Nostalgia......yesteryear Actresses

Yes stays most of the time at Nainital.

oh god,they left top actresses..and giving awards to supporting actresses..ofcourse these actresses deserve it too..but what abt mala sinha,nanda,sadhana etc..infact mala,nanda,sadhana etc even could not get filmfare lifetime achievement awards

Kamini Kaushal

Kamini kaushal was one of the first well educated heroines in hindi cinema( BA in English).Her original name was Uma and she came from a well to do background.Her Father was a Botany professor at Lahore University.She was a stage artiste before she joined films and worked as a Radio artiste before she was discovered by Chetan Anand as the lead for his film Neecha Nagar(1945)one of the earliest art film to be made in India.Some time in 1946 her sister died leaving behind very young children and Uma was made to marry her sister's husband Mr.Sood , an officer in the Bombay Port Trust.....After Neecha nagar and marriage Kamini kaushal worked with all the top leading men of her time such as Ashok kumar,Raj kapoor,dev Anand and Dilip Kumar





Commercial success came her way after Do Bhai(1947),aided by Geeta Roy's impasioned singing of the classic Mera sundar sapna beet gaya which , incidentally, was shot in a single take.Then came films like Nadiya ke paar, Shaheed, Shabnam,Ziddi, Namoona.....
Her team with Dilip kumar was much talked about in the late 1940's...The audience loved the star-crossed lovers .They fell in love...it was an intense, excruciatinlgy emotional and hopeless love from its very first pangs to its last dying embers, because Kamini was already married...Dilip kumar in his biography has said that she was his first love...




Some memorable films:
Neecha nagar
Shaheed
Aag
Aarzoo
Shabnam
Namoona
Do bhai
Aansoo
Aas
Shair
Bikhre moti
Nadiya ke paar
Aabroo
Biraj bahu
Bade sarkar
Poonam
Sangam
Godaan
Upkaar
Vsihwas
Meri bhabi
Waris
Yakeen
Beti
Do raaste
Dharti
shor...
She acted in nearly 80 films in a career spanning 55 years..
The first issue of Filmfare Dated March 7, 1952 featured Kamini kaushal on the cover and she was again on their anniversary cover in 1953...
She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role in 'Biraj bahu' in 1955.She received the Dada Palkhe Life term achievement award in 2002..
Kamini kaushal moved on to playing strong character roles after Shaheed( manoj kumar) in 1965.She became a fixture in many of Manoj kumar's films after her power packed performance in Upkaar, went on to act in 7 of his films...









Some memorable songs picturised on her..
Mera sundar sapna beet gaya.....Geeta dutt.....Do bhai
Yaad karoge yaad karoge.......Geeta dutt ......Do bhai
Badnaam na ho jaaye.....Uma devi, Surinder kaur .......Shaheed
Papihe se kaho......Aarzoo
Sun mere saajna re.....Lata mangeshkar, Mohammad rafi.....Aansoo
Chahe naina churao......Lata mangeshkar, Talat mehmood.....aas
Chanda ki chandni mein jhoome ......Lata mangeshkar....Poonam

with film personalities Pran,Nimmi and Tanuja

From the 1980's she has largely concenterated on her family acting only occassionally...
She has written children's stories, made television serials for children and her doll making abilities are a legend...
At present she is working in a popular serial'Shanno ki shaadi' on Star plus...

The songs chaahe naina churaao....aas and
chandaa ki chaandni main jhoome jhoome dil mera..poonam...were not picturised on her.


How did you forget to mention her first commericially successful movie.
It had some memorable songs sung by sitara kanpuri.

Mahesh it was an oversight....... so also another movie that need to be mentioned 'Jailyatra'...
I have a request mahesh plz plz share your vast knowledge here, it will benefit all the people who are interested....
Unfortunately i am unable to d/l the song....can u plz mail it to me at reeth_appanna@yahoo.co.in

Mahesh,

If i remember correctly, Chanda ki chandni mein jhoomey jhoomey dil mera was picturized on Kamini Kaushal.

Oh ho...got confused with...hum se naa poochho koi pyar kya hai pyar kya hai...
kali ghata (1951)..both movies featuring asha mathur with SJ as music director and
somewhat similar type of songs sung by lata.

kamini's life was little similer to mala sinha's character of gumrah..in real life kamini too married her sister's husband.

Now that's something Jassi. Good analogy.

NASIR.

Adding some more information on Kamini kaushal..



Kamini kaushal was a thinking actress because of her education and background...
When she was offered Biraj bahu, she realised that it was an exceptional role and she is supposed to have read the book 20 times to understand the character thoroughly.....this role won her the Filmfare and the National Award.......
After acting in 3 fims in the year 2003 Har dil jo pyar karega, Chori chori , Hawayein she quit films....

