Mala Sinha

Mala Sinha
Born	Alda Sinha 11 November 1936 (age 80) Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1952–1994
Spouse(s)	Chidambar Prasad Lohani
Children	Pratibha Sinha

Mala Sinha (born 11 November 1936 in Calcutta, India) is a former Bollywood actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Recognised for her talent and beauty, she went on to become a top leading actress in Hindi films from the mid 1950s until the late 1970s. Sinha has starred in over a hundred film productions: popular ones include Pyaasa (1957), Anpadh, Dil Tera Deewana (both 1962), Gumrah (1963), Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965), Aankhen (1968), Maryada and Babu.

Early life

Mala Sinha's father Albert Sinha was a Bengali Christian, while her mother was of Nepali origin. Her father's name was Albert Sinha. Mala's initial name was Alda. Her friends at school in Calcutta (now Kolkata) used to tease her by calling her Dalda (a brand of vegetable oil), so she changed her name to Baby Nazma on getting her first assignment as a child artiste. Later on, as an adult actor, she changed her name to Mala Sinha. In her childhood she learnt dancing and singing. Although she was an approved singer of All India Radio, she has never done playback singing in films. But as a singer she has done stage shows in many languages from 1947 to 1975.

Career

Sinha started her career as child artist in Bengali films Jai Vaishno Devi followed by Shri Krishan Leela, Jog Biyog and Dhooli. Noted Bengali director Ardhendu Bose saw her acting in a school play and took permission from her father to cast her as a heroine in his film Roshanara (1952), her cinematic debut.

After acting in a couple of films in Calcutta, Mala had to go to Bombay for a Bengali film. There she met Geeta Bali, a noted Bollywood actress, who was charmed by her and introduced her to director Kidar Sharma. Sharma cast her as a heroine in his Rangeen Ratein. Her first Hindi film was Badshah opposite Pradeep Kumar, then came Ekadashi, a mythological film. Both failed, but her lead role in Kishore Sahu's Hamlet, paired opposite Pradeep Kumar, fetched her rave reviews in spite of it failing at the box office.Films like Lai Batti (actor Balraj Sahni’s only directorial venture), Nausherwan-E-Adil where she starred as the fair maiden Marcia in Sohrab Modi’s romance about forbidden love and Phir Subah Hogi, which was director Ramesh Saigal’s adaptation of Dosteovsky’s Crime and Punishment established Mala Sinha's reputation as a versatile actress who took the maximum career risks by accepting unconventional roles.

Mala was a singer of some repute and used to sing for All India Radio; she was not allowed to sing playback (even for herself) in the movies with the lone exception being 1972's Lalkar. In the 1950s, she had string of hits opposite Pradeep Kumar like Fashion (1957), Detective (1958), Duniya Na Mane (1959). The films she did with Pradeep Kumar were men-oriented. In 1957, noted Bollywood actor and director Guru Dutt (the husband of Geeta Dutt) cast Mala in his film Pyaasa (1957) in a role originally intended for Madhubala. Mala gave a memorable performance as the relatively unsympathetic part of an ambitious woman who chooses to marry a rich man (played by actor Rehman) and have a loveless marriage rather than a poor, unsuccessful poet and her impoverished lover (played by Guru Dutt) whom she ditches. Pyaasa remains to this day a classic in the history of Indian cinema and a turning point for Sinha.

After Pyaasa her major success were Phir Subah Hogi (1958) and Yash Chopra's directorial debut Dhool Ka Phool (1959) that elevated her into a major dramatic star. She was part of many successful movies from 1958 to the early '60s like Parvarish (1958), Ujala, Main Nashe Main Hoon, Duniya Na Mane, Love Marriage (1959), Bewaqoof (1960), Maya (1961), Hariyali Aur Rasta and Dil Tera Deewana (1962), Anpadh, Bombay Ka Chor (1962).

