1. Nutan Behl
Born on 4 June, 1936, Nutan is one of the brightest gems of Indian Film Industry. The eldest daughter of Shobhana Samarth, Nutan Behl, is said to be by far the most attractive and sensitive actresses of Bollywood. She is one of the very few divas who have served the industry for almost five decades playing a variety of roles, starting as a child artist, to leading roles then character roles with great élan.
When Nutan was only 14, she starred in a film directed by her mother Shobhana appropriately titled “Hamari Beti”. That film marked her debut. 1951 set Nutan’s career on a roll with her being crowned the first Miss India and the release of “Hum Log” and “Nagina”. These films announced the arrival of Nutan on the stage of Bollywood.
Her first big break was “Seema” released in 1955, for which she won a Filmfare Award. She followed her success with a romantic comedy, “Paying Guest”, in which she co-starred with Dev Anand. In 1959 she starred in two hit films, “Anari” (with Raj Kapoor) and Bimal Roy’s Sujata (with Sunil Dutt). These movies showed that Nutan’s unique quality, which set her apart from her contemporaries, was that she was a thinking actress who tried to perceive the undeveloped motivations of her characters. Her expressions spoke more than her words.
Nutan’s pairing with Lata Mangeshkar worked wonders and the duo together gave a number of hits. The voice of Lata combined with the expressive emotions of Nutan proved to be a success story. Nutan was also quite daring for her times and she was one of the first actresses daring enough to wear a bikini, which she did in “Dilli Ka Thug”.
Nutan’s personal life had not been as bright as her career. She had an arranged marriage on October 11, 1959 with Lt. Commander Rajish Behl, a boy her mother had chosen for her. A son, Mohnish, was born to them in 1963. When Nutan found out that her mom had been misappropriating her earnings, she filed a Civil suit and broke off all relationship with her. The relationship with her mom remained strained until Nutan was diagnosed with cancer.
Nutan once again came to the limelight with the release of “Bandini” in 1963. Bandini is still remembered as one of the finest performances by an Indian actress. Throughout the 60’s Nutan gave great performances in films like Chhaila, Manzil, Surat aur Seerat, Dil Hi Toh Hai, Chaandi Ki Deewar, Khandaan, Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya, Milan, Bhai Behan etc. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the fourth time for her performance in Milan.
She again gave award winning performances in “Saudagar” (1973) and “Mein Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki” (1978). She maintained her gracious and sensitive style when she started playing maternal roles in the 80’s. She starred next to Dilip Kumar in the box office hit “Karma” in 1986.
Nutan passed away on February 21, 1991 at the age of 54, but this star of Indian Film Industry will keep shining forever and showing the way for all talented newcomers in Bollywood.
2. Nargis
Nargis was a major Indian star during the ’40s and ’50s recognized for her charisma, tremendous dignity, great intelligence, and ability to play a variety of roles ranging from shy coquettes to westernized women. Nargis was born on June 1, 1929 as Fatima Rashid, the daughter of the Allahabad-based singer, Jaddanbai and Uttamchand Mohanchand. Nargis, her stage name, means “Narcissus”, the flower. She was always credited as Nargis in all of her films.
Nargis started her career as a child artist in “Talashe Haq”, she quickly progressed to playing lead roles and became the top actresses of her era. She made her debut as an actress in “Tamanna” released in 1942. She appeared in a number of movies after that the most popular being Humayun (1945), Nargis (1946), Mela (1948), Aag (1948), Barsaat (1949), Jogan (1950).
Nargis paired well with Raj Kapoor and together they developed both a personal and professional partnership and gave Hindi cinema some of its best classics. Their first was Aag release in 1948. Their first blockbuster an onscreen couple was the unforgettable “Barsaat” released in 1949. The famous hit song Pyaar Hua Iqrar Hua is still considered as one of the finest romantic songs ever. Barsaat was followed by another hit “Aawara” in 1951 and “Shree 420” in 1955. Both films still maintain top positions amongst Bollywood’s finest classics. A portion of their success could be attributed to their fame as real life couple. Their romantic entanglement provided fans with hours of gossipy entertainment as Kapoor was a married man.
