Bhanumati Devi (15 May 1934 – 4 January 2013) was a

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

-born

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n film and

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. Devi was born in British Burma on 15 May 1934. She moved to

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as ''S ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

, with her Indian family following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Devi began acting in the theater in 1942 when she was just seven years old. Some of her best reviewed stage roles were in ''Lakhye Hira'' and ''Napahu Rati Namaru Pati’''. Devi appeared at the

Annapurna Theatre Annapurna Theatre is the pioneer of Odia Theatre Company. Formation In 1933, Somnath Das formed Jayadurga Natya Mandali, an opera party in Khandualkote village in the undivided Puri district. A couple of years later, the organizers decided to s ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

for more than forty years. She made her film debut in 1954 in '' Amari Gann Jhia'' when she was nineteen years old. She was especially active in the

Cinema of Odisha The Odia film industry, colloquially known as Ollywood, is the Odia language Indian film industry, based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack in Odisha, India. The name Ollywood is a portmanteau of the words Odia and Hollywood. Industry In 1974, ...

during the 1950s and 1960s. Devi's was cast in a lead role in more than a dozen Indian films. Some of her most prominent roles include her character, Harabou, in the 1966

Odia film The Odia film industry, colloquially known as Ollywood, is the Odia language Indian film industry, based in Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack in Odisha, India. The name Ollywood is a portmanteau of the words Odia and Hollywood. Industry In 1974, ...

, ''

Matira Manisha ''Matira Manisha'' (Man of the Soil) is a 1966 Odia film directed by Mrinal Sen. Based on the novel by Kalindi Charan Panigrahi of the same name, the film contrasts traditional and modern values as exemplified by the different attitudes of two ...

'', for which she won a National Film Award. Her last film was '' Jaydeb'', which was released in 1986. Devi was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognit ...

from the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

in 1985. In 2005, she received the Jaydev Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Odisha State Film Awards. Bhanumati Devi died at her home on Red Cross Road in

, on 4 January 2013, at the age of 78.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Bhanumati 1934 births 2013 deaths Indian film actresses Indian stage actresses Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Burmese emigrants to India People from Puri Burmese people of Indian descent Actresses in Odia cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Burmese actresses Burmese film actresses Burmese stage actresses