Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore recalls she had no idea about lip-syncing when a playback song was being played...

Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore recalls she had no idea about lip-syncing when a playback song was being played in her debut Hindi film. The actor who started her career in Satyajit Ray's 1959 Bengali classic 'Apur Sansar' (The World of Apu) made her debut in Hindi films in Shakti Samanta's 'Kashmir Ki Kali' in 1964. "I still vividly remember when I was working in 'Kashmir Ki Kali', I had no idea about lip-syncing the song 'Diwana Hua Badal' sung by Asha Bhosle and the scene was to be shot in the Dal Lake in Kashmir. "So my first lip-synced song for a Hindi film was connected to Ashaji," she said at an awards ceremony yesterday evening. The actor handed over the P C Chandra Lifetime Achievement award to 84-year-old Asha Bhosle at the programme.

Still from Sharmila Tagore's debut movie 'Apur Sansar'

"Ashaji was the singer and O P Nayyar Saab the music composer. Both were known names at that time while I was new in the Hindi film industry despite having worked in several Bengali films with directors including Satyajit Ray," she said. The Hindi film had several songs and hence getting familiar with playback lip-syncing was important, the actor who subsequently worked in Hindi films such as 'Anupama', An Evening in Paris','Aradhana','Amar Prem','Satyakam','Safar', 'Daag' and 'Anand Ashram', said. Complimenting Asha Bhosle for her energy, the actor said, "Ashaji always engages with people and I am bowled by her spirit."  "She is a versatile singer. At the age of 84, she looks like 28. Very few personalities at her age will rush to different places to attend events the way she does. Let me pray so that I have the energy to engage with the audience like her," the 73-year old Padma Bhushan awardee said.