Lalita Pawar
Lalita Pawar was a prolific hindi film actress who first appeared as a heroin and after the year 1950 as a character actress mainly portraying the role of a wicked , evil and cruel mother-in-law सास or Sister-in -law ननद on cinema screen . She acted in record over 700 films in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati in her career from 1928 to 1997 and holds a Guinness world record of longest acting career spanning over 70 years.
She was born as Amba Laxman Rao Sagun on 18 April 1916, into a Marathi hindu business family in Yeola in Nashik but despite being from a effluent family, she had no interest in education.
She started her acting career at age nine in the film – Raja Harishchandra , a silent movie of 1928 and thereafter played lead roles in the silent era films and then in talking films of 1930s . She acted in hit films such as Netaji Palkar (1938), Sant Damaji, Amrit and Gora Kumbhar in the lead role with the then top heroes like Jairaj, Trilok Kapoor, Gajanan Jagirdar and others .
In her film Daivi Khazana, she appeared in a bikini and created quite a stir in those times . With the film Chatur Sundari she made a kind of a record by performing 17 roles . But only a few mention it now as it has quietly receded as a faint memory in the vast folds of Hindi cinema.
She had joined the club of highest paid artists and her career graph was on the rise .
But suddenly and unfortunately, in 1942, while shooting for a scene in the movie Jung-E-Azadi, the new and inexperienced actor Bhagwan dada slapped her so hard that it caused a facial paralysis and burst a vein of her left eye and despite three years of treatment , her left eye got permanently damaged and developed a nasty squint and a peculiar stretch on the face and this ended her rising career as heroin .
But she didn’t lose heart and decided to take up the character roles and continue her acting profession.
Thereafter she had to abandon lead roles and switch to character roles, which won her much of her fame ( or notoriety) later in life.
She was particularly known for playing the roles of maternal figures, especially as wicked mothers-in-law or sister-in-law and with such sincerity and so effectively that in the eyes of her audience she became a notorious and a very hated figure though in her real life she was a nice person . Lalita Pawar was the actress who showed Hindi cinema how a cruel mother-in-law can be. ललिता पवार ही वोह ऐक्ट्रेस थी , जिन्होंने हिंदी सिनेमा को बताया कि क्रूर सास कैसी हो सकती है।
However, She also excellently performed the notable role of strict but kind Mrs.Desouja in film Anari (1959) with Raj kapoor for which she received the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and also as the tough matriarch बड़ी माँ who falls in love in film Professor (1962) and as a hunchbacked Manthara मंथरा in Ramanand Sagar’s television series Ramayan a repeat after her similar role in film Sampuran Ramayan made in 1961 .
She divorced her first husband for his illicit relations and remarried with film producer Rajprakash Gupta, of Ambika studios, Bombay. Her son Jai Pawar became a producer and worked with her in movies like Manzil.
She died on 24 February 1998 at Pune due to mouth cancer.
She won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the comedy-drama film Anari.
She was also honored by the Government as the first lady of Indian cinema in 1961.
She was also awarded the sahitya kala academy reward.
She will be long remembered as a fine actress and also as the evil and wicked सास mother-in-law of bollywood though in real life she was a very nice person .
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Four stars
Lalita Pawar had talked about the change in her career post her eye accident in 1942 and had said as under :-
“After that, I was out of work for almost three years and when I did return at work, I had no other choice but to accept character roles, even though I was just 25 years old! I had to play mother to heroes who were as old as me! Would you believe, I am younger than Ashok Kumar? Raj, Dilip and Dev are also younger to me by just a few years…and I had to play mother to each of them! Anyway, I think the accident was a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, I would have got stuck being a heroine and wouldn’t have got the chance to play the various kinds of roles that I have played over the years. I won awards and rewards, honour and respect, love and attention. I am grateful to Bhagwanji , my film-makers and all my fans.”
Lalita Pawar’s Prominent films from the year 1950 to 1987
1950 Dahez ( First film in which she portrayed as an evil and cruel mother-in law and became a terror for indian Bahus )
1952 Daag
1955 Shri 420
1958 Parvaris ( Nominated for – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress )
1959 Anari ( Won – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress )
1960 Aanchal ( nominated as best supporting actress )
1961 Junglee
1962 Professor ( nominated as best supporting actress )
1962 banarasi thug
1963 bluff master
1964 kohra ( Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress )
1964 phool aur pathar
1966 love in tokyo
1966 khandan
1968 Ankhen
1968 Neelkamal
1968 teen bahu raninya
1969 Anand
1969 Meri Bhabhi
1970 gopi
1972 bombay to goa
1972 gaon hamara shahar tumhara
1974 Naya din nai raat
1979 yarrana
1980 phir wohi raat
1981 Naseeb
1983 ek din bahu ka
1987 watan key rakhwaley
1997 Bhai
1987 Ramayan serial as Manthara )
and several more .
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