Hema Malini didn’t shy away from taking up a film on women’s sexual needs, says ‘Rihaee’ director Aruna Raje Patil – Times of India

The filmmaker went on to add, “She has said in many interviews that she accepted the role right away because she wanted to work with a woman director – she had that interest of directing a film at some point of time.”

Raje also shared that Hema didn’t shy away from doing the film even after knowing that the character talks about “women’s sexual needs” and the double standards of society when “her own image was a very pure and pristine one. She got the women’s perspective and agreed to do it.”

The director also recalled the shoot of the film in Vadnagar and stated that Hema was very cooperative. She said, “I had grown up as a tom-boy and was used to being rough and tough. While I was setting up my shot, running in the hot sun, begging the thousands of on-lookers who had come to see their ‘Dream girl’ in the village to move back and stay out of frame etc., she was very sensitive and caring and often sent her maid with an umbrella to shield me from the sun or give me some orange juice.”

The ‘Rihaee’ director added that Hema Malini is a strong person and tackled situations with dignity. She said, “She is a very committed person and has very strong family values. Relationships matter to her. Even in her personal life, she took bold decisions and carved out her own life. I believe every person is responsible for making their life and to do that in the early 80s, showed spirit and gumption. She faced all the situations, which were not easy at that time when she married Dharamji, with calm and dignity and never gave any opportunity to anyone to run her down or sully her name. In that, she raised the bar! In fact, I used to tell my dear friend Smita to take a leaf out of her book.”

Praise her sense of humour Aruna Raje Patil said, “Hemaji has an amazing sense of humour! At my book launch ‘Freedom-My story’, she regaled the audience and had them in splits. She can be very funny and is a good mimic too. She is also very straight, forthright and clear about her views.”