How would you like to recall your co-star and director of Roti Kapada Aur Makaan?

Look, everyone says good things about people who die. It is true that Manoj Kumar was an excellent director with an unbeatable musical sense. But I had a bad experience regarding the song Hai hai yeh majboori.

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“You mean Lataji’s all-time hit filmed on Zeenat Aman. That was meant to be filmed on you?

Yes! See, you have to be convinced you have to use your common sense, the gaana which you are asking about, the language cannot go with  Zeenat’s character, she was an urban sophisticated character. The language in the song Teri do Takiya di naakri…it was suited to my character Tulsi, who was rustic and Punjabi. If you see my other song in the film Mehngai maar gayi with me and Premnathji. It wouldn’t be suited to Zeenat, no?

So are you saying Hai hai yeh majboori was snatched away from you?

Yes. Now, what happened was, during that time, I was pregnant with my first daughter. It was my first baby, and it was not planned, I didn’t want to abort the baby. Chandra Barotji(assistant to Manoj Kumar) thought I was not interested in the film. Since I was married to Hemant Kumar’s son, I was not ambitious, I was disinterested. So he was a little bit upset with Moushimi Chatterjee.

You mean Manoj Kumarji?

Manoj Kumarji yes. But he is no more, I can’t talk only nicely about him because the truth is truth, the truth many people can’t take nicely. Shashi Kapoor himself, who is also no more, told me at the jubilee function of Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, that everyone was getting a trophy except me.

You attended the function and you didn’t get a trophy?

Yes, I attended the function, and as Shashi said, I was the only one not given a trophy. I was very nice and innocent. Shashi said that everybody thought you were not interested in your acting career.

Was that true?

Look, I was never very ambitious. But I worked hard, balancing my responsibilities as a daughter-in-law, wife, mother and actress. Family comes first, as it should for everyone. But I worked hard, and by God’s grace, in spite of the rumours spread to sabotage my career, I gave hits all through my career.

I was told you didn’t do Hai hai yeh majboori because you didn’t want to shoot in the rain in your pregnant state?

No, no, no, it was rubbish, they said this to cover up the truth. I never allowed my films to suffer for my pregnancy. The song with Premnathji Mehngayi maar gayi, at that time also, I was 5-months pregnant, I sang in that too, two-three such songs that people advised me not to. I did not compromise while I was working. When producers had to compromise or adjust a bit, and if that affected the films during my pregnancy I would return the signing amount.

How was  Manoj Kumar as a director?

Manoj Kumar was an excellent director, a very skilled director, and he did his homework very nicely and rest, he had a very good assistant(Chandra Barot), his camera sense was excellent. I remember he shot a full scene in one take. There was one word in a scene that was coming out with a heavy Bengali accent. Chandraji said we would fix it in the dubbing. But Manojji was adamant that I get it right during the shooting, no matter how much time it took. That was the kind of director he was, a perfectionist.