Deepti Naval was anchoring a TV show in New York when writer- director, Vinod Panday saw her and decided to cast her in his debut film Ek Baar Phir. The 80s was the blossoming decade for parallel cinema and Deepti was the first choice for all those filmmakers who could not get Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. She made some path breaking films and some characters haunt even today be it Hum Paanch, Saath Saath, Kamla, Chashme Badoor, Katha, Ankahee aur Main Zinda Hoon.
It was in the 80s that she released her debut book, Lamhe and we soon discovered that she was not just an actor and a writer but also a painter and a photographer. She loved traveling and often drove to unknown locations solo, not surprising that she produced and directed a travel show shot in the mountains.
Last week, Deepti released her third book A Country Called Childhood in Mumbai. Reproduced below are excerpts from the book:
To be continued…