Showing all artists born in 1935

Savitri or Savitri Ganesh, was a Telugu actress, director and producer of films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages. She was known for her liveliness and captivating performance and is still treated as the benchmark for acting in Telugu movies and also called as one of the best actresses of All Time.

Savitri was born in Chinaravuru near Tenali in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India to Nissankara Rao Guruviah and Subhadramma. She learned music and Indian classical dance under Sista Purnayya Sasthri. She performed stage shows during her childhood. She acted in 318 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi languages, with ten to twenty movies released per year.

She later directed some films. One day she went to meet the Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and donated all her jewelry she was wearing for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. She also built a high school in Andhra. Her favorite sports were cricket and chess. She used to play chess at home. She claimed that her favorite sports person was Gary Sobers. She participated in many celebrity cricket matches.

She gave some public performances as a child in Vijayawada. She worked in a theater company run by Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao. She also started her own company, the Navabharata Natya Mandali. Her best stage role was in Atma Vanchana written by Bucchi Babu.

Savitri was a legendary actress in Tamil. She has paired opposite leading actors like Sivaji Ganesan and M.G.R. She married Gemini Ganesh, while acting in ‘Manam Pola Mangalyam’(1953) with him. Savithris 100th film ‘Konjum Salangai’ (‘Muripinche Muvvalu’ in Telugu) also happened to be paired with Gemini Ganeshan. She was fondly called Nadigaiyar Thilagam in the Tamil film industry.

Kalathur Kannamma, Kai Kodutha Deivam, Thiruvilaiyadal, Navarathiri, Pasa Malar, Yaar Paiyyan, Paarthal Pasi Theerum, Padithal Mattum Podhuma, Karpagam, Karnan and Paava Mannippu are some of her memorable classics in Tamil.

Savitri secretly married Gemini Ganesan in 1954 and she declared it publicly three years after the wedding. Gemini Ganesan and Savitri made a hit pair on-screen. Her wedding was revealed when she signed in a photo for a Lux advertisement as Savithri Ganesh. They had two children Vijaya Chamundeswari and Sathish Kumar. Savitri was a strict, disciplined and compassionate mother. Since there was no availability of televisions at that time, she arranged a 16mm projector to show movies to kids. She would watch Hollywood movies and analyze them thoroughly. She loved Sophia Loren and Shirley MacLaine. She died at an early age of 46.

Savitri (born Savitri Nissankararao 6 December 1935– 26 December 1981) was an Indian film actress, playback singer, dancer, director and producer. She appeared in Telugu as well as Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi language films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actresses of Telugu cinema, Savitri made her lead role debut with the 1952 Telugu film Pelli Chesi Choodu.  In 1960, she received the Rashtrapati Award for her performance in the Telugu film Chivaraku Migiledi. In 1968, she has produced, and directed the Telugu film, Chinnari Papalu for which she received the state Nandi Award for Best Feature Film (Silver).  She was honored among "women in cinema" at the 30th International Film Festival of India.

She is best known for her works in award winning films such as Devadasu (1953), Ardhangi (1955), Missamma (1955), Donga Ramudu (1955), Amara Deepam (1956), Thodi Kodallu (1957), Mayabazaar (1957), Abhimanam (1958), Mangalya Balam (1958), Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu (1959), Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1960), Chivaraku Migiledi (1960), Manchi Manasulu (1961), Aradhana (1962), Gundamma Katha (1962), Rakta Tilakam (1963), Mooga Manasulu (1963), Doctor Chakravarthy (1964), Pooja Phalam (1964), Devata (1965), Pandava Vanavasam (1965), Kanya Sulkam, Naadi Aada Janme, Prana Mitrulu (1967), Varakatnam (1968), Maro Prapancham (1970), Manase Mandiram (1966) and Jagan Mohini (1978).

Her Tamil works include Kalathur Kannamma (1959), Pasamalar (1961), Pava Mannippu (1961), Paarthal Pasi Theerum (1962), Karpagam (1963), Karnan (1963), Kai Kodutha Deivam, Navarathri (1964), Thiruvilaiyadal (1965) etc.


Early life

Savitri's parents are Nissankararao Guraviah and Subhadhramma. She was born in Chirravuru Tadepalle Mandalam (near Undavalli) in Guntur, Madras Presidency, now part of Andhra Pradesh in a Telugu speaking family.  Her father died when she was 6 months old. She had an elder sister named Maadhuri. Later, her family moved to Chirravuru. She studied in Kasturbhai High School. She learned music and Indian classical dance from Sistla Purnayya Sasthri, starting from the age of 8. She performed stage shows as a child.

