Monday, March 9, 2015

30th March 1908 - 9th March 1994 Devika Rani

Devika Rani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Devika Rani
BornDevika Rani Chaudhuri
30 March 1908
VisakhapatnamMadras PresidencyBritish India
Died9 March 1994 (aged 85)
BangaloreKarnataka, India
Other namesDevika Rani Roerich
OccupationTextile designer, actress, singer
Years active1928–1943
Spouse(s)
SignatureDevika Rani autograph.jpg
Devika Rani Chaudhuri, usually known as Devika Rani (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994),[1] was an actress in Indian films who was active during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani had a successful film career that spanned 10 years.
Devika Rani's early years were mostly spent in the UK where she studied at a boarding school. In 1928, she met Himanshu Rai, an Indian film-producer, who persuaded her to join his production crew, although not at first as an actress. She assisted in costumes design and art direction for Rai's film A Throw of Dice (1929).[a] The two married in 1929, and went to Germany where Devika Rani learned various aspects of film-making in theUFA Studios in Berlin. Rai then cast her as an actress in the 1933 talkie Karma, and her performance was well received. Returning to India in 1934, Rai established a production studio, Bombay Talkies, and produced several successful films over the next 5-6 years. Devika Rani portraying the lead role in many of these films.
Following Rai's death in 1940, Devika Rani took over control of the studio and produced several more films in partnership with Ashok Kumar and Sashadhar Mukherjee. These films did not prove successful and Devika Rani quit the film industry. In 1945, she married the Russian painter and aristocrat Svetoslav Roerich and retired to a large estate on the outskirts of Bangalore, becoming a recluse over the years. Her persona in real life and her roles in films were both considered socially unconventional. Her awards include the Padmashri (1958), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1970) and the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1990).

Family and background[edit]

Devika Rani was born in Waltair near Visakhapatnam in present-day Andhra Pradesh into an extremely affluent and educated Bengali family. Her paternal grandfather was the Zamindar or land-lord of Pabna in Rajshahi district,[3] a vast estate now located inBangladesh. Her father, Col. Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, was the first Indian Surgeon-General of Madras Presidency.[4][5][6] Her paternal uncles were Ashutosh Chaudhuri, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court), the prominent Kolkata-based barrister Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri and the Bengali writer Pramatha Chaudhuri.[7]
Devika Rani was related through both her parents to the poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Devika's paternal grandmother, Sukumari Devi Chaudhuri, was a sister of the Nobel laureate. Devika's mother, Leela Devi Chaudhuri, was the daughter of Indumati Devi Chattopadhyay, whose mother Saudamini Devi Gangopadhyay was another sister of the Nobel laureate. In other words, Devika's father and maternal grandmother were first cousins to each other, being the children of two sisters of Rabindranath Tagore.[8] Distant relatives of Devika Rani through the Tagore family include the painter Abanindranath Tagore, the actress Sharmila Tagore, and the politicians Jitendra Prasada and Jitin Prasada of Shahjehanpur.[9]

Early life[edit]

When Devika was nine years old, she and her brother were both sent to boarding school in England. This was done because her father, whose career had benefitted phenomenally in that colonial era from an English public-school education, was an ambitious man and wanted his children to grow up to be as European as possible. Therefore Devika's childhood was mostly spent in England, and she had little personal contact with her parents, which may account both for their utter absence in her future life and for her own lack of conformity with the morality and norms of India.
Devika completed her schooling in the early 1920s,[10] and it was time for her to return to her parents in India, a prospect which she dreaded. To delay this eventuality as much as possible, Devika secured admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the Royal Academy of Music in London to study acting and music.[5][11] Money was no problem for her family, and after completing that course, she enrolled in a course in textile and decor design, and apprenticed under Elizabeth Arden.[12] After this, she planned to work as a designer of theatre sets and costumes, but fate had something else in store for her.[13]

Himanshu Rai[edit]

