It was sometime in the winter of 1978 I think, when I first spotted Nargis Dutt sitting in the veranda of their preview theatre, Ajanta Arts, eating bhelpuri. As journalists we frequently visited the theatre for screenings but seldom met up with the family. This was a rare occasion when Nargis Dutt was going to be watching the film with us. I can’t remember the film but it was an unusually boring film and I was restless! Nargis Dutt sensed my exasperation and during the interval called me by her side. She gently explained to me that no matter how boring any film is, I must never express my restlessness and give due respect to the creator. I have remembered that…
Nutan in my opinion, was among the first actors to reprimand reporters who arrived for interviews without doing their homework. She said it was unfair to waste precious time of artistes and editors of publications should be responsible about this. She disapproved of visitors on the sets who whispered in the middle of a ‘take’ that destroyed the mood of an actor. I remembered all this and when I became an editor myself, I personally coached my team before packing them off to a film set.
To be continued