Personal life

Savitri was married to a Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan in 1955. Her marriage became public when she signed in a photo for a Lux advertisement as Savithri Ganesh three years later.  They had two children, Vijaya Chamundeswari and Sathish Kumar.

Early career

She gave a few public performances as a child artiste in Vijayawada. Later, she worked in a theatre company run by Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao. She also started her own company, the Navabharata Natya Mandali. Her best stage role was in Atma Vanchana, written by Bucchi Babu. She was offered a role in 'Agni Pariksha' in 1949. However she looked too young (she was 14) in screen tests and so was dropped. Then, she was selected for the lead role in the film Samsaram by the banner 'Sadhana Chitra' in 1950. Because of stage-fright she needed a lot of retakes on the floor so she was dropped again. However, she was replaced by Pushpavalli and was given a small role, with Nageswara Rao which has less import. She performed a dance in Pathala Bhairavi in 1951.

Bollywood

She has acted in a few Hindi films such as, Bahut Din Huwe, Ghar Basake Dekho, Balaram Sri Krishna and Ganga Ki Lahren.

Kannada cinema

Savitri starred in a few Kannada films such as, Thaayige Thakka Maga, Ravichandra, and Chandanada Gombe.

Playback singing

She is known for play back singing, and some of her works include, "Sundari Neevanti" from Mayabazar, "Rangu Rangula Sila" from Navarathri (1966) and Neevevaro from Annapurna (1960) which she gave voice for actress Girija.

Direction

Savitri has directed films such as, Chinnari Papalu, Chiranjeevi, Maathru Devatha ,Vintha Samsaram, Kuzhanthai Ullam and Praptham.

A. Jagannathan was an Indian film director who worked in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada an Hindi film industry. He directed nearly 50 films in Tamil.

He made his debut as director in Manipayal in 1973 after working as an assistant to T. Prakash Rao and P. Neelakantan for almost 15 films, most of them being MGR movies. He directed the MGR film Idhayakkani, and some television serials.

He directed Sivaji Ganesan's Vellai Roja which won awards including the Filmfare Award.Another successful venture in his career was Moondru Mugam.

Pulapaka Susheela (born November 13, 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela Telugu,Tamil, Kannada is an Indian playback singer. A recipient of 5 National Awards and numerous state awards, Susheela is widely acclaimed as a singer and is well known for her mellifluous vocal performances for thousands of film songs across South Indian languages. She is also considered one of the rich voiced singers whose pronunciation of the syllables to be more clear and precise in any of the languages she sang. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has recorded numerous songs in various Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga. She has also sung for Sinhalese films.


She was born in Andhra Pradesh, India, as the daughter of Pulapaka Mukunda Rao, a leading advocate in Vizianagaram, Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh State. The noted banker Pulapaka Seethapathi Rao, former managing director of State Bank of Hyderabad, was her father's younger brother. She is married to Mohan Rao; they have a son named Jayakrishna and two granddaughters named Jayashree and Subashree. Her daughter-in-law, Sandhya Jayakrishna, is a singer who debuted with A. R. Rahman in Iruvar.


After completion of schooling, Susheela joined in Maharaja's Music College, Vizianagaram, and completed Diploma in Music from Andhra University in First Class at a very early age.Born into a music loving family, Susheela had nurtured a formal classical music training at a very young age. She used to participate in all the musical competitions both at her school and the Vizianagaram town events. She developed the crucial nuances in singing songs with apt expressions and modulations through her extensive training during these days. She also sang few songs for the All India Radio (AIR) for their private program telecasts.



In 1950, music director Pendyala Nageswara Rao was on the look out for some fresh voices to sing for his new film compositions. He approached the AIR to help him shortlist some of the finest singers who have performed for the Radio. AIR sent forward 5 singers of whom Susheela was selected after some thorough audition tests. She was immediately signed on for the Tamil film Petra Thai (1952) for a duet song "Edhuku Azhaithhai" with A. M. Raja. This was subsequently made in Telugu as Kanna Talli for which she recorded the same duet with Ghantasala. This resulted in her long term employment with AVM Studios singing for their productions alone with a fixed monthly salary. The studio owner A. V. Meiyappan hired a Tamil trainer for Susheela to hone her Tamil pronunciation skills. Thus Susheela began her illustrious career gaining abundant knowledge about music and language. She debuted into Kannada language with the film Maadidunno Maaraya in 1954.



