A solemn homage

B-Town veterans gather for the book launch of 'Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence', at a hotel in Mumbai on Sunday to coincide with her 60th birth anniversary. Several Bollywood celebs including Shyam Benegal, author Maithali Rao and Amitabh Bachchan, the chief guest graced the event.

Big B spoke of Smita’s sense of premonition that was demonstrated when Patil called him on the eve of his accident on the sets of ‘Coolie’ and told him that she had a nightmare about something happening to him.

Smita Patil’s frequent co-star and arch-rival, Shabana Azmi, paid tributes to Patil. Shabana, who had worked with Smita Patil in Arth, also regretted that the two could not be friends. She said, "There was rivalry – some of it manufactured by the media and some of it real – which caused tension. There were attempts at reconciliation and we maintained a civil relationship with each other, but we could never be friends."