PANAJI: Legendary actress Asha Parekh is quite impressed with the concept of vanity vans existing in Indian cinema currently.
In conversation with ANI at the 53rd edition of the Indian Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, Asha Parekh, who started working in the acting field when she was just 10, recalled how yesteryear actors faced several challenges due to lack of sanitation facilities in the past.
“It would have been great to see the same technical superiority in our era that we have now. For example, I remember there was no concept of facilities like vanity vans during our time. Back then, when we went for shoots, the studios didn’t have bathrooms and we used to sit there the entire day without going to the bathroom. Thankfully, I didn’t have any kidney-related problems”, she quipped. “Sometimes, we even changed our clothes behind bushes”, Asha Parekh added.
Recently, veteran actor Jaya Bachchan also shared her struggles about not having proper toilets on film sets years ago. In one of the episodes of her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda’s podcast ‘What The Hell Navya’, Jaya opened up about how she had to change sanitary pads behind bushes as there was no concept of vanity vans and toilet facilities back in the day.
“When we used to do outdoor shoots, we didn’t have vans. We had to change behind the bushes. Everything. There were not even enough toilets. It was awkward and embarrassing. You used 3-4 sanitary pads and you carried plastic bags to discard the pads and put them in a basket so that when you get home, you can get rid of it”, Jaya said.
“Can you imagine sitting down when you have 4-5 sanitary towels on you? It was really uncomfortable. And then you didn’t have the kind of sanitary towels that you have today, you just stick it on. You had to make a belt with two ends, towels only had loops, to tie tape to it. It was really bad”, she shared.
Reportedly, it was veteran actress Poonam Dhillon and ex-husband Ashok Thakeria who introduced the concept of vanity vans in India. (ANI)