It was not easy for a newcomer to foray into the musical scene in the 1950s with the domination of eminent female vocalists like P. Leela, M. L. Vasanthakumari, Jikki among others ruling the playback industry. Yet, Susheela made her own mark with her distinct and clear vocals. The year 1955 saw Susheela raising to popularity with her back to back hit songs both in Tamil and Telugu film industries. Missamma released in 1955 had hugely popular songs backed with strong carnatic classical essence. Susheela created a huge impact among the listeners with her effortless renditions of the toughest notations. The same year released Tamil film Kanavane Kan Kanda Deivam made her a household name in Tamil Nadu.


Thus began a huge legacy of Susheela, who sang in almost all the films produced since 1955 through 1960s and 1970s till 1985. The legendary Tamil musicians Viswanathan - Ramamurthy duo wrote some of the most evergreen songs of Cinema history in the voice of Susheela. Her duets with the acclaimed singers Ghantasala in Telugu, T. M. Soundararajan in Tamil and P. B. Srinivas in Kannada marked a new era of duet songs in the South Indian music industry. She, along with T. M. Soundararajan went on to record more than hundreds of songs with Viswanathan - Ramamurthy.


The early 1960s saw Susheela grow as an undisputed lead female singer across all the south Indian language films putting all the older veteran singers to the background. The other famed singer S. Janaki who, later went on to rule the playback industry, had just begun her career. The year 1960 saw Susheela entering the Malayalam films with the V. Dakshinamurthy compositions for the film Seetha. From then, she went on to record numerous hit songs with all the Malayalam composers like G. Devarajan, M. K. Arjunan among others. She recorded many Malayalam duets with the veteran singer K. J. Yesudas. Her association with M.S. Viswanathan continued even after M.S.V split up with Ramamoorthy in 1965 and under M.S.V her duets with T.M. Sounderrajan and others and her solo songs were too popular with audience and made her first choice singer for every other music composer and film producer from 1960-1985. M.S.V.'s composition fetched her the very first National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1969 for her prolific rendition of "Naalai Intha Velai Paarthu" for the Tamil film Uyarndha Manidhan. The same song got her the Tamil Nadu State Award as well. Thereby, Susheela became one of the first recipients of the most dignified National awards in India. It was during these years the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar developed a strong friendship with Susheela and praised all her works frequently. MS Viswanathan is regarded by her as her mentor and in his music direction she has maximum popular hit songs from 1955-1995.


The 1970s also saw Susheela in her prime form winning almost all the awards both Nationally and in all the four states of Southern India. She also recorded even Hindi songs during this period with music directors like KV Mahdevan, Laximkant Pyarelal, L. Vaidyanathan and Laxmi Kiran, S.L. Manohar, Ajit merchant, G. Devarajan and S.N. Tripathi. It was in this era that she sang few notable songs for another prolific Indian music director Illayaraja. Though Janaki took over the leading position in the from 1980 with her strong association with M.S.V and Ilayaraja, Susheela continued to be at the top till 1985 and after 1985 was still opted by several music directors for her legendary vocals. After 1986, she became selective about film songs and continued to have hit film songs till 2005.


With S. Janaki and Vani Jayaram taking over the Southern film songs center stage from 1985 and K. S. Chitra beginning her career, Susheela slowly shifted her focus from films to Devotionals and Light Music. But she continued to get to sing melodious film songs from 1984-1999 though she had after 1985 cut down on offers for singing in films. She even won awards for songs in Telugu films - Vishwanatha Nayakudu in 1987, Godavari Pongindi in 1989 and Tamil film Varam in 1989. She sang duets with Kishore Kumar in 1986 for the film Singhasan - Chalta hai do dilon ka kaise sansaar and Tere Liye Maine Janam which became popular. She also concentrated more on stage shows across the Globe where many associations world wide invited her to perform for their organized shows. She recorded more than 1000 devotional songs for various audio companies. In 1988, acclaimed music composer Naushad insisted her to sing "Janaki Jaane" for his Malayalam film Dhwani. She also recorded few of her career best songs for Illayaraja, A. R. Rahman and others in the 1990s. "Kannukku Mai Azhagu" from the film Pudhiya Mugam (1993) composed by Rahman was praised all over for its lyrical content and rendition. She had hit songs in Tamil till 2005 and sang many devotional and folk songs from 1986-2005 and did many live shows from 1990-2005.


