Indian cinema@100: 12 forgotten Bollywood stars

Ruby Myers – At the peak of her career, silent movie star Ruby Myers – screen name Sulochana – was one of the highest paid actresses in Indian cinema. Among her best known films was Wildcat Of Bombay (1927), in which she played eight roles including a gardener, a policeman, a street urchin, a Hyderabadi gentleman, a banana seller and an European blonde. So popular was she, that a short film of Mahatma Gandhi inaugurating a khadi exhibition had a dance number from one of Sulochana's films added as a crowd-puller. The Jewish-origin Sulochana made the transition to talkies with some difficulty, taking a year off films to learn Hindi. She made a comeback of sorts with a talkie version of her hit film Madhuri and continued to star in films through the ‘30s. At one time, Sulochana's salary was reported to be higher than that of the Governor of Bombay. Ruby Myers died alone in Mumbai in 1983.

Kanan Devi – Possibly the first star of Bengali cinema, actress and singer Kanan Devi was also a leading actress in early Bollywood. Like actor-singer K L Saigal, she was cast for both her histrionic abilities as well as her melodious voice. Kanan Devi started as a child artiste in silent films and made the transition to talkie film heroine in Bengali films. She was Bengal's top film star when she began formal music training with Ustad Alla Rakha, and then forged a very successful career in Hindi films appearing opposite the era's biggest stars, K L Saigal and Ashok Kumar. She had superhit films like Jawaab, and a superhit Duniya yeh duniya toofan mail. Kanan Devi also defied convention by continuing her screen career after marrying her first husband, the son of a leading Brahmo Samaj educationist of the age. When she was expected to quit films, she filed for divorce. She remarried later and worked for the upliftment of Bengali cinema and female artistes. Kanan Devi died in 1992 at 76.

Begum Para – Bollywood's original pin-up girl was Begum Para, hailed as a sex bomb by film magazines and unafraid to show off her hourglass figure in trousers and curve-hugging dresses. In Bollywood's black and white era, an age of convention and studio contracts, Begum Para was known for her outspokenness and open lifestyle. Begum Para made her debut aged 17 in Chand, which was a moderate hit, and then appeared in hit films like Sohni Mahiwal, Ustad Pedro and Mehendi. She was the feted for her ‘It Girl' quality and was the modern face of Bollywood in a newly independent India. Begum Para married Dilip Kumar's brother Nasir Khan and had three children, one of who is the actor Ayub Khan. Begum Para's last role was as Sonam Kapoor's grandmother in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya. She died in 2008.

Nalini Jaywant – Shobhna Samarth's first cousin proved herself a rule-breaker and a major talent in her very first film, Mehboob Khan's Bahen (1941), a film which made waves with its story of a brother's obsessive love for his sister. Nalini Jaywant went on to become a big star, forming a hit partnership with Ashok Kumar in films like Samadhi, Sangram, Saloni and Naaz. She remained one of Bollywood's leading actresses till the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films like Munimji and Kala Pani which brought her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress award. She married director Virendra Desai in the ‘40s, and then married actor Prabhu Dayal, appearing in some movies with him. Nalini Jaywant's last screen appearance was in 1983's Nastik, nearly 20 years after her last lead role in Bombay Race Course (1965). She died a recluse in 2010 at 84.

Chandramohan – His famous grey eyes were the focus of the opening sequence of V Shantaram's Amrit Manthan (1934). Known for his robust voice and high voltage dramatic flair, Chandramohan was among the most sought after stars of the earliest era of Bollywood, between the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared as Emperor Jehangir in Pukar and as King Dushyanta in Shakuntala. Mehboob Khan cast him in Humayun and Roti. One of his best known performances was in Shaheed (1948) with Dilip Kumar playing his son. Chandramohan became addicted to gambling and drinking and died in 1949. He was just 44. Director K Asif had to shelve his ambitious Mughal-e-Azam for five years after Chandramohan, who was to play Emperor Akbar, died.

