For an actor it is very important to have a support system to face all kinds of pressure ?moral support from family, friends and professional associations. You are not an island by yourself?. Even among animals the support system is very important. And beneath all the paint, I am a husband, father, grandfather, and a friend. And if life is like an orchestra, the family is like a tabla, which plays continuously in the background despite the occasional sound of sitar. Come to think of it, we’re quite a nationally integrated family. My wife Urmila is Konkani, my son-in-law Shirish Bagwe is Maharashtrian, while my daughter-in-law Meena is Gujarati.... Today the problem is that priorities are not worked out and there are misconceptions. That amounts to being selfish; nobody bothers at first, and when they regret, it is too late... The presence of elders always contributes to proper upbringing of the child, who on growing up would give their children what they got from their parents, unlike what you observe in a negligent high society. We should accept it with shame that we are deteriorating as a nation with so much corruption. Life is becoming more and more complicated. Probably this is what our parents and grandparents said 50 years back. What I have noticed is that the world is changing at a much faster pace.

I did my first film with Dutt Sahib, Reshma Aur Shera, and decades later with his son Sunjay. Dutt Sahib was a natural actor, and did not acquire any style. And Sunjay began on a different note, because he was already on drugs and this affected his looks. I worked with him in six-seven films and he has improved a great deal, as earlier he was a shy kind of actor. No, not camera shy really, but somehow he could not come across as a confident performer. But Khal-Nayak brought him into the limelight. His persona has emerged. Dutt Sahib was a very hard-working actor and very convincing. Somewhere he was always in charge of himself and his way of speaking was very effective with a forceful delivery. And whatever may be the comparison, I do not find any similarity between the father and son. But, yes, sometimes you do get to see a reflection of Dutt Sahib’s personality in Sunjay.

When I was shooting in Mauritius for Mahanta with Sunjay in the early 1990s, he was then suspected to be involved in the serial bomb blasts in Bombay. While shooting one night, some phone call was received and he became very nervous and started crying. Being quite close to him, I consoled him. We received information that as soon as he returned and landed at the Bombay airport, he would be taken into police custody for interrogation by the intelligence officials. No one really knew the details of the case then and naturally the entire industry was sympathetic towards him. After his arrest, he was sent to jail. Much of this effort of the industry to show its solidarity and garner support for him was due to the fact that Dutt Sahib was highly respected and also a Member of Parliament. And once Sunjay was released and he resumed his work, he became so busy, as all these events made him more responsible, serious, thoughtful and a better actor. Suffering always makes a person more refined and mature?. It makes you realise that grass is not green all the time and keeps you levelheaded.

When we pay tribute to actors and performing artistes of stature, we must also remember how they earned this eminence and how their contribution defied time and space. Nutan had great impact on my sensibilities and quiet bearing on my psyche in terms of acting that emanates from your mind. The movement of your body is governed by what you think. I saw her first film when she appeared in Hum Log, way back in 1949-50, with Balraj Sahni. There was something very fetching about her. In her later films, like Sujata, Seema, Bandini, I thought she was among the best actresses of her time. The kind of sensuality, femininity, womanhood that she exuded was so graceful and captivating. There were no shortcuts for actors of her class. In every film that followed she had a wonderful role to play. I could see that absolute concentration of work in her eyes, the way she performed. Without knowing her, or having any acquaintance with her, I had a massive crush on her. I had wished to work with her, but at that time these thoughts seemed so stupid, for there was not even a remote chance to act in films.

I remember there was a party at the Ambassador Hotel in Bombay, when I first spotted her. I had just about entered the industry and I went up to her and introduced myself as the younger brother of Madan Puri. And the very first thing I mentioned to her was that I was in love with her. She laughed it off and then meekly blushed. We had an extensive discussion on how she prepared herself for a role. She said very simply, “I just do the role the way I feel it.” Maybe, this was the reason she had that knack of acting naturally, just being herself.?

It was at the fag end of her career that I got a chance to work with Nutan in Meri Jung. I was thrilled on learning that and eagerly awaited doing some scenes together. But I had very few such scenes, like the one in which she comes to fetch her son and I eye her with a villainous, lecherous look. What an actress and a wonderful person!

From The Act of Life: Amrish Puri; An Autobiography with Jyoti Sabharwal; Stellar Publishers ; Rs 595