Durga Khote

Durga Khote was an one of the foremost leading ladies of her time in hindi films . She remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema and in theatre for over 50 years starring in around 200 films and numerous theatre productions.
Khote was born as Vita Lad on 14.01.1905 to a Konkan Brahmin family . She grew up in a large Hindu joint family and was a BA graduate from St. Xavier’s College .While still a college-going teenager, she married into the Khote family and settled down with her husband.
By the age of 26, Durga Khote was widowed with two young sons; so She had to seek work in films to support her children .
Durga Khote started with minor roles but was soon promoted to play heroine in the 1932 double version (Hindi and Marathi) film Ayodhyecha Raja which proved to be a runaway hit in which she played the role of Rani Taramati.
She was bold enough to broke away from the “studio system” (exclusive contract with a studio to work in its films on a monthly salary) then in vogue and became one of the first freelance artistes of that era .
In 1936, she played as Saudamini in film Amar Jyoti, with one of her most memorable roles and worked in front of legendary actors like Sohrab Modi and Prithviraj Kapoor.
In 1937, she produced and directed the film Saathi, making her one of the first women to step into this field . The 1940s opened for her in a big way, with award-winning performances in film Charnon Ki Dasi चरणोंकी दासी ((1941) and Vijay Bhatt’s classic film Bharat Milap भरत मिलाप 1942), both of which got her the BFJA Best Actress Award for two consecutive years.
Durga Khote remained active for many years especially in Marathi theatres in Mumbai .
She played a wide variety of roles over a career that was not only long, but also untouched by any scandal. She was the inspiration for several generations of actresses.
During later years, she played several important character roles, such as mother -Jodhabai, the queen of Akbar torn between duty towards her husband and love towards her son in film Mughal-e-Azam (1960) . Her role was highly acclaimed and earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She went on to play other widely appreciated character roles in later movies, such as the role of the grandmother of the heroine in Bobby (1973), the hero’s aunt in Abhimaan (1973), and the very memorable Bidaai (1974), where she played a mother, which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her final memorable role was in Subhash Ghai’s Karz (1980), where she played the role of a mother .
She acted in over 200 films in her career and in 1980s set up her own Durga Khote Productions to produce short , Ad and documentary movies a famous TV serial ‘ Wagle ki Duniya ‘.
Later in life, Durga Khote wrote an autobiography in Marathi, translated into English as “ I Durga Khote “ and moved to Alibaug, near Mumbai where she died on 22 September 1991.
Her major awards include Padma Shri in 1968 , Maharashtra state award in 1970 and prestigious Dada Saheb Phalkey award in 1983 .
The India today magazine in their millennium 2000 issue included her in their list of top 100 indian film artists .
A postage stamp in her honour was released by India Post to on 3 May 2013.
She will be remembered as a famous , fine and articulate actress for decades .

—🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹—-
Five stars