tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51418290286917017272024-02-21T10:21:14.139+05:30Filmi KalakarMGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.comBlogger1129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-46076130732270055092021-12-31T07:35:00.001+05:302021-12-31T07:35:00.196+05:30Tribute-Sabita Devi 1914-98<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Born: 1914<br />
Died: 31 December 1998, Beeston, United Kingdom<br />
Counted as one of the top three female artistes of her time,
in 1938 Sabita Devi was the third highest paid actress after Sulochana (Ruby
Myers) and Gohar, drawing a salary of Rs. 3000 per month. "Classic writers
like K. M. Munshi and Ramanlal Vasantlal" were commissioned to write
stories for her films, with elaborate sets and "special rehearsals"
provided along with an overwhelming "pre-release publicity". <br />
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Sabita Devi was born Iris Gasper into a Jew family in the
year 1914.</div>
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Her first film Kamaner Aagun (Flames Of The Flesh) was
produced by British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta, in 1930. It was directed By
Dinesh Ranjan Das And co-starred Dhirendranath Ganguly, Debaki Bose, Ramola
Devi and Radharani. The film was a semi-historical version of the Queen of
Chittor, Rani Padmini, committing jauhar to evade the enemy forces.In 1931,
Sabita acted in Aparadhi (The Culprit) a social, written and directed by Debaki
Bose, starring P. C. Barua, Bhanu Bannerjee, Tincory Chakrabarty, Keshav
Narayan Kale, Rampyari and Rose. It was a silent film made under the banner of
Barua Film Unit, Calcutta. Her other silent films from this time include Takay
Ki Na Hay (What Money Cannot Do) (1931) was directed by Dhirendranath Ganguly
and produced by British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta. It starred Dhirendranath
Ganguly, P. C. Barua and Radharani. Kanthahaar (Diamond Necklace) (1939) was
directed by Kali Prasad Ghose for Indian Kinema Arts, Calcutta and starred
Durgadas Bannerjee, Rajhans and Renubala. Maraner Pare (After The Death) (1931)
directed by A. K. Roy for British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta and co-starred
Dhirendranath Ganguly, Hem Gupta, Radharani and Kalidas. Bhagya Lakshmi (Wife's
Destiny) (1932) directed by Kali Prasad Ghose with co-stars P. C. Barua,
Durgadas Bannerjee, Khitish Roy Choudhary, Umasashi, Biren Ghosh and prduced by
Indian Kinema Arts, Calcutta.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1933, she was cast in a religious film, Radha Krishna,
directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly and Tulsi Lahiri. Her co-stars were Dhiraj
Bhattacharya, Indubala, Amar Choudhary and Kamala Jharia. An East India Film
Company production, it had music by Sunderdas Bhatia.Shaher Ka Jadoo in 1934
was a debut acting film for Motilal and was written and directed by Kali Prasad
Ghose. The main stars in this social were Sabita, Kumar, Sitara Devi, K. C.
Dey, Miss Gulzar and Tarabai. The film was produced by Sagar Movietone. She
then acted in Ezra Mir's Farzande Hind also called Phantom of the Hills, an
action drama film. The film starred Sabita with Jal Merchant, Yakub, Nyampally.
Produced by Sagar the music was composed by S. P. Rane.Grihalakshmi (Educated
Wife) (1934) was an early woman-centric film and was a remake of the earlier
silent film Bhaneli Bhamini (1927). Directed by Sarvottam Badami, it was
produced by Sagar and had music by S. P. Rane. Her co-stars were Jal Merchant,
Yakub, K. C. Dey and Lalita Devulkar. Her last film in 1934 was Chandra Gupta
directed by A. R. Kardar and starring Gul Hamid, Nazir, Mazhar Khan, Dhiraj
Bhattacharya. Produced by East India Film Company, it had music by K. C. Dey.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From 1935-1943 she acted in over fifteen films, all directed
by Sarvottam Badami, with the exception of Silver King cited as one of the best
stunt films of its time. It was directed by C. M. Luhar and starred Motilal
with music by Pransukh Nayak. Badami and Sabita left Sagar Movietone to form
Sudama Pictures in association with Ranjit Pictures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1935, Sabita acted in Badami's film, based on K. M.
Munshi's story, Vengeance Is Mine (Ver Nu Vasulat). It co-starred Kumar, Yakub,
Sitara Devi, and Mehboob Khan in a small role. Music director was S. P. Rane.
In Dr. Madhurika she played an emancipated doctor opposite Motilal with music
by Pransukh Nayak and Ashok Ghosh. Some of he other successful films in the
1930s include Grama Kanya (1936), Kokila (1937) written by Ramanlal Vasantlal
Desai, Kulvadhu (1937), Teen Sau Din Ke Baad also called 300 Days & After
(1939) a modrn romantic drama in which Sabita's acting received a positive
critique from Baburao Patel as an "artiste of great calibre", in a
"light-hearted a portrayal of her difficult role" and that "she
easily takes away all the laurels for acting". Ladies Only was a 1939
comedy film directed by Badami and starred Bibbo, Prabha Devi and Sabita
playing three girls from different states of India, all in love with the hero
played by Surendra. This was the last comedy film Badami made for Sagar Movietone,
before he left them after this film to form Sudama Pictures.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Sabita acted in the next comedy film directed by Badami,
this time for Sudama pictures. Aap Ki Marzi (1939) was based on the MGM
produced, Edward Buzzell directed film Paradise for Three (1938).The music
direction was by Gyan Dutt and starred Motilal as the crossword puzzle winner
who falls in love with Sabita's character.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sajani (1940) was one of the first "socially relevant
film(s)" that Badami made for Sudama pictures. It starred Sabita with
Prithviraj Kapoor and Snehprabha Pradhan. Chingari (1940) a romantic melodrama
from Sudama Productions with director Sarvottam Badami and co-starred
Prithviraj Kapoor. The film was highly recommended by Baburao Patel editor of
Filmindia as a contender for 1940 Award of the Film Journalists' Association Of
India.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bambai Ki Sair also called Holiday in Bombay (1941) was
directed by Badami for Sudama Productions and co-starred Shobhana Samarth and
Arun. The film was reportedly "creating new box-office records at the
Imperial Cinema when it was released".<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1947, she starred in Sarai Ke Bahar also known as
Inquilab which is stated to be the only film directed by the famous Urdu writer
Krishan Chander. It had lyrics by Niaz Haider and Vishwamitter Adil, with music
by D. C. Dutt. </div>
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Died: 31 December 1998, Beeston, United Kingdom</div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-11127986453803457122021-12-31T07:00:00.007+05:302021-12-31T07:00:00.201+05:30Tribute-Mumtaz Shanti, famous movie star of 40's 1926-94<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mumtaz Shanti was a famous movie star of the Bollywood yesteryears, she was very popular in the 40's and early 50's with hit movies like Basant (1942), Kismet (1943), and Ghar Ki Izzat (1948) </div>
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The movie Kismet in 1943 was the most significant of her illustrious career. The film starring Ashok Kumar as the hero, broke all previous box office records and, besides celebrating many jubilees all over India, ran for 3 years in a single theatre in Calcutta — a record that has been broken only by Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay in the seventies and later by Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Almost all the songs: (Dheerey Dheerey Aa Re Baadal / Ashok Kumar and Ameer Bai, Papiha Re / Parul Ghosh, Aaj Himalay Ki Choti Se / Amir Bai and Chorus, Ab Tere Siwa Kaun Mera / Ameer Bai, Ghar Ghar Mein Diwali Hai / Ameer Bai) became a rage throughout the country.</div>
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Mumtaz Shanti was married to Wali Mohammad Khan (Wali Saheb), a film director and writer in pre-partition Bollywood. They both moved to Pakistan in early 1950s. Wali Saheb died in 1977.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Mumtaz Shanti died unknown and unsung in Pakistan in 1989.</span></div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-48040492442304024472021-12-31T07:00:00.005+05:302021-12-31T07:00:00.201+05:30Ehsan Rizvi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ehsan Rizvi<br />
Known For<br />
Do Ustad Writer(1959)<br />
BaroodWriter(1976)<br />
Jaal Writer(1967)<br />
Victoria No. 203 Writer(1972)<br />
1983 Nastik (dialogue)<br />
1982 Gopichand Jasoos (dialogue)<br />
1980 Aanchal (dialogue)<br />
1978 Chor Ke Ghar Chor (dialogue)<br />
1978 Azaad (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1976 Barood (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1976 Shankar Dada (dialogue - as Ehsan Razvi)<br />
1975 Chori Mera Kaam (dialogue)<br />
1974 Jurm Aur Sazaa (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1974 Paise Ki Gudiya (dialogue)<br />
1974 Amir Garib (dialogue)<br />
1973 Jugnu (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1972 Victoria No. 203 (dialogue)<br />
1972 Roop Tera Mastana (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1972 Aankhon Aankhon Mein (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1971 Hulchul (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1970 Aan Milo Sajna (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1970 Abhinetri (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1969 Talash (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1967 Aag (dialogue - as Ehsan Razvi)<br />
1967 Jaal (dialogue)<br />
1966 Phool Aur Patthar (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1964 Woh Kaun Thi? (dialogue)<br />
1963 Gehra Daag (dialogue)<br />
1961 Pyaar Ka Saagar (additional dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1960 Mughal-E-Azam (dialogue)<br />
1959 Do Ustad (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1956 Bhagam Bhag (dialogue - as Ahsan Razvi)<br />
1955 Bara-Dari (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi) / (screenplay - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1951 Albela (dialogue - as Ahsan Rizvi)<br />
1950 Beqasoor </div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-71020294218808370592021-12-31T07:00:00.003+05:302021-12-31T07:00:00.201+05:30Remembering Hansa Wadkar 1923-71<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hansa Wadkar (1923–1971) was a Marathi and Hindi film and stage actress of Indian cinema. She started her acting career at the age of thirteen years, as a heroine in the bilingual film Vijaychi Lagne (1936). Wadkar went on to make a name for herself working in the reputable film companies like Bombay Talkies, Prabhat Film Company and National Studios. Her career defining role was in Vishnupant Damle's Sant Sakhu (1941) where she enacted the role of the female saint Sakhu. Her other memorable roles were in the Tamasha genre films like Lokshahir Ram Joshi (1947), termed as the "Classic Marathi Tamasha musical". Sangtye Aika (1959) was another of Marathi cinema's "best known Tamasha film" along with Ram Joshi. She thus acted in two of Marathi cinema's biggest hits Lokshahir Ramjoshi and Sangtye Aika. The title "Sangtye Aika" (You Ask, I Tell) was used by Wadkar for her autobiography compiled in 1971. The autobiography was initially serialised in the Marathi magazine Manoos helped by journalist Arun Sadhu.</div>
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She has been referred to as "one of the most sought after and bohemian actresses of her time".Wadkar underwent personal difficulties in her life, which included marital problems, addiction to alcohol, humiliation at several levels and rape at the hands of a magistrate, when seeking to get out of a troubled relationship. Her marriage ended in a separation and her daughter was kept away from her.</div>
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Bhumika (The Role) (1977) directed by Shyam Benegal, was based on Hansa Wadkar's autobiography and had actress Smita Patil playing Wadkar in the film. The film won two National Awards, Best Actress for Smita Patil and Best Screenplay for Satyadev Dubey, Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad. The film also won the Best Film at the 25th Filmfare Awards.</div>
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Early life</div>
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Wadkar was born Ratan Bhalachander Salgaokar, on 24 January 1923 at Dr. Bhalerao Hospital in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. Her father, Bhalchander Salgaokar, was the son and grandson of "kalavantins, courtesans renowned for their musical accomplishments". Her mother, Saraswati, was the daughter of a Devdasi. Wadkar was the third of four children. The oldest sister and youngest brother died, leaving a second child, her brother Mohan and her. In her autobiography Wadkar mentions that her great grandmother, Baybai Salgaokar, called Jiji by the family, was a wealthy courtesan who was the influential figure in the family. Marriage in the courtesan community was a rarity and Wadkar's grandfather Raghunath Salgaokar (Jiji's son) was the first person in the family to marry.</div>
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Jiji divided the vast property she had and Wadkar's father was given the house in Sawantwadi. The mother, father, brother and young Wadkar shifted there and she joined a Marathi medium school where she studied till class IV. She also studied vocal music under Bhagwatbuwa but was not interested in singing. The family returned to Bombay and Hansa attended an English medium school for two years at Aryan Education Society School. However, she had to leave school when the family faced financial problems. The father had turned into an alcoholic and there was no money coming in the house. The mother insisted that Mohan being a boy should continue his studies, hence it was left on Wadkar to find work.</div>
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The influence of films was present from an early time. Wadkar's father had three sisters, Kesharbai, Indirabai and Sushilabai. Sushila was married to Master Vinayak, a renowned actor-director of the early era of Indian cinema. The elder sister as well as Indira Wadkar were acting in films and Indira was a classical singer as well. Indira acted in several films including Duniya Kya Hai (Resurrection) (1937) and in Vinayak's production company "Hans Films" like Devata (1939) in Marathi. Indira used the surname Wadkar to avoid using the family name Salgaokar, for fear of reprisal from society against women acting in films. Her older aunt, Kesharbai, was working in a film made by M.G. Rangnekar and suggested that Wadkar work in films to sustain her family.</div>
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Career</div>
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In 1936, Wadkar acted in her first role as a heroine in Bapubhai Pendharkar's Vijayche Lagane. A bilingual, made in Marathi and Hindi (Shadi Ka Maamla), it was directed by Mama Warerkar. The film was produced by Pendharkar's Lalit Kala Production, its "first and last" film, as Pendharkar died soon after. When her brother objected to the family name being used in films, her name was changed from Ratan to Hansa, and the surname Wadkar was borrowed from her actress aunt, Indira Wadkar. Her salary at that time was Rs. 250 per month. The film was a success at the box-office.</div>
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Wadkar worked in a few films after this for different companies, which remained incomplete. She then joined Golden Eagle Movietone and learned Hindi from a Hindi scholar appointed for her by the company. She became proficient in the language, working in several Hindi films at the time like Meena, Prem Patra, Zamana, and Raj Kumar with Chetan Anand.</div>
