Sikhs in Bollywood

Sikhs in Bollywood

It is difficult to imgine a walk of life where Sikhs, one of India’s most dynamic minorities, have not made a significant contribution. The film industry, too, has attracted many talented people from this community right from the days when films began to be made in India. Over the decades, we have had several actors, directors, producers, story-writers, lyricists, singers, cinematographers, et al from this community who shot into fame by dint of their talent, perseverance and determination.

The first Sikh actress who became a household name for her negative roles in films was, of course, the one and only Kuldip Kaur. Kuldip Kaur is regarded by film historians as the quintessential vamp of Hindi films. In the 40s and 50s, she could be seen in almost every other film that was released. Not very tall, Kuldip Kaur was nevertheless a beautiful woman with a powerful screen presence. Above all, she was very good actress.

Hailing from a rich Sikh family of Attari (near Amritsar), Kuldip Kaur was undoubtedly far in advance of her times. At a time when girls from respectable Sikh households could not even imagine of making film acting as their career, Kuldip Kaur, defying conventions and the strong oposition put up by her tradition-bound family, had chosen to join the film industry.

Geeta Bali (real name Harikirtan Kaur), introduced by the late director Mazhar Khan, also created a new trend in the field of acting. She belonged to a highly religious Sikh family. Her role in Bawre Nayan, directed by Kidar Sharma, ensured her immortality in the annals of cinema.

Though she must have acted in more than a hundred films, the film in which she played the role of a vamp to perfection was BR Chopra’s Ashok Kumar-Veena starrer ‘Afsana’ (1951). Such indeed was the commercial success of this film that B R Chopra decided to go in for a remake of this film in the 70s. The remake, however , was given a different title- ‘Dastaan’. While Dilip Kumar and Sharmila Tagore were the leading pair, the role of the vamp in it was attempted by Bindu. But Bindu, alas, came nowhere near Kuldip Kaur in impressing the viewers with her performance. Critics said Bindu lacked the oomph and the seductive charm that the mercurial and bright-eyed Kuldip Kaur had brought to bear on her role in the original film.

When we talk of Sikh heroines in Hindi films, it is of course Geeta Bali’s name that comes to the top. She was a highly talented actress. Though she had some small-time dancing roles in pre-partition films, she is generally regarded as a Kidar Sharma’s post-Partition discovery.

Geeta Bali’s real name was Harkeertan Kaur. She made her debut as heroine in Kidar Sharma’s ‘Suhag Raat’ (1948) when she was around 17. Though the film was not a box-office hit, Geeta Bali’s powerful performance in it catapulted her to stardom. Soon she was flooded with offers from filmmakers. In a career span of some twelve years, she was paired with topmost heroes of her time. Her most successful film was ‘Bawre Nain’ (1950) in which Raj Kapoor was her hero. In ‘Baazi’ , ‘Jaal’, ‘Milap’ and ‘Ferry’, she was paired with the debonair Dev Anand.

Geeta Bali married Shammi Kapoor after falling in love with him when they were acting in the two film ‘Miss Coca Cola’ and ‘Coffee House’. After retiring from films, she settled for domesticity. She tragically died of smallpox in 1965 when she was still in her 30s.

Neetu Singh, Amrita Singh and Poonam Dhillon are three other talented actresses who came from Sikh families. All of them had successful innings as heroines in the film industry. Neetu Singh, who started as a child artists in films, was a successful leading lady in many films of the 70s. She quitted films after marrying Rishi Kapoor.

CONTD BY user:Sarbjeet 1313me