Throwback/ When Neel Kamal director judged Waheeda Rehman for working in Dev Anand's Guide: You will destroy...

Waheeda Rehman, who recently won the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for her contribution to the entertainment world, revealed that once a director requested her not to work with Dev Anand. In an interview with Doordarshan, the legendary star recalled her time working with Dev Anand in Guide (1965).

Why was Waheeda Rehman asked not to work with Dev Anand?

Speaking to the portal, the legendary star recalled how Ram Maheshwari, the director of Neel Kamal (1968), advised her not to work with Dev Anand in Guide. She said, "I was shooting for both Guide and Neel Kamal around the same time. When the director got to know that I was doing Guide, he said ‘Waheeda ji you are killing me, you have destroyed me’. I said ‘I don’t get it’. He said ‘in my film, you are called Sita, who is fully in love with her husband, and in Guide you are playing Rosy, who is a dancer who leaves her husband. So I am destroyed".

Not just this, the director also advised Waheeda Rehman to work in Hollywood if she wanted to take such (Guide) roles and not work in Hindi Film. She shared, “He said ‘you should not do these kind of films because these films don’t work in India. This works in Hollywood. If you are fond of this kind of movie, then go work in Hollywood'".

How Waheeda Rehman react to the director's advice?

In the same interview, the legendary star revealed how she tackled the situation. She gave him the option of firing her as she had no intention of leaving Guide. “I said I will work in both movies. If you don’t like it, then fire me. I am not going to leave Guide. He was very upset,” the actress recalled.

Notably, Guide revolves around a woman who abandons her husband to pursue her passion for dancing. The film received mixed reviews from the audience.