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Marrying in 1937, she had to return to films once again due to shortage of money. She acted in two stunt films in Bhagwan Palav, having joined Harishchandrarao's company. The films were Bahadur Kisan, and Criminal which was released in 1939. In 1938, she was cast in Zamana directed by Ram Daryani, starring Padma Devi who had earlier acted in India cinema's first indigenous colour film, Kisan Kanya. The other co-stars were Dar (Jeevan) Gulab, Ameena and Amirbai Karnataki.</div>
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Bombay Talkie</div>
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She joined Bombay Talkies, signing a contract for six years. She enjoyed the efficiency and camaraderie of Bombay Talkies. Her first film for them was Navjeevan, directed by Franz Osten and released in 1939. Filmindia April 1939 issue, commented on the absence of Devika Rani in the film, while mentioning Wadkar, "Bombay Talkies have given a beautiful story as usual, framed in a more beautiful technique. And once again we don't find Devika Rani in the cast. This time, however, a new girl has been introduced in Hansa Wadkar, new in the sense that for the first time she has been allowed to shoulder the heroine's role"</div>
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Her next two films were Durga (1939) directed again by Franz Osten, and Azad (1940) directed by N. R. Acharya. Following the death of Himanshu Rai in 1940, she asked Devika Rani to release her from her contract. Devika Rani tore up the contract, though she still had three more years.</div>
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Prabhat Film Company</div>
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Wadkar signed a temporary contract with Prabhat Film Company and later wrote that the years she spent at Prabhat "were the most memorable ones of my life".</div>
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Sant Sakhu (1941) was directed by Vishnupant Damle, Sheikh Fatelal and Raja Nene. It co-starred Gauri as Sakhu's cruel mother-in-law along with Shankar Kulkarni, Shanta Majumdar and Chhotu. The music was by Keshavrao Bhole. He was not happy with Wadkar's voice, so Vinodini Dixit's voice was used as a playback singer for her. Wadkar was emotionally affected by the role. "Sakhu's role has left lasting memories"; she immersed herself completely in the role that "I forgot my own existence".</div>
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Ram Shastri (1944) was a film from the Prabhat banner. A bilingual, made both in Marathi and Hindi, it was a historical biopic about 18th century Chief Justice Ram Shastri. The directors were Vishram Bedekar, Gajanan Jagirdar and Raja Nene. Master Vithal, Lalita Pawar, Keshavrao Bhole were the co-stars with Jagirdar playing the title role. As she did not know dancing, Wadkar had to undergo training for her role of a tamasha dancer.</div>
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National Studios</div>
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Apna Paraya 1942 was directed by Ramachandra Thakur and produced by National Studios. It co-starred Shahu Modak, Urmila and Sankatha Prasad with Wadkar. The story was by Khatib and music by Anil Biswas.</div>
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Her next film with National Studios was Mera Gaon (1942). Made under the Laxmi Production's banner it was directed by Prafulla Roy. The cast included P. Jairaj, Chhaya Devi, Agha and K. C. Dey who also composed the music. Wadkar was three months pregnant while shooting for the film. In one of the scenes a horse came charging at her while she lay prone on the ground. There were a few females standing watching the shooting, one of them was the actress, Miss Moti, they threw themselves on top of her bearing the brunt of the horse's hooves. She was eight months pregnant when the film's shooting ended. She went on to deliver a normal, healthy daughter, her "first living child" after several miscarriages.</div>
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Lokshahir Ram Joshi (1947) made in Marathi and Hindi was co-directed by V. Shantaram and Baburao Painter for Rajkamal Kalamandir. Originally directed by Painter, Shantaram completed the shooting when Painter fell sick. The film starred Jayaram Shiledar as Ram Joshi and Hansa Wadkar as Baya. It had music by Vasant Desai, with lyrics by Ram Joshi and G. D. Madgulkar. Termed as the "Classic Marathi Tamasha musical", it was a biopic of the poet, kirtan, and lavani performer Ram Joshi (1758-1812) set in the Peshwa period. The "vibrant lavnis" and "sawaal-jawabs" (musical question and answers) became a "trend-setter", while the music and dances "enthralled" the audiences.</div>
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Later years</div>
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Pudhache Paool (The Next Step) (1950) directed by Raja Paranjpe for Manik Studios, Pune, was about a young man who runs away from his poverty-stricken family to find a better life for himself. He meets a Tamasha dancer who is only interested in money. The cast included Wadkar, Kusum Deshpande, Shakuntala Jadave and P. L. Deshpande. The music was composed by Sudhir Phadke.Wadkar acted in the film as her husband, Bandarkar, had signed the contract for her. She stated that from "an artistic point" her role as a tamasha dancer in this film was "superior to that of Baya in Ram Joshi".</div>
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Mee Tulas Tuzya Angani (I Am A Tulsi Plant In Your Courtyard) in 1955, was directed by Raja Thakur for Navchitra Films and had Wadkar in a vamp's role. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi and Best Director in 1956. Wadkar considered her role as a tamasha dancer in the film as the best.</div>
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Sangtye Aika (1959) was directed by Anant Mane and starred Hansa Wadkar and Jayshree Gadkar. One of Marathi cinema's most famous Tamasha films it was a "major hit". The film also gave Jayshree Gadkar one of her first big roles. The story was by G. G. Parthi with screenplay by Vyankatesh Madgulkar and songs by Ga. Di. Madgulkar, the film went on to have a hundred and thirty-one weeks run in Pune.</div>
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The four films Wadkar esteemed were Sant Sakhu (1941), Lokshahir Ram Joshi (1947) Pudhache Paool (1950) and Mee Tulas Tuzya Angani (1955) as they "marked four important stages" in her film career.</div>
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Personal life</div>
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Jagannath Bandarkar was one of the sons of the neighbour at Sawantwadi. His family was deemed of a "lower caste" than the Wadkars. Being ten years older than Wadkar, her brother and other family members did not approve of her closeness to him. However, her mother would ask her to call him over for lunch or odd jobs. When the Wadkar's shifted to Bombay, Bandarkar followed. Having failed at setting up a printing press, he started a theatre company called Dominic Union and got Wadkar to join it. When her mother accused her of having an affair with Bandarkar, it made her do what she was thought was an unfair accusation. She writes of assuming this defiant and oppositional attitude later on too, when wrongly accused. Soon she was three months pregnant at age fifteen and Bandarkar and Wadkar were married on 6 September 1937, at Kittebhandari Marriage Hall in Bombay. Though she had "dreamed of a family life", she had to resume work as Bandarkar's company was financially unstable. She also had a miscarriage at this time.</div>
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Rekha, their daughter was born following the completion of Wadkar's film Mera Gaon (1942). Over time when her husband physically abused her over some imagined wrong-doing, she would go out and do it. She started drinking and describes one drinking session in her autobiography where she was unconscious of what took place. She found herself in a village where Joshi, one of the men she had been drinking with brought her as his third wife. She stayed virtually imprisoned there for three years, till she was able to smuggle a letter out to her husband. He arrived with the police, and took her to the magistrate's office in the neighbouring town, where she had to testify. The magistrate sent Bandarkar to get a signature on a paper and then proceeded to rape Wadkar. Since she did not speak out about the incident, no action was taken.</div>
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She went on to perform several plays, where she met Rajan Jawale, an actor, with whom she formed a bond that lasted till her death. She maintained a good relationship with all the female workers. Some of them became good friends like Lalita Devulkar.</div>
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Hansa Wadkar died on 23 Aug 1971 in Bombay Maharashtra, India.</div>
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Autobiography and film</div>
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Wadkar's autobiography started off as a series of interviews conducted by journalist Arun Sadhu, for the Marathi magazine Manoos. The book form "Sangtye Aika" was published in 1970. On release, "it caused a sensation and became an instant best-seller". It received the State Government Award for Best Autobiography in 1971. The book was edited and translated into English as "You Ask, I Tell" by Jasbir Jain and Shobha Shinde.</div>
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Bhumika (1977) was Shyam Benegal's fourth film as a director. Based on "Sangtye Aika", the film shows her past in black and white, and her present in colour. This had more to do with financial issues regarding raw colour stock. "To portray the Marathi milieu" he had Girish Karnad to help out with the script and Satyadev Dubey's help for dialogues. The film shows her bound in a patriachal society, exploited by family, husband, director and Kale. The names used in the film were changed, Hansa was Usha, Bandarkar was Keshav Dalvi, Joshi as Kale, only Rajan her actor co-star from films and stage remains the same. The film went on to garner awards for Best actress, screenplay and Best film.</div>
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Bibliography</div>
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Sangtye Aika; by Hansa Wadkar; in Marathi. Rajhans Prakashan, 1970. ISBN 978-81-7434-154-9</div>
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You Ask, I Tell: an autobiography, by Hansa Wadkar. English translation by Jasbir Jain and Shobha Shinde. Zubaan Books, 2014. ISBN 978-93-83074-68-6</div>
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Filmography</div>
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Year<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Film<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Director<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cast<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Composer<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Studio/Producer</div>
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1936<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vijayachi Lagne (Shaadi Ka Maamla in Hindi)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mama Warerkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Master Chhotu, Bapu Pendharkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>M. Thakker</div>
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1937<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Modern Youth (Jung-E-Jawani)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D. T. Shivdasani, C. N. Lala<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Benjamin, Naveen Yagnik, S. Nazir<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sundardas Bhatia<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1938<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bahadur Kisan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandrarao Kadam, Bhagwan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bhagwan, Indira Wadkar, Chandrarao, Vasantrao, P. Varne<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mir Sahib<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandra Art</div>
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1938<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sneh Lagna (Love Marriage)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandrarao Kadam<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandarrao, Shyam Sunder, Ansuya, Jeevan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mulraj Kapadia<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandra Art</div>
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1938<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Zamana (The Times)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ram Daryani<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Padma Devi, Gulab, Amirbai Karnatki, Omkar Dar (Jeevan), Gope, Ameena<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sunder Das<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Krishna Movies</div>
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1939<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Navjeevan (New Life)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Franz Osten<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rama Shukul, V. H. Desai, Saroj Borkar, Mumtaz Ali, P. F. Pithawala, Lalita Devulkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Saraswati Devi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bombay Talkies</div>
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1939<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Durga<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Franz Osten<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Devika Rani, Rama Shukul, Vishnupant Aundhkar, P. F. Pithawala, Mumtaz Ali, Nana Palsikar, V. H. Desai<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Saraswati Devi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bombay Talkies</div>
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1940<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Azad<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>N. R. Acharya<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Leela Chitnis, Ashok Kumar, Rama Shukul, Mumtaz Ali<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Saraswati Devi, Ramchandra Pal<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bombay Talkies</div>
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1939<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Criminal<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bhagwan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bhagwan, Chandrarao, Sunetra, Vasantrao, Masood<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A. Hussain<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandra Art</div>
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1941<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sant Sakhu<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vishnu Govind Damle, Sheikh Fatelal, Raja Nane<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gouri, Shankar Kulkarni, Shanta Majumdar, Chhotu<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Keshavrao Bhole<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Prabhat Film Company</div>
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1942<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Apna Paraya<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ramachandra Thakur<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shahu Modak, Sankatha Prasad, Pesi Patel, Agha, Kayamali, Dulari<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anil Biswas<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>National Studios</div>
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1942<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mera Gaon (My Village)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Prafulla Roy<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chhaya Devi, K. C. Dey, P. Jairaj, Agha, Jagdish Sethi, Amir Banu<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>K. C. Dey<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Laxmi Productions</div>
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1942<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dillagi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Balwant Bhatt<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kumar, Anuradha, Gulab, Agha<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pratap Mukherji<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pragati Chitra</div>
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1944<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Meena<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Phani Majumdar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vasanti, Wasti, Dixit, Ratan Piya, Gulab<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>H. P. Das<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bharat Productions</div>
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1944<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ram Shastri<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gajanan Jagirdar, Raja Nene, Vishram Bedekar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gajanan Jagirdar, Master Vithal, Anant Marathe, Baby Shakuntala, Meenakshi, Lalita Pawar, Sudha Apte<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Keshavrao Bhole, G. Damle<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Prabhat Film Company</div>
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1945<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Main Kya Karun<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ninu Majumdar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pahari Sanyal, Suraiya, Shah Nawaz, Bikram Kapoor, E. Bilimoria<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nino Majumdar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Flora Films</div>
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1945<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aarti<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ramachandra Thakur<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vanmala, Surendra, Harish, Sheikh Mukhtar, Kanhaiyalal<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ashok Ghosh, Ali Bux<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Screen Attractions Corp</div>
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1946<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Behram Khan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gajanan Jagirdar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gajanan Jagirdar, Mehtab, Lalita Pawar, Suresh, David, Benjamin<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ghulam Haider<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Standard Pictures</div>
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1947<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lokshahir Ram Joshi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Baburao Painter, V. Shantaram<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jayaram Shiledar, Shakuntala, Parashuram, G. D. Madgulkar, Sudha Apte<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vasant Desai<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rajkamal Kalamandir</div>
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1947<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gaurav<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>K. J. Parmar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Zeenat, Pratap Kumar, Damayanti, Ghanshyam<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shanti Kumar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mukti Productions</div>
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1948<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mere Lal<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bal Gajbar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chandrakant, Pratima Devi, Ram Upadhyay<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Purshottam<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maharashtra Ch.</div>
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1948<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dhanyavad<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gajanan Jagirdar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gajanan Jagirdar, Lalita Pawar, Sajjan, Leela Misra, Agha, Bikram Kapoor<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A. R. Qureshi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kalpana Pictures</div>
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1949<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pandharicha Patil<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Raja Pandit<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1949<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sant Janabai<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Govind B. Ghanekar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shakuntala, Abhyankar, Gouri, Balakram, Javdekar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sudhir Phadke<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Prabhat Film Company</div>
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1949<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shilanganache Sone (Shilanga's Gold)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bhal G. Pendharkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shanta Apte, Baburao Pendharkar, Suryakant, Master Vithal<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1950<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pudhcha Paool<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Raja Paranjape<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>P. L. Deshpande, G. D. Madgulkar, Kusum Deshpande, Vivek, Mohammad Hussain, Raja Paranjape, Shakuntala Jadhave<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sudhir Phadke<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Manik Studio</div>
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1950<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sonyachi Lanka<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shrikant Sutar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1950<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kalyan Khajina<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Balasaheb Pathak<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Durga Khote, Baburao Pendharkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1950<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Navara Baiko<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bal Gajbar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hansa Wadkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1950<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shri Krishna Darshan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A. R. Sheik<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Durga Khote, Anant Marathe, Usha Kiran, Baby Shakuntala<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sudhir Phadke<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vijay Pictures</div>
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1951<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sri Krishna Satya Bhama<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Raja Paranjape<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shahu Modak, Poornima, Anant Marathe, Sulochana<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Keshavrao Bhole<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Manik Studio</div>
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1951<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maya Machhindra<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aspi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nirupa Roy, Trilok Kapoor, Surendra, Usha Kiran, Amirbai Karnatki<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Premnath<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Super Pictures</div>
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1951<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hee Mazhi Laxmi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pralhad Keshav Atre<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shahu Modak<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1951<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Patlache Por (The Headman's Daughter)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dinkar Patil<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1954<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Khel Chalala Nashibacha<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shrikant Sutar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Durga Khote<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1955<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mee Tulas Tujhya Aangani<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Raja Thakur<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shahu Modak<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1957<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Naikinicha Sazza (The Courtesan’s Verandah)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bhalji Pendharkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Baburao Pendharkar, Master Vithal<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1959<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sangtye Aika<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anant Mane<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sulochana, Jayshree Gadkar, Ratnamala, Neelam, Chandrakant, Suryakant<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vasant Pawar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chetana Chitra</div>
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1961<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Manini (A Woman With Pride)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anant Mane<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jayshree Gadkar, Chandrakant Gokhale, Dada Salvi, Vasant Shinde<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Vasant Pawar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kala Chitra</div>
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1961<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rangapanchami (Festival Of Colours)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anant Mane<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jayshree Gadkar, Suryakant<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1963<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Naar Nirmite Nara (Woman Creates Man)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anant Mane<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1966<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hi Naar Rupasundari<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Prabhakar Nayak<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jayshree Gadkar, Suryakant<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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1967<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shrimant Mehuna Pahije<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A. Shamsheer<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jayshree Gadkar, Damuanna Malvankar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>M. Shafi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>H. S. Films</div>
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1968<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dharma Kanya<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Madhav Shinde<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Anupama, Ratnamala, Vasant Shinde, Chandrakant, Rajshekhar, Vasant Latkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hridyanath Mangeshkar<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rajlaxmi Chitra</div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-18954674337198454792021-12-31T06:59:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:59:00.198+05:30Reshma Pathan-Indias first stunt woman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFg32j1R3EbXXGmBMhjw4AbiG-NAS2hFnrcYRhT0bbm3BNdhOf3XyXv_hyphenhyphensGx1hcBXyN5z_95rCRKxeg5CBYN64OF8smPKwJjIMuD28SbXnmnc7JMCjdjQpKuS4Si__E7BNi3XaZUJIw/s759/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFg32j1R3EbXXGmBMhjw4AbiG-NAS2hFnrcYRhT0bbm3BNdhOf3XyXv_hyphenhyphensGx1hcBXyN5z_95rCRKxeg5CBYN64OF8smPKwJjIMuD28SbXnmnc7JMCjdjQpKuS4Si__E7BNi3XaZUJIw/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Reshma Pathan is the first stunt woman of the Indian film industry. She is also known as the Sholay Girl, as she played Hema Malini’s stunt double in Sholay. The film, The Sholay Girl, is a biopic about her life. She is also the first female to become a member of the Movie Stunt Artists Association. She has performed thousands of dangerous stunts in almost 400 films.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Career</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Reshma began working as a stunt double when she was 14 when the Fight Director S. Azim offered her to join the film industry. She began her career by playing Laxmi Chaya’s double in the film Ek Khiladi Bawan Patte (1972). Reshma describes, "I started with 175 rupees per day. I got 100 rupees in hand. I was swindled of the transport money. But I was happy. I wouldn’t have been able to make this amount even if I was a graduate. Fulfilling the needs of my family was my priority" Reshma has played the stunt double for Waheeda Rehman, Rekha, Hema Malini, Sridevi, Dimple Kapadia, and Meenakshi Sheshadri, among Bollywood actress. She has also done stunts in many Bhojpuri and South Indian films and bilingual films like Gandhi, Mangal Pandey and The Warrior. She was the stunt woman for almost all film actresses through the 1970s and 80s in Hindi film industry.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Personal life</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Reshma took to doing stunts in films in order to financially support her family. Fight Director S. Azim offered her to join the film industry. “I was a tomboy. Fight director S. Azim uncle had seen my antics in the area. Area ki behen banne ka bahut shauk tha. He suggested I do stunts,” she recalls. However, her father was against her performing stunts. He believed that the huge risk involved while performing a stunt could not be covered by any given amount of money. Eventually, she managed to convince her family.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">In 1980s, she married stunt director Shakoor Pathan. She and her husband faced great financial challenges when a law banning stunts in films was passed in 1984. “One day I had no money for our next meal. I had the habit of leaving coins and rupees in nook and corners of the house. I frantically searched cups, boxes, containers… hoping to find some money. I found some 1600 rupees and cried with relief,” she recalls. She believes that stunt-masters have an uncertain future and ensured that her sister's sons (whom she raised) and her own complete their education and got stable jobs. “One is an engineer, the second a manager in a car company, while my son is a doctor.”</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">She has actively spoken out against the sexism in the Indian film industry. She received many indecent proposals from men in her career and retorted harshly. "If you remain quiet the first time someone misbehaves, they’re encouraged. I tactfully used my tongue, though I could have used my fists to defend myself," she told Filmfare.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Awards</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Extraordinary Achievement Award at the Critics Choice Film Awards (CCFA)</div></div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-24270799277388522622021-12-31T06:58:00.003+05:302021-12-31T06:58:00.198+05:30Tribute-Master Yakub 1904-58<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yakub, Prithviraj Kapoor and Chandra Mohan were in the highest pay bracket of their times.<br />
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Master Yakub commenced his career as an extra but soon did roles as a hero and later as a villain. He became one of the most renowned screen villains, while achieving equal success in comedy and character roles. Yakub appeared in over 300 films.<br />
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Yakub Khan Mehboob Khan, known as Yakub, was born into a Pathan family in 1904 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India.<br />
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Yakub ran away from home at an early age doing odd jobs like motor mechanics and waiting tables before joining the ship ‘S. S. Madura’ as a kitchen worker. He left the ship after travelling to various places like London, Brussels and Paris then returned to Calcutta where he worked as a tourist guide among other jobs. He finally came to Bombay now Mumbai, around 1924 and joined the Sharda Film Company. During his travels, Yakub watched the films of Hollywood actors and became greatly influenced by Eddie Polo, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Wallace Beery and later by Humphrey Bogart. Yakub's first film was Bhalji Pendharkar's silent Bajirao Mastani (1925) which also starred Master Vithal. It was produced by the Sharda Film Company. His first talkie was Meri Jaan (1931) with Sagar Movietone and directed by Prafulla Ghosh, where he played the title role of the Prince. This film has also been credited as Romantic Prince. The film had Master Vithal, Mehboob Khan and Zubeida co-starring in it. His enactment of the role of an angry resentful son in Mehboob Khan's Aurat (1940) made him popular to the extent that his acting in this film is considered as one of the finest performances in the Indian Cinema. The role was later performed by Sunil Dutt in Mehboob Khan's famous remake of his own film with the new title Mother India (1957). Yakub's popularity in those days can be gauged by the credit roll of films like the S K Ojha directed Hulchul (1951), which had a star cast of Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Sitara Devi and where his name was preceded by '…and your favourite Yakub'.<br />
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Yakub was an 'acknowledged master(s) of comedy' along with other actors like Johnny Walker, Gope and Agha and his comic pairing with Gope and Agha was well-liked by the audiences and this had the film makers use their combination in several films. Prominent of which were Sagai (1951), Patanga (1949) and Beqasoor (1950) with Yakub and Gope . Yakub, Prithviraj Kapoor and Chandra Mohan were in the highest pay bracket of their times. The triumvirate of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, and Raj Kapoor, who held reign in the Indian film industry from the late 1940s to the end of 1970s, has been compared to Chandra Mohan, Yakub and Shyam, who were at the top of the acting roster from 1930 to early 1950.<br />
Yakub directed three films, Sagar Ka Sher, and Uski Tamanna in the 1930s, and Aiye in 1949. Sagar Ka Sher or Lion of Sagar, was the first film he directed as early as 1937 under the Sagar Movietone banner. Uski Tamanna also known as Her Last Desire was made in 1939 under Sagar and directed by Yakub. He directed his third and last movie Aiye in 1949 under the Indian Production banner. It had Sulochana Chatterjee, Masud, Jankidas, Sheela Naik, Ashraf Khan along with Yakub. The music in this film was composed by Nashad (Shaukat Dehlvi) and was Mubarak Begum's first film as a playback singer.<br />
He died in 1958 after a career spanning thirty years in the film industry. He is best known for his comedic villainous roles.<br />
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-52377655513535896792021-12-31T06:58:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:58:00.199+05:30Remembering legendary singer Rajkumari Dubey 1924-2000<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Rajkumari Dubey (1924–2000), better known by her first name, Rajkumari, was an Indian playback singer who worked in Hindi cinema of 1930s and 1940s. Best known for her songs, "Sun Bairi Baalam Sach Bol Re" in Bawre Nain (1950), "Ghabaraa Ke Jo Hum Sar Ko Takraayan" in Mahal (1949) and "Najariya Ki Maari" in Pakeezah (1972).<br />
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Born in Benaras (Varanasi), she joined the Hindi cinema at age 11, as a child actor in Radhe Shyam aur Zulmi Hans (1932), thereafter she worked in theatre for few years, before returning to films, joining Prakash Pictures as actor and singer. She had much higher voice than the leading singers of time, Zohrabai Ambalewali, Amirbai Karnataki and Shamshad Begum. In the next two decades she sang for 100 films, till the early 1950s, when Lata Mangeshkar changed the scene.<br />
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Biography<br />
Early life<br />
Rajkumari was born in 1924. She never really had the opportunity to learn to sing, but was always supported by her family.<br />
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Career<br />
She was just 10 years old when she recorded her first song for HMV in 1934 and she started her career as a stage artiste. Vijay Bhatt and Shankar Bhatt of Prakash Pictures spotted her during one of her shows. They liked her voice and persuaded her to discontinue acting on stage as it would spoil her voice (In those days, there were no mikes and you had to shout to be heard). So she quit theatre, and became an employee of Prakash Pictures as an actress and singer.<br />
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Rajkumari's first film with them was a Hindi-Gujarati bilingual called Sansar Leela Nayi Duniya. She got important roles in films like Aankh Ka Tara and Turki Sher (1933). She was the heroine in Bhakt Ke Bhagwan and Insaaf Ki Topi (1934). In those days she often acted opposite Zakaria Khan (late actor Amjad Khan's father, whose screen name was Jayant). She also used to sing for popular music director Lallubhai. He gave music to films starring Rajkumari ji like Nai Duniya, alias Sacred Scandal (1934) (Sansaar Leela in Gujarati version), Laal Chitthi, alias Red Letter (1935), Bombay Mail (1935), Bambai Ki Sethaani (1935) and Shamsheer-e-Arab (1935). She began getting fed up with having to watch on her figure and decided to stick to just singing as a career. After she quit Prakash Pictures, she began playback singing for actresses like Ratnamala, Shobhana Samarth, etc. and soon she became the first female playback singer of Indian cinema.<br />
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She sang many Gujarati and Punjabi songs. Even though she was not formally trained to sing, she was very good at picking up what her composers taught her. They thought she was a trained singer! She was able to also establish herself as a classical singer and excelled in singing and voice production within the framework of classical forms of thumri and dadra. Among her peers were Shamshad Begum, Zohrabai Ambalewali, Juthika Roy, Zeenat Begum, etc. Both Shamshad and Zohrabai had resounding voices with a high range, while Rajkumari had a soft and very sweet voice with a small range. She sang quite a few songs with Mukesh. She did not get much opportunity to sing with Mohammed Rafi – mainly because Lata Mangeshkar was a fast upcoming singer at the time. She sang with Noor Jehan in Naukar (1943). She never sang with K. C. Dey, but she did sing songs composed by him, as well as his nephew, Manna Dey.<br />
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Later life<br />
Rajkumari was married very late in life. Her husband was V.K. Dubey who was from Benares (Uttar Pradesh) where he spent a lot of his time (because he owned a shop there), while she settled in Bombay. He later joined her in Bombay.<br />
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Later, she would go on to sing songs for Neel Kamal, a Raj Kapoor and Madhubala starrer, and Hulchul (1951); but her two most famous films would be Bawre Nain (1950), where she sang for Geeta Bali "Sun Bairi Baalam Sach Bol Re" [3] and Mahal (1949), where she sang "Ghabrekar Ke Jo Hum Sir Ko Takraayan" and "Chun Chun Gunguruva Baje Jhumba", a duet with Zohrabai Ambalawali [4] for the Indian actress Madhubala, Rajkumari actually sang for Vijayalaxmi, Lata sang for Madhubala). By this time, however, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle had shot to fame, relegating most other female singers in the industry to the sidelines.<br />
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She sang her only song for O. P. Nayyar in the 1952 movie Aasmaan, which was his debut movie; "Jab Se Pee Piya Aan Base". The story goes that he was considering Lata Mangeshkar for the song. (Rest of the songs of the movie are sung by Geeta Dutt and C. H. Atma). When somebody told this to Lata, she said something about him which led to a misunderstanding. Angered, O. P. Nayyar made Rajkumari sing this song and never repeated her. He never used Lata to sing for him as well.<br />
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Rajkumari endured a long dry spell until music director Naushad spotted her singing in the chorus for his background score for Pakeezah (1972). Naushad was much taken aback by this, having greatly respected her in her heyday, and heartbroken to hear that she was reduced to singing in the chorus to make ends meet. As a result, he gave her an entire song to herself in Pakeezah, Najariya ki Mari. Her last film song was recorded for R. D. Burman in the film Kitaab; "Har Din Jo Beeta". Rajkumari also appeared in a British TV programme called Mahfil on Channel 4, a Samandar Films prouduction, produced by Firdous Ali and Mahmood Jamal. In this programme, she sang a set of her famous film songs and ghazals; the caption on one of the songs, "Yeh raat phir na aayge", from the film Mahal, cites that the song was pictured on Zohra (and not Madhubala or Vijayalaxmi). The programme was aired on 24 March 1991. Rajkumari died in poverty in early 2000.<br />
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Filmography<br />
Bombay Mail (1938)<br />
Gorakh Aya (1938)<br />
Naukar (1943)<br />
Neel Kamal (1947)<br />
Mahal (1949)<br />
Bawre Nain (1950)<br />
Hulchul (1951)<br />
Aasmaan (1952)<br />
Pakeezah (1972)<br />
Yaba Hay Tera Liya (1978)<br />
Songs with G. M. Durrani<br />
"Jhuum rahi baagon men bhigi" - Yateem (1945)<br />
"Barasan Laagi Badariya" - Nai Duniya (1942)<br />
"Dil Loot Liya Ji" - Nai Duniya (1942)<br />
"Prem Ne Mann Mein Aag Lagayi" - Nai Duniya (1942)<br />
"O Tujhko Nainon" - Meharbani (1950)<br />
"Udd Jaau Main Sajan Re" - Kavita (1944)<br />
"Baras Gayi Raam Badariya Kaari" - Station Master (Naushad)<br />
"Dheere-Dheere Bol Mere Raja" - Ishara (1943) (Khurshid Anwar) (Lyricist-D. N. Madhok)<br />
"Gote Da Haar Ve" - Kurmai (Punjabi) (1941) (with Iqbal Begum)<br />
<br />
https://web.archive.org/web/20101121071558/http://cineplot.com/music/rajkumari-interview/</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">https://bolywoodfiles.blogspot.com/2020/03/rajkumari-great-singer-of-40s.html</div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-42793607119228684742021-12-31T06:55:00.003+05:302021-12-31T06:55:00.205+05:30Tribute-Kamlabai Gokhle-daughter of Durgabai Kamat, who was the first female actress of Indian cinema<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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She was the daughter of Durgabai Kamat, who was the first female actress of Indian cinema and Anand Nanoskar, a professor of history at the J.J. School of Art . She married Raghunathrao Gokhale and had three children, Chandrakant Gokhale, Lalji Gokhale and Suryakant Gokhale. Chandrakant Gokhale is one of them, who is the father of Vikram Gokhale (occasionally credited as Vikram Gokhle) is well known Indian film, television and stage actor. Lalji Gokhale and Suryakant Gokhale were acclaimed Tabala maestros. Kamlabai was 25 when she became a widow, pregnant with her third child. </div>
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Her first stage appearance was at the age of four. Around 1912-1913 Dadasaheb Phalke, the pioneering film-maker of India, was casting for his film Mohini Bhasmasur and he choose Kamlabai for the lead. Durgabai was Parvati. Phalke had been forced to use a young male cook, Salunke, to play the female lead in his earlier film, Raja Harishchandra, for lack of an actress. By the time she was 15, Kamlabai had become a celebrity. </div>
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The following year she married Raghunathrao Gokhale. He had been with the Kirloskar Natak Company where he usually performed female roles. But his voice was breaking and so he moved to his brother’s company, which was the same one where Kamlabai and her mother were employed. The young couple was cast as the new lead pair of the company. In the 1930s, Kamlabai worked under Veer Savarkar in the play Ushaap, which focussed on the plight of Harijans.</div>
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Kamalabai worked in around 35 movies. Her last film was Gehrayee (1980).</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Courtesy:http://www.indiaprofile.com/people/kamlabaigokhale.htm</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">This is the story of the first lady of the Indian silver screen and one of the first actresses of the Indian stage…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Durgabai Kamat was a young woman when she separated from her husband, Anand Nanoskar, a professor of history at the J.J. School of Art, in 1903. Alone, with a daughter to support, Durgabai had three options before her-to work as a domestic servant, to prostitute herself or to become an actress. Socially, they were equally reprehensible. Durgabai decided to join a travelling theatre company. The outraged Maharashtrian Brahmin community immediate ostracized her and thus the little Kamlabai was raised, surrounded by controversy in a world of glitter and artifice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">“My mother was not only beautiful but very talented as well. She could paint and sing and was proficient at instruments like the been, dilruba, kartal and sitar. She had been educated upto final which was the seventh standard in those days… I never went to school since we were always on the move so my mother taught me at home.