Nostalgia......yesteryear Actresses

YM...Janaab Nasir Saab is from the same city where I live..I know him better than you.
He is one of those members whose posts I often read. In age he is very senior to me
and much experienced as well. I feel very awkward when I find that in some posts he
flows with his emotions and goes erratic which I do not want because I never expect
seasoned people to go irrational and susceptible to attack. I want them to be perfectionists...
that is why I egg them on....off and on..off and on....

NALINI JAYWANT- Born 1926

Blessed with an extraordinarily serene face as innocent as a cherub's Nalini Jaywant was a huge star
in the fifties...
Dilip Kumar considers her the greatest actress he ever worked with,citing her instinct for grasping
the essence of a scene a second to none.Filmfare in their poll in the 1950s declared her one of the
most beautiful woman in the movies....yet when one talks of the legendery actresses of the Indian
screen, Nalini Jaywant's name hardly ever crops up, something that is grossly unfair to this extremely
good looking and multi faceted actress....
Nalini Jaywant was born in Bombay in 1926,The cousin of Famous actress Shobana Samarth.....Her first
prominent movie was mehboobs Bahen(1941), she starred in a handful of film hardly making an
impact till she was noticed in Anokha Pyaar(1948), then came more successful movies like Samadhi Sangram, Naujawan, Jadoo, Raahi ,Shikast....and she had become a top star...



Nalini remained an important leading lady through to the mid fifties and acted opposite all the leading
actors of her time barring Raj Kapoor....Her movies were huge commercial sucesses...
Nalini left her mark with films like Samadhi and Sangram both with Ashok Kumar with whom she was
romantically involved,and went on to act in several films with him...Kafila(1952),Naubahar1952)
Saloni(1952),Sheroo and Mr.X (1957)...
She worked with directors like K.Abbas(Rahi), and Ramesh Saigal in Shikast,which is arguably
her career's best performance opposite Dilip Kumar....
Some of her memorable films

Radhika
Bahen
Anokha pyar
Samadhi
Sangram
Jaadu
Naujawan
Rahi
Shikast
Kavi
Nastik
Munimji
Railway platform
Awaz
Durgesh Nandini
Hum sab chor hai
Kaala paani
Zindgi aur hum
Bombay Race course
Toofan mein pyar kahan





Her last Sucessful film was perhaps Raj Khosla's Kaala pAni(1958), she gave one of the best performance of her career as the nautch girl Kishori....playing a shaded character she stole a march
over the Heroine Madhubala and went on to win the Filmfare award for Best Supporting
Actress for the film.She is absolutely unforgettable in the film be it in the come-hither mujhra Nazar
Laage raaja or a she looks tearfully at Hero Dev Anand from across the room in that all time
great composition by SD Burman Hum Bekhudi mein....
Thereafter none of her films were really noteworthy with her last film being Bombay Race course
in 1965, after which she went into retirement.She made a comeback of sorts in Amitabh bachan's
Nastik where she played a blind woman....
Since then she has been living a reclusive life keeping all to herself...

Maheshji, I think unwittingly I’ve been made a center of a controversy when none was intended. I take it as a compliment that you often read my post. Believe me, this again is not my intention. I just believe that the show must go on, the game should be made interesting whether for entertainment or information or even misinformation. I say “misinformation” because I do know that sometimes we genuinely make mistakes, come up with some wrong statement of facts unintentionally. Fortunately HF is endowed by very capable members and stalwarts such as yourself who, when time permits, take the pain to steer the ship on the right course. I thank you for that.

Having said that, I believe that not everyone can just do away with “Emotions.” I’m emotional. I do things with my heart rather than head. I cannot dissect myself in a clinical environment and try to be a “perfectionist.” You said you find me being “erratic” in some post. I wonder where though I have some faint inklings. Emotions are my forte and I cannot be a cold, calculating perfectionist. Aren't we all different?