Nargis’s best performance came with perhaps Indian cinema’s greatest work Mehboob Khan’s “Mother India”. The film was critically acclaimed and a box office wonder and it topped all charts. The film grossed over Rs. 40 million the highest for any Indian film at that time. The film is still respected by the audience and critics of all ages and generations. It was the first Indian film to be nominated for Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Nargis played the role of a mother who killed her rebellious son for the goodwill of the whole village thus becoming the ‘mother’ of the entire village. She also won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for that role.
One year later Nargis married her co-star of Mother India Sunil Dutt. The marriage seemed scandalous to many at the time, because Sunil had played her son in the movie.
After the marriage, Nargis retired from films to raise her children and to volunteer for charitable work, but she still remained active in the film industry using her friendship with Indira Gandhi to help lobby for better conditions for filmmakers. In 1980 she became a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament).
Pancreatic cancer claimed Nargis on May 3, 1981, ironically the same year her son Sanjay Dutt made his Bollywood debut with Rocky. Nargis and her movies, (approximately 50) which spanned from 1935 through on to 1967, continue to be popular even now.
3. Madhubala
Who can forget the dove-eyed Madhubala who is the epitome of on-screen beauty and still the most beautiful actress Bollywood ever had. She had name and fame but not enough life. The actress died at a young age of 36!! She was born on 14/02/1933 and died on 23/02/1969 and in that period that she acted she did 70 films.
Her early life was full of struggles. Born to Atauallah Khan and Mumtaz Jehan Begum in a conservative family of Pathan Muslims, she started in a cow shed in Jogeshwari courtesy of a Bhaiya from UP. For her first role as a child star, she was paid 50 rupees and then 50 rupees more because the father said he has to accompany her and hence can not do a job.
After about five years of playing child roles, Devika Rani called for her to come for her film Jwar Bhata. She was rechristened to Madhubala. Madhubala got her first break in a lead role in Neel Kamal (1947). Her true success came with the movie Mahal (1949), which literally made her a superstar overnight. The list of movies to her credit is long, some of them being Sharabi (1964) Half Ticket (1962), Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Barsaat Ki Raat (1960), Jaali Note (1960), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Howrah Bridge (1958), Phagun (1958), Mr. & Mrs. ‘55 (1955), Badal (1951), Neki Aur Badi (1949), Amar Prem (1948), Lal Dupatta (1948), Pujari (1946). Not many would know Madhubala had charged twice that was paid to Dilip Kumar for Mughal e Azam when the movie had gone on the floor.
She was romantically involved with a number of men. She worked with most of them and some of them were very respectable film personalities. Be it Latif, Mohan Sinha, Kamal Amrohi, Premnath, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Dilip Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Bhart Bhushan and finally Kishore Kumar. Men just fell for her beauty and charms. The list can go on and on.
To get Dilip interested in her she sent a red rose with a message. Dilip was impressed but got furious when he later came to know that she had done the same with Premnath not long ago and was going strong with him. He never forgave her for that. Never ever, not even when she was on her death bed. Kishore Kumar who was her last love and eventually her husband - married her despite her illness.
Her ailing heart was kept hidden from the industry. Often she would cough blood on the sets. Ultimately she died of her heart problem and Kishore Kumar took no time in forgetting her and remarrying.
4. Hema Malini
Hema Malini was born in the Tamil-speaking Chakravarthy household on October 16, 1948 in Ammankudi, Tamil Nadu. Her dad’s name is V.S.R. Chakravarthy and her mom, Jaya, was a film producer. She was enrolled in the Chennai-based Andhra Mahila Sabha. She was the second South Indian actress after Vyjayantimala to be a successful Bollywood star.
