The image of a petite young woman (Rosy) clad in an electric blue sari from the hugely popular film Guide is an everlasting image in most cine-goers’ minds when the film was released in the mid 60s. By this time Waheeda Rehman was already a big name. Guide only enhanced that image, and Waheeda was on a roll.

But for those unfamiliar with her beginnings, it was never so from the start. Waheeda was born on 14th May 1938 in Hyderabad and was a dancer in that city. She did the odd Tamil and Telugu films when she was discovered by accident by the greatest filmmaker of all – Guru Dutt. Some of the most enchanting films she did are legends like Pyaasa, Kagaz Ke Phool, Ram aur Shyam, Kabhi Kabhi, Bees Saal Baad, Neelkamal and of course the immensely popular Chaudvin Ka Chand, whose title song is still sung with gusto.

However, her starting was very unconventional. Not many people know that her first film was in Telugu called Rojulu Marayi (The days have changed) with the Telugu film legend A. Nageshwara Rao. However, she played a vamp in her debut Hindi film CID in 1956. It was a hit and her performance was greatly appreciated. She was immediately cast in Guru Dutt’s next film Pyaasa in 1957 in which she played a prostitute (Gulab). Once again, the box office was on fire and Waheeda has never had to look back again.

Combining her acting talent with her dancing skill, coupled with her naïve, pixyish looks, she enthralled audiences and lodged herself in people’s hearts. She stayed on the Hindi film screen for more than four decades. After Guru Dutt, she teamed up with evergreen hero Dev Anand and a new phase of her acting career began. Such all time greats as Guide and Prem Pujari ensued.

There is no doubt that Waheeda is a very versatile actress. In her career spanning more than 70 films, she worked with almost every great actor in the industry, sometimes even sharing the screen with another renowned actress. From Guru Dutt to the most recent actors to hit the screen of late, Waheeda has the distinction of being able to hold her own with anybody. Her other co-stars include Sanjeev Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Kishore Kumar, Biswajeet, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar, Dharmendra and even the Big B - Amitabh Bachchan.

But this is not to say that Waheeda stuck to only big time commercial films.  To explore her acting versatility, she accepted offbeat movies done by such greats as Satyajit Ray and Hemant Kumar and such movies as Bees Saal Baad.

For her wide-ranging acting abilities, she has been feted with a variety of awards. The most notable being the Filmfare Best Actress award in 1967 for Guide, the Filmfare Best Actress award in 1968 for Neelkamal and later the Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement Award from Filmfare. Of late however, she has been very choosy about her roles and has stayed off the scene for some time now.

For Bangaloreans however, Waheeda holds a special place. Despite being an acclaimed Bollywood actress, she chose Bangalore to make her home. Married to one-time co-actor Kamaljeet, she settled on the outskirts of the city and became an entrepreneur. Her forays into making and packaging high-end breakfast cereal have reportedly been very successful, though the actress herself is very reclusive. She has two children.

Having sworn off films for some time, she nevertheless has been seen on and off in television serials. The actress suffered a recent domestic tragedy when her husband Kamaljeet died in November last year at Mumbai. He was reportedly ill for the last decade.

But her close friends insist, that though the tragedy is painful, she is getting back to normal and to her business. She had recently signed up to do a role in the Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum, but backed off after the death of her husband.

The Rosy of Guide, Gulab of Pyaasa, Jabba of Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam, Shanti of Kaagaz ke Phool, Radha of Khamoshi – she has brought them alive on the screen. These characters are ever living with Waheeda’s talent, hard work, dedication and efforts.

But for Bangaloreans she will always hold a special place. The little nymphet of Guide is a mascot for the city.