Some flowers bloom early and wither away early too. Some bloom late and bloom for a long time. So the age factor has nothing to do with me since I am a late bloomer. I am what is termed as 30 plus (call this as being erractic, laugh if you must!) I prefer younger people for friends of 25 to 35. I am a believer in spontaneity. Therefore, I try to avoid older people, with respects, who think they know it all. Life is a continuous learning process irrespective of whatever age one might be. When we are all in a single classroom where does the question of age comes in?

If being "emotional" is against the HF discipline, please let me know.

NASIR.

I totally agree wit that Nasir.........

If you are passionate about something, why should you not be emotional? Nasirbhai, carry on. Like you say age is never a barrier for the learning process. Kudos! Keep it up.

now this lady,nalini jaywant,i hardly watch 2-3 of her films kala pani n nastik,i was not impressed with her acting at all
in kala pani,she was having good role,but madhubala was grt,specially in second half,coz in first half she was not having much to do..

nalini was against shobhana's decision of joining films,but the she end up becoming an actress too

In Kala Pani Nalini was good jassi, and i find Madhubala equally good acting wise besides looking breathtakingly beautiful as she always does in all her movies........
I like Nalini jayawants's Munimji,was a lighthearted fun film with great music.....

Lesson No. 1 : To go astray because of emotions, more often then not, brings the
downfall of a person howsoever great he may be.

Lesson No. 2 : To commit frequent mistakes under emotions is a sign of poor personality.

Lesson No.3 : In your life do not act or follow a comet.....which shines and shines brightly
but within a short span of time....is relegated to the realm of obscurity.
Rely and try to become like a Pole Star...which shows the right path
year after year and never faulters or leaves its followers in the lurch.

NB : No further discussions and let us follow the thread as per its topic.

MADHBALA - (February 14 1933 - February 23 1969)

The name itself invokes so much enigma, that its just overwhelming....Madhubala, the Venus of the East
The most beautiful woman to adorn the Hindi film screen,Madhubala represents the era of Beauty
Romance and Tragedy associated with Hindi films. her Beauty had child like quality.....Fragile yet
Confident, her luminous eyes,Royal gait and that bewitching smile........Thirty eight years after her
death Madhubala's inordinate allure continues to evoke legends and inspire superlatives....hers
was no ordinary beauty.In all the brouhaha about Madhubala's porcelain exquisiteness often side
stepped is the fact that she was a mature intutive actress......









Madhbala was born Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi in Delhi the 5th child of a poor conservative Pashtun
Muslim family of 11 children.A muslim holy man is said to have predicted that the ypung Mumtaz would
earn fame and fortune, but would lead an unhappy life and die at a young age.Her father, Ataullah khan
was a coachman in Delhi migrated to Bombay searching for a better livelihood.The family struggled for
over ayear and Mumtaz entered bollywod as a child artiste under the name Baby Mumtaz...Her first film
was Basant(1942), Devika Rani was impressed by her and changed her name to Madhubala
She was to appear in Jwar bhata with Dilip Kumar in 1944, although she was unable to do
the role, it was her first meeting with Dilip Kumar...
It was Kidar Sharma who gave her a break as heroine opposite Raj kapoor in Neelkamal
in 1947.However it was with the Bombay tallkies suspense thriller Mahal(1949) that Madhubala
became a star....









Over the next two years Madhubala blossomed into a captivating beauty,fans referred to her as the
Venus of the ndian screen..........She had spate of films opposite the leading men of the day
Ashok Kumar,Rehman,Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand.....but some of her films flopped including a major film
like Amar with Dilip Kumar, but she silencenced her critics in 1958 when 4 of her films
turned out to be superhits Phagun opposite Bharat bhushan, Howrah Bridge with Ashok Kumar, Kaala
Paani with Dev Anand and Chalti ka naam Ghadi with Kishore kumar......
In 1951 while shooting for Tarana Madhubala got involved with the leading man Dilip Kumar.
The Madhubala - Dilip Kumar affair lasted for 7 years between 1951-1958.During this time she had an
intimate relationship with Dilip and it was widely believed that the stunning pair would eventually get
married. However, It was ended by her father in a highly emotional and publicized court case( with regard to the B.R.Chopra film 'Naya Daur).They were forcibly seperated.