In 1928, aged 20, Devika Rani first met her future husband, Himanshu Rai, who was 16 years older than her. Rai, an Indian barrister-turned-film maker, was in London preparing to shoot his forthcoming film, A Throw of Dice.[a][11][14] Rai was impressed with Devika's "exceptional skills" and invited her to join the production team of the film, although not as an actress.[1] She readily agreed, and traveled to India with Himanshu Rai for this assignment, assisting him in areas such as costume designing and art direction.[15] The two also traveled to Germany for the post-production work, where she had occasion to observe the film-making techniques of the German film industry, specifically of G. W. Pabst and Fritz Lang.[1] Inspired by their methods of film-making, she enrolled for a film-making course at Universum Film AG studio in Berlin.[1] Devika Rani learnt various aspects of film-making and additionally also took a special course in film acting.[11]
In 1929, shortly after the release of A Throw of Dice, Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai were married.[1] Around this time, they both acted in a play together, for which they received many accolades in Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries. During this time she was also trained in the production unit of Max Reinhardt, an Austrian theatre director.[16]

Film debut[edit]

Devika Rani is seen sharing a full-mouth kiss with Himanshu Rai, with the former lying on the top.
Devika Rani kissing Himanshu Rai in Karma (1933).
Devika and Himanshu Rai returned to India, where Himanshu produced a film titled Karma (1933). The film was his first talkie, and like his previous films, it was a joint production between people from India, Germany and the United Kingdom. Rai, who played the lead role, decided to cast Devika Rani as the female lead, thus marking her acting debut. Karma is credited as having been the first English language talkie made by an Indian. It was one of the earliest Indian films to feature a kissing scene.[17] The kissing scene, involving Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, lasted for about four minutes,[18] and eighty years later, this stands as the record for duration of a kissing scene in Indian cinema as of 2014.[19][20] Devika Rani also sang a song in the film, a bi-lingual song in English and Hindi. This song is said to be Bollywood's first English song.[21][22]
Made simultaneously in both English and Hindi, Karma premiered in London in May 1933. Alongside a special screening for the Royal family at Windsor, the film was well received throughout Europe.[23] Devika Rani's performance was internationally acclaimed as she won "rave reviews" in the London media.[1] A critic from The Daily Telegraph noted Devika Rani for her "beauty" and "charm" while also crediting her to be a "potential star of the first magnitude".[23] Following the release of the film, she was invited by the B.B.C. to enact a role in their first ever television broadcast in Britain in 1933. She also inaugurated the company's first short wave radio transmission to India.[24] In spite of its success in England, Karma did not interest Indian audiences and turned out be a failure in India when it was released in Hindi as Nagin Ki Ragini in early 1934. However, the film received good critical response and helped Devika Rani establish herself as a leading actress in Indian cinema. Indian independence activist and poet Sarojini Naidu called her a "lovely and gifted little lady".[23]

Bombay Talkies[edit]

After the critical success of Karma, the couple returned to India in 1934. Although the Hindi version of the film, released in India in 1934, flopped without a trace, Himanshu Rai had established the required networks in Europe, and was able to start a film studio named Bombay Talkies, partnering with Niranjan Pal, a Bengali playwright and screenwriter who he had met previously in London,[6] and Franz Osten, who directed several of Rai's films.[25]
Upon inception, Bombay Talkies was one of the "best-equipped" film studios in the country. The studio would serve as a launch pad for future actors including Ashok KumarLeela ChitnisDilip KumarRaj KapoorMadhubala and Mumtaz.[26] The studio's first filmJawani Ki Hawa (1935), a crime thriller[27] starring Devika Rani and Najm-ul-Hassan, was shot fully on a train.[1]

Elopement[edit]

Najm-ul-Hassan was also Devika's co-star in the studio's next venture, Jeevan Naiya. The two co-stars developed a romantic relationship, and during the shooting schedule of Jeevan Naiya, Devika, a married Hindu woman, eloped with Hassan, a married Muslim man. Himanshu was both enraged and distraught. Since the leading pair were absent, production was stalled. A significant portion of the movie had been shot and a large sum of money, which had been taken as credit from financers, had been spent. The studio therefore suffered severe financial losses and a loss of credit among bankers in the city while the runaway couple made merry.
Sashadhar Mukherjee, an assistant sound-engineer at the studio, had a brotherly bond with Devika Rani because both of them were Bengalis and spoke that language with each other. He established contact with the runaway couple and managed to convince Devika Rani to return to her husband. In the India of that era, divorce was legally almost impossible and women who eloped were regarded as no better than whores and were shunned by their own families. In her heart of hearts, Devika Rani knew that she could not secure a divorce or marry Hassan under any circumstances. She negotiated with her husband through the auspices of Sashadhar Mukherjee, seeking the separation of her finances from those of her husband as a condition for her return. Henceforth, she would be paid separately for working in his films, but he would be required to single-handedly pay the household expenses for the home in which both of them would live. Himanshu agreed to this, in order to save face in society and to prevent his studio from going bankrupt. Devika Rani returned to her marital home. However, things would never be the same between husband and wife again, and it is said that thenceforth, their relationship was largely confined to work and little or no intimacy transpired between them after this episode.
Despite the additional expense involved in re-shooting many portions of the film, Himanshu Rai replaced Najm-ul-Hassan with Ashok Kumar, who was the brother of Sashadhar Mukherjee's wife, as the hero of Jeevan Naiya. This marked the debut, improbable as it may seem, of Ashok Kumar's five-decade-long career in Hindi films. Najm-ul-Hassan was dismissed from his job at Bombay Talkies (this was the period in which actors and actresses were paid regular monthly salaries by one specific film studio and could not work in any other studio). His reputation as a dangerous cad established, he could not find work in any other studio. His career was ruined and he sank into obscurity.[28]

Golden era of Bombay Talkies[edit]

Ashok Kumar is looking back towards Devika Rani in a black and white still shot from a film.
Devika Rani and her frequent co-star Ashok Kumar, in Achhut Kanya (1936).
Achhut Kanya (1936), the studio's next production was a tragedy drama that had Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar portraying the roles of an untouchable girl and a Brahmin boy who fall in love.[29] The film is considered a "landmark" in Indian cinema as it challenged the caste system in the country. The casting of Devika Rani was considered a mismatch as her looks did not match the role of a poor untouchable girl by virtue of her "upper-class upbringing".[30] However, her pairing with Ashok Kumar became popular and they went on to star in as many as ten films together with most of them being Bombay Talkies productions.[1][29]
In the 1930s, Bombay Talkies produced several women-centric films with Devika Rani playing the lead role in all of them. In majority of the films produced by the studio, she was paired opposite Ashok Kumar, who was "overshadowed" by her.[31] Jeevan Prabhat, released in 1937, saw a role-reversal between Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar—she played a higher-caste Brahmin woman who is mistaken by society of having an extra-marital affair with an untouchable man. Her next release Izzat (1937), based on Romeo and Juliet, was set in the medieval period and depicted two lovers belonging to enemy clans of a Maratha empire.[29] Nirmala, released in the following year, dealt with the plight of a child-less woman who is told by an astrologer to abandon her husband to ensure successful pregnancy.[29] In Vachan, her second release of the year, she played a Rajput princess.[32] Durga, her only release in 1939, was a romantic drama that told the story of an orphaned girl and a village doctor, played by Ashok Kumar.[1][33]

Widowhood and studio decline[edit]

Following the death of Rai in 1940, there was a rift between two parties of the Bombay Talkies led by Mukherjee and Amiya Chakravarty.[34] Devika Rani assumed principal responsibility and took over the studio along with Mukherjee. In 1941, she produced and acted in Anjaan co-starring Ashok Kumar. In the subsequent years, she produced two successful films under the studio—Basant and Kismet—both starring Ashok Kumar. Kismet (1943) contained anti-British messages (India was under British rule at that time) and turned out to be a "record-breaking" film.[35] Devika Rani made her last film appearance in Hamari Baat (1943), which had Raj Kapoor playing a small role. She handpicked newcomer Dilip Kumar for a role in Jwar Bhata (1944), produced by her on behalf of the studio. An internal politics that arose in the studio led prominent personalities including Mukherjee and Ashok Kumar to part ways with her and set up a new studio called Filmistan.[35][12] Due to lack of support and interest, Devika Rani decided to quit the film industry. In an interview to journalist Raju Bharatan, she mentioned that her idea of not willing to compromise on "artistic values" of film-making as one of the major reasons for her quitting the industry.[36]

Roerich and retirement[edit]

Following her retirement from films, Devika Rani married Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich, son of Russian artist Nicholas Roerich, in 1945.[12] After marriage, the couple moved to ManaliHimachal Pradesh where they got acquainted with the Nehru family. During her stay in Manali, Devika Rani made a few documentaries on wildlife. After staying in Manali for some years, they moved to BangaloreKarnataka, and settled there managing an export company.[37] The couple bought a 450 acres (1,800,000 m2) estate on the outskirts of the city and led a solitary life for the rest of their lives.[1][38] She died of bronchitis on 9 March 1994—a year after Roerich died—in Bangalore.[39][40] At her funeral, Devika Rani was given full state honors.[41] Following her death, the estate was on litigation for many years as the couple had no legal claimants; Devika Rani remained childless throughout her life.[12] In August 2011, the Government of Karnataka acquired the estate after the Supreme Court of India passed the verdict in favour of them.[38][42]

Persona and legacy[edit]

Devika Rani was called the first lady of Indian cinema.[26][43][44] She is credited for being one of the earliest personalities who took the position of Indian cinema to global standards.[45] Her films were mostly tragic romantic dramas that contained social themes.[31] The roles played by her in films of Bombay Talkies usually involved in romantic relationship with men who were unusual for the social norms prevailing in the society at that time, mainly for their caste background or community identity.[29] Devika Rani was highly influenced by the German cinema by virtue of her training at the UFA Studios;[43] Although she was influenced by German actress Marlene Dietrich,[26] her acting style was compared to Greta Garbo,[41] thus leading to Devika Rani being named the "Indian Garbo".[46][47] Devika Rani's attire, both in films and sometimes in real life, were considered "risque" at that time.[48] In his book Bless You Bollywood!: A tribute to Hindi Cinema on completing 100 years, Tilak Rishi mentions that Devika Rani was known as the "Dragon Lady" for her "smoking, drinking, cursing and hot temper".[49]
In 1958, the Government of India honoured Devika Rani with a Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour. She became the first ever recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the country's highest award for films, when it was instituted in 1969.[41][50] In 1990, Soviet Russia honoured her with the "Soviet Land Nehru Award".[51] A postage stamp commemorating her was released by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in February 2011.[52]

Filmography[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up to:a b A Throw of Dice was alternately known as Prapancha Pash in India.[2]

Devika Rani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

KARMA - 1933 - DEVIKA RANI - KISSING SCENE - YouTube

  1. २० जुलै, २०१२ - lol, its not resuscitation. She was kissing and pleading him to wake up. This kissing scene is way more emotional than the Deepika one's ...

International Kissing Day: Bollywood Actress Devika Rani's ...

  1. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny8mLe1DQQA
    ६ जुलै, २०१३ - Lehren Retro द्वारा अपलोड केलेले
    International Kissing Day: Bollywood Actress Devika Rani'sSensational Kiss in Karma On The Occasion Of ...

Devika Rani Photos, Pics, Devika Rani Wallpapers, Videos ...

  1. www.in.com/devika-rani/profile-73551...
    या पानाचे भाषांतर करा
    Devika Rani Hot Photos, Pics - Includes Devika Rani pictures, Devika Rani photos,Devika Rani wallpapers, Devika Rani videos, Devika Rani movies, Devika ...

The Roerich & Devika Rani Roerich Estate Board

  1. www.roerich.kar.nic.in/devika_rani.htm
    या पानाचे भाषांतर करा
    Mr.Rai persuaded Devika Rani to join his production unit, to further the cause of Indian films. She signed a contract in London with Mr.Bruce Wolfe who was then ...

Devika Rani - IMDb

  1. Devika Rani, Actress: Achhut Kanya. Devika Rani was born on March 30, 1908 in Waltair, Andhra Pradesh, India as Devika Rani Choudhury. She was an ...

Devika Rani - Biography - IMDb

  1. Devika Rani was born on March 30, 1908 in Waltair, Andhra Pradesh, India as Devika Rani Choudhury. She was an actress and set decorator, known for ...

Devika Rani - Encyclopaedia Britannica

  1. Devika Rani, (born March 30, 1908, Waltair, Andhra Pradesh, India—died March 9, 1994, Bangalore, India), Indian actress who , was one of India's most ...

Obituary: Devika Rani - People - News - The Independent

  1. www.independent.co.uk › News › People
    या पानाचे भाषांतर करा
    २६ मार्च, १९९४ - TODAY ALL that remains of Devika Rani's Bombay Talkies is a beaten-up old placard, swinging on a rusty nail in the busy Nana Chowk district ...

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j Varma, Madhulika (26 March 1994). "Obituary: Devika Rani". The Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  2. Jump up^ Papamichael, Stella (24 August 2007). "A Throw Of Dice (Prapancha Pash) (2007)". BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  3. Jump up^ Zamindar of Pabna in Rajshahi
  4. Jump up^ "B-town women who dared!". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  5. Jump up to:a b Erik 1980, p. 93.
  6. Jump up to:a b "Devika Rani" (PDF). Press Information Bureau. p. 1. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  7. Jump up^ Paul, Samar (17 March 2012). "Pramatha Chaudhury's home: Our responsibility". Financial Express. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  8. Jump up^ Tagore family
  9. Jump up^ Relatives through Tagore family
  10. Jump up^ Rogowski 2010, p. 168.
  11. Jump up to:a b c "Devika Rani Roerich". Roerich & DevikaRani Roerich Estate Board, Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  12. Jump up to:a b c d Saran 2014, p. 27.
  13. Jump up^ Ghosh 1995, pp. 28–29.
  14. Jump up^ Ghosh 1995, p. 29.
  15. Jump up^ Gulzar, Nihalani & Chatterjee 2003, p. 545.
  16. Jump up^ Patel 2012, p. 19.
  17. Jump up^ "Karma 1933". The Hindu. 10 January 2009. Retrieved13 April 2014.
  18. Jump up^ Jaikumar 2006, p. 229.
  19. Jump up^ Barrass, Natalie (14 April 2014). "In bed with Bollywood: sex and censorship in Indian cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved28 April 2014.
  20. Jump up^ Dasgupta, Priyanka (30 April 2012). "India's longest kissing scene clips in Paoli film". The Times of India. Retrieved28 April 2014.
  21. Jump up^ Ranchan 2014, p. 42.
  22. Jump up^ Chakravarty, Riya (3 May 2013). "Indian cinema@100: 40 Firsts in Indian cinema". NDTV. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  23. Jump up to:a b c "Pathbreaker by Karma". The Hindu. 10 January 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  24. Jump up^ "Top heroines of Bollywood". India Today. Retrieved 13 April2014.
  25. Jump up^ Manjapra 2014, p. 239.
  26. Jump up to:a b c Kohli, Suresh (15 April 2014). "Indian cinema's prima donna". The Deccan Herald. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  27. Jump up^ Hardy 1997, p. 180.
  28. Jump up^ Manṭo 2003, pp. 244–245.
  29. Jump up to:a b c d e Manjapra 2014, p. 270.
  30. Jump up^ Majumdar 2009, p. 88.
  31. Jump up to:a b Manjapra 2014, p. 271.
  32. Jump up^ Patel 2012, p. 23.
  33. Jump up^ Baghdadi & Rao 1995, p. 353.
  34. Jump up^ Patel 2012, p. 27.
  35. Jump up to:a b Patel 2012, p. 24.
  36. Jump up^ Patel 2012, p. 24–25.
  37. Jump up^ Patel 2012, p. 25.
  38. Jump up to:a b Kharegat, Pheroze (20 August 2011). "The Sad Saga of Roerich Treasures". The Navhind Times. Retrieved 15 April2014.
  39. Jump up^ "The Rediff Special/M D Riti". 4 October 2002. Archived fromthe original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  40. Jump up^ "Devika Rani Roerich". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 11 March 1994. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  41. Jump up to:a b c Kaur 2013, p. 12.
  42. Jump up^ Rohith B. R. (19 February 2014). "Roerichs' Tataguni estate to get a new life". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  43. Jump up to:a b Rogowski 2010, p. 169.
  44. Jump up^ Rishi 2012, p. 98.
  45. Jump up^ Manjapra 2014, pp. 258.
  46. Jump up^ Imprint 1973, p. 31.
  47. Jump up^ "The Indian Garbo". The Hindustan Times. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  48. Jump up^ Manjapra 2014, pp. 270–271.
  49. Jump up^ Rishi 2012, p. 112.
  50. Jump up^ "Dadasaheb Phalke Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  51. Jump up^ "Eye catchers". India Today. 15 February 1990.
  52. Jump up^ "Stamps 2011". Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (India). Retrieved14 April 2014.

Bibliography[edit]

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  • Manjapra, Kris (2014). Age of Entanglement. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72631-4.
  • Manṭo, Saʻādat Ḥasan (2003). Black Margins: Stories. Katha.ISBN 978-81-87649-40-3.
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External links[edit]

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