“I Wish I had Kept In Touch With Uttara”

Uttara Baokar passed  away at the  age of 79 in Pune on April 12. She leaves behind a luminous legacy of performances in Govind Nihalani’s Tamas and  Rukmavati Ki Haveli, Mrinal Sen’s Ek Din Achanak, not to mention  the television serials Udaan, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and  Kora Kagaz.

In Kora Kagaz actress Asha Parekh got a chance to direct Uttara Baokar. Asha Parekh cannot get  over  the fact that she had  not kept in touch with Uttara Baokar.  “We worked together for two years in  Kora Kagaz in 2002, all of  us Uttara, Renuka Shahane, Salil Ankola, Anil Dhawan, Amit Behl, S M Zaheer  were  like one big family. And  we would be working round the clock.  I sometimes  used to  make Uttaraji  work extra hours, and this would irritate  her  to no end. She would  go to her makeup room , vent her  anger on her staff and return  to the set all calm ready to work again.”

Asha Parekh is all praise for Uttara Baokar’s  dedication and  commitment. “She  was from Marathi theatre and cinema. Unka discipline hi kuch aur ttha. She  was  not interested in the glamorous trappings of  mainstream  Hindi cinema,  or what we call Bollywood.  And she was certainly not cut  out to play the typical  filmy mother.Given some meat in her part, she could chew up the screen.”

In  Asha Parekh’s Kora Kagaz Uttara Baokar played Anil Dhawan’s wife.

“She was always on time,never  afraid  to  make changes  in the script when required. She had so  many suggestions during shooting, and good ones. I regret  not  working  with her more  often.  Unke  saath kaam karne mein bahot maza aata ttha.I directed her. But what would  it have been to  share camera space with her!So much to learn,Sadly after Kora Kagaz  , both of us  moved  on . We didn’t keep in touch.”

Asha Parekh heard Uttra Baokar was  not well. “I came to know she  was  very ill.I  didn’t know  where she  was. I had no contact number. I wish we had kept in touch. In this business,  we become one family while  shooting and then move on. Rishte banaane ki fursat nahin milti.”