Birthday Wishes to 60's & 70's popular actress Mala Sinha ji

Mala Sinha was popular actress of the sixties and early seventies. She was born on 11th November 1936 at Kolkata, West Bengal.

Mala Sinha was born on November 11, 1936 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India as Alda Sinha. Mala Sinha's father Albert Sinha was a Bengali Christian, while her mother was of Nepali origin. Mala's initial name was Alda. Her friends at school in Calcutta (now Kolkata) used to tease her by calling her Dalda (a brand of vegetable oil), so she changed her name to Baby Nazma on getting her first assignment as a child artiste. Later on, as an adult actor, she changed her name to Mala Sinha. In her childhood she learnt dancing and singing. Although she was an approved singer of All India Radio, she has never done playback singing in films. But as a singer she has done stage shows in many languages from 1947 to 1975. Sinha started her career as child artist in Bengali films Jai Vaishno Devi followed by Shri Krishan Leela, Jog Biyog and Dhooli. Noted Bengali director Ardhendu Bose saw her acting in a school play and took permission from her father to cast her as a heroine in his film Roshanara (1952), her cinematic debut. She acted in a couple of Bengali films in Calcutta. She went to Bombay to shoot for a Bengali film, where she met the eminent Bollywood playback singer Geeta Dutt. Impressed by her Geeta introduced her to film director Kidar Sharma, who casted Mala Sinha as the heroine of his film Rangeen Ratein.

Her first Hindi film was Badshah opposite Pradeep Kumar, and then came Ekadashi, a mythological film. Both failed, but her lead role in Kishore Sahu's Hamlet, paired opposite Pradeep Kumar, fetched her rave reviews in spite of it failing at the box office. Films like Lai Batti (actor Balraj Sahni’s only directorial venture), Nausherwan-E-Adil where she starred as the fair maiden Marcia in Sohrab Modi’s romance about forbidden love and Phir Subah Hogi, which was director Ramesh Saigal’s adaptation of Dosteovsky’s Crime and Punishment established Mala Sinha's reputation as a versatile actress who took the maximum career risks by accepting unconventional roles.

In 1957, Mala Sinha was casted by Guru Dutt in the film Pyaasa. She played a memorable role of a woman who marries a rich man instead of a poor unsuccessful poet. The film Pyaasa is a classic in the history of Indian cinema. Mala Sinha's career took a huge leap as she signed three films with star actor Raj Kapoor: Parvarish (1958), Phir Subah Hogi (1958) and Main Nashe Mein Hoon (1959). Some of her unforgettable performances are Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962), Anpadh (1962), Gumrah (1963), Bahurani (1963), Jahan Ara (1964), Himalay Ki God Mein (1965), Aasra (1966) Aankhen (1967), Do Kaliyan (1968). She mostly preferred roles, which portrayed her as strong women.

Critics believe her career best performance was in Bahurani (1963), Gumrah, Gehra Daag, Apne Huye Paraye and Jahan Ara. Apart from pairing with Pradeep Kumar, her pairing opposite Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Biswajit and Manoj Kumar in woman-oriented films were appreciated by audiences, with her work opposite Biswajit being the most popular. With Raaj Kumar, she gave box office hits like Phool Bane Angaare, Maryada and Karmayogi and opposite Manoj Kumar, gave commercial successes like Hariyali Aur Rasta, Apne Huye Paraye and Himalaya Ki God Mein. The hits with Rajendra Kumar were Devar Bhabhi, Dhool Ka Phool, Patang, Geet and Lalkar.

With Biswajit her popular movies include Aasra, Night in London, Do Kaliyaan, Tamanna, Nai Roshni and critically acclaimed films Pyar Ka Sapna, Paisa Ya Pyaar, Jaal and Phir Kab Milogi. She did 10 films with Biswajit. In 2007, they won the Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award, calling them on stage together giving due respect to their popularity as a pair who have tasted box office success.

The most remarkable feature of career of Mala Sinha was that most of her 1960s and 1970s hits were fueled by her own star power as much as the heroes and most of the times her role was more powerful than the hero. Though she was pitted opposite her seniors like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Kishore Kumar, Pradeep Kumar and when she acted opposite the emerging stars from late 1950s like Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar, she made sure her role was as good as theirs. The characters she played stood out and gave her recognition for her performances. Sinha did not mind working with newcomers as long as her role was worth it. She worked with many newcomers of her era including Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt, Sanjay Khan, Jeetendra and Amitabh Bachchan. In most of her films from the 1960s, she got the first billing in the credits, even before the heroes, with exceptions being those with Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Pradeep Kumar and Kishore Kumar.Her career's biggest blockbuster was Maryada released in 1971.

In 1966, Sinha went to Nepal to act in a Nepali film called Maitighar when the Nepali film industry was still in its infancy. This was the only Nepali film she did in her career. The hero was an estate owner called Chidambar Prasad Lohani. Soon after, Mala Sinha married C. P. Lohani with the blessings of her parents. From the beginning theirs was a long-distance marriage with Lohani based in Kathmandu to look after his business and Sinha living in Bombay with their daughter Pratibha. She continued acting after her marriage.

She has been a heroine in many Bengali films. In Bengali films she has acted with Uttam Kumar and Kishore Kumar. Her last Bengali work as a female lead was Kabita (1977) which featured Ranjit Mullick and Kamal Hassan; it was a super-hit at the box office.

From 1974, she cut down on her assignments as the lead actresses. She accepted strong character roles in films like 36 Ghante (1974), Zindagi (1976), Karmayogi (1978), Be-Reham (1980), Harjaee (1981), Yeh Rishta Na Tootay, Babu (film) and Khel, which were popular.

In the early '90s Madhuri Dixit was promoted as the new Mala Sinha in magazines. But, after 1994, she completely withdrew from industry and has given very few public appearances.

Awards

 BFJA Award for Best Actress (1965) — Jahan Ara

BFJA Award for Best Actress (1966) — Himalaya Ki God Mein

Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award (2007)

Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards: Phalke Icon Cine Artiste Award (2013)