Meenakshi Shirodkar (11 October 1916 – 3 June 1997), born Ratan Pednekar, was an Indian actress who mainly worked in Marathi films, Marathi theatre and television. She made her debut in 1938 and continued to act in films until the early 1970s. Her appearance in a swimsuit in the Marathi film '' Brahmachari'' (1938) with Master Vinayak stunned the traditional audience. She is a grandmother of two Bollywood actresses, Namrata Shirodkar and Shilpa Shirodkar.

Personal life

Shirodkar was born Ratan Pednekar on 11 October 1916 to a

Maharashtrian Maharashtrian is an adjective referring to something related to: * Maharashtra, a state of India * Marathi people * Marathi language See also * Maharashtrian Brahmin * Maharashtri, the medieval language * Marathi (disambiguation) Marathi may ...

family. She started learning

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at an early age. In 1936, she married Dr. Shirodkar, with whom she had a son, who married Marathi actress Gangu Bai and had the Bollywood actresses Namrata Shirodkar and Shilpa Shirodkar, who also worked in the film industry. Namrata was crowned as

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in 1993 and is married to Tollywood actor, Mahesh Babu and has two children. On 4 June 1997, Shirodkar died at the age of 80 in Mumbai.

Career

In 1935, Shirodkar joined All India Radio (AIR) where she worked in radio dramas. After her marriage in 1936, she got a film offer from Pandurang Naik, one of the partners in a film company called ''Hans Pictures''. Though Shirodkar declined the offer in the beginning, Naik convinced Shirodkar's husband that she should make a film debut. Shirodkar debuted with a 1938 Marathi film '' Brahmachari'', opposite Master Vinayak. The writer of the film Pralhad Keshav Atre, better known as "Āchārya Atre", changed her name from "Ratan" to "Meenaxi" to suit her big eyes. She created a stir by appearing in a swimsuit in the song "Yamuna Jali Khelu Khel" in the film and stunned the traditional audience. She rose to fame for her then daring act, and for her twin-plait hairstyle in the song, but also got criticized heavily. The song was sung by Shirodkar herself and became a hit. It was also reused in the play by the same name, and years later in other films as well. She continued to do several other films with Master Vinayak such as ''Brandichi Batli'' (1939), '' Ghar Ki Rani'' (1940), ''Amrut'' (1941) and ''Majhe Bal'' (1943). After retiring from major roles in 1950, Shirodkar played a few minor roles in films and joined Marathi theatre with "Nutan Sangeet Natak Mandali". During the period 1950-75, she worked in twelve Sangeet Nataks (musical plays) including ''Mruchhakatik'', ''Maanaapmaan'', ''Ekach Pyaala'' and others.

Films

Theater

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirodkar, Meenakshi Marathi actors People from Maharashtra 1916 births Place of birth missing 1997 deaths Actresses in Marathi cinema Actresses in Marathi theatre Actresses in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian actresses