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Despite her mother’s legendary beauty, the obstacles to her career were many. Kamlabai recounts, “In those days, men played the female roles. So the fiercest opposition to my mother and me came from these men-we were their first natural enemies. Some companies just would not hire women as a rule…”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">“My first stage appearance was at the age of four… during the performance I would often doze off in some backstage corner, and then be woken up by a hard tap on the head each time I had to make an entry. However, my voice was real drawback. As a child I had a thin voice which cracked with the high notes. So I was made a prompter which proved to be a blessing in disguise because I improved on my ability to read and memorize as I said I never went to school…” For a while the young Kamlabai was content to watch and learn. A decade later, she was to become one of the most popular artistes of her time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Around 1912-1913 Dadasaheb Phalke, the pioneering film-maker of India, was casting for his film “Mohini Bhasmasur” and he chose Kamlabai for the lead role. Durgabai was Parvati. This was something of a momentous event. Phalke had been forced to use a young male cook, Salunke, to play the female lead in his earlier film “Raja Harishchandra” for lack of an actress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">And so it was that by the time she was not yet 15, Kamlabai had become a celebrity. Her memories of the shoot are still vivid-“All his equipment had come from England… we stayed at his house in Nasik, and would wake up at 4 a.m. to travel to Trimbakeshwar, three hours away, by bullock cart. From dawn till dusk we would be shooting. We had no artificial lights like the ones used today… all the shooting would have to be done in available light with reflectors. Dadasaheb was very patient and understanding and would explain in great detail all that he wanted us to do. Once the rehearsals were done to his satisfaction, he proceeded for a ‘take’. Though there was no sound, we used to mouth the words of the dialogue. The unit lived and worked together like one big family. There was a five-fold salary structure, the highest being Rs. 50/-, with free lodging and boarding… When Dada returned from England after showing the film abroad he had to undergo a purification ritual because he had dared to cross the seas. Such were the times…”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The following year she married Raghunathrao Gokhale. He had been with the Kirloskar Natak Company where he usually performed female roles. But his voice was breaking and so he moved to his brother’s company which was the same one where Kamlabai and her mother were employed. The young couple was cast as the new lead pair of the company.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The most popular plays of the time were based on historic and mythological themes. Adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays were also widely performed-“Hamlet”, “Romeo and Juliet”, and “Othello” were staged in town and villages all over Maharashtra. By 1918 the couple had carved a niche for themselves, drawing packed houses wherever they went.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Commenting on the difference between theatre and film Kamlabai says, “Theatre acting is done within norms of restraint. It is symbolic, particularly in love scenes. On the stage you can keep your distance, decided your limit and say, I will go no further. But for a love scene in a film you embrace, you really embrace, otherwise it would make no sense.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Her memories of those days are vivid. Eighty bullock carts carrying a hundred and twenty five people travelled the length and breadth of the region. They had their own tailors, goldsmiths and ironsmiths accompanying them.” …We used to advertise through handbills. Damuanne Mavlankar used to distribute them himself on a motorbike. Sometimes may husband or I used to accompany him in the sidecar. Our dog, Jehangir, used to have a brass ring around his neck under which we would place the folded handbills. When the motorbike started the handbills used to fly away.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Kamlabai was not yet 25 when she became a widow, pregnant with her third child. “I had to work with men keeping a strict control over my senses. It was a matter of just one slip. I had my family-my mother and children-to take care of. As for women, they had always maintained a distance from me. I was not considered respectable enough though I was just like them, a mother with children. The only advantage they could think of was getting free passes for a show...”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Her son, Chandrakant, who is visiting her says, “love for theatre, loyalty to the state-words we often use-she demonstrated these to us during those years of struggle. When my father was dying, she was determined that the shows should not get cancelled and took his place as the male lead. The times were such that it was impossible for a woman to move about freely. Even educated women did not move out of the house after 6 p.m. ….Buts after the death of our father the responsibility of looking after us fell on my mother. About 60-65 years ago, my mother’s salary was Rs. 225/-; all other expenses were paid for by the company… She worked with various companies-the “Manohar Stree Sangeet Natak Mandal”, in Sohrab Modi’s theatre unit, with Govind Lele and Ganpat Lele of “Natya Kala Prasarak” … She even acted in a Kannada play, “Lanka Dahan” although she was not conversant with the language. Within a week she had learnt the lines by heart and the play was staged to packed houses…”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">He eldest son, Lalji, recalls, “we-that is, Chandrakant, myself and the other children of the company-were given song books to sell. The cost of each of these was one rupee and four annas, our commission being two annas. Besides we got the opportunity of seeing the play free. I remember her in “Dharmasinhasan,” in the male leads in both “Janta Janardhan” and “Manapman”…as Anadibai she performed the role so effectively that people used to wait outside Vijayanand Theatre in Pune with stones in their hands and she had to be escorted back to our house in a tonga…”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">In the 30s Kamlabai worked under Veer Savarkar in the play “Ushaap” which focussed on the plight of Harijans. “Working with him was completely different from anything I had done before. Savarkar was living under house arrest in those days and would come to rehearsals under police escort. A translated copy of the play would have to be approved by the local British officer wherever we performed to ensure that nothing subversive was being enacted…”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The real disaster for the family came in 1934-35 after Ardeshir Irani, an intrepid Parsi, pushed the Indian cinema out of the silent ear with the first talkie “Alam Ara”. The multitude of roving drama companies in Maharashtra, the only other state to have them apart from Bengal, reeled under the impact. For the first time the family settled down. “For a while I did “kirtans,” but the day I got 7 paise in my “thali” I quit-so humiliated was by the experience.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The evocation is not simply nostalgic, but a strong testimony of history and change- of the history of Indian cinema and stage as defined by a woman’s struggle against the social current of her times. Looking back she says, “all this has been tough, but then anything worthwhile is always tough…”</span></div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-72584416924161415272021-12-31T06:55:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:55:00.205+05:30Remembering actress/singer Manju <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-zIBuQfv8ZqQca-PktV2DN_CruwFdgIeg-5w3anp7TxMNWSrs1A54q52lj_Kc3TSwVjid47d6A2wG35rzQgBlUyQi6Mn5yYP4QDLF9sL59usQS_7Fk7GdzGkm4RIuat_08jeUWhHfIM/s320/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0-zIBuQfv8ZqQca-PktV2DN_CruwFdgIeg-5w3anp7TxMNWSrs1A54q52lj_Kc3TSwVjid47d6A2wG35rzQgBlUyQi6Mn5yYP4QDLF9sL59usQS_7Fk7GdzGkm4RIuat_08jeUWhHfIM/s0/2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dewan married actress-singer Manju, who had earlier worked in Aadmi and its (original) Marathi version Manoos in 1939, in a character role. She worked for six years in films, and after acting in Dewan's most famous film Rattan, the two got married and she stopped working.<br />
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http://beetehuedin.blogspot.com/2012/06/jhoothe-hain-sab-sapne-suhaane-manju.html<br />
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Aadmi<br />
1939<br />
India<br />
Shanta Hublikar, Ram Mhatre, Chhotu, Baba Saheb, Manju, Shahu Modak<br />
V. Shantaram<br />
Master Krishna Rao<br />
Sant Dnyaneshwar<br />
1940<br />
India<br />
Yashwant, Datta Dharmadhikari, Madhuker, Pandit, Sumitra, Malti, Bhagwat, Ulhas, Vasant Desai, Ganpatrao, Sumati Gupte, Shahu Modak, Manju<br />
Damle, Fatehlal<br />
K. Bhole<br />
1941<br />
India<br />
Manju, Ragini, Zahur Shah, Manorama, Radha<br />
R. K. Shorey<br />
Gobindram<br />
Rattan<br />
1944<br />
India<br />
Karan Dewan, Swarnalata, Gulab, Azurie, Wasti, Chandabai, Manju, Amir Banu, Rajkumari Shukal, Badri Prasad<br />
M. Sadiq<br />
Naushad<br />
Champa<br />
1945<br />
India<br />
Hari Shivdasani, Zahur Shah, Manju, Manorama, Asha Posle, Salma<br />
Barkat Mehra<br />
Anupam Ghatak<br />
Jogan<br />
1950<br />
India<br />
Pratima Devi, Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Purnima, Tabassum, Ramesh Thakur, Darpan, Rajendra Kumar, Manju, Anwari, Pesi Patel<br />
Kidar Sharma<br />
Bulo C. Rani<br />
Madhubala<br />
1950<br />
India<br />
Madhubala, Jeevan, Randhir, Ramesh Talwar, Ram Avtaar, Banke Bihari, Manju, Dev Anand<br />
Pralhad Dutt<br />
Lachhiram<br />
Andolan<br />
1951<br />
India<br />
Sushma, Pushpa, Manju, Krishnakant, Kishore Kumar, Shivraj, Parsuram<br />
Phani Majumdar<br />
Pannalal Ghosh<br />
Bedardi<br />
1951<br />
India<br />
Cuckoo, Jaswant, Amirbai Karnataki, Nazira, Manju, Geeta Bali, Nimmi, Rashid Khan<br />
Kidar Sharma<br />
Roshan Lal<br />
Maa<br />
1952<br />
India<br />
Bhupen Kapoor, Kusum Deshpande, Shyama, N. Hussain, Paul Mahendra, Achla Sachdev, B. M. Vyas, Kumud, Bharat Vyas, Bikram Kapoor, Asit Sen, Leela Chitnis, Bharat Bhushan, Manju<br />
Bimal Roy<br />
S. K. Pal<br />
Mordhawj<br />
1952<br />
India<br />
Raj Adib, Prem Adeeb, Shashi Kapoor, Ramsingh, Babu Raje, Leela Misra, Nand Kishore, Tiwari, Manju, Durga Khote, Niroo<br />
Balwant Bhatt<br />
Narayan Dutt<br />
Tarang<br />
1952<br />
India<br />
Ajit, Bhagwan, Manju, Munawwar Sultana, Jeevan, Manorama, Lalita, Niranjan Sharma<br />
I. C. Kapoor<br />
Chitragupta<br />
Zalzala<br />
1952<br />
India<br />
Krishnakant, Misra, Shakoor, Raji, Sunalini Devi, Sita Bose, Michael, Manju, Geeta Bali, Dev Anand, Kishore Sahu, Jagdev<br />
Paul Zills<br />
Pankaj Mullick<br />
Ek Do Teen<br />
1953<br />
India<br />
Motilal, Meena, Yashodhara Katju, Kaushalya, Satish, Shamlal, Indira Bansal, Uma Dutt, Manju, Iftekhar<br />
Roop K. Shorey<br />
Vinod</div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-25429645587073819742021-12-31T06:54:00.003+05:302021-12-31T06:54:00.183+05:30Sujata Mehta of 'Pratighat' fame, also known as The Queen of Gujarati Theater<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Sujata Mehta is a versatile actress, be it films, television or theater. She is a celebrated name in Gujarati theater and is appropriately bestowed the title of ‘The Queen of Gujarati Theater’ as she leaves no stone unturned in exploring innumerable variations of each of the nine rasas and carve out minute perfections in all her characters and roles.<br />
The first projection of this giant talent happened early with her debut as a child artist at the tender age of 11. Since then there is no looking back. She has done it all – stage plays, ad films, modeling, television series and movies.<br />
With marvelous 800 shows, her Gujarati drama ‘Chitkaar’ reached the zenith of success and became an epitome for all others. Even now, it is one of the few Gujarati dramas that traveled US twice and has been awarded a certificate by the Los Angeles Doctor’s Association for authentic and real script, direction and performance of the central character of paranoid schizophrenia patient (played by Sujata herself). Sujata's performance was applauded tremendously and people went to the extent of buying tickets in black at a ten-fold higher price to watch her.<br />
Besides, her performance as a cancer patient in ‘Ame Barafna Pankhi’ which inspired reputed director Hrishikesh Mukherjee to turn it into a film called ‘Mili’. This drama marked the beginning of her stardom. Apart from these her wagon of superhits include landmark dramas like ‘Mrugjal Seenchine Ame uccheri veil’ (theme of surrogate mother, where Sujata played the role of a hired prostitute who sacrifices her baby) Taare mann hoon, Maare mann tu (played role of foreign returned daughter-in-law who transformed her mother-in-law.) A thriller Resham Dankh with Homi Wadia, ‘Salge Liluda Vansvan’ (played a role of a rebel orphan girl) ‘Jujve Roop Anant Bhase’ – adaptation of classic Japanese film Roshomon, " Mansi " , a play adapted from english classic drama ' Veronica's room '<br />
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She has been the leading lady in all the dramas and given complete justice to all the vital roles with her outstanding performances.<br />
This is not all. Her debut Hindi film ‘Pratighat’ celebrated silver jubilee and was released in 150 theatres which was a rare and unusual phenomenon at that time. This multi-talented actress has added colors to amazing roles in many other movies like Yateem, where she played negative role of a bitch, Dhartiputra (played a tavaif mujrewaliye-hai sanamkhana ) Pratigyabadh by B.R.Chopra opposite mithun chakraborty, Hum Sab Chor Hai,Gunah – Gunehgar Kaun, Gunahon ka Devta, Jung with Aditya Pancholi, Kanwarlal with Raj Babbar and Jitendra, Meri mohobat mera Naseeba ( played a role of a bar girl , bottle main band hai ) and many others.<br />
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Pratighat</div>
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Dharatiputra</div>
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She has modeled for many top-notch photographers, ad-filmmakers and ad-agencies featuring in hair and beauty products, fashion and saris.<br />
Her soap opera performances include DD channel’s –Classic of Sharad Chandra’s ‘Srikant’ with Farooq Shaikh, First soap opera – ‘khandan’ (character of Pratibha Premchand) Himesh Reshammiya’s ‘Andaaz’, Balaji’s Kya Hoga Nimoh Ka<br />
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-24996761235576007822021-12-31T06:54:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:54:00.183+05:30Tribute-Seeta Devi (born Renee Smith) 1912-83<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Seeta (or Sita) Devi (1912–1983), born Renee Smith, was one
of the early stars of silent films in the Indian film industry. Himanshu Rai
cast Smith, an Anglo-Indian, in Prem Sanyas, the movie which is better known by
its English title: The Light of Asia. This was her debut film as Seeta Devi,
and it made her a star immediately. Later she acted under the banner of Madan
Theatres as well.</div>
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Three of her most successful films were: The Light of Asia,
Shiraz, and Prapancha Pash. All three of these films were made through the
collaboration of German film director Franz Osten and Indian actor-producer
Himanshu Rai along with Bavarian company Emelka. This unique trilogy were
connected to three different religions and based on three different stories of
Indian history/mythology: The Light of Asia was based on the life of Buddha,
Shiraz was based on construction of the Taj Mahal and Prapancha Pash, better
known by its English title A Throw of Dice, was based on a story from the
Mahabharata. Seeta Devi was the leading actress in all these three films,
though the role in Shiraz was that of 'the other woman'.</div>
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Three of her other successful films, Durgesh Nandini, Kapal
Kundala and Krishnakanter Will were based on popular novels of Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee. </div>
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The Light of Asia, 1925</div>
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The film was an Indo-European co-production, with German
technicians and Indian actors, and it managed to steer clear of the usual
exotic depiction of Indian culture favored by western filmmakers up until then.
