Saira Banu relives golden days of cinema with Hema Malini: ‘Was impressed by her looks’

Veteran actress Saira Banu has reminisced about finally meeting Hema Malini after years cherishing their bond old memories and shared moments from film setsSaira took to Instagram where she shared two pictures posing with Hema and wrote ldquoYou see Hema and I had been wishing to meet each other for a very long time but life in its own way kept us apart Not so long ago she called me and before I knew it she was at my doorsteprdquoldquoWe spent a beautiful few hours together immersed in memories reliving those golden days and sharing laughter over stories that time can never erase Among them we revisited a Janmashtami incidentmdashone so profound that it changed the course of my life within weeksrdquoSaira recalled that she met Hema for the first time on the sets of the Deewana in 1966 ldquoI first met Hema in 1966 on the sets of Deewana by Raj Kapoor Sahab She had come along with her producer Anantswamy to RK Studios Chembur and I remember being instantly impressed by her lovely looksrdquoView this post on InstagramA post shared by Saira Banu Khan sairabanuShe talked about the moments from beauty secrets with their mothers ldquoSoon after we met again while we were simultaneously shooting at the scenic Krishna Raj Sagar Dam in the South Our rooms were adjoining and in the evenings my mother Hema her mother and I would sit together in the large verandahs exchanging beauty secrets I reminded her how Amma would put lobaan in her hair for freshness and khushboo a detail that made her laugh in surprise at how much I rememberedrdquoSaira also recalled how her late legendary husband Dilip Kumar and she introduced Hema to the press in Madras in a meeting organised by Anantswamy ldquoDilip Sahab was so kind and gracious to be the main person to introduce her and Hema was visibly touched by that memory Not long ago it warmed my heart to see her with Dharam ji on a reality show dancing together so beautifullyrdquoldquoDharam ji put his arm around her and the love and comfort between them was such a joy to watch She laughed that day and told her her cousin Prabha who accompanied her that how much ldquoSaira ji remembersrdquo Saira saidDuring that conversation with Hema Saira told her another Janmashtami story one that is especially close to my heart ldquoThe picturisation of the Kanha song in Shagird happened to fall exactly on Janmashtami We were shooting at Filmistan Studios with the evercharming Nazir Hussain Sahab who was also working in Madras with Dilip Sahab on Ram Aur Shyam Because of date issues Nazir Sahab would shoot with me late into the night and then fly early in the morning to work with Dilip SahabrdquoShe recalled how that night as she sang the bhajan before Lord Krishnarsquos idol with Lata Mangeshkarrsquos enchanting voice in playback ldquoI mischievously told Nazir Sahab ldquoYou are working with Dilip Sahab oh how lucky you are Please tell him that Saira is dying to work with himhellip and if he refuses then ask him to marry merdquoldquoNazir Sahab was momentarily stunned and then burst into that booming laughter he was so famous for The next morning he dutifully carried my playful message to Dilip Sahab Irsquom told Dilip Sahab smiled gracefully perhaps to hide his embarrassment But wonder of wonders within days he walked into my life looked into my eyes and asked my grandmother and mother for my hand in marriagerdquo Saira saidWhen Saira thinks back now she realises Janmashtami has always brought her ldquoprecious blessings friendships cherished memories and the love of my liferdquo She adds ldquoAnd sharing these stories with Hema made the memories all the more sweetrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever