Remembering Kalpana Mohan of 'Professor' fame

Kalpana (18 July 1946 – 4 January 2012), born Archana Mohan, worked in Hindi cinema in the 1960s. She appeared with Shammi Kapoor in the 1962 film Professor, with Shashi Kapoor and Kishore Kumar in Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966), with Dev Anand in Teen Devian, with Pradeep Kumar in Saheli and with Feroz Khan in Tasveer and Teesra Kaun. Daughter of revolutionary Avani Mohan, she was also an accomplished Kathak dancer trained under Pandit Shambhu Maharaj. She lived in Pune with her family.

Kalpana Mohan was born in Srinagar on 18 July 1946. Her father, Avani Mohan, a freedom fighter, was close to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and an active member of the All India Congress Committee. Kalpana, who trained in Kathak, was often invited by Nehru to dance at the Rashtrapati Bhavan whenever dignitaries visited. She was spotted by actor Balraj Sahani and Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai, who encouraged her to come to Mumbai. Kalpana got her first break in the movie Professor in 1962.

She first married and divorced screenwriter and director Sachin Bhowmick. In 1967, she married a navy officer, with whom she had her only daughter. She divorced him in 1972. She continued to live in Mumbai for a while but stopped acting, allegedly, depressed over the divorce.

Kalpana moved to Pune about 20 years ago as doctors prescribed a change of climate when her health started deteriorating.

She died in the early hours of 4 January 2012 at the Pune Hospital and Research Centre due to cancer. She is survived by her daughter Preeti Mansukhani, son-in-law Harish and grandchildren Yash and Khushi.

Filmography

•             Naughty Boy (1962)

•             Professor (1962)

•             Saheli (1965)

•             Teen Devian (1965)

•             Teesra Kaun (1965)

•             Tasveer (1966)

•             Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966)

•             Nawab Sirajuddaula (1967)

•             Biwi aur makaan (1966)

(Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Mohan)