Char Raasta (1953), Bimal Roy’s Sujata (1959) and Tarachand Barjatya’s Aarti (1962), to name a few.Her other prominent projects included Anupama (1966), Waqt (1965), Gumrah (1963) and Khubsoorat (1980). Born in Solapur, Maharashtra, Shashikala started working at an early age to support her parents. While she earlier shared screen space with actors like Rajesh Khanna, Nutan, Dharmendra, Rajkumar, Shashi Kapoor and Sunil Dutt, among others, in recent years, she also worked with Govinda, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Her last few films include Chori Chori (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004). Earlier in her career, she often featured as the antagonist, while her second inning saw her making the transition into a sweet, doting grandmother on screen. Besides films, she also dabbled in television with shows like Sonpari (2000) and Kise Apna Kahein (2003).
Padmini Kolhapure, who also started out young as a child artiste, had worked with Shashikala in the film Ahista Ahista, in 1981. Padmini, at that time, had just blossomed into a leading lady. Remembering the actress, who she fondly called Shashikalatai, Padmini says, “I have always called her Shashikalatai as she was elder than me. We bonded while shooting Ahista Ahista. I was a newbie as far as playing the leading lady was concerned. Her grace before the camera, her poise and the way she played her part inspired me in a big way. I had the good fortune of having the chance to see her perform. I had seen many of her films, and the way she held the audience’s attention when she came on screen, was truly impressive. I don’t think many actresses have a career she did - she started in the 1930s and continued well into the new millennium. I think she was commendable as an artiste and also a wonderful human being. I remember while shooting Ahista Ahista, we would chat a lot between our shots and share laughs. We would talk about so many things, including some of her older films. She had a fabulous sense of style and was legendary for so many reasons.”
Talking about her last meeting with Shashikala, Padmini says, “It’s strange, but life takes people in different directions. When you’re shooting, you’re together all the time and then suddenly, you’re on your own. We drifted apart, too. Shashikalatai had her own films to work on, and I had my career, and eventually, my marriage and family life. We met several years later socially, but we didn’t lose our connection. We spoke like no time had gone by, and our special bond was still intact. This was a few years ago. Today, she has left the mortal world. I am going to miss her, but I also know that she will live in all our hearts through so many of her incredible movies.”