65 Years Of Madhumati : Saira Banu Remember Akka Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar Saab —

Saira Banu celebrates 65 years of Madhumati, starring the legendary Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. The actress shared three black-and-white scenes from the 1958 blockbuster and remembered her bonding with legendary actress Vyjayanthimala and her late husband, Dilip Kumar. Read her note below:

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More often than not, childhood and teenage memories can be so strange and rib-ticklingly funny. To me, this particular memory of 1958, when I was a young girl, is embarrassing to the tee because today, down the years my association with my favourite filmstar Vyjayanthimala has turned into an alliance wherein she is "Akka" (elder sister) to me and we speak to each other every other week.

As I was growing up I had this habit of pasting photos of my favourite heartthrobs on the wall just next to my bed so that first thing I could gaze at them. Just a year earlier I had seen Sahib's fantastic performance in 'AAN' which was specially screened in London. He was so handsome. I was mad for him. Then there were also cutouts of Elvis Presley the King of Rock, towering Rock Hudson, and enigmatic James Dean pasted on the wall.

In our home in London we had this letter box which was the cynosure of the eyes of my brother Sultan and my expectant eyes as letters from our mother and friends would come from India. Being homesick we would thirst for them. My mother knew I was crazy about Indian films so she would intermittently post 'Filmfare Magazine' for our entertainment. It was a mad scramble between my brother and me as to who would be the first to grab the magazine and of course, the letters from home, and this always ended in a tussle scrap, almost becoming a wrestling match wherein Sultan ended up laughing uncontrollably at my pathetic flap of arms in serious attempts to get hold of the magazine.

In one such magazine, there was this photo of "MADHUMATI" which was considered bold at that time where Sahib was romantically resting his face on Vyjayantimala's forehead. It was a beautiful photo and in my childishness, I got so jealous of Sahib's proximity to her face that I took a pair of scissors and deftly started to snip away that portion of the photograph. Just imagine! I am hysterical with laughter when I recall this. Until then I had never seen her in any film and as fate would have it I grew up to meet, admire, and associate with her as a member of my family. There are many interesting memories with her wherein I hold "Akka' in high esteem and shall narrate it one day.