Amol Palekar reacts to co-actor Vidya Sinha’s sad Demise: She’s left a void

India woke-up with the dreadful news on Thursday as the country celebrated Independence Day. The whole country mourned the loss of Bollywood’s one of the best veteran actress - Vidya Sinha. While she was best known for pairing with Amol Palekar in their romantic drama Choti Si Baat, who could be a better person to ask about her than Palekar himself? As the duo captivated the masses through their performance, there’s no comparison to their on-screen chemistry that bloomed the friendship that was cherished by the two.

The actress suffered cardiac and breathing disorders for a while and succumbed to respiratory failure yesterday, August 15, 2019.

In a recent interaction with Bombay Times, Amol Palekar talked about his dear friend and the massive void he suffered after her sad demise.

I was in touch with her daughter until the night before she passed away. I wanted to come over to Mumbai and meet her, but I couldn’t because I’ve had an injury. I didn’t know that I wouldn’t get to meet my friend for that one last time. She went through so much in the last few years of her life. It was a beautiful life wasted. I feel extremely sad; she’s left a void. We had remained friends even after I quit acting. What started off as a professional equation, while working on Basu Chatterjee’s Rajnigandha, turned into a friendship of a lifetime. We always stayed in touch. Each time that she was in Pune or when I was visiting Mumbai, it was a ritual that we had to catch up. Over the years, Vidya had developed a lot of health issues, but this time, whatever happened, was sudden. In fact, I had even spoken to Zarina Wahab. She and I would often exchange notes with each other about Vidya.

- Amol Palekar

Furthermore, he was asked how he first met her and he revealed, "Basuda’s Worli residence before they started shooting Rajnigandha. Dinesh Thakur and I were theatre actors, and Basuda suggested that the three of us rehearse our lines together, something that was a rare practice then and is a must-do now.”

He said that he met Vidya there and revealed that it was an attempt to make her feel comfortable in their company because she didn’t have an acting background. He gradually got to know her and it sparked off a friendship that became an inseparable part of their lives, he concluded.

Credits: Bombay Times