Saira Banu has penned a heartfelt note on social media about her recent meeting with Hema Malini, calling it a reunion filled with memories and laughter.
“Hema and I had been wishing to meet each other for a very long time, but life, in its own way, kept us apart. Not so long ago, she called me, and before I knew it, she was at my doorstep. We spent a beautiful few hours together immersed in memories, reliving those golden days, and sharing laughter over stories that time can never erase,” Banu wrote.
She traced their first encounter to 1966, on the sets of Deewana at RK Studios in Chembur. “I remember being instantly impressed by her lovely looks,” Banu recalled.
Soon after, they met again during an outdoor schedule at Krishna Raj Sagar Dam. “Our rooms were adjoining, and in the evenings my mother, Hema, her mother and I would sit together in the large verandahs, exchanging beauty secrets. I reminded her how Amma would put lobaan in her hair for freshness and khushboo, a detail that made her laugh in surprise.”
Banu also remembered introducing Hema to the press in Madras with Dilip Kumar. “Dilip Sahab was so kind and gracious to be the main person to introduce her, and Hema was visibly touched by that memory,” she said.
“It warmed my heart to see her with Dharam ji on a reality show dancing together so beautifully. Dharam ji put his arm around her, and the love and comfort between them was such a joy to watch,” the veteran actress added.
Their conversation also led Banu back to a Janmashtami memory that she described as close to her heart. “The picturisation of the Kanha song in Shagird happened to fall exactly on Janmashtami. We were shooting at Filmistan Studios with the ever-charming Nazir Hussain Sahab, who was also working in Madras with Dilip Sahab on Ram Aur Shyam. Because of date issues, Nazir Sahab would shoot with me late into the night and then fly early in the morning to work with Dilip Sahab,” she said.
For Banu, the meeting with Hema was a reminder of “stories that time can never erase”.