The P Susheela Trust, formed in 2008, has a monthly pension payment scheme and a few musicians in need are being benefited through it. On every November 13 there would be a musical concert during which a senior artist (s) chosen by a panel is conferred with the Lifetime Achievement awards and the P Susheela Trust award. The proceedings of the concert would go towards the Trust maintenance.


The Lifetime achievement awards so far has been conferred upon T. M. Soundararajan and P. B. Srinivas. The recipients of the Trust’s awards so far are S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubramaniam and K. J. Yesudas.

She was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in January 2008. In 2001, the Andhra Pradesh Government honored her with the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for lifetime achievement in Telugu cinema. In 2005, she received the Special Jury Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music. She was honoured with the Life Time Achievement Award by the Filmfare in 2006. In 2011, she was honoured with the Devarajan Sangeetha Award.

S. P. Muthuraman is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He has directed nearly 75 films in Tamil. He was one of the most successful commercial directors in Tamil cinema. Initially he worked mainly with R. Muthuraman, Rajnikanth, Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan.

In the late 1970s, his association with Rajinikanth proved to be extremely successful, as they went on work together in 25 films. Muthuraman was mainly responsible for moulding Rajini's career and turning him into a commercial star.

He has received two South Filmfare Awards and a Best Director award from the Tamil Nadu State Government. He was also the associate producer of the Rajinikanth starrer Sivaji.

Muthuraman was born in a Chettiar family in Karaikudi.His father Karaikudi Subbiah was an MLA. Muthuraman's younger brother is Prof.Suba.Veerapandian.

He started his film career through AVM Productions as an assistant director to the duo Krishnan–Panju, eventually working with A. Bhimsingh, D. Yoganand, Puttanna Kanagal, M. Krishnan Nair and A. C. Tirulokchandar.

M.Bhaskar (Tamil:மா.பாஸ்கர்; 3 April 1935 – 13 July 2013) was a South Indian filmmaker who worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. Bhaskar started his film career as an assistant to director C. V. Sridhar. After relieving from his mentor and guru C. V. Sridhar, he was working under Sundaram's Modern Theaters, Chinnappa Thevar (along with S. P. Muthuraman, Panju Arunachalam, Thuyavan, Uthiripookkal balakrishnan and others). He also worked for the Hollywood Company '20th Century Fox', during their production in Goa, India.

M. Bhaskar hailed from a village called Pattamputhur, Virudhunagar district. He started his career as an associate to C. V. Sridhar. He made his directorial debut with Bairavi. The film gave major breakthrough in the career of Rajinikanth as a lead actor. Rajini gained the tag "Superstar" from this film.

Bairavi is a 1978 Tamil-language Indian feature film directed by Director Oscar Movies M Baskar, starring Rajinikanth in lead role. It was Rajinikanth's first movie as a solo hero in Tamil cinema. He was also given the "Superstar" title through this film.The film stars Sripriya as the female lead and Geetha playing the title role as Rajini's sister. Geetha was introduced in this film. Sreekanth played the role of the main villain. Malayalam actor Sudheer played Bairavi's step brother, while Manorama and Suruli Rajan played other major roles.
Director Oscar Movies M Baskar who was impressed with Rajini's dedication in Aarupushpangal, went straight ahead casting Rajini in lead role for Bhairavi.

Director Oscar Movies M Baskar, having faith in Rajini to pull the crowds as hero. Initially, Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar agreed to give financial support for Bhairavi but when he heard Rajini is the hero, he withdrew the support and advised Director Oscar Movies M Baskar to stop the movie or change the hero.

He questioned Director Oscar Movies M Baskar for choosing a villain in the lead role and hero as villain (Srikanth was acting as hero those days) and he assured to Director Oscar Movies M Baskar that it will be a huge loss. Director Oscar Movies M Baskar approached Muthuraman to play negative role but he refused to portray a negative character, Srikanth was finally selected for the role.With all these burden, Director Oscar Movies M Baskar decided to direct the film.

The soundtrack and background score was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Bairavi was the third film for Ilaiyaraaja.All lyrics were penned by Kannadasan.

Some of the Bhaskar’s hit movies include Sattathin Thirappu Vizha, Soolam, Chakravarthy.He then turned producer starting a company called "Oscar Movies" and produced films like Vishnu, Kadhal Rojave and Thotta.

