Parbati Ghose (born Chapala Nayak; 28 March 1942 – 12 February 2018) was an Indian actress,

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and film producer. Ghose was the first female

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

from the state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Early life

Ghose, who was one of eight siblings, was born as Chapala Nayak on 28 March 1933 in Manasinghpatana,

Cuttack district Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in India. It is located in the coastal part of the state and its administrative headquarters are located in the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 Census, after Ganjam district, Ganjam, it is t ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Her father, Basudev Naik, managed the Manmohan Press, a prominent

book publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. Ghose attended Sanat Nalini Girls High School. She also trained as a dancer under

Kelucharan Mohapatra Kelucharan Mohapatra (8 January 1926 – 7 April 2004) was a legendary Indian classical dancer, guru, and exponent of Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th century. He is ...

, Dayal Sharma, and Suresh Routray.

Career

Ghose began her career as a child voice actor on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

before transitioning to on-screen film roles. She made her film debut as child artist of character Nila Madhav in 1949 film, ''Shri Jagannath''. Her big break came in the 1953 film '' Amari Gaan Jhua'' (''Our Village Girl''), where she was cast as the female lead actress. Amari Gaan Jhua, which explored the controversial practice of

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

, won her positive reviews. In 1956, Ghose appeared as the lead actress in the successful

Odia language Odia (;"Odia"
''Lexico''. , ISO 15919, ISO: , ; formerly rendere ...

film, '' Bhai Bhai'', alongside her future husband,

Gour Prasad Ghose Gour may refer to: * Gour Brahmins, an Indian caste of Brahmins or landlords * Gour, an Indian caste of Muslims * Hari Singh Gour (1870-1949), Indian lawyer, educator, and writer * Joseph-Omer Gour (1893-1959), Canadian politician * Rimstone, ...

, who was also the producer. ''Bhai Bhai'', which showcased her prowess as a lead actress, greatly increased her profile in the Indian film industry. It also led to her interest in film directing and production. Thereafter Ghose appeared in '' Maa'' in 1959, also produced by Gour Prasad Ghose. Parbati Ghose and her husband produced, co-directed and acted in ''Lakshmi'' (1962), ''Kaa'' (1965), ''Stree'' (1968). These three films won them three national film awards for their work as directors and producers. A few years later, she produced and directed ''

Chha Mana Atha Guntha ''Chha Mana Atha Guntha'' is a 1986 Indian Odia language feature film directed and produced by Parbati Ghose. Bijay Mohanty and Parbati Ghose played lead roles in the film and Sarat Pujari in a negative role. The movie is based on the novel ...

'' in 1986. She had worked in Hindi and Bengali language

Telefilms A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terres ...

like 'Prashna' and 'Sopan'. She also appeared in ''Sansaar'' in 1971. Her last film as a director and producer was ''

Salabega Salabega (, 1607/1608 –?) was an Odia religious poet of India in the early 17th century who wrote Jagannatha bhajanas. He was Muslim by birth but his devotion for the Hindu God made Lord Jagannath stop his Ratha Jātrā (Rath Yatra) in O ...

'' in 1998.

Filmography

*''Shri Jagannath'' (1949) (child artist) *'' Amari Gaan Jhua'' (1953) *'' Bhai Bhai'' (1956) *'' Maa'' (1959) (produced) *''

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

'' (1962) (produced, co-directed and acted) *''

Kaa Kaa is a fictional character from ''The Jungle Book'' stories written by Rudyard Kipling. In the books and many of the screen adaptations, Kaa is an ally of protagonist Mowgli, acting as a friend and trusted mentor or father figure alongside Bag ...

'' (1965) (produced, co-directed and acted) *'' Stree'' (1968) (produced, co-directed and acted) *''Sansara'' (1971) *''

'' (1986) (produced and directed) *''Salabega'' (1998) (produced and directed) *''Prashna'' (telefilm) *''Sopan'' (telefilm)

Personal life

In 1959, she married Gourprasad Ghose and adopted the name Parbati Ghose, given to her by her new

in-laws In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship each party in the marriage has to the family of the other party in t ...

Death

Ghose died on 12 February 2018, at the age of 84 in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

. The state government of Odisha held a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

in her honor.

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who served as the 14th List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the List of longest-serving I ...

, the Chief Minister of Orissa, paid tribute to Parbati Ghose and her contributions to the local and national film industry, noting that "She was an actor, director and producer at the same time. In early days of

Odia cinema Odia cinema, also known as Ollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Odia language widely spoken in the state of Odisha. Odia Cinema is based in Cuttack in Odisha, India. The name Ollyw ...

, she single-handedly uplifted it to a new level. She is considered as a symbol of women's empowerment when an idea like empowerment was unheard of. Her departure is a great loss to our industry and the world of

silver screen A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry. The term silver scr ...

. She will always be remembered for her contribution to Odia cinema."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghose, Parbati 1942 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian women artists Businesswomen from Odisha Film directors from Odisha Film producers from Odisha Indian film actresses Indian radio actresses Indian women film directors Indian women film producers Indian women filmmakers Odia film directors Odia film producers People from Cuttack district Women artists from Odisha