Tuesday Trivia: Do you know the common link between Meena Kumari's Pakeezah and Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam?

They say the most beautiful things in the world are short-lived. This holds true for Meena Kumari. The beautiful and talented actress left the world in 39 but her body of work leaves us in awe till date. Whether it is Baiju Bawra (1952), Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962) or Pakeezah (1972), she has given performances that give us goosebumps till date. On the occasion of her death anniversary, fans reflect on her tremendous body of work. The film that most of us, including some of the young generation, associate her with, is Pakeezah. It was the labour of love for her estranged husband, Kamal Amrohi who could complete the film only 15 years after its mahurat.

Since the film took such a long time, some members of the original team did not survive to see the film reaching its completion. One of them was cinematographer Josef Wirsching. He had worked in Amrohi's film Mahal (1949). He passed away on June 11, 1967 due to a heart attack. Wirsching is credited for the famous Paan Galli scene in Pakeezah where he also has a cameo. After his demise, it was VK Murthy who decided to step in for Pakeezah. He was someone who Meena Kumari had worked with before in Guru Dutt's Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (1962).

It had taken a lot of efforts on the part of Guru Dutt to convince Meena Kumari for the tragedy. He could think of no other actress to play the role of Chhoti Bahu. Finally, he managed to persuade her for the film. Meena Kumari's part was filmed at last. She gave him 45 days flat and got a fee hike for the film. In an interview to The Telegraph in 2011, Murthy admitted that he had a soft corner for Meena Kumari and they had a warm rapport. He said, "Even though Meena Kumari used to like me very much, I kept a distance."

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