Madhbala's Heart problem was discovered in 1950 when Heart surgery was not available.Her illness
was kept a secret for many years....After her break up with Dilip Kumar she plunged into a loveless
marriage with Kishore kumar on the rebound accepting his proposal on the sets of Chalti ka naam
ghaadi,but his parents refused to attend the civil ceremony and never really
accepted her .....










Some of her memorable films


Mahal
Dulari
Badal
Sangdil
Tarana
Armaan
Nirala
Ek saal
Sharabi
Amar
Mr. and Mrs 55
Gateway of India
Chalti ka naam ghadi
Jwala
passport
Phagun
Howrah Bridge
Kals paani
Barsaat ki Raat
Jhumroo
Mughal e azam
Half Ticket
Insaan jaag utha

In 1960 , it was Mughal-e-Azam which marked one of her Greatest performances as the doomed
courtesan Anarkali.The film showed off the finely modulated depth she could bring to her performance
if given an opportunity.It is an Outstanding performance in an Outstanding Film.
She did have some odd releases in the 1960's but she was mostly confined to bed because of her
illness.She was taken to London for Treatment, but the doctors refused to operate on her as they
thought she would die during the operation,she did survive for another year.



In 1964 she tried to make a comeback opposite Raj kapoor in Chalack , but she collapsed
on the first day of shooting and the film was shelved.
Her illness finally claimed her life in 1969, and she was buried in Santa Cruz Burial Ground along with
her Dairy.
In this short life she made over 70 films and t this day remains one of the most enduring legends
of the Indian cinema....Even today the very mention of the name Madhubala conjures up the image
of those dancing eyes, that lopsided smile.....She is held in awe and remains an icon of beauty and
glamour to scores of her fans.........

Madhubala : Indian Cinema's Tragic Beauty
Khalid Hasan

The Movie industry in the subcontinent is over eighty years old.Were someone to set about finding
who among the thousands of women who have passed across this shimmering dreamland was the
most stunning, the most beautiful, there would be little difference of opinion about that woman being
Mumtaz Begum, whom the world knew by her screen name Madhubala...

She died young, nine days after her thirty-seventh birthday.The 2 most important men in her life
only brought her immense pain, though they must have loved her in his own fashion.
The First was her Father, the authoritarian, hard driving Ataullah khan who in his frenzied bid to
control her life and career does not seem to have paid much attention to the Heart condition with
which she was born and which killed her.She was the toast of India and Pakistan and wherever else
movies made in India were seen, but she was like a prisoner in her own home. She was not allowed
to meet people unless they were pre-cleared by her father, nor was she permitted to be a part of the
industry to which her whole life was dedicated.It is hard to believe that this heartthroab of millions
was a defenseless young woman tyrannised over by a harsh father.

The other man in Madhbala's life who let her down was Dilip Kumar.They were in love and once it is
said he asked her to drop everything and just come with him, but she wanted her father's permission
which ofcourse was refused.Later, Dilip Kumar to his eternal shame, appeared as a witness against her
in a bitter court battle,that broke her heart...While Dilip was testifying against her she is supposed to have
turned to har lawyer R.D.Chadha and said 'I don't believe this is the man who was so in love with me and
whom i loved more than anyone or anything else in the world'.....

Madhubala made one last attempt to reach out to Dilip Kumar. She asked their mutual friend the movie
journalist Bunny Reuben to go to Dilip and tell him,how despite the court case she still loved him....the
moment Bunny mentioned why he was there, Dilip jumped at him angrily'What Rubbish? What love?'
Feeling lost and rejected Madhubala once and only time defied her father and married Kishore Kumar.
It was a disastrous marriage,it never worked....

Nature had given her unparalleld beauty, but it had also left a hole in her heart which in the 1960's was
considered a condition that could not be repaired........
She lies in the Santa Cruz graveyard in Bombay, where among others lie Mohammad Rafi and even
her father Ataullah Khan, who can no longer tyrannise her.
She rests in peace at last, still mourned by many.....

what a grt lady she was..

nalini with pran from chingari