Critics believe her career best performance was in Bahurani (1963), Gumrah, Gehra Daag, Apne Huye Paraye and Jahan Ara. Apart from pairing with Pradeep Kumar, her pairing opposite Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Biswajit and Manoj Kumar in woman-oriented films were appreciated by audiences, with her work opposite Biswajit being the most popular. With Raaj Kumar, she gave box office hits like Phool Bane Angaare, Maryada and Karmayogi and opposite Manoj Kumar, gave commercial successes like Hariyali Aur Rasta, Apne Huye Paraye and Himalaya Ki God Mein. The hits with Rajendra Kumar were Devar Bhabhi, Dhool Ka Phool, Patang, Geet and Lalkar.

With Biswajit her popular movies include Aasra, Night in London, Do Kaliyaan, Tamanna, Nai Roshni and critically acclaimed films Pyar Ka Sapna, Paisa Ya Pyaar, Jaal and Phir Kab Milogi. She did 10 films with Biswajit. In 2007, they won the Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award, calling them on stage together giving due respect to their popularity as a pair who have tasted box office success.

The most remarkable feature of career of Mala Sinha was that most of her 1960s and 1970s hits were fueled by her own star power as much as the heroes and most of the times her role was more powerful than the hero. Though she was pitted opposite her seniors like Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Kishore Kumar, Pradeep Kumar and when she acted opposite the emerging stars from late 1950s like Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar, she made sure her role was as good as theirs. The characters she played stood out and gave her recognition for her performances. Sinha did not mind working with newcomers as long as her role was worth it. She worked with many newcomers of her era including Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt, Sanjay Khan, Jeetendra and Amitabh Bachchan. In most of her films from the 1960s, she got the first billing in the credits, even before the heroes, with exceptions being those with Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Pradeep Kumar and Kishore Kumar.Her career's biggest blockbuster was Maryada released in 1971.

In 1966, Sinha went to Nepal to act in a Nepali film called Maitighar when the Nepali film industry was still in its infancy. This was the only Nepali film she did in her career. The hero was an estate owner called Chidambar Prasad Lohani.

Soon after, Mala Sinha married C. P. Lohani with the blessings of her parents. From the beginning theirs was a long-distance marriage with Lohani based in Kathmandu to look after his business and Sinha living in Bombay with their daughter Pratibha. She continued acting after her marriage.

She has been a heroine in many Bengali films. In Bengali films she has acted with Uttam Kumar and Kishore Kumar. Her last Bengali work as a female lead was Kabita (1977) which featured Ranjit Mullick and Kamal Hassan; it was a super-hit at the box office. She is noted for her strong women-oriented, glamorous roles fueled by her equal star power on par with the heroes in films like Dhool Ka Phool, Suhag Sindoor,Anpadh, Phir Subah Hogi, Hariyali Aur Rasta, Bahurani, Aasra, Do Kaliyaan, Gumrah, Aankhen, Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, Himalaya Ki God Mein, Do Kaliyaan, Holi Aayi Re, Nai Roshni, Mere Huzoor, Kangan, Archana, Maryada amongst others.

Of her rich and varied repertoire, she mentions she is rather partial to Jahan Ara (1964), a historical movie that Meena Kumari passed on to her:

"Meenaji turned down the role saying that she would not look the part whereas I would. Given my ignorance of Urdu, I was rather sceptical but Meenaji was convinced that I could do justice to the role. Playing Mumtaz Mahal's eldest daughter entailed gruelling Urdu classes and learning royal tehzeeb. It was hot on the grand sets erected at Ranjit Studio and the film had Madan Mohan's haunting music. It was a film replete with lyrical moments.

From 1974, she cut down on her assignments as the lead actresses. She accepted strong character roles in films like 36 Ghante (1974), Zindagi (1976), Karmayogi (1978), Be-Reham (1980), Harjaee (1981), Yeh Rishta Na Tootay, Babu (film) and Khel, which were popular.