M Bhaskar was four times 'Secretary' of "Tamil Film Producers' Council", when his contemporary legends Kovai Chezhian, K Balachander, Bharathiraja and KRG were 'President'. He also served the 'South Indian Producers' Guild' as Secretary. He was also the Vice-president of South Indian Directors' Association. He served the 'South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce' for three decades. M Bhaskar along with Bharathiraja rose the Tamil Film Producers' Council's funds from a meager INR 26 to INR 2,00,000 during his tenure of service. M Bhaskar was considered to one of pillars of Tamil Film Producers' Council for reviving it from the financial crisis. He also served as Censor Board Member of Central Board of Film Certification, Government of India for many years. He was also an outside expert for sponsored programme of Doordarshan Kendra, Chennai for a long period.

Bhaskar of Oscar Movies in 1997 initially signed, the son of former actress Sheela to debut in his production, Kadhal Rojavae in 1997 and according to the deal signed, Vishnu was not supposed to act in any other film until Kadhal Rojavae had been completed and released. However, during production, Vishnu could not wait and starred in a Malayalam film, while Keyaar was still shooting causing a rift between the actor and producer Bhaskar during the making of the project.

Pooja Kumar, who was crowned Miss India USA in 1995, was selected to make her debut as heroine and during production she was signed and dropped from other Tamil films of the period including V. I. P and Chinna Raja. The actress notably returned more than a decade later starring in the lead role in Kamal Haasan's bilingual Vishwaroopam. Kadhal Rojavae released after a delay in production in 2000.

Bhaskar died on 13 July 2013 at the age of 78 due to a heart attack. Bhaskar is survived by his wife Meena Rani, sons Balaji prabhu,Mariappa babu, and a daughter janakipriya.It was reported immediately by television news channels, as well as other dailies, magazines, and other media.

Sundarrajan (1 March 1935 – 1 March 2003), popularly known as Major Sundararajan, was an Indian actor who performed in Tamil language films.

Biography

Starting as an amateur stage artist while working full-time in the Telecom department in the early 1950s, Sundararajan entered the film world with Pattinathar (1962), directed by K. Somu. After a powerful performance as a blind and retired army official in K. Balachander's Major Chandrakant (1966), he came to be known as 'Major Sundararajan'.

He acted in over 900 films and a few television serials, giving memorable performances in Gauravam, Ethir Neechal, Bama Vijayam, Apoorva Raagangal, Deiva Magan and Deiva Cheyal. He continued to act in stage plays while playing memorable roles on the screen. He acted in a few Malayalam and Telugu movies as well. He has also produced comedy films like Karpagam Vanthachu starring Arjun and Radhika under Shyamalalyaa Productions.  His son Gowtham Sundararajan is active in the film industry as an actor and choreographer.

Waheeda Rehman is an Indian actress who has appeared in mainly Hindi films, as well as Tamil and Telugu films. She is noted for her contributions to different genres of films from the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. She has received a Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality, a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, a National Film Award for Best Actress and two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress, throughout her career. She has been cited as the Bollywood's "most beautiful" actress by various media outlets, a title for which she has received substantial publicity.


Rehman was born in Chengalpattu, Madras Province (now Tamil Nadu), British India. She was in her teens when her father died. Her dream was to become a doctor but, due to her family circumstances and her mother illness, she abandoned her goal. In order, to help her family, she hit the silver screen with Telugu films, Jayasimha (1955), followed by Rojulu Marayi (1955) and a Tamil film Kaalam Maari Pochu (1956). It is in Vijaya-Suresh's Ram aur Shyam (a remake of Telugu movie Ramudu Bheemudu) in 1967 that she acted again under the direction of the topnotch Telugu director Tapi Chanakya who incidentally directed her movies Rojulu Maaraayi in Telugu (1955) and Kaalam Maaripochu in Tamil (1956).


Her first initial appearance in a Hindi film was in CID (1956) for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Later, she was seen in a series of successful films including Pyaasa (1957), 12 O'Clock (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1961). Her other notable works include Solva Saal (1958), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962), Kohra (1964), Bees Sal Baad (1962), Guide (1965), Teesri Kasam, Mujhe Jeene Do (1966), Neel Kamal and Khamoshi (1969).


Waheeda Rehman, started her career in films in 1954 and her first successful films were the Telugu films Jayasimha (1955), Rojulu Marayi (1956) and Tamil film Kaalam Maari Pochu (1955).