She performed as a dancer in the regional film “Pandava Vanavasam” in 1961. She wanted to start her acting career in 1964, but she was rejected by the Tamil director Shridhar on the grounds that she had no star appeal, but Hema did not give up and made her debut with a bang starring opposite to the legendary Raj Kapoor in “Sapnon ka Saudagar” in 1968. The film’s posters splashed her pictures with the catch phrase Dreamgirl. Though the film flopped, Hema the dream girl had arrived.
Her next films were “Waris” and “Jahan Pyar Mile”. The films failed but Hema survived with “Johnny Mera Naam” in 1970. Her next major success came with her famous double role in “Seeta aur Geeta” in 1972 where she starred next to Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmendra. It was her first successful project with Dharmendra, the couple went on to be one of the hottest on screen couple before they became real life partners when they tied the knot, but it was not an easy marriage. Dharmendra, who was already married to Prakash Kaur, and had two sons, Sunny and Bobby, could not marry Hema as Prakash refused to divorce him. According to the Hindu Marriage Act, a Hindu cannot marry a second time while the first wife is still alive. Dharmendra belongs to a Arya Samaj Hindu Punjabi Jatt family. On August 21, 1979, both Hema and Dharmendra converted to Islam, changed their names to Aisha Bi R. Chakravarty and Dilawar Khan Kewal Krishn respectively, and got married in accordance with Islamic rites.
Hema kept on starring in one hit after the other like Tere Mere Sapney, Gora aur Kaala, Garam Masala, Baabul ki Galiyan etc. “Sholay” released in 1975 gave her career a huge boost. Basanti became an icon in Indian Film Industry and her dance number Jab Tak Hai Jaan Mein Naachungi became one of the most loved dance numbers ever. The movie went on to become the single greatest hit of Bollywood completing its Golden Jubilee.
After Sholay, Hema gave other hits like Charas (1976), Chacha Bhatija (1977), The Burning Train (1980), Satte Pe Satta (1982) etc. With increasing age Hema shifted to playing character roles, but with same grace and style. She appeared in Jamai raja (1991), Hey Ram (2000), Baghban (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), and Baabul (2006) in character roles, playing each one of the with immense élan.
Hema’s priorities have now shifted to politics. She is a member of the right-winged Bharatiya Janata Party, and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
5. Rekha
Born in 1954 at Chennai, Rekha is considered to be the “Eternal Diva of Bollywood”. Being the daughter of the well known film superstar Gemini Ganeshan and actress Pushpavalli studio became her playground and she started nurturing her acting skills from a very young age. She started acting from as early as 1966 when she appeared as a child actor in the Telegu film “Rangula Ratnam”. Rekha made her debut as heroine in the successful Kannada film “Goadalli CID 999” with Dr. Rajkumar in 1969.
Her first Hindi release was “Sawan Bhado” in 1970 which was a major hit and made her a star overnight. During the period 1970-1973 she starred in movies like Ammakosam, Barkha Bahar, Rampur ka Lakshman. Gora aur Kala, Dharma etc. Dharma was a major hit and put Rekha in the limelight but the real big hit came with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Namak Haram” in 1973 in which Rekha starred next to the Bollywood kings Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.
Her pairing with Amitabh Bachchan has been most successful of all and together they gave great hits like Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Silsila etc. Silsila with its controversial subject again made Rekha the center of attention. She was rumored to be Amitabh’s real life flame and the film gossip column may have contributed to her success.
She bagged the Nation Film Award for Best Actress in 1981 for her outstanding performance in the bollywood blockbuster “Umrao Jaan”. The movie was commercially successful and was critically acclaimed as well.
Rekha is known to have played a variety of roles from police officer in ‘Insaaf ka Taraazu’, a perfect housewife in ‘Biwi ho toh Aisi’ to sensuous Mansi in ‘Aastha’. Rekha can claim to have one of the widest varieties of roles under her belt and she played each and every one of them with natural perfection.
Recently Rekha’s Bollywood career has taken a backseat with her appearing in very few movies with short roles of a widowed mother (Krrish) or a glamorous stage singer (Parineeta). Rekha’s forthcoming films include Yaatra, Bajirao Mastani and the much awaited Krrish 2.