Didnt her brother shoot himself coz she was in love with Dilip? Even threatened to kill both of them if they didnt back off. Dilip did love her 4 real tho... she broke his heart.

It was an intense, excruciatingly emotional — and hopeless — love from its very first pangs to its last dying embers, because Uma Sood (alias Kamini Kaushal — ed) was already committed to a marriage with her sister’s husband and there could be no ‘and-they-happily-ever-after’ end to this fairy tale.

According to Sitara Devi, Uma was the only woman Yusuf truly loved. He was a completely broken man when they parted.

Talking to Sushma Shelly (Super, July 1980), the late veteran film producer-director P.N. Arora recounted:

‘When Kamini Kaushal was working in my film Pugree (1948), she was also doing Shaheed with Dilip Kumar. She was already a married woman. Her husband, Mr Sood, was a senior officer in Bombay Port Trust, and had been allotted a beautiful bungalow behind the Docks. Such marriages were an accepted thing in those days, as it was believed, there could be no better stepmother than the mousi (maternal aunt) herself for the motherless children. Kamini Kaushal had earlier been working on the Delhi stage and had convinced her husband to let her join films.

‘Dilip Kumar visited her very often during the shooting of Pugree; but it was their personal affair and I didn’t think it my business to interfere. But one day, Kamini’s brother, a military man, strode on to the sets. He took out a pistol and threatened to shoot Kamini if she didn’t put a stop to her clandestine affair with Dilip Kumar.

‘It was then agreed that Kamini would be allowed to complete only the film on hand, and no more new films for her. No more acting. Kamini, who suspected me to have tattled to her people, was annoyed with me, though I don’t know from where she got that impression.

‘Anyway, since there was only about five to six days’ work left on Pugree, I didn’t have any problem. After that, we went our individual ways.’

Here is a recent interview of one of the most popular actresses of 40's and 50's i.e. Swaranlata. Sawaranlata will always be remembered as the heroine of Rattan (1944). According to boxofficeindia, Rattan along with Kismet (1943) still remains one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian Cinema History (controlling for such factors as inflation etc). Rattan also established Naushad's career as music director. Swaranlata was Sikh, but during the shooting of Laila Majnu (where Rafi also made cameo apperance), Swaranlata and Nazir fell in love and Swaranlata converted to Islam. After partition she migrated to Pakistan and helped established a dead film industry of Lahore. Their first effort in Pakistan was "Heer Ranjha" whose negative was accidentally destroyed. After that they produced/directed first Punjabi film "Pheray" (1949) and it became first hit film of Pakistan thus securing Pakistani film industry. Later Nazir/Swaranlata team produced/directed many hit films. Some of her memorable films include Tasweer (1943), Ishara (1943), Rattan (1944), Laila Majnu (1945), Pheray (1949), Shehri Babu (1953), Heer (1955), Naukar (1955), Khatoon (1955), Noor-e-Islam (1957). She has acted with all top of heroes of her time including Motilal, Dilip Kumar, Pirhviraj Kapoor, Nazir, Darpan and Santosh. She has been given Lifetime achievement award for her contributions to Lollywood.

The years gone by: Swaran Lata

By Fariha Rashed

When one speaks of legends, the mind instantly paints a picture of grandeur. Consider an actress who was labelled ‘tragedy queen’ for her moving performances, and a thespian who took the world of Indian cinema by storm with her dark eastern looks. Swaran Lata, of the Nazir-Swaran Lata duo, began her journey with the multi talented actor/producer/director Nazir, in the pre-Partition hit, Laila-Majnoo. They continued as a husband and wife team across the border in the then newly formed, independent Pakistan film industry.

The fledgling industry owed much to this remarkably talented couple who showed commitment and determination in spite of the initial problems they had to face while commencing their careers in Pakistan. “We had no money when we first came here; we left everything behind in India. Our good friend, Bari, gave us food and a place to stay. I then returned to India and brought back some of my things and Nazir Sahib and I subsequently began working,” says Swaran. However, having stood her ground, to this day, she maintains the reputation of being a star whose dialogue delivery and haunting voice has been the hallmark of her success.

Swaran Lata, now almost 80, a great-grandmother and in great shape for her age, cannot recall exactly how many movies she has acted in, but when asked to name a few she says: “Before Partition, I starred in Laila Majnoo, Vamikh Azra, Ratan, Maa Baap Ki Laaj, Pratigya and Tasveer”. Afterwards, she remembers acting in Phairai, Larai, Shehri Baboo, Heer, Khatoon and Sachayee. Of course, unforgettable is the famous song from Swaran’s film, Heer, Asaan jaan ke meet laye ankh we, which has recently, in a very contemporary style, been sung and remixed by singer Annie in her debut album.

‘Our films had no vulgarity and the story line was powerful yet simple. Everything has changed now in both the Pakistani and Indian film industries. New people have come in and everything is glamourised. I refuse to watch any of the latest films,’ says Swaran Lata

The original song was an instant hit and to this day, is a hot favourite among music lovers. Furthermore, according to Swaran, her late husband produced and directed quite a few films in Pakistan such as Noor-i-Islam, Azmat-i-Islam, Naukar, Sawaal and Heer and she states very confidently that “all his movies were a success.” In her lifetime, Swaran has worked with great names like Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Moti Lal and Dilip Kumar in India and with Santosh Kumar, Darpan, Inayat Hussein Bhatti and Habib in Pakistan. This portfolio can stand to impress anyone who has the slightest idea about old cinema and its top actors.

An exceptional and wondrous story about how she entered the realm of acting trails Swaran. Sadly, her parents passed away when she was very young and she lived most of her adolescent life with her elder brother, whom she recalls “was very strict.” However, it is the story of how she got discovered that Swaran tells with great passion: “I was a student at college in Lucknow, India. When I was travelling from Delhi to Lucknow, a few directors saw me. They approached me to act in films but I was not interested at first. One of them then went to my elder brother with the offer, and to my utmost surprise he agreed. I then started my career as an actress in Poona where after my first movie, the studio closed down. I went to Bombay where I got good work. From 1946 onwards I became very popular and was known as one of the top artistes around.

“After Partition, my husband and I came to Lahore and I stopped working in movies after Nazir Sahib’s first heart attack.” She is adamant about never taking up acting again, “I have retired. I’ve given interviews on TV programmes like Aap Ka Zameer by Zameer Sahib. That was an excellent interview and I enjoyed it. However, now I take pleasure in being at home with my children, grand children and great grand children.” She is not a social person by nature and happily reveals that she does not mingle with people from the film industry anymore. “I like to keep to myself,” she says.

Having witnessed a huge change in the workings of cinema since she first started out as an actress, Swaran is not very happy with the state of affairs at present. “Our films had no vulgarity. They could be watched sitting with families and the story line was powerful yet simple. Everything has changed now in both the Pakistani and Indian film industries. New people have come in and everything is glamourised. The elements of nudity and heavy make-up have crept in whereas at my time, our films were successful without all of this. I don’t want to comment too much on what I think because I refuse to watch any of the latest films as it is.”

Swaran believes that the production style and quality of movies has also shifted to a great extent and that a new trend is being followed. Although technology has aided production immensely, the vision and calibre of producers from her time is unmatchable. Commenting upon the type of audiences that watch films nowadays, Swaran says, “At our time, movie watching was enjoyed by the gentry. Now it is the masses who watch films and they prefer watching Punjabi movies, which I don’t like at all.”

She is also disappointed because she feels that “movie-makers are too commercial now. There is less attention on the story and more stress on love scenes and dances.” The Pakistani censor board, in her view, is a joke. “I was on the censor board but I quickly left because whatever we, as the board members, recommended was never followed. Strange films were passed as fit for showing and a lot of people on the board were bought off.”

Being a staunch believer in hard work and dedication, Swaran stresses on continuous practice and self-training for anyone who is striving to be a great actress. “I used to spend hours perfecting my role for each film. My dialogue delivery was known to be incredibly controlled and in sync with my facial expressions. I used to become one with my character. Being an actress requires great discipline,” she says. Swaran shrewdly advises: “An actress needs to know how to speak well and carry herself. I used to dress very simply in a white sari and blouse. I did not like being over dressed in public and my make-up was light at all times. Actresses in my time possessed a natural beauty which, I feel, has now been overshadowed with the application of heavy and unnecessary make-up and styling. Every actress looks the same and their individuality is being lost.”

What does Swaran translate this passion for sheer discipline into now? For one, even at her age, she still does cardiovascular exercises every morning and a yoga routine every evening. She keeps herself fit and active and still cooks for her children and grand children who live with her. “I think a person should maintain their health throughout their life, otherwise at my age I could have been bed-ridden,” she says.

Having been blessed with an exciting and fulfilling life, she looks back contently at everything she has achieved. “Sometimes I feel sorry that I left India and came to Pakistan because a lot of sacrifice was involved. However, I have settled in very well and the best thing is that I am respected by everyone. I am proud of all my children, grand children and in turn great grand children. My life is now very simple and I just look forward to spending time with my family in Lahore.”

