Waheeda Rehman is an Indian actress widely regarded as one of the finest performers in Hindi cinema. Active primarily from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, with selective appearances thereafter, she is known for her work in landmark films directed by Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand, Satyajit Ray and others. She has received the Padma Shri (1972), the Padma Bhushan (2011), and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2021), the highest honour in Indian cinema.
| Full name | Waheeda Rehman |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 February 1938, Chengalpattu, Madras Presidency (present-day Tamil Nadu) |
| Profession | Actress |
| Years active | 1955 onwards |
| Languages | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Urdu |
| Spouse | Kamaljeet (Shashi Rekhi); married 1974, widowed 2000 |
| Children | Sohail Rekhi, Kashvi Rekhi |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri (1972), Padma Bhushan (2011), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2021) |
Waheeda Rehman was born in a Tamil-speaking Muslim family in the Madras Presidency. Her father, Mohammed Abdur Rehman, was a District Commissioner who served in various towns of South India, leading the family to move frequently. She trained in Bharatanatyam from a young age. Following her father's death and later her mother's illness, she turned to films to support the family.
She made her screen debut with the Telugu film Rojulu Marayi (1955), in which she appeared in a popular dance number. This brought her to the notice of filmmaker Guru Dutt, who signed her for a Hindi film career under his banner.
Her Hindi debut came with C.I.D. (1956), produced by Guru Dutt and directed by Raj Khosla. She subsequently became closely associated with Guru Dutt's productions, appearing in:
Beyond the Guru Dutt camp, she worked with several leading directors. Her collaborations with Vijay Anand produced two of her most celebrated performances:
She also starred in Bees Saal Baad (1962), Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), Khamoshi (1969), and Satyajit Ray's Abhijaan (1962), her only Bengali film.
She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the second time for Neel Kamal (1968) and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Reshma Aur Shera (1971), directed by Sunil Dutt, for which she also received the National Film Award for Best Actress. From the early 1970s she gradually moved to mature roles in films such as Phagun (1973), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Trishul (1978) and Lamhe (1991).
After a long gap, she returned in select character roles in films including Rang De Basanti (2006), Delhi-6 (2009) and Vishwaroopam II (2018).
Waheeda Rehman is regarded as one of the defining actresses of the golden age of Hindi cinema. Her trained classical dance background gave her performances in films such as Guide and Chaudhvin Ka Chand a distinctive grace, while her dramatic ability allowed her to handle complex women's roles at a time when leading actresses were often confined to stereotypes. Her partnership with Guru Dutt produced some of the most enduring works of Indian cinema, and her later character roles helped redefine the space available to senior actresses in mainstream Hindi films.
She married actor Shashi Rekhi, who used the screen name Kamaljeet and was her co-star in Shagoon (1964), in 1974. The couple had two children, Sohail and Kashvi. After her husband's death in 2000, she shifted base from a farmhouse in Bengaluru to Mumbai. She is also known for her interest in wildlife photography and travel, the latter documented in the book Conversations with Waheeda Rehman (2014) by Nasreen Munni Kabir.