Rehana (actress)

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Rehana
ریحانہ
Rehana 1951.JPG
Rehana in 1951 film Adaa
Born
Rehana Anjuman Choudhary [1]

(1931-03-10)10 March 1931
Died23 April 2013(2013-04-23) (aged 82)
Other namesThe Queen of Charm [2]
The Dancing Damsel of Bombay [3]
OccupationActress
Years active1936 – 1995
Spouses
  • Sabir Ahmed
  • Iqbal Shehzad (divorced)
Children3

Rehana was a film actress who predominantly worked in Indian and Pakistani cinemas. She was known as both The Queen of Charm and The Dancing Damsel of Bombay. [3] [2] She worked in leading roles in films such as Sagai , Tadbir , Hum Ek Hain , Shehnai , Sajan , Samrat and Sargam . [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Rehana was born as Rehana Anjuman Choudhary in Bombay, British India. [1] Rehana's father was a manufacturer of Moradabadi silverware and he owned a factory in Lucknow. Rehana liked arts and she started learning classical dance when she was a child later she did a dance on a stage and was noticed by Shambhu Maharaj. [1]

At age five she was trained in Kathak dance by Shambhu Maharaj and he was friends with Kajjanbai's so he introduced Rehana to her later he would take Rehana with him to Kajjanbai's touring company at Lucknow where he trained Rehana for rehearsals. [1] Later Rehana did a classical dance at Kajjanbai's house at a request of a friend it made Kajjanbai impressed so she immediately took Rehana to her company and trained her in acting. [1]

Then she became a member of her troupe and would travel to different countries for performance and musical stage plays. Later when she returned to India then she signed a contract with Entertainments National Service Association which was opened by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson and she made her debut in film Tadbir . [1]

Career

Portrait of Rehana from Sargam. Portrait Rehana2.jpg
Portrait of Rehana from Sargam .

After doing dancing roles and small roles in films like the K. L. Saigal-Suraiya-starrer Tadbir , she got her major break in Hum Ek Hain (1946), which was incidentally Dev Anand's first film. Sajan (1947) had Rehana in the female lead, and following the success of this film, as well as Shehnai (1947), she became an "overnight star". [4] [6] From 1948 to 1951 was the best phase of her career as she did a variety of films paired opposite most of the top heroes of that time, like Prem Adib in Actress (1948), with Raj Kapoor in Sunehre Din (1949) and Sargam (1950), with Dev Anand in Dilruba (1950), with Shyam in Nirdosh (1950) and Surajmukhi (1950), with Shekhar in Adaa (1951) and with Premnath in Sagai (1951). [7] [8] Two of her biggest hits from these were Sargam (1950) and Sagai (1951). [3] [9] [10]

After 1952, her career sharply went on the decline as films like Rangeeli (1952), Chham Chhama Chham (1952), Hazar Raatein (1953) and Samrat (1954) all sank at the box office. With her career on the decline in India, Rehana migrated to Pakistan with the hope of continuing her career there. [4]

In Pakistan, she worked in Urdu films like Raat ke Rahi, Wehshi, Apna Praya, Shalimar, Aulad and Dil Ne Tujhe Man Liya. [4] In 1995 she was a judge for the Nigar Awards. [11]

Personal life

Rehana married producer Iqbal Shehzad who she worked with in the film Raat Ke Rahi but later they divorced and then she married Sabir Ahmed, a businessman from Karachi. With him she had three children. [4]

Death

She died in Karachi on 23 April 2013. [1]

Controversies

Rehana in Sunehre Din Portrait Rehana.jpg
Rehana in Sunehre Din

She is regarded as Hindi cinema's first "Jhatka Queen". [12] Her movie Shin Sinaki Boobla Boo (1952) became the first film to be banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting because of its low moral tone, even when it was certified for unrestricted public viewing by the censor board of India. Immense public support for the actress made the information and broadcasting ministry of the central government bow down and allow the unrestricted release of the film, but the huge delay reduced its success at the box office. [4]

In 2010, Rehana's family filed a case against film producer Ekta Kapoor and director Milan Luthria, at the Allahabad High Court and the legal notice says that the filmmaker has used the name 'Rehana' without their consent in the film Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai and it has maligned her image. [12]