Getting a little teary eyed at the end, Swaran goes on to say: “I must mention my dear friend Najma who I miss very much since she passed away and I must thank my friends Bari and his wife Saloni with whom I now spend a lot of time at their home.”

One thing is for certain, Swaran Lata’s story of fame and success will be told by every successive generation of her family. The government should honour such artistes who have rendered significant services to the film industry with their hard work and dedication, creating an infrastructure for future generations.

GEETA BALI ( 1930 - 1965)

Some actresses are destined to become and remain fond memories in the eyes of their peers and fans.
Their name and persona's attain near legendary status because of an untimely death or a life of stellar personal integrity and struggle...On both accounts Geeta Bali was such an actress.....
Geeta Bali's dancing eyes and her animated expressive face which mirrored her soul were her most outstanding features, yet life was snatched away from this vibrant personality at an achingly young age
of 35...
She was born in pre partition punjab as Harkirtan kaur.She was a Sikh, her family moved to Bomabay
and were living in near poverty and she decided to join films...she had earlier done a few small time
dancing roles in punjabi films like Badnami before moving to Bombay.Impressed by her off-screen vivacity Noted film Producer Kidar Sharma cast Geeta in his Suhaag Raat(1948)...Audience related to her instantly nad Geeta was offered many film roles and she accepted most...she won rave reviews even for her supporting roles in films like Badi Bahen and Dulari....





She became a star in the 1950's after Baazi(1951) Guru dutt s first hit where she played
the role of Gangster's moll with gay abandon dancing to the tunes of Geeta dutts, Tadbeer se
bigdi huyi taqdeer banale she went on to do three more films under his direction...including
Jaal with Dev anand which is remembered to this day for its music by S.D.Burman
and the song Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahan....She was equally good in the tragic Bawre nain with Raj kapoor...followed another super successful film Albela ....Albela had swinging C.Ramchandra compositions like Shola jo badke dil mera dhadke and Sham dhale mere khidki tale popular to this day...







Geeta's reputation as an actress rests more on her performance than her role.Natural ,Spontaniousandgifted with a spot-on sense of comic timing, she never really found a vehicle worthy of her talent...Largely she frittered away her talent in B grade movies.Famously down to earth despite
her star status she was the antithesis of the coy 1950's heroine....
Those who knew her personally claim that she was a Samaritan who touched the lives of whoever she met.



Shammi Kapoor entered her life when they worked in Miss coca cola and Coffehouse she was 24 and he was 23......Later while shooting for Kedar Sharm's Rangeen Raaten they fell in love while they were shooting at Ranikhet.....
Back in Bomaby they realised that they could not live without each other.....and after four months of agony, tears,non-togetherness and desperation they decided to get married, however they were unsure about the reaction of his family...they went ahead and got married at Banganga temple at 4 am,on the 23rd August 1955 with the help of Producer-director Hari Walia....It has become for Bollywood the most romantic of story book elopements and weddings, one that could be placed with ease into a film..





It is some consolation that Geeta crammed a lot into her short life...70 odd films ina ten year career..

Some memorable ones
Suhag Raat
Badi Bahen
Dulari
Jal tarang
Baazi
Bawre nain
Albela
Lachak
Anand math
Jaal
Neelam pari
Raag rang
Ferry
Milap
Faraar
Pocketmaar
Sailaab
Coffe house
Aji bas shukriyan
Jailor
Mohar
Sapan suhane
Jalti nishani
Nai rahen
Jabse tumhe dekha hai

Geeta continued to work after her marriage in a few films like Jailor, Mohar, Sapan suhane and Jabse tumhe dekha hai(1963) which was her last released film...Shammi kapoor had become a huge star by then and after the birth of her two children Aditya and Kanchan she eased her work load.




But the desire to do that one fulfilling role for which he would be remembered for prompted Geeta to attempt the production of a classic for herself.She started Rano, based on Rajinder Singh Bedi's famous novel Ek Chaddar Maili Si based on a widow's remarriage to her brother-in-law.Upcoming star Dharmendra played the hero.
While shooting the film, Geeta who had not been vaccinated for small pox contacted the dreaded disease, bet care was rushed to her, but Geeta bali passed away on January 21, 1965 leaving behind an eight year old son and three year old daughter in the care of a devastated Shammi kapoor Ironically she was cremated in Banganga not far from where she was married....
Pradeep kumar her co star in many films has said that 'Geeta was the fairy of histronics who wore a human form'
Having sung countless songs for Geeta Bali,Lata Mangeshkar always had a soft spot for Geeta bali......