It was made with the cooperation of the Maharajah of Jaipur and contained a
cast of thousands. Shooting took place in Lahore, in what is now Pakistan,
where the set decoration was created by Devika Rani, the wife of actor/director
Himanshu Rai and a noted actress herself. The film was released in the USA by
the Film Arts Guild on 11 May 1928. A tale from India about the origin of the
Buddha, Prem Sanyas depicts the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama (portrayed
by director Himansu Rai), the man who became the Buddha, as he journeys from
privilege and seclusion to awareness of the inevitability of life's suffering,
finally renouncing his kingdom to seek enlightenment. The film was restored by
Arte, and released in 2001.</div>
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Shiraz, 1929</div>
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Shiraz is a multilayered fairy tale that tells the story of
the humble architect Shiraz, who devotes his life to the adoration of Selima, a
woman fated for royalty. The central character, named for the city of Shiraz in
Iran where many famous Persian poets are buried, is a wholly fictitious
creation. Several historical facts pertaining to the origin of the Taj Mahal
have been altered for the screen version, such as the name of the princess for
whom it was built (known in the film as Selima, her real name was Arjunand
Banu). While Shah Jahan, the fifth Moghul emperor, did indeed build the Taj
Mahal as an expression of his eternal devotion to his queen, the film depends
on the fictional character of Shiraz to tell its story of unrequited love and ultimate
transcendence. Upon its release Shiraz
received great critical acclaim. </div>
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A Throw of Dice, 1929 </div>
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The movie is about two kings vying for the love of a
hermit's daughter, the beautiful Sunita. The two kings, Ranjit and Sohan, share
a passion for gambling and decide to play a game of craps to determine who will
marry her. Sunita wishes to marry Ranjit. Ranjit loses the game to the
nefarious Sohan and as a forfeit becomes his slave. Sunita soon uncovers the
truth about Sohan's evil deeds and to escape punishment he hurls himself off a
cliff into the rapids below. Ranjit and Sunita are reunited and married. This
movie is also known for first lip-lock kisses, and passionate love scenes
between Sunita and Ranjit (Charu Roy).</div>
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A Throw of Dice has been in the British Film Institute
(BFI)’s archives since 1945, though rarely seen. In 2006, in honor of the 60th
anniversary of Indian independence, the film was digitally restored, then
re-released at the Luminato Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 13 June
2008, with a new orchestral score by British Indian composer Nitin Sawhney. The
United States release occurred on 30 July 2008 during the Grant Park Music
Festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.</div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-41335877959341445402021-12-31T06:51:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:51:00.183+05:30Remembering actress/singer Sundara Bai <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The year was 1929. The royal Darbar of the Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi, Asaf Jah VII glittered with the best of musicians from across the country. In deference to the Nizam, many of the singers performed standing in front of him. But there was one singer who made the Nizam sit up and take note of the wonderful voice he was listening to, and forced him to accord due respect of allowing the performer to sit down and finish the song. That talented singer was Bai Sundarabai Jadhav from Pune, who, though forgotten now, was one of India’s most celebrated recording artists of her time and whose repertoire spanned several decades and became popular through different forms of media. So pleased was the Nizam with Bai Sundarabai’s Urdu diction and rendition of ghazals that he also permitted her to sing his compositions.<br />
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Sundarabai was born in 1885 to Marotrao, a contractor, who had noticed the innate musical talents in his daughter quite early. The father took Sundarabai, who did not attain any formal education, to Satara, where she trained initially in light classical music. It was here that Sundarabai added a vast corpus of Marathi folk songs (known as Lavni) to her musical talent from her guru Dabhade Gondhali. In Pune, Sundarabai learnt Hindustani classical music under Shankarrao Ghorpadkar. She also found an unusual teacher in mystical Thakurdasoba, who enriched her repertoire with several devotional songs and bhajans.<br />
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Such was the dedication of Sundarabai and her father that when Thakurdasoba suddenly decided to migrate to Bombay, Marotrao, who wasn’t quite well-off, decided to rent a small room in the city’s Chirabazar near Girgaon – close to a temple where Thakurdasoba had decided to spend his life. In the precincts of Gora Ram temple of Thakurdwar, Sundarabai’s voice blossomed to greater heights with several soulful bhajans that she later popularised. Polishing her Hindi and Urdu diction, she also learnt ghazals, Hindustani music, as well as the folk songs of the Banaras region under several gurus like Dhamman Khan, Gulam Rasool Khan and Keshav Bhaiyya.<br />
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With this kind of eclectic training, it was just a matter of time before Sundarabai took to live performances. She received wide acclaim from connoisseurs within and outside Maharashtra. Her guru, Dhamman Khan, was a tabla maestro and often accompanied her to her classical concerts. During her many concert tours, Sundarabai came in touch with the musical divas of her time – Vidyadhari Bai, Siddheshwari Devi and Rasoolan Bai (all from Banaras) – and incorporated the purabi style of singing from them into her own. From Lucknow to Banaras to Hyderabad, Sundarabai was a rage across India.<br />
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Quite expectedly, her music soon caught the attention of veteran Marathi theatre thespian Bal Gandharva. He was conceptualising a play, ‘Ekaach Pyala’, in 1920, and asked her to compose the music for it. Sundarabai readily agreed and the outcome was a series of hit Marathi natyasangeet songs as well as ghazals that were used in the play.<br />
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In October 1921, The Gramophone Company and its recording agent George Walter Dillnutt solicited Sundarabai for recording sessions. Ever the innovator, she agreed to this offer as well. In Bombay, she cut about 12 records under the Zonophone label for them in this session. Among them is the following Thumri in Raga Piloo, ‘Chhodo Mori Baiyyan’.<br />
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There was no looking back after this for Sundarabai. With the entry of electric recording in 1925, artists could sing without the limitations that they faced during the acoustic era, including having to scream at high pitch. Sundarabai recorded for numerous labels such as Odeon, Regal, Young India, The Twin, and Columbia. In a recording career that spanned for 30 years, Sundarabai cut close to 100 records, recording about 180 songs on them.<br />
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-82054399833830533892021-12-31T06:43:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:43:00.183+05:30Tribute-Zebunnisa - Greta Garbo of Hindi Movies <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One of the foremost actresses of the Indian movies . Miss Zaibunissa was born in Peshawar and moved over to Bombay in 1922<br />
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She was not very confidant in the beginning of gaining success in the movies but as she took up side roles in the beginning and with every movie her confidence increased . The Imperial film Company offered her heroine roles . Her first most successful movie was Alauddin ka Chiraagh . She became a big name and the Sharada film Company later hired her . She acted in nearly a dozen movies mostly with Master Vittal and Jairaj . She was called the Greta Garbo of the Indian movies . She was very graceful and had good dancing capabilities , but was poor at singing . She was capable of swiftly changing her roles from a princess to a pauper at the very moment . Some of her memorable movies with Sharada film Co , are Sharab Jawani , Heera Sundari , Sassi Punnu , Mirza Sahiban and Dilruba etc .<br />
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In 1930 she moved over to Bangalore and joined Surya film Co ,and acted in three movies Asia<br />
Sitara , Kya Baat & Rajlakshmi . Later she moved back to Bombay and appeared for the first time in a talkie with Jairaj in Shakuntala – 1932 .<br />
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She never looked back after this movie and acted in several movies playing lead and supporting<br />
roles . Her most memorable movies are Bharthruhari – 1932 , Malti Madhav – 1933,<br />
Hothal Padmini , Dilara – 1934 , Elan-e-Jung – 1936 , Elaan - 1947 etc .<br />
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She acted as Gajendra's mother in Ram Aur Shyam (1967) and as Zebunissa in Sharafat (1970)<br />
Pakeeza (1972) Dhoop Chhaon (1977)<br />
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She was a devotee of Actor turned Sufi Saint Ashraf Khan with whom she acted in couple of movies as a heroine . She used to attend the Urs every year.<br />
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She was affectionately known as Zebu in Hyderabad . She was the most admired heroine of the early 1930's . She visited Hyderabad on couple of occasions . She was fond of Hyderabadi Pearls , food and visiting historical places . Her screen appearances faded away during the mid 1930's and was seen occasionally playing supporting roles .Zebunnisa is a forgotten name for the modern generation.<br />
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-13163475332636723422021-12-31T06:42:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:42:00.188+05:30Remembering actress Leela Desai <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbt7QsmHkoxnlwVSzjcxukssYgYWUMdumdxfOjKFhXsbMEOB-QlH0ib7PK71eXfYF8Nr4mfX7MQOzF76fhinapHwO9QEbaWaEo5J1UU0Ggtwytkh-0ZKIbcGqawVyxGZ6cSKex2RG0F0/s1600/leela+desai10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbt7QsmHkoxnlwVSzjcxukssYgYWUMdumdxfOjKFhXsbMEOB-QlH0ib7PK71eXfYF8Nr4mfX7MQOzF76fhinapHwO9QEbaWaEo5J1UU0Ggtwytkh-0ZKIbcGqawVyxGZ6cSKex2RG0F0/s320/leela+desai10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Leela Desai was a famous Indian actress in the later phase
of 1930s and the earlier phase of 1940s. </div>
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Leela Desai was born in Newark, New Jersey when her parents
were on a 3-year American tour. She was the daughter of Dr. Umedram Lalbhai
Desai and his second wife Satyabala Devi, a famous musician in the early 1900s.</div>
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She grew up in India. She was an accomplished dancer and was
introduced to films by New Theatres of Calcutta.Leela Desai was gorgeous in her
dancing performances and her acting skill was exceptionally good with her
strikingly convincing and expressive eyes and a face which reflected all
emotions easily. </div>
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She acted opposite K.L.Saighal in some films which drew attention from
audiences all over India.'Didi' was a Bengali
film of 1937 which was directed by Nitin Bose in which K.L.Saighal and
Leela Desai were the leading pair.'Badi Bahen' (37) was a Hindi Film directed
by Nitin Bose in which Saighal was her hero. 'President' was also released in
1937 in which K.L.Saighal and Leela Desai acted as the pair.'Jiban Maran' was a
Hindi/Bengali film directed by Nitin Bose
which handled a triangular love story in which Mohan, a radio singer and
Kedar, a doctor, both loves Geeta (Leela Desai).K.L.Saighal and Leela Desai
were the lead pair in this film also.'Dushman' was yet another film of Leela
Desai and K.L.Saighal pair.</div>
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In the film 'Kapal Kundala'(1939) directed by Nitin Bose she
acted as 'Kapal Kundala'.Nitin Bose and Phani Majumdar directed it together.Phani
Majumdar married Leela Desai's sister Monica Desai.</div>
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Nartaki' was a
film having two versions and in both of
them Leela Desai handled heroine role as 'Roop Kumari'.In the Bengali version
Bhanu Banerjee was the hero and 'Swamiji's role was handled by Chhabi Biswas.In
the Hindi version Najmal Hussain was the hero and Swamiji's role was handled by
R.P.Kapoor. The film was directed by Debaki Bose.</div>
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'Tamanna' was a Hindi film directed by Phani Majumdar in
1942. Leela Desai,Krishna Chandra Dey,P.Jairaj,Jagdish Sethi etc acted in it.</div>
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'Nagad Narayan' was a Hindi film which was directed by
Vishram Bedekar in which Leela Desai,Kusum Deshpande and Pratima Devi acted. </div>
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In 1944 she acted in the film 'Kaliyan' along with her
sister 'Ramola'. </div>
