Once again, she stood tall — alone. But you didn’t miss the man by her side. It was Hema Malini’s third annual function of Jaya Smriti, something she does every year on her mother’s death anniversary.

Last year, despite fair weather and some very fine new talent that Hema had discovered and put on stage, Jaya Smriti had kicked off really late because the chief minister of Maharashtra, the chief guest of course, had fetched up aram se. He had made up by showing wit and charm in his speech, by watching the performers for a while and by promising Hema his government’s support in getting land to put up an academy where dance and music would flourish.

The land remains a promise.

Last Sunday (June 24) at Iskcon in Juhu, thunderstorms raged outside, but inside the auditorium was packed and the chief guest was punctual. Jaya Bachchan, known to be ‘clock-wise’ like her famous husband, didn’t make the weather an excuse when she came on time and the evening too could start off without a fuss.

Actually, ‘without a fuss’ is precisely what the whole evening turned out to be.

Jaya Bachchan may have a husband half the nation adores. But she manages extremely well on her own too. The diminutive actress (who is recently displaying a bit of extra poundage) walked in alone, no escorts, no companions. She didn’t need any.

Obviously, Hema doesn’t hold it against Jaya that she wasn’t invited to Abhishek’s wedding, as the two women chatted away and there was some fine bonding between them.

Jaya Smriti started off three years ago as a simple tribute by Hema Malini to her mother. But by its third year, it has begun to be a tribute to motherhood and has started finding an echo in women power.

If Hema Malini has been managing to put new talent on stage every year, and gather an appreciative audience who turn up despite the weather, without Dharmendra by her side, Jaya Bachchan’s presence lent the evening that additional bit of women power.

Hema spoke in English about her mother without whose push we wouldn’t have had a Hema Malini in our midst today. Jaya Bachchan, also a woman who has a special bond as a daughter with her mother and has this wonderful equation as a mother with Shweta, chose to speak in Hindi. Motherhood and women were the celebrities of the evening.

And then came Shabana Azmi. She quietly entered during a performance and Hema quickly pulled her into their row. It looked like a power row now. Hema-Jaya-Shabana. Three saree-clad women with strong individual personalities. A trio, each with a powerful man as her partner (Dharam, Amitabh, Javed Akhtar), but each with a presence and style of her own. Three women, each of whom walked in alone, perfectly capable of looking after herself and holding her own. Three women who may not all be the last word in articulate speech but spoke sensibly and showed a sensibility towards the dancers and their performances.

Shabana, completely comfortable in Urdu, spoke of Jaya Chakravarthy as a banyan tree but one who realised that nothing could grow in its shade and therefore, took on the role of a maali (gardener) in her children’s lives. Whether it was the names of the dancers or of Hema’s brothers, Shabana was bang on perfect, like she is with her dialogues in her films.

Without ever planning it that way, Hema Malini’s life has turned out to be the script of an empowered woman. It is to her credit that she has turned the curious circumstances of her life (e.g. a married man as the father of her kids) into positives, instead of whining about the cards that life has dealt her. If famous partner Dharmendra hasn’t figured anywhere in her activities and it hasn’t made a difference to her dignity, celebrity-daughter Esha Deol too was not around. But Hema (who had daughter Ahana, also in a saree, light the lamp on stage) didn’t need anybody else’s celebrity power to carry the day.

Hema Malini was one of the original ‘ask my amma’ actresses of her time. Jaya Chakravarthy would’ve been proud to see how far her daughter has triumphantly travelled.

Hey, psst!

Rather disturbing to see a Mahesh Bhatt film, this one called Awarapan, go the Yashraj way. The Bhatts have opted for a bulkier budget, flashy production scale but little story value. Personally, we know Mahesh Bhatt doesn’t go to temples or masjids; he didn’t even attend daughter Pooja Bhatt’s wedding because it was in a temple and he doesn’t step into one. So, it’s all the more disturbing to find him peddling religion (too much of namaaz, taaveez and Buddhist monks) so unabashedly in his latest film. Et tu, Mahesh?

Bharathi S. Pradhan is managing editor of Movie Mag International