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You know her as Mandakini, Raj Kapoor's latest screen goddess. With the bewitching .smile and body that can set a million hearts pulsating. But she is also Baby, the golden goose of her parents. With access to more fame and riches than they've ever seen. And they want both. She is the co-star of Aman Wirk in Mazloom. With the kind of relationship he wants from her, to extract as much as he can, till he finally discards her. And he hasn't promised her anything in return.
And she is 'Mandy' to a lover, whom her parents have barred her from catching so much as a glimpse of. With a love for Ashish Chenana, like he cannot stop thirsting for, the pressure is mounting for the lovely 'Ganga'. Something is very wrong...
Last month, we scheduled Mandakini Tor a photography session. An idea, simple enough to execute. But as I set about it, I found myself witnessing a scene that I could not erase from my mind. Could a family really treat their own flesh and blood, the way Mandakini's parents were treating her?
It all started when...
I met Aman Wirk, also on his way to Mandakini's. The door was opened to us by her flustered sister, Parveen, who was undecided about what she should do. In a flash, Joseph, Mandakini's father bolted the door leading to the bedroom. Parveen, left us standing there gaping and followed him inside. We walked in only to hear screams that were being smothered. Obviously, we had walked right into the middle of a heated family argument. Suddenly, there was silence. And a pale Parveen, returned to inform us that no one was home. Then what about her father, the two female voices arguing, the sound of a slap and the scream? It was an awkward moment, so we left. Once outside, Aman laughed at my being upset. "Hey, it's nothing new. With this family, it happens all the time." I probed and he clammed up with a "No comment." We left it at that.
When I met her the next day, things appeared normal. I looked at her curiously and asked if everything was all right. She gave me a resigned look and her parents appeared before she could answer. I started discussing the photo session, with her father hanging on my every word. When he got up to answer the door bell, I wrote out my phone number. But as I was handing it over to her, her father snatched it away. This put an end to any further conversation between us.
A few days later, sensational news that Mandakini had been shot dead by a member of her family, made the rounds. I rushed to meet her and was informed that she was shooting at Versova for Ravindra Peepat's film. I greeted her warmly, pleased to see that she was alive. I told her of the rumour, in the presence of her mother. She was not amused. And once again, just before Mandakini could say a word, her mother butted in with, "Chalo accha hai, meri beti ki umar badhee." And reacting strongly to other rumours, she continued with, "How dare people say she's our 'sone ki murgi'? What do they expect? That she earns and gives the money to them? Do they know what we've been through just to provide baby with everything? We sold off all we had before coming to Bombay. The bungalow, the gaadis, all for her. We have invested all we had. Now it's her duty to repay us. Jo lagaya hai woh to vasul hona chahiye." I was shocked. Is that how parents are supposed to be? How could anyone be so businesslike about their child?
Callously, the mother asked me, "How did you like our new house?" Instead of answering, I commented upon the beautiful bungalow in which the shooting was taking place. And told her that one day she may own one. Her excitement knows no bounds, "Tere muh mein ghee shakkar. Yes we are moving on to a higher status." And continued to rant about their progress from a one room apartment to the new house. I interrupted her with, what if Mandakini gets married? She stared at me, mouth agape in mid-sentence, and proceeded with clenched teeth, "Marriage? She is too young to get married. She doesn't know her mind as yet. I keep telling her that a girl should never marry before 30. And after all, what is married life? It's dreadful. She may as well enjoy life while she's at her parents’ house. Once you get married, all that you do is dance to your husband's tune. I have told her that she'll be very unhappy if she thinks of marrying now."
But couldn't she fall in love? "Huh! love," she scoffed. "Arre, I know what you are getting at. We are talking about the kal ka chokra, Ashish. Just because he is a bade baap ka beta, it doesn't mean a thing. I know how such freaks think. Zara se ache cheez dekhi aur bus, haath dhoke peeche pad gaya. What is he anyway? You know what he does? He falls at her feet, weeps, pleads and begs desperately for her love. Tell me, what can a young, immature girl like her do, when this chokra gets into his act? He doesn't know how to behave. And she doesn't know to handle the situation. Maybe she thinks she's in love with him, but we don't like him one bit. We'll never let it happen! In fact, we see to it that he doesn't come anywhere near her. Enough is enough."
I had to probe further. So I asked her if this attitude was adopted towards others as well. "No. This boy Aman comes over very often to see her. Now he is a very sensible boy. We don't mind her seeing him at all. We know that he doesn't have any foolish ideas like Ashish. He doesn't mean harm, and is a good friend to her. We are very protective towards her. Everybody is trying to teach her all the wrong things. They tell her that she should be independent. We fear for her because she may get influenced and do the wrong thing. We keep telling her that everybody is waiting to exploit her. And that she should not listen to what they say. Due to this, we don't let her associate with anyone."
I felt sorry for Mandakini. Virtually a prisoner, she is not allowed to talk to anyone. After further unsuccessful attempts to get her alone, I realized that it was futile as long as her parents were around. So I decided to meet the two men in Mandakini's life- Aman and Ashish.
It's obvious that the family is all for Aman. But Ashish is the one Mandakini loves. It's him she longs to be with, but it's Aman that she sees every day.
Aman is afraid of controversies. He did not want to discuss his relationship with Mandakini. But, once I threw the accusations and facts at him, he decided to defend himself.
"I am very close to Mandakini and care for her a lot. I see her every day. She keeps calling me at my office from wherever she is shooting. She discusses even her most intimate problems with me." But does she reciprocate your feelings? I asked. He gave me a thoughtful look and countered, "What's a guy to think when a girl says that she loves him?" Then where does Ashish fit into this picture? "That's something I wouldn't like to speculate upon. Maybe she cares for him. I think she's the only person who could comment on it."
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