Veteran actress Kamini Kaushal, widely recognised as India`s oldest living actress, died at the age of 98 on Friday. According to reports, she had been suffering from health concerns related to her age.
From never having childhood crushes to parting ways with Dilip Kumar, let us revisit the times she spoke about her personal life.
On never having childhood crushes
When asked about her childhood, Kamini Kaushal said she was unlike most teenagers. She spent her childhood in the lanes of Lahore. The daughter of renowned Professor Shiv Ram Kashyap, widely considered the father of Indian bryology, Kamini Kaushal grew up in an environment that encouraged academic achievement and participation in the arts.
“I had no time to fool. I didn’t have any crush, I was busy swimming, riding, skating and doing radio plays on Akashwani, for which I was paid `10! I also wrote stories,” she exclaimed proudly. It was on the radio that she was discovered by director Chetan Anand and given a break in his film Neecha Nagar (1946), which won the coveted Palme d`Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival.
Recalling one instance when she was approached by a boy, she said, “Once, while I was cycling back home, one of the boys asked, ‘May I ride with you?’ I retorted, ‘What for?’” But the idyllic life took a dramatic turn as the freedom movement grew fierce. “There were morchas. The mood was rebellious. We then lived through the story of Independence and the Partition,” said the Biraj Bahu actress. She obtained her BA Honours in English Literature from Kinnaird College in Lahore.
On her relationship with Dilip Kumar
A definitive chapter in her life of the late actress was her onscreen pairing and off-screen relationship with thespian Dilip Kumar.
The veteran actress had once reflected on her past relationship with legendary actor Dilip Kumar in her memoir.
For the unversed, Kamini Kaushal and Dilip Kumar reportedly met and fell in love on set. The legendary actors shared the screen in three films: Shaheed (1948), Nadiya Ke Paar (1948), Shabnam (1949) and Arzoo (1950). These movies were hugely successful and cemented the duo as an iconic pair. However, soon tragedy struck. When Kamini Kaushal’s elder sister, Usha, died, leaving two infant daughters behind, she had to marry her brother-in-law, BS Sood, and raise her nieces.
In her biography, Kamini wrote that she and Dilip Kumar had shared a deep bond and were very happy together, but circumstances led them to separate. She explained that she could never abruptly end things, especially when her family was involved, and also appreciated her husband’s understanding of the situation. “We were both shattered. We were very happy with each other. We shared a great rapport. But that’s life. I couldn’t dump people and say, ‘Enough now, I’m going!’ I had taken on the girls. I wouldn’t be able to show my face to my sister. My husband, a fine human being, understood why it happened. Everyone falls in love” she reflected.
Years later, Dilip Kumar would reflect on his first heartbreak in Bunny Reuben’s biography Dilip Kumar – Star Legend of Indian Cinema. He recalled that moment by saying, “She (Kamini) was the only one with whom I achieved total identification. I think everybody falls in love only once. ‘Again’ – if there is an ‘again’ – is merely an imitation of the brilliant flame, the blinding light, the days of trance, the nights of impatience and waiting, and days of such happiness that one cannot believe they will last.” While Dilip Kumar never openly spoke about his feelings, renowned novelist Ismat Chughtai had also revealed that he was deeply in love with Kamini.
The actress went on to have three sons with her husband and lived a contented life as a mother. She asserted, “Cinema was never my be-all, end-all. When I worked, I did so with complete integrity. But work didn`t come above my family. For me, living a decent life is enough. Yes, I was passionate about acting, but not for the sake of making money. I like being creative. I like making toys as much as acting.” In her last few years, she occupied her time by returning to her childhood hobby of knitting puppets and creating puppet theatre.
