'I am happy to be in my village'
by: Tarannum Manjul
- expressindia.com
She may have had a blink-and-you-miss-me kind of a role in JP Dutta’s ‘Umrao Jaan’, but for a common villager, this achievement has not only brought laurels to herself, but also her non-descript village. And 47-year-old Aasma Begum, of Kalluapur village in Mahmudabad block, Sitapur district, is proud to tell you that despite having shared screen space with none less than Miss World Aishwarya Rai, she prefers her little village to Bollywood.
“Arre didi, hum toh jaani na rahin ki ye itti badi heroine hai. Par ekdum gudiya lagti hai,” says Aasma about her first meeting with Aishwarya Rai.
And this experience is something which Aasma, who is also the leader of her cluster of women in her village, loves to narrate every time you mention it.
“She has asked me to come to Bollywood as she says I will get some good roles. But I am happy here, trying to bring a change in the lives of my people,” Aasma says.
One look at this courageous women who played a police constable in the film will not tell you of the sufferings she has faced in real life. Having been kicked out of her house by her sons some 4 years ago, a widowed Aasma then went to live with one of her sisters.
She joined a self-help group which was supported by an NGO, NEED, in her own village. In this group, she not only worked as a chikankari and zardozi worker, but also taught this art to several other women. And within six months, Aasma became the group leader.
And within two years, Aasma became the leader of the entire cluster, where she not only deals with the crafts, but also monitors the health and immunisation programmes for the women and children of her village.
Her story was published in a development issues journal, which reached Mumbai too and into the hands of Aishwarya Rai. When the actress, along with the crew of her film came to Mahmudabad for the shooting of the film, she expressed her desire to meet Aasma.
And the meeting was enough to make Aish offer this brave woman a role in her film. “Initially, I was very hesitant as I could not speak proper Hindi and had never acted before. But Aishwarya bibi wanted me to do the role of a policewali,” recalls Aasma.
The five-minute role demanded Aasma (police constable) to catch hold of Aishwarya and take her to Abhishek Bachchan. Since Aishwarya had to resist her arrest, the constable hits her and then pulls her forcefully.
A first timer, Aasma remembers getting carried away while doing the scene. “I caught hold of Aishwarya’s hair and pushed her so hard, that she fell down. The entire crew was shocked but then, Aishwarya smiled and everything was fine,” she recalls.
Aasma’s acting impressed Rai and she even offered to help Aasma in case she wants work in Bollywood. “But I am happy trying to bring a change in the lives of my fellow women in small villages. I have been able to fight against all odds and I want all the women to do this,” she says.
Anil Singh of NEED, who has seen Aasma’s journey, says that the NGO feels really proud of Aasma’s achievements. “She may not have been the central character of the film, but her role and the way she was offered it speaks volumes about her capability. She has emerged as a leader and we are really proud of her.”