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She was associate producer of the movie 'Kabuliwala' in 1961.</div>
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List of movies by Leela Desai are as
follows: ‘Didi’ , ‘Badi Bahen’ ,
‘President’ , ‘Jiban Maran’ , ‘Dushman’
,‘Kapal Kundala’ , ‘Nartaki’ , ‘Tamanna’ , ‘Nagad Narayan’ , ‘Kaliyan’ ,
‘Kabuliwali’ </div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-7336253057128580772021-12-31T06:41:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:41:00.188+05:30Remembering Fatma Begum-first woman director in India 1892-1983<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ761VJXIZ0UHDWJwm2a5xTSqaIUNhROt-CEpX9f7q8aR6_2WBLwI-rIs96fC7YQWbujbeQHPGWtZJb8NkNA3YhQw4S-kL67bIs9kjf1Fo3bggwja7aHShpgRBSyz3Z0oYeX8RRHpay5s/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ761VJXIZ0UHDWJwm2a5xTSqaIUNhROt-CEpX9f7q8aR6_2WBLwI-rIs96fC7YQWbujbeQHPGWtZJb8NkNA3YhQw4S-kL67bIs9kjf1Fo3bggwja7aHShpgRBSyz3Z0oYeX8RRHpay5s/s1600/5.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">SourceWikipedia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Fatma Begum (1892–1983) was an Indian actress, director, and screenwriter. She is often considered the first female film director of Indian cinema. Within four years, she went on to write, produce and direct many films. She launched her own production house, Fatma Films, and directed Bulbul-e-Paristan in 1926. She lived from 1892-1983 and was mother to three children.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Family</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Fatma Begum was born into an Urdu-speaking Muslim family in India. Fatma Begum was supposedly married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State. However, there is no record of a marriage or contract having taken place between the Nawab and Fatma Bai or of the Nawab having recognised any of her children as his own, a prerequisite for legal paternity in Muslim family law. She was the mother of silent superstars Zubeida, Sultana, and Shehzadi. She was also the grandmother of Humayun Dhanrajgir and Durreshahwar Dhanrajgir, son and daughter of Zubeida and Maharaja Narsingir Dhanrajgir of Hyderabad and Jamila Razzaq daughter of Sultana and Seth Razaaq, a prominent businessman of Karachi. She also happened to be the great-grandmother of model turned actor Rhea Pillai who is the daughter of her grand daughter Durreshahwar Dhanrajgir.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Career</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">She began her career on the Urdu stage. She later shifted to films and debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film, Veer Abhimanyu (1922). It was common practice for men to play women in plays and movies, so she became a huge woman superstar. Fatma Begum was fair skinned and wore dark make-up that suited the sepia/black & white images on the screen. Most of the roles required wigs for the heroes as well as the heroines.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">In 1926, she established Fatma Films which later became known as Victoria-Fatma Films in 1928. She became a pioneer for fantasy cinema where she used trick photography to have early special effects. She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatma Films.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Begum became the first female director of Indian cinema with her 1926 film, Bulbul-e-Paristan.[5] While no known prints of the film currently exist, the high budget production has been described as a fantasy film featuring many special effects. If true, the film places Begum among early pioneers of fantasy cinema such as George Melies. While continuing to produce and appear in her own work, Fatma worked for Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios until her last film in 1938, Duniya Kya Hai?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">She directed many other films, her last being the Goddess of Luck in 1929.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Legacy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">She died in 1983 at the age of 91. Her legacy was carried on by her daughter Zubeida, whom besides being a silent film star, acted in India's first ever talkie, Alam Ara.</span></div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-15563355069601654582021-12-31T06:39:00.003+05:302021-12-31T06:39:00.166+05:30Neeta Khayani<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmBgGj9FsFjn7Jy0IdrmXTX11JJhV1BLC1P2jd7m4mbqctdI-QPfe_d5wIQuucRXVp9FFSkopRH9YHIt6agijd7wCQdN8ugzZCoGDrsPdAKN0zYc8hm3oca9GoJvdjukfF2xwT_7MAwU/s200/3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmBgGj9FsFjn7Jy0IdrmXTX11JJhV1BLC1P2jd7m4mbqctdI-QPfe_d5wIQuucRXVp9FFSkopRH9YHIt6agijd7wCQdN8ugzZCoGDrsPdAKN0zYc8hm3oca9GoJvdjukfF2xwT_7MAwU/s0/3.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Neeta Khayani is an actress, known for Raaste Kaa Patthar (1972).</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">https://memsaabstory.com/2009/01/22/raaste-ka-patthar-1972/#more-6903</div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-27772752055944671632021-12-31T06:35:00.003+05:302021-12-31T06:35:00.200+05:30Remembering actress Leena Das<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuh0bvwDc870FzZAvW38KjLDoRkzv1TeC6sIwVwQSX6SvDA98DzzKoYEZVmJdLTQpbjFXFM6iWAvQG2j5uCrJKOKZXJoqbNiM1P6oBcdSJwTS9-6zC6Dk_cs0cNOXo29rXnUXauhvAzA/s1600/Leena+Das+in+Ajanabee+%25281974%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="714" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuh0bvwDc870FzZAvW38KjLDoRkzv1TeC6sIwVwQSX6SvDA98DzzKoYEZVmJdLTQpbjFXFM6iWAvQG2j5uCrJKOKZXJoqbNiM1P6oBcdSJwTS9-6zC6Dk_cs0cNOXo29rXnUXauhvAzA/s320/Leena+Das+in+Ajanabee+%25281974%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Leena Das is an actress, known for Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977), Absconding (1975) and Aitbaar (1985).<br />
Trivia (2)<br />
Daughter in law of singer Mohammed Rafi.<br />
Partner of singer Shahid Rafi.</div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-84212975131273293482021-12-31T06:35:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:35:00.201+05:30Remembering Azurie (born Anna Marie Gueizelor) was a famour dancer in 40's 1907-98<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegYVKRIOmy2vRp9zYf18Sl9PMhpWgxdPjCG7eEX29V_OiyieDICdQnqQWHZ8HtDJnbo3dBrdiZme-UIGv05GG07s0b8kEJy2xsJxbez4CBtfp8X9gSNI16GzrMgTk1PJytOt1nyc2cEI/s1600/auzurie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegYVKRIOmy2vRp9zYf18Sl9PMhpWgxdPjCG7eEX29V_OiyieDICdQnqQWHZ8HtDJnbo3dBrdiZme-UIGv05GG07s0b8kEJy2xsJxbez4CBtfp8X9gSNI16GzrMgTk1PJytOt1nyc2cEI/s320/auzurie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;">https://medium.com/@Bollywoodirect/azurie-was-one-of-the-earliest-dancers-to-make-a-dance-performance-an-integral-feature-of-hindi-50d6e6e5b581</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Azurie was one of the earliest dancers to make a dance performance an integral feature of Hindi cinema. She was the forerunner for dancing divas of the Hindi film industry like Cuckoo Moray and Helen who modeled themselves on her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Anna Marie Gueizelor, whose screen name was Azurie, was born in Bangalore in 1907 to an Indian mother and a German father who was a doctor. Her father looked down on Indian music, dance and films and encouraged her to learn ballet and to play the piano. When Anna was a teenager, the family moved to Bombay. Her father became a member of the Three Arts Circle organized by Begum Atiya Rahman from her palatial home, Aiwan-e-Riffat. After her father’s death, Anna stayed with Begum Rahman who encouraged her to study the arts of the subcontinent. She studied different schools of dance from renowned teachers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Azurie thought films were magical from the first time she went to the cinema. In an interview with Ali Peter John in 1980 at the age of 72 she said, “One day a filmmaker asked me if I could dance and without thinking twice I said ‘yes’. I started dancing and soon found out that I was born to dance . . . and the filmmakers were happy and I was happier than them”. She featured in numerous films in the Bombay film industry. It is believed that her first film was “Nadira” (1934). Her filmography includes: “Jawani ki Hawa” (1935), “Gentleman Daku” 91937), “Mera Wattan” (1939), “Jai Swadesh” (1940), “Nai Duniya” (1942), “Sheikh Chilli” (1942), “Return of Toofan Mail” (1942) and “Hatim Tai” (1947) amongst others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Her memorable appearances include her performance in the song “O jaane wale balam laut ke aa” in the film “Rattan” (1944). Azurie was the lead dancer in silhouette in the famous drum dance in the V. Shantaram’s film “Chandrasena” (1935). V. Shantaram is believed to have said once, “Give me a girl with a figure like Azurie and I’ll give you anything.” Her performance in the song “Main harijan ki chhori” in “Naya Sansar” (1941) was so popular that Mahatma Gandhi sent for her and asked her to work in his ashram for the upliftment of the Harijans. She got an opportunity to display her histrionic abilities in the film “Maya” (1936) where she played the frivolous daughter of a rich man who gets the hero, only to discover that he doesn’t love her. Her last film in India was “Bahana” which released in 1960.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">A little before Partition, she fell in love with and married a Muslim gentleman called Mahmood. She migrated to Pakistan and did a few films there like “Jhoomar” that released in1959. She opened the first Academy of Classical Dance in Pakistan and toured several foreign countries with a small dance troupe. In Islamabad, Azurie was a member of the board of the National Council of the Arts. She was a founding member of the Pak-American Cultural Centre in Karachi where she taught classical dance for a number of years. She died in Pakistan in 1998 at the age of 90 or 91.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Courtesy- Film Heritage Foundation</span></div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-21081352449651854942021-12-31T06:34:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:34:00.189+05:30Remembering actress Komilla Virk <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX29tfa082xOpogIEhCxdGyboIK5AOpOyAplqUR_wBzazLzi56aKdwg0LO73OjINbKFrguxhYnQtMgXUIZX80pqfctjF7AWfBqLLESmibF9Cc-yA4wf6EpcY0Adwe6ewxMl_fnTEGOZus/s1600/komila+wirk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX29tfa082xOpogIEhCxdGyboIK5AOpOyAplqUR_wBzazLzi56aKdwg0LO73OjINbKFrguxhYnQtMgXUIZX80pqfctjF7AWfBqLLESmibF9Cc-yA4wf6EpcY0Adwe6ewxMl_fnTEGOZus/s1600/komila+wirk.jpg" /></a></div>
Source:imdb<br />
Komilla Virk is an actress, known for Suhaag (1979), Chhoti Si Baat (1976) and Nagin (1976).<br />
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Trivia (4)<br />
After quitting the film industry in the early 80s, she married a British man and settled in England. She is now a world famous astrologer. Several of her videos and interviews are available online. She now is known as Komilla Virk Sutton.<br />
Brother named Kuldip Wirk who is married to Guddu Wirk. They have a daughter named Kirpa Wirk. They are all based in San Fransisco California USA.<br />
Brother named Ravi (Avu) Virk. He is married to Teena. They have a daughter named Meghna Bains who is based in Singapore.<br />
Mother named Inderjit Wirk.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">https://www.ghaintpunjab.com/GhaintPunjab/Article/35726/komilla-wirk-bold-actress-of-hindi-punjabi-films-spiritual-astrologer</div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-85377797481904916482021-12-31T06:29:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:29:00.199+05:30Tribute-Arati Devi (born Rachel Sofaer) -star of the silent era 1912-48<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Arati Devi, a star of the silent film era was actually born Rachael Sofaer. She made three films including Punarianma: A Life Divine and A Man Condemned. She died in childbirth at the age of 35. Her cousin Abraham became a Hollywood actor alongside stars like Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and Elizabeth Taylor.</div>
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Arati Devi in Punarianma: A Life Divine. When Rachel Sofaer’s father fell on hard times financially, he permitted his daughter to act under the name Arati Devi. She was accompanied to the set by her mother and married a proper Baghdadi Jewish man in 1933 at age 21, never again acting in a film. Her cousin Abraham Sofaer became a Hollywood character actor.</div>
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Arati Devi in Punarianma: A Life Divine. When Rachel Sofaer’s father fell on hard times financially, he permitted his daughter to act under the name Arati Devi. She was accompanied to the set by her mother and married a proper Baghdadi Jewish man in 1933 at age 21, never again acting in a film. Her cousin Abraham Sofaer became a Hollywood character actor.</div>
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The actors were mostly Baghdadi Jewish women and the rest were from the Bene Israel community, not the Cochini community. That community was small, did not speak Hindi or Urdu, and lived far from the film making cities of Bombay and Calcutta. A single Baghdadi family contributed greatly to Indian films, by giving us the actress-producer Pramila (Esther Victoria Abraham), her sister the actress Romila (Sophie Abraham), and her cousin the starlet Rose (Rose Musleah). Pramila’s son Haider Ali is an actor, who is best known as the co-writer of the blockbuster film Jodhaa Akbar.<br />
