My first break

Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Small budget, big dreams Farooque Sheikh.

How it happened

Famous theatre personality, but cash strapped M.S. Sathyu was looking for someone to do a role in Garam Hawa (1973) under two conditions; one, the actor will give him two months at a stretch, and two, will not demand a huge payment. He and I were part of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association). Someone suggested my name. He gave me the script, as I too was looking for a break in the film world. Things just fell into place.

My first shot, in the hectic two months’ schedule in Agra was far too easy to give me goose pimples. I was supposed to appear in an interview in it. Sathyu was intelligent enough not to give me a tough scene to enact on the very first day. Moreover, most people working in this film (Dinanath Zutshi, Badar Begum, Geeta Siddharth, Shaukat Kaifi, A.K. Hangal) were known to me. So, the first shot went without a retake. In fact, the whole film took very little effort though the subject was intense: Post Partition dilemma of Muslims to migrate to Pakistan. We were more worried about quickly finishing the film in the stipulated budget (Rs.8 lakhs) rather than thinking about the hangover the subject could have on us.

My first payment as a debut actor from this film was Rs.750. One great thing that happened to me was meeting Balraj Sahni. He played Salim Mirza, an established shoe manufacturer in the film. I was hugely impressed with him. Despite his stature in the film world, his knowledge and depth in personality, he came across as a grounded person. We all used to sleep in the same room. He, unconsciously, made a contribution to my opinions on different subjects. The film, contrary to our expectations, did very well among the serious audiences and it fetched me rave remarks. In those struggling days, those remarks served as healers.

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