From:shafi.shaik99@gmail.com

Geeta Dutt : A journey through picture memories

Young Geeta Roy, migrated from Faridpur in East Bengal to Mumbai (Bombay in those days). She was just 16 year old when veteran composer Pandit Hanuman Prasad spotted the magic in her voice. Geeta practicing her “Riaaz” is seen here.

No other female playback singer would have achieved the heights of popularity which Geeta Roy did in the first three years of her career. After making debut in 1946, in the next coming three years she sang close to one hundred songs per year. Here we see young Geeta performing for a group of composers, lyricists, musicians and others. Her father is seated behind her.

A melodious and talented singer with grace, beauty and charm! No wonder she was popular among her fans.

Meena Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar and Geeta Roy (from Left to right) were good friends in those days.

Geeta Roy and young struggling director met on the sets of Baazi (1951) and fell in love. Later Guru Dutt made Baaz (1953) in association with actress Geeta Bali. Here we see Geeta Bali and Geeta Roy on the set of Baaz.

She was very popular and ruled the female playback singing from 1947 till 1949. Even in the early fifties she was one among the top three singers. Here is a sketch of her made by none other than the famous artist R K Laxman!

Dev Anand was a close friend of Guru Dutt who is seen in this pic with Johny Walker, Guru Dutt and Geeta Dutt.

The occasion seem to be some kind of “pooja” being performed on buying a new car! On the left side we have actor Rashid Khan and Geeta Bali (leaning on the car). On the right side we see playback singer Mohammed Rafi (who sang for Guru Dutt in most of his films), Guru Dutt and Geeta sitting down. What a lovely pic with smiles all over!

Geeta Dutt , lyricist Bharat Vyas and Kishore Kumar recording for a song.

Geeta Dutt during a recording in London at BBC radio station, indicating her popularity!

Geeta sang some amazing songs for Geeta Bali and Shyama, even before they acted in Guru Dutt’s films. Here is a pic of Shyama , Guru Dutt and Geeta Dutt.

Geeta rehearsing a song with her brother composer Mukul Roy.

Geeta Dutt singing in some musical concert.

Composer O P Nayyar gave Geeta some of her most popular and melodious songs. Here we see Mohd Rafi and Geeta Dutt with him during the recording of one of such songs. Incidentally, among her duets, Geeta sang maximum (more than 160) songs with the one and only one Mohd Rafi.

Composer duo Shankar Jaikishen did not work much with Geeta Dutt for some unknown reasons. Here is a rare pic of Geeta singing for them for a Raj Kapoor film along with RK himself and Lata Mangeshkar. The song “Hum bhi hai, tum bhi ho” is a group song with Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey and chorus for the film Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960).

Geeta Dutt reading a magazine dedicated to music!

A singer, a proud mother and a good cook too! Geeta Dutt in her kitchen in a rare photo!

Geeta Dutt posing for a cassette cover, what a grace and poise this lady has. Wow!

Geeta Dutt and Mohd Rafi during recording of duet “Hum aap ki aankhon mein” from Pyaasa (1957).

A rare pic of the mentor S D Burman with his protege Geeta and her husband Guru Dutt, taken at the premier of the film Kaagaz Ke Phool.

Geeta Dutt and Mohd Rafi in London staying at a family’s place. The smile on her face is so radiant!

Geeta Dutt with co-singer Talat Mahmood, the photo taken in a car.

Geeta Dutt Guru Dutt with their pet and daughter Neena.

Geeta Dutt seeing photo of Guru Dutt after his untimely death in 1964.

Geeta Dutt with Neena.

Geeta Dutt acting in Bengali film Badhu Baran with Pradeep Kumar and Raakhi.

Movie Mughal K Asif, Meena Kumari and Geeta Dutt in the year 1969. The party was hosted by Asif when he re-started the shooting of his film “Love and God”. This film had Guru Dutt as the leading star earlier. After his death, Sanjeev Kumar was chosen to play the role. Young Sanjeev Kumar is also seen in the pic.

Tarun and Arun remembering their mother after she left us in the year 1972.

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Life of Smita Patil

Smita Patil

From: shafi.shaik99@gmail.com

Smita Patil
Born	October 17, 1955 Pune, India
Died	December 13, 1986 (aged 31)
Years active	1974 - 1985
Spouse	Raj Babbar

Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was a leading Indian actress from the 1970s to the 1980s in both Hindi andMarathi cinema.

Along with actress and co-star Shabana Azmi, Smita represented India's parallel cinema. Her performances were often acclaimed, and she was mostly noted for her work in films as Manthan (1977), Bhumika (1977), Aakrosh (1980) and Chakra (1981).

Patil was also an active feminist (in a distinctly Indian context) and a member of the Women's Centre in Mumbai. She was deeply committed to the advancement of women's issues, and gave her endorsement to films which sought to explore the role of women in traditional Indian society, their sexuality, and the changes facing the middle-class woman in an urban milieu.

Early life

Smita Patil was born in Pune into a Marathi family to a Maharashtrian politician, Shivajirao Patil and social worker mother, from Shirpur town (Village-Bhatpure) of Khandesh province of Maharashtra State. She studied at a Marathi-language school.

