Waheeda Rahman Honoured with Padma Bhushan

The last time one saw veteran actress Waheeda Rehman on the big screen was in 2009 in “Delhi 6” and it was a great tribute to the 74-year-old screen legend that she was chosen for Indian government's second highest civilian award -- Padma Bhushan -- this year on the occasion of the Republic Day.
The award this year went to her nearly four decades after she was given the Padma Shri way back in 1972, just a year after she had won the national award for best actress for her role in Sunil Dutt-starrer Hindi movie “Reshma Aur Shera”. However, formal recognition or not, Rehman will always be remembered for her contribution to Indian cinema for over half a century since 1955 when she made her debut in a Telugu language film. Who can forget her roles in Guru Dutt's “Pyaasa” (1957), in “Guide” and in the role of Gulabi in Satyajit Ray's Bengali film “Abhijan” (1962).
Born on May 14, 1936 in Chengalpattu in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Waheeda Rehman, after a couple of films in Telugu, was brought to Hindi cinema by Guru Dutt who was looking for new faces in his films. The result was Rehman's first appearance in a film -- in the role of a vamp in "CID". Her success with that role prompted Dutt to rope her in for "Pyaasa", "Kagaz Ke Phool" (1959), "Chaudhvi Ka Chand" and "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam" (1962).
While Rehman made her mark as a dancer -- she learnt Bharatanatyam at a very young age -- in a Telugu film, it was left to Dev Anand to use her talent as a performing artiste in "Guide" and "Prem Pujari" (1970). Her most impressive performance is considered in the 1970 film “Khamoshi” opposite Rajesh Khanna.
After her appearance in “Lamhe” in 1991, Rehman went into hibernation for 12 years before she staged a comeback playing the roles of mother and grandmother in a slew of films like "Om Jai Jagdish" (2001), "Water"
(2006), "Rang De Basanti" (2006) and "Delhi 6" (2009).
All through her career, Waheeda Rehman left an indelible mark of being a distinctive persona in portraying varied roles in the films that many critics say put her in a category of her own.