In the early '90s Madhuri Dixit was promoted as the new Mala Sinha in magazines. But, after 1994, she completely withdrew from industry and has given very few public appearances. In Dhool Ka Phool and B.R. Chopra's Gumrah, she played the first unwed mother and adulterous wife respectively in Hindi cinema. As she grew older, she gracefully moved on to doing character roles that befitted her age. She was last seen in Zid (1994). Though Mala evinced as much interest in her daughter Pratibha's career as her father did in her career, she was unable to achieve the same success for her daughter.^[12]

Personal life

Mala Sinha was born to Madhesi ethnic Nepali parents after they immigrated to West Bengal, India from Madhesh plains of Nepal. Sinha married a Pahari ethnic Nepali actor Chidambar Prasad Lohani of Nepal in 1968. The couple met when they worked together in the Nepali film Maitighar (1966). Lohani had an estate agency business. After her marriage, she used to come and stay in Mumbai to shoot films while her husband stayed in Nepal running his business. She has one daughter from the marriage: Pratibha Sinha, who is a former Bollywood actress. From the late 1990s, the couple and their daughter have been residing in a bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai.

Awards

Mala Sinha in 2012 at the press conference of 'Dadsaheb Phalke Jayanti Awards'

BFJA Award for Best Actress (1965) — Jahan Ara
BFJA Award for Best Actress (1966) — Himalaya Ki God Mein
Sikkim Samman Award by Government of Sikkim (2004)
Felicitation by Government of Nepal (2005)
Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award (2007)
Kelvinator GR8! Women Awards: Lifetime Achievement Award (2013)
Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards: Phalke Icon Cine Artiste Award (2013)

Nominations

Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Dhool Ka Phool (1960)
Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Bahurani (1964)
Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Jahan Ara (1965)
Filmfare Award for Best Actress — Himalaya Ki God Mein (1966)

