When Waheeda Rehman recalled her childhood moment that left her father worried: 'My mother told me that I used to make faces...'

Waheeda Rehman, an iconic actress, earned a special place in the entertainment industry with her remarkable performances, despite not having any industry connections. She was born into a Tamil and Urdu-speaking family in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu. Her father, Mohammed Abdur Rehman, worked as a District Magistrate, which led to the family moving to different places. Waheeda lost her father in 1948, when she was still a teenager.

After her father's passing, Waheeda Rehman followed her passion for acting and became a popular face in the Tamil film industry. It was during this time that filmmaker Guru Dutt discovered her talent and decided to bring her to Bollywood. She made her debut in the film 'CID', produced by Guru Dutt, marking the beginning of her successful journey in Hindi cinema.
Waheeda's early life and a funny memory
In a conversation with actor-writer Twinkle Khanna on the Tweak India YouTube channel, Waheeda shared stories about her early aspirations and recalled a funny incident with her father.
Waheeda's dream of becoming a doctor
During the conversation, Twinkle Khanna asked Waheeda Rehman about her childhood dream of becoming a doctor, and Waheeda confirmed it. She shared, ''Yes, I wanted to be a doctor. In those days, especially in Muslim families, the only respectable profession was doing medicine. So, I was like let’s do medicine only. Even today I love reading medical journals and about different treatments.”
As the interview continued, Waheeda revealed that she used to make funny faces in front of the mirror, which led her father to believe she was going mad. She shared, 'My mother told me that I used to make faces. I was very expressive and made funny faces. I would stand in front of the mirror and make faces. So my father told my mother to check whether I was going mad (laughs). One day, my father asked me why I was doing this, so I told him that I want to make people laugh and I want to make people cry. That time, even I didn’t know that I wanted to act. Everything in my life, my career, my marriage, all of it happened, I didn’t plan or go after it.”
Waheeda's experience with Dev Anand
In the same interview, Waheeda recalled the charming and "decent flirting" by her co-star, Dev Anand. She shared a memory of their first meeting when he made her feel at ease by asking her to call him "Dev" instead of "Dev saab." The actress laughed as she remembered, ''When we were first introduced, I said, ‘Namaste, Dev saab’. And he said, ‘Dev saab? Who’s that?'.
When Twinkle Khanna asked Waheeda about her earlier comment on Dev Anand, where she had called him a "decent flirt" during an interview with journalist Rajeev Masand, the Guide actress blushed.
Further, when Twinkle Khanna asked if Dev Anand had complimented her looks, Waheeda Rehman explained that he didn’t. She shared that during the making of Guide, both Chetan Anand and Tad Danielewski had rejected her for her appearance and English. But Dev Anand supported her, saying he didn’t care and that Waheeda was the perfect Rosie for him.