Bharat Bhushan – In 1952, Baiju Bawra made Bharat Bhushan – along with Meena Kumari, Mohd Rafi and Naushad – a star, after a decade of trying to make it big in films. He became the first choice actor for producers of films featuring a musician as the main character, such as Basant Bahar. Many of the greatest hits of the 1950s, sung by Rafi, Manna Dey, Talat Aziz and Mukesh, featured Bharat Bhushan. He was the second to win the Filmfare Best Actor award, after Dilip Kumar, for Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Bharat Bhushan continued to appear in films till the 1990s, with roles in Maachis, Prem Qaidi and even Chandni. He died in poverty, shuttling between rented Mumbai houses, in 1992.

Pradeep Kumar – A leading actor in the 1950s, Pradeep Kumar started out in Bengali cinema and then switched to Hindi films with an important role in Anand Math (1952). He was the hero of hit films like Nagin (1954), opposite Vyjayanthimala, and Anarkali (1953), opposite Bina Rai. He appeared with Meena Kumari in seven films and with Mala Sinha in eight. The 1950s were crowded with films starring Pradeep Kumar. However, by the mid-Sixties, he was on the way out. He did have moderate hits with Asha Parekh in Ghoonghat (1960) and with Baina Rai in Taj Mahal (1963). Pradeep Kumar then moved to character roles in films like Mehboob Ki Mehendi and Razia Sultan. He died in 2001 at the age of 76, and is survived by three daughters, one of who is TV actress Bina.

Bina Rai – A leading star of the black and white era, Bina Rai reportedly had to go on a hunger strike before her parents would allow her to become an actress. She never managed to forge a hit screen partnership with real-life husband Prem Nath but did find love for reel with Pradeep Kumar in films like Anarkali, Taj Mahal and Ghunghat, winning the Filmfare Best Actress award for the last performance. Bina Rai died in 2009. She had quit acting decades ago, complaining that there were no good roles for older women.

Shobhna Samarth – Today, she is better known as actress Kajol's grandmother, the mother of actresses Nutan and Tanuja. But in her heyday, Shobhna Samarth was a star in her own right and a leading actress of Marathi and Hindi cinema. She started out in the early days of the talkies and was an established Marathi actress when she made her Bollywood debut in 1935's Nigahen Nafrat. Her best known performance was as Sita in Ram Rajya (1943), believed to be the only film that Mahatma Gandhi ever saw. Shobhna Samarth was also a rare actress who continued to appear on screen despite being married and the mother of four children. She gained a measure of notoriety when she left her husband for the actor Motilal. Shobhna Samarth died of cancer in 2000 at 85.

Pahari Sanyal – In his native Bengal, Pahari Sanyal is firmly a part of the cinematic pantheon but his achievements in Hindi cinema have largely been forgotten. An acclaimed character actor in Bengali classics like Harano Sur, Pahadi Sanyal also appeared in Raj Kapoor's Jagte Raho, Badi Didi, Devdas with K L Saigal and Aradhana. He also appeared in The Householder with Shashi Kapoor. Pahadi Sanyal died in 1974.

Ameeta – Between the 1950s and 1960s, Ameeta had a moderately successful career as the second heroine in films like Munimji and Shirin Farhad, with a brief period of A-list stardom in movies opposite Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. Her performance in Tumsa Nahin Dekha led to a coveted role in Goonj Uthi Shehnai which was originally meant for Meena Kumari. She was nominated for a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in Mere Mehboob. By the mid-Sixties, Ameeta was languishing in B-grade movies opposite Dara Singh. She quit Bollywood after Haseena Maan Jayegi in 1968.

Sandhya – A star of Marathi cinema and Gujarati stage before she became a Bollywood heroine, Sandhya was cast by her husband V Shantaram in his best known films. She played a classical dancer in Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, a toyseller in Do Aankhen Barah Haath, and a poet's wife in Navrang. She famously shot with real lions in Stree, a version of the story of Shakuntala. Sandhya, who had no formal dance training till Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, became much sought after for her grace and dancing talent. One of her most acclaimed performances was in Pinjra, her last film as a heroine, in which she played a dancer who falls in love with her teacher, played by Shreeram Lagoo. Sandhya's last appearance was in 1998's Kareeb.