|
Mala Sinha was one of the leading actresses of the Hindi
film industry in the 1960s. unlike her contemporaries, she refused to be
reduced to the level of an arm candy only, instead, she acted in substantial
roles and often the success of her films were as much her contribution as
the leading male actors'. She did star in some smaller banners but her role
had to be the core of the narration.
Mala Sinha was born in a Nepali Christian family. With her slanting eyes and
average figure, she knew that it was not looks, but sheer talent, that could
help her gain a foothold in the showbiz. Mala started her career modestly in
the early 1950s with Bengali films like Roshanara. Within a few years, she
relocated to Mumbai and made a humble debut in 1954 with Badshah. Next she
starred in a lead role in Kishore Sahu's Hamlet. At the time of the filming
of Kidar Sharma's Rangeen Raatein (1956), hero Shammi Kapoor's girlfriend,
the effervescent Geeta Bali took upon herself the task of grooming the shy
Mala Sinha. Her stellar performance in Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957) as the
mercenary woman who ditches her poverty-stricken poet lover (Guru Dutt) to
marry a millionaire publisher (Rehman), where she emoted with her eyes
despite not uttering a single word of penitence, left the audience
awestruck. She went on to sign three films with the veteran filmmaker Raj
Kapoor: Parvarish (1958), Phir Subah Hogi (1958) and Main Nashe Mein Hoon
(1959). Based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment, the bleak Phir
Subah Hogi displayed Mala in a refreshingly restrained and nuanced act.
Mala Sinha had started acting in the days of the
black-and-white films, but when Technicolor came, she reinvented her looks
and surprised the audience with a slim and svelte appearance in films like
Aankhen, donning a figure-hugging gown to the memorable number Gairon pe
karam apnon pe sitam. Even when she entered her mid 30s, unlike other
actresses she still looked elegant in chiffon saris and butterfly blouses in
Maryada, where her charismatic performance in the flirtatious Chupke se dil
de de enthralled the audience. In 1959, Mala acted in another role with
negative undertones in B R Chopra's Dhool Ka Phool, Yash Chopra's debut
directorial venture, in which she abandons her illegitimate child.
In her subsequent works, however, Mala Sinha forfeited
subtlety for melodrama unapologetically because her movies were successful.
A trio of hits in 1962 - Anpadh, Hariyali Aur Raasta and Dil Tera Deewana -
were followed by the best performance of her career, B R Chopra's Gumraah
(1963). She portrayed the role of a woman obligated by circumstances to get
married to her sister's widower (Ashok Kumar), but is beleaguered by the
existence of her ex-lover (Sunil Dutt). The audience could identify and
sympathize with Mala's character's predicament over whether to give in to an
extramarital affair from the way she humanized the role. Her next film,
Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965), where she played a rural damsel, was a huge
hit. Next, Guru Dutt cast Mala in the author-backed role of a working woman
involved in a fruitless romance, in his production, Baharen Phir Bhi Aayegi.
After his demise, Dharmendra filled in as the lead. Since Mala Sinha was
goaded by woman centric films, she had no qualms about acting opposite
relative newcomers and rising stars like Dharmendra (Anpadh), Manoj Kumar (Hariyali),
Sanjay Khan (Dillagi) and Amitabh Bachchan (Sanjog), besides doing 10 films
with Biswajeet. On the other hand, she refused to play unsubstantial roles
even opposite a stalwart like Dilip Kumar.
Even after her marriage in 1968 to Nepali actor C P
Lohani, with whom she had acted in the Nepalese film, Maiti Ghar, she had a
huge success playing a Japanese girl in Aankhen. But after the birth of her
daughter Pratibha, Mala's success began to ebb. Subsequently, she won rave
reviews for her poignant performance as Sanjeev Kumar's middle-aged wife in
Zindagi. She did appear in some character roles. But after Khel in 1992, she
has retired from acting. Mala Sinha's long-distance affair marriage has
lasted 34 years even though she lived in Mumbai and her husband, in
Kathmandu. Her daughter Pratibha also ventured into films but despite her
sweet face and lively eyes, her career never took off.
Mala Sinha's Landmark Films:
1957 Pyaasa Guru Dutt
1958 Phir Subah Hogi
1959 Dhool Ka Phool
1962 Hariyali Aur Raasta
1963 Gumraah
1963 Bahurani
1965 Himalaya Ki God Mein
1966 Aasra
1968 Do Kaliyan
1968 Aankhen |
