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La Familia: Tajdar Amrohi remembers his ‘Choti Ammi’ Meena Kumari: I was the emotional bond between her & Baba
Today on Meena Kumari’s 49th death anniversary, we spoke to Kamal Amrohi’s son Tajdar Amrohi to know a little more about his Choti Ammi. Kamal and Kumari had tied the knot on Valentine's Day in 1952.
Meena Kumari aka Mahjabeen Bano or ‘The Tragedy Queen’ was one of the most accomplished actresses of Indian cinema. She has featured in many iconic films, including Pakeezah, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Phool Aur Patthar, to name a few. Kumari was just 38 when she breathed her last on March 31, 1972. Today on her 49th death anniversary, we spoke to legendary filmmaker Kamal Amrohi’s son Tajdar Amrohi to know a little more about his ‘Choti Ammi’. Kamal and Kumari had tied the knot on Valentine's Day in 1952.
Tajdar says that he had first met Kumari more than 55 years ago, but he vividly remembers that meeting even today. “I would never be able to forget that day. I used to stay in Amroha with my biological mother (Sayeda Al-Zehra Mehmoodi), while Baba (Kamal Amrohi) was living in Mumbai with Choti Ammi (Meena Kumari). My father had fallen sick, and the news reached my mother in Amroha, so she wanted one of us kids to go and stay with him. She went up to Baba’s elder brother who lived close by to inform him about my father’s health, and that he should take me to him. I was hardly 5 or 6 then, and till today I don’t know why my mother chose me to go to Mumbai instead of my other two siblings (Shandaar and Rukhsar). Maybe she must have assumed that I would be the first person to win the hearts of my father as well as of my Choti Ammi,” Tajdar recalls.
I was so terrified that all through the 42 hour train journey, I didn’t eat anything or didn’t even use the restroom. I just kept wondering what will happen to me in Mumbai when I meet Choti Ammi
Tajdar Amrohi
However, this transition wasn’t easy for him. “Being so young, I had heard horrific stories about how a step mother behaves. In fact, I was so terrified that all through the 42 hour train journey, I didn’t eat anything or didn’t even use the restroom. I just kept wondering what will happen to me in Mumbai when I meet Choti Ammi,” says Tajdar.
However, to the young Tajdar’s surprise, the reality was far more pleasant. “My father and Choti Ammi were unaware that we were enroute their residence, and were obviously surprised by our sudden visit. When the servant opened the main door, my uncle asked him to inform Chandan, as Baba was fondly called by his loved ones, that his elder brother and his son had come to see him. The servant requested us to take a seat and went running inside to break on the news. Soon enough he came out stating that Baba had called me inside his room. I went in and saw Choti Ammi sponging my dad’s forehead with a cold wet cloth. She was dressed in an all-white attire. After noticing my presence she asked me to come close, and as soon as I did she quickly embraced me in her arms, while Baba on the side was staring at us,” Tajdar fondly recalls.
(A young Tajdar Amrohi with his father Kamal Amrohi)
Kumari soon lifted his chin and asked him to open his eyes. “She said ‘Mujhe gaur se dekho, main tumhari Choti Ammi hun’, and that’s how I started calling her by that name. She loved me dearly, and so did I,” Tajdar states.
Interestingly, Kumari had even taken Tajdar along with her to Madras (now Chennai) where she was shooting with Gemini Ganeshan for the 1957 comedy, Miss Mary. “Many people there inquired about who I was, and she introduced me as her younger son. Obviously, everyone was taken by surprise, but then with Choti Ammi’s permission Gemini Ganeshan (actress Rekha’s father) even took me on a tour of his studio,” reminisces Tajdar whose favourite Meena Kumar film is the Kamal Amrohi directed 1972 classic, Pakeezah.
Tajdar informs that Kamal’s separation with Meena Kumari had affected him deeply. “I was studying in Dehradun, and this news was all over the papers. It impacted my studies and my career a lot. From being a first class student, I started scoring less as I was just unable to focus. Later when I came to Mumbai, a lot of times I thought of approaching her, but I was so upset that I didn’t do it. Then one day, I was sitting at my Baba’s office when Choti Ammi’s elder sister called. Somehow Choti Ammi had found out that I was in Mumbai, and wanted to see me. Since I was upset, I initially declined to meet her, but Baba got angry about that as he never liked anyone disrespecting their elders. So he asked me to go and meet Choti Ammi, which I did in the evening,” says Tajdar.
I instantly leaned forward to hug her and started weeping. I told her ‘Choti Ammi, aapne yeh kya kar liya apne aap ko’, to which she responded ‘Beta sar uthao, mujhe dekho’
Tajdar Amrohi
He further adds, “I remember she wasn’t well, and was lying on her bed. I instantly leaned forward to hug her and started weeping. I told her ‘Choti Ammi, aapne yeh kya kar liya apne aap ko’, to which she responded ‘Beta sar uthao, mujhe dekho’. It took me back to my first meeting with her. Later, we even went up to her terrace and spoke for hours before she decided to drop me home at 3: 30 in the night. She saw that the lights of Baba’s room were still on, and said that he would be waiting for me, and she was right. I was actually the emotional bond between her and Baba.”
Tajdar informs that Kamal and Kumari’s graves are beside each other. “It wasn’t planned that way. But what else can be a bigger proof of their love for each other?” Tajdar questions emotionally.
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