Filmography

Hindi films

Film	Years	Role	Co-star	Notes
Zid	1994	Daadimaa	Jai Mehta
Radha Ka Sangam	1992	Thakurain	Govinda
Khel	1992	Sulakshna Devi	Anil Kapoor
Dil Tujhko Diya	1987	Savitri	Kumar Gaurav
Babu (film)	1985	Pinky's mother	Navin Nishchal
Yeh Rishta Na Toote	1985	Madhu	Rajendra Kumar
Aasman	1984		Rajeev Kapoor
Nek Parveen	1982		Rakesh Pandey/Satish Kaul
Harjai	1981	Sharda Nath	Shammi Kapoor
Naseeb	1981		(Guest Appearance)
Beraham	1980	Maya	Sanjeev Kumar
Dhan Daulat	1980	Vasudha	Rajendra Kumar
Karamyogi	1978	Durga	Raaj Kumar
Prayashchit	1977		Ajay Sahni (Parikshit Sahni)
Do Ladkiyan	1976		Sanjeev Kumar
Zindagi	1976	Sarojini	Sanjeev Kumar
Mazdoor Zindabad	1976	Sita Singh	Rajendra Kumar
Sunehra Sansar	1975	Laxmi	Rajendra Kumar
Archana	1974	Archana	Sanjeev Kumar
Kora Badan	1974	(Guest Appearance)
36 Ghante	1974	Deepa Roy	Raaj Kumar
Phir Kab Milogi	1974	Sapna Seth/ Paro	Biswajeet
Rickshawala	1973		Sujit Kumar
Kahani Hum Sab Ki	1973	Sandhya	Vinod Mehra
Rivaaj	1972	Lakshmi	Sanjeev Kumar
Lalkaar	1972	Usha Choudhury	Rajendra Kumar
Maryada	1971	Lakshmi/ Lalita	Rajkumar/Rajesh Khanna
Sanjog	1971	Asha Devi	Amitabh Bachchan
Chahat	1971	Geeta	Biswajeet
Holi Ayee Re	1970	Suhagi/ Hemlata	Prakash Thapa
Kangan	1970	Shanta	Sanjeev Kumar
Geet	1970	Kamla	Rajendra Kumar
Do Bhai	1969	Sandhya	Jeetendra
Paisa Ya Pyar	1969	Shanti	Biswajeet
Pyar Ka Sapna	1969	Sudha/ Sushma	Biswajeet
Tamanna	1969		Biswajeet
Mere Huzoor	1968	Sultanat	Rajkumar/Jeetendra
Humsaya	1968	Sin Tan	Joy Mukherjee
Do Kaliyaan	1968	Kiran	Biswajeet
Aankhen	1968	Meenakshi Mehta	Dharmendra
Nai Roshni	1967	Rekha	Biswajeet
Night in London	1967	Renu Sinha/ Princess Vijay Nagar	Biswajeet
Jaal	1967	Sheela	Biswajeet
Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai	1967		Dharmendra
Aasra	1966	Shobha	Biswajeet
Dillagi	1966	Seema	Sanjay Khan
Mere Lal	1966		Dev Kumar
Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi	1966	Amita Sinha	Dharmendra/Rehman
Himalaya Ki God Mein	1965	Phulwa	Manoj Kumar	Nominated: Filmfare Best Actress Award
Neela Aakash	1965	Neela	Dharmendra
Bahu Beti	1965	Shanta	Joy Mukherjee
Main Suhagan Hoon	1964	Shanti	Ajit Khan
Jahan Ara	1964	Jahan Ara	Bharat Bhushan	Nominated: Filmfare Best Actress Award
Apne Huye Paraye	1964	Rekha	Manoj Kumar
Suhagan	1964	Sharda Dubey	Guru Dutt
Pooja Ke Phool	1964	Shanti Rai	Dharmendra
Phool Bane Angarey	1963	Usha	Raajkumar
Gumraah	1963	Meena	Sunil Dutt/ Ashok Kumar
Bahu Rani	1963	Padma	Guru Dutt	Nominated: Filmfare Best Actress Award
Gehra Daag	1963	Shobha	Rajendra Kumar
Hariyali Aur Rasta	1962	Shibhna/ Kamla	Manoj Kumar
Anpadh	1962	Lajwanti	Dharmendra
Bombay Ka Chor	1962		Kishore Kumar
Aankh Micholi	1962	Mala/ Nayantara	Shekhar
Gyarah Hazaar Ladkiyan	1962	Asha	Bharat Bhushan
Dil Tera Diwana	1962	Meena	Shammi Kapoor
Suhag Sindoor	1961	Ratna/ Chanda	Manoj Kumar
Maya	1961	Shyama	Dev Anand
Dharamputra	1961	Husn Bano	Rehman
Patang	1960	Shanti	Rajendra Kumar
Main Nashe Mein Hoon	1960	Shanta	Raj Kapoor
Bewaqoof	1960	Mala	Kishore Kumar
Mitti Mein Sona	1960		Pradeep Kumar
Dhool Ka Phool	1959	Meena Khosla	Ashok Kumar / Rajendra Kumar	Nominated: Filmfare Best Actress Award
Love Marriage	1959	Geeta	Dev Anand
Duniya Na Mane	1959	Geeta	Pradeep Kumar
Ujala	1959		Shammi Kapoor
Devar Bhabhi	1958		Rajendra Kumar
Parvarish	1958	Asha H.Singh	Raj Kapoor
Phir Subah Hogi	1958	Sohni	Raj Kapoor
Jaalsaz	1959		Kishore Kumar
Chandan	1958		Kishore Kumar
Detective	1958	Mashin Loonpe	Pradeep Kumar
Nausherwan-E-Adil	1957	Marcia	Raajkumar
Ek Goan Ki Kahani	1957	Jaya	Abhi Bhattacharya/Talat Mehmood
Apradhi Kaun	1957	Shobha	Abhi Bhattacharya
Laal Batti	1957		Balraj Sahni
Naya Zamana	1957		Pradeep Kumar
Fashion	1957		Pradeep Kumar
Pyaasa	1957	Meena	Guru Dutt/Rehman
Rangin Raaten	1956	Mala	Shammi Kapoor
Ek Shola	1956		Pradeep Kumar
Paisa Hi Paisa	1956	Mala	Kishore Kumar
Jhanshi Ki Rani	1956		Sohrab Modi
Ratna Manjari	1955		Mahipal
Ekadashi	1955		Trilok Kapoor
Riyasat	1955		Mahipal
Badshah	1954		Pradeep Kumar
Hamlet	1954	Ophelia	Pradeep Kumar/Kishore Sahu
Suhagan	1954		Guru Dutt