By Subhash K Jha

Asha Parekh has lost two of her co-stars in two days. The little-known actress-producer Chandrakala who worked with Asha in Nasir Hussain’s Teesri Manzil passed away suddenly on the 4th December of a massive heart attack.

Besides doing bit roles, Chandrakala had also produced films like Pyar Hi Pyar (Dharmendra-Vyjayanthimala) and Anand.

Sighs Asha, “It happened so suddenly. I wasn’t even in town. Now you’re telling me about Bina Rai ji. We worked together in one of her best films Ghunghat in 1960. She played Bharat Bhushan’s wife and she was fabulous. She won a Filmfare award for her performance.”

Asha was a timid and young supporting actress while Bina Rai was the Queen. “I remember Binaji was very introvert. I was the youngest person in the unit. She was my senior and intimidating. She wouldn’t mix around and kept completely to herself on the sets. I remember once a co-star was getting a shot repeatedly wrong. The giggler that I am, I kept bursting into giggles. Bina ji just stared at me, and then suddenly smiled softly. That was a rare moment of connectivity with her.”

The Ghunghat director Ramanand Sagar had got very upset with Asha. “After the incident he scolded me saying I should know how to behave in front of someone as big as Bina Rai ji.”

Asha remembers Bina Rai as a woman of rare elegance. “She was not quite like the average film person. Always different and detached. One more illustrious soul gone!”

-Sampurn Media