Saira Banu recounts how Mehmood asked Dilip Kumar to let her work in the film
The 79-year-old actor said Mehmood, who was also one of the producers on the movie, refused to let Dilip Kumar go from his embrace till he allowed her to star in "Padosan"
PTI
Veteran actor Saira Banu
MUMBAI: Veteran actor Saira Banu on Wednesday marked 55 years of "Padosan" and said her co-star Mehmood had sought her husband, screen icon Dilip Kumar's permission to cast her in the musical comedy.
Directed by Jyoti Swaroop, the 1968 film also starred Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Om Prakash, Dulari, Agha, and Keshto Mukherjee, among others.
"Padosan" followed a villager Bhola (Dutt), who falls in love with his new neighbour Bindu (Saira Banu), the modern Indian woman. How Bhola's friends help him to woo Bindu away from her music teacher Master Pillai (Mehmood) is the plot of the film.
Saira Banu shared a post on her official Instagram account on the 55th anniversary of the film, which she described as one of the most favourite films of her career.
"It is ‘PADOSAN’, a film for all occasions and ages. I am glad that I did this because I had refused any work soon after my marriage. It was understood that I would not be carrying on with a professional career," she wrote alongside the poster of the film.
The 79-year-old actor said Mehmood, who was also one of the producers on the movie, refused to let Dilip Kumar go from his embrace till he allowed her to star in "Padosan".
"It was then that Mehmood Bhai as he had earlier approached me for this film came running to Sahib, hugged him close, and kept saying in a rhetorical tone 'Yousuf Bhai you have to let Saira do this film for me. I will not let go of you until you say yes please please', Sahab was tickled to the bone and kept repeating laughingly 'Mehmood it is entirely up to Saira, You have to convince her. You have my absolute permission'," she added in her post.
Saira Banu also praised Mehmood for shooting the film in Madras, now Chennai, so that she and Dilip Kumar, who were married for about two years at the time, could spend some time together.
"At that time everyone knew that Sahib had shifted his venue of shooting to the South and Mehmood very considerately committed to Sahib that he would shoot the film in Madras with me to facilitate Sahib and I being together.
"This was the 'Cherry on the Cake' and I said Yes to ‘PADOSAN'. I am glad that unlike the dozens of films that I let go of 'PADOSAN' and 'PURAB AUR PASCHIM', were not one of them," she wrote.
The actor recalled laughing "my guts out" when Mehmood shared the scenes from the Tamil version of "Padosan".
"We started shooting in Madras, and goodness it was a gathering of comedians, creating history with this film. The cast was so perfectly chosen that even I was initially surprised to see Dutt Saab as a simpleton 'Gaonwalla', I mean who could have imagined it? "Dutt Saab would humorously say, 'Sairaji Yeh Kyaa Hain, Yeh Hum Kyaa Kar Rahein Hain? Hamein Toh ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’ May Kaam Karna Chahiye, Something Romantic and Glamorous. Until 'PADOSAN,' I hadn't worked with Dutt Saab, who turned out to be lively and funny," she said.
On the contrary, Kishore Kumar was a "very subdued gentlemanly star who would get up from his seat respectfully as soon as any lady walked in", she added.
"The shooting was a killer. I used to laugh uncontrollably so much that the Unit would turn off all the lights and say 'Ruk Jao, Abhi Madam Hass Rahin Hain'. It was that difficult for me to stop. Later, I will be sharing anecdotes about PADOSAN that are both funny and interesting. #55YearsToPadosan," the actor concluded her post.
"Padosan" was the remake of the Bengali film "Pasher Bari" (1952) based on a short story of the same name by Arun Chowdhury.
