Into the life of the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani, who did the longest kissing scene and had a difficult life with many twists and turns. Read on to learn more about her.
A woman’s life is complicated by double societal expectations from birth. In 19th-century colonial India, where male dominance and prejudices against women prevailed, being a pioneer was especially tough. Yet Devika Rani defied the odds and proved everyone wrong. She is widely acknowledged as the 'First Lady' of Indian cinema. Devika Rani was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which was presented in 1969.
A revolutionary factor in Indian Cinema came with the introduction of Devika Rani, the grand-niece of Rabindranath Tagore, who did her education in the UK. She was the daughter of the first Indian surgeon general, M.N. Chaudhuri. In 1928, she met her future husband, Himanshu Rai, the man who would assist her in changing the course of Bollywood. She kick-started her career as an actress with the first movie of Indian cinema, Karma, in the year 1933.
Getting wonderful reviews in the London media magazines and getting good critical responses, she was considered a star with much perspective. It was one of the first movies in Indian cinema, which depicted the act of kissing on screen. It was also the first talkie in the English language produced by an Indian. After Karma, the darling couple got married and returned to India and started a new studio named, ‘Bombay Talkies’, which later launched several stars such as Dilip Kumar, Mumtaz, Raj Kapoor and many more.
During the filming of Jeevan Naiya in 1936, Devika Rani fell in love with Najm-ul-Hassan and eloped. Furious, Himanshu Rai sent Sashadhar Mukherjee to bring her back, but she agreed only if Rai paid them. Rai complied but dismissed Najm-ul-Hassan in revenge. He replaced him with Kumudlal Ganguly, who later became the superstar, Ashok Kumar.
However, after quitting her film career, Devika Rani got married to Russian painter, Svetoslav Roerich, son of Russian artist, Nicholas Roerich, in 1945. As a family, they shifted to Manali, Himachal Pradesh. They shifted from Manali to Bangalore, Karnataka and lived there by managing an export company for some years. They bought an estate there on the outskirts of the city, and thus, they spent the rest of their lives in solitude.
Devika Rani's acting technique often compared to the Swedish-American film actress, Greta Garbo, shaped Indian cinema's future through her acting and defying gender roles, leaving a lasting legacy and inspiring future generations.
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