In the success party of Rojulu Maaraayi, Guru Dutt noticed her and decided to groom her and have her act in Hindi films. Waheeda considered Guru Dutt as her mentor. Dutt brought her to Bombay (now Mumbai) and cast as a vamp in his production CID (1956), directed by Raj Khosla. A few years after joining the Hindi film industry, she lost her mother. After the success of C.I.D., Dutt gave her a leading role in Pyaasa (1957). Their next venture together, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), depicted the story of a successful director's decline after he falls for his leading lady. Dutt's existing marriage and her film successes with other directors caused them to drift apart personally and professionally, although they continued to work together into the 1960s (Chaudhvin Ka Chand). She completed Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) under some strain. They broke away from each other after its indifferent reception at the Berlin Film Festival in 1963. Soon afterward, Guru Dutt died on 10 October 1964 in Mumbai reportedly from an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol.


Waheeda Rehman established a great working relationship with Dev Anand, and together as a pair had number of successful films to their credit. The box office hits of the pair include CID (1956), Solva Saal (1958), Kala Bazar (1960), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962) and Guide (1965); box office duds were Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961) and Prem Pujari (1970). She reached her peak with Guide (1965) and was much in demand. Rehman was cast as Gulabi in Satyajit Ray's Bengali film Abhijan in 1962. She worked in comedy film Girl Friend in 1960 with Kishore Kumar. She was offered lead actress's role in films even opposite actors junior to her by experience like Dharmendra, but they flopped. But she continued to taste success in the late sixties when she was paired with well established stars. She delivered hits opposite Dilip Kumarin three successive years; Dil Diyaa Dard Liyaa in 1966, Ram Aur Shyam in 1967 and Aadmi in 1968 and some box office duds but critically acclaimed films with Rajendra Kumar – Palki, Dharti and Shatranj ; two films opposite Raj Kapoor – Ek Dil Sau Afsane and the acclaimed Teesri Kasam which was the debut film of Basu Bhattacharyya; a few films opposite Biswajeet like, Bees Saal Baad and Kohra; this helped her continue to get lead roles in the early seventies. Her career's biggest hit Khamoshi came in 1970, opposite Rajesh Khanna.


Her career continued throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her roles in Guide (1965), where she hit the peak of her career, and Neel Kamal (1968), but despite excellent offbeat roles in subsequent films, including a National Award winning performance in Reshma Aur Shera (1971), some of the films failed at the box office. Seeing her films being successful, Waheeda decided to experiment with roles at this stage of career. She accepted Reshma Aur Shera, opposite her old co-star Sunil Dutt, with whom she had previously in the sixties had hits like Ek Phool Char Kaante, Mujhe Jeene Do, Meri Bhabhi and Darpan. Her performance was appreciated by critics, but the film failed at the box office. But Waheeda continued to experiment with roles and accepted the offer to play a mother to Jaya Bhaduri in Phagun (1973). This she regards the mistake of her career as after this film flopped suddenly people started offering her motherly roles to heroes.


Film expert Rajesh Subramanian informs that Manmohan Desai had approached her on behalf of Shammi Kapoor during the making of Naseeb. In the song John jani janardhan, Shammi Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman make a grand entry holding hands. Incidentally this was the first time the two stars appeared together on screen. Later she also did Manmohan Desai's Coolie and Allah Rakha.


From the mid seventies, Waheeda's career as lead heroine ended and her career as character actor began. At around this time, Kamaljit, who starred opposite her in Shagoon (1964), proposed and they got married in 1974. After her appearance in Lamhe (1991), she retired from the film industry for 12 years.


In her new innings from seventies her successful films, where she played pivotal roles include, Kabhi Kabhie (1976),Trishul (1978), Jwalamukhi (1980), Namkeen and Namak Halaal (1982),Mashaal (1984), Chandni(1989), Rang De Basanti(2006). She played the central character in the Mahesh Bhatt directed film Swayam that starred Akash Khurana and Anupam Kher. She also appeared in a tele-series being directed by Gulzar.


In recent years she made a comeback playing elderly mother and grandmother roles in Om Jai Jagadish (2002), Water (2005) and Rang De Basanti (2006), 15, Park Avenue and Delhi 6 (2009) which were all critically acclaimed.


In October 2004, a Waheeda Rehman film retrospective was held at the Seattle Art Museum and the University of Washington where Waheeda participated in spirited panel and audience discussions on her most memorable films—Pyaasa, Teesri Kasam and Guide—although her most successful film is still considered to be Khamoshi, with costar Rajesh Khanna.


After her marriage to Shashi Rekhi  on 27 April 1974, she shifted to a farmhouse in Bangalore. She has two children named Sohail and Kashvi, who are writers. On 21 November 2000, her husband died following a prolonged illness. She moved back to her ocean view bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai where she currently lives.