The first time she’d painted Nargis Dutt, (almost 14 years ago) it was a personal gift meant for Sunil Dutt. This Wednesday, Anjanna Kuthiala will paint the legendary actress again, this time as a gift to her daughters Namrata and Priya.
“I’ll never forget my first meeting with Dutt saheb,” says the Delhi-based Anjanna, who will complete the painting this Wednesday in Mumbai at a special function. “Khushwant Singh had given me his number and I called to invite for a show I was having. He agreed immediately.”
That was the dark period when Sanjay was in jail. Three hours before the show, Sunil Dutt called her to say he’d be half an hour late. “Apparently he was going to meet Sunju. He could have come late anyway, but Dutt-saheb was Dutt-saheb, a thorough gentleman.
When he finally arrived and saw the paintings of the women I’d drawn, there was no trace of his inner turmoil. He said they reminded him of his film Chiraag and started humming ‘Tere aankhon ke siva duniya mein rakha kya hai...”’
The haunting eyes of Nargis whom Sunil Dutt loved will dominate this new painting that will eventually be auctioned for the Nargis Dutt Foundation. “Nargis was an exceptional woman in every way.
My painting isin black and white that will remind people of her essence as a mother, social worker and an amazing actor. Do you know that no one in Bollyood even thought about social work at the time Nargis started it. And through her foundation, it lives on, just like her….”
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