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The first Bihari film was the silent Life Divine or 'Punarjanma' with Arati Devi, Mr. A. K. Prosad B.L., Miss Pratima Devi, and Mr. N. G. Bhattacharya. It was produced by Raja Rana Jagarnnath Prasad Singh 'of Deo. Arati Devi was a Jewish girl of 19 years when she made the film. She was born Rachel Sofaer in Rangoon, Burma in 1912 and moved with her parents and siblings to Calcutta, India, circa 1923. She had made only one other film a year before (1930) A Man Condemned and her career was cut short by marriage in 1933 to Sassoon Jonah. She died in childbirth in April 1948.<br />
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-28570506886351510112021-12-31T06:27:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:27:00.188+05:30Remembering 1930s Super Star Master Nissar <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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http://cineplot.com/master-nissar/</div>
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Master Nissar was the first superstar of the talkie era, as the term is understood today. A product of the Madan Theatres, Calcutta, Nissar took to films when the company built a film studio. Because of his ability to speak fluent Urdu and sing songs, he was an instant success. Nissar made a sought-after team with Jehan Ara Kajjan. Their biggest hits together were Shirin Farhad (1931) and Laila Majnoon (1931). People used to flock in large numbers to studios to catch a glimpse of him.</div>
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Nissar ruled the roost until a typewriter mechanic called Kundal Lal Saigal decided to don the greasepaint. After a disastrous start, Saigal hit big time with Chandidas (1934) and Devdas (1935), two of the biggest hits of the time. As an actor Nissar was highly theatrical. His decline was sudden in the wake of the Saigal wave of the mid-thirties. Nissar switched to character roles in the late 40s.</div>
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In later years, Master Nisar fell on hard times and was often seen begging near the Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai. He died in penury in the sixties.</div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-2115551540139867782021-12-31T06:25:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:25:00.180+05:30Tribute : actor Nazir Kashmiri (active from 1941 to 1982)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nazir Kashmiri was a prolific character actor in Hindi cinema who appeared in over 100 films. His career extended from 1941 to 1982 spanning 40 years.<br />
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He started his career in Lahore. He appeared in several Lahore productions before moving to Bombay with Noor Jehan's production company. He appeared in Noor's Indian films Zeenat (1945) and Jugnu (1947).<br />
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Through the 1950s and 1960s he was frequently seen in a wide variety of roles. Kashmiri was particularly a fixture of B. R. Chopra films appearing in most of Chopra's films from Ek Hi Raasta (1956) to Kaala Patthar (1979). Kashmiri was also seen in many Dev Anand, Guru Dutt and I. S. Johar films.</div>
MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-44593674324055497412021-12-31T06:24:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:24:00.181+05:30Actress Sardar Akhtar— the Radha of “Aurat” (1940)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">A contemporary of Sulochana (Ruby Meyers) and a movie celebrity of the ’30s and early ’40s, Sardar Akhtar remained forgotten and unseen for a good 30 years until the audience of today saw her as the harassed woman in O.P. Ralhan’s, “Hulchul”. To many viewers she was little more than a talented bit player. But to those who could go back 40 years, Sardar Akhtar is little less than an epoch. During the first decade of the talkie, Sardar Akhtar rose to become the most natural dramatic actress of her times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">It was a time of sturdy, masculine heroes — like Sadiq Ali, Jayant and S. Nazir, and plump, sensual, daring heroines — like “Diler” (Fearless) Nadia, Sulochana, Gohar and Sardar Akhtar herself. Above all, it was the high noon of the stunt, adventure, magic and swashbuckling film with pseudo-historical, devotional and period costume dramas running a close second.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Sardar Akhtar too began as a stunt queen. Half of her 30 films were stunt films which will now be described as action films.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">She would have continued playing a Persian princess or a daring sword-wielding girl, but for directors like Hiren Bose and Ram Daryani. Through their films, “Piya Ki Jogan” “Pratima” and especially “Sangdil Samaj”, Sardar Akhtar carved for herself a new image.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Never as ravishing as Veena, Naseem or Sulochana, Sardar Akhtar’s rustic looks helped her when cinema began exploring the ethos of the common woman. She was the ‘common woman’, in person and on screen. In those days actresses and actors acted naturally and in the hands of an intelligent director could give performances of a high caliber. Sardar Akhtar was lucky to work with well- known directors of her time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The man who played a decisive role in her career was Sohrab Modi. A stage veteran and an exponent of period plays, Modi was meticulous in casting artistes according to their looks and personality. Having selected Chandramohan to play Jehangir, Naseem as Noor Jehan and himself to portray Maan Singh, he needed an actress to impersonate the ‘dhoban’ who plays a key role in the development of the dramatic conflict in “Pukar” (1939). And Sardar Akhtar was the most natural choice. Embellished with Kamal Amrohi’s dialogue (which earned the film high praise from literary quarters all over the country), Meeran Saheb’s lilting song compositions rendered by Naseem Bano and Sardar Akhtar themselves and actual locations in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, “Pukar”, along with Mehboob’s “Ek Hi Raasta”, marked the beginning of the supremacy of Hindustani cinema.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Impressed by her portrayal in “Pukar”, Mehboob, who was beginning his most creative phase, selected Sardar Akhtar to play the most rural of all rural characters of Indian cinema — the Radha of “Aurat” (1940) — the earlier black and white version of “Mother India” (1957). Sardar Akhtar’s portrayal of Radha and Mehboob’s portrayal of the poverty of Indian peasantry both became milestones in the history of Indian cinema. Barring Shanta Apte’s Heera in V. Shantaram’s Marathi classic “Kunku” (1936), there is no female performance till 1940 to rival Sardar Akhtar’s Radha.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">“Aurat” established her as a serious dramatic actress. She also revealed a wider range, playing comedy and accepting roles as varied as an unfaithful wife in Sohrab Modi’s “Bharosa” and a dedicated one in “Fashion”, the only genuine Muslim social she ever worked in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">But something else was also happening in her personal life. Mehboob fell in love with her and eventually married her in 1942. After completing “Fashion” and “Masterji”, Sardar Akhtar quit films. The year was 1943.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">O. P. Ralhan, who had been her admirer in the early phase of her screen career, approached Sardar Akhtar to play, after 30 years in retirement, an important role in “Hulchul”. He featured her again in “Bandhe Haath”.</span><br />
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-85690228262600501932021-12-31T06:23:00.001+05:302021-12-31T06:23:00.186+05:30Tribute-Jillo:Bai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Jilloo was an Indian Bollywood actress born in 1905 in Bombay, India as Zuleka Ebrahain. She acted in Mother India and Mughal-e-Azam, the two biggest commercial and critical successes of the 1950s. She also acted in many movies also, but in very small roles. She portrayed the role of the mother-in-law of Radha, the protagonist of Mother India, and the mother of Anarkali, the lead female character of Mughal-e-Azam. She acted in several other films, including Madhosh, where she played Meena Kumari's mother. She also worked in India's first talkie film Alam Ara. When she was a young women, she was credited as Jilloobai, Jillo, Jilloo, Zillu, Zilloo or Zilloobai. As she started doing more mother roles, she was given the name Jilloo Maa as Maa means mother.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;">Filmography</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1960: Mughal-E-Azam – Anarkali's mother</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1957: Mother India – Sundar Chachi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1951: Madhosh – Soni's mother</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1951: Sanam – Jogin's mother</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1950: Magroor – Manohar's mother</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1950: Sabak</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1945: Tadbir</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1945: Naseeb</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1945: Phool</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1945: Vikramaditya</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1944: Gaali</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1931: Alam Ara</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1924: Chandragupta Aur Chanakya</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1924: Raziya Begum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1924: Shah Jehan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;">1924: Veer Durgadas</span></div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5141829028691701727.post-76478526990022801052021-12-31T06:21:00.003+05:302021-12-31T06:21:00.174+05:30Tribute-Hiralal Sen (1866-1917) who was first to make short films, news films, advertising films<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Hiralal Sen's native home was in Bagjuri, a village in Manikganj, approximately 80 km from Dhaka, the present-day capital of Bangladesh. Although he was the son of a successful lawyer of a zamindar family of that region, he grew up in Calcutta.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Sen was running a successful photography business when in 1898 he saw a film presentation by one Professor Stevenson that featured alongside the stage show The Flower of Persia at Calcutta's Star Theatre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">With Stevenson's encouragement and camera Sen made his first film, of scenes from The Flower of Persia which then featured in the Star Theatre programme. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">After Stevenson had moved on Sen purchased an Urban Bioscope from the Warwick Trading Company in London and in 1899 with his brother Motilal Sen formed the Royal Bioscope company. Sen was initially dependent on imported film, generally exhibited at the Classic Theatre, Calcutta, where the films featured in the intervals in the stage shows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">When he began producing his own films regularly they chiefly were, as with Stevenson, scenes from stage productions at the Classic, such as Bhramar, Hariraj and Buddhadev, all between 1901 and 1904. This phase of his career culminated with his longest film, Alibaba and the Forty Thieves (1903), again based on an original Classic Theatre staging. </span></div>
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He also produced a number of advertising films and newsfilms taking commissions. Having made two films advertising Jabakusum Hair Oil and Edwards Tonic, he may have been the first Indian to use film for advertising purposes.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">A film documenting the Anti-Partition Demonstration and Swadeshi movement at the Town Hall, Calcutta on 22 September 1905 is generally considered India's first political film. In 1905, it was advertised as a "genuine Swadeshi film of our own make" and ended with the rallying cry for freedom, Vande Mataram.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">As newer film ventures entered the market place Royal Bioscope's fortunes declined, and production ceased in 1913. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 18.4px;">Hiralal Sen's later years were filled with disappointment and economic hardship. Jamshedji Framji Madan of the Elphinstone Bioscope Company had long surpassed him in terms of success. To compound his misery, he was also suffering from cancer. A few days before his death in 1917, a fire broke out destroying every film he ever made.</span></div>
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In a creative career that extended up to 1913, Hiralal Sen made over forty films.</div>
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MGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01448119638788105713noreply@blogger.com0