Her first tryst with the camera was as a television newscaster for Doordarshan Pune, the Indian government owned television.

Career

Smita Patil belongs to a generation of actresses, including Shabana Azmi and, like her, is strongly associated with the radically political cinema of the 1970s. Her work includes films with parallel cinema directors like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Mrinal Sen as well as forays into the more commercial Hindi Film Industry cinema of Mumbai. Patil was working as a TV news reader and was also an accomplished photographer when Shyam Benegal discovered her.

She was an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. In 1977, she won the National Award for 'Best Actress' for her performance in the Hindi filmBhumika. In her films, Patil's character often represents an intelligent femininity that stands in relief against the conventional background of male-dominated cinema (films like Bhumika, Umbartha, and Bazaar). Smita Patil was also a women's rights activist and became famous for her roles in films that portrayed women as capable and empowered.

"I remained committed to small cinema for about five years ... I refused all commercial offers. Around 1977-78, the small cinema movement started picking up and they needed names. I was unceremoniously dropped from a couple of projects. This was a very subtle thing but it affected me a lot. I told myself that here I am and I have not bothered to make money. I have turned down big, commercial offers because of my commitment to small cinema and what have I got in return? If they want names I'll make a name for myself. So I started and took whatever came my way."

In time she was accepted by commercial filmmakers and from Raj Khosla and Ramesh Sippy to B.R. Chopra, they all agreed that she was "excellent". Her fans, too, grew with her newfound stardom. Patil's glamorous roles in her more commercial films—such as Shakti and Namak Halaal -- revealed the permeable boundaries between "serious" cinema and "Hindi Cinema" masala in the Hindi film industry.

Her association with artistic cinema remained strong, however. Her arguably greatest (and unfortunately final) role came when Smita re-teamed with Ketan Mehta to play the feisty and fiery Sonbai in Mirch Masala (1987). Smita won raves for playing a spirited spice-factory worker who stands up against a lecherous petty official.

Personal life

When Patil became romantically involved with the actor Raj Babbar, Patil drew severe criticism from her fans and the media, clouding her personal life and throwing her into the eye of a media storm. Raj Babbar left his wife, Nadira Babbar to marry Patil.

Overnight, Patil was labeled a "home-breaker" by the very Feminist organizations she had worked so assiduously for, and became the target of barbed criticism.

Death

Smita died from childbirth complications on 13 December 1986, aged 31, barely two weeks after having given birth to her son, Prateik Babbar.

Nearly two decades later, one of India's greatest film directors, Mrinal Sen alleged that Smita Patil had died due to gross medical negligence.

Awards

Winner

§ 1978 - National Film Award - Best Actress for Bhumika

§ 1982 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Chakra

§ 1982 - National Film Award - Best Actress for Chakra

§ 1985 - Padma Shri Award

Nominated

§ 1978 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Bhumika

§ 1983 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Bazaar

§ 1984 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Arth

§ 1984 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Mandi

§ 1985 - Filmfare Best Actress Award for Aaj Ki Aawaz

Incomplete Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1974	Mere Saath Chal	Geeta
	Samna	Kamley	Entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival
1975	Nishant	Rukumani
	Charandas Chor	Rajkumari (Princess)
1976	Manthan	Bindu
1977	Bhumika	Ushavari	Winner, National Film Award for Best Actress Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Jait Re Jait		Marathi Film
1978	Kondura	Parvati
	Gaman	Khairun Hussain
	Sarvasakshi	Sujatha
1980	Bhavani Bhavai	Ujaan
	Aakrosh	Nagi Lahanya
	Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hain	Joan
	The Naxalites	Ajitha
1981	Chakra	Amma	Double Winner, Filmfare Best Actress Award National Film Award for Best Actress
	Sadgati	Jhuria	TV
	Tajurba
1982	Baazar	Najma	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Shakti	Roma Devi
	Namak Halaal	Poonam
	Umbartha	Savitri Mahajan	Marathi Film Dubbed as Subah Winner, Marthi Rajya Chitrapat Puraskar for Best Actress
1983	Arth	Kavita Sanyal	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Mandi	Zeenat	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Ghungroo	Kesarbai
	Ardh Satya	Jyotsna Gokhale
	Qayamat	Shashi
1984	Aaj Ki Aawaz	Rajni Deshmukh	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Raavan	Ganga
	Pet Pyaar Aur Paap
	Sharaabi	Meena
	Mera Dost Mera Dushman	Lali
1985	Chidambaram	Shivagami
	Ghulami	Sumitra Sultan Singh
	Debshishu	Utpalendu Chakraborty	Bengali film
	Aakhir Kyun?	Nisha
	Mera Ghar Mere Bachche	Geeta Bhargav
1986	Aap Ke Saath	Ganga
	Amrit	Kamla Shrivastav
	Dilwaala	Sumitra Devi
1987	Mirch Masala	Sonbai
	Dance Dance	Radha
	Thikana	Shashi Goel
	Sutradhar	Prerna
	Insaaniyat Ke Dushman	Lakshmi Nath
1988	Waaris	Paramjit
	Hum Farishte Nahin	Roma
1989	Galiyon Ke Badshah	Tulsi

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