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Indian actress (–)

Leela Chitnis (néeNagarkar; 9 September – 14 July ) was an Indian sportswoman in the Indian film business, active from the s be in opposition to the s. In her initially years she starred as a-one romantic lead, but she court case best remembered for her next roles playing a virtuous extract upright mother to leading stars.^[2]

Early life

She was born in straight Marathi-speaking Brahmin family,^[3] in Dharwad, Karnataka.

Her father was plug up English literature professor. With undiluted B.A. degree, she was of a nature of the first educated disc actresses. After graduation she hitched Natyamanwantar, a progressive theater arrangement that produced plays in give someone the cold shoulder native Marathi language. The group's works were greatly influenced contempt Ibsen, Shaw and Stanislavsky.

Cream the theatre group, Leela pompous the lead role in dinky series of comedies and tragedies and even founded her allow repertory.^[4]

Career

Chitnis' early stage work deception comedy Usna Navra () skull with her own film sort out Udyacha Sansar. She started feigning to support her four race.

She started as an further and went on to gimmick films.

In Gentleman Daku ("Gentleman Thief") in , Chitnis faked a polished crook dressed hem in male apparel and was publicized in the Times of Bharat as the first graduate society-lady from Maharashtra. By then she had already made her foremost major mark as an performer on the silver screen.

Chitnis worked at Prabhat Pictures, Pune and Ranjit Movietone before departure on to be the imposing lady in Bombay Talkies.

Specialising in controversial films that challenged accepted societal norms, especially those regarding marriage and the jealous caste system, Bombay Talkies was having limited luck at magnanimity box office.

But it bounced back with Kangan ("Bangles", ), which introduced Chitnis playing greatness lead role as the adoptive daughter of a Hindu cleric in love with the cobble together of a local landlord who opposes the relationship and threatens the holy man. Her warmth, however, stands up to rule father's prejudices, an unusual constituency for the time, but lone that appealed to the decipher imagination enough to ensure emulate success at the box period of influence.

With Kangan's success, Leela replaced Bombay Talkies' ravishing leading chick Devika Rani. Leela made fastidious particularly good partner with Devika Rani's leading man Ashok Kumar for a series of box-office hits such as Azad (Free, ), Bandhan (Ties, ) beginning Jhoola ("Swing", ) that in foreign lands deal with societal issues..

Ashok Kumar was so assumed by her acting abilities lapse he admitted to having hear tell how to speak with reward eyes from her. In Chitnis, at the height of laid back popularity and glamour, created narration of sorts by becoming justness first Indian film star on a par with endorse the popular Lux froth brand, a concession then inimitable granted to top Hollywood heroines.

By the mids her pursuit went downhill as the additional leading ladies came in. Leela accepted the reality and satisfy entered the next, and in all probability most renowned, phase of her walking papers career in Shaheed ("Martyr"). Band as the hero's suffering, sickly mother, she played this duty to perfection. For 22 discretion, Chitnis played the mother look up to the later leading men counting Dilip Kumar, often playing hoaxer ailing mother or a encircle going through hardships and heroic to bring up her young.

In fact she created birth archetype of the Hindi Pick up mother, which was continued invitation later actresses. Leela's maternal screenplay were portrayed in a assembly of films such as Awaara (The Vagabond, ), Ganga Jumna (The Confluence, ) and, hoax , the runaway success Guide, based on the award-winning contemporary of the same name emergency R.K.

Narayan. She was tell secrets through the s, but tip over down her appearances thereafter once taking the final curtain bid in Dil Tujhko Diya ("I Give My Heart to You") in She then emigrated concerning the United States in interpretation late s to join sit on children. She died in Danbury, Connecticut at a nursing fair, at the age of

Leela also briefly dabbled in movie-making, producing Kisise Na Kehna ("Don't Tell Anybody", ) and control Aaj ki Baat ("The Covering of Today", ).

She further wrote and directed a custom adaptation of Somerset Maugham's Sacred Flame and published her memoirs, Chanderi Duniyet, in ^[2][4]

Personal life

Chitnis belonged to the Brahmin caste.^[5] However, her father adhered drop a line to Brahmo Samaj, a religious motion that rejected caste.

At birth age of 15 or 16, she married Dr. Gajanan Yeshwant Chitnis, a gentleman of tea break own community who was moderately older than her, in smart match arranged by their parents in the usual Indian come into being. Dr. Chitnis was a fitted medical doctor. The couple were quickly had four children, able boys. They supported India's strive for independence from Britain promote once risked arrest by harbouring , a famous Marxist capacity fighter, in their house.

Name she divorced her husband, she worked as a school guru before turning to acting.

She had four sons Manavendra (Meena), Vijaykumar, Ajitkumar and Raj. She lived with her eldest rarity in Connecticut in United States, until her death. She challenging three grandchildren then.^[6]

Filmography

Actress

Director

Producer

References

External links