The young girl who became pen-pal with Bollywood's biggest stars – BBC News

What number of occasions have you ever rolled your eyes as your grandparents look wistfully into the space and recall “the great outdated days”?

These had been the times certainly! No cellphones, no web, no social media, not one of the fashionable devices and amenities that make life a lot simpler.

However one viral thread on Twitter has made 1000’s of individuals in India genuinely nostalgic for these occasions.

Alt information is an Indian truth checking web site. Considered one of its co-founders tweets as SamSays. Earlier this week, she began trending in India by tweeting a thread about her late aunt.

Mehrunissa Najma died 15 years in the past, in 2006. After her dying, a few of her issues had been put in storage and stayed there all these years, languishing in a basement someplace. Not too long ago an album from that basement made its technique to SamSays.

Najma was a giant Indian movie fan, and despite her mom’s displeasure, would spend all her free time writing lengthy letters to all of the movie stars of the day.

And the album SamSays discovered was crammed with replies these movie stars had written and despatched to her, together with their autographed footage.

Shammi Kapoor, referred to as the Elvis Presley of India, wrote in English, “I’m completely satisfied to study that I’m your favorite star”. Dharmendra, some of the prolific actors in Indian movie historical past, despatched a hand-written reply in Hindi. Mom India star Sunil Dutt’s letter was written in chaste Urdu.

The listing goes on, and contains just about each huge movie star of the day: Kamini Kaushal, Sadhna, Asha Parekh, Saira Banu, Tabassum, Surayya, Rajender Kumar, Raj Kumar…

Think about certainly one of us writing a letter to, say, Shah Rukh Khan or Tom Cruise and receiving a handwritten reply! Possibly your grandma’s been proper all alongside – these certainly had been the times!

Earlier than we dive into these letters, although, here is what we learn about Najma, whose again story is definitely each bit as fascinating as the celebs she wrote to.

Najma was born within the Thirties in Delhi. Her dad was from Punjab, and her mum was ethnic Burmese. She had two sisters and a brother. Their father died when the kids had been fairly younger.

Her household lived along with her father’s sister who was married to Saadat Ali Khan – the Nawab (sovereign ruler) of Tonk.

So Najma was raised by her Burmese mom within the Nawab’s palace in Tonk, Rajasthan.

As they grew older, her different siblings went to Aligarh Muslim College for larger schooling, however Najma’s coronary heart wasn’t actually into her research. What she cherished finest was to look at motion pictures, take heed to her favorite songs on Radio Ceylon, and write lengthy letters to her favorite stars.

This lasted until her early twenties, when she bought married. Her letter writing might need stopped after her marriage ceremony however her love for movies actually did not.

SamSays describes her aunt as an especially loving girl. Everybody knew about her ardour for movies, movie stars and her lengthy letters. She says, “It was solely after my thread went viral on twitter that it occurred to me that one thing all of us knew and took without any consideration, and paid no thoughts to – her letter-writing/ image gathering – it was really a treasured treasure.”

After simply 8 years of marriage Najma’s husband handed away. She by no means remarried, selecting as an alternative to reside along with her brother and sisters. She had no kids of her personal however was extraordinarily near her niece. And her love of movies and cinema lasted nicely into her outdated age.

Let’s check out Najma’s album, then, we could?

Let’s start with my favorite: Sunil Dutt, one of many largest stars of the time who didn’t ship her a line or two in reply however wrote a correct letter, in his personal hand.

I believe he will need to have been conscious that the individual writing to him was an impressionable younger woman. Preserving that in thoughts and being the gentleman he was all the time recognized to be, he refers to Najma as his sister, not as soon as however many occasions.

I am undecided how Najma felt about being “sister-zoned by Sunil Dutt, nevertheless it’s a treasured letter wherein the star makes use of flawless Urdu but additionally writes down Hindi synonyms for some phrases alongside.

Subsequent we have now Dharmendra’s reply, hand-written once more, this time in Hindi, and fully consistent with his heartthrob picture. It seems to be like Najma had written to him on his birthday. In his reply he writes, “I obtained your needs for my birthday. I can barely clarify how your letter made my coronary heart dance with happiness. I am sending you an image with my autograph, and my finest needs. Yours, Dharmendra.”

We are able to solely think about how this reply will need to have made younger Najma’s coronary heart flutter.

SamSays says that one of many letters, which she has not made public, from the actress Tabassum, is actually much more private, and factors to an ongoing correspondence between the 2.

Najma was additionally a giant Radio Ceylon fan, and would enter just about each competitors the radio station ran, a few of which she would win. Her assortment additionally contains autographed footage of a few of India’s hottest playback singers of the time – all of them received as prizes.

Bollywood followers clamoured to learn the letters after Sam posted them on Wednesday morning. Amongst them was a modern-day movie star, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who thanked the journalist for importing the treasure trove.

“That is so particular,” she wrote. “I cherished going via her assortment. Thanks for sharing.”

Sam advised us that after her thread went viral on twitter India’s Nationwide Movie Archive bought in contact and has provided to protect Najma’s assortment.

For now, nonetheless, that is a choice Sam will solely take after speaking along with her dad.

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