Filmography

Film

Dev Anand and Rehana in 1950 Hindi film Dilruba Dilruba 1950.jpg
Dev Anand and Rehana in 1950 Hindi film Dilruba
YearFilmLanguage
1945 Tadbir Hindi
1946 Hum Ek Hain Hindi [13] [14]
1946Amar RajHindi
1947 Sajan Hindi
1947Sati ToralHindi
1947NateejaHindi
1947 Shehnai Hindi
1947Nai BaatHindi
1947PulHindi
1948ActressHindi [15]
1948KhidkiHindi
1949 Sunehre Din Hindi [16] [17]
1949PardaHindi
1949ChilmanHindi
1949RoshiniHindi
1949JannatHindi
1950NirdoshHindi
1950BijliHindi
1950SurajmukhiHindi [18]
1950DilrubaHindi [8]
1950LajawabHindi
1950 Sargam Hindi
1951AdaaHindi
1951 Sagai Hindi
1951SaudagarHindi
1952RangeeliHindi
1952Chham Chhama ChhamHindi
1952Shin Shinaki Boobla BooHindi
1953Hazar RaateinHindi
1954 Samrat Hindi
1955Ratna ManjariHindi
1956Delhi DurbarHindi
1956Dhola MaruHindi
1956Miss 56Urdu
1956QeematHindi
1956WehshiUrdu
1956ShalimarUrdu
1957MehfilHindi
1959SaveraUrdu
1959Apna PrayaUrdu
1960Raat Ke RahiUrdu [19]
1960Ankh Aur KhoonUrdu
1960SahilUrdu
1961 Insan Badalta Hai Urdu
1961ZabakHindi
1962 Aulad Urdu [20]
1962Unchay MahalUrdu
1963HamrahiHindi
1963Dil Ne Tujhe Man LiyaUrdu
1963Kan Kan Men BhagwanHindi
1963 Dulhan Urdu
1964ChitralekhaHindi
1964Roop SundariHindi
1964ShababUrdu
1965Yeh Jahan WalayUrdu
1966 Teesri Kasam Hindi
1968Shehanshah-e-JahangirUrdu
1968Aadhi RaatUrdu
1968Dil Diya Dard LiyaUrdu
1969Zindagi Kitni Haseen HayUrdu
1970Shahi FaqeerUrdu
1970 Love in Jungle Urdu
1970BaziUrdu
1970 Heer Ranjha Urdu
1971Night ClubUrdu
1971BazigarPunjabi
1972 Koshish Hindi
1974 Majboor Hindi
1974 Khote Sikkay Hindi
1976Pyar Kaday Nein MardaPunjabi
1977 Aina Urdu
1983Desh ShatruHindi
1983 Betaab Hindi

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rehana". Weekly Nigar Karachi (Golden Jubilee Number): 120. 2017.
  2. 1 2 "In Black and White: The films that left a mark in 1947". Hindustan Times. 23 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 58. ISBN   0-19-577817-0.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rehana". cineplot.com. 8 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. Patel, Baburao (August 1948). "Filmindia". Filmindia. 14 (8): 47. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  6. Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy. Rupa & Company. p. 161.
  7. Collections. Update Video Publication. p. 67.
  8. 1 2 Dev Anand: Dashing, Debonair. Rupa & Company. p. 97.
  9. Raj Kapur, the Fabulous Showman: An Intimate Biography. National Film Development Corporation. p. 362.
  10. Raj Kapur, the Fabulous Showman: An Intimate Biography. National Film Development Corporation. p. 390.
  11. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 58. ISBN   0-19-577817-0.
  12. 1 2 "Once Upon A Time... in trouble again". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  13. Star-portrait: Intimate Life Stories of Famous Film Stars. Lakhani Book Depot. p. 38.
  14. Legends of Indian Silver Screen: The Winners of Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992-2014). Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 95.
  15. Patel, Baburao (August 1948). "Filmindia". Filmindia. 14 (8): 71. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  16. Collections. Update Video Publication. p. 141.
  17. Screen World Publication's 75 Glorious Years of Indian Cinema: Complete Filmography of All Films (silent & Hindi) Produced Between 1913-1988. Screen World Publication. p. 138.
  18. Patel, Baburao (August 1948). "Filmindia". Filmindia. 14 (8): 939. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  19. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 249. ISBN   0-19-577817-0.
  20. Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947-1997. Oxford University Press. p. 250. ISBN   0-19-577817-0.