Preeti Ganguly (17 May 1953 – 2 December 2012) was an Indian actress who played several comic roles in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the daughter of veteran Indian actor

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

and part of the Ganguly family. She was best known for her comic role as Freni Sethna, the die-hard

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

fan in

Basu Chatterjee Basu Chatterjee (10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter in Hindi Cinema. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he became associated with what came to be known as middle cinema or middle-of-the-road cinema filmmaker ...

's '' Khatta Meetha'' (1978). After she lost some 50 kg, her film roles dwindled and later in 1993, she started an acting school named after her father, 'Ashok Kumar's Academy of Dramatic Arts' in Mumbai, where she also took film appreciation classes. Years later, she appeared in

Emraan Hashmi Syed Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian film actor, who appears in Hindi films. Initially known for performing bold scenes, Hashmi has since portrayed strong roles in films. One of the most unconventional actors of India, H ...

starrer, '' Aashiq Banaya Aapne'' (2005).

Personal life

Actor

Deven Verma Deven Verma (23 October 1937 – 2 December 2014) was an Indian film and television actor, particularly known for his comic roles, with Bollywood directors like Basu Chatterji, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar. He also produced and directed fi ...

is married to her elder sister Rupa Ganguly. Her brother, Aroop Kumar, appeared in only one film, Bezuban, released in 1962.

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...

, and actor Anoop Kumar were her paternal uncles and her paternal aunt is Sati Devi, married to

Sashadhar Mukherjee Sashadhar Mukherjee (29 September 1909 – 3 November 1990) was an Indian filmmaker in Hindi cinema. He started his career with Bombay Talkies in the 1930s, and later established Filmistan Studio with Rai Bahadur Chunilal (father of music dir ...

(brother of

Subodh Mukherjee Subodh Mukerji (14 April 1921 – 21 May 2005) was an Indian filmmaker (producer and director) of Hindi-language films. He was the brother of the leading producer-director Sashadhar Mukherjee. Profile Mukerji was a devotee of the school of mov ...

) of the

Mukherjee-Samarth family The Mukherjee-Samarth family is a Bengali- Marathi Hindu family that has been involved in the Hindi film industry since the 1930s, Shobhana Samarth having first acted in a film in 1935. The Mukherjee family was connected to the Samarth family b ...

. Preeti died of a cardiac arrest in Mumbai on 2 December 2012.

Selected filmography

* '' Dhuen Ki Lakeer'' (1974) * '' Khel Khel Mein'' (1975) * '' Rani Aur Lalpari'' (1975) * '' Balika Badhu'' (1976) * '' Aashiq Hoon Baharon Ka'' (1977) * '' Anurodh'' (1977) * ''

Saheb Bahadur ''Sahib Bahadur'' is a 1977 Indian Hindi cinema, Hindi film directed by Chetan Anand. Plot In a small town of Chamba (Himachal Pradesh), situated in a picturesque Indian valley, lives a corrupt Deputy collector, Hare Murari, an equally corrupt ...

'' (1977) * ''

Swami Swami (; ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic who has chosen the Sannyasa, path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas ...

'' (1977) * '' Dillagi'' (1978) * '' Khatta Meetha'' (1978) * ''

Chor Ke Ghar Chor ''Chor Ke Ghar Chor'' is a 1978 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Vijay Sadanah. It stars Ashok Kumar and Pran in lead roles with supporting roles played by Randhir Kapoor, Zeenat Aman, Deven Verma and Raza Murad. Synopsis Rajkumari O ...

'' (1978) * '' Damaad'' (1978) * '' Aahuti'' (1978) * '' Ankh Ka Tara'' (1978) * '' Anmol Tasveer'' (1978) * '' Jhoota Kahin Ka'' (1979) * ''

Thodisi Bewafai ''Thodisi Bewafaii'' () is a 1980 Bollywood romantic drama film directed by Esmayeel Shroff and produced by Nand Mirani. It stars Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi in the lead roles. The film is noted for impressive performances by the cast and Khayya ...

'' (1980) * ''

Kranti ''Kranti'' () is a 1981 Indian historical drama film, produced, edited, dialogue and directed by Manoj Kumar, with the story and screenplay written by Salim–Javed. It stars an ensemble cast, consisting of Dilip Kumar in the title role along ...

'' (1981) * '' Tohfa Mohabbat Ka'' (1988) * '' Uttar Dakshin'' (1987) * '' Aashiq Banaya Aapne'' (2005)

References

External links

* Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai Indian women comedians 20th-century Indian actresses 1953 births 2